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Potential Lower Decker, EMH inspiration, and cat lover.
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00:00Played by the A-Team's Dwight Schultz, Reginald Barkley III, or Reg for short,
00:05is one of Star Trek's fan-favorite characters. Schultz puts this down to the fact that he's
00:09not the shining example of Starfleet perfection that makes up the majority of 90s Star Trek
00:14crews. He's shy, a bit nerdy, and struggles to form social connections with people. He prefers
00:19to escape into the fictional world rather than confront the real one, all of which are things
00:24I feel a lot of us can relate to. Barkley proved so popular after his first appearance that he
00:29appeared in four subsequent episodes of Star Trek The Next Generation, and later played an
00:33integral part in getting the Voyager crew back to the Alpha Quadrant. He appeared in six episodes
00:38of Voyager, and also got to meet one of his heroes when he shook hands with Zephyrm Cochran in Star
00:43Trek First Contact. All of this is widely known, but there are small character moments that are
00:48easy to forget, or behind-the-scenes stories that shed more light on the creation of the beloved
00:53Enterprise crew member. So, with all that in mind, I'm Bree from Trek Culture, and here are 10 things
00:59that you didn't know about Lieutenant Barkley. Number 10. He has something in common with Seven
01:04of Nine. Reg Barkley suffered a few physical and mental ailments in his time on the Enterprise.
01:10One of these was an addiction to the holodeck, dubbed holoaddiction or holodiction. Given the
01:15opportunities presented in Star Trek's holographic technology, it's surprising that this wasn't a more
01:20common affliction in the 24th century. Struggling to form connections with other members of the crew,
01:25Barkley retreated into a fantasy world where he could be the charming, romantic hero he wanted to
01:30be. Barkley is helped with his addiction by Geordi LaForge and Deanna Troi, who help him form real-life
01:35connections with his crewmates. His obsession with finding the missing USS Voyager leads to a relapse
01:41in the Season 6 episode Pathfinder, when his obsession leads him to create a fully functional replica of
01:47the ship and its crew. In Voyager Season 7, holoaddiction grips Seven of Nine when she, too,
01:52becomes obsessed with a holographic representation of Voyager and its crew. In Human Error, Seven
01:58attempts to improve her social skills but becomes increasingly overwhelmed by the emotions that these
02:02new connections stir up. Seven's obsession alerts the attention of Janeway, who chastises her for
02:08spending too much time on the holodeck instead of fulfilling her duties. That's a bit rich from a
02:12woman who once deleted a handsome hologram's wife. Number 9. He Loved the Three Musketeers
02:18Reg Barkley's love for the Three Musketeers is, of course, well-documented in the TNG episode
02:23Hollow Pursuits. When he confronts his hollow addiction, Reg deletes the Three Musketeers
02:28simulation, but that clearly wasn't the end of his connection to the classic novel by Alexander
02:32Dumont. In the DS9 episode Image in the Sand, Worf and O'Brien reminisce about their time on the
02:38Enterprise, in an attempt by the latter to comfort his friend over the death of his wife Dax. In this,
02:44the subject of Barkley and his Three Musketeers program comes up, but surely this is impossible.
02:49While the simulation may have entered legend aboard the Enterprise, the pair's assertion that
02:53Barkley often asked crewmates to join him in the Three Musketeers program suggests that he
02:58resurrected it, though he probably did so by removing the problematic representation of Deanna
03:04Troy and his fellow crewmates. It's heartwarming to imagine Reg Barkley sharing his hollow programs
03:10with the Enterprise crew instead of hiding out in them. It's also funny to imagine the likes of
03:15Worf and O'Brien attempting to duck invitations to Barkley's swashbuckling adventure game nights.
03:21Number 8. He has an unfortunate nickname. To prove the old adage about the weak picking on those who
03:27are weaker, Wesley Crusher coined an unfortunate nickname for poor, shy Reg Barkley. While Reg struggled
03:34to fit into the Enterprise crew, Wesley Crusher dubbed him Lieutenant Broccoli. When you're being bullied
03:39by Wesley Crusher, then you know that something has to change. Barkley's nervousness and poor
03:45service record were all symptoms of his hollow addiction, but the nickname followed him around
03:50for quite a bit. In a neat bit of karma, the very fandom that rejected Wesley Crusher embraced the
03:56nerdy, socially awkward Reg Barkley, leading to four subsequent appearances in TNG. So take that,
04:03Wesley. The bullying of Reg is something that's not always seen in the utopian future of Star Trek,
04:08with most people respecting their colleagues and not resorting to cruel name-calling.
