Until now I've been against doing entries before the official anniversary, but my schedule is really weird right now, so I said to heck with it.
September 30th, 1991, "Darmok"
Fiver by Kristina
Let's get this out of the way, I get what this episode is supposed to do, but it
just doesn't work. When the Universal Translator can translate energy impulses from a sentient cloud that has no humanoid reference points, it should be able to translate metaphors. Furthermore, a species can't operate with a language that operates on metaphor. There's a short story that says that the Tamarians have a second language for the technical stuff that's a bit more literal. There's also a later Voyager novel that features a Tamarian named Sharak that served as a doctor. He had to learn Federation Standard to do the job.
(Meaningless aside, the Memory Beta page for Federation Standard indicates that it really is just another word for English)
The Episode
Captain's log, stardate 45047.2. The Enterprise is en route to the uninhabited El-Adrel system, its location is near the territory occupied by an enigmatic race known as The Children of Tama.
So how do you know they're called the Children of Tama? And why introduce this formal designation when "Tamarian" will be used all over the place?
DATA: The Children of Tama were called incomprehensible by Captain Silvestri of the Shiku Maru.
Amazingly the extended universe never assigned a class to the Shiku Maru, but it does have the registry of NBT-30894. Don't ask me what the NBT- prefix stands for (Incidentally we have been told that NCC means Naval Construction Contract number, akin to current hull numbers, and when Franz Joseph makes something I call it canon).
The Shiku Maru attempted contact on Stardate 35056.4, which is 2358. So we're probably not talking about the Galaxy class or its derivatives. Perhaps it was Ambassador or Excelsior class.
DATHON [on viewscreen]: Rai and Jiri at Lungha. Rai of Lowani. Lowani under two moons. Jiri of Ubaya. Ubaya of crossed roads at Lungha. Lungha, her sky grey. Rai and Jiri at Lungha.
You run into a problem when you start to invent a language from the standpoint of "individual words have to be comprehensible, but the sentences have to make no sense."
DATA: The starboard nacelle has been rendered inoperable.
...
WORF: Starboard thrusters destroyed.
I get that there are thrusters on the nacelles, but destroying one should not disable the other. So other Data and Worf are being obtuse, or one of them is lying.
WORF: I do not believe so. I have confidence in his ability as a warrior. He will be victorious.
The creators keep implying that for the 24th century Picard is still in the prime of life, I get that. That doesn't translate to Picard being a good fighter, movie nonsense aside. Then again, Worf appointed him cha'DIch, so perhaps Worf is a bad judge of a person's ability as a warrior.
TROI: Stop search. Computer, how many entries are there for Darmok?
COMPUTER: Forty seven.
I'm not a fan of 47 references this blatant. It's supposed to be an injoke, not a NOTICE THIS kind of thing.
TROI: All our technology and experience, our universal translator, our years in space, contacts with more alien cultures than I can even remember.
DATA: I have encountered one thousand, seven hundred fifty four non-human races during my tenure with Starfleet.
There may be 754 races among all Federation worlds, but I'm dubious that all of them mingle all that much throughout Federation space.
RIKER: Greek, sir?
PICARD: Oh, the Homeric Hymns. One of the root metaphors of our own culture.
The Homeric Hymns are from Ancient Greece. Homer didn't write them, but the structure resembles the Illiad and the Odyssey, so they're "Homeric."
Meaningless aside, but I had to read The Odyssey back in school. Even with footnotes it's a real mess, worse than Shakespeare. I do recommend the Hallmark miniseries, though. You can watch it
here. And for today's random Trek connection, in this miniseries Aeolus (god of winds) is played by Michael J. Pollard, best known to Trekkies as Jahn from "Miri". Or perhaps you saw him as Mr. Mxyzptlk in the Superboy TV series. (I didn't, I started with live-action televised Superman with Lois and Clark).
The Fiver
Troi: I sense emptiness.
Riker: You ought to. The two captains were beamed off the bridges.
Data: Oh no, not another "Arena" rerun.
Worf: Grunt.... I want front row seats at the showdown!
I wonder if Picard could've figured out the cannon thing. Would Dathon had even made progress with the Gorn captain?
Dathon: "This is the air-drawn dagger...."
Picard: I'll try the old Earth dialect: "Oochie-woochie-coochie-coo?"
Dathon: "A foolish thought, to say a sorry sight."
Two Macbeth references.
La Forge: Punching through that beam will take at least a day.
Riker: You wouldn't be multiplying your repair estimate by a factor of four, would you?
La Forge: Nah, I haven't met Scotty yet.
Hehe.
Dathon: "Out, out, damned spot!"
Picard: Data's cat? This is getting too weird even for an ex-member of the RSC.
Dathon: "It is a tale told by an idiot."
Macbeth again. Stewart was with the RSC from 1966 to 1982. He returned in 2006, 2008, and 2011.
Dathon: Now listen, you "rump-fed ronyon...."
Picard: Ah, I get it: Macbeth!
Dathon: "All our yesterdays have lighted fools...."
Why only Macbeth, Kristina?
Dathon: "Thy story quickly."
Picard: Once upon a time, there was a man called Gilgamesh....
Dathon: GAK!
And again.
Picard: Dathon "should have died hereafter."
Tamarian First Officer: "There would have been a time for such a word."
Picard: "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow...." In other words -- catch you later.
And AGAIN. You really overdid the Macbeth, Kristina.
Memory Alpha
* First appearance of Picard's suede-like jacket. I never did like that thing. Not to the extend of Kirk's green wrap-around, but close.
* First appearance of Robin Lefler.
Nitpickers Guide
* I'm not the only fan who has troubles with how this language is supposed to work.