I mean, it wasn't exactly as earth-shattering or as hard-hitting as it might
have been, but it wasn't as awful as it might have been either. But that can
wait. Now, here's a synopsis for your reading pleasure:
The Enterprise has picked up some supplies for use in ending a plague. Unfor-
tunately, the antigrav unit that's been carrying them starts spontaneously
failing. Geordi calls in the expert in diagnostic engineering--Reginald
Barclay. Now, old Reg needs a bit of diagnostics himself. He's always late,
always nervous, nobody can stand to be in the same room with him, and doesn't
seem to be doing a very good job. He IS, however, leading a very rich fantasy
life in the holodeck. (In fact, the show begins with a sequence on the holo-
deck, involving Reg punching out both Geordi and Riker. We see other ones
later in the program.) Riker and Geordi, seeing only his existence AS a prob-
lem, not his existence with problems, talk to Picard about a possible transfer.
Picard's not very sympathetic, and orders Geordi to "make him your best
friend", and try to help him rather than handing him over to someone else.
Guinan's not too sympathetic either, when Geordi comes into 10-Forward to dis-
cuss it with her. Geordi tries to get closer to Barclay, but doesn't have that
much in the way of success. Barclay ends up retreating further into his fanta-
sy life, this time seducing Troi in her guise as "the goddess of empathy".
Meanwhile, more things are going wrong on board the ship. A glass mysteriously
develops a hole. Transporter #3 starts malfunctioning, turning perfectly good
duranium canisters into piles of slag. Geordi puts Barclay on running a com-
plete diagnostic run over all the ship, and they and Data consider the possi-
bility of a connection between the two. Much of Barclay's progress is spoilt,
however, when Picard accidentally uses the nickname Wesley invented for him,
and dismisses "Mr. Broccoli". (Gee...does that mean he's never in danger of
being eaten by George Bush?)
Much of what follows can be summed up quickly. Geordi walks in on Barclay
during one of his holodeck sequences (this one involving swordplay with Picard,
Data, and Geordi as the Three Musketeers), and refers him to Deanna. This
session proves unfruitful, to say the least, and later Geordi, Riker, and Troi
all walk in on him. (Geez...doesn't anybody KNOCK on this starship?) This
time, Riker gets a little annoyed at the caricature of him that Barclay has
created, and Troi gets very steamed at the "goddess of empathy". (I believe
her exact words were, "Muzzle it.") They bring Barclay out and send him along
to Engineering with Geordi.
As you might expect, Barclay's role then becomes crucial. The ship's failures
spread to the matter/antimatter injectors, causing runaway warp acceleration.
The engineering team, starting with a suggestion from Barclay, deduce that it's
not a systemic problem: one of the engineers was contaminated with Invidium
when the seals on one of the med-canisters broke, and the spread of the sub-
stance caused all the problems. (This was never known earlier, since the
Federation hasn't used invidium in a century...this race still does.) Every-
thing ends up being fine, and it looks like Barclay is getting over his addic-
tion, as he erases all programs. ("...except--program 9.")
Okey-doke. Now, for some thoughts.
This episode had some appeal, but I can't be sure if it's the appeal that was
originally intended. The argument could quite easily be made (thanks to Mike
Shappe for mentioning it during the show) that Barclay's character was in some
ways a commentary of the really hardcore element of Trek fans, who lead rich
fantasy lives but cannot interact outside of them. (My .sig this week has a
quote from the show that could well describe one of these people.) I can
certainly see the analogy--I know quite a few people who might well map nicely
onto Mr. Barclay. If that's what they had in mind, I think it worked.
If that's not what they had in mind, I'm not sure how well it worked. I was
happy to see that last week's previews were NOT in fact taking place entirely
on the holodeck, which I'd worried about. Beyond that, though, they didn't
tackle the problem of "holaddiction" (sp?) as well as I'd have liked them to.
Barclay's fantasies are primarily seen as "a breach of protocol" (Riker's
words, which I didn't much like--how much have we seen HIM care for proper pro-
tocol?) and are later shown to be dangerous to the ship, but it isn't really
brought out how dangerous the addiction could be to Barclay himself. It also
seemed too easy for him to break the addiction at the end...I'd rather have
seen some indication that he was getting help for it and hoping one day to beat
it.