04:13In Hollow Pursuits, Will even considers having Barkley removed from the ship for not meeting
04:18standards demanded by the Federation flagship. It's a refreshing take on the structure of Starfleet
04:23that shows that not every officer is an unflappable expert in their chosen field.
04:28Thankfully, Captain Picard gave Barkley another chance, as he would do with Wesley Crusher,
04:32and the character went on to great heights.
04:35Number 7. The TNG writers struggled to bring him back.
04:39Reg Barkley was an instant hit, due both to the writing of this relatable realistic character
04:44and to the great performance by Dwight Schultz. Plans were immediately set in motion to bring
04:49Barkley back for another episode of TNG, but there was a problem. So wonderful was the character that
04:56the writers didn't want to bring him back just for the sake of it. Instead, they agonized over how to
05:01bring him back. They wanted the character to develop rather than be stuck in the mold of a
05:05nervous Starfleet officer with a holodeck addiction. It took the writers' room the better
05:10part of a year to find the perfect Reg Barkley story, Season 4's The Nth Degree. This was a favorite
05:16episode of Dwight Schultz and Barkley fans alike. In it, Barkley's intelligence is subsequently improved
05:22by an alien force attempting to make contact with the Enterprise. It was the perfect evolution for the
05:27character who had moved past his anxieties by becoming an actor and super intelligent Starfleet
05:33officer. At the end of The Nth Degree, Barkley is disappointed at being returned to his usual
05:38self, but he's reassured by Troy and Geordi in a touching scene that hints that he still has some
05:43residual intelligence left from his encounter. Number 6. He has a cat called Neelix. When Barkley
05:50created his Voyager replica, he may have experienced a relap of his holo addiction, but the Voyager crew
05:56similarly impacted his real life. Barkley's work on the Pathfinder project was abruptly halted when
06:01his unauthorized holodeck replica was discovered, but his obsessive use of it did eventually pay off
06:07when he used it to prove the best way to contact Voyager in the Delta Quadrant. Barkley's Voyager
06:12obsession was channeled into his home life as well. He has an affinity for cats, having once looked after
06:18Data's pet spot, and ends up adopting his own cat during Voyager. He calls the silver Persian cat
06:24Neelix after Voyager's Talaxian crew member. The cat ends up influencing the simulation of the
06:29actual Neelix, who audibly purrs to the surprise of the doctor. When he realized that Barkley has
06:35named his cat after Neelix, the doctor tells Barkley that the Talaxian would be proud to have had such
06:40an impact on Reg. It's unsurprising that Barkley has an affinity with cats, as he struggles forming
06:46social connections. While cats are definitely aloof, they don't crave the affection in the same way,
06:51something for him to aspire to, perhaps. Number five, the character was the brainchild of Gene
06:57Roddenberry. The origins of Reg Barkley can be traced back to the Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry,
07:03who, according to actor Dwight Schultz, felt like such a character was missing from Star Trek.
07:08The character of Reg is genuinely groundbreaking. In the utopian future of Roddenberry's Star Trek,
07:14everyone seems incredibly self-confident, and they're all excellent at their jobs. This can often make it
07:19hard for audiences to identify with the characters on an emotional level. Reg, on the other hand,
07:24he felt the pressures that many of us would have felt serving aboard a starship. The Federation
07:29flagship is incredibly overwhelming. Not only are you constantly at the forefront of space exploration
07:34and potential conflict, but there are also hundreds of people aboard whose names you have
07:39to remember. It's a daunting prospect for anyone, let alone someone who clearly suffers from imposter
07:44syndrome and social anxiety the way that Reg Barkley clearly does. It was an inspired move
07:50by Roddenberry to bring someone more realistic and grounded into the Star Trek universe, but much of
07:55the credit should also go to writer Sally Caves, who wrote Reg's first episode, as well as actor
08:00Dwight Schultz, for making the character such a hit with fans. Number four, he has an illness named after
08:06him. Reg Barkley has quite the medical history, hollow addiction, transporter phobia,
08:12and hypochondria. The latter led him to self-diagnose with transporter psychosis and
08:17Torellian death syndrome. He of course had neither of these conditions, but does have the questionable
08:22honor of having one particular illness named after him. Barkley's protomorphosis syndrome.
08:28It's something of a misnomer given that the disease was accidentally created by Beverly Crusher.
