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RESPONSES 2001-6 (June)

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The Sloth (rob) writes...

ummm, did wolf die when all those cars fell on him or was he sent to jail? Seems like a lot of impact for even a mutate werewolf to take!

Greg responds...

He's not dead.

Response recorded on June 29, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

What kind of government does New Olympus have?

Greg responds...

Representative democracy.

Response recorded on June 29, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

How does the New Olympus cloaking field work? Does it make it invisible from sensors and our eye?

Greg responds...

From outside, yes.

Response recorded on June 29, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

You said that the New Olympians had something better than nuclear tech could you tell us what it is?

Greg responds...

Zeracoy Enex Power.

(I just made that up.)

Response recorded on June 29, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

What faction does Sphinx's family belong to?

Greg responds...

It's a big family. But most are in Ekidna's Isolationist faction.

Response recorded on June 29, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

Why is Proteus an insane mass murderer?

Greg responds...

Not enough iron in his diet.

Response recorded on June 29, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

Who was the father of the original minotaur? Was it fay?
Who was the person that bore the Minotaur's children? What happened to her?
Was the minotaur locked in the Labyrinth on Crete really slayen by Thesus?

Greg responds...

1. I guess if you say ORIGINAL minotaur than at least one of his parents was fay.

2. I'm not revealing these details at this point.

3. Yes. Though exactly what happened there is subject to many interpretations.

Response recorded on June 29, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

Happy Fourth of July

What does Sphinx's family's think of her relationship with Terry?

What does Terry's family think of his relationship with Sphinx?

Greg responds...

Neither family is thrilled.

(And it's still June. But you're not far off.)

Response recorded on June 29, 2001

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Rob Irwin writes...

Man, they just keep coming!
The new Olimpiens, I get the felling that they are not a group of Oberon's children, yet they all seem to differn't to be of one race. Are they a group of many differn't races living together to help ech other, there seemed to be only one of each kind (ie. centaur, winged guy, fire dude).

OK, that will be the last one for awhile I think, at least till my others get answered

Greg responds...

It's not like you saw every New Olympian on the island. Talos is a robot. He's a citizen. There are Gargoyle New Olympian citizens as well.

But most are a single hybrid race descended from the mingling of Oberon's Children with various mortals. They are almost all compatible enough to breed with each other.

Response recorded on June 29, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

Who exactly is Terry's mother? Has she been mentioned or seen in the series?

Greg responds...

No.

Response recorded on June 29, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

Did you have plans for the monoliths we saw in Shadows of the Past in Dark Ages? Does Demona know about the monoliths there?

Greg responds...

Plans, oh, baby, did I have plans.

Demona knows something of them.

Response recorded on June 29, 2001

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Rob (the Sloth) Irwin writes...

Does Demona know that Puck is serving Xanatos, since she said "You served the human, now you serve me".
just wondering

Greg responds...

Demona knows that Puck is Owen.

Response recorded on June 29, 2001

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matt writes...

ok, from what you've told us, Angela and Broadway will raise their children in human fashion, being their children's only parents, but you've also said that Lex and other gargs of certain ages will be the parents of their children? how will their children be raised, from a biological standpoint or a rookery standpoint or in a combination of these ways?

Greg responds...

Yes.

Response recorded on June 29, 2001

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Justin writes...

Greg,
Hey here are some questions
1) Will Broadway and Angela's kids know that those two are there biological parents?

2) Will Broadway be more of a traditionalist in the sense that he would want the clan to raise the children, or will he want to raise his children as his own? I would think Angela want want to do the a latter.

3)Will Broadway and Angela see eye to eye on the parenting proccess?

Thanx

Greg responds...

1. Not necessarily. Artus is more likely to know than Gwen or Lance. Only because there are fewer garg parents in the castle early on.

