One of my favorite franchises of all time is "Star Trek", and one thing I've always been interested in is the ranks of the various crew members throughout the numerous series. Here, I'll be covering the various ranks that the main crew members of the Star Trek series have held over the years, and ranks that I think they should have held during some of the latter series (I'm looking at you, Voyager and Enterprise). Now, for the purposes of this entry, I will only be focusing on the "officer" ranks and not the "enlisted" ranks.
Star Trek: The Original Series and its related films
(Note: I will not be covering the original "The Cage" pilot which had a mostly different crew, nor will I be covering the second "Where No Man Has Gone Before" pilot, even though most of the people that appeared in that pilot--Kirk, Spock, Scotty, and Sulu--were in the regular series.)
Obviously, the commanding officer of the United Star Ship Enterprise is James Tiberius Kirk, who held the rank of Captain throughout the Original Series and the Animated Series. By the time of the first Motion Picture, Kirk was promoted to Rear Admiral, but was temporarily reduced in rank to Captain for that film only, and then permanently at the end of "Star Trek IV".
Spock was initially a Lieutenant Commander during the first season, although he wore Commander's stripes on his uniform throughout the entire series run (for the record, the Lieutenant Commander has one-and-a-half stripes on the sleeve of their uniforms, while Commanders have two full stripes. I'm sure you can find a picture of them somewhere on the internet). By the time of the second season, he was referred to as Commander Spock and remained that way throughout the rest of the Original Series, the Animated Series, and The Motion Picture. By the time of "Star Trek II", Spock had been promoted to Captain, and he retained that rank throughout the rest of the original film franchise, even after dying and being resurrected.
Leonard "Bones" McCoy was a Lieutenant Commander throughout the Original Series, and was promoted to full Commander in the Animated Series, the rank he would retain throughout the original films. When he made his final Trek appearance in the TNG pilot "Encounter at Farpoint", Bones was a 137-year-old retired admiral.
Montgomery "Scotty" Scott, like Bones, was a Lieutenant Commander throughout the Original Series, and was promoted to full Commander in the Animated Series, keeping that rank in The Motion Picture and The Wrath of Khan. In The Search for Spock, Scotty was promoted to Captain, and he retained that rank throughout the rest of his Trek run, although when he appeared in full uniform at the end of Star Trek IV, he had the Commander's rank insignia as opposed to his Captain's rank insignia.
Hikaru Sulu was a Lieutenant during the Original and Animated Series. In The Motion Picture, he was a Lieutenant Commander, and was a full Commander by the time of The Wrath of Khan. In The Undiscovered County, we discover that Sulu had finally become the Captain of his own starship, the U.S.S. Excelsior.
Nyota Uhura, like Sulu, was a Lieutenant during the Original and Animated Series, a Lieutenant Commander during the Motion Picture, and a Commander throughout the rest of the original films.
Pavel Chekov, who joined the Original Series at the start of the second season (although he was apparently on the Enterprise at the time of Space Seed), started as an Ensign, and although he wasn't on the Animated Series (due to budgetary restrictions), he was promoted to full Lieutenant at the time of The Motion Picture. Apparently, there was no Lieutenant Junior Grade rank made for The Motion Picture, but Chekov going to full lieutenant doesn't really bother me, since, if he had appeared in the Animated Series, he probably would have been a J.G. during that time. Between TMP and The Wrath of Khan, Chekov was promoted to Commander, becoming executive officer of the Reliant, transferring back to the Enterprise crew after that ship was destroyed. He remained a commander for the rest of the original films, as well as his appearance in Star Trek: Generations.
Star Trek: The Next Generation and its related films
Jean-Luc Picard, the commanding officer of the U.S.S. Enterprise-D, had been a Captain for over 30 years prior to taking command of the Federation Flagship. He is also probably the longest-serving Captain in Starfleet history, since, as of Nemesis, he has been a Captain for an incredible forty-six years!! I don't think there's anyone in the U.S. Armed Forces that has been a Captain (or a Colonel for the Air Force, Army, or Marines) for that long.
William Thomas Riker, a.k.a. Number One, was the long-time second-in-command to Captain Picard, holding the rank of Commander during his entire stint as Enterprise's first officer. He was finally given command of his own ship, the U.S.S. Titan, in Nemesis.
