Why Was Riker Demoted?

[CoveTom]

In The Best of Both Worlds, Riker is given a promotion to the rank of captain along with being put in command of the Enterprise following Picard's apparent loss to the Borg. Later, when Picard is recovered, he is put back in command of the Enterprise and Riker goes back to the rank of commander. My question is: Why?

Sure, I understand why Picard would be given back command of the Enterprise. Even if Starfleet offered to let Riker stay in command, I think he would insist that Picard get the ship back. Part of the story was that Riker essentially made peace with the fact that what he really wanted, more than getting his own ship, was to be Picard's first officer at that point in his career.

But why would they take back the promotion? The rank of captain and the position of commanding officer are not one and the same. In TFF and TUC, we have Spock with the rank of captain but the position of first officer. It might be unusual, but it's not unprecedented. Why give Riker a demotion right after he literally saved the Federation from the Borg?

The only even remotely analogous situation I can think of is when Decker was bumped down to the rank of commander in TMP when Kirk took over. But even that was specifically stated as a temporary grade reduction. And at the end of the film, in Kirk's report to Starfleet, he is referred to as Captain Decker. It was not a permanent demotion as Riker's was.

Thoughts?

 

[NewHeavensNewEarth]

For one thing, Riker liked being commander under Picard. He wasn't seeking out the captain's chair, and was happy to go back to the way things were. Being commander of the flagship of Starfleet isn't so bad.

 

[Tenacity]

In The Best of Both Worlds, Riker is given a promotion to the rank of captain along with being put in command of the Enterprise

Riker was placed temporaily in command owing to him being the senior command officer on board, the elevation to the rank of captain was also temp.

If Picard hadn't return to the Enterprise would Riker have retained command? In Chain of Command, after Picard left the ship on a special mission, command of the ship did not pass to Riker. There Starfleet had some time and selected a different more experienced captain.

In Best of Both Worlds, if Picard had been killed or otherwise non-recoverable, Riker likely have been replaced as the Enterprise's captain while the Enterprise was in Earth orbit after the destruction of the Borg cube. Getting a Galaxy class (and the Federaion flagship) as his first command was unlikely

 

[BillJ]

Patrick Stewart was the star.

 

[valkyrie013]

After the BoBw shinanigans, Riker should have been given his own commmand, I know he wants the Enterprise, but to bad! I mean, he eventually left to command the Titan, which ( Non Cannon) is not a Galaxy class..
He could have stayed on for say 6 months for other ships to be build and test run, but after that, You go where the serivice tells you.. You get to be captain.. or you get a desk on some out of the way starbase.. not the Flagship.. .
I' know plot wise to keep the same crew for the whole series, but it would have been interesting for Riker to move on to his own ship, and show that one on the ocasional episode, or maybe a spin off show..
To be honest, there wasnt to much for his character to do, he was 2nd in command, but he didn't get much screen time. Sure some episodes were riker centric, but definatly not as many as worf or data or Picard.. So pushing him off ship to a new command and check in with him would work

 

[tomswift2002]

Riker was placed temporaily in command owing to him being the senior command officer on board, the elevation to the rank of captain was also temp.

If Picard hadn't return to the Enterprise would Riker have retained command? In Chain of Command, after Picard left the ship on a special mission, command of the ship did not pass to Riker. There Starfleet had some time and selected a different more experienced captain.

In Best of Both Worlds, if Picard had been killed or otherwise non-recoverable, Riker likely have been replaced as the Enterprise's captain while the Enterprise was in Earth orbit after the destruction of the Borg cube. Getting a Galaxy class (and the Federaion flagship) as his first command was unlikely

Well we did have that one timeline in “Parallels” where Riker was fully promoted to Captain of the Enterprise-D.

But we also saw Riker given temporary promotions in the past when he was Captain of the “Hathaway” for the war games in ‘Peak Performance’ or the Captaincy Of The Excalibur in “Redemption”.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Because TV

 

[TRON JA307020]

Riker also had said in the past why he turned down other commands. He loved the Enterprise. He wanted to continue working aboard her. Nothing wrong with that. She was the flagship of the federation after all.

 

[Dukhat]

Riker also had said in the past why he turned down other commands. He loved the Enterprise. He wanted to continue working aboard her. Nothing wrong with that. She was the flagship of the federation after all.

Except that's not remotely how it works in the real world. When you're in the military, you go where you're sent. You don't get to pick and choose where you're stationed.

 

[Mojochi]

"Field commission". That could be interpreted in just about any way you want. I take it to mean it was a provisional rank attributed to the particular post he was given, which was not officially permanent, (Though it probably would've been, had he somehow saved everybody except Picard, & had he not saved everybody, none of that would've mattered anyhow as they'd have all been immediately doomed)

However, when the decision to return Picard to that post was made, and Riker chose to not accept his own different post, at that rank, he was reduced, because it's not like he could've retained that rank in that current post. There may be Captain engineers like Scotty, but there aint no Captain First Officers. In order for him to retain the Captain rank, it would've had to be elsewhere, and any number of elsewheres would've been available to him too, idiotically enough

But we also saw Riker given temporary promotions in the past when he was Captain of the “Hathaway” for the war games in ‘Peak Performance’ or the Captaincy Of The Excalibur in “Redemption”.

These were never legitimate captain ranks though. No promotions, just command placement. No 4 pips. BoBW was. On a related note, Shelby was promoted up from LT CMDR, to full CMDR. in part 2 as well, to take on the role of 1st officer. I'd bet you anything she didn't give up that rank after the fact.

She's somebody's 1st officer after that, & she could've been Picard's, & not only would he have been lucky to have her imho, but it seemed to be the general consensus among the higher-ups that she be it, because Picard is a fantastic commander to learn from, & from that post, could mold any number of people into great captains themselves.

