If Picard ever died, do you think Riker would...

[Sisko_is_my_captain]

...leave Titan to take over command of Enterprise? Assume that things onboard Titan are status quo (i.e., their mission remains one of exploration, the crew is stable, and Riker's relationships with everyone are on good terms). Do you think Worf would instead take over from Picard at this point in his command development?

I'm just curious to hear what everyone thinks.

 

[Christopher]

I don't see any reason why Riker would return to the E after he's moved on to his own ship. The conceit of a crew remaining attached to a single ship throughout their entire careers is convenient for movie sequels, but it doesn't make a lot of sense. Officers move on to different assignments all the time. And there are plenty of captains around.

 

[dave_R_treker]

Promote Worf to captain of the Enterprise

 

[MHJH]

I doubt Riker would have any real reason to return. He gets to be an explorer on Titan, which is something that the Federation flagship doesn't seem to get to do much of anymore. He seems happier there. As for Worf, if Picard dies soon, I doubt he'd get the nod for the captaincy. Starfleet seems to have forgotten (or chosen to ignore) the incident with Jadzia and the informant for now, but he's still just barely back in uniform after four or so years away. He was lucky to get the XO slot as it is. In another five years, he might have a shot. If it happened soon, not so much.

 

[Cicero]

Yes, I think he would (literary regime aside). He made clear on several occasions during the series and the films that he wanted 'a shot at that chair.'

 

[Dayton Ward]

 

[Ferd Burfel]

As Chris said it is less plausible in "reality" than in a movie or show. Plus you have to think about the fact that everyone else on the Enterprise is moving on. Show Picard leave Beverly might as well plus Data is dead. He could bring his wife of course, but even having Geordi and Worf again wouldn't be a lock.

You can't come home again.

 

[Ktrek]

Wouldn't an assignment as captain of the Enterprise be a step up? Wouldn't it be kind of silly NOT to accept a promotion? Especially since you have declined several in the past just so you could be in a position to captain the ship you are now being offered? Of course he would accept it!

Kevin

 

[Raisor]

I doubt Riker would have any real reason to return. He gets to be an explorer on Titan, which is something that the Federation flagship doesn't seem to get to do much of anymore. He seems happier there. As for Worf, if Picard dies soon, I doubt he'd get the nod for the captaincy. Starfleet seems to have forgotten (or chosen to ignore) the incident with Jadzia and the informant for now, but he's still just barely back in uniform after four or so years away. He was lucky to get the XO slot as it is. In another five years, he might have a shot. If it happened soon, not so much.

I'd think that being the Ambassador to the Federation's number one ally might be career enhancing.

I'd like to see Worf make a run at the Federation Presidency myself.

 

[William Leisner]

Wouldn't an assignment as captain of the Enterprise be a step up? Wouldn't it be kind of silly NOT to accept a promotion?

Captain of the Enterprise would not really be a "promotion" from captain of the Titan. Yes, there's more than a little prestige behind the name, but that aside... the E-E is an older ship than Titan, and Riker has very much put his personal stamp on the ship since its launch, from the crew roster to the ship motto and shuttle names.

Especially since you have declined several in the past just so you could be in a position to captain the ship you are now being offered? Of course he would accept it!

Er... except he's no longer in position to captain the E, because he did not decline the promotion to command Titan.

 

[Christopher]

Wouldn't it be kind of silly NOT to accept a promotion? Especially since you have declined several in the past just so you could be in a position to captain the ship you are now being offered?

That's not why Riker turned down those promotions. He wasn't waiting for Picard to leave, he was making the most of the opportunity to serve under Picard and learn from him. It wasn't the ship that was his motivation, it was the man. And the crew, the family. He stayed on in "Best of Both Worlds" because (like scripter Michael Piller, who was facing the same decision about whether to leave TNG) he was happy where he was and realized it would be foolish to pass up personal happiness out of some arbitrary pursuit of career growth.

And there's no question in my mind that Riker is very happy on Titan. The crew and the mission are exactly what he wants them to be, a special kind of command opportunity that he wouldn't get if he ran the so-called "flagship" of the fleet (a label that has no real meaning beyond the symbolic) and had to be doing routine diplomatic and defense missions all the time. Sure, it'd be a step up in prestige, theoretically, but at the cost of personal contentment. And Riker decided long ago that he wouldn't make that kind of choice.

