The Ultimate, Final Debate: Blackaard VS Novacom!!!!

Whit's wiping down the counter, Connie's mopping the floor, and the kids are sipping on their milkshakes. If you want to talk about Adventures in Odyssey the radio drama, this is the spot to do just that!

Which saga do you prefer?

The Blackgaard Saga
29
58%
The Novacom Saga
21
42%
 
Total votes: 50

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The Ultimate, Final Debate: Blackaard VS Novacom!!!!

Post by AIO Psyche »

This is the debate to end all other Blackaard VS Novacom debates. I want us to get an idea, once and for all, which is cavorts more.

And please don't just say, "I think Blackaard is better." Support your opinion, explain what you like or dislike about each saga, why you love one over the other, etc.

Be in-depth, be detailed. I honestly want to see why some people like Novacom or Blackaard more.

That being said, allow me to share my opinion.........

I am for Novacom all the way.

First and foremost, Novacom spans more episodes (if I'm not mistaken), and it's insanely more complex and had a much larger scope than Blackgaard ever did. IMO, it's also more realistic than the Blackgaard saga.

The fact that one powerful, scheming villain continues to set his sights on this tiny town is rather unbelievable.

A powerful, evil cooperation pouring money into secret, ethically wrong projects is much more realistic.

And let's look at the locals in the Novacom saga; it was locations all over the world, whereas the Blackagaard saga mainly happened in Odyssey.

The writing, IMO, was much more mature and clever, the plots were farther reaching, and the acting was better, as a whole, IMO. You had Connie dealing with sorrow, amoung other things. Such a range of emotions.

And don't even get me started on 'Blackgaard's Revenge'..........

As more points are made, I'll add my voice and opinion to them, but these are my basic feelings.

Prepare for the debate..........can't wait to see how this turns out!!!

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Post by Reddo »

Blackgaard, it seemed more personal and it stretched out over more years, you never knew when he was going to turn up, i was hoping novacom would be like that going off of the chairmans last line but it doesn't seem to have happened
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Post by Bob »

Stay tuned for a long, long post here.
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Post by Aaron Wiley »

Novacom made me feel far more involved. it may just be because I wasn't a fan back in the days of the Blackgaard saga, so I didn't get the enjoyment of getting hyped up about new episodes. Really though, the production quality on the Novacom saga was far better. The team just weren't as developed back in the days of the Blackgaard saga. Also, novacom was a far more in deapth show, it really had me afraid when the effects of the evil plans of Novacom actually started to affect the rest of the world. The world never actually felt the threat of red scorpion, that was pretty much just between the "secret agenty" guys.
"And the Lord saw that man had created the Internet, and He was most distressed. For once people started using chatspeak and improper grammar, their level of smartness was decreased by more than 500%. And so the Lord removed all the gifts he had once bestowed on man, and it was very sad." The Book of Marvin, Chapter 351, Verse 442.
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Post by AIO Psyche »

Jesus_Minime wrote:Novacom made me feel far more involved. it may just be because I wasn't a fan back in the days of the Blackgaard saga, so I didn't get the enjoyment of getting hyped up about new episodes. Really though, the production quality on the Novacom saga was far better. The team just weren't as developed back in the days of the Blackgaard saga. Also, novacom was a far more in deapth show, it really had me afraid when the effects of the evil plans of Novacom actually started to affect the rest of the world. The world never actually felt the threat of red scorpion, that was pretty much just between the "secret agenty" guys.
Agreed.

Although I never understood why they didn't involve Tasha and the agency more in the Novacom saga. I thought it would have been a perfect spot to bring them in.
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Post by Bob »

Before I begin my argument for the Blackgaard Saga, I will begin by stating some basic facts about the two sagas.

The Novacom Saga collection consists of at least 28 episodes, or slightly more than two albums' worth, according to the Odyssey staff (who released a mega-album containing them). By the same token, the Blackgaard saga consists of at least 24 episodes; several more can be added depending on how strict your requirements are. ("Recollections", at least, plays a key role in the saga by giving us a clue as to how long Blackgaard's worked to get control of the tunnel.)

The Blackgaard saga's episodes were from 1988 to 1995 (or 1999, if you count Blackgaard's Revenge; I'll go into detail about this later on). The Novacom saga's episodes were released in a much shorter timespan, from late 2000 to mid-2002.

Now, there are three key sections that play a role in this argument.

A) The quality of production (this includes voice actors and actresses, sound effects, music.)
B) The quality of writing (this includes plausibility, realism, characters, etc.)
and
C) The story's relevance to our lives

All of this post is going to take up some time, so I'm going to release it in three parts, one for each of the sections I have above. This will allow you to read more of my argument earlier, and comment on it part-by-part, instead of having to wait a long, long time to see everything I have to say, and then respond to a huge wall of text. This is the first section, and will cover the quality of production.

I think we can safely say that the acting and sounds in both series are top-notch; I'll list some of what I consider to be the advantages and highlights of both.

All of the Blackgaard series villains are memorable, in part because of their great voice acting. Earl Boen, a renowned actor, delivers a consistently menacing and memorable performance as Dr. Blackgaard, but I would say that the more "home-grown" voice actors are just as distinguished:

• Nathan Carlson, who plays Richard Maxwell, plays a genuinely conflicted villain in the earlier part of the Blackgaard saga. The scene that sticks out to me is in "The Nemesis, Part II", where Maxwell smooth-talks Lucy into agreeing to trick Whit and Connie into meeting with each other, so that Whit'll miss the vote. He sounds like a consummate charmer; maybe not the kind of guy you would want to have your kids hang out with, but someone who might persuade them to do so anyway.

• Paul McCusker, as Philip Glossman. Mr. McCusker is utterly convincing in this role, to the point where I can't hear him speak (like on the few occasions where he gives a warning before an episode) without thinking of Glossman. He portrays the perfect weaselly, backbiting, lawyer-politician-type character, the ultimate conniver. My father, at least, gets extremely annoyed whenever Glossman has anything to do with the episode, and if you can stir up very real emotions over a fake character, you know the voice actor has to be doing something right.

• Jerry Houser, probably better known for playing Ben Shepard, also played the small-level villain Jellyfish. He hams it up a little in this role, but has a convincingly nasty accent and is able to completely carry across the impression that he's a professional thug.

On the other side of the spectrum, we have a few notable villains in the Novacom series too, if not quite so many as in the Blackgaard saga. The few that come to mind:

• Jess Harnell delivers a convincing performance as "The Enforcer", Bennet Charles. While obviously playing more of a goonnish role, he is capable of acting like a respectable executive and presenting a decent public front, and like Glossman, it's easy to get annoyed at him when he's coolly reciting blatant lies.

