Neil Faulkner wrote:
Tarrant 25
Was lieutenant on the previous kairopan harvest, which would have been 15 Earth years prior to the episode, as stated by Zen. Although this was his first command, he would not likely be any younger than 18, which would make him 32/33 on first appearance. Steven Pacey was somewhat younger than this, as he has mentioned in interviews.
I know my husband, desperate to make the "first command was 15 years ago" statement fit with the fact that darnit, he just can't be 32--he doesn't look it or particularly act it, has considered writing a "Star Wars I" scenario somehow in which a 6-year-old Del Tarrant manages to blunder into/win an honorary lieutenantship in an emergency situation.
I personally have a hell of a time accepting that first-season Vila is younger than I am, even if Keating was at the time. But that's just a personal quirk of mine--even as I get older, I have a hard time accepting that leading characters can be younger than I am.
And I agree Dayna comes across as younger than 21 or so, but an extremely sheltered life will do that. {Jen contemplates many of her early-20s female students in Japan as cases in point}. I was always a bit disappointed they didn't play up that "unworldly" aspect of Dayna more in the show--she should have had a hell of a time with group dynamics and social mores. I know, I know, they all did, so she didn't stand out much. :)
Jen McGee