Entertainment
How Gene Roddenberry Made Will Riker's Family Life Terrible
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Commander Riker is a fan-favorite character on Star Trek: The Next Generation because he’s a funny, take-charge leader who continues the James T. Kirk tradition of bedding the finest babes in the galaxy. In fact, it’s fair to say that Riker is largely defined by his relationships, including his slow-burning romance with Deanna Troi that culminated in his marriage. However, Troi isn’t necessarily the most important relationship in Riker’s life: instead, the most important relationship is the one he had with his father, who shaped the future Starfleet officer into the man he eventually became.
Unfortunately, the two had a very contentious early relationship, and Kyle Riker abandoned his son when Will was only 15 years old. They reunited and eventually reconciled in the Season 2 episode “The Icarus Factor,” but director Robert Iscove was disappointed in how things played out onscreen. The reason for that is simple: Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry placed so many restrictions on character conflict that it was impossible to accurately portray the reunion between this contentious father/son duo.
To Seek Out New Life And New Daddy Issues
Iscove was a first-time Star Trek director, and he took the job of directing “The Icarus Factor” because he was a huge fan of The Original Series. That show was set during the 23rd century, while The Next Generation was set in the 24th century, and he learned the hard way what a difference a century can make. According to Iscove (as recorded in Captain’s Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Voyages), Roddenberry believed that “we’ve all kind of resolved those feelings of anger” by the 24th century, and this made it hard to direct “an emotional piece” between a son and the father who “deserted Riker for 25 years.”
The director didn’t mince words about how annoying Roddenberry’s restrictions were, claiming they made the conflict between Kyle and William Riker “very hard to play.” He went on to note that “if you’re not going to serve the resentment and anger, what happens once the two of them get together, you can’t serve any real human drama.” The episode certainly had the potential for major drama: both men were haunted by the death of Will Riker’s mother, and the future commander was doubly tormented by his father ditching him at the tender age of 15.
Fake Sports, Real Emotions
That didn’t really happen, though, as “The Icarus Factor” made their conflict rather literal. The two donned goofy costumes and duked it out in a fictional Japanese sport, with the Starfleet officer venting some of his bitterness before they finally reconciled. That reconciliation was very disappointing to audiences because it didn’t feel earned: they weren’t able to really hash out their differences or overcome lingering resentment, all because the man who created Star Trek thought humanity had moved beyond the kind of emotional conflict that those watching The Next Generation would have preferred.
Director Robert Iscove would have preferred more emotional conflict as well, and he went on to lament that “The Original Series was much more humanistic in its approach.” He was disappointed with how “The Icarus Factor” turned out, and he never returned to the franchise, even though producers kept offering him opportunities to direct additional Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes. Like Riker, powerful people kept pulling out the chair for him, but he had no real interest in sitting down.
A Bittersweet Victory For The Writers
As longtime Star Trek fans know, this is a tale that has a bittersweet ending: after Gene Roddenberry became suddenly ill and then tragically passed away, his old rule about avoiding conflict between humans went out the airlock. The Next Generation began adding more conflict before Deep Space Nine took things to the next level, and NuTrek shows like Starfleet Academy have major character conflict built into their creative DNA.
Sadly, this change was too late for Commander Riker, whose daddy issues and reconciliation were ultimately hampered by the storytelling rule that nearly ruined TNG before it could become must-see TV.
Entertainment
The new Dyson Supersonic Travel is the cheapest Supersonic yet
Table of Contents
Nearly three years ago, I asked if the (then) $429 Dyson Supersonic was still worth the price of entry.
These days, with the Supersonic line having expanded, the standard model having increased in price to $449.99, and the most expensive version of the hair dryer topping out at $549.99, it’s a question that feels even more apt.
The good news? If you’re not super into the idea of spending about $500 for a hair dryer, Dyson just announced the Dyson Supersonic Travel, a $299.99 model of its famous hair tool. In addition to its lower price point, it comes with more travel-friendly proportions and features.
As someone who’s personally tested Supersonics (and their many dupes), I took a closer look at the latest Dyson beauty launch to gather everything you need to know.
The design differences of the Dyson Supersonic Travel
In short, the Supersonic Travel is the standard Supersonic but smaller. According to Dyson, that comes out to exactly 32 percent smaller and 25 percent lighter than the OG Supersonic. In other words, it’s 0.7 pounds to the standard Supersonic’s 1.8 pounds, and 8.7 inches tall to the larger model’s 10 inches.
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This model also comes with one attachment, the styling concentrator, a la the now-discontinued Dyson Supersonic Origin (which ran for $399.99). For comparison, the $449.99 Supersonic comes with three attachments: a styling concentrator, diffuser, and wide-tooth comb. For all five attachments, you’ll have to shell out $549.99.
The Supersonic Travel is compatible with all original and Supersonic Nural attachments.
