Star Trek: The Next Generation (TV Series) Who Watches the Watchers (1989) User Reviews

great story

[benjaminkh2 · 9/10 · 18 January 2007]

I was watching back through the first three seasons to select episodes that would make a good sampling for a friend of mine; this episode is the one (out of the first three seasons) that I would be absolutely certain to recommend to anyone. It requires little to no background information and tells an engaging story. Also, to my recollection, no other episode conveys so well the wonder of reason and cultural progress.

Just as another reviewer observed about The Inner Light (my personal favorite), this episode shows that sci-fi, at its best, is not so much about the technology as it is about good storytelling.

One of the Best TNG Episodes... Should Have Been a Movie

[speedy-droid · 8/10 · 22 October 2017]

The worst thing about this episode is that it's far too rushed. The concept is intriguing and could easily have been a feature-length film. For a 1980s TV series that was still finding its legs, the acting and story were very good. However, 45 minutes was not enough time and there are obviously gaps in the plot. The most glaring example is that it takes Picard only about 5 minutes of screen time to bring a bronze- age person aboard the Enterprise, educate her about 24th-century medical technology, dispel a return to an ancient superstitious religion, and solve the problems caused by an inadvertent first contact.

This episode gets a lot of heat for being anti-religious, but it's really not. The dilemma is that a progressive society is inadvertently contacted by the Federation, which triggers a return to beliefs in an ancient religion based on superstition (the kind where thunder means that God is angry and demands a human sacrifice). At no point in the episode is it asserted that there is no God... in fact, that issue is not even addressed. The issue is the superstitious basis for a religion long since discarded which returns with a vengeance due to the inadvertent contact and ultimately results in Picard being worshiped as a god.

I saw this episode as profound

[robbearfl · 9/10 · 20 July 2010]

Other critics complain that it derides religion, what I got was that Picard did not want to be responsible for a religion in his name and the blood shed that seems to inevitably follow. This poster of the other review that has such a problem should read some European History about the Religious Wars. It is my considered opinion (and have been pondering for several decades that I don't need religion, faith is different. One can have faith in G'd, luck, the numbers, whatever, facts are however concrete. The medical therapy in ST:TNG would seem like magic to folks of lower tech worlds, that is a very good reason to show technology is not supernatural just advanced beyond their current understanding. (possible spoiler)

He did want to do his duty according to his standing orders, and did so in the best possible way he could devise.

I hope I have not spoiled

one of the best of Star Trek

[annyard1960 · 10/10 · 20 April 2014]

This is a super episode of Star Trek, a true classic.

What is so great about this episode? The answer is simple. This episode illustrates one of the great flaws of human beings, namely the insanely extreme actions they will take to force others to believe whatever nonsense they themselves decide to believe.

This massive flaw in human being is at the root of endless billions of instances of humans mistreating other humans. Happens every day, in endless ways.

This understanding is not some religious or atheist lesson. People behave this way about endless issues, not just whether god exists or not. People mistreat others for not accepting socialism or communism or democracy or fascism or any number of political systems (all of which are bogus). People mistreat others for not accepting certain kinds of medical treatments. Hell, people kill each other for supporting "the wrong" sports team!

So yeah, the lesson this episode takes on is far more general than religion. The lesson is intellectual independence... or lack thereof. Shall we deal with other humans by intimidation and force, or should humans simply have conversations with each other, and let each draw their own provisional inferences, and update them as they accumulate more and more experience.

Great idea. Great story. Great writing. Great episode.

The Prime Directive.

[russem31 · 17 April 2006]

ST:TNG:52 - "Who Watches The Watchers" (Stardate: 43173.5) - this is the 4th episode of the 3rd season of Star Trek: The Next Generation. This episodes bring to the forefront the concept of the Prime Directive and what happens when it's violated (even if accidentally). The Enterprise crew will soon have to disguise themselves as this developing race (for the first time in TNG) in order to rescue an injured survey team member. An intriguing premise which continues the superb 3rd season. Great use of music in this episode too!

This episode stars Ray Wise as Liko (he was also in "Robocop" and the "Twin Peaks" series, as well as more recently playing the Vice President on "24").

Trivia note: the camouflage used to cover up a survey of a primitive race on a planet is just like in Star Trek: Insurrection (where a similar type survey is going on). Also, Dr. Crusher mentions Dr. Pulaski's short term memory wipe technique she used in "Pen Pals".

