star trek mr barclay

Star Trek: Every Lt. Barclay Episode Ranked Worst To Best

He bumbled and he made mistakes. He also made contact with Voyager and saved the Enterprise.

There are many guest stars in Star Trek who endear themselves to the audiences, carving their own niche in the hearts and minds of those who follow the franchise. Some are purely comedic and some are pure evil. Some come down in the middle and some are in a category all of their own.

One such guest was Dwight Schultz as Reginald Barclay.

The character originated on Star Trek: The Next Generation, was featured in a cameo in Star Trek: First Contact but truly found his feet on Star Trek: Voyager. He became something of a sidekick for Robert Picardo's Doctor/Lewis Zimmerman, explained away initially in that he was a member of the team who helped to design the Doctor and then simply being accepted as an officer with an almost unhealthy obsession with the ship.

Through his various episodes, while much time is spent depicting his neuroses, the audience watches Barclay begin to emerge from his chronic shyness to become a confident and highly moral officer, one who manages to bend the rules in the name of the greater good.

The rankings for this list are not necessarily ranking the episodes in terms of their overall impact on their various series, but rather they are ranked in terms of Barclay's impact upon them.

11. Life Line

A slightly controversial entry here, but Robert Picardo as the Doctor is perfection. Robert Picardo as Lewis Zimmerman is anything but.

Barclay sends news to the Doctor, via the MIDAS subspace array, that Zimmerman is dying. The disease that he has cannot be treated by any Alpha Quadrant physician and so Barclay ask the Doctor for anything he might be able to do to help. The Doctor goes one better and makes a house call, beaming across the galaxy (for the second time.)

At first, Zimmerman is resistent to the idea of an EMH mark 1 being able offer anything in the way of help. He is rude and abrasive, with poor Barclay doing everything he can to apologise to the Doctor and convince Zimmerman that there is still a chance. Even Deanna Troi is unable to sway the professor around.

It is only after an episode of brow beating the man into submission that the Doctor is able to finally cure him.

Life Line is not the best episode for any involved, although Dwight Shultz and Robert Picardo do always make a strong double act.

Writer. Reader. Host. I'm Seán, I live in Ireland and I'm the poster child for dangerous obsessions with Star Trek. Check me out on Twitter @seanferrick

Sometime in 2004, Kris decided to edit a video for a laugh. Well, the joke was on him it seems because now he has to come to WhatCulture and do it every single day. All that's really changed in that time is that now he exports to YouTube instead of a VHS. Yes, an actual VHS, that's how long he's been honing his craft.

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Published Nov 21, 2012

One Trek Mind #50: Rethinking Reg (Barclay)

This week is actor Dwight Schultz's 65th birthday. While he may have made his biggest impact as Mad Murdock on four thousand and fifty-two seasons of The A-Team , we Trekkies know a much different side of him.My whole life I've taken whatever Star Trek has offered me, gobbled it with a fork and a spoon and asked for seconds. It took me quite a few viewings before I even considered that Star Trek V: The Final Frontier might be a tiny bit flawed. But in April of 1990, when I was a sophomore in high school and just smart/angry enough to start distrusting people, something didn't sit quite right. I didn't like Star Trek: The Next Generation 's Lt. Reginald Barclay .

I didn't yet know the pop culture term “Mary Sue” (a shoe-horned wish fulfillment figure), but I sensed that, in some way, the fantasy-obsessive, nervous man who didn't really belong on the Enterprise was talking down to me. In “ Hollow Pursuits ,” where we first glimpse Schultz' troubled engineer, it is one of the first times we meet a less-than-perfect crew-member of the Enterprise-D. (Kirk's crew had its share of racists and cowards; see “ Balance of Terror ” or “ The Corbomite Maneuver ” for examples.) My teenage eye-rolling was prompted by three distinct thoughts:First, why would Barclay, not just a klutz but a tardy klutz, be allowed on the Federation's flagship, the interstellar beacon of excellence? (Riker floats a theory, that he was simply shuffled off the Zhukov because its Captain Gleason didn't want to bother to deal with the bureaucracy of demotion.) It didn't fly with me, because most of TNG to this point treated the Federation as a working utopia that simply couldn't produce a phobia-ridden individual. Second, I instantly knew that the episode was going to end by, basically, everyone giving Barclay a big hug and letting him feel good about himself. Despite my intense, personal relationship with Counselor Deanna Troi, her mollycoddling side could get a little on my angst-y nerves.Third, whether it was true or not, the whole endeavor seemed like a network exec was making fun of me. By which I mean us – the Star Trek fans. “Oh, those dweebs who never get picked for the soccer team, man, they're gonna' love this guy. A holodeck addiction? He's one of them!” I didn't watch Star Trek to see myself. I watched Star Trek to aspire to great things I couldn't actually achieve in life. Even Wesley Crusher, often mocked, was a kid genius who could save the day with an understanding of science and technology that bordered on magic. (I never disliked Wesley. Well, maybe the rainbow sweater, but that's about it.)

Clearly, my feelings toward Barclay were in the minority. He was brought back four more times on TNG , and was mentioned in passing twice more. He even stayed in Chief O'Brien's mind long enough to get referenced on an episode of DS9 (“ Image in the Sand .”)

With enough time and familiarity, of course, Barclay (and Schultz) wore me down and I finally eased up on the guy. Heck, I had to admit that Barclay's Protomophosis Syndrome from “ Genesis ” was absolutely fantastic. Anything that could cause Worf to de-evolve into a raging beast with a seashell head and grotesque pincers is just a-okay in my book.

With maturity (and the undeniable power of reruns) it grew to a point where I actually got excited when Barclay showed up as a hologram on Voyager (“ Projections ”). I even cheered with the rest of the audience when he had his cameo in Star Trek: First Contact . (Okay, cheered may be an overstatement – I think it was more like a few titters.)

By the time we got to season six of Voyager it had been almost an entire decade since Barclay's first appearance. I'd left home, gone to college and already switched careers a few times (it's a long story.) Now Barclay was back. Not as a hologram, not as a cameo, but the driving force back on Earth to help Voyager find its way home from the Delta Quadrant. And it couldn't be more perfect.What better way to represent “us,” the fans – yes, the obsessive fans – who want to insert themselves into the story and aid our friends? This time, however, Barclay was more mature. Yes, he still had some issues with authority, but he wasn't an embarrassment. He was noble and his ideas concerning the MIDAS array were instrumental in aiding Voyager.So was Barclay a bad idea that I simply got used to? Or did my attitude just change. Did Barclay rub you the wrong way when he first showed up? Let me know in the comments below.

_______________________________

Jordan Hoffman is a writer, critic and lapsed filmmaker living in New York City. His work can also be seen on Film.com , ScreenCrush and Badass Digest . On his BLOG , Jordan has reviewed all 727 Trek episodes and films, most of the comics and some of the novels.

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Reginald Barclay

Character analysis.

(Avoiding Spoilers)

Living... aboard the United Federation of Planets' Galaxy Class flagship, the U.S.S. Enterprise (NCC 1701-D), as it hurdles through space seeking out new life and new civilizations. Barclay is, perhaps, that somewhat strange fellow who keeps to himself and does not interact with others by choice. Despite choosing the lifestyle of an officer aboard a starship, Barclay seems ill-prepared to rise to the challenge of saving the ship from distress.

Visiting... colonized planets, such as Nahmi Four, that are in need of the Enterprise ’s assistance, in the form of medical supplies. Or, various points across known space that have suffered communications failures with the Federation. All challenges are the same, for Reg.

Profession... Lieutenant of Starfleet, and diagnostic engineer on Geordi La Forge’s engineering team. When something goes wrong, Barclay is the last man you’d call. While Captain Gleason of the Zhukov (Barclay’s former posting) spoke very highly of him, his reserved manner and nervous demeanor tend to set his fellow crewmen on edge…

Interests... romancing, grandstanding, swordplay. While Barclay may serve his duties on the Enterprise as quietly and without notice as possible, his free time is spent on the holodeck, wherein he lives an exuberant fantasy life.  His devil-may-care attitude and frequent opposition of superior officers is *all* the rage with the ship’s female officers, including Counselor Deanna Troi and Doctor Beverly Crusher.

Relationship Status... nonexistent. That is to say, Reg’s mind is preoccupied with fantasy occurrences and he lacks the grounded nature conducive to most relationships. Unless you count his holodeck courtship of The Goddess of Empathy…

Challenge.... LieutenantBarclay’s anxiety and lack of confidence in his professional relationships causes friction among his coworkers. Often late for meetings, Reg has drawn unwanted attention from his commanding officer, Geordi La Forge, as well as the ship’s first officer, Commander William Riker. Overcoming them in fierce battle (two-against-one) is the easy part, for Reg; as he says, “I will speak with my sword, sir.” But holding a conversation with them, off of the holodeck? That, to him, is most terrifying.

Personality... nervous, quiet, imaginative. Barclay possesses great talent, and a certain flair for the dramatic. Given the opportunity, and patience necessary, for him to shine, it may just be possible that Reg will overcome his fears and contribute to the ship’s well-being in a crucial way.

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Who is lieutenant barclay star trek: tng’s favorite lower decker explained.

