William T. Riker

Universe :	Prime Timeline
Name :	William T. Riker [1]
Species :	Humans

Commander William Riker is a slightly unconventional character. He has a somewhat relaxed command style, and often indulges in humour with both senior and subordinate officers. [2] He prefers to lead by example rather than simply sit back and order others forward; off duty he is happy to socialise with subordinates, and has acquired something of a reputation as a "party animal" among the crew of the Enterprise-D. [3] Some have mistaken this style for a lack of professionalism, [2] but when it comes to getting results Riker has been described by Captain Picard as one of the best officers in the fleet. [4]

Riker graduated 8th in his class at Starfleet Academy and was considered a high flyer. [4] However, he turned down captaincy of the USS Drake in order to serve on the Enterprise. [5] He rapidly began to establish himself as a force to be reckoned with; in 2364 one of his greatest personal tests came when he was offered near-unlimited personal power by Q. Riker initially refused to accept these abilities, but soon gave into the temptation. Despite this, he quickly saw the error of his ways and relinquished his powers. [6]

In 2365 Riker became the first Federation officer to serve on board a Klingon vessel when he became First Officer of the Pagh under an officer exchange programme. Riker served with distinction during his brief time on the Pagh, managing to simultaneously uphold his Starfleet loyalties and his oath to serve the Pagh even when hostilities threatened to erupt between the two. [7]

In 2365 Riker was again offered his own command, this time the USS Aries. He refused again, preferring to continue aboard the Enterprise. [8] When offered the USS Melbourne in 2366, Riker once more refused to accept his own command. Some took this to be a sign that he was unwilling to take the responsibility of a captaincy, but Riker showed this to be demonstratably false when he was forced to take command of the Enterprise after Captain Picard was captured by the Borg. Riker personally devised the plan which succeeded in recovering the Captain from the Borg vessel, ultimately allowing them to be destroyed in Earth orbit. Once Picard was restored to health Riker refused to consider remaining a ships captain, instead returning to his post as First Officer of the Enterprise-D. [9]

In 2371 Riker was in temporary command of the Enterprise-D when it was attacked by a Klingon Bird of Prey. The warship had found a way to penetrate the shields of the Galaxy class ship; despite this colossal disadvantage Riker was able to defeat the Klingons, although the engineering hull of the Enterprise took fatal damage in doing so. [10]

After Captain Picard was assigned as Captain of the Enterprise-E, Riker accepted the post of First Officer. Perhaps one of his most notable achievements came when that ship went back in time to 2063 to prevent the Borg from stopping the first warp flight by Humans. Cut off from the Enterprise, Riker commanded the effort to repair and launch the Phoenix and was actually a member of the crew alongside Zefram Cochrane himself! [11]

Riker continued in the first officer position on the Enterprise-E until 2378, when he accepted command of the USS Titan. He married Commander Deanna Troi shortly before going to the Titan, where his first mission was to re-establish relations with the new Romulan government after the temporary rise to power of Shinzon. [12] Riker's service number is SC 231-427. [4]

Riker and Troi had two children, Thaddeus and Kestra. Thaddeus, known as Thad, was named after Thaddius Riker, a soldier in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He was a distant ancestor of Will. Kestra was named after Deanna's sister, who tragically drowned at the age of seven. [13]

When Thad was infected with Mendaxic Neurosclerosis, a silicon virus, doctors said that the only cure was to culture the affected cells in an active positronic matrix. The problem was that the Federation ban on synthetic life meant that there were no active positronic matrices in existence any more. In a last ditch attempt to help him, Riker and his family moved to the planet Nepanthe, which was known for its regenerative properties. Thad came to think of the planet as his own homeworld. Ultimately the plan was unsuccessful and Thad passed away. Riker and his family remained on the planet after his passing. [13]

Will Riker lead the fleet that arrived at Coppelius to protect the androids that lived there. [14]

Colour key

Canon source

Backstage source

Novel source

DITL speculation

Associated with

Crew of the Enterprise 1701-D/1701-E

Associated with Star Trek : Picard

Played by

References

#	Series	Season	Source	Comment
1	TNG	1	Encounter at Farpoint
2	TNG	2	Peak Performance
3			Various Next Generation episodes
4	TNG	6	Chain of Command, Part 1
5	TNG	1	The Arsenal of Freedom
6	TNG	1	Hide and Q
7	TNG	2	A Matter of Honor
8	TNG	2	The Icarus Factor
9	TNG	4	The Best of Both Worlds, Part 2
10			Star Trek : Generations
11			Star Trek : First Contact
12			Star Trek : Nemesis
13	STP	1	Nepenthe
14	STP	1	Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2

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Last updated : 16 Oct 2025

Series	Season	Actor	Film / Episode Title
TNG		Jonathan Frakes
ENT	4	Jonathan Frakes	These Are The Voyages...
STP	1	Jonathan Frakes	Nepenthe
STP	1	Jonathan Frakes	Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 2
STP	3	Jonathan Frakes
LD	1	Jonathan Frakes	No Small Parts
LD	2	Jonathan Frakes	Strange Energies
LD	2	Jonathan Frakes	Kayshon, His Eyes Open
		Jonathan Frakes	Generations
		Jonathan Frakes	First Contact
		Jonathan Frakes	Insurrection

Series :	TNG Season 1
Episode :	Encounter at Farpoint

Series :	TNG Season 2
Episode :	Peak Performance

Series :	TNG Season
Episode :	Various Next Generation episodes

Series :	TNG Season 6
Episode :	Chain of Command, Part 1

Series :	TNG Season 4
Episode :	The Best of Both Worlds, Part 2