The titular Riker Lean. The statuesque manner in which Commander Riker leans against things. Trivia: It was created by Jonathan Frakesas a way to relieve pressure from a back injury.
The low backs on the apparently made it uncomfortable to sit normally, and this (mixed with the uncomfortable uniforms from the first and second seasons) resulted in his specific style of sitting.
While the maneuver is certainly amusing to watch, it has a slightly more serious real-world explanation. According to a thread on Reddit, actor Jonathan Frakes has an old back injury that he sustained years before Star Trek: The Next Generation, which caused him to have to modify the way he sits.
Jonathan Frakes admits that the Riker Maneuver, where he swings his leg over the chair before sitting down, was actually just a byproduct of the low chairs on set.
If we accept Riker's highest number of 14 and Kirk's highest possible number of 11, we are left with Riker sleeping with 14 people between 2364 and 2379, just shy of 1 woman a year, whereas Kirk slept with 11 women in the period pre-2265, when TOS began, 2293, when The Undiscovered Country occurred.
On Star Trek: The Next Generation, Will Riker often refers to Deanna Troi by her first name, "Deanna." However, he also occasionally calls her by a variety of endearing nicknames, including "Imzadi," which is a Betazoid term that means "beloved" or "chosen one," and "Little One," which is a term of affection that he ...
Here's how the crowd-sourced dictionary describes it: "Euphemism for a moment in time. (typically in pop culture) where something or. someone that was lackluster and/or underachieving. suddenly and surprisingly became much better and exciting.
With a ship like the Enterprise and a Captain like Jean-Luc Picard, it's no surprise he stayed as long as he did. Though he clearly has the credentials necessary to be an Admiral, Riker has had other priorities over the years.
By the time of the Star Trek: The Next Generation series finale, "All Good Things...," Will Riker was 36 years old. Jonathan Frakes was around 35 when he was cast as Will Riker, making him about six years older than his character.
In a later episode, “The Pegasus,” he tells Riker that he always “wanted someone who would stand up to [him],” something Riker does right from the get go. Riker showed Picard cared more for the safety of the ship and crew than his record, affirming to Picard that this man was fit to be his first officer.
Commander Riker was born in the year 2335. He was 29 during season 1 of TNG and 35 during the final season. He'd originally planned to become Captain by age 35, but he didn't accept the position until 2379 when he was 44. Jonathan Frakes was 35 at the start of TNG and 42 at the end.
Riker promises never to use the powers again, but after a rescue mission he breaks down and grants each of the bridge crew a wish, which they refuse, with Riker subsequently rejecting his new powers.
Jonathan Frakes has a back injury. That's why he rarely sat. It actually hurts him to sit for long periods or to lean down. So he invented the “Riker Maneuver”.
Riker returns to the screen in the "Nepenthe" episode of Star Trek: Picard. In that episode, taking place in 2399, Riker is married to Deanna Troi; they have two children, Thad (now deceased) and Kestra.
Jonathan Frakes is actually able to play the trombone and has done so since the age of nine. However, the producers wanted a more professional sound, so they hired session musicians to overdub his playing.
Thad also has a younger sister, Kestra (Lulu Wilson). Thad became ill with a rare disease, prompting the Riker family to effectively retire from active Starfleet duty and relocate to the restorative planet Nepenthe. Despite their efforts, Thad succumbed to his illness as a teenager.
However, Spiner felt he was too old to continue playing the part, as Data does not age. He also played Lore, Data's evil android brother, in several Next Generation episodes; and B-4, another brother android with a less developed mind, in Star Trek: Nemesis (2002).
Picard is also twice as old as - some 30 years older than - his first officer. Worf was a youngster on the show, only 24 years old at the start, and younger than everyone else, save Wesley, and only 8 years older than him at that.
Deanna Troi was born on March 29, 2336, making her 28 when she joined the USS Enterprise-D for Star Trek: The Next Generation. At the age of 34 in 2370, Troi took the Bridge Officer's Test and was promoted to the rank of Commander.
You can see him leaning on the furniture in a lot of Star Trek: The Next Generation scenes and making it look cool like this… What is this? The reality is that Jonathan Frakes hurt his back when he used to have a job moving furniture.
The 6'3″ actor sat that way in to manage his back pain due to the multiple takes of the same sitting-down scenes on the series. The move had become his character's signature and evolved into a meme among Star Trek fans.
Commander Martin Madden is introduced as the replacement for Captain Riker. The alternate ending also shows Captain Picard trying out his new Captain's chair and launching the Enterprise on a new mission.
Troi shaved off Riker's beard for him, and he remained clean-shaven for the rest of Insurrection. Riker and Troi's romance would endure, but the beard returned in the next film, Star Trek: Nemesis, and Riker still had the beard in both Star Trek: Picard and Star Trek: Lower Decks.
Rather than turn Riker over for unfavorable trial, the Enterprise reconstructs the facts. The widow of respected scientist Dr. Nel Apgar accuses Riker of seducing her and killing her husband. Rather than turn Riker over for unfavorable trial, the Enterprise reconstructs the facts.
