The 'theme' song narration having an 84 month mission... or, 7 years, which is the highest a show in the franchise got. (And that we'll never see again.) Nice nod.
"Number One" holodeck version is clearly Lucille Ball.
Holodeck "Pike" is an amalgamation of multiple writers of that era. (Mount did great there. He clearly has the most fun with off character episodes.)
Holodeck "Uhura" and her speech... it was very much a nice sentiment, and echoes what a lot of fans feel, including myself. Might feel a bit over the top on the delivery, but it works well.
I actually figured out "Spock" was not real from the jump... this was pretty much exactly what was done in "Elementary, Dear Data". But being honest... I prefer that episode to this one because while the character work for Scotty and La'an was good, it was pretty hollow otherwise. With the TNG one, there is the fun factor, character work with Data, Geordi, and Pulaski, AND we get some meatier stuff with questions like the nature of A.I. (Moriarity) and how if we create it, even accidentally, how responsible are we for its well being.
I like Scotty here, though it was kind of too 'after school special' with Una's message at the end. We know a crew is a team. (I do credit her with making the point, though that should already be part of the core training of Starfleet officers.)
La'an was really good here. Good character beats. (Her outfit reminded of Carmen San Diego.) Very good stuff...
Except for her and Spock apparently are going to be a thing now. First Spock and Chapel, that fails. La'an and Kirk, that fails. Now, them together. It's too soap opera like. Too tropey. So, after La'an, who is next: Una or Erica? Place your bets, folks!
The "bloopers" at the end were completely scripted. I think they were trying for what SUPERNATURAL did a couple times, like in "Yellow Fever" when we get the full version of Jensen lip singing "Eye of the Tiger"... that was a real thing, wasn't scripted. And hilarious. The bloopers, while okay, weren't as funny as they were meant to be. Didn't feel natural, for lack of a better term.
Question: Batel. Not even a mention, when she would be dead within a few days, and we don't know if Spock working with the chimera blossom had any effect. Not even a log entry to say she is at a starbase medical facility or something?
I think the problem with this episode, and what seems to be apparent with other SNW episodes where everyone is off-character, is that it feels more like an audition session for the actors for their NEXT project, so they don't get typecast as what they are here. (A common issue with many actors back in the day, they would often have difficulty finding roles that are different than what they are most known for.) I feel like that while this may be good for the actors, it robs the audience of more time with the characters that we are watching the show for in the first place. The integrity, for lack of a better term, of the ACTUAL characters of the show should be the priority, not the next gig for the actors. (Which, by the way, they all knew what they signed up for when they took their roles. And to be blunt, they'll get convention money for the rest of their lives, even if they don't find as many roles.)
I love fun episodes, and this one is fairly fun. BUT... the best fun ones have some more meaning and meat to it beyond the fun. Like "OUR MAN BASHIR": we get a nice look at Bashir's psyche and Garak's analysis of his 'hero' thoughts. Or "TAKE ME OUT TO THE HOLOSUITE": we see Sisko's obsessive streak and how he lost his cool with Rom, but owned up to his mistake, and how one can lose sight of what's important. Or "A PIECE OF THE ACTION", where we see how small actions can have drastic consequences for a society and the need to help fix the mess that was created.
I can see they were going for an homage to TOS and what went on at that time... it was an attempt to be the "TRIALS AND TRIBBLE-ATIONS" or "FLASHBACK" of the current era. It was MAYBE as good as the latter, but most certainly fell WAY short of the former. GALAXY QUEST and the U.S.S. Callister episodes of BLACK MIRROR did a far better job, quite frankly. Even STARGATE SG-1's "WORMHOLE X-TREME" was much better.
I didn't love it, and I didn't hate it. It had some fun parts, but the soap opera thing just brings it down more. Was a 5, but that made this a 4.
Side note: seeing that the co-writer of this, Kathryn Lyn, was the writer of "wej Duj" on LOWER DECKS is really disappointing, but it does underscore how different formats can lead to really different levels of quality from a writer.