Hollow Pursuits 

A shy member of the "Enterprise" crew becomes addicted to the holodeck, where relationships are easier than in real life, when his knowledge is needed in engineering.

Director:

Cliff Bole

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (created by), Sally Caves

Stars:

Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Patrick Stewart	...	Capt. Jean-Luc Picard
Jonathan Frakes	...	Cmdr. William Riker
LeVar Burton	...	Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge
Michael Dorn	...	Lieutenant Worf
Gates McFadden	...	Dr. Beverly Crusher
Marina Sirtis	...	Counselor Deanna Troi
Brent Spiner	...	Lt. Commander Data
Wil Wheaton	...	Wesley Crusher
Dwight Schultz	...	Barclay
Charley Lang	...	Lt. Duffy
Colm Meaney	...	Chief Miles O'Brien
Whoopi Goldberg	...	Guinan

Storyline

Lt. Reg Barkley is a self-conscious somewhat neurotic new arrival on the Enterprise. He's always late for meetings and usually mumbles and fumbles his way through them when he's there. Commander Ryker and Lt. Commander La Forge actually ask Captain Picard to transfer him out but the Captain tells Geordi he should try harder and help the young officer along. Reg spends a great deal of time in the holodeck where he has created a Walter Mitty-like fantasy world where he his the major player and those around him - holographic representations of fellow crew members - are his minions. When the Enterprise is apparently infected with a substance that cannot be scanned with normal systems, it's Reg who manages to identify it.

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Plot Keywords:

misfit | malfunction | equipment malfunction | nervous man | transporter malfunction | 

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Mystery | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 April 1990 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

46 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During Barclay's counseling session with Troi, he mentions that he "knew about the 'flux capacitor,' and didn't need to hear about it from some damn kid." The flux capacitor was the core component of the DeLorean time machine from Back to the Future (1985) and is mentiond multiple times throughout all of the Star Trek series', minus TOS.

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Goofs

In the meeting with LaForge's senior officers, Wesley suggests to Lt. Barclay that he should check the flow capacitor on his malfunctioning anti-gravity device. In the next scene, Barclay tells Troi that he already knew about the "flux capacitor." (The flux capacitor is the famous fictional device from Back to the Future that makes time travel possible.)

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Quotes

Holo-Data: Your sword, sir.
Commander William T. Riker: I don't have a sword.
Holo-La Forge: How do you expect to fight without your sword, sir?
Commander William T. Riker: I don't expect to fight.
Holo-Picard: Ha! Do I detect a streak of yellow along the good fellow's back?
[the three "musketeers" roar with laughter]

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Connections

References Back to the Future (1985)

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Soundtracks

Star Trek: The Next Generation Main Title
Composed by Jerry Goldsmith and Alexander Courage

User Reviews

A worthwhile pursuit

'Hollow Pursuits' introduces Reg Barclay, one of the show's more unusual characters. Socially awkward and wracked with nerves, he's easily the ship's misfit. this is a relatable character for anyone having trouble fitting in; his crewmembers can't stand to be around him and would rather just pass him off to another posting. Picard is the moral center of this, pushing Geordi to connect with Barclay and expose his talents. This is really a workplace drama, but a good one.

This one really surprised me. It does mine Barclay's "holodiction" for laughs, but it also ends in a nail-biter of a last-minute save; there's a surprising level of action here for a character piece. Roller-coaster would be a superlative, but it's anything but boring.

9/10