Star Trek: Kirk's Bad Reputation Really Belongs To Riker

Despite Captain James T. Kirk's (William Shatner) reputation as a lothario, Star Trek's true ladies man is Commander Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes). Star Trek: The Next Generationwas the first spinoff from Star Trek: The Original Series and Riker's character was designed with the mold of Captain Kirk in mind (right down to sharing the same middle initial), But Riker also had a romantic past with Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) that was recycled from Star Trek: The Motion Picture's ill-fated lovers, Commander Will Decker (Stephen Collins) and Ilia (Persis Khambatta) and this helped set the stage for how Riker was depicted as the ultimate ladies' man during TNG's run.

Kirk's status as a ladykiller is legendary but much of it is derived from TOS' maligned third and final season, which is widely derided as its worst. After a mail-in campaign by fans saved Star Trek from cancellation during season 2, NBC still wanted the third season to be its last. The network forced budgetary and creative restrictions that drove away the show's best writers and executive producer Gene Roddenberry. NBC then appointed Fred Freiberger as Star Trek's showrunner, but the veteran TV producer didn't understand the sci-fi series; many of TOS season 3's stories, in turn, involved romantic plots for the Starship Enterprise's main characters, especially Kirk, who only had a relative few love affairs in the prior seasons.

The Star Trek movies also introduced Kirk's failed relationships with Dr. Carol Marcus (Bibi Besch), the mother of their son David (Merritt Butrick), and an unseen woman named Antonia. J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movies leaned into portraying Jim Kirk (Chris Pine) as young and virile and they made a point of showing him in bed with multiple beautiful alien women. But in truth, despite Kirk's reputation, Shatner's Captain really only loved one woman and her name was the U.S.S. Enterprise. No one of the opposite sex ever kept Kirk's devotion like his beloved starship. But the same can't be said for Will Riker.

In contrast to the older Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), Commander Riker was a tall, dashing young hotshot and he was TNG's man of action who led Away team missions. By the time he joined the U.S.S. Enterprise-D in TNG' series premiere, "Encounter at Farpoint", Riker's passionate love affair with Deanna Troi was a thing of the past and the two mutually agreed to remain platonic until they finally married 15 years later in Star Trek: Nemesis. However, the sparks between Riker and his Imzadi still occasionally flared during TNG's run.

But Riker being single freed him up to have several romances throughout Star Trek: The Next Generation, and the dynamic First Officer (who grew a beard in TNG season 2 that made him even more handsome) had love affairs with a dozen women, from aliens like Soren (Melinda Culea) and Angel One's Mistress Beata (Karen Montgomery) to a hologram named Minuet (Carolyn McCormick) to Enterprise crew members like Ro Laren (Michelle Forbes). Even a Q named Amanda Rogers (Olivia D'Abo) and Data's android daughter Lal (Hallie Todd) had the hots for Riker.

To be fair, Riker did have seven years to accumulate his many conquests compared to Kirk's three seasons. The TNG movies didn't follow up on Riker's status as a ladies' man; instead, thanks to the rejuvenating Fountain of Youth known as the Briar Patch, Riker and Troi's romantic flame reignited during Star Trek Insurrection and the couple, at long last, tied the knot in the following film. 20 years later, Riker and Troi's marriage remains solid as ever and they are proud parents in Star Trek: Picard's era - and a happy life at home with a loving family is one more thing Will Riker achieved that, sadly, Jim Kirk, never could.

Source: screenrant.com