First Officers on Star Trek

[JonVP]

Up until TOS, any officer on a starship could double as a first officer. Spock was both science officer and first officer. From TNG onwards, the position of first officer was split. We had Commander Riker on the Enterprise and Commander Chakotay on Voyager. Their role was to go on away missions that were too risky for the captain and to be the face/voice of the captain throughout the ship/departments.

Considering the fact that (Discovery not included) the captain is the star of the show: you can’t outshine the captain and you can’t be an expert in a certain field (you’re not an engineer, a scientist, …). Do you think it makes the role of the first officer a bit redundant or even boring? It could be one of the reasons why writers have difficulty defining the characters that played the first officer and why they (Riker and Chakotay) weren’t the most popular characters on their series.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

Just look at Kira, First Officer and a compelling, intricate and interesting character--which is what you want from the folks on your show, as such it doesn't really matter what jobs they do.

 

[marlboro]

An interesting question by the OP. I think he makes a good point.

Just look at Kira, First Officer and a compelling, intricate and interesting character

Yep.

Compared to Riker and Chaktay, Kira is also a better written character played by a better actor, imo.


In addition, there was conflict between her and Sisko. You couldn't have that on TNG. There was very very little of it on Voyager either. Chakotay went form a Maquis terrorist leader to a lapdog before the pilot ended. The episodes where he actually came into conflict Janeway were some of his most interesting moments.


Edited to add: I wonder if Gene Roddenberry was trying to emulate the dynamic of Richard Basehart and David Hedison from Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea when he created Picard and Riker.

Even though Voyage was a poorly written show most of the time, they pulled off the "older admiral teamed with handsome adventurous captain" much better than TNG usually did.

 

[MacLeod]

Up until TOS, any officer on a starship could double as a first officer. Spock was both science officer and first officer. From TNG onwards, the position of first officer was split. We had Commander Riker on the Enterprise and Commander Chakotay on Voyager. Their role was to go on away missions that were too risky for the captain and to be the face/voice of the captain throughout the ship/departments.

Considering the fact that (Discovery not included) the captain is the star of the show: you can’t outshine the captain and you can’t be an expert in a certain field (you’re not an engineer, a scientist, …). Do you think it makes the role of the first officer a bit redundant or even boring? It could be one of the reasons why writers have difficulty defining the characters that played the first officer and why they (Riker and Chakotay) weren’t the most popular characters on their series.

In TMP, up until the transporter accident it seemed likely that the post of XO was separate for another position as Decker was going to have to pull double duty as XO and Science Officer.

 

[C.E. Evans]

Ideally, the first officer's job is to oversee the day-to-day running of the ship and deal with any problems that might pop up with either the vessel and/or crew. This allows the captain to focus on the ship's actual mission. From a writer's perspective, it's probably not that terribly exciting unless there's a shipboard disaster or crisis going on, so I think Trek added extra responsibilities (like Spock being science officer too or Riker leading away missions) to what would otherwise be little more than an office manager, IMO.

As far as actual characters go, captains and first officers should kind of complete each other with one having qualities that the other doesn't or have in short supply. If there's a stoic captain, then Trek will balance it with a more personable first officer. If you have a somewhat impulsive captain, then Trek goes in the opposite direction with a more reserved first officer. How well that works depends on how well the characters are written, cast, and how much they resonate with audiences.

 

[MacLeod]

As far as actual characters go, captains and first officers should kind of complete each other with one having qualities that the other doesn't or have in short supply. If there's a stoic captain, then Trek will balance it with a more personable first officer. If you have a somewhat impulsive captain, then Trek goes in the opposite direction with a more reserved first officer. How well that works depends on how well the characters are written, cast, and how much they resonate with audiences.

Having people who compliment each can work in many situations.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Up until TOS, any officer on a starship could double as a first officer. Spock was both science officer and first officer. From TNG onwards, the position of first officer was split.

Probably because in TOS, there wasn't enough room on the bridge for a dedicated first officer's chair, so the XO would have to double up at another station.

 

[The Wormhole]

Considering the fact that (Discovery not included) the captain is the star of the show: you can’t outshine the captain and you can’t be an expert in a certain field (you’re not an engineer, a scientist, …). Do you think it makes the role of the first officer a bit redundant or even boring? It could be one of the reasons why writers have difficulty defining the characters that played the first officer and why they (Riker and Chakotay) weren’t the most popular characters on their series.

