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RESPONSES 2001-6 (June)

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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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Pyro X writes...

Greg you said in response to this question...

Siren writes...
The Fox/Titania controversy...
In the script for The Gathering, were the words that they spoke written out or was it just "psst psst..."?

Greg responds...

I guess if I wanted to start a bidding war on my copy of the script, I should answer, "The Former". :)

But I don't. Unless we're talking BIG money. Now what am I bid?
____________________________________________________________

I will trade you my piece of land on the Moon for the script. Truely. I really have one. They sold them at the West edmonton Mall for $25 Canadian. Wouldn't you like to see your children live on the moon?

(Insert Smart ass answer.)

Thanks.

Greg responds...

Uh...

There's a couple of really great Robert Heinlein short stories, "The Man Who Sold the Moon" and "Requiem". They're both about the same character. "Requiem" was written first, but it's about the character as an old man. "The Man Who Sold the Moon" is about the guy as a young man. "Requiem" is a beautiful story. Moreso, if you've read "...Sold the Moon" first.

This has nothing to do with your question. But I didn't have a smartass response to it, so I thought I might recommend something worthwhile instead.

Response recorded on June 28, 2001

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Vashkoda writes...

Just in case you haven't revealed who she is yet:

1) Is Fiona a blood relative to one or more "known" characters in the Gargoyles universe? ["known" being defined as a character(s) who was/were either shown in the show or who you have previously identified and discussed having plans for]

2) In which spinoffs do you have plans for her to appear in?

3) To which of the three surviving Earth races does she belong?

Greg responds...

1. Yes.
2. Gargoyles. Bad Guys. Maybe TimeDancer. Maybe Pendragon. Maybe New Olympians. Maybe Gargoyles 2198 in a flashback. Not Dark Ages.
3. Human.

Response recorded on June 28, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

Can stone sleep heal damages done to the nervous system such as to the spine?

Greg responds...

Depends.

Response recorded on June 28, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

What is the birthrate for Oberon's children?
What is the birthrate for Nokkar's race?
What is the birthrate for the Space-spawn?
What is the birthrate for the third race involved in the galactic war?
What was the birthrate for the lost race?

Greg responds...

At this time, I have not set any of these things in stone. INTENTIONALLY.

Response recorded on June 28, 2001

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LSZ writes...

since you weren't sure the last time I asked this question, was there any ruler of the Third Race before Mab?

Greg responds...

I have no plans for one at this time.

Response recorded on June 28, 2001

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LSZ writes...

The issue of gargoyles turning to stone being a biological and non-magical process seems important to you, and it does make a more interesting universe; it was also firmly mentioned in the Gargoyles' bible..so out of curiosity, if this fact was so important, why was it never mentioned in the series itself, when other biological details like the solar and aging thing were mentioned?

Greg responds...

I probably thought of it as so self-evident that it didn't occur to me to mention it.

And/or it was nearly impossible to work into a conversation naturally.

Response recorded on June 28, 2001

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Sapphire writes...

Dear Greg you said something about Demona having two more loves in the future by any chance will any of them be human? Oh by the way I'm sorry I've asked to many questions on homosexuality on past questions, I'm also sorry I made you growl like a gargoyle for asking these silly questions.

Greg responds...

I don't mind questions about homosexuality. I just didn't feel like going through every character one by one ad infinitum.

As to your Demona question... NO INFO AT THIS TIME.

Response recorded on June 28, 2001

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GREG'S GATHERING REPORT: PART ONE

[Disclaimer: It is the nature of these things to forget more than one remembers. The feelings remain. The details are fuzzy. I apologize in advance if I get something wrong or leave something out.]

Thursday, June 21st, 2001

Yeah, I know, the Gathering 2001 didn't start until Friday, but for me it started last August in Orlando. I'd been working pretty closely with this year's staff to help them gather special guests. At G2000, I rashly promised over twenty guests would attend. By June 14th, 2001 we had over 50. And then I got pneumonia and it looked like I'd be the one guest who wasn't going to make it.

