Punchinello writes...

I just reviewed what I have written here. It's so formal it's almost offensive. I'm sorry. I don't think one can talk about issues like this without sounding (obtuse? Stuffy? Something like that.) And not a word about Gargoyles.

Let me leave the realm of animal intelligence's for a minute and consider the intelligence of some of the more fantastical characters in your story. The fae. When I think about this kind of (ethereal?) character, these are the kinds of associations that I make.

-The thought of angels moves faster than human thought. (I don't recall where that comes from)

-A four dimensional object or being will cast a three dimensional shadow. (That's an observation Buckminster Fuller made.)

-A being that cannot die will have no concept of death, and certainly will not attach values, positive or negative, to the ending of a life. (This is a condensed and bastardized summary of some of the speculation of extraterrestrial intelligence's that participants of the SETI program publicized.)

I hope some of the above makes sense. My thinking is this. That the content of fae thought/mentality may be fundamentally different from homo sapiens thinking. Not just an accelerated or enhanced analogue of human thought, but structurally different. Our mental world is the emergent condition of innumerable biological systems interacting with one another. I have no reason to conclude that the fae's intelligence emerges from anything reductionist in nature. It is a condition that exists without origin in biology (potentially). Everything that we think of as intelligence rests on an evolutionary foundation of connections to allow us to successfully distinguish between things we can eat and things that will eat us. It would be absurd to think that the fae (who I don't think were subject to natural selection through predation) would have an intelligence structured upon the same principles. Simple alternative concepts like "either or" may not have the same meaning to them. This could go far towards explaining why they are so damned irritating.

My second thought on the matter, in reference to the three dimensional shadow concept, is that the visual representation we get of the fae in the story may be a poor representation of the reality. I use the concept of a hypothetical four dimensional being to illustrate. A two dimensional being could be aware of my presence if I allowed it to, although it would be a simple matter to remove myself from it's perception with a minor movement. However it's awareness could not give it a complete representation of what I am. It could only understand me as a fragment that can be translated into something comprehensible within the context of it's world. I can easily attribute an extra dimensional quality to beings like Oberon and Puck who seem o appear and disappear at will. We might not be able to understand completely, what they are. Only that the portion of them that is represented in three dimensions resembles a group of tall, angular, oddly complexioned people in period costume.

My third observation of the fae, and in particular of Oberon who has demonstrated a dispassionate distance to killing his rivals in certain instances, is that he may have no concept of murder because he may have no concept of death. (Yes I know that he reacted to the iron bell in such a way that would indicate it was harmful to him. Even lethal.) However, even if he were to express a concept of death we would not be able to be certain that his concept was anything like our concept. Does death mean an end for him? If it does not, then the gravity we attach to it may be lost on him and the other fae.

I think my point is that while it would certainly not be appropriate to think of a creature like this in human terms, i'm not even certain you can extrapolate "human" from him. There could be creatures, so far removed from human experience that it would be impossible. Of course, the associations that I make with the fae are not going to be the same ones that you make. Your concept of them may fall within human experience. You have other creatures though. Your space spawn. They would certainly have been subject to mental dispositions grounded in a different biology. We're conditioned with the genetic remainders of our hunter gatherer ancestors. They would be conditioned with something else. I dont know what. Something spawny probably.

Lord Sloth writes...

Do you think that the the music in "the Green" was a bit over done when we first saw the pyramid? I think they had seen seen a few other more impressive sights, like egypt's pyramids, and Easter Island's heads. I'm not complaining, just wondering why the music was so dramatic.

matt writes...

1. from where did Gabriel inherit his chin horns and strange brow ridges? neither Othello or Desdemona have them, are these traits recessive from a biological grandparent(s)?

2. any reason why Iago is the only other garg to have the chin horns besides Gabriel?

3. what does Ophelia find physically attractive about Gabriel?

4. doesn't Gabriel have any close male friends?

5. is the reason Gabriel was the only male garg we were introduced to on Avalon because so many of the main characters up til "Avalon" were male, esspecially gargoyles?

Punchinello writes...

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It brings me to another distinction: the one between sentience and artificial intelligence. Coyote, for instance, can throw a zinger, but is he self-aware? I don't think he is. Xanatos hasn't achieved (or would wish to achieve) that much, has he?
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I don't know anything about computer technology past it's relationship to cognitive studies into artificial intelligence. There is a lot of dispute about the possibility of an actual computer intelligence. I'm not competent to say if the possibility is real but I would not discount it. I can see numerous avenues for foundations for intelligence besides the neurochemical variety. Incidentally, I once took a Turing test...and failed. I was delighted.

matt writes...

1. in Leader of the Pack when the clan learns from Elisa that the Pack escaped from prison Lex wants to head off to PMS cuz he thinks they'll return there like "snakes to a nest", Goliath and Elisa try to stop him and then Brooklyn says he'll go with Lex to PMS to check it out. what gives Brooklyn the authority to just run off with Lex like that, hes not yet Second and he never asks Goliath or anyone if they can go?

