User Reviews

My metaphoric summary is to highlight just how absolutely incredible this episode actually is. The late Paul Winfield was truly amazing in this and the script was one of the best I've ever seen written for a television show. The crew's anxiety over the Captain's safety was well done, but the credit here goes to the two leads. Dathon's exasperation at Picard's lack of understanding was so well acted out. When Picard finally catches on, and later begins to tell Dathon a story in a limited fashion, was very touchingly written. Picard's communication with the Tamarian ship was heart rending and left the viewer with a heavy heart. A definite highlight, not just of season five, but of the entire Star Trek universe as a whole.

While fans will no doubt pick any number of classic episodes from The Next Generation, this particular one is my all-time favorite of any of the Trek series. It just seems to sum up what the series is all about: Attempting to seek out new life and communicate with them, trying to remain peaceful with the odds not in their favor, the crew teaming up to solve a particular crisis---all well-handled in this episode.

Paul Winfield in super here as an alien that can speak only in a metaphor-like language where symbolism is everything. At first perplexed and untrusting, Picard warms to this captain and even tells his own story in metaphor to the pleased captain. Also, they must team up to face-off against a Predator-like beast while the alien captain's ship thwarts any attempt by the Enterprise to rescue Picard. They want the two strangers to communicate and possibly become allies.

The final moments of this episode are just heart-rending and touching and will stay with you for a long time. Season 5 is probably my favorite of the series and this episode is the best, but not the only reason why.

There are some things on TV that are worth viewing many times. For me, this is one of them. Paul Winfield plays an alien, a Tamarian, that comes from a culture whose language has evolved into metaphor. Without some sort of Rosetta Stone, for more conventional speakers, this is incomprehensible. This wouldn't be a huge problem if other alien races weren't fearful of these people. If they are seen as threatening, the ability to circumvent a confrontation is diminished. The Enterprise finds itself in this situation, not knowing if they have encountered a friendly or bellicose force. Picard and Dathon, the Tamarian commander, find themselves in survival mode on the planet, having been beamed to the planet. They begin trying to communicate and are really frustrated with one another. They are also attacked by a creature that fades from corporeality to invisibility. This creature becomes critical in the entire scope of the episode. The efforts made by the two men to aid each other and to come to some sort connection lead to one of the most interesting relationships this series ever saw. On board the Enterprise, the crew goes into war mode because they feel the Captain is in mortal danger (which is true but for different reasons). Aside from the plot itself is the language that defines the Tamarians. This is one of the most creative pieces of science fiction I've encountered (and I have read voluminously). See this if you haven't already.

This episode, 'Darmok', is the "other side" of science fiction and Star Trek. If you are able to appreciate space exploration without phasers and photon torpedoes and universal translators, this is Star Trek at its very best. This is learning to communicate verbally on a base level using metaphor and points of reference as language... This isn't Kirk wanting to shoot first and ask questions later. This is Picard and crew having to reason it out from square one. This is what Next Gen does best. It is Star Trek the way Gene Roddenberry saw it. If you want beams of light and things disintegrating in a sparkling blaze, try the 'Doomsday Machine'. If you prefer mental gymnastics, this is more your dish... This episode is often compared to 'Arena' from the original series and yes, there are numerous similarities in structure and plot. However, the differences, development and conclusions are equally dissimilar... Watch it for yourself and just enjoy it as part of "going boldly where no one has gone before"...

Another 10/10... Yeah, it deserves it.

I am a great admirer of when Star Trek takes chances and comes up with a experimental clever story.

It's a beautiful idea ----- Attempt to establish diplomatic relations by going through a harrowing experience together.

The wonderful part of this episode is designing the story in a way that the viewer and Picard are both learning the meaning together. Picard is essentially our Avatar in this episode.

The actions and responses of the bridge crew (and riker/worf specifically) show how out of control a situation can get without proper context.

Inventive and creative and perfectly executed.

In "Darmok," the Enterprise encounters a race which communicates in a manner which is difficult to decipher. Captain Picard and the alien captain go to a planet where they struggle to survive while learning how to communicate with each other.

This episode introduced an interesting concept about alien communication. In the "Star Trek" canon, most aliens simply speak their own languages in the same manner as humans do on Earth. This episode featured a new idea about how an alien race might communicate using metaphors.

Of course, the communication concept does raise a few questions. For example, the alien race in this episode communicates through metaphors; but, the race must have spoken some type of language for the story to have been told in the first place. The aliens must have communicated before the story about Darmok was originally told.

The idea about alien communication was interesting and original. The episode featured an engaging story. Overall, "Darmok" was a fascinating episode which was well worth watching.

