Reginald Barclay Lieutenant Reginald Endicott Barclay III ( often referred to as " Reg " ) was a highly talented Human Starfleet systems diagnostic engineer who lived in the 24th century . In his early days aboard the " Enterprise " - D , he frequently displayed nervous behavior , demonstrated a noticeable lack of confidence , stammered frequently , was extremely introverted , and occasionally bumbled . These traits aroused the derision of some of his shipmates on the – with some even going as far as calling him " Lieutenant Broccoli " behind his back or , on unfortunate occasions , to his face . Starfleet career . During Barclay ' s attendance at Starfleet Academy , his reclusive tendencies escaped the attentions of neither his classmates nor his service record . Despite this , Barclay graduated and received a commendation by serving competently in Starfleet for many year s . During his service aboard the , he earned satisfactory ratings , and when he transferred to the " Enterprise " - D the " Zhukov " s commanding officer , Captain , spoke highly of Barclay to his new ship ' s crew . ( ) The " Enterprise " - D . Upon his transfer to the " Enterprise " - D in 2366 , Barclay held the rank of lieutenant junior grade . Due to his nervousness and lack of confidence , many members of the " Enterprise " crew initially referred to him as " Lieutenant Broccoli " , a play on the name Barclay , coined by Wesley Crusher . He was initially disliked by members of the crew , not only due to the fact he seemed constantly nervous and on edge , but also because he was routinely late for duty and often wound up on report for seemingly not performing to the best of his ability . As a result , he was the first member of the " Enterprise " crew to be given an ' unsatisfactory ' rating in his evaluation . Riker and La Forge attempted to get him transferred off the ship , not believing he was competent enough to serve on the Federation flagship ( with Riker even suggesting that Captain Gleason had exaggerated his assessment of Barclay to hasten the departure of a troublesome officer ) . Captain Picard , however , refused to simply transfer him away from the ship , and it was because of Picard ' s support and Geordi La Forge ' s encouragement ( at Picard ' s behest ) that Barclay ' s confidence began to increase . ( ) During the first major Borg incursion into the Federation in late 2366 , Barclay worked on repairs with Sherbourne after the " Enterprise " - D crew , in an unsuccessful attempt to destroy the Borg cube , emitted a burst of energy from their ship ' s deflector dish . ( ) As time passed , Barclay slowly grew in confidence and became one of La Forge ' s best engineers . Following an encounter with an alien probe in 2367 , Barclay ' s IQ rose to somewhere between 1200 and 1450 as a result of a neurological enhancement he received from the probe . During the time he possessed this enhanced intellect , Barclay was more confident , outgoing , and sure of himself – even arguing grand unified theories with a holographic representation of Albert Einstein on the holodeck . Barclay was able to use the holodeck to integrate his mind into the ship ' s computer , effectively taking complete control . Unknown to Barclay , the Cytherian s ( the creators of the probe ) set this in motion so that he would bring the " Enterprise " - D to them , as this was their species ' preferred method of investigating new races . All attempts to disconnect or dissuade him were unsuccessful , and he created a subspace distortion that brought the " Enterprise " - D to the Cytherians . After this encounter , Barclay was returned to his previous self , but he did retain a bit of the confidence and intelligence that the experience gave him . ( ) In 2369 , Barclay assisted Alexander Rozhenko with writing a holodeck program of Deadwood , South Dakota in the Ancient West . Barclay included a prostitute and brothel in the simulation ( likely forgetting it was to be a child ' s program ) , which Lieutenant Worf did not appreciate for his son ' s sake . ( ) Later that year , Barclay inadvertently released the holographic representation of Professor from his confines in the computer memory core of the " Enterprise " - D , while conducting a diagnosis of a failure of the holodeck matrix diode s , which turned out to have been caused by Moriarty himself . Upon activation , Moriarty briefly explained his history to Barclay and , realizing that over four years had passed , deduced that Captain Picard had merely promised to research a way for him to live in the real world in order to get him to release a hostage he had taken at the time . Barclay defended Picard , saying the captain would never go back on his word , and promised to report the incident to his superiors , which he did . Barclay , Picard , and Data then reactivated the program to speak to Moriarty , who expressed his desire to leave the holodeck . Barclay proposed using transporter pattern enhancer s to beam Moriarty off the hologrid and into the " real world . " This idea , however , was a ruse by Moriarty to trick the three officers into giving him control of the ship by use of a holographic simulation of the " Enterprise " - D within the Sherlock Holmes program . The failure of the experiment led Data to discover the trickery , and on Captain Picard ' s suggestion he and Barclay managed to create a separate simulation within both programs , thereby fooling Moriarty with his own plan . Thinking he was free , Moriarty relinquished control of the " Enterprise " , allowing Barclay to store his program in an enhancement