For once, the problem with the Enterprise was reasonably well handled. I ac-
tually hadn't figured out that it could be something transmitted by one person,
but I didn't see it as coming from way out in left field, either. Also, for
once, they mentioned the idea of saucer separation. It wasn't feasible, but at
least they realize it's still out there. I might have liked to see exactly how
fast the Enterprise actually got going before they managed to shut down,
though: just how close to Warp 10 DID they get?
Dwight Schultz did a damn good job as Barclay. He had to, in effect, play two
roles: one as the shy, unassuming "real" Barclay, and one as the more confi-
dent "fantasy" Barclay, and he did so quite convincingly. It almost made me
forget that he got his start on "The A-Team".
Other miscellaneous good points:
--O'Brien had more than two lines. GIVE HIM A FIRST NAME ALREADY!!! :-)
--It was nice seeing more of the people working in Engineering. Now if we
could just see more of Medical, all would be well.
Some bad points:
--I was not particularly thrilled to see as many fantasy scenes involving our
characters as were present. I did not sit down in front of my television this
evening with the purpose of seeing Marina Sirtis say, "Muzzle it."
--Picard would never, never, NEVER slip as badly as he did in calling Barclay
"Broccoli". This is a man, after all, who got right, syllable by slithering
syllable, the Jarada greeting. Very, very sloppy.
--We saw very little of about half of the regulars this go-round. We saw no-
thing of Bev beyond her two holodeck recreations (being cast as the mother-
figure, of course), and I think Worf had one, maybe two lines, and did NOT
appear in the holodeck sequences. (Not too surprising, considering what
Worf might be liable to do to Barclay when/if he discovered it.)
Well, that about wraps it up for God--whoops! Wrong story. :-) It appears
that only the ratings remain to be given.
Plot: 9. The problem with the Enterprise gets a 9, as does the addiction.
Plot Handling: 7. Again, the Enterprise gets a 9, but this time the addiction
only gets a 5.
Characterization: 7. Excellent work on Barclay, but a bit lackluster on the
regulars.
Technical: 7.5. The invidium was a nice touch, but considering we had a show
centering primarily on Engineering, the lack of detail was annoying.
TOTAL: 30.5/4---> 7.6. Better than "Tin Man", but not a must-see.
NEXT WEEK:
Data's captured by an alien. Will he survive? What do YOU think?
Tim Lynch (Cornell's first Astronomy Major)
BITNET: H52Y@CRNLVAX5
INTERNET: H5...@VAX5.CIT.CORNELL.EDU
UUCP: ...!rochester!cornell!vax5.cit.cornell.edu!h52y
"I mean, I _am_ the guy who writes down things to remember to say when there's
a party, and then when he fnally gets there, he winds up alone, in the corner,
trying to look comfortable examining a potted plant."
--Lt. Reginald Barclay
=No responsiblity! NONE!!
[stuff deleted]
=seem to be doing a very good job. He IS, however, leading a very rich fantasy
=life in the holodeck. (In fact, the show begins with a sequence on the holo-
=deck, involving Reg punching out both Geordi and Riker. We see other ones
=later in the program.) Riker and Geordi, seeing only his existence AS a prob-
:
.[stuff]
=
=much in the way of success. Barclay ends up retreating further into his fanta-
=sy life, this time seducing Troi in her guise as "the goddess of empathy".
=
=[more stuff deleted]
=bility of a connection between the two. Much of Barclay's progress is spoilt,
=however, when Picard accidentally uses the nickname Wesley invented for him,
=and dismisses "Mr. Broccoli". (Gee...does that mean he's never in danger of
=being eaten by George Bush?)
=
=Much of what follows can be summed up quickly. Geordi walks in on Barclay
=during one of his holodeck sequences (this one involving swordplay with Picard,
=Data, and Geordi as the Three Musketeers), and refers him to Deanna. This
=session proves unfruitful, to say the least, and later Geordi, Riker, and Troi
=all walk in on him. (Geez...doesn't anybody KNOCK on this starship?) This
=time, Riker gets a little annoyed at the caricature of him that Barclay has
=created, and Troi gets very steamed at the "goddess of empathy". (I believe
=her exact words were, "Muzzle it.") They bring Barclay out and send him along
=to Engineering with Geordi.
