Star Trekproved William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) is a great Captain without the Starship Enterprise. Introduced inStar Trek: The Next Generation, Commander Riker was the First Officer of the USS Enterprise-D led by Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart). Riker was the heir apparent to the Starship Enterprise’s Captain’s chair, andWill waited 15 years to succeed Picard as the Captainof the United Federation of Planets' flagship. But it never happened inStar Trek’s Prime timeline.
Commander Riker spent 15 years asNumber One waiting to become the Enterprise’s Captain. Riker’s tenure on the USS Enterprise-D lasted for 7 years ofStar Trek: The Next Generation, and the feature filmStar Trek Generations. Starting inStar Trek: First Contact, Riker continued his role as First Officer of the USS Enterprise-E. Finally, inStar Trek: Nemesis, Riker opted to leave the Enterprise. After marrying Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), Riker accepted a promotion to Captain of the USS Titan. Although it took another 18 years,Star Trekfans finally saw how great Captain Riker iswithout the Starship Enterprise.
Star Trek Proved Riker Didn’t Need The Enterprise To Be A Great Captain
Riker is a Titan among starship captains
It tookStar Trek: Picardseason 1 in 2020 for Captain Riker to show off what he can do. Riker and Troi, along with their daughter Kestra Troi-Riker (Lulu Wilson), appeared inStar Trek: Picardseason 1, episode 8, “Nepenthe” when Admiral Picard brought Dr. Soja Asha (Isa Briones) to his old friends for sanctuary. InStar Trek: Picardseason 1’s finale, Captain Riker headed up a Starfleet armada, commanding the USS Zheng He. Riker faced down a Romulan fleet poised to destroy Soji’s homeworld of Coppelius.It was the first time audiences saw Captain Riker in action on-screen, and it was a true crowd-pleasing moment.
Star Trek: Picardseason 1 takes place in 2399, 20 years after Riker left the Enterprise to become Captain of the Titan.
Star Trek: Lower Decksseasons 1 and 2 then brought in Captain Riker and the USS Titan in a wonderful surprise. Riker and the USS Titan came to the rescue of the USS Cerritos, and Ensign Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid) briefly transferred to Riker’s starship.Lower Decksis set just shortly afterStar Trek: Nemesisin 2380, and this relatively younger, hilariously rambunctious Will Riker was riding high asCaptain of the Titan. Thanks toStar Trek: PicardandStar Trek: Lower Decks,Riker was showcased at two different points in his Captaincy, and he brought the house down each time.
Captain Riker Is One Of Modern Star Trek’s Best Additions
Captain Riker is one of the bestStar Treklegacy characters who have been rejuvenated in Star Trek on Paramount+’s TV series. Riker was always popular onStar Trek: The Next Generation, butthere was a lingering sense that Will didn’t fulfill his potential.Riker was supposed to be an aggressive and ambitious futureCaptain of the Enterprise, butTNGsettled him into his role as Number One. When Riker was finally promoted to Captain,Star Trek: Nemesisnever even showed Will take command of the USS Titan, leaving fans to wonder what about Captain Riker’s voyages for nearly two decades.
Jonathan Frakes won a Best Supporting Actor Saturn Award for his performance as Captain Will Riker inStar Trek: Picardseason 3.
Star Trek: Picardseason 3 truly gave Captain Riker his due.Once he took over command of the USS Titan-A, it was Captain Riker’s ingenious tactics that defeated Captain Vadic (Amanda Plummer) and her starship, the Shrike, in the Ryton Nebula. Riker even one-upped Vadic by using the Titan’s tractor beam tothrow an asteroidat the Shrike, disabling the Changeling’s fearsome warship. The Titan wouldn’t have survived Vadic’s assault without Riker in the Captain’s chair. Riker’s heroics continued inStar Trek: Picardseason 3, leading an away team to Daystrom Station and joining Admiral Picard and Captain Worf’s (Michael Dorn) mission to save Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) from the Borg Queen (Alice Krige).
Riker Needs To Finally Become A Starfleet Admiral
When will Riker get his next promotion?
Star Trekhas yet to pull the trigger on one more long-awaited reward for Will Riker: a promotion to Admiral.Star Trek: Picardseason 3’s endinghappens in 2402, which means Riker has been a Starfleet Captain for over 20 years. It seems unthinkable thatRiker keeps waiting far too long for the promotions he deserves, but this has been the unusual course of Will’s Starfleet career. Meanwhile, Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) was promoted to Admiral at the end ofStar Trek: Picardseason 3. Shockingly, Riker did not get his pips to become a flag officer.
Admiral Riker commanding the USS Enterprise-D was seen in the alternate reality future ofStar Trek: The Next Generation’s series finale, “All Good Things…”
Jonathan Frakes pitched his ideal scenario ifStar Trek: Picard’s proposed spinoff,Star Trek: Legacy,happens. Frakes envisionsRiker as an Admiralserving the same function as Charlie inCharlie’s Angels.Admiral Riker would appear periodically to give Captain Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) and the USS Enterprise-G their orders. Ideally, Frakes would also direct episodes ofStar Trek: Legacyand be a creative force behind the scenes. IfStar Trek: Legacydoes become a reality, and Jonathan Frakes gets his wish, it would be fitting for Admiral Riker to oversee the newest generation of the Starship Enterprise, even thoughStar Trekdidn’t let Riker be its full-time Captain.
