Darmok (TNG episode)

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Star Trek: TNG episode
"Darmok"
"Picard and his alien companion battle an invisible enemy in "Darmok".
Episode no.	102
Prod. code	202
Airdate	September 30, 1991
Writer(s)	Joe Menosky, Phillip LaZebnik
Director	Winrich Kolbe
Guest star(s)	Paul Winfield
Year	2368
Stardate	45047.2
Episode chronology
Previous	"Redemption"
Next	"Ensign Ro"

"Darmok" is an episode of the television science fiction series Star Trek: The Next Generation. It was first broadcast in the United States on September 30, 1991. It contains a brief but notable recounting of the Gilgamesh epic, which is communicated by Picard to the Tamarian captain.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

A Tamarian captain abducts Captain Picard in an eager attempt to bridge their language gap through archetypal, intense shared experience. The Enterprise captain and crew must decypher the Tamarians' metaphorical language, or risk failure in the creation of diplomatic relations, and what's worse, losing Captain Picard to a meaningless death at the hands of an entity with the capability to disappear.

The story centers on Captain Picard, played by Patrick Stewart, and Dathon of the Tamarian race, played by Paul Winfield. The Tamarian language, although "translated" by the universal translator device, is still unintelligible, because it is too deeply rooted in local metaphor to communicate ideas. When the Tamarians realize this attempt has failed, the Tamarian captain gives the order to have Picard and himself stranded, if only for the time being, on the surface of a planet that is host to a hostile entity that disappears and reappears at will. Eventually, through the use of situational knowledge and rudimentary sign language, Picard begins to understand the semantics of the Tamarian language. The title of the episode comes from one of the metaphors Dathon uses: "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra". In origin, this refers to the situation in which heroes must learn to trust each other so that they may work together to defeat a common foe. However, the phrase also speaks to the Tamarian's beliefs about captivity, combat, and relationships, as the phrase seems to imply by itself the inevitable forging of meaningful, positive ties between emmisaries, should they also be comrades in a violent struggle.

1 Quotations
2 Trivia
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Quotations

"Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra" (meaning working together against a common enemy)
"Shaka, when the walls fell." (meaning failure)
"Temba, his arms wide." (gift, or to give)
"Temba, at rest." (refusing a gift or offer)
"Mirab, his sails unfurled" (travel or departure)
"Khidir beneath Momouteh" (cluelessness, possibly unwillingness to understand)
"Sokath, his eyes uncovered" (understanding, revealing truth)
"Zinda, his face black, his eyes red" (war, violence)
"The river Temarc, in winter" (Stop, cease)
"Kiazi's children, their faces wet" (death, mourning)
"Kalimash at Baha" (storytelling)
"Uzani, his army with fists open" (to lure the enemy in) — "...with fists closed" (to attack)
"Picard and Dathon at El-Adrel" (a new metaphor added to the language at the end of the incident with a meaning similar to "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra)
"Gilgamesh and Enkidu at Uruk" (Picard's metaphor about ancient Babylonian legends from Earth)
"Ri and Jiri at Lunga. Ri of Luwani, Luwani under two moons. Jiri, of Umbaya. Umbaya of crossed roads, at Lunga. Lunga, her sky grey" (greeting)
"Callimas at Bahar." (Don't worry, calm down)
"Darmok on the ocean." (Alone)

As the alien captain (Dathon) lies dying from wounds received as he and Picard fought together against their attacker, he appears to ask Picard to tell him a story from his own culture. Reluctantly, Picard agrees, telling a highly condensed version of part of the Saga of Gilgamesh that underscored the universal theme of their encounter and became one of the more memorable speeches in the series (in spite of, and in part because of the simplified language used to match the linguistic style of the alien):

Gilgamesh, a king. Gilgamesh, a king. Gilgamesh at Uruk. He tormented his subjects. He drove them mad. They cried out, "Send our king a companion! Spare us from his madness!"

Enkidu, a wildman of the forest, entered the city. They fought in the temple. They fought in the street. Gilgamesh defeated Enkidu. They became great friends. Gilgamesh and Enkidu, at Uruk.

The new friends went out into the desert together, where a Great Bull of Heaven was killing men by the hundreds. Enkidu caught it by the tail, Gilgamesh struck it with his sword. They were, victorious. But Enkidu fell to the ground, struck down by the gods.

And Gilgamesh wept bitter tears, saying, "He who was my companion through adventure and hardship, is gone forever ..."

[edit] Trivia

Paul Winfield who played Dathon in this episode previously played Captain Clark Terrell in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

The premise of this episode is occasionally compared favorably to the motion picture Enemy Mine, which may have inspired it. A closer parallel in science fiction is the Ascian language in Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun, who once they reach adulthood speak only in quotes from their equivalent of Mao's Little Red Book. Also somewhat similar is the formal and rich Githzerai language in Planescape: Torment, which is structurally presented as English but is centered around cultural idioms ("Ach'ali-Drowning", "wrote the book of the Anarchs", "T'cha's choice is mine", etc.)

This episode is featured on the Star Trek: The Next Generation - Jean-Luc Picard Collection DVD set. It is one of seven episodes featured on the two-disc set.

This episode is actress Ashley Judd's first credited appearance in front of the camera. She plays a small role, Ensign Robin Lefler, reprised four episodes later in "The Game"