Even from a career-advancement standpoint, it doesn't make sense for Riker to go back to the Enterprise. Why? Because Picard has defined the captaincy of the E for nearly two decades. If Riker succeeded him in that post, he'd still be in Picard's shadow. He'd no longer be defining his own path, leaving his own distinctive mark as the pioneering captain at the vanguard of the glamorous Luna-class deep-space explorer fleet. He can make more of a name for himself where he is.

If Picard retired or otherwise became unavailable, I'm sure Starfleet would assign another veteran captain, someone with decades of experience at starship command -- most likely someone we've never heard of, or at least someone we've seen little of, because our focus as viewers has been on this particular ship instead of Starfleet as a whole. (Is Tryla Scott still around?)

 

[Ktrek]

You make some good points Chris! So when are you going to kill Picard off so you can introduce your new captain?

Kevin

 

[Ferd Burfel]

Exactly Chris. And if you furthermore consider the events of the "A Time To..." novels the reputation of the Enterprise has suffered a little. And no doubt when rumor and innuendo spread about the mutiny it'll suffer a little more. It might still be the flagship in title, but it's a little worse for the wear. Riker would be fighting that plus the career of Jean-Luc Picard. It's Picard's ship, he has to bring it back. He'll do it (no doubt), but that should be his battle. Riker has learned enough from Picard that he no doubt knows this (and Deanna would probably fill in the gaps).

 

[Baerbel Haddrell]

I doubt Riker would have any real reason to return. He gets to be an explorer on Titan, which is something that the Federation flagship doesn't seem to get to do much of anymore. He seems happier there. As for Worf, if Picard dies soon, I doubt he'd get the nod for the captaincy. Starfleet seems to have forgotten (or chosen to ignore) the incident with Jadzia and the informant for now, but he's still just barely back in uniform after four or so years away. He was lucky to get the XO slot as it is. In another five years, he might have a shot. If it happened soon, not so much.

Times have changed. A lot of captains and other highly qualified officers have died fighting the Borg. If Picard dies (and I really hope he doesn`t!) I don`t see any good reason why Worf shouldn`t become the captain of the Enterprise. He is definitely qualified and has proved himself.

About the incident with Jadzia - maybe the people criticising him should use that scenario as a psych test on the Academy and see how many officer are really willing to leave a wife, husband, lover, brother, sister and very good friend behind to die in such a situation. As I keep saying, there was no good reason whatsoever to send Worf and Jadzia ALONE on this mission!

I don`t see any reason either why Riker would want to leave the Titan.

 

[Christopher]

You make some good points Chris! So when are you going to kill Picard off so you can introduce your new captain?

Who says he has to be killed off? Picard isn't Kirk; command isn't his entire life. He's also a scholar, a diplomat, and now a family man. He could retire to become an ambassador, as in "Future Imperfect" and "All Good Things...," or a professor.

 

[LaBarre]

That's right. No reason that Picard has to die, although I have given this serious thought in the Destiny speculations thread.

After all, Picard might well live on and the big choice he has to make (as the blurbs keep telling us he has to make an awfully BIG one) might be - in the next few weeks - to decide whether to remain in Starfleet or to take up the presidency of the Federation in the event that the UFP is almost wiped out as a result of David Mack's Destiny trilogy.

One never knows - except for Christopher, David, Margaret, and a select few others, that is.

 

[JD]

I don't really see Picard becoming President of the Federation, I've never really gotten the idea that he was any kind of a politition. I could definitely see him becoming an ambassador or proffessor though. I wonder if he became an ambassador, which planet he would go to? Quo'nos? Or someone he made first contact with?
As for Riker taking over the Enterprise, I really don't see him leaving Titan anytime soon. He just helped set up the ship, and is only just begging their mission, I doubt that he would drop all of that this quickly. Personally, I think it would be alot more interesting from a story perspective if they brought in a new Captain.

 

[Man of Steel]

Just so you know, Picard did "die" in one of the episodes of TNG (I think it was Future Imperfect or something like that) and Riker was Admiral in that timeline.

 

[William Leisner]

Just so you know, Picard did "die" in one of the episodes of TNG (I think it was Future Imperfect or something like that) and Riker was Admiral in that timeline.

In "Future Imperfect," the alien boy created a scenario where Picard was an admiral and Riker the Enterprise captain. The only ep that comes to mind where Riker succeeded Picard after his death was in "Parallels," and Riker was still a captain.

You're not thinking of Imzadi, are you?

 

[Stephen!]

You make some good points Chris! So when are you going to kill Picard off so you can introduce your new captain?

He's probably not allowed to do that.