Credit: Dyson
The same attachments can be used between the Travel, original, and Supersonic Nural dryers. This means opting for the Travel could technically save you some money — individual attachments range from $19.99 to $44.99. If you only use a styling concentrator and diffuser, for instance, the total cost of a Travel dryer with the extra attachment purchase would come out to $344.98, making it still over $100 cheaper than the three-attachment original Supersonic.
The Supersonic Travel is more versatile in some ways, and less so in others
Functionality-wise, the Supersonic Travel is a slightly different product from the other Supersonics in the line. It has anywhere from 1,000 to 1,220 watts of power and an airflow speed of 11.6 liters per second, compared to the 1,600 watts and 13.3 liters per second of the standard Supersonic. In other words, the bigger dryer is slightly more powerful, so it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect longer dry times.
The standard Supersonic and Supersonic Nural also feature four heats and three air speeds, where the Supersonic Travel features three heats and two air speeds.
The best noise-cancelling headphones for flying: 8 picks to improve your travel experience
That said, the Supersonic Travel has universal voltage compatibility, so it can be used from 100 to 240 volts, whereas the other Supersonics are locked into 120 volt compatibility.
In terms of its portability, it’s also worth noting the Supersonic Travel weighs the same as the Supersonic r, a professional grade hair dryer (priced as such at $549.99) that’s become more popular due in part to being lightweight and easy to maneuver.
Where to buy the Dyson Supersonic Travel
The Dyson Supersonic Travel is available for $299.99 at Dyson’s website, Amazon, and Best Buy. If you buy at the former, you will receive a complimentary $59.99 travel bag along with the hair dryer.
Entertainment
The gorgeous yet budget-friendly Samsung QN70F Neo QLED TV is the cheapest its ever been
SAVE $300: As of April 21, you can get the Samsung 55-inch QN70F Neo QLED 4K TV for only $597.99 instead of $897.99 at Amazon. That’s 33% in savings and the lowest price on record.
$597.99
at Amazon
$897.99
Save $300
We’re in peak sports season, y’all. Besides the action of the Stanley Cup playoffs and NBA playoffs, there’s a fresh MLB season taking shape. If your TV is looking dull or lagging, it’s a prime time to upgrade — especially since you can find some epic deals on 2025 models.
As of April 21, the Samsung 55-inch QN70F Neo QLED 4K TV is on sale at Amazon for only $597.99. That’s 33% or $300 off its current list price, as well as its lowest price to date.
As Mashable’s TV expert Leah Stodart explains, “Neo QLED is really just Samsung’s proprietary term for QLED paired with Mini LED.” So, the QN70F features a panel of quantum dots over a bunch of tiny LED bulbs instead of a basic LED panel. The result? A stunning display with impressive color accuracy, deep blacks, and spectacular contrast. All the little details will look good no matter the lighting conditions in your room.
This TV uses an NQ4 AI Gen2 processor to upscale content and enhance the quality of anything you’re watching. So even those old episodes of Friends will look more impressive on the QN70F. And thanks to a 144Hz variable refresh rate, gaming and sports will look noticeably smoother and less laggy than your old set.
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If an upgrade is in order, but you don’t want to spend a ton of money, the Samsung QN70F Neo QLED 4K TV is an excellent value at full price. At $300 off, it’s a steal.
Entertainment
The secret to faster AI output is better prompts
TL;DR: If writing prompts slows you down, VibeFarm helps you build, save, and reuse them for a one-time $39.99 for lifetime access.
Anyone using AI regularly already knows the real bottleneck isn’t the tools — it’s the prompts. Getting them just right can take longer than the actual work, and once you do land on a great one, it’s usually buried in chat history or lost in a notes app somewhere.
This is the issue VibeFarm aims to eliminate. It’s not another AI generator — it’s a prompt composition workspace designed to help you stay in the flow.
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Instead of starting from scratch every time, you can build structured prompts using layered fields, refine them with built-in tools, and save them as reusable “VibeCards” for future use.
With access to 10,000+ premium prompts and a system built for remixing and iteration, you can turn one successful prompt into a repeatable asset. Whether you’re working on visuals, writing, video, or something in between, everything stays organized and easy to reuse.
It also plays nicely with the tools you already use. You can export clean prompts directly into platforms like ChatGPT, Midjourney, or other AI tools — no formatting headaches. And with version control and rollback options, you can experiment without losing what worked.
This platform helps you cut wasted time from your AI workflow while keeping your best ideas working for you long after you’ve created them.
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Get lifetime VibeFarm Lite access on sale for just $39.99 (reg. $179) for a limited time.
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Topics
Artificial Intelligence
The new Dyson Supersonic Travel is the cheapest Supersonic yet
The gorgeous yet budget-friendly Samsung QN70F Neo QLED TV is the cheapest its ever been
