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gen_knight lady writes...

when mary took the power of Khalid and Traci in “Og Htrof Dna Reuqnoc!” I got Phobos vibe from her because he did the same thing to Taranee and Cornelia in "v is for victory". Was that intentional? a hint that mary might fall to the dark side? or maybe to show us that she is still obsessed with power?

Greg responds...

Seems likely. Especially now.

Response recorded on June 17, 2022

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ShySky writes...

Hello! Would you do a video interview for my Youtube channel Digital Bloodlines regarding season 2 of W.I.T.C.H? We already did an interview with Andrew Nichols from season 1. We have contact information on both Facebook and Youtube at Digital Bloodlines.

Greg responds...

I don't even know how to look this up. I'm not on Facebook. I know I have two Facebook pages, but I lost access to them years ago, and I never really grokked that service, so I just let it go.

I do visit YouTube on occasion, to watch a video. But I don't know how to contact anyone there.

Response recorded on June 16, 2022

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B writes...

What does Shagon look like under the mask? Older Matt?

Greg responds...

I'm not sure there's ANYTHING under the mask.

Response recorded on June 01, 2022

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Kirill writes...

Hello, Greg, first of all, thank you for giving millions of children, including me, the W.I.T.C.H. television franchise.

It has been more than 15 years since the popularity of this series and now Disney clearly does not know how to win an audience..
1) I have a question, do you happen to know or maybe you've heard something about adding old cartoons to Disney Plus?
I understand that W.I.T.C.H. has been abandoned by everyone for a long time, but I wonder if they are somehow going to add this cartoon to streaming in order to warmly review all 2 seasons and so that others get acquainted with the best cartoon of the 2000s
2) By any chance, you will not return to cooperation with Disney in any way?
I would like to see season 3 of WITCH

Greg responds...

1. I have no idea. Sorry.

2. I'd be happy to do more W.I.T.C.H. if Disney wanted more.

Response recorded on May 25, 2022

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Michael Broder writes...

Is Henchy an original character, based on someone from the comics, or both?
Have you ever thought of doing a motion comic where the actors read the whole comic?

Greg responds...

1. He's more-or-less original. He's based on a model created for the Green Arrow Showcase short and a specific voice that I love, which actor Steve Blum has used for me in multiple series: Raythor (W.I.T.C.H.), Blackie Gaxton (The Spectacular Spider-Man), Zeb (Star Wars Rebels).

2. Yes. I'd love to do that. But there's no budget for it, generally. The YJ Wiki did a few using volunteer labor and volunteer voice actors. Here's one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42QKFkSy4DU

Oh, and what the heck, here's another: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N3Z2b-UlTE

Response recorded on May 05, 2022

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NoOneSpecial writes...

Decided to re-watch W.I.T.C.H this week. Really loved the work you guys did on the show for Season 2. Not to disparage the people who worked hard on Season 1 as well, but the show really becomes something special in the second season

1. When Nerissa became corrupted, the Oracle took the Heart of Kandrakar from her and gave it to Cassidy. But the general rule is that a Heart must be given willingly. So how could the Oracle take the heart from Nerissa if she wasn't willing, which I very much must assume she wasn't.

2. Did Nerissa plan to have a child with Julian? Did she intentionally seduce him in order to conceive Caleb? Or was his birth accidental and something she didn't plan on? When speaking to Caleb, she makes it sound as though she wanted to have a child, so that Caleb could 'lead' the rebellion to victory against Phobos, though reading between the lines, that just sounds more like Nerissa trying to take credit for an obviously coincidental success after the fact in order to validate her actions, which certainly fits with her character. So, why did she initially have Caleb?

3. When did C.H.Y.K.N retire from their Guardian duty? Was it after Kadma left the group to live on Zambala? Also, who had the Heart of Kandrakar following Cassidy’s death?

4. You said before that Irma was gay but that she tries to "fight to be straight" by going after guys that are inherently unattainable, which sounds as though she was not yet fully accepting of her sexuality. Does mean the rest of W.I.T.C.H were unaware of her sexuality by the end of Season 2?

