During the 5-year span of 2003 to 2008, there were about four minor sagas, three character reappearances, two father-son reunions, and of course, some criminal activity. It was like the days between Blackgaard and Novacom, just everyday Odyssey happenings, with better stories of course, (cough-2000 season-cough). Sure we had some excitement, but it was mostly school, the Washingtons, and the FBI. But these couple of seasons were by no means boring. This mid-point is something I’ve always want to delve into, and I will starting……..now.
Before any “normal” stuff happens in this post-Novacom Odyssey world, AIO needed to tie up some loose ends. Novacom definitely wasn’t going to slide by unnoticed. The next album is almost entirely “damage control” on the town, nearly every episode in the next few albums deals with the aftermath of Novacom. The first is of course, Connie and Mitch. This arc is directly tied to the Novacom saga, as Mitch is. He joins the FBI after Peter Bourland, assigned to the Andromeda case, recommends him. Mitch eventually goes to Hungary and Connie comes back home. While their relationship is still running, Jared makes his final appearances. He was also a direct Novacom link, and this is elaborated upon in The Case of the Disappearing Hortons. He is constantly hypothesizing that Liz and her family were abducted by the WITSEC, just as he was during the Novacom arc. The episode does end up being about Novacom, but not for the reason Jared thinks. Liz and her family, along with many other Odyssey residents, have been displaced by Novacom’s huge layoff. These are just a few of the effects, which leads to my next major point: The Washington family.
Ed Washington comes to fill in another gap Novacom created, Whit’s End Connellsville. With Whit under so much stress to divide himself between Connellsville and Odyssey, he hires Ed to manage the shop up north. Lo and behold, Odyssey’s second major family is here. The Washington’s take up a lot of the period between the 2003 and 2008 seasons, first about their new move to a new job. This is the Washington’s link to Novacom; Whit’s End Connellsville. They have some misadventures in Odyssey as well however. We have Imagination Station adventures, busted tomatoes, and Lester, who’s apparently Richard Maxw- we’re not doing that today. The Washington’s make their last appearance in 2008, with two more in 2017 and 2018.
Eugene Melstner. No connection to Novacom in post-Novacom years could be as blatant. The episode he comes back, nearly 3 years after Exit, we find that he lost his memory. He regains it, and when he does, begins a search for his father who he believes is alive. After the events of Album 45, Prisoners of Fear gives us insight into where Eugene was during his absence. “A request came in about an isolated village in central Africa”. This along with several other series of events lead to the next minor/major post-Novacom saga, the Leonard Melstner Saga. Apart from The Other Side of the Glass, this is the most espionage-y a saga, or rather episode, gets until 2011. This is The Green Ring Conspiracy, of course. This is Eugene’s connection to Novacom, and to me, this makes the Leonard Meltsner Saga and the Novacom saga directly correlated.
This post is, well, is over for now. This has always been something I’ve wanted to cover, and I have- partially. I will continue it, and I want to. Anyway, while you look forward to the next post:
AIO Writer's Block 
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