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Star Trek: TNG’s 10 Best Lower Deckers

I love how star trek: the next generation felt like a soap opera in space, i think picard should have given riker kirk’s star trek generations advice.

• Lt. Barclay was an awkward yet lovable engineer who struggled with confidence but eventually excelled on the Enterprise.
• Initially meant to be unlikable, Barclay evolved into a relatable character overcoming social anxiety and insecurities.
• Barclay's journey continued in Star Trek: Voyager, where he became a key figure in helping the USS Voyager crew return home.

Dwight Schultz's Lieutenant Reginald Barclay became a surprising fan-favorite character on Star Trek: The Next Generation . Following the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the USS Enterprise-D, TNG typically focused on the main crew members aboard the Galaxy Class starship. From Commander William Riker (Jonathan Frakes) to Lt. Worf (Michael Dorn), the bridge officers of the Starship Enterprise were all confident and accomplished officers who excelled in their positions. Although brilliant, lower decker Lt. Barclay had difficulty in social situations and lacked confidence in his own abilities .

Introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 3, episode 21, "Hollow Pursuits," Barclay was originally meant to be an unlikeable character who aggravated the other crew members. The initial script for "Hollow Pursuits" was changed, however, to make Barclay more relatable and likable. While many viewers relate to Barclay 's apparent social anxiety, the character is offputting to others . Barclay's Holodeck recreations of his crew members border on creepy (particularly the way the women crew members are treated), and he sometimes comes across as a caricature of anxiety, rather than a realistic representation of it.

Dwight Schultz was a fan of Star Trek: The Original Series and wanted to be on TNG . When he worked with Whoopi Goldberg (Guinan) on a project, he mentioned wanting to be on Star Trek , and he was later offered the role of Barclay.

Star Trek: TNG may have focused on the bridge officers of the USS Enterprise-D, but there were plenty of Lower Deckers who made quite an impression.

Lieutenant Barclay On Star Trek: TNG Explained

"just shy. sounds like nothing serious, doesn't it you can't know.".

In Star Trek: The Next Generation 's "Hollow Pursuits," Commander Riker and Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) grow annoyed by Barclay's failure to get to his shifts on time and his apparent incompetence. With encouragement from Captain Picard, La Forge and Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) begin helping Barclay work through some of his anxieties and insecurities. Barclay slowly grows in confidence and becomes one of the best engineers on the Enterprise . In "The Nth Degree," Barclay gains an incredibly enhanced intellect after an encounter with an alien probe. He eventually connects his mind to the Enterprise-D's computer and leads the ship to a friendly advanced alien race.

In Star Trek: The Next Generation 's "Ship in a Bottle," Barclay helps create a simulation to trick the sentient hologram, Moriarty (Daniel Davis), and keep him from taking over the Enterprise (again). In his final appearance on TNG , in "Genesis," Barclay is infected by a disease that causes him to mutate into a giant spider-like creature. After his adventures on TNG , Barclay appears in Star Trek: First Contact , as he helps warp drive creator Zefram Cochrane (James Cromwell) repair his ship, the Phoenix. As an engineer, Barclay is incredibly excited to meet the historic inventor, and La Forge has to remind him to focus on his work.

Barclay Also Appeared In Star Trek: Voyager

"i've lost myself, deanna... in voyager. i've become obsessed with voyager.".

After becoming such a popular character on Star Trek: The Next Generation , Lt. Barclay was brought back as a recurring character on Star Trek: Voyager . In 2374, Barclay is transferred from the USS Enterprise-E to work on the Pathfinder Project, whose main goal is to find a way for the USS Voyager to return home from the Delta Quadrant. Barclay creates a holographic version of Voyager to test out his various theories and ideas, and he eventually finds a way for Earth to communicate with Voyager.

Barclay continues to meet with Counselor Troi, as she helps him with his anxiety and encourages him to make connections with real people rather than holograms.

As Earth and Voyager begin sending communications back and forth, Voyager's Emergency Medical Hologram, The Doctor (Robert Picardo) visits Earth and works with Barclay. Barclay later helps fight for the Doctor's rights as the author of the holonovel Photons Be Free . When Voyager finally makes it home from the Delta Quadrant in 2378, Barclay is one of the first Starfleet officers to welcome the crew home . The Lt. Barclay of Star Trek: Voyager has come a long way from the overly anxious officer he was in his first appearance on Star Trek: The Next Generation .

Star Trek: The Next Generation & Star Trek: Voyager are available to stream on Paramount+. Star Trek: First Contact is available on Max.

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Reginald Barclay

Reginald Endicott Barclay III was a human Starfleet officer who served in the 24th century . After serving aboard the USS Enterprise -D and USS Enterprise -E , he worked on Pathfinder Project and was instrumental in getting the USS Voyager home from the Delta Quadrant .

• 1.1 Early Life and Career
• 1.2 Aboard the Enterprise -D
• 1.3 Jupiter Station
• 1.4 Return to the Enterprise -D
• 1.5 Aboard the Enterprise -E
• 1.6 Project: Voyager
• 1.7 Return to the Enterprise -E
• 1.8.1 USS Galen
• 1.8.2 USS Challenger
• 1.8.3 Return to the USS Galen
• 2.1 First Splinter timeline Starfleet service record
• 3.1 Connections
• 3.2.1.1 First Splinter timeline appearances
• 3.2.2 References
• 3.3 External link

Biography [ ]

Early life and career [ ].

Reginald Endicott Barclay III, son of Reginald Endicott Barclay II and Alicia Barclay , was born in Cleveland , Ohio , USA , on Earth in 2340 .

At the age of 18, Barclay decided not to attend Starfleet Academy and instead took the Master's Degree in Computer Systems at the Daystrom Institute on Earth . Barclay completed his degree in 2362 and was assigned to the USS Zhukov as a systems diagnostic engineer with the rank of lieutenant, junior grade . During his time aboard the Zhukov he was commended for his work by Captain Neil Gleason , but his reclusive behavior was also noted. ( TNG video game : Starship Creator )

Prior to being assigned a post, Barclay considered applying for a position at Federation observation posting on Iomides , considering the planet's stage in history was interesting, though instead decided to be assigned to the Enterprise -D. ( TNG novel : The Death of Princes )

Aboard the Enterprise -D [ ]

After serving for four years aboard the Zhukov , Barclay was transferred to the Enterprise -D in 2366 to serve on Geordi La Forge 's staff as a diagnostics engineer . However, Barclay's reclusive behavior soon caught the attention of the Enterprise crew and some crewmen gave him the nickname " Broccoli "; although he prefers-and answers to-"Reg". Attempts to bring Barclay out of his shell by La Forge and Counselor Deanna Troi revealed that Barclay had a case of holodiction , which meant that he was living inside his fantasies on the holodeck . His holodiction was soon cured, following repeated counseling sessions with Troi. But, Reg still had a knack for assisting crewmembers (and their families) with programming holodeck scenarios. ( TNG episode : " Hollow Pursuits ", SCE eBook : Enigma Ship , TNG episode : " A Fistful of Datas ")

By 2367 , Barclay's confidence began to grow so much that he enrolled in Beverly Crusher 's acting workshop aboard the Enterprise and had several starring roles including Cyrano de Bergerac . A few months later, Barclay's IQ was increased by the Cytherians , as part of their plan to make first contact with the Federation . ( TNG episode : " The Nth Degree ")

By 2368 , Barclay had relapsed slightly and was visiting the holodeck once a week. He was running the Deanna Troi "I am the goddess of the mind" program when Admiral William T. Riker appeared from the future in order to save Troi's life. Riker told Barclay that he was a holodeck failsafe, built to monitor the types of programs that Barclay was using. Barclay then canceled all of his programs and never used the holodeck (recreationally) on the Enterprise again. He did run holodeck maintenance for the rest of his service, aboard the ship. ( TNG novel : Imzadi , TNG episode : " Ship in a Bottle ")

Despite his growing confidence, Barclay still had some neuroses. In 2369 , Barclay believed he had developed transporter psychosis and was afraid to travel by transporter , but his fear subsided when he used the transporter to rescue the crew of the USS Yosemite . Barclay was also a frequent visitor to sickbay with various illnesses he learned about from the Starfleet Medical Journal . In 2370 , Barclay's name was added to the Journal in the form of Barclay's Protomorphosis Syndrome that had devolved the Enterprise {'}s crew. ( TNG episodes : " Realm of Fear ", " Genesis ")

Later that year, Captain Picard ordered Barclay to lead his first away team aboard the shuttlecraft Hawking to install a new generator core in a space station in the Tarvo system . However, Barclay and his team soon end up fighting for their lives in a Vorel trap. ( TNG short story : " The Naked Truth ")

Jupiter Station [ ]

In late 2370 , Barclay transferred to Jupiter Station to work under Doctor Lewis Zimmerman on the Emergency Medical Hologram project. While at the station, Barclay also taught classes on warp dynamics to Starfleet Academy cadets who were assigned to the station. ( VOY episode : " Projections ", TOS - Strange New Worlds II short story : " Doctors Three ", TNG novel : The Best and the Brightest )

Return to the Enterprise -D [ ]

