Riker Has Aged

Story: Future Imperfect
Written By: J. Larry Carroll & David Bennett Carren
Series: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Year: 1990

On Riker’s birthday, he leads an away mission, which ends up having some bad results. A toxic gas starts to knock he, Worf, and Geordi out…then Riker wakes up in sickbay, sixteen years later. He finds himself as Captain of the Enterprise, Geordi with new eyes, Data as his first officer, Picard as an Admiral, there is a Ferengi ensign, a treaty with the Romulans on the horizon…and a son with a dead mother…none of which he has ANY recollection of.
But things start to feel like they are not what they seem. Riker suspects it is a Romulan plot, and for a moment, so do we (the audience). It turns out even that isn’t what it seems…it is in fact a child with scanners that can give him anything he wants…but he just wants companionship. Someone real.

It is a good episode, with some fun “look where they are now” kind of stuff…even if it all isn’t real. I liked this one.

NEXT TIME: Turnabout