Realm of Fear (TNG episode)
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| Star Trek: TNG episode | |
| "Realm of Fear" | |
 |
|
| Episode no. | 128 |
|---|---|
| Prod. code | 228 |
| Airdate | October 11, 1992 |
| Writer(s) | Brannon Braga |
| Director | Cliff Bole |
| Guest star(s) | Colm Meaney Patti Yasutake Dwight Schultz |
| Year | 2369 |
| Stardate | 46041.1 |
| Episode chronology | |
| Previous | "Time's Arrow, Part 2" |
| Next | "Man of the People" |
Realm of Fear is a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode primarily centered around Reginald Barclay's paralyzing fear of the transporter. It is the second episode of season 6. It is the first (and, to date, only) episode to show the transporter process from the point of view of a person being transported.
The episode starts with the Enterprise coming to the assistance of a science vessel. They are to beam over an away team, including Lt. Barclay, and when it is his turn to transport, he becomes very nervous and ends up walking away.
After talking to Counselor Deanna Troi, he finds the courage to face his fear and transport over. Still a bit nervous before transporting, Chief O'Brien relates that he was once afraid of spiders, and understands how Barclay feels. Barclay offhandedly mentions that he has never had a problem with spiders. He sees something in the matter stream in mid-transport and, when a check of the transporter reveals no anamolies, convinces himself he must have been hallucinating and is suffering from transporter psychosis, an affliction that hasn't been seen in 50 years.
His condition causes him to behave erratically eventually forcing Troi to temporarily relieve him of duty. Returning to the transport room, he studies the log and with the help of O'Brien discovers that a surge occurred only during his transport, which would explain why only he suffered any negative effects. He transports again and has O'Brien create the same surge again. He sees a creature in the beam once again and calls the senior staff together to insist further investigation is taken.
Convincing Captain Picard that there may be a real problem with the transporter, more intensive investigation is done both on the transporter and on Barclay's physical condition. Barclay's arm is found to be out of phase and in order to cure him he is sent through the transporter a final time, but this time he will need to be kept in the beam for a longer interval to reverse his condition. While in the beam he sees that one of the creatures is actually a crewman of the science ship - trapped inside the beam after an explosion on his vessel. Grabbing onto the man, Barclay brings the crewmember back with him out of the transporter beam. Worf and two other security officers transport after Barclay to rescue the other crew members trapped in the beam.
The episode closes with Barclay and O'Brien meeting in the Ten-Forward and striking up a conversation about how they each have dealt with their fears. O'Brien has even brought his pet spider, Christina, to share with Barclay. However, as the episode closes we see Barclay nervously staring at the spider as it crawls up his arm, the impression being that perhaps Barclay hasn't quieted all of his fears just yet.
| Preceded by: "Time's Arrow, Part 2" |
Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes | Followed by: "Man of the People" |
