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Sevarius, Anton
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matt writes...
when cloning a gargoyle, is there any way to predict how the coloring will differ, is there any order to it or is it completly random coloring? i mean does Lex's parent or grandparent have the same coloring as Lex's clone or what?
Greg responds...
The color differences, according to Sevarius, are a result of the forced growing procedure. If you clone a garg and allow it to age normally, the coloring should be the same.
I believe that the color changes are predictable. They tend toward the photo-negative, I think.
matt writes...
i have a suspicion that you'll prefer to keep the answers to these questions in mystery, but i'll ask anyway:
1. was the "cure" that Sevarius created in "Metamorphosis" an actual cure for the mutation?
2. was the "cure" that Sevarius created in "The Cage" an actual cure for the mutation?
3. will an actual "cure" for the mutation ever be created?
Greg responds...
1. No.
2. Not saying.
3. See above.
darkfiend666 writes...
How is Servarius's name pronounced? I've heard Xanatos pronounce it like the ar is pronounced air (Ser-Vair-e-us) and Elisa pronounce it like the ar is pronounced like it rhymes with bar. Which is correct? (I like the way Elisa
says it personally, it sounds more evil)
Greg responds...
I don't remember how Anton pronounced it?
I'm fine with either.
Aaron writes...
Okay, finally caught up on Ask Greg.
Greg writes: ""Anton" sounds Germanic?"
Anton was, at one time, an extremely popular boy's name in the Netherlands, in part because collaborators wanted to gain favor from their Nazi overlord, whose first name was Anton. Since the Dutch are a Germanic people, Anton could be considered quite Germanic. Admittedly, Sevarius doesn't *look* that old, except perhaps in his first appearance, but something to think about nevertheless.
Greg responds...
Hmmm. Okay. But of course, there are plenty of people named Anton without any justification beyond "My parents just liked the name."
Chapter XXXX: "Monsters"
Time to ramble...
I think this episode had a fun story written and edited by Cary Bates. And I know it had a great moody storyboard directed by Frank Paur. But it suffered from two major problems...
1. Repetitive elements. We had multiple story editors working on multiple episodes. I was overseeing all of them, but sometimes things did get away from me. "Monsters" has a number of elements in common with "Heritage" which had only just preceeded it in the line up. It makes "Monsters" seem a bit more tired than it really is, through no fault of Cary's. For example, we open with a Sea Monster. One of our female cast members is lost and nearly drowned. Goliath searches frantically. Etc. Even my five-year-old son Benny was convinced, "We just saw this one." It just felt very been there done that. My fault.
2. Very weak animation -- some of the weakest of the series -- removed much of the mystery and mood from the boards that Frank directed. I know we called tons of retakes on this ep, but there was a limit. Secrets were given away too early. What's a monster submarine and what's a monster is too easily discernable at the start. We were hoping for more silhouette's in that murky Loch. Throw in some really atrocious character moments (like when Angela wakes up in chains) and you've got an ep that's unimpressive at best.
And yet, there's much in this show that I really like.
It takes an important step toward evolving Angela's relationship with Goliath. Though G's not aware of it, Sevarius reveals to Angela that she is his biological daughter. Having grown up around her adoptive *HUMAN* parents, that notion of biological imperative must have seeped in. She already KNEW that Goliath was one of her ROOKERY parents. But this revelation ignites her curiousity and need. I find it interesting anyway. My eight-year-old daughter Erin was likewise fascinated with this aspect. She was anxious for Angela to tell Goliath about her discovery. Of course, Goliath knows in a 'shrug' sense. It's visually obvious to him. It just isn't programmed to be significant for him.
And if that weren't enough to make the ep worthwhile, we also get another wonderful over-the-top performance from Tim Curry as Dr. Anton Sevarius. He has a TON of great lines in this (all quotations approximate)...
"If it gets any more sacharine in there, I'll have to shove a finger down my throat."
"It must be awful to wake up in chains first thing in the morning."