2. Both Broadway and Angela will lean toward the Gargoyle Way. I understand why you think Angela would favor the human approach, but I think you're misinterpreting things. Keep in mind how she was raised. Three parents. Many siblings. There's a certain fascination with biology which I think is "human" and natural. But ultimately, I think love for the "eggs" would win out with her. How can she possibly love one "egg" more than another, just because she laid one.

3. On everything? Doubt it. Generally? Yes.

Response recorded on June 29, 2001

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Todd Jensen writes...

This is something that I should be posting later, ideally, since you haven't yet gotten to the Avalon World Tour episodes in your ramblings, but I finally decided that I needed to let this out of me soon, so I'm doing so now.

I've noticed, over the years since I discovered "Gargoyles" fandom on the Internet, that many people didn't like the Avalon World Tour for various reasons (the length of time, the absence of Hudson and the trio, the focus on myth and fantasy aspects rather than more "mundane" elements like crime-fighting, etc.). On the other hand (while I may have had my moments of wondering when Goliath, Elisa, Angela and Bronx were going to get back to New York), I quite liked the World Tour. To a certain extent, I'll admit that I'm biased - my tastes naturally run towards fantasy/myth elements. But after doing a little thinking on this one, it increasngly struck me that, aside from all that, something of the nature of the Avalon World Tour was a must for "Gargoyles" at some point.

The reason for this is that the World Tour served a very crucial purpose (besides the general one that you mentioned of expanding the "Gargoyles Universe"). It made it clear that Goliath, his clan, and Demona weren't the only gargoyles left. And that was a crucial step. Because if they really had been, the gargoyle species would have been almost irrevocably doomed to extinction, with only seven members left, only one of those seven a female, and that one estranged from all the rest and very unlikely to reconcile with them. Goliath and the others would have been the "last gargoyles", not only in the sense of being the only ones left, but also in the sense that no new gargoyles would come along after them.

If that had been the case, it would have obviously made a rather depressing series. Admittedly, having the main character be the "very last of his kind" wouldn't necessarily be utterly melancholy - Superman is the very last Kryptonian, and his story's an upbeat one, on the whole. But the situation there's different; Superman's alien origin is treated more as a plot device to explain his abilities, so his being "the last of his kind" doesn't appear quite so melancholy. Goliath and his clan's "gargoyleness", however, was treated in the series from the start as a crucial part of them and their very nature, rather than a similar handy plot device to allow them to serve as effective protectors of New York. And also, it was clear enough from the start that an important part of the series would be the gargoyles seeking to make peace with humanity, to overcome the fear that so many humans view them with. Such a quest would have been futile (in a sense) if they were the last of their kind - the understanding on humanity's part of the true nature of gargoyles would come too late to avert the race's extinction - the best that the gargs would be able to hope for in such a situation was that they might be able to live out their last years without the general human population hunting them down, but still aware that there would be no new gargoyles after them. Not very happy.

So there'd obviously have to be gargoyles living in other parts of the world to ensure a future for the species. And Goliath and his clan would have to come into contact with those other gargoyles for the audience to see that they weren't the last. But the clan's situation would make that tricky. For one thing, there'd be the obvious transportation problems - they can't simply hop aboard the next plane bound for London or Japan. And given how secretive gargoyle clans would obviously have to be in modern times, even if Goliath and Co. had a mundane means of transportation to wherever it was that one of these clans was living, they would certainly not be likely to find out about these other clans easily. The only solution to both questions that wouldn't feel contrived was magic - as in the magic of Avalon that sends you where you need to be. That way, Goliath could be brought to the locations of the clans in London, Guatemala, and Ishimura in a convincing fashion.

So I think that the Avalon World Tour was indeed a practical must for the series, to allow the crucial moment when the clan can learn, as Hudson put it in "The Gathering", "We're not alone. We're not the last."

Greg responds...

Hey, pal, I'm with you.

From moment one, we wanted to present an OPTIMISTiC world view, that mirrored Goliath's own. (Not that he hasn't had a bad moment or mood or two.)

