Riker Inheriting Enterprise

[Mojochi]

I didn't want to derail the Shelby thread anymore, but this comment from @PhotoBoy really has me thinking

For some reason I always thought Riker stuck with being first officer of the Enterprise because he was just waiting for Picard to retire and expected to inherit the captain’s chair from him.

Riker even makes an offhand comment about that very thing in Generations amongst the wreckage of the D. So It's fair for us to have gotten that impression imho. I'm wracking my brain to remember, but I seem to recall some point when Picard himself made mention on the show, that Riker was hoping to take his place as the D's captain. I wish I could remember where I got that from

The thing is... I couldn't imagine why that would ever be the case though. It's not the same job, & the post is a highly prestigious one. I'd think someone would have to prove or distinguish themselves as a captain in some way, in order to be considered for it. Picard ran another ship for ages, before taking over what they now call the flagship, which it almost seems like he was waiting on it being finished a good long while after the Stargazer was lost, before even he could take the job

If someone wanted to nab the post there, it would make sense to accept a meager command like Picard's Stargazer, & then make a name there. Frankly, there'd be nothing special about actually serving on board her when the top spot becomes vacant, that would usher Riker to the front of the line for it. He didn't even get the chance to do it pro tem, when Jellico got it.

By all rights, Will is lucky he didn't take the Melbourne or the Drake, because they meet with tragedy soon after, but the Aries is described as the perfect starter ship for a new captain. That's what he should be out there doing, OR if not that, then once he has his "Pick of the fleet" in the aftermath of BoBW, he'd be wise to take Shelby the Borg expert on as his permanent XO, & roll on over to a ship where he can be at the center of the effort to rebuild & prep the fleet for more Borg... maybe even trying to steal Data away, for all the ingenuity he might offer in the collective hacking end of it. After BoBW, Riker wouldn't just have his pick of the fleet, the damn guy could probably become one of the most influential captains in the fleet, but instead, he just wants to hang around & take Mok'bara classes from Worf

I've never even heard of this waiting as the ship's #1 tactic in all of fleet history. Why would this even make sense?

 

[Nakita Akita]

Him waiting didn't make sense.
But I think by the third season everyone liked how the actors seemed to gel together pretty well and I think, even with the weight gain, the women at the time probably found him sexy and solely from a production standpoint it seemed a good idea to keep him around.
He probably in a real world scenario would have bit it on the Melbourne.

 

[Mojochi]

Him waiting didn't make sense.
But I think by the third season everyone liked how the actors seemed to gel together pretty well and I think, even with the weight gain, the women at the time probably found him sexy and solely from a production standpoint it seemed a good idea to keep him around.

Oh, it certainly makes sense from a production point of view. He was one of only maybe 3 or 4 characters people took a shine to. Frankly, Frakes' likeability has a LOT to do with that. Even when they write Riker to be a dink, Frakes is still likeable

 

[cgervasi]

I'm wracking my brain to remember, but I seem to recall some point when Picard himself made mention on the show, that Riker was hoping to take his place as the D's captain. I wish I could remember where I got that from

The thing is... I couldn't imagine why that would ever be the case though.

Going to another, less prestigious ship would be a normal career path. Being on the Enterprise offers the unlikely possibility of getting to the top quicker. If Picard were killed, Riker would take temporary command. If he saved Earth or something like that, he might end up commanding the Enterprise. Going the traditional route of climbing the ladder, it would take 15 years to get to the flagship, and there's no guarantee there will be an opening there when he reaches that point in his career.

 

[Mojochi]

Going to another, less prestigious ship would be a normal career path. Being on the Enterprise offers the unlikely possibility of getting to the top quicker. If Picard were killed, Riker would take temporary command. If he saved Earth or something like that, he might end up commanding the Enterprise. Going the traditional route of climbing the ladder, it would take 15 years to get to the flagship, and there's no guarantee there will be an opening there when he reaches that point in his career.

So, you're literally waiting like some ghoul to swoop in, in the event of the captain's death, or incapacity, (That your primary role is to prevent, mind you) in order to seize command? That actually makes me think a person is undeserving of holding a leadership role at all. It sounds like some kind of morbid back door gambit

And if he stays there until retirement, then you never really had the chance to prove yourself, & prove yourself is what you should be doing, establishing yourself, distinguishing yourself etc... on your own. You don't do that in someone else's shadow, creepily waiting for the opportunity to overtake it. You have to BE the captain that you want them to make you. Being capable of showing you can assume command, in a crisis, is still not the same thing as being the person who holds everyone together all the time.

 

[Makarov]

It makes perfect sense to go with him, he has years of experience right next to the captain on a galaxy class ship. He's practically doing the captain's job a lot of the time. We see mission after mission where he takes command when Picard is off doing something else or incapacitated, in the process he already made a name for himself in command of a galaxy class ship.

Jellico got it in Chain of Command because Starfleet thought he had specific talent for dealing with the cardassians in that particular mission

 

[Eman1986]

I never much liked the idea of Will getting command by waiting for Picard to retire. Such a move almost screams nepotism of sorts to me.

As many of you mentioned, the Enterprise was a prestigious assignment and the flagship of the fleet, so it wouldn't be fair to give him an advantage over other applicants all over Starfleet.

Imo Will should have been promoted to Captain after the Best of Both Worlds arc permanently and given a ship, and the writers could have added a line where the destruction at Wolf 359 caused the need for military like Starfleet groups, and had his ship be the nearest neighboring ship so that he could recur. This in turn would give newer characters like Ro, Barclay and the ensign's of Lower Decks more time to shine.

 

[Nakita Akita]

I think if your CO dies, you might be in charge for a while then command sends in someone to replace the CO.
Just like at work, the boss retires, you fill in for some time, then corporate sends in some person to take the spot you worked in, filling in.

