Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Lt. Barclay
7. The TNG Writers Struggled To Bring Him Back
Reg Barclay was an instant hit, due to both the writing of this relatable and realistic character, and the great performance by Dwight Schultz. Plans were immediately set in motion to bring Barclay back for another episode of TNG, but there was a problem. So wonderful was the character that the writers didn't want to bring him back for the sake of it.
Instead, they agonised over how to bring him back, they wanted the character to develop, rather than be stuck in the mould of a nervous Starfleet officer with a holodeck addiction. It took the writer's room the best part of a year to find their perfect Reg Barclay story - season 4's The Nth Degree. This was a favourite episode of Dwight Schultz, and Barclay fans.
In it, Barclay's intelligence is substantially improved by an alien force attempting to make contact with the Enterprise. It was the perfect evolution of the character, who had moved past his anxieties by becoming an actor and a super-intelligent Starfleet officer. At the end of The Nth Degree, Barclay is disappointed at being returned to his usual self, but he's reassured by Troi and Geordi in a touching scene that hints he still has some residual intelligence from his encounter.