5. I really love the episode titles going as letters of the alphabet. It's really clever especially when you have exactly 26 episodes to work from. Whose idea was this originally? Would you have been inclined to do it again for Season 3?

Greg responds...

It's been a VERY long time since I've seen these episodes - let alone since we produced them - so my memories are extremely vague. Therefore, take the following answers with a massive grain of salt.

1. Maybe she was willing at first but then had second thoughts (and resentments).

2. I'm thinking a part of Nerissa loved Julian. When she discovered she was pregnant, she wanted the child. The rest is self-justification, after-the-fact.

3. I just don't remember. And I don't have the same documentation on W.I.T.C.H that I have on Gargoyles and YJ.

4. Yes, that's what it means.

5. It was my idea, inspired by the title of the series and by the fact that we had a 26-episode order. It seemed right.

5a. Hard to say.

Response recorded on May 03, 2022

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GTM writes...

As a long time fan of the original WITCH comic, I will admit that it took me a while to deal with the animated series, because so much was changed in Season 1. Then Season 2 happened and it not only became more like the comics, it got me to enjoy the animation’s take on the girls a whole lot better than the first season. Thank you for bringing a whole new kind of WITCH to life :)

And, of course, as being on this site implies, I have questions, but I don’t want to ask them all in one sitting, as that would be too much and some have already been asked by others, so I’ll pace myself.

So, for the first question, I’ll start with something small: you mentioned that a new member would join the team during the Season 3 that never was, like in the comics. Just to clarify, are you talking about Orube?

Greg responds...

Probably. I'm forced to admit that W.I.T.C.H. was SO long ago, by memory of my previous plans is rather dim. But Orube makes some sense, so...

Response recorded on February 10, 2022

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Hazel writes...

1. Did Wendy Harris and Marvin White ever clue into the fact that the public hero Superboy was their old classmate?

2. As someone who absolutely adored Kelly Stables' work in W.I.T.C.H., I'm very happy that you roped her in to voice Cissie. Thanks.

3. I noticed that you gave Orphan a Z-designation, but not a B-designation. Was she even a formal member of the team when Season 3 started?

Greg responds...

1. No spoilers.

2. I was very happy, too! Kelly is always great!

3. Nope.

Response recorded on February 09, 2022

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Verdragon writes...

1. What was the casting process behind Jesse McCartney as Dick Grayson, and did it have anything to do with his roles as Roxas and Ventus in Kingdom Hearts?
2. What was the casting process behind Alyson Stoner as Barbara Gordon?

Greg responds...

1. He auditioned. We cast him.

1a. Nope.

2. I honestly don't remember. I know we didn't hold auditions for the part. I'm trying to recall if perhaps she auditioned for Miss Martian, and whether we perhaps liked her and kept her in mind. I had also worked with Alyson previously (when she was barely a teenager) on W.I.T.C.H., in which she played Lilian Hale. So maybe I suggested her. Or maybe Jamie Thomason did. I just can't recall.

Response recorded on January 26, 2022

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EDWARD ASNER

So...

This is hard.

It's been a bit of a stressful weekend, as my father went into the hospital with chest pains. A stint that had been replaced last year had failed and was replaced again Saturday morning during an angioplasty. I've been concerned, worried. But the procedure seemed to go well, and he was set to go home today. We seemed to have dodged a bullet.

But there was a second gun.

I slept in today. I woke up to two pieces of news:

1. My dad was good. Solid. My sister picked him up at the hospital and took him straight to breakfast. (My mother was annoyed at not being included - but that's a whole other story.) He's home now. I've talked to him. He sounded cheerful. All good.

