How many commands has Riker been offered?

[I am not Spock]

I count five.

USS Drake
USS Aries
USS Melbourne (smart move, as it was blown to kingdom come by the Borg cube shortly thereafter)
USS Voyager (also a smart move, as it was lost in the Delta Quadrant)
USS Titan (finally, he accepts!)

 

[Snaploud]

The Drake was also destroyed, and the Aries was apparently an "insignificant ship, in an obscure corner of the Galaxy" (according to Picard).

 

[Hober Mallow]

Voyager?

 

[Red Ranger]

Voyager?

Yep, as revealed in the VOY ep Death Wish. Q remarks that Riker was supposed to be in command of Voyager.

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

Voyager?

Yep, as revealed in the VOY ep Death Wish. Q remarks that Riker was supposed to be in command of Voyager.

*coughwouldvebeenabetterseriescough*

 

[Mojochi]

He should have taken the Aries. He turned down the Drake in 2364 to accept the XO position aboard Enterprise, which I suppose I can understand, if you think that serving aboard the flagship, under one of the fleet's finest captains is going to be good experience, high prestige, & otherwise beneficial to your career.

But the Aries? He had already distinguished himself for nearly two years, on the Enterprise. The Aries may have been insignificant & on an obscure mission, but isn't that what you'd expect a first time captain to get? & wouldn't someone who wanted to be a captain jump at an opportunity like that? Picard commanded the first ship he was offered, for 22 years

Then it just gets ridiculous. Turning down the Melbourne, & ending that episode by someone saying to him that he'd have his pick of ships in the fleet, for how he handled the Borg

Now I find out he turned down the Voyager while he was still flattening cushions in his 1st officer chair?

Basically, he turned down one command offer every year, from 2364, to 2366, Didn't find himself a ship after distinguishing himself against the Borg that same year, & then sometime before 2371, turned down the Voyager? 15 years before he finally takes the Titan? Come on! Was he worried about the whole Pegasus secret?

 

[Snaploud]

Riker is lucky he had Data right under him in the chain of command. Any other second officer would have been annoyed (to say the least). Data should have been promoted into Riker's position before the series end.

 

[Mojochi]

^Yes!

 

[od0_ital]

Just 'cause Q said it, that doesn't make it so...

 

[Finn]

Just 'cause Q said it, that doesn't make it so...

Right. The Q also said Humans weren't supposed to be in the Delta Quadrant for a hundred more years or so. I always found that remark odd since it was already suggested (and after this episode) that the Q would know what would be to come, so they should have known that the Voyager would be in the Delta Quadrant, along with the Equinox and the 37s planet.

 

[Dancing Doctor]

Q's quote in the episode Death Wish, as written in the script, is:

Well, I guess that's what we get for having a woman in the captain's
seat, isn't it? You know, I was betting that Riker would get this command.

So, all it means is that Q guessed wrongly about who would have taken command of Voyager.

Going back to the topic, I think Riker's problem, and this is the problem of all characters, both Trek and otherwise, is that he's subject to 2 forces not subject to the laws of physics, namely Da Plot and Da Public.

Da Plot has him written as an ambitious young officer...except when he's not. While one could understand him not taking the Drake (and based on the description, it was a smart move anyway. 24th-century, and the fastest this ship could go is Warp 3? Doesn't say much about the person who gets offered command of it).

However, for him to turn down the Aries, which, while it was described as being

a relatively insignificant ship, in an obscure corner of the galaxy

when compared to the Enterprise-D and her crew were doing, Picard also said (more importantly)

"But it will be your ship."

Further, the Aries had detected evidence of intelligent life in the area it was exploring/patrolling, the Vega-Omicron Sector. There was the chance for First Contact, if not some other encounter. For Riker to turn this down reflects negatively on him.

And, while hindsight is 20/20, for Riker to turn down the Excelsior-class Melbourne doesn't look good as well. However, this is supposed to be negated by the fact that it gets destroyed at Wolf 359.

 

[Ziz]

However, for him to turn down the Aries, which, while it was described as being

a relatively insignificant ship, in an obscure corner of the galaxy

when compared to the Enterprise-D and her crew were doing, Picard also said (more importantly)

"But it will be your ship."

