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Ashley writes...

Hi, I'm a big fan of Gargoyles and have recently been binge watching it on Disney Plus; though I plan to skip the third season. I don't know if you are still answering these things, but I do have a question about The Mirror. Or more specifically Demona's transformation into a human every day. she once told Mcbeth that Puck's gifts always come with a price, but considering how mad he looked at the end of The Mirror when she was rejecting his offer, I got to wonder

If Demona hadn't made him mad, would the transformation still have been painful?

Greg responds...

Probably not. But you never know with Puck.

Response recorded on February 03, 2022

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Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "Hunter's Moon" yesterday (Sunday) on DVD - all three parts.

I've mentioned before spotting a lot of mentions of hunting, usually applied to humans going after gargoyles with hostile intent, and it struck me that this made it appropriate that the Hunters would be the gargoyles' adversaries in the finale. (Well, the Disney Afternoon finale/Season Two finale.)

And it struck me that the Hunters were the most dangerous opponents that the gargoyles faced in modern times, judging by results. They blew up the clock tower, destroying the gargoyles' home, and then exposed them to the public. The former was partly undone by the gargoyles getting their old home (the castle) back by the end of the episode, but not the latter - now the gargoyles are facing an alarmed public (even though they're safe at the end - for the moment). None of the gargoyles' other adversaries in modern times have been able to inflict that much damage on them. To top it, you'd have to go back to 994 and the Wyvern Massacre.

A few things that struck me this time around:

Goliath and Elisa are actually openly speaking to each other and even sharing a brief embrace on board the passenger train, just after foiling the robbery; fortunately, the passengers apparently didn't notice that.

Hudson greets the returning gargoyles as "lads" - then quickly adding in "And lassie, of course", for Angela. It reminded me of his use of just "lads" for the younger gargoyles in "Possession" that I mentioned in my post on it - apparently he's getting more adjusted now to Angela's presence in the clan.

The trio's clash with Demona in Part One seems the last "trio action" in the series; they're increasingly split up (or else acting with the rest of the clan present) after this.

Lexington and Brooklyn's shared uneasy glances when they return to the clock tower with Goliath near the end of Part Two seemed all the stronger when I realized "the audience knows that Robyn and Jon survived Goliath's fight with them, but Lex and Brooklyn don't - from their perspective, Goliath had apparently killed those two."

Jon Canmore's cry about the gargoyles when he's facing Jason at the end, "They killed dad!", struck me as a sign of how (even before shooting Jason) he was losing it; it was Demona who killed Charles Canmore, none of the Manhattan clan were even present at the event, and Jon was there so he knows it.

Broadway shows how much his attitude towards reading has changed since the start of "A Lighthouse in the Sea of Time" when he's talking to Angela about how great the castle library is (and we'll see them there together in "The Journey").

This story really does seem like a good conclusion for the series in so many ways - the gargoyles are back in the castle again, their war with Xanatos is (seemingly) over, they'd defeated Demona's big scheme to wipe out humanity, Elisa finally admitted her feelings for Goliath and even kissed him. Except there's a big loose end with the gargoyles' existence being made public, and most of the New Yorkers aren't too happy about it. (Brooklyn's "And so it begins" remark does also support the feeling that the story could continue past this spot.) But it certainly makes a good season finale.

Oh, and I counted the number of "claw-mark transitions" in the entire two seasons during this review - 28 in all.

Greg responds...

We were pretty happy with it.

Response recorded on August 17, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

New thoughts and observations on "Possession", which I also rewatched on DVD today.

Coldfire and Coldsteel's bodies are initially covered by cloths; while it serves the function of keeping their nature secret from the audience at first, it also does a good job of echoing the "Frankenstein" tone of Coldstone's introduction in "Re-Awakening".

When Goliath and Hudson return to the clock tower from patrol, Hudson initially says "lads" - and just that, with no mention that there should be a "lass" among them as well. We get an echo of this, I recall, in "Hunter's Moon Part One" when he addresses the clan as "lads", then remembers Angela and adds "lass" in; this moment brought that scene to mind.

Coldstone's line near the end about how "we truly lived again" echoed Goliath's "we live again" words in the opening narration, though I don't know if it was intentional.

Greg responds...

It's a pretty safe bet that most everything is intentional. (Or that I will intentionally take credit for it.) But seriously, we were very aware of pushing call back moments throughout. I do that on every series I produce.

Response recorded on August 17, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

I watched "Turf" on DVD yesterday as well, but don't have anything new to say about it, so my new thoughts on "The Reckoning", which I watched with "Possession" on DVD today.

In Act I, Hudson warns Angela that her mother "is capable of anything". Angela later uses those exact words when confronting Demona in Act III.

Elisa gets bitten by a mosquito while in the Labyrinth; I wonder if that was the moment when Sevarius and Thailog acquired her DNA for Delilah; it'd certainly be a "playing fair with the audience" moment.

While Demona professes outrage over Angela's claim to be her daughter, her eyes aren't glowing red - and later we learn that she'd known Angela to be her daughter all along. The "eyes not glowing red" part makes a good hint to the audience that she was feigning anger and disbelief.

