Does it bother you Riker got the USS Titan and not a Galaxy class?

[Dukhat]

Why would season 8 have Riker and Troi get married? Season seven was all about showing Troi and Worf having feelings.

Not really. There might have been all of three episodes in season 7 that dealt with that, and one of them took place in an alternate universe. Like most "romances" in Star Trek (notably Chakotay/Seven), they just come out of nowhere and die just as fast, being nothing more than plot devices for that particular episode or episodes. Maybe if we saw throughout the entire series that Troi had some unrequited love for Worf it would have made more sense, but we didn't see that at all. Troi showed zero interest in Worf and vice versa until the writers decided at the end of the series that it would be "kewl" to shoehorn them into some relationship when there was no real reason for them to do so. I have no doubt that if they went the route I described, the Worf/Troi nonsense would have ended and Riker would have gotten back together with her by the end. But that's just my speculation.

Good to know that people never miss a chance to bash.

I don't think Bry Sinclair meant to use the word "proper" in a derogatory sense, but I can't speak for him.

 

[CoveTom]

The writers had at one point toyed with the idea of having Thomas Riker live and William Riker die in "Second Chances," which would have kept the cast of TNG intact but not the characters. Data would have become first officer, and Thomas Riker would now be one of the lower officers. While I understand why they didn't ultimately do that, or even give it more than a passing thought, I think it would have been a nice shakeup for TNG.

 

[BillJ]

The writers had at one point toyed with the idea of having Thomas Riker live and William Riker die in "Second Chances," which would have kept the cast of TNG intact but not the characters. Data would have become first officer, and Thomas Riker would now be one of the lower officers. While I understand why they didn't ultimately do that, or even give it more than a passing thought, I think it would have been a nice shakeup for TNG.

It really was the path they should've followed. The character dynamics were getting tedious by season six. But it would've required some courage on the part of the producers, which they simply didn't have.

 

[Egger]

That would've been a hell of a challenge to write for, wouldn't it? I just can't picture Worf "on the phone" with Deanna, babbling all that "I miss you. It's been so long since I've held you in my arms ..." stuff and wherever else they wanted to take a call like that. He could've tried a Holodeck Deanna, but I suspect he would be turned off by that, sooner than later. It would've been very interesting to see how DS9 would've handled a Klingon in a long distance love affair, though. What a shame we never got that ...

I don't know if you meant that with "Holodeck Deanna" already, but I would think the seldom used Holo-communicator would come in handy for this.

 

[2takesfrakes]

It would've been very interesting to see how DS9 would've handled a Klingon in a long distance love affair ...

I don't know if you meant that with "Holodeck Deanna" already, but I would think the seldom used Holo-communicator would come in handy for this.

I did not have the Holo-Communicator in mind with my earlier statement, no. I suspect that anyone in the audience who was in that type of relationship, would've enjoyed it too, or at least related to it. Worf was always the kind to suffer silently, though, so it's hard to know how he'd express himself to Deanna. He'd probably try to put a good face on it and leave it up to Deanna if she couldn't handle it, anymore.

But, as Picard told Riker when Minuet disappeared from the Holodeck menu: "Some relationships just can't work." And I think the Worf/Deanna pairing is one such relationship. She's Wil's Babe, that's it. His "Imzadi." And she should be waiting with sandwiches by the Holo-Communicator, until Riker comes around and decides to make an honest woman out of her. Which, of course, he did ...

 

[Mysterion]

It bothers me more that Riker got command of anything after the number of times he apparantly turned down other opprtunities. and especially after his completely unprofessional conduct during Chain of Command Part 1 and 2. In a perfect world, Riker would be lucky to have a desk, much less anything capable of independant movement through outer space.

 

[Makarov]

I'd like to think the federation is more evolved in the TNG universe than not offering Riker career advancement just because he turned them down a few times. That's way too corporate. He clearly wanted to eventually take control of the Enterprise than simply move on, which makes him the best person for first officer to Picard.

If he had moved on sooner the world would have been assimilated in The Best of Both Worlds.

 

[Lance]

I'd like to think the federation is more evolved in the TNG universe than not offering Riker career advancement just because he turned them down a few times. That's way too corporate.

Except Admiral Hanson specifically said in The Best Of Both Worlds Part 1 that, if Riker turned down any more command offers, he might stop being offered any. As corporate as it sounds, this indicates Starfleet still operates on these principals, that letting the grass grow under your feet is not a good thing career-wise.

They might not judge him for wanting to stay put. They might be more sympathetic of his actual feelings about wanting to stay on the Enterprise as XO than any modern military would be in the same situation. But nevertheless, I do think they would kind of put him on the 'He doesn't want to advance, so we won't consider him for advancement' shelf. Riker's fate would be sealed into "Stays the Enterprise XO until he retires", unless Picard retired first.

