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Observations in TNG: "Future Imperfect"

A joint project with TrekCore, by Jörg Hillebrand and Bernd Schneider

Here are some observations about sets, props and visual effects in TNG: "Future Imperfect" without a specific theme, and a comparison of the original TV release (TNG) with the remastered episode (TNG-R).

"Future Imperfect" HD Screencaps @ TrekCore

Description TNG		Other caps	Comparison TNG to TNG-R	Description TNG-R
The birthday guest behind Beverly wears the same costume as Devinoni Ral in "The Price".		"The Price"		A better look at the cake in HD.
This is the first time a birthday cake with a futuristic blue frosting is seen on Star Trek. Cakes like this often appear in Star Trek Voyager. The arguably most famous creation of this type, however, is the "cellular peptide cake" in Data's dream in "Phantasms".	"Phantasms"	VOY: "Twisted"
It seems Jonathan Frakes briefly forgot his next line in this scene, as Marina Sirtis's reaction and laughter seem very authentic in this shot.				A look at Riker and Troi in HD.
A good look at several aft bridge stations, including the starship status display first seen up close in "Brothers".				A good look at the aft consoles in HD.
The particle-wave emission analysis only consists of a series of numbers.				For what it's worth, we can now recognize all numbers.
Interesting how somebody (Worf?) decided to cut one single piece of cake out of the side of the cake.				No changes
Alpha Onias III previously appeared as Ramatis III in "Loud as a Whisper" and as Gamma Hromi II in "The Vengeance Factor". Re-Used Planets in TNG	"Loud as a Whisper"	"The Vengeance Factor"		A new planet was created for TNG-R: "Future Imperfect". The planets from the three episodes are no longer alike in the remastered versions.
The matte painting of the caves on Alpha Onias III, combined with the real cave set. The latter is the same that already appeared in "Conspiracy", "Where Silence Has Lease", "The Enemy", "Captain's Holiday" and "The Most Toys". The characteristic "rock" steps were covered with shrubs but are still recognizable.		"The Enemy"		The matte painting remains unchanged but looks more convincing in TNG-R.
		"The Most Toys"
Like in "The Enemy", the cable powering the palm beacon can clearly be seen in this shot. Here, it runs down the back of Riker's hand, however.		"The Enemy"		We can see the cable in TNG-R too.
For some reason, the transporter console is placed at an angle of about 90 degrees to the back wall, instead of being parallel to and right in front of it, like later in the episode and in the rest of the series.		Later in this episode		No changes
A good look at Riker's gray hair and the unique communicator created for this episode (that would reappear in the alternate realities in "Parallels").		"Parallels"		An HD close up of the aged Riker and his communicator.
One of the small cylinders filled with water and oil is seen on the medical cart in this shot. Small pink drops of oil (or some other liquid) can be seen slowly running down the spiral in the cylinder. The cylinders are often seen in Doctor Crusher's office but first appeared on Velara III in "Home Soil". In contrast to earlier appearances this season, the sickbay replicator now features two regular LCARS displays instead of just simple white light strips.	"Home Soil"	"Reunion"		The set in HD.
The three ceiling LCARS displays are the major modification done to the sickbay set for this episode. Also, the nine or ten metal plates with welded on rods (baby plates) to hold filming equipment inside the overhead sensor cluster were covered with boxes. They were still visible in "Remember Me".		"Remember Me"		A good look at the redesigned sickbay in HD.
The wall with the large sickbay LCARS display was painted in a darker color when the set was turned into its future version. The LCARS display remained the same, however.				No changes
A scan of Riker's brain.				The complete sequence was reconstructed with enhanced resolution for the remastered release.


The next time a Klingon female seen in a Starfleet uniform was in Star Trek Voyager. The forehead appliance is the same one as Konmel's from "Heart of Glory". Between 1987 and 2005, the same roughly 60 forehead pieces kept reappearing over the course of almost 20 years.		"Heart of Glory"		The Klingon in HD.
In order to turn the corridor set into a future version, gray stripes were added to the walls and brownish stripes were added to the doors.				A better look at the redesigned corridor.

