Todd Jensen writes...

My thoughts on "Avalon Part One".

First off, a little about the eggs. I honestly hadn't expected to see anything further with the eggs at this point. The reason was that I'd always assumed that the eggs were indeed all gone, as Xanatos had claimed in "Awakening Part Two", even after we found out what he was really like, for this simple reason: the thousand years between the Wyvern Massacre and the Awakening. Since I didn't think it likely that gargoyles live naturally for a thousand years, my assumption always was that the eggs had hatched long ago and that the gargoyles that had hatched from them had grown up, lived out their lives, and died long before as well. I hadn't taken into account the possibility of a place where time moved slower.

(Of course, thinking over it some more, I should have expected the eggs to return, simply because, if they weren't going to, their inclusion to date would have been almost pointless. After all, they'd had no real impact on the storyline in "Awakening" - the mere fact that the video version was able to edit them out is proof enough of that - so that would have to mean that something further with them would have to be done, or else why include them in "Awakening" at all?)

Regarding your multi-parter comments: I also prefer it when the first episode of a multi-parter clearly labels itself as "Part One". That way, I'm already prepared for the "To Be Continued" part. So I'm glad that you always labeled the multi-parters as such.

I was a bit amused to notice the Brigadoon alternative to Avalon, in light of the fact that you did manage to use Brigadoon as the Avalon-substitute in your "Gargoyles meet Captain Atom" story. And, yep, I was definitely looking out for King Arthur to show up at some point in this story, given that the thing that Avalon is most famous for is being his resting-place. (More about that in my ramble on Part Two when it comes).

Needless to say, I enjoyed the flashback. More 10th century Scotland! And more real Scottish history! In some ways, it was even more fun than the Macbeth backstory in "City of Stone"; after all, I already knew about the historical Macbeth before "Gargoyles" ever came out, but I'd never heard of Kenneth II and Constantine III before. After seeing this episode, I eagerly looked up everything on them that I could at the local library (although I wasn't able to find much, thanks to the scanty records for this part of Scottish history).

Constantine definitely struck me as shrewd when he provided a very convincing "innocent reason" for the secret meeting in the drying-house (the argument that it would be better for Kenneth's dignity to have Finella turn down his suit in private, rather than before his entire court). I thought he made a good antagonist here, even if for only one episode.

(I haven't seen the McKellen "Richard III" movie, by the way, but I do have a book that McKellen wrote about the making of it, including the screenplay, which I found fascinating reading.)

I also liked the mention of Michaelmas, which added to the medieval flavor of the story. (It's things like this that make me regret the fact that you never got to make the "Dark Ages" spin-off. Of course, I suppose that an animated series set entirely in 10th century Scotland wouldn't be all that commercially viable, more's the pity.)

I'm looking forward to your rambles on Part Two and Part Three, as well.

Jeremy Masters writes...

Where can I find free downloads for Gargoyles episodes? And where can I find the compleate history of Goliath?

Jacob writes...

Hi all. Hello Greg.

Nice to see you doing all these rambles, they make some forgotten memories come up to my mind again. I would do some, too, if I got a chance to watch the episodes again. But neither are their re-runs here (I've asked my way through: they want to spend the money on new things, though I always see "Doug", "Darkwing Duck" and so on), nor is my internet connection fast enough to download the episodes (if there are any to download) and a faster connection is by now too expensive. But after all the years without Gargoyles I do still remember some things that I liked or liked not that much.
First the things that I did not like: though there was a continuing plot, sometimes it was all too much the same. In short and very sarcastic: "It was a nice evening. The birds were singing and everyone liked each other. Then suddenly a dark cloud brought evil to our main characters. But after a short and hard fight the evil was defeated and everything got back to normal." That's why I like the "Awakening", "Avalon" or "City of stone" parts. These eps were so interesting because there was enough time to create a very interesting story and a really cool atmosphere - BTW City of stone was my first touch with Gargoyles. I saw the scene where the weird sisters speak as statues of children with Goliath and later crush as Brooklyn touches one of them (I hope I'm not mixing something up). My brother thought it was stupid and switched it off and I pretended that I thought it was stupid, too (Hey, I was just a child which did not want to argue). But I guess I liked the characters and the whole atmosphere. - Of course I don't want to say that the whole series should be one continuing show, but I had liked to see more five-parters.
But of course there are things that I liked very much. Most characters do change during the show and keeps being surprising. Everyone is part of a complex story (sometimes it was too complex for me, but after seeing it the second time I knew what was going on. But unfortunately some eps were mixed up so that suddenly we saw Angela, though the world tour was not even started). One of the things I like most are the fantasy elements (BTW Was the dragon we saw in "Pendragon"(?) a real dragon or just brought to life by magic??) Time travel, magicians, fae and of course the Gargoyles (clear why Fang said "I love this body"!!)
I just hope the new episodes will go on air someday. Maybe until then I can watch a few re-runs.