One of the best NG episodes

[crsunblast · 9/10 · 26 August 2020]

"Who Watches the Watchers" is surely one of the best episodes of Star Trek... any series. It explores many questions of evolution and religion, and was probably the genesis of the "Insurrection" film. Too bad this episode wasn't made into a film in its own right.

One of the best "Prime Directive" episodes of Trek!

[a-gordon-2374 · 9/10 · 4 March 2022]

This is one of the best episode of Star Trek that involves the seriousness of the Prime Directive. It handles it really well, that's all I can say without spoiling it. You realize by watching this episode how important the Prime Directive is and how difficult it is to decide what to do when it may have been accidentally violated. It's a fun episode from start to finish.

Who Watches the Watchers

[Scarecrow-88 · 8/10 · 18 July 2012]

The Prime Directive has produced some compelling, thought-provoking stories during the Next Gen series. "Who Watches the Watchers" is no exception. Dark Shadows' own Maggie Evans, Kathryn Leigh Scott has a great part as the female leader, Nuria, of a race of Vulcans named Mintakins similar to humans in that they live in huts and hunt with crossbows. They are considered by the Federation as sensibly thinking realists who have "abandoned the belief in the supernatural as a deity", his name the Overseer. They are considered a developing people certain to do great things. An outpost, holographically hidden, with a few scientists monitoring the Mintakins from a safe distance (or is it?) suffers a serious malfunction that sends surges of electric charges that harm them. The outpost reappears and now can be seen by the outside world. A father and daughter Mintakin, Liko and Oji (Ray Wise and Pamela Adlon), are going about their daily routine when the outpost can be seen by them. Liko climbs to see what it is, notices the away team beamed down to rescue the fallen scientists, shocks himself on the electrically charged building, falls a few feet, and is transported by Dr. Crusher's order to the Enterprise. The Pulaski brain wipe doesn't work on Liko and his memories on board the Enterprise remain intact. His stories of a god named the Picard places the Enterprise crew in a difficult position regarding "contamination" by interfering inadvertently in the Mintakin way of life, as Liko starts to change his people's views on a powerful deity who can do wondrous, supernatural things, certain he can control the weather or bring loved ones back to life. When the Mintakin's find a missing scientist, Riker and Troi will have to beam down disguised as them hoping to recover him without further damage. Damage control is what I would say Picard tries to implement, even beaming Nuria on board hoping to convince her that he is a flesh and blood lifeform, not a god worthy of worship. Picard is a little ticked off at Crusher for bringing Liko on board, but this is that sticky area where the Prime Directive Federation law, this special philosophy that discourages interference, can possibly be challenged. When Riker is successful in returning the scientist to the Enterprise, Troi is held captive by a conflicted Liko who is afraid that the Picard will be angry for the loss (Liko overheard Picard say he wanted this man back aboard the Enterprise) and might have to punish her to appease him. Conflict in how to correct a series of events that set in motion paranoia and fear based on wrongfully perceived information and that debate on how far to go to halt what could develop into chaos and holy war really places Picard in a fascinating quagmire; seeing him work this out really makes this episode great. This episode has been (or could be) seen by some as a treatise on religion and how belief in a god or God can cause more harm than good. Some passionate dialogue by Picard to the outpost's lead scientist might fuel this even further. But I just view this as another episode that examines the complexities of the Prime Directive and how an accident can trigger an upheaval of complications.

A Bit Heavy-Handed but Not Bad

[Samuel-Shovel · 6/10 · 17 September 2019]

In "Who Watches the Watchers" the Enterprise shows up to service a scientific team on a developing planet who are secretly observing a Vulcan-like race as their civilization progresses. A malfunction causes an explosion in their "duck blind", killing members of the expedition, exposing the team to the native inhabitants, and causing one member to go missing. A curious native gets hurt and beamed aboard the Enterprise. He mistakes Picard for a god and soon has his people worshipping "The Picard". Riker and Troi go down in disguise to find the missing scientist and talk down this newfound religion, only making things worse. Picard is forced to head down to the planet to save Troi from being sacrificed.

I was a bit surprised this episode was so highly regarded when I logged onto IMDb. I thought it was fairly middle of the road as far as TNG is concerned. This ep is apparently a but polarizing for some because of its atheist theme. This surprised me as well; even TOS has atheist themes, this isn't anything new for Star Trek. I'm not sure why we're still arguing about this. It's kind of the point of the whole episode?

