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What's wrong with...

...Askwith's uniform in ENT The Forge?
Askwith wore a Starfleet uniform in that episode but is referred to as "Corporal Askwith" by Dr. Phlox. Maybe he was intended to be a MACO but the wardrobe department put him in the wrong uniform.

Lt. Christine Chapel
ENT The Forge

...Bennett's uniform in DS9 Dr. Bashir, I Presume?
Admiral Bennett wore the rank insignia of a full admiral (4 pips), but Sisko introduced him to Dr. Bashir as "Rear Admiral Bennett".


DS9 Dr. Bashir, I Presume?

...Maxwell Burke's uniform in VOY Equinox? (not confirmed)
Burke was referred to as "Commander," although he only wore the rank insignia of a lieutenant.

Lt. Christine Chapel
VOY Equinox, Part 1

...Brackett's uniform in TNG Unification, Part 1?
Captain Picard referred to her as "Fleet Admiral Brackett," although she only wore the rank insignia of a Vice Admiral (3 pips). It is possible that "Fleet Admiral" was meant to be the short form for "Starfleet Admiral" or that it didn't refer to her rank but to her position.

Vice Admiral Brackett
TNG Unification, Part 1

...Chakotay's uniform?
Chakotay wore the provisional rank insignia of a Lieutenant Commander but everyone referred to him as "Commander Chakotay". Although Lieutenant Commanders are normally referred to as "Commander" other officers that held that rank (e.g. Data or Geordi La Forge) were at least occasionally referred to as "Lieutenant Commander," but Chakotay was never referred to as "Lieutenant Commander". Well, that's not really an error. It's just very odd.


VOY Parallax

...Christine Chapel's uniform in Star Trek: The Motion Picture?
Chapel first appeared in a medical uniform with the rank tabs of a Lieutenant. At the end of the movie, she wore a Class A uniform with the rank braid of a Lieutenant Commander. According to a production memo by associate producer Jon Povill, Chapel was intended to be a lieutenant.

Lt. Christine Chapel, M.D.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture

...Dorian Collin's uniform in DS9 Valiant?
Ms. Collins introduced herself as "Acting Chief Petty Officer," yet her collar clearly showed the rank insigna of a Senior Chief Petty Officer.


DS9 Valiant

...Data's uniform in TNG Hide and Q?
Data's rank insignia were wrong shortly after Riker and the bridge crew had been teleported to the planet by Q. He wore two hollow pips and one solid pip.


TNG Hide and Q

...Data's uniform in TNG All Good Things...?
Data wore the rank pips of a Lieutenant JG in the 2364 flashback scenes of TNG All Good Things..., although he already was a Lieutenant Commander at this point.

Lt. Cmdr. Data
TNG All Good Things...

Lt. Cmdr. Data
TNG Encounter at Farpoint

...the Defiant crew's uniforms in TOS The Tholian Web?
Many crewmembers of the Defiant tried to hide their ship insignia from the viewer, but it was still visible on some of them. As can be seen below, they're wearing what is generally accepted as Enterprise's unique insignia.


TOS The Tholian Web

...Dickerson's uniform in TOS The Savage Curtain?
Lieutenant Dickerson wore the dress uniform of a Lieutenant Commander.


TOS The Savage Curtain

...Benjamin Finney's uniform in TOS Court Martial?
Finney wore the rank braid of a full Commander, although his rank was stated as Lieutenant Commander.


TOS Court Martial

...Giotto's uniform in TOS The Devil in the Dark?
Security Chief Giotto wore the rank braid of a full Commander, although his rank was stated as Lieutenant Commander.


TOS The Devil in the Dark

...Hector Ilario's uniforms in DS9 Field of Fire?
Apparently, Ilario was the Defiant's helmsman but he wore a yellow uniform instead of a red one.


DS9 Field of Fire

According to dialogue, he graduated from Starfleet Academy in 2372, but on an academy picture he and his class mates are wearing Starfleet uniforms first issued in 2374.


DS9 Field of Fire


Cadet uniforms

...Edward Janeway's uniform in VOY Coda?
It was established that Kathryn Janeway's father died in 2358 but his uniform didn't reflect that at all. It had rank pips that were introduced in 2366 and a communicator of the style first used in 2371.


