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The Phoenix Gate

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RETORTS 2004-11 (November)

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jakdannies writes...

Hey Greg, Here's a production/episodic question, First the production question When you were producing the Avalon World Tour. Were there problems with the actors? It is because only Salli, Keith Frank and Bridgitte were the only principal cast? Next, The episodic question, Why wasn't the entire clan included in the A.W.T. it wouldn't been cool seeing the whole clan traveling the world.

Greg responds...

There wasn't any problem with ANY of the actors. We made a creative choice to focus on a few characters for the trip. We felt it would be WAY too unwieldy to take Hudson & the Trio along as well.

Response recorded on November 19, 2004

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Frank White writes...

i am a great fan of your work. i know that gargoyles finished along time ago, but i was wondering if there was anything you will be working on in 2003 for disney or anybody else. also could you please give a brief description

Greg responds...

Thanks, Frank.

Of course, it's 2004 now. Here's a sample of how I've been keeping busy:

I worked a bit on "Bionicle: Mask of Light"

I wrote a number of episodes for "The Batman" and a couple for "Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!", plus one for "Alien Racers".

Right now, I'm working on the second season of W.I.T.C.H. (But I had nothing to do with the first season.)

Response recorded on November 19, 2004

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Rita Micozzi writes...

Hello Greg,
I'm a Gargoyles italian fan (and i'm ready to bet, the BIGGEST Italian Fan)
I have many questions to ask, but the most important is about the Movie Status:
- Have you noticed that in this period movies about superheroes, comics/cartoons-heroes and, most of all, Fantasy adventures (some citation: X-men,Spiderman,DareDevil,Hulk,The Lord of The Rings,Harry Potter ecc..) are VERY poular? This could be the right moment to find, at last, a good productor,I think, moreover now that 3D technology is so advanced you cold do great things whit this movie..
Are there any news about this?
If productors think the series is not popular enough, why don't you relance it in television, or at last, have you ever think to make it all in comics? (I mean all the episodes)
I study to become a comic-drower and I know that the italian Disney redaction is actually the most productive in Europe (maybe you already eared about "W.I.T.C.H", or you will..)-If you want some other notice about this, you could contact me by e-mail: ritamico@tiscali.it , or give a look at me and my boyfriend's site: http://pk.immaginario.net
Anyway, I really hope to see soon "Gargoyles The Movie" at my Cinema ;)..Belive me, I perfectly know what it means to create your own characters and see them grow up, wishing them to become famous. So never give up, ok?
Thanks for your attencion,
Rita Micozzi

Anyway, I really

Greg responds...

I'm afraid the ONLY live-action movie news I have is that Touchstone is no longer pursuing the project.

I think you've got an exaggerated view of my power over the project. I'd love to make a movie, a television show, a comic book, ANYTHING.

It took me years to convince them to release the first season on DVD. Buy that in huge numbers, and that'll make convincing Disney to do something else much easier.

It is so funny that you brought up WITCH a full two years ago, long before I'd heard of the property. Now, I've read all 27 issues of that DPI comic book. And I'm producing and story editing the second season of the t.v. series.

Response recorded on November 19, 2004

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Thomas Peterson writes...

If Gargoyles isn't going to be renewed would you mind revealing alll your secrets? For example why was King Arthur awakened and how exactly is Samson and his resistance going to defeat the Space-Spawn occupying Earth?

Greg responds...

I have not -- and may never until my dying day -- give up hope for Gargoyles to come back in some medium somehow, sometime.

Response recorded on November 18, 2004

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Puck Robyne Lover!! writes...

Can you give me a family tree of oberon and titiania's children across the centuries? I can't figure out if Puck is Alexnder Xanatos is pucks nephew or not. I would really like to know about Puck's/owen's secret love that you mentioned earlier too.

Greg responds...

I'm not going to reveal anything new at this time, but I will summarize what I've already revealed:

Lord Oberon is the son of Queen Mab.

Lord Oberon married Titania (who became Queen Titania after Mab was overthrown). (Note: Oberon intentionally did not take the title of King. Retaining his "Lord" title is his semi-skewed attempt at being more... egalitarian.)

Oberon and Titania have two children together: one male and one female. I know exactly who they are, but I'm keeping their identities and personas secret for the time being.

Oberon also has at least two sons by mortal women: Merlin and the changeling boy from Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream".

Titania has one child with the mortal Halcyon Renard. This is Janine Renard, a.k.a. Fox.

Fox married David Xanatos. They have one child: Alexander Fox Xanatos.

Puck, a.k.a. Owen Burnett, is not directly related to ANY of these individuals.