"Thank heaven for little girls... and DNA markers."
"He's your very own flesh and stone."
"Enough to make my mind boggle..."
But there were other problems too. In my mind and Cary's Big Daddy and Nessie were mates (with little ones revealed at the end). But because of the name "Big Daddy" and because we were intentionally using the L.N.Monsters to parallel and comment on Goliath and Angela's father-daughter relationship, many people thought that Big Daddy was Nessie's dad. I'm not sure it matters too much. But (unintentional) confusion can't help.
ELISA
Elisa knows they haven't arrived in Manhattan because it's too quiet and because the water's too clean. Of course, Loch Ness is famous for having MURKY, MURKY water. Not that the water is "dirty" exactly, the way New York Harbor is. But it's hard to figure Elisa would think of the Loch as clean either. And I knew that. Don't know how that got by me.
But Elisa does have some fun lines here and there:
"I'm not really the adventuring type."
"It's a show... Themeparks do this five times a day."
(Yes, we weren't above giving a gentle knock to the parent company.)
(Of course, when Elisa said that last bit, Erin said, "I don't think so." Benny noticed the submarine was metal and thought it was a robot. It took him a while to get the notion that it was a ship or sub.)
LITTLE CONTINUITY TOUCHES
Elisa leaves a message on Matt's machine. But the tape is full. This was done for two reasons. Or three...
1. We felt that Elisa would and should attempt to contact someone.
2. We wanted to prolong the agony (at least in the audience's minds) as to what happened to our travelers from the point of view of those left behind.
3. We were in the middle of a tier, and couldn't guarantee (as we saw with "Kingdom" that the episode would air in order. We didn't want Elisa to successfully contact anyone, because it might screw up continuity.
Nice to see Brendan & Margot taking a little vacation on the Loch, huh?
Angela says to Nessie: "I bet you've never been this close to a real live gargoyle either." But of course Angela's wrong. One of the reasons that Nessie gets so friendly so fast with Angela is BECAUSE she recognizes her as a gargoyle and knows that gargoyles are friendly to the Monsters of the Loch.
Of course, this begs the question as to what the Loch Ness clan was doing throughout this little adventure. I don't have a grea answer -- YET -- but for now, I'm just going to fall back on the notion that they were aware that Nessie was missing, but didn't know the cause. (It is a big murky loch, after all.) And yes, I know that's a feeble explanation, but it will have to do until I figure out a better one.
The title "Monsters" is another one of my thematic one word titles. Angela hits the nail on the head when she calls Sevarius the only monster around here. It's central to the series theme. But again, maybe too obvious, contributing to the weakness of the episode.
We had some trouble with the animation of the scene where Bruno confronts Goliath and Elisa right after they escape the dungeon. It forced us to reuse Jeff Bennett's "All right." line twice in a row.
Speaking of Jeff, my wife Beth thought Bruno sounded very Jack Nicolson. I pointed out that when Bruno was created, way back in "Awakening" we asked Jeff to make him a young George C. Scott. Beth couldn't hear that at all.
Benny used to love Bruno. Not only does Bruno barely register with him now. He doesn't remember ever liking the character. Erin asked him if he remembered the Xanatos Goon Squad. He didn't respond.
Another weakness... Angela just holds her breath forever down there at the end.
And when Goliath does get there, her chains pop off too easily, begging the question why she couldn't free herself.
I know I keep talking about the ep's flaws. But like all the 66 chapters, I really am more fond of it than critical. I do love seeing Goliath launched as a living torpedo, for example. There are a bunch of little things that I like.
And heck, we killed off four more characters. Sevarius and Bruno survived. But I think we have to assume that the other four members of the Goon Squad are gone for good.
But it wasn't one of our best efforts, I'll have to admit.
Sorry 'bout that...
Anyway, that's my ramble. Where's yours?
Silverbolt writes...
Hey there.
