Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Will Riker

10. William Decker: The Proto-Riker

Following the conclusion of The Original Series, fans were desperate for more and Paramount heeded the call by immediately putting ‘Phase II’ into production.

Taking the DNA of the original series and pushing it forward, the show was to follow a refitted Enterprise and pair old favourites with brand new cast members as The Enterprise continued its mission across space after the curtailing of its first run. Whilst James Kirk would carry on in the Captain’s chair, Leonard Nimoy declined to revive the role of Spock, and new First Officer William Decker was created.

When Phase II was summarily canned due to poor advertising prospects, elements from the Decker character were repurposed for Commander Riker, including his first name, role aboard the ship, general character demeanour and even a ‘lost love’ subplot with a fellow crew member, which carried over to Riker’s romance with Deanna Troi.

Elements of Phase II were incorporated into the original Motion Picture, including Decker, but had it gone ahead we may have seen a totally different Will Riker on the bridge of the Enterprise-D, and who wants to live in a world like that?