• While Arthur Dent might not be a villain, exactly, he is a representative of Novacom. Either way, Christopher Snell gives one of the most intriguing performances of all of the major characters in the Novacom series. He sounds genuinely panicked, and mentally unstable, in the "Plan B" series, in a way that elevates him to one of the top performances in the series...I would say the only other moments that rank up there with it, in sheer impact, are in "The Black Veil". There can be no complaint made regarding Snell's acting in this series.

• Melissa Disney, as Monica Stone, does a good job at portraying a mercenary...the only thing that I would critique is that she's supposed to be a sympathetic character as well, and I'm not sure that Ms. Disney gives enough warmth in this role. She isn't likable enough, and she should be, since she's supposed to be able to convince Jason that she's actually a Christian social worker (and get him to develop a crush on her, at the same time). A lot of what she does when she's playing a nice character sounds obviously insincere, and it really shouldn't, since the character is presumed to be a good actress. Nevertheless, she still succeeds in delivering a memorable performance in this saga.

I would be inclined to suggest that, probably, the DBD villains benefit a little more from quality voice acting than the Novacom ones do, but it isn't by such a huge extent that it gives DBD a clear advantage.

The protagonists are an interesting bunch...I could go on at length about the accomplishments and achievements of both the Novacom and DBD protagonist acting teams, but I'm inclined to say that they're close to even, with the Novacom saga's group maybe taking a bit of an edge.

The sound effects in both series are excellent, but the moments that stand out to me are pretty similar.

The scene in "Checkmate", where the Bones of Rath raid Whit's End, and Eugene is in the Imagination Station, still sends a shiver up my spine. There's so much there: the sound of the Imagination Station lurching to a stop, the breaking glass, the Bones of Rath screaming in the background...the scene is easily one of the most potent ones in the Darkness Before Dawn series. Likewise, the scenes in the earlier parts of the Blackgaard saga, where the Whit's End displays go berserk, and when the Imagination Station goes through a power surge, are undeniably bestowed with an amazing set of sound effects.

It's been a while since I've heard the Novacom series, so I won't claim that I remember a bunch of different moments, but the laser tag scene, the original Imagination Station's destruction, the raid on Mitch's living quarters, the riot at Novacom, the sounds of people under the influence of the black box smashing everything in their vicinity, and the car chase in "Plan B" all come to mind as proof that the Odyssey sound team definitely still had it.

The Odyssey sound team has always been amazing, and their work doesn't disappoint in either of these series, but I'm inclined to give the Blackgaard Saga an edge in this case.

The music...this is one thing where, unfortunately, I haven't been pleased with new AIO for quite some time. The music in old-school Odyssey tends to just stand out more: Think of the melancholy ditty that plays at the end of "The Good, The Bad, and Butch", or the song that starts off "A Day In The Life", compared to the oversugared, overly-bouncy music that usually accompanies modern AIO. I don't remember many particular examples of music in either the Blackgaard saga or the Novacom series, but I'm willing to give the former an edge here just because of the time in which it was made...although I do seem to remember some good music surrounding the aforementioned laser tag scene, so I will give the Novacom saga props for that.

Stay tuned for section B, where I discuss the quality of the writing.
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Post by Aaron Wiley »

I really appreciate your comments Bob, you' e got some great stuff to say.
I do have to agree, Mellisa Disney didn't really play a very "likable" Character, but I'm not sure that was what she was supposed to be playing. She delivered and villainous seductive sounding voice that just makes you think of some cunning snake. One thing I don't like about the Blackgaard saga is Nathan Carlson. I've never really likes his voice, especially in the DBD or "the Nemesis". To be honest his voice just seemed to cartoony, or I guess you could say "cheesy".
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Post by Leonard Meltsner »

Well, to you Bob, I must say that the Novacom saga has extremely memorable music in my opinion. I only have to hear the first 2 seconds of the music before I know if its Novacom or not. There's the guitar theme, that other one, and that other one, (obviously it's not easy to describe them very well) but I remember them easily just the same. They send shivers down my spine, and the excitement of the Novacom saga along with them.

I would definitely that I prefer the Novacom saga, for the writing, the utter complexity of the plot, and how it weaved its way together so well, with so much intrigue and suspense. The Novacom saga was huge, GLOBAL, in fact, and it was so intricately planned. It was Malachi's Message that truly laid down the premise for the characters for the story-arc. Eugene's position at the college, Tom opening the Timothy Center, etc. It spanned so many episodes, it was so, so, large-scale! People died, were murdered, kidnapped, experimented on, it spanned from Odyssey to Alaska and back, the world was almost taken over, and the Imagination Station self-destructed!! It was the ultimate epitome of EPICNESS!!!
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Post by Bob »

Well, the thing to remember is that Melissa Disney's character, Monica Stone, presumably has at least some real affection for Jason -- that's why it's supposed to be a big deal for both of them, because she wormed her way into his heart, just to betray him. There ought to be an emotional impact there, both for Monica, Jason and the listeners, but because she's obviously playing him the entire time, we instead sympathize mainly with the pastor who distrusts her, and wish that Jason wasn't so clueless.

Thanks for your response; I love getting feedback whenever I do virtually anything.

Intend to work on section B as soon as the inspiration hits me again...and I don't think it'll take too long.

-- 11 Dec 2010 01:50 am --

First, before I paste in the rest of this post, I thank our Lord, Christ Jesus, for His mercy and grace.

The reason why? There are infinite reasons, as you all know, but the one I have in mind is that without Him, this post would indeed not exist.

When I was trying to post this part of the argument up, I found out that I had been logged out...and when I logged in, of course, the board had seemingly forgotten everything I did.

I was in a state of disbelief, followed by resignation. I even wrote the following post to follow it up.
"I'm in a state of shock and dismay, as the brilliant post I just wrote that covered the entire plan Andromeda devised is now gone, victim of the board forgetting that I was logged in.

Remember, always make copies when you're writing an important post, because the webboard never bothers to save anything you write.

This does massive damage to my argument. I can rewrite it, but it will take a long time, and I'm not sure it will be as good as the original."
However, by God's mercies, and the quirks of this board, it actually edited my old post..and put all the stuff I wrote into *it*.

This preserves my post, and the value of about a hour of my life.

Now, behold the beginning of section B, where I talk about plot.

