Future Imperfect is an entertaining episode that has very few glaring mistakes, but doesn’t give us anything particularly spectacular or challenging. Additionally, though the main focus of the episode is Riker, we don’t get much by way of character development from him. Instead, this installment seems to go straight for entertainment-only value. It succeeds at being entertaining, but not enough to set it apart as a superb episode.

The most interesting aspect of Future Imperfect is its premise: transporting Riker 16 years into the future, where he is Captain of the Enterprise, a father, and the arbiter of an historic peace treaty with the Romulans. Riker and the audience are meant to buy into this future by way of a mysterious disease that Riker was to have contracted in the episode’s opening scene. It is a bit of a stretch, but we (and Riker) initially accept it. And for what it’s worth, it’s fun to see LaForge with real eyes, Worf with a battle scar, Picard as an Admiral, Data in a red uniform as Riker’s “Number One,” and Riker’s son named: Jean-Luc.

Of course, it is all a ploy. And that’s where the episode gets interesting. It turns out that Riker has been going through the motions on something akin to a holodeck. He (and therefore we) discover that the simulations aren’t real when he is shown an image of his son’s mother: Minuet (observant TNG fans will pick up on this earlier in the episode when Minuet is referred to as “Min” by Troi and Riker’s son). Riker had loved Minuet, of course, but she was never real. She was the result of some fancy Binar programming in 11001010 (in and of itself, this represents a nice continuity back to season one).

After realizing the illusion, Riker is shown the Romulan equivalent of a Holodeck and told it was all a ploy to try and wheedle information out of him. And yet, this explanation doesn’t exactly make complete sense either (if the Romulans could read his mind well enough to recreate the Enterprise couldn’t they just get the information without the need for a charade?). And, as it turns out, the Romulans are also an illusion. It’s definitely unexpected, which is a credit to the episode. Unfortunately, all of this serves almost no purpose at all.

The real reason for all the illusions is: a lonely alien who just wanted a friend (in this case, Riker). It’s a rather hollow, empty explanation to 40 minutes of twists, turns, reveals and surprises. Had the circumstances been part of a much more profound storyline, the episode would have been exceptional. That isn’t the case here and so the ending is rather anticlimactic.

Future Imperfect is entertaining, but devoid of any real purpose. As such, it’s an enjoyable episode, but hardly outstanding.

Topics: Holodeck, Romulans, Time Travel
Filed under: TNG Reviews