When we are first introduced to Riker, we are practically beat over the head with the idea he is a young, up and coming officer, on the fast track to captain. Riker was offered 3 commands of his own, before finally taking his post on the USS Titan, but this was after serving as first officer on the Hood and two Starships Enterpirse for almost two decades.
Riker is often criticized for turning down these commands, and some have even stated it damaged his career. He had even stated he was holding out for the Enterprise-D, but like in real life, you have to start somewhere. Even Picard's first command was the Stargazer, which was far from state of the art. So, many assume by being picky, Riker was punished by starfleet and made to wait for the Titan.
Not to mention, when Riker butted heads with Jellico in chain of command, and the Pegasus incident, maybe Starfleet Command was concerned about Riker's fitness as a captain.
You can also consider the destruction of Enterprise-D as a knock against Riker's fitness (some do), but personally, I don't blame Riker for that one: Geordi had been compromised, and Riker DID manage to save pretty much the entire crew AND destroy the BOP. He also redemed himself somewhat in Insurrection, by saving the Enterprise-E in the Briar Patch, with his "Riker Maneuver."
But, when it comes to turning down the commands, I wonder if Riker actually made the right call, after all. Let's look at the ships he was offered:
USS Drake: prior to accepting assignment on the Enterprise, Riker was offered captaincy of the Drake, but turned it down. We don't know what class it was, beyond being a light cruiser. It could have meant it was a Miranda class, seeing as the first time we see Reliant, it was conducting scientific research for the Genesis project.
In any event, we learn in Arsenal of Freedom, the Drake was destroyed. We don't know how good a captain Paul Rice(Riker's class mate) was, but he must have been pretty close to Riker's abilities, since he was the second choice. Would the Drake have been destroyed if Riker was in command? We don't know for sure, but I think it is likely Riker dodged a bullet there, because even the Enterprise was almost destroyed.
USS Aries: The Aries was the second ship offered to Riker, in the Icarus Factor. I think the whole point of this offer was for writers to establish that Riker is a good starfleet officer, who is ready for a command of his own should he want it. And that was the extent of this ship as a plot device. Aries was a reconnaissance class ship, but never seen on screen. But as Picard stated of the Aries "a relatively insignificant ship, in an obscure corner of the galaxy. But it will be your ship."
If Riker had taken command of that ship, who knows what kind of name he would have made for himself. But if it were tasked to do sensor sweeps in nebulas or to patrol the Romulan border or some far off sector and thereby be a speed bump to whatever invading force (IE Borg or Dominion), I doubt Riker would have been happy in the command, even if his daddy was upset at him for not taking it. Not to mention, his un-relationship with Troi would have ended there, unless she followed him, which in the second season, I don't see Troi doing.
USS Melbourne: The "third chair" that Starfleet pulled out for Riker, and which Admiral Hanson cautioned Picard on it being probably the last, if Riker didn't take it. Even Picard advised Riker of the Melbourne that it was "A fine ship." However, had Riker taken that command, it would have been one of the shortest ones in Starfleet history, as Melbourne was destroyed at Wolf 359. The look on Riker's face when the Enterprise comes across the wreckage of the Melbourne kind of says it all: again, Riker dodged a bullet.
USS Voyager: this is completely subjective, but in the Voyager episode Death Wish, Q stated he "was betting Riker" would have taken command of Voyager. Does this mean he was offered the Voyager? Or was Q just being obnoxious and insulting towards Janeway? If the former, maybe Riker dodged a bullet on that one. Could Riker have brought back Voyager in 7 years like Janeway? Maybe he would have, and maybe Picard would have been talking to Admiral Riker via subspace, and not Admiral Janeway in Nemesis, but then again, Riker could just as easily been stranded in the Delta Quadrant for decades. We will never know.
Personal Relationships: Then, there is his on again / off again relationship with Troi. Granted, Riker did seem to use poor Deanna as a door mat, but she had her relationships too, so I think they must have had some sort of open relationship, that when they weren't dating anyone else, they were in a quasi relationship. That aside, Riker clearly had feelings for Troi, and I think that the fact Riker didn't want to leave her a second time for a Starfleet post factored greatly into his decision. Icarus Factor really highlights that. Plus, Riker seemed to be genuinely happy serving aboard the Starships Enterprise and all the other crew members. His best friend seemed to be Worf, Picard was his mentor and probably the father Riker wished he had had growing up, he seemed to be good friends with Data and Geordi. He was sort of a dutch uncle to Wesley, and was at least on friendly terms with Crusher (hell, he made out with her, when he had a symbiote in him).
USS Titan: Whatever class the Titan was canonically remains a mystery, but whatever it was, it was likely a better command than the previous three he was offered. If you read the books, it is a Luna class, that is sort of an amalgam of a sovereign class and an Intrepid class. If you believe that, then it is a pretty good ship for a first command. But the Titan could also just as easily been a Galaxy Class, Intrepid Class, or Ambassador class. Whatever class it was, it was better than the three he had been offered previously, and it must have been one that was newer than an Excelsior class, like the Melbourne (the best of the three Riker was offered).
In the end, Riker does get the the command he wanted in the USS Titan AND does get Troi. It seems it works out for him in the end.