Brown stripes were also added on the bridge doors and around the door labels for this episode. The Evolution of the Enterprise-D Bridge				An HD close-up of the door label. Here, it looks more like dark red. Note the alternate Starfleet symbol.
The wall panels on the side walls of the bridge were also added when the ship was turned into its alternate universe counterpart in "Yesterday's Enterprise". The graphics in "Future Imperfect" are the same design, yet with a very different orange/purple color scheme.		"Yesterday's Enterprise"		No changes
A Ferengi in a Starfleet uniform wouldn't be seen until Cadet Nog in Deep Space Nine.				The modified bridge in HD. Once again, we can see the actual color of the stripes is dark red.
Brownish stripes and rectangles were also added to the aft bridge stations and the front of the tactical station.
No new footage of a Romulan Warbird was created for this episode. The shots of the decloaking Warbird are from "The Neutral Zone". Appearances of the Romulan Warbird		"The Neutral Zone"		A look at the remastered Warbird.
Seen on Admiral Picard's desk is a model of a Romulan Warbird. The AMT/Ertl model kit was used here. Mike Okuda tells us: "I once assembled a Romulan Warbird model very quickly (assembled and painted in five minutes) in response to a last-minute request from set dressing for something to decorate the desk of a Romulan official in an episode of TNG. I think the model ended up being used in a couple of episodes." The Romulan Warbird bridge set also appeared in "The Defector" and "Tin Man". The color of the lighting was different in every episode, though. Re-Uses of Freezer Spacers	"The Defector"	"Tin Man"		The shot of Picard, Troi and the model in HD.
This shot of the Romulan Warbird on the viewscreen was also originally created for "The Neutral Zone".		"The Neutral Zone"		Another look at the remastered Warbird.
The door label on the aft bridge turbolift door has magically disappeared when Riker and Crusher leave the bridge to welcome Picard and Troi.				The label is still missing in TNG-R.
In addition to adding brownish stripes to the doors, the observation lounge set was changed in two ways: The paintings normally hanging next to the doors were replaced with round pieces of wall decoration, often seen in crew quarters in later seasons. The backrests of the observation lounge chairs were also modified for this episode.		"Legacy"		No changes

It can only barely be made out, but the Federation carpet, usually found in Picard's quarters, is seen in Riker's quarters in this episode.		"Where Silence Has Lease"		Riker's quarters in HD. We can recognize a corner of the Federation emblem.
A PADD displaying facts about the Fornax Disaster. The two curvy pieces of art are Tangle Sculpture by Richard X. Zawitz (in the background) and Forever II by Hivo Van Teale (in the foreground).				The PADD in TNG-R.

Riker's future quarters feature a Risian horga'hn, last seen in "Captain's Holiday". A horga'hn is finally seen in Riker's actual quarters in "Conundrum" and in his ready room on the Titan in LOW: "Kayshon, His Eyes Open".	"Conundrum"	LOW: "Kayshon, His Eyes Open"		The quarters and the horga'hn in HD.
Riker's service record is illegible in the original SD version of the episode.				The complete text of two pages was reconstructed and is readable in HD. We can see that Riker's first command will be the USS Titan!

A good look at Admiral Picard's uniform.				Only in HD, it can finally be fully seen that the Admiral's rank pin/communicator features a small silver star in the golden Starfleet arrowhead.
Large LCARS stickers were added to the OPS and CONN consoles of the fake future Enterprise bridge.		"Data's Day"		No changes
The star map seen in the new LCARS displays on both sides of the bridge originally appeared on the USS Lantree bridge in "Unnatural Selection". The map was also seen in the courtroom in "The Measure of a Man".		"Unnatural Selection"		No changes
		"The Measure of a Man"
The reflection of a microphone boom can be seen in the reflective surface of the panel above the USS Enterprise-D graphic.				The reflection is still present in TNG-R.
Riker's future ready room features two models: a model of the Apollo Lunar Module and a model of a Nebula class prototype. Proto-Nebula Class Reconstruction Instead of the regular visitor chairs as e.g. in "The Ensigns of Command", this version of the ready room sports the Ribbon Chairs by Steve Leonard, which are usually found in crew quarters as e.g. in Data's quarters in "The Offspring".		"The Ensigns of Command"		We can recognize a few more details of the model in HD.
		"The Offspring"
The painting of the USS Enterprise-D, normally found in Picard's ready room, was replaced with a space painting by Dave Archer when the set was turned into Riker's future ready room. Space Art in Star Trek: The Next Generation		"Suddenly Human"		The set in HD.
The large geode in future Riker's ready room will reappear in Geordi's quarters in "Aquiel" and "Force of Nature", as well as in the Tigans' house in DS9: "Prodigal Daughter".	"Aquiel"	DS9: "Prodigal Daughter"		No changes
The medical tool both Dr. Crusher and nurse Ogawa use in this episode to heal the wound in Jean-Luc Riker's hand is later used as a cardiostimulator in "The Inner Light" and "The Wire". It also appears in the DS9 episode "A Man Alone".	"The Inner Light"	DS9: "A Man Alone"		An HD close-up of the device.
		DS9: "The Wire"
Gray patches (evoking the LCARS look) were also added to the future sickbay walls for this episode.				The stripes are more noticeable due to the enhanced contrast in TNG-R.
Jean-Luc Riker wears a Parrises squares uniform similar to the ones seen in "11001001".		"11001001"		Jean-Luc Riker's suit in HD.
The Federation emblem appears very blurry in this shot.				The Federation emblem was rebuilt for TNG-R. Also, the viewing angle was accounted for.
Min Riker is of course based on Minuet, seen in "11001001". Who does Riker look at in this video? Will Riker will actually wear the casual outfit from the fake video in several episodes, such as "A Fistful of Datas", "Second Chances" or "Thine Own Self".	"11001001"	"Thine Own Self"		The photo in HD.
A close look at Geordi La Forge without his VISOR or white contact lenses. We could previously see Geordi's eyes in "Hide and Q". Geordi's VISOR and Eyes The commander version of the alternate communicator can also nicely be seen in this shot.		"Hide and Q"		Geordi's eyes in HD.
The holographic crew members disappear.				Only in a direct comparison with the original shot (evidently the same take) we can see that Worf's left hand is not lying flat on the console, but that the four fingers in front of the console are cut off in TNG-R. This small mistake happened when the scene was recomposed. The holograms vanish gradually (the characters are gone before the rest of the bridge), so the console was filmed separately and was placed in front of Worf.


