Riker says here he wanted to make captain by the time he was 35 - so why does he keep turning down all those captaincies?

I think it might be that that was an ambition he once had, but doesn't anymore.

Oh, the infamous disappearing-reappearing doorbell sound? It's there on the Australian TV broadcast.

Riker still seems to be a man of action, so why does he want to play second fiddle to Picard - especially now in the movies. He's not getting any younger and remember, people like Shelby would happily take his place.

Well, they offered him the Melbourne, and it got wiped out by the Borg. They apparently offered him the Voyager (according to Q's line in "Death Wish"), and it got sucked into the Delta Quadrant. They put him in command of the Enterprise-D, and it crashed.

Either that, or he's holding out for the Enterprise, waiting for Picard to kick off... :-)

I wonder if the events that came to light in The Pegasus have hindered his chances somewhat now.

Maybe- or maybe he's just happy where he is...
At our nearby cathedral (York Minster for those tourists among you who are planning to come here and want to see one of the glories of all England), the assistant organist, one John Scott Whitely, has been in that position since 1975! In other words, he's been there 25 years and not promoted to be Organist at another Cathedral. Considering the likes of other organists such as Martin Baker, who has been an assistant organist at Westminster Cathedral, St. Paul's Cathedral and since 1992 Westminster Abbey (all within the space of fifteen years!) it's clear that Mr. Whitely intends to remain second fiddle... er, organist... as long as he is able to play the instrument.
The same could be said for Riker.

It just seems so odd, given they made Riker out to be so ambitious previously.

Well, staying with the metaphor I previously raised, even without being Director of Music at York Minster, John Scott Whiteley faces many challenges. For instance, he's often called upon to play very difficult music for broadcasts, recordings and special services, whereas when you become Director of Music in an English cathedral nowadays, it seems that you get the primary task of conducting the choir, with playing the organ as a luxury extra (i.e. for special services or during choir vacations or in concerts or on recordings). Similarly, if Riker took a captaincy he would be in full command, answering to no-one on his own ship because he is responsible for the ship, but he would then be missing out on the various hands-on jobs (like crew evaluation and shuttle piloting) that he still gets to do as first officer.

He doesn't seem to like crew evaluations in Tapestry... and he would still have to answer to Starfleet.

Why wasn't the allegedly valuable information transmitted up to the Potemkin eight years earlier? Can't they use some kind of mobile link to transmit this information? With all their sensors and transporters capable of locating things on the surface, why not just beam the computer core up to the ship?

WARNING!!! SPOILER FOR THE DEEP SPACE NINE EPISODE DEFIANT!!!
On page 385 of the NextGen Guide II, Phil wondered about Starfleet's decision to put Lieutenant Riker back to work instead of giving him adjustment time and counseling. It turns out Phil was right. Lieutenant Riker went bad, joined the Maquis, stole the Defiant & attacked the Cardassians.
END SPOILER

Do you think that Starfleet considers what Troi did with Lieutenant Riker, to be 'counseling'?

The two Rikers go down to fix something, and the bridge they have to cross collapses. How did they get back? Was there a second, longer route, or are they still trapped down there and the two Rikers on the ship really just transporter duplicates?

Starfleet must be thrilled by this transporter discovery. Now they can make thousands of Data's and don't have to worry about figuring out how to rebuild him.

I wonder if the author was inspired by Spock Must Die by James Blish.

I think that it some ways there might be people who make better first officers than commanding officers. If your talents lay in organising or carrying out ideas but not necessarily originating them, or if you could do well when there's a commanding voice to play against (like the way people can edit others' work but not their own), then that might be first officer material.

Is there a real jazz piece called "Nightbird"? If so, what artist recorded it, and is it available on CD?

Adam:

"Nightbird" hits on Kazaa (Yes, ScottN, Kazaalite.

Title	Artist	Genre
"Nightbird"	Kalapana	Hawaiian
"Nightbird	" A+	Blues
"Nightbird"	Stevie Nicks	Rock

I somehow doubt the last one is what you're looking for.

There were also hits that didn't fit at all; I didn't bother to list them.

However, the late Chet Baker, famed Jazz artist, had an album called Nightbird.

