3.21 — “Hollow Pursuits”
Plot: Reginald Barclay, a Lieutenant serving under La Forge in Engineering, is having attendance problems due to his extravagant use of the Holodeck. He uses it to create simulations of his fellow officers and devise scenarios in which they are forced to recognize his mastery and sex appeal. After Barclay’s efficiency in tackling his real world duties is called into question, he is sent for counseling to Troi, who is unaware Barclay has already spent hours with her Holodeck double. Soon a real emergency arises, and it is up to the Engineering team, and Barclay, to save the ship.
Thoughts: I feel like a party pooper on this one. I’m not crazy about it. I appreciate TNG’s impulse to take risks on different kinds of stories. It’s a hoot to see Dwight Schulz, who played “Howlin’ Mad” Murdock on The A Team (1983-1987), play a prominent character in Star Trek. At this point in life, however, I’m much closer to Geordi’s station than Barclay’s, and my sympathies run with Geordi in this episode.
In fact, I agree with Riker (gulp): this man is not fit to serve and should be reassigned. The absenteeism/lateness, combined with an inability to articulate his thoughts to his commanding officer, tip the balance. Everyone is entitled to an off day, but we are led to believe this is part of a larger pattern.
I don’t, however, see why this should excuse La Forge and Riker for being jerks. When La Forge says “I can barely tolerate being in the same room with him,” that’s a problem. Maybe La Forge had a hand in creating the behavior?
The episode raises interesting questions about privacy. I wonder if it feels different now than it would have on its first airing in 1990, when screen time was comparatively limited and video game/Internet addiction was not such a wide phenomenon. Barclay’s problem seems contemporary; plenty of people now seem to relate better to simulations than real life.
Should users be allowed to create the likenesses of real people on the Holodeck without their consent? I have doubts. First off, the persons involved should be entitled to royalties for the use of their likenesses, and many (or most) may prefer to veto this activity. This could cause real world problems. What if Barclay’s use of the Holodeck causes him to work himself up to the point where he assaults Troi in the real life? Imagination, fantasy, and narrative are very powerful forces, especially when magnified by the power of the Holodeck.
This episode gives us a peek into Troi’s professional therapy technique. I look forward to Randi’s assessment.
I get chills whenever the officers ask the computer to reveal the whereabouts of an officer on board. Don’t get me started about Geordi and others walking in on Barclay’s Holodeck simulation without his knowledge or consent. Is there no privacy? How about a feature that suspends/blacks out the program when another person enters? I understand that privacy may be diminished when you are serving on a quasi-military vessel, but the tools for invading privacy here seem to go well beyond what people are currently used to. That is, it’s one thing to say your commanding officers have the right to know everything about you when their tools for surveillance are relatively weak; quite another in this situation.
This episode tends to reinforce the idea that Troi and Beverly Crusher are there to be seen as sex objects. The scene where Troi encounters the simulation of herself was serious mishandled, IMHO, by making Troi the butt of the joke, as well as giving her a new opportunity to be objectified by Riker, La Forge, and Barclay. This makes me wonder, what does Marina Sirtis think of this episode? On the one hand, she gets a fair amount of screen time and some new costumes to wear, on the other the episode doesn’t do a lot to enhance the dignity of her character.
A run of good costumes for Guinan falters here with a getup about which sunny jim says: “It looks like she’s wearing a Cheeto.”
Seeing the bridge crew as the Three Musketeers (plus a fourth, just like in Dumas) is amusing. According to Memory Alpha, Barclay will return for 4 more TNG episodes, 6 episodes of VOY, and an appearance in Star Trek: First Contact (1996).
I don’t love it, but I can’t say the episode isn’t thought provoking.
3 of 5 characters inspired by Walter Mitty.
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