Darmok (Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG), S5 E2) was recommended by Toledo (he), who said: Yes, this is one of the most famous episodes of The Next Generation. That's because it's darn good. There's so many wonderful moments: the rarity of the depiction of aliens initiating a first contact with the Federation, the humor of the Enterprise crew's incomprehension, the exploration of cultural misunderstandings beyond the linguistic (Dathon casts lots, what's the knife for), Picard telling the 4,000-year-old story of Gilgamesh right as Dathon dies, and the centrality of the term "Darmok," leading us to wonder: who in this story *is* Darmok?

But one thing I love about it is akin to why I recommended "Distant Origin." Just like that Voyager episode catastrophically misrepresents evolution, "Darmok" butchers linguistics: there is no way that a culture could communicate solely via memes and references. There has to be some linguistic substrate in which the foundational stories could be communicated, after all. The premise of the episode would fall apart under the slightest examination. But it doesn't matter: it serves the story, the story is good, and the story of two strangers willing to risk life for the opportunity to share stories is the heart of Star Trek.

Darmok first aired on September 30, 1991, written by story by Philip LaZebnik & Joe Menosky, teleplay by Joe Menosky, and directed by Winrich Kolbe

Picard must learn to communicate with an alien captain who speaks in metaphors before a dangerous beast kills them both. Guest star Paul Winfield as Dathon.

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"The Debriefing Incident" by Veri_II, can be found at https://archiveofourown.org/works/52588381

"When he got back to the Cerritos, they’d say, hey, Boimler, what kind of kickass stuff did you get to do when you visited the golden age of exploration? And he’d have to respond, I stripped Mr. Spock!"

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The Wire (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (DS9), S2 E22) was recommended by Obiwanjabroni (he/him) pronounced like obi wan kenobi from star wars but the last part is..ja-BRO-nee? I guess lol just listen to the ROCK when he was a wrestler , who said: I know most people would choose this episode as a favorite because it supposedly gives us Garak's "origin story" but to someone who is in recovery and falls off the wagon every other weekend, it's actually kind of a beautiful display of what we go through. The self loathing.. the hatred of those who are trying to help us through it.. the feeling the next morning when they've been so kind to us even though we didn't deserve it.

Definitely not something I expected from Star Trek with the whole utopian awesomeness and all. Another reason ds9 was and will always be my favorite of all the series even though I've been watching since TNG with my dad who watched TOS.

The Wire first aired on May 8, 1994, written by Robert Hewitt Wolfe, and directed by Kim Friedman

In order to save Garak's life, Bashir must unravel some of the secrets in the Cardassian's past.

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