Who Watches the Watchers

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.