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Anonymous writes...

Who exactly were the uber-villains going to be for Roswell Conspiracies?
Do the Greys actually exist?
What does Trish Ainsely know that the rest don't?

Greg responds...

I just don't have these answers fresh in my mind. Sorry.

Response recorded on March 16, 2004

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Fan o' Gargoyles writes...

Hey Greg, its me again, I got a question for you I keep forgeting to ask. (Hope you can answer it)

the Gargoyles were completly devistaded by the loss of there clan in 994, so why didnt they try to go back in time and try to erase that event once they obtained the phenox gate?

I know the past is hard to change but it is possible (they did it with Griff)

Well, i was just courious thanx for trying to answer

Greg responds...

They didn't change the past with Griff, they played into it. Griff didn't die in WWII, he disappeared. So Goliath disappeared him to the present.

The gargs in 994 were massacred. Goliath learned he could NOT change the past.

Response recorded on March 16, 2004

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kate oxford writes...

I was wondering does Golith have a grandson ? Did I hear right or am I just making it up?

Greg responds...

He will someday.

Response recorded on March 16, 2004

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Anonymous writes...

Concerning the VAMPYRU why aren't they afraid of sunlight like traditional vampires?

Greg responds...

I don't remember, off the top of my head, either...
a) whether what you've stated is true or
b) if it is true, why.

Fact is, it's been a long time on a show I did NOT end up doing.

Sorry.

Response recorded on March 15, 2004

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Entity writes...

AVALON, PART ONE

I agree with Todd that, in principle, I like that you identified the multi-parters as such. Looking back, it feels more honest and manageable that way. But I gotta admit, upon the FIRST viewing, the labeling always made "Part One" stick out. Once you knew it was a multi-parter, you set yourself up for something big, so it was less fluid. For instance, in "Avolon, Part One," I knew it was a multi-parter, so when they arrive at the shore of Avalon and glimpse the "eggs" I don't blow soda out of my nose, but rather say, "Oh, so they're finally getting around to tieing up that loose-end about the Wyvern eggs. Cool." For me, at least, the honesty of telling the viewer ahead of time that it is going to be a multi-parter "spoiled" me, so that I expected something big, rather than getting it rewarded to me.

Greg responds...

So, basically, you're saying 6 of one, 1/2 dozen of the other?

Response recorded on March 15, 2004

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Jacob writes...

Hi Greg,
did Gargoyles ever play music or are they uninterested in it?

Greg responds...

Sure.

Response recorded on March 15, 2004

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Anonymous writes...

1.Are the NOSFERATU suppose to be the inspiration for the nagas of Indian and Japanese legends? If not what legends were they suppose to be the inspiration for?
2.And the skray are they suppose to be the inspiration for the mermaids of legend?
3.Concerning
3.

Greg responds...

1. Mostly certain vampires.
2. More Creature of the Black Lagoon, in my mind. But I wasn't on the show long enough to work on the designs at all.
3. Very.
3. Couldn't agree more.

Response recorded on March 12, 2004

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Todd Jensen writes...

I liked your latest instalment of the "Roswell Conspiracy" Bible, with the description of the various alien races. (I got a special chuckle out of the description of the Vinae. I might have known that you'd include something like that in there somewhere).

I also had fun identifying the various "mythical originals" of the alien races. (Most of them did make it into the cartoon that actually aired, based on what I saw of it, though I only saw a few episodes, and so can't be certain that they *all* made it in - the finished product included a few extra ones, such as a voodoo-mythology-related race, and I read that they also included an "Aesiri" race, numbering Odin and Loki among its members, and a "Minotaur" race with "Cerberus" hunting-dogs, though I never saw the episodes that they appeared in).

Greg responds...

I'm trying to remember why i called them Vinae. I know I had a reason, but it escapes me at the moment.

Response recorded on March 12, 2004

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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.

Greg responds...

I have that same McKellen book. I've seen the movie of course, but I found the screenplay and his commentary on how and why he made the decisions he made, very informative.

I don't know that Dark Ages wouldn't be commercially viable. I do know it's tough to convince Network Executives that it's commercially viable.

Response recorded on March 12, 2004

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Jeremy Masters writes...

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

Greg responds...

I give up. Where?

Response recorded on March 11, 2004

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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?

Greg responds...

The dragon in "Pendragon" was animated by magic.

The live-action movie has been shelved for the time being.

Right now, I'm working on "The Batman" for Warner Bros.

Response recorded on March 11, 2004

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John writes...

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

Greg responds...

EP means episode, right?

I've discussed this before too. I like them all, especially the multi-parters, but if I had to pick the single episode where I think we fired on ALL cylinders, I'd have to choose: "The Mirror".

Response recorded on March 10, 2004

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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

Greg responds...

Try 2004.

Hiring an assistant isn't necessary. I have plenty of volunteers offering to help.

