40. The Boy Who Cried "Novacom!"
Why the Chairman needs to return.
By David Hilder | March 24, 2022
Why the Chairman needs to return.
By David Hilder | March 24, 2022
With its quaint shops and friendly folks, the small town of Odyssey may seem like a quiet, peaceful place to settle down. Hearing the grandfatherly Mr. Whittaker serving customers at the local soda fountain and explaining lessons from the Bible seems to transport us back to a simpler time. But longtime listeners of the show know the truth. From robberies to exploding bombs, from kidnappings to counterfeiters, the people of Odyssey have gone through a lot over the years. But nothing can compare to the time when the little town of Odyssey was used as a launching pad for a world domination scheme involving radio waves and mind control.
This summer will mark twenty years since the Novacom saga concluded in the explosive, climactic episode, Exit. The saga originally aired over a period of eighteen months, spanned four albums, and twenty-eight episodes. Interestingly, the Blackgaard Chronicles, from A Bite of Applesauce to The Final Conflict, is also twenty-eight episodes in length. But Novacom takes things to a far larger scale. Blackgaard wants to take over the town of Odyssey and destroy Whit’s End. The Chairman from the Novacom saga wants to enslave the entire world.
Who is the Chairman? That’s a question that’s gone unanswered for two decades now. We know almost nothing about him or his motivation. We aren’t even told his name. We do know he has plenty of money and power already. But what makes him want more? What’s his backstory? And what has he been up to since his plans were foiled by the good people of Odyssey? He’s obviously a patient man. When his scheme doesn’t come to fruition in Exit, he doesn’t seem too ruffled by it. He certainly doesn’t respond like Dr. Faustus from the AIO videos, who yells, “I’ll be back, Whittaker!” when his schemes get foiled. The Chairman is no cartoon villain. He responds in a calm, subdued, yet sinister tone, saying, “It’s over, for now.”
And with those four ominous words we launched into the middle years—the years between the Chairman’s first appearance and his implied return at some point in the future. Since then, we’ve had various references to the Novacom saga. We’ve heard Mr. Charles seek his revenge in Here Today, Gone Tomorrow? (Album 40) and Eugene return after his worldwide escape-from-Novacom-tour (Album 44). And in Album 55, FBI Agent and former Novacom employee Robert Mitchell shows up with a fiancé, putting a damper on fan speculation about his romantic intentions with a certain Connie Kendall. But while some fans were still holding out hope for Mitch’s return so that he could marry Connie, which had long been rejected by the AIO writers, others of us have been looking forward to another character’s return. A more secretive character. A character who has only appeared for a couple of minutes in one episode. But a character whose sinister influence threatens to plunge the town of Odyssey, and our world, into darkness. I look forward to the day when I can listen to the Novacom saga in its entirety, including the inevitable return of the Chairman.
And I know I’m not alone. Whenever Adventures in Odyssey enters a new saga, one question always comes up: Will this be the one? Will this saga be the one where the Chairman returns?
The fan speculation is endless. When a new villain appears, the shadow of the Chairman is immediately cast over them. Is Dalton Kearn the Chairman? Before Dalton’s saga was wrapped up, that was a legitimate question. Afterall, he was a shadowy figure hunting down Eugene’s father, the same Eugene who had previously been hunted by Novacom’s thugs. The same speculation was applied to the Green Ring Conspiracy. Could the Stiletto be code for the Chairman? Is Mr. Grote the Chairman’s real name? Or perhaps Mr. Schwartz? Is Mitch’s return in Album 55 connected to his search to bring the Chairman to justice? Maybe Jacques Henri is using a fake accent and is secretly the Chairman. Is the Chairman behind erasing Wooton’s memory in Find a Penny (Album 63)? After all, Eugene’s memory loss was connected to the aftermath of the Novacom saga. Are Buck’s family secrets somehow related to the Chairman? Is the Chairman experimenting with the Novabox technology to speak through the fictional Russian philosopher Leonid Sepanov in an effort to weaken Olivia’s faith? Is the Chairman involved with Morrie Rydell? What about Jillian Marshall? Or Renee Carter?
