SUMMARY: Federation scientists secretly studying the primitive Mintakan race are accidentally seen by a Mintakan. Not only that but after spending time on the Enterprise-D, this Mintakan revives among his people ancient religious beliefs about "the Overseer", or supreme being, whom he names "the Picard". Picard must decide how to repair the damage done by both accidental and deliberate breaches of the Prime Directive.
In 2366, the Enterprise-D responds to a distress call from a Federation anthropological study group on the planet Mintaka III. The scientists are observing an extended family of native inhabitants; the Mintakans are a proto-Vulcan race in the Bronze Age period of development. The anthropologists' reactor has malfunctioned and the Enterprise fails to arrive to make repairs before the generator shorts out when arcing electricity injures the scientists, and the 'duck blind' camouflage (a holographic image blending it into the surrounding rocks) deactivates.
the generator blows, and Palmer can be seen climbing out of the 'duck blind' (view on the Enterprise's bridge's main screen), and the holographic camouflage deactivates
A Mintakan male, named Liko, and his daughter, Oji, see a light high up among the rocks - it is caused by the malfunctioning systems of the 'duck blind' - he climbs up to investigate. He looks into the room. Inside is an Enterprise away team which has beamed down to help the scientists and repair the generator. Liko is startled when one of the injured scientists vanishes - beamed up. Two of the scientists are sent to the Enterprise sickbay but the third, named Dr Palmer, left the room at the time of the accident and cannot be found. When Data notices him and draws Riker's attention to him, Liko loses his footing. He puts a hand on the metal of the shelter and the still arcing electricity gives him an electric shock, hurling him off the rock ledge. He is badly injured.
the 'duck blind', Liko and Oji, Liko witnesses a beam-up, he falls and Crusher beams up with him to sickbay, Oji sees it, the 'duck blind' is now invisible again once the holographic generator is repaired
Dr Crusher beams him to the Enterprise Sickbay, in violation of the Prime Directive and thus to Captain Picard's annoyance.
Crusher: "Before you start quoting me the Prime Directive, he'd already seen us, the damage was done. It was either bring him aboard or let him die."
Picard: "Then why didn't you let him die?"
Crusher, indignantly: "Because we were responsible for his injuries."
Picard: "I'm not sure that I concur with that reasoning, Doctor, but, now that he's here, you must remove all memory of the encounter with the away team."
Crusher: "By erasing short-term recall."
Picard: "It has been accomplished before."
Crusher: "I am familiar with Dr Pulaski's technique, but I can't guarantee it'll be effective on the Mintakan brain chemistry."
[TNG: Season 3: Who Watches The Watchers]
While there, Liko sees advanced technology in use and comes to believe that Picard is the "Overseer", the Mintakan term for "God". The Mintakans believe that the Overseer is a supernatural being who possesses supreme power, is able to appear and disappear at will, and to raise the dead. Dr Crusher tries to erase Liko's short-term memory, so that he will not remember his time aboard, but the procedure fails. After he is returned to the planet, Liko starts formulating a system of beliefs based upon his experience, reviving ancient Mintakan legends about the gods and declaring that their Overseer is named "the Picard", which spreads the cultural contamination in violation of the Prime Directive.
Crusher and Picard discuss her breach of the Prime Directive and he orders her to wipe the patient's memory, Liko regains consciousness and sees "the Picard"
Riker and Troi beam down in native disguises to find Palmer and learn of the further contamination.
Troi: "But our presence must not interfere with the cultural development of the Mintakans."
Picard: "Agreed. Further contamination must be prevented."
[TNG: Season 3: Who Watches The Watchers]
The Mintakans find Palmer first and now even their leader, Nuria, starts to believe Liko's tales.
Top left: Nuria shown left, with Liko. Top right: Riker and Troi in native disguise. Bottom: Two villagers bring in Palmer whom they have found.
While Troi leads the Mintakans on a 'wild goose chase', Riker escapes with Palmer but Oji sees him and they realise Troi's story is a ruse. Riker takes Palmer to a place where the transporter beam will not be seen by the pursuing Mintakans. But Troi is trapped and detained as a possible sacrifice to appease the wrath of "the Picard". Remembering that "the Overseer" can grant favours, Liko now desperately wants "the Picard" to bring his dead wife back to life; she died in a flood the previous year.