=
=[more stuff deleted]
=This episode had some appeal, but I can't be sure if it's the appeal that was
=originally intended. The argument could quite easily be made (thanks to Mike
=Shappe for mentioning it during the show) that Barclay's character was in some
=ways a commentary of the really hardcore element of Trek fans, who lead rich
=fantasy lives but cannot interact outside of them. (My .sig this week has a
=quote from the show that could well describe one of these people.) I can
=certainly see the analogy--I know quite a few people who might well map nicely
=onto Mr. Barclay. If that's what they had in mind, I think it worked.
=
=If that's not what they had in mind, I'm not sure how well it worked. I was
=happy to see that last week's previews were NOT in fact taking place entirely
=on the holodeck, which I'd worried about. Beyond that, though, they didn't
=tackle the problem of "holaddiction" (sp?) as well as I'd have liked them to.
=Barclay's fantasies are primarily seen as "a breach of protocol" (Riker's
=words, which I didn't much like--how much have we seen HIM care for proper pro-
=tocol?) and are later shown to be dangerous to the ship, but it isn't really
=brought out how dangerous the addiction could be to Barclay himself. It also
=seemed too easy for him to break the addiction at the end...I'd rather have
=seen some indication that he was getting help for it and hoping one day to beat
=it.
=
=--I was not particularly thrilled to see as many fantasy scenes involving our
=characters as were present. I did not sit down in front of my television this
=evening with the purpose of seeing Marina Sirtis say, "Muzzle it."
=
=[more stuff]
=Tim Lynch (Cornell's first Astronomy Major)
=BITNET: H52Y@CRNLVAX5
=INTERNET: H5...@VAX5.CIT.CORNELL.EDU
=UUCP: ...!rochester!cornell!vax5.cit.cornell.edu!h52y
="I mean, I _am_ the guy who writes down things to remember to say when there's
=a party, and then when he fnally gets there, he winds up alone, in the corner,
=trying to look comfortable examining a potted plant."
= --Lt. Reginald Barclay
The above quote hit me right away in the show. This is the line of a person
who is shy to the point of pain. One who is not very socially mature because
their shyness litterally gets in the way. It takes a very special person
whose sense of identity is very strong to be able to have the patience to
get through the shell that shy people erect around themselves.
When you have a shy person who is very bright and imaginative, the only way
some of these folks have to express their frustrations is to retreat into
fantasy. The show did an admirable job in this respect of showing how
using the technology could lead to a possibly uncontrollable abuse by
someone who found reality painfull. This could also be extended to those
who suffer from depression, etc..., but Barclay was SHY!!! As he was helped
to recognize and compensate for a facet of his personality that had caused
him to retreat to the holo-deck's fantasy land, he was able to see how that
retreat was hindering his real job and social development, and was then able
to begin the process of cutting the rope of his dependency.
FLAME SHIELD FOLLOWS:
Shyness is not a disease, it is not a bad thing. In fact shyness has probably
inspired some of our greatest artists, writers, etc. However, in this world
mankind is a social animal, and shy people have a hard time learning to be
around generally egocentric people who don't take the time to understand,
but rather ridicule that which they don't understand. It is our resposibility
to take the time to understand and adjust to those who have learned to raise
sheilds to hide behind because of the pain suffered through life.
I'm not perfect and this sermonette is pointed at me more than anyone else,
but isn't this what the startrek universe is supposed to be about?
Tolerance, understanding, patience towards others? IDIC..
