How come Kevin Riley never appeared again?
- Thread starter Captrek
- Start date
As I recall, Bruce Hyde, the actor that played Riley, left acting shortly after. He only did a handful of small roles in a very brief career then went into education.
Riley only appeared a second time in "The Conscience of the King" because someone remembered that Bruce Hyde had played a character by that name in an earlier episode (the original script puts another Starfleet officer in the same role). Anyway, as the series progressed, the budget was slashed while, at the same time, the actors' salaries increased. Less money for recurring players.
I don't understand. Does it cost more to hire a bit player for four episodes than it does to hire four bit players for one episode each?
It works a bit like this: If a director suddenly decides to let a particular extra say any more than two lines, he goes into a new pay bracket, and can receive a screen credit. Some extras, once they start saying lines, try not to move back into no-line extra work if they can help it, but if the budget is tight, it's unlikely they'll be called back as a recurring character with lots of lines.
These days, there is also a royalty payment to the script writer who created a character who returns in subsequent episodes. Hence T'Pau and Nick Locarno became T'Pol and Tom Paris.
Mr Kyle appears in many episodes written by Gene Coon. I was led to understand that John Winston was Coon's Hollywood barber when he wasn't acting. Barbara Baldavan returns for extra episodes because she was a director's wife - and clever enough to point out her character could be recurring by changing "Mary Teller" to "Angela Martine", although someone forgot to change Shatner's line where he called her "Teller". Supposedly she was cast in "Space Seed" too, but I've not spotted her and any lines she had were cut. Again, she had her script changed to "Angela". In her final ep, the phony Kirk calls her "Lisa".
Kevin Riley was runner up to Janice Rand in a convention poll, conducted by ST VI's publicist, to see who would get to play Sulu's communications officer.
While the above is all true, it has no bearing on Bruce Hyde giving up his acting career. which is why Riley never came back. Just saying... 
While currently revisiting the TOS episodes I, too, was struck by how it could have been fun to see Riley return periodically. He had a presence and offered a measure of stability/familiarity at Navigation. I like to think Riley hung around much like Janice Rand only we never get to see him again.
With Rand--given her appearance as a transporter specialist in TMP--I like to think she remained aboard only transfered to another section in Support Services. Maybe Riley did something similar.
With Rand--given her appearance as a transporter specialist in TMP--I like to think she remained aboard only transfered to another section in Support Services. Maybe Riley did something similar.
I know David Gerrold had Riley as a main character in his ST novel The Galactic Whirlpool. And I think he was Kirk's aide in... straining memory... The Lost Years.
A friend of mine is a fine arts instructor at St. Cloud State University, and Bruce Hyde appears nearly every day in the office two doors down from him!
http://www.stcloudstate.edu/theatrefilmdance/theatre/facstaff/brucehyde.asp
http://www.stcloudstate.edu/theatrefilmdance/theatre/facstaff/brucehyde.asp
I think the quagmire that involves a show's budget and royalties does affect recurring actors and characters. This might also be why we see some characters have only one guest slot per season in TNG. The first half of season one did seem to be more generous when it came to recurring characters, including Rand, although it didn't always make sense. Angela Martine is widowed in one episode and back dating again a few episodes later. I guess she needed a rebound guy to console her in her grief... I think after that we only had M'Benga and Palmer appearing more than once?
These days I suspect that fans' reactions to characters & actors could have some effect on whether or not they should come back. DS9 certainly had a phenomenal guest cast. Shame though - it would have been cool if Riley and Rand at least had been given one or two guest slots per season.
These days I suspect that fans' reactions to characters & actors could have some effect on whether or not they should come back. DS9 certainly had a phenomenal guest cast. Shame though - it would have been cool if Riley and Rand at least had been given one or two guest slots per season.
From an in universe perspective, I've always assumed he had to undergo some form of psych evaluation due his traumatic experience in "The Conscience of the King," possibly off ship, which of course would explain his absence for the remainder of the series. Part of me likes to think that maybe he was still there on board, but either way, I've always entertained the notion that he was eventually fully righted and had a fulfilling career. I think those books tend to support that idea.
Well, of course, her character was Mary Teller, till the actress suggested that if she was Angela she'd be the same character. At the time, no one knew how close together the two episodes would actually air, since the SPFX were already delaying some eps longer than others.
And Hadley, Kyle, DeSalle, Leslie, Galloway, Hansen, Tamura, DePaul, Lemli... and others.
It could also be that Riley was involuntarily transferred off the Enterprise after Lenore was arrested. Riley could have suffered a relapse of complications from the poison she gave him, requiring him to take a medical leave.
That show wasn't big on recurring characters, unlike TNG and especially DS9. I don't remember "The Conscience of the King" very well, but no appearance by this character could live up to his unforgettable shenanigans in "The Naked Time". "I'll take you hooooooommmmeee!!!, KATHLEEN!".
For me that's undoubtedly one of the comedic highlights of the series. There's a temptation to wish a character would come back several times after being so great, but at the same time, I think it's better that he didn't. Using him poorly would only taint that magnificent performance, and we couldn't have that.
For me that's undoubtedly one of the comedic highlights of the series. There's a temptation to wish a character would come back several times after being so great, but at the same time, I think it's better that he didn't. Using him poorly would only taint that magnificent performance, and we couldn't have that.
I don't have the book, but I do remember reading somewhere that Hyde was only cast as Riley in either episode because he already happened to be on the studio lot auditioning for another show. He didn't immediately leave acting for education after his Trek appearances, though; he worked more and more in theater than television for several years (including a touring production of Hair, iirc), then was completely out of the entertainment industry for a decade or more before finally deciding to get back into the theater field as an educator.
That show wasn't big on recurring characters, unlike TNG and especially DS9. I don't remember "The Conscience of the King" very well, but no appearance by this character could live up to his unforgettable shenanigans in "The Naked Time". "I'll take you hooooooommmmeee!!!, KATHLEEN!".
For me that's undoubtedly one of the comedic highlights of the series. There's a temptation to wish a character would come back several times after being so great, but at the same time, I think it's better that he didn't. Using him poorly would only taint that magnificent performance, and we couldn't have that.
His appearance in TCotK may not have been quite as classic as his performance in TNT, but it was still special. The Big Seven and Chapel have a great chemistry together that is not often shared by the rest of the crew. In Riley's two appearances, he really feels like one of the gang, and there aren't many crew members about whom I can say that.
There are some really nice tertiary characters in Classic Trek, such as DeSalle, Riley, M'Benga, and Farrell. Even the extras like Leslie, Lemli, Hadley, to name a few, have a good screen presence. I'm trying to use this approach with my own fan film series (much as we do with Orion Press fan fiction). Window dressing should have a point, and one of the let-downs of the series' progression was the probably economically-motivated reduction of tertiary characters.
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