VOY Coda

...Kathryn Janeway's uniform in Star Trek: Nemesis?
It was barely visible, but Janeway wore the rank insignia of a Vice Admiral. Since U.S.S. Voyager returned at the end of the year 2377, and Star Trek: Nemesis was set in the second half of 2379, Janeway would have been promoted three times within 22 months, which is just ridiculous.

Admiral Kathryn Janeway
Star Trek: Nemesis

...James T. Kirk's uniform in TOS The Enemy Within?
His uniform lacked the Enterprise insignia in some scenes.


TOS The Enemy Within

...James T. Kirk's uniform in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home?
After Kirk was demoted from Rear Admiral to Captain, the rank pins on his uniform were changed and the flag rank stripe was removed. The costume designer, however, forgot to remove the gold piping along the uniform flap.

Lt. Christine Chapel
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

...Geordi La Forge's uniform in TNG Yesterday's Enterprise?
At the end of that episode, La Forge was still wearing the Starfleet uniform from the alternate timeline.

Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
TNG Yesterday's Enterprise

...Geordi La Forge's uniform in TNG Man of the People?
In one scene of that episode, La Forge wore two hollow pips and one solid pip.


TNG Man of the People

...Noah Lessing's uniform in VOY Equinox? (not confirmed)
Lessing was referred to as "Crewman," altough he wore the rank insignia of an ensign.

Alien bridge officer
VOY Equinox, Part 1

...Levitt's uniform in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country?
During the briefing on the new Klingon situation at Starfleet Headquarters, the C-in-C referred to her as "Captain," yet she wore the uniform of an admiral.

This character had no last name in the movie or the script, but I've decided to call her "Levitt" because she was played by Walter Koenig's wife Judy Levitt.


Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

...the Lieutenant JG rank in Star Trek: The Motion Picture?
In a memo of August 3 1978 to costume designer Robert Fletcher, Jon Povill nailed down the rank scheme for Star Trek: The Motion Picture. It was basically the same one as used during TOS with one big difference: Ensigns had one broken sleeve stripe and the rank of Lieutenant JG was totally omitted. Unfortunately, this incomplete rank scheme was used in Star Trek: The Motion Picture. There's one scene where Uhura refers to an Alien officer with one broken sleeve stripe as "Ensign". One can only speculate why Povill omitted the rank of Lt. JG. It is probably due to the fact that Lieutenant JGs were rarely seen during TOS. He might have gotten the impression that the rank of Lt. JG didn't exist during TOS either.


Star Trek: The Motion Picture

...the Maquis uniforms on Star Trek: Voyager
All former Maquis crewmembers with the exception of Chakotay and B'Elanna Torres wore the rate insignia of a Chief Petty Officer, even those who were clearly referred to as "Crewman" or "Ensign". Some prime examples are displayed below.


Ensign Seska
VOY Emanations

Crewman Dalby
VOY Learning Curve

Ensign Lon Suder
VOY Meld

Crewman Hogan
VOY Investigations

Crewman Michael Jonas
VOY Investitagions

Ensign Tabor
VOY Nothing Human

...Leonard McCoy's uniform in TOS Obsession?
Instead of the science division chest insignia, he wore an engineering insignia.


TOS Obsession

...Leonard McCoy's and Spock's field jacket in Star Trek: The Motion Picture?
At the end of the movie, the two of them switched their jackets, thus having both wearing an incorrect division arm band.

Cmdr. Spock & Cmdr. Leonard McCoyCmdr. Spock & Cmdr. Leonard McCoy
Star Trek: The Motion Picture

...Marla McGivers' uniform in TOS Space Seed?
McGivers was referred to as "Lt. McGivers" throughout the episode but her uniform lacked the proper rank braid. Moreover, she should have worn a blue uniform instead of a red one, as she was a scientist (ship's historian).


TOS Space Seed

...Jose Mendez' uniform in TOS The Menagerie?
Commodore Mendez wore the dress uniform of a captain in that episode. His uniform lacked the gold piping that runs down the outer seam of both sleeves from the neck to the cuff.


Commodore Mendez
TOS The Menagerie

Comparison Commodore Stone
TOS Court Martial

...Ann Mulhall's uniform in TOS Return to Tomorrow?
Lt. Cmdr. Mulhall wore a red uniform, however she was a scientist (astrobiologist). Blue would have been the correct uniform colour.