Hannah: I like Stevie Nicks, particularly Sorcerer, her 2001 collaboration with Sheryl Crow. (My musical tastes are very eclectic.) Thanks for your research.

No prob, Adam.

I have about 18.GB of space on here (56.0MB RAM), and I've used....7.1 gigs. Most of it my music, I think. Heck, ONE MP3 of mine is 51MB (it's a full Carlin album, so..)

NANJAO: This episode was directed by Levar Burton.

This episode vaguely reminds me of "The Enemy Within" (TOS) I was waiting for Commander Riker to grit his teeth and yell at the top of his lungs, "I am Commander Riker!!!!"

The steel bridge that the 2 Rikers cross looks very simular to the one seen later in the movie "Generations" (with a few modifications)

I believe this episode marks the last time we see Riker play his trombone.

I must add, I like Troi's & Crusher's "off duty" outfits. Pretty dang hot!

Doesn't Riker also slide his 'bone in front of Deanna in "Thine Own Self"? It's where Riker is having a "trombone conversation" with Troi after she interrupts his 'bone-sliding in his quarters. (There's something not quite right with that sentence... )

Oh yeah, You're right. I forgot that scene. I was thinking playing a SONG on his trombone.

I don't think "captaincies" is a word.....

I do agree with the argument that some people are better as someone else's second-in-command than they would be as the leader. That is probably why Riker is allowed to stay on the Enterprise when he could probably have his own command with or without a promotion. Starfleet offers him his own command, probably because he has earned one, but when he declines, they leave him where he is because they recognize that it's his first, best destiny. They seem to understand that not everyone is cut out to be a starship captain, and it's better to have him as the finest XO in the fleet than as a mediocre CO.

Except that he proved himself to be a good CO in battle against the Borg in BOBW2.

True, but why did they not transfer him to another ship after Picard returned to duty? I can think of several reasons, but the biggest one is that Starfleet wants to keep this group of officers together, possibly for PR reasons and in recognition of the rapport they have together. I went into this idea in more detail on the discussion of Yesterday's Enterprise.

Well, they offered him the Melbourne, and it got wiped out by the Borg. They apparently offered him the Voyager (according to Q's line in "Death Wish"), and it got sucked into the Delta Quadrant. They put him in command of the Enterprise-D, and it crashed.

Not only that, but he was also offered the Drake, and that ship ended up being destroyed by a security system on Minos. I guess the Aries, with its menial asignment in an insignificant portion of the galaxy, was his safest bet. This doesn't bode well for Will's new command, the Titan.

(It was originally called the USS Titanic, but the designers renamed it when they heard Riker was going to be the captain. They didn't want to jinx it any further.)

Oh I don't know, I think he did a pretty good job when he was actually promoted to captain the first time...

Real-life astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison plays the small role of Ensign Palmer.

Thus becoming the first and only person to have actually traveled into space to be a character on Star Trek.

Other than Brannon Braga.

What, you didn't know? Aw, c'mon, don't tell me that you can watch Threshold(VOY), Fury(VOY), Precious Cargo(ENT), and Marauders(ENT), and think that the guy who wrote those was an Earthling.

Now now, Luigi, why so aggressive against a man you've never even met? He's not sitting you down and forcing you to watch his cr@p. :-)

Oh yes he is, Snick. He hit me with a bat when I tried to get up.

It was just a joke, Snick. In truth, Braga has also writen many favorited episodes as well, and also cowrote ST First Conact. I make fun of Berman and Braga often in my funny headings, and for that matter, everyone and everything else, including myself.

Right, Luigi, sorry. I guess I doltishly thought the absence of a smiley meant that you were dead serious.

Luigi: ST First Conact

Is this another subtle reference to your belief in Braga's perfidy? You thought that film was a con act?

When commander Riker is trying to pull lieutenant Riker up from the fallen bridge, watch his forehead. Is it just me or he's got appearing and disappearing sweat on it, depending on the shot?

Has anyone spotted this before? I'm new to nitpicking so I'm just curious :-)

>>Except that he proved himself to be a good CO in battle against the Borg in BOBW2.

There's a big difference between taking charge in an emergency and commanding a ship long-term.

