'Darmok' (Story Code 202) by Joe Menosky Story by Philip Lazebnik and Joe Menosky

While in the El'A'Dral system, the U.S.S. Enterprise receives a signal from a spaceship belonging to ‘The Children of Tama’, an alien race whose language has been deemed incomprehensible to humans. Captain Picard attempts to establish relations with the Tamarian crew, but neither he nor their captain, Dathon, can understand the other - while their words are understandable, their meaning is not. Then Dathon raises two daggers - and both captains are transported to the planet below. Commander Riker’s attempts to retrieve his captain fail, as the Tamarians have set up a blocking field, and further attempts at communication prove fruitless. Meanwhile, on the planet surface, Dathon and Picard struggle to understand each other; Dathon seems friendly, and helps Picard prepare a fire against the cold night that is fast approaching. Later that night, Picard awakes and finds Dathon missing; he looks through the alien captain’s personal belongings, but then Dathon returns and offers him a dagger, just as the ferocious roar of a wild animal is heard. Picard realises that the Tamarians communicate by metaphor, by referring to people and events in their history. The two captains finally begin to understand each other, but their elation at this breakthrough is soon dispelled when they are faced by a deadly, invisible creature. Dathon hoped that bringing Picard to the surface and hunting the monster would ensure that the two captains become united - but this decision could mean a violent death for both of them...

Patrick Stewart (Captain Jean-Luc Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Commander William Thomas Riker), LeVar Burton (Chief Engineer Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Security Chief Lieutenant Worf), Gates McFadden (Doctor Beverly Crusher), Marina Sirtis (Councelor Deanna Troi), Brent Spiner (Lieutenant Commander Data), Whoopi Goldberg (Guinan), Richard Allen (Tamarian First Officer), Colm Meaney (Transporter Chief Miles O’Brien), Paul Winfield (Captain Dathon), Ashley Judd (Ensign Robin Lefler), Majel Barrett (Computer Voice)

Directed by Winrich Kolbe
Co-Produced by Joe Menosky, Ronald D. Moore and Peter Lauritson
Produced by David Livingston
Executive Producer Michael Piller, Rick Berman and Gene Roddenberry

TX:
30th September, 1991

Notes:
*Featuring Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Commander William Thomas Riker, Chief Engineer Lieutenant Geordi La Forge, Security Chief Lieutenant Worf, Doctor Beverly Crusher, Councelor Deanna Troi, Lieutenant Commander Data, Transporter Chief Miles O’Brien and Guinan