In 2370 , Barclay had transferred back to the Enterprise -D, where he was assigned when it visited Deep Space 9 for a talk with the Klingon Empire . Barclay worked with LaForge on a problem about a warp coil modification; Barclay's suggestion, that would improve the coil by 6%, excited LaForge. After the talks he was sitting at Quark's with Ensigns Sutter and Dem , and Barclay was lost in his thought when Worf called him to the table where Captain Picard was sitting with High Chancellor Gowron . Gowron was narrating the story of Pok to display the values of Klingon culture and needed some human unfamiliar with it; Gowron was convinced when Barclay, who was terrified with the Klingon's presence, failed to recognise the purpose of his D'k tahg . ( TNG novel : Klingon )

In 2371 Barclay was present on the Enterprise when Admiral Leonard McCoy came aboard and wrested command from, and subsequently relinquished command to Captain Picard. Captain Picard soon after took the ship into Romulan space on a rescue mission to retrieve his senior officers, who had been captured in a failed attempt to retrieve Captain Montgomery Scott , who had, in turn, been captured in a failed attempt to retrieve Ambassador Spock . ( TNG novel : Crossover )

Aboard the Enterprise -E [ ]

Barclay was assigned to the newly launched USS Enterprise -E in 2372 . In that year, he worked closely with Lieutenant Padraig Daniels and his team from the Division of Planetary Operations to set up a system on the Enterprise to scan Federation ships and installations for signs of a Dominion explosive device, following the bombing of the Antwerp Conference . ( TNG - Slings and Arrows eBook : The Oppressor's Wrong )

In 2373, he helped rebuild the Phoenix in 2063 following a Borg attack. ( TNG movie : Star Trek: First Contact )

Shortly after returning to their own time, Barclay was ill-at-ease with everything that happened. Riker believed he would ask for a transfer off the ship and take on a less exciting assignment for a while. ( TNG novel : Rogue )

In 2375, Barclay helped deal with the Gemworld Crisis on the Enterprise -E shortly after the Dominion War ended. ( TNG novel : Gemworld )

Project: Voyager [ ]

In 2375 , Barclay began work on the Pathfinder Project . He helped bring its first success with the MIDAS Array in 2376 , and he continued to be involved with the program until 2377 when Voyager returned from the Delta Quadrant. ( VOY episodes : " Pathfinder ", " Life Line ", " Inside Man ", " Endgame ")

Return to the Enterprise -E [ ]

In 2380 , he temporarily replaced Geordi La Forge as chief engineer during the Exomorph crisis. ( TNG video game : Elite Force II )

First Splinter timeline [ ]

Uss galen [ ].

The Galen was fitted with a quantum slipstream drive and assigned to Project Full Circle , a Starfleet expeditionary force sent to explore the Delta Quadrant . In 2381 Barclay was assigned to the USS Galen . ( VOY novel : Full Circle )

USS Challenger [ ]

As of 2382 , Barclay was involved in a transporter project designed to transport a living person over long distances via the Pathfinder Project . He held the record for longest distance transport when Montgomery Scott ordered that Barclay be reassigned to the Starfleet Corps of Engineers USS Challenger as a mission specialist during the investigation of the derelict Intrepid . After the vessel was hijacked by Berlinghoff Rasmussen and Bok , Barclay was instrumental in returning the crew to the Challenger . When his friend Geordi La Forge was named Captain of the Challenger following Captain Scott's retirement, Barclay agreed to remain aboard as chief of operations . During his first mission as such, the Challenger investigated the new form of technology known as trans-slipstream and was transported to NGC-4414 along with the rescued crew of the IRW Stormcrow . Teamed with Romulan engineer Voktra (of whom he developed a romantic interest), the two worked to find a way to escape from the region and participated in an away mission to the derelict USS Hera . Following the destruction of the Challenger in order for the crew to return home, Barclay returned to Jupiter Station where he expected to be returned to the Voyager fleet in the Delta Quadrant. He also had proposed to Starfleet an increased Romulan presence in exploration missions, which Voktra also proposed to her government. ( TNG novel : Indistinguishable from Magic )

Return to the USS Galen [ ]

Galen was still active in the Delta Quadrant as part of Voyager's fleet by 2385 . In November , Data , Shakti and Commander La Forge contacted Galen to discuss duplicating the Doctor's mobile emitter . Barclay, back on Galen , was happy to see his formerly dead friend Data resurrected. The Doctor confirmed the mobile emitter was non-replicable. ( TNG novel : The Light Fantastic )

Starfleet service record [ ]

First splinter timeline starfleet service record [ ], appendices [ ], connections [ ], appearances and references [ ], appearances [ ], references [ ].

• TNG novel : Planet X

External link [ ]

• Reginald Barclay article at Memory Alpha , the wiki for canon Star Trek .
• Reginald Barclay article at the Star Trek Timelines Wiki .
• 1 Ferengi Rules of Acquisition
• 2 USS Voyager (NCC-74656-A)
• 3 Lamarr class

Hollow Pursuits (episode)

• 1.2 Act One
• 1.3 Act Two
• 1.4 Act Three
• 1.5 Act Four
• 1.6 Act Five
• 1.7 Log entries
• 2 Memorable quotes
• 3.1 Production history
• 3.2 Story and production
• 3.3 Continuity
• 3.4 Reception
• 3.6 Video and DVD releases
• 4.1 Starring
• 4.2 Also starring
• 4.3 Guest stars
• 4.4 Special guest star
• 4.5 Uncredited co-stars
• 4.6 Stunt doubles
• 4.7 Stand-ins and photo doubles
• 4.8.1 Other references
• 4.9 External links

Summary [ ]

Lieutenant Reginald Barclay , a new and brilliant engineer, relaxes in Ten Forward when Counselor Troi enters. Guinan , tending bar , warns Barclay that she doesn't want trouble here. Barclay questions why there'd be trouble, and she answers that wherever Barclay goes, trouble seems to follow. Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge enters and browbeats Barclay for being derelict; he's supposed to be on duty at this current moment. Barclay exhibits gross insubordination, tells La Forge to " take himself and his holier-than-thou attitude and get out of his life ", and shoves La Forge so hard he sprawls against a booth near the starboard wall.

" You're nothing but a pretty mannequin in a fancy uniform. "

Commander Riker approaches from the other end of the bar, strangely not looking shocked or angered, and tells Barclay that what he has just done is insubordination , to which Barclay toasts after glancing at Troi. Riker makes a grab for him, but Barclay reverses and suddenly has Riker in a choke hold. Barclay tells Riker that he's nothing more than " a pretty mannequin in a fancy uniform ", full of hot air. If Captain Picard has something to say to him, he should come and say it to Barclay himself. Barclay releases Riker hard, slamming him on the bar. As this happens, La Forge finally recovers from his sprawl and runs out of Ten Forward.

Troi, watching these events, seems worried over what she senses from Barclay. Indeed, as Barclay joins her, she says that she senses his confidence and arrogant resolve, and that it excites her. They're just about to kiss , when suddenly an unknown officer's voice pipes up on the intercom, and tells Barclay to report to Cargo Bay 5, now . Barclay tells Troi that it (whatever they were going to do) will have to wait until later, and annoyed, tells the voice he'll be right there.

" I feel your confidence. "

Then he stands near the entrance to Ten Forward, and says, " Save program, " and everything disappears, leaving the yellow hologrid of the holodeck . Barclay has been running a holodeck simulation of his delusions of grandeur, and his attitude as shown on his face indicates a far more timid, hesitant personality than the one he had put on display in the holographic Ten Forward.

In Cargo Bay 5, the real La Forge and Riker are overseeing the beam-in of several containers on the cargo bay's transporter pad. La Forge tells Riker that he is basically at his wit's end when dealing with Barclay, that he is always late and never gives his best effort, and questions how someone like Barclay could have even made it through the Academy . Riker says he'll speak to the captain about " Broccoli ", then explains that this is the nickname Wesley has given Barclay, and tells La Forge to keep it to himself; La Forge notes that the nickname is apt. Duffy , the officer working with the canisters has now placed them on an anti-grav sled , and informs La Forge that one of the canisters has a broken seal; indeed we see vapor pouring from the front middle canister. La Forge tells Duffy to destroy the broken canister, as the samples inside will be tainted.

Duffy with a leaking canister

The cargo bay doors open and finally Barclay arrives. Upon spotting his two superiors he moves behind several red barrels to try to hide, but they've seen him, and La Forge asks him if it is a problem to report to duty on time. Barclay makes up some lame story about having received a communique that required his immediate attention, but La Forge doesn't want to hear it. He cools off, though, and tells Barclay about the anti-grav platform's difficulty. Barclay moves to follow his orders, but Riker grabs his arm, and tells him he's tired of seeing him disciplined by his superiors; he doesn't know how things were done on Barclay's last posting, but here on the Enterprise , there is a different standard set for the crew. Riker walks out, casting dark glances back towards Barclay.

Act One [ ]

Despite Barclay's assurances that everything looks normal to him, the anti-grav platform falters after a few seconds and drops another canister. O'Brien moves to clean it up (it is spewing more vapor), and La Forge calls for more people from engineering. Barclay stammers that it shouldn't do that, and La Forge simply gestures, prompting Barclay to help with the cleanup. Barclay takes a panel off the unit and an isolinear chip out of the assembly, then inserts a testing device.