ST:TNG:102 - "Darmok" (Stardate: 45047.2) - this is the 2nd episode of the 5th season of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

How does one contact a species when even the universal translator doesn't work. It's up to Picard, who is transported to a deserted planet along with the other ship's captain Dathon (played by Star Trek veteran Paul Winfield - who was a captain too but of Starfleet in Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan), to figure out what this species are trying to communicate.

A thought-provoking episode with a great performance by the late Paul Winfield.

Trivia note: Picard gets a "Captain's jacket". Data also mentions he has encountered 1074 non-human races in his tenure at Starfleet. And, Ashley Judd stars as Ensign Robin Lefler.

This episode sees the Enterprise contacting the Tamarian; an apparently friendly race whose language appears impenetrable. The universal translator can decipher the words but the sentences make no obvious sense. As the Tamarians get frustrated by the lack of progress their captain and Picard are transported to the planet below in an attempt to force an understanding. After some early misunderstandings Picard comes to realise the Tamarian is speaking entirely in metaphors; that doesn't solve the problem though as Picard has no knowledge of the story the metaphors are taken from. When the two come under attack from a mysterious creature they start to make progress but by then it may be too late. Back on the Enterprise they have also determined that the Tamarian's language is metaphorical but make less progress with any understanding; indeed tensions raise as they try to teleport Picard back to the Enterprise to the point that it looks as if a war could start!.

This is an interesting episode; the universal translator is obviously needed to avoid having confusion every time people meet new aliens but it is nice to have an episode where it doesn't work perfectly so that confusion can be explored. The idea of a 'metaphorical languages' obviously has its flaws; most notably the fact that the metaphors couldn't be created if there wasn't a conventional language to create the original narratives they are taken from… that said it proved to be interesting and certainly one of the more creative ideas to be used in the series. The always excellent Patrick Stewart does a fine job expressing Picard's struggle to understand the Tamarian captain and Paul Winfield is good as that captain; their scenes together are top rate. The activities back on the ship are interesting but mainly serve to raise the tension and make it more important that Picard can come to understand at least some of the Tamarian metaphor. Overall a superior episode which is definitely worth watching.

Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra.

The Children of Tama, the Tamarian people—whose metaphoric language has baffled those who have tried to enter peaceful talks/negotiations with them—have reached out to the Federation. Because the language barrier is so vast, the Tamarian ship's captain, Dathon (the late, great Paul Winfield, who is delightful even when we have a hard time understanding him) decides he and Captain Picard must "join forces" to battle a common foe on a planet both their ships are orbiting. A lifeform, that appears and reappears, basically a creature of energy, is dangerous to both men, but Dathon takes a direct beating when Riker authorizes a transport procedure (thought up by Geordi) that attempts to penetrate a particle beam field the Tamarian ship has sent into the planet's ionosphere, to block transportation of either man, and beam Picard back to the Enterprise. Will Riker and company uncover a way to successfully beam Picard on the ship without attacking the Tamarian ship who might consider it an act of war? Will the Enterprise crew have a choice? Meanwhile, can Picard and Dathon find any way to communicate with each other? That is what this episode is all about: communication. Down through the centuries, our world has had to learn ways to penetrate the cultural and language barriers that have kept people of different countries from experiencing peaceful co-existence. "Darmok" beautifully articulates such difficulties, but through what Picard and Dathon experience, two very different peoples/lifeforms can be successful if both sides try to listen and understand. Tragically it takes the giving of a life to reinforce the desire for possible future relations. My favorite scene has Picard telling a dying Dathon about a fable regarding Gilgamesh and Enkidu, their own battle, friendship, and fight together which included a tragic death despite their victory of the creature, the Great Bull of Heaven, at a place called Eruk. It parallels appropriately Picard and Dathon's own battle, and uses symbolism and metaphor as an effort to communicate with an alien race that base their entire language structure and way of life on those very things. Although it would never be, how cool it might have been to see Picard and Dathon battle the creature together as intended. The frustrations of not understanding what each other is saying (it is perfectly clear that both sides are trying to extend a hand of peace) is well orchestrated; it is just unfortunate it takes such extreme measures to accomplish a goal to bring peace to two different peoples. The Tamarian ship is quite a force to be reckoned with; the Enterprise is in quite a state of damage when Picard must use what he has learned to come to the rescue.

I have to give credit where credit is due, the writers, Joe Menosky and Phillip Lazebnik really out did themselves. Given a rather standard story of opening communications with a new race of beings, they put on a very clever spin.

Where it would be very easy to research the language, The Tamarians speak in a way that outright confuses the Enterprise crew. Instead of using typical words, they speak and express themselves by example. Meaning their entire native tongue us based on events and examples that have already occurred.