I think commander riker likes the hands-on aspect of it. As first officer, he gets to lead away teams, hes gets to deal more with the crew, he gets to see a lot more up close action. Captain Picard's duties mainly seem to consist of sitting on the bridge acting snooty.

I just watched this episode again, and no one seems to have ANY sympathy for Lt. Riker who has been marooned without human contact for EIGHT YEARS. Troi gives him no counseling, and in fact tries to dump him as soon as she sees him, then decides to lead him on a bit, chooses her life on the Enterprise, but still tries to give him hope for a future together! Which of course they don't get because she marries Commander Riker later.

And Commander Riker must be filled with self-loathing, because he never even made an *attempt* to connect with Lt. Riker, just talked down to him, and had no empathy with his plight.

And at the end, he says "I wanted to give you something," acknowledges that all his stuff really belongs to Lt. Riker as well, but then gives him just one thing and keeps the rest! And acts magnanimous for doing so! What a scoundrel.

No wonder Lt. Riker went nuts later.

Me, if I spent 8 years living in a station like that, I wouldn't want to pick up my career on go to another ship, I'd take some time off and go back to Earth and see the sunshine again for a bit, read up on current events, etc. Why is Starfleet even allowing him to go on active duty? He needs a medical leave to recuperate!

What is the procedure for bringing phasers on an away mission? The first transport I can understand but why the other two? There aren't any hostile lifeforms, and there can't be too many other reasons to need them. Perhaps a type-I phaser but I don't think one was used since The Game.

I bet Lt. Riker wished there were some tread on his duty boots. The standard SF boots are more like dress shoes than ones that should be worn on away missions, pretty much useless.

Did Lt. Riker say he looked up at the stars thinking about Troi some nights? If so, the atmosphere on this planet that only allows transports every 8 years and no shuttlecraft must be clear.

Didn't he also say that some nights it would clear up enough for him to see the stars?

IBN: "What is the procedure for bringing phasers on an away mission? The first transport I can understand but why the other two? There aren't any hostile lifeforms, and there can't be too many other reasons to need them. Perhaps a type-I phaser but I don't think one was used since The Game."

Never know when you'll be trapped down on some planet and need a phaser to heat something to keep you warm, melt rocks to make climbing picks, put a hole in the side of that grizzley you're hunting for dinner, take it apart and do something Macgiver (sp), plug it into some computer terminal and use it to power some other device like a communications or transporter...

A very good point Torque, but couldn't the type-I do these things too?

while the energy output for most of those things could be done by the Type-I, I'd imagine the Type-II would permit you to do it longer before the powercells ran dry.

Espicially if you're creating a picture of a waterfall on a piece of metal, or whatever it was.

just remember, a laser scapel is not a toy...

Although I was pretty sure you were right about Lt. Riker saying the sky cleared up some nights Mr Crusher, I checked the ep anyway and he did not, just that he looked up at the sky in hopes of rescue and to see Troi again, if John A Lang could part from her that is.

Being alone for eight years, and the replicators not working for a the last few, Lt. Riker didn't seem to be malnurished, or at least a few pounds lighter than Will.

Yea I watched the episode again Friday and he didn't say anything about the sky clearing up. I must be thinking about another show or movie.

What made Deanna Troi think that falling in love with Lt. Riker would be any different than falling in love with Commander Riker?

IMHO, I don't trhing that Deanna was ever realy over Commander Riker. That's why she fell in love with Lt. Riker, because he was the next best thing.

Possibly. But I'll bet that Troi was devastated when she found out that Lt. Riker joined the Maquis in "Defiant" (DS9)

Yea I watched the episode again Friday and he didn't say anything about the sky clearing up. I must be thinking about another show or movie.

You might've been thinking of Forrest Gump. That had a similar line in it.

Mormegil;
"And Commander Riker must be filled with self-loathing, because he never even made an *attempt* to connect with Lt. Riker, just talked down to him, and had no empathy with his plight."

It seems so strange that Will is so defenseive and unfriendly around his twin. Me, personally, I'd think it would be pretty cool to intercat with an excact copy of myself.

