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William Thomas Riker
Riker aboard the Enterprise-D
Species:	Human
Gender:	Male
Home planet:	Earth
Affiliation:	Starfleet
Posting:	USS Pegasus helmsman USS Potemkin USS Hood, first officer USS Enterprise-D first officer USS Enterprise-E first officer USS Titan commanding officer
Rank:	Commander Captain
Portrayed by:	Jonathan Frakes

Commander William T. Riker, played by Jonathan Frakes, is a main character on the science-fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. Commander Riker is the first officer of the starship Enterprise, second in command only to Captain Jean-Luc Picard, who affectionately refers to him as "Number One", a term also used by Christopher Pike to refer to his female first officer in the original pilot "The Cage" (played by Majel Barrett). Riker often leads away teams while the captain remains on the ship. In addition to his role in the television series, the character also appears in the Next Generation era Star Trek films, and has made brief appearances on the spin-off series Star Trek: Voyager, and Star Trek: Enterprise.

Jonathan Frakes read for the role in 1986.^{[citation needed]}

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For the first two seasons, Riker is portrayed as bold and confident, an ambitious young officer in the tradition of James T. Kirk. Over time, Riker's character becomes more reserved, as experience teaches him the wisdom of a patient, careful approach. He becomes comfortable on the Enterprise, repeatedly turning down offers of his own command, and he learns to cherish the company of his fellow officers. Nonetheless, Riker never quite loses his arrogant streak, nor his willingness to occasionally disregard the chain of command.

Riker's background is first explored in the second-season episode, The Icarus Factor. In the episode, Riker's estranged father Kyle visits the Enterprise to offer his son the command of the USS Aries, which Riker refuses. We learn that Riker grew up in Alaska, that his mother Elizabeth died when he was two years old, and that he was raised by his father until the age of 15, when he left home. In the episode, Riker has not spoken with his father for fifteen years, but they manage to partially mend their relationship over a game of martial-arts sparring called Anbo-jyutsu.

Other notable episodes developing the character include:

• In the second-season episode A Matter of Honor, Riker volunteers for a temporary assignment on a Klingon vessel as part of an officer exchange program. In the episode, Riker proves surprisingly adept at dealing with the Klingon warrior culture, including the violent system of confrontation used for enforcing authority aboard Klingon ships.
• Later that season, Riker shows a genius with battle tactics, as well as a willingness to bend the rules, in the episode Peak Performance.
• In the third season finale The Best of Both Worlds, Part I, Riker has been offered his own command yet again, and a brash young commander named Shelby arrives on the Enterprise to help repel an invasion by an alien collective known as the Borg. In the episode, Riker ponders his place on the ship, his reasons for repeatedly refusing his own command, and the development of his personality over the last few years. He also comes into conflict with Shelby, whose recklessness reminds him of his own younger self.
• In The Best of Both Worlds, Part II (the fourth season premiere), Riker must take command of the Enterprise after captain Picard is kidnapped and assimilated by the Borg. Riker must prove his command ability under the most difficult circumstances, with the fate of human race hanging in the balance. By asserting his own command style and employing creative tactics, he manages to rescue captain Picard and repel the Borg invasion.
• In the sixth-season episode Second Chances, the Enterprise encounters a duplicate copy of Commander Riker who had been created during a transporter accident many years before. The new person, identical to Riker in every respect, takes the name "Thomas" (which is revealed to be William Riker's middle name.)
• In the seventh-season episode The Pegasus, Riker must confront his former commanding officer over a cover-up related to the destruction of the USS Pegasus.

Before the beginning of the show, Riker was involved in an intense romantic relationship with Counselor Troi on her home planet of Betazed. The two characters are close friends throughout the series, but their relationship does not resume until Star Trek: Insurrection, the third star trek film set in the Next Generation era, although Thomas Riker, the duplicate created by a transporter malfunction, attempts to re-spark their relationship in "Second Chances". The following movie, Star Trek Nemesis, begins with their wedding in Alaska. They often refer to each other as "imzadi," which is a Betazoid term of endearment, meaning "beloved."

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Jonathan Frakes reprised his role of Commander Riker for the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "These Are The Voyages..." (2005). He previously reprised his role for an episode of Star Trek: Voyager ("Death Wish" 1996), and appeared as Thomas Riker, the "evil twin" created by a transporter malfunction in "Second Chances" in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Defiant," where he impersonates the original Riker in order to commandeer the Starship Defiant as a member of the Maquis.

• Character biography at official Star Trek website
• William Riker article at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek wiki