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| Riker bonds with his son. |
THE PLOT
Riker's birthday celebrations are interrupted when the ship is probed from a seemingly uninhabited planet near the Romulan Neutral Zone. Riker beams down with Worf and Geordi, only to order an almost immediate beam-up after they encounter toxic gas. The transporter has trouble getting a lock... Riker collapses as the gas continues to build...
And then he wakes up in sickbay. An obviously older Dr. Crusher greets him with concern, asking, "What do you remember, Captain?" He is told that sixteen years have passed, and that he became captain of the Enterprise in the interim. Ten days ago, a virus he had contracted due to the gas put him into a coma and degraded all of his memories since that day. It couldn't have come at a worse time, as Admiral Picard observes when he beams over. Negotiations with the Romulans have reached a critical stage, and there is only one man the Romulans will trust for the final phase of negotiations: Captain William Riker!
CHARACTERS
Capt. Picard: Patrick Stewart does well as the older Admiral Picard, and it's a good fit for the character. Ironically, in a franchise in which three captains (Kirk, Janeway, Archer) eventually end up as admirals and one other captain (Sisko) is cited as wanting to be an admiral, Picard is the only of the Trek captains who actually seems like he'd be a good fit for the job. He retains a friendly relationship with Riker, but there is a bit of added distance that suits the separation in years and rank.
Riker: This episode brings the focus back to Riker, who has been mostly backgrounded since The Best of Both Worlds. That episode showed him in command of the Enterprise during a crisis, and handling the responsibility downright expertly. This episode again sees him thrust into the command chair: This time sixteen years into his future! He deals with both the memory loss and the state of command well, openly acknowledging the hole in his memory and accepting help in getting up to speed while at the same time retaining his authority. He is shocked to find that he has a son, but deals with the boy with both honesty and humor. He openly admits that he always felt afraid of fatherhood, in part because of his frosty relationship with his own father.
Romulans: Riker has absorbed Picard's lessons in dealing with the Romulans. Every negotiation is a chess game, with moves and countermoves. He does not trust "Future Tomalak's" insistence on desiring peace, and his wariness about Tomalak is the first step in his growing doubts about the future in which he has awakened. Tomalak's return is particularly effective, with his smile all the more chilling for his (and Picard's, and Troi's) protestations of his sincerity. As soon as we lay eyes on him, it's very clear who the villain must be... Something the episode plays with to good effect.
THOUGHTS
Future Imperfect has a tricky episode premise. As soon as we cut to Riker's "future," we know that this must be erased and reset in one way or another. We know that it is a near-certainty that everything Riker sees and experiences is an illusion, making the bulk of the episode a waiting game until Riker catches up with us.
Fortunately, this is an excellent example of this kind of episode. What could seem meaningless instead is made meaningful, because Riker's illusory future feels significant to him, which gives it significance for the viewers. The season theme of family returns again, with Riker finding out that he has a son and that he had a wife who died. Riker's son might not be real, but his desire to be a better parent than his own father was: That is real, and is rooted in what we already know about the character.
When Troi introduces him to his son, it convinces because Riker's first question is the unspoken one that the viewers will consider too: Is this his son with Troi? Jonathan Frakes does a good job of showing that question in Riker's eyes, looking to Troi and away again before asking who the boy's mother is. When Troi fills in that the mother was her own replacement, and that she left Enterprise for career opportunities, there is a sadness in Riker even before Troi begins discussing the woman who would be his actual wife. In short, all the character beats resonate, all of Riker's reactions feel authentic, which elevates the episode above its status as an extended "dream sequence."
The episode plays nicely with continuity. Tomalak is well-used, his malevolent Season Three appearances making him instantly sinister here. The Icarus Factor is referenced in Riker's worries about being like his own father. Finally, Riker's connection with the simulation of Minuet in 11001001 provides the very clue to snap him out of the dream near the end. Finally, there's a twist at the climax which redefines the episode we think we've been viewing into an entirely different sort of show - one that, in its own way, reconnects with the family theme.
What might have been cut-rate theatrics becomes a good episode, thanks to a particularly well-crafted script and an excellent lead performance by Jonathan Frakes. Remember how artificial Frakes was in Season One? He sure has come a long way - as has the show itself!
Overall Rating: 8/10
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