---

In section A, we covered the quality of production. My conclusion was that the two series were extremely close in that regard; I gave an edge to the Blackgaard saga, but I admit that I'm biased, and it would be understandable if you choose to disagree. When you have a veteran production team like Adventures in Odyssey does, anything they create is going to be amazing, and the differences are really mostly a matter of opinion rather than hard-and-fast "quality", I think it's fair to say.

Most of you, however, haven't talked extensively about the sound effects or the music, as a strong point for Novacom, you've talked about the plot. Now I will cover both series, and try to demonstrate the strong points for both. While my intention was originally, and still is to deliver a good argument for the Blackgaard saga, which, in my heart and nostalgia, I believe is the best, this discussion has enabled me to see more of the good side in the Novacom series. While I'm not sure I'll change my mind (and in fact, I'm actively trying not to), I do concede that this is more of a tossup than I ever previously imagined it to be. Now, on to business.

There are several main aspects to any story. They include the characters, the dialogue (if any -- while all AIO episodes have dialogue, this isn't true for every story), and the underlying point. The last of these crosses somewhat into section C, so we may not cover it so much here, but I can adequately discuss both of the first two.

The most important thing to start with are the villains, their means, and their motivations, since that is, in fact, the driving force of the story. I'll start with the Andromeda villains first.

The primary thing Andromeda, and the Chairman, want is power, plain and simple. There's no need to settle for any one kind of power, though, because they've found a most incredible way to gain seemingly all of them, simultaneously. Specifically, they have stumbled across the method of using mind control to do it, a previously impossible dream made possible by recent advances in brain-wave-to-radio-wave conversion technology, and the power of a relatively obscure invention, the Imagination Station. To capitalize on this secret weapon, they built up an empire of overlapping media corporations, for the purposes of:
A) Having a good reason and method to obtain the resources they will need to create a transmitter strong enough to take over humanity's minds.
B) Weakening the morals and resolve of humanity, thus cutting them off from the lifeline they would be able to turn to for salvation, that is, Christ Jesus.
C) Presenting a good public image and distracting the world, government, etc. from their inner dealings.

This business regime is a sound idea, since the various, seemingly endless array of corporations, of which all own or are owned by other companies, and all of whom are very busy building up their own little empires, allows the Andromeda board to bury away any acquisitions they want within an endless sea of documents and red tape. It also means that if something goes wrong at one of the lower corporations, the head officials have an out; they can simply claim ignorance of their subordinates' decisions.

This plan for world domination depends on two things. First, the scientists, led by a small-town scientific genius, Eugene Meltsner, must complete their revolutionary brain-wave-to-radio-wave research, and find a reliable way to reverse the process. The latter will come, as long as the former is in place.

Secondly, the amazing Imagination Station, invented by an eccentric old man, John Avery Whittaker, in Odyssey, must be obtained somehow, preferably in a way so that he won't know it's been stolen. It accomplishes things in mind-control technology that are far beyond its time and it is a key part of this plan.

All in all, it sounds good. Everyone on the board, save that old stick in the mud Armitage Shanks, are in complete agreement with this plan, and everything seems to be going great so far. Shanks could talk, so it'll be necessary to bump him off, but that shouldn't be too difficult, or look too suspicious.

Unfortunately, things start to go south when Meltsner catches wind from Shanks that something seems a bit fishy about this entire scheme, and disappears. This situation can still be resolved, but it'll take a lot of time and manpower to do it; Andromeda begins dispatching agents across the world to find Eugene and his new bride Katrina.

There's no sense in slowing down the plan for one man, though, so Novacom sets up shop in Odyssey, buying some land from a small-time farmer, Tom Riley, who happens to be a friend of Mr. Whittaker's. This move will allow Andromeda to begin poisoning the minds of the population, and getting them to align more closely with Novacom, which can only help their cause in the long run. Novacom begins attempting to buy up local TV shows, like "B-TV", and tries to ingratiate itself to children by accepting their plot proposals and labor as professional plans.

Unfortunately, Odyssey is a more resilient town than most of the ones Andromeda's media companies have visited so far. They have a strong Christian background, and the resistance to Novacom programming is high, no thanks to Mr. Whittaker's efforts. Novacom attempts to talk to Whit, to get him to "officially" work with them, which would give them the ability to put a better PR spin on their shows, as well as more access and leverage into Whit's End, where the Imagination Station is stored, but this plan proves to be unsuccessful.

Since Whit and his employees keep too tight a control of the Imagination Station, Andromeda decides it might be a better idea to see if a duplicate of the Imagination Station could be made somewhere, in a place where it won't be as closely protected, so they instruct someone to help inspire Mary Hopkins to look into the idea. Her proposal to Whit, to create a second Whit's End, is met with approval. Everything seems to be going swimmingly so far. Hopkins naively recommends to Whit that he enlist the help of Barry Muntz, an Andromeda employee, in the difficult task of building a second Imagination Station. Muntz' goal, of course, is to try to steal the plans, since they should be a lot easier to make off with than the real thing.

Unfortunately, this tactic also fails, just because Whit is too stubborn to let anyone else have access to such a powerful machine. In fact, when he finally does give Muntz the plans, they turn out to be sabotaged -- proving the sheer level of distrust Whittaker has acquired, and that he is now aware that Andromeda is up to something, which is a terrible loss.

Since Whittaker is more alert than before, Andromeda is forced to give up on the subtle approach and begins outright casing Whit's End, so they can find out the best way to steal the Imagination Station. At some point, Mr. Whittaker takes it away from public access, down into his workroom, which makes it harder to simply up and steal, since they no longer know where it is, and a prolonged search would be too suspicious. Andromeda spies begin inserting hidden cameras all across the store. Unfortunately, Whit's employees find and disable all of them, and to top it all off, Whit installs and improves his own security systems.

Nevertheless, Andromeda still knows enough about the principles of the technology they plan to use to begin testing their technology on the open market, although it isn't yet reliable or powerful enough for world domination. They use a throwaway company to begin marketing the "black box", a brand-new ultra-effective satellite system; it rapidly becomes popular all across the country. The technology works as intended. Meanwhile, Andromeda agents have nearly caught up with Eugene Meltsner, forcing him to send his information to Jason Whittaker, in Alaska, who he hopes can adequately protect it. Andromeda dispatches Monica Stone, who they expect will be a most convincing agent, to steal the information.

The Imagination Station situation is at a stalemate, but a lucky break occurs when the daughter of the most recent in a line of Novacom managers turns out to be a friend of an employee at Whit's End. She is able to successfully case the joint, giving Andromeda the knowledge they need to break in and steal the Imagination Station, and knowledge as how to escape.

