Pathfinder

Barkley is a connection to TNG and is pretty much the same sad figure he always was. But he has technical competence and he knows how to get communications with Voyager. He is such a weird figure with some really dicey sexuality issues, and so when we see him sidling up to his holographic women, it gives one the creeps. I don't enjoy having characters from past series show up in newer series. I have to say it was sort of boring with a "hopeful" but predictable ending.

Barclay from TNG is trying to contact voyager using his theory of micro singularities to form 2 way instantaneous audio. The episode gets going after the scenes with him and Troy (also from TNG) so I advise to keep going. She's acting as a councillor and friend to him to get him to open up as he recounts the main events of the episode after the fact.

Now we all who have seen TNG know what Barclay is like, a physics genius but somewhere on the spectrum and not able to maintain social relationships well. If he annoys you he annoys you, maybe skip to about half way through and you'll get all the really good stuff.

The end though.......

This one literally had me choking up at the end, lump in throat and tears in eyes. Shows don't do that to me often :') Admiral Paris is a great character I hope I see more of him but kinda doubt it lol

It's always great to see stuttering, socially awkward Reg Barclay in an episode.

Unfortunately, the forced character motivations hamstring the episode and keep it from becoming a really quality Voyager outing. Barclay has become obsessed with Voyager's plight (perhaps because they are stranded alone in the Delta quadrant, and he is stranded alone inside his hopelessly cringey social ineptness). He has developed a theoretical method of creating a singularity and using it to establish 2-way communications with Voyager. But his commanding officer, who otherwise seems patient and rational, refuses to allow Barclay to test this theory, or even to recommend it to higher-ups in Starfleet.

The burning question when watching this episode is then: WHY? Why wouldn't they let Barclay try? By all accounts throughout the story, there is absolutely no ramifications to trying... except to reach the stranded Voyager and finally establish full comms with them. One, of course, knows why this stubbornness exists.... to create drama as artificial as Barclay's wormhole! To make him struggle and finally prevail.... over nothing, really.

This really makes what is a watershed moment in the show a, well, a hollow pursuit.

Reg Barclay tries to establish contact with Voyager and encounters resistance from the Starfleet chain of command.

Barclay and Deanna Troi are the main focus as he fights to get his idea recognised and suffers multiple setbacks that require the emotional support of his Betazoid friend.

The plot is somewhat frustrating, but when we conclude, there is a particularly uplifting feel-good moment worth all the effort to reach.

Dwight Schultz is as howlingly mad as ever playing a man who is either going insane or on his way to greatness. It's nice to see Marina Sirtis, but you feel she's there to hook the TNG fans.

This is an interesting perspective on Voyager's predicament from the other side of the galaxy, with one word of warning: see my review's title.

If you have kept with my reviews I tend to not tow the line with the rest. That is, episodes others say are the best, I cannot stand, and certain episodes people hate (The Thaw, for example) I love.

This one is the best I have ever seen, and I have seen them all up to now. This episode embodies everything that made me love Star Trek TNG, and Deep Space Nine. It uses an old character in a very appropriate way and even brings back his faults in a great way.

The resolution is excellent and I would watch this episode over and over again. If only the whole series had this kind of writing.