When I first discovered and fell in love with Star Trek, I wasn't exactly on board with Star Trek: The Next Generation until season 3, when Brent Spiner's Data finally drew me in. At the time, I was living in a small town in Western NY and felt out of step and out of place with the rest of the world. Back then, people weren't as aware of anxiety disorders as they are now, so as a Star Trek fan, the introduction of the character Reginald Barclay resonated with me in a way few fictional characters had in the past. Today, he still stands out as one of my favorite Star Trek characters, so let's take a look at why he continues to represent those of us who interact with the world a little bit differently.
Introducing Reginald Barclay
Viewers of Star Trek: The Next Generation (myself included,) got their first introduction to Lieutenant (JG) Barclay in season 3, episode 21, "Hollow Pursuits." He comes across as anxious and socially awkward, which makes him the butt of several jokes, including other crew members nicknaming him "Broccoli." (This leads to an interaction with Picard that, were it me, I would have never recovered and just hurled myself out into space in a photon torpedo casing.) Geordi LaForge is especially frustrated with Barclay, who sees him as lazy and odd. To his credit, he does try to relate to Barclay later on in the episode.
"You can't know."
When LaForge does speak with Barclay in 10-Forward, Barclay tries to explain what it's like to face each day with extreme anxiety over things others might find mundane: Being afraid to forget people's names or how to talk to groups of people at a gathering. When LaForge suggests that Barclay is "just shy," Barclay repeats, "Just shy. Sounds like nothing serious. You can't know." This line still resonates with me to this day, and when I rewatch the episode, it's still an emotional moment. While Barclay's frolics in the holodeck didn't exactly endear him to the crew members he recreated within it, he experienced plenty of character growth during Voyager, where we see a more mature Barclay whose imagination and talents are key in communicating with Voyager when it was trapped in the Delta Quadrant.
Barclay and the Pathfinder project
As a systems diagnostics engineer, Barclay focused on finding ways to communicate with Voyager as it traveled through the Delta Quadrant. He became involved with the Pathfinder Project, working at Starfleet Headquarters' Communications Research Center. Barclay's passion for the project, as well as an unswerving faith in his own ideas, get him into trouble with Admiral Paris and his superior, Commander Harkins. who believes Barclay has suffered some kind of breakdown. However, when Captain Janeway sends a message that reaches the center, his superiors see that Barclay's ideas (with some assistance from Voyager's EMH,) now make communication with the ship and its crew possible.
Exploring mental health issues and the idea of imperfect people in a perfect world (such as the culture onboard Enterprise D, where the crew features so many exceptional people,) was a bold step for the writers at the start of the 1990s. I'm sure there are many other fans out there like myself, who escape into the world of Star Trek as a type of therapy and see a mirror image of themselves in Reginald Barclay as they grapple with anxiety and depressive orders yet strive for daily growth and success. Here's to you, Reg!