The Origin Of Star Trek's Riker Chair Maneuver, According To Jonathan Frakes

Throughout the history of Star Trek, franchise icons have made characters their own in the most subtle of ways. It's in the confused head tilt of Brent Spiner as Data, the stop and start speeches from William Shatner as Captain Kirk, and most recently, in Doug Jones' gentle hands waving behind him as Saru on "Star Trek: Discovery." In the case of Jonathan Frakes as Commander Riker on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," his iconic mannerisms, specifically how he sits down, are among the things you'll notice after watching the show more than once. Now dubbed by fans as the Riker Chair Maneuver, Picard's loyal number two would sit down on the Enterprise's seats like he was straddling a horse, swinging his leg over the back rest before parking himself down for a meeting with the captain or crew.

Due to a back injury from moving furniture when he was an up-and-coming actor, Frakes adjusted to the numerous takes of having to sit down and stand up on the Enterprise by swinging his leg over. Alternatively, he even leaned on chairs if the chance was there, and it's now become a staple of the series. "That started in Ten Forward because the backs of the chairs were so low, it was easy," explained Frakes to IGN, referring to the Enterprise's rec and canteen area. "And then I thought, this is really a hotdog, a*****e thing to do. Nobody's going to let me do this. And then nobody stopped me!"

Jonathan Frakes acknowledged just how odd his seating method appeared outside looking in, but also noted that he was never called out for it. "It's such a cocky, unattractive, kind of bad cowboy move. Whoever did the YouTube compilation of Riker sits down, it went viral and was even more embarrassing, and made me strangely even more proud!" The video, which has now gained over 5 million views on YouTube, highlights just how integral the maneuver has become — so much so that Frakes has even directed a scene that saw a Star Trek alumni do it in front of him in a wonderfully meta moment.

On Season 2, Episode 7 of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds," which Frakes directed, "Star Trek: Lower Decks" crew members Ensigns Mariner and Boimler (Tawny Newsome and Jack Quaid) travel back to the past and find themselves aboard the Enterprise captained by Christopher Pike (Anson Mount). One scene sees Boimler mount Pike's saddle in his office. In an interview (via the official Star Trek TikTok), Quaid recalled the improvised bit, saying, "I gotta do this. He's [Frakes] right there, come on." The moment didn't go unnoticed when Frakes added, "My wife screamed ... It was so simple. And it wasn't 'I'm doing a 'Riker,' it wasn't 'The Riker.' It was just–" to which Quaid added, "Riker!" There's no doubt plenty of people could've played Riker, but there's really only one who can sit like him.