Whittaker himself is easy to get to, and Stone is eventually able to succeed in her mission. Andromeda has obtained all that they need now to begin the final stage of their operation.

Novacom releases the Novabox, which is the final testbed of all the research they have done. If the Novabox is able to successfully persuade people to buy certain products, and influence other parts of their behavior and abilities, it will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that brain-wave-to-radio-wave technology can be used for the purpose of world domination. It will also help reach anyone who might not be within range of the transmitters they intend to build, and boost PR/distract everyone from their real purpose, by being the most exciting gaming and mental fitness technology ever invented.

The Novabox works perfectly. With this final step in their weapon's development process completed, Andromeda needs only to bring all of their radio stations across the country online, and get them ready to begin broadcasting the Imagination Station's frequencies (as they have converted into their mind-control device).

Unfortunately, things go south when some meddling civilians discover that this is, in fact, Andromeda's plot. There's a stroke of luck when a lunatic ex-employee of Novacom blows up the decoy tower at Riley's farm; this allows Andromeda to pin the crime on Riley and buy time for the launch day.

In the end, though, too much information has leaked for Andromeda to get away clean. The government confirms the nature of the scheme and closes in. Novacom headquarters is evacuated and the Chairman and his cohorts begin their escape. Everything depends on Launch Day now; if the Imagination Station can be activated in time, and all the radio stations across the world brought into line, then Andromeda can still win the day. Andromeda buys more time by distracting the only people who reliably know how to deal with the Imagination Station. This ploy fails, and with it, Andromeda's scheme for world dominion comes to an end.

This is indeed obviously a very complicated master plan, with no particular flaws or weaknesses, save perhaps its sheer dependance on the one and only Imagination Station to execute it. I'm guessing that even though Novacom was able to reverse-engineer desirable aspects of the machine's technology, they still didn't really understand it, or they would have built more machines that could have done the job just as well, across the planet. This seems to be in line with the idea that Mr. Whittaker alone (and now, his protege Eugene) fully understands the technology...Eugene himself once said about a lesser invention, the Talking Mirror, that "while it can be fixed, Mr. Whittaker will have to be the one to do it", and presumably the Imagination Station is as much above the mirror as the mirror is above conventional technology.

Because the plot is so vast, this post has gone on longer than I expected, and it will take several more posts to adequately discuss the writing and plots in these sagas. The next post will cover Dr. Regis Blackgaard's plan. Thanks for reading; I hope to get part 2 of Section B up soon.
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Post by Mark Prescott »

Great job, Bob! Only one thing: Most of us already know the plot of Novacom, if not DBD as well. Most of your post was more made of of a summary than a critique. I Like your writing, and this may just be me, But I would rather see a critique than a summary seeing as I already know the plot.
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Post by AIO Psyche »

:shock:

=D>

Bob, your posts are both epic, well written, detailed, and inspirational!!! Wow man, just wow.........

I'm gonna work on something similar to what you wrote.

Again man, amazing post! Cannot WAIT for the rest of your post. :-)

Wow, Novacom has a clear lead over Blackgaard in the polls! Everyone needs to be voting!!
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Post by Aaron Wiley »

@Bob: I REALLY enjoy your writing! fantastic! Thanks for the recap, although we've all heard the Novacom saga before it was nice to have it summed up in about 15 minutes so we can more easily discuss points in the plot. But on the note of the quality and sound effect etc.

I actually didn't really like the music closer to the beginning of the Novacam Saga, because I believe it was said before, it was just far too bouncy and childish, but as the saga progressed, we were all just pulled deeper into the story by the music. As for the FX, I did notice a few scenes and bits (being a sound designer/editor now myself) that left some to be desired, and weren't quite comparable to some of Focus's other fantastic Radio theater productions, but still, they were very well done. On the other hand, during the time of the Blackgaard saga, The sound design team, and even the writing team simply weren't as developed as they would be 5 or so years later. I find the quality of the production of DBD as opposed to the quality of the novacom saga simply don't compare. this is obviously due to the fact that Odyssey began working on the Blackgaard saga at album 5, and the novacom saga in the early 30's. That gave them almost 25 albums to figure out everything and perfect their quality of production. It's not that the Blackgaar saga was bad, it's just that the Odyssey team weren't as polished as they would be later on.
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Post by The Top Crusader »

I shall not at this time (or likely ever ;)) go to the lengths of Bob, howe'er, I basically agree with him and will likely add my own two cents later.

Quick version: Blackgaard Saga... not perfect, but really swell overall.

Novacom... Meh. Okay. Too farfetched.
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Post by ric »

Wow...um...I think I'll just...stay out of this topic.
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Post by Shennifer »

I voted for the Blackgaard saga for more sentimental reasons than anything, but I'll explain myself. The Blackgaard saga was more realistic than the Novacom saga, and of course, we have in that saga Eugene becoming a Christian, Tom forgiving Richard, and of course the incredible tunnel scene with Jack and Regis. It's interesting how listening to all the episodes that lead up to DBD and seeing how its wrapped up in the DBD album itself. I just love how everything is tied together in DBD. (I'm excluding the episode Blackgaards Revenge, not because it wasn't an interesting idea, but because I think it made things too far fetched.) I recently listened to the episodes leading up to DBD and DBD itself, so my memory is fresher.

With the Novacom saga, I haven't listened to for a while, but I will say that some episodes in this saga genuinely scared me. Not that the Blackgaard saga wasn't scary, but Novacom had a more creepy kind of scary, which I didn't like. And maybe it would be different if I listened to them now, but all the same, I do think it was more far-fetched. Being complex isn't a bad thing, but it can be overwhelming. It had it's great moments though, but for now, I'm sticking with the timeless Blackgaard saga.
Last edited by Shennifer on Sat Dec 11, 2010 1:29 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by Bob »

Before we start on the second part of section B, I would like to thank you for your comments in-between; like I said, I enjoy and appreciate every bit of encouragement I get.

I would like to note that although a plot summary of Novacom might not be necessary, I still think that it's important we get all the information out in the open, so that we'll better understand our villains. It's fine if you believe that your favorite villain's schemes are much better, greater, or more involved, but for a debate, we should have evidence to prove it. It's also important to point out that although Darkness Before Dawn is a major part of my argument (as 91.6% of it is about Blackgaard's plots), it isn't the only thing, and this next plot summary will cover his entire known career.

