Katharine writes...

Hello Greg,
I would like to ask a question regarding W.I.T.C.H. as well to thank you for the wonderful job you have done with the second season. It seems to me the series is sadly overlooked & hardly remember and seen for the clever, clever thing it is. I know it has been really very long and it's perfectly alright if you simply no longer remember.
At the end of the second season Nerissa is revealed to be trapped within the jewel while the others suceed in escaping their prison.

Was there ever a plan should the series continue for her to realise that what she sees is mere illusion or was it your intention she be trapped for good?

Did you intend to continue her story?

Do you think she would be likely to wake from her dream or rather secretly prefer the fallacious bliss of her own illusion ?

Again, thank you for your time.

Anonymous writes...

Hi, I'm a massive fan of yours and I was wondering if there would ever be a possibility of you bringing back the tv series W.I.T.C.H? So many people adored the show and would love if it was brought back to TV.I know you were a producer and it seems like a very long shot, but there is actually a petition with nearly 3000 supporters that are willing to do anything we can to help bring back the show. The show had and still has so many supporters of it and if you could do anything to bring us a third season we would be eternally grateful to you please respond!

Greg Bishansky writes...

Lately I've been thinking of a villain trope that is decades (if not centuries) old. The maniacal laugh or the evil laugh. When used properly, I love it. When not, it can be hammy, over the top, and out of character.

Several of the villains you've written over the years have used it, and many haven't.

Off the top of my head, Thailog comes to mind first. And I wouldn't want Thailog without it. Granted, I sometimes wonder where he picked it up. It definitely wasn't from Xanatos. And while Sevarius might be hammy, I don't recall him doing it.

Hyena also has a maniacal laugh, and given her name (and personality) it definitely suits her.

The Archmage had a maniacal laugh.

Demona laughed maniacally three or four times. But it's not a trait we normally associate with her.

And let us not forget the Green Goblin in "Spectacular Spider-Man". I think he was the only villain on the show to have one. Likewise, I recall Nerissa doing it on "W.I.T.C.H." at least once.

The Joker aside, I do not recall any of the villains on "Young Justice" doing it. Any of them. Maybe I'm misremembering, it's been a while since I watched through the show, but I am struggling to remember and coming up blank.

Which leads to me to ask. Is the maniacal laugh a dated relic? Especially as we expect supervillains to be more sophisticated in our dramatic fiction, superhero or otherwise.

For example, in "Transformers", the classic Megatron used to laugh maniacally all the time. All the time. More modern takes on Megatron have done away with the maniacal laugh.

I love it, don't get me wrong, but should villains still be doing it. If we ever get more "Gargoyles", I definitely want Thailog to continue doing it. But, had Thailog made his debut in the year 2017, would I still want him doing it?

You have gotten the chance to create your own great supervillains as well as write many of the classic and iconic supervillains. Right now, what are your thoughts on the villainous laugh?

FallenLegend writes...

And another question from me. I feel bad for doing so much, but given these are like a year away I kinda want to talk advantage of now before the flood of YJ season 3 questions.

I wanted to share my thoughts on W.I.T.C.H

Your writing was superb, but I did wonder why it failed to beat WINX club on popularity despite having your superior writing. WITCH was popular on Italy, but otherwise it's not the cash cow franchise WITCH still is.

I read a bit of the comic and some of the show season 1 (things you didn't do). My impression is that the concept was great, the artwork was gorgeous. But the execution was flawed.

W.I.T.C.H had for the most part poor villains from the source material. Phobos despite being their "nemesis", their joker to their batman, is particularly as flat as a sheet of paper. Evil without any redeeming qualities whatsoever. The complete opposite of your great villains.

Phobos whole character is basically "I want ultimate power and I will always do evil" He is so predictable that he will backstab or do evil always.

WINX had the advantage there as the trix definitively are more interesting. It would seem as they took notes from you as they are like you said "a twisted reflection of the hero."

The girls were very overpowered in the original comics. I glanced the wiki and they have even more powers than Superman, each. Say Hay Lin can turn invisible or "hear the past" and for example and not even Avatar Aang or Korra can do that.

Now your influence was great as you did a great job with Nerissa improving the source material giving her depth she didn't had. You never disappoint on villiains.

By saying it was too easy for them,I'll give an example. It's telling how on season 2 (before you worked on the show) all the girls had their "soulmates" . While Peter was still struggling with love on season 2. Also on season 2 the main couples Wally X Artemis and Superboy Miss Martian were struggling in one way or another. By the end of Gargoyles, Eliza and Goliath still had room to grow as a couple and so on.

