Novacom
- You may be looking for the Novacom saga.
Novacom Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Andromeda, is a radio and television broadcasting company. Novacom's broadcasting content was a point of contention between the company and Mr. Whittaker, owner of Whit's End. As Novacom's involvement in the town of Odyssey became apparent to Mr. Whittaker, his opposition to them grew. The company is known for theft, spying, and other illegal activities, with long-term goals that held far greater implications.
Businesses
When asked by Whit exactly what Novacom did, their representative, Arthur Dent, claimed, "You name it, and we're doing it! Television, digital satellite, film, radio, the Internet..." and referred to Odyssey as the company's "test market".
In reality, Novacom was the instrument of Andromeda Incorporated, particularly The Chairman's long-term plot to take over the world.
History
When it came to Odyssey, Novacom bought up buildings all over Odyssey as it moved in -- including the old Stellar Hotel building, which served as its headquarters -- while initially remaining very secretive about its purposes. However, when Mr. Whittaker visited their representative, Arthur Dent, Dent seemed much more open and enthusiastic and sought Whit's cooperation in the company's endeavors in Odyssey, including making use of Tom Riley's land for their broadcasting tower, although he slipped for a moment and referred to "Mr. Riley" before Whit had mentioned his name. As the company established its presence, most of Odyssey's citizens welcomed it, some even seeing it as the answer to their prayers. Whit himself couldn't raise any logical reason not to, but maintained an uneasy feeling about the company that he couldn't shake.
While Novacom maintained legitimate, if sometimes objectionable pursuits in Odyssey, signs of something much more sinister slowly accumulated while a mysterious figure -- later revealed to be Andromeda's head of security, Mr. Charles -- oversaw acts of theft and espionage in Whit's End. Charles briefly took over the company himself when Dent turned against Andromeda before abdicating the position to Kevin Colburn, who was in turn let go after he and his daughter served their purposes in Charles' plans.
After getting everything it needed, Novacom finally released the Novabox nationwide, an extremely versatile piece of technology whose true purpose was to control its users' thoughts. While the final stages of the plan unfolded, the FBI descended on Novacom's headquarters, but Operation: Think Tank nearly succeeded despite the arrest of its management and was only thwarted through the simultaneous efforts of the people of Odyssey.
After the defeat of Operation: Think Tank, Novacom Broadcasting continued to exist as a company, but ended up laying off 65% of its employees, most of whom had had no idea or only faint suspicions of what had really been going on. Whit alleviated the situation somewhat by making ex-Novacom workers his first pick to staff the new Whit's End in Connelsville.
Products
- PearlMax 2000 - A line of computers Novacom donated to Odyssey Middle School.
- The Novacom Kids Center - A hip, shiny, technologically-advanced recreation center that ended up competing with Whit's End, briefly leading Whit's End to be rebranded as "The W.E.".
Broadcasting
Novacom bought a local channel which had previously shown old movies, channel 25, and used it to show its own original programming, although in person, its writers didn't seem to be trying very hard, or to have been very skilled to begin with. Much of it relied on violence and harsh language, and, as Whit said, that was just the children's shows. The company promised to introduce more family-friendly programming after testing the waters, but was slow to deliver on it. Its programs included:
- The Kickboxing Kids: A show about the eponymous kids fighting the forces of evil with their violence and witty repartee.
- The Destination Station: A pilot with a premise suspiciously similar to Whit's Imagination Station, a machine that simulated going back in time to historical stories, but with a great deal more violence.
- Devil in White
- Real Crime
Novacom also had a website, "Novacom for Kids" -- "For kids, by kids" -- notable for its graphics and music.
Employees
- Arthur Dent - Novacom's general manager and representative to Odyssey.
- Mario Plitzer - A writer for Novacom's television programs.
- Ricky - Manager of the Novacom Kids Center.
- Robert Mitchell - A public relations representative.
- Bennett Charles - Temporary manager of Novacom.
- Kevin Colburn - The new face of Novacom (general manager or vice president; exactly which one isn't clear).
- Thomas - Manager.
- Martha Carmen - Public relations manager.
- Steven Cabrera - Middle management.
Episodes
- #457: “Opportunity Knocks”
- #460: “Nova Rising”
- #462: “The W.E. (episode)”
- #463: “Green Eyes and Yellow Tulips”
- #481: “Grand Opening, Part 1”
- #482: “Grand Opening, Part 2”
- #488: “Under the Influence, Part 1”
- #492: “Twisting Pathway”
- #493: “Sheep's Clothing”
- #494: “Box of Miracles”
- #495: “The Unraveling”
- #496: “Exceptional Circumstances”
- #497: “Expect the Worst”
- #498: “Exactly as Planned”
- #499: “Exit”
- #503: “Between You and Me”
- #507: “The Benefit of the Doubt”
- #523: “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow?, Part 1”
- #524: “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow?, Part 2”
- #525: “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow?, Part 3”
Notes
- "Nova" is the Latin form for "New (feminine)" and "com" is short for "commercial" or "communications", so technically Novacom means "New commercial" or "New communications".
- Connie referred to Novacom as "Novacom Enterprises" while interviewing Mitch on Candid Conversations With Connie.
- A supernova is a star that suddenly increases greatly in brightness because of a catastrophic explosion that ejects most of its mass , and other companies related to Novacom are also named after stellar phenomena, e.g. Andromeda, (a constellation), Galaxy Communications, Northstar Technology, Vega Incorporated, Cirrus Industries, Galileo Enterprises, and Polaris Corporation.
See also
Resources
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