Numbah One?
- Thread starter Bry_Sinclair
- Start date
It was a narrative mistake to not to make any cast changes post The Best of Both Worlds, Riker's character arch as "Number One" had come to its natural conclusion and he was ready to move on. Keeping him on the show/keeping him on the show without moving him up to Captain just meant keeping a character around with whom everything had been done, pointlessly standing around on the bridge.
I'm at odds with myself to say what would have been better, letting Riker (by becoming captain of another starship) go or Picard (by either dying or retiring to Earth). Probably keepng Picard would have upset less of the audience, but making Riker the captain would have been the bolder move.
I personally would have loved Shelby as First Officer, better than just internally promoting Worf or Data. The question is how well would she have meshed with the others? That's an important question when including a new character into an ensemble cast. Her an Riker (if e had ended up staying) would have had an interesting dynamic. But how would she have meshed with Beverly or Troi?
I'm at odds with myself to say what would have been better, letting Riker (by becoming captain of another starship) go or Picard (by either dying or retiring to Earth). Probably keepng Picard would have upset less of the audience, but making Riker the captain would have been the bolder move.
I personally would have loved Shelby as First Officer, better than just internally promoting Worf or Data. The question is how well would she have meshed with the others? That's an important question when including a new character into an ensemble cast. Her an Riker (if e had ended up staying) would have had an interesting dynamic. But how would she have meshed with Beverly or Troi?
If a 15 year old civilian can be promoted to acting ensign and work on the bridge, then an actual Lt who is a Starfleet graduate can work on the bridge.
I do think the show would've been more dynamic if they had taken more risks. Riker staying on for seven seasons as first officer was the safe choice. It did all work out, so I guess maybe they made the right choice. I'd have liked replacing Will with Tom, with Tom and Troi having the serious romance that Will kept rejecting. Data already had a strong role as he was, an android studying humanity. Making him first officer too would unbalance the show too much with a focus on Data. I think TNG could've used another strong female character who wasn't there in a nurturing capacity, so my vote goes towards Shelby.
I think Shelby would've been difficult to get along with outside of Picard, and that's a good thing. TNG could be a little too friendly, some tension and conflict would bring depth.
If the producers had just planned on making TNG last for five years, then it could have worked better. At the start of the fourth season Picard could have temporarily stepped down as captain to deal with his PTSD (alternatively, this would have given Troi something to actually do, as she could have been his psychologist helping him get through his trauma). In the meantime, Riker would take command to give him some experience for when he eventually gets his own ship. By the fifth season Picard is back in command and the rest of the crew start going their own ways. I could see Riker finally getting command of the Aries (albeit a few years too late), and taking Troi with him a la the Titan. I could also see Data either becoming the new XO or getting a ship of his own as well (the Sutherland springs to mind
), and possibly having Geordi join him. Beverly would definitely stay on the Enterprise and perhaps finally become Picard's love interest. And Worf would either return to Qo'nos or become the new XO. But instead we see Riker just standing around there for the next four seasons, not really doing anything with his life other than being second in command, apparently just waiting for Picard to finally step down while at the same time jeopardizing his chances of getting a command anyway by turning down others. Nothing changes for the next ten years as he's still second in command of a completely different Enterprise. It's a wonder he was even given a command at all.
I don't think Elizabeth Dennehy was meant in any way to become a series regular.
If the producers had just planned on making TNG last for five years, then it could have worked better. At the start of the fourth season Picard could have temporarily stepped down as captain to deal with his PTSD (alternatively, this would have given Troi something to actually do, as she could have been his psychologist helping him get through his trauma. In the meantime, Riker would take command to give him some experience for when he eventually gets his own ship. By the fifth season Picard is back in command and the rest of the crew start going their own ways. I could see Riker finally getting command of the Aries (albeit a few years too late), and taking Troi with him a la the Titan. I could also see Data either becoming the new XO or getting a ship of his own as well (the Sutherland springs to mind
Man I really LOVE this idea. For a season we could have had the plot split between the Enterprise and Earth where Picard recovers. I can see Troi and Beverly going with Picard to aid his recovery. Of course this would have meant getting the Enterprise a new temporary counselor and medical officer. (Would Diane Mulder have agreed to come on as Pulaski for one more season?) With the Chief Medical officer it might have been alright to just have a recurring character, but with the counselor you can't just leave that chair on the bridge empty for a whole season. Unless they might have moved Data/the second officer there as originally planned.
Both setting would have needed an overarching plot of course. The Enterprise one would have been Riker growing into his own as a Captain, possibly during some sort of ongoing crisis for Starfleet (maybe the Borg still? The Romulans? The Cardassians?). As for Picard's side of the story, I don't know if just dealing with PTSD would have carried an entire arc.
Of course all this would have ended as a nightmare for the show's budget what with the new characters to be cast (supporting characters for Picard's side, needed replacements for the Riker side) and the new sets needed, but it could have been magnificent and could have introduced ongoing story lines to TNG.
I could also have been interesting to have Riker move on to be the guy in charge of DS9, of course then we would have lost Sisko, but it could have been a way to get him off the Enterprise without losing the character completely.
But why else was she there? To me it seemed like she was set up as a possible new First Officer in case Patrick Stewart decides to leave.
I wasn't actually insinuating that Picard would be on Earth. Rather, he would convalesce on the Enterprise with both Troi and Crusher helping him, and being there for Riker if he needed advice from his former captain. So it would be a mix of Picard's therapy mixed with him really being a mentor to Riker so that by the fifth season Picard would be fit to command again and Riker would be prepared to command the Aries.
