Future Imperfect
| "Future Imperfect" | |
|---|---|
| Star Trek: The Next Generation episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 8 |
| Directed by | Les Landau |
| Written by | J. Larry Carroll David Bennett Carren |
| Featured music | Dennis McCarthy |
| Production code | 182 |
| Original air date | November 12, 1990 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
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"Future Imperfect" is the 82nd episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. It is the eighth episode of the fourth season.
During an away mission, Riker falls unconscious and awakens to discover that sixteen years have passed, and he is now captain of the Enterprise. Having no memory whatsoever of the time that has passed, he begins to suspect that the future he finds himself in may not be real.
Commander Riker's birthday celebration is interrupted as he, Geordi La Forge, and Worf are sent down to a huge underground cavern on Alpha Onias II, an uninhabited Class M planet, to investigate unusual readings. After their arrival, the cavern suddenly fills with toxic gases, and the three officers fall unconscious.
Riker awakens in sick bay to find that sixteen years have passed. He is now Captain of the Enterprise with Data as his first officer, and Picard has been promoted to admiral, with Deanna Troi serving as his aide. Riker cannot remember any event after the Alpha Onias III mission, which Doctor Crusher explains is a side effect of a viral infection he contracted on the planet, and his memories of the intervening events may or may not return in time.
Riker learns that he was married, is now widowed, and has a son (Chris Demetral) named Jean-Luc (named after Picard). He is further startled when Tomalak — a Romulan commander who was formerly an archenemy of the Enterprise, now an ambassador — beams onto the ship to negotiate a peace treaty with the Federation. Despite Picard's reassurances, Riker is hesitant to reveal sensitive Starfleet information in negotiating the treaty.
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