I am tempted, sometimes, to say that William T. Riker is my favorite captain in Star Trek. It’s true by technicality since Riker earns the rank at the end of 2002’s Star Trek: Nemesis, but perhaps that isn’t really in the spirit of the “who’s your favorite captain?” discussion. So, instead, I will say that Riker is undoubtedly an excellent first officer.
First introduced in the premiere episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, “Encounter at Farpoint,” Commander Riker is portrayed by Jonathan Frakes as competent and instantly likable. In many ways, Riker is the TNG analog to Captain Kirk from the original Star Trek, but as the series progresses, Riker develops into his own, unique character. (For one thing, he grows a beard.)
In TNG, the role of the first officer is fleshed out beyond how it is depicted in TOS. Rather than basically just taking over when the captain is unavailable, Riker’s job entails much of the day-to-day management of the Enterprise-D (and later E) crew. As a result, Riker has to maintain a positive rapport with the crew while also collaborating closely with Captain Picard.
Commander Riker has the admirable ability to be kind and welcoming towards almost everyone while at the same time keeping professional boundaries. That first part ensures that the crew feels comfortable around Riker and able to do their best work. The boundaries are also important, however, as it ensures that Riker’s authority as first officer is respected.
Balancing formality with friendliness can be difficult. Even Captain Picard struggles with it in ways that other captains—such as Sisko or Janeway—may not as much. Riker seems to come by this naturally, however, and it never comes across as forced or fake.
That is the other important component of what makes Commander Riker a good first officer (and a fun character to watch): He is honest with himself and others, and he is comfortable in his own skin. Sure, Riker’s not always completely certain of what he wants in life—as we see in “The Best of Both Worlds, Parts I & II,” but he doesn’t try to pretend otherwise.
Being honest and self-actualized, as Riker is, is just nice to see sometimes. Torn and conflicted characters can be compelling, of course, but they can also be frustrating. Riker is generally cool-headed and curious. He is open and accepting of the universe around him. Riker has strong moral convictions, but he does not let his ideals obfuscate the truth.
Part of what makes this work is that Riker is not a rebel. He is not constantly insubordinate. He does not slack off. All the same, Riker thinks for himself. He will speak up if he finds something is amiss, and since he only does so when he really thinks it matters, that means he’s probably worth listening to. It won’t just be that he’s vying for a captain’s chair.
Many of these traits are shared with the first officers of other series, like Mr. Spock or Commander Chakotay, but those characters are also unique and present slightly different flavors of these ideas. What makes Riker stand out—at least to me—is the fact that he is all of these things I’ve described, but he’s also fun.
The fact that Riker hosts poker nights and tries new things—even to less-than-stellar results—is really cool. The fact that he is not constantly competing with others, but rather always learning and striving to be his best self is quintessential to Star Trek’s fundamental themes. It is also always refreshing to watch, even though The Next Generation ended over 30 years ago.
If a discussion of favorite captains really means a discussion of favorite main leads of various Star Trek TV shows and films, then Riker really can’t be brought up. When it comes to first officers, though, Riker is absolutely in the running for one of the best. I may be biased, but if nothing else, William T. Riker has an excellent middle initial.