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

[Leonard Meltsner]

I'd say that what Bourland says to Mitch is key here. The government agencies didn't have the legal proof that they needed to get legal proof. The case had to be airtight. They needed things like search warrants and such, which kept them from getting what they needed. The kids could snoop without being noticed as much, because of their age, and weren't under government obligation to "always" follow the law in cases like climbing the tower. Also, hacking a corporate or government computer wouldn't be as easy as "milk and eggs", but this was the log-in password for a secretary, which is much less "top-secret highly classified".

[Wooton Blagard]

The Blackgaard, Saga was more epic-

[Lee]

Novacom all the way.

[ric]

Um, guys, entertainment is unrealistic and unbelievable. That's why I don't normally judge things according to how realistic they are. And if you forget realism and believability, NovaCom wins.

But, speaking of 'milk and eggs', why in the world would they keep their top secret RWS research just out in the open like that?

[Leonard Meltsner]

They didn't. Personnel files were under "milk and eggs", but remember the RWS required a Level 4 Password, which we see changing, from Red Herring, to Blue Gill. It probably had a great many passwords, which cycled daily or weekly for security measures.

[Caswin]

We may not have known that it was literally global from the beginning, but we definitely knew it was huge and that the corperation went FAR beyond odyssey, and MUCH more was at stake than the city. With Blackgaard, we knew he was majorly dangerous, and that his connections went deep, but he was really the center of it, and he was containable--He would have threatened the world if he conquered Odyssey and gained power slow and sure, but he wasn't an uncontainable problem, as Novacom was. The scariest part of Novacom is that you don't have any idea how deep the corruption goes and how many people you are facing, which makes it much more "global" than Blackgaard.

Ooh, good point. I only listened to it well after the fact, having started midway through the show, so I guess I didn't get the full effect.

That said: As it ultimately turned out, NovaCom was owned by Andromeda Incorporated, which was a stupid-huge company... but, well, that's as big as it got. I can understand wanting to see more of the official authorities involved in bringing down such a thing -- I think it's implied that they've been investigating Andromeda for a while; I'd certainly be interested in learning more about that -- but what would people from other cities and countries have done? Again, in the story's defense, most of the action did take place in Odyssey, and not without reason. (Taking over the world isn't easy, you know.)

...though I just realized, Whit never, say, called Bourland or anyone else when he realized where the real tower was. Hmm.

Also: With due credit to Ric, I'm going to start capitalizing the "C" now. Makes it sound scarier. (It had crossed my mind before, but I thought I was the only one!)

[ric]

Also: With due credit to Ric, I'm going to start capitalizing the "C" now. Makes it sound scarier. (It had crossed my mind before, but I thought I was the only one!)

Ya, I know, it is better that way.

[Parker Family]

I like both but Blackaard is better!!! TA41H

[Leonard Meltsner]

*TA418 is what I think you mean. T for Tasha, A for Avery

[AIO Psyche]

I know this is kind of a bump, but I had a thought and wanted to share.

Each saga represents, I think, the fear and idea of evil of that point in history. 

Blackgaard came out at a time when terrorism was beginning to take hold as a valid threat to the world and the USA. Blackgaard's time in AIO was around the late 80s-mid 90s. A time when the idea of a lone, power hungry terrorist who could rise up and hold a nation hostage, plant bombs, etc, wasn't such a stretch.

Blackgaard, as a symbol, is the very definition of terrorism. 

Intimidation, threats........these are qualities of not only Blackgaard as a character, but these are qualities of a terrorist. 

Blackgaard intimidated people. He scared them into doing what he wanted. Actually, we only saw Blackgaard 'do' very little. He was a thinker. A planner. He set a plan in motion, and let it run it's course. And he scared or threatened people into doing what he wanted. 

Blackgaard was a terrorist.

Again, Blackgaard represented the legitimate fears of that period in American history.


Novacom, however, is completely different. An entirely different type of evil.

Novacom, as a modern AIO saga, I believe, represents two of the fears of our time now.

First, as a villain, Novacom is very different. There isn't one single, lone villain. Evil during the Novacom saga was presented as a corporation, funneling millions of dollars into secret programs that were meant to A) Make the company money beyond it's wildest dreams and B) Control the masses through the use of technology.

Which is the second thing that Novacom represents to me; Advanced technology that is becoming more and more smart, and is slowly working it's way into lives more and more. 

