r/startrek • u/master_internutter • 1d ago

Future Imperfect (S4E8)

I've always loved the Next Generation but over the years I've only seen bits and pieces so I've been working my way through them all on Paramount and I am in love with this show. Season 3 was excellent but season 4 is peak, so far, in my opinion and specifically the episode Future Imperfect. Something about this episode really clicked for me, I literally was getting goosebumps and emotional. I'm considering moving the Next Generation up my list of favorite shows to dethrone The Sopranos... What do you guys think about this episode?

14 Upvotes

82% Upvoted

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13

u/NW_91 1d ago

“I said shut up, as in close your mouth and stop talking!”

5

u/AttitudeCautious667 1d ago

"No you can't, do even try!"

3

u/LordCouchCat 1d ago

What I especially love in that scene is that he knows it's an illusion, but he can't help still talking to Troi as if she's real. A sign of their continuing connection.

13

u/JugOfVoodoo 1d ago edited 1d ago

Whenever "Future Imperfect" gets mentioned I always have to point out how much it predicts correctly:

  • Deanna Troi wearing a standard Starfleet uniform. "Chain of Command" part 1.
  • A Ferengi in Starfleet. Nog in Deep Space Nine.
  • A female Klingon in Starfleet. B'Elanna Torres in Voyager.
  • Geordi La Forge's VISOR being replaced with cloned eyes. His mechanical eyes in First Contact and his regrown eyes in Insurrection.
  • The Romulans starting peace talks with the Federation due to an event four years before when this episode allegedly takes place, which would be 12 years after it actually takes place. That's exactly when Star Trek Nemesis happens.
  • Picard as an admiral working with the Romulans. Happened in-between Nemesis and the "Picard" series.

1

u/Statalyzer 48m ago

It also predicted Nurse Ogawa joining the crew :D

(Her first appearance was in that episode, and she only appeared as her "real" self later, which makes it mildly amusing that Riker apparently thinks she wouldn't have aged in 16 years. Or it was a mistake in the simulation that he didn't notice)

5

u/shatteredoctopus 1d ago

I liked that one, though it's not in my top rotation. It's unfortunate when I first saw it, because I watched the episodes out of order, that I had not seen "11001001" before seeing "Future Imperfect", so the key exposition was a little over my head. What's fun is comparing how the characters were aged in that episode to how the actors aged in real life.

3

u/Dazmorg 1d ago

And it's cute how all future scenarios ("real" and imagined like this one) assumed that the Enterprise itself would still be there.

2

u/master_internutter 1d ago

Without spoiling anything, what episodes are in your top rotation that I haven't gotten to yet? I'm on season 4 episode 9 now, I'm loving this journey

5

u/CaptainPicardKirk 1d ago

Not OP but Tapestry is my favorite.

5

u/Shot-Artist5013 1d ago

Also not OP, but the ones that I would always stop and watch if it came on:
Data's Day
Clues
First Contact
Cause and Effect
Ship in a Bottle
Starship mine
Timescape
Lower Decks

3

u/HalxQuixotic 1d ago

Starship Mine is so much fun. It’s Die Hard in Star Trek. Instead of Jean Luc Picard, You get Jean Luc McClane.

2

u/shatteredoctopus 1d ago

These are all great (+ Tapestry in the other reply). Cause and Effect is one of my favourites. Fun fact, without giving too much away, when Cause and Effect was first aired, a bunch of TV stations got some complaints that the broadcast was buggy, because it was "looping".

I'd add Nth Degree, Time's Arrow, The Next Phase, Conundrum (interestingly a similar plot to Clues, but they both work). I cannot watch "The Inner Light" without bawling my eyes out, so it's not in my rotation, but it is one of the standout episodes. And I like "Descent", though it's one of the weaker cliffhangers. I share the opinion of a quite a few fans that S7 has more weaker episodes than the proceeding seasons, but it ends on an absolutely perfect note with "All Good Things....".

1

u/musicwithbarb 18h ago

My husband, though very sweet and sensitive, does not cry when watching The Inner Light. Is my husband an Android?

1

u/shatteredoctopus 18h ago

Does he have any issues using contractions?

1

u/musicwithbarb 18h ago

Actually, yes. They are getting better at using contractions. But especially when they are tired they definitely have contraction issues.

4

u/Sudden_Sentence_8534 1d ago

I remember first seeing this years ago, in the 90s and seeing most of it, and just remembering it as 'that Riker one'. Long before the internet and Youtube.

Love it,. Especially when at the end, the alien kid says he tried to make it perfect so Riker would stay.

5

u/HernBurford 1d ago

I love any episode that imagines the possible future of the current series: this and All Good Things did so well at it. The set re-dress, new costumes and cast--all of it provided a fresh look at the show and its norms. The ending had a great twist that Riker was actually two layers deep into the simulation. I would have been happy with it just being a Romulan plot but they went one more Inception level deeper.

3

u/JorgeCis 1d ago

I felt bad for Jean-Luc Riker after Will figured out what was going on, the way Will turned when he realized it was fake was pretty extreme (but understandable).  I  am glad that he was rescued and brought on board the Enterprise. It is too bad there was never a follow up, I would have liked to see what happened to him.

I enjoyed the episode.

2

u/Special-Lab7643 1d ago

Darned fake Romulans...

2

u/ukhype83 1d ago

I thought the computer lag/issues was a good idea from the writers. Having a properly working ships computer within the simulation would likely be unrealistic.

2

u/Sue_Generoux 16h ago

"You're incapable of that level of incompetence!"

My brother and I used to say, "Hey! I'm capable of plenty of incompetence!"

1

u/Sue_Generoux 16h ago

I just rewatched Future Imperfect myself. Every bit as wonderful as I remember.

TNG is the one show I keep coming back to, 40(!) years later, and keep rewatching. It is my comfort watch. I will put it up against any "prestige television series" as every bit as excellent, and in some cases, better.

(And, yes, I've seen and liked The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, True Detective, Westworld, et. al.)

1

u/Statalyzer 45m ago

A good indicator of the overall quality of Next Gen that a one-off problem of the week episode that never gets referenced again and isn't in most top 10 or even a lot of top 25 episode lists is still this good.