‘SECOND CHANCES’ (TNG)
Please feel free to comment on my review.
This is the first ‘Star Trek: TNG’ episode to be directed by LeVar Burton who plays Geordi La Forge in the series. As Jonathan Frakes and Patrick Stewart directed episodes, why not another cast member?
The episode features Riker meeting a duplicate of him. This must have been a challenging episode for LeVar Burton to direct, both technically and acting-wise considering the two Rikers featured in it.
We begin with a jazz club session in Ten Forward where Riker is on the trombone. Beverly and Deanna are in attendance too. My Dad liked this scene considering he’s very into jazz music himself.
Riker asks for any music requests from the audience for his jazz band to perform. Deanna calls out ‘Nightbird’. Riker is reluctant to perform this number since he has tried to get it right for many years.
Fortunately Riker is saved by the bell when Data asks him to come to the bridge. Thus we don’t get to hear his solo on ‘Nightbird’. My Dad wants me to share that jazz song in a music presentation. 😀
Anyway, the episode focuses on the Enterprise being sent to the inhospitable planet of Nervala IV. The crew are to retrieve data from a Federation research base that was abandoned eight years ago.
Riker leads the away team in order to go down to the planet. Apparently Riker had served on the starship Potemkin where he helped evacuate the base on a rescue mission all those eight years ago.
However, when the away team beams down to the planet, they discover a man who happens to look exactly like…Riker! Commander Riker is surprised as everyone else is. How can there be two Rikers?
It seems that this duplicate Riker – who we’ll call Lt. Riker – has been living alone in the base for eight years ever since the Potemkin failed to rescue him. Cdr. Riker finds all of this difficult to follow.
Apparently, there was a transporter accident during the Potemkin’s attempt to beam up Riker from Nervala IV eight years ago. It made two Rikers – one who had escaped and one who got left behind.
Lt. Riker is returned to the Enterprise where he is given a gold uniform to distinguish himself from Cdr. Riker who has a red uniform. Beverly Crusher confirms that Lt. Riker is definitely a second Riker.
This is pretty interesting and an unusual notion where two Rikers were created during a transporter accident. One Riker became successful being a commander whilst the other became forgotten about.
It is at this point that Lt. Riker reunites with Counsellor Deanna Troi, whom he’s missed so much. He doesn’t know that things have changed in the relationship he had with Deanna last time he saw her.
As far as Lt. Riker’s concerned, he’s still in love with Deanna. But Deanna seems to have lost that love he once had for Riker once Cdr. Riker had a command career to consider when he got promoted.
Lt. Riker however is determined to rekindle what he once had with Deanna many years ago before he was presumed lost. The scenes between Lt. Riker and Deanna are very beautifully written in this.
Deanna is hesitant at first to rekindle her love relationship with Lt. Riker. But during a Klingon Mok’bara session (where Worf isn’t there by the way), the two have a kissing scene with each other.
Cdr. Riker is concerned about Deanna’s happiness when she’s with Lt. Riker. He doesn’t want to see her getting hurt the same way he did it to her. This is especially as Lt. Riker is to get his new posting.
Lt. Riker also helps Cdr. Riker and the away team to recover data from the Federation base. It’s clear Cdr. Riker and Lt. Riker don’t get on with each other as their personality styles clash with each other.
Data shares with Worf that he can see the two Rikers resenting each other. Eventually, Lt. Riker is almost about to fall down into a crevasse after one walkway collapses before Cdr. Riker rescues him.
Eventually the two Rikers reconcile their differences and Lt. Riker is about to go off to serve aboard another ship. Lt. Riker decides to rename himself as ‘Thomas Riker’ to distinguish himself from William.
‘Second Chances’ is a pretty decent ‘TNG’ episode featuring two Rikers. It’s not an action-packed episode and it certainly doesn’t have a strong climax. But I enjoyed seeing it and I found it intriguing.
‘Second Chances’ (TNG) rating – 7/10
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