In his ready room , Captain Picard is looking over the several reports made against Barclay and notes that he isn't used to seeing a man under his command on report . Riker questions whether Barclay is Enterprise material, and Picard infers from La Forge's request for Barclay's transfer that the former thinks that the latter is not. La Forge adds that he thought he could work with anyone, until "Broccoli," who makes everyone nervous. Picard picks up on the nickname; Riker tells the truth, that it was an invention of Wesley's, and Picard orders that the nickname usage be stopped. Barclay has served competently in Starfleet for years; Picard notes what he's heard from Captain Gleason of the Zhukov , that Barclay performed quite brilliantly as an engineer. Riker wonders if Gleason wasn't shading the real truth of Barclay's performance, as he knew that the Enterprise was in need of a diagnostic engineer and was trying to rid himself of the neurotic officer. Riker also looked into Barclay's psychological profile and says he has a history of seclusive tendencies that was noted at the Academy more than once. Picard notes that despite Barclay's behavior, he chose this way of life and made the same commitment to Starfleet as everyone else. It is too easy to transfer a problem to someone else, and Picard denies the transfer request; instead, he assigns La Forge to work with Barclay and make him La Forge's pet project, despite La Forge's protests that he can barely stand to be in the same room with Barclay.

Barclay is late as usual

La Forge, looking like a cow being led to the slaughter, approaches Barclay, still examining the inner workings of the anti-grav unit in the cargo bay. La Forge does his level best to encourage Barclay and advises him to take his time with the unit's problems. La Forge tells Barclay that he would be a good addition to La Forge's senior staff meeting in the morning; Barclay positively squeals and asks what he should talk about, but La Forge assures Barclay that there's no pressure, just to be there. Barclay says he'll be on time, at 0800 hours. He looks a little stunned at La Forge's praise.

As the meeting in engineering starts, La Forge has the staff gather around the master systems display table , wishes them a good morning, and encourages them (including Costa , Myers , Duffy, and Wesley) to start their brains . The absence of Barclay is noted, however. He comes in just a hair too late, but La Forge doesn't call him on it. He immediately assigns engine work to Duffy and Costa, and assigns Wesley, on assignment to engineering as part of his training, to Myers, and jokingly instructs him to teach Wesley the difference between impulse and warp drive. La Forge next moves on to Barclay's preliminary report on the anti-grav failure, noting that there are some interesting theories he posited. Barclay is again somewhat lost, and La Forge has to prompt him to report to the staff. During his report, Duffy looks somewhat disdainful as Barclay stammers through some tech stuff on which Wesley immediately corrects him; Barclay looks quite abashed as the engineering staff moves off to accomplish their duties and follows at a distance.

" I am the Goddess of Empathy. "

In counseling with Troi, Barclay has regained his confident tone and swagger despite what he's saying and expresses his disgust with himself that he didn't know how to respond to Wesley at the meeting; " I should have told him to mind his own damn business. " Troi notes that Barclay is letting this incident get him much too upset; she asks why Barclay is so hard on himself; to help him relax, she gives him a passionate kiss. Barclay calls for a change of program, and the scene shifts to a warm, arboreal paradise, with Troi in a toga . She identifies herself as the " Goddess of Empathy ," encouraging Barclay to cast off his inhibitions and embrace love, truth, and joy. Barclay approaches, and again they kiss passionately.

In Ten Forward, the engineering staff is informally discussing the morning meeting. Wesley complains that La Forge criticized him for correcting Barclay, and that the staff meeting is supposed to be about discussing different approaches. Again, the nickname "Broccoli" is used. Data expresses confusion – first that Lieutenant Barclay is being clandestinely referred to as a vegetable , then that the assignment of a nickname is usually between friends, not as a pejorative . At this, Commander La Forge relays the captain's orders to stop using the nickname. Suddenly, Duffy discovers his glass is leaking; the structure seems to have been twisted from within.

Act Two [ ]

Data, scanning the twisted glass in engineering with a tricorder , determines that its atomic structure has been abnormally altered. It is not a problem with the replicator , as that would affect the liquid in the glass as well as the glass itself. Data surmises that the glass had been struck with electricity somehow, which means a complete workup of the power systems on the Enterprise – all four thousand of them. Barclay is assigned to the project, but he awkwardly states he was already going to look at the power systems anyway, to find out what went wrong with the anti-grav unit.

On the bridge , La Forge shows the glass to Riker, who asks if the ship may need to go to a starbase , something that will not be known until the power systems are examined by Barclay. Data points out that it was Barclay who first said that there could be a correlation between the glass and the anti-grav unit failure. Barclay exhibits his usual self-effacing mannerism, as Picard approaches the science stations around which they are all crowded. Picard asks Barclay if power should be affected during the tests; Barclay stammers his way toward saying he doesn't think so. Picard gives him an encouraging smile and says " Good. I look forward to your report, Mr. Broccoli. " The crew (except Barclay, of course) looks very amused in Picard's direction; Picard is shocked and appalled at his mistake and corrects himself quickly. It doesn't help Barclay's demeanor, and he takes his leave, looking mortified. Data chalks Picard's mistake up to metathesis , somewhat encouragingly; the others turn away, as Picard continued to look shocked and appalled, Riker quietly amused, and La Forge somewhat shaken.

La Forge talks to Guinan about Barclay. She doesn't see anything out of the ordinary with him; he just comes in, never talks to anyone, and just orders warm milk to help him sleep. La Forge is just trying to figure Barclay out, as he doesn't have the luxury of letting him be, as Guinan does. Guinan confides that Barclay is imaginative (" I just know "), and La Forge expresses doubt in an imaginative person's value as an engineer, or rather just Barclay's place on the ship; he just doesn't fit in. Guinan remembers the story of her uncle Terkim , the family misfit; she had grown very close to him when no one else did. She had picked up her own fear of fitting in from Terkim. She says that if everyone felt uncomfortable around her, she'd probably be always late and just as nervous as Barclay is. Guinan then moves off to serve another customer, leaving La Forge to his thoughts. Finally, he calls from his combadge for the location of Barclay, who is in the holodeck, as seems the norm these days.

La Forge opens the holodeck doors onto the idyllic arboreal paradise we saw before; he calls for Barclay, to no avail. He comes across Doctor Crusher and Wesley as holograms, only they are in 17th century clothing and enjoying a picnic . Dr. Crusher chides her son, saying that "Master Barclay" will spank him if he misbehaves. Dr. Crusher notes that "the boys" got into a bit of a scrap, but that boys will be boys. Suddenly, a great shout draws La Forge's attention, and he sees Barclay involved in a fierce fencing match with holographic duplicates of La Forge, Picard, and Data, all in period dress. Data offers Barclay the chance to yield since he is outnumbered, even though Barclay is winning; Barclay responds, " I shall speak with my sword, sir! " and continues the battle with two swords. Finally, left alone against Picard, Barclay responds admirably, and Picard is perplexed as to how Barclay learned to fight the way he does. Barclay claims he is self-taught, sardonically offers to teach Picard, and defeats him with his swords against Picard's throat. Picard mentions the real La Forge behind Barclay, who disbelieves him at first, but La Forge clears his throat. Barclay looks back and blanches; he's been found out.

Back in Ten Forward, Barclay sits at a table having a drink with La Forge. He offers to be transferred, but now La Forge won't hear of it. He's spent a few hours on the holodeck too and feels what Barclay does there is his own business. But La Forge doesn't understand why he's making copies of the ship's crew instead of original characters; Barclay claims it is to blow off steam, especially against one particular officer, and La Forge knows Barclay means him. Barclay couldn't, of course, tell La Forge off to his face, so he made the holographic La Forge and the others as a catharsis when he's fencing against them. La Forge strongly recommends Barclay have a talk with Troi about his holo-addiction , but Barclay's against it; he is far too nervous and afraid of forgetting little details that may turn others against him, but La Forge pulls rank on Barclay and orders him to counseling.

O'Brien calls La Forge to transporter room three, and reports that there's a major problem; O'Brien shows La Forge how he transports a pure duranium test cylinder from one pad , into the buffer , and onto another pad; no problem, but when he beams the canister back, it's broken and steaming. La Forge, in a bit of gallows humor, expresses his relief at the fact that he has no place to go at the moment.

Act Three [ ]

" None of the other transporter rooms are malfunctioning. " " Yet. "

Picard examines the remains of the duranium canister on the transporter pad that fell apart during transport, along with Riker and La Forge; it's strange that no other transporter rooms are malfunctioning… yet. They will reach Nahmi IV in twenty-two hours, and Picard wants all transporters working by then. He orders a level-1 diagnostic across the board. Riker orders La Forge to summon Barclay to the bridge, but La Forge advises Riker to hold off until 1400 hours; La Forge has Barclay working on something. Riker agrees, and on his way out, orders O'Brien to cease maintenance on the transporters until further notice.

