Blackgaard or Novacom?

[Jonathan]

The Blackgaards are small fry compared to the world-wide domination plans of Novacom.

Oh! I forgot to mention my least favorite thing about Novacom, and the reason I pretend it didn't happen. Because it cheapens the very significant end of "The Battle" and turns Whit into a liar. I was horrified to hear that Applesauce was still around. I suppose they might have been trying to tie the one saga to the other (?), but it ended up diminishing the previous (and stronger) of the two.

I don't think it does turn whit into a liar. 1) the name of the program is Applesauce and Whit destroys the program. This program was connected to the shop because when Connie opens the program things go crazy. In the Novacom saga Applesauce is a command/password and is only connected to the Imagination Station. So yes Whit did destroy the program, but he may have created an over ride program that had Applesause as the command prompt because that's something no one would have thought of as a passward or command.

I never thought Whit was lying, just that it was rather corny.

[Joni_Slade]

See, I thought that if this was the Applesauce, or any part of it, that Whit had lied when he told Connie and Eugene he was deleting it.

From the HQ:

Whit and Tom use "Applesauce" to destroy the Imagination Station. Whenever the first level of Applesauce was loaded in those early shows, a "system check" would commence, wreaking havoc on the system in which Applesauce resided.

The quotes indicate that it was just the word "Applesauce" that they used. But "wreaking havoc on the system in which Applesauce resided" indicates that Applesauce could reside in Whit's End like it did back in the old days, or just in the IS, like it did in Exit.

Reviews contained various interpretations.

[Jennifer Doyle]

I totally agree with Dawning . . . the Blackgaards are small fry compared to the world-wide domination plans of Novacom. Brainwashing? Come on now, Regis was just obsessed with clay under Whit's End. . . he can't really compare to the master minds @ Novacom.

I loved how the Novacom saga was spread over more parts of the world, into Alaska and such. Invovled a lot more people as well! With The Battle and The Nemesis, we see Richard M, Reggy B, Lucy, Connie, Whit, Eugene . . . and that's about it isn't it? Oh, we see Tom too. But Novacom was much larger scale and had more characters within it.

But Darkness Before Dawn was part of the Blackgaard saga, as well, and it included Philip Glossman, Professor Bovril, Bart and Rodney Rathbone, Jellyfish, and the Bones of Rath. Besides, Regis was obsessed with that mineral in the Whit's End tunnel because he wanted to produce TA-418 and make the ruku virus unstoppable. That could have involved the whole world if he would have succeeded, just as Novacom's plans would have had global effects.

The key word in that paragraph is IF. Reggy only got as far as analyzing it . . .

Novacom was literally minutes away from actually controlling the world when they were stopped. Regis commited sucide.

[Chandler]

Whit's brainy, maybe he rewrote Applesauce from memory!

[Joni_Slade]

Whit's brainy, maybe he rewrote Applesauce from memory!

Actually . . . I kinda like that alternative! It seems a little unwise, considering the reason he erased it was because of all the trouble it'd caused, but maybe desperate times called for desperate measures and all that.

[Catspaw]

Whit's brainy, maybe he rewrote Applesauce from memory!

Actually . . . I kinda like that alternative! It seems a little unwise, considering the reason he erased it was because of all the trouble it'd caused, but maybe desperate times called for desperate measures and all that.

Yeah, now that you mention it, I think I like it too. He wouldn't have had to rewrite the entire program, just rewrote some element of it as a security feature, knowing that it would likely be needed in the future. Whit isn't stupid - he may have realized that an override function that couldn't be easily stopped by the bad guys was necessary.

Chandler, you're brilliant!

[Applesauce]

I see it this way: the Applesauce program had two parts: a) the "system check" part that was programed into all the machines and electrical elements of Whit's End, and; b) the program on the main computer that stored all the top-secret files. When Whit erased Applesauce, I always figured that he just erased the program with the files, since that's what Blackgaard was after. But the "self-destruct" element was programmed into each machine, and Whit probably didn't see the point in uninstalling the feature from all those machines. Besides, in emergency situations (such as the one in Exit), that aspect of the program could still be--and was--useful. I personally loved it when Whit told Tom to type Applesauce in Exit. I thought that was a terrific reference to past shows, and loved how something from way back then could be so useful in the Novacom saga.

Anyway, I have a really hard time judging which saga is better. The Blackgaard adventures are so great because it was such an appropriate end to that six- (or was it seven?)-year story arc. Plus it had so many great elements to it, particularly Eugene's salvation and Tom's forgiveness toward Richard.

