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Talk:Miles O'Brien

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[edit] Votes for FA (2004)

[edit] Job description

i've made some slight alterations in the wording of O'Brien's job description, since it really is pedantic to state he underwent complete job transfers every time he was seen manning a different post. More likely, he was assigned duty where he was needed. -- Captain Mike K. Bartel 02:26, 30 Jul 2004 (CEST)

Perhaps he was a Jack of All Trades. -- Redge 12:58, 30 Jul 2004 (CEST)

[edit] Rank topic 1

Does anyone have any theories why O'Brien was promoted from Ensign to Lieutenant, and then seemingly becoming uncommissioned before he was transferred to DS9 as a CPO? This has been bugging me for some time now, and no-one has given me a plausible theory yet! zsingaya 08:14, 20 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Don't know about starfleet, but in the US Navy there is a program that senior non-commissioned officers can elect to go through when selected that elevates them to the rank of lieutenant for 2 years, then they get the choice to head off to OCS (Officer Candidate School) and retain the commission, or revert back to a non-com if they prefer that. – The preceding unsigned comment was added by 206.174.65.233 (talk).

Wow, I did not know about that! That would partly explain O'Brien's rank change, apart from the fact that he started on the Enterprise as an Ensign on the bridge, and that he was a commissioned officer for all the time he was on the Enterprise, right up until he was transferred to Deep Space 9. zsingaya 21:31, 6 Jun 2005 (UTC)

In "The Way of the Warrior", O'Brien wore a black pip, but by "Rejoined" his rank had changed to his more unusual rank pin. zsingaya 15:03, 15 Jun 2005 (UTC)

More likely? arbitrary creator decision. Not sure what the reason would be, or why they would decide that O'Brien would be better on DS9 as a non-com than a lieutenant (to my knowledge, his being an NCO has never been used as a basis for any plot point in either series. Perhaps the creators simply wanted to add another level of depth to the rank system. – The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.197.211.113 (talk).
Actually, O'Brien was a Chief Petty Officer by TNG: "Family", where Sergey Rozhenko noted how nice it was to see another Petty Officer, and remarked to O'Brien how odd it was for an Enlisted to have an Officer son. --71.231.206.19 18:32, 25 July 2006 (UTC)
My guess would be that someone was to stupid to know the difference between 'chief': as in chief engineer, or chief of operations (a flag rank, actually) and 'chief' as in Chief petty officer. That stupid someone then wanted a joke about noncoms and work (don't call me sir, I work for a living...) and we've been stuck with an inconsistent rank ever since. – The preceding unsigned comment was added by 83.219.220.26 (talk).
You just responded to a two year old dead conversation. --OuroborosCobra talk 16:25, 21 January 2009 (UTC)

[edit] First Name

For a good portion of TNG, O'Brien was never given a first name. Does anyone know in which episode he is given "Miles"? And if so, is it relevant for this article? Vash The Stampede 22:37, 18 January 2006 (UTC)

Not 100% sure, but I'm pretty sure he was named in full in Data's Day, for his wedding. – The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.197.211.113 (talk).
To correct my own previous statement, it appears that "Family" was the episode that reveals his full name. – The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.197.211.113 (talk).

[edit] Miles and Julian

I know this was one of my favorite parts of all of my ST watching: the relationship between Julian and Miles growing and flourishing. I think a bit more in this article should be added to encompass and elaborate on the process, it was perhaps the best and most believable of the friendships that I have seen in ST. Perhaps a subsection of friendships dedicated to this topic? (Note: sorry for initial talk, trying to get a grasp on this whole thing!) --XxDkCobraxX 19:08, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Tactical Officer

Something that bugs me is the use of the title "Tactical Officer" in reference to an enlisted crewman. To be a tactical officer, doesn't one need to be... an officer? Unless it's directly quoted in the canon (in which case I am an utter fool) perhaps it should be changed to something a tad bit more realistic, such as "Security Director", "Tactical Director", "Captain of Security" or such. --The Rev 17:08, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