Barclay is in counseling with Troi – it is obvious now that it is the real Troi, as she's not acting amorous at all, purely as a counselor – and Barclay is as nervous as ever. He declines Troi's offer to help him feel more comfortable; he talks about his former counselor, who wasn't really a counselor. After turning the lights down, Troi leads Barclay in some relaxation exercises, and tells him to breathe slowly, in through his nose and out through his mouth. Troi places a comforting hand on Barclay's arm. Barclay embraces the technique, but breathing rapidly, and practices it while quickly and nervously making his way out of Troi's office. We can only imagine the horrible mixed messages that go through Barclay's mind and are picked up by Troi.

Troi goes up to the bridge and talks to La Forge at the science station; she describes her visit from Barclay as "very strange" – she's not sure what happened, as he left so suddenly. Riker leaves the ready room and asks Worf where Barclay is; La Forge calls for Barclay, to no avail; Riker learns from the computer that Barclay is in the holodeck again. He's fed up and goes with Troi and La Forge to get Barclay out of there.

La Forge warns Riker obliquely that Barclay is running "some unique programs", but Riker doesn't care what he's been running; he just ran out of patience with Barclay. Again, the holodeck opens onto the arboreal paradise of Barclay's fantasies; hearing raised voices somewhere, the three head off to find them. Troi is amused to find Data, Picard, and La Forge dressed as the Three Musketeers , but Riker is not.

Act Four [ ]

Riker, in an agitated voice, declares that crewmembers should not be simulated in the holodeck as a matter of protocol. La Forge notes that he does not believe there are any such protocols listed and Riker tells him that there should be. The Musketeers look up and notice Riker, but they don't respond. Riker calls to erase the program instantly, but Troi belays the order, theorizing that if the means by which Barclay responds to reality is removed suddenly, the psychological damage could be quite severe.

The "Number One" adversary.

Musketeer Picard opines on the disagreeable nature of the real crew members; the three stand up and prepare to have at them. Riker doesn't want to fight them, so the Musketeers call him a coward; then they summon the holographic Number One, a bumbling fool much shorter than Riker's actual self, who stumbles over to the crew and screams in a squeaky voice, " EN GARDE! " Riker asks his double where Barclay is; the hologram Riker assumes it is a personal grudge. He advises Riker to prepare for death, as Barclay is the greatest sword – " in all the holodeck ," grumbles Riker, to Troi's amusement. Troi remarks that Riker's height might threaten some people, which may be why Barclay designed Number One like this; Riker is terminally disgusted with Number One and erases him from the program. The Musketeers are in turn disgusted at Riker's poor sense of fair play; they simply turn their backs when La Forge asks again where Barclay is. Riker is doubtful as to the need to search through what could be a gigantic program, but Troi sees the opportunity to get valuable information about what troubles Barclay.

" There's nothing wrong with a healthy fantasy life, as long as you don't let it take over, " are the famous last words before Troi sets eyes on her counterpart, the Goddess of Empathy. Troi's jaw drops and steam nearly pours from her ears, so red is her face. The Goddess continues to spew soothing rhetoric, and Troi starts to erase the Goddess, but Riker stops her, turning her own words back on her with an amused grin. Troi seems fit to slap both Riker and La Forge when they agree that Barclay has a healthy fantasy life after seeing the Goddess.

Back on the bridge, the ship suddenly speeds up to warp 7.25, with no explanation but that the engines have malfunctioned. The speed is brought back to warp 7; Data explains the matter-antimatter injectors malfunctioned for a second. It is a mystery, and Picard calls on La Forge to solve it. La Forge, of course, isn't in engineering, but promises to return as soon as he finds Barclay. La Forge tells the Goddess of Empathy that they need to find Barclay now , but she is now hitting on all of them, including Troi, who advises a shocked Goddess to " muzzle it! " Then they start off again in search of Barclay. They find him, being tended by Doctor Crusher while he sleeps. Doctor Crusher shushes them, but they wake Barclay up and hurry out of the holodeck.

Troi looks like she's going to pummel Barclay, but La Forge rescues him by dragging him off to engineering as requested by the captain. La Forge and Barclay discuss the nature of his holo-addiction; La Forge relates that he fell in love in the holodeck once , but he knew when to turn it off. Barclay confides that the people he creates in the holodeck are more real to him than those he meets in real life… except maybe La Forge. La Forge reiterates his sincere need to have Barclay out in the real world, giving him a clap on the shoulder.

In engineering, Barclay suggests dropping out of warp to cure the non-responsive diagnostic systems, but now the engines will not respond. The injectors are physically jammed. Then the ship accelerates, right up to warp 9.

Act Five [ ]

Picard calls for red alert as the ship threatens to tear itself apart in about sixteen minutes; La Forge doesn't know what to do but he'll notify the bridge as soon as he does. La Forge calls for every idea to be thrown down on the master situations table; several technically-obscure solutions are offered, all shot down instantly as already tried. La Forge shouts that he needs to find a connection to the anti-grav unit failure, the twisted glass, the transporter malfunction, and now the jammed matter/antimatter injectors, just as the ship starts to tear; on the bridge, preparation for emergency saucer separation is made, but due to uneven plasma flow in the nacelles , Data announces to Picard that a saucer separation could rupture the warp field , which has now propelled them to warp 9.4.

Barclay finally blurts out an idea; what if one or more of the engineering crew is the connection to all the malfunctions? Someone could've picked up an untraceable substance and carried it around the ship. The common link is that both Duffy and O'Brien were in the cargo bay with the failed anti-grav, and one of them was present at each of the other malfunctioning equipment; they could be carriers. La Forge, with the help of the computer, narrows the list of suspected reactants – those that would not be picked up by a standard scan (15,525), exist in an oxygen atmosphere (532), and can modify the molecular structure of glass (5). He and the others then begin evaluating the five remaining substances one by one. Barclay eliminates jakmanite ; it has too short a half-life (fifteen seconds) to be spread around the ship. Wesley eliminates selgninaem and lucovexitrin ; both are too toxic for a person to carry around. Saltzgadum and invidium are the only ones left; and since virtually all of the affected technology was invented after both substances were phased out of use, the chance exists of one of them creating unexpected reactions. La Forge then remembers that invidium was once used in medical containment fields. Although Wesley replies that the Federation hadn't used it in over a century , Barclay counters that the Mikulaks, who gave the Enterprise the samples in the cargo bay, might still use it – and one of their canisters was broken. La Forge tells the bridge that the problem might be invidium contamination; they rush off to the cargo bay to confirm the hypothesis.

" Invidium has been confirmed. "

Barclay opens one of the medical containers; wearing gloves , he now dips his hand into the material in the canister, and La Forge scans it with a colored beam; switching colors, La Forge finally finds it when the beam is purple; swirly bits brighter than the glove material. Barclay states that if the invidium is cooled to −200 ° Celsius , it will become inert. La Forge orders gaseous cryonetrium to be flooded through the antimatter injectors to cool and neutralize the invidium.

The engine is pulsing rapidly as the injection of the cold gas commences; the injectors get steadily cooler and cooler, until finally the invidium goes inert. The matter injector responds immediately, while the antimatter injector responds after a power cycle through a ventral relay. The warp engines are shut down, and the Enterprise safely drops out of warp.

The immediate danger past, Picard cancels red alert; Riker congratulates La Forge and Barclay on their great work, but La Forge recommends setting course to Starbase 121 for a complete systems and bio-decontamination of all the invidium remaining on the ship. Picard agrees. La Forge is glad Barclay was out in the real world. A few smacks on the back later, and Barclay seems to have come to a decision.

Barclay arrives on the bridge and stands between Conn and Ops; he announces that he's leaving the crew; it is for the best, he says. La Forge assures Barclay he'll always be welcome on the Enterprise ; Picard tells Barclay it was a pleasure to serve with him; Troi wishes him good luck. Barclay says it has been fun... and then ends the program; he was announcing his goodbye to his holo-addiction. Barclay then deletes all of his programs except one, Program Nine and leaves the holodeck for hopefully a more balanced lifestyle from now on.

Log entries [ ]

• Captain's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D), 2366
• Chief engineer's log, USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)

Memorable quotes [ ]

" Good, I'll look forward to your report, Mr. Broccoli… (long pause) Barclay. "

" I'm just not accustomed to seeing an unsatisfactory rating on a member of my crew. "

" I mean I am the guy who writes down things to remember to say when there is a party. And then when he finally gets there, he winds up alone, in the corner, trying to look… comfortable examining a potted plant. " " You're just shy, Barclay. " (Pause) " Just shy… sounds like nothing serious, doesn't it? You can't know. "

" The idea of fitting in just… repels me. "

" If Barclay's having difficulty facing reality, to suddenly destroy his only means of escape would be brutal and could do considerable damage. "

" Computer, discontinue… " " Computer, belay that order! We want to get more insight into what's been troubling this poor man, remember? " (Looks at La Forge) " Quite a healthy fantasy life, wouldn't you say? " " Hmm. "

" Cast aside your masks, and let me slip into your mind. "

" Muzzle it! "

" Sir! You have no sense of fair play! "

" Glad you were with us out here in the real world today, Mr. Barclay. "

" It's been fun. Computer – end program. Erase all programs filed under 'Reginald Barclay'. (Pause) Except Program 9. "

Background information [ ]

Production history [ ].