module , where Morirarty could safely explore the galaxy without causing any further trouble . Barclay , along with the senior staff , later convened in the observation lounge to discuss recent events , and Captain Picard instructed him to keep the module safe . Picard also jokingly wondered if their reality " " might be nothing more than an elaborate simulation being run inside a little device . . . sitting on someone else ' s table , " " which prompted Barclay , after the meeting had concluded , to test the idea by ordering the computer to " end program . " Satisfied his life wasn ' t a simulation when nothing happened , he picked up the module and left as well . ( ) The following year , Barclay had the dubious honor of becoming the eponymous person for a new illness , " Barclay ' s Protomorphosis Syndrome " . He , in common with the rest of the crew , became affected when a treatment for the mild Urodelan flu provided by Doctor Beverly Crusher activated one of Barclay ' s recessive genes , causing him to mutate into a spider - like creature . It was due only to the efforts of Captain Picard and Lieutenant Commander Data that Barclay and the rest of the crew were saved ; as Picard and Data were off the ship when the incident occurred , they were able to develop a retrovirus and release it using the ventilation systems . As Barclay was the first - known patient of the disorder , Dr . Crusher decided to name the newly discovered illness in his honor . ( ) In 2375 , Lieutenant Commander Worf and Chief O ' Brien specifically mentioned that nobody could forget Barclay when remembering old friends on the " Enterprise " . O ' Brien and Worf remembered him most for his extravagant " Three Musketeers " program that he often invited the crew to join him in . ( ) Jupiter Station . Sometime prior to 2371 , Barclay transferred to Jupiter Station and worked as part of the original holo - engineering team in Dr . Lewis Zimmerman ' s holographic lab oratory , assigned to test the Emergency Medical Hologram ' s interpersonal skills . ( ) Sometime between 2371 and 2376 , Barclay was promoted from lieutenant junior grade to lieutenant . ( ) The " Enterprise " - E . Barclay was assigned to the new before the Battle of Sector 001 in 2373 . He traveled into the past with the rest of the ship ' s crew to the day before Earth ' s First Contact with the Vulcan s and met the noted inventor Dr . Zefram Cochrane . Barclay was thrilled at the opportunity to shake Cochrane ' s hand , so much so , in fact , that Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge found himself having to remind Barclay to calm down and continue his work , helping Cochrane repair the " Phoenix " . Barclay also obtained La Forge ' s approval and input on a makeshift component that Barclay and other engineers from the " Enterprise " - E intended to use to replace the " Phoenix " s warp plasma conduit . ( ) The Pathfinder Project . In 2374 , Barclay was transferred to the Pathfinder Project at Starfleet ' s Communications Research Center , endeavoring to return the starship to the Alpha Quadrant from the distant Delta Quadrant . As a result , Barclay relocated to Earth and kept an apartment in San Francisco . Barclay created a holographic recreation of the vessel and its crew to enable him to experiment with different solutions . Later that year , Barclay , with the assistance of the USS " Voyager " EMH known as The Doctor , devised the idea of using the MIDAS array to direct a tachyon beam towards an approaching class B itinerant pulsar , thus generating an artificial micro - wormhole . This wormhole could then be directed towards " Voyager " s likely locations and used to communicate with the ship . Unfortunately , Commander Peter Harkins turned down his idea as impractical . However , Barclay was unable to contain his enthusiasm during an inspection of the research facility by Admiral Paris . This prompted Harkins to send Barclay home for the rest of the day . Barclay disobeyed and instead returned to his simulation to refine his ideas . When Harkins later discovered him in the simulation , Barclay was suspended pending a psychological evaluation , as the Commander believed Barclay had suffered a relapse of his holo - addiction . Barclay was unable to accept this and appealed to Admiral Paris , then broke into the communications center . He attempted to go forward with his plan , but was discovered . To prevent himself from being interrupted , Barclay activated the holographic recreation of " Voyager " , using the holographic crew to protect and assist him . Just as Harkins used a simulated warp core breach to end the program , Captain Kathryn Janeway hailed the Communications Center from the Delta Quadrant , having received Barclay ' s message . With this ( albeit brief ) two - way communication with the ship , ship ' s logs , research data and a personal message for Tom Paris from his father were able to be transmitted , and Barclay ' s ideas were vindicated . The crew of " Voyager " later toasted their unmet hero who had established the link , honoring Barclay as an honorary member of the crew . ( ) In 2377 , Barclay found a way to use the MIDAS array to transmit a data stream to " Voyager " once a month , allowing Starfleet to send the crew information and letters from home . He later returned to Jupiter Station with " Voyager " s EMH , who had been transmitted to the Alpha Quadrant using the connection . Barclay had informed The Doctor that his creator , Doctor Zimmerman , had been diagnosed with acute subcellular degradation and was dying . Although Zimmerman