Lt. Cmdr. Ann Mulhall
TOS Return to Tomorrow

...Alynna Nechayev's uniform in TNG Chain of Command?
Apparently, she forgot to wear a combadge on that day.


TNG Chain of Command

...Alynna Nechayev's uniform in TNG Journey's End?
Captain Picard referred to her as "Fleet Admiral Nechayev," although she only wore the rank insignia of a Vice Admiral (3 pips). It's possible that "Fleet Admiral" was meant to be the short form for "Starfleet Admiral," or that it didn't refer to her rank but to her position.

Vice Admiral Alynna Nechayev
TNG Journey's End

...Nog's uniform during DS9 season 6?
Nog received a field promotion to Ensign in DS9 Favor the Bold, yet throughout season 6 he wore the rank insignia of a Chief Petty Officer. The error was finally fixed in the DS9 episode "Valiant".


DS9 Sacrifice of Angels

DS9 The Magnificent Ferengi

DS9 Valiant

...Nog's uniform in DS9 Valiant?
He was field promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Commander but he only wore the rank insignia of a Lieutenant JG.


DS9 Valiant

...Miles O'Brien's uniform during TNG season 1-5?
O'Brien started out as Ensign (1 solid pip) in TNG Encounter at Farpoint (Season 1). He then appeared as full Lieutenant (2 solid pips) in TNG The Child (Season 2). He was even referred to as "Lieutenant" by Commander Riker on one occasion (TNG Where Silence Has Lease). In TNG Family (Season 4), Worf's father, Sergei Rozhenko, referred to him as "Chief Petty Officer," but O'Brien was still wearing two pips. It was not until TNG Realm of Fear (Season 6) that he got the correct rank pip for a Chief Petty Officer (1 hollow pip).

Chief Miles O'Brien
TNG All Good Things...
Chief Miles O'Brien
TNG Encounter at Farpoint
Chief Miles O'Brien
TNG The Child

TNG Where Silence Has Lease
Chief Miles O'Brien
TNG Family

TNG Realm of Fear

...Miles O'Brien's uniform in DS9 Crossfire?
O'Brien's didn't wear any rank insignia on his dress uniform during that episode.


DS9 Crossfire

...Miles O'Brien's uniform in DS9 Rules of Engagement?
O'Brien didn't wear his new rank insignia with the chevrons on his dress uniform, but his old insignia; one hollow pip.


DS9 Rules of Engagement

...O'Neil's uniform in TOS The Tholian Web?
In one scene, Lieutenant O'Neil is seen with the proper Lt. stripes on his uniform, but a couple of seconds later in a close-up scene he's wearing Lt. Cmdr. stripes. Stock-footage of Lt. Cmdr. Scott working at the transporter console was used for this scene, thus causing the error.


TOS The Tholian Web

...Owen Paris' rank pins in VOY Inside Man?
Owen Paris first appeared in VOY Persistence of Vision with the rank insignia of a Vice Admiral. Prior to VOY Pathfinder he was promoted to full Admiral, as he wore 4 boxed pips in this episode, but in VOY Inside Man he was back to 3 boxed pips. The error was corrected in VOY Endgame.


VOY Persistence of Vision

Admiral Owen Paris
VOY Pathfinder


VOY Inside Man


VOY Endgame

...Thomas Paris' rank pins during Voyager's first season?
In VOY Caretaker, Janeway promoted Paris to the rank of full Lieutenant. Later, when the people in charge changed Tuvok's rank pips from Lieutenant Commander to Lieutenant in VOY Cathexis, they also changed Tom's rank pips from Lieutenant to Lieutenant JG, probably because they wanted Tuvok to outrank him.


VOY Parallax


VOY Cathexis

...Thomas Paris' uniform in VOY Pathfinder?
In this episode, we can see that Admiral Paris has a picture of his son Tom, wearing a cadet uniform, on his desk. If the generally accepted assumption that Tom was born in 2342 is correct, he should have graduated from Starfleet Academy approximately in 2364, two years before his cadet uniform was issued.


VOY Pathfinder


Cadet uniforms

...Jean-Luc Picard's uniform in TNG Cost of Living?
In one scene, Picard wore only three rank pips instead of four.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard
TNG Cost of Living

...Jean-Luc Picard's uniform in Star Trek: Nemesis?
On his academy picture, Picard did not wear the uniform of a cadet but of a non-commissioned officer.