The World Tour was a necessity from that stand point for all the reasons you stated.

Plus it was a necessity given some of my future plans. 2198 immediately comes to mind. But there was other stuff too.

Response recorded on June 29, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

Is Nimue a villain in Pendragon?

Greg responds...

Nothing is that black and white.

Response recorded on June 29, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

How many episodes did you plan to dedicate to Arthur' search for Merlin?

Greg responds...

I didn't have it quantified.

Response recorded on June 29, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

Who created the stone dragon in Pendragon? Do we know their names?

Greg responds...

Is that the royal We?

Response recorded on June 29, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

Is Gargoyles Merlin a prophet like the Merlin of legends?
If Morgana were to fight Merlin who would win

Greg responds...

1. It's in there.

2. Once again, I'm not big on these kind of questions. But I think that generally, the Hulk would beat the Thing, though it's not beyond the realm of possibility for the Thing to beat the Hulk. See my point.

Response recorded on June 29, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

How old is Merlin biologically and chronologically in 1995?

Greg responds...

Can't answer the former. Won't answer the latter.

Response recorded on June 29, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

What powers does Excalibur have? Can it cut through anything?

Greg responds...

Anything is a big word.

Response recorded on June 29, 2001

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Rob(the Sloth)Irwin writes...

Fine, I guess I'll keep writing while everything is fresh in my mind. The questions are fading quickly so I'll get right to it.

1.Did Arther Pendragon have any adventures in the time before Avolon sent him to London in the skiff? It dosn't seem to fit that Goliath had been all around the world by the time it took Arther to get from Avolon to London.

2.If #1's answer is yes, will you tell me what thoese adventures were?

Thanks Greg.

Greg responds...

1. Yes, very astute. Arthur had one untold adventure after leaving Avalon. He then returned to Avalon. Considered staying there. Then decided to leave again and landed in London.

2. Yeah, right.

Response recorded on June 29, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

What is the next contest going to be? Does it in anyway resemble the clan contest?

Greg responds...

NO. God no.

We're going to take a little contest rest for a bit. I do know the next contest though.

I'll start it when I'm caught up.

Response recorded on June 29, 2001

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Laura 'ad astra' Ackerman writes...

Another try at sending this out-

I just typed up a particularly long question that didn't post and got lost, and I was foolish not to copy it somewhere before hitting submit. I apologize if it turns up later and this becomes a double post, and also if I can't get rid of the autoformating in Word and it looks a little screwy. After losing that long a question I am not taking a chance working directly into the web page.

It has been a long time since I posted a question... of course it has been a long time since I have been caught up with your answers. After reading all of the new responses, particularly those dealing with Oberon and Titania, a question has come to mind. [Actually two, but how many new ways can you ask, "What did Titania whisper to Fox?"? That question should almost have its own section.] The short form of the question is this: Just how different are Oberon's hildren from humans? I am not referring to physical or magical characteristics, but rather do they think in a quantifiably different way than do humans?

The long version of the questions comes after the long digression:

A while back a friend practically shoved an anthology into my hands and insisted I read a particular article. I believe it was called, "Hamlet in the Bush". The gist of it was that a young anthropologist found herself with an indigenous culture for a long boring stretch. [She had thought the off season would be a wonderful time to get to observe their culture. Had she asked them they would have told her the off season is the off season because the weather is so miserable that they cannot even visit the next village. They spend the time drink the local equivalent to bear waiting for it to pass.]

Before leaving she had had an argument with a friend. She argued that at base all humans are the same and once you do some explaining to take care of cultural differences, a great work of literature would be recognized as such by all people. The example that was bandied about was Hamlet, so he gave her a copy as a going away present.

With nothing else to do she sat in her tent and read it over and over until the locals asked her what on Earth she was doing. They were a non-literate culture and to them reading papers meant reading boring legal documents. Even a white person could not be so daft as to spend weeks doing so. She seized upon it an opportunity to test her theory and they, being a story telling culture, were happy to oblige.