Take into consideration that, unlike with Novacom, some of Blackgaard's background is shrouded in mystery. We may never know the full extent of his life and times, and everything he did over the years. This is simply my best guess at deciphering it.

Dr. Blackgaard's exact motives are uncertain. It seems, though, that we can safely assume he enjoys manipulating those he considers to be 'lesser minds', given his stated doctorate in child psychology, and the fact that his schemes usually involve manipulating or deceiving people on some level, whether personal or political. We know that he is already wealthy, although perhaps not as much as Mr. Whittaker, due to his ownership of the Webster Development Firm, so while it is entirely possible that his primary goal is to simply to get more money, it doesn't seem entirely likely that he would go to all these criminal lengths just for that.

My guess is that Blackgaard would like to have a nearly spiritual level of influence over humanity at large. While we don't know exactly how the Ruku virus would have been used to obtain that end, all of Blackgaard's personal interactions seem to place him as being like the evil counterpart to Mr. Whittaker. Whit uses his knowledge for good, to try to bring people to God. Blackgaard uses his knowledge for evil and personal gain, to try to bring people under him. While you might not like "Blackgaard's Revenge" (and it isn't the best-written idea), it still actually happened in the series, and it reveals a lot about Blackgaard's character to us. His quest for a type of immortality, and his statement in the Final Conflict, regarding his soul, that he "auctioned it off years ago", combined, give us a more complete picture of a man, who is essentially satisfied with his state of detachment from God, but unwilling to accept the consequences thereof. While I don't think that he really accepted the Imagination Station virus as a substitute for immortality, he no doubt found the idea of keeping a part of himself alive longer appealing.

It's interesting to note that Blackgaard's opposite number in "Darkness before Dawn" is not Mr. Whittaker, or even Jason, but rather, his closest counterpart with the protagonists is actually Jack Allen. Jack's premonitions about the conflict ahead, his insistence that it's a spiritual battle, and his final plea to Blackgaard to repent of his evil ways and come to Christ are an insight into the true nature of Blackgaard's menace. The entire plot is ultimately about the state of this villain's soul...I will cover this further in section C.

Blackgaard's desire is to have power, but we have a more complete understanding of why, I think, than we do with the Novacom villains, and that is a point in favor of the Blackgaard saga. We don't know exactly why the Chairman or Bennett Charles want to take over the world, or why they're evil villains, we know only that they are. There's no apparent motivation behind anything they do, besides simple greed. That's okay, but it doesn't make for as much of a villain in this case.

At any rate, on to the means Blackgaard has tried to use to achieve his objectives.

Firstly, we know that Dr. Blackgaard had already set up several different avenues to give himself access to the best tools for the job. In addition to owning a business, the Webster Development Firm, he's known as a government agent in Europe, and as an associate with the Red Scorpion terrorist organization. He's presumably associated with criminals all across North America, given his operations in the Windy City, and he's known in Europe for his work in computer science (in spite of his claim that he doesn't know that much about them).

We also know that as far back as "Recollections", Philip Glossman attempted to obtain the land the Fillmore Recreation Center was located on for the Webster Development Firm, which is owned by Dr. Blackgaard. This being the case, we can assume that Blackgaard already had his sights on the mineral in the underground tunnel. What isn't so clear is why he didn't make more of an effort to take over the land at the time, if he knew the mineral would be as useful as it turned out to be. My guess is that he assumed that there were other places to obtain the mineral, or possibly even that it might not be an essential part of an improved Ruku virus; his absence over the next few years could indicate that he tried to find alternatives to this, but failed.

We don't know exactly who developed the Rukuta virus, but either way, by "The Nemesis", Dr. Blackgaard has apparently realized that the tunnel under Whit's End is the only reliable way to get access to the mineral, which, although he doesn't know exactly why yet, since he lacks the formula, is necessary to make the Ruku virus unstoppable. By establishing Blackgaard's Castle, he opens up a number of options; it will be possible for him to become a respected member of the community, which will give him the leverage he needs to run for Mayor later on, and get access to Whit's End. There's also the possibility that he could simply put Whit out of business by attracting most of the kids; it's notable that we don't really hear anyone visit Whit's End except for Lucy, in the entire time Blackgaard's Castle is open. Finally, if he decides to change his plan, or seek out another, better opportunity later on, he hasn't compromised or wasted anything, except for a little time.

At the same time, though, Blackgaard learns that Whit has developed an amazing computer program, Applesauce, which is powerful enough that it could, in itself, be used for the process of world domination. Blackgaard presumably decides that one tool for world conquest is as good as another, and that obtaining Applesauce is his critical priority at this stage. The fact that it would probably take less time to steal Applesauce than to close down Whit's End and get the mineral also must've played a role in Blackgaard's decision, since he's a man only too aware of his mortality.

To achieve this new goal of stealing Applesauce, he instructs Richard Maxwell, who Eugene unfortunately revealed some information about the program to, to begin working on the process of stealing it. They're able to uncover the computer's IP address and connect to Whit's (carelessly guarded) computer system, but they can't break into Applesauce because they don't know the password.

Blackgaard attempts to find out what it is from the sources he has available to him; Maxwell does his best to charm Lucy Cunningham into uncovering it. Unfortunately, Whit and Eugene Meltsner know something is up because of the system check Applesauce caused the first time, and are working to uncover the mystery. Blackgaard decides to buy time by overloading the Imagination Station's power systems, which, coincidentally, happens to blast Lucy in the process.

Although Blackgaard doesn't know it, this stage of the game is already lost; nobody knows the password to Applesauce but Whit, who isn't telling. While Blackgaard would have probably had to leave anyway, with Mr. Whittaker on his trail, Maxwell, puts extra pressure on Blackgaard by betraying him and burning down Blackgaard's Castle. This undoes everything Blackgaard has worked for in the past few years, and essentially requires him to start over from square one; he needs to rebuild his assets, stay away long enough for Whittaker (one of the few people who can confirm his crimes) to leave, and remain away long enough for most of the people of Odyssey to forget the allegations of his crimes.

In the next few years, Blackgaard builds the Electric Palace, as a type of "listening post" in Odyssey, probably with the intention of sacrificing it later, as part of his new plan.
Blackgaard also decides to attack Tom Riley, probably as a way to discredit Whit's close friends for later on (since Riley is one of the other people who can guess about his crimes). At the same time, he attempts to pressure Mayor Bill Jenkins into assisting with this, but Bill is too stubborn and resigns, rather than work further with Blackgaard. This is an acceptable outcome, since Blackgaard can then push a puppet, say, a corrupt member of the city council, to run against Bart Rathbone...alternatively, he could have intended to just let Bart run himself. Either way, Blackgaard keeps a puppet in as Mayor of Odyssey, which will be necessary later on.

