In her initial appearance he did, but it was because she was a convict and known trouble-maker. In all other appearances, She's wearing the earring
Is it just me, or do half of the TNG main characters lack any definite personality traits?
- Thread starter eschaton
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Then they should have busted him down to midshipman on a garbage scow. Starfleet didn't invest that time and training in him so he could sit in his Galaxy class sofa next to his girlfriend and agree with Picard every few minutes.
I still can't see why he made her do it - with the religious significance we see built up in DS9, it could be akin to asking someone to remove a turban or something as a punishment (which would obviously be ridiculous and completely out of line with Starfleet principles), but even putting that aside, Riker clearly does it just to try and intimidate her, as if anyone over the age of two would be intimidated by Commander William Riker.
If he wasn't picking on the earring for its cultural/religious significance (which would be a disgusting thing to do), he was just focusing on an extremely minor, completely irrelevant aspect of her appearance, and immediately jumping down her throat about it to try and scare her. There wasn't any indication it was necessary. I honestly can't see any reading of that scene where Riker comes across as anything other than, uh... you know, Riker.
I think Riker always wanted the Enterprise, but only after Picard had moved on. Maybe he finally accepted command of the Titan when either that desire had passed or when it became clear Starfleet wasn't going to keep offering him ships for much longer.
He explains why in the next scene.
They explain the issue with Ro before that. They (particularly Picard and Riker)don't trust her, and don't want her on the ship. It's not just because of the incident where she was insubordinate and got her crewmates killed. It's explained that she's a known trouble-maker on every ship she's been assigned. She's also extremely disrespectful and doesn't give a crap about the chain of command. Riker plans to not allow her any luxury.
While Riker might not be intimidating to Ro, he would certainly be intimidating to all of the other lower ranks on the ship, not necessarily because he is Riker, but by virtue of his rank. A lot of what happens commonly in a military environment might seem "mean spirited" to some, but it isn't
I get that she was a prisoner with a history of insubordination but the second part of that transcript just reinforces what I remembered about the episode - Picard deals with her very well, while Riker deals with her absolutely ineptly. Picard makes it clear that Ro will be expected to follow orders and the chain of command on this mission, but does it in a way where he comes off as firm and authoritative but also reasonable and fair, while Riker comes off as weirdly hostile and petty (which isn't helped by the fact he's like that frequently throughout the series). I'll have to watch the scene again to see how Stewart and Frakes act out those lines, but that's my memory of it.
Part of a first officer's duty is to be a hard ass, it's in the job description. It would be easy to imagine Riker talking to every first officer Ro ever served under prior to her beaming aboard the Enterprise, her reputation would have preceded her. From the first second Riker wasn't going to be cutting her any slack.
Ro could have chosen to be a model junior officer, but that wasn't the choice she made.
Eventually Ro would betray Starfleet and the Federation, mutiny and treason. She did not deserve the chance Picard gave her.
Apparently Riker was right about Ro from the start.
Ro could have chosen to be a model junior officer, but that wasn't the choice she made.
Eventually Ro would betray Starfleet and the Federation, mutiny and treason. She did not deserve the chance Picard gave her.
Apparently Riker was right about Ro from the start.
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That depends on whether you feel the Marqui were not given much of a chance to start with haha. I'm on the fence.
But waitaminute....! Riker also joined the Maquis
It's not necessarily that they lack personality traits (I could clearly draw a mental picture for you using only adjectives for each) but that they didn't really express conflict with each other in the early seasons... and only moderately so in the later ones. This gives the illusion that they had no personalities... they did, it's just that differences were reserved for the alien-of-the-week, not with each other.
This is the reason some of my favorite episodes are "Drumhead" and "Pegasus".
This is the reason some of my favorite episodes are "Drumhead" and "Pegasus".
Riker is driven, ambitious, occasionally hot-headed and impatient. If Picard was the more patient, urbane, and wise father figure Riker was more the callow swashbuckler in the early years of the show. He is a very physical person and he goes after what he wants with confidence. He is grateful to serve on The Enterprise and he knows he serves with the finest crew in the fleet. Riker has a strong sense of justice and he will not put up with any breach of it.
Geordi is Levar Burton. Amiable, thoughtful, easy going, expressive. When provoked, he can lose his cool and he is not afraid to express himself. He's a career officer who gets along with most everyone and he always puts the ship first. Hence his fast promotions. He is good friends with Data and Wesley. He enjoys telling jokes and he has an irresistible laugh.
How's that?
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That was Riker's evil transporter twin, Toe-moss.
After Picard personally approves her wearing it at the end of the episode.
And yet she was doing the right thing.
It's likely he personally approved of Worf wearing his sash at some point as well.
Sympathizer! Rebel Scum!
The point I was making is that Picard ultimately overruled Riker - the latter was never shown to relent on the earring, having been the one to order its removal.
There's definitely an element of, after the third season, a general 'cooling off' of trying to reveal more about the main characters, or indeed, giving them any character at all. I mean, for example, there's stuff in seasons 1 and 2 that feel like wholehearted attempts to explore Riker as a person, who he is, how he ticks, why he is the way he is... but there are seldom similar moments later on. The episode with his twin and the one with the Pegasus backstory kind of do it, but after several seasons where he rarely stepped outside of his one-paragraph character description in the series bible, it seems like too little too late in some ways.
As much as Geordi becoming Chief Engineer was welcome, it also meant that he too basically became an extension of his function on the ship rather than a human being. That's what they all became. The same was sadly true of other Star Trek's as well. Even Voyager had the trend of starting the show with every character having defined characters but eventually boiling nearly all of them down to character-less 'functions' of the script. Maybe ENT was a little better. Only DS9 bucked the trend completely and showed continually progressing characters with actual defining traits that made them feel more like people.
As much as Geordi becoming Chief Engineer was welcome, it also meant that he too basically became an extension of his function on the ship rather than a human being. That's what they all became. The same was sadly true of other Star Trek's as well. Even Voyager had the trend of starting the show with every character having defined characters but eventually boiling nearly all of them down to character-less 'functions' of the script. Maybe ENT was a little better. Only DS9 bucked the trend completely and showed continually progressing characters with actual defining traits that made them feel more like people.
Did the dolphins ever get promoted from Navigator?
Didn't they have them on Voyager too?
Didn't they have them on Voyager too?
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