Star Trek: The Next Generation (TV Series)

Who Watches the Watchers (1989)

Jonathan Frakes: Commander William Thomas 'Will' Riker

Photos 

Quotes 

• Counselor Deanna Troi : Mintakan emotions are quite interesting. Like the Vulcans, they have highly ordered minds. A very sensible people. For example, Mintakan women precede their mates. It's a signal to other women.

  Commander William T. Riker : "This man's taken, get your own"?

  Counselor Deanna Troi : Not precisely. More like, "If you want his services, I'm the one you have to negotiate with".

  Commander William T. Riker : What kind of services?

  Counselor Deanna Troi : All kinds.

  Commander William T. Riker : They *are* a sensible race.

• Captain Jean-Luc 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!

  Dr. Barron : Like it or not, we have rekindled the Mintakans' belief in the Overseer.

  Commander William T. Riker : And are you saying that this belief will eventually become a religion?

  Dr. Barron : It's inevitable. And without guidance, that religion could degenerate into inquisitions, holy wars, chaos.

  Captain Jean-Luc 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!

• Commander William T. Riker : [to Picard]  It's worse than we suspected. The Mintakans are beginning to believe in a god. And the one they've chosen... is you.