Hollow Pursuits

'Hollow Pursuits' introduces Reg Barclay, one of the show's more unusual characters. Socially awkward and wracked with nerves, he's easily the ship's misfit. this is a relatable character for anyone having trouble fitting in; his crewmembers can't stand to be around him and would rather just pass him off to another posting. Picard is the moral center of this, pushing Geordi to connect with Barclay and expose his talents. This is really a workplace drama, but a good one.

This one really surprised me. It does mine Barclay's "holodiction" for laughs, but it also ends in a nail-biter of a last-minute save; there's a surprising level of action here for a character piece. Roller-coaster would be a superlative, but it's anything but boring.

9/10

A timid and neurotic member of the Engineering team, Reg Barclay, begins to grate on Geordi's nerves with his unprofessionalism. When the Enterprise is struck by an engineering problem, Barclay is needed more than ever to perform - if only he wasn't busy seeking solace in his unconventional holodeck pastimes.

Schultz becomes an instant legend with his first appearance as Barclay, an extremely nervous character who only comes to life indulging his holodeck fantasies. It works well for this comedy episode, especially as the senior crew discover what their colleague has been doing behind their backs. This episode is purely about having fun and that's exactly what you will do when you watch it.

Dwight Schultz played a recurring character on not just "Star Trek: The Next Generation" but also on "Star Trek Voyager" as well as an appearance in one of the "Star Trek" movies. Lt. Reg Barkley (nicknamed 'Broccoli' by his fellow crew members) was only intended to be in one episode, but apparently he resonated with viewers and writers and in all he had about a dozen appearances.

When the show begins, LaForge and Riker are both uncharacteristically negative about a member of the crew. Both see Lt. Barkley as a lazy and disinterested guy. However, their rush to judgment is premature, as Barkley's real problem is that he's painfully shy--so shy that he always doubts himself and is just about paralyzed by his fears. When LaForge approaches the Captain about transferring Barkley off the ship, the Captain is angry and tells LaForge to make things work with Barkley. If that means befriending him or working closely with him, so be it. So, Barkley is finally given an important assignment--to figure out why one of their transporters keeps malfunctioning. Can Barkley rise to the occasion or is he simply hopeless?

This episode had a lot of funny moments due to Barkely's bad habit of retreating into the holodeck instead of dealing with people. Inside this piece of machinery, Barkely is a studly hero--and the holo images of the Doctor and Counselor are there to cheer him on and lust after his rugged manliness! It's all clever and fun, but also important because in the 24th century you STILL see that folks have prejudices-- as LaForge and several others are surprisingly cruel towards Barkley. So, despite their advances, people are still people. Well worth seeing.

In this episode we meet recurring character Reg Barclay a character who is bullied for being slow by LaForge and the others in engineering

Schultz is a great actor in this episode. He's in a few other episodes as well as one of the movies.

I remember talking to someone when I was in college about this episode and they did a Mr. T. impression "I'm not getting into that transporter foo!" That would have been awesome to see..

But, as a 20 something when this came out, you know darn well that I and any guy watching the show would have thought about doing this very same thing. Enjoying fantasies, perhaps with people they know, maybe in a.... slightly non-g-rated fashion. There's a later episode where it implies Riker does this (the one with the metamorph).

So, I can't condemn his actions, just enjoy the episode.