p.s.: some things might sound meaner than they are meant. I'm not good in being polite when I am writing in a language that I don't use often enough.
And sorry about any mistakes:)

p.p.s. Anything new about the real life movie?
What are you by now working on?

John writes...

Oh, yeah, another question:
Whats your favorite EP?
CU, John

John writes...

Hi Greg,
I think this post should come out around 2003 ;) Have you ever thought about hiring an assistance for awnsering the questions?
Well, two more hard questions for you:
1. What story part/episode/character etc. would you change if you could remake Gargoyles?
2. Is there an scene/episode, you are really p*ssed off today? (just asking because some people in a gargs chat were cursing about the EP with the alien on the easter-island, don't remember it's name)

So then, greet your familly. May Disney release Gargs on DVD :D
CU, John

J.R. writes...

Where can I find an image of the praying gargoyle?

Thanks!

Arystella writes...

You know, Bronx' eyes have always looked weird to me.
Why are they always white? He's not always angry, I know that.
Just kinda bugged me, thats all.
:-)

Fan o' Gargoyles writes...

Hey Greg, I was just wondering. do you have any plans or ideas for trying to bring back Gargoyles?

If so what are they?

Can we help in anyway?

Do you thinks its possible?

Im sorry if my questions seems stupid, but im a big fan of your show and I really want to know if there is anyway to bring it back, and if its possible for us to help.

Thanx for your time.

matt writes...

woohoo! its my birthday, though by the time you read this it'll probably be either November 22nd, 2002 or January 3rd, 2003... am i close?
some more questions on "The Price":

1. what actually WAS the "magical" powder that the Macbeth robot tossed on Hudson?

2. why did Xanatos only program the MacBeth robot with a few sentences. Coyote can have long conversations, but Macbot (as i've started calling him) only knew a few words? wouldn't programming him with more dialogue made him more believable to the Clan?

3. would Bronx's stone skin worked in the Cauldron spell?

4. besides stone skin and water were there any other ingrediants for the spell? if so, what were they?

5. do you think Goliath and the Clan could've convinced Demona to help them break Hudsons sleep spell had it been real and they had sought her out?

thanx Greg!

Silverbolt writes...

Hi Greg.

I 2 have a question about the Delilah of 2198. If Delilah is a decendant of the first Delilah.

1. Who was Delilah's mate.

2. How and when did Delilah escape from her stone sleep virus type thingie?

3. Is the original Delilah still around during 2198?

Marcus Palmer writes...

OKay, First of all, Vulcan is the Roman God of what?

Please Answer ASAP..

Anonymous writes...

1.Is it a coincidence that the elder Samson disappeared in ireland in the same year that Siobhan was born?
2.Did Erich die in the same mission where the elder Samson disappeared?

Blaise writes...