• Final draft script: 9 February 1990 [1]
• Premiere airdate: 30 April 1990
• First UK airdate: 25 March 1992

Story and production [ ]

• This episode marks the first appearance of Dwight Schultz as Lieutenant Reginald Barclay . Schultz had been a Star Trek fan for a long time and had asked Rick Berman to consider him if the right part came along. ( Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion , 2nd ed., p. 125) Schultz' official fan site claims it was Whoopi Goldberg who recommended him to the Star Trek producers. Schultz and Goldberg were working together in the 1990 film The Long Walk Home , during which he told her that he was a lifelong fan of both The Original Series and The Next Generation , in which Goldberg played Guinan . Realizing how great an actor Schultz was, Goldberg approached the producers with the idea of getting him cast in the series. He had no idea of her "actions" until they called him with the news that a guest role was written especially for him. Schultz was thrilled with the part of Lt. Barclay. [2]
• The production staff noted that the show was not intended as a satire of obsessive Star Trek fans . Director Cliff Bole commented, " I didn't feel that, and I would have heard if it was intended. I certainly didn't approach it that way. " ( Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages , p. 196)
• Likewise, Michael Piller remarked, " It really was not intended directly at Star Trek fans. It was certainly about fantasy life versus reality. More than any other character in the three years I have been at Star Trek , the character of Barclay was more like me than anybody else. My wife watched that show and saw what was going on, and said that's [me] because I'm constantly in my fantasy world. Fortunately, I make a living at it. I have an extraordinary fantasy life and use my imagination all the time. It's real life that I have the problems with. I was delightfully happy with the episode. " ( Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages , p. 196) In fact, Barclay's line about "[standing] in the corner, trying to look comfortable examining a potted plant" was taken near-verbatim from something that Piller himself said to Ira Steven Behr shortly after the latter joined the show's writing staff; Behr subsequently added the line to the script when he performed a rewrite on the episode. ( TNG Season 3 Blu-ray ; "A Tribute to Michael Piller")
• Holo-Wesley's appearance in this episode was based on a famous painting by Thomas Gainsborough called " The Blue Boy ". His costume was copied in detail and references to the painter and the painting can be found in the script of the episode. [3]
• The test cylinder props were actually US Navy sonar buoy transport cases. ( Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion , 2nd ed., p. 125)
• Barclay refers to a flux capacitor when in Troi's office. According to the Star Trek Encyclopedia , 4th ed., vol. 1, p. 277, this is a reference to the Back to the Future series of films. It appears the term Barclay was supposed to use was "flow capacitor", according to Wesley's dialogue in the previous scene.
• The tune of " The Minstrel Boy " can be heard playing during the scene where Barclay is seen leaving the holodeck at the end of the episode.

Continuity [ ]

• Geordi La Forge alludes to his relationship with a hologram of Leah Brahms from " Booby Trap ".
• Miles O'Brien and Worf recall Barclay's holodeck antics in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode " Image in the Sand ". Although neither character actually witnessed Barclay's holoprogram in this episode, La Forge and Barclay are both referred to by name in that episode.
• The shot of a test cylinder being beamed away and back again will be reused in " Data's Day ".
• Beverly Crusher only appears in this episode as a hologram .

Reception [ ]

• Director Cliff Bole remembered: " Dwight Schultz is excellent. He really comes to work prepared and has direction. He did a great job. The fantasy part of it was fun, too. Technically, I had fun on that show. The fans enjoy it when we do an illusion within an illusion. They like those little period fantasies. I was happy with the episode. It was a good character study and a great fantasy within the illusion. " ("Cliff Bole – Of Redemption & Unification", The Official Star Trek: The Next Generation Magazine  issue 17 , p. 31)
• Jonathan Frakes enjoyed the episode. He recalled, " That was a riot, and the goddess of empathy… " ( Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages , p. 196)
• A mission report for this episode by Patrick Daniel O'Neill was published in The Official Star Trek: The Next Generation Magazine  issue 14 , pp. 12-15.
• This episode was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Hairstyling for a Series.

Video and DVD releases [ ]

• Original UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video ): Volume 35, 20 January 1992
• UK re-release (three-episode tapes, Paramount Home Entertainment ): Volume 3.7, 4 September 2000
• As part of the TNG Season 3 DVD collection
• As part of the TNG Season 3 Blu-ray collection

Links and references [ ]

Starring [ ].

• Patrick Stewart as Capt. Jean-Luc Picard
• Jonathan Frakes as Commander William Riker

Also starring [ ]

• LeVar Burton as Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
• Michael Dorn as Lieutenant Worf
• Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher
• Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi / Goddess of Empathy
• Brent Spiner as Lt. Commander Data
• Wil Wheaton as Wesley Crusher / Barclay's Blue Boy hologram

Guest stars [ ]

• Dwight Schultz as Barclay
• Charley Lang as Duffy
• Colm Meaney as Miles O'Brien

Special guest star [ ]

• Whoopi Goldberg as Guinan

Uncredited co-stars [ ]

• Rachen Assapiomonwait as Nelson
• Majel Barrett as USS Enterprise -D computer voice
• Joe Baumann as Garvey
• Karin Baxter as operations division ensign
• James G. Becker as Youngblood
• Michele Gerren as science division officer
• Casey Kono as operations ensign
• Debbie Marsh as command division officer
• Randy Pflug as Jones
• Denise Lynne Roberts as Patti
• Command division officer
• Female civilian
• Female command division officer
• Female science division officer
• Lieutenant junior grade
• Male officer in cargo bay (voice)
• Science division officer
• Ten Forward waiter
• Ten Forward waitress

Stunt doubles [ ]

• Tom Morga as stunt double for Dwight Schultz
• John Nowak as stunt double for Patrick Stewart
• Brian J. Williams as stunt double for Brent Spiner
• Unknown stunt performer as stunt double for LeVar Burton

Stand-ins and photo doubles [ ]

• Doug Biery as photo double for Jonathan Frakes
• Jeffrey Deacon – stand-in for Patrick Stewart
• Nora Leonhardt – stand-in for Marina Sirtis
• Tim McCormack – stand-in for Brent Spiner
• Lorine Mendell – stand-in for Gates McFadden
• Guy Vardaman – stand-in for Wil Wheaton & Dwight Schultz
• Unknown actor as photo double for LeVar Burton

References [ ]

23rd century ; 2349 ; acceleration ; adversary ; ale ; ally ; anti-grav unit ; antimatter flow ; antimatter injector ; assault ; assignment ; atmosphere ; atomic ; attitude ; back ; bar ; Barclay Program 9 ; Barclay Program 15 ; Barclay Program 15 holograms ; best friend ; Beta Tottoro IV ; " blow off some steam "; brain ; breath ; broccoli ; Broccoli ; " Buttering our bread "; cage ; canister ; cargo bay 5 ; Celsius ; chance ; chemical compound ; choice ; cockatoo ; combat ; commanding officer ; computer ; computer control protocol ; confidence ; consonant ; corner ; Correllium fever ; counselor ; Cromarty whiskey ; cryonetrium ; cup ; cycle ; damage ; danger ; decade ; decontamination ; diagnostics ; diagnostic engineer ; diagnostic sweep ; diminutive ; discomfort ; " dismissed "; docking clamps ; duranium ; Earth ; emergency saucer separation ; empathy ; engine containment field ; engine core ; engineering ; engineering team ; error ; evacuation ; explanation ; eye ; face ; fact ; failure ; fight ; flow capacitor ; flow regulator ; flux capacitor ; fondness ; French language ; friend ; fuel inlet servos ; " full of hot air "; fun ; fusion pre-burners ; glass ; Gleason ; goddess ; graviton inverter circuit ; guest ; Guinan's mother ; half-life ; hand ; " here and now "; history ; " holier than thou "; holo-addiction ; holodeck 2 ; holographic image ; holographic program ; hour ; humor ; hundred ; idea ; imagination ; impulse ; impulse power ; " in God's name "; " in good hands "; information ; inhibition ; injector pathway conduit ; input ; insight ; insubordination ; internal scan ; invention ; investigation ; invidium ; jakmanite ; job ; joke ; joy ; kiss ; leak ; lesson ; level 1 diagnostic ; liquid ; love ; lucovexitrin ; magnetic capacitor ; magnetic field ; magnetic quench ; malfunction ; mannequin ; manners ; mask ; matter injector ; mechanism ; medical containment field ; metathesis ; Mikulaks ; mind ; minute ; mission ; mission briefing ; mister ; molecular structure ; mood ; morning ; mouth ; mystery ; nacelle ; Nahmi IV ; name ; nickname ; nitrogen ; nose ; " nucleosynthesis ; " Oh my God "; " on the table "; online ; order ; outbreak ; override ; oxygen ; party ; patience ; pattern ; phase transition coil ; physical substance ; plan ; plant ; plasma flow ; polarity ; polarity scanner ; power ; power source ; power system ; power transfer system ; preliminary report ; problem ; project ; pronunciation ; protocol ; psychological profile ; question ; radiation ; rapier ; rate of acceleration ; rating ; real world ; realignment procedure ; reality ; red alert ; replication ; replicator ; report ; room ; safety limit ; saltzgadum ; seal ; second ; secondary hull ; selgninaem ; senior officer ; sense of humor ; sensor ; sheep ; shipment ; solution ; sound ; spanking ; speed ; " split second "; standard scan ; starbase ; Starbase 121 ; starboard ; Starfleet ; Starfleet Academy ; Starfleet regulations ; station ; substance ; suggestion ; swirl dampers ; sword ; symptom ; synthehol ; systems analysis ; temperature ; Terkim ; test object ; therapeutic ; thousand ; Three Musketeers, The ; tissue sample ; toast ; toxic ; training duty ; transfer ; transfer coil ; transfer conduit ; transporter ; transporter malfunction ; Transporter Room 3 ; trick ; tricorder ; trip ; truth ; uniform ; vegetable ; velocity ; ventral relay ; violation ; visit ; voice ; vowel ; warm milk ; warp drive ; warp field ; way of life ; " what the hell "; work ; working theory ; " write the book on "; year ; yellow ; Zhukov , USS