Star Trek: Nemesis
Uniform overview
Overview

...Piersall's uniform in DS9 Second Sight?
According to the script, Piersall was intended to be Lieutenant Commander but in the episode he only wore the rank insignia of a Lt. JG. The wardrobe department obviously forgot to add one golden pip.


DS9 Second Sight

...Ilia's uniform in Star Trek: The Motion Picture?
Ilia and an Alien ensign were wearing blue uniforms which, according to backstage material, denoted command officers. This seems odd because higher-ranking officers such as Lt. Cmdr. Uhura and Lt. Cmdr. Sulu were wearing beige uniforms and classified as bridge officers.


LT Ilia
Star Trek: The Motion Picture

nameless ENS
Star Trek: The Motion Picture

...Janice Rand's uniform in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock?
Rand wore an officer's uniform with the rank insignia of a Commander in that movie. This is inconsistent with her being a CPO before and after Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. One can either accept this as an error or pretend that the character in Spacedock wasn't Rand. After all, Grace Lee Whitney was only credited as "woman in cafeteria".

Chief Janice Rand
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Janice Rand
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Chief Janice Rand
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

...Janice Rand's uniform in VOY Flashback?
She was a Lieutenant JG in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, but in VOY Flashback she wore the rank insignia of a Lieutenant Commander. Furthermore, everyone referred to her as "Commander". Fortunately, we just saw the obviously incorrect memories of a brain-sick Vulcan.

Lt. JG Janice Rand
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Lt. JG Janice Rand
VOY Flashback

Nancy Randolph's uniform in TAS Eye of the Beholder?
Randolph was the navigator of U.S.S. Ariel, but wore a red uniform instead of the proper gold.


TAS Eye of the Beholder

...William Riker's uniform in VOY Death Wish?
Riker wore the Starfleet insignia with the round background in this episode. The problem is that Riker seemed to be familiar with Voyager's disappearance, but his Starfleet insignia was phased out before Voyager's transfer to the Delta Quadrant. Thus, he either shouldn't have known about it or worn the insignia with the rectangular background.


VOY Death Wish

...Ross's uniform in Star Trek: The Motion Picture?
According to the script and the end credits, Ross was intended to be a Chief Petty Officer but in the movie she only wore the shoulder tabs of a crewman.


Star Trek: The Motion Picture

...Saavik's uniform in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock?
Saavik was shown as the Chief Science Officer of the U.S.S. Grissom. Hence, her white sleeve band with the imposed grey slash. Unfortunately, the costume department forgot to add the grey slash on her shoulder strap.

Lt. JG SaavikLt. JG Saavik
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

...Montgomery Scott's uniform in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home?
Scotty was promoted to the rank of Captain during Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, yet during the trial in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home he was wearing the rank insignia of a Commander. This error was probably due to the fact that his uniform jacket wasn't used following the scene where Morrow told him of his promotion in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock.


Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

...Shanthi's uniform in TNG Redemption, Part 2?
Captain Picard referred to her as "Fleet Admiral Shanthi," although she only wore the rank insignia of a Vice Admiral (3 pips). It's possible that "Fleet Admiral" was meant to be the short form for "Starfleet Admiral," or that it didn't refer to her rank but to her position.

Vice Admiral Shanthi
TNG Redemption, Part 2

...Benjamin Sisko's uniform in DS9 Emissary?
In the flashback scenes of Jake's Birth (2355), Sisko didn't wear the contemporary uniform, but a uniform design introduced in 2366.


DS9 Emissary

...Benjamin Sisko's uniform in DS9 Rules of Engagement?
In one scene, Sisko wore only three rank pips instead of four.


DS9 Rules of Engagement

...Benjamin Sisko's uniform in DS9 Rapture?
His commbadge was in the wrong place and his uniform lacked division sleeve stripes. These errors were fixed during the next episode "The Darkness and the Light".

DS9 Rapture DS9 The Darkness and the Light

...Spock's uniform during Star Trek's first season?
Spock wore the rank braid of a full Commander, although he was referred to as "Lieutenant Commander" in the episodes "Court Martial", "The Menagerie", and "Tomorrow Is Yesterday".


TOS Court Martial

TOS The Menagerie

TOS Tomorrow Is Yesterday

...Hikaru Sulu's uniform in TOS The Enemy Within? (not confirmed)
His uniform lacked rank stripes in some scenes.

