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Information About

William Riker




  bgcolor #ccccff
  Image RikerpostTNGjpg
  Caption Cmdr William T Riker
  Species Human
  Gender Male
  Hair Color dark brown
  Eye Color blue
  Planet Earth
  Affiliation Starfleet
  Position Executive Officer ,<br> Commanding Officer
  Posting USS ''Enterprise''-D ,<br> USS ''Enterprise''-E ,<br> USS ''Titan''
  Rank Commander ,<br> Captain
  Insignia <br>
  Serial SC-231-427
  Portrayed Jonathan Frakes


William Thomas Riker is a fictious character in the ''.


BIOGRAPHY


William Riker was born to Kyle Riker and Betty Riker in Valdez, Alaska , Earth in 2335. In 2350, the elder Riker abandoned his son; his wife had died some years before. William resented his father for this and the two did not speak again until 2365, fifteen years later.

Riker entered Starfleet Academy c. 2353 and graduated in 2357, finishing eighth in his class. He acquired a lifelong reputation for using unorthodox solutions, as ''Enterprise'' Second Officer Data estimated he used traditional tactics only 21% of the time. Among the earliest assignments of his career were on the ''Excelsior''-class USS ''Potemkin'', on the planet Betazed , where he met Deanna Troi . He then served as a lieutenant and then a lieutenant commander on the USS ''Hood''. Riker had two cruises on the ''Hood'', his second (2361 – 4) as XO . During his time on the ''Potemkin'', Riker was involved in a Transporter accident while beaming up from a planet; that accident created an exact copy of him – later going by the name Thomas Riker – who remained on the planet. Seven years after graduation, 2364, he requested and received a transfer to the USS ''Enterprise''-D , the Starfleet Flagship of that time, where he served as XO under Captain Jean-Luc Picard . During the Borg invasion of 2366-7, Riker was field promoted to Captain of the ''Enterprise'' after Captain Picard was abducted and transformed into the drone/spokesperson Locutus; after Picard's rescue, Riker returned to his previous position and rank. After his assignment to the ''Enterprise'', the fast-tracking young commander's career came to rest, and he remained on the ''Enterprise'' for nearly a decade and a half. Following the destruction of the ''Enterprise''-D in 2371, Riker was reassigned to the USS ''Enterprise''-E , where he again was Picard's first officer.

On the ''Enterprise'', Riker was a popular officer with many close friends among the crew, acting as the visible extension and "softer face" of the somewhat aristocratic Captain Picard's authority. He also served as a diplomat to alien races, becoming romantically involved with a number of alien women before finally marrying long-time friend and companion Deanna Troi , now the ship's counselor.

In 2379, having previously turned down several promotions in order to continue serving with Picard, Riker finally accepted promotion to Captain and assignment to command of the USS ''Titan'' . In the same year, he also married Deanna Troi .

Frakes reprised the role of William Riker in the final episode of '''', aired in May 2005. In it, Riker consults holographic simulations of the final voyage of the NX-01 Enterprise in an attempt to help him deal with the situation concerning the USS ''Pegasus'' and its illegal cloaking device. Riker, with the help of Counselor Troi, cast himself in several roles within the holodeck program, such as the ship's chef and a MACO soldier. Eventually Riker, after learning all he can from the holodeck program, decides to come clean and explain to Captain Picard exactly what the situation with the ''Pegasus'' is.

Quote:
"Your only concern is obeying my orders"
-A Matter of Honor


NOTES

  • According to Diane Carey 's novel ''Ghost Ship'', Troi calls Riker "Bill" because the word "Will" means " Shaving Cream " in the Betazed language. However, this is not established in Canon . (It also contradicts her later behavior in the series...) In actuality, "Bill" was a hold over from initial concepts of Troi and Riker when TNG began.

  • Riker's middle name was erroneously said to be Thelonius-perhaps after Jazz musician Thelonius Monk, to reflect Riker's love of that type of music-in Peter David's novel ''Imzadi''.

  • The character was named in honor of democracy theorist William H. Riker



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