We get some fun guest appearances though, most notably Ray Wise as the troublemaker that started this all. The alien species design was actually a bit unsettling to me, really odd looking faces. The plot is fine enough without being profound, they do lay it on a bit thick though. A solid 3/5.

Eye opening episode

[aram-99008 · 10/10 · 30 March 2020]

This episode puts the history of humanity into perspective. Religion, superstition, ignorance, desperation; these are all topics expressed in this episode, with masterful writing and directing. This episode does not hold your hand, it forces you to come to your own conclusions and find your own solutions. Just as some episodes of TNG show humanity to be extremely primitive (even in the 2300s), this episode displays them as supreme beings, gods even. It puts the history of our species into perspective. Perhaps our gods are just aliens that didn't follow the prime directive.

Clichéd title for above-average episode

[Mr-Fusion · 7/10 · 18 August 2016]

'Who Watches the Watchers' has sprinkles of action - attacks by bow-and-arrow, characters falling off mountain ledges, and the Prime Directive gets trampled - but the best stuff happens in conversation. Picard is mistaken for a deity by a pre-warp society and has to lay down some logic. You can get a general idea of where this is going: scrutiny over the belief of a god, etc. Naturally, all of this goes down while crewmembers' lives hang in the balance, but regardless, the whole episode's an ideal mixture of science, morality and philosophy. It's intellectual Trek, all the way; and entertaining primarily because of Patrick Stewart's massive skills.

7/10 Also, between the Prime Directive and the duck blind, you just know the movie "Insurrection" was written after watching this episode.

If it upsets the fundamentalists...

[Grumpypheasant · 10/10 · 28 August 2011]

The outrage of Christian extremists is the best testimony of this episode's necessity and of its continuing validity, 22 years after first airing.

Sadly, fundamentalists will always miss the point. Rather than realise the foolishness of resorting to extraordinary explanations when easy ones are unavailable (as the Mintakans briefly do, believing "Picard is a god" to be the only explanation to the feats they've witnessed); they'll claim outrage and talk of "offense".

"I'm offended" is the newest way dogmatic people have found to avoid thinking, and they'll ride it out for as long as we tolerate it. They'll make up oxymora like "militant atheism" to defend the dogma, because it's easier to throw nonsensical accusations than to actually start being rational about something.

Religious shows can be counted in dozens, atheist shows are pretty rare (there's Star Trek, Star Trek and, at a push, maybe Star Trek), yet that's already too much. Any view that contradicts the precious dogma is anathema, it must be purged from our screens!

Of course, they do look for opportunities to be offended, as often as possible. If atheism is so intolerable, so vile to them; there's an easy solution, one I personally adopt towards all religious shows: not watching.

Silly insinuations regarding faith

[toddkvamme · 6/10 · 22 December 2012]

I read the reviews here that are defending this episode as "necessary" and fantastic, etc. The problem here is not the story necessarily...its the insinuations that are present in the dialogue.

I had not seen this episode originally...at least I don't remember having seen it. But, watching it tonight, I found it totally absurd when Picard characterizes the abandonment of belief in the supernatural as an "achievement". Belief in the supernatural is characterized as "superstition, ignorance and fear". That is total rubbish.

So, while one reviewer has stated the following:

"THIS IS THE CORE of the episode, not the Faith angle, because lots of people have Faith. Not the MAGIC angle, not really the GOD angle and most definitely not ATHEISM. But the point where Liko decided, that they had to KILL Troi, was the actual point where Liko became Out of Bounds. If a person's FAITH requires them to HARM somebody else, in any way, that Faith should be lost immediately."

I have to partly disagree...because when abandonment of belief in the supernatural is characterized as an "achievement" then we are indeed talking about atheism. Granted...Dr. Barron is concerned about Holy Wars and Inquisitions occurring among this primitive race, and the episode rightly characterizes blind zeal as errant...but that is a wholly different discussion than the philosophical discussion regarding the existence of the supernatural. The writers basically failed to deconvolve this hot-button issue from their main point, that of overzealous, errant "faith".

So...at the end of the day...I saw this as typical "Hollywood" side swiping of faith in anything that is not "scientific". I love it at the end when Nuria says, "You have taught us there is nothing beyond our reach". Huh? Picard just showed her they can't conquer death! Apparently, death doesn't rate!