Unfortunately, Tom Riley attempts to counterattack and runs for Mayor himself. He easily defeats Rathbone in the debate, and Blackgaard's only hopes of success are killed when Riley's friends clear him of the apple scandal. The operation has failed in the worst possible way, but things with Red Scorpion have come to a head, so Blackgaard leaves off from supervising things in North America and travels to Europe.

Red Scorpion has discovered that the National Security Agency is on to their plots. As a result, they panic and presumably speed up their schedule by some time, immediately threatening to use Rukuta to spread terror across the world, should their list of demands not be met. Blackgaard arrives and masquerades as both a European agent and an ally of Red Scorpion. This advances his scheme in two ways.

First, Blackgaard will be able to bump off the only other criminals who know much about the Ruku virus and TA-418, and take complete control over it and its use. Secondly, Jason Whittaker happens to be in the area, and this case is a good chance to get to know him; with Mr. Whittaker's retirement and mission to the Middle East, Blackgaard can return to Odyssey as soon as he wants, but he needs to know whether or not Jason knows as much as his father. In this, at least, the answer is no. Blackgaard's plans work out entirely as intended; he murders Mustafa, presumably gains access to the formula, and takes off.

The TA-418 formula confirms that he needs the mineral under Whit's End to continue. After taking some time off, he begins setting into motion the final plan to get control of Whit's End.

Most of you already know the plot of "Darkness Before Dawn", so I'll skim through this very quickly. Blackgaard has the Bones of Rath cause as much destruction as possible, to create the impression that Riley is an incompetent mayor. Jason, coincidentally, plays into Blackgaard's hands by opening the door to a government investigation, allowing Professor Bovril to confirm that the mineral is exactly what they were looking for. With a revival of the Edgebiter scandal, Blackgaard is able to further undermine Tom as mayor, and force a recall vote. Shortly afterwards, he makes his final return to the town of Odyssey, setting up shop in the Harlequin Theatre, where his brother has most generously reformed the Blackgaard name.

Riding on his brother's popularity in the eyes of the public, and Tom's unpopularity, Blackgaard rapidly gains the the advantage in the election. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, Blackgaard acquired the Ruku virus himself. He knows that he's going to die sooner or later, so he speeds things up by ordering Glossman to close down Whit's End.

After a few tries, they're successful in closing and evacuating Whit's End, and Blackgaard finally makes his way into the building he's wanted to control for about a decade.

Blackgaard achieves three things while he's here.

A) First, he obtains access to the Imagination Station, where, perhaps on a whim, he manages to get a replica of his personality hidden away in the machine, giving himself a type of "immortality".
B) He obtains full access to the mineral he's wanted to have for so long. As Professor Bovril's stated, it is truly an amazing compound. Maybe Blackgaard will live long enough to be able to make some use of it, or at least find a cure for his condition.
C) He rigs up explosives in the tunnel under Whit's End, so that if his plan fails, he can at least get revenge on the people who've troubled him for so long.

Everything begins to go downhill for him from there, however. After a short period of time, everyone but Dr. Blackgaard himself have been captured or compromised, and the Doctor finds himself alone in the tunnel under Whit's End.

He knows now that he'll never escape. His crimes are too various, and too many, to keep him from escaping prison; even if he could get out, his lifespan has been greatly shortened by the virus that's now coursing through his veins, and he wouldn't be able to achieve anything anyway. He doesn't know whether Bovril made it out or not, but by the sounds of the sirens he heard, I'm guessing Blackgaard assumed he was captured. All of his plans have failed.

Having run out of plans, the Doctor cradles the detonator in his hand, possibly contemplating everything that's gone wrong up until this point, and the possibility (or impossibility) of being able to make it out and keep his infamous crime streak alive. At this pivotal moment in his life, Jack Allen arrives.

Jack tries to talk Blackgaard into giving it up, and repenting of his sins and crimes. Blackgaard has little personal enmity with Jack, other than that he's a Christian and he's trying to get in his way, and is willing to talk to him, especially since he knows he won't be alive for much longer. Blackgaard reveals that he'll soon die anyway, and that he has nothing else to lose at this point. He rejects Jack's attempt to bring him to Christ, and warns him to leave, or be killed.

Jack tried to call Blackgaard's bluff, but the Doctor wasn't kidding, and activated the detonator. His body was never found, but he's presumed dead by the explosion. Even if he had somehow survived, as Jack did, the virus would have killed him within a short time anyway, since he wasn't aware of the cure that Professor Bovril could have made.

That ended the real Dr. Blackgaard's reign of terror, but the last of his machinations would appear several years later, when the personality construct he placed in the Imagination Station "woke up" and began influencing the program. Like the real Blackgaard, it was very charismatic and attempted to persuade Aubrey Shepard into evil, but with the help of Mr. Whittaker, she was saved from the machine. The personality construct was deleted, and with it, the last remnant of Blackgaard's crime campaign on Earth gone.

This plot is also very complicated, just like Novacom's; the main difference is that, for the most part, it doesn't really get going until "A Name, Not a Number". Until that time, everything had gone wrong with Blackgaard's plans, for some unforeseeable reason or another. We can't see the end effect that would have resulted from Blackgaard's control of the virus, just because the plan was aborted mid-way. In that respect, you could say that the villains in the Novacom series had a slightly more complete plot put together.

At the same time, though, Blackgaard is a much more captivating individual villain, and poses a direct spiritual threat to all of the main characters, in a sense that Novacom/Andromeda never did. True, we hear brief allusions to their bad programming, but that's not really what they're about. They come off as more of a "villain of the week"; their goal is to take over the world, true, which is evil, and we know that they're ruthless, which is bad, and we know that they're liars, which is bad, but the fact is that we don't really get much insight into any of *them*, per se. Bennett Charles, who is considered to be the most active Novacom villain, is mostly a bland, overly loyal enforcer, like a cross between Glossman and Jellyfish. The Chairman barely even shows up, so we can't begin to guess anything about him.

