Star Trek: Every Lt. Barclay Episode Ranked Worst To Best

9. The Nth Degree

Red Barclay The Nth Degree
CBS Media Ventures

The Nth Degree was Barclay's first time to properly shine. He is struck down by an energy beam from an alien probe, which leads his IQ to begin rising dramatically. This unnerves his colleagues but he quickly evolves past them, ending up hooked into the main computer via the holodeck.

While there is a theme of holo-technology with Barclay, this episode stretches it to its zenith. Using this interface, he becomes a part of the ship, connected via the neural network he has created, inverting space and sub-space to cross huge sections of the Galaxy quickly. (Seeing as he appeared in Star Trek: Voyager, it does seem like something of a cheap move not to make them aware of this technology...)

It turns out that he was scanned and upgraded by a race of aliens known as the Cytherians, who explore space by bringing other cultures to them, rather than the other way around. They cure Barclay of the upgrades they have given him, spending a further ten days interacting with the crew.

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Seán is the host and head writer/presenter for TrekCulture, as well as a writer/presenter on WhoCulture and WhatCulture Horror. He has authored two novels, dozens of short stories, and hundreds of articles for WhatCulture. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from University College Dublin. As part of his work with TrekCulture, Seán has been invited to participate in collaborations with Roddenberry Entertainment, as well as contributing to several Star Trek community projects. An avid fan of Star Trek, Doctor Who, and the horror genre at large, Seán's expertise has helped develop these channels to the successes they are today. As host of the Ups & Downs series on TrekCulture, Seán has become internationally recognised for his positive yet critically informed approach to reviewing every episode of modern Star Trek, ensuring he is one of the go-to voices in the Trek community. Favourite Quote to describe himself: "I'm serious about what I do, just not always about the way that I do it"

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