To my knowledge he was called that, if you notice he was also some sort of assistant chief engineer (begin of Season 4) and relief tactical officer (during redemption). All those were before it was decided to go for the "Chief Petty Officer" variant rather the "Chief Warrant Officer" explanation used in Encyclopedia before. Even though he was addressed as Lieutenant and also dressed like one in seasons 2 and 3 -- Kobi 18:33, 24 April 2006 (UTC)
Actually, In TNG: The Wounded, Captain Maxwell does refer to O'brian as his "Tactical officer" – 7th Tactical 05:58, 2 March 2007 (UTC)
While serving aboard the USS Rutledge, likely under different circumstances. --Alan 19:34, 5 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Last TNG episode

Does anybody know what O'Brien's last episode of TNG was prior to the beginning of DS9? --From Andoria with Love 20:30, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Nevermind, I think I found it: it was "Rascals". Please let me know if I'm wrong, though. --From Andoria with Love 20:33, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

It is "Rascals". The episode also saw Rosalind Chao's last appearance on TNG and the first and last appearance as Hana Hatae as Molly O'Brien. Its kind of that episodes fault for the Molly O'Brien age confusion. Why would a four year old kid play a one year old toddler? -- Tough Little Ship 20:36, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Forum:Why does Miles O'Brien have a different style rank insignia in DS9? (aka Rank topic 2)

Can anyone explain why Miles O'Brien has a different style of rank insignia in DS9 instead of the usual starfleet pips? I'm almost certain that when serving as the transporter officer aboard the Enterprise-D he had the tradtional pips to denote his ranking, however in DS9 his ranking insignia seems to be unlike anyone else's. Why is this? – The preceding unsigned comment was added by Ithilriel (talk • contribs) .

I'm sure this is explained elsewhere, but his DS9 insignia reperesent that he is an enlisted man. Why they did not have that in TNG? Oh well, ignore that they didn't. --OuroborosCobra talk 21:06, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
When Colm Meanly first appeared on TNG he was meant to be a one-time side character, without a name or substance. He was given random uniforms and ranks, which in the first few seasons of TNG ranged from ensign to lt. sr grade, in both yellow and red uniforms. It was only later, as his character became more developed that it was established he would be an enlisted officer. His unique DS9 pip is most likely to denote that although he is enlisted, he is a senior officer. -- Jaz talk 04:59, 24 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Birth and Enlistment dates...

Where does O'Brien's birthdate of 2328 come from? I gather that his enlistment date of 2346 is based on him being only recently assigned to the Rutledge in 2347. Did we go back 18 years from that and come up with 2328, or is that date established somewhere?

About the 2347 date, though... In Rules of Engagement (which takes place in 2372), Ch'Pok asks O'Brien, "How long have you been in Starfleet?" O'Brien responds "Twenty-two years." 2372 - 22 years = 2350, so the 2347 date can't be accurate, which makes all of O'Brien's pre-TNG dates off.

Thoughts on this? --TimPendragon 05:29, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

I've just been told over on [this thread] at TrekBBS that the script for "Whispers" lists O'Brien's birthdate as 2331, which tracks better with the 2350 date from "RoE" (based on joining Starfleet at 18, per "Shadowplay"). I cannot find a single reference that supports 2328, except as extrapolated from O'Brien's comments in "Realm of Fear" and "Paradise," which are not hard-and-fast dates. --TimPendragon 22:42, 23 September 2006 (UTC)

I just checked the script (found here, and I can find no such reference. The 2328 reference is also not from any episode; it actually comes from conjecture by the authors of the Star Trek Encyclopedia based on the assumption that he was 18 around the time of the Setlik III massacre. So, neither dates have any strong hold in canon, as far as I can tell. --From Andoria with Love 02:49, 24 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] O'Brien Must Suffer

The existence of a tradition of yearly "O'Brien must suffer" episodes explains a lot for me. I've often wondered "Why are there so many episodes where bad stuff happens to O'Brien? He should have gone totally nuts after all the bad stuff that happened to him." Is there any definitive list of which episodes are "O'Brien must suffer" episodes? I have guesses, but it would be cool to see one. – The preceding unsigned comment was added by 71.206.199.131 (talk).

