10 Best Riker Episodes In Star Trek

Everyone can look back on their lives at some point and find a period of time that they regret. For William T. Riker, his days as a baby-faced commander certainly rank up there with memories that would be happily squashed. However, from his stiff days as the new first officer, Jonathan Frakes grew in the hearts and minds of audiences as he became one of the most beloved characters in all of Star Trek history.

As his character was developed, he managed to become a soft and open point for the fans to rally behind. He was in charge, behind Picard, but he was able to hold his own without coming across as authoritarian or dictatorial. When he did lay down the law, it most usually came with good reason.

His verbal sparring with Shelby displayed him at perhaps his most tense around another officer. Over seven seasons and four movies, Riker was Number One on board the Enterprise, a role he wouldn't give up lightly. However he didn't get to this position overnight. Rather, he grew as the writers decided on the different directions to take him.

Once it became clear that the Next Generation was becoming a hugely successful show in its own right, each of the main players were given more to do - leading to some of the strongest and move beloved storylines in the entire franchise. Listed below are ten of the best examples of Riker's episodes.

This is a crime story, through and through. It was beset with issues behind the scenes. The main bulk of the plot involves telling the same story four different ways from four different viewpoints, which apparently caused massive headaches for Cliff Bole, the episode's director. However, where there are challenges there are opportunities and the episode manages to rise above.

Frakes gets to play different variations of Riker here, from straightlaced officer to overbearing womaniser. It is notable as well that his own version of the truth paints him in a slightly more positive light than the established facts by episode's end.

While not the strongest of episodes overall, it was one of the first that pulled Riker up on his flirting and suaveness, leaving him in a sticky situation. While the eventual motive for the station's explosion was revealed to have little to nothing to do with being discovered with Apgar's wife, there is a portion of the episode where even Troi begins to question his innocence.

However, science rules the day and through the usual techno talk, he is saved from extradition. The episode delivers a court case, which almost always prove to be among the better episodes of Star Trek and also gets to play with the idea of personal lives interrupting professional lives. Riker may well have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, but was anyone really shocked when people thought he'd made a pass at a lady?