She immediately ran into two problems:
-1-They didn't have a concept of "ghost". Zombie, yes. Evil spirit in false guise, yes. But the idea of a dead person's spirit hanging around this world was simply ludicrous to them.
-2-They thought Claudius was a great guy. He acted as an exemplary uncle and brother-in-law, although he waited a bit long in taking care of his brother's household. [Three whole months! And with only one wife to tend the fields!]

In the end they loved the story (with their corrections) and thought she was on her way being a great storyteller, (being female aside). They also told her to be sure to tell her elders that they had been good hosts and had corrected her misremembering lest she continue in error.

I think her premise held, but she hadn't realized how far cultural difference went. The more complex the story, the more it was tied to its own cultural assumptions and the harder it is to explain to another culture.

Back to Gargoyles-

In Gargoyles the basic emotions seem pretty much universal. Gargoyles, humans, New Olympians, and even Nokar and Matrix as far as we have seen them, display them. Love, hate, curiosity and fear, as well as slightly more complex emotions of protection and loneliness are clearly expressed and are more easily understood than some lost cultures of our own ancestors. Are Oberon's Children fundamentally different, or if we can imagine long enough the effects of great power and incredibly long lives we can empathize without too much brain-sprain?

There are great works of speculative fiction that try to understand the mind of The Other. Zelazny had a whole series of stories of robots worshiping and trying to understand the long last human race. I recently read a great book called "Exogesis" (a post-modern Prometheius) by Astro Teller dealing with how a newly emerged AI might think and how humanity might respond. If I would list every book I could think of on the topic I will never stop typing and will eventually have feel the urge to start listing plays and movies as well, (and probably have to deal with Frankenstein, and I am not fond of the book. It is hard to like a book when you hate the main character. Perhaps the movies were right to make the monster the lead character. :).

It all boils down to this: Are the Children of Oberon "the Other", or something very much like ourselves?

Boy this is long! sorry.

Greg responds...

Don't apologize. It's fascinating.

Boiling it down...

YOU WROTE:

Are Oberon's Children fundamentally different, or if we can imagine long enough the effects of great power and incredibly long lives we can empathize without too much brain-sprain?

I'd have to say the latter. Great power. Little or no responsibility. Long lives. Being able to look however you feel at a given moment. You add these things up and they may seem other for awhile. But fundamentally, it's about extrapolation on our human emotions.

Because fundamentally, as a writer, what else can I do? Maybe someone else has the talent, ability, INTEREST in truly creating the OTHER. But not me. I'm interested in US. Gargoyles, humans, Oberon's Children. Toss in the New Olympians, Nokkar, the Space-Spawn, the Lost Race, etc. I'm fundamentally interested in figuring out what makes us real world humans tick. Or boil it down further, and I'm fundamentally interested in figuring out what the hell makes ME tick. All the characters in the Gargverse are just there as an alternative to me being in therapy, I guess.

Does that make sense?

Response recorded on June 29, 2001

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LSZ writes...

Of the more obscure(meaning you can't hear their regular voice elsehwere on tv or movies like say Jonathan Frakes or Kate Mulgrew) voice actors of Gargoyles, which character's voice did their usual speaking voice most closely assemble?

Specifically Jeff Bennett, Kath Soucie, Jim Cummings and Tress MacNeille?

Greg responds...

Uh, I'm not sure how to answer this.

I haven't worked with Tress that much.

Jeff sounds more like Brooklyn than either Owen, Vinnie or Magus, but he doesn't exactly sound like Brooklyn either.

Kath doesn't have a Scottish accent, so I guess she sounds more like Maggie than most of her other characters. But she doesn't really sound like Maggie either.

And Jim isn't really from Australia. And he doesn't really sound like Darkwing Duck.

Response recorded on June 28, 2001


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