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Chuck does Hollow Pursuits, the first Barclay episode, featuring a man addicted to the holodeck.

Man, Dwight Schultz on Star Trek was one of the first times I remember going "Hey! It's that guy! Y'know from this other show." Because he was part of the main cast on the A-Team. Kind of jarring for me as a kid, since Barclay is so timid and shy and Murdock is... not.

Chuck did a number on Riker this episode, who certainly deserved it. What a douchebag. I still laughed at his assholery, though.

Chuck's review reminds me of a pretty heated argument I had with someone that argued (let's just ignore Barclay's work performance issues for the moment) that someone like Riker is perfectly justified in his contempt for someone like Barclay, and that other people don't have to tolerate people like Barclay (once again ignoring any poor work performance issues) particularly at work. " If such a weakness (someone like Barclay) is attached to the vehicle from which fills his/her bank account or otherwise achieves personal advancement, that person is justified to doing whatever he has to rid himself of that weakness. In addition to fact people like Barclay are aggravating and annoying. If someone like Barclay is not a hindrance to the team or organization's advancement, he would still be a hindrance to *my* advancement and *my* happiness and he would only have himself to blame if I show him contempt."

Needless to say, I don't deal with that person much anymore.

Are they a libertopian or randroid? Because that's the kind of attitude I've both experienced and have come to expect from their kind.

Eframepilot wrote:Chuck did a number on Riker this episode, who certainly deserved it. What a douchebag. I still laughed at his assholery, though.

Like he said, you don't really have to change anything about Riker's speech or mannerisms, or have him act at all out of character, to have him come off as an asshole. It just takes a very minor shift in perspective.

The biggest mystery is how everyone but Picard, Data, and Guinan was sniggering over Wesley's 'clever' (read, first-grade) nickname for Barclay.

Because Data doesn't care and Picard and Guinan were trying to fix the problem rather than looking for reasons to add Barclay to their shitlist.

I wonder if the success of Wesley's nickname might be put down to the extensive social engineering we know must be going on to get "humans" like we see in Star Trek.

Might it be that the passive-aggressive bullshit that we adult normals in the 21st century do to subtly discriminate against our adult peers has been stamped out by the Federation's education and social engineering? If that were the case, it might be that even adults like Riker don't have the same set of "being a dick" tools that normal adults in our century would have accumulated.

Thus the only stuff they weren't able to get rid of is the incredibly juvenile stuff that crops up on its own without training or practice.

Or Federation claims of humanity's "betterness" are propaganda designed to positively advertise their government to potential members.

CaptHawkeye wrote:Or Federation claims of humanity's "betterness" are propaganda designed to positively advertise their government to potential members.

How does that make Riker joining in with juvenile insults make sense? We do way worse to people we dislike these days than call them stupid nicknames behind their backs.

Temujin wrote:Are they a libertopian or randroid? Because that's the kind of attitude I've both experienced and have come to expect from their kind.

Not a randroid (I don't think). Just someone "understands social interaction" and knows what other people are willing to tolerate or are alienated by. The fact that Riker isn't the only one with the attitude toward Barclay, and that someone like Barclay would undoubtedly had similar difficulties previously, indicates there isn't really a problem with someone behaving how Riker behaved in this episode. The problem is with Barclay. "What so ALL those people are douchebags now?"

In every work environment, you see personality types of all kinds. How we interact and deal with these makes us human. The fact that Riker was using Wesley's nickname for Barclay tells us that while Riker may not like Wesley, he is still part of Riker's inner circle of friends, or at least is associated with that circle by being Beverly's son.

There's also the fact that Riker and Barclay are in different divisions. Riker was the conn officer on the Pegasus, which tells us he spent more time with officers who were piloting the ship and being nearer to senior staff. Barclay, on the other hand, is an engineer, meaning he stays below decks and generally out of the way. When you have a group large enough, they'll naturally form divides, as the conn officers might joke about the engineers while off duty. So it's probably also a case of Riker's own experiences when he started his career, only now worse given that he's a senior officer and doesn't have to deal with Barclay on a daily basis.

Baffalo wrote:In every work environment, you see personality types of all kinds. How we interact and deal with these makes us human. The fact that Riker was using Wesley's nickname for Barclay tells us that while Riker may not like Wesley, he is still part of Riker's inner circle of friends, or at least is associated with that circle by being Beverly's son.

Where are you getting "Riker may not like Wesley"? I don't recall any indication, ever, that Riker didn't like Wesley.

Skylon wrote:Where are you getting "Riker may not like Wesley"? I don't recall any indication, ever, that Riker didn't like Wesley.

I was referring to Season One (I feel dirty saying that) where, among other things, Riker has said the following:

Riker: "You may want him around. He seems to have developed an attachment to the boy."
Wesley: "My name is Wesley, Commander Riker."
Picard: "He knows."

Riker: "Should I send for Dr. Crusher?"
Picard: "Why? Is someone ill?"
- just after Wesley has been made acting ensign

I know this is one episode but meh, it's an example of early hostility.