Your favorite episode by season?

Season 1 - Conspiracy or The Big Goodbye
Season 2 - The Measure Of A Man
Season 3 - Yesterday's Enterprise or The Best Of Both Worlds
Season 4 - Legacy
Season 5 - Darmok
Season 6 - Relics or Ship In A Bottle
Season 7 - All Good Things

 

It's been since it originally aired since I've seen Darmok entire episode, and I've caught a piece of the episode in the past year or so in rerun. From what I remember of it, it was just multiple repeatings of Darmok and Gilad on the ocean, etc repeated over and over again.

I've noticed it seems to be a very popular episode amongst fans. Can anyone remind why it's so good in the (seemingly) majority opinion?

 

My two cents is that it's imaginative and original. I even think it's mind-altering. It manages to convey both the incomprehensibility of foreign language and the process of illumination, by allowing us to share in Picard's learning of the language. It makes no difference that a 24th Century computer ought to have been able to figure it out, because frequently in every series Star Trek characters suffer from problems that real people won't suffer from then.

 

I don't think a 24th century computer would be able to figure out the language in Darmok, but then I don't buy the essential basis of the "universal translator" - it's a convenience for the sake of the show's format that doesn't have much to do with what language is or how it works.

 

Season 1 -- 11001001
Season 2 -- The Measure of A Man
Season 3 -- Sarek
Season 4 -- Family
Season 5 -- The First Duty
Season 6 -- Chain of Command, Part II or Tapestry
Season 7 -- Preemptive Strike or All Good Things...

 

I was going by the success of Watson on Jeopardy and the fact that the vocabulary the Tamarians used was evidently all in the Federation databases. The sentence that Data put together required only the kind of association to decipher that Watson has since proved capable of. Even if the computer couldn't have done it all on its own, the idea that their language remained incomprehensible for decades is a stretch, assuming the Federation thought it was important enough to devote resources to deciphering it. Nevertheless, this didn't keep Darmok from being my favorite pick for season five, and the fact that it regularly stimulates a lot of discussion is also indicative of its significance.

It's also clear that the episode addresses the issue of communication with a lot more depth than simply waving a universal translator at the problem.

 

Season 1 - Conspiracy
Season 2 - Measure Of A Man
Season 3 - Yesterday's Enterprise
Season 4 - The Wounded
Season 5 - Cause & Effect
Season 6 - Timescape
Season 7 - All Good Things...

 

This assumes that words mean what Watson are told they mean. In fact, though all the words used by the Tamarians had understood definitions this had very little to do with what they meant to the Tamarians - why they were used in the context that they were, among other things.

A simple word like "dog" means any number of things in English and only a couple of them are easily deciphered by a new speaker of the language. The noise "dog," BTW, means absolutely nothing - the sounds have no objective relationship at all to the definition.

 

Well, case in point; the episode generates a lot of discussion, much of it deep, and that's why the episode is worthwhile.

 

Besides being intriguingly conceived, intelligently written, and splendidly performed by Stewart and Winfield, I consider "Darmok" to represent the purest distillation of the essence of Star Trek (at its intellectual and idealistic best) of any episode of any series. Dathon is willing to risk his life for the mere chance to achieve communication and understanding with Picard. There's no other apparent purpose or motive to his actions -- just that earnest and urgent desire to bridge the gap of minds and cultures, to talk and learn.

Furthermore, the episode manages to take this essentially intellectual theme and make it personal and moving by personifying it through Picard and Dathon. As understanding dawns (to Dathon's obvious joy), as comradeship grows, and as Picard ultimately mourns the loss of this noble man, "communication" goes from an abstract concept to an emotional character journey.

It may not be the best episode of Star Trek, but it's up there -- and if someone asked me to pick the one episode that best expresses what Trek is about, it would be this one.

 

Thanks Guys, I noticed Darmok is on one of the Fan Collections (Captain's Log, I believe?), I'll have to pull this one out and give it a watch. I was considering waiting for the Remastered Sets to come out before watching any TNG, but, my curiosity is piqued now.

 

Season 1 - The Arsenal of Freedom
Season 2 - Peak Performance
Season 3 - The Survivors
Season 4 - The Wounded
Season 5 - Disaster
Season 6 - Timescape
Season 7 - Eye of the Beholder

Runner-ups

Season 1 - Code of Honour
Season 2 - Unnatural Selection
Season 3 - N/A - Worst Season
Season 4 - The Loss
Season 5 - Power Play
Season 6 - Face of the Enemy
Season 7 - All Good Things...

 

That's a great rundown. On a smaller, much more subtle note, I liked that the violent option failed (hey, I love a good phaser fight as much as the next guy), and that every technobabble solution had failed. So it wasn't just a distillation of the essence of Trek, but in hindsight of all of Trek, to me it's also a neat counter to some of the more mundane traits of Trek.

Additionally, "Darmok" is the only TNG episode I've ever watched in a college-level course, thanks to my poetry professor being a Trekkie. Behold the power of metaphor!

 

Season 1 - The Neutral Zone
Season 2 - Q Who
Season 3 - Yesterday's Enterprise
Season 4 - Best of Both Worlds
Season 5 - Unification
Season 6 - Time's Arrow
Season 7 - All Good Things...

 

Finally someone who appreciates "The Loss" and doesn't say its one of the worst episodes! Although calling season 3 the worst season is laughable as hell.

Season 1- Arsenal of Freedom
Season 2 - Measure of a Man
Season 3 - The High Ground
Season 4 - Data's Day
Season 5 - Cause and Effect
Season 6 - Frame of Mind
Season 7 - Lower Decks

 

Nicely said, both of you. I didn't list "Darmok" as my favorite because season five has so many episodes that I love. But I would say that it's the best episode of the season, and one of the best in all TNG.

 

Well I can only really go up to halfway of season six as i havent watched them all yet..but I will give you my memorable faves up to there.

Season 1: Conspiracy
Season 2: Q Who
Season 3: Best of Both Worlds
Season 4: First Contact
Season 5: Violations
Season 6: Chain of Command Part 2

I havent seen season 7 yet but when I do I will get back to you all!

 

Season 1: Conspiracy
Season 2: Q Who
Season 3: The Best of Both Worlds Part 1
Season 4: The Best of Both Worlds Part 2
Season 5: Disaster
Season 6: Starship Mine
Season 7: Lower Decks

 

1 -- The Neutral Zone
2 -- Q Who
3 -- The Best of Both Worlds - Part 1
4 -- Redemption - Part 1
5 -- Unification - Parts 1 & 2, The First Duty
6 -- Chain of Command - Parts 1 & 2
7 -- Lower Decks / All Good Things