Geordi LaForge began his TNG stint as a Lieutenant Junior Grade, and probably has the fastest promotion track of any main character, as he was promoted to full Lieutenant at the start of the second season, and became a Lieutenant Commander at the start of season 3, holding that rank throughout the rest of TNG and the four movies. Now, IMHO, Geordi should have become a full Commander (3 gold pips) during the film series, at least from First Contact onwards. He was, however, a full Commander during the TNG episode "Future Imperfect". We also saw Geordi as Captain of the U.S.S. Challenger in the Voyager episode "Timeless".
Natasha "Tasha" Yar, served as Chief of Security of the Enterprise-D during her lone season, holding the rank of Lieutenant.
Worf, the first Klingon in Starfleet, was a Lieutenant Junior Grade when he began his long Trek run, eventually being promoted to Lieutenant at the start of TNG season 3, and became a Lieutenant Commander for the TNG movies, as well as Deep Space 9. Now, since Worf left Starfleet and became the Federation Ambassador to the Klingons at the end of DS9, you could argue that he was still a Lieutenant Commander at the time of Nemesis, or that he was promoted to full Commander after returning to Starfleet after serving his time as Ambassador. Either way is fine by me. Worf was also a Lieutenant Commander in the TNG episode "Future Imperfect".
The two doctors of the Enterprise during the TNG series, Beverly Crusher and Katherine Pulaski, were both full Commanders during their stints on the Enterprise, although we did see Beverly as a Captain during the anti-time future on the TNG finale "All Good Things".
Deanna Troi began her TNG career as a Lieutenant Commander, and was promoted to full Commander, much to the annoyance of many Trekkers, in the TNG season 7 episode "Thine Own Self". We also saw Troi as a full Commander in the TNG episode "Future Imperfect".
Data was a Lieutenant Commander throughout his entire TNG run, although like Geordi, I think he should have been a full Commander during the film series, or at least from First Contact onwards. We did see Data as a full Commander, though, in the TNG episode "Future Imperfect".
Wesley Crusher is definitely an interesting case, whether you like the character or not. In the beginning, he was just an ordinary boy, but after helping the crew get home in "Where No One Has Gone Before", he was made an Acting Ensign, which became full Ensign after helping the crew save Riker and Troi in the season 3 episode "Menage a Troi". He ultimately left the ship in the season 4 episode "Final Mission" to begin attending Starfleet Academy, which he dropped out of in the episode "Journey's End". However, in Nemesis, he is seen as a Lieutenant Junior Grade. We also saw him as a full Lieutenant in the season 7 episode "Parallels".
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
(Note: I will only cover Starfleet Officers, which means that Odo, Jake Sisko, Miles O'Brien, and Quark will not be covered. I will, however, cover Kira Nerys, because even though she was primarily a Bajoran officer, she did serve in Starfleet for a brief time in season 7.)
When we first meet Benjamin Sisko, it is as a Lieutenant Commander, serving as executive officer of the ill-fated U.S.S. Saratoga, which was destroyed during the Battle of Wolf 359 (in which he also lost his wife, Jennifer). By the time of the actual series, Sisko is a full Commander, commanding the Federation outpost Deep Space Nine. Eventually, in season 3, he is given command of his own starship, the U.S.S. Defiant, and he officially becomes a Captain in that season's finale, "The Adversary".
We first meet the character of Dax as Jadzia, specifically, Lieutenant Jadzia Dax, in the first episode of DS9. By the start of season four, she was promoted to Lieutenant Commander, the rank she would hold during the rest of her life as she is killed at the end of season six. At the start of season seven, we meet Ezri Dax, formerly known as Ensign Ezri Tigan, an unjoined Trill serving as assistant ship's counselor, but when the Dax symbiont took a turn for the worse on the way to Trill, so she had to join with the symbiont to save its life. After helping Ben Sisko retrieve the Orb of the Emissary, she was transferred to DS9 and was promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade.
Julian Bashir, a recent graduate of Starfleet Medical, became DS9's Chief Medical Officer as a Lieutenant Junior Grade. Like his friend, Dax, Julian was promoted at the start of season four, only this time to full Lieutenant. He remained a Lieutenant throughout the rest of DS9's run.
Kira Nerys as a Major in the Bajoran Militia when we first met her in the DS9 pilot "Emissary." (For those unaware, a Major is the equivalent to a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy.) When Ben Sisko left DS9 after Jadzia's death, Kira was promoted to Field Colonel (Bajor's version of a Lieutenant Colonel), and when she temporarily joined Starfleet to help the Cardassian Underground, she was commissioned as a Commander.