Or maybe there’s some truth in my favorite theory that I just came up with, that the Chairman was a ghostwriter behind Rusty Gordon’s book in order to get revenge on the small town that foiled his plans for world domination. I mean, how else would Rusty, someone with absolutely no writing skills, publish a book?
Now, obviously some of these theories are more plausible than others. But this is what fans do. We theorize and speculate. We have a good time coming up with some pretty outlandish stuff. Looking for signs of the Chairman under every rock and tree is an enjoyable pastime as we wait for his return.
But at the same time, unfounded speculation can diminish our enjoyment of the saga at hand. Take the Green Ring Conspiracy for instance. I remember when we were looking forward to Album 53 and the AIO producers answered a fan question on the Official Podcast about Richard Maxwell’s potential return. The producers were understandably vague in their response, not wanting to give anything away. But their basic message was this: Richard Maxwell might very well show up. So, make sure to listen to find out if he does.
Spoiler Alert: Richard Maxwell does not show up in the Green Ring Conspiracy. But that mention on the Official Podcast sure fueled a lot of fan speculation that he would be there. And if the intention was to create anticipation for Album 53, it worked. And that was a great album. But I think the unintentional result was that it gave fans false hope that Maxwell would indeed return in Album 53. And when that didn’t happen, fans were disappointed.
Similarly, speculation about the Chairman can take away from the experience of a saga which should be perfectly satisfying on its own merits. If we’re so focused on what we think should happen, we might miss enjoying the adventure that actually is happening.
One way to end that speculation once and for all is to bring back the Chairman. That means Novacom: Part 2.
Bringing back the Chairman would certainly be a fan-pleaser. And it would bring closure to all those years of theorizing and speculation. We'd finally learn more about who the character is and how he's been working behind the scenes to bring about world domination. But there’s another good reason for the Chairman to return—so he can be brought to justice. So far, the Chairman has gone unpunished for his crimes. His thieving and murdering during the Novacom saga were pinned on his underlings. But the Chairman himself escaped. Justice has not been done. Dr. Regis Blackgaard certainly thought he got away with his schemes each time he showed up in Odyssey. But a day of reckoning finally came for him in Album 25. Similarly, I think the Chairman’s deeds have to eventually catch up with him.
The Chairman needs to return so that his evil schemes can be brought to an end at long last in a legendary showdown. That'll be a series fans will be talking about for ages. But that's just the problem. How do you create another finale worthy of the scope and gravity of the Novacom saga?
Novacom was so big, so long in its execution and so earth-shattering in its implications, that it would make sense for a finale with the Chairman to be just as epic. Or even more so. Novacom: Part 2 could go supernova, to use a pun. But what’s bigger than mind control? Would Adventures in Odyssey be willing to do something like that again? Novacom was wild and pretty dark at times. It’s hard to imagine a sequel that would measure up. It would certainly take some thought and planning. And it would be a very daunting task. Maybe that’s why it’s two decades later and nothing has happened. Or so it seems.
In my ideal Novacom sequel, Monica Stone and Robert Mitchell are both involved somehow in pursuing the Chairman. I find it highly unlikely that Mitch has forgotten about the Chairman, even after all these years. (And in Odyssey time, twenty years can’t be that long.) I think it’s more likely that Mitch has been on a personal mission to track down the Chairman ever since Novacom collapsed. Jason of course would be center stage in the sequel as well. And maybe even Renee Carter could play a part. Multiple, interweaving storylines would build the suspense, leading to the ultimate reveal and defeat of the Chairman and his machinations. Now, it wouldn’t necessarily have to last as long as the original saga. (Although that would be fun.) But it should have similar stakes. A scheme to become mayor of Odyssey is not going to cut it. It needs to have a potentially world-changing impact, just like Novacom. What could that be? We don’t know, for now.
With the summary of Album 73 just announced, it seems we are indeed about to experience another series of episodes which also have potentially world-shattering implications. Does this upcoming album have anything to do with the Chairman? Is this Novacom: Part 2? Let the fan speculation begin, as always. If it does turn out to be the Chairman this time, that would be amazing. If not, then hopefully we can still enjoy the album on its own terms.
