From: rawdon@colby.cs.wisc.edu (Michael Rawdon)
Subject: Re: Riker in command
Reply-To: rawdon@colby.cs.wisc.edu
Organization: University of Wisconsin Computer Sciences Dept., Madison, WI
Date: Mon, 4 Jan 1993 18:59:12 GMT

In <1993Jan3.172306.562@rivers> ph9991_manfr@rivers.acc.uwrf.edu writes:
>> None of this make any sense to me.  Are you asserting that the characters are
>> only what their positions on the ship make them, and that changing positions
>> will actually turn Riker into a different character?

>No, I'm saying the job a person has will bring out different traits in a 
>character, as we saw in "Disaster" when everyone had to do work they were
>unaccustomed to.  

Uh... I didn't see that at all.  Everyone seemed to behave in "Disaster" with
the same character traits they've had all along (meaning, in some cases, they
were pretty bland :-)  Thinking through the roster - Picard, Data, Worf,
Riker, Dr. Crusher and LaForge - they all seemed to be roughly the same in
that episode.

>> At any rate, what would be the difference between giving Riker the
>> captaincy and having the writers whip up new personality traits for him,
>> and just giving the job to some new character?

>If Riker were the Number One guy on the ship (pun intended), then he would
>also get more attention from the writers and therefore his character will
>develop more.

I tend to doubt it.  Data and Worf are both better developed than Riker (and
arguably both are better developed than Picard, though they've royally screwed
up Data's character over the past two years).  I think Picard has merited
attention from the writers because of Stewart's acting abilities.  They just
don't seem very interested in Frakes.

>		Riker would, I think, settle down and relax a little more
>once his goal in life is met, i.e. command of a starship.

I find it har to envision a Riker more relaxed than he is now; he's positively
MELLOW these days!

>> Not quite; the Enterprise is clearly one of the more important ships in
>> Starfleet because (as we saw in "Chain of Command") it would fill an
>> important fleet command position on the Cardassian border.

>True enough, but still its "flagship" title is in debate.

The TITLE is in debate?  In what way?  The Enterprise has *EXPLICITLY* been
called the flagship of Starfleet at least twice!  What room for debate does
that leave?

Nonetheless, you're pulling things off track here; it's not the title that's
important, but the ship's significance within the fleet, title or no.

>>>                             There are/were at least five other Galaxy class
>>>ships which should have the same abilities as the Enterprise.

>> We only know of one: The USS Yamato (which no longer exists).  According to
>> all the information which TNG has given us, we only know of a single
>> existing Galaxy class ship: The Enterprise.  (Non-film sources such as the
>> TNG tech manual are only speculative at best, until they actually decide to
>> show or tell us about information therein on the show.  Until then, they
>> could change their minds at the drop of a hat.)

>There has been at least one other one heavily implied, the USS Galaxy after
>which the class is named.  Also, do you really think there would be an
>entire class of ships and then only have one ship in the class?

This issue has been debated extensively before on this newsgroup.  I recall
some people pointing out that there are classes of naval vessels in the US
fleet TODAY which are the only ships of their class.

While the existence of a USS Galaxy is implied in the class name (just as the
existence of a USS Constitution was in Classic Star Trek), we don't actually
KNOW if either exists or existed in the Trek universe.  It doesn't stretch my
imagination at all to conceive that a class need not have a ship named after
the class.

It also doesn't stretch my imagination to envision that Starfleet may lack the
resources to construct additional Galaxy-class vessels, especially after the
Borg encounter.

>>>Additionally, I think Riker's superb performance in "The Best of Both
>>>Worlds" proved to all that he definitely is the man to beat for the big
>>>chair should Picard ever accept promotion.  He did with the ship he already
>>>knows well what 39 or 40 other starships couldn't do (or perhaps I should
>>>say he did it with the crew).

>> Well, he has several things going against him.  First, he's refused THREE
>> commands in the past already.  Why would Starfleet give him a fourth chance?

>Because someone will be bright enough to see that Riker's only been waiting
>on the Enterprise so that he will eventually get the Enterprise.

But why should they give him the ship, therefore?  There are surely
better-qualified commanders.

-- 
Michael Rawdon				  rawdon@colby.cs.wisc.edu
University of Wisconsin Computer Sciences Department,  Madison, WI
( Now in the Boston, Massachusetts area! )

"Beauty... survives."
				- James T. Kirk, "That Which Survives"