Troi leads the villagers away. Riker escapes with Palmer and beams up with him. Troi is detained as a prisoner, with Liko suggesting her as a sacrifice.
The chief anthropologist, arguing that cultural damage has already been done, suggests that Picard, in the role of Overseer, beam down and give the Mintakans a set of rules, but Picard says that to impose rules violates everything the Prime Directive stands for.
Barron: "They're trying to comprehend what they believe to be a god."
Picard sighs. "Recommendations?"
Barron: "The Mintakans wish to please the Overseer but they can only guess what He wants. They need a sign."
Picard: "Are you suggesting-?"
Barron: "You must go down to Mintaka III."
Riker: "Masquerading as a god?!"
Picard: "Absolutely out of the question. The Prime Directive-"
Barron: "Has already been violated. The damage is done. All we can do now is minimise it."
Picard: "By sanctioning their false beliefs?"
Barron: "By giving them guidelines, letting them know what the Overseer expects of them."
Picard: "Dr Barron, I cannot, I will not, impose a set of commandments on these people. To do so violates the very essence of the Prime Directive."
Barron: "Like it or not, we have rekindled the Mintakans' belief in the Overseer."
Riker: "And are you saying that this belief will eventually become a religion?"
Barron: "It's inevitable. And without guidance that religion could degenerate into inquisitions, holy wars, chaos."
Picard: "Horrifying. Dr Barron, your report describes how rational these people are. Millennia ago they abandoned their belief in the supernatural. Now you are asking me to sabotage that achievement, to send them back into the dark ages of superstition and ignorance and fear?! No! We will find some way to undo the damage we've caused. Number One, tell me about this group's leader."
Riker: "Nuria - exceptionally clear-minded, sensible. The Mintakans trust her judgement. If we could convince her that you are not a god-"
Picard: "She might be able to persuade the others."
Barron: "And how do you propose to convince her?"
Picard: "She believed that the god is a magical figure. I'm going to show her how the magic works."
[TNG: Season 3: Who Watches The Watchers]
Instead, Picard brings Nuria aboard the Enterprise to prove that he is mortal and that the Enterprise personnel are merely further along in the social evolutionary scale than the Mintakans. Nuria does not believe he is not the Overseer until she sees he is unable to prevent one of the injured scientists from dying.
Nuria on board the Enterprise
Meanwhile, terrifying lightning storms prompt a hysterical Liko into almost sacrificing Troi before "the Picard" arrives. Troi tells Liko that the problem with a supernatural being is that one cannot be sure what they want, and even Liko's daughter expresses doubt. Liko calls on "the Picard" for a sign. At that moment Picard does arrive, with Nuria. Liko disbelieves Picard's claim to be mortal and merely a traveller from another land (Picard carefully does not explain about the Enterprise) and says that he can prove it by shooting him with an arrow. Nuria is horrified but Picard holds her back. He tells Liko that if Liko kills him, it will prove that Picard is mortal. The arrow draws blood and Liko at last believes him. The Mintakans are now aware that outworlders exist. Picard has one last meeting with them, during which he shows them the 'duck blind', which is to be dismantled, is given a Mintakan gift, and leaves having restored the people's beliefs to what they had been before but now with a desire to travel to the stars.
Fento: "Then why do you have to hide yourself from us?"
Liko: "Because their presence would affect us, just as it affected me."
Picard: "It is our highest law, that we shall not interfere with other cultures."
Oji: "Then revealing yourselves was an accident."
Picard: "Oh yes. And now we must leave you."
Oji: "Why? There's so much you can teach us."
Picard: "But that too would be interference. You must progress in your own way."
Nuria: "So we will. You have taught us there is nothing beyond our reach."
Picard: "Not even the stars."