If there's a future series that reveals more about the Chairman's character and motives, then that may work towards tying it up, but in this aspect, for now, I think you have to give the edge to Dr. Blackgaard as a major villain. His plot is about as well-constructed as Novacom's, and suffers mainly because we don't know exactly what he would have done with the virus if he succeeded, whereas the outcome after Exit is fairly obvious (Novacom would mind-control everyone on Earth). Even more importantly than the exact nature of his plot, though, he's infinitely more interesting as a *character*, and I don't think anyone can deny that. Every villain poll ever taken on this site either came out strongly in favor of Blackgaard, or excluded him because he was assumed to be the best. That's a legacy you can't easily overcome.

Next up, in parts 3 & 4, I intend to talk more about the protagonists', and minor villains', characters in both series. The main villains, however good, are only part of the story, after all. Thanks for reading.
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Post by AIO Psyche »

Bob, seriously, you are like my favorite poster now. =D>

You talk, sound, and feel like a poster from the golden days of the ToO, when I was around.........seriously man, you are a fantastic writer.

Second, I still can't forsake my love for Novacom.

It was a modern story, with a modern moral.

The plot in Novacom was so much clearer. As you said, there was alot left a mystery in the Blackgaard saga. I like my saga to make sense, where I know what their plans are, and what they are trying to do and why.

Also, I will agree with you that as an individual villain, Blackgaard is a stronger character than any of the villains in Novacom. I do feel like we should have found out more about the Chairman. I remember reading somewhere that they had originally planned to do more with the Chairman, but ended up not doing so, which I feel is a great shame. Personally, I always felt like the Chairman should have been someone that we already knew. Actually, years ago, I had a major theory about the Chairman, sent it into Nathan Hoobler I believe, and if I remember correctly, he said that my theory was an amazing idea, and he wished that they would have used that idea LOL. Actually, I'll go ahead and type up my theory and see what you guys think.............

Remember in the three part mystery episode, "The Perfect Witness"? The villain in the episode, Dr. Marcus, who worked at the college Eugene worked at, stole the research/paper that Eugene worked on. He covered this crime up by making it look like a random break in. He also hired two thugs to do his dirty work. All things that Novacom would do. However, the biggest shock is that Dr. Marcus sounds EXACTLY like The Chairman. Either its the same actor (which is what I suspect), or the two actors sound strikingly similar.

Anyways, I submit that Dr. Marcus is in fact, The Chairman. I will explain how this makes perfect sense.


1. Marcus stole something that he himself called "Brilliant work". Work done by Eugene. While I don't necessarily think that this was the Radio Wave study (Andromeda came to the college to do the work much later in the show), I do believe that the research, which we never find out about, was the seed from which the Radio Wave study grew.

2. This would explain why Andromeda, under the direction of The Chairman, had so much focus on Odyssey. Marcus wanted to exact revenge upon the town, the college, the very man whom put him behind bars.

3. It explains how Andromeda knew so much about Odyssey, Whit's End, Whit himself, even the Imagination Station. Marcus lived and worked in Odyssey, and was therefore perfectly in knowledge of Whit's End, the Station, and what it was capable of.


Here is my idea of what happened during and after the events of 'The Perfect Witness', leading up to the Novacom Saga.


One of Eugene's college classes required him to write a paper on a scientific matter. So he wrote his paper on an idea for assisting the handicapped, a notion that was perfectly suited to someone like Eugene. While not quite the full on Radio Wave study, I believe that Eugene scratched the surface of what became the Radio Wave study.

Unsure of his progress with the theory, Eugene went to Marcus for imput and critique on the idea. Marcus was shocked and highly impressed with the work the instant he read it. He called it brilliant. And brilliant it was. However, being the opportunist that Marcus was, he immediately recognized the potential uses for the technology. And with that, would come money, fame, and glory.

So, once Eugene finished the paper, Marcus plotted to steal it and present it himself as his own work, thus propelling himself out of this tiny, country town into farther, greater things which he so desperately wanted.

You know the rest of the story; the plot almost got off without a hitch, except for Jenny, whose blindness made her the perfect witness, and Marcus was caught and sent to prison. He lost everything, and worst of all, he lost his freedom. Marcus went to jail, and vowed revenge on Eugene, on the college, and on the town that he felt betrayed him after all his years of service to them all.

At first, Marcus did what any normal citizen who is out in jail for the first time would do. They try to get out, cause problems, and make examples of themselves.

Being in prison killed him inside. He was a scholar, a teacher after all! He had attended fine schools and made good money. Now he was reduced to this. His anger and resolve to get revenge on Eugene and Odyssey was born and solidified within the walls of his prison cell.

After weeks of walking around in a daze, reserving himself to his fate, he had an idea. An inspiration, actually.

He was reading in his cell, and his cell mate, who wasn't exactly the brightest bulb in the bunch, was asking him a question, and with Marcus being a highly educated and intelligent man, answered his cell mates question, and then used his superior intelligence to get the man to do something he wanted him to do, but without asking him to do it. The power of suggestion. Pure manipulation.

"Boy, I wish everyone was this easy to influence and manipulate," Marcus thought to himself.

Suddenly, like a lightening bolt, it hit Marcus. Eugene's research. What if maybe, just maybe, there could be a potential way to......maybe........reverse the idea and instead of a human communicating with the technology, the technology could communicate with the human, and in turn, influence them, even control them, to do anything.......

Wait, that's silly. He would need technology far beyond what was possible to manufacture. The idea of a machine being able to interface with the mind was impossible, light years away. Why, it was simply to far fetched..........

Wait. Yes, that's it! The Imagination Station!! Whittaker's machine did just that. He remembered hearing some of his students talking about the device, and what it was capable of doing. By golly, this just might be possible.........

And there, in a cell block hundred of miles from Odyssey, the foundation was laid for the Novacom Saga. He began to formulate a plan.........


Within a week, the guards noticed a change in Marcus. He became a model prisoner. He did extra work, was polite and helpful to others, and never complained once. Another inmate that seemed to straighten up almost immediately after Marcus did, was another inmate whom was close friends with Marcus. Marcus found out that he was locked up for corporate espionage. His name was Joseph Muntz. But he always went by Barry..........

Both inmates became angels. And within a few years, they both were granted parole, and left the prison. They went their separate says, their plans clear. Barry had work to do, and Marcus did too. Barry went off to Odyssey to lay low and follow of his instructions, and Marcus headed to Chicago. He arrived, and went searching for a man Barry had worked for once before, a man named Bennett Charles. Barry said that he could help Marcus with the first part of their plan.

Marcus found him, explained the entire scheme, and Bennett was instantly taken with the idea. Marcus had connections to an investment company based there in Chicago, called Andromeda Incorperated. He knew a couple of board members through his scholarly career.