Ciao,
--
Robert Knighton | Disclaimer: <insert standard one here>
knig...@oswego.oswego.edu | Beat Murphy at his own game:
rutgers!sunybcs!oswego!knighton | Speculate!! Then use Occam's razor.
| <Just don't let Murphy near the blade!> (:^)
>
> The engineering team, starting with a suggestion from Barclay, deduce that it's
> not a systemic problem: one of the engineers was contaminated with Invidium
> when the seals on one of the med-canisters broke, and the spread of the sub-
> stance caused all the problems. (This was never known earlier, since the
> Federation hasn't used invidium in a century...this race still does.) Every-
> thing ends up being fine, and it looks like Barclay is getting over his addic-
> tion, as he erases all programs. ("...except--program 9.")
>
Invidium? Iridium, sure, but Invidium certainly refers to a
conquering race known as the Invid, from the anime show "Super
Dimension Calvary Southern Cross- Mospeada", otherwise incorporated
into the story line of "Robotech".
I've been waiting to see another anime reference... By the way, the
Dirty Pair embroidered jackets that were done m
by Rich Sternbach
(head art guy) came out *excellent*! Even better than the
Lum*Urusei Yatsura jacket he did earlier.
Mata ne da-cha
--
Mark Newton-John
(ames att sun)!pacbell! \ Sakura-mendo, CA
ucdavis!csusac! - sactoh0!mfolivo
uunet!mmsac! / the good guys!
Sorry to have to point this out, but you're confused on those names. You've
crossed "Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross" with
"Genesis Climber Mospeada."
"I live in freedom
under my own flag."
-Captain Harlock, "My Youth in Arcadia"
When Geordi barged in on Barckley the first time, I couldn't believe it....
That's just plain RUDE...
The second time that Troi, Riker and Geordi walked in on him was completely
understandable since he wasn't responding to his page...
I like this episode a lot ... holoaddication.
*<*<*<*<*<*<*<*<*<*<*<*<*<*<*<*<*<*<*<*<*<*<*<*<*<*<*<*<*<*<*<*<*<*<*<*
* Susan Wade __. . . __. .__. . . CSNET: su...@wpi.wpi.edu *
* *>*>*>*>*> (__ | | (__ |__| | \ | BITNET: su...@wpi.bitnet *
* <*<*<*<*<* .__) |__| .__) | | | \| I will not go quietly..... *
*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*>*
Yes, and this isn't the first time we've seen this, ummm,
"incredible lightness of being" in a crisis. In "The Hunted",
when Roga Danar was running around, armed, planting bombs,
mucking about in Jeffries tubes and creating general havoc, we
saw Worf and his pitiful security team plodding along like they
were heading up to Ten Forward for drinks.
I don't get it. With fifteen minutes left until destruction, Geordi was
more urgent than when they had only three minutes left.
Still, the episode was entertaining. The Enterprise was making a
milk run, as usual... but then I can always watch my tape of "Tim
Man" again.
the cargo hold rather than running, for example. I'd also like to
think that
Troi would be able to deal better with somebody fantasizing about her, but
it was pretty funny.
I would think that Troi would have picked up on his feelings for her
during their "interested meeting." Sheesh, you don't have to be a 1/10
Betazoid female to tell he had the hots for her.
--
This is not a .signature line... Eric Salituro @ Rice University
Houston TX 77251-1892
(713) 527-8101 x2474
Life is like a metaphor. INTERNET: wa...@rice.edu
--
_
Kevin D. Quitt Manager, Software Development
DeMott Electronics Co. VOICE (818) 988-4975
14707 Keswick St. FAX (818) 997-1190
Van Nuys, CA 91405-1266 MODEM (818) 997-4496 Telebit PEP last
34 12 N 118 27 W srhqla!demott!kdq k...@demott.com
96.37% of the people who use statistics in arguments make them up.
I've always respected Dwight Schultz acting ability, and it doesn't surprise
me at all that he could pull off Barclay. Even when on the A-Team, he was
able to cover several different types of roles fairly believably (if anything
on the A-Team can be considered believable :-).
>--O'Brien had more than two lines. GIVE HIM A FIRST NAME ALREADY!!! :-)
You mean "Cheif" isn't his first name? :-)
>--It was nice seeing more of the people working in Engineering. Now if we
>could just see more of Medical, all would be well.
I wonder how many of these people will still be there in later episodes.
I note that the female engineer introduced several episodes earlier wasn't
anywhere to be seen (different shift?).
