Let's get the "canon continuity" conversation out of the way right off the bat, I have no problem with the fact that there is a holodeck on Pike's Enterprise, this does not bother me at all. While we never see a holodeck in the original series, we do see something very much like it in the animated series (the Rec Room), implying that the ship does indeed have some sort of holographic environment.

The Holodeck is also very simplistic compared to the Enterprise D's Holodeck. A lot of people infer that holodecks are new in the 24th century, but that's never actually stated on the show. The description we get is that Riker is surprised how real the holodeck looks when visiting Data in it in Encounter at Farpoint.

It is made quite clear in the episode that the holodeck being tested is an early prototype specifically designed for ships that are going to go on long-term missions where it will serve to help keep the crew entertained when they are away from home for years and may have limited access to shore leave. This actually fits with Voyager's Equinox 2-parter where the U.S.S. Equinox, which was not supposed to go on long-term missions, did not have a holodeck, while Voyager, which was equipped for a long-term mission, did.

In any case, the use of this prototype Holodeck for a murder mystery dinner-party was particularly fun, Unfortunately, I can't say the same about the TOS parody the episode is named after. The gag had some funny moments, but it felt like a joke that went on too long. This seems to be a common problem with this season, lots of jokes that are funny in a moment, but stretch on for way too long to the point that it isn't funny anymore.

I did like the twist that the culprit the computer came up with to trick La'an was Spock not as someone else, but a version of Spock himself, that the computer came up with after monitoring La'an's interactions. That twist was good, the mystery was good, and the way the cast acted at the party, all fantastic. The way the cast acted on the parody show, just didn't work for me. I did like the blooper reel at the end of the episode though, and I did appreciate the deep swing the showrunners took by doing this at all, complete with changing the opening credits of the show to match.

Also great in this episode was Scotty, while not everything this season is hitting well, Martin Quinn has been doing fantastic.

Overall, not my favorite episode, but not horrible either, a solid C grade, Lieutenant Junior Grade.

HD3 Episode Rank: Lieutenant Junior Grade (C+ Tier)