Considering shows like BSG, The Last Ship and The Orville have had Captains and XOs in the main cast together and have made both well-defined characters, I'd say that if Star Trek had trouble in that regard, it's a problem with Star Trek's writing.

 

[Refuge]

Do you think it makes the role of the first officer a bit redundant or even boring? It could be one of the reasons why writers have difficulty defining the characters that played the first officer and why they (Riker and Chakotay) weren’t the most popular characters on their series.

It depends on how you value and define 'role'. If it's to be a lead character as in an actor's presence, then much is based (obviously) on script and delivery. But if 'role' is the job of 'first officer' then I disagree that Riker and Chakotay were redundant. It was not their job to be trying to outshine their Captain but to back that Captain up, to challenge where necessary, and to be ready to take over.

 

[JonVP]

Just look at Kira, First Officer and a compelling, intricate and interesting character--which is what you want from the folks on your show, as such it doesn't really matter what jobs they do.

Kira was definitely one of the more interesting first officers on Star Trek. The writers of course had a little more freedom since she was a former resistance fighter and not part of Starfleet.

In addition, there was conflict between her and Sisko. You couldn't have that on TNG. There was very very little of it on Voyager either. Chakotay went form a Maquis terrorist leader to a lapdog before the pilot ended. The episodes where he actually came into conflict Janeway were some of his most interesting moments.

The character of Chakotay gave the writers the opportunity to create more friction in the relationship captain-first officer, but like you said; by the end of the pilot episode Chakotay slipped comfortably into his Starfleet uniform without too much fuss.

As far as actual characters go, captains and first officers should kind of complete each other with one having qualities that the other doesn't or have in short supply. If there's a stoic captain, then Trek will balance it with a more personable first officer. If you have a somewhat impulsive captain, then Trek goes in the opposite direction with a more reserved first officer. How well that works depends on how well the characters are written, cast, and how much they resonate with audiences.

It depends on how you value and define 'role'. If it's to be a lead character as in an actor's presence, then much is based (obviously) on script and delivery. But if 'role' is the job of 'first officer' then I disagree that Riker and Chakotay were redundant. It was not their job to be trying to outshine their Captain but to back that Captain up, to challenge where necessary, and to be ready to take over.

All valid points. Guess it all starts when you create the character. If he/she has in interesting background/history it’s probably easier for writers to come up with compelling stories.

 

[MacLeod]

All valid points. Guess it all starts when you create the character. If he/she has in interesting background/history it’s probably easier for writers to come up with compelling stories.

Perhaps then they should come up with interesting characters that are easy to write for. But if you have a character with minimal background in the character bio it should be easy to write for that character as they are more or less a blank slate so you are not tied to things in the bio and have more creative freedom.

 

[GNDN18]

It might seem that First Officer is equivalent to the US Navy's Executive Officer billet. I’m not so sure anymore.

GR’s airline experience might have shaped his conception of the role. It’s my understanding that the non-flying pilot is the "first officer." Ship management never seemed to be high on Spock’s list of things to do.

Also, GR was an avid Horatio Hornblower fan. Bush, Hornblower’s number one lieutenant, complimented his captain in many ways, but also was a study in contrasts.

I don’t believe that a comprehensive org chart was ever developed for the officers and crew.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

All valid points. Guess it all starts when you create the character. If he/she has in interesting background/history it’s probably easier for writers to come up with compelling stories.

A lot of the character and the writing they get will also depend on the actor they get in. If they can't deliver the goods then the development and stories they get won't really be up to much--not that I'm saying Jonathan Frakes was bad, I always enjoyed him (Robert Beltram, not so much).

 

[sbk1234]

My in-universe explanation as to why there wasn't a dedicated first officer in TOS, separate from the chief science officer is simply because Spock was such a bad ass, he was able to handle both positions, which was generally unusual in Starfleet.

 

[Jedman67]

It might seem that First Officer is equivalent to the US Navy's Executive Officer billet. I’m not so sure anymore.

GR’s airline experience might have shaped his conception of the role. It’s my understanding that the non-flying pilot is the "first officer." Ship management never seemed to be high on Spock’s list of things to do.

Also, GR was an avid Horatio Hornblower fan. Bush, Hornblower’s number one lieutenant, complimented his captain in many ways, but also was a study in contrasts.

I don’t believe that a comprehensive org chart was ever developed for the officers and crew.

