Star Trek: What 'Riker's Beard' Actually Means
You've heard it; you've definitely seen it — but what does it actually mean? We're talking about the "Star Trek"-inspired term "Riker's beard," which is named for Jonathan Frakes' Commander William T. Riker of "Star Trek: The Next Generation."
The phrase "Riker's beard" does refer to the character's facial hair, but for a very specific reason. It's used to describe something (usually in pop culture) that was originally subpar or lackluster in quality but over time improved to the point of becoming actually good or, at minimum, noticeably better than it was before. It's something of the opposite of the phrase "jumped the shark," which is usually used to describe when a TV show has gone downhill.
But how does Commander Riker's facial hair factor into a phrase that seemingly doesn't have a meaning related to "Star Trek"? Well, the phrase gets its name from the fact that Riker didn't start having a beard on the show until the top of Season 2, which is when many fans believe the series had a noticeable jump in quality — the season features some of the must-watch "Next Generation" episodes.
The Next Generation had a rocky start but became 'Riker's beard'
In fact, "Star Trek: The Next Generation" continued to be a shining example of the "Riker's beard" phrase season over season, with fans claiming that the series kept settling into its identity and leveling up as the seasons went on (see our definitive ranking of "The Next Generation" seasons).
Plus, the road to improvement was marred with conflict behind the scenes, which certainly didn't help the show shine from the jump. Paramount initially didn't want to bring "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry back after the middling performance of "The Original Series," but ultimately did because of his innate ties to the franchise. He then brought in executive producer Rick Berman and franchise writers like D.C. Fontana, who became at odds with Roddenberry and left the project. Once Roddenberry himself was ousted from the show, producer Maurice Hurley kept the series going through Season 2 before Michael Piller took over in Season 3.
Miller and Berman collaborated to stabilize the show, and it continued to improve in quality over the course of its run, with Season 7 being nominated for an Emmy Award for outstanding drama series in 1994. There's nothing more "Riker's beard" than that.