TNG S6E2 "Realm of Fear" Review By AnswerMan

Horrible:Meh:Adequate:Good:Fantastic

This is a Barclay episode, and that's about it. A Barclay episode must fully be a Barclay episode first, and whatever subplots are secondary. All Barclay episodes (even up through Voyager) kind of all have the same plot:

1. Barclay is weird, neurotic, annoying, and has bad hair
2. He goes off the deep end about something
3. Everyone thinks he's nuts, even his therapist
4. He turns out to actually be right, because Barclay is also smart 

In this particular episode, while investigating why everyone is dead on another ship, Barclay refuses to use the transporter. Somehow he has managed to always get out of transporting, and kept his fear a secret. O'Brien says he understands, because he has a fear of spiders that are a meter wide. Sure, that's the same. Oh and to prove just how afraid of spiders he is, O'Brien shows Barclay his pet tarantula. I don't think the chief is much good at helping people. 

Actually, Barclay's fear of transporters makes total sense. He even says that if he didn't know so much about them, he probably wouldn't be afraid. If you were just told to hop on this pad and it'll take you somewhere else, you'd probably just do it. But when you understand how the technology works, and realize that your body will be ripped apart molecule by molecule, and that you will not survive the process but instead an exact copy of you will be made on the other side....and that if just one single atom is misplaced the copy cannot be created....you'd probably freak the freak out just like Barclay. O'Brien says that he's never lost anyone, but that's not exactly comforting because we know that transporter accidents do happen, we've seen them.

Anyway, Barclay eventually makes the transport, and he sees some monster thing that looks like a cross between a sock puppet and Slimer from Ghost Busters. The weird ghostly alien mouth things are floating around, and one touches him, leaving residual side effects later on. The crew does their best to placate Barclay's whining by running diagnostics and such, but basically they think he's just a Nervous Nelly and are only working to prove to him that everything is ok. But they do show him enough respect to organize a senior staff meeting in the middle of the night, and then reward him by promptly relieving him of duty. 

To prove his point, Barclay goes back into the transporter (while being a jerk and pulling rank on O'Brien even though he's been relieved of duty and O'Brien has been nothing but nice to him the entire episode). He sees one of the mouth ghosts, and grabs a hold of it as he materializes and...plot twist! A crew member flops on to the pad with him. Somehow they're stuck in there. Security comes in and Barclay quickly instructs that they're in the beam and you have to grab them and pull them out. "Understood," Worf replies immediately as he steps onto the transporter pad. Do you really, Worf? No more explanation at all is required? Wow, fast learner. The rest of the crew members are saved, Barclay is healed of the strange effects from the transport, and is totally redeemed (see 1 through 4 above).

"Realm of Fear" is only a Meh episode. Like I said, the subplot is pointless, it's all about Barclay. Which would be fine except the story is so familiar that it hardly keeps one engaged. It doesn't tackle any larger issues or cause the viewer to think about anything. The phobia aspect in particular is not handled all that well, and the parallel between fear of transport and fear of flying is unfounded. Barclay's fear of the transporter was actually proven to be justified, and I doubt he gets over it any time soon. 

Published September 14 2018