THE PRICE

I really like this ep. I liked it when I first saw it and I still like it now.
It's nice to have Hudson in the spotlight again, and Xanatos' quest for immortality is expanded upon while, just for good measure, we get a greater glimpse into Owen's character. Yeesh! Quite a lot stuffed into this ep.
I didn't begin to guess that "Macbeth" wasn't the real deal until the second time he appeared. His "Trophies" line, though not in character for the old Scottish noble, as Todd pointed out, seemed to me like it could have just been something of a joke. But when he showed up the second time, and repeated a line he had said before, in the exact same way, I began to figure out he/it was a robot. I did love how it "died"--Goliath punching his arm straight through its gut, and then the eye-pop, as the voice runs down, followed by a final explosion! I loved it.
When "Hudson" didn't wake up along with the other gargoyles, I was completely convinced that we were seeing the real Hudson under another magic spell. I had not read the Disney Adventures comic by Mr. Nordling, and consequently suspected nothing. At the end of Act I, I did indeed see Hudson's appearance in the cage as taking place within his mind. It wasn't until Act II had begun, and I saw the strange floor underneath the cage (not to mention the appearance of Xanatos and Owen), that I realized here was the real Hudson, and the one the other's were looking after was a decoy.
Hudson and Xanatos did have some great interaction here. I don't know about them being better adversaries than Goliath and (David) Xanatos, but there is something there. I think Hudson can figure out what really scares Xanatos because he himself is already there (the possibility that he was the last survivor of his generation even before the massacre leads to a certain viewpoint on the inevitability of death). Also, they throw their own quips and insults back and forth quite a bit.
Then too, there's Hudson's attitude towards Xanatos' plans. When X takes the stone skin, Hudson just asks "So, are ya through with me?" This is interesting because Goliath's most probable reaction, IMHO, would be to ask what game Xanatos was playing now. And at the end, Goliath would have probably destroyed the cauldron to keep Xanatos from any power it might bestow (and possibly just to spite X as well). Hudson, however, doesn't see any point to destroying the cauldron, and just wants to go home. He even shares a profound thought with Xanatos. And Xanatos, for his part, let's Hudson go in a rather honorable fashion. As I said, I don't know if they're "better natural adversaries" than Goliath and David, but Hudson and X do have an undeniable dynamic here.
Somehow, I knew that Goliath would suggest trying to seek out Demona at some point. I mean, she is the only sorceress they know of. I liked how that was worked in--a last resort sort-of thing.
Broadway's turning to stone in mid-air was something I had been waiting for. Well, not Broadway specifically, but one of the gargoyles, of course--it had to happen sooner or later. I kind of figured the box on the crane had something in it to save BW from shattering, but personally, I would have preferred "Extra Comfy-Soft Mattresses" (sp?) to the rolled up Persian rugs. Eh, minor quibble.
I didn't much care that the Hudson statue was blown up because I already knew about Hudson's being alive. I did, however, like the way the various reactions were portrayed. Goliath's rage was awesome. One of his most chilling moments in the series.
The "semi-Wind Ceremony" for Hudson, was nicely done, and nicely undercut by the old codger himself. I also liked his little remark about the head. On that track, I always enjoyed the way Hudson escaped from Xanatos and all ("Swordless maybe, helpless NEVER!"--too cool).
Although I thought Owen was cool, this episode was the one that really impressed me in regards to his character. I was completely stupefied when Owen just went up and dunked his arm into the Cauldron, resulting in it turning to stone. He had been permanently changed. Another one of the cool things about GARGOYLES: changes occur and cannot be reversed. I silently applauded the episode for daring to do this with one of its characters.
Of course, this aired out of order in my area, and although I missed THE CAGE, I saw DOUBLE JEOPARDY after this and noted that Owen's left hand was still flesh. Although I considered this a possible oversight, maybe somewhere at the back of my mind I realized that this just aired early, so I didn't mind too much.
OTHER NOTES: Lot's of fun lines and exchanges here. All those already mentioned, as well as the following between Brooklyn and Lexington:
LEX: "The city sure is different when it snows."
BROOK: "Yeah. It's colder."
I still laugh at that.
When Macbeth's guns were manned by Banquo and Fleance, the old man's mansion got pretty shot up in the ensuing fight. This time however, run by a computer, the mansion did not seem to sustain a single hit. Still, the cannons did shoot each other, so...nevermind.
I don't think I even realized that Brooklyn had said the word "Jalapena" until after I had watched PROTECTION (which had aired after this) and this one a second time. The first time around, I guess I just ignored it because I couldn't really understand it.
When "Macbeth" dies the first time, and Goliath says "I had no choice," Hudson calmly brushes the incident (and some of the dust) off. I like this sort of reasonableness about Hudson. He shows he's defintely more of the "old soldier," the 10th century warrior even, than the younger gargoyles in the clan. Incidentally, I never thought Hudson was going to die in this episode. That might have been me being tv-savvy...or just in denial.
And I thought the animation was spectacular (though the shadows in the beginning did make it look almost as though Goliath had a moustache (sp?).
At any rate, a wonderful episode.

