It was never about the promotion, it was about the community he loved and the ship he'd become intimate with.
18 hours ago | 3
I read the idea somewhere that Will would get to be a captain elsewhere, but Thomas Riker getting a post as Lieutenant on the Enterprise.This would allow Data to get bumped up to First Officer while keeping the cast stable. I liked that idea. Not sure if would've carried for multiple seasons, but for the last one or two seasons it could've been interesting.
2 days ago | 6
He wanted the flagship. He even said as much when the saucer section crashed.
2 days ago | 19
As first officer aboard the flagship, he was higher in prestige and authority than most captains. When he finally accepted promotion he was ready to have his choice of commands and act as one of the best senior captains.
3 days ago | 55
If I remember correctly, at least 2 of those commands would have been a death sentences....☠️
2 days ago | 7
He thought Captain Jellico was going to steal his chance at Captaining the Flagship....
2 days ago | 10
I was fine with it in theory. The man was happy and comfortable where he was. He loved his job and the crew were his friends. He was in love with one of his coworkers and adored his captain, who let him operate on a long leash. Why leave to be in command of an unremarkable ship? The only problem with this plot point was that it cut directly against how ambitious and focused on captaincy he was in earlier seasons, which is why I think it was a mistake to introduce it as a plot point so early in the show.
2 days ago | 6
Riker was just a smarter version of Kirk. They both liked to smash aliens but Riker had more time for it because he was only the first officer. It's not a coincidence that he didn't accept his own command until after he got married
2 days ago (edited) | 2
I'm delighted that Jonathan Frakes stayed on the show, but Will absolutely deserved captaincy. I feel similarly about Kira in DS9; she deserved promotion much earlier than she got it, but at least she got her deserved colonel's title for the final season.
3 days ago | 14
In real military....if you purposefully skip Promotions ....they throw you out of military. They expect you to have career progression.
3 days ago | 13
Here's a bit of a different perspective. If someone like Riker, turned down Comand as many times as he did, he wouldn't be offered command of a ship in the future. The reason being is that command would be wondering if one of the reasons Riker stayed is that Riker thought he couldn't handle the responsibility, and therefore the Admiralty wouldn't trust him either.
2 days ago | 8
Well, it worked. He finally got to sit in the big chair after Picard retired. Not only that, but he got a cool new Enterprise with the triple nacelles (All Good Things).
3 days ago | 10
The problem is that it's not realistic. Because You turn down the number of command that he did. They will stop offering you command, because they will think, and rightly too, that you don't want it, or your not ready for it. That you will never be ready for it. Is it good for story? Yes....yes it is. It keeps the cast together, but as I said, it's not realistic.
2 days ago | 3
The episode where Worf is traveling across different quantum realities like the show Sliders has him end up in one where Captain Picard wasn't able to be rescued from the Borg and Riker is Captain of the Enterprise. I've always wondered what it might've been like if Patrick Stewart had left the series then and they'd promoted Riker to Captain of the ship. It could've been interesting to have Commander Shelby take over as first officer. An entirely new character with a whole different vibe than we were used to, keeping Riker on his toes as Captain and their styles often clashing where Riker's and Picard's often gelled. The before mentioned Worf episode had him taking over and in Future Imperfect, they imagined a future where Data became Riker's second in command. Outside of Stewart leaving, if Frakes had left and his character had been replaced, Shelby still could've worked for me. Worf or Data are logical choices, but what if Geordi had stepped back into a red command uniform and became first officer? Maybe have Barclay step up as Chief Engineer and have a different story unfold for his coming out of his shell and into his own? Riker related but off topic, I've always liked the idea of Captain Riker of the Titan being in a rough situation when a ship drops out of warp and it ends up being commanded by a reinstated Thomas Riker. The idea of the two Rikers playing off each other in a battle and turning around what had seemed like an unwinnable situation is something I wish had happened in prime universe cannon.
3 days ago | 3
I think they could’ve done some really neat stories after Second Chances if Tom stayed and Will left. Will could have taken a promotion and become a side character, Tom could have explored his relationship with Deanna as a lieutenant onboard, and Data and Worf could have taken promotions on the Enterprise. I feel that they missed a lot of opportunities by shuffling Tom off to the Maquis. Maybe he would have ended up there anyway, but we could have seen more about why and how he became discontent with Starfleet. Frakes handled the double performance very well, and could have easily continued to play both characters, complete with color-codes uniforms to tell them apart.
2 days ago
| 0
Like the great football coach of the Chicago bears, Mike Ditka said before turning down several requests from poppa Bear Halas, as he continued learning beneath the great Tom Landry in Dallas... I'm not ready yet. But I'll be there, as soon as I am. The result was Chicago received one of the greatest head coaches in the history of the game and they rocked the football world with picture perfect, error free play, and brutal, efficient play on both sides of the ball and all phases of the game... Culminating in unprecedented back to back playoff shutouts and the biggest blowout in Superbowl history...
1 day ago | 0
This is like a tv shows with high school kids that lasts more than four seasons.
2 days ago | 1
I read an article not too long ago that indicated that The Best of Both Worlds was the absolute worst thing for Riker’s character, because it showed him taking charge and saving the day, but then for the rest of the series, he went right back to being in Picard’s shadow. The show was absolutely great for Frakes as an actor and a director, but for Will Riker? He definitely should have gone on and gotten his own ship.
17 hours ago | 0
He was just secretly hoping Jean-Luc would tragically die and he would be the natural choice to take command
1 day ago | 0
In real life, it is unlikely to get multiple chances to promote and turn it down.
2 days ago | 2
Rikerish
Star Trek Polls: Riker giving up multiple promotions to stay on Enterprise - Yay or Nay?
3 days ago | [YT] | 199