Pathfinder (episode)

Real world article
(written from a Production point of view)

"Pathfinder"
VOY, Episode 6x10
Production number: 40840-230
First aired: 1 December 1999
←  128th of 168 produced in VOY  →
←  128th of 168 released in VOY  →
←  588th of 911 released in all  →
Arc: The Pathfinder Project (1 of 4)  →
Teleplay by	David Zabel and Kenneth Biller
Story by	David Zabel
Directed by	Mike Vejar
In-universe date	Unknown (2376)

When the Enterprise-E returns home to Earth, Lieutenant Barclay seeks Counselor Deanna Troi's help when he worries that he has become obsessed with the crew of Voyager.

Summary

Teaser

In an apartment on Earth, there's a knock at the door and Lieutenant Reginald Barclay gets up from a couch to answer it. When he opens the door, Deanna Troi is standing there. Barclay is delighted to see her and offers her some chocolate ice cream, which she accepts. When she comments on the mess in the apartment, he tells her that, although he moved in two years previously, he hasn't had a chance to unpack yet. Troi asks if he's okay – he seems a little on edge. Barclay assures her he's fine, and that since the Enterprise is in orbit, he just wants to spend some time with her. He's been working on the Pathfinder Project until recently, and he was under a lot of pressure. The project involves trying to establish communication with the stranded USS Voyager. His cat, Neelix, jumps up on the table, as he tells Troi that the real reason he asked her there: he has become obsessed with Voyager.

Act One

Barclay apologizes to Troi for having lured her into a counseling session. She dismisses his concerns and asks him to start from the beginning. He tells her that he had the idea of directing a tachyon beam at a class B itinerant pulsar, with enough gravimetric energy to create an artificial wormhole. However, his superiors thought it would be an abuse of the MIDAS array. Troi is lost by all this and tells him to go back to the beginning. He reveals that the real beginning was in the holodeck.

The scene flashes back to Barclay in the holodeck, running simulations on the bridge of Voyager, trying to establish a method of communications. Commander Pete Harkins enters and asks him what he's doing. Barclay says he's just running a simulation. Harkins reminds him about some transmitter diagnostics that he has forgotten to do. Barclay claims that he's almost finished them. Harkins reminds him that Admiral Owen Paris is coming first thing in the morning, a fact Barclay had also forgotten. Barclay wants to brief Admiral Paris on his theory about using a pulsar passing within four billion kilometers to create an artificial wormhole and then using it to communicate with Voyager. Harkins rejects the idea, recalling that six months were wasted on trying to develop a transwarp probe based on Barclay's simulations. He tells Barclay that while the admiral is visiting, he'll do the talking.

In a voiceover, Barclay says he was so sure his plan would work, he couldn't give it up. Harkins comes into the lab late at night and finds Barclay working. Barclay tells him he's finished the diagnostics. Harkins knows this, expresses satisfaction with the work, but suggests that Barclay call it a day. However, Barclay says he has something to clear up first. Harkins invites Barclay over to his house for coffee, and to meet his sister-in-law from Boston. Barclay declines, and after Harkins leaves, he says in voiceover that he couldn't leave until he had strengthened his case for accessing the MIDAS array. With Admiral Paris' visit just fourteen hours away, he hadn't come up with anything, so he decided he needed some inspiration. He activates the holodeck program of Voyager's mess hall and enters the holodeck. Here, everyone aboard Voyager knows and likes him. He sits down to play poker with Chakotay, B'Elanna Torres, Harry Kim, and Tom Paris, calling them his best friends. In this world of his own creation, Barclay is an expert poker player.

Barclay had hoped that the poker game would calm his nerves, but when he gets home, he can't sleep. He heads back to the holodeck for a massage from The Doctor. The Doctor tells Barclay that to cure his insomnia, the root cause of his sleeplessness needs to be found. Barclay tells him that when he tries to sleep his mind races and he worries about the project, and whether he's doing all he can. When he leaves The Doctor, he goes to sleep in his holographic quarters, saying in voiceover that he felt more at home there than his own apartment.

Act Two

The next morning at the briefing, Commander Harkins tells Admiral Paris that when The Doctor's program was transferred to Starfleet two years ago, Voyager's position was Delta Quadrant sector 41751, grid 9. A range of likely trajectories has been extrapolated and estimating the ship is maintaining an average warp speed of 6.2 and accounting for various astronomical obstacles, Voyager is now assumed to be in one of three sectors. Admiral Paris asks if they can contact them, and Harkins says that they have been working with the Vulcans on the deployment of the MIDAS array, which is still in the testing phase. It can send signals at hyper-subspace speeds which can cut transmission times from years to days. Unfortunately, Voyager won't be able to respond. However, they will at least know Starfleet is still looking for them, and they will send them data on the hyper-subspace technology and hope they can eventually use it to return the call.