Response recorded on November 18, 2004

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A Big Gargs Fan writes...

I've a question when did Goliath say the opening monologue?
For that matter when did the guys for Dark Ages and Future Tense: 2198 say theirs?

Greg responds...

I'm a bit unclear. Keith David recorded the opening monologue for Gargoyles between the first and second seasons.

To ask specifically when "Goliath" spoke something that at best can be regarded as symbolic is something I've never considered. But if you want to be literal about it, I guess he "recorded" it sometime after waking up in Manhattan.

As for Dark Ages and Gargoyles 2198... I don't know what you're talking about.

Response recorded on November 18, 2004

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Anonymous writes...

hey greg heres a question. when did goliath found out that he had feelings for elisa?

Greg responds...

I don't think he realized it until "The Mirror". But I think his feelings for her existed as far back as "Awakening".

Response recorded on November 18, 2004

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Chapter XLIX: "Eye of the Storm"

Time to ramble...

Chapter XLIX: "Eye of the Storm"
Story Editor: Cary Bates
Writer: Cary Bates
Director: Bob Kline

FAMOUS LAST WORDS (PART TWO)
Goliath at the end of "Avalon, Part Three" (and in the PREVIOUSLY of this episode): "I am personally going to make sure that the Eye of Odin and the Phoenix Gate are never used again." Of course, he's thinking he won't let anyone else use them. But he neglects to protect them against himself. We've already seen him use the Phoenix Gate -- mostly to positive effect -- in M.I.A. Now, we'll see him don the Eye of Odin...

ENVIRONMENTS
Elisa's cold. Cold enough to put her life in danger. Cold enough to force us to add a sweater and parka to her ensemble as the episode progresses. As Angela says, "It's enough to take your breath away." To which Elisa responds: "I can vouch for that."

(I do wonder what sport it was that Gunther was playing in the middle of winter that he did so well at.)

VOICE ACTORS RETURN
J.D. Daniels -- formerly Tom and Young Luach and Young Canmore -- is here playing Gunther Sturlusson. As I write this in 2004, J.D. would have to be in his late teens or early twenties. He was a great child actor -- which is rarer than you might think. I hope he's doing well.

Morgan Sheppard -- formerly Petros Xanatos -- also returns, as Odin. I would later cast Morgan in "Atlantis: Milo's Return" as a crazy guy who THOUGHT he was Odin. I love working with Morgan.

ODIN & THE STURLUSSONS
The name Sturlusson is a direct steal from Snorri Sturlusson (I hope I'm spelling this right), the author of the Eddas -- the more-or-less original source materials that we have as reference to the Norse Myths.

We tried to paint an Odin that would make Snorri proud, one "well-versed in myths and legends". Having him pose as an old man with a cloak of stars. That's out of the myths. Making him a storm god. That's right out of the myths. Giving him the ability to transform into animals (in this case a VERY cool one-eyed polar bear). Right out of the myths. The rainbow bridge at the end. Right out of the myths. Giving him a flying battle steed named Sleipnir is right out of the myths too, if you forgive the fact that Sleipner is supposed to have eight legs, but Bob and Frank balked at our ability to animate that decently. [Note: I do worry whether or not the final GOD-ODIN design was a bit too Marvel/Kirby influenced. Jack Kirby's seminal work is so all-pervasive in American visual vernacular, it's hard to avoid, even when you're consciously attempting to avoid it.]

And of course, there's the Eye itself. Traditionally, Odin traded his eye to the wise Jotun Mimir for wisdom and insight. Obviously, Mimir lost it at some point, perhaps after losing his own head (another story) and the Eye floated around for centuries before David found it and gave it to Fox who lost it to Goliath who had it stolen by the Weird Sisters who gave it the Archmage who lost it to Goliath again. Now Odin's claiming that HE directed Goliath's skiff to Norway. This time it isn't Avalon that's sent them here, but Odin who has waylaid them so that he can FINALLY get his darn eye back in its socket. I do regret that our "Eye-as-a-piece-of-Jewelry" design always looked more Egyptian than Nordic to me. The gang over at Disney Interactive who created the concept of the Eye for their game, had a much more runic/nordic/ravenesque design.

But I am curious -- how many of you were surprised to discover that the Eye of Odin was actually Odin's eye?

Odin also refers to Elisa as a Maiden. I wonder if he felt that she would have made a good Valkyrie?

