I invite you to read this previous content report.

"Caretaker" was originally broadcasted as one single episode. It has only been split in 2 parts later.

Based on your feedback, i am reforming my orginal issue.

The Movie Database (TMDB) appears to be combining episodes or mislabeling them, which causes a discrepancy in episode numbering compared to the official source, Paramount. This error leads to an incorrect sequential ordering in TMDB's database.

For example, the show "Star Trek: Voyager" begins with a two-part episode titled "Caretaker." Paramount, as the content owner, officially considers this a single two-part episode, labeled as Season 1, Episode 1 (S01E01). The next episode is "Parallax," which Paramount labels as Season 1, Episode 3 (S01E03), acknowledging "Caretaker" as two episodes but combining their numbering into one entry.

TMDB, on the other hand, might be starting the numbering from the second part of "Caretaker," thereby labeling "Parallax" as Episode 2 instead of Episode 3. This creates a continuous off-by-one error in the episode numbering throughout the season.

I suggest TMDB update the season 1 entry to match Paramount as the source of record, as this is the scheme universally followed for this season except here.

S01E01 - Caretaker
S01E03 Parallax
S01E04 - Time and Again
S01E05 - Phage
S01E06 - The Cloud
S01E07 - Eye of the needle
S01E08 - Ex post Facto
S01E09 - Emanations
S01E10 - Prime Factors
S01E11 - State of Flux
S01E12 - Heroes and Demons
S01E13 - Cathexis
S01E14 - Faces
S01E15 - Jetrel
S01E16 - Learning Curve

Source: https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/star_trek_voyager/

Based on the guidelines (https://www.themoviedb.org/bible/tv/59f743289251416e71000037?language=en-US) "When different, the data on the official website usually trumps press releases and TV listing info.". So even if the original TV listing started Parallax as E2, the official website sets its as E3

Paramount+ is the current broadcaster, not the original broadcaster. Its website isn't a reference.

If you have an archive of the UPN 1995 website page, it will trump press information.

There is little proof to support TMDB's stance that E2 was Parallax at the time, multiple sources indicate that the Epsisode is E3 including startrek.com

Can you cite a source to support TMDB's ordering of Episodes? TV Guides at the time also did not state episode, just what was airing on each date. So, the lack of information should revert back to official sources, which would be Paramount+. While it is the "current broadcaster," UPN was acquired by Viacom and later, through various mergers and naming changes, became CBS and then Paramount. That makes Paramount the de facto official source of information. The show never changes networks, unlike other series like Futuruma, so there is no known history of episode reordering or renumbering.

Subseqently you can see that even a later released VHS in 2000, Shows Parallax as E3 (hence moving all episodes by +1 starting at E3. https://angry-grandpas-media-library.fandom.com/wiki/Star_Trek:_Voyager:_Parallax_(2000_VHS).

The problem here is that TMDB is the only source of the misinformation, and you are asking others to justify that your information is superior to other known official and unofficial sources.

Even your Wikipedia link above indicate "Originally shown as a two-hour pilot movie on the UPN network, but in syndication is shown as two separate episodes." Consequently, there are nothing to change here as we follow the original UPN broadcast.

Each site has its own set of rules. Here, we always follow the original broadcast. The TVDB rules, for example, are different.

That's correct, but the issue is that you start the ordering of subsequent episodes as 02 and not 03. The problem is not that Caretaker is E01 and E02, the problem is the next episode after Caretaker (Parallax) is marked as E02 and not E03, therefor creating an artificial delta in the episode ordering, as you are one off. This makes the entire Season 1 data of TMDB useless when it is a mismatch to releases.

The earliest I can find Episode numbers assigned to Voyager is in the VHS release: https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/VOY_Season_1_US_VHS, which was in 2000.

As long that there are no proof that UPN has numbered this episode as 3 at the time of the original broadcast, our listing is correct.

Later broadcast or physical releases are free to use the numbering deriving from the syndication split, but that have no impact on our site.

So, as long as people are fine with arbitrage season data, or need data specific based on original air dates, then TMDB feed is fine. Need something more standardized then use TVDB.

In cases like this, it would be better if TMDB provided no Episode ID for TV shows like Voyager because, at the time of the original broadcast, Episode IDs were irrelevant and not used. The only thing relevant is the broadcast date, and frankly, episode numbering data should be null/empty if such an element didn't exist at original broadcast, like in this case. In modern programming this is fine because it is actually part of the broadcast data and studios release the expected numbering at broadcast. TMDB is assigning a made up value that lacks correlation for the time period.