The plot device of a having a double, especially in sci fi, is certainly nothing new. So what makes this one unique? Let’s see:
Plot Summary:
On an Away Mission to a planet where Will Riker barely escaped years earlier, the landing party are shocked to find another Will Riker has been living there! A transporter mishap created the alternate Riker who is as real as Will is.
Thomas Riker (yes I know he doesn’t use that name til the end but I want to avoid confusion) begins rekindling his relationship with Troi has he has been harboring his feelings for her all these years. At first she is swept up until she realizes Tom would have made the same choices as Will did. Meanwhile Will and Tom bicker as they disagree about how ans when they can retrieve the data they need from the planet.
When they beam down the final time to the planet a quake nearly causes one of them to be killed. However the two help each other to get out. Overcoming their differences, Tom decides to leave for another ship with Will giving him a trombone as a gift.
Guest Star:
Obviously Jonathan Frakes plays the other Riker but I would be remiss if I did not mention this episode also featured real life NASA astronaut Mae Jemison as Lt. Palmer. The first time a real astronaut would appear on a Trek episode.
Episode Pro’s :
The effects are pretty damn good in convincing us there are two Riker’s here with one or two exceptions. There scenes are pretty well done, talking about their father in one. Frakes does a good job conveying the emotions the two Riker’s are feeling very effectively. My favorite scene in the episode ironically involves Data and Worf. It is a talk they have about how disconcerting it can be to have a double who looks exactly like you. A lot of people cite this as a nit since Data has a double, forgetting Data has no emotions so he has no idea how it “feels” to have a double. It’s just a fact for him.
And it is nice to see the Riker/Troi romance finally come up again. It was such a big when the series started but then the two became friends and the romantic past only came up in passing on occasion. For such a huge part of the history of these two character’s it’s nice to see an episode acknowledge it. I can’t help but wonder if the writer of the episode based any of the past stuff on the great book “Imzadi”
So of course what this episode is really about is when two brothers compete with each other. That’s basically the relationship Will and Tom have, with Tom not wanting to follow Will’s orders and being jealous of the success Will had. Course you can’t blame Tom for thinking everything Will has should have been his, it should have!
Levar Burton directed this and would go on to direct other Trek episodes including the fantastic Voyager episode “Timeless”
Episode Con’s :
If you read my summary you can probably see one problem with this episode. This episode is all character, no plot. Nothing really happens in it aside from Troi swooning for Tom and Will annoyed that Tom even exists. While these character scenes are good it also makes for a flat episode with little in the way of suspense, or action. And that one action scene at the end is anticlimactic since we know neither of these two are going to be killed off. Though the funny thing is that the original episode was opposed to be just that. The original idea for this was that they would kill off Will Riker, and Tom would come in as a new fresh character. Great idea as a way to change the status quo without changing actors, however fans of Will Riker would have been livid. Thankfully the powers that be realized this also and the idea was scrapped.
The accident that caused this mess was a transporter mishap, and one that really doesn’t make sense. They explain it and then forget about it, which makes sense I guess it really doesn’t matter. And yes the episode ignored the PTSD that Tom would have experienced after years of prolonged isolation. And how did he manage to maintain the same physical built that Wil Riker has? I think the episode may have been stronger if they focused on that a little more rather than the “lost love” stuff. The two Riker’s scenes never seem complete either, for instance when Tom defies Will’s order the two seem to almost be ready to come to blows. Commercial break and…it’s forgotten. And the poker scene is good but also feels, incomplete.
And speaking of that, while I noted that it was nice to see the Troi/Riker romance come back up that doesn’t mean it doesn’t get kinda boring too. Especially when in the end, nothing changes. It’s a lot like a child taking out a toy, showing it you, and then just putting it back after doing nothing with it. What’s the point really? As a result the episode gets dull as it switches back and forth from Riker/Tom to Deanna/Tom. Maybe a B plot would have helped to give a break from the monotony, it’s hard to say.
Fast Forward Moment:
The scene where Troi and Beverly are doing exercises before Tom walks is dull. Also there’s a scene where Tom is wooing Troi by leaving little clues to where he she can find him around the ship. It’s cute, but pointless really. It’s as if they figured they needed to kill a few minutes to fill the episode.
Final Thoughts:I liked the idea, the execution not as much. Kind of slow and dull once you get past the cool effects of having two Riker’s on the screen.
So, whatever became of Thomas Riker? He would reappear in an episode I have mentioned in passing but never done a full “Underrated Trek” for, even though it deserves one. Stay tune for that one my friends
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