>--We saw very little of about half of the regulars this go-round. We saw no-
>thing of Bev beyond her two holodeck recreations (being cast as the mother-
>figure, of course), and I think Worf had one, maybe two lines, and did NOT
>appear in the holodeck sequences. (Not too surprising, considering what
>Worf might be liable to do to Barclay when/if he discovered it.)
Um, just for the record (and I'm sure you *really* couldn't care), but Bev
(in uniform) and Worf were there on the Holodeck. The farewell scene to
the bridge.
Mark Runyan {r.a.s. random rationalizer}
Sorta like newsgroupaddiction ;^)
--
Dale Shaver, Unify Technical Support Phone: (916) 922-1177, x 733
d...@unify.UUCP Fax: (916) 920-5306
{{ucdavis,csun,lll-crg}!csusac,pyramid,sequent}!unify!dxs
Opinions expressed herein are mine alone; Facts, however, is facts
>You mean "Cheif" isn't his first name? :-)
Actually his first name is Kip, I believe. This is what Dr. Pulaski
called him in some second season episode where she actually used the
transporter.
If this were the case, just have the holodeck simulate a ship on which
you are captain, and use the holdeck on that ship. I agree, though, that
doors on the ship should be lockable, but with override capabaility.
At the very least the holodeck MUST announce that someone is entering
your simulation before it allows them in. Thus you will not mistake
them for a holoperson and start beating them up (Worf).
Isn't the holodeck the main recreation area for people off duty? Why
aren't there lines (like a schedule) for their use? On a show like this
one some of these questions should be answered! It would certainly add
a touch of realism to see some of the protocols involved.
--
Bill <bo...@cs.purdue.edu> |
If my original conjecture is valid (lockable by request, override by
suitable personnel, then the announcement would probably follow similar
lines. After all, the holodeck will keep people from getting hurt.
> Isn't the holodeck the main recreation area for people off duty?
Considering how much energy they use, I'd guess that their use was
restricted to higher-ranking personnel, and by special request. There
are large (static) gaming areas and communal eating areas that are much
lower in energy consumption - probably where someone with a family would
spend most of their off-time; with the holodeck being an occasional,
special treat.
> Why
> aren't there lines (like a schedule) for their use?
Probably there is, or since most people either aren't allowed to use
them or prefer other entertainments, they're not really that much used.
Seem reasonable?
kdq
Doesn't fly. Just how much energy do they use? If they weren't a practical
form of recreation, why bother to have them? Their only justification for
existence is as a tool to keep the ENTIRE crew happy. You have had a crumy
day at work, so gather up a few friends and hit the holodeck for a game of
beach volleyball. It is the perfect device to keep the crew fresh on a long
journey and make shorleaves less frequently needed. You make it sound like
an officer's club.
Besides, Barkley is not a very high ranking officer and he practically
lives there! In early episodes Wesley hung out there.
>> Why
>> aren't there lines (like a schedule) for their use?
>
> Probably there is, or since most people either aren't allowed to use
>them or prefer other entertainments, they're not really that much used.
>Seem reasonable?
Hardly. If there are lines, show them. Instead they portray the holodecks
as being always empty, like no one wants to use them. Wouldn't you want to
use it? Where are all the rest of the people on the ship? Do the special
effects cost so much they can't afford to pay a few extras to add some
realism?
--
Bill <bo...@cs.purdue.edu> I did not want to, but he had a gun, so I did anyway!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I _DON'T_ live for the leap!
>I thought Geordi did? I know that when he and troi and ryker went to the
>holodeck, ryker walked over and pushed some pads on the panel outside the
>holodeck door before entering. I thought Geordi did too, but I will have to
>watch again next week to be sure. Anyone else see if he did or not?
I noticed that Geordi did as well, and I also wondered the same thing. It
seemed weird because just a few minutes later, Geordi said to [Name forgotten
but the main guy of that episode] "...what you do in the holodeck is your
own business..." I don't know why Geordi would've then entered the holodeck
without asking for permission.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
___====-_ _-====___ jjho...@vela.acs.oakland.edu
Jim Hoxsey _--~~~#####// \\#####~~~--_
a.k.a. _-~##########// ( ) \\##########~-_ <--- His name's Puff...