Mormegil;
"Me, if I spent 8 years living in a station like that, I wouldn't want to pick up my career on go to another ship, I'd take some time off and go back to Earth and see the sunshine again for a bit, read up on current events, etc. Why is Starfleet even allowing him to go on active duty? He needs a medical leave to recuperate!"

So would I. Alone on a station, not much different from a starship, I'd be dying to see the sun and feel fresh air and a breeze again.

Riker warned Troi that she shouldn't get involved with his twin, because the twin would probably want to continue his career, as the original did. If not for the fact that Will-2 has lived a different life, has missed Troi for 8 years, and been spared all the women and career challenges that Will-1 did, I'd agree, but I think Troi blew it. Will-2 didn't stick with Starfleet, since he joined the Maquis, so his future with Troi would have automatically been different.

It seems so strange that Will is so defenseive and unfriendly around his twin.

No, he doesn't like the concept. See Up the Long Ladder.

If this distortion field is so bad that not even a ship can fly through it (Worf says that perhaps a ship got caught in it and crashed), then how did that research base get down there to begin with?

They missed a great opportunity to mention the events of The Enemy Within here. Data could have mentioned, during the briefing after Tom was found, that a similar incident occurred to James T. Kirk the century before.

Speaking of which, TEW seemed to indicate that unless the two Kirks were reintigrated before long, both would die. Yet, here the two Rikers survived for eight years after their separation.

If Tom Riker was so eager to get his career going again, why did he go off and join the Maquis? Maybe finding out that Deanna was screwing Worf pushed him over the edge!

Thomas was mad that Starfleet didn't reward him for his actions during the evacuation like they did Will Riker.

Kira theorized that Tom Riker went out and joined the Marques because he was mad that Will was out there having his career, his promotions and his life. He was ticked off and wanted to do something to distinguish himself.

At the beginning, the short-haired security ensign comes in Ten-Forward. I believe she was give the nickname "Ensign Fuzzyhead". Was this character ever given a real name, and did she ever have any dialogue? I cannot remember if she did.

NANJAO: Both Troi and Crusher sure looked good in casual wear, but what are the odds that they would both be off-duty at the same time?

It was just for the sake of the plot of the episode, I suppose!

Beverly's outfit in the beginning is the same one she wore in "Suspicions"...only without the shoulders. (At least that's what it looked like to me)

Why didn't they put both Rikers into the Transporter and make them into a single person again like Spock did with Kirk in "The Enemy Within"?

I think part of the problem was that in Kirk's case it was said that each Kirk had exactly half of the mass of the origional whole Kirk. These Rikers both had the entire mass of the origional Riker; which Phil pointed out in his books as a nit since where would that extra mass have come from? Although that could explain Frakes appearance these days.

At the beginning of this episode Riker plays jazz with a small group in Ten-Forward. This leads to a funny moment when he asks for requests and Troi requests "Night Bird", which requires Riker to play a very difficult solo. Riker is then "saved by the bell" when Data asks him to come to the bridge.

Here's the thing: Riker is dressed in an off-duty casual oufit with a satiny blue shirt, quite appropriate for playing jazz, yet Data contacts him via his communicator. Yes, Riker has his COMMUNICATOR pinned to that satiny blue shirt. It is definitely not standard practice to wear your communicator when off-duty - in fact, this is the only time I can remember seeing anyone off-duty wearing one.

Of course, if Riker weren't wearing his communicator Data would have no easy way to call him to the bridge in the middle of "Night Bird". The normal procedure would probably be for Data to contact the bar (which I believe is equipped with a companel) and have Guinan or whoever is tending bar relay the message to Riker.

I would imagine that the First Officer of the ship might wear one even when he's off duty. Or maybe it's just Riker who chooses to do so because he's that dedicated about his job.

NANJAO At the end of the episode, Lt Riker tells Cmdr Riker and Deanna that he will be using the name Thomas from now on, a name revealed to be Will's full middle name which, up to that point, we only knew as 'T' in William T. Riker. Now, one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus was named Thomas, aka Didymus, the names meaning 'twin' in Aramaic and Greek respectively. I wonder if the authors of the episode knew of that fact and if they chose it for that very reason, or if it's just a remarkable coincidence.

Councelor Troi often wore her comunicator with her casual clothes, until Jellico put a stop to that. (What was wrong with him?)