Summary
Star Trekhas a new version of Captain Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes), and it’s genius.Star Trek: Lower Decksseason 5’s trailer dropped atSan Diego Comic-Con 2024, and as expected, it was full of references toStar Trek’s past. After a riff onStar Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country’s trailer promising"one last adventure"for the USS Cerritos crew,Star Trek: Lower Decksseason 5’s trailer teases a story arc where the Cerritos is tasked with closing"spatial potholes".On the other side of one of these rifts emerges an alternate realityUSS Cerritos with a familiar bridge crew sporting notably different looks.
Like the alternate USS Cerritos crew,the USS Enterprise-D crew inStar Trek: The Next Generationalso changed significantlyand underwent more than a few cosmetic and personnel changes before everyone settled into their most iconic places. AfterStar Trek: The Next Generationseason 1, Lt. Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby) was replaced as Security Chief by Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn), who traded a red uniform for gold and grew out his hair. Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) also earned a gold uniform and a promotion to Chief Engineer. Most notably,Commander Will Riker’s signature bearddoesn’t appear untilTNGseason 2.
Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 5 - Everything You Need To Know
Star Trek: Lower Decks to the franchise where it had never been before with five seasons of comic antics, but sadly the show went off the air as well.
Star Trek’s New Riker Is Lower Decks Season 5’s Boimler Variant
Boimler spots a purple Riker-esque beard
Star Trek’s new Riker is a variant of Lt. Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid) from the alternate timeline USS Cerritos in theStar Trek: Lower Decksseason 5’s trailer. Some crew members on Captain Becky Freeman’s (Tawny Newsome) variant Cerritos have twists that tie them back to someone fromStar Trek: The Next Generation. Lt. Shaxs (Fred Tatasciore) has grown out his hair like fellow Chief of Security Worf does in laterTNGseasons. Lt. Sam Rutherford (Eugene Cordero) may be more synthetic than organic, drawing parallels to Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) inStar Trek: First Contact. On this alternate Cerritos,Boimler has grown an impressive, Riker-like full beard.
Star Trek: Lower Decks' Brad Boimler was modeled after Ensign Sam Lavelle (Dan Gauthier) fromStar Trek: The Next Generationseason 7, episode 12, “Lower Decks”, who also looked up to Will Riker.
Of course, Bradward Boimler is already a young Starfleet officer who idolizes Captain Riker. Boimler was ecstatic to transfer to Captain Riker’s USS Titan and the end ofStar Trek: Lower Decksseason 1. During Brad’s brief tour on the Titan, a transporter clone of Boimler was created in an accident like the one that created a duplicate of then-Lieutenant Riker.Boimler’s transporter twintook the name William, in an homage to Captain William Riker. Alternate Boimler’s beard seems to indicate that this Cerritos is from the future, butthe pips on the Riker-like Boimler’s collar mark him as a lieutenant junior grade, just like our Boimler, so they’re probably from a parallel reality.
William Boimler faked his death and joined Section 31 inStar Trek: Lower Decksseason 3.
Boimler Will Be A Starfleet Captain, But When?
Boimler Could Follow In Riker’s Footsteps
Lieutenant Brad Boimler is on the way to becoming a Starfleet captain, but when could that happen? Like Boimler, William Riker was an eager young Starfleet officer determined to make the rank of captain before he reached 35. Riker rose through the ranks quickly, and in 2364, Riker was offered command of his own starship, the USS Drake, instead joining the USS Enterprise crew to become one ofStar Trek’s best First Officers. Riker turned down two more command offers to remain on the Enterprise, soRiker didn’t become Captain until he was 44 years old, when Captain Riker took command of the USS Titan at the end ofStar Trek: Nemesis.
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Like William Riker, Brad Boimler is a loyal Starfleet officer likely to stick with a trusted Captain on a prestigious assignment. If Boimler becomes Mariner’s First Officer, asStar Trek: Lower Decksseems to be setting up, Bradward might stay there for a while. Boimler and the otherUSS Cerritos junior officers were promotedto lieutenant junior grade in 2381, sofollowing Riker’s track record places a potential Captain Boimler 20 years later,right aroundStar Trek: Picard’stimeframe. One wonders what Captain Riker would think of the alt-Boimler’s Riker-like beard inStar Trek: Lower Decksseason 5.