She was there to be Riker's foil for those two episodes. Honestly she was an unlikeable character, but she was written to be unlikeable; that's why she worked in the two eps she was in. But having her be a regular and Riker's XO? Highly doubtful.
Shelby was short, but still, half-decent looking; Riker should've gotten with her. That's probably what she needed anyway, to set her to rights. There's nothing in the mix that Riker can't fix!
First Officer Wesley Crusher. Security chief Wesley Crusher, and if Troi left Counselor Wesley Crusher.
Wesley Crusher, Traveller...it truly was his first, best destiny.
Yeah, an' his gerlfren name be Qwadroe Tittie Khaliegh, Tittie-Ka fow showt.
Not, really, and we will be looking into that questionable form of typing...it is how Picard would have pronounced it. Methinks.
I think Data was just where he belonged. The stories and chances for those " Data moments" would have been different/lost. And the actress playing "Shelby" just looked too darned like her father, Brian. Little scary. Frakes coulda handled her, sure bet!
I'm not completely sure if I've ever 100% believed this story.
Sure it makes for nice drama, to say that the lead might not return after the hiatus. But surely Patrick Stewart was under contract for six years like the rest of the cast?
I know Denise Crosby left early, but I am to understand that she was a very special case (she actually had to get permission to do so, and if Gene Roddenberry had said no to her request, then she simply would've been told to report back to the set as per her contract).
Patrick could have with-held his services, but ultimately it would've come down to him either complying with the contract, or being fired for refusing to return to work. I guess that's where the uncertainty lay.
Sure it makes for nice drama, to say that the lead might not return after the hiatus. But surely Patrick Stewart was under contract for six years like the rest of the cast?
I don't think it was so much that people thought Stewart would leave on his own; rather, that Stewart always believed that he'd be fired. So in Stewart's mind, having Picard turned into a Borg and subsequently killed off could have been a way to eliminate the character.
Shelby could have been an interesting new character as first officer to either Picard or Riker but I liked that Riker realized some things were more important than rapid career advancement, I don't think he became less interesting or stagnated, at least not because he became less ambitious.
There's something else they could have done with Riker. Have him take his own command, then show up again later as a recurring villain/rival of Picard that shows up now and then to blow up an enemy when Picard's diplomacy fails.
I still like Riker in the later seasons. The only time I feel like Riker has been in the same rank for too long is in First Contact (the movie).
I still like Riker in the later seasons. The only time I feel like Riker has been in the same rank for too long is in First Contact (the movie).
That would be an incredibly dickhead move to one-up Picard, especially when Riker would have no such animosity toward him. It would have been better for Riker to get his own command and then never see him again.
Sure it makes for nice drama, to say that the lead might not return after the hiatus. But surely Patrick Stewart was under contract for six years like the rest of the cast?
I don't think it was so much that people thought Stewart would leave on his own; rather, that Stewart always believed that he'd be fired. So in Stewart's mind, having Picard turned into a Borg and subsequently killed off could have been a way to eliminate the character.
It does add an intriguing element to the Part 1 cliffhanger.
In theory, if necessary, they could even have resolved it without re-hiring Patrick Stewart for Part 2 at all. Riker's last command in the first episode was "Fire", and they could have gone anywhere with that. Maybe resolve the cliffhanger with the Picard-carrying cube being blown apart at the start of Part 2, infering the killing of the Captain off-screen, but still amp up the threat by providing a whole amarda of other Borg ships which emerge in its wake. Or something like that.Had Stewart walked, or had they needed to fire him during the hiatus, there would still have been enough leverage there for them to resolve the cliffhanger without him...
That was indeed mooted at one point.
Fans can talk till the cows come home about what would have been more plausible within the narrative, but the realities of television production outweighed that. It's easy to say that the writers should have moved Riker to his own command, but in real terms that would have meant firing Jonathan Frakes and messing with an established cast of characters and what had proved to be a winning formula.
Having recently rewatched TBOBW, it was interesting that Riker addressed the issue of possibly promoting Worf or Data to his first officer, but he said he wanted them in their familiar positions, that this wasn't the time for more change. He may have said something to the effect that Shelby was the right person for the position.
I do like how Shelby's arrogance and driving ambition was tempered by her reaction to Picard's capture and her achieving the position she wanted. Her reaction is just in the actor's performance, but she really emotes well with this. I really like Shelby, and I love the development she goes on to get in New Frontier.
I do like how Shelby's arrogance and driving ambition was tempered by her reaction to Picard's capture and her achieving the position she wanted. Her reaction is just in the actor's performance, but she really emotes well with this. I really like Shelby, and I love the development she goes on to get in New Frontier.
It's too bad that Kyle Riker never came back after "Thomas" Riker was discovered. I think that would have been a good story dealing with the father meeting the echo son, still his son and not at the same time. It might have been interesting as Tom was pre reconcilliation and Will was post reconcilliation, their interaction in dealing with their father and each other at the family gathering.
And if Riker has a brother, he can introduce them as his brother Will and his other brother Will.
And if Riker has a brother, he can introduce them as his brother Will and his other brother Will.
They did discuss him in Second Chances, with Will relaying the events of The Icarus Factor, and how Kyle couldn't understand Will turning down his own command, causing Tom to remark, "For once, he and I agree on something."
Picard could have had a Sisko moment, working on the vineyard for a while, while having visions of the future...
Then while Picard wins over some superiror entity the Enterprise faces off with its most dreaded enemy to date and Troi is in a standstill with some Romulan bitch while reading a novel about Mike Hammer (Kiss me deadly) and then everything is resolved and Picard is cheered loudly on the enterprise accompanied by a reincarnation of Wesley Crusher...
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