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

Much alluded to in this article so far, Will Riker’s life was turned upside down in the sixth season episode ‘Second Chances’, when he returns to the planet Nervala IV to retrieve scientific data lost after evacuation eight years earlier. Beaming down, Riker is shocked to find a survivor who looks just like him, claiming to be Will Riker.

Trapped by a distortion field years prior, a transporter malfunction duplicated Riker’s pattern, leaving the stranded Lieutenant on the planet whilst an identical version was beamed aboard the rescue ship and went on to become the Riker we watched for the previous six years. Owing to resentment and different lived experiences, the Rikers immediately clash and the stranded duplicate, now taking his middle name of Thomas, elects to leave The Enterprise and strike out on his own, eventually joining the Maquis terrorists.

This was not always the plan, however, as writers originally toyed with the idea of killing Will Riker off and having Thomas join the crew for the rest of the show’s run, promoting Data to First Officer and placing the new Riker at the helm. As shocking and bold as such a plan would have been, the production crew did not want to squander a character they had invested so much in. Thomas would make a return in DS9 as a villainous member of the Maquis, and we would go on to enjoy the OG Riker for many years to come.