The Maquis Captain: Thomas Riker

[Triskelion]

What would it have been like if Thomas Riker had been the Maquis captain that Voyager was after in Caretaker?

Would he have become Jane's Number One with a bullet?

Would Thomas have played jazz with the Kimtones?

I could see a far more pioneery Resolutions, a very cool Worst Case Scenario where you root for the mutineers; and the romance with Seven - would just make a hell of a lot more sense in terms of strong personalities rather than the Hollywood gender-bending carrot-choppin-to-Chopin scenes we got in Human Error.

The Fight could have been Ambo-jyutsu!

Thoughts?

 

[Tosk]

Number One mkII wouldn't have been relegated to the mundane, "Yes Captain" material that Chuckles eventually got saddled with, that's for sure.

Who is Jane?

 

[hux]

More Riker?

Why not just call it Star Frakes.

No, he wormed his way into too much Trek as it is.

A smoking hot alien woman in a catsuit as first office? Now that's something I could get on board with. And a smoking hot Harriet Kim in a cast suit. And a smoking hot holographic doctor who looked like a different smoking hot woman in a cat suit every week.

Hot Trek: the adventures of hot women exploring space (tell me you wouldn't watch).

 

[stardream]

What would it have been like if Thomas Riker had been the Maquis captain that Voyager was after in Caretaker?

Would he have become Jane's Number One with a bullet?

Would Thomas have played jazz with the Kimtones?

I could see a far more pioneery Resolutions, a very cool Worst Case Scenario where you root for the mutineers; and the romance with Seven - would just make a hell of a lot more sense in terms of strong personalities rather than the Hollywood gender-bending carrot-choppin-to-Chopin scenes we got in Human Error.

The Fight could have been Ambo-jyutsu!

Thoughts?

No. I tolerated Riker at best. I didn't hate him but he was never a favorite of mine.

Besides...Jonathan Frakes was busy when all of this was going on.

 

[2takesfrakes]

The concept of Thomas Riker as a crewman in Voyager is artistically meritorious. I'm confident that he and Seven of Nine would've had the potential to become one of Star Trek's greatest romances. However, I wouldn't have wanted him to replace Chakotay, as I'm a great fan of both characters ... and having Jonathan play 2 second in commands in Star Trek might've been a bit much, to begin with. Seeing the two of them becoming good friends through adventure would've been very entertaining. And I'm pretty sure I've come across an interview with Jonathan Frakes in which he stated, definitively, that he would always play William Riker, when offered the part. So, I'm sure he'd take on the role of Tom, here, if that were negotiable.

Thing is, though, Jonathan Frakes might've been too big of an act for the room, so to speak, due to his stature within the franchise and as an entertainer and director. It might've become necessary for Thomas Riker to be reduced to a recurring role, just to allow the other Voyager cast members to shine, at all. But Frakes' presence on the show would've certainly allowed for flashbacks, let's say, that would've allowed for Marina Siritis' to guest star, at least once ... yes, there was a lot of potential to be had by bringing on Jonathan Frakes to the project. More's the pity ...

 

[Drone]

I take it that you would find Sirtis's appearance in such episodes a bit more engaging than the two she actually did show up in?

 

[CatAteMyTribble]

I always thought Tom Riker got a bum deal. He's marooned alone on a planet for eight years, finally rescued, only to find that he's a leftover clone no one wants. Will Riker hates him for no reason, Deanna doesn't love him anymore because Will (not Tom) screwed up their relationship, and though you'd think suffering that much for an act of heroism rescuing the colonists would be worth something to Starfleet, it's apparently going to set his career back quite a bit. Will chose his career over Deanna and ended up with both. Tom never got a choice, and ended up with neither.

I love Chakotay as a character, but Tom Riker as a first officer would have been interesting (and no more ridiculous than bringing Locarno back with a different name - at least Tom Riker had an established explanation for being a previous character's doppelganger!). His personality is so different from Chakotay's that I'm not sure he'd have had the same attraction to Janeway, but even if he did, he wouldn't have allowed her to use it to manipulate him into agreement the same way she often did with Chakotay. Will loved Deanna for much (or all) of their time together on the Enterprise, but that didn't stop him from forcefully pulling rank when necessary.

The romance with Seven would be less ridiculous in terms of both characters' personalities, but I'm still not sure it would be believable. It's difficult to imagine a woman more different from Deanna, and Seven is also a quite a departure from Will Riker's typical woman-of-the-week. Of course, it's possible that eight years in isolation, a rescue that probably made him wish they'd left him down there, and then a stint in the Maquis would leave him with very different preferences than his 'twin.'

 

[Paradise City]

Instead of Thomas Riker and the Maquis, have Commander Kurn and a Klingon Bop being rescued by Janeway in the badlands who are then all whisked away to the Delta Quadrant. Kurn was great as XO on the Enterprise and a clash of wits between the feds and the klingons with the kazon being truly owned and Janeway having to tolerate a snarling Kurn as the XO.

