10 Best Riker Episodes In Star Trek

The Pegasus stands as Riker's finest hour as, for one thing, it shows what happens when Riker got it very, very wrong. The Next Generation from time to time widened its world to show their place within Starfleet. Here, Riker is duty-bound to keep his colleagues in the dark, even at the risk to his relationship with them.

In the end, it is only by sacrificing the chain of command and confessing all to Picard that he is able to help resolve the situation. The episode has the honour of explaining exactly why the Federation doesn't use cloaking devices, something that had been repeatedly asked at conventions all the way back since Kirk's days.

It also originally ended with a far more severe punishment for Riker, including thirty days in the brig and a formal reprimand on his record, which would have effectively ended any chances of making captain in the future. While that was considered too hard a punishment, it was an idea that was revisited with both Worf and Tom Paris in later installments. Additionally, Terry O'Quinn delivered such a fine performance as Pressman that there were plans to bring him back for Deep Space Nine. After all, there is no definitive ending to his story - he is escorted off the Enterprise but we never hear from him again.

All in all, this is a fantastic hour of television, it is the finest exploration of Riker's character and it truly delivers on the friendship that he has built with Picard.