The title alludes to old time radio plays, and modern reproductions such as the âThrilling Adventure Hourâ, which ran as a podcast and staged performances in Los Angeles from 2005 to 2015. It is also an episode where the cast play different characters, like SNW: âThe Elysian Kingdomâ.
The first music cue is from TOS, and of course the lighting, costuming and props all evoke the style of TOS and 1960s science fiction. The wave-form on the large screen reminds me of the Control wave from the title sequence of The Outer Limits.
âMaxwell Saintâ is sitting in a very typical James Kirk pose in the chair and speaks in a parody of William Shatnerâs acting and diction. âLee Woodsâ mentions the war - Ortegas served in the Klingon War. Zipnop of the Triathic Agonyan Empire has very visible wire rods holding up their âeyesâ. The face also reminds me of the aliens in the 1957 movie Invasion of the Saucer Men.
The title sequence has been altered to resemble TOSâs opening narration and titles. For what itâs worth, 84 months is 7 years, alluding to the 7 seasons given TNG, DS9 and VOY. The USS Adventure has a registry number of 20-1. The title The Last Frontier riffs off Trekâs âfinal frontierâ line.
Weâve seen holographic battle simulators in DIS: âLetheâ, and Enterprise had a recreation or rec room in TAS: âThe Practical Jokerâ , so the concept of a holodeck predates TNG by quite a bit, although the model first seen in TNG: âEncounter at Farpointâ was supposed to be the latest model and both Riker and Wesley seemed impressed by it. The screen in the briefing room displays the âHolodeck Program Power Distributionâ. In VOY: âParallaxâ it was said that holodecks run off holodeck reactors which are incompatible with standard power systems on the rest of the ship.
Spock took dance lessons from LaâAn in SNW: âWedding Bell Bluesâ and is continuing them in lieu of his morning calisthenics routine. Much like Picard enjoyed Dixon Hill stories from the 1930s, LaâAn enjoys Amelia Moon mysteries from the 1960s. Using transporter buffer patterns to create holographic avatars is similar to what happened in DS9: âOur Man Bashirâ.
LaâAnâs request for a mystery that is challenging to solve is at least less foolhardy than Geordieâs request for an adversary capable of defeating Data (TNG: âElementary, Dear Dataâ). The grid pattern of this 23rd Century holodeck is the same as those in 24th Century holodecks. LaâAn even gives the standard ârun programâ command.
Spock alluded to his ancestor being Conan Doyle (or as some speculated, Sherlock Holmes) in ST VI when he quoted the aphorism that âwhen you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.â This confirms it. In the real world, none of Doyleâs children had offspring, so Spock canât be a direct descendant.
LaâAn - I mean, Amelia Moon switches into an American accent when speaking to Uhura - I mean, Joni Gloss. The voice-over narration alludes to that in classic noir films and hard-boiled detective stories.
Amelia refers to Gloss, a Hollywood agent, as âWilliam Morrisâ - the William Morris Agency represented some of the biggest names in Hollywood history.
Max Factor does have a Ruby Red shade, but it was released in 2015 and inspired by Marilyn Monroe.
The Sunny Lupino character, with allusions to an ex-husband and relationships with the studio, not to mention the red hair, has characteristics of comedienne Lucille Ball, her ex-husband Desi Arnaz, and Desilu Studiosâ involvement with the production of Star Trek. Her reference to Alfred (Hitchcock) putting her in Crows (1963âs The Birds) also references Tippi Hedren, who Hitchcock discovered and gave her first leading role. Hedren didnât win an Oscar for that, however. Her name also echoes film star Ida Lupino.
Woodsâ remark, âIâm an actor, not a doctor,â is an inversion of Dr McCoyâs catchphrase, âIâm a doctor, not aâŠâ
Having a lead detectiveâs partner be a âbumbling idiotâ is akin to the stereotype of Watson being bumbling next to Holmes, thanks to Nigel Bruceâs portrayal of him in the Basil Rathbone films. In the stories, however, Watson was not at all bumbling, but merely appeared less intelligent because he served as an audience surrogate for Holmes to explain his amazing deductions.
The NPCs notice Spockâs uniform, much like Trixie did when Picard walked into the Dixon Hill simulation in TNG: âThe Big Goodbyeâ.
Ortegasâ suspension for insubordination was in SNW: âShuttle to Kenforiâ.
Omnidirectional holodiodes are a primary component of holodecks, first mentioned in the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual but never on-screen until now.
Jess Bush uses her natural Australian accent as Adelaide Shaw (Adelaide is a city in South Australia). Hedda Gabler is an 1891 play by Henrik Ibsen. The West End refers to Londonâs theatre district.
The lack of safeties and the inability to end the program is a long-honoured Trek trope that has finally made its way to SNW.
âYou know whatâs not realistic? A lady first officer.â Roddenberry always claimed that the reason Number One (Majel Barrett) had to be replaced was because the network didnât want a woman in a command position. It may be truer that they didnât want Roddenberryâs mistress to be one of the leads of the new show.
âMick Bowieâ may be a real character in this world, or Saint just mocking McBeau with a portmanteau of Mick Jagger and David Bowie.
Glossâs very meta description of what Bellows wanted to do with The Last Frontier is what Roddenberry wanted to do with Star Trek.
Scottyâs suggestion provides an explanation why holodecks have their own dedicated power sources and processors. Pikeâs Enterprise having a crew of 203 was first mentioned in TOS: âThe Cageâ.
The end credits are printed in the style of TOS (as is the music), but instead of still photographs we have bloopers, including âspace actingâ (what the actors call the moving from side to side as if the ship is being shaken about) and Saint trying to get in the chair using the Riker Maneuver.