In order by episode:- Whispers, Tribunal, Visionary, Hard Time, The Assignment, Honor Among Thieves, Time's Orphan. There may be more, but these stick out glaringly. - Jacques --97.126.215.177 17:22, 13 April 2009 (UTC)

[edit] Knowledge of transporters vs. shields

In 2367, Miles was forced to confront his former commanding officer, when Captain Maxwell went rogue, launching attacks on Cardassian outposts and ships inspite of a peace treaty between the Federation and Cardassia. It was O'Brien's knowledge of transporter systems that allowed him to beam aboard Maxwell's ship, the Phoenix, while her shields were up, giving him a chance to reason with Maxwell, ultimately preventing further bloodshed. (TNG: "The Wounded")

Wasn't it more O'Brien's knowledge of the cyclic nature of the Phoenix shields than knowledge of the transporter systems? It's been a while, since I've seen the episode though.--lifeisharsh20

[edit] Smiley

I had added a mention of Smiley to the "Alternate realities" section, and it got reverted, with the justification apparantly being that Smiley's already mentioned at the top of the article. That may be, but the character still is an alternate reality version of O'Brien, and as far as I'm aware, there's no rule against a portion of the main article elaborating on something mentioned at the top. I don't want to start a ping-pong game, so I'll leave it for now, I just wanted to state my case here and see if there's some sort of consensus, but it seems to me that if there's an alternate realities section at all, there's no good reason to omit Smiley. - Ugliness Man 15:58, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

It is mentioned at the top, with a link to his article, and more information. Part of the point of wikis is to not have to re-explain terms and such on a dozen pages. People simply follow the link, and see the one page on it. --OuroborosCobra talk 19:21, 3 February 2007 (UTC)
I think a very, very brief mention of Smiley, might be okay in the alternate realities section, but as he has his own page, it's not necessary. That section is for covering alternate O'Briens who otherwise would not be covered (alternate, non-mirror versions do not generally get their own page, since Worf messed that up). I understand what you're saying though (imo, the mirror universe is more parallel than alternate, but that's another discussion).--Tim Thomason 20:08, 3 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Trill?

A recent addition was made:

"O'Brien was literate in the Trill language."

Granted, it has been a long time since I saw this episode, but what is the basis for this claim? Is it that he talked to Trill? --OuroborosCobra talk 15:27, 7 March 2007 (UTC)

He reads the text on a monitor in the Tigan family household which is written in the Trill language. --Jörg 15:30, 7 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Coffee

An earlier reference to his preference of coffee is "Rascals". -- A passing visitor

[edit] TNG Pilot

Am I completely crazy, or did they call him by a completely different last name starting with O'somethingotherthanBrien in the pilot? It's been a while since I've seen "Encounter at Farpoint". --172.147.60.167 00:49, 22 April 2007 (UTC)

Yes, you are completely crazy..
In the TNG pilot they only referred to him by the name of the position he occupied in that scene: "Conn" was specified in the TNG technical manual as being short for "flight controller", it was a term used sporadically during the TNG series.
O'Brien wasn't named until an episode in TNG Season 2. -- Captain MKB 00:52, 22 April 2007 (UTC)
He's named as "Bridge Conn Officer" or something like that in the credits. – – Tranchera 11:56, 27 May 2007 (UTC)
Unless you are referring to Ortiz. --Alan 00:45, 20 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Involvement in TNG

I always found it odd that Miles was specifically called the Chief in all the TNG episodes, when he was just like any other recurring extra on the series at the time. It's a bit funny, seeing as though he really only had an episode about him (two in a row, in fact) in Season 4. Why would they wait so long to give him the limelight if they had already decided to make him a "special extra", and indeed why would they make him a character at all? – – Tranchera 12:01, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

Colm Meaney, who played O'Brien, was never an "extra" on TNG. An extra is an actor who has a non-speaking role, often in the background and generally for a few seconds, and are usually uncredited. Meaney began as a co-star (co-stars generally play smaller characters than guest stars and play a less significant role in the story, but they are not extras) and worked his way up to recurring performer and, ultimately, a regular on DS9. They really didn't wait too long to make him a recurring player; he was such by TNG Season 2, although he was still only a co-star. As his popularity and the production staff's affection for the character/actor grew, he was given more screentime and more storylines. --From Andoria with Love 19:29, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Rank Thumbnail Pictures