Todd Jensen writes...

Another Roswell Conspiracies question. In your reprints of the series bible that you wrote for it, you described the alien "Yeti" race as being called the "Qua-Yeti". Does the "Qua" part of their name come from "Sasquatch"?

'Nix writes...

Okay, here's a question about Halcyen Renard. In the show you say he was close to 70. Well, today that's not too old, and yet he looked much older and rather crippled and decrepit. Is this due to a disease that he may have, like Multiple Sclerosis? My grandmother died of that recently and the symptoms seemed to be the same. I'm just curious. Thanks a bunch!

Anonymous writes...

What is Stargate the hunted? Were you involved in the show's creation?

Todd Jensen writes...

My own ramble on "The Price".

You mentioned in the course of your ramble a number of misconceptions that first-time viewers of this one could have had; I'll confess that, the first time that I saw "The Price", I fell victim to all of them!

1. I thought at first that Hudson might actually die in this episode, between the name of it and Goliath's line in the "Previously on Gargoyles" section about how Hudson had years ahead of him to live. I was relieved to see that Hudson doesn't actually pay the price (although Owen does, in a different sense, but I'll get to that later).

2. I thought at first that Macbeth really had turned Hudson to stone (and, when you stop to think it over, it probably wasn't too difficult to dupe the audience into believing it, thanks to the fact that we already knew that it was possible to trap a gargoyle in his stone sleep, with the Magus in "Awakening").

3. Since I knew that only Demona could kill Macbeth, I wasn't surprised at all by the fact that Macbeth "returned from the grave", to battle the clan again, and thought that he'd survived because it was Goliath who "slew" him rather than Demona.

4. And when I first saw Hudson in the cage, I thought that it was a metaphor for the spell imprisoning him. Even after Xanatos and Owen showed up, I initially thought that they were just "metaphors", like Xanatos being the shape of the Xanatos Program in "Legion". But I soon understood otherwise.

I did get suspicious about "Macbeth" in this episode, though, not so much from the "only a few lines", as from the fact that he appeared to be acting out-of-character here. I found it hard to believe that Macbeth really would go gargoyle-hunting just for the sake of a few trophies; that motivation was more appropriate to, say, the Pack. I could buy the notion of Macbeth going after the gargoyles again, but for a cause much bigger than just something to have stuffed and mounted. (Especially since, after "City of Stone", I'd become quite fond of him). So the "robot revelation" worked for me.

I also get a kick out of the scene where Xanatos acquired a bit of Hudson's stone skin. Just one of those moments that makes it so hard not to have a sneaking admiration for the man. "There, that wasn't so hard now, was it?"

This is the episode where we learn about Xanatos's desire for immortality, but it occurs to me that we also get a hint of it in "City of Stone", where Demona dupes Xanatos into thinking that the effect of her spell is to steal one minute of life from everybody who watches it, which she can use to augment their life-spans.

I very much enjoyed the interplay between Hudson, Xanatos, and Owen (I honestly hadn't thought that "The Price" helped lead to Puck's use of Xanatos and Hudson slaying each other in "Future Tense" prior to your ramble, I must admit), which certainly had some fine moments there. Like many viewers, I particularly found interesting the fact that Hudson wasn't interested in destroying the Cauldron of Life, but just in regaining his freedom. And also how Xanatos lets him escape from the castle on the grounds of "he's earned it".

