When Barclay met Janeway! Exploring Star Trek: Voyager's Pathfinder [Warp Factor 3.3]

In Season 6 of Star Trek: Voyager, Captain Janeway and the crew finally got to talk to Starfleet. After years of messages lost in time and a holographic doctor being sent across the stars, Voyager finally got to connect with home.

It is an incredibly powerful moment, made so not only by the performance of the always brilliant Kate Mulgrew, but also the departed Richard Herd. Herd played Admiral Paris, the talked about (but never seen) father to Tom Paris, and he gets a chance here to let his son know that he's proud of him.

All of it comes thanks to an unlikely ally — Lieutenant Reg Barclay. Actor Dwight Schultz returns to Star Trek as the holo-obsessed Mr. Broccoli, and surprise! He is obsessed with Voyager now. Helping him through his ordeal is Counselor Troi, naturally played by the returning Marina Sirtis.

It's a feast of crossovers, and not only because of Barclay and Troi. Captain Picard gets a reference, and Barclay gets some info from Deep Space Nine. It also, naturally, includes the cast of Voyager, since... it's a Voyager episode.

Here's to Lt. Barclay... whoever he is. Welcome back to Warp Factor, where we're finding a path through this episode. Watch right here!