I saw an episode of Batman: the animated Series (not the future one) and saw a rather intresting episode which involved Catwoman being turned into a cat-woman and it also involved a genetically enginnered cat which looked like Talon oh and the worst thing was that the guy who did all this looked exactly Sevarius. Hmmm... i don't know when it was made but i wonder if they nicked the look of the guy from gargoyles. or perhaps everyone thinks made doctors look like red headed lab guys?
oh-well
Greg responds...
I think great minds think alike. But I think they were our way before we were. So although I don't think we copied them, they certainly didn't copy us.
Gipdac writes...
In 2198 will we meet any of Sevarious' descendants?
If so, what will their name be, and what role would they play?
Greg responds...
Not saying at this time.
The Cat writes...
Hey Greg,
Just out of curiousity(I hope to what ever god/dess that I spelled that right.) I was wondering why Sevarius did gene splicing to make the Mutates? I watched this thing on one of the educational channels and it said that humans have little bits of DNA from every animal in their DNA codes. So, why didn't Sevarius just activate the exsting genes in them? Or, did he by that gene splicing?
Well off to homework, "yeah".
Greg responds...
Sigh.
Anyone with a scientific background want to field this? Come up with an explanation that justifies what we put into the show?
Be my guest.
The Cat writes...
Hello Greg,
This is The Cat, again. Ok, question. Why did Sevarius(hope I spelled that right) clone the other gargoyles?
How did he clone the male gargoyles? I only thought females could be cloned because we have the proper cells, such as the egg.
Well all for now. Bye.
Greg responds...
Why? Because (a) he was well paid and (b) he likes that kinda thing.
As to the male-female thing, I'd never heard that.
Anonymous writes...
Sevarius
What did Sevarius plan to do with the Loch Ness monster?
Greg responds...
Harvest, breed, create, etc.
Cha-Cha writes...
Why didn't Thailog and Demona clone Angela?
Greg responds...
Demona didn't want a clone of Angela, she wanted Angela. So she never released a mosquito when Angela was guarding her cell. That meant that Thailog and Sevarius didn't have the option.
Fire Storm writes...
Shortly after Ask Greg stopped allowing questions to be submitted in August 2001, someone brought this news article to the attention of the Station 8 CR:
"Italian professor Severino Antinori ...are set to unveil their plans" (to clone a human)
Full article at: http://www.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/europe/08/06/clone.doctor/index.html
Is it a coincidence... or a prophecy?
Greg responds...
I saw a report about that in the L.A. Times. Weirded me out, I'll tell you.
matt writes...
before he caught Angela, had Sevarius found any proof to support his theory of a garg clan living in Loch Ness?
if yes, what did he find?
Greg responds...
No. Her presence generated that theory, as I recall.
JEB writes...
Does Dr. Sevarius have any sort of public reputation (known in scientific circles, being published, etc.) or is he pretty much an unknown outside of Xanatos/Cyberbiotics/Nightstone?
Greg responds...
He's semi-well known in certain circles.
Lord Sloth writes...
Reckoning:
1)At the fun house, when Goliath goes for help, why dosn't he bring Claw and Maggie. I know it's a pretty dumb question, but hey.
2a)Does Sevarius still work at Gen-u-tec, as well as at Nighstone. Does he still work for Xanatos, or do Xanatos new priorities require letting Sevarius go. b)Would Sevarius make somthing like Thailog ever agian? Was he as scared by him as Xanatos was? c) Is Thailog on much better terms with his father Sevarius, or would he still like to kill him if he lost his usefullness?
Greg responds...
1. He doesn't have time to stop by BOTH the Clock Tower and the Labyrinth. If you were Goliath, where would you go? (Keep in mind that neither Claw or Maggie are really 'warriors born'.)
2a. As of when?
2b. Sevarius is not too big on common sense, I think.
2c. Thailog's not on great terms with any of his fathers.
Anonymous writes...
Why did Sevarius rescue Fang from his prison in the Labyrinth?
How would they come in conflict with the Redemption Squad?
Greg responds...
He was useful.