We just need to change the whole system, and that's up to Gorebash, who owns and operates the site.

I like all the episodes from the first two seasons. I'm okay with "The Journey" from Season 3, though I wish they hadn't re-edited it. I don't like the rest of the Goliath Chronicles.

There are little errors, probably in every episode. A couple of minor story points which I got wrong, I think, but which I've already discussed in some detail.

But overall, I've got no major complaints.

Response recorded on March 10, 2004

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Spalding & Paul

We lost two greats yesterday.

Actually, we lost Spalding Gray over a month ago, we just hadn't confirmed the loss until yesterday.

I was (and continue to be) a huge Spalding Gray fan. His acting was decent, fun. But his monologues were always brilliant. I remember once laughing so hard at "Gray's Anatomy" during the Indian Sweatlodge riff that I thought I was going to die of asphyxiation. Everyone should rent his seminal "Swimming to Cambodia". Everyone. Then move on to "Monster in a Box" or some of his other great filmed monologues. They're amazing. But nothing like seeing him live. He will be missed.

As will Paul Winfield, a truly amazing actor. I met him twice when he came in to perform the roll of blind novelist "Jeffrey MacClain Robbins" on GARGOYLES. It was a joy to watch Paul and Ed Asner play off each other. Winfield brought tremendous dignity and humanity to Robbins. And he helped us tell our tale of literacy without making it too preachy. I still remember fondly the following exchange when Hudson is amazed at how Robbins can find Macbeth's address in the phone book.

Hudson: Magic book.
Robbins: Aren't they all?

Simple, but mighty.

Spalding, man... Paul... You left us too soon.


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J.R. writes...

Where can I find an image of the praying gargoyle?

Thanks!

Greg responds...

I give up. Where?

Response recorded on March 09, 2004

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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.
:-)

Greg responds...

Get over it. It's the way Garg beasts are.

Response recorded on March 09, 2004

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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.

Greg responds...

I'm constantly trying. I haven't given up. I think it's possible, though not likely in the near future.

The three best things that the fans can do to help are:

1. Attend the Gathering, our annual Gargoyles Fan Convention. This year, the Gathering is in Montreal. Check out their website:

http://www.gatheringofthegargoyles.com/

2. Buy the DVD when it comes out later this year. Buy many, many copies. Give them as stocking stuffers, etc.

3. Watch Gargoyles on ABC Family's Jetix block. Ratings will definitely help.

Response recorded on March 09, 2004

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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!

Greg responds...

It depends if you consider between 17 and 14 months close.

1. Glitter.

2. Sure. But resources are more limited than you might imagine.

3. Sure.

4. Like I'd tell you.

5. Kinda moot. But it's possible. She hated Macbeth, afterall.

Response recorded on March 09, 2004

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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?

Greg responds...

1. Not telling.

2. I don't consider that canon.

3. No.

Response recorded on March 09, 2004

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Marcus Palmer writes...

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

Please Answer ASAP..

Greg responds...

The Forge.

And that's ASAP. Less than two years. Worth the wait?

Response recorded on March 09, 2004

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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?

Greg responds...

I'm afraid I don't recall. It's been six years on a project I didn't end up working on. It's possible, I never worked out all the details.

Response recorded on March 08, 2004

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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.

Greg responds...

Thanks, Blaise. I'm glad you liked it.

It's always cool to get an in depth read on what individual fans thought of our shows.

Response recorded on March 08, 2004

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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"?

Greg responds...

I think so. It's hard to remember for sure now after six years.

Response recorded on March 05, 2004

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'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!

Greg responds...

As I've said before, I think that Renard had MS, but I never got the chance to do the research. Before I definitively state what he had, I'd want to make sure that the symptoms we depicted and described fit that disease.

And yes, his condition contributed to his appearance.

Response recorded on March 05, 2004

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More rambles on Angel...

Well, I'm glad I chose to trust them Angel writers. I thought last night's episode of Angel, with the new Illyria/Fred was another extremely powerful and well done hour of television.

It was a nice variation on a theme in that Illyria ISN'T going to be the big villain for the season. She's now just another lost soul. An ancient demon who has to start over.

I do have a couple quibbles:

I wasn't fond of the artificial way they wrote Lorne out of the episode until the montage at the end. It just seemed like they felt they were too crowded to give his character any screen time.

It bothered me that no one could acknowledge that what was happening to Gun was an exact parallel to what happened to Wes when he stole Connor, because no one remembers Connor. That whole nobody-remembers-Connor thing still strikes me as only a step above the Bobby-Ewing-reappearing-in-the-shower/it-was-all-a-dream ploy on Dallas. But the Connor thing is more a fault of LAST season (which had its share of problems) as opposed to this season.

So I'm very optimistic that Angel will continue to be brilliant throughout its final year.



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