Again, these are two of the modern concepts of evil: Large corporations looking out for themselves and trying to make every single dollar that they could possibly can. Greed. Money. 

Large corporations are modern day 'terrorists' if you will. They kill local, small businesses (Walmart?) and project a message to the youth that your goal in life should be to make as much profit as possible. 

And considering the financial mess we are in, plus the fact that there are are CEOs giving themselves millions of dollars in bonuses while they refuse to give their employees health care or wages that a person could realistically support a family on. Again, I feel like America is being hurt so much more deeply by big bankers, huge money hungry corporations, and greedy CEOs than a terrorist ever could with a bomb. 

Again, Novacom represents these huge companies of the 21st Century. 

Another difference between Novacom and Blackgaard, is the way each of these 'villains' handled themselves and dealt with people. A perfect example of this is Justine, Mitch's former girlfriend.

Notice how Novacom handled her. She found out that Andromeda was doing unethical and illegal things. What Novacom do? They murdered her by running her car off a cliff.

Now, for just a moment, let's take this scenario, and replace Novacom with Regis Blackgaard.

How would the situation have been handled differently? Well, for one, Blackgaard wouldn't have killed her. He would have intimidated her, scared her, or even tried to recruit her. But he wouldn't have killed her. Blackgaard was a talker. He was a thinker. If there was a problem with someone or there was a threat to his plans, he would have used his intimidation to shut the person up. Which leaves liabilities. And ultimately, I feel like that is one of the reasons that Blackgaard's plans ultimately failed. He didn't have the guts to just 'eliminate' a problem.

Novacom, however, is a mother story. If there was a problem, it was eliminated. End of story. Justine, for example. There was somene who knew of what they were doing, and so they took her out, plain and simple.

This is another reason that , IMO, Novacom is a superior 'villain'.


The second modern fear the saga touched on is the technology aspect. 

The thing that the AIO team did so perfectly, is conceive a storyline that so amazingly conveys the idea that technology isn't an inherently BAD thing, but can VERY easily be abused and used for all the wrong reasons. Technology isn't necessarily evil, but even something meant for good and helping others can be twisted into something dangerous. 

Also, it is a rather thought provoking way of showing how technology is always creeping more and more into our lives. 


Bottom line: Each saga, over time, has reflected the fears of that time. The morals, themes, and lessons of Novacom are WAY more relevant to today's world than Blackgaard. In the real world, you don't see that 'classic', clear image of evil anymore. Nowadays, evil is much more difficult to identify, and more times than not, it's organizations and companies that are scheming and inside trading and doing whatever it takes to further their company or make them more money or what have you. And they have 'fronts' up to keep their real motives and intentions hidden from public view.

The days of Blackgaard-type evil are gone. 

We live in the age of Novacom.

So for those who suggest that Novacom isn't realistic or possible, I respectfully disagree. 

[Leonard Meltsner]

He didn't have the guts to just 'eliminate' a problem.

Very nicely put! That was a very well thought out summary, though I'd disagree with just this one point, as Blackgaard had Greg Kelly killed for mixing up the laptops. "Take care of Gregory" "Don't worry, the police will never find you." As well as Mustafa "Make it look like an accident, Abdul."

[AIO Psyche]

Very nicely put! That was a very well thought out summary, though I'd disagree with just this one point, as Blackgaard had Greg Kelly killed for mixing up the laptops. "Take care of Gregory" "Don't worry, the police will never find you." As well as Mustafa "Make it look like an accident, Abdul."

Again though, he said 'Take care of Gregory'. We don't know what that meant. Again though, that's another reason Blackgaard, IMO, isn't the better villain. He had everyone do his dirty work for him. Especially in DBD, Blackgaard was reduced to nothing but a master mind of a scheme. He had a network of people doing his dirty work. He was a 'godfather' type of a figure if you will. He sat back and gave out orders. I feel like the Blackgaard we saw in DBD was, as a character, a far less intimidating and threatening Blackgaard. He was getting older, and he also had the virus.

Don't get me wrong, DBD is a triumph of storytelling. But very little 'action' actually took place in DBD. It was a thinking mans saga. But, a major draw back to DBD was that to truly enjoy the significance and depth of the saga, you really had to have listened to all the little pieces of what make up the 'Blackgaard Saga'. With Novacom, you had a self contained story that anyone, regardless if they had even heard of AIO before, could start and grasp all the characters and situations.

DBD was a saga of words. Novacom was a saga of action. Just my opinion.

