Who Watches the Watchers
- Episode aired Oct 14, 1989
- TV-PG
- 45m
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
4.4K
YOUR RATING
A proto-Vulcan culture worships Captain Picard and prepares to offer Counselor Troi as a sacrifice.A proto-Vulcan culture worships Captain Picard and prepares to offer Counselor Troi as a sacrifice.A proto-Vulcan culture worships Captain Picard and prepares to offer Counselor Troi as a sacrifice.
Wil Wheaton
- Wesley Crusher
- (credit only)
Pamela Adlon
- Oji
- (as Pamela Segall)
Michael Braveheart
- Crewman Martinez
- (uncredited)
Lorine Mendell
- Crewman Diana Giddings
- (uncredited)
Tim Trella
- Palmer
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe Mintakan tapestry that is given to Picard by Nuria and the villagers is seen on Captain Picard's chair in his quarters in many subsequent occasions on Star Trek: The Next Generation. After the Enterprise-D is destroyed in Star Trek: Generations (1994) Picard keeps the tapestry on the back of his chair in the ready room of the Enterprise-E, it can been seen in both Star Trek: First Contact (1996) and Star Trek: Insurrection (1998).
- GoofsWhen Dr. Crusher contacts the Enterprise to beam up the injured Liko, the reply can be clearly heard as, "Yes, Captain" rather than "Yes, Doctor." This error has been corrected in the remastered release.
- Quotes
[Liko is about to shoot Picard to prove that the latter is a supernatural being]
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: If you believe I am all-powerful, then you cannot hurt me. If, however, I am telling the truth, and I am mortal... you will kill me. But if the only proof you will believe is my death... then shoot.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Star Trek Insurrection Review (2009)
- SoundtracksStar Trek: The Next Generation Main Title
Composed by Jerry Goldsmith and Alexander Courage
Featured review
If it upsets the fundamentalists...
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.
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.
helpful•7054
- Grumpypheasant
- Aug 27, 2011
Details
- Runtime45 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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