Then Barclay, who had impatiently but until now obediently remained silent, finally speaks up. Stuttering and inarticulate, Barclay tells the admiral that there might be a way to establish two-way communication with Voyager, and attempts to describe his plan, which involves creating a wormhole. The admiral asks Harkins if there is any merit in the plan, Harkins says that Barclay has a tendency to get ahead of himself, and that the plan is beyond their abilities. Barclay gets excited at this, and shouts that they've got nothing to lose by trying, and that they're forgetting that there are 150 people stranded. Admiral Paris coldly replies that he has a son on that ship – he hasn't forgotten them for a moment. After Barclay apologizes, Harkins tells him to take the rest of the day off.

In the present, Troi asks Barclay how he dealt with his feelings. Barclay is evasive, and says he needed someone to bounce ideas off, so he went back to the holodeck, claiming that they are the only people he can talk to. Troi thinks he's having a relapse of his holo-addiction, (TNG: "Hollow Pursuits") and asks him how the holodeck helped his work.

Flashback to Barclay in the briefing room on Voyager. He is explaining the problem to the crew: how to produce enough power to form the singularity. He hits on the idea of compressing the data stream so a micro-wormhole can be used. He then goes down to engineering, where he talks through what he needs with Chakotay. Harkins walks in and asks him what's going on. Barclay tells him he's working. Harkins is surprised that he has created holograms of the crew. It turns out that Barclay has been in the holodeck for the last ten hours, ever since he was dismissed from the briefing with the admiral.

Barclay tells Harkins (who he usually refers to as "Pete") that the plan has been scaled down, but Harkins doesn't want to hear it. Barclay's been spending about twenty or thirty hours a week in the holodeck, and Harkins feels he's having a relapse of his holo-addiction. Barclay denies this, but Harkins tells him he needs counseling. He thought he was being a friend, giving him some leeway, but he didn't realize how involved in Voyager Barclay had become. Harkin removes Barclay from the project until the latter gets some help, and the lab and hologrid are off limits.

Act Three

Barclay has been waiting outside Admiral Paris' office for a while, refusing to leave, so eventually the admiral agrees to see him. The admiral gives him five minutes to explain himself, and his theories. Barclay apologizes for his behavior at the briefing. Paris says he heard about the hologram of the Voyager crew, including his son, and he finds it rather disturbing. Barclay gives him his new plan, telling him he just wants to try, that he could give him the chance to talk with Tom. The admiral says he trusts Harkins' judgment in removing him from the project and is not going to let personal concerns interfere with the proper chain of command. Barclay agrees but says Voyager shouldn't be punished for what he did. Paris finally promises to order a review of Barclay's findings.

The present. Troi supposes the meeting went well, but Barclay disagrees. He claims Admiral Paris was just trying to get rid of him, and he wants Troi to call Paris and tell him that he (Barclay) is psychologically fit for duty. Troi tells him she can't do that and to relax, he's done all he could. Barclay shouts that there's nothing wrong with him. Troi reminds him that by his own admission, he's become obsessed with Voyager. Barclay, still excited to the point of desperation, says his own well-being is a sacrifice he's willing to make to help Voyager. He breaks down and starts to sob. Voyager is all he has left. When he left Enterprise he felt as if he lost his family. The only way to cope was to create a new family on the holodeck. Troi says she'll ask Captain Picard for a leave of absence to spend some time with him, to get him through this personal difficulty.

That night, Barclay can't sleep, so he gets up and goes to the lab. His authorization codes are unsuccessful, but his engineering skills are easily sufficient enough to override the lockout, getting him into the holodeck, where he interfaces with the MIDAS array.

Act Four

Barclay activates the array and turns it up to full power. He then directs a sixty terawatt tachyon beam at the itinerant pulsar. The micro-wormhole forms and Barclay directs its trajectory towards the Delta Quadrant and the first possible location of Voyager. He sends a message to Voyager, but there's no response. Then Harkins comes in with a security team and tells him to step away from the controls. Barclay appears as if he was going to obey, but instead suddenly transfers the controls to the holodeck, and runs in to the Voyager program. The security team follows, while Harkins tries to shut down the program.