[31899]

I'd say Dr. Blackgaard over The Chairman, but Mitch over Maxwell.
Mind control over terror, but dark tunnels over office buildings.

31899

[Leonard Meltsner]

Very nicely put! That was a very well thought out summary, though I'd disagree with just this one point, as Blackgaard had Greg Kelly killed for mixing up the laptops. "Take care of Gregory" "Don't worry, the police will never find you." As well as Mustafa "Make it look like an accident, Abdul."

Again though, he said 'Take care of Gregory'. We don't know what that meant. Again though, that's another reason Blackgaard, IMO, isn't the better villain. He had everyone do his dirty work for him. Especially in DBD, Blackgaard was reduced to nothing but a master mind of a scheme. He had a network of people doing his dirty work. He was a 'godfather' type of a figure if you will. He sat back and gave out orders. I feel like the Blackgaard we saw in DBD was, as a character, a far less intimidating and threatening Blackgaard. He was getting older, and he also had the virus.

Don't get me wrong, DBD is a triumph of storytelling. But very little 'action' actually took place in DBD. It was a thinking mans saga. But, a major draw back to DBD was that to truly enjoy the significance and depth of the saga, you really had to have listened to all the little pieces of what make up the 'Blackgaard Saga'. With Novacom, you had a self contained story that anyone, regardless if they had even heard of AIO before, could start and grasp all the characters and situations.

DBD was a saga of words. Novacom was a saga of action. Just my opinion.

I think that the line "Don't worry, the police will never find you." is clear enough of his intentions.

[Mark Prescott]

I'd say Dr. Blackgaard over The Chairman, but Mitch over Maxwell.
Mind control over terror, but dark tunnels over office buildings.

31899

So all AIO has to do now is come up with a combination of Dr. Blackgaard, Mitch, Mind controll, and dark tunnels!

[Leonard Meltsner]

I'd say Dr. Blackgaard over The Chairman, but Mitch over Maxwell.
Mind control over terror, but dark tunnels over office buildings.

31899

So all AIO has to do now is come up with a combination of Dr. Blackgaard, Mitch, Mind controll, and dark tunnels!

(TGRC)

So now we'll wait and see if Mr. Grout can pull off this combination!

[Danielle Abigail Maxwell]

Very nicely put! That was a very well thought out summary, though I'd disagree with just this one point, as Blackgaard had Greg Kelly killed for mixing up the laptops. "Take care of Gregory" "Don't worry, the police will never find you." As well as Mustafa "Make it look like an accident, Abdul."

Again though, he said 'Take care of Gregory'. We don't know what that meant. Again though, that's another reason Blackgaard, IMO, isn't the better villain. He had everyone do his dirty work for him. Especially in DBD, Blackgaard was reduced to nothing but a master mind of a scheme. He had a network of people doing his dirty work. He was a 'godfather' type of a figure if you will. He sat back and gave out orders. I feel like the Blackgaard we saw in DBD was, as a character, a far less intimidating and threatening Blackgaard. He was getting older, and he also had the virus.

Don't get me wrong, DBD is a triumph of storytelling. But very little 'action' actually took place in DBD. It was a thinking mans saga. But, a major draw back to DBD was that to truly enjoy the significance and depth of the saga, you really had to have listened to all the little pieces of what make up the 'Blackgaard Saga'. With Novacom, you had a self contained story that anyone, regardless if they had even heard of AIO before, could start and grasp all the characters and situations.

DBD was a saga of words. Novacom was a saga of action. Just my opinion.

I think that the line "Don't worry, the police will never find you." is clear enough of his intentions.

I have to agree. Blackgaard may have had others do his dirty work, but he was somewhat set on taking out a few people. Had he the chance, Whit might have been one of them...

It's like Voldemort in Harry Potter. He was most afraid of Dumbledore, but Voldemort would kill whoever got in his way - even his death eaters at times. Blackgaard, I'd like to think, was bent on revenge of Whit... but he was scared of Whit.

I also have to say, had all plans followed through, Blackgaard wanted Richard Maxwell dead. When it comes to those that you taunted and scared and threatened into working for you... and then they turn on you, I'd like to say Richard was 2nd in line for getting on Blackgaard's nerves... slightly scared, but still enough mind control to play with. Especially the way Blackgaard handled Richard, yeah.... Blackgaard wanted Richard dead. He would have been dead too, but we all know Odyssey and, as said in the Official Guide, the writer's weren't going to take it any further.
An AU of sorts for the fanfiction world that could delve into what might have been in a far less censored world. I tried to once, but failed epically.