Bennett, who lived in Chicago, was a hit man for hire in the big city. He had a way of getting things done. People hired him to collect debts, scare people away, steal secrets, or simply make people quietly disappear. He got things done. And he had a group of people who worked for him. He would be a good enforcer, and an asset for what Marcus was planning. So, after several days of secret meetings and intense planning, Charles set off for New York, and Marcus called his friends, and set up a meeting with the board of Andromeda.

The next day, Marcus walked into the board room of Andromeda Inc, dressed in his best suit, and with the support of his two friends, presented his idea for a technology that could assist the handicapped far more than anything ever conceived. He laid out the basic idea that Eugene had conceived in his paper. He claimed that the project was not only possible, but a guaranteed cash cow. The profits that a product like this would bring in was far more than they could dream of. The board was instantly in love. The potential profits filled their imaginations. It was all they saw. The board unanimously voted yes to Marcus's project. Including one of the boards oldest members, Armitage Shanks.

They agreed to fund the research for the technology, and Armitsge highly recommended Cambell Country College be the one to handle the research, much to Marcus's shock and delight. Armitage raved of Eugene, and the notion of a small college in a small town doing the work on a highly valuable project sat very well with Marcus. This kind of technology could easily leak out, but if it was done in a small town that no one has ever heard of, it would keep the project low profile.

So, Eugene was contacted by Andromeda, and asked to flesh out and research the idea. Of course, he accepted. His paper had finally done him some good, and was recognized for the brilliance that it was! "If only Dr. Marcus could see me now," Eugene thought.

While the research project was being set in motion, Barry was doing surveillance on Odyssey, the college, Whit, and Eugene. He kept tabs on all of this, and began relaying information to Marcus as things progressed in Odyssey.

Meanwhile, Charles was in New York. He had gone there to track down and gather together some key people they would need to pull this plan off properly. After about two months in New York getting the support and help they would need, Marcus, who was by this time a board member of Andromeda, called Charles and told him to move to Boston. He got him a job at Galaxy Enterprises, on of Andromeda's many subsidiaries. Galaxy was set up to oversee the acquisition of the radio and broadcast towers necessary to deploy the mind control technology they would eventually posses. However, they couldn't get all the towers they needed legally. Charles was to see to this, and depending on how he did there, Marcus would entrust him with more.

As the months went on, Marcus began instituting projects and acquisitions for the company that not only increased revenue, but earned him respect and influence in Andromeda as a board member. But Marcus wasn't satisfied being a board member. He had his sites set higher.

Almost two years later, the chairman of Andromeda died under mysterious circumstances, so there was a vote held. The board was almost unanimous on it's vote for Marcus to become the Chairman of Andromeda Incorporated. The one vote against Marcus, was Shanks. While Marcus became Chairman, from that moment on, he kept a close eye on Armitage.

Now, as Chairman, Marcus began to kick his scheme into high gear. Eugene was making excellent progress on the research, Charles was doing an all too well job at Galaxy, even getting rid of any potential problems they might have, or anyone who might suspect something. And he even had a plan to keep John Whittaker busy and distracted once Andromeda set up a presence in Odyssey.

Marcus's ultimate plan of mind control and revenge on Odyssey was well under way.

And the rest, you know from the show.

Of course, my theory is a hastily typed idea, that fleshed out, would make a riveting prequel to Novacom. It makes perfect sense to me, and could potentially be true.

What you guys think?
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Leonard Meltsner
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Post by Leonard Meltsner »

THAT WAS AMAZING!!! It all fits so well! With the small exception that Eugene's initial report for Marcus had been about trends in state education, although I can see how Eugene would've proposed an Imagination Station-like device to aid children with learning, which could've been represented by brainwave-radiowave conversion. That is so impressive, you truly have an incredibly intricate writer's brain.
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Eugene-"Well, the sequence of events occured with extreme rapidity, but I shall attempt to recall them. I was powering my two-wheeler along this concrete pathway, when your personnage suddenly appeared directly in front of me blocking my course. My reflexes immediately sprang to life in an attempt to navigate an evasive manouveur around you while still maintaining course and speed, but I evidently over-compensated, and my Schwinn careened off the hardened path, taking me with it, and up-ended us both in this shrub, a Rhododendron of the heath family I believe, deducing from the leathery evergreen leaves, as distinguished from the deciduous Azalea, which as we all know is..."
Isaac-"You mean, you crashed into this bush cause I got in your way."
Eugene-"Well, that of course is another way of expressing it." Isaac the Benevolent
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AIO Psyche
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Post by AIO Psyche »

Leonard Meltsner wrote:THAT WAS AMAZING!!! It all fits so well! With the small exception that Eugene's initial report for Marcus had been about trends in state education, although I can see how Eugene would've proposed an Imagination Station-like device to aid children with learning, which could've been represented by brainwave-radiowave conversion. That is so impressive, you truly have an incredibly intricate writer's brain.
LOL Thanks!

Oh that's right, it was about the state trends, wasn't it?

But, could his idea have been inside the state trends paper? We don't know which state trends Eugene wrote about, so it could have been included in there, tucked away in a tiny section of the report.

All we know was that it was about state trends, rights?
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Jonathan
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Post by Jonathan »

I feel sorta like a fish with a worm in front of me, but AIOP knows full well where I stand so I'll spare a long post.
AIO Psyche wrote:Although I never understood why they didn't involve Tasha and the agency more in the Novacom saga. I thought it would have been a perfect spot to bring them in.
They wanted to, but the actress who plays Tasha was unavailable. Which is why they added the secret agent dimension of Mitch to the character, instead of having him be there only as Connie's love interest.

Which, imo, made the character a lot more tolerable.

edit--It seems like Bob is taking care of the long posts for me. Well done sir.
and he's known in Europe for his work in computer science (in spite of his claim that he doesn't know that much about them).
I've always heard people say that that is a major goof of continuity and one reason the Blackgaard Saga is inferior (which I don't believe). I think it has a very good explanation though--after Richard's antics in the Battle, Regis decided he needed to educate himself on computers to avoid someone ever taking advantage of him again, so by the time it's reported that he's involved in computer work in Europe he's already undertaken a lot of education on computers.

Which underscores one reason I think the Blackgaard Saga is better--it took place over many years and many many things took place outside of what we heard in the series, yet everything that did take place beyond our ears fit into the story and what did take place within what we heard left little hints for what happened elsewhere. It made the Saga much more three-dimensional then Novacom ever was.
Last edited by Jonathan on Sun Dec 12, 2010 11:36 am, edited 1 time in total.
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