⢠This episode was directed by Johnathan Frakes, the actor who portrayed Thomas Riker in âSecond Chancesâ and âDefiantâ
   ⢠Frakes also plays the director of the fictional television show, âThe Lost Frontierâ that exists within the re-creation room simulation.
⢠Obviously âThe Lost Frontierâ is a pastiche of TOS
   ⢠The title, âThe Lost Frontierâ is a reference to âthe final frontier,â mentioned in the introductory monologue spoken by Captain Kirk during the opening sequence of every episode.
   ⢠The lighting aboard the *USS Adventureâ is heavy on the greens and purples, mimicking the lighting of TOS.
   ⢠Some of the music cues are lifted directly from TOS.
   ⢠Just as TOS had Kirk, Spock, and McCoy as its main cast trio, the only protagonists we see on âThe Lost Frontierâ are the captain, the first officer, and the doctor.
   ⢠The plot of the episode, involves the Agonyan empire stealing the brain cells of the Adventuresâ human crew, which is similar to the plot of âSpockâs Brainâ where aliens stole Spockâs brain. Additionally, being robbed of their brain cells afflicts the characters with melancholia, a condition that seems to remove their joie de vivre; similar to the passive Kirk lacking any drive or motivation in âThe Enemy Withinâ.
   ⢠The episodeâs opening sequence has been replaced with the sequence for âThe Lost Frontierâ, which is also a send-up of TOSâs opening, including its own version of the captainâs monologue.
⢠The Agonyan Zipnop is played by Kira Guloien, who previously played the Edosian bartender in âWedding Bell Bluesâ.
⢠âNow, the device weâre going to be testing is called theâŚre-creation room?â In âThe Practical Jokerâ, MâRess pronounces it ârecreation room* as in used for recreational activities.
   ⢠âHolodeck, for short.â In âThe Practical Jokerâ, they call it the ârec room,â even in the signage, which is even shorter, and derived from the thingâs apparently official name.
   ⢠The holodeck was first seen in the TNG series premiere, âEncounter at Farpointâ.
⢠LaâAn asks of the re-creation room is based on battle simulators; we presumably saw a battle simulator in the Disco episode, âLetheâ, when the episode opened with Captain Lorca and Ash Tyler running a simulated combat against holographic Klingons, and a certain segment of the viewers decided to be real normal about a holodeck existing before TNG.
   ⢠LaâAn claims that battle simulators are usually on starbases due to the massive energy and computing requirements, but I think we can agree that the USS Discovery could have been one of those implied exceptions, seeing as Lorca likely just yelled at the admiralty that heâs trying to win a war until they agreed to install one on his ship.
     ⢠In âUnexpectedâ we saw that the Xyrillians had holographic simulators that impressed Trip, even aboard a ship significantly smaller than the NX-01, and it is implied that the technology would work aboard the Klingon battle-cruiser in the episode as well.
⢠âItâs the kind of thing Iâd do all the time when I was a test pilot.â Pike loves bringing up that he used to be a test pilot. Heâs mentioned it in âLight and Shadowsâ, and âAmong the Lotus Eatersâ, and confirmed that he was one in âHegemonyâ.
⢠LaâAn explains to Scotty that she wants her program to be inspired by the stories of Amelia Moon, a fictional detective. Captain Picardâs own holodeck adventures also cast him in the role of a fictional detective, Dixon hill. Specifically in: âThe Big Goodbyeâ, âManhuntâ, âCluesâ, and âStar Trek: First Contactâ. And, of course, Data takes on the role of Sherlock Holmes in âElementary, Dear Dataâ.
⢠LaâAn says it was the captain of the ship who rescued her from the Gorn breeding planet that introduced her to the character of Amelia Moon; we learned in âStrange New Worldsâ that it was the USS Martin Luthor King Jr. that rescued her.
⢠To populate the re-creation room â and give the principle actors something to do in this episode - Scotty needed to use the high resolution scans of individuals from the transporterâs pattern buffer. In âOur Man, Bashirâ, the characters in Doctor Bashirâs spy adventure holosuite program have their likeness replaced by those of the senior staff after Eddington and Odo need to upload their transporter patterns into the stationâs computers. And, in âA Fistful of Datasâ, all the characters in Worf and Alexanderâs old west program are overwritten to have Dataâs face and skintone.
⢠Uh oh! LaâAn committed the mistake Geordi made in âElementary, Dear Dataâ by requesting the computer âcreate a new mystery that [LaâAn] will find challenging to solve.â Geordi prompted the computer to, âCreate an adversary capable of defeating Data/â
⢠The re-creation room is a re-creation of the holodeck as seen on TNG, with black walls lined with a yellow grid. When not active, the rec room seen on TAS was a large, empty, grey room.
⢠âI can practically smell the ocean and the cigarettes.â LaâAn implies that the re-creation room doesnât include scents in its simulation. In âThe Big Goodbyeâ, Picard was very impressed with the newly upgraded holodeckâs verisimilitude, including smells.
   ⢠in âUnexpectedâ, Trip claimed he could smell the ocean in the Xyrillian holographic simulator.
   ⢠In âEncounter at Farpointâ Data explains to Riker that the holodeck functions by using light and forcefields in conjunction with the replicators to actually physically manifest some of the scenery, such as trees. Here, Scotty says everything is down with holograms and tractor beams.
⢠âAs my ancestor, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, would write, âThe game is a afoot.ââ It was implied that Spock was a descendant of Doyle in âStar Trek: The Undiscovered Countryâ when he attributed another of Sherlock Holmesâ quotes to his ancestor, but this confirmation thatâs the case. Assuming weâre to believe a holographic re-creation of Spock created by the computer to foil LaâAn.