Any idea what happened to the rank pictures? They are now showing up as thes ehuge pics taking up a third of the page (at least on my browser). Before they were of a managable size. Thoughts? -FleetCaptain 10:14, 15 February 2008 (EST)

I agree that the images look silly as they are now. I'd suggest using close-ups of the insignia in situ but without the ridiculous enlargement. We don't yet have pixelated image enhancement. – Pesky 13:22, 16 February 2008 (UTC)
Somebody converted the "table" code to "gallery" code -- the "gallery" feature automatically resizes the images, thus the enlargement. We should change it back to the table that would have been showing rank images before. -- Captain MKB 16:59, 16 February 2008 (UTC)
While changing to table might fix it, looking at the history shows nothing has changed about the code used to display the images since it was first added.– Cleanse talk 01:36, 19 February 2008 (UTC)
I just hemmed them into the chronology, gives visual reference alongside text reference. It looks like crap on IE (which is all I have access to at the moment), but I suspect it looks better on Mozilla. --Alan 15:49, 12 March 2008 (UTC)
I've made it into a table, with numerical references in the text. I think this is neater, and deals more effectively with the differing sizes of the images. It's a kludge, but a better kludge. -- Michael Warren | Talk 16:04, 12 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Problematic Rank History

Could anyone please explain to me why the corrections I made were undone? To sum them up: I removed the "Data's Day" reference because O'Brien's dress uniform clearly showed 2 pips. "Realm of Fear" was the first episode which showed him with the hollow pip. I added a reference to "Shadow Play" in which O'Brien refered to himself as Senior Chief Specialist. I corrected the "Hippocratic Oath" reference. The Jem'Hadar refered to O'Brien as "Chief Petty Officer". --212.166.99.114 08:32, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

The Data Day's reference shouldn't have been simply cut out, you should have modified it; however, if memory serves at the very end of the episode he had a single hollow pip on his dress uniform (whereas his regular uniform had two pips). Also, I think the solider in Hip Oath actually says "Senior Chief Petty Officer" or at least uses the word "Senior." In addition, when anon ips cut out parts of text, it is normally assumed that was done for not-so-legit reasons. Also, I think there were some bad links and grammer problems created from your edits and at the time it was assumed that whatever you did messed up the sizes of the pictures. That problem was not attributed to you after all (see above) so you got the blame for that and apologies are in order. However, I would recommend you establish an account and go from there. Like I said, its just a fact on this site that when ip addresses start making large edits which involve cutting text and breaking links, its assumed that they are not good edits. Sad but true. -FC 18:11, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

Nope, in "Data's Day" it was two solid pips. You might be thinking of "Rules of Engagement" where he wore the hollow pip on his dress uniform instead of the chevron-patch. Also, I checked "Hippocratic Oath" and it's definately just "Chief Petty Officer". --62.178.60.233 18:55, 18 February 2008 (UTC)

Yes, indeed. Data's Day should be changed. Not sure about Hip Oath, but it can be modified if you checked the exact dialouge. -FC 18:03, 19 February 2008 (UTC)

if i could interject... my father was in the us army for over 36 years as a nco... he left as a master sgt. he was headed up quite a few projects where he was not the senior rank and was called sir by officers due to his position and experience. think of it as a respect thing. 70.44.41.218 00:00, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

