Hollow Pursuits

[Wingsley]

This Year 3 episode of TNG had me scratching my head. In the summer of 1990, CINEFANTASTIQUE magazine wrote about how its message was basically a condescending commentary on STAR TREK's fans, admonishing them to "put away the 'Make It So' button". It seems Barklay became a vehicle for TNG to caricature the die-hard fans as misfit geeks who lack confidence, generally live in a fantasy world and can't get laid. I know that's an awful thing to say, but TNGs' makers' message seems to come through loud and clear.

Riker's conduct in the episode seemed especially out-of-character. He seemed to have have it in for Barklay from the start, and the other main characters seemed to have no problem browsing through Barklay's holodeck fantasies. It raises the question: if the holodeck has the power to make just about any illusion a user wants, are there discipline policies to prevent starship crews from winding up getting into confrontations over an individual's holodeck programs? Or, if the holodeck is considered a "public space" and all illusions created there are "open" (not private), then why would Barklay think he could get away with weird fantasies there? And if Barklay had a proven history as a misfit, how did he get assigned to a top-of-the-line starship in the first place?

It doesn't make any sense, unless you take the whole episode as just a way for TNG to deride its most loyal audience.

Maybe I missed something in "Hollow Pursuits". Of course, I never had a "Make It So" button, either.

 

[Jeffe525]

I think you're looking into it way too much. Do you think all die-hard fans are like Barklay? Because I can assure you, we're not.

And why would the writers deliberately make fun of fans? These are Star Trek writers; you think they'd get the job if they weren't passionate about writing good Trek?

I think this episode is about an intelligent but flawed character that had a problem with people and an escapist addiction. Personally, I think that kind of character was a bit too rare in TNG.

I haven't seen the episode in a while, but I remember La Forge said something about Barclay's previous supervisor giving him a good recommendation, and commenting that sometimes C/O's give good reviews to get rid of them. If I remember this correctly, it would explain how Barklay got assigned to the Enterprise.

I for one think Barklay turned out to be a great character to watch. He was a real good guy that had his own way to contribute. He turned out to be a breath of fresh air from an otherwise flawless cast.

 

[Wingsley]

I think you're looking into it way too much. Do you think all die-hard fans are like Barklay? Because I can assure you, we're not.

I didn't say that.

And why would the writers deliberately make fun of fans? These are Star Trek writers; you think they'd get the job if they weren't passionate about writing good Trek?

Well, apparently, I wasn't alone because CFQ mag was the first one to put that observation into writing back in the Summer of '90.

I for one think Barklay turned out to be a great character to watch. He was a real good guy that had his own way to contribute. He turned out to be a breath of fresh air from an otherwise flawless cast.

Actually, I agree with this. Barclay seemed to outgrow his "Hollow Pursuits" origins.

 

[Jeffe525]

And why would the writers deliberately make fun of fans? These are Star Trek writers; you think they'd get the job if they weren't passionate about writing good Trek?

Well, apparently, I wasn't alone because CFQ mag was the first one to put that observation into writing back in the Summer of '90.

Well then screw CFQ. Whoever wrote that has about as much depth as the piece of paper the article was written on.

I know it sounds like I'm being harsh but I just can't believe that the writers would write in a character to slight the fans.

You know who was written for the fans? Wesley Crusher. Roddenberry himself said that Wesley was his teenage dream come true. He imagined a new generation of fans living vicariously through Wesley.

 

[at Quark's]

I always saw it as just an episode that dealt with the theme of social phobia/awkwardness, and retreating into phantasy worlds. And of course, some trek fans could be doing just that.

But I've never gotten the impression from that ep that they were trying to say that trek fans were more liable to that kind of behaviour than any other group. IMHO, the episode just dealt with the theme in general.

 

[M'rk son of Mogh]

^^
That's exactly what I thought.

This can be applied to TV watching, video games, gambling, anything. That's the beauty of Star Trek and many of the stories they tell.

Never once did I see it as a slight of fans.
Mostly just a "Hey, don't be consumed by any one thing, have a balance and go out and remember to live your life and not be scared of it" sort of messages that's really a positive one to make.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I never saw the episode as being specifically targeted at Trek fans. But maybe somebody socially awkward people can identify with. Nor do I see Barcalay as a negative character. He comes off to me more as an undiscovered gem whose social phobias prevent him from being utilized and growing.

If anything it plays into the idea of people like Barcalay that "I'd shine if anybody ever gave me a real chance".

And most other scifi shows have characters even more blatantly meant to be stand-ins for socially awkward fans. That scientist guy in Stargate in The Other Guys, 'Superstar' in Buffy.

When you see characters like Barcalay or Jonathan in Buffy, maybe you just see your own stereotype confirmation, whether it's a positive or a negative one.

 

[Terok Nor]

I saw it as social awkwardness too. I don't think it was a sly dig at Trek fans. Most of the writers are Trekkies themselves and I doubt they act like Barclay did in this episode.

 

[Trek Survivor]

I think the bigger issue is how everyone just walks in to Barclay's simulation, not giving the poor guy any privacy.

Makes you wonder what the "rules" are.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

They didn't start intruding though until it impacted his work performance.

 

[JesterFace]

Surprisingly for me, the most annoying thing in this episode wasn't Barclay, but the way people just walked into the holodeck without telling anything to the person using it...

 

[stardream]

I liked Barclay. I remember thinking how refreshing it was to see someone on the Enterprise who was not the smartest, best and damn near perfect. He was good at what he did but had obvious problems. That he was some kind of dig on the fans did not enter my mind.

On the other hand the first time I saw MUSE my first thought was "Someone is poking fun at fanfiction writers!" I have no idea if that is what the writer intended or not but that was my first impression.