Skyfire -############// :\^^/: \\############-
_~############// (@::@) \\############~_
Nobody ~#############(( \\// ))#############~
Important -###############\\ (oo) //###############-
-#################\\ / "" \ //#################-
-###################\\/ \//###################-
_#/:##########/\######( /\ )######/\##########:\#_
:/ :#/\#/\#/\/ \#/\##\ : : /##/\#/ \/\#/\#/\#: \:
" :/ V V " V \#\: : : :/#/ V " V V \: "
" " " " \ : : : : / " " " "
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just to rag, the above picture was obtain from dungeon.umd.edu.
This entire picture is below:
___====-_ _-====___
_--~~~#####// \\#####~~~--_
_-~##########// ( ) \\##########~-_
-############// :\^^/: \\############-
_~############// (@::@) \\############~_
~#############(( \\// ))#############~
-###############\\ (oo) //###############-
-#################\\ / "" \ //#################-
-###################\\/ \//###################-
_#/:##########/\######( /\ )######/\##########:\#_
:/ :#/\#/\#/\/ \#/\##\ : : /##/\#/ \/\#/\#/\#: \:
" :/ V V " V \#\: : : :/#/ V " V V \: "
" " " / : : : : \ " " " "
( : : : : )
__\ : : : : /__
(vvv(VVV)(VVV)vvv)
* Graphics obtained from dungeon.umd.edu *
--
Briareos Hecatonchires | 'If you stand for what you believe in,
Olympus Police Headquarters | If you find the strength to do what's right,
hig...@wam.umd.edu | That's TURTLE POWER!'
hig...@eng.umd.edu |------------------------*Ickimas* - Nagisa----
This month's issue of STARLOG interviews the Chief. He himself says that his
character, as of yet, does not have a first name on the show.
--
_ _ ' "Excuse me, sir. Yes you! Would you fill it up
| \ | \ ' with Premium and check under the hood?" - TWIGGY
|_/igitized |_/ave ' "Sssuure. You, uh, want I should, uh, wash the
' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' dead bugs off your windshield'" - ELWOOD BLUES
David J Mulligan Jr ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '
csco...@uoft02.bitnet ' "2 bits, 4 bits, 6 bits, a peso. All for Zorro,
csco...@uoft02.utoledo.edu ' stand up and says so!" - Zorro, The Gay Blade
"Go away, or I'll wake up the guard dog!"
Weeeeellll, that's stretching it, I think. Actually, if it was a
reference, it certainly came from "Mospeada" (from the aforementioned
"Robotech"), but I can't remember if "Invid" was used (in Mospeada)...
***POSSIBLE SPOILER FROM "The Most Toys" ******
>I've been waiting to see another anime reference...
OK, here's one. On the floor of the Trader Ship's shuttle bay, there
is some writing. Upon casual examination, it appears to be Kanji
(I didn't get a chance to look closely...couldn't read it anyway... :-)).
ANYONE KNOWS WHAT THE WRITING SAYS???
>By the way, the Dirty Pair embroidered jackets that were done by
>Rich Sternbach (head art guy) came out *excellent*! Even better than the
>Lum*Urusei Yatsura jacket he did earlier.
Love to see them some time!
>Mata ne da-cha
> Mark Newton-John
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alan Takahashi ! hplabs amdahl
Northern Telecom Inc. ! \ /
Mountain View, CA !UUCP: ...!{-----}!ntmtv!takahash
! |
"When you need to knock on wood is when ! ames
you realize the world's composed of !INTERNET:
aluminum and vinyl." -- Flugg's Law ! ntmtv!taka...@ames.arc.nasa.gov
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yuppers, the Invid were the Invid in both.
Emru Townsend
Signoff still under construction...
I could have sworn I heard Picard call him "Colm", which is the actor's
first name.... I have no idea what episode it was in, might have been
in 'captain's holiday'... it was a more recent episode (3rd season)...
maybe we should start a "Give O'Brien a First Name Contest"???
-r