{My ten-year-old daughter Erin asked: "Why doesn't [Goliath] give it to Odin. It's his eye. Of course, she's seen the episode before and knows what's coming vis-a-vis Goliath's behavior, but it's still interesting to me that she placed the burden for the misunderstanding on Goliath and not on Odin.}

Odin -- as Odin sees it -- is playing by the rules. He tries barter and then fair combat and then takes a hostage, which in ancient times did not have the same cowardly (if not downright terrorist) connotation that it carries today. All of which might have been avoided, if at the beginning he had just -- i don't know -- offered Elisa the cloak with no strings attached and sat down with Goliath to discuss the whole eye thing. Odds are, when he was not being confrontational, Bronx would have slid up to get his chin scratched. Angela would have said something like, "Well, Bronx likes him." And Goliath might have realized that giving the darn thing back to Odin was the safest possible outcome. BUT NO! Odin, as he admits, is not the most patient of gods and a bit rusty when it comes to the whole dealing directly with mortals thing.

AVATAR
So, instead, Odin comes on strong (rules or no rules) and Goliath is pushed into thinking that he has no choice but to use the Eye's power himself. (I think that was adequately motivated.) And thus Goliath and NOT Odin quickly becomes the VILLAIN of our piece. Which was interesting for us. We'd seen Zombie-Goliath in "Temptations". We'd seen Goliath's "evil twin" in "Double Jeopardy" and "Sanctuary". But we'd never seen Goliath himself go bad until now. He becomes more of who he is. A protector -- a tyrant -- a fascist. Someone who cannot brook disobedience. Someone unaccustomed to dealing with gods or being one. (A good line, I thought.)

His new attitude is, I think, embodied by the casualness and callousness of him saying: "We will pack them too." This in regards to moving Bronx and his DAUGHTER, currently frozen in stone.

At first, everything he says is pretty darn rational-sounding. But Elisa and Angela and Erik quickly develop their suspicions. They are just naturally slow to believe that their Goliath -- OUR Goliath -- could be the bad guy. Eye or no eye.

Goliath also succeeds in becoming an Avatar for Odin, much like Jackal and the Emir each became Avatars for Anubis. It's not quite as literal, but his wings take on Odin's starry pattern. His helmet is similar (although on my tape his horns are doing some FUNKY animation things). And everytime Odin uses one of his powers, Goliath acquires and mimics that power.

I'll admit that Goliath's turnaround at the end plays on screen a bit too quick for my tastes now. But ultimately, we were still counting on Goliath's protective nature, his basic decency. His love for his daughter. It's not as strong for me as, say, Renard's turnaround or the Captain's (from "Golem" and "Shadows of the Past" respectively), but I think it basically works.

OTHER NEAT LINES (all approximate)
Erik: "I am rich in sweaters."
Goliath: "Now that Elisa is safe, we can rest in peace." (Okay, this is more of an odd line than a neat one.)
Odin (understated): "This calls for a change in strategy."
Goliath (once they're all on to him): "Is there a problem."
Elisa: "The Eye! The Eye has gone to your head!"
Goliath: "That is all you need to know."
Odin: "I have more than gained in wisdom, what I have lost in strength."
Odin: "You're on my turf with my property."
Odin: "I am not the threat."
Goliath: "So close to Death and Rejuvenation at the same time."
Elisa: "You took a big chance. Wish I'd thought of it."
Odin: "Then we have both gained rare enlightenment. The Eye's standard gift." This last one was important to me. I wanted (from the moment we intro'd the eye into the series back in "The Edge" to play the Eye true to it's Eddaesque roots.

JALAPEÑA
Goliath removes the Eye and speaks that word again. This caught me off guard last night, cuz I had thought Hudson's Pendragon Jalapeña was the last one until "The Journey". But I guess we squeezed one more in.

And Odin finally gets the Eye back. And ... and... NOTHING HAPPENS. He just sticks it back into his eye socket and it becomes... his eye. I LOVED the anti-climax of that. Generally -- not such a big fan of anti-climax, but the irony and the RIGHTNESS of it just thrilled me.

Anyway, that's my ramble. Where's yours?


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Andy writes...

Well I know this may be against the rules on this question but Im a gamer and a fan of the show. I loved the show and loved it when a game was released for Gargoyles. Id really love to see a new game for xbox or a platform release. Id deffinatly buy it for my system and think allot of fans would as well. Have you considered trying to pitch this idea to anyone?

Greg responds...

I'm open to the idea, but I don't have any particular connections in that world.

Response recorded on November 16, 2004

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Anonymous writes...

Does Sora still love Yama? Even after his betrayal and banishment?

Greg responds...

Gargoyles mate for life, so yes. But that doesn't mean that they don't have a lot of problems to overcome.

Greg

Response recorded on November 16, 2004


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