Commander William T. Riker (Jonathan Frakes) is best known from Captain Will Decker (Stephen Collins) from Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

Commander Riker served as Captain Picard's First Officer for an impressive 15 years, despite being offered his own command multiple times. Riker became one of the best First Officers in Starfleet history and Captain Picard even referred to him as "the finest officer with whom [he had] ever served." As revealed in Star Trek: The Next Generation's premiere episode, Riker had a romantic history with Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis), and the two went on to have one of Star Trek's greatest love stories. This relationship also took inspiration from Decker's romance with Lieutenant Ilia (Persis Khambatta) from Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

Will Riker’s Life Before Star Trek: The Next Generation (2335-2364)

Will Riker Served Aboard At Least 3 Ships Before The USS Enterprise-D

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William Riker was born in Alaska in 2335 to parents Kyle (Mitchell Ryan) and Betty Riker. After Betty ed away when Will was only two years old, Kyle raised Will alone. Kyle struggled with grief after his wife's death, often leaving Will to fend for himself. This created a rift between Will and his father that lasted for many years. Kyle abruptly abandoned his son when Will was only fifteen, something Will struggled to forgive even fifteen years later. Will began attending Starfleet Academy in 2353 and graduated four years later ranked eighth in his class.

After stepping into the director chair in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 3, Jonathan Frakes has since become one of Star Trek's most prolific directors.

As an ensign, Riker's first posting was as the conn officer on the USS Pegasus, under the command of Captain Erik Pressman (Terry O'Quinn). Riker's unwavering loyalty to his superior officers led him to side with Pressman when the captain violated the Treaty of Algeron by testing an illegal cloaking device. Pressman, Riker, and a few other crew escaped the Pegasus, but the remaining 71 crew were killed when the ship was apparently destroyed. Riker did not reveal the truth about these events until years later when iral Pressman visited the USS Enterprise-D.

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At some point after the Pegasus incident, Riker was stationed on Betazed, where he met Deanna Troi. The two were involved romantically for several years before Riker was promoted to Lieutenant ​​​​​​and chose his career over his relationship. Lt. Riker was serving aboard the USS Potemkin in 2361 when a transporter accident left a clone of Riker (later referred to as Thomas) on the planet Nervala IV. Thomas was not discovered until eight years later when the USS Enterprise-D visited the planet. Will was promoted to Lt. Commander after this mission and became First Officer aboard the USS Hood under the command of Captain Robert DeSoto (Michael Cavanaugh).

Commander Riker Was First Officer Of The USS Enterprise-D In Star Trek: The Next Generation (2364-2371)

Riker Turned Down Numerous Commands To Remain On The Enterprise

In 2364, William Riker was promoted to Commander and landed the position of First Officer on the newly commissioned USS Enterprise-D. Riker quickly impressed Captain Picard and even intrigued the god-like being known as Q (John de Lancie), who briefly gave Riker the powers of the Q Continuum. Riker was a skilled strategist and tactician who developed a reputation for using unorthodox solutions. He participated in an Officer Exchange Program in 2365, temporarily serving aboard the Klingon IKS Pagh.

Jonathan Frakes' particular way of sitting down in the chairs aboard the Enterprise has been dubbed the "Riker Maneuver" by Trek fans.

In 2366, Riker received a temporary field promotion to captain and took command of the Enterprise-D after Picard was assimilated by the Borg. Riker proved himself to be a strong commander, devising a successful plan to rescue Picard from the Borg. Riker and Picard became close friends while serving together on the Enterprise, and Riker was always willing to stand up for his captain. When Picard was captured by Cardassians in 2369, Riker pushed back against Captain Edward Jellico (Ronny Cox) until Jellico removed him from duty.

Riker had several relationships throughout TNG's seven seasons.

Riker and Troi did not officially rekindle their romance on Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Riker had several relationships throughout TNG's seven seasons. Like Captain Kirk before him, Riker had a few brief romances with women he encountered on away missions or women who visited the Enterprise. In 2368, Riker developed feelings for a visitor named Soren (Melinda Culea), who identified as female despite her people's strict adherence to androgyny. This particular romance ended in tragedy, as Riker was unable to prevent Soren's people from treating her supposed "illness" and removing any feelings she had developed.

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Throughout his time on the USS Enterprise-D Riker participated in many away missions, several of which involved going undercover as an alien species. These included missions to Mintaka III in 2366, to Malcor III in 2367, and to Tilonus IV in 2369. All three of these missions had complications, which Riker was eventually able to overcome. Riker participated in the Klingon Civil War of 2368, briefly taking command of the USS Excalibur as part of a blockade. Commander Riker continuously proved himself to be a confident and capable officer whose quick thinking saved the Enterprise on more than one occasion.

Commander Riker In Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Movies (2371-2379)

Riker Continued Serving With Captain Picard Until 2379

Riker commanded the USS Enterprise-D during its final battle in Star Trek Generations. Although he managed to destroy the Duras sisters' Klingon Bird-of-Prey, the Enterprise-D was damaged beyond repair. At the helm, Counselor Troi guided the saucer section of the Enterprise-D to a crash landing on Veridian III, after which Riker lamented that he would never get to be captain of the ship. After the destruction of the Enterprise-D, Riker transferred with the rest of the senior officers to the USS Enterprise-E, where he remained First Officer.