initially refused The Doctor ' s assistance , Barclay – who had also enlisted the aid of Counselor Deanna Troi – helped The Doctor persuade Zimmerman to realize that The Doctor ' s assistance was the best course of action to save his life . ( ) Later that year , Barclay ( possibly inspired by The Doctor ' s trip to the Alpha Quadrant ) attempted to send a hologram to Voyager in order to assist the crew . This failed when the hologram disappeared , costing " Voyager " ' s crew that month ' s data stream . Barclay later discovered that a romantic acquaintance of his , Leosa , had been using him to gain information on " Voyager " and the Pathfinder project . It turned out the information she had obtained was sold to a group of Ferengi who had used it to alter the holographic program Barclay sent to " Voyager " , with instructions to kill the crew and reprogram the shields to withstand a geodesic fold they had created between the Alpha and Delta Quadrants . Even though their plan was to steal the Borg technology in Seven of Nine ' s body ( which was worth a fortune in latinum ) , Barclay , with the help of Counselor Troi , was able to deceive the Ferengi into abandoning their plan , thereby saving " Voyager " . ( ) In 2378 , Barclay created the first - ever transgalactic com link when he used a quantum singularity to establish daily ( if brief ) real - time contact with " Voyager , " an incredible achievement . Later he informed Admiral Paris that a draft version of the holonovel " Photons Be Free " , written by The Doctor , had been released early , becoming popular in thousands of holosuite s across the Federation . Barclay was present during a hearing to decide The Doctor ' s rights as the creator of the work . ( ) Later that year , Barclay was on duty at the Communications Center when long - range sensors detected a Borg transwarp conduit opening just outside the Sol system . He quickly reported this information to several visiting admirals . When a Borg sphere emerged from the transwarp conduit and exploded to reveal " Voyager " , Barclay was one of the first to welcome the starship ' s crew home . ( ) Medical and psychological record . Barclay suffered from severe transporter phobia , although he later overcame this psychological barrier . ( ) He was also hypochondria c and prone to self - diagnosis ; once , he thought himself to have transporter psychosis , and on another occasion , he believed himself to have Terellian Death Syndrome ( both ultimately untrue ) . ( ) Struggle with holo - addiction . The " Enterprise " - D . Sometime prior to 2366 , Barclay began to suffer from holo - addiction , becoming addicted to the fantasy worlds and stories the holodeck could create . This addiction continued after he transferred to the " Enterprise " - D , and he had a tendency to spend more time inside the holodeck , where he was more confident and comfortable , than in real - life social situations . Unlike in normal holoprograms , Barclay used the likenesses of the " Enterprise " s senior staff to create unusual scenarios in which he was the hero . One of his programs was an exact recreation of the " Enterprise " - D , in which he often argued with and talked back to senior officers without any fear of consequences . In one holodeck session he propelled the holographic representation of Geordi La Forge across Ten Forward and threatened First Officer William Riker , in an attempt to impress the holographic Deanna Troi . Another recreation of Barclay ' s was entitled " Barclay Program 15 " . In this scenario , he engaged in sword fights with " The Three Musketeers " , holograms that resembled Jean - Luc Picard , Geordi La Forge , and Data ; romanced the " Goddess of Empathy " , a representation of Deanna Troi ; and relaxed with a hologram of Beverly Crusher . Barclay had also created an effigy of William Riker that was an extremely short , bumbling swordsman . When Barclay ' s holo - addiction was discovered , Commander Riker was particularly annoyed with him and wanted to delete all programs in which he had used the crew ' s physical appearances . Counselor Troi objected , as it gave them valuable insight into what was troubling Barclay , but upon seeing the " Goddess of Empathy " she became equally angry ( to Riker ' s amusement ; he in turn prevented her from deleting the Goddess for the same reason ) . Barclay managed to overcome his addiction with the help of Geordi La Forge . When the " Enterprise " was in danger of flying herself apart due to an invidium infection of the computer systems , La Forge encouraged Barclay ' s imagination , and it was he who discovered the infection , which led to the situation being controlled . After a few words from La Forge , Barclay returned to the holodeck and deleted all of his holoprograms but one : Barclay Program 9 . The crew soon came to realize he was as important as anyone else on the ship . ( ) Pathfinder . In 2376 Barclay became obsessed with attempts to return " Voyager " from the Delta Quadrant and expressed an interest in becoming involved in the Pathfinder Project . Barclay came dangerously close to suffering a relapse of his holo - addiction later that year , when he used the program that recreated the crew of " Voyager " . Although it began as a tool to test different theories on how to contact the stranded ship , he quickly came to regard the program as another sanctuary , away from the real world . The program was only semi - accurate ; because of his programming , the duplicates of " Voyager " s crew all liked and relied upon him , and treated him as their best friend . He