Details, details.
Rob Irwin writes...
Hi there. I just found out some time ago that I love the show Gargoyles, although I have yet to see the last 13 eps.
Looking through this site, a lot of questions started coming to my mind. I have a lot, but they are pretty differnt amd it says I shouldn't post them all at once, so here is my first.
When Sevarius gives his genetics slide show, he said that gargoyles get the energy they need to fly by soking up solar energy while asleep. If he is right, how does this apply to gargs who turn to stone underground or if it's a cloudy day?
Are they more weak when they wake up, or was severius just incorrect?
Thanks, and once again, great show.
Greg responds...
Sevarius was basically correct. But turning to stone underground one day isn't going to weaken a gargoyle perceptibly. If he or she is underground, day after day after day, that's a different story.
As to clouds... Ever gotten a sunburn on a hazy day? I have.
Puck writes...
You know in the eposode "Metaphors" I think it is when Dr.Zervarious turns Derek Maza into a gargoyle and tries to fake a deth in front of Derek or Talon he gets electocuted how did he servive the peronas.
And if possible can you cantact me at bbaleja@hotmail.com thanks.
Greg responds...
No, I'm sorry. We have this forum for a reason. I don't personally contact people with answers. We want to share the info with everyone.
Anyway...
"Metamorphosis" not "Metaphors".
Sevarius not Zervarious.
Derek's turned into a Mutate not a gargoyle.
death not deth.
electrocuted not electocuted.
survive not servive.
piranhas not peronas.
And they were electric eels not piranhas.
contact not cantact.
(Sorry, to pick on you, Puck, but I'm a former English Teacher and Editor. At some point the quantity of typos and errors in such a short post overwhelms me. I'm not saying I never have them. But a little proof-reading would be nice.)
Anyway, it was all pre-arranged. The eels probably didn't have enough charge to kill anyone. (Frankly, it's a detail I'm not that interested in.)
Yttrium writes...
What ethnicity is Sevarius? His first name sounds extremely Germanic, but I haven't a clue as to what his surname could be.
---Ytt
Greg responds...
"Anton" sounds Germanic?
matt writes...
ok, i know you don't ever plan to reveal on-screen the biological relationship between Hudson and Broadway, but i was wondering, does Sevarius know? afterall, he discovered the link between Goliath and Angela looking at their DNA, so when he was creating the clones in "The Reckoning" did he see the father-son relationship between Hudson and Broadway? if he did, did he tell anyone about it? Thailog? Demona? Xanatos?
Greg responds...
I suppose he knows. I'm just not sure to whom that information would be interesting. Still, someday...
matt writes...
in "Monsters":
did the Xanatos goon squad die when the sub sank at the end? we never saw them after that...
how did Sevarius survive? escape pod?
Greg responds...
Bruno lived. But I figure the others went down.
Sevarius had a pod or something.
Jim R. writes...
Oh, one other statement on "Metamorphosis":
The course of events leading up to Derek being accidently injected with the mutagenic formula seemed awkward. Was it Xanatos' plan to have Derek mutated? In a way it seems it was Derek's fate to be transformed since he asked to go with Xanatos, even though Xanatos said "That won't be necessary." But Derek insisted and ended up going for the ride.
What if Derek didn't go along or had never made an attempt to take the shot for Xanatos when Sevarius was going to shoot the mutagenic formula at him initially? Xanatos would have been hit with it and he would have mutated. That must have been one hell of a risk he took, not knowing that Derek might not come to his rescue. Seeing how the whole time Xanatos and Sevarius were allied and the whole thing seemed like a setup for Derek. But it still gets me as to why the things happened the way they did? For the story's sake in suppose. I at least would have expected Xanatos to scold Sevarius for almost shooting at him. Or is there something that I am missing?
Greg responds...
You're missing Xanatos' basic rule for operation. Contingency plans for everything. Owen said what he said to GET Derek interested. If Derek hadn't volunteered, Xanatos would have asked him to come.