So, did Riker make the right call in turning down 3 captains chairs, in your view? Discuss!
Riker is often criticized for turning down these commands, and some have even stated it damaged his career. He had even stated he was holding out for the Enterprise-D, but like in real life, you have to start somewhere. Even Picard's first command was the Stargazer, which was far from state of the art. So, many assume by being picky, Riker was punished by starfleet and made to wait for the Titan.
Not to mention, when Riker butted heads with Jellico in chain of command, and the Pegasus incident, maybe Starfleet Command was concerned about Riker's fitness as a captain.
You can also consider the destruction of Enterprise-D as a knock against Riker's fitness (some do), but personally, I don't blame Riker for that one: Geordi had been compromised, and Riker DID manage to save pretty much the entire crew AND destroy the BOP. He also redemed himself somewhat in Insurrection, by saving the Enterprise-E in the Briar Patch, with his "Riker Maneuver."
But, when it comes to turning down the commands, I wonder if Riker actually made the right call, after all. Let's look at the ships he was offered:
USS Drake: prior to accepting assignment on the Enterprise, Riker was offered captaincy of the Drake, but turned it down. We don't know what class it was, beyond being a light cruiser. It could have meant it was a Miranda class, seeing as the first time we see Reliant, it was conducting scientific research for the Genesis project.
In any event, we learn in Arsenal of Freedom, the Drake was destroyed. We don't know how good a captain Paul Rice(Riker's class mate) was, but he must have been pretty close to Riker's abilities, since he was the second choice. Would the Drake have been destroyed if Riker was in command? We don't know for sure, but I think it is likely Riker dodged a bullet there, because even the Enterprise was almost destroyed.
USS Aries: The Aries was the second ship offered to Riker, in the Icarus Factor. I think the whole point of this offer was for writers to establish that Riker is a good starfleet officer, who is ready for a command of his own should he want it. And that was the extent of this ship as a plot device. Aries was a reconnaissance class ship, but never seen on screen. But as Picard stated of the Aries "a relatively insignificant ship, in an obscure corner of the galaxy. But it will be your ship."
If Riker had taken command of that ship, who knows what kind of name he would have made for himself. But if it were tasked to do sensor sweeps in nebulas or to patrol the Romulan border or some far off sector and thereby be a speed bump to whatever invading force (IE Borg or Dominion), I doubt Riker would have been happy in the command, even if his daddy was upset at him for not taking it. Not to mention, his un-relationship with Troi would have ended there, unless she followed him, which in the second season, I don't see Troi doing.
USS Melbourne: The "third chair" that Starfleet pulled out for Riker, and which Admiral Hanson cautioned Picard on it being probably the last, if Riker didn't take it. Even Picard advised Riker of the Melbourne that it was "A fine ship." However, had Riker taken that command, it would have been one of the shortest ones in Starfleet history, as Melbourne was destroyed at Wolf 359. The look on Riker's face when the Enterprise comes across the wreckage of the Melbourne kind of says it all: again, Riker dodged a bullet.
USS Voyager: this is completely subjective, but in the Voyager episode Death Wish, Q stated he "was betting Riker" would have taken command of Voyager. Does this mean he was offered the Voyager? Or was Q just being obnoxious and insulting towards Janeway? If the former, maybe Riker dodged a bullet on that one. Could Riker have brought back Voyager in 7 years like Janeway? Maybe he would have, and maybe Picard would have been talking to Admiral Riker via subspace, and not Admiral Janeway in Nemesis, but then again, Riker could just as easily been stranded in the Delta Quadrant for decades. We will never know.
Personal Relationships: Then, there is his on again / off again relationship with Troi. Granted, Riker did seem to use poor Deanna as a door mat, but she had her relationships too, so I think they must have had some sort of open relationship, that when they weren't dating anyone else, they were in a quasi relationship. That aside, Riker clearly had feelings for Troi, and I think that the fact Riker didn't want to leave her a second time for a Starfleet post factored greatly into his decision. Icarus Factor really highlights that. Plus, Riker seemed to be genuinely happy serving aboard the Starships Enterprise and all the other crew members. His best friend seemed to be Worf, Picard was his mentor and probably the father Riker wished he had had growing up, he seemed to be good friends with Data and Geordi. He was sort of a dutch uncle to Wesley, and was at least on friendly terms with Crusher (hell, he made out with her, when he had a symbiote in him).
USS Titan: Whatever class the Titan was canonically remains a mystery, but whatever it was, it was likely a better command than the previous three he was offered. If you read the books, it is a Luna class, that is sort of an amalgam of a sovereign class and an Intrepid class. If you believe that, then it is a pretty good ship for a first command. But the Titan could also just as easily been a Galaxy Class, Intrepid Class, or Ambassador class. Whatever class it was, it was better than the three he had been offered previously, and it must have been one that was newer than an Excelsior class, like the Melbourne (the best of the three Riker was offered).
In the end, Riker does get the the command he wanted in the USS Titan AND does get Troi. It seems it works out for him in the end.
So, did Riker make the right call in turning down 3 captains chairs, in your view? Discuss!
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, I think the mistake was to insinuate in episodes like BOBW that XO is an assignment made for future Captains, probably because they've recycled Phase II's Decker as Riker and Decker was supposed to become Captain soon.