But...still an OK episode despite the silliness. Doesn't hold a candle to Season 7 Episode 7 "Masks"...perhaps my all time favorite.

Picard: their great achievement was abandoning the supernatural

[colins573 · 2/10 · 21 April 2020]

Just plain shallow, agenda writing that made a once open minded Picard appear foolishly shut off to consideration of the supernatural. Do you think a man in love with archaeology and exploration would have his mind closed to the possibility? He already stated in an early episode he didn't believe death was the end.

I'm not a fundamentalist creation scientist, I'm an evolutionist AND I also believe in the supernatural... reason and faith don't have to be at odds... I'm annoyed when Christians do it and I'm annoyed when atheists do it. End the shallow false dichotomy, please.

When can we have respectful disagreements without lines being drawn that lead to comments like "their great achievement was abandoning the supernatural."

Every single time I watch this episode

[darthcasanova · 8 November 2018]

It gets me right in the feels. My favorite episode after The Inner Light.

Anthropology research gone wrong

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 6 December 2018]

Futuristic anthropologists get to observe a culture in development by means of a camouflaged station. As anyone who took Anthropology one can tell you any contact with any culture will contribute to the development of same. It's the reason for the prime directive, leave relatively primitive cultures alone to develop.

Star Fleet's prime directive goes awry here when the station camouflage is down and a father and daughter from a cousin race to the Vulcans. One is beamed up to the Enterprise at Dr. Crusher's orders because her prime directive involves saving lives. The patient under sedation sees enough to convince him he's up among the gods of which Captain Picard is Jupiter.

Not wanting these people to develop some kind of religion around worship of the Picard Deity is Patrick Stewart's problem. He takes a potentially dangerous solution to solve it and to save Marina Sirtis's life when she is held hostage by the natives.

An anthropologist's episode if there ever was one.

Contrast this episode with Rightful Heir

[robert3750 · 8/10 · 1 September 2020]

In this episode, religion is depicted as useless, counterproductive, and irrational. In the episode Rightful Heir, religion is depicted as useful for what it teaches, regardless of its supernatural basis. Data even says he experienced a "leap of faith", an idea very far removed from the attitude expressed in Who Watches the Watchers.

For some odd reason, Picard doesn't want to be a god!

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 15 November 2014]

Boy, does the Federation screw up this time!!! A group of scientists are observing a bronze age civilization on Mintaka III. As per the Prime Directive, the scientists are hiding behind fake rock in the hills-- shielded from view by the Mintakans. However, their holoscreen malfunctions and the Mintakans SEE them! Sadly, when Picard tries to undo this harm, he accidentally ends up creating a new cult that worships HIM as their god!! So, in trying to undo the damage, they just make things worse!! Should Picard just give up once and for all or is there some way he can possible fix this huge mess?

This is a pretty intriguing show and shows just how much damage can be done unintentionally. Additionally, seeing Picard, the god, trying to dig his way out of this mess was rather entertaining.

A True Challenge for Those That Do the Right Thing.

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 14 August 2014]

Living under the prime directive should preclude carelessness. The people researching a race of people (who look like Vulcans) end up blowing their cover. This draws the Enterprise crew into the mix and they are observed by the inhabitants. Beverly, following her Hippocratic oath beams up a native who falls from a precipice when startled. When he awakens on board the Enterprise he sees Picard in a soft light and assumes he is a god who has used his powers to save him. Of course,things get truly complicated because the confusion that ensues presents complex moral situations that need to be remedied.To complicate things, Riker and Troi, dressed like the inhabitants, are stuck on the planet. As they bide their time, trying to convince these people that their beliefs are simply superstitions, a man is captured who had disappeared when all hell broke loose. Since "the Picard" is seen as a god, they have to figure out what to do with this incapacitated stranger. Jean-Luc beams the female leader aboard to do what he can to try to show her that they are not gods, the Enterprise isn't Valhalla, and he is only a human at a different stage of history. The prime directive certainly complicates things. It's sort of like the U. S. Bill of Rights. It may not allow you to do what you interpret as right, but at its foundation it is right and proper. Without it, all sorts of bad stuff can happen and civilizations would be changed forever. It also keeps those who think they have all the answers in check. Excellent episode.

Let's keep twisting our self into pretzels to keep to the Prime Directive.

[RichN36 · 7/10 · 23 December 2012]

When I caught this the other day on TV it was the first time I had ever seen this story, I think this was the season I skipped for some reason. It wasn't a bad Story and for a NG: Star Trek it was above average.

