BLOOPERS & OBSERVATIONS RE [VOYAGER] UNIFORMS

Encyclopaedia: labelled diagram of rank insignia, 141Kb

BLOOPERS

1. In Season 1, Tuvok wears the rank pips of a Lieutenant Commander, but everyone refers to him as "Lieutenant Tuvok". (He is also listed as "Lt. Tuvok" in the credits which, until [#14 Faces], would make people wonder, assuming they knew the rank pip system.) The production staff realised their mistake and in [#14 Faces] Tuvok's uniform gains the correct number of rank pips. One could choose to believe that Janeway demoted him that certain period of time as punishment for his actions regarding the Sikarian trajector in [#10 Prime Factors].

   At the end of [#1 and #2 Caretaker] Janeway gives Paris a commission. She makes him a full Lieutenant, judging by his rank pips. (On tv we witness her telling him about it but do not see the moment when he is given his pips.) When the production staff realised the mistake with regard to Tuvok's rank pips and corrected it several episodes later, in [#14 Faces], they also changed Paris' rank pips from to Lieutenant JG so that Tuvok would still outrank Tom Paris, but the reasons for Paris' demotion is not explained on the tv screen, even though the change in both men's ranks could have been, I suggest, easily explained by a line of dialogue. It means also, that strictly speaking, Paris receives two demotions during his stay on USS Voyager - this one and the demotion to Ensign for his actions in [#103 Thirty Days]. He is, however, promoted back to Lieutenant JG at the end of 2376, in [#146 Unimatrix Zero, Part 1].

   [#3 Parallax]

   opening credits

   [#14 Faces]

   [#14 Faces] screenshot brightened a lot to show up the rank pips; Paris is dimly lit in all this episode

    

2. In [Season 2: #34 Death Wish] Riker wears the Starfleet insignia with the round background, which is replaced in 2371 with the Voyager-style insignia (and which was introduced for the series [Voyager]). However, Riker knows about USS Voyager's disappearance. Therefore it seems either he should not have known about Voyager's disappearance or he should have worn the [Voyager]-style insignia i.e. with the rectangular background.

    

3. In [#44 Flashback], Janice Rand is a Lieutenant Commander in the time period 'visited' by Tuvok and Janeway, and is referred to as Commander. However, the events are partly those portrayed in [Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country]. (The episode's raison d'etre is as the 30th Anniversary of Star Trek tribute by the [Voyager] series, while [DS9] did [DS9: Trials And Tribble-lations].) In [Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country] Rand's rank is Lieutenant JG. Suggested (feeble) excuse: she got promoted during the events and it is not mentioned on screen or else Tuvok's memory is imperfect due to his mental condition.

   image to follow [ST VI: The Undiscovered Country]

   [#44 Flashback]

    

4. In [#57 Coda], it is established that Kathryn Janeway's father died in 2358 but his uniform worn by the alien parasite has rank pips introduced in the 2360's, design elements (sleeve band) from the admiral's uniform which is introduced in 2369 and the Starfleet emblem/communicator of the style first used in 2371. These incorrect renditions by the alien parasite, at least re the combadge style, should have told Kathryn Janeway very early on that this was not her father.

    

5. In 2375, in [#98 In The Flesh], members of Species 8472 masquerading as Starfleet personnel for some reason wear the pre-2373 uniforms, including a "Ferengi" who inexplicably is not in cadet uniform. For illustrated discussion see PERSONAL LOG: entry for [#98 In The Flesh]: Starfleet uniforms - nit-pick/possible blooper - access here.

In [#24 Persistence Of Vision], the Bothan's guise of Admiral Paris wears the rank insignia of a three-star admiral (three boxed pips). By [#130 Pathfinder], which is set in mid-2376, he is a four-star admiral (four boxed pips) and has thus been promoted. He still has that rank at the end of 2377, in [#172 Endgame, Part 2]. Unfortunately, Spike's Star Trek Page incorrectly asserts there is a blooper in this regard, by saying that in [Endgame] he wears only three boxed rank pips, which would mean that he was demoted since [Pathfinder]. (A different actor plays Admiral Paris, which is why it does not look like it is the same person.)

picture and closeup [#24 Persistence Of Vision]

picture and close-up [#130 Pathfinder]

picture and close-up [#172 Endgame, Part 2]