I feel a lot of character development was stolen before you got to them. But I think you did the best with what you got.

For a magical girl show the magic trinkets was unnecessarily complex, I think. Meaning all of them had to be close to the heart to transform and close to WIll. WINX had them not dependent on a jewel. As far as kids playing as WINX they had more fun without a doubt. But again this was from the source.

As for the girls you defitiveley wrote them better than WINX. But I feel that girls wanted to be more like Bloom (their redhead lead) than Will. Bloom was a secret flame princess or something and Will had divorced parents. Which made Will more relatable but less escapist.

Regardless I just want to say that I loved what you did on that show. In fact I only checked it out because you worked on it.

I would love to see you develop a magical girl show, but on your terms.

So my question would be, what are your thoughts on it?
Keep the good work!

Alex writes...

I couldn't find the answer to the question but,

The staff that Nerrisa had at the beginning of the 2nd series, not the seal of Nerissa, but the one she was carrying as an old hag. What was the deal with that one? Was she trying to make a fashion statement?

Big Choc Choc writes...

Would you come back for a Season 4?

Em writes...

Hi Greg,

I'm a longtime fan of everything W.I.T.C.H., so I appreciate you taking the time to answer questions about the animated series all these years later. It helps keep the series and its magic alive even after it (unfortunately) ended.

My question is in regards to the Matt-Shagon twist (which is still to this day one of my favorite adaptational changes and TV plots overall). I really enjoyed how Matt developed as a character in the second season, and, of course, this storyline played a huge role in his characterization.

I realize that it's been years and the exact reason might not be clear anymore, but I figured I'd ask: what made you decide to pursue this storyline with Matt? So many interesting developments came out of this twist, and by the end of the season I felt there were even more potentials that could be explored, had the series continued. I've just always been curious about how this idea came up.

Thanks so much!

Jacob writes...

Hi Greg,

I'm a big fan of your works and I greatly admire your determination to always keep going. Congrats on Young Justice Season 3, by the way: power from the fans to you!

What I'm writing about is W.I.T.C.H. I have recently binged the two seasons and I've fallen. In. Love with the show! Also read your thing about Irma being gay. Not sure I agree, but hey, today anything is possible. Nerissa and Cassidy being together? Maybe ;-).

I was SO bummed that it never got a 3rd season for the other arcs (I bet it could have gone at least 4 or 5 seasons), but is it possible it could make a comeback- if not this year, than maybe next?

One main reason it was cancelled (other than some silly ratings) was because Winx Club had shown up. Now that it's ended, W.I.T.C.H. could make a comeback and gain more popularity like it did in season 1 (I read a lot of people liked both series, so they'd be happy). Also, the 10th anniversary of the comic was last year and they've started reprints of the Disney comics in the native Italy. That could help gain attention again if they start reprinting in America. Plus, I doubt Disney XD wouldn't say no to a show like that on their action and comedy airspace, especially with your work on Rebels. They could re-air the first two seasons and then unveil Season 3. I bet even the original actors would go for it (work, pay, and fun all at the same time).

So what do you think? Is it possible?

P.S. Good luck with your other projects.

Emma writes...

Thanks for taking the time to answer so many fan questions. I was a big W.I.T.C.H. fan when it was on the air and one thing that always confused me in season 2 was when Nerissa said that Caleb was created by her "entirely for that purpose" (of leading the rebellion.) Did she actually have some role in him becoming the leader of the rebellion and can she have possibly have known it before he was even born? Or was she just saying that to get in his head at that moment?

Lexi B. writes...

So I'm back, I won't judge you if you don't remember the questions I asked before but, as I'm following your guidelines, those were for one topic and now I'm in need for answers about W.I.T.C.H., which by far was on my top 5 favorite tv shows as a kid.
1). Was it always Cornelia and Caleb that would be together or did you try a different W.I.T.C.H. girl with him? If so, who?
2). In season 1, Will didn't really have an elemental power, but later on, she discovered it, fro, the beginning did you guys know that that would be her elemental power?
3). Around the time W.I.T.C.H. aired, Winx Club was also going on, did the writers of W.I.T.C.H. ever get accused of taking ideas from the show, or did you ever see anything that was strangely similar to yours? If so, did you actively try to make sure the plot didn't really correlate with Winx Club's?
4). Was there ever going to be a season three of W.I.T.C.H.? Or was it untimely cancelled?
5). Whose your favorite character on the show and why?
Thanks so much!!

Lo writes...

Hello Greg! Long time fan, first time asking a question. My ask is about W.I.T.C.H. I know it's been a long time, and you've said there's things you can't remember and I completely understand that - but I thought I'd ask anyway.

