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Did the writers care about the ranks of their characters?
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this post was submitted on 10 Jul 2023
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I remember an interview with Garrett Wang who talked about a conversation with Rick Berman where he asked him whether Kim would ever be promoted to Lieutenant. Berman pretty much shot him down, saying that someone has to be an ensign.
And I think that's pretty much all the thought that went into it: have characters with a variety of ranks. Possibly to help the audience distinguish them better ("Join me in my ready room, [Rank]"). Although admittedly that didn't work in the second half of TNG when pretty much everyone (except Worf) was addressed as "Commander" because by season 3(?) everyone was at least a Lieutenant Commander.
With Sisko I think they wanted to distinguish him from the other two Captains Kirk and Picard, and since he commanded "only" a space station that was an in-universe excuse to make Sisko a commander.
with Sisko it’s specifically because, until they discover the wormhole, DS9 is considered a backwater post.
Typically, base commanders are at least captain rank. Sometimes bases are commanded by lower ranks, and there can be different reasons but in this case: it’s remote and considered a less important “backwater” post compared to other bases. His eventual promotion to Captain belatedly corrects for how important the station became, as a trade/transit hub and as a strategic asset, after the wormhole discovery
I always thought it would've been a fun twist if Harry got a promotion once Tom got demoted in Thirty Days.
Yeah I think that, aside from adding a bit of navy-esque flair to the shows, it also helps distinguish who is “in charge”, and frames the way orders are issued and followed in a way that readily makes sense to the audience