I believe Riker is referred to as an executive officer at times. It's certainly understood, that however badly written his character was; he was supposed to be the captains deputy, in charge of running the personnel, making sure the departments heads are doing their jobs, etc; while Picard would be more focused on making the ship go.
I just have to say that as far as portraying that, TNG did an absolutely miserable job.
Besides, while Picard may have complimented Riker, Riker only complemented Picard.

 

[GNDN18]

Besides, while Picard may have complimented Riker, Riker only complemented Picard.

That’s very clever.

I don’t recall anyone referring to Spock as the XO (McCoy mentioned Farragut’s exec once, but that’s all I can remember), but in TMP everyone refers to Decker as “exec” after his temporary grade reduction. And Decker certainly acted like one.

My point above was only that GR seemed to have a pretty loose conception of chain of command which might have been informed by his pilot experience and the somewhat primitive structure found in the RN.

 

[2takesfrakes]

Sir Patrick Stewart raised the bar very high, indeed, for STAR TREK. It's been said of Stewart that his strength as an actor is his ability to deliver bad dialogue with utter conviction. To my chagrin, there were times in TNG where this ability of his was not only tested ... but encouraged! That having been said, he remains the greatest actor to have played on STAR TREK and that's saying a lot. However ...

Commander William T. Riker was the best First Officer in the franchise, and I know I am not alone in this opinion. He was capable, loyal, very likeable and a great Man, as characters go. As an added bonus, the women of STAR TREK were always throwing themselves at him, so romantic stories were always on offer there, for the female Trekkies. That Jonathan Frakes always received 2nd billing on the series and in the movies was no surprise, as Frakes has the same admirable qualities that Riker was endowed with. And Riker was exactly the kind of XO that TNG needed to suggest vitality, an adventurous spirit and boundless optimism. And with his signature look - that beard of his - he helped make TNG instantly recognisable. In short, Riker (and Frakes) was an indispensable asset to the show.

There were that once, or twice, there where the writing for Riker let me down, or the episodes he was in. Like his falling for some androgynous rubberhead that one time. Worse, still ... Riker's having fallen in love with what he knew to be a holographic projection -- even to the point of making a fuss about her to The Good Captain! Yes, she was beautiful and those cat-like eyes of hers were spellbinding, but c'mon!!! And the time Q gave Riker The Power of Q, thus transforming Riker into an overbearing botheration, until he finally denounced said powers and returned to his former Human status. Outside of these very few vexing moments, William T. Riker was an outstanding TNG character whose adventures I've followed with great interest.

 

[Shawnster]

Up until TOS, any officer on a starship could double as a first officer.

Number One on Pike's Enterprise also doubled as helm. Was this indicative of Starfleet policy in 23rd century? Was it only on Constitution Class ships and not fleet wide? Was it personal preference of both Kirk and Pike? Did policy change between TOS and TMP or did Kirk's preference?

Can we really say for sure the double duty was common to 23rd century Starfleet?

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

Up until TOS, any officer on a starship could double as a first officer. Spock was both science officer and first officer.

Spock doubling as first officer and science officer made him the exception rather than the rule. On other vessels (e.g., Reliant), the first officer and science officer were different people.

 

[STEPhon IT]

There was very very little of it on Voyager either. Chakotay went form a Maquis terrorist leader to a lapdog before the pilot ended. The episodes where he actually came into conflict Janeway were some of his most interesting moments.

I don't think so. It would've been interesting if Chakotay actually won those arguments from the Mary Sue of Star Trek. I would've hoped the character would grow and become an inspirational leader; to the point even Star Fleet officers could be persuaded in following him if he decided to mutiny.

Janeway needed to own up to the fact she put the crew in that predicament, "Night" hazed through the topic, and Chakotay should've been that symbol, kicking her off of her pedestal--being the action Queen every week. I think it's disrespectful to the first officer and his or her role when the Captain could simply pull the rug right under him whenever she feels like it.

I kept thinking of the movie with Denzel Washington called "Crimson Tide" where he was a first officer for a Hot dog CO on a US Submarine. The crew didn't like him, the senior officers despised him, but when it came down to US Naval doctrine he was as important to the Captain and couldn't just dismiss him because the CO was stubborn. When the mutiny happened the senior officers sided with him while the lackeys sided with the Captain.

It's an element where I find was lacking with the Berman Star Trek; writers and producers who had zero military experience or lack there of the military protocol and just go where the wind blows for lousy drama and not make the first woman Captain appear vulnerable.