Riker denied her a real opportunity, as I see. A dick move, frankly, whatever his ultimately self-serving motivations were. He's also in service to Starfleet, & as a good officer & servant, should consider that his actions can benefit or hinder the whole. It's not just about what Will wants. There are bigger concerns, & having other people benefit from the training & expertise Picard can offer is a huge one imho, & Riker held that office hostage for 16 years, because he has daddy issues

 

[TRON JA307020]

Except that's not remotely how it works in the real world. When you're in the military, you go where you're sent. You don't get to pick and choose where you're stationed.

He was stationed on the Enterprise. He had the right to turn down commands. So in star trek it worked.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

He was a main character. The show was not over. Stewart was still in the show.? Therefore Riker could not be promoted.

 

[Dukhat]

He was stationed on the Enterprise. He had the right to turn down commands. So in star trek it worked.

Yes, because Star Trek is not real life.

 

[Prax]

There may be Captain engineers like Scotty, but there aint no Captain First Officers.

IRW, it's very common on larger vessels (like carriers) for both the captain and first officer to hold the rank of captain. And apparently, as someone else mentioned, has happened in Star Trek also, with Spock.

 

[Mojochi]

IRW, it's very common on larger vessels (like carriers) for both the captain and first officer to hold the rank of captain. And apparently, as someone else mentioned, has happened in Star Trek also, with Spock.

In Star Trek at least, that really was a special circumstance though, resulting from the demotion of an admiral, & the commissioning of a new ship, that didn't really have a charter to speak of. I'm not even really sure what they were planning to do with the A before the Sybok situation, & then the only thing we know after that, is that it's surprisingly called up for a peace conference, nearing the end of its run. That whole Enterprise A deal seemed ceremonial to me, & there purpose seemed rather ceremonial or ambassadorial as well, & I suppose they could've thought, "Who really cares what those old timers have for ranks, under that circumstance?"

In any case, it's not out of the realm of possibility that Starfleet would've only meant the Riker promotion to be provisional on his posting as its captain, & when that job wasn't open any longer, it in fact meant he had to leave to keep the rank, or take the demotion to remain aboard. What other in universe reason would he have to drop a rank, except that it was a requirement? He just thought it would be nice of him to not hold the same rank as Picard? I doubt that. They took it back when he didn't take another assignment, & that seems likely because they'd not want a captain to hold an XO slot.

It may not be like that in reality, but that's the conclusion I make from them

If Picard hadn't return to the Enterprise would Riker have retained command? In Chain of Command, after Picard left the ship on a special mission, command of the ship did not pass to Riker. There Starfleet had some time and selected a different more experienced captain.

In Best of Both Worlds, if Picard had been killed or otherwise non-recoverable, Riker likely have been replaced as the Enterprise's captain while the Enterprise was in Earth orbit after the destruction of the Borg cube. Getting a Galaxy class (and the Federaion flagship) as his first command was unlikely

I don't know if I buy that entirely. While I agree that getting the flagship as a 1st command would be unlikely, if somehow everybody is still around except Picard, such that Riker could potentially be replaced, it still remains that he must have won the day as its captain, meaning he save all of Earth.

Do you really displace that guy from the ship that beat the odds & saved his entire planet? You want to bust that team up, when there's an opening there to fill anyhow, & probably a recent shortage of guys to fill it, after the Wolf 359 slaughter? I think this case might be the ONLY scenario where Riker would get the Enterprise as his 1st command, because it's the longest long shot that even shot long lol

 

[USS Firefly]

Will Riker should have been promoted and get his own ship after BOBW.
He could visite the Enterprise once in a while, meanwhile Tomas Riker gets stationed on the Enterprise.
So all problems solved

 

[Tenacity]

he save all of Earth

That gets him a medal, not a Galaxy class.

And it was Data (not Riker) who came up with the solution.

 

[Mojochi]

That gets him a medal, not a Galaxy class.

OK, but the open vacancy he's already familiar with + the recent demise of a whole lot of officers at Wolf 359 ++ the fact that the team he led saved Earth = a whole lot of sensible reason for just letting him make the post he's already in a permanent one

And it was Data (not Riker) who came up with the solution.

Actually it was Picard lol. I'm not big on giving Will much credit either, since without Data, none of it works out, but Will did factor into the win, as it was his daddy issues that got Picard back in the 1st place, & then Data could work his magic. As far as command is concerned though, Will is the guy occupying the center seat, when the ship gets the job done. It's a proven crew, in the most outstanding way. Why fix what ain't broken, when it's so unbroken that it is a ship of heroes?

 

[Discofan]

First, there is the total unbelievability of Picard being given his ship back after such an event right away! Compared to that Riker's demotion is small potatoes.
I mean first, there's PTSD and then there's the possible brainwashing by the Borg!!

 

[Takeru]

First, there is the total unbelievability of Picard being given his ship back after such an event right away! Compared to that Riker's demotion is small potatoes.
I mean first, there's PTSD and then there's the possible brainwashing by the Borg!!

They probably had a team of telepaths scan him and they concluded after 5 seconds that he wasn't brainwashed. PTSD is a non issue, Star Trek has many examples of people getting over traumatic experiences between episodes. O'Brien experienced a 20 year prison sentence, wanted to kill himself and was back on duty the next episode as if nothing happened, Geordie was brainwashed to be an assassin and missed what? One day of work? The entire Enterprise crew mutated and started to eat each other etc., their counselor's are just that good, that's why Troi spends so much time on the bridge, she only nas to do actual counseling from 9 to 10:30 on tuesdays and thursdays