⢠Weâre introduced to the dramatis personae of LaâAnâs re-creation room adventure:
   ⢠Joni Gloss, who has Uhuraâs likeness
   ⢠TK Bellows, who has Pikeâs likeness
     ⢠Bellows is the creator of âThe Last Frontier. His soft spoken mannerisms and womanizing might have been inspired by Gene Roddenberry, though his appearance looks to be based on Isaac Asimov, and his willingness to threaten people with a gun could have been taken from the writer of the TOS episode âThe City on the Edge of Foreverâ. The alcoholism might have been lifted from all science fiction writers. Except Harlan Ellison.
   ⢠Sunny Lupino, who has Number Oneâs likeness
     ⢠Sunny is a former actor turned producer who weâll learn was largely responsible for keeping âThe Last Frontierâ afloat, at her own personal expense, much like Lucille Ball did for TOS. Her name is almost certainly inspired by Ida Lupino, who was also an actor who became a producer later in life. Sunnyâs might also have been inspired by Jessica Tandy, who was a model until appearing in âThe Birdsâ. Sunny claims, âUntil I convinced Alfred to put me in âThe Crowsâ I was just another pair of lips.â
   ⢠Adelaide Shaw, who has Chapelâs likeness
     ⢠Adelaide plays the first officer on âThe Last Frontierâ just as Majel Barrett played Number One in the original Star Trek pilot, âThe Cageâ. Jess Bush gets to use her actual accent to play the character.
   ⢠Maxwell Saint, who has James Kirkâs likeness, which raises the question of how long they keep the high rise transporter scans of individuals.
     ⢠Saint is the captain on âThe Last Frontierâ, and Paul Wesley is leaning very heavily into a William Shatner impersonation, which stands in stark contrast to how he actually plays Kirk.
   ⢠Lee Woods, who has Ortegasâ likeness
     ⢠Woods portrays the doctor on âThe Last Frontierâ, like DeForest Kelly, Woods is a fan of the western. Also, DeForestâŚLee WoodsâŚget it?
   ⢠Anthony McBeau, who has Doctor MâBengaâs likeness
⢠âYou know Iâm an actor, not a doctor, right?â Lee Forest gets to say the inverse of Bones famous recurring line, first used in âThe Devil in the Darkâ.
⢠Number One suggested Pike reinstate Ortegas to active duty, which certainly doesnât render taking Ortegas off active duty in the previous episode moot.
⢠TK Bellows claims, âOur fanbase is small, but itâs quite passionate.â When it was rumoured that TOS was going to be cancelled after the second season, Gene Roddenberry secretly funded a letter writing campaign that is attributed with saving the show for a third season
⢠LaâAn speculates that Lee Woods is the murderer, believing Tony Hart stole a script she wrote and was going to credit someone else, âProbably a man because that happened all the time back then.â In âFar Beyond the Starsâ 1950s science fiction writer Kay Eaton had to use a male pen name and not appear in promotional photos for the magazine she worked for to be able to continue to get work.
⢠Not being able to end the program is a common trope of holodeck episodes. See: Most holodeck episodes.
⢠âYou know whatâs not realistic? A lady first officer.â Apparently Maxwell Saint agrees with the suits at NBC who rejected the first TOS pilot.
⢠Pike is clearly uncomfortable with the idea of a re-creation room being a fixture on Starfleet ships. In âAn Obal for Charonâ Pike claims that he never liked the holographic communication system because it reminded him too much of ghosts.
⢠Scotty recommends that if re-creation rooms are to be installed in Starfleet ships they should have independent power and processing.
   ⢠In âThe Practical Jokerâ the rec room is affected by the same computer virus as the rest of the ship, and in both âElementary, My Dear Dataâ and âThe Nth Degreeâ, the ship is able to be controlled to some degree from the holodeck.
   ⢠The USS Voyager and the USS Titan-A both have independent power sources, as established in âParallaxâ and âNo Win Scenarioâ respectively. The USS Enterprise D did not, a plot point in âBooby Trapâ and Voyager eventually has the holodeck integrated into the rest of the shipâs power grid, which is alluded to in âNightâ.
⢠Number One informs Scotty that there are 203 crew on the Enterprise. That number was established in âThe Menagerie, Part 1â and remained true for âBrotherâ, and âAll Those Who Wanderâ, though in âSubscape Rhapsodyâ Spock implied there were only 200 crew on the ship.
⢠LaâAn and Spock seemingly begin a relationship. in âCharlie Xâ Uhura sings a song about how Spock is a heartbreaker; how many âfemale astronuatsâ will she watch him run through?
⢠The episode ends with a âThe Last Frontierâ blooper reel.
   ⢠The directorâs voice is clearly that of Johnathan Frakes, which, considering Scotty had to use transporter scans for the characters in the program would imply that serving somewhere aboard the Enterprise is a descendant of the NX-01âs Chef.
⢠Maxwell Saint attempts to perform the Riker maneuver over the captainâs chair, with disastrous results.
⢠Bonus! Clues that Spock was a re-creation before the actual reveal:
   ⢠Scotty shows Laâan a pad with the pattern buffer likenesses, and Spock is there, and is the only one of the eight to not have a character in the narrative.
   ⢠Spock is in the re-creation room when LaâAn enters.
   ⢠Scotty tells LaâAn that the holodeck is drawing more processing power than expected, and itâs because it also simulating Spock.
   ⢠Saint asks Spock if he was the one to kill Tony and Sunny Lupino
   ⢠When he goes to Uhura for advice, Scotty only mentions that LaâAn is trapped in the re-creation room, not Spock.
Wasnât he also Mr. Troi, Deannaâs husband?