Star Trek: Voyager
(Note: Because there were hardly any changes in rank during Voyager's seven year run, I'm going to give my opinions on when certain crew members should have been promoted.)
Obviously, Kathryn Janeway was Captain of the U.S.S. Voyager. After the series ended, she somehow advanced all the way to Vice Admiral, the rank we see her with in "Star Trek: Nemesis".
Chakotay was a former Starfleet officer who joined the Maquis to defend his homeworld. After both the Voyager and Maquis crews were stranded in the Delta Quadrant, he was given the provisional rank of Lieutenant Commander. However, he was always referred to as "Commander" throughout the show's entire run (since Lieutenant Commanders are often referred to by the shortened form of simply Commander, like Lieutenant Colonels are also referred to as simply "Colonel"). For the sake of this entry, though, I'm just going to refer to him as a full Commander.
B'Elanna Torres was a member of the Maquis that joined Voyager when the two crews were stuck in the Delta Quadrant. She was given a provisional rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade, despite dropping out of Starfleet Academy, and was made Chief Engineer. I think she, along with several other crew members mentioned below, should have gotten a promotion at the start of season 3 as a reward for surviving the "Basics" two-parter. In this case, she would have been a full Lieutenant, and I think that's the rank she would have held during the rest of the series' run.
Thomas Eugene Paris was a former Starfleet officer who joined the Maquis and was captured on his first assignment. As part of his early release, his Starfleet commission was reactivated and he was made a Lieutenant Junior Grade. In the season 5 episode "Thirty Days", Tom was reduced in rank to Ensign for disobeying Janeway's orders, but had his rank re-instated at the very end of season 6. Like Torres, I think Paris should have been promoted to full Lieutenant at the start of season 3 as a result of him helping in retaking the Voyager after it had been captured by the Kazon. This also means that, yes, he would have been dropped two ranks as a result of the "Thirty Days" incident, but he would have gotten his rank back at the start of "Unimatrix Zero".
Tuvok was a Lieutenant during the first three seasons of Voyager, and was promoted to Lieutenant Commander in the season 4 episode "Revulsion". However, in the first season, we saw him with Lieutenant Commander pips (two gold, one black) from "Caretaker" (the pilot) until the episode "Cathexis", when we saw him with only the Lieutenant rank (two gold pips). Some theorize that he was initially a Lieutenant Commander, but was demoted for his actions in the episode "Prime Factors", although we did see him with the Lieutenant Commander rank insignia for a few more episodes until "Cathexis". Like Torres and Paris before him, I honestly think Tuvok should have gotten promoted to Lieutenant Commander at the start of the third season for his role in helping the crew survive the events of "Basics". Regardless, he would remain a Lieutenant Commander from his promotion until the end of the series, although we did see him as an Ensign in the season 3 episode "Flashback", which showed the events of Star Trek VI from his point of view.
Ah, Harry Kim. He was an Ensign for the entire seven years of the show, though he honestly should have gotten a promotion to Lieutenant Junior Grade either in season 2 or at the start of season 3, due to the events of "Basics". I also think Harry should have been a full Lieutenant by season 5, which means that he would have outranked his heterosexual life partner Tom Paris for a period of time.
Star Trek: Enterprise
One of my major problems with Enterprise, and I'm sure you'll agree with me, is that there were hardly any advancements in rank for the main characters. Sure, T'Pol started as a Sub-Commander for the Vulcan High Command, then resigned at the end of the second season before offically gaining a Starfleet commission at the start of season four gaining the rank of Commander, but none of the secondary main characters--Malcolm Reed, Travis Mayweather, or Hoshi Sato--advanced in rank at all during the series...even in the series finale "These are the Voyages" (and the less said about that episode, the better). Another problem I had with Enterprise was that there were no Lieutenant Junior Grade or Lieutenant Commander ranks in the Earth Starfleet (even though Hoshi would apparently retire as a Lieutenant Commander in the future). In my humble and honest opinion, I think Travis and Hoshi should have gotten a promotion to Lieutenant Junior Grade just before the Enterprise crew entered the Delphic Expanse. I also think that, after they returned to Earth at the start of season four, Macolm, Travis, and Hoshi should have all been promoted for their efforts in saving Earth, with Malcolm being promoted to Lieutenant Commander, and Travis and Hoshi being promoted to full Lieutenant.
And that's pretty much it. If you get a chance, please watch SF Debris' Opinionated Videos, and not just the Star Trek ones.