joked with Harry Kim , played poker with the senior staff , enjoyed hoverball with Tom Paris , and assisted B ' Elanna Torres with warp core calibrations . He even got a massage from The Doctor on one occasion . Barclay once told Deanna Troi that he slept better in his holographic quarters than he ever did in his apartment . The fascination with " Voyager " that Barclay had developed , as well as his unauthorized interactions with the holographic crew , expedited his dismissal from the Pathfinder Project . However , once Barclay used the program to prove his theory correct , the time he spent in the " Voyager " simulation dwindled , along with his need for the holodeck . ( ) Personal relationships . Geordi La Forge . Geordi La Forge was initially Barclay ' s superior officer on the " Enterprise " - D . When he first came aboard , La Forge remarked that Barclay was " " always late , never gives his best effort , just slides by . " " After being instructed by Captain Picard to find a way to integrate him into the crew , however , La Forge began to encourage Barclay and praise him for his efforts . On the subject of his holo - addiction , La Forge tried to make Barclay feel as though he could interact with the crew and didn ' t have to confine himself to the holodeck . Barclay once said that he thought La Forge was the most real to him of any of the crew . Eventually , La Forge came to respect him for his technical knowledge and Barclay became a valued part of the " Enterprise " engineering crew . ( ) This cooperation carried over to the " Enterprise " - E , where Barclay continued to serve under La Forge . When the ship traveled back in time to 2063 , Barclay ' s meeting with Zefram Cochrane was supervised by La Forge . ( ) In February 2377 , Barclay attended La Forge ' s birthday party and showed him the specifications for a hologram he planned to send to the in the Delta Quadrant . La Forge told Barclay he was proud of him . ( ) Lewis Zimmerman . Barclay first met Lewis Zimmerman while working on development of the EMH Mark I in 2371 . The two of them later developed a mutual respect , Barclay being instrumental in the forging of Zimmerman ' s friendship with The Doctor . When Zimmerman believed he was reaching the end stage of his terminal illness , he included Barclay in his last will and testament , giving him his collection of holographic art including the " Woman in Four Dimensions " piece . In addition , Zimmerman requested that Starfleet allow Barclay to complete his Trojan Horse Project , as he trusted Barclay to be the only engineer that would get it done . ( ) Deanna Troi . Barclay met Counselor Troi during his time on the " Enterprise " - D and quickly developed an attraction to her , even going as far as to use her image in one of his holoprograms , featuring her as his lover . ( ) Barclay ' s feelings for her soon became merely professional respect , however , and she continued to provide support to him in the form of counseling and friendship . ( ) In 2376 , at Barclay ' s request , she visited him to discuss his feelings about his new assignment at Starfleet ' s Communications Research Center . He opened up to her , noting that work at the CRC was nothing like being on the " Enterprise " , where there was a feeling of family . ( ) As a favor to Barclay , Troi asked Captain Jean - Luc Picard for leave from the " Enterprise " to convince Lewis Zimmerman to accept treatment from " Voyager " s EMH and assisted Barclay with a ruse to disrupt The Doctor ' s programming , saying , " " Traditional therapy wasn ' t getting [ them ] anywhere . " " ( ) In 2377 she again helped Barclay by influencing him to realize that Leosa was using him to gain information on " Voyager " and encouraged him to report it to his superiors . Troi later invited him on a double date with her , Commander Riker , and a real teacher friend of his called Maril as a way for him to get out and meet people . ( ) The Doctor . During a severe malfunction , one of The Doctor ' s recurring delusions was Barclay , who tried to convince him that he was in fact Lewis Zimmerman and that he was trapped in a holographic " Voyager " . In order to end the simulation , " Lewis " had to destroy the warp core . Fortunately , a delusion of Chakotay convinced him otherwise . The Chakotay hallucination claimed that Barclay was part of the team that created him . ( ) Barclay first met the The Doctor when he took him to Jupiter Station to help Dr . Zimmerman , though the two had previously corresponded via the communication system he developed using the MIDAS array . It was Barclay who had informed The Doctor of Zimmerman ' s illness , and it was he who initially convinced him to stay and treat Zimmerman , even when he refused all help . ( ) When " Voyager " received the altered Barclay hologram , The Doctor realized something was wrong with the program , stating that he real Barclay never exhibited rude and careless traits as he had observed in the hologram . ( ) During The Doctor ' s hearing to decide his rights as a hologram Barclay defended him , recounting how he had " " traveled halfway across the galaxy " " to care for Dr . Zimmerman . He compared it to a son showing his " old man " what he had become so he could be proud of him . When it was ruled that The Doctor had the right to control his own work , Barclay congratulated him . ( ) Peter Harkins . Commander Peter Harkins was Barclay ' s superior officer on the Pathfinder Project . He once invited Barclay to dinner with his wife , Angie , and her sister with the aim of setting the sister up with Barclay ; refused , preferring to concentrate on his work . Although he believed Barclay to be a competent engineer , Harkins was skeptical of some of his theories , in part due to Barclay ' s history . When Barclay developed the idea to use the MIDAS array to create an artificial singularity to " Voyager " , Harkins dismissed it as a " cock - eyed theory " that only existed in his head and ordered him to abandon the idea . Determined to prove his theory right , Barclay bypassed Harkins and went straight to Admiral Paris . This caused their previous relationship to deteriorate . Harkins later discovered that Barclay had recreated the " Voyager " crew on the holodeck . He believed he had been a friend to Barclay by allowing him some leeway , but upon finding him there and realizing his past history of holo - addiction , he pulled him off the project and told him to get counseling . Barclay initially followed Harkins ' instructions and went home , where he talked about the situation with Deanna Troi . Later the same night , he decided to disobey Harkins ' orders , breaking into the Pathfinder lab and accessing the MIDAS array in an attempt to prove this theory correct . When Harkins discovered Barclay in the lab , he ordered Security to apprehend him , but Barclay activated the " Voyager " scenario and locked out all holodeck controls . He continued with this plan to send a message to " Voyager " from within the simulation and used the holographic characters to stop the security officers . Harkins eventually managed to apprehend him by initiating a warp core breach in the simulation , forcing Barclay to close it down . Harkins then arrested Barclay for breaking into the lab and using equipment without authorization . But before the security officers could take him away , a message came through from " Voyager " . Barclay ' s plan had worked . Harkins subsequently apologized for doubting him . ( ) After Barclay tried to send his hologram to " Voyager " , he became obsessed with finding the reason why it had failed to reach them , even blaming the Borg and the Romulans for intercepting the message . Harkins ordered him to take a week ' s leave and return when he was more focused and relaxed . Barclay initially objected to the idea , but Harkins forced the issue , reminding him that he was his superior . He did , however , offer to ask his cousin to allow Barclay to stay in a Malaysia n beach house she owned , though Barclay refused , preferring to seek out Deanna Troi ' s help instead . ( ) Cats . Barclay had a deep affection for cats , and they returned this affection . Spot , Data ' s pet cat , found only her owner and the lieutenant to be suitable to her mercurial tastes . ( ) Though Barclay had never physically met Neelix , he named his cat after the Talaxian , suggesting at least some level of respect or admiration . He even programmed his simulation of " Voyager " to have the Talaxian purr . ( ) Romances . Barclay had a series of unsuccessful romantic affiliations , primarily due to his nervous nature . This caused him to focus more on his work than anything else . Despite this , Barclay did begin to pursue a relationship with Hope , the sister - in - law of his superior officer , Peter Harkins , in mid - 2376 . Their romance did not last very long . Barclay began to see Leosa by early 2377 . When this relationship turned out to be a ruse , Barclay decided not to pursue another relationship . He was then introduced to Maril , a teacher and friend of William Riker , by Deanna Troi . ( ) Alternate realities and timelines . In 2404 of an alternate timeline , Barclay managed to stop stuttering ( although this affectation resurfaced when he was caught in a lie ) . He held the rank of commander and became a teacher at Starfleet Academy , teaching a class about the Borg . Barclay later helped Admiral Janeway to travel back in time and return " Voyager " to Earth sooner than had been done by the vessel ' s crew . The Doctor learned the truth from him after the addled Tuvok managed to warn him that Janeway was leaving forever . ( ) Holograms . Barclay was holographically duplicated on at least two occasions : In 2371 , the USS " Voyager " encountered a subspace anomaly which caused a feedback surge through The Doctor ' s holographic matrix , generating a holographic hallucination . Among the projections created was one of Lieutenant Barclay , who insisted the EMH was Doctor Lewis Zimmerman and that " Voyager " was merely a simulation he had been running at Jupiter Station . Eventually , the crew of " Voyager " managed to extract The Doctor ' s program and deactivate the hallucination . ( ) Barclay created a holographic duplicate of himself to be transmitted to " Voyager , " where it could aid them in their trip home to Earth . In its first transmission , it was intercepted and reprogrammed as part of a profit scheme devised by three Ferengi , but their plan was ultimately discovered by Barclay himself and the hologram was deactivated . ( ) Memorable quotes . " " You know , the people that I create in there are m . . . more real to me than anyone I meet out here . Except . . . maybe you , commander . " " " " I need you out here , Reg – now more than ever . " " " " Mr . Barclay ! Everyone ' s still trying to figure out exactly how you did it . " " " " Well , it . . . it just occurred to me that I could set up a frequency harmonic between the deflector and the shield grid , using the warp field generator as a power flow anti - attenuator , and that , of course , naturally created an amplification of the inherent energy output . " " " " Uh - huh , I