10 Long TV Running Gags You Never Even Noticed

It's entirely possible to have watched all 178 episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation and never have noticed the tendency for Riker (Jonathan Frakes) to sit down on chairs in a most unusual way, straddling them almost as though mounting a horse.

In more recent years the "Riker Chair Manoeuvre" became a bit of a meme as fans started to take notice, and yet despite how distracting it seems in retrospect, so many millions of fans never once picked up on it themselves.

There's actually a practical reason for the move, though: Wil Wheaton confirmed on Reddit that Jonathan Frakes suffered a back injury while moving furniture prior to working on The Next Generation, and so this peculiar means of sitting was an attempt to take some of the strain off his back.

Similarly Riker can often be seen leaning or otherwise bracing himself against objects throughout the series, all of it in an attempt to prevent further aggravation of his existing injury.

Despite its basically medical purposes, that hasn't stopped the Internet embracing it in recent years as a charmingly odd character trait.