2. Ed Asner had passed away.

I spent most of the day doing laundry and other mundane tasks. Life goes on, right? It has to. But it's been difficult getting my head around the whole thing. I've gotten many calls and texts today, offering condolences as if I were part of the Asner family. Folks seem to know how close I felt to Ed. But I don't want to exaggerate. Ed was my friend. I hope he knew I was his, as well. But I haven't talked to him in at least a couple of years. (You can partially blame that on the pandemic, I suppose. There are a lot of people I've lost touch with. If anything, this is a reminder to GET in touch. And I'm going to make an effort to do that.) In any case, there are many, many people who knew Ed better than I did, who were closer to Ed than I was.

Nevertheless, at the risk of turning this post into my own self-aggrandizement, I am going to spend a few paragraphs here on the subject of the Ed Asner that I knew and loved.

I was a fan of Ed's long before I met him. Like many, many people, he first entered my awareness playing Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. (Later, I got a kick out of picking him out of reruns, where he usually played the heavy in such series as The Wild Wild West and others.) But as Lou, Ed was simply brilliant. One of the truly classic scenes in all of television is the scene in the TMTMS pilot, where Lou interviews Mary for a job. Do yourself a favor and view it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj286uBKCu0

That scene had a major effect on me, even seeing it as a kid.

Now, having just rewatched it, the genius of the writing and the two performances still knocks me out. But there was something else about Lou and Mary. Watching their interactions was a bit like watching my parents. The connection in my mind between Lou and my dad was especially strong.

Ed and my father were two Ashkenazi Jews from the midwest. My dad was from Chicago; Ed, from Kansas City. They were gruff AND loving. They even had mannerisms in common. There was much more, I'm sure, that they DIDN'T have in common. But something connected the two men in my mind. And, meanwhile, my admiration for Asner as a performer knew no bounds. When I saw him in the Lou Grant series, in Rich Man, Poor Man, in Roots, that admiration only increased. When I learned of his activism - and the price he paid for it - that admiration shot through the roof.

Years later, when we had begun pre-production on GARGOYLES, I thought of Ed Asner - or of Lou Grant, at least - as the inspiration for Hudson. In fact, when we held auditions for the role, I wrote at the bottom of the character description that "Hudson hates spunk." This was, of course, a variation on Lou's classic line from the above job interview scene. Now, to be clear, I never imagined we'd get Ed to play the role. I figured he was way too big a star for us to land. But low and behold, a few days later, Ed came in to audition for the part. Later, he told me that when he read the character description, he was initially thrilled. The "Hudson hates spunk" line made him feel like he was a lock to land the role. Then a couple minutes later, he thought that if he didn't land the role it would really be awful. But of course, he immediately understood the character and nailed his audition... only for Jamie Thomason and I to throw him a curveball, asking him to do it again in a Scottish accent. He nailed that, too.

Working with Ed was a joy. He was fun and funny and so supportive. In addition to playing Hudson (and Burbank and Jack Danforth/Dane) on Gargoyles, I also cast him as recurring characters on Max Steel (Chuck Marshak), 3x3 Eyes (Grandpa Ayanokoji), W.I.T.C.H. (Napoleon the talking cat), Young Justice (Kent Nelson) and Rain of the Ghosts (Joe Charone). When casting Peter Parker's late Uncle Ben in The Spectacular Spider-Man, Ed was the only person I ever considered. He always brought so much to each and every role.

And more than that he was a great friend to me. After the first season of Max Steel, when I couldn't find a job for over a year and thought I might have to give up on my writing career, Ed was there, offering me support. We had lunch at Musso & Frank's. He looked at pictures of my kids out of my wallet and told me to laminate them. He introduced me to his son, Matt Asner, a producer. He didn't allow me to wallow in self-pity or to badmouth guys who I believed had done me wrong. He just reassured me that I had ability and would find my way through. He was, in essence, my work dad.

So today, as you might imagine, has been complicated. My dad is home and healthy. And Ed is gone. I'm grateful and sorrowful. And struggling. But life goes on. It has to, right?