We are not yet in a post-Novacom Odyssey. It's exciting to think that the Chairman could turn up at any moment. And I hope he does come back at some point. The Chairman may be patient, but he isn't going to wait forever. Each saga which comes and goes serves as a reminder of his unfinished business. There’s something missing from Odyssey, and I remember it every time I listen to the episode Exit. The story isn’t over. Justice has not yet been served. Someday, the Chairman needs to return. And his evil must be overcome, at last, by good.
This summer will mark twenty years since the Novacom saga concluded in the explosive, climactic episode, Exit. The saga originally aired over a period of eighteen months, spanned four albums, and twenty-eight episodes. Interestingly, the Blackgaard Chronicles, from A Bite of Applesauce to The Final Conflict, is also twenty-eight episodes in length. But Novacom takes things to a far larger scale. Blackgaard wants to take over the town of Odyssey and destroy Whit’s End. The Chairman from the Novacom saga wants to enslave the entire world.
Who is the Chairman? That’s a question that’s gone unanswered for two decades now. We know almost nothing about him or his motivation. We aren’t even told his name. We do know he has plenty of money and power already. But what makes him want more? What’s his backstory? And what has he been up to since his plans were foiled by the good people of Odyssey? He’s obviously a patient man. When his scheme doesn’t come to fruition in Exit, he doesn’t seem too ruffled by it. He certainly doesn’t respond like Dr. Faustus from the AIO videos, who yells, “I’ll be back, Whittaker!” when his schemes get foiled. The Chairman is no cartoon villain. He responds in a calm, subdued, yet sinister tone, saying, “It’s over, for now.”
And with those four ominous words we launched into the middle years—the years between the Chairman’s first appearance and his implied return at some point in the future. Since then, we’ve had various references to the Novacom saga. We’ve heard Mr. Charles seek his revenge in Here Today, Gone Tomorrow? (Album 40) and Eugene return after his worldwide escape-from-Novacom-tour (Album 44). And in Album 55, FBI Agent and former Novacom employee Robert Mitchell shows up with a fiancé, putting a damper on fan speculation about his romantic intentions with a certain Connie Kendall. But while some fans were still holding out hope for Mitch’s return so that he could marry Connie, which had long been rejected by the AIO writers, others of us have been looking forward to another character’s return. A more secretive character. A character who has only appeared for a couple of minutes in one episode. But a character whose sinister influence threatens to plunge the town of Odyssey, and our world, into darkness. I look forward to the day when I can listen to the Novacom saga in its entirety, including the inevitable return of the Chairman.
And I know I’m not alone. Whenever Adventures in Odyssey enters a new saga, one question always comes up: Will this be the one? Will this saga be the one where the Chairman returns?
The fan speculation is endless. When a new villain appears, the shadow of the Chairman is immediately cast over them. Is Dalton Kearn the Chairman? Before Dalton’s saga was wrapped up, that was a legitimate question. Afterall, he was a shadowy figure hunting down Eugene’s father, the same Eugene who had previously been hunted by Novacom’s thugs. The same speculation was applied to the Green Ring Conspiracy. Could the Stiletto be code for the Chairman? Is Mr. Grote the Chairman’s real name? Or perhaps Mr. Schwartz? Is Mitch’s return in Album 55 connected to his search to bring the Chairman to justice? Maybe Jacques Henri is using a fake accent and is secretly the Chairman. Is the Chairman behind erasing Wooton’s memory in Find a Penny (Album 63)? After all, Eugene’s memory loss was connected to the aftermath of the Novacom saga. Are Buck’s family secrets somehow related to the Chairman? Is the Chairman experimenting with the Novabox technology to speak through the fictional Russian philosopher Leonid Sepanov in an effort to weaken Olivia’s faith? Is the Chairman involved with Morrie Rydell? What about Jillian Marshall? Or Renee Carter?
Or maybe there’s some truth in my favorite theory that I just came up with, that the Chairman was a ghostwriter behind Rusty Gordon’s book in order to get revenge on the small town that foiled his plans for world domination. I mean, how else would Rusty, someone with absolutely no writing skills, publish a book?
Now, obviously some of these theories are more plausible than others. But this is what fans do. We theorize and speculate. We have a good time coming up with some pretty outlandish stuff. Looking for signs of the Chairman under every rock and tree is an enjoyable pastime as we wait for his return.
