PATRON TAKES - TNG S6E24
TAKES WILL BE READ 6/23
Comments (50)
How would you feel if Will Riker Died in this episode & Thomas joined the cast? Because that was the original idea for this episode, only changed at the last moment. Like you have pointed out, Riker's character arc had stalled out after "Best of Both Worlds" & the writers were seriously considering using Thomas to reset his character. How would you feel if a different Riker more adversarial to the chain of command & greater appreciation of the love of Troi that Will so foolishly threw away, replaced our Riker
Troi deserves better and with her mother’s insistence on her marry romance might have been the last direction I would have gone with her
Riker meets the only other person who can out-rizz him: himself! It’s a decent episode, I love how he absolutely hates his doppelgänger. Sirtis and Frakes’ acting in this is superb.
Inventive story that explores the human condition. Pure Trek.
In a few centuries from now when we've invented transporter tech, I will do a Pulaski and refuse to use them. You're killing me! And then recreating a new version with the same memories that "thinks" it's me but isn't. And then tack on the possibility of duplicates, hell no.
Shame I missed the Takes on this. This episode is "okay" except for the serious problems it introduces with just duplicating people. Just another "tech development" that should upend the universe but doesn't.
I liked it, though it isn't a favourite. A solid C for me. My favourite part of the plot is Thomas Riker's attempt to rekindle/continue his relationship with Troi. As transporter accident episodes go, it is done well. Good directing from Burton.
I like to think that this transporter mishap had the same effect as Enemy Within-- Riker divided into good and evil versions, but more subtly with one just being more of a dick. Guess which one is the evil Riker!
Good way to do a transporter accident story. Like Kirk in Enemy Within, but instead they’re identical, which is even better than the “evil twin,” because you want to root for both of them.
No lie, guys…I tried that scavenger hunt idea on a woman who wasn’t into me at first and it totally won her over!! The ladies love a man with an imagination!
Question. What would you do (or think would happen) with a transporter Duplicate of yourself if you made a different choice a decade ago that may or may not have changed the way your lives played out?
fun fact in the original script they planed to kill of Riker and replace him with Thomas, big character shake up but keep the same actor,the show-runners hated this idea as it messed with their plans for the TNG movies, so they scrapped it and kept both, what do you think could it have worked?
Question: Would you hate having to interact with yourself?
Star Trek is full of wild, crazy, existentially-horrifying situations... and this is certainly the anomaly of the week. I appreciate the show for not finding some simple solution to easily "wipe out" the "extra Riker" at the end. Then again, it leaves us (or them) with long-term freaky circumstances. I wish longform stories as a whole took the risk of balancing and making good on unfinished wacky scenarios like this.
Another really good Riker episode! It was spoiled weeks before airing in germany, since the german title is "Riker : 2 = ?" which itself is a reference to the TOS episode "the enemy within" which had the german title "Kirk: 2 = ?".
I always liked this one.
The philosophical aspects of the transporter should be highlighted here, but are glossed over. Also, I fully expect that Commander Riker and Lieutenant Riker's sexual tension is what drives the episode. Weird, mid, but with good acting from Frakes.
I think if I discovered I had a transporter double it would be much more like finding a long-lost twin than an imposter. But as has been established 100 times Riker is a dick. A.
Things the transporter can do that we need to pretend it can't: - Cure all disease - De-aging (and Immortality) - Infinite copies of a person What am I missing guys? Edit: props to the guys adding the following - Suspended animation (with 50% success rate) - Split you into good and evil versions - Travel to the mirror universe - (De)merge with beings of pure energy
You can hold someone in a type of suspended animation for 80 years (well it worked for Scotty, not Franklin). Although probably easier more reliable ways to do it. Also it seems like we might be able to transport holodeck objects and beings off the holodeck and give them permanency. In the last professor Moriarty episode they seemed like they could do it, but the fact they were using a holodeck transporter was messing it up.
I love the way the episode fakes you out into thinking Thomas will 'obviously' die to balance the Riker count and then... doesn't. I do think they could have done more to represent that not only has Wiliam T changed over the last 8 years, but Thomas isn't just Will from 8 years ago - he has changed into a different person whilst stranded.
I hated this episode when it came out. I recall Riker's little diatribe in "Up The Long Ladder" when he says that another Will Riker being created would diminish him "in ways I can't even imagine." Four seasons later, they did it.
I never thought particularly highly of Up The Long Ladder's writing, and yeah, I don't particularly like that quote either.