[TNG: Season 3: Who Watches The Watchers]
DISCUSSION:
That Liko and his daughter sees the 'duck blind' and he sees its interior are accidents. Crusher thinks that saving Liko's life by bringing him aboard the Enterprise, in violation of the Prime Directive, is justified because they are responsible for his injuries. Picard disagrees with her. Crusher did not think the situation through fully, which is understandable - when one sees someone hurt in an accident the tendency is to act straightaway. He and Crusher expect to erase Liko's short-term memory recall (see point 2 below re the procedure), though she cannot guarantee it due to Mintakan physiology.
The fact that the memory-wipe procedure does not work, unlike in [TNG: Pen Pals], returns in full measure the burden of decisions (heed or break the Prime Directive and do which in what circumstances) to those in command. They cannot fall back on the "let's help them then wipe their memory" strategy. It means that Star Trek stories after [TNG: Pen Pals] cannot use that now removed 'prop', requiring the scriptwriters to devise new plots and twists, not that I doubt they can do so anyway but they cannot fall back on it if they paint themselves into a corner.
Picard violates the Prime Directive by bringing Nuria on board the Enterprise, showing her parts of it (the transporter room, some corridors, the conference lounge and sickbay, and the view of her planet), and eventually convinces her that he and his people are like the Mintakans merely further on in terms of society and technological development, but such explanation infers stellar travel. He leaves with her and, through her, the Mintakans, a desire to attain stellar travel. Likely, given Picard's assessment of the Mintakans, they would gain such a desire by themselves anyway. He has no doubt that they will attain space travel.
Picard is stern and apparently unyielding about the Prime Directive (in this episode, an exception is [TNG: Pen Pals]) - he indicates to Crusher that she should have let the native (Liko) in sickbay die rather than bring him aboard, and he sharply reminds Dr Barron that Dr Palmer, like all the personnel, took an oath to uphold the Prime Directive with their lives if necessary. He may be stern and apparently with little sympathy at certain moments (as leaders often have to be), but my goodness, he laudably holds firm to his purpose, willing to let Liko kill him in order ultimately to undo the damage caused by the breach of the Prime Directive (I feel very proud of Picard at that moment). It is only Oji rushing at her father to try and stop him that sends Liko's aim off and the arrow only wounds Picard.
NOTES:
In Encyclopaedia, the episode name appears with a question mark at the end but the episode as aired on television displays the title without a question mark, and I accord with the latter throughout this article. screenshot of episode title
Blooper: When Crusher is by the injured Liko after he falls, she scans him with a tricorder then taps her combadge, but the post-production crew forgot to dub in the sound of her combadge.
Liko is played by Ray Wise who later guest-stars as Arturis in [#94 Hope And Fear]. For that [Voyager] story, Brannon Braga said, of auditions: "Ray doesn't need to read for us because he's been on the show before."
Continuity: Picard and Dr Crusher refer to the memory wipe technique employed by Dr Pulaski on Sarjenka in [TNG: Pen Pals]
To avoid further cultural contamination, Riker and Troi beam down to Mintaka III wearing native disguise, a routine ploy by Starfleet officers e.g. Kirk and Spock in [TOS: Patterns Of Force], [TNG: Homeward], the away team in [#47 False Profits] and the away team in [#50 and #51 Future's End]. Riker and Troi also use subcutaneous transponders, like Kirk and Spock in the aforementioned episode, and like Chakotay in [#162 and #163 Workforce] though he does not use one for Prime Directive reasons.
The Federation 'duck blind' being used to observe the Ba'ku is also deactivated (deliberately, by a malfunctioning Data) enabling the watched to see the watchers, in the later [Star Trek IX: Insurrection].
When Liko aims a bow and arrow at Troi, then later at Picard, the accuracy of his shooting cannot be in doubt since the villagers and Nuria respectively who are standing right by them do not move away. Nuria moves away when Liko actually shoots, doubtless a reflex action. One of the villagers remains standing behind Troi; if Liko were to shoot her, it is sensible that they should be elsewhere, if only not to receive the full weight of a falling body, assuming that Troi's dead body were to fall backwards which would seem to be the most likely direction.
The exterior scenes of Mintaka III were filmed at Vasquez Rocks, near Los Angeles. Three [TOS] stories' exterior scenes were filmed there: [TOS: Arena], [TOS: Shore Leave], [TOS: Friday's Child].