Vice Admiral Edward Janeway
TOS The Enemy Within

...B'Elanna Torres' uniform during Voyager's first season?
In VOY Caretaker, Torres was given the provisional rate of "Crewman" (well, she was actually wearing the rate insignia of a Chief Petty Officer but that's a different story). In VOY Parallax she was promoted from Crewman to full Lieutenant and named Chief Engineer of U.S.S. Voyager. Later, when the people in charge changed Tuvok's rank pips from Lieutenant Commander to Lieutenant in VOY Cathexis, they also changed B'Elanna's rank pips from Lieutenant to Lieutenant JG, probably because they wanted Tuvok to outrank her.


Crewman B'Elanna Torres
VOY Parallax

Lieutenant B'Elanna Torres
VOY Eye of the Needle

Lieutenant JG B'Elanna Torres
VOY Cathexis

...Tuvok's uniform during Voyager's first season?
Tuvok wore the rank pips of a Lieutenant Commander, but everyone referred to him as "Lieutenant Tuvok". Furthermore, he was listed as "Lt. Tuvok" in the credits. Finally, the people in charge realised their mistake and Tuvok got the correct number of rank pips in VOY Cathexis.


VOY Parallax

VOY Cathexis

...Uhura's uniform in TOS The Corbomite Maneuver?
In the first episodes of TOS, Uhura wor a golden uniform instead of a red one. Additionally, she wore a Science divison insignia instead of a Command division patch.


TOS The Corbomite Maneuver

...the uniforms of the officers in the Starbase 11 recreation facility in TOS Court Martial?
In this episode, several officers who were not assigned to U.S.S. Enterprise nevertheless wore what is generally accepted as Enterprise's unique insignia.


TOS Court Martial

...the uniforms of the Ariel crew in TAS The Eye of the Beholder?
Tom Markel and Randi Bryce wore the insignia of the Enterprise, even though they served aboard another ship, the Ariel.


TAS The Eye of the Beholder

...the uniform of the Columbia helmsman in ENT Affliction? (not confirmed)
Captain Hernandez referred to her helmsman as "Lieutenant", but his uniform showed the rank insignia of an ensign.


ENT Affliction

...the uniforms of the Enterprise-A kitchen staff in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country?
The kitchen staff should've worn the sky blue colour of the Special Services Division. However, they wore Engineering and Science Division colours.


star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

...the uniform of the Enterprise-A transporter chief in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country?
Instead of wearing yellow ochre shoulder tabs and sleeve stripe, the transporter chief wore a green Medical division uniform.


Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

...the uniform of the Excelsior navigator in VOY Flashback?
The navigator in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country was a Commander and wearing an appropriate grey Science division uniform. In VOY Flashback, however, he was suddenly a Lieutenant JG and wearing a white Command division uniform.


Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

VOY Flashback

...Valeris's uniform in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country?
1.) Rank insignia: Everyone in the movie referred to her as "Lieutenant Valeris," but her uniform showed the rank insignia of a Lieutenant Commander.
2.) Shoulder strap colour: Her shoulder strap was grey, although she was the helmsman of the Enterprise-A. The correct shoulder strap colour would have been yellow ochre.
3.) Shirt colour: Spock stated that Valeris has already graduated from Starfleet Academy. Thus, her turtleneck shirt shouldn't have been red, because that's the colour for cadets and trainees. Moreover, the shirt colour has to be of the same colour as the shoulder strap. The correct shirt colour would have been yellow ochre.
4.) Pants stripe: Her pants stripe was red, although a red stripe is only worn by command officers. The correct pants stripe colour would have been yellow ochre.

Lt. ValerisLt. Valeris
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

...Dmitri Valtane's uniform in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country?
Valtane was a science officer aboard the Excelsior but the lining of his uniform jacket was white instead of beige. White is reserved for command division officers, while beige lining is used for all other divisions.


Lt. Cmdr. Dmitri Valtane (Science Division)
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Capt. James T. Kirk (Command Division)
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Cmdr. Leonard McCoy (Medical Division)
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

...West's uniform in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country?
Colonel West wore a uniform with the rank insignia of a Vice Admiral in that movie. They hadn't had enough budget for new Starfleet uniforms, so everything was off the rack. That's how this mistake could happen.

Colonel West
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

 

 

Last updated: Jänner 09, 2007
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