With the help of the holographic Voyager crew, Barclay erects force fields around the team trying to apprehend him. Harkins can't shut down the program, so he calls for reinforcements. Meanwhile, Barclay redirects the wormhole, and retransmits the message. Again, there's no answer. Another security team appears, and Barclay escapes into a Jefferies tube. Harkins goes to engineering and initiates a warp core breach. Barclay gets to the bridge and redirects and re-sends the message. Harkins arrives and tells him to shut down the program, which he does, rather than see Voyager destroyed.

On the real Voyager, Seven of Nine is telling Neelix that she has decided not to teach him to sing as his voice is totally incapable of holding a tone... however, the trivial subject is quickly forgotten when Seven detects the micro-wormhole.

Act Five

Only part of the message is received, but Janeway responds straight away, as the wormhole is collapsing. Back on Earth, Barclay is being led away when Admiral Paris enters and tells Harkins that, as promised, he reviewed Barclay's plan and believes it is worth an attempt. Harkins tells him that Barclay already tried, without authorization and without success. Barclay apologizes for it not working and is prepared to accept the consequences. Suddenly, a beeping noise is heard, and a garbled transmission pokes through a mess of static. Barclay is vindicated on the spot. He replies with some help from Harkins cleaning up the transmission, and Janeway says she's been waiting a long time for this. Barclay tells her the feeling is mutual, but the wormhole is collapsing. He sends her information on the hyper-subspace technology, and Janeway transmits the ship's logs, crew reports, and navigational logs.

Then Admiral Paris speaks. He asks her how the crew is holding up. Janeway replies that the crew has been exemplary, Tom included. The admiral says he misses him, and that he's proud of him. Tom listens in silence and shock aboard Voyager. Janeway assures the admiral that his son heard him, and the admiral assures her that Starfleet is doing everything it can, but just then the wormhole collapses and the communication is ended. Harkins says he's sorry he doubted Barclay, and Admiral Paris tells him that thanks to him, Project Voyager is just beginning.

In the mess hall on Voyager, the crew are having a party to celebrate. Torres asks if anyone knows who Barclay is, to which The Doctor answers saying that he took the liberty of reviewing Barclay's personnel file and comments on his rather colorful career and unusual medical history. Janeway is just glad that he came through for them. Seven then tells everyone that she has finished analyzing the hyper-subspace technology data they received from Earth and that it looks promising. The crew can look forward to regular contact in the future. Neelix says that this calls for a toast and Tom is chosen to do the honors:

"To my dad – it's nice to know he's still there; and to the newest honorary member of the Voyager crew; Reginald Barclay, whoever you are."

A private toast to celebrate Barclay's success

Back on Earth, Troi congratulates Barclay. He tells her he couldn't have done it without her help. Commander Harkins was pleased, although he is a bit wary that Barclay is dating his sister-in-law. Troi is surprised and amused to learn the name of the lady in question: Hope.

Memorable quotes

"Has it ever occurred to you... that a tachyon beam directed at a class-B itinerant pulsar could produce enough gravimetric energy to create an artificial singularity?"
"I can't say it has."

- Reginald Barclay and Deanna Troi

"After all, you are my best friends."

- Barclay, to the holographic Voyager crew

"You know what I am always saying: If you can't stand the heat..."
"Get out of the warp core!"

- Barclay and Ensign Kim hologram

"It's good to hear your voice, Lieutenant. We've waited a long time for this moment."

- Kathryn Janeway to Reginald Barclay after finally establishing a com link between Voyager and Starfleet Command

"This is Admiral Paris."
"Hello, sir."
"How are your people holding up?"
"Very well. They're an exemplary crew, your son included."
"Tell him... Tell him I miss him. And I'm proud of him."
"He heard you, Admiral."
"The wormhole is collapsing."
"I want you all to know we're doing everything we can to bring you home."
"We appreciate it, sir. Keep a docking bay open for us. We hope to see you..."

- Admiral Paris, Janeway, and Barclay

"You did it, Reg. I'm sorry I doubted you."

- Pete Harkins to Barclay

"Why the long face, Mr. Barclay?"
"Because... because, it's over, sir."
"No, Lieutenant. I'd say that Project Voyager is just beginning. Thanks to you."

- Admiral Paris and Barclay

"To my dad – it's nice to know he's still there; and to the newest honorary member of the Voyager crew; Reginald Barclay, whoever you are."

- Tom Paris

"Congratulations."
"Well, I'm not not sure I deserve congratulations."
"Why not? It's quite an accomplishment."
"I-I couldn't have done it without your help."
"What did Commander Harkins have to say about it?"
"Well, I think, I think he was pleased."
"Why wouldn't he be? You're quite a catch."
"Well, not everyone would want a sister-in-law to date someone with my history."
"It's a new era. So tell me all about the lucky lady. I want details."
"Well, her name is Hope."
"You're kidding."
"No. And-and, and she loves cats."