 

[BillJ]

Riker's fate would be sealed into "Stays the Enterprise XO until he retires", unless Picard retired first.

And we found out how that worked out for him when Jellico was brought in to takeover in "Chain of Command".

 

[Lance]

^ Ha ha, I'm sure there's something very karmaic about all that. Riker turned down all the other jobs because he thought he'd get the Enterprise by default... only for some other guy to be brought in over the top of him! No wonder he got all pissy about Jellico's demands.

 

[-Brett-]

The Titan as depicted in the litverse actually seems like a sweet deal for someone who is essentially a very old rookie. If for whatever reason it did bother me, it's a simple matter of remembering that it's not canon.

 

[Timo]

One wonders if it isn't actually standard Starfleet practice to send young skippers to extreme deep space assignments right away. Kirk's first known assignment was to the very edge of the galaxy, with just Commander's braid on his sleeve; Riker got offered the Aries, a "relatively insignificant ship in an obscure corner of the galaxy", for an assignment involving months of transit; and this after he had turned down the Drake, a light cruiser lost visiting a planet known to the Federation by remote observations alone.

Independent command careers launched by milk runs are in a minority at least in terms of known onscreen events: Janeway was supposed to have commanded no starships before going for the Maquis hunt.

The ships involved here seem to vary a lot. Kirk got a glamorous ride; Riker's ships were belittled in dialogue; Janeway's hot rod was brand new and record-breaking. But the missions appeared to be among the riskier ones, perhaps suggesting that Starfleet is less worried about expending good ships than about expending experienced commanders...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[F. King Daniel]

No, it doesn't bother me at all that Titan wasn't Galaxy-class. Size isn't everything, you know. It's a shame she's such an awkward shape, but IIRC the design brief was simply not to be mistakable for the Enterprise, and it succeeded there.

I rather enjoy the Titan novel series. Synthesis was awesome.

 

[varek]

I think Captain Riker should have gotten a Galaxy-class, a Sovereign-class or a Vesta-class ship--with its slipstream technology, like Captain Ezri Dax's Aventine--rather than the Luna-class Titan. I think he deserved better.

 

[Wally]

I think it's a fine he didn't. I imagine that Galaxy and Sovereign-class starships are only awarded to experienced and senior captains who have proven their worth. You work up to it. It would be like a newly minted captain today getting command over an aircraft carrier.

 

[The Old Mixer]

I can think of a slew of factors that may have contributed to Riker finally settling down to a command of his own, whatever class of ship it may have been....

1) Time changes things--He was about 12 years older than in BOBW; not only might his attitudes have simply changed over such a period of time, but he may have been getting self-conscious about staying a first officer for so long.

2) Related to the point above, during this period we were only seeing a single adventure and a couple hours' of the TNG crew's lives every two or three years...any number of things may have happened offscreen to change Riker's attitudes.

3) The effects of the Briar Patch that lastingly rekindled Riker and Troi's romance may have brought other traits from Riker's younger years to the fore, such as his drive for a command of his own.

4) Troi herself may have exerted some influence....She was happy to approve of Will doing whatever made him feel good while she was his counselor, but as a fiance she may have pushed him out of his comfort zone and into a more ambitious direction.

5) Remember how Picard speculated at the end of "The Pegasus" that it could be a long time before Riker was offered another command. The Titan could have literally been the first offer since the events of that episode. Not having a command waiting for him whenever he chose to take one, and instead having to spend years reproving himself worthy of one, he may have come to better value the sort of opportunity that he'd previously taken for granted.

 

[varek]

No, it doesn't bother me at all that Titan wasn't Galaxy-class. Size isn't everything, you know. It's a shame she's such an awkward shape, but IIRC the design brief was simply not to be mistakable for the Enterprise, and it succeeded there.

I rather enjoy the Titan novel series. Synthesis was awesome.

Perhaps commanding the Titan was a smart move, since Starfleet was more likely to commission Luna-class ships than the discontinued Galaxy-class. Maybe Riker was looking ahead to the future.

 

[Nerys Myk]

"A ship is a ship."-James T. Kirk.

 

[BillJ]

Perhaps commanding the Titan was a smart move, since Starfleet was more likely to commission Luna-class ships than the discontinued Galaxy-class.

I don't remember the Galaxy-class being discontinued.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ Far as we know, they haven't been. Not even in the novelverse:

Spoiler: DS9

Sisko's current command, the USS Robinson, is Galaxy-class. And that's as of the 2380's.