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| William T. Riker | |
|---|---|
| Star Trek: The Next Generation character | |
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| First appearance | "Encounter at Farpoint" (1987) (The Next Generation) |
| Created by | Gene Roddenberry D. C. Fontana |
| Portrayed by | Jonathan Frakes |
| In-universe information | |
| Species | Human |
| Affiliation | |
| Fighting style | Anbo-jitsu |
| Family | Kyle Riker (father) Betty Riker (mother)[1] |
| Spouse | Deanna Troi |
| Children | Thaddeus Troi-Riker (dead) Kestra Troi-Riker |
| Origin | Alaska, United States, Earth |
| Posting |
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| Position |
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| Rank | |
William Thomas "Will"Riker is a fictional character in theStar Trekuniverse appearing primarily as a main character inStar Trek: The Next Generation, portrayed byJonathan Frakes. Throughout the series and its accompanyingfilms, he is theEnterprise'sfirst officer, and briefly captain, until he accepts command of the USSTitan at the end ofStar Trek: Nemesis. He is the husband ofDeanna Troi.
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Frakes went to seven auditions over six weeks before being cast as Riker. Frakes stated:
I started with the cattle call, then the casting director, the producer, then other directors, toGene Roddenberry, and then through the Paramount execs, including the vice-president himself and the heads of television.[2]
Frakes was not the first choice for the part of Riker, Patrick Stewart was the number one choice when casting began.[3] Michael O'Gorman,Ben Murphy, andGregg Marx were also considered for the role.[4]
Riker is usually referred to as "Will". He is also usually (and informally) called "Number One" byCaptain Picard, because of his position as first officer on theEnterprise.
Riker was originally scripted as a much more serious, by-the-book officer, but by the middle episodes of the first season, it was felt that he was too "official", and his character was toned down and became more of a ladies' man. For the first two seasons, Riker is portrayed as a bold, confident and sometimes arrogant, ambitious young officer; however, over time he becomes more reserved, as experience teaches him the wisdom of a patient, careful approach. He becomes comfortable on theEnterprise, repeatedly turning down offers of his own command, and he learns to cherish his fellow officers' company. Nonetheless, he retains a willingness to occasionally disregard thechain of command.
Although Riker was clean-shaven for the first season, he grew a beard at the start of the second season that later became something of a trademark. Between sessions, Frakes grew a beard for his role in theCivil War miniseriesNorth and South, and Gene Roddenberry asked him to keep it because he thought it made Riker look more nautical.[5] Because Frakes' beard coincided with what fans and critics perceived as an improvement of the show's writing quality, "growing the beard" has become an internet colloquialism for a once subpar television series achieving a dramatic level of improvement.[6][7] Riker did shave his mustache and beard during the events ofStar Trek Insurrection, to the amusement ofData.
Riker's background is first explored in the second-season episode "The Icarus Factor". In the episode, Riker's estranged father, Kyle, visits theEnterprise to offer his son the command of the USSAries, which Riker refuses. We learn that Riker grew up inAlaska;[1] that his mother, Elizabeth (Betty), died when he was two; and that he was raised by his father until age 15, when he left home. In the episode, Riker had not spoken with his father for 15 years, but they manage to partially mend their relationship over a game of martial-artssparring called Anbo-jitsu. In the episode "Lower Decks", a waiter at Ten Forward mistakenly states that Riker is Canadian, and in the same episode Riker clarifies that he grew up in Alaska. According to theVoyager episode "Death Wish" (in which Riker made a guest appearance), Riker's distant ancestors also lived in the United States: During theAmerican Civil War, his ancestor Colonel Thaddeus Riker fought on the Union side as an officer in the102nd New York Infantry Regiment during theAtlanta Campaign.
In the two-part episode "The Best of Both Worlds" Riker takes command of theEnterprise, promoted to the rank of captain through afield promotion, and orchestrates Picard's rescue. This episode also explores the idea of Riker being unwilling to take chances since he had grown comfortable in his role as First Officer aboard theEnterprise. By the end of the episode, when he orders theEnterprise to fire on former Captain Picard, now Locutus of Borg, Riker has grown into a more confident leader. The sixth-season episode "Second Chances" reveals that Will Riker was duplicated long ago by atransporter malfunction. The "second" Riker takes the name "Thomas", which is revealed to be William Riker's middle name. In the seventh-season episode "ThePegasus", Riker must confront his former commanding officer, Admiral Erik Pressman, over a cover-up related to the destruction of the USSPegasus. ThePegasus had illegally developed a radically different type of cloaking device that also allowed it to phase through matter, resulting in it becoming fused within an asteroid when unstable power consumption forced the cloaking device offline. In theEnterprise series finale, Riker appears as a never before seen cook discussing matters of life, duty, and sacrifice with the crew. It is revealed that his presence is part of a holodeck simulation of historic events that Riker initiated to help himself make the decision to inform Captain Picard of the illegal research once conducted by Admiral Pressman aboard thePegasus.