Other references [ ]

• Warp Core Diagnostic Systems: antimatter stream coil ; deuterium injector ; deuterium stream coil ; dilithium chamber ; warp core diagnostic system
• Display of substances: agricultural sterilization agent ; Beta Tottoro IV ; biological containment vessel ; catalyst ; Central Plains Area ; industrial biochemical system ; KDA ; kelp ; kelp farm ; Klingon ; Qo'noS ; radioisotope ; Rigellian colonies ; virus culture ; yurium

External links [ ]

• " Hollow Pursuits " at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• " Hollow Pursuits " at Wikipedia
• " Hollow Pursuits " at MissionLogPodcast.com , a Roddenberry Star Trek podcast
• "Hollow Pursuits" script  at Star Trek Minutiae
• " Hollow Pursuits " at the Internet Movie Database
• 1 Daniels (Crewman)

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Star Trek: The Next Generation S3E21 "Hollow Pursuits" » Recap

La Forge: You're just shy, Barclay. Barclay: Just shy... sounds like nothing serious, doesn't it? You can't know.

Original air date: April 30, 1990

We're introduced to Lieutenant Barclay, who's drinking in Ten-Forward when La Forge shows up to dress him down. After some tough talk worthy of a Dixon Hill story, Barclay shoves him ass-over-teakettle. Riker jumps up and confronts Barclay but gets more of the same. Barclay's overwhelming manliness has impressed Troi, and the pair start to romance each other, but then Barclay gets summoned to the cargo bay. What's going on? This whole sequence has been a wish-fulfillment fantasy on the holodeck. When Barclay arrives for work, he proves to be a meek, awkward, and unpopular officer. As Barclay fumbles with trying to move some canisters of volatile chemicals, during which a couple of them break ( remember this ), La Forge and Riker discuss how they just can't handle "Broccoli" (thanks for the nickname, Wesley), saying he isn't Enterprise material.

La Forge and Riker go to Picard with their concerns and suggest transferring Barclay off the ship. But Picard doesn't like the idea of giving up and foisting Barclay on someone else. He tells La Forge to stop calling the man "Broccoli" behind his back and start nurturing him to help him fit in. La Forge dutifully starts including Barclay on Engineering briefings and puts him in charge of solving some issues with odd malfunctions cropping up around the ship. La Forge comes to realize that Barclay is a smart, imaginative guy when he's not too shy to speak up. After stumbling into one of Barclay's escapist fantasies on the holodeck, in which Barclay is a badass swordsman against Musketeer doppelgangers of Picard, Data, and La Forge himself, La Forge has a heart-to-heart with Barclay and insists that he get some therapy.

Barclay's intense crush on Troi makes his first therapy session with the real counsellor too awkward. He ends the session abruptly before running off in embarrassment. Troi tells Riker and La Forge about the strange end to their session, causing the three of them to go looking for Barclay. He's fled into the holodeck, where the three officers discover yet another of his programs. Riker and Troi are not amused by the unflattering representations of them in Barclay's fantasy (or too-flattering, in Troi's case). Barclay is embarrassed to be caught once again and offers to resign, but La Forge won't hear it. He reveals that he himself once fell in love with a holodeck program , but it’s time for Barclay to knock it off and focus on his real-world responsibilities.

The malfunctions throughout the ship are getting worse to the point that the navigation controls stop responding, causing the ship to start accelerating out of control. If Engineering doesn't find a solution in 15 minutes, the engines will blow up. La Forge leads a brainstorming session with all his best engineers and Barclay . But Barclay is the one who realizes that if the problem isn't a systemic error, then it must come from one of the engineers spreading some foreign substance around the ship. La Forge and the rest of the team narrow down the culprit to invidium from the broken canister at the beginning of the episode. La Forge and Barclay rush to the cargo hold and confirm their theory, then recommend flushing the ship's engines to neutralize the compound. The ship is saved!

Tropes in this episode include:

