Riker’s DS9 Episode Is A Star Trek Remake Of Jack Ryan’s First Movie

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Jonathan Frakes' guest spot as Lieutenant Thomas Riker in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 3 is effectively a remake and Star Trek's version of the first Jack Ryan movie, The Hunt for Red October. Posing as Commander William Riker from Star Trek: The Next Generation, Thomas charms his way into Deep Space Nine with a nefarious agenda: Will Riker's transporter clonesteals the USS Defiant to use as a weapon against the Cardassians, with Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) aboard as Tom's prisoner. What's more, Riker reveals he quit Starfleet and joined the Maquis.

1990's The Hunt for Red October was the first big-screen blockbuster adapted from Tom Clancy's series of novels centering on CIA analyst Jack Ryan. In Red October, Captain Marko Ramius (Sean Connery) steals the Red October, the Soviet Union's most advanced nuclear submarine. As the United States and Soviet navies mobilize to hunt the Red October, Jack Ryan (Alec Baldwin) deduces Ramius' true goal: the Soviet captain intends to defect to America. Thomas Riker's mission in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine has fascinating echoes of Ramius' scheme in The Hunt for Red October.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s "Defiant" Is An Unofficial Hunt For Red October Remake

Thomas Riker Is Star Trek's Marko Ramius

In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 3, episode 9, "Defiant," the USS Defiant is essentially the nuclear submarine in The Hunt for Red October. The Defiant is equipped with a Romulan cloaking device, which is akin to the Red October's silent propulsion system, the caterpillar drive. Thomas Riker has also 'defected' to the Maquis, just as Captain Ramius planned to turn himself into the United States. Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) finds himself in the Jack Ryan role, gauging Riker's mindset and deducing his true intentions.

Deep Space Nine with the DS9 space station and the Gamma Quadrant wormhole in the background.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Cast & Character Guide

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine had the biggest cast of characters of any Trek show, meaning that Captain Sisko had numerous allies in the Dominion War.

A scene between Gul Dukat (Marc Alaimo) and Sisko where they debate Riker's motivations is similar to moments In The Hunt for Red October where the CIA and the White House ponder what Captain Ramius is up to. The Russians also play games and deceive the United States Navy in The Hunt for Red October, just as Cardassia's Obsidian Order hides a secret fleet they are building in the Orias system. However, Thomas Riker's outcome differs greatly from Ramius': the Maquis defector is voluntarily captured by the Cardassians, whereas Jack Ryan helps Ramius and his crew defect to the United States.

Star Trek has never resolved what happened to Thomas Riker after Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's "Defiant."

Interestingly, the writer of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 3, episode 9, "Defiant," Ronald D. Moore, did not intentionally base his story on The Hunt for Red October, which hit movie theaters four years earlier. Further, Commander Sisko's role in "Defiant" echoes the President of the United States played by Henry Fonda in the 1964 thriller Fail Safe, which is about the United States and Russia working together to shoot down an American plane en route to launch a nuclear strike against Moscow. Regardless, the similarities between "Defiant" and The Hunt for Red October are intriguing.

Star Trek: TNG Has A Hunt For Red October Connection

Gates McFadden Was The Original Cathy Ryan

Gates McFadden as Caroline Ryan in The Hunt for Red October

Star Trek: The Next Generation has a fascinating connection to The Hunt for Red October. Gates McFadden, who plays Dr. Beverly Crusher and is one of Star Trek: The Next Generation's main cast members, had a cameo appearance as Dr. Cathy Ryan in the opening minutes of The Hunt for Red October.McFadden had hoped to continue playing Cathy in the sequels, but the role was recast with Anne Archer when Harrison Ford took over the role of Jack Ryan from Alec Baldwin in 1992's Patriot Games and 1994's Clear and Present Danger.

Star Trek's Gates McFadden Explains Her Jack Ryan Movie Disappointment

Exclusive: Gates McFadden appeared as Cathy Ryan in The Hunt for Red October, and she reveals why she was recast for the Jack Ryan sequel films.

In 2014, a Star Trek leading man became Jack Ryan. Chris Pine, who played Captain James T. Kirk in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek movies, was cast as Tom Clancy's hero in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, opposite Keira Knightley, Kevin Costner, and Kenneth Branagh. Unfortunately, the reboot was unsuccessful, and Pine didn't continue as Jack Ryan. In hindsight, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine unintentionally making their own version of The Hunt for Red October makes "Defiant" an even more compelling watch for Tom Clancy fans.