Review

Not quite as good as Barclay's previous three appearances, but still very good. It's remarkable how personally different Barclay's hologram was compared to the real thing. Holobarclay was so much more confident, even downright arrogant at times. I would assume this was done by Barclay intentionally, and not by the Ferengi. There are some directing issues in this otherwise wonderful episode though. Some scenes are in the wrong order, some are too long, some are too short. It would have been nice to see Holobarclay imitate the crew before we find out he's evil, and the scene when he gets angry at the doctor was just totally unnecessary. The biggest thing redeeming this episode is that it's a continuity goldmine. There are countless connections with TNG, too many to list. But all of them well placed. And finally the plot is amazingly original. The writer really knew his Trek and how to combine previously introduced elements into quite a story. With a little more care, this episode could have been among the top. But it's still quite good.