Before the beginning of the series, Riker was involved in a romantic relationship withCounselor Troi on her home planetBetazed. They often refer to each other asimzadi, a Betazoid term of endearment meaning "soulmate". The novelImzadi takes place before the beginning of the series and explores the history of the relationship between the two characters. The two characters are close friends throughout the series, but their relationship does not resume untilStar Trek: Insurrection, the thirdStar Trek film set in theNext Generation era, although Thomas Riker, the duplicate created by a transporter malfunction, attempts to respark their relationship in "Second Chances". The following movie,Star Trek: Nemesis, begins with their wedding reception on board theEnterprise-E. At the start of the film, Riker finally accepts a promotion tocaptain and an offer to command the USSTitan; during the movie's final scenes he bids Picard, and theEnterprise, farewell.
Riker guest-starred along withQ in theStar Trek: Voyager episode "Death Wish".
Frakes reprised his role of Commander Riker in the 2005Enterprise series finale, "These Are the Voyages...".
Riker returns to the screen in the "Nepenthe" episode ofStar Trek: Picard. In that episode, taking place in 2399, Riker is married to Deanna Troi; they have two children, Thad (now deceased) and Kestra. Picard and his gynoid companion Soji visit the Rikers' home, a National Parks-style lodge on the planet Nepenthe, and are welcomed with open arms. Will and Deanna are retired from Starfleet although Will describes his status as being on "active reserve."[8][9]
Riker makes anotherPicard appearance in the Season 1 finale "Et in Arcadia Ego, Part II". In that episode, Riker has been reinstated to active duty. He is temporarily in command of the USSZheng He, the lead ship in a Starfleet squadron sent to the planet Coppelius to protect its inhabitants from imminentRomulan attack.
Riker, along with other former members of the crew of the USSEnterprise-D, return for an extended story arc in the third and final season ofPicard, wherein they fight a rogue Changeling conspiracy against the Federation. Riker appears from the season premiere onward (as of the fourth episode), and is acting captain of theUSS Titan (NCC-80102-A) – successor tothe ship he was given command of at the end ofStar Trek: Nemesis, continuing inStar Trek: Lower Decks – in the third and fourth episodes. While conducting a heist at the advanced research center the Daystrom Institute on Picard's behalf, Riker is captured by the rogue Changelings, and reunited with Deanna in the sixth episode. Riker had fallen into an existential crisis after Thad's death, and their relationship had turned into one of toxic codependency and longing for adventure, necessitating their temporary separation and Picard's help. Their former crewmateWorf rescues the couple and brings them aboard theTitan in the eighth episode, reuniting the crew of theEnterprise.
Riker appears in "No Small Parts", the 2020 finale of the first season ofStar Trek: Lower Decks, as captain of the USSTitan (NCC-80102) alongside his wifeDeanna Troi – continuing a posting announced in dialogue at the end ofStar Trek: Nemesis (2002). Riker appeared in the second season's first and second episodes.[10]
Frakes appeared in dual roles in "Second Chances", aTNG episode where it was established that a duplicate of him was created years earlier by a transporter malfunction. Frakes appeared as the duplicate,Thomas Riker, in theStar Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Defiant", where Thomas impersonates William in order to commandeer theUSS Defiant on behalf of the Maquis.
In 1993, mainframe software companyBoole & Babbage announced that it had signed a two-year licensing agreement, payingParamount Pictures $75,000 a year, to useStar Trek imagery in advertising for its products.[11] Boole & Babbage's campaign used actor Jonathan Frakes, playing his character of Commander William Riker, in theirStar Trek-themed advertisements.[12]
In 2009,IGN rated William Riker the 22nd best character of allStar Trek up to that time.[13]
In 2016,Wired magazine ranked First Officer Riker as the 6th most important character ofStarfleet within theStar Trek science fiction universe.[14]
In 2017,IndieWire ranked Riker as the 2nd best character onStar Trek:The Next Generation.[15]
In March 2018,TheWrap placed William Riker as 5th out 39 in a ranking of main cast characters of theStar Trek franchise.[16] In October 2018,CBR ranked Riker as the 12th best Starfleet character ofStar Trek.[17]
In 2019,CinemaBlend ranked Riker the fifth best Starfleet character of all time.[18] They point out he is good at his job as "Number One", first officer to Captain Picard on the starship USSEnterprise 1701-D.[18]
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