DARMOK

"'Darmok'" is an episode of the television science fiction series ''Star Trek: ,'' first broadcast in the United States on September 30, 1991. It was written by Joe Menosky. The episode contains a brief but notable recounting of the Gilgamesh epic, which is communicated by Picard to the Tamarian captain. The episode has an average rating of 4.4/5 on the official Star Trek website (as of September 8th, 2007).[1]

Contents

Synopsis

Tamarian phrases

Gilgamesh retelling

Trivia

See also

External links

Synopsis

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 decipher the Tamarians' metaphorical language, or risk failing in the opening of diplomatic relations and, 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 preserve information during translation. 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 Tenagra". 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 emissaries, should they also be comrades in a violent struggle.

Tamarian phrases

Based upon tone, gestures, and context used in the episode, the following Tamarian phrases appear to have these meanings:

★ "Darmok and Jalad at Tenagra" (to forge an alliance against a common enemy)

★ "Shaka, when the walls fell" (to fail; to die)

★ "Temba, his arms wide (or open)" ([1] to give to another, to offer to another; [2] (accompanied by gesturing to oneself) to request to receive, to solicit, whether an object or verbal communication)

★ "Temba, at rest" (to respectfully decline an offer to give)

★ "Mirab, his sails unfurled" (to depart)

★ "Khidir beneath Mo Moteh" (to fail to understand, possibly with the context of foolishness (applied to another by the speaker))

★ "Sokath, his eyes uncovered (open)" (to understand, to have a revelation (applied to another by the speaker))

★ "Zinda, his face black, his eyes red" ([1] to be faced with death; [2] to threaten with death)

★ "The river Temarc, in winter" (keep still, be silent (an order given by one to another))

★ "Kiazi's children, their faces wet" (to express sorrow at the inevitable)

★ "Kalimash at Baha" (storytelling OR Don't worry, calm down)

★ "Uzani, his army" (to battle), "with fists open" (to spread out); "...with fists closed" (to close ranks)

★ "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" (an offer of mutual interaction on a peaceful level, lacking the forged-in-battle context of "Darmok and Jalad")

★ "Darmok on the ocean" / "Jalad on the ocean" (a lone warrior without allies)

★ "Darmok and Jalad on the ocean" (to continue a friendship following a shared conflict)

★ "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 Tenagra", likely intended to signify a new bond forged between the Tamarians and the Federation)

★ "Gilgamesh and Enkidu at Uruk" (Picard's metaphor about ancient Babylonian legends from Earth)

Gilgamesh retelling

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 Epic of Gilgamesh that underscored the universal theme of their encounter:

''Gilgamesh, a king. Gilgamesh, a king. At Uruk. He tormented his subjects. He made them angry. They cried out aloud, "Send our king a companion! Spare us from his madness!"''
''Enkidu, a wild man from 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 the Great Bull of Heaven was killing men by the hundreds. Enkidu caught the Bull by the tail; Gilgamesh struck him with his sword. Killed him. 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 ..."''

Trivia

★ Paul Winfield, who played Dathon in this episode, previously played Captain Clark Terrell in ''.

★ 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. It is also included in the "Star Trek: Captain's Log - Fan Collective" DVD 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"

★ In a rare special effects blooper, phaser fire is seen to emit from the forward photon torpedo launcher. This was not seen before or since on ''Star Trek: The Next Generation''.

★ The quasi-invisible entity found in this episode is similar to the Beast creature mentioned and featured in the "Epiphany" episode of the Stargate Atlantis series.

★ It is likely that this language was derived from a similarly-crafted language appearing in Gene Wolfe's ''The Book of the New Sun.'' In this series, those speaking the language could only communicate by quoting government-approved texts.

See also

★ Metaphorical language

★ Biblespeak

External links

★

★ The Darmok Dictionary – a discursive exolinguistic analysis — by Raphael Carter