In a Reddit AMA, Jonathan Frakes had a surprising thing to say about the iconic Riker Maneuver he often employed on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Summary
- 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. He acknowledges that it can come off as an a**hole move.
- Frakes praises Jack Quaid’s improvised “Riker” move onto the saddle in Star Trek: Lower Decks, calling it brilliant.
- A different Riker Maneuver happens in Star Trek: Insurrection, but it is unclear if it becomes an official maneuver in the eyes of Starfleet.
Jonathan Frakes has a surprising opinion about the Riker Maneuver he often employed in Star Trek: The Next Generation. As Commander William Riker, Frakes had a particular way of sitting in chairs that has since become iconic in its own right. Throughout TNG, whenever Riker needed to sit down in one of the chairs on the USS Enterprise-D, he would swing one leg over the back of the chair before sitting down.
The Riker Maneuver has become so well-known within the Star Trek fandom, that the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds crossover episode even made a joke about it: When Ensign Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid) from Star Trek: Lower Decks waits in Captain Christopher Pike’s (Anson Mount) Ready Room, Boimler tries out Pike’s saddle, saying “Riker!” as he steps one leg over the seat. Quaid himself improvised this “Riker!” moment. On January 25, 2024, Jonathan Frakes joined Star Trek writers Andre Bormanis and Ken LaZebnikan for a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything). More than one question came up about the Riker Maneuver, and Frakes offered a somewhat surprising opinion on the classic move. Read his responses below:
KingRabbit_: Question for Jonathan – who came up with the Riker maneuver on TNG (by which I mean, extending your left leg over the top of a chair anytime you sat down because you’re just that damn tall and virile)? Be honest, it was you, right?
Jonathan Frakes: It happened by chance when we first used 10 Forward…the chairs were low enough to step in ….frankly it’s kind of an a**hole move …but I’m glad it found life as a Meme.
Ieatalphabets: Were you mad at [Jack] Quaid when he did a “Riker” move onto the saddle, or were you so impressed you couldn’t be mad?
Jonathan Frakes: It was BRILLIANT!!!
Related
Star Trek: The Riker Chair Maneuver Explained
Commander Riker’s unique way of sitting down on Star Trek: The Next Generation comes from a real-life issue that actor Jonathan Frakes deals with.
Star Trek Has Another Riker Maneuver
Riker uses a tactic in Star Trek: Insurrection referred to as the Riker Maneuver.
In Star Trek: Insurrection, Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the crew of the USS Enterprise-E defy orders from Starfleet to help the Ba’ku people. The Ba’ku planet is located in an area of space known as the Briar Patch, which has rejuvenating properties that render the people on the planet effectively immortal. Certain high-level officers within the Federation allied with the Ba’ku’s enemies, the Son’a, to forcibly remove the Ba’ku people and gain access to their planet’s healing properties. As Picard and his crew take a moral stand for the Ba’ku people, they come into conflict with the Son’a, resulting in a space battle.
In TNG’s “The Best of Both Worlds” two-parter, Riker devises two evasive maneuvers he uses against the Borg Cube, referred to as Riker Alpha and Riker Beta.
In command of the Enterprise, Riker engages in battle with two Son’a battle cruisers, using a tactic Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) dubs the “Riker Maneuver.” Riker orders the Enterprise to collect highly unstable metreon gas from space and then release that gas between the Enterprise and the Son’a ships. When one of the Son’a ships fires a torpedo at the Enterprise, the metreon gas ignites, destroying one of the Son’a ships and severely damaging the other. Although the move works, it’s never revealed whether this maneuver ever officially becomes the Riker Maneuver in the eyes of Starfleet. Regardless, the way Commander Riker sits in chairs on Star Trek: The Next Generation remains the more well-known Riker Maneuver.