 

[Forbin]

I don't know why anyone would assume that writers who wrote for TNG were necessarily Trek fans, nor cared if they wrote anything that made fun of Trek fans. Writers write for whoever hires them to write, on many different shows.

 

[Shikarnov]

When this episode aired, I was a middle school introvert. And I distinctly remember being able to relate to Barclay's social awkwardness and his desire to escape. Oh, what I wouldn't have given for a holodeck in those days... And what I really liked about this, and subsequent episodes featuring him, was how Barclay was able to grow into a respected engineer -- once everybody stopped bullying him and gave him a real chance.

And that's also what disturbed me most of all in this episode... the heroes -- characters I admired, respected, watched every week, and read about in novels (my own way of escaping the reality) -- had become the bullies. Even Captain Picard referred to Barclay as Broccoli; although at least he had the decency to be ashamed of having publicly humiliated one of his own officers.

 

[Melakon]

Surprisingly for me, the most annoying thing in this episode wasn't Barclay, but the way people just walked into the holodeck without telling anything to the person using it...

You'd think the ship's computer would automatically advise when someone else has entered the simulation. What if he'd been undressed?

 

[Timo]

Makes you wonder what the "rules" are.

Indeed. And there really is no way of telling. Say, the rules of the internet bear no resemblance to any rules of modesty or social conduct in the physical world. And they bear little resemblance to each other, there being deep and surprising subdivisions between bulletin boards, usenet, facebook, chat, multiplayer online games, you name it. There have also been various rules concerning the watching of movies or TV before, all long gone now. None of this could have been predicted even in broad outlines. So whatever rules TNG shows for holodeck social conduct, those just have to be taken at face value, even if our VR rules of the near future may end up being very different.

As for Barclay being a misfit, that doesn't seem to be a problem for Starfleet. It has accepted people as dysfunctional by human standards as Data, Spock or Worf, and expects all personnel to deal with those and vice versa. It's a bit odd that the only one with a problem with Data was Pulaski, or that the only one unable to cope with Spock was Boma. Then again, everybody failed the Worf test, until Dax came along. But Picard's attempt at being short of a complete asshole was pretty good, with Worf as with Barclay.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Timo]

You'd think the ship's computer would automatically advise when someone else has entered the simulation. What if he'd been undressed?

Then Riker might have seen his genitals and fainted out of jealousy. He probably wouldn't faint for any other reason - the status of nudity taboos in Trek is somewhat vague, but Riker is not shy of showing skin and seeing it. Certainly Troi wouldn't be! And LaForge sees through clothes anyway.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[JirinPanthosa]

When this episode aired, I was a middle school introvert. And I distinctly remember being able to relate to Barclay's social awkwardness and his desire to escape. Oh, what I wouldn't have given for a holodeck in those days... And what I really liked about this, and subsequent episodes featuring him, was how Barclay was able to grow into a respected engineer -- once everybody stopped bullying him and gave him a real chance.

And that's also what disturbed me most of all in this episode... the heroes -- characters I admired, respected, watched every week, and read about in novels (my own way of escaping the reality) -- had become the bullies. Even Captain Picard referred to Barclay as Broccoli; although at least he had the decency to be ashamed of having publicly humiliated one of his own officers.

It does seem that way, but to be fair, Barcalay was showing up late for work and making half assed effort at his job. It's not like they saw a kid acting weird on the schoolyard and started taunting him, his own lack of attention was affecting their job performance. Most people in real life would just dismiss him entirely and get rid of them, and they made an effort to reach out to him and find out why he was acting that way, and try to making him feel more welcome.

 

[Shikarnov]

When this episode aired, I was a middle school introvert. And I distinctly remember being able to relate to Barclay's social awkwardness and his desire to escape. Oh, what I wouldn't have given for a holodeck in those days... And what I really liked about this, and subsequent episodes featuring him, was how Barclay was able to grow into a respected engineer -- once everybody stopped bullying him and gave him a real chance.

And that's also what disturbed me most of all in this episode... the heroes -- characters I admired, respected, watched every week, and read about in novels (my own way of escaping the reality) -- had become the bullies. Even Captain Picard referred to Barclay as Broccoli; although at least he had the decency to be ashamed of having publicly humiliated one of his own officers.

It does seem that way, but to be fair, Barcalay was showing up late for work and making half assed effort at his job. It's not like they saw a kid acting weird on the schoolyard and started taunting him, his own lack of attention was affecting their job performance. Most people in real life would just dismiss him entirely and get rid of them, and they made an effort to reach out to him and find out why he was acting that way, and try to making him feel more welcome.

But they did taunt him and dismiss him and try to get rid of him -- until Captain Picard put an end to it by ordering LaForge to stop whining and figure out a way to deal with his wayward lieutenant and telling Riker that "it's easy to transfer our problem to someone else. Too easy." Nobody besides the Captain had the slightest interest in Barclay beyond figuring out how quickly they could transfer him off the ship.

And, yes, I recognize Barclay's own role in provoking his superiors ire. But I think there is a dramatic difference between disciplining a problematic officer and ridiculing him.

 

[JesterFace]

What if he'd been undressed?

If holodecks were here today, I think people would be there undressed more than 50% of the time... at least men.

 

[T'Girl]

You'd think the ship's computer would automatically advise when someone else has entered the simulation. What if he'd been undressed?

What if someone entered the holodeck while you were using it, and you didn't realize they weren't just another hologram?

And then they undressed.

 

[Makarov]

I never felt they were making fun of trek fans with this episode. The episode is pretty much on Barclay's side and makes Riker/Laforge look bad. Without them being bullies there wouldn't be a learning moment for them. It is a bit disturbing that they act this way towards him but it does make for a good story.