The Novacom saga, however, had such an intricately designed plot. And it had a brand new cliffhanger nearly every week for a year and a half. I loved the mystery and action and drama in those episodes. It had some great elements from other story arcs, too: Aubrey's salvation, Eugene and Katrina's wedding, Tom's wife, and Jared's return, to name a few. I also loved Arthur Dent and Monica Stone's transformations from bad to good (even though Dent went a bit coo-coo. ) My only complaint was the slight unbelievability about the whole "taking over the minds of everyone in the world" idea. However, even that was played out so well throughout the series that I didn't really think about how far-fetched it was until a few months later when I owned "Battle Lines."

I think, if I had to choose, I would go with . . . Novacom. So, that's what I voted for. But, there is nothing wrong with the Blackgaard episodes at all. They are "classic," and I think the final confrontation between Jack and Regis at the end of Darkness Before Dawn is probably the best scene ever written for AIO.


...wow, that was long.

[Jennifer Doyle]

I see it this way: the Applesauce program had two parts: a) the "system check" part that was programed into all the machines and electrical elements of Whit's End, and; b) the program on the main computer that stored all the top-secret files. When Whit erased Applesauce, I always figured that he just erased the program with the files, since that's what Blackgaard was after. But the "self-destruct" element was programmed into each machine, and Whit probably didn't see the point in uninstalling the feature from all those machines. Besides, in emergency situations (such as the one in Exit), that aspect of the program could still be--and was--useful. I personally loved it when Whit told Tom to type Applesauce in Exit. I thought that was a terrific reference to past shows, and loved how something from way back then could be so useful in the Novacom saga.

Anyway, I have a really hard time judging which saga is better. The Blackgaard adventures are so great because it was such an appropriate end to that six- (or was it seven?)-year story arc. Plus it had so many great elements to it, particularly Eugene's salvation and Tom's forgiveness toward Richard.

The Novacom saga, however, had such an intricately designed plot. And it had a brand new cliffhanger nearly every week for a year and a half. I loved the mystery and action and drama in those episodes. It had some great elements from other story arcs, too: Aubrey's salvation, Eugene and Katrina's wedding, Tom's wife, and Jared's return, to name a few. I also loved Arthur Dent and Monica Stone's transformations from bad to good (even though Dent went a bit coo-coo. ) My only complaint was the slight unbelievability about the whole "taking over the minds of everyone in the world" idea. However, even that was played out so well throughout the series that I didn't really think about how far-fetched it was until a few months later when I owned "Battle Lines."

I think, if I had to choose, I would go with . . . Novacom. So, that's what I voted for. But, there is nothing wrong with the Blackgaard episodes at all. They are "classic," and I think the final confrontation between Jack and Regis at the end of Darkness Before Dawn is probably the best scene ever written for AIO.


...wow, that was long.

Ok, that WAS awesome.

[Lucy Pevensie]

I really can't say. They both rock. Novacom seems more intense(maybe that's because it's longer, I don't know), Blackgaard is really well done too, though. I can't say which I like better.

EDIT: Looking at some of the above posts, I do agree there are some things in the Blackgaard saga that are just wondeful though.

[Rachael Blackgaard]

I totally agree with Dawning . . . the Blackgaards are small fry compared to the world-wide domination plans of Novacom. Brainwashing? Come on now, Regis was just obsessed with clay under Whit's End. . . he can't really compare to the master minds @ Novacom.

I loved how the Novacom saga was spread over more parts of the world, into Alaska and such. Invovled a lot more people as well! With The Battle and The Nemesis, we see Richard M, Reggy B, Lucy, Connie, Whit, Eugene . . . and that's about it isn't it? Oh, we see Tom too. But Novacom was much larger scale and had more characters within it.

But Darkness Before Dawn was part of the Blackgaard saga, as well, and it included Philip Glossman, Professor Bovril, Bart and Rodney Rathbone, Jellyfish, and the Bones of Rath. Besides, Regis was obsessed with that mineral in the Whit's End tunnel because he wanted to produce TA-418 and make the ruku virus unstoppable. That could have involved the whole world if he would have succeeded, just as Novacom's plans would have had global effects.

The key word in that paragraph is IF. Reggy only got as far as analyzing it . . .

Novacom was literally minutes away from actually controlling the world when they were stopped. Regis commited sucide.

He didn't commit suicide! He knew there were other tunnels that had been closed off from the main tunnel and detonated the explosion so he could escape through them. Why does everyone think he killed himsel?