- Troi and Barclay

Background information

Story and script

• The original title for this episode was "Home Fires." (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 1, Issue 24, p. 31)
• Sirtis noted in an interview before airing, "Troi wasn't originally as heavily featured in the episode as she ended up being. But after I had told them I'd do it, they kept writing more and more scenes for me. I think Barclay originally had a wife, and they wrote her out and possibly gave me some of her stuff." (Starburst, issue 256, p. 20)

Production

• A shot of Robert Duncan McNeill as Nicholas Locarno from TNG: "The First Duty" was used as the photo of Tom Paris on Admiral Paris' desk. The photo initially depicts his combadge being worn on the right side of his uniform, but a subsequent shot of the photo depicts the combadge being on the left side instead.
• The exterior of Starfleet Headquarters was evidently portrayed using a recycled shot from DS9: "Homefront".
• Troi actress Marina Sirtis accepted the invitation to appear in this episode without reading its script; she simply asked what the installment was about, and the prospect of working with Barclay actor Dwight Schultz influenced her into accepting the offer. She thereafter read the script, though. Concerning the experience of returning to the set of a Star Trek television series after having worked for years on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Sirtis commented, "It was surreal, really weird. I didn't get to work with any of the Voyager cast because all my scenes were on Earth with Dwight [....] The [production] crew was virtually the same as we had for two or three seasons, so I knew everybody and everybody knew me. And with Dwight, I was working with someone from The Next Generation, so it was almost as though I'd gone back in time. It was so strange, but so much fun. Of course, I got all depressed when it was over and I had to leave! [....] The crew on Voyager [...] said to me, 'We really miss you guys.'" (Star Trek Explorer, No. 2, No. 1, p. 8)
• The episode's trailer spliced together bits of dialogue to make it seem like Counselor Troi said, "I've decided to ask Captain Picard for help."
• This was the last episode of Star Trek to air in the 1990s.
• Set Designer Tim Earls intentionally used concrete and stone in the Project Pathfinder lab to differentiate it from labs that might be found on a starship. (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 1, Issue 24, p. 31)

Continuity

• The actual Voyager crew are not seen until approximately thirty-six minutes into this episode.
• This episode references aspects of all three of the live-action Star Trek spinoffs that existed at the time: Troi mentions the Enterprise being in orbit, Barclay mentions receiving information from Deep Space 9, and Pathfinder tries to contact Voyager.
• This is the last chronological mention of Deep Space 9 on Voyager. DS9 is mentioned again in a later Voyager episode, "Fury", but the reference to the station is made in the past, in 2371.
• This was the first time Starfleet Headquarters was seen after the Breen attack on Earth during the final weeks of the Dominion War in 2375, depicted in DS9: "The Changing Face of Evil". Most of San Francisco, including the Golden Gate Bridge, have evidently been restored by this time. Starfleet officers in the shot of the building's exterior, however, are still wearing the older style uniform.
• The holographic Voyager crew are all dressed in their first season attires, including Janeway's hair bun, Paris' lieutenant pips, and Chakotay and Torres in Maquis fatigues. In the script they are identified as "Holo-Paris", "Holo-Kim", "Holo-Chakotay", "Holo-Torres", "Holo-Doctor", and "Holo-Janeway". Neelix and Seven do not appear in the holodeck program, although Barclay has some knowledge about Neelix and named his cat after him.
• Harkins' briefing for Admiral Paris mentions that Pathfinder's projection of Voyager's location takes into account the information that The Doctor brought to Starfleet from the episode "Message in a Bottle". However, since the events of that episode, Voyager made three large-scale jumps towards the Alpha Quadrant which Starfleet had no way of knowing about; these occurred in "Timeless", "Dark Frontier", and "The Voyager Conspiracy". This should have resulted in Voyager being thousands of light years ahead of where they were found by Barclay's wormhole.
• In the Pathfinder holodeck, the holographic Torres shoots two (real) Starfleet security officers with a holographic phaser and it has no effect. This is one of the very rare occasions when holodeck safety protocols are seen functioning correctly.
• Although The Doctor doesn't mention it at the ending celebration, he met a holo-recreation of Reginald Barclay in "Projections", where he learned that Barclay was a part of the creation project of the EMH, testing the EMH's interpersonal skills.
• Barclay has worked with another communications array in TNG: "The Nth Degree", when the USS Enterprise-D had to fix the Argus Array.
• The Doctor's divulgence of Barclay's medical history to the celebrating Voyager crew would appear to be a breach of doctor-patient confidentiality, though Barclay was never a patient of The Doctor himself. However, if there was a Starfleet equivalent of HIPAA, it certainly would be a direct violation of patient privacy laws.

