Episode of the Week: 3x04 "Who Watches the Watchers"

[Jeyl]

Memory Alpha Entry
Chrissie's Transcript

After three episodes of mediocrity we finally come to what I believe to be the first great episode of TNG's third season, "Who Watches the Watchers". The premise is typical enough with the Enterprise dealing with a primitive alien civilization and accidentally revealing themselves to them. What makes this episode really stand out for me is how much time it spends between the aliens and the Enterprise crew rather than just solely the Enterprise. Seeing how they react to these god like powers is pretty believable.

The highlight of the episode is without a doubt Picard meeting and Nuria. The way Picard has to explain to her that he is not some god like being but a simple, yet more technologically advanced species is well acted and quite touching in parts. the moment where Nuria is looking out the window of her home planet represents so many different things. She's the first of her species to journey into space and see what her world truly looks like. One of my favorite TNG moments for sure.

One minor thing that does bring this episode down a bit is Picard's insistence that they should have let Liko die. Beverly makes the point that they were responsible for injuring him since their actions caused Liko to find the hidden observation area. The way Picard keeps insisting on how he doesn't agree with that conclusion just makes me want to bonk him on the head, especially after what happened with last season's episode "Pen Pals". Last time Star Trek featured someone literally said "let them die" when involving an alien race it was out of anger and prejudice. Also, where did the Mintakans come up with technology to create bows like that? :P

CONCLUSION: It's funny how I have little to say about an episode I enjoy very much. It's just nice to see the crew problem solving rather than resorting to directives to be their "get out of jail free" card. Also nice to see Beverly stand up to Picard's "Let them die" argument.

STINGER:

 

[BillJ]

This is one I used to love, but I don't think it has aged terribly well.

Nice cinematography though.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I like the episode. It's not one of the best the series has to offer but it beats most of seasons 1-2 by a wide margin.

I don't have a problem with Picard saying to let him die, especially since he was right that helping him would have a seriously harmful effect on their development. From a Starfleet perspective, it's a 'needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one' situation. That's not to say Beverly was wrong to show compassion, but she was risking serious consequences in order to save one person.

 

[BillJ]

I don't have a problem with Picard saying to let him die, especially since he was right that helping him would have a seriously harmful effect on their development. From a Starfleet perspective, it's a 'needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one' situation. That's not to say Beverly was wrong to show compassion, but she was risking serious consequences in order to save one person.

But would there have really been serious consequences? You had a nutty Mintokan who had a vision. How many nutty people do humans deal with everyday?

Though Picard should've just beamed Palmer up and left the Mintokans with a mystery.

 

[Dream]

The outside locations looked great. It was really missed in season two, since they wasn't any in that.

Picard should have come clean from the start with the Mintakans.

 

[Starbreaker]

This was one of the first TNG episodes I ever saw. I had it on VHS and watched it several times about a decade ago. It didn't impress me very much when I watched it last year, but I think it's still a good episode and one of Patrick Stewart's best performances.

 

[MikeS]

The outside locations looked great. It was really missed in season two, since they wasn't any in that.

I can think of the holodeck scene in Pen Pals off the top of my head - there must surely be more?

 

[Dream]

The outside locations looked great. It was really missed in season two, since they wasn't any in that.

I can think of the holodeck scene in Pen Pals off the top of my head - there must surely be more?

I meant outdoor location shooting. Everything that was shot in season two was on a set, including all alien planet scenes.

 

[GalaxyX]

I don't have a problem with Picard saying to let him die, especially since he was right that helping him would have a seriously harmful effect on their development. From a Starfleet perspective, it's a 'needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one' situation. That's not to say Beverly was wrong to show compassion, but she was risking serious consequences in order to save one person.

But would there have really been serious consequences? You had a nutty Mintokan who had a vision. How many nutty people do humans deal with everyday?

Though Picard should've just beamed Palmer up and left the Mintokans with a mystery.

He was afraid that they would simply start believing in gods and start fighting amongst each other to see who's interpretation of the Overseer was the correct one, indirectly causing an inquisition.

Beverly did the right thing IMO. Picard did right by showing them the truth. He did wrong by leaving without at least offering Federation assistance IMO.

 

[MikeS]

The outside locations looked great. It was really missed in season two, since they wasn't any in that.

I can think of the holodeck scene in Pen Pals off the top of my head - there must surely be more?

I meant outdoor location shooting. Everything that was shot in season two was on a set, including all alien planet scenes.

So did I.

That scene was not shot on a set.

 

[Dream]

I can think of the holodeck scene in Pen Pals off the top of my head - there must surely be more?

I meant outdoor location shooting. Everything that was shot in season two was on a set, including all alien planet scenes.

So did I.

That scene was not shot on a set.

