Eight years previously a young Lt Riker was working on the USS Potemkin; one of his missions was the evacuation of a research base on Nervala IV before a disruption field would prevent all transporter use the next eight years; he was the last person to be evacuated. Now Commander Riker is part of the away team that are tasked with retrieving the data from that mission. There will only be handful of short windows to go down and do the job before it disruption field returns for another eight years. The away team is shocked to find that there is somebody in the base
Lt Riker!
After initial scepticism it is established that this man is indeed William T Riker; for some reason the transporter beamed one Riker back to the Potemkin and sent one back to the base. One went on to become the man we know, the other was left alone for eight years while nobody suspected anybody was there. The way this happened means that they are both the 'real' Will Riker. It is difficult for both of them to learn that they have a double and they don't get on well together. Things are further complicated by the fact that at the time of the accident Riker was dating Counsellor Troi and Lt. Riker would like to continue that relationship.
This is an interesting episode that raises an interesting question; how would we feel if we met somebody who was effectively oneself. Jonathan Frakes does a great job in the double role; he nicely conveys the way each Riker feels about the situation. The scene where the two play poker, along with Data and Worf, was particularly good as it demonstrates so well their now different situations. I feared that the episode would go for the clichéd ending of killing of Lt Riker but thankfully he survived so can potentially return in a future story. The part of the story involving Troi does feel a bit tacked on and it does seem unlikely that Lt Riker wouldn't realise Troi would have moved on with her life although to be fair after eight years alone it is understandable that he'd at least hope to restart the relationship. Overall an interesting episode that explores some interesting ideas.
After initial scepticism it is established that this man is indeed William T Riker; for some reason the transporter beamed one Riker back to the Potemkin and sent one back to the base. One went on to become the man we know, the other was left alone for eight years while nobody suspected anybody was there. The way this happened means that they are both the 'real' Will Riker. It is difficult for both of them to learn that they have a double and they don't get on well together. Things are further complicated by the fact that at the time of the accident Riker was dating Counsellor Troi and Lt. Riker would like to continue that relationship.
This is an interesting episode that raises an interesting question; how would we feel if we met somebody who was effectively oneself. Jonathan Frakes does a great job in the double role; he nicely conveys the way each Riker feels about the situation. The scene where the two play poker, along with Data and Worf, was particularly good as it demonstrates so well their now different situations. I feared that the episode would go for the clichéd ending of killing of Lt Riker but thankfully he survived so can potentially return in a future story. The part of the story involving Troi does feel a bit tacked on and it does seem unlikely that Lt Riker wouldn't realise Troi would have moved on with her life although to be fair after eight years alone it is understandable that he'd at least hope to restart the relationship. Overall an interesting episode that explores some interesting ideas.