Plot Synopsis: The Enterprise finds a second Will Riker on a planet that helped evacuate eight years ago.
Plot A and B Analysis: The teaser features Riker playing the trombone for the longest in maybe the entire series. Evidently the Enterprise is returning to a planet Riker once visited to retrieve some important data that didn’t make it off-world. There is a distortion field that prevents all transporter access for years at a time, so Riker, Data and Worf beam down only to find another Riker! Plot A is about Riker and Riker and Deanna, is no plot B. It turns out the other Riker, still a lieutenant, is also just as much Will Riker as the guy we’ve come to know in the past six years. There is a science-fictiony explanation, but now there’s two of them and number two still has the hots for Deanna. She begins to respond to him, and his sincerity in pursuing her. The two Rikers have some friction, of course, but hold it together for the most part. There’s one of the most contrived sequences of jeopardy in the series where one Riker save the other’s life, and then it ends.
Favorite Scenes: There is a good, short scene in the 26th minute, where Picard and Riker are discussing two different plans of retrieving the data. Riker one and two differ, but we learn about Will’s character and maturity where he admits to Picard that #2’s plan is dangerous, but does have a better chance of succeeding. Regardless of his own inner turmoil he’s able to place the mission ahead of his emotions. I realized we don’t see moments like that on TV much these days. There is a decent conversation in the 37th minute where Data and Worf discuss why Thomas and Riker have trouble with each other, and I think each of their viewpoints is right.
Use of Cast/Characters: This is unquestionably a Riker episode. We do get some character development, learning his valorous service in the evacuation of the planet is what got Will promoted so quickly. We also get more background on what caused the separation from Will and Deanna: since Will got promoted he chose his career over Deanna, and he never showed up. They didn’t talk again for two years, until Farpoint. We also learn his middle name is Thomas. Picard, Data, Worf, Geordi and Beverly are really just placeholders, they don’t do much of anything. Deanna has some involvement too, as her potential romance with Thomas becomes a significant part of this episode, though she doesn’t really get much development.
Blu Ray Version: A beautiful transfer, but nothing that I notice has changed.
Nitpicks: If using the transporter is so tricky on this planet, why not just use a shuttle? Also, would it have killed them to make Thomas’s hair a little different?
Overall Impression: This is certainly not a plot-driven episode at all, it’s all about the incredible circumstances whereby there are now two legit Riker and what it means for both of them. It’s not a bad episode, but not really a compelling one either. The Riker and Deanna romance wasn’t unwelcome for me, and the reason they don’t get together holds up: she’s not willing to give up her life on the ship, Thomas can’t stay and serve on the same ship as Will. Overall I can’t say there’s much that distinguishes this episode, and it’s a bit bland to me. I rate this episode 2.5 out of 5 stars.
Behind the Scenes/Trivia: This is the first of two TNG episodes LeVar Burton directed–unfortunately it was also the least-watched episode of season six. He gives credit to watching Jonathan Frakes direct to giving him the courage to ask to do it himself. Jonathan says that throughout the episode Marina kept telling him she likes Thomas Riker better! Later Thomas appears on the DS9 episode Defiant and gets put into a Cardassian prison, and Jonathan kept asking Rick Berman when they would bring Thomas out of prison. Berman would always reply “oh yeah, we’re working on that.” Of course, nothing ever happened.
When Riker and Riker are talking about their dad, they reference The Icarus Factor. Lieutenant Palmer, whom we meet in the 15th minute, was played by Mae Jemison, an actual astronaut and the first African American woman in space. She said she became a scientist and an astronaut because she watched Star Trek! Nichelle Nichols who played Uhura on the original show came by the day she was shooting, and the two met, which must’ve been cool. This isn’t the only episode with two of the same character, as there were two Picards back in Time Squared.
The writers really wanted to have this episode end with Will’s death. Data would have taken over as first officer, with Thomas as helmsman. He’s still in love with Deanna, etc. Rick Berman said no, they can’t “throw out a beloved character for this one shocking moment and press the reset button because you think it’s cool.” Thank goodness Rick Berman stopped them. From an in-universe perspective, Starfleet would never allow Thomas to just be the new first officer of the Federation flagship anyway.
Missable/Unmissable? Eh, missable. The next one though, is one of the best of season six.