Apparently, "Pen Pals" was the only time in season two that they shot on location. Also TNG was the only Trek series that featured location shooting for its series finale. Here is a list.

http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Filming_locations

 

[sonak]

I generally dislike episodes from TNG that emphasize the PD. This one is no exception. The usual PD nonsense plus the heavy-handed commentary on religious belief brings this episode down for me.

 

[Captrek]

Unfortunately, post-TOS Trek handled the PD rather poorly. Episodes like this emphasize the extreme importance of the PD, stating it is better to die, or to allow someone to die, or to allow millions to die, rather than violate the PD. Yet with all that emphasis on its importance, they did a poor job of articulating exactly what the rules were or why they were so important.

One aspect of the PD that bothers me is the rule that any evidence of extra-planetary life must be hidden from sentient races who are not deemed ready for the knowledge. Acting to keep them in their "natural state of ignorance" is condescending arrogance; it treats them as animals on a nature preserve rather than as lifeforms who merit regard as peers. I enjoy Kirk expressing his contempt for the rule in STID, and note that Pike fails to offer a convincing defense of it.

Since there's no clear purpose for the rule, and it seems it would be an impossible rule to enforce in the Star Trek universe anyway, I don't really care whether or not "primitives" end up learning the truth in episodes like Pen Pals and this one. The stories thus fail to engage me.

On the upside, I like Picard's ultimate decision about how to handle the situation: treat the Mintakans with respect and tell them the truth. But why was it so hard to get to that point?

 

[Trekker4747]

An episode I really like, some good ideas and stuff carried out here and it felt like a "genuine" episode of exploring and encountering new civilizations. I really liked the tapestry he's given which will adorn the back of the chair in Picard's quarters for the rest of the series and even can be seen on his Ready Room chair on the Ent-E in the movies. It's just a nice element to see this prop and think of what it means. A gift from a people who literally saw him as a god.

 

[Strange Citizen]

Hi all,

First time posting on the TrekBBS.

An interesting episode. Not one of my favourites, because I don't find the Mintokans extremely captivating, mostly due to how I was always confused by their appearance. Are they supposed to be relatives of either Vulcans or Romulans? They certainly display emotions, but some of them seem unusually stoic at times, too (Nuria is who I'm thinking of here, although she also has emotional moments). This always confused me and I wondered why we hadn't seen or heard anything of another race resembling the Vulcans and Romulans before or after.

Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the Mintokans actually say that in their language, the word "Picard" holds the same meaning as "deity" due to a myth, which is why they started to mistakenly develop their whole religion around Captain Picard solely because Liko sees him while in Sickbay, and then hears Dr. Crusher call him by his name? If I'm correct that this is the reason behind the whole main crisis, then isn't it a little convenient for the same name that was in their mythology to also be a french name which our captain goes by?

However, this isn't an episode I feel any antipathy for either, because the positive side of it is the fun of watching our main characters - especially Picard - dealing with a difficult situation of this nature. All in all, I think he handles it very well.

Finally, it has what is, in my opinion, one of the most unintentionally hilarious and cheesy moments in all of TNG when Liko decides to shoot Picard in order to prove that he is "a God", which of course backfires. It's supposed to be all serious and dramatic, and when I saw it as a kid, it was. As an adult, I just find some of the acting to be a little...hokey. Notably, Nuria screaming: "Liko! Don't do it!" and his daughter yelling: "Father, no!" and then the whole way Picard falls backwards, followed by Liko's reaction afterwards which is to...start crying. I don't mean this in a bad way at all, I know it was meant to be serious - I just personally find it to be, well, a bit hammy and overacted to say the least. Trek always varied when it came to action and drama - sometimes it was played really well, other times...well, I guess it depends on the actors and writers involved, and the director of course.

Jeyl, I really enjoy your TNG reviews and the discussions which build around them. Looking forward to discussing some of the coming episodes, a few of which are among my favourites of all Trek episodes!

 

[Trekker4747]

There's never any mention in the episode on what "Picard" means to the Mintokans. I find myself chuckling at the crossbow scene because Liko is clearly threatening Picard with a blunted practice arrow.

 

[BillJ]

An interesting episode. Not one of my favourites, because I don't find the Mintokans extremely captivating, mostly due to how I was always confused by their appearance. Are they supposed to be relatives of either Vulcans or Romulans? They certainly display emotions, but some of them seem unusually stoic at times, too (Nuria is who I'm thinking of here, although she also has emotional moments). This always confused me and I wondered why we hadn't seen or heard anything of another race resembling the Vulcans and Romulans before or after.

'Vulcanoid' means they share similar physical characteristics with Vulcans. Romulans are Vulcans who left Vulcan 2,000 years prior after losing a war (see: Balance of Terror - TOS).

Suppression of emotion is a cultural choice Vulcans make because they have violent emotions.

 

[Captrek]

I find myself chuckling at the crossbow scene because Liko is clearly threatening Picard with a blunted practice arrow.

That explains why he was surprised by its effect on the Picard.