Riker: An underrated character?

[BillJ]

I was a big 'by the book' guy. I learned quick that's not the way it works.

The book says you’re not supposed to urinate on the bodies of people you just killed, but sometimes it’s necessary.

Was this really necessary?

Of course.

When you have nothing to say, say something outlandish that has nothing to do with the subject to get attention.

 

[sonak]

Hmmm, OK. I think stewed prunes taste better than chocolate cheesecake. Oh.... not outlandish enough, huh?

 

[JustKate]

Seen my share of those of both: as an airman in the USAF (We called them just plain 'gung-ho', which, by the way was a term first derived in Korea/Vietnam War); and as a Medic in civilian life, (we called one of those a 'Rescue Randy')

It is kind of crazy, but I don't see Riker as a 'gungy' type of guy. Dedicated? Sure. But not gung-ho, at least to me. If anything, Picard is more gungy than Riker, especially in the early seasons. Once again, at least to me.

(...)

I never snitched on anybody, and I never kissed anyone's ass. To me, that's the worst thing you can be in the military; A hall-monitor, brown-nosing little snitch boy. Either that, or a REMF (you can ask your husband about one of those)

Wow, once again off topic. In terms of a gung-ho guy, I don't think Riker quite fits the bill. There are plenty of examples where he is the reciprocal opposite of gungy in the series. To me, a truly 'gungy' guy is a negative term for personnel giving stupid, dangerous orders without common sense or accountability, getting soldiers killed in the process.

You're right - I was a bit hard on Riker. I don't care for him at all, I think his character is weak and boring...but he really isn't a jerk. A stiff, sure, but not a jerk. So I take back part of what I said. I do think he's pretty dang gungy, though - not in the sense of a snitch or a brown-noser, and not in the sense of "the kind of guy who will get his men killed out of arrogance" but in the sense of "the kind of guy who will ALWAYS notice if somebody's hair isn't regulation length...or if somebody is wearing her Bajoran earring thingy."

I thought he was almost universally liked, too,

Hi, Kate! My perception over the years is that he's a universally hated character! I generally don't go into Riker threads since I can't be bothered defending him against the vitriol (what do I care if folks don't like him, I do, and that's all that matters to me); and because I agree with many of the criticisms!

(I know, the grammar in this post is verging on nonsensical. Sorry about that!)

WB! Woo-hoo! How nice to see you! I swear, as I wrote my last reply, I said to myself, "WB needs to contribute to this thread."

I think the thing about Riker is that if you like him, you always notice the anti-Riker comments and if you don't like him, you always notice the pro-Riker comments. And the reason is that to both camps, the "truth" about Riker is so obvious that it seems as though everybody ought to be able to see it for him/herself. Now we all just have to agree on the truth...like that's going to happen!

 

[lewisniven]

The way I always justified it, as did the character himself, that he felt it was a more prestigious role for him to be XO on the flagship, as opposed to captain of some random starship no one gives a crap about.

I'd probably agree with him on that one, so it makes sense for him to stay XO for so long.