Barclay was right about certain things in Next Generation

[urrutiap]

Sure some of the crew members thought he was a little annoying and a hyperchondriac, but he was right about the weird stuff affecting teleporters when beaming to one place to another. then the thing with holodeck addiction which everyone ignored until the last minute

Bad enought that Janeway let a psycho Betazoid run around loose on Voyager where he killed people or whatever.

 

[Richard S. Ta]

Wasn't the point of Barclay often that nobody would listen to him, but in actual fact he was right all along?

I'm sure that's how they get him into Voyager.

 

[Ragitsu]

Wasn't the point of Barclay often that nobody would listen to him, but in actual fact he was right all along?

I'm sure that's how they get him into Voyager.

He's supposed to represent extremely competent or perhaps "merely" intelligent people that are hindered by a lack of self-confidence/assertiveness.

 

[DonIago]

I also figured he might have Asperger's or another form of autism.

 

[Oddish]

I also figured he might have Asperger's or another form of autism.

As a person on the spectrum who frequently works with kids who are the same, I can tell you that he definitely exhibits quite a few of the symptoms.

 

[Ragitsu]

Wouldn't that be fixed/cured by the twenty-fourth century? Same deal with Geordi's blindness.

 

[Qonundrum]

I also figured he might have Asperger's or another form of autism.

Oi! I resemble that remark!

Also, - in total agreement with you

Wouldn't that be fixed/cured by the twenty-fourth century? Same deal with Geordi's blindness.

Or 23rd, given "Dagger of the Mind" and "Whom Gods Destroy" (one of which is a psychological thriller and the other is a wasted premise from season three but not without its good moments...)

TNG did have Dr Pulaski and others mention cures for his blindness, for which Geordi refused in favor of the VISOR. For all we know, his ocular implants since do the same thing but are less likely able to be taken by an aggressor to do what Dr. Soran and co had. That, and as himself, there's a remarkable scene from "The Masterpiece Society" that I still appreciate to this day.

 

[Qonundrum]

Bad enought that Janeway let a psycho Betazoid run around loose on Voyager where he killed people or whatever.

Nobody knew that Suder was the culprit at the time. "Meld" is a pre-Seven episode that should not be on a "skip" list as the story's reasonably good but the acting is what elevates it into "Classic" territory. And not just because of the Neelix strangle scene!

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Damn good scene (in a darn good story!).


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[Oddish]

Suder wasn't chosen by Starfleet, he was recruited into the Maquis. And they didn't do background checks, they just wanted people who were willing to stomp on Cardassians. It's actually pretty farfetched that only three of the thirty or so Maquis were unable to conform to Starfleet norms.

 

[DonIago]

Wouldn't that be fixed/cured by the twenty-fourth century? Same deal with Geordi's blindness.

Maybe Barclay didn't feel that his level of autism (assuming he had it) was something that needed to be fixed/cured?

I likely have mild Asperger's myself. I've consciously (and likely unconsciously) learned adaptations and by and large don't seek any other solutions because I don't generally feel as though I need any.

Now, it does seem as though Barclay has the potential to be happier, but I think it's worth noting that as much as we see how others react to him, we're given fairly little insight into his own headspace on these things, and he does generally seem to improve over time.

 

[Ragitsu]

I get it: the show was speaking to our then-present by pointing out that people who don't conform to a norm aren't freaks. Still, "realistically", any number of conditions - mental or physical - would either be flat-out extinct (for lack of a better word) thanks to genetic engineering or as curable as swallowing a tablet/visiting a medical professional once...maybe twice. Hell, advancements in technology today would likely repair the extensive burn damage of Darth Vader.

 

[DonIago]

But you're still viewing whatever was going on with Barclay...if anything...as something to be fixed/cured.

 

[Tosk]

Either way, Barclay didn't help himself early on by always being late for work. His p̶o̶r̶n̶ holodeck addiction was affecting his job performance.

 

[DonIago]

Yes, that was a valid issue for sure.

 

[Oddish]

But you're still viewing whatever was going on with Barclay...if anything...as something to be fixed/cured.

Barclay is trying to work through his social anxieties, live a more normal life. Is that wrong?

 

[Qonundrum]

Suder wasn't chosen by Starfleet, he was recruited into the Maquis. And they didn't do background checks, they just wanted people who were willing to stomp on Cardassians. It's actually pretty farfetched that only three of the thirty or so Maquis were unable to conform to Starfleet norms.

Great points, I forgot about that - thanks! (I forgot about those details, but given how the Maquis were all settled in and dusted off by episode... three... it's easy to forget.)

 

[at Quark's]

Wouldn't that be fixed/cured by the twenty-fourth century? Same deal with Geordi's blindness.

I know people on the spectrum that would refuse a 'cure' if it existed, as they consider it part of their identity. Perhaps Barclay is one of those.

 

[JesterFace]

About medications and cures, apparently everything can not be fixed that easily.
In 'All Good Things....' Picard has irumodic syndrome and there's no way to cure him.
The progress of the disease can be slowed down but there isn't a cure.
That reminds me of my MS, it can be slowed down but there isn't a cure for it.... yet?

 

[Orphalesion]

Just sharing my perspective, as someone with severe (especially social) anxiety.

There are two different things discussed here in relation to "curing" Barclay:

1)People on the autism spectrum. I agree here that there's nothing to "cure", from my understanding they are just people were the brain functions somewhat differently.
2)People with severe anxiety due to trauma, which includes me. And I will say if there was a quick and easy way to "fix" that, I would be the first person to line up for that cure.

 

[DonIago]

In the end, we don't really know what Barclay's situation is (we only see the symptoms), we don't know how he himself feels about it (we only have secondary evidence to suggest he could in some ways be living a better life), and we definitely don't know how he would feel if fixing/curing his 'condition' was presented to him as an option (one might infer that, if doing so was an option, then it would have already been presented to and rejected by him).