[Applesauce]

He didn't ! He knew there were other tunnels that had been closed off from the main tunnel and detonated the explosion so he could escape through them. Why does everyone think he killed himself?

Because when he told Jack he had the Ruku virus, he said he would have "nothing to lose" by triggering the detonator right then. He also said he refused to let the virus be what killed him. Maybe that wasn't his original idea to die in the explosion, but when it came down to it, that was the choice he took.

[Rachael Blackgaard]

It was a ploy. He wanted Jack to think he was dead.

[Catspaw]

Applesauce, as you may or may not be aware of, Rachael is actually married to Dr. Blackgaard! So she's a little skeptical of claims of his death. Did anybody warn you that all ToOers are rather unique and ...interesting...

One thing that I think places the Blackgaard saga ahead is the span of time that it covers, and the different, seemingly unrelated elements from other episodes that fit in. Everything just comes together in "Darkness Before Dawn" but there are a lot of other tie-ins. I like the Novacom saga, but I still like the Blackgaard saga more!

[Applesauce]

Applesauce, as you may or may not be aware of, Rachael is actually married to Dr. Blackgaard! So she's a little skeptical of claims of his . Did anybody warn you that all ToOers are rather unique and ...interesting...

Yes, I did notice that during the weeks I was browsing the forum before joining...I guess I just forgot for a minute who I was talking to. My apologies, Rachael. You probably know more about this than any of us. I'm sure being married to someone makes you a bit skeptical when people say he died.

[Aram]

Darkness before the Dawn was a awesome piece of work...I wasn't able to hear much of the Novacom saga, but what I heard it was cool. The elements of Eugene, and Jack, it's hard to choose... *Don't make me choose!!*

[Rachael Blackgaard]

Applesauce, as you may or may not be aware of, Rachael is actually married to Dr. Blackgaard! So she's a little skeptical of claims of his . Did anybody warn you that all ToOers are rather unique and ...interesting...

Yes, I did notice that during the weeks I was browsing the forum before joining...I guess I just forgot for a minute who I was talking to. My apologies, Rachael. You probably know more about this than any of us. I'm sure being married to someone makes you a bit skeptical when people say he died.

You're forgiven, poor, forgetful peasant-person. Just don't let it happen again.

[Laura Ingalls]

I voted for both, because I couldn't make up my mind which saga I like better.

[snowflake]

TOO HARD!!! DON'T MAKE ME CHOOSE!!! I don't remember everything about the Blackaard saga though. I remember when we had a repeat once I was thinking, have I ever heard this before? I wasn't very old when they first aired...my siblings could tell you better. But the ones I remember (and heard re-aired) were REALLY good! Novacom was very good as well though, and I remember more of it (my entire family listened to them...normally it was just us kids) So, I really can't decide...

[AIOaddict1988]

Novacom was longer and had a lot more depth. Overall I liked Novacom better. I also think it did a better job of working spiritual issues into the saga...

[toby_newsboys_pod2]

I totally agree with Dawning . . . the Blackgaards are small fry compared to the world-wide domination plans of Novacom. Brainwashing? Come on now, Regis was just obsessed with clay under Whit's End. . . he can't really compare to the master minds @ Novacom.

I loved how the Novacom saga was spread over more parts of the world, into Alaska and such. Invovled a lot more people as well! With The Battle and The Nemesis, we see Richard M, Reggy B, Lucy, Connie, Whit, Eugene . . . and that's about it isn't it? Oh, we see Tom too. But Novacom was much larger scale and had more characters within it.

But Darkness Before Dawn was part of the Blackgaard saga, as well, and it included Philip Glossman, Professor Bovril, Bart and Rodney Rathbone, Jellyfish, and the Bones of Rath. Besides, Regis was obsessed with that mineral in the Whit's End tunnel because he wanted to produce TA-418 and make the ruku virus unstoppable. That could have involved the whole world if he would have succeeded, just as Novacom's plans would have had global effects.

The key word in that paragraph is IF. Reggy only got as far as analyzing it . . .

Novacom was literally minutes away from actually controlling the world when they were stopped. Regis commited sucide.

He didn't commit suicide! He knew there were other tunnels that had been closed off from the main tunnel and detonated the explosion so he could escape through them. Why does everyone think he killed himsel?

I agree with teh fact he still may be alive, Jack got blown out of the tunnel into the forest and in underground railroad we learned that there is more than one tunnel, so he may have been blow out of a tunnel also.

As for my fav, DBD so many good episodes that releated directly and indirectly, so yaa and novacom seemed abit far fetched.