Finally, I'm going to quote Hudson from Gargoyles. In "The Price," an episode that spotlighted the character, Ed as Hudson told Xanatos: "A friendly word of advice: True immortality isn't about living forever, man. It's about what you do with the time you have. When all your scheming's done, what will be your legacy, Xanatos?"

I think we all know that Ed Asner did amazing things with the time he had. And though we'll miss him dearly, his legacy is clear and shining.


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Abdullah Khan writes...

Hey Greg,
Q1)I wanted to ask regarding the castings for Young Justice Outsiders, How did you and the crew decide to give the roles of Geo-Force, Terra, Halo, Forager,Cyborg and Darkseid to Troy Baker,Tara Strong,Zehra Fazal,Jason Spisak, Zeno Robinson and Michael Leon Wooley?
Q2)And for replacments decide on David Kaye and Greg Cipes to be Vandal Savage and Beast Boy, i know regarding Greg as Beast Boy u did not cast him in the initially because u did not want any Teen Titans reprisals at the time so what change your mind instead of picking another actor because Logan Grove was unavailable for S3?

Greg responds...

Geo-Force - Brandon had worked with Troy Baker before and knew he was a good candidate to play Geo-Force/Brion Markov. We did have him audition (against no competition) just to confirm he could do the Eastern European accent without it sliding into Boris Badenov territory. He could. So we cast him. And he's been great as Brion and other characters ever since.

Terra - We held auditions for Terra/Tara Markov, and Tara Strong just nailed it.

Halo - I knew I wanted to cast Zehra Fazal as Halo / Violet Harper / Gabrielle Daou, and basically wrote the part with her in mind. Brandon and Jamie and I went to see her in a stage play, where she played multiple roles, so that they could confirm just how great and versatile she was.

Forager - With Wally West largely out of the picture, we knew we wanted to find something else to keep Jason Spisak in our cast. Brandon thought Forager would be a good bet and talked about the character with Jason, who loved the idea. We hired him without any try-out, and he was instantly great.

Cyborg - We held auditions for Victor Stone/Cyborg under the false flag of a pretend show with a fake character name. Zeno Robinson was our clear favorite for the role. We brought him in for a callback (with no competition), mostly to see if he had the versatility to play any other roles (such as Steel). We decided then and there that he was our Vic, and seeing Brandon and I in the Control Room, he had already begun to suspect whom he might be playing. We told him he had the role and confirmed he was playing Cyborg, and he practically BURST right in front of us. It was great fun.

Darkseid - We had already discussed a number of potential people to find YJ's version of Darkseid, when Brandon remembered Michael Leon Wooley's performance of the character from Batman: The Brave and the Bold. Jamie and I listened, and immediately Michael had the job.

Vandal Savage - We held auditions to see who could do the best job performing in the giant shoes that the late, great Miguel Ferrer had left behind. David Kaye was the clear favorite.

Beast Boy - When it became clear that Logan Grove was not going to be available to us, we talked with Jamie about who might be able to take his place. After we described the character's journey in Season Three, Jamie suggested Greg Cipes, knowing that we might not go for it, but feeling like Greg'd be perfect for the part. I'd worked with Greg on W.I.T.C.H. and agreed, but our upper management had been pretty adamant about us not using Titans' lead actors to play the same roles they had played on Titans. (Other Titans' actors were kiboshed for certain parts for that reason.) It was something Brandon and I initially agreed with way back in Season One, but by this time, we felt YJ had established itself as its own thing, and we were less afraid of comparisons. And for whatever reason, TPTB were fine with us casting Greg as Beast Boy.

Response recorded on August 18, 2021

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B. B. writes...

Hello. Humble W.I.T.C.H. fan here.

One of the most mysterious characters for me is the Mage. So my questions are:
1.) Was the Mage a Guardian before C.H.Y.K.N.? (She is seen in the first season holding the heart of Kandrakar.)
2.) Why does the Mage's appearance change so drastically from the flashbacks to the current time? (She goes from a long haired beutiful woman to a bald and scary-looking hag. Is there a reason for that?)

