Tuesday, January 10, 2023

Riker Sits Down



Like many people, I watched Star Trek: TNG for years and never noticed how Riker sits down. And stands up. Jonathan Frakes is a tall guy with long legs, and was compelled to wear a jumpsuit uniform, so this might have been the easiest way he found to deal with chairs. Or it could be totally for style purposes. But why did it take so long for anyone to notice? (via Metafilter





3 comments:

Christine said...

Huh. Interesting. I'm a great TNG fan and I never noticed this either.

Anonymous said...

I recall seeing this video before with an explanation that Frakes had some kind of back trouble and this simple movement allowed him to get into and out of chairs on set without aggravating that condition.
Those long legs certainly made the move much easier to execute.
A great signature move for his character.

xoxoxoBruce said...

The chair was exactly where the director and cameraman wanted him to sit, moving it mean moving it again hoping to get the same set up plus wasting time. If he didn't make that maneuver they would likely show him walking into the room then cut to him seated.