It’s a turbulent time behind the scenes of 1960s TV show The Last Frontier, and when somebody gets murdered, it’s time to bring in a detective.

One can only imagine the joy on director Jonathan Frakes’ face when this episode was pitched to him, because he immediately would have got all the jokes. And as a viewer, how lucky we are that something so pitch perfect has been given to us.

As much a TNG ‘technology goes wrong’ episode as a pastiche of TOS (just wait til you hear Maxwell Saint’s line delivery) both in front of camera and behind the scenes, this is a love letter to Star Trek fans and sets a high bar for this season.

I’m deliberately trying to give very little away about this episode because there are so many references that deserve to be discovered first hand. And with the main cast playing very different versions of themselves – Jess Bush must have loved using her native Australian accent – there’s clearly a lot of fun being had by all.

Verdict: Pastiche, parody or piss-take? What’s not in question is the level of affection for the legacy shows and a shrewd understanding of their inner workings. 10/10

Nick Joy