2. what does "snakes to a nest" mean anyway? from what i know of snakes, they all abandon their eggs completly or stay with their eggs until they hatch.

matt writes...

1. did Dingo meet up with Coyote for the first time when he was in Europe or was it when he returned to the States?

2. how well did Dingo know Coyote? did he know that it was 'Xanatos'?

matt writes...

1. does Coyote from Upgrade still have the memories of his original version from Leader of the Pack?

2. since the head of Coyote Version 1 was destroyed in Version 2 does Version 3 or 4 still have the memories of Version 1 and 2?

what i'm asking is, did each Coyote Version that Xnatos built have a completly blank memory to start with or were the memories from the previous Coyotes passed on.

and i agree that with all these Coyotes, Coyote was probably a relative of Wile E. Coyote.

Lord Sloth writes...

Is the reason you created the clone's differn't skin, eyes and hair pigmintation, because you didn't want another cartoon where your trying to figure out which one is the real Goliath or Lexington? Or at least not overdue it since this happend latter with Proteus?

Jim R. writes...

When you first became involved in the production of Gargoyles, did you ever think that it would ever go as far as it has, meaning with the fanbase, merchandise, and the Gatherings, etc.? What were your hopes and doubts when producing Gargoyles?

Anonymous writes...

August 15, 20

Did you plan to show any other gargates besides the gargoyle beasts and the gargoyles?

Mariner writes...

Hi Greg,

Sorry to hear about Team Atlantis. Is there any chance you tell us what you had planned for the Gargoyles/Team Atlantis semi-crossover episode? Also, would you be able to post scripts from the series if you have them available? I suspect not, but no harm in asking.

Greg "Xanatos" Bishansky writes...

I'm very sorry to hear that "Team Atlantis" was cancelled. I really was looking forward to the series. Especially the episode you wrote with Demona and Fiona Canmore.

Out of curiosity, will that script ever see the light of day anywhere?

Anonymous writes...

We know that the gargs in China have contributed to the dragon legends there did any gargoyle beasts contribute to it considering some of them like the one in Ishimura looked very much like dragons?

Anonymous writes...

Thanks to matt and Phil we know that gargoyles in China are dragons so my question is were they the only source that inspired the Chinese dragon legends cause the dragons of Chinese legend are more like the Children of Oberon than gargoyles since they were worshipped as gods of the seas, capable of changing shape and underlings of the Chinese gods?

Vega writes...

In the opening of Gargoyles, there is a clip of a bunch of gargoyles flying about (I believe taken from ep1 Awakenings) Which ends with a red-skinned, white-haired, beaked gargoyle flying at the "camera". Is that Brooklyn's father, by any chance? I always wondered about that.

Anonymous writes...

Are there Scottish/Japanese looking gargoyles living in the London Clan or are they all animal headed?

Anonymous writes...

We now know what the gargoyles in the the Loch Ness and Chinese clans look like care to tell us what the gargoyles in the Korean and New Olympus clans look like?

Aris Katsaris writes...

Concerning where the Weird Sisters' loyalty lies, you replied: "Their tri-part mission."

Um... Revenge, Protection and Weirdness? ;-)

Demoness writes...

"1) Did Oberon have any help in defeating Mab?
2) Did Oberon use trickery?

Greg responds...
1. Yes.
2. Some. "

1: Who helped Oberon against Mab? a. Everyone minus Mab's followers? b. Titania? c. The Weird Sisters? d. if non of the guesses above, then who?

Demoness writes...

Why does Queen Mab not approve of Titania?

Anonymous writes...

Is Titania or Odin close to matching Oberon in power?

matt writes...

my brother got married toda.. er yesterday and they are off to Maine for their honeymoon. they plan to stop in Bar Harbor (Xanatos's birthplace) if for nothing else than to get me something to add to my Gargoyles collection. pretty cool, huh?
question time:

1. in 2198, is the Eyrie Pyramid look like the Eyrie Pyramid in "Future Tense"? if so, what purpose does the pyramid that crowns the top serve?

2. in 2198, will gargoyles working for the NYPD actually have badges or just coordinate efforts with the NYPD?

3. why did the practice of gargoyles acting as peacekeepers in the UN end with the arrival of the Space-Spawn?

4. would the Dracon family still be running a Crime Syndicate in 2198?

5. will Macbeth still be living near NYC in 2198?

6. will the Clocktower be around still in 2198? perhaps they finally got it working? :)

Jacob writes...

Hi Greg
Hope you are not angry because of my stupid qustions.

In 2198 is it possible for Gargoyles to walk over a crowdy street without being stared at, or will more time have to pass for that?

matt writes...

1. will Artus be alive in 2198?
will Gwenyvere be alive in 2198?
will Lancelot be alive in 2198?

2. will any of the Trio's rookery children make appearences in Gargoyles: 2198?

matt writes...

will any humans be living in Wyvern with the New Wyvern Clan? will they build some sort of structure or will they live on the cliffs?