A season ago, in "Hollow Pursuits", the character Reg Barkley was introduced. Barkley is a character who is painfully shy and self- conscious and who had a habit of retreating into the holodeck instead of interacting with real people. Here in his return, Barkley has changed a bit. While he is still very shy, he's trying- -and the show begins with him performing on stage with Doctor Crusher for an audience on the ship. While his performance wasn't exactly brilliant, the fact that he's expose himself to others this way is a huge step. However, the next step he's about to take is beyond anything anyone could have anticipated. During a mission aboard a shuttle craft, Barkley is hit by a beam from an alien probe. Soon, he begins to show amazing intellectual prowess. Additionally, his confidence now seems to know no bounds. At first, all this is great and he becomes a much more valuable member of the crew. But, when he's assuming almost god-like abilities, it scares the crap out of everyone. And, by this point, can anyone stop him?!
Apart from how incredibly stupid the crew was in this one (it took WAY too long for anyone to suggest that contact with the probe is what changed Barkley), this is a great episode. I'd like to say more, as the way all this works is wonderful, but I don't want to spoil it. Enjoyable, a bit funny but also very clever.