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In Star Trek: First , the USS Enterprise-E participated in the Battle of Sector 001 in 2373, fighting off a Borg cube before following a Borg sphere back in time to 2063. Riker traveled down to 21st-century Earth and accompanied Zefram Cochrane (James Cromwell) on his historic first warp flight that resulted in First with the Vulcans. Riker stood with his crew in Star Trek: Insurrection as they defied Starfleet orders to help the Ba'ku. While battling the villainous Son'a, Riker invented a new tactic involving a volatile gas cloud that Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) dubbed the "Riker Maneuver."

Jonathan Frakes directed Star Trek: First and Star Trek: Insurrection.

Riker and Troi finally rekindled their romance in Star Trek: Insurrection, leading to their wedding at the beginning of Star Trek: Nemesis in 2379. Riker had already been given command of the USS Titan, but he chose to accompany the Enterprise-E to stop Praetor Shinzon (Tom Hardy) from using his powerful weapon against Earth. Riker proved he could still hold his own in a fight, as he went hand-to-hand against Shinzon's Viceroy (Ron Perlman) and ultimately emerged victorious.

Commander Riker Appeared In Other Star Trek Shows

Riker Popped Up In Star Trek: Voyager & Star Trek: Enterprise

Commander Riker briefly appeared in Star Trek: Voyager season 2, episode 18, "Death Wish," (which took place in 2372) when Q brought him aboard the USS Voyager to act as a witness. Q wished to show Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) why his fellow Continuum member, Quinn (Gerrit Graham), should not be made human and allowed to die. Q showed Janeway and Riker that Quinn once helped Riker's ancestor during the American Civil War. After Q transported Riker back to the Enterprise, Will retained no memories of the encounter.

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Riker and Counselor Troi popped up in the Star Trek: Enterprise, which took place during the events of Star Trek: The Next Generation's "The Pegasus." As Riker contemplated what to tell Captain Picard about the mutiny aboard his former ship, Troi suggested that Riker should explore the final voyage of the Enterprise NX-01 on the holodeck. Riker not only observed Captain Jonathan Archer's (Scott Bakula) crew, but also interacted with many of their holodeck recreations, posing as the Chef aboard Archer's Enterprise.

Riker Was Captain Of The USS Titan & Married Deanna Troi (2379 -)

Riker & Troi Married In 2379 & Transferred To The Titan

Riker and Troi finally married in Star Trek: Nemesis, and after the events of that film, they both transferred to the USS Titan. Riker took over command of the Titan and his first mission took him to the Romulan Neutral Zone to command a diplomatic task force. Star Trek: Lower Decks checked in with Riker about a year later, in 2380, when he showed up to help the USS Cerritos against three Pakled Clumpships. Riker offered Ensign Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid) a position on the Titan, but Boimler soon transferred back to the USS Cerritos and Brad's own transporter clone, Ensign William Boimler, remained on the Titan with Riker.

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As Captain of the Titan, many of Riker's adventures involved more action-oriented missions, and he once expressed how much he missed the USS Enterprise-D's more scientific missions of exploration. In 2381, Riker and Troi welcomed their first child, Thaddeus Troi-Riker, who was born aboard the Titan. Tragically, Thad later developed an illness known as mendaxic neurosclerosis, which led to his death. If the Federation had not banned all synthetic life in the wake of the 2385 attack on Mars, Thad's illness could have been cured using an active positronic matrix.

Captain Riker In Star Trek: Picard

Captain Riker Made A Triumphant Return In Star Trek: Picard

In 2399, Riker and Troi resided on the planet Nepenthe with their daughter Kestra (Lulu Wilson). They had settled on Nepenthe sometime after Thad's diagnosis, hoping that the healing properties in the planet's soil would help him. Riker was no longer actively serving in Starfleet, although he remained in reserve. In Star Trek: Picard season 1, iral Jean-Luc Picard visited the Troi-Rikers on Nepenthe later that year, and they offered him and Soji Asha (Isa Briones) a place to stay. Riker later returned to duty, temporarily taking command of the USS Zheng He to stop the Zhat Vash from attacking Coppelius.

Picard and Riker commandeered the USS Titan-A from Captain Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick.

By 2401, Riker had returned to Starfleet service full-time, but he did not hesitate to help Picard when asked. After receiving a distress call from Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), Picard recruited Riker to help him mount a rescue mission in Star Trek: Picard season 3. Picard and Riker commandeered the USS Titan-A from Captain Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick), with some help from First Officer Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan). When Shaw was injured in a battle with Vadic's (Amanda Plummer) warship, the Shrike, Riker took command of the Titan for the remainder of the fight.

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Riker and Picard disagreed about how to handle the Shrike, and Picard's plan ultimately made things worse for the Titan. In the end, the Titan escaped and Riker gave command back to Shaw. Vadic later captured Riker after he and his friends rescue the newly upgraded Data (Brent Spiner) from Daystrom Station. Vadic has also captured Troi, and Riker and Troi spend their time in captivity working through their marital problems. Captain Worf (Michael Dorn) eventually arrived to rescue Riker and Troi, and the entire Star Trek: The Next Generation crew reunited aboard the rebuilt USS Enterprise-D.

Riker is still awaiting a promotion to iral at the end of Star Trek: Picard season 3.

In the end, Riker helped his friends thwart the Borg/Changeling plot to destroy the Federation by beaming over to the attacking Borg cube with Picard and Worf. Because of their connection, Troi sensed Riker from the Enterprise, allowing her to pinpoint his location within the heart of the Borg cube. Thanks to Troi's ability and Data's piloting skills, the Enterprise-D crew rescued their friends and saved the galaxy yet again. A year later, Riker ed his Star Trek: The Next Generation family for a game of poker in a perfect ending to his Star Trek story.