Ryan (Lieutenant)

From Memory Alpha, the free Star Trek reference.

Name:	Ryan
Gender:	Male
Species:	Human
Actor:	Eddie Paskey

Lieutenant Ryan was a 23rd century Starfleet officer assigned to the USS Enterprise under Captain James T. Kirk during the historic five-year mission of the 2260s.

In 2266, Ryan took over the helm for Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu after Sulu became infected with Polywater intoxication on stardate 1704.2. As the Enterprise's orbit around planet Psi 2000 began to decay, Ryan was unable to correct the situation since the helm controls were unable to respond. Later, he was removed from his duties by Kirk when he became infected with the illness. (TOS: "The Naked Time")

[edit] Background

Ryan was an uncredited role played by Eddie Paskey, a regular extra who served as a set stand-in throughout the course of the original Star Trek series. In fact, "The Naked Time" represents the first episode in which Paskey delivered dialog. According to the studio cast list, this episode also marks the only time Paskey's character was called Ryan. This was due to the fact that Paskey's character did not have a set identity until he was called "Leslie" in "The Conscience of the King" and afterwards.

[edit] Leonard Nimoy's Mistake

When Spock realizes that Sulu is absent from his post at the helm, he was supposed to say, "Take over here, Ryan." Immediately afterwards, Paskey's character responds by saying, "Yes, sir," and sits at the helm.

In that scene, however, Leonard Nimoy says, "Take over here, Rand," which is a reference to the character of Yeoman Janice Rand, who was played by Grace Lee Whitney but was not present at that time. Since the written caption for that scene shows Spock saying, "Take over here, Rand," this seems to indicate that Nimoy made a mistake which was not corrected by the filming crew.

[edit] Ambiguities

There are some ambiguities that exist with the character of Ryan. One is the debate over Ryan's relationship with Leslie and Connors, especially since all three were played by Paskey. While some believe that two, or perhaps all three of them, could be the same person represented in the character of Leslie, others believe that two, or all three of them, were separate individuals who were either related to one another, or who were coincidental look-alikes.

Given the fact that the character was not called "Mister Ryan" or "Lieutenant Ryan" in "The Naked Time", some have speculated that if all three are the same person, then Ryan could be Leslie's first name.

Another ambiguity exists in Paskey's role in "The Man Trap". While it is generally believed that he portrayed Leslie in the episode despite the fact that he was not named, [1] the studio cast list identified Paskey's role as Lieutenant Ryan. [2]