• Accidental Misnaming : People nickname Barclay "Broccoli," and then just after Picard has told them not to, he ends up using the name by accident .
• All Girls Want Bad Boys : At least, the ones in Barclay's program do (with Barclay himself as the bad boy in question). Holo-Troi: I feel your confidence... your arrogant resolve. It excites me.
• All of the Other Reindeer : Barclay's mistreatment by the main crew for much of the episode. Geordi realizes this through the episode's Whoopi Epiphany Speech .
• Anti-Escapism Aesop : Barclay starts out spending most of his time in the holodeck, but with Geordi's support, he starts to cut down on his holo-fantasies.
• Artistic License – Military : The scene where Picard is discussing Barclay's job performance has several issues. One, Crusher simply should not be there. Barclay outranks him, and for his chain-of-command (La Forge and Picard) to discuss his performance evaluation with Crusher is an extremely serious breach of procedure. Ensign is the lowest officer rank, and Ensign Crusher has no business being there or any input into the subject. If Barclay had found out, he would have been perfectly justified to go over Picard's head and file a grievance with Starfleet. In that event, both Picard and La Forge would have had some serious explaining to do. Also, La Forge stating that he'd nicknamed Barclay "Broccoli" and laughed about it with Crusher should have seen him getting his ass reamed out by Picard. Such behavior calls La Forge's fitness to lead into question, as ridiculing your subordinates instead of working with them is not the behavior expected from a supervisor. Lastly, Crusher ridiculing a superior officer is not allowed. In present-day armed forces, doing this can land you in front of a court-martial for insubordination.
• Author Avatar : Barclay's party shyness is based on Michael Piller's own experiences verbatim.
• Bait-and-Switch Character Intro : The Teaser is this for Barclay. He's a big tough guy on his holodeck program, and then when he goes to meet his superiors, he's so meek he actually hides.
• Benevolent Boss : While Barclay being inadequate is the bottom line for La Forge and Riker, Picard isn't convinced, saying it's too easy to foist a problematic officer off onto another post, and insists that they take the time to get to know the man and find out why he's like this. Suffice to say, Picard's act of goodwill pays off.
• The Big Damn Kiss : Barclay keeps having these on the Holodeck, with Holo!Troi of course. The kicker is that Barclay is a terrible kisser, looking like he's about to devour her whole head.
• Big Eater : Holo-Wesley is always seen stuffing his face with pie like a naughty child.
• Big "SHUT UP!" : Troi snaps at her holo-counterpart, "Muzzle it!"
• Bookends : The episode begins and ends with Barclay in a holo-simulation involving the main cast before shutting it off — reluctantly the first time, willingly the second .
• Call-Back : While lecturing Barclay about his Holodeck addiction, Geordi says he understands how easy it can be to lose oneself in it, admitting that he once fell in love while inside.
• Chekhov's Gun : The broken medical canister from The Teaser turns out to be the cause of everything that goes wrong aboard the Enterprise .
• Competence Porn : Once Barclay proposes the outside-the-box idea that the malfunctions are caused by someone spreading some kind of contaminant, Geordi and the rest of his engineers put their heads together to figure out exactly what the contaminant is and how to deal with it.
• Cringe Comedy : Riker, Troi and La Forge walking in on Barclay's holodeck program. Even before they find him, things get pretty awkward.
• Death Glare : When Data tries to reassure Picard that his Freudian slip with Barclay's nickname was an understandable case of metathesis, Picard silences him with a glare. Data: Metathesis is one of the most common of pronunciation errors, sir. A reversal of vowel and consonant, Barc to Broc— (sees Picard glaring at him and suddenly becomes very interested in a nearby console)
• Dual Wielding : Barclay vs. Musketeer Picard, Geordi, and Data.
• Subverted in that his nickname becomes a much friendlier, much more innocent and no less informal "Reg", which fits perfectly with Data's definition of a nickname.
• Exact Time to Failure : True to form, the computer tells everyone exactly how many seconds are left before the Enterprise flies apart.
• Fantastic Drug : The holodeck, sort of, as this episode introduces the concept of holoaddiction.
• Five-Second Foreshadowing : When O'Brien tries to demonstrate the transporter test to Geordi, the first transport of a duranium canister shows it to be slightly charred after transport. The second transport is what reduces the canister to a pile of goo.
• Flynning : Barclay's swordfight with his holographic enemies is pure cinematic swashbuckling, since it's a fantasy after all.
• Ham-to-Ham Combat : When Barclay fights the holo-Musketeers, it's not just their swords that clash. Musketeer!Data: You are outnumbered, Mister Barclay! Say you will yield and it ends here! Barclay: I shall speak with my sword, sir!
• Her Code Name Was "Mary Sue" : Barclay becomes an In-Universe Marty Stu with his holodeck programs, complete with plenty of Character Shilling from the Musketeers.
• Indulgent Fantasy Segue : The episode opens with Barclay telling Geordi to take his holier than thou attitude and get out of his life after he chastises him for hanging out in Ten Forward while being on duty, then pushing him away. When Riker tells him that it's insubordination, he raises a glass and states "Here's to insubordination," and so things continue until he is interrupted by a comm message calling him away and he declares "save program," ending the holodeck simulation. A couple of other simulations are presented this way later in the episode, though with the expectation that the audience should be able to figure it out, given what they've already seen.
• Internal Deconstruction : Star Trek at this point was about Starfleet officers who were Consummate Professionals at their job and the Federation utopia meant all personal needs were accounted for. Barclay was the first Starfleet character who displayed severe social anxiety where his work suffered as a result. This resulted in the other characters having no frame of reference on how to deal with him, as the very concept of mental health impacting job performance seemed like a foreign concept.
• The Internet Is for Porn : In this case, it's the holodeck, which is being used by Barclay to invoke his various fantasies, including Troi being the Goddess of Empathy and his love interest. Luckily, his fantasies are all safe for network television (what we see of them, anyway).
• Jaw Drop : Troi's reaction upon seeing Barclay's "Goddess of Empathy" simulation of her.
• Jerkass Ball : Riker, Wesley, and Geordi all grab onto it hard in this episode with their childish teasing of Barclay, especially with their nastily referring to him as "Broccoli" . Picard, Guinan, and Data (see Jerkass Realization below) call them out on it, and thankfully Geordi at least learns and starts being kinder to Barclay.
• Jerkass Realization : La Forge, Duffy, and Wesley chuckle over their nickname for Barclay until Data notes that nicknames are supposed to be friendly rather than insulting. That kills all the humor from the joke and makes the others realize they're being dicks. Data: Pardon me, but why is Lieutenant Barclay being referred to clandestinely as a vegetable? (Duffy barely stifles a laugh) Wesley: It's a joke, Data. You know, a nickname. Data: (thinks for a moment) Nicknames generally denote fondness, a diminutive shared between friends. Geordi: Data's absolutely right. The nickname stops here and now. Captain's orders.
• Kicked Upstairs : Subverted. Picard and Riker suspect that Barclay's former CO had given him glowing performance evaluations specifically to bait another captain into requesting him. This turns out to be an unfair assessment. Barclay is indeed a skilled engineer, but has serious issues with anxiety that prevent him from interacting with others properly. Once Picard and Geordi take the time to nurture him, Reg more than comes into his own.
• All three holo-musketeers. Musketeer Picard: (re Geordi, Riker, and Deanna) They are quite disagreeable, aren't they? (draws his sword along with his comrades) Shall we... have at them? Musketeer Data: Deeee-lighted! Musketeer Geordi: We shall thrrrash them!
• Barclay himself is the cock of the walk while he's in the confines of the holodeck. When his fantasy is interrupted, however, he's immediately back to being a Shrinking Violet , in true escapist fashion.
• Look Behind You : Barclay thinks that Musketeer Picard is pulling this trick, until Geordi reveals that he's right behind Barclay .
• Lower-Deck Episode : An early and partial example. The focus of the episode is half on lowly officer Barclay and half on how the main characters deal with him. We also get more time with some of La Forge's otherwise anonymous direct reports.
• Lust Object : Holo-Troi exists purely for Barclay to smooch, especially as the Goddess of Empathy.
• Meaningful Echo : When Guinan tells Geordi about Barclay, she mentions how imaginative he is. Later, after seeing Barclay's choice of holodeck programs, Geordi admits that he appreciates Barclay's imagination. Guinan gives a subtle look of approval.
• Nervous Wreck : At his worst, Barclay is this. Watching him try to be assertive is pretty painful.
• Off-the-Shelf FX : The test cylinder props were actually U.S. Navy sonar buoy transport cases.
• Picard's utterly mortified facial expression when he realizes he's accidentally called Barclay "Broccoli."
• Barclay then has a moment of this when he sees that Geordi has just walked in on one of his holo-programs.
• Other Me Annoys Me : Unlike Geordi, Troi and Riker are not amused by the holographic versions of themselves that Barclay has cooked up. Riker is a pipsqueak, while Troi is "the Goddess of Empathy."
• Out-of-Character Moment : Played for Laughs ; Troi coldly tells her holographic self to "muzzle it."
• Out of Focus : Worf only has five lines in the episode.
• Percussive Therapy : A variation involving swords instead of fists, but it's the same idea as it allows Barclay to vent in private.
• Proscenium Reveal : The episode starts in Ten Forward, where we first meet Barclay. He displays gross insubordination to both La Forge and Riker, who both act like wimps in response, then flirts with Troi, who's been slinking around in a blue dress—then he is called to the cargo bay. His whole demeanor changes as he stands up and says, "Computer, save program."
• Reasonable Authority Figure : Picard becomes the first person we see to give Barclay a chance at succeeding. Rather than pawn him off on someone else (as Riker suspects his previous CO did), Picard orders Geordi to be more patient and friendly with him in hopes of bringing him out of his shell.
• Riddle for the Ages : What do you suppose is on Barclay Program 9, the only one he doesn't delete at the end? (Judging by a conversation between Worf and O'Brien on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine , it's possibly the "Three Musketeers" program.)
• Ron the Death Eater : Happens In-Universe , as the male main crewmembers, especially Riker, are all portrayed as arrogant idiots, whereas the female crewmembers Troi and Crusher are portrayed as loving and gentle figures (although Troi's not very happy to see her holographic counterpart ).
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy : Because Barclay feels like no one wants to be around him, he's always late and nervous. Because Barclay is always late and nervous, no one wants to be around him.
• One of the systems that malfunctions is the flux capacitor . However, in the previous scene, it's referred to as a "flow capacitor," making this either a script error or a flub on Dwight Schultz's part.
• Barclay's middle name is Endicott, a nod to the character of Clayton Endicott III on Benson , played by René Auberjonois , who would later play Odo on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine .
• Shrinking Violet : Barclay has some serious social anxiety. He literally hides from Geordi when first arriving for duty.
• Stealth Pun : That title could also be heard as "holo pursuits."
• Swing Low, Sweet Harriet : Holo-Beverly is on a swing in one of Barclay's programs.
• Take That, Audience! : When it was broadcast, some viewers took this episode as a slap in the face, considering Barclay to be a shallow parody of Star Trek fans. However, Barclay's nuanced characterization (within this debut episode as well as subsequent appearances) wound up winning the crowd.
• Techno Babble : Quite a lot of it when Geordi heads a brainstorming session trying to figure out why the ship is malfunctioning.
• Teleporter Accident : One of the rare times when nobody gets hurt—just a piece of metal gets melted. When reconfiguring transporters, it's apparently standard procedure to beam chunks of metal from pad to pad to check for such problems. (Better than testing it on the nearest Red Shirt .)
• That Came Out Wrong : "I look forward to reading your report, Mr. Broccoli." Poor Barclay can't get out of that meeting fast enough, and Picard clearly feels like a total jackass for that little flub.
• There Are No Therapists : For all the posturing the Federation does about tolerance and progressiveness, their stance on mental health is somewhat lacking as shown by how many of the Enterprise's command staff are willing to pawn Barclay onto another crew and be rid of him rather than address the root of the problem. Downplayed since they (other than Troi, of course) aren't therapists and their main responsibility is to keep the ship running smoothly.
• Subsequent episodes show there are in fact regulations against basing holodeck characters off of real people without their consent, so either that's a Retcon or further legislation was eventually passed In-Universe.
• This Is Gonna Suck : When Riker goes to the holodeck to deal with Barclay, Geordi knows that he won't like what he sees and invites Deanna to come along.
• Riker doesn't raise his voice at all during the episode, but he radiates cold fury anytime he's near Barclay or in Barclay's holo-program.
• Deanna is just as coldly furious at Barclay after meeting the Goddess of Empathy. Deanna: We have a lot to talk about, Mr. Barclay.
• Twist Ending : Mildly. Barclay telling the crew of the Enterprise that he's feeling better about himself and no longer needs their support. Turns out he's telling their holodeck versions that he doesn't need them anymore.
• Warm Milk Helps You Sleep : Barclay's drink. Guinan says this word-for-word when Geordi chuckles at it. Guinan: Warm milk helps you sleep, LaForge . You should try it.
• Whoopi Epiphany Speech : Guinan gives one to Geordi on how best to work with Barclay. Guinan: The idea of fitting in just... repels me. Geordi: Maybe I didn't make myself clear. Barclay, he's always late, he's nervous, nobody wants to be around him. Guinan: If I had the feeling that nobody wanted to be around me, I'd probably be late and nervous too.
• You Look Familiar : In-Universe —Riker's doppelganger says he has a "familiar bearing" upon meeting the real deal.
• Star Trek: The Next Generation S3E20 "Tin Man"
• Recap/Star Trek: The Next Generation
• Star Trek: The Next Generation S3E22 "The Most Toys"

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Dwight Schultz

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