That doesn't make the ship special. Whatever ship he took command of would be his ship, the same way whatever car you buy off the lot becomes your car.

 

[Timo]

...wouldn't someone who wanted to be a captain jump at an opportunity like that?

Do we have any reason to think that Riker wanted to be a captain?

He had probably found his niche in life already when becoming Picard's XO. He had always had this problem with father figures, and now he had found a pretty good one. He had the skill to move forward in his career, but did he have the will?

In today's militaries, moving forward is important. It increases your usually rather pitiful income and your chances on getting an assignment you like, or on holding onto your job through the next cutbacks. In Starfleet, salaries might no longer exist as such, assignments would be legion and all of them pretty good, and there'd be few ups and downs in the well-cushioned economy.

Even if Riker chose to let his career stall, he could probably start anew whenever he wanted. Getting command would be merely an issue of waiting for Starfleet to expand by a few thousand more ships...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Shatnertage]

...wouldn't someone who wanted to be a captain jump at an opportunity like that?

Do we have any reason to think that Riker wanted to be a captain?

In the first season this was specifically said for Riker many times. He left a relationship with the woman he loved so it didn't interfere with his climb up the career ladder. As Wyatt Miller said, "Oh yeah--you're the one who wants to be a starship captain."

He just got comfortable, and maybe a little soft, on the Enterprise. He didn't have the same drive to be calling the shots. We never really find out why, though we can guess that he just liked his spot.

Had they pulled the trigger on a Riker/Troi marriage (or Riker/anyone else) in season 2, or even 3, had them have a kid, then make one of the conditions of his new commands that he couldn't bring his family with him, I think it would have been more realistic.

 

[Dancing Doctor]

However, for him to turn down the Aries, which, while it was described as being

a relatively insignificant ship, in an obscure corner of the galaxy

when compared to the Enterprise-D and her crew were doing, Picard also said (more importantly)

"But it will be your ship."

That doesn't make the ship special. Whatever ship he took command of would be his ship, the same way whatever car you buy off the lot becomes your car.

But, as with cars and sex, this would have been his first, which, to me at least, would hold a special place.

Plus, as Picard pointed out, Riker had been specifically chosen for his qualities as a diplomat and an explorer. It wasn't like "Oh, hey, you're kinda qualified, here's a ship." It was "You were specifically chosen due to x, y, z, and here's a ship needing x, y, and z."

 

[garoo1980]

The answer being it would mean Jonathan Frakes would leave the show never really gets a suitable on screen explanation. I'm surprised they didn't give him the Titan and have him on his own ship like Sulu was in ST6. But I guess having him part of the team was paramount.

Although nothing realistically explains how Worf kept showing up. How would Enterprise E's real tactical officer feel? Its like your wife meeting your ex girlfriend

 

[I am not Spock]

In fact, who was the Ent E's actual tactical/ security officer? I think it may have been that Daniels fella.

 

[Dancing Doctor]

When Worf managed to get assigned to/got rescued by the Enterprise-E, he sorta took over, but officially it was Lieutenant Daniels.

 

[od0_ital]

Q's quote in the episode Death Wish, as written in the script, is:

Well, I guess that's what we get for having a woman in the captain's
seat, isn't it? You know, I was betting that Riker would get this command.

So, all it means is that Q guessed wrongly about who would have taken command of Voyager.

Can a Q really guess, though?!?

 

[Ziz]

However, for him to turn down the Aries, which, while it was described as being

when compared to the Enterprise-D and her crew were doing, Picard also said (more importantly)

That doesn't make the ship special. Whatever ship he took command of would be his ship, the same way whatever car you buy off the lot becomes your car.

But, as with cars and sex, this would have been his first, which, to me at least, would hold a special place.

And, like sex, you want to make sure your first one is with one you WANT, not one that just happens to be available.

Plus, as Picard pointed out, Riker had been specifically chosen for his qualities as a diplomat and an explorer. It wasn't like "Oh, hey, you're kinda qualified, here's a ship." It was "You were specifically chosen due to x, y, z, and here's a ship needing x, y, and z."

But again, like relationships, just because it works on paper doesn't mean that it will work for real. There has to be some desire there...it can't be forced to work out just because the numbers happen to add up right.