Reception

• Before airing, Sirtis suggested the episode may be one of the best of the season. "It's always hard to tell, but I think it's going to be one of the best episodes of the year for Voyager... I was talking to someone who had spoken to Kate about this show, and apparently Kate felt that it was one of the year's best episodes too. She thought it had a very strong script and I agree with her. It's a really good storyline. And hopefully, viewers will see the warmth and caring between Barclay and Troi in our scenes." (Starburst, issue 256, p. 20)
• Sirtis added, "It was wonderful to be the kind and nurturing Troi again, rather than the wacky, zany Troi we've seen in the last two movies," referring to Star Trek: First Contact and Star Trek: Insurrection. "There's one scene in particular which is very emotional and has Troi at her most 'Troi-est'. When we were rehearsing it, I actually realized how much I missed playing those scenes where Troi was the emotional touch-stone of the crew... those scenes are always very rewarding to play, as a person let alone as an actress." (Starburst, issue 256, p. 21)

Video and DVD releases

• UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, Paramount Home Entertainment): Volume 6.5, 3 July 2000
• As part of the VOY Season 6 DVD collection

Links and references

Starring

• Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway / Kathryn Janeway

Also Starring

• Robert Beltran as Chakotay / Chakotay
• Roxann Dawson as B'Elanna Torres / B'Elanna Torres
• Robert Duncan McNeill as Tom Paris / Tom Paris
• Ethan Phillips as Neelix
• Robert Picardo as The Doctor / The Doctor
• Tim Russ as Tuvok / Tuvok
• Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine
• Garrett Wang as Harry Kim / Harry Kim

Special Guest Star

• Dwight Schultz as "Barclay"

Guest Stars

• Richard Herd as Owen Paris
• Richard McGonagle as Pete Harkins

And

Special Guest Appearance By

• Marina Sirtis as Deanna Troi

Co-Stars

• Victor Bevine as Security Guard
• Mark Daniel Cade as Technician
• Majel Barrett as Computer Voice

Uncredited Co-Stars

• Tarik Ergin as Ayala / Ayala (hologram)
• Adolphus Hankins as Pathfinder vice admiral
• Peter Harmyk as Thompson
• Angus McClellan as Pathfinder technician
• Pablo Soriano as Voyager operations ensign
• Steve Stella as Voyager command officer
• Noriko Suzuki as Voyager operations officer
• Unknown performers as
  • Neelix (cat)
  • Nicole (voice)
  • Pathfinder technicians
  • Pathfinder vice admiral

Stand-ins

• Brita Nowak – stand-in for Jeri Ryan

References

ability; artificial wormhole; astronomical obstacle; Barclay 11 Gamma; Barclay Pi 3; billion; Boston; "burning the midnight oil"; career; cheese omelet; chocolate ice cream, class B itinerant pulsar; coffee; Communications Research Center; Data; data stream; Deep Space 9; Delta Quadrant; doctor-patient confidentiality; Earth; Enterprise-D, USS; Enterprise-E, USS; figure (anatomy); five of a kind; flattery; forecast; gain; Grid 9; Grid 11; Harkins, Angie; holo-addiction; holodeck; honorary; Hope; hope; hoverball; hyper-subspace communications; intruder alert; Jefferies tube; kilohertz; kilometer; La Forge, Geordi; logic; malady; medical ethics; Mess Hall Scenario; micro-wormhole; MIDAS array; name; narrowband filter; obsession; one-eyed jack; Pathfinder Project (aka Pathfinder, Project Pathfinder, Project Voyager); phenomenon; Picard, Jean-Luc; player; poker; pulsar; San Francisco; scoop; Sector 3658; Sector 41751; Sector 41752; Sector 41753; Sector 64238; shark; shore leave; signal processor; simulation; sonic shower; Spot; Starfleet Command; straight flush; suicide king; tachyon; tea; teradyne; terawatt; toast; trajectory; transceiver; transmitter diagnostic; transporter phobia; transwarp probe; Type 6 shuttlecraft (unnamed); Velocity; vocal cords; "Voyager's doctor"; Vulcan; warm milk; wild card

External links

• "Pathfinder" at StarTrek.com
• "Pathfinder" at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• "Pathfinder" at Wikipedia

Previous episode: "The Voyager Conspiracy"

Star Trek: Voyager Season 6

Next episode: "Fair Haven"