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From Wikipedia, an abridged bio:

For the first two seasons, Riker is portrayed as bold and confident, an ambitious young officer in the tradition of James T. Kirk. Over time, Riker's character becomes more reserved, as experience teaches him the wisdom of a patient, careful approach. He becomes comfortable on the Enterprise, repeatedly turning down offers of his own command, and he learns to cherish the company of his fellow officers. Nonetheless, Riker never quite loses his arrogant streak, nor his willingness to occasionally disregard the chain of command.

Riker's background is first explored in the second-season episode, The Icarus Factor. In the episode, Riker's estranged father Kyle visits the Enterprise to offer his son the command of the USS Aries, which Riker refuses. We learn that Riker grew up in Valdez, Alaska, that his mother Elizabeth died when he was two years old, and that he was raised by his father until the age of 15, when he left home. In the episode, Riker has not spoken with his father for fifteen years, but they manage to partially mend their relationship over a game of martial-arts sparring called Anbo-jyutsu.

In two-parter "The Best of Both Worlds" Riker takes command of the Enterprise assuming the rank of Captain through a field promotion and orchestrates Picard's rescue.

The sixth-season episode "Second Chances" reveals Will Riker was duplicated long ago by a transporter malfunction. The 'second' Riker takes the name "Thomas", which is revealed to be William Riker's middle name.

In the seventh-season episode "The Pegasus," Riker must confront his former commanding officer, Admiral Eric Pressman, over a cover-up related to the destruction of the USS Pegasus.

Before the beginning of the show, Riker was involved in an intense romantic relationship with Counselor Troi on her home planet of Betazed. The two characters are close friends throughout the series, but their relationship does not resume until Star Trek: Insurrection, the third Star Trek film set in the Next Generation era, although Thomas Riker, the duplicate created by a transporter malfunction, attempts to re-spark their relationship in "Second Chances". The following movie, Star Trek Nemesis, begins with their wedding onboard the Enterprise-E. They often refer to each other as "imzadi," which is a Betazoid term of endearment, meaning "beloved."

During the course of Star Trek: TNG and the TNG-era movies, Riker was offered the command of several Starships; offered either when Picard was unavailable or through a rank assignment. Throughout the series, he declined all such offers and remained first officer on board the USS Enterprise-D, under Captain Picard. In the movie "Star Trek Nemesis" Riker has finally accepted an offer to command another Starship, the USS "Titan", and during the movie's final scenes he bids Picard, and the Enterprise, farewell.

Riker is the first of Captain Picard's crew to attain the rank of Captain. Other crew members that have officially gained the rank are Worf (Klingon Empire), Geordi LaForge (alternate timeline), and Beverly Crusher (alternate timeline).

Riker was originally scripted as a much more serious, by-the-book officer -- by the middle episodes of the first season, however, it was felt that he was too 'official', and his character was toned down, and became more of a ladies' man.

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