Torres could be reimagined as a full blooded Klingon, Kurn could spend every episode threatening to rip out Paris oesophagus for being a slacker and we could have a mutiny every second episode. Cool stuff.

Alas...not be..

 

[T'Girl]

Instead of Riker 2.0, how about transporter duplicate Ensign Gomez as Janeway's alternate first officer?

We could keep the electronic peyote if you want.

 

[2takesfrakes]

I take it that you would find Sirtis's appearance in such episodes a bit more engaging than the two she actually did show up in?

Yes, that is correct. Tom & Troi could've had some very passionate scenes together, something meatier, perhaps, than Marina's played in Star Trek, before. It might've been dipping into the well too often, if they kept bringing her back, somehow, on Tom's account, though. As it is, though, she looked very beautiful in that beach scene with Barclay, where he violates the sanctity of her privacy to lament his failed romance.

I don't usually care for crossovers, but I'm enough of a Jonathan Frakes fan that I like seeing him playing another character in another version of Star Trek. And Marina's so lovely a presence onscreen, that it's no wonder they brought her back to VOY, on more than one occasion. But are you sure it's just twice? I suspect it was more than that, but I can't be certain. In any case, I'm confident that Tom Riker would've enriched STAR TREK: Voyager and made it an even stronger, much improved entry in the franchise. With Jonathan Frakes' clout, he may have even been able to keep the show's quality even higher and would be, if you will, a boon to the show! But, of course, Frakes made it for an episode, anyway, and - as I understand it - the ratings hit the stratosphere for that show.

 

[Drone]

I take it that you would find Sirtis's appearance in such episodes a bit more engaging than the two she actually did show up in?

Yes, that is correct. Tom & Troi could've had some very passionate scenes together, something meatier, perhaps, than Marina's played in Star Trek, before. It might've been dipping into the well too often, if they kept bringing her back, somehow, on Tom's account, though. As it is, though, she looked very beautiful in that beach scene with Barclay, where he violates the sanctity of her privacy to lament his failed romance.

I don't usually care for crossovers, but I'm enough of a Jonathan Frakes fan that I like seeing him playing another character in another version of Star Trek. And Marina's so lovely a presence onscreen, that it's no wonder they brought her back to VOY, on more than one occasion. But are you sure it's just twice? I suspect it was more than that, but I can't be certain. In any case, I'm confident that Tom Riker would've enriched STAR TREK: Voyager and made it an even stronger, much improved entry in the franchise. With Jonathan Frakes' clout, he may have even been able to keep the show's quality even higher and would be, if you will, a boon to the show! But, of course, Frakes made it for an episode, anyway, and - as I understand it - the ratings hit the stratosphere for that show.

Indeed, you're correct. There were 3 appearances she made on Voyager; Pathfinder, Life Line, and The Inside Man, the middle one of which I forgot about. I would also say that the presence of her's you mention is still intact at age 60. As for Frakes and Voyager, he did at least direct 3 episodes, which would make a great trivia confection of some kind, as they all happen to begin with the letter P!!

 

[2takesfrakes]

Ha - yes, the three "P's"!

Productivity
Performance
Perceptions

 

[Lynx]

I like Riker and the TNG characters.

But Thomas Riker instead of Chakotay?

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[DarKush]

Man I never thought of replacing Chakotay with Thomas Riker. It's not a bad idea. I liked Chakotay-more so the idea of him-than some of what we got. But Tom Riker would have given the show a strong TNG connection, bringing along a fan-favorite character, and/or actor and that might have strenghtened the show. For me I might have warmed to the show more or been more charitable towards it if it had had a TNG character like Tom Riker, Ro, or Shelby onboard.

 

[Mage]

The concept is actually pretty damned good. But it's probably harder the execute properly. I mean, fans of Riker would have felt it weird to see Will, but not Will. People who don't like Riker, would probably get annoyed that Frakes is there, and might not watch the show.

And besides, in the end, when you watch a new show, you like that it's connected to the others, but still seperate. The connection is simple; it's Star Trek. There are already enough familiar aspects to connect with. No need to add something like Tom Riker to draw in more viewers. It would feels to much same-same.

 

[Paradise City]

Riker is too prominent. It's a pity Michelle Forbes wasn't game but her as Maquis leader would've been excellent. Talk about running with two strong women as categorical leaders whilst injecting a bit of grit into proceedings.

I would've done Commander Kurn (if the timelines would've coincided with him being drummed out of the high council) as a leader of the Maquis. Worf's brother snarlin' at Neelix whilst over at DS9 Worf snarls at Quark. hahaha. I could see a grudging bond between him and the martial Vulcan Tuvok.

Anyhoo, I'm daydreamin now.

