Torres (then Paris, then everyone else in the crew) discovers an old holoprogram that simulates a Maquis takeover of the ship. Tuvok comes forth as the original author; he had initially intended it to be a training scenario for junior starfleet security officers, until he scrapped it after determining that a Maquis mutiny was no longer a likely event. Janeway thinks that a simulated overthrow of her leadership is a hilarious and morale-boosting idea, so she allows Paris (and Tuvok) to finish the program. Seska, before leaving the crew, had found the program and altered it, so when Paris and Tuvok go to start adding more scenes, her avatar shuts off the safties and begins chasing them through the ship. Janeway and Torres find a way to help by writing in new elements as the program progresses, eventually allowing Tuvok to off the Seska-hologram and restore control.
Honestly, Janeway's reaction is weird to me. I guess it is sort of a break from her usual condescension, but having her be so open to the popularity of this program is really out of character. But, we get a reasonably fun episode out of it, and it is nice to see her less uptight, so I can let it pass. Tuvok and Paris work off each other well, in a way that I had hoped Tuvok and Neelix could have done. Neelix's scenes with Tuvok have degenerated into Neelix trying to teach him how great emotions are in a very preachy way, and Paris doesn't get a lot of good character-foil opportunities (why we haven't gotten more Paris-Kim scenes is beyond me, those two are great together), so again I'm pleased. I'm still not that impressed with the pairing of Paris and Torres; she and Kim have a lot more chemistry. Plus, Trek writers simply don't know how to write for flirtatious characters - they end up using variations of the bad pick-up lines you'd find on a list-of-jokes website, rather than sounding remotely genuine.
I could really do without all the meta-writing jokes though. I get it, this show about writing a story was written by writers. There are a ton of movies and shows and books out there whose hero is a writer (often flawless except for his extreme devotion to his craft), and so many times those stories serve as ego vessels for their creators that they need to be extremely entertaining or thoughtful to not bother me - though one of my favorite books of all time is an author-protagonist story, so it can be done. Janeway's line about Deus Ex Machinas being underrated is particularly grating to me: sure, when used sparingly, they're not all bad. But when they're used to the extent that the Voyager writers do, and then they call attention to it in this episode, that's a level of smugness that'll infuriate me.
Watchability: 3/5
Bottom Line: As a fun episode, it does its job.
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