To further complicate things, Captain Picard has been transported by the Tamarians (along with their captain) to the planet below. Little does Picard know that there is a deadly predator on the planet with the ability to turn invisible. While he waits for the creature to attack, Captain Dathon (Tamarian Captain), played by the late Paul Warfield, who played in Star Trek II: Wrath of Kahn, tries to communicate with Picard, who has no idea on how to understand what Dathon is saying.

Back on the Enterprise, Riker is plotting a way to get Picard back. After a failed attempt to communicate with the Tamarian vessel, Riker plots away to transport Picard back. Alas, it not only fails, but occurs at the worst time. The creature has attacked, and has Captain Dathon pinned to the ground. Free of the transporter beam, Picard runs over to the fallen captain. It is too late, the Tamarian captain has suffered mortal wounds, and is dying. However, he and Picard had finally been able to communicate to each other, and they spend the night exchanging stories.

Once back on the Enterprise, Picard speaks to the Tamarian vessel, and offers his condolences. At this point, Picard's name becomes part of the Tamarian language. The aliens leave, to which Riker ask of Picard "New friends?" Picard replies he's not sure, but at least they are not new enemies.

This is a very enjoyable episode, and it offers a very interesting look at how two completely different cultures can start to build a relationship, even when in the beginning, they literally don't even speak the same language. Too bad this marked the only appearance of the Tamarians in the TNG series.

This is a brilliant first contact story, the kind that Star Trek was really designed for. The show built its fan base on adventure and battle and conflict and diplomacy but the purpose of seeking out new life, new civilizations, often takes a back seat to politics.

The aliens seem to speak English thanks to the universal translator, but their sentences don't make sense. Why? Because they lack verbs. Think about trying to communicate something - anything - without a verb. You want to watch TV with your spouse, but instead of saying "Hey, why don't we turn on the TV", you have to say, "Our honeymoon on channel 9". The problem with this is the stories that are referenced are just... referenced. For the phrases to have meaning, the original story must have been communicated somehow, and that would have required... verbs. Metaphors and analogies have to have an original reference. Hard to imagine a civilization that lacks a fully developed language being able to develop interstellar space flight and technology equal to the Federation's.

So aside from that technical detail, the episode does a wonderful job portraying the frustration of not being able to communicate. Picard diffuses the situation in the end using the handful of phrases he has learned from Dathon. It is a great episode and I give it 9 stars - I don't know if it would have been possible to create a more realistic and plausible language barrier in a one hour format. Star Trek is a show of many lessons. This episode takes a bit of a technical short cut to get its point across. Star Trek TNG was right in the middle of its peak run in seasons 3 thru 6, so "Darmok" takes its place amoun the 100 run with very few lemons. Fascinating that season 3 was the death of the original Star Trek series. Season 3 was what propelled TNG into the fast lane and one of the best runs ever by any TV show.

This is exactly the same very partial logic about communication as the movie Arrival. A race able to build spaceships would not speak with 3 word sentences. The information content is just too small. Also, if they are able to solve equations, they are able to talk about time, and space, events, variables. They would of course find a way to communicate besides just repeating the same words all the time. My main issue is not so much that the episode falls short in the logic, but that it is rated so high. It does not deserve 8.7, especially with such episode as drumhead rated at a similar level.

If,I translated the Spanish expression as "This woman has never broken a plate" would an Englishman recognise that what he would say is "butter wouldn't melt in her mouth"? The two appear unrelated but now you know that we mean the same thing, can you see the common idea or a problem?

Darmok is one of the best episodes of TNG for me, because it makes clear the point about potential problems of communications that would occur in the Star Trek Universe.

In most Star Trek stories the Universal Translator allows us to follow the story but it never seems to account for the multiplicity of language even on any single planet. Klingons do speak many dialects but do all Vulcans speak Vulcan?

Here, in Darmok, the idea of metaphor rather than vocabulary is brilliantly recognised as a form of communication that simply cannot be translated and furthermore it is brilliantly executed. We hear only a handful of Tamarian expressions created by the writers as a tiny fragment of what must be a vast library of Tamarian stories and myths and yet Picard is able to understand the problem and partly overcome it.

It is clear what "The River Temarc in winter" means. The river would freeze so it must mean "stop" and we can see that in its right context. And "Mirad, with sails unfurled" Mirad is obviously a ship and what would happen when the sails were unfurled? It would leave.

And it is understood what "Sokath, his eyes open", is meant to convey. "He understands", and so do we thanks to the brilliant writing.

"Darmok" is one of (if not the) premiere episodes of TNG. Dealing in a cool linguistical plot of encountering a new alien race with a language structure foreign to our understanding, this episode is a great two hander of Patrick Stewart and Paul Winfield.

I really can't add much to what's already been said. I guess my two cents is just how good Winfield is during this. This episode has its faults (the big bad monster isn't the greatest) but it makes up for it in spades with a great story and two terrific performances from Stewart and Winfield.