Darmok

Darmok was an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation that aired in 1991. It featured Captain Jean-Luc Picard meeting an alien whose language consisted of metaphors and references. Joel Mintz considered it to be a "total classic". (PROSE: Return of the Living Dad)

When Bernice Summerfield first saw it airing in 1994, she thought it was a documentary. (PROSE: The Left-Handed Hummingbird)

Behind the scenes
Darmok's basic description, of a hero trapped on a planet with an alien who can only speak in metaphors and references, inspired Russell T Davies to write Midnight.