But like many have pointed out this did have a anti religion slant and that bugged me. But what got me more saying WTF? Was the extent the crew went to keep to the Prime Directive. The crew twisted themselves into all sorts of pretzels just to keep their secret. There was more direct ways to get out of the situation, but then again if they did that the show would of lasted 10 minutes. Another problem was how our "hero" Riker acted halfway through the show, but then if he did act like a real hero the show would of ended 30 minutes into the story.

One of my favorites

[milocibelli · 10/10 · 26 April 2020]

Up until the end of this season and beginning of the next, this episode stood out to me as the best of TNG. It does a great job of examining the Prime Directive and has a great performance from Patrick Stewart.

Not sure what all the hullabaloo is about this average episode.

[kfo9494 · 6/10 · 19 March 2014]

I am not sure what all the hullabaloo is about this episode and the reviews that want to argue a person's feeling about a show. Some people will like this show and some will not- that happens in about all shows when viewed by different people. if we all had the same review it would be a poor world.

In this episode the Enterprise responds for help from an federation outpost that are viewing the progression of a mild Vulcan like people called the Mintakins. The Mintakins are a developing people that have progressed as far as crossbows and fire. But when a power failure happens the hologram, the outpost was using, disappears and two of the Mintakins are witness to the federation power. When one of the Mintakins becomes injured, he is carried to the Enterprise for medical service. However erasing the memory fails and he can remember Captain Picard on the Enterprise and believes that Picard is a god that he has heard stories about. Now Picard has to think of a way to prove that he is no god to the Vulcan like people.

The first part of the episode was very entertaining and then for some reason the show slowed so much that the viewer was losing interest. There is nothing really wrong with this episode but became slow which ruined the experience of the first twenty minutes of the show. It seems there are strong emotions where you either love or hate this episode. I find this episode about average.

Underrated, it seems

[anttiahmala · 10/10 · 25 June 2021]

I can't believe this is not rated higher. It's much better than Darmok for instance, in my opinion, even better than The Inner Light. It captures the progressive and optimistic spirit of TNG, and it's a perfect standalone episode even for someone who hasn't watched much Trek. Even better if you are familiar with the Vulcans.

"He could even bring back those who have died."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 29 November 2023]

Well, I don't know how anyone else views the Prime Directive, but I had to shake my head a few times while watching this episode. It felt like the story twisted itself into a pretzel to maintain the consistency of the Prime Directive, but it just couldn't. Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) himself wouldn't beam down to the planet Mintaka III to prove he wasn't a god, so what does he do? He has one of the proto-Vulcan humanoids named Nuria (Kathryn Leigh Scott) brought aboard the Enterprise to convince her that he's just an ordinary man. After some success, he and Nuria beam back down to the planet! To my mind, why couldn't he have done that in the first place? I get the whole concept of cultural contamination, and why the Prime Directive was such an important guideline for the Federation, but in almost every case in which the Enterprise and its crew got involved with an alien race on their home turf, there was bound to be some influence that rubbed off on that planet's inhabitants. The only effective countermeasure to that was a Dr. Pulaski mind-wipe introduced by her during the second season. I did think the whole idea of Mintakan Liko (Ray Wise) believing the Captain was a god and naming him 'The Picard' was pretty hilarious, and made for some uncomfortable moments for Jean-Luc. The Enterprise crew could have had some fun with that when everything was set right with the Mintakans.

P. S. At one point aboard the Enterprise, a scale model of the ship is shown, but with call letters NCC-7100. If the model was supposed to represent the actual Enterprise, then someone got it wrong, as the call letters of the ship were NCC-1701-D.

Polarizing Episode, With An Agenda

[jjburgess · 3/10 · 8 July 2017]

This episode promotes the atheist viewpoint, which diminishes its entertainment value for theists who are aware of the assault on the theistic world view. It does not present a reasoned argument, it simply dismisses theistic beliefs as ignorant and primitive. This would be okay if the atheist argument could be proved, or if the theistic argument could be disproved, but with repeatable test results being the standard of current scientific community thinking, neither can be. Therefore productions that present both sides can be enjoyed by thinking, open minded people, whereas productions that disrespect one side so blatantly can only be enjoyed by people who have closed their mind, are motivated more by arrogance than humility, and have little or no respect for fellow humans who have studied the facts and come to a different conclusion.