Himbo: Why did ladies accept Trip when they rejected Riker?

[Good Will Riker]

The first attempt at a "himbo" in modern Trek came in the form of William T. Riker when he was introduced to audiences in TNG's "Encounter at Farpoint" yet only a few seasons later the ladies were all over that stuffy/curmudgeon Jean-Luc Picard, instead. Huh????

Then a few years passes by, and we have Charles "Trip" Tucker III introduced in ENT's "Broken Bow" and the ladies are all over him.

I mean, Trip is for all intents and purposes the same kind of himbo as Riker, yet the ladies for the most part bought into one but didn't buy into the other...Why or why not???

 

[CommanderRaytas]

I for one have to say that Riker was a bit over-bearing and overall just not my type. Trip was, well, "cuter" (to be really shallow here). I don't dislike Riker, I just like Trip better because he is kind of vulnerable, sensitive (without getting wangsty). You get to look at his bleeding heart, and I don't remember that happening with Riker.

Does that help?

 

[Michael]

Re: Himbo: Why did ladies accept Trip when they rejected Rik

I think this is one of the things you just can't explain. It's chemistry. It's magic. Actually I like both of them quite a lot. And OTOH, wouldn't it be sad if one could predict something like that? That would make life a lot less exciting.

 

[Good Will Riker]

CommanderRaytas said:
Does that help?

What really is the difference between Jonathan Frakes's Will Riker and George Clooney's Doug Ross ("ER"), anyways?

Both were himbos who had no qualms about having one night stands, yet Riker gets chastised for it ("Gross...his hairy chest!") while Clooney is praised for it?

For that matter Sean Connery's James Bond. He slapped his women around! Yet, Riker was written as a romantic character who was gentle with the ladies...yet he receives the "horndog" label, while Connery's Bond is considered to be "hot damn sexy" for doing the exact same damn thing! Hmmm...

 

[JiNX-01]

Riker had a sense of humor -- he was bemused by others (especially Data and Worf) but he wasn't himself particularly funny. And frankly, he was so confident of himself, especially with women, I saw him as kind of arrogant. And while I don't particularly like beards, I will say he loosened up a lot after he grew one and I liked him better.

Trip is sweet, and funny and down to earth. He's protective, unpresupposing, and always gentle with women. And we saw in Marauders that he's good with children (always an attractive trait in a man). He would tease people he liked (even Vulcans ), but he was never unkind.

And he has a GREAT BODY and we got plenty of opportunities to see it!

 

[misskim86]

Re: Himbo: Why did ladies accept Trip when they rejected Rik

I think Riker is very handsome but never liked Trip, I don't really see why he is so popular

 

[Lilith]

Re: Himbo: Why did ladies accept Trip when they rejected Rik

I never watched Enterprise, but I never understood why Riker was considered hot I found him annoyingly arrogant and chauvinistic. His affectionate/ignoring/jealous ratio with Troi totally creeped me out, even as a kid.

Maybe that's what made me gay?

 

[CommanderRaytas]

Re: Himbo: Why did ladies accept Trip when they rejected Rik

I don't like George Clooney. He is not attractive. I hated his character in ER.... god, that bloke was annoying as hell. Riker is cool. I just wouldn't go out with him, he's too "cave-manish" for my taste (big, brawny, hairy).

See? I'm consistent!

 

[misskim86]

Re: Himbo: Why did ladies accept Trip when they rejected Rik

Good just leave Riker to me

 

[Tralis]

Re: Himbo: Why did ladies accept Trip when they rejected Rik

My guess would be that Trip felt a little more vulnerable, while Riker felt kind of smarmy. Bond gets away with a lot of other things, like randomly killing people. Part of the Bond fantasy is the man of mystery who appears and disappears just as fast. While Riker IS a sailor, he is also first officer and a little older than the horny drunken sailor age, so we expect more of him. In face of these expectations he seems to me to be unpredictable, smarmy, and afraid of accepting the sucess his past career has won him. Trip seems a little more grounded than that.

 

[Smiley]

Re: Himbo: Why did ladies accept Trip when they rejected Rik

I haven't seen any widespread rejection of Riker. If you're going by this board, then it is hardly a representative sample.

Being a man, I can't speak for the ladies, but here are a few reasons why they might currently prefer Trip to Riker.

1. Beards are not in right now.

2. Trip was a featured player and had better writing at the beginning of the series run.

3. ENT is newer and hipper.

4. Riker didn't look his best in TATV.

 

[doubleohfive]

Re: Himbo: Why did ladies accept Trip when they rejected Rik

Riker got fat. So did Worf.

It was always hilarious how their action figures, or portrayals in the comics were so lean and muscular, yet on the show they had just turned in to cows.

That's why, GWR.

EDIT:

You're also completely ignoring the love there was for Archer and Reed throughout the series' run as well. Hell, you were a member here at the time. Don't you remember all the bitching and fighting between the T/T'ers and the A/T'ers and the "Reed Ragers" ?

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Re: Himbo: Why did ladies accept Trip when they rejected Rik

Trineer is a lot more magnetic and attractive an actor than Frakes. That's all there is to it.

 

[doubleohfive]

Re: Himbo: Why did ladies accept Trip when they rejected Rik

^
Also true.

 

[T'Bonz]

Re: Himbo: Why did ladies accept Trip when they rejected Rik

Hmmm..interesting question. Riker seemed to be a stronger male as opposed to Trip's seemingly vulnerable one. Riker would usually win in that case.

Trip was cute-handsome as opposed to Riker's handsome. So they were pretty even in the looks department (hey, it's TV, no normal or ugly people allowed!)

But almost from day one, Riker was "taken" (Troi). I never did buy the Trip-T'Pol romance so he seemed more "available" than Riker was.

I wasn't (as a female) all over Picard. At the time I watched TNG, he seemed like a grandpa (I was in my mid-20s then.) He still seems too old for my liking.

It probably helps that I met and socialized with Connor last Vulkon at the bar. He's very friendly, sociable and with the additional bonus of being handsome.

 

[Stone_Cold_Sisko]

Re: Himbo: Why did ladies accept Trip when they rejected Rik

Gee probably because there were different actors playing them? Frankly they don't look alike at all, and their (onscreen) personalities are completely different.

 

[Son_of_Soong]

Re: Himbo: Why did ladies accept Trip when they rejected Rik

I peferred Riker to Trip. Besides which my beard was better than his was, until I shaved it off.

 

[Laren]

Re: Himbo: Why did ladies accept Trip when they rejected Rik

I find neither particularly attractive. In a previous post Riker is described as "smarmy" and that's how I feel about him as well.

 

[Son_of_Soong]

Re: Himbo: Why did ladies accept Trip when they rejected Rik

I dont even know what that word means, lol

 

[Laren]

Re: Himbo: Why did ladies accept Trip when they rejected Rik

Son_of_Soong said:
I dont even know what that word means, lol

dictionary.com has to say this:

unpleasantly and excessively suave or ingratiating in manner or speech; "buttery praise"; "gave him a fulsome introduction"; "an oily sycophantic press agent"; "oleaginous hypocrisy"; "smarmy self-importance"; "the unctuous Uriah Heep"; "soapy compliments"