see that . . . " " " " I ' ve lost myself , Deanna . " " " " Lost yourself ? " " " " In " Voyager " . I ' ve become obsessed . . . with " Voyager " . " " " " Dr . Cochrane , I know this sounds silly , but could I shake your hand ? [ Cochrane reluctantly shakes it ] Oh ! Thank you , Doctor ! You have no idea what an honor it is to work with you on this project ! " " " " Reg . . . " " " " I never thought I would ever meet the man who invented warp drive ! I . . . " " " " Reg ! " " " " Hmm . . . ? Oh ! Yes , of course . I ' m sorry . . . " " " " He traveled half - way across the galaxy to care for Lewis Zimmerman , the man who created his program . It was like a son who wanted to show his father what he ' d become , so the old man would be proud of him . And if you ask me , he was . " " Appendices . Appearances . Barclay is additionally referenced in the following episodes : Background information . Origins . The character of Barclay was conceived by Gene Roddenberry . " " He realized that that type of character was missing from the program , " " stated Dwight Schultz , " " and eventually said , ' Let ' s fill that spot . " " ( " TV Zone " , issue 139 ) Schultz believed that , upon inventing the persona , the writing staff was attempting to create a ground - breakingly relatable character . " " I think they thought , ' Hey , why don ' t we write a character who is just like the rest of the human race and put him on the bridge . I bet our fandom will identify with him . " " ( ) When the role of Barclay began to be written , he was described as a contradiction in terms . " " But you see , it really has to do with how brilliant he is , " " noted Dwight Schultz . " " Can you overlook his social skills problem to get to his intelligence , his capability ? " " ( " " # 222 ) According to the script for " Hollow Pursuits " , the character was originally named Endicott Reginald Barclay III , but the first and middle names were later switched for his " " biography . In the same script ' s teaser description , Barclay was referred to as " " a shy individual with a perpetual frown born of stress and unhappiness between his brows [ . . . ] What we notice most about him is that he is uncomfortable around other people to the point of agony . . . he rarely makes eye contact . . . when he speaks , he hesitates , desperately afraid of saying the wrong thing . . . which he occasionally does . " " Casting . Barclay was played by actor Dwight Schultz . At the time of his casting , Schultz had been a " Star Trek " fan for a long time and had asked Rick Berman to consider him if the right part came along . ( " " , p . 196 ) Whoopi Goldberg was instrumental in arranging for Schultz to play the role of Barclay . " " I told her what a big " Star Trek " fan I was . I asked her what it was like to work with Patrick Stewart [ . . . ] and she said , ' You gotta be on that show , " " Schultz related . " " She went back and told them . Before I knew it , I got a call from my manager asking me if I would like to do it . " " ( " " # 222 ) As a big fan of science fiction and with an interest in science as well as pseudoscience , Dwight Schultz thought it was " perfect " for him to be involved in " Star Trek " . " " I was the lucky one chosen , " " he remarked . ( " TV Zone " , issue 139 ) However , the nature of the part came as something of a surprise to Schultz , who at first thought portraying the character would represent a few days ' work involving intensive makeup . " " I didn ' t know Barclay was going to be a recurring character , " " he explained . " " As far as I was concerned , it was a one - time shot . I was a little disappointed , to tell you the truth , when I got the script for ' Hollow Pursuits ' , that my character wasn ' t a vein - bulging alien . " " ( ) Schultz discovered that Barclay , in fact , was closer to his own offstage personality than the actor ' s most famous role , Captain H . M . ( " Howling Mad " ) Murdock from " The A - Team " . He was not afraid that accepting the part of Barclay would lead to type - casting . " " When we talked about Barclay , you know , the whole concept of him on the Holodeck was that he could be four different characters in one room . He could be something different every time . It doesn ' t stay that same . It ' s " not " a continuation . So , in a sense , you see , there isn ' t a typing . " " ( " " # 222 ) At the age of forty - three , Dwight Schultz was one of the oldest actors to portray a junior officer , making his first appearance as Barclay holding the rank of lieutenant junior grade . In the actual US Navy , upon which Starfleet ranks are mostly based , lieutenants are normally in their early twenties , having obtained their rank by virtue of a college degree . For the most part , only officers who entered as enlisted and worked their way up ( or " mustang " officers ) ever hold this rank beyond the age of thirty . Portrayals . Partly because he was familiar with not only Whoopi Goldberg but also Brent Spiner and Jonathan Frakes as well as several members of the TNG production crew , Dwight Schultz found that making his first guest - star appearance on the show was not an uncomfortable experience . " " This was extraordinarily easy for me , " " he recalled , " " because of all the familiar faces [ . . . ] The script was a terrific type fantasy . I got to kiss Marina Sirtis and work with Gates McFadden as well as do a bit of sword fighting with Patrick Stewart [ . . . ] I had a great time . " " ( " TV Zone " , issue 139 ) Soon , plans were made to reprise the character of Barclay . " " We put Barclay on our laundry list of things we wanted to bring back fourth season , " " noted Michael Piller . ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 22 , No . 2 , p . 42 ) However , finding a way to follow up Barclay ' s debut was quite challenging , and the TNG writing staff struggled with the issue for around a year . They wanted Barclay to reappear in an episode that had a worthwhile story idea , not just once again portraying the character as a nervous officer on the holodeck . It was Joe Menosky who eventually devised the means by which they would have Barclay make a second appearance . Recalled Piller , " " Joe had this concept of somebody who became super intelligent and said , ' Maybe this could be our Barclay show . " " Brannon Braga commented , " " It was a good twist on that particular character which you could only get to with a science - fiction gag . " " Rick Berman contributed to the depiction of Barclay in by suggesting that he play Cyrano De Bergerac in the outing . ( " " , pp . 218 & 219 ) Barclay was considered for one of the junior officers featured in the TNG episode . " " An initial discussion was that Barclay might be involved , " " recalled Ron Wilkerson , who co - wrote the installment with Jean Louise Matthias , " " but we felt pretty strongly we had seen a lot of Barclay already and though he is a strong character , if we put him in this episode , he would overshadow the others . " " ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 25 / 26 , No . 6 / 1 , p . 78 ) Hence , Barclay ' s omission from " Lower Decks " was because he was regarded as too well - known . ( " " , 3rd ed . , p . 282 ) In Brannon Braga ' s first draft of , virtually all of the " Enterprise " s crew ( with the exception of Data ) eventually transformed into Barclay , due to Barclay ' s Protomorphosis Syndrome . The idea of turning Barclay himself into an arachnid during the course of the installment came easily to Braga . " " I just thought it would be fun to make Barclay a spider , " " Braga stated , " " because I can ' t imagine anything more awful to become . It just seemed natural , since he ' s a kind of nervous and wiry guy , that maybe he would have had more arachnid ancestors than the other [ " Enterprise " crew members ] . " " ( " " , pp . 300 & 301 ) The makeup department was able to create the spider - like creature by using appliances and latex wrinkles applied to the top of Dwight Schultz ' s head and upper face as well as eye appliances , appliances that looked like spider ' s eyes , and a spider - leg device that protruded from the side of Barclay ' s head . ( " " , p . 118 ) " " To be able to cast all the individual tentacles , the arms that came off of [ the spider makeup ] , to insert all the little eyes into the makeup [ took ] days to do it . " " ( " The Sky ' s the Limit , The Eclipse of " Star Trek : The Next Generation " , Part Two : Penumbra " , TNG Season 7 Blu - ray special features ) Ronald D . Moore greatly enjoyed " watching Dwight Schultz do his impersonation of a spider running through the ops lounge . " ( " " , p . 301 ) René Echevarria felt it " absolutely " would have been fun to send Barclay off with a special final TNG appearance towards the end of the series ' seventh season . ( audio commentary , TNG Season 7 Blu - ray special features ) During early development of , it was proposed that the holographic main character who ultimately became The Doctor might have the likeness of Barclay and that an episode of s seventh season could feature Barclay working on the hologram . A summary of ongoing development meetings for " Voyager " , which was written on , posits , " " Barclay would have been working on this program and finally takes a leave to put on the polishing touches ( on a TNG episode ) . He creates the character in his own image . " " ( " " , pp . 182 & 183 ) Following the appearance of the Barclay hologram in , the continuation of the real Barclay character was not assured . In a interview Dwight Schultz confessed , " " I ' m almost getting too old to do Barclay , because he ' s a character who has to change in a different way , or go back , or revert to what he was . " " ( " " # 222 ) In an interview from , however , Schultz further contemplated returning as a " Star Trek " guest star , saying , " " Who knows ? I could be again someday . " " ( ) Reception . Dwight Schultz was very thankful for the opportunity to portray Barclay on TNG . ( " TV Zone " , issue 139 ) " " It was actually quite a brilliant stroke that the writers came up with this completely fallible human being , " " he said . " " They broke new ground with the character . I didn ' t do it , the writers did it , and I think they knew it . " " ( ) Regarding his TNG appearances , Schultz commented , " " I ' ve been blessed with some lovely scripts and a character that people could truly identify with . " " Indeed , the response from " Star Trek " fans to Barclay was extreme . " " They really do identify with Barclay because he has difficulties , " " Schultz observed . " " He ' s not the super perfect Starfleet Officer you often see in " Star Trek , " and the audiences love him because of that . " " ( " TV Zone " , issue 139 ) Schultz heard many times from " Star Trek " fans that they very much identified with and related to Barclay . ( ) Schultz liked his character but knew Barclay wasn ' t without his issues . " " Barclay had problems , he wasn ' t perfect ; he was someone that the fans I think could identify with . He had a good heart , but he didn ' t quite fit in all of the time , and I think it brought a unique