Haha, I don't know if I've posted in here before...

But, for me, Blackgaard will always be #1. Novacom seemed to just go on and on. And leave me wondering "huh?" Okay, even though I still have plenty of questions when it comes to the Blackgaard saga, I think I have more healthy questions for that one than the weird "WHAT IS GOING ON?!!" questions in Novacom. I think both are very very believable. Have we seen the world today? It isn't like it was all made up. *Why did I just compare small pox to Ruku virus with TA418 in my head?! Wait, right? TA418 together with Ruku makes it unstoppable... right? *goes to listen to ANNAN again**

But... ah... both were good. I just... Novacom has things that are different from Blackgaard. And... both are two different sagas... Both have the good vs. evil concept, but look at any book or movie out in the world - good vs. evil. Right down to the basics.

[AIO Psyche]

I have to agree. Blackgaard may have had others do his dirty work, but he was somewhat set on taking out a few people. Had he the chance, Whit might have been one of them...

It's like Voldemort in Harry Potter. He was most afraid of Dumbledore, but Voldemort would kill whoever got in his way - even his death eaters at times. Blackgaard, I'd like to think, was bent on revenge of Whit... but he was scared of Whit.

I also have to say, had all plans followed through, Blackgaard wanted Richard Maxwell dead. When it comes to those that you taunted and scared and threatened into working for you... and then they turn on you, I'd like to say Richard was 2nd in line for getting on Blackgaard's nerves... slightly scared, but still enough mind control to play with. Especially the way Blackgaard handled Richard, yeah.... Blackgaard wanted Richard dead. He would have been dead too, but we all know Odyssey and, as said in the Official Guide, the writer's weren't going to take it any further.
An AU of sorts for the fanfiction world that could delve into what might have been in a far less censored world. I tried to once, but failed epically.

Haha, I don't know if I've posted in here before...

But, for me, Blackgaard will always be #1. Novacom seemed to just go on and on. And leave me wondering "huh?" Okay, even though I still have plenty of questions when it comes to the Blackgaard saga, I think I have more healthy questions for that one than the weird "WHAT IS GOING ON?!!" questions in Novacom. I think both are very very believable. Have we seen the world today? It isn't like it was all made up. *Why did I just compare small pox to Ruku virus with TA418 in my head?! Wait, right? TA418 together with Ruku makes it unstoppable... right? *goes to listen to ANNAN again**

But... ah... both were good. I just... Novacom has things that are different from Blackgaard. And... both are two different sagas... Both have the good vs. evil concept, but look at any book or movie out in the world - good vs. evil. Right down to the basics.

But why was Blackgaard scared of Whit? What about Whit could have possibly scared the evil Doctor Blackgaard? See, I never understood why he just didn't take Whit out when he had the chance. Again, I say, Blackgaard didn't have the guts.

And I always thought that some Blackgaard and Novacom fan fics with no limits or age restrictions would be epic. I started on and got alot of work done on a fan fic that showed The Chairman's rise to power. It was really good, but I never finished it. Maybe I should........

[Leonard Meltsner]

But why was Blackgaard scared of Whit? What about Whit could have possibly scared the evil Doctor Blackgaard? See, I never understood why he just didn't take Whit out when he had the chance. Again, I say, Blackgaard didn't have the guts.

And the light shines in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. John 1:5
The power of God will frighten away any spiritual villain.

[Danielle Abigail Maxwell]

Why is Satan afraid of God? I'm sure he is, he just wants to be #1... again, good vs. evil.

I think even the most evil of men fear SOMETHING... someone.

Oh, and I just listened to A Name Not A Number - Blackgaard killed Mustafa. He still has guts somewhere. It may not have been Whit, but I think if Blackgaard sees the opportunity, he acts. You said it - he's a thinker, planner. If he knows the right time, he acts. I believe if he met up with Whit again, or had, something would have gone down. I think opportunity hadn't shown. Blackgaard only got his first stint in Odyssey, and then Richard burned down his shop. He then got Chicago... and that just never worked out in the long run. With every mess for Waylaid... he just never got the chance. And then Blackgaard learns Whit is no longer in Odyssey through Jason....

It is all so much WHAT IF!

I agree on fanfics. Definitely epic. I just wish I or someone else had complete drive...