Greg responds...

1. It's been a long time, but I don't believe so.

2. I just don't remember. Sorry!

Response recorded on July 26, 2021

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Mr. Red writes...

Hello, huge fan of your work, i have rewatched the first 13 episodes of Young Justice Outsiders 6 times over as i write this. I wanted to know, why is Greg Cipes voicing Beast Boy? Now i am a big fan of his and of course the his previous work as Beast Boy.

But i wonder what happened to Logan Grove, did he not want to reprise the role? Or was he to busy with other work? or was it already planned to have Greg come in and do the voice?

Greg responds...

We were looking forward to using Logan in Season Three, but were told that Logan was no longer acting and was attending Annapolis as part of the U.S. Navy. So after some discussion with our director Jamie Thomason, Brandon and I agreed that given where we were heading with the character, Greg Cipes (whom I'd enjoyed working with on WITCH) was our top choice to replace Logan as Garfield, irrespective of Greg's history with the character.

Response recorded on July 26, 2021

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Anonymous writes...

did you know that your show is awesome?

Greg responds...

I kinda feel like it's awesome. It is to me, at least. It's the kinda show I would like to watch. But I'm happy to have you and others confirm that. Very happy.

Um... which show are we talking about?

Response recorded on July 26, 2021

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Anonymous writes...

Hello! A big fan of your work here. The WITCH series was a part of my childhood I’ll always remember. I have several questions concerning this show (mainly the old generation):
1. How old were the previous Guardians when Nerissa cracked, Cassidy died and everything went downhill? Were they the same age?
2. Did you have some last names in mind when creating the characters or they were always simply Nerissa, Halinor, etc?
3. How was the disappearance of Cassidy/Nerissa explained to the public (their relatives, friends)?

Greg responds...

1. The five members of CHYKN were all approximately the same age as each other.

2. The names came from the comics or the first season. I don't think I named any of them myself.

3. She didn't disappear; she died. Or at least that's what I recall. It has been awhile.

Response recorded on July 26, 2021

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Wreck 55 writes...

Just want to start off by saying I watched W.I.T.C.H. for the first time when I was 5 years old and I'm turning 20 next month. I still, to this day, enjoy the show so much so that I can quote from it word for word at my big age (whether thats sad or impressive I'll let you decide). I've also only recently discovered that you, the same guy who had a hand in making my favourite show (W.I.T.C.H.), also had a hand in making another show I love (YJ) - so thank you for bringing me such joy! And thank you for managing to bring YJ back to our screens, I am eagerly awaiting it's return :)

I am aware that one of the main reasons that YJ was able to come back was because fans endlessly binged watched it on Netflix, so I was wondering whether there is any way that you, or we as your fans, could get W.I.T.C.H. on Netflix so that it could possibly enjoy the same successful return? I strongly believe that if the show is put on a platform where it's popularity can be measured, the necessary people will see that the show is worth investing in again. A friend of mine (who's a bit of tom boy and who absolutely LOVES YJ) agreed to watch W.I.T.C.H. because I pestered her to. Three days later she came up to me and demanded to know who Raphael Sylla was and why there were only two seasons of the show - and shes the same age as me!

I also have other bits of evidence that suggest W.I.T.C.H. would have fruitful ratings were it to return to TV, such as countless online petitions by fans asking for a season 3 and also the fact that Yen Press has acquired the rights to remaster and reprint all issues of the comics as graphic novels - which could not only draw previous viewers back to the beloved show but also attract a whole new audience that have never even heard of W.I.T.C.H.. After all, the show did end twelve, nearly thirteen years ago.

Greg responds...

You give me too much credit. I didn't "get" YJ on Netflix. I took advantage of it, once it was there, guiding fans to binge. But I have no ability to "get" a series on to any particular service, channel or network. WAY ABOVE MY PAYGRADE, I'm afraid.

If enough FANS request WITCH for Disney+, maybe they'll listen and put it there. (Netflix is corporately unlikely for WITCH. But Disney+ might be a real possibility.