Two shots of the Romulan holodeck, which was realized as a model. The Romulan in the control booth was added in both production. Note that the windows of the room are still opaque (or highly reflective) in the wide shot. The structure on the ceiling behind Tomalak is a model of the Jupiter II from Lost in Space.				The HD shots still don't give away that it's just a model.

Riker's wrinkles, gray hair and alternate communicator are removed with a Romulan gadget. The prop looks like it could be stapler in real life.				The effect was reconstructed for TNG-R. The beam has changed its color, though, from green to red.
Both the chair Riker is sitting in and the console behind him were originally created for the cockpit of the Ferengi shuttle, first seen in "The Price". Both the chair and the console also appeared in other Romulan-themed episodes, like "The Defector", "The Next Phase" and "Face of the Enemy". Similar yellow labels were previously seen in "The Defector". We can spot the left edge of a console in the background. This one previously appeared in "Booby Trap" on the Promellian battlecruiser. It was turned 90° so the former sloped desktop is now the back. We can still see the cutout for the Promellian recording device.	"The Price"	"Face of the Enemy"		A good look at the Romulan furniture in HD.
	"The Defector"	"Face of the Enemy"
	"The Next Phase"	"Booby Trap"
The consoles in the Romulan corridor also showed up in the Regula I lab in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan". The consoles were rented from Modern Props and "Romulanized" for this episode.		"Star Trek II"		A better look at the console and the corridor in HD.
The corridor with the round cross-section previously appeared in "11001001" (Starfleet access tunnel), "The Neutral Zone" (Birdseye interior), "The Hunted" (Enterprise-D Jefferies tube), "Sins of the Father" (corridor on Qo'noS) and "Legacy" (tunnel on Turkana IV).	"11001001"	"The Neutral Zone"
	"The Hunted"	"Sins of the Father"
A Romulan forcefield appears for the first time in this episode. Here, it is seen collapsing in a unique way. This set previously appeared as the entrance to the round corridor in "Legacy".		"Legacy"		The reconstructed effect in HD.
The same padded metallic fabric seen here covers a conduit behind the warp core in main engineering and could be seen inside K'Ehleyr's torpedo probe.	"The Dauphin"	"The Emissary"		The padded fabric in HD.
A Romulan disruptor pistol is seen firing for the first time in this episode.				The reconstructed effect in TNG-R.
Riker and Ethan run past the same console and through the same corridor they did just a few seconds ago.				The tunnel as it appears in TNG-R.

Ethan's map is first made from a transparent material that mysteriously transforms into parchment when the shot changes. The columns give away that this is the same set that was used for the place in "Legacy" where the Arcos escape pod was kept.		"Legacy"		We can see a bit more of the floorplan in HD.


The Romulans use conical cargo crates also used by Starfleet in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" and several TNG episodes, as well as by Kivas Fajo in "The Most Toys". This prop was originally a Little Tikes Apollo Space Capsule that was painted silver or copper to appear less toy-like.	"Star Trek II"	"The Most Toys"		A better look at the container in HD.
The Romulan cargo crates seen behind Ethan are made from the same material as the holodeck walls seen earlier in the episode. The crates are later seen in "Face of the Enemy" and "Birthright II".	Earlier in this episode	"Face of the Enemy"		The cargo crates in HD. We had to increase the gamma of this HD cap considerably to make them visible again.
		"Birthright II"
The large styrofoam cargo crates blocking the door also appear aboard the USS Enterprise-D in countless episodes. Crates of this type also showed up in the original Battlestar Galactica and in Buck Rogers.	Battlestar Galactica	"Code of Honor"		No changes
	Buck Rogers	"The Hunted"
Another look at Alpha Onias III.				Another look at the new planet.
Data looks at a graphic of Alpha Onias III.				The graphic was newly created for TNG-R, obviously because the resolution was not deemed good enough for HD.
The holographic projectors in the caves of Alpha Onias III are revealed.				The reconstructed emitters are much better defined in the remastered episode, perhaps a tad to crisp.

Barash's true appearance. When his costume was sold, we saw what his feet and legs really looked like. Unfortunately, the camera never went down.		Barash's feet		We can see Barash better in HD, also because there seems to be less mist.


Like in the opening credits, people are again having a meeting behind the observation lounge windows.				The illuminated observation lounge in HD.

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