Of course, the biggie here is Owen getting his hand turned to stone. That was one bit that definitely got my attention, because of the permanent change to a major character. (Interestingly enough, I didn't pay that much attention to the characters' response to the stone hand, maybe because I was too busy dealing with the mere physical change to pay attention to the fact that Owen was just staring at it. In fact, it wasn't until "The Gathering Part One" that I started to really suspect the truth about Owen, but that's another story.) Still, you've got to admit that it beats being turned into an anthropomorphic aardvark. :)

Entity writes...

THE PRICE

This is one of my all-time favorite episodes. The revelation that Macbeth was an android was done with astounding grace. I didn't realize he was a robot until Goliath's arm literally went through him. And then when I did realize, I didn't feel cheated, because it made sense out of everything (why he would be working for Xanatos, why he kept repeating those same four lines, why he had become such a narrow-minded character all of a sudden).

In general, I watched GARGOYLES with a jaded perspective. I kept waiting for it to become the run-of-the-mill, hackneyed cartoon series. I did this because I was so terrified of the show becoming that. So, when it appeared Macbeth was being used as a stock antagonist, I rolled my eyes. When it looked like we were supposed to be fooled into thinking Macbeth really died and then being surprised when he returned, I rolled my eyes. When it all made sense, it kind of restrengthened my resolve in the show.

I didn't expect Hudsun to leave without doing anything to the Cauldron. That was well-done. I was also left with my mouth hanging open when Owen stonified his arm.

My only complaints about this episode are that I think your original hunches were better on. We should've seen Banquo and Fleance at Macbeth's, and Broadway shouldn't have gotten frozen in stone in mid-air. The rescue was too hard to believe. I noticed and appreciated Elisa not hitting the cable on the first shot, but it was still too convenient, and really, it was a distraction. Hudson was the one in jeopardy this episode, not Broadway.

But none of that matters. Macbeth was a robot. I don't think another scene had me in more shock, short of when Elisa seemed to fall to her death in HUNTER'S MOON.

Saboor Ghafoor writes...

in A shakespeare's book;
Who murders a king and marries the widow
What is the alternative title of 'Twelfth Night'?
In which play will you find the stage direction 'Exit pursued by bear'?
Who demands a pound of flesh as a guarantee on a loan?
Which play begins with;
'If music be the food of love,play on?'
'Now fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour/Draws on apace?'

Who is the 'Serpant of old Nile'?

Who attempts to kill himself after the high Roman fashion?

which play has a female character disguises herself as a boy?

Who dies in a vat of malmsy

If the second line of the sonnet is; Thou art more lovely and more temperate what is the next line

Saboor Ghafoor writes...

which play ends with:

a)We that are young/Shall never see son much nor live so long?

b)So thanks to all at once and to each one,/whom we invite to see us crowned at Scone?

c)Give me your hands, if we be friends,/And Robin shall restore amends?

d)But that's all one, our play is done/and we'll strive to please you everyday?

GARGS RULES!!! writes...

Hey Greg, I was just reading some of the posts about the actors/Actress in Gargoyles and it crossed my mind that no one (from what I read) asked if you knew any of them (the actors) so I thought I would ask.

Do you see them a lot if ever?

Are you good friends with any of them?

If so who do you know the most? see the most and live closest too?

hehe, I know you'll probaly say something like, "there all really great and I can't comment on just one of them." Lol but thats ok I brought that on myself.

Dont add anything if you dont want too (I see why you wouldnt), Im just a curious 16y old who LOVES!!! your show.

PS: Thanx a lot Greg for your time, you truly are a genius, your show is both inspireing and creative, its also Intense yet dramatic, (I could go on) but I really dont want to take to much more of your time. you probably have much more important stuff to do. Well, thanx again for shareing your ideas with the world. you did a really great job.

matt writes...

while watching "The Price" tonight, something struck me for the first time: when Xanatos builds the robot to distract the Clan while he does his thing with Hudson, why does he model the robot after MacBeth? he could've modeled any number of 'villains' or even a new character, so why MacBeth?