Biggest question now is, does the Sex Scoreboard have to double all Riker's scores?
This episode opens up/furthers some philosophical questions about the transporter which have led to quite a lot of "spilled ink" over the years, though I think the primary theme of the episode was supposed to be nature versus nurture.
Does anyone remember how Riker objected to being cloned in Up The Long Ladder? Imagine what went through his mind when he first laid eyes on Tom.
It's a miracle Tom survived the episode. Will Riker letting Tom fall to his death would have opened up so many possibilities in future episodes... perhaps a "The Two Towers" style high speed plunge to resurrect him in the first TNG movie?
Another fun performance from Jonathan "I'm not much of an actor" Frakes. Now, just don't spend anytime thinking about the moral implications of the transporter being a perfect clone machine. Add it to the pile next to it reversing aging.
Who IS the real Riker? Have we been watching an imposter all this time? By the way, who's next in line to meet their evil twin(tm)?
As mentioned, they are BOTH equally the "real riker."
This one just makes me feel uneasy somehow. Good acting from Will/Tom though!
From now on, if you’re gonna make a TOS premise episode, give it to Echavarria! Maybe let Levar direct if you so desire a fucking banger ! S! Bigups to Marina Sirtis subtle acting !
The Ship of Theseus, or should I say Ship of Riker?
As much as I like Riker, I admit to staring at my ceiling wondering how fun it would have been to have Tom replace his counterpart, just for the chaos
Fantastic work by Levar Burton in the Director's chair, and Frakes gets to stretch his acting legs. Why do you think Deanna didn't chose Tom, and would she always choose career and friendship over Riker, despite early seasons suggesting the seperation was Riker's doing?
I hate this episode not because it’s bad, but because of the missed opportunity it squandered. Riker prime should have died saving Thomas and giving him the life he never missed out on. Thomas could then take over Data’s job at OPS who in turn get’s promoted to first officer. It would have given all the relationships a refresh and Frakes a new arc to play.
AAAAAAH, I was logging in to post this very thing. I've long said that Will should have died, Data become 1st officer, with pilot Thomas as ops. What a great opportunity to shake things up for the final season.
A doppelgänger episode with a twist. I like it overall, but like others here I think there were some amazing potential going forward with the Tom Riker character as a replacement for Will was wasted or just missed.
The writers wanted to shake up the show and one idea that got some traction was killing off Will Riker. Tom Riker would take Data's place as the science officer, and Data would advance to being number one. They weren't allowed to because the studio had made the decision to make TNG movies and thought it would be too confusing for a general movie audience.
I think Tom Riker was going to be at the helm. Interesting idea but can see why they quashed it
Two Rikers!?! There isn't a chair or a woman in the galaxy that's safe now. And I wonder if Worf had to start telling himself "one Riker, one bridge" again?
Holy shit do I not want Tom Riker's life. I have no idea how you get over having your identity completely erased.
Another rare Riker banger so close after Frame of Mind. Will was so tired of being shafted on the show that he shifted his shaft to Tom to feel Chad again. It was discussed in the writers room originally to kill Will, have Data be #1, and Tom at ops, but the producers axed that.
A good one sold by the chemistry Frakes and Sirtis have. Also LeVar Burton’s impressive first stint in the director’s chair too
I'm glad they didn't kill Tom off at the end. Too lame.
I’ll give the writers credit for not killing off Thomas Riker. However, I’m taking away that credit for backing out of their original idea of having Will Riker leave the Enterprise to captain another ship, leaving Thomas behind on the Enterprise. Could’ve really shaken up TNG in a good way. B for “beam just one of me up please”
Thomas Riker got shafted. He is William Riker in every way, but our Riker gets to keep the first name. We’re told that Riker’s actions on that mission got him promoted to Commander, but Thomas gets no such promotion. And last of all, Thomas Riker has a real chance with Troi, something Will has been unwilling to do all these years, but Will scares her away from him, threatening her with his own insecurities. I like this episode but hate how he’s treated.
Yeah, Tom Riker should have gotten promoted to Lt. Cmdr. in the last act. Keep him in a gold suit and the audience won't be confused.
Dammit, another TNG episode relying solely on the performance of a guest star. I hope this Frakes fellow manages to carry the episode for you. Six seasons in and you'd think they'd want to spend more time delving into our main characters instead of randoms. (This episode is awesome)
A "road not traveled" Episode, nice effects works for the doubled Rikers, and looking in a mirror and not necessarily liking what you see. A good Episode in all, especially how it comes back to the Deanna/Riker Relationship.