If Derek hadn't been heading for Xanatos, Sevarius would not have shot at that point. Sevarius was aiming for Derek, not Xanatos.
But every aspect of the plan was backed by contingencies.
Sapphire writes...
Oh Greg the episode Metamorphisis was pretty cool the mutagen thing and all. Do you know in reality how they do gene transference between different organisms like the gene tranference between Derek and a panther, electric eel and bat. Viruses they insert genes into viruses and inject them into a creature where the viruses insert the foreign genes into the creatures DNA and it usually takes 5 months for the creature's DNA to accept the foreign genes as opposed to the 2 days in the episode Metamorphisis. Also there is also a high risk that the immune system would gobble up the mutagen plus the body also gets rid of cells that are mutated so in reality if a mad scientist ever injected you with a mutagen containing the DNA of animals your immune system would destroy the mutagen or the cells that has been mutated
Greg responds...
Oh, sure. But, uh, Sevarius compensated for that with something that temporarily weakens the immune system.
Yeah, that's the ticket.
Todd Jensen writes...
In "Monsters", was Sevarius working for Xanatos or himself when he was at Loch Ness? He had the Xanatos Goon Squad along with him to help him out, but nothing that he said really confirmed that he was working for Xanatos; he appeared to be after the Loch Ness Monsters more to satisfy his own personal interest in genetic tinkering than from any interests that Xanatos had.
Greg responds...
For Xanatos, though X gave him fairly free reign to keep him happily employed.
Adam writes...
After thinking about Basilisk's post regarding whether the mutates could be un-mutated, I have to disagree with his opinion that it would be impossible to undo the mutations. If Sevarius was able to replace the genes of his test subjects with samples of DNA from other animals, it should be fairly simple to reverse the process. Assuming he used some sort of retrovirus to replace the segments of Derek, Maggie, et al.'s original DNA with DNA from other animals. All he would need to do to change them back would be to use the same virus, only this time instead of giving it lion or eel DNA to insert give it a copy of the mutate's original human DNA. The point is that if Sevarius was able to alter their DNA in the first place, he could certainly alter it again.
The biggest problem would be finding a sample of the mutates' orginal, human DNA. When he created Talon, he replaced a significant portion of the DNA that coded for "Derek Maza" with DNA that coded for "panther" and other creatures. Finding the DNA he was going to use to create Talon was fairly easy, he just sampled it from a panther. But if he wanted to re-make Derek Maza, he would have to replace the DNA that codes for "panther" with DNA that codes for "Derek Maza." The problem is that there was only one source of "Derek Maza" DNA on earth: Derek Maza. And this source was destroyed when Sevarius overwrote Derek's original DNA in the mutation process. So unless an alternate source of "Derek Maza" DNA can be found (e.g. blood sample, hair sample from before the mutation) then it would be impossible to recreate Derek.
However, there could be one other option in the absence of a sample of the original DNA. The mutated DNA could be replaced with DNA from a human donor. Someone from the immediate family would probably be best. The effect would be to make the mutates human again, but not the same humans they were originally. For instance, Derek would have a human nose; but it would look like the nose of the DNA donor, not Derek's original nose.
Given this option, what do you think the mutates would choose? Would they decide to become human again, even if they couldn't be the same humans they were before the mutation? After all, unless their DNA is changed back to it's original state, they'll still be mutates. The only difference is that they'll be mutates who look like humans instead of mutates who look like gargoyles. So I guess the question is which species would they rather be an imitation of?
Greg responds...
Well, my guess is Sevarius kept DNA samples of all the pre-Mutate humans. Probably got the samples for Fang, Claw, Maggie and wolf himself. And Derek's could have been acquired during a routine company physical.
I won't pretend to be the scientist Sevarius is. There may be multiple ways to turn them back or NONE at all. Personally, I like the ambiguity. And the fact that the one guy who might just be capable of it is completely untrustworthy.
Given all that, commenting on your specific scenario becomes a bit difficult.
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