I think it was actually clever ::: spoiler the character who references Musk is a mirror universe evil doppelganger. Him admiring Musk is one of several clues that he’s evil. :::
Full disclosure, I’ve not seen discovery. Didn’t want to pay for paramount+ and now that I know more about the general plot, I’m not interested. Same thing for most of the new shows.
I bet it didn’t survive the refit. Actually, I suspect that’s where the “Rec Deck” from TMP ended up, though I have no proof (were the post-refit blueprints ever published?)
Is there even a space for the “Rec Deck” to fit in a Constitution class? I don’t think it would fit where the blueprints show the bowling alley because the “Rec Deck” is at least two decks tall. The Constitution class is surprisingly small; I was a TNG guy and the Galaxy class ships are comically gigantic.
Would be a question I would pose to a Youtuber by the name of We Travel By Night, who has tackled things like “The turbolift shafts on the exterior model don’t change from movie to movie, but the turbolift doors gradually move apart as they update the set.” or “the ship’s neck is so narrow that there’s no room for the turbolift and the engine plumbing to pass by each other, so how does that even work?”
It wouldn’t surprise me if it is still on but I don’t watch TV anymore either. If my memory serves me correctly, I saw an 80s rerun on ESPN about 5 years ago, but for the life of me, I have no idea why I was watching ESPN to begin with. (Nostalgia, maybe?)
I’m picturing Data showing McCoy around the Enterprise-D in Encounter at Farpoint- “where’s your bowling alley, boy?” “We do not have a bowling alley here, sir. But we have a holodeck that can simulate a bowling al-” “I’M NOT TALKING ABOUT MIXED-UP MOLECULES! Where’s the bowling alley? This is the Enterprise, boy!”
By the way, if you want to know whether or not this is canon? It’s canon.
In 2266, Kevin Riley, under the influence of polywater intoxication, “ordered” a formal dance to be held in the bowling alley on the USS Enterprise. (TOS: “The Naked Time”)