08:33What is it with the Crusher family holding grudges against Reg? The reason that protomorphosis
08:38syndrome was named after Barkley isn't that Dr. Crusher was avoiding blame, it's because it was
08:43intrinsically linked to a genetic abnormality in Barkley's body. This abnormality meant that when
08:49he was given a hypospray to activate dormant cells that could fight the flu, all of his dormant cells
08:54were activated. This caused a nightmarish transformation into a prehistoric creature
08:59which soon affected everyone else on the ship. Barkley blamed himself for the bizarre transformations
09:04of his crewmates, but Crusher reassured him that it was all down to her, before then offering to name
09:10the condition after him. Beverly really needs to learn to read the room. Number three, Barkley was
09:15almost in TNG's Lower Decks. Reg Barkley would be such a great guest star on an episode of Lower Decks
09:21that it's surprising it hasn't happened yet. However, Barkley did almost feature in the Next Generation
09:27episode which inspired Mike McMahon's animated Star Trek comedy. Lower Decks was a well-regarded
09:33episode of TNG's final season, which portrayed the events of the average Star Trek episode as seen
09:39through the eyes of junior officers. Originally, Barkley was considered to join the team of lowly
09:44Star Trek officers serving aboard the Enterprise-D. It would certainly be interesting to see how Barkley
09:49interacted with those who weren't senior staff, but the writers decided wisely to remove him from the
09:54final script. Ultimately, Reg Barkley was so well-known by the time of TNG's final season that he would
10:00have stolen the limelight from the other characters. Given that Lower Decks was a fresh take on the
10:05regular cast through the eyes of unseen characters, it would have lessened the appeal of the episode's
10:10unique hook if Barkley had joined them. Oh, but he should definitely still show up on Lower Decks.
10:16Pretty please, Mike? Number two, Dwight Schultz lobbied for the role of Reg. As a character actor
10:22previously best known for playing howling mad Murdoch in the A-Team, Dwight Schultz had worked with a number of
10:28people related to Star Trek The Next Generation prior to being cast as Reg Barkley. He had worked
10:33with Worf actor Michael Dorn in an episode of Chips and knew Whoopi Goldberg from their time
10:38filming The Long Walk Home. As a huge sci-fi fan, Schultz was keen to take on a role in Star Trek The
10:44Next Generation and expressed his interest to TNG's executive producer Rick Berman. However, it was his
10:51friendship with Whoopi Goldberg that was instrumental in getting him the role of Barkley. She saw how great a
10:56fit Schultz was for the show and said as much to Star Trek producers. Schultz swiftly received a phone
11:01call from his agent about the role of Reg Barkley. As a Star Trek fan who gets to take his place on the
11:07USS Enterprise, Schultz reflected that he was the lucky one chosen in an interview with TV Zone.
11:13It's that love of Star Trek and Reg's own self-conscious and nervous personality that resonated
11:18so well with fans who got to live their own Star Trek fantasies vicariously through him.
11:23Number 1. He was almost Voyager's doctor. Reg Barkley would eventually play an integral part
11:30in bringing the Voyager crew back to the Alpha Quadrant, but he almost had an even larger role
11:34in the Star Trek spinoff. When Voyager was in development, an outline suggested that the show's
11:39holographic doctor could actually be based on Reg Barkley and could be played by Dwight Schultz.
11:45In this version of Voyager, Barkley would have left the Enterprise in TNG Season 7 to complete work on the
11:51Emergency Medical Hologram program. Sadly, Barkley never got his proper send-off in TNG's final season.
11:58It's unclear if this was due to actor availability or just the absence of a solid story with which
12:03they could say goodbye to him. In the end, they decided to create a completely new character for
12:08Voyager. However, Barkley would eventually have links to the EMH. A Barkley hologram was a built-in
12:14failsafe for the doctor in the episode projections, and the real Barkley requested the EMH's help later in the
12:20series. In the episode Lifeline, Barkley teams up with the Voyager's doctor to cure the EMH's creator,
12:26Lewis Zimmerman, of a terminal illness. Given Barkley's reclusive nature, it's hardly surprising
12:31that the bedside manner of Voyager's doctor left a lot to be desired.
12:35And those were 10 things that you hopefully didn't already know about Reg Barkley. Let me know in the
12:41comments anything else about Reg that you think we should know. You can also subscribe to the channel
12:45to never miss a new video. If you want to find us on various social medias, you can do so at either
12:50Trek Culture or Trek Culture YT. And if you want to find me on social media, you can do so by simply
12:57searching Trekkie Brie. But with all that being said, I hope you all have a great rest of your day
13:01and don't forget to live long and prosper.
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