Fortunately, my doctor got me on antibiotics immediately. Within 48 hours I was feeling about 90% better. I was even able to go to a Team Atlantis recording session on Wednesday the 20th. Good thing to, because that was the day I secured Cree "Hyena/Kida" Summer to attend our little party.

Anyway, by Thursday the 21st, I was feeling world's better, and I attended the pre-con dinner at Camacho's at CityWalk. Carol Wagner, a former student of mine and our phenomenal guest liaison (who absolutely picked up tons of last minute slack in handling detail work on most of the guests), was the first to join me at the restaurant. But soon, Jennifer Anderson arrived with most of the gang, including Patrick, Kathy, Meredith, Kenna, (Cindy were you there?) and the Morgans. Tim had to take off with Becca, but Christine stuck around. Jen introduced me to Crispin Freeman and his girlfriend, the lovely and talented Izobel. Dinner was fine -- though the service was SLOW!

Then we hiked down to the hotel to get a tour of where everything was going to be. Thursday night it all seemed TOO spread out to me. But by Friday, I realized it was all close enough together. We elevated up to the con suite and sat around a bit. But I didn't want to stay up to late Thursday, so I took off at a semi-reasonable hour. Carol and I hiked back up to CityWalk. I drove home. Very excited. Like a kid, it was hard to sleep.


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Blip writes...

When will TEAM ATLANTIS likely premiere, and what more can you tell us about it?

Greg responds...

Fall of 2002. And not much now. Too soon.

But I talked to Executive Producer Tad Stones about doing some revealing at next years Gathering in Virginia Beach. He's definitley open to the idea.

Response recorded on June 27, 2001

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Phil writes...

Just a quick question. Does "In to the Mystic" have any human employees, or is the shop only open at night?

Greg responds...

Both.

Response recorded on June 27, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

Where did you get the idea for a trio of goddesses that have connections to the moon?

Greg responds...

From myth.

Why are you posting anonymously?

At least come up with a consistent nom-de-screen, please.

Response recorded on June 27, 2001

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Dracolich writes...

Hey Greg! Finally decided to ask a few more ?'s.

A recent post on the Avalon Gargoyles mentions a specific Garg by the name of "Azrael." Who is he? I know of Azrael the angel, but is the Garg one we've breifly glimpsed, or a character that has yet to be seen?

Greg responds...

Don't know.

Response recorded on June 27, 2001

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matt writes...

ok, thanx to Vash for poinmting out to me that there are THREE beasts on Avalon (or so you said). theres Boudicca, another female, and a male. but i don't know if that makes sense because you just told me there wasn't two females... this is really confusing, so:

1. out of the 36 eggs taken to Avalon, how many of them were beasts?

2. what are the genders of these beasts? how many male, how many female?

Greg responds...

I told you there weren't ONLY two females.

1. THREE including Boudicca.

2. Two females including Boudicca. One male.

Response recorded on June 27, 2001

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matt writes...

ok, you were right, you said before that there was two beast in the Avalon clan, a male and a female, not two females. so:

1. why didn't Boudicca mate with this other beast as opposed to Bronx? or did she before or after "Avalon"? was Boudicca ever unfaithful to Bronx? :)

2. would the male beast on Avalon ever have a mate?

3. any idea what the male beast looks like, maybe a sibling of Bronx? any idea what K, T, and the M named the male beast?

4. in "The Gathering" Oberon said that he needed the best tracker and choose Boudicca, so that means that the male beast isn't as good at tracking, eh?

Greg responds...

I still think you've got it wrong.

I'm fairly certain I said there were two beasts IN ADDITION to Boudicca.

Response recorded on June 27, 2001

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matt writes...

ok, seriously, Sapphire, you are beginning to freak me out! i rather like the attention, but your obsession with my being mutated, spied on, and God knows what else is kinda frightening, so could you please stop?

hi Greg, sorry... do all garg beast act in dog fashion? are there some beast out there that act more like cats or cows or whatever or do they all act similarly to Bronx and Boidecca?

Greg responds...

More dog than not, I guess. But there are nuances.

Response recorded on June 27, 2001


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