[Morgan]

Here's an Australian-market Dathon. The differences between this one and US-market versions:

- no card or pog
- the equipment tray is redesigned and like the rest of the Australian-market second-release figures the action base is at the bottom
- action base isn't in a little bag
- the top right yellow bubble text is different from the US-market version. Namely, the bubble basically repeats the info in the other yellow bubble, so it says "each figure individually numbered" in both of the bubbles, which is kinda funny.
- no yellow sticker on the blister advertising a Skybox card
- small overlay sticker on back regarding package being printed in China

This was a pretty cool episode. Not only was this the return of Paul Winfield after he did Wrath of Khan, but this was a very TOS-style plot: the captain is stranded with another captain on a planet, and they have to overcome their differences in order to survive. (That, honestly, seemed to be the plot of every other TOS episode). This episode was so cool that it made people overlook the fact that a language based entirely on metaphors is too impractical. For instance, how does one order food in this language, or how do you have a discussion about numbers? Substituting a whole phrase for one single concept could also make flying a starship difficult. How would you say: "Adjust course to compensate for gravitational field of third planet in system X?" That could take a while. But whatever, I don't want to ruin the memory of a great episode by pointing out conceptual holes.

This episode also had a lot of staying power. Besides "Resistance is futile," people who are not necessarily into Trek also seem to recognize "Shaka, when the walls fell!" from TNG. I still see people wearing t-shirts with that phrase, and for a 25 year old Trek episode that's a huge achievement, to put it mildly. Sci-fi fans and anyone who grew up during that time might not remember the name of the episode, but they recognize that phrase.

"Darmok" was also cool for not using a damn set for a planet -- thankfully there was money in the budget for driving a few minutes off the Paramount lot and into the hills somewhere in LA, Bronson Canyon to be exact. People also forget that this episode featured the first appearance of Ashley Judd playing Robin Leffler, a character that the producers couldn't figure out what to do with later on.