I don't have the Hipp Oath episode, but the script available online [1] and a .sub transcript for the ep [2] both say its CPO not SCPO and if 62.178.60.233 checked the actual ep, I think its pretty solid :) --Pseudohuman 01:08, 12 May 2008 (UTC)
Finally got around to check the reference myself and it was CPO. Modified the article to reflect this. I wonder if we should go with the way of Chakotay here, as there are two statements of O'Briens rank being CPO, and no direct references anywhere of a SCPO rank even used in Starfleet. --Pseudohuman 02:05, 12 July 2008 (UTC)
For the record, you flat out don't call Chiefs "sir" in the US Navy unless you want your ass kicked.
You also don't call female officers "sir" unless you want your nuts deservedly kicked in, but they do that in Star Trek. --OuroborosCobra talk 04:32, 4 March 2009 (UTC)
If I may... The "Two Solid Rank Pips" O'Brien wears in TNG season four are not the same pips everyone else uses. They are more teardrop shaped than circles, indicating they are something different. As the producers didn't have the cool rank pin used in DS9 yet, that was their way of indicating his rank. I hope this helps clear up some things. – The preceding unsigned comment was added by Prince Inari (talk • contribs) .
Actually, they are exactly the same since OB's uniform was out of the same wardrobe stock as the rest of the TNG cast. He was actually a Lieutenant at one point, at least in the dialouge, before his rank as an NCO firmed up. It would also be highly unlikely that the underbudgeted production crew of the early 1990s (now almost twenty years ago...my God) would have spent the time and money to design a special insignia like that. While your theory is interesting, I don't think its verifiable which is what would be needed to add such information to the article. -FC 16:57, 28 August 2009 (UTC)
I suppose it is possible that I want to see a difference so bad, that I started seeing one. Im a Marine, so Rank is something I pay attention to. Sorry for the seemingly false information folks.

[edit] PNA Incomplete

I put a PNA incomplete in the "Friends" section, as there's a heck of a lot more that can be said. At least the people listed should have a small section, and likely a few others.– Cleanse 02:41, 19 April 2008 (UTC)

I did my best to start correcting this problem. I removed the blank listing for Jake Sisko (it just had his name in there, and no info). And I added a few paragraphs describing O'Brien's relationship with Ben Sisko, and Kira Nerys. Of course my info is limited to my familiarity with early-era DS9, as I've not managed to see as many of the later episodes, in the Dominon War era as I'd like to. So... anyone, please feel free to expand on what I put in.. it's just a starter to clean up the incomplete look of this part of Miles' bio. I'm sure there is someone here who knows enough about Miles' friendships with, Ben, Kira, etc., during the later years of the show to fill this in and really make it look good ! --Jadza 17:43, 8 June 2008 (UTC)

Great work! As I indicated in my first post though, the empty headings were there as hints that we needed sections on those people - there was a clear relationship with Jake in the early seasons, and that should be noted on the page someday. :-)– Cleanse 09:19, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Relationship problems with Keiko

Would it be possible for this article to go into greater detail addressing the relationship Miles has with Keiko? His duty record is very well detailed, but this article doesn't really describe much about the relationship they share. I think it's pretty critical at some points how strong their love is, where at other points in the series it falters. The first being 'Rascals' where he gives Keiko this huge cold shoulder, and later when he starts getting too close with the Major. It seems like this relationship has had some strong ups and down. Tyciol 13:15, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

Feel free, that's what it's there for.--31dot 13:21, 4 June 2008 (UTC)
Indeed. :-) All of the relationships (except Worf, which is a blow by blow account) could use some expansion. Other references that could assist (off the top of my head) - a few of the episodes I cited under Julian Bashir (ie. whether he loves his wife or his friend more), and the entire subplot of DS9: "The House of Quark". The Kira thing is already noted in the article under "Family" but feel free to expand that bit.– Cleanse 13:23, 4 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Trivia

"O'Brien is one of two characters to appear in two series premieres (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint" and DS9: "Emissary"), the other being Jean-Luc Picard."
Er, is this just counting those two pilots? Because there's also Quark and Morn, who were in 2 as well-DS9: "Emissary" and VOY: "Caretaker".
And..."O'Brien is the only character to appear in two series finales".
Riker and Troi were in two as well: TNG: "All Good Things..." and ENT: "These Are the Voyages..." Or did I misinterpret this trivia and it only means those episodes?--Golden Monkey 19:02, 15 August 2009 (UTC)

This is why I need to stop updating half asleep, didn't even think of VOY or ENT, though I think the original note is a bit older than that. - Archduk3:talk 20:05, 15 August 2009 (UTC)
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