Reginald Barclay

Star Trek character|if=|Title = Reginald Barclay
bgcolor = #ccccff
Caption = deletable image-caption----Lieutenant Reginald E. Barclay, III
Species = Human
Gender = Male
Planet = Earth
Affiliation = Starfleet
Posting = USS Zhukov
USS "Enterprise"-D diagnostic technician, systems engineer
USS "Enterprise"-E engineer
Pathfinder Project
Rank = Lieutenant junior grade
Lieutenant
Portrayed = Dwight Schultz

Lieutenant Reginald Endicott "Broccoli" Barclay III, played by Dwight Schultz, is a recurring character in the television series '. He later had a recurring role in the last few seasons of ' where he plays a vital role in re-establishing regular contact with the stranded ship.

Overview

Barclay has characteristics associated with many negative nerd and geek stereotypes. He possesses great technical skill and sincere enthusiasm, but is often held back by his own social awkwardness, and has an obsessive interest in fiction and fantasy. He was terribly shy and insecure, had a tendency to stutter, was fearful of being transported, had a holo-addiction problem, and was a hypochondriac. These shortcomings prompted a young Wesley Crusher to begin referring to Barclay as "Lieutenant Broccoli" behind his back.

"Star Trek: The Next Generation"

Barclay was an occasional character in "The Next Generation" as an engineer, often being used as comic relief. His holo-addiction is first seen in the episode "Hollow Pursuits", in which he creates simulacra of the ship's bridge officers, who are now completely responsive to Barclay's every whim. Being totally unlike their ship-board counterparts, they served to bolster his self-esteem. With encouragement from Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge, however, Barclay redeems himself and helps to uncover the cause of a critical multi-system failure on the "Enterprise"-D in time to avert the ship's destruction.

In the episode "The Nth Degree," Barclay's brain is taken over by an ancient race from the center of the Milky Way galaxy, the Cytherians, radically increasing his intellect. Under their influence, Barclay seizes command of the "Enterprise"-D and brings the ship to a confrontation with the Cytherians, who explain to Picard that they only desire an exchange of information with the Federation. After the exchange, the Cytherians return the "Enterprise"-D to Federation space, leaving Barclay with the memory of his interaction and an enhanced ability in chess.

In the episode "Realm of Fear", Barclay deals with his transporter phobia when assigned to an away team. Though he is capable of allowing himself to be transported, he believes that he sees large worm-like creatures while in transit. When no evidence of a problem is found, Barclay believes himself to be going mad. However, he later discovers that these are actually human survivors trapped inside the transporter beam. With Barclay's help, these people are successfully rescued.

In "", Barclay unwittingly revives a sentient holo-simulation of Sherlock Holmes' arch-foe, Professor James Moriarty (previously seen in "Elementary, Dear Data") while performing holodeck maintenance. This results in Picard, Data and Barclay unknowingly becoming trapped in a Moriarty-created simulation of the "Enterprise" itself, and forced to research a method of making holo-simulations "real" outside of the holodeck through Moriarty's manipulations. When the ruse is discovered, Moriarty and a holographic companion are tricked into a simulation within the simulation, and stored in a computer where they will continue to exist, believing that they have gained freedom from the holodeck.

In "Genesis," Barclay's T-cells have a bizarre reaction to a medicine, creating an airborne virus which causes Barclay to de-evolve into a spider-like ancestral form, and its other victims to also revert to various earlier evolutionary forms, after multiple dormant introns in his body are activated by accident. Upon recovery, the disease is named after him as he was the first person to contract it, and was since known as 'Barclay's Protomorphosis Syndrome'.

"Star Trek: First Contact"

During "First Contact" Barclay remains under Picard's command after the destruction of the "Enterprise"-D in the previous film. When the ship travels back in time to 2063, Lt. Barclay accomplishes one of his lifelong dreams, by simply shaking hands and speaking with Zefram Cochrane.

"Star Trek: Voyager"

Barclay appears as a guest character in "Voyager". Working on Starfleet's "" project, Barclay becomes obsessed with the crew of the lost USS "Voyager", which had been stranded in the Delta Quadrant for about four years. He once again creates simulacra on a holodeck, this time of the "Voyager" crew, but based on facts available to him about their true personalities. For the most part; because he named his cat Neelix, he makes the holodeck Neelix purr. With the help of these holograms and Deanna Troi - with whom he had developed a close friendship - he devises to use a tiny wormhole to establish two-way communication with "Voyager". This plan is initially shot down but Barclay defies direct orders and breaks into the laboratories to successfully make contact. During this incident, Barclary also works through his relapse into holo-addiction, as he reveals to Deanna, he had lost his 'family' after leaving the Enterprise and did not know how to cope except with fake people.

Barclay's work on the Pathfinder project earns him a promotion to full lieutenant (previously he had been a lieutenant junior grade). During this time, a hologram of him was sent to "Voyager" to help them find a way home, but the hologram was altered by Ferengi trying to acquire Seven of Nine's Borg nanoprobes. Barclay and Troi managed to work out what was happening, and Barclay was then able to dupe the Ferengi into abandoning their plan by posing as the hologram and claiming that "Voyager" was more heavily armed than they were.

An alternate future in the "Voyager" series finale "Endgame" shows an older Barclay teaching at Starfleet Academy, with the rank of Commander. By that point, Barclay has long since conquered his negative personal habits and is much more confident and secure of himself. He is present when a transwarp aperture opens near Earth. Correctly deducing that is has been opened by "Voyager", he witnesses the battle that follows with the Borg Sphere and "Voyager's" dramatic return to the Alpha Quadrant.

In other media

Computer game

Barclay appears in the First Person Shooter video game "", where he fills in as Chief Engineer for Geordi La Forge, when La Forge is away on another assignment. Barclay is confident in the game, and even helps the player fight off an attack on the ship's engine room.

Novels

In the novel version of the Mirror Universe created by Diane Duane, Barclay is Captain Picard's personal guard.

Barclay is on guard when his Picard is in a cargo hold discussing matters with the Captain Picard of the Federation universe. Counseler Troi, denied access, kills Barclay. The Federation Picard, in his short stay on the ISS "Enterprise" pretending to be the Empire Picard, seems to have grown to value Barclay as a person with potential, and is furious about Barclay's death.

External links