Prime Directive? We don't need no stinkin' Prime Directive?

[Gil Hamilton]

I saw Nemesis today (and thought it was OK, but it pissed me off in some areas, especially with the B-4 subplot) and I was wondering something.

...what happened to the Prime Directive? When they detected B-4, they found out that he was on a pre-warp industrial world. Now, it's their ultimate imperative that they do not influence or interfere in the course of any pre-warp societies history or interfere in the politics of other nations. Did Picard forget this? I find it hard to believe, considering he was expounding it all through TNG. So what was the deal in Nemesis? First, the parked his highly visible ~700m shiny starship in a medium orbit and hoped that no one on the surface noticed. Geordi claimed there was an ion storm nearby that could head their way, and prevent them from transporting. But that doesn't mean it's there yet! Why didn't they beam the positron sources up to the Enterprise before the ion storm reached their position and take off? That way, they didn't have to go to the surface at all, which minimizes the chance that they'd be noticed.
Defying explaination, Jean Luc "Mr. Prime Directive" Picard decided to fly down in his new toy, the Argo, a shuttle/dunebuggy combo. I can see the appeal, though the dunebuggy looked like it wasn't meant for offroad (it had leaf springs... you'd think they'd want coil springs for off-road). Of course, they failed to notice that the positron emissions were coming from an half and hour or so drive by outside a settlement. Naturally, the primitives noticed and were understandably upset that an alien craft violated their airspace and aliens were driving around their territory, thus rolled out with tanks and their own dunebuggies to apprehend the ETs (Picard and gang). I'm sure our military would do the same, really.
So what did Picard do? Have the Enterprise beam them and the dunebuggy out and then fly the Argo back by remote, thus minimizing contact? Of course not! They started shooting at them! Wow, using your rayguns on locals who have every right to be ticked at you is a great way avoid influencing the history of primitives... not. Now, not only do the locals have to deal with the society shaking fact that they aren't alone in the universe, but that the aliens with the advanced technology are hostile. Oh, that's not going to effect their history at all!

Shouldn't Picard be sacked for that? I'm pretty sure that Prime Directive is their ultimate imperative (behind the Omega Directive) and they are supposed to enforce it very seriously. Probably he just leave the whole running shoot-out with the locals out of his report. Way to go, Picard.

[Shinova]

The filmmakers were using their massive, Akira and Ner'Zhul-esque telepathic powers to influence everyone in the area to act in the most bizzarre manner possible in order to amuse the gods they have over as guests.

In other words,


BLAME EVERYTHING ON THE FILMAKERS!!!

[neoolong]

But following the Prime Directive would have been the logical thing to do. Which is exactly why they didn't follow it.

[Moff Jerjerrod]

You seem to be forgetting that the aliens are ugly, which of course makes them evil.