I was always so invested in Cornelia and Caleb's relationship and thought it was so wonderfully well written and engaging. My questions are these:

1. Can you recall if you had a plan for them going forward into season three?

2. If so, what kind of things were going to happen to them?

Much appreciated!
Lo

Marius writes...

Hi Greg. I want your opinion on a few things. Do you believe in a W.I.T.C.H. comeback in the future, maybe as live action TV series, a movie, or why not a season 3? And do you think a better option will be starting over from 0, and not go for a season 3? Maybe with a new original adaptation of the comic for this comeback? Btw I'm a big a fun of your work, and I follow all your tweets on Twitter.

Hannah writes...

Hi there! I'm a huge fan of the W.I.T.C.H tv series, I grew up on it and it actually inspired me to study animation (first year student)! I recently discovered your speculation about Nerissa and Cassidy being lovers and as a bisexual woman this fills my heart with so much joy (even if it did end in, well, death). I have a few questions about C.H.Y.K.N. if that's okay!

1. Do you believe that Kadma and Halinor had a romantic relationship, either as guardians or later on in life?
2. Was their a reason for Kadma and Halinor's stories being drastically changed in the show? I recall them running and orphanage together in the comics, I'm curious if there was a reason why at least one of them wasn't still on Earth (and why Halinor was written as a loyal follower of the Oracle, and not a defector).
3. What time period exactly were C.H.Y.K.N. at large in? I've calculated the late fifties to mid sixties, but it really depends when the show is set.
4. Was there ever going to be a C.H.Y.KN. arc showing more flashbacks of their time as guardians, if more seasons were produced?

Thank you so much for your time, W.I.T.C.H. is one of my biggest inspirations as an aspiring animator and I especially really enjoyed the second season's plot with the past guardians! I hope you're doing well!

Hazecrisp writes...

I've recently been obsessed with W.I.T.C.H recently and have been rewatching all the episodes. I absolutely love the show from the plot, writing, voice acting, animation and sound. And over all it's so fun to wacth
1)How do you think Nerissa and Cassidy fell in love and got together?
2)Do you have a favourite pairing within W.I.T.C.H. I personally quite like the idea of Will and Hay Lin.

Zergrinch writes...

Hypothetical question.

ALL of your past and present projects have been renewed, and you have been asked to help them all. Which one would you prioritize, and why?

Ana writes...

Hi! I know it's been a long time since W.I.T.C.H season 2 but is there are any possibilities of new seasons? Just in love with the cartoon from the childhood

Cillian B. Flood writes...

Hey. I've searched through your archives about W.I.T.C.H related questions, initially I wanted to ask you about a timeline related question that seems to be a continuity error but I've seen you don't have a timeline for W.I.T.C.H and don't remember a whole lot of it. But in searching the archives I have thought up another question. You claim credit for the "X is for Xword" format of the Episode Titles. This was sometimes worked very well, sometimes forced but always fun and a great way of remembering what happened in each episode. My question is, had a third season been made and you were involved, would you have continued this trend or replaced it with something similar, and if so, what would it be?

EXALT writes...

1)Why do you think that Irma from W.I.T.C.H. is a lesbian? Even after watching the series twice, I must admit I don't see it.
2)We know that Nerissa is bisexual, but is Cassidy a lesbian or bisexual?

Anonymous writes...

You revealed at CONvergence that Nerissa and Cassidy were lovers.

1. Did the rest of CHKYN know?
2. If not, was it a secret because the 50's and 60's weren't the slightest bit progressive about same-sex relationships?
3. Were Nerissa and Cassidy still in a relationship when Nerissa killed her?

Anonymous writes...

Did Nerissa kill the real Mage?

Anonymous writes...

Hello Greg,
I know this question has nothing to do with the show "Gargoyles" but it is about "W.I.T.C.H", one of my favorite shows of all times. It is 2014 and W.I.T.C.H is still being viewed by newer fans and I wanted to ask about the songs from "S is for Self". "The Will to Love" and "Demon in Me" are my most favorite songs from the series and wanted to ask if there will be ANY chance at all for them to be shown in public and even if there was a chance for them to end up in iTunes. I would love to be able to buy the songs and be able to listen to them all day everyday. Thank you for your time.

Miya writes...

Hey Greg,
I know W.I.T.C.H must feel like forever ago for you now, but I want to say I really loved watching that show over and over again. It's really wonderful. I especially loved the whole Elyon story.

That being said, do you ever think W.I.T.C.H will see the light of day with a nice dvd release? Maybe you could nudge someone at Disney with a nice email asking about your other (less known) baby?