perspective for the show and for fans . It was a great idea . They finally put an ordinary person on the bridge , and it struck a chord . Barclay sees things that he is not a part of and desperately wants to be there , just as I did for so many years , wanting to be an actor ! He desperately wants to be things that he ' s not and will never be - he will probably always be a lieutenant , but he has a great heart . I think he recognises that it ' s very important to fulfill your place , more so than it is to move beyond it , and he was given this very , very sweet disposition by the writers ; and I think that sums him up . A great heart , and recognises his place , but he ' s a Walter Mitty dreamer . It ' s one of those things that I have been thinking about for a long time . I think Barclay would desperately like to be promoted , yet he has good understanding as to why he would not be . He would be in electronic research of some kind . No question . The computer nerd of the future is what he would be , without doubt ! He would be buried in quantum fields and the study of particle accelerators and attempting to divine super warp drives , that sort of thing . It lets you realize first of all , this is all fantasy anyway I that there is a place for everyone in the future , even this idealized future that " Star Trek " represents as opposed to the darker future that " Babylon 5 " presented . It ' s very good for the fans to have an ordinary person there , just a regular guy who sometimes is going to make mistakes . " " ( " Star Trek Magazine " issue 113 ) , The popularity of the character with " Star Trek " fans led to Barclay ' s reappearances following his introduction in " Hollow Pursuits " . ( ) Many fans responded positively to how he was depicted in , which Dwight Schultz cited as his favorite episode , partly due to what happens to the character therein ( but also because Schultz approved of the possible future for humanity which that installment suggests ) . ( " " # 222 ) Michael Piller remarked , " " [ Barclay ] is a very interesting character and a great actor . " " ( " " , p . 218 ) Playmates Toys have released two action figures based on Reginald Barclay ; the first , in 1994 , was based on his appearances throughout " Star Trek : The Next Generation " and the second , in 1996 , was based on his appearance in the " Star Trek : Voyager " episode " Projections " . Apocrypha . Barclay appears as a selectable crew member in the non - canon video game " " , in which his personnel file states he was born in 2340 in Cleveland , Ohio and gained a master ' s degree in Computer Systems from the Daystrom Institute in 2362 . It explains he did not attend Starfleet Academy and was instead offered a commission by Starfleet at the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade , which he accepted . It further states that Barclay ' s interests are holoprogramming , theater , speculative fiction and self - help books , and that his father is Reginald Barclay II and his mother is Commander Alicia Barclay , both of whom reside in Swansea , Wales . In Peter David ' s novel " " , Barclay is involuntarily cured of his holo - addiction in 2368 when an aged Admiral Riker , having used the Guardian of Forever to travel back in time and prevent the death of Counselor Troi , materializes in the past on the holodeck during one of Barclay ' s adventures . Disguising his presence by claiming to be an automatic system programmed to activate if Reg used his holoprograms again , Admiral Riker instructs Reg to shut the program down . Reg is so intimidated by the Admiral that he decides never to use the holodeck again . This is inconsistent , however , with the " Voyager " storyline . In Greg Cox ' " The Q Continuum " trilogy , Barclay discovers that the bio - neural gel pack s used in the " Enterprise " - E are capable of absorbing the psionic energy of the galactic barrier , prompting him to suggest that the crew channel the resulting energy into the " Enterprise " s shields so that they can increase the time that they can remain in the barrier during an attempt to hide from the Calamarain . In Diane Duane ' s novel " Dark Mirror " , Lieutenant Commander Barclay is Captain Picard ' s chief bodyguard in the mirror universe . While masquerading as his mirror universe counterpart , Picard notes that Barclay ' s " slightly crazed creativity " has been redirected , replacing his quirkiness with a more hard - edged sense of danger . Picard promises Mirror Barclay a promotion , but he is killed before this can happen . Upon returning to his own universe , Picard achieves a sort of symmetry by noting a special commendation on the " real " Barclay ' s record as a reward for the extra work he has been putting in . In the " Strange New Worlds " short story " The Naked Truth " , which is set in 2370 , Captain Picard orders Barclay to lead his first away mission , installing a new generator core in a space station in the Tarvo system . However , Barclay and his team soon end up fighting for their lives in a Vorel trap . Barclay also appears in the John Vornholt novels " Gemworld " , Book One and " Gemworld " , Book Two , as a crewmember on the " Enterprise " - E in 2375 . In the video game " " , set in 2380 , Barclay serves as temporary chief engineer on the " Enterprise " - E . In the Kirsten Beyer novel " Full Circle " , Barclay is assigned to the USS " Galen " , which has been fitted with a quantum slipstream drive and assigned to Project Full Circle , an expeditionary force sent to explore the Delta Quadrant . The novel takes place in the year 2381 .