 

[DarKush]

The concept is actually pretty damned good. But it's probably harder the execute properly. I mean, fans of Riker would have felt it weird to see Will, but not Will. People who don't like Riker, would probably get annoyed that Frakes is there, and might not watch the show.

And besides, in the end, when you watch a new show, you like that it's connected to the others, but still seperate. The connection is simple; it's Star Trek. There are already enough familiar aspects to connect with. No need to add something like Tom Riker to draw in more viewers. It would feels to much same-same.

Fair points, however Trek has used the connecting characters, not to mention the same actors (albeit in different roles) quite a bit during its run. DS9 brought over Chief O'Brien and eventually Worf. DS9 wanted Ro but didn't get her. Q and Troi's mom also were guest stars. And VOY had Q do some guest spots, Riker once, and so on. I think having Tom Riker, a different Riker (as established both on TNG and especially on DS9) could be a way of having a TNG character as a connection, but him being so different that it still is a separate show. I mean having Tom on the show would set it apart. Granted they would likely have to really develop Tom into having some different quirks than Will. I do get that it might be Riker-overload if Will was still on TNG (movies) and Tom was on VOY, but still I think the idea would've been neat to see. And it would've given us one somewhat familiar character (and a familiar actor) to bring us into the show. Since we know what Riker is capable of I think he would've been a more credible challenge to Janeway's authority.

 

[DarKush]

Riker is too prominent. It's a pity Michelle Forbes wasn't game but her as Maquis leader would've been excellent. Talk about running with two strong women as categorical leaders whilst injecting a bit of grit into proceedings.

I would've done Commander Kurn (if the timelines would've coincided with him being drummed out of the high council) as a leader of the Maquis. Worf's brother snarlin' at Neelix whilst over at DS9 Worf snarls at Quark. hahaha. I could see a grudging bond between him and the martial Vulcan Tuvok.

Anyhoo, I'm daydreamin now.

Yeah, I do like the idea of Michelle Forbes as the Maquis leader. That would've been great seeing her butt heads with Janeway. I do think Riker's prominence works though. It would get people curious and interested in checking out the show.

I can't see Kurn becoming a Maquis though. I'm sure he's no fan of the Cardassians and most Klingon warriors are spoiling for fights, but I can't see him getting involved in that dispute from what we saw of him. Granted they could add to his backstory, maybe he had a home on one of the DMZ worlds or a mate or children there or something to that effect. But just getting kicked off the Council I can't see him joining the Maquis. If anything it seems like he would fight to regain his position or do something along the lines of what they had him do on DS9.

 

[Paradise City]

Riker is too prominent. It's a pity Michelle Forbes wasn't game but her as Maquis leader would've been excellent. Talk about running with two strong women as categorical leaders whilst injecting a bit of grit into proceedings.

I would've done Commander Kurn (if the timelines would've coincided with him being drummed out of the high council) as a leader of the Maquis. Worf's brother snarlin' at Neelix whilst over at DS9 Worf snarls at Quark. hahaha. I could see a grudging bond between him and the martial Vulcan Tuvok.

Anyhoo, I'm daydreamin now.

Yeah, I do like the idea of Michelle Forbes as the Maquis leader. That would've been great seeing her butt heads with Janeway. I do think Riker's prominence works though. It would get people curious and interested in checking out the show.

I can't see Kurn becoming a Maquis though. I'm sure he's no fan of the Cardassians and most Klingon warriors are spoiling for fights, but I can't see him getting involved in that dispute from what we saw of him. Granted they could add to his backstory, maybe he had a home on one of the DMZ worlds or a mate or children there or something to that effect. But just getting kicked off the Council I can't see him joining the Maquis. If anything it seems like he would fight to regain his position or do something along the lines of what they had him do on DS9.

If Vulcans and even Betazeds are in it, I'd say Klingons would definitely be game. Particularly given how much of a loose end Kurn is in when he washes up on DS9. Of course, he broke with the Council by refusing to join the Klingon invasion of Cardassia. It'd have to be to spite Worf and perhaps to ingratiate himself back into the Empire's good books having realised the full implications of his fall from grace.

 

[DarKush]

Thanks. I didn't remember why Kurn was ousted from the Council. But in light of that, and just the sense I have of Kurn generally I can't see him trying to ingratiate himself with the Council or spiting Worf.

Not saying Klingons weren't in the Maquis. I mean Torres was in it. But a person of Kurn's position, from what we saw of him, it just doesn't feel to me like something he would do. Granted after his fall from grace he might do something out of 'character' but I don't see him taking on that fight per se. I think there would have to be more added to explain why he's in the Maquis.

And I don't see him getting all wrapped up in Maquis ideology or their cause. Keep Chakotay, Tom Riker, or Ro who were all more passionate Maquis. Though Tom might have been doing it for less than noble reasons.