He didn't get the spot when they brought Jellico in, maybe Jellico had some specific skill set, but in reality, I think they were just blowing smoke up Riker's arse, because they didn't want him in the position.

 

[Eman1986]

I think if your CO dies, you might be in charge for a while then command sends in someone to replace the CO.
Just like at work, the boss retires, you fill in for some time, then corporate sends in some person to take the spot you worked in, filling in.

He didn't get the spot when they brought Jellico in, maybe Jellico had some specific skill set, but in reality, I think they were just blowing smoke up Riker's arse, because they didn't want him in the position.

Hypothetically, if Will had left after saving Picard from the Borg, then Data would be the new first officer, correct? Who would be second? Worf or La Forge?

 

[Mojochi]

Hypothetically, if Will had left after saving Picard from the Borg, then Data would be the new first officer, correct? Who would be second? Worf or La Forge?

If I took a guess, I'd say Worf

He's practically doing the captain's job a lot of the time. We see mission after mission where he takes command when Picard is off doing something else or incapacitated, in the process he already made a name for himself in command of a galaxy class ship.

I'll let Picard boil it down

As first officer of the Enterprise, you have a position of distinction, prestige, even glamour of a sort. You are the second in command of Starfleet's flagship -- but still second in command. Your promotion will transfer you to a relatively insignificant ship in an obscure corner of the galaxy... but it will be your ship. Being who you are, it will soon be vibrant with your authority, your style... your vision. You know, there really is no substitute for holding the reins.

It's all right there. Being the 1st officer is no substitute for being the leader. Riker is the substitute commander of the Enterprise. By sitting back, aspiring only to take over someone else's command, it literally shows a lack of vision, & ultimately undermines your would-be authority. A leader leads. They don't sit around waiting for some dream job, least of all when someone else has it. The big wigs don't want a dreamer. They want a leader

Frankly, I blame Picard a little too. As his friend, he owes it to Will to be blunt & tell him. "Hey, Buddy, if you're waiting around for me to retire from this chair, you're in for a loooong wait. You're more likely to fill a corpse's vacancy first"

 

[thribs]

The "A Time To..." novel series go into Riker's thoughts as to why he stays on the Enterprise and his decision to leave and become the captain on the Titan.

 

[Jayson1]

I think Riker would be seen as a special example. Being FIrst Officer of the Flag Ship is no doubt more prestigious than even being a captain on other ships. Plus he was offered command 3 times and he saved the Federation from the Borg. Spock also got promoted after Kirk went back to being a Admiral after "TMP" though they were using it as a trainee's cruise. Was the Enterprise not seen as the flagship for awhile when Spock was the captain.

Jason

 

[thribs]

The Enterprise wasn’t the flagship then. I don’t think they had one back in the 23rd century

 

[Grendelsbayne]

I agree 100% that Riker shouldn't have been waiting around so long. It makes him come across as this weird mix of ridiculously over-ambitious (I'll not be satisfied with being captain of just any ship, *I* deserve *this* ship) and pathetically lethargic (Why is it taking so long for me to have a command? Eh, whatever, it's comfortable here, anyway). Frankly it's one of the major reasons why I never really liked Riker in the first place.

Though, indeed, Picard is at least a little responsible as well - he really should have given the man a swift kick in the pants by the *3rd* time he was sitting around refusing his own command.

 

[Agony_Boothb]

Riker really should have been given a command at the end of Generations. The Enterprise-D was dead, and a new one wasn't going to be ready for at least another year, and Starfleet was pumping out a heap of new ships in need of good captains. There would have been tons of opportunities available for him. It would have added an interesting dynamic to the TNG films and considering how they managed to cram Worf in, it wouldn't be too much to add Riker to whatever mission the Ent-E was on.

In series, Riker continually refusing commands and serving under Picard for 15 years never felt true to the character. All it would have shown Starfleet was that Riker was afraid of taking risks and getting extra responsibility. Why should he be given any ship let alone the flagship of the federation when he didn't really show any drive or ambition. Picard should have done his job as a captain, put aside his personal feelings and shoved Riker out the door for the sake of his career.

 

[F. King Daniel]

He waited because he was comfortable. Basically, Shelby was right.

 

[Phoenix219]

This is why I *really* wish they had made the switch and had Tom Riker making up for lost time and showing up Will big time (if he was still alive).

Or, in an even more ballsy move, should have made Picard a permanent enemy as Locutus, and let Riker/Shelby/Data run the show.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

Riker was meant to be an up and coming young hotshot, who turned down a command of his own to take the post on the E-D as he thought it would be better for his career, which makes sense--why be yet another captain of a small ship somewhere in the galaxy when he can be First Officer of the flagship, which would open up many more doors for him. He should've just been onboard for 2-3 years before leaving for a command of his own (probably not a Galaxy-Class but definitely something fitting for someone with his level of experience), so him leaving after BoBW makes sense, with the likes of Shelby coming in as the new 'Number One' from then on with Riker and his ship making guest appearances throughout the remainder of the series.

 

[Mojochi]

This is why I *really* wish they had made the switch and had Tom Riker making up for lost time and showing up Will big time (if he was still alive).

I always liked the Tom Riker option, from a character perspective. The only problem with it, from a production PoV, is that he'd have to take on a lesser position aboard. Which one would that be? Because whatever he takes over, it's going to shuffle other characters, who were well liked in their roles. No matter what, Data ends up in a red suit as #1, unless, Picard brings in someone new. I just don't know if they were ready to have Data be in that role permanently, & if they brought in someone new, then Tom has no place to fit in on the bridge crew

 

[USS Firefly]

Tom Riker could take the conn, and shuffeling up the positions could be a good thing for the characters.
And Will Riker could captain his own ship after TBOBW and visit from time to time