Response recorded on July 23, 2021

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Dercio Lichucha writes...

Hello Greg,

I’m a huge fan of your work but I need to ask. Who do I speak to about rebooting childhood favorites like W.I.T.C.H ? I LOVE THAT SHOW.
It deserves many more seasons than just two.

Greg responds...

Disney, I guess. It would help if you could view it on Disney+, and I believe subscribers can request that they include it on the service.

Response recorded on July 14, 2021

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Jennifer Griel writes...

Hey. I was just watching one of my favorite TV shows ever, Ben 10. And while watching I discovered that you wrote not only the best episode of the show objectively, Ben 10,000, but also my personal favorite episode Under Wraps. I just wanted to say thank you. You did a great job making a great show even better. What was it like working with those guys on that show if you remember. I know it was a long time ago.

Greg responds...

I had a great time working with Tom Pugsley and Greg Klein (the latter of whom I also went to high school with). They made my freelance gigs on that series pretty easy. They also did me a big favor. I had been working on the non-union show W.I.T.C.H. for some time and was in danger of losing my union health insurance. The work they gave me allowed me to keep my coverage.

Response recorded on July 09, 2021

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Emily The Disney Fan writes...

Hello again Mr. Weisman!

I know you've made Radio Plays of Cross overs with Gargoyles, Spider-Man, and Young Justice! Which leads me to this Question if you don't mind!

Is There by chance any Other Particular Disney Animated Series, Like The ones from Disney Channel or any other the other Disney Afternoon shows, That you would like to Cross Over with 'Gargoyles'?

Greg responds...

W.I.T.C.H., probably.

Response recorded on July 02, 2021

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Jared. L Powell writes...

What has it been like to work on so many different show that so many people remember fondly?
What was your favorite show to work on out of all of them?

Greg responds...

1. It's very cool, honestly. Though, if I'm being even more honest, I do wish that I'd been able to make more of fewer series than so many different series.

2. Choosing between my "children" is not something I tend to do. Ultimately, I truly enjoyed working on Gargoyles, WITCH, The Spectacular Spider-Man and Young Justice as a writer-producer. And although it was never "my" show, the writing team on Shimmer & Shine were such great people, that I truly loved working with them on it.

Response recorded on July 02, 2021

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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.

Greg responds...

I didn't have any immediate plans to extract her. And the comic gave me plenty of fodder to go on without her, as I vaguely recall. But it's tough to keep a good villain down, so - knowing me - I might have gotten back to her eventually. Maybe. But it's all very hypothetical.

Response recorded on July 02, 2021

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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 responds...

There's nothing I can do, I'm afraid. I'd be happy to produce more episodes, but that's really up to Disney, not me.

Is W.I.T.C.H. available on Disney+? If it is, that's a way for the fans to try to get the show back. Petitions are nice and all, but have little effect these days. But by subscribing to Disney+ and voting with your wallet by rewatching a series over and over again, the chances of success are greater.

In essence, that's what brought YJ back.

Response recorded on July 01, 2021

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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?

Greg responds...

I haven't exactly studied this issue.

I use it when it feels right in terms of character and situation. Obviously, some characters have more of a sense of humor about what they do than others.

Not all villainous laughs qualify as "maniacal" in my book either.

I would never outlaw the practice, but I think I do use it sparingly, both to avoid silliness and to make it special if and when we do use it.

Response recorded on June 29, 2021

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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!

Greg responds...

I WISH my answers had only been a year away and not nearly four years. Sorry about that.

Anyway, I've never seen WINX. So I have no opinion on it one way or another, and I can't compare the two series. But I truly LOVED doing WITCH and would have loved to have done a third season. I had definite ideas, based on the comics and coming out of what we had already built in Season Two.

Response recorded on June 28, 2021

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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?

Greg responds...

My memory's not too clear on this. Maybe she needed it to walk when she was in that form?

Response recorded on October 16, 2019


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