But at the same time, unfounded speculation can diminish our enjoyment of the saga at hand. Take the Green Ring Conspiracy for instance. I remember when we were looking forward to Album 53 and the AIO producers answered a fan question on the Official Podcast about Richard Maxwell’s potential return. The producers were understandably vague in their response, not wanting to give anything away. But their basic message was this: Richard Maxwell might very well show up. So, make sure to listen to find out if he does.
Spoiler Alert: Richard Maxwell does not show up in the Green Ring Conspiracy. But that mention on the Official Podcast sure fueled a lot of fan speculation that he would be there. And if the intention was to create anticipation for Album 53, it worked. And that was a great album. But I think the unintentional result was that it gave fans false hope that Maxwell would indeed return in Album 53. And when that didn’t happen, fans were disappointed.
Similarly, speculation about the Chairman can take away from the experience of a saga which should be perfectly satisfying on its own merits. If we’re so focused on what we think should happen, we might miss enjoying the adventure that actually is happening.
One way to end that speculation once and for all is to bring back the Chairman. That means Novacom: Part 2.
Bringing back the Chairman would certainly be a fan-pleaser. And it would bring closure to all those years of theorizing and speculation. We'd finally learn more about who the character is and how he's been working behind the scenes to bring about world domination. But there’s another good reason for the Chairman to return—so he can be brought to justice. So far, the Chairman has gone unpunished for his crimes. His thieving and murdering during the Novacom saga were pinned on his underlings. But the Chairman himself escaped. Justice has not been done. Dr. Regis Blackgaard certainly thought he got away with his schemes each time he showed up in Odyssey. But a day of reckoning finally came for him in Album 25. Similarly, I think the Chairman’s deeds have to eventually catch up with him.
The Chairman needs to return so that his evil schemes can be brought to an end at long last in a legendary showdown. That'll be a series fans will be talking about for ages. But that's just the problem. How do you create another finale worthy of the scope and gravity of the Novacom saga?
Novacom was so big, so long in its execution and so earth-shattering in its implications, that it would make sense for a finale with the Chairman to be just as epic. Or even more so. Novacom: Part 2 could go supernova, to use a pun. But what’s bigger than mind control? Would Adventures in Odyssey be willing to do something like that again? Novacom was wild and pretty dark at times. It’s hard to imagine a sequel that would measure up. It would certainly take some thought and planning. And it would be a very daunting task. Maybe that’s why it’s two decades later and nothing has happened. Or so it seems.
In my ideal Novacom sequel, Monica Stone and Robert Mitchell are both involved somehow in pursuing the Chairman. I find it highly unlikely that Mitch has forgotten about the Chairman, even after all these years. (And in Odyssey time, twenty years can’t be that long.) I think it’s more likely that Mitch has been on a personal mission to track down the Chairman ever since Novacom collapsed. Jason of course would be center stage in the sequel as well. And maybe even Renee Carter could play a part. Multiple, interweaving storylines would build the suspense, leading to the ultimate reveal and defeat of the Chairman and his machinations. Now, it wouldn’t necessarily have to last as long as the original saga. (Although that would be fun.) But it should have similar stakes. A scheme to become mayor of Odyssey is not going to cut it. It needs to have a potentially world-changing impact, just like Novacom. What could that be? We don’t know, for now.
With the summary of Album 73 just announced, it seems we are indeed about to experience another series of episodes which also have potentially world-shattering implications. Does this upcoming album have anything to do with the Chairman? Is this Novacom: Part 2? Let the fan speculation begin, as always. If it does turn out to be the Chairman this time, that would be amazing. If not, then hopefully we can still enjoy the album on its own terms.
We are not yet in a post-Novacom Odyssey. It's exciting to think that the Chairman could turn up at any moment. And I hope he does come back at some point. The Chairman may be patient, but he isn't going to wait forever. Each saga which comes and goes serves as a reminder of his unfinished business. There’s something missing from Odyssey, and I remember it every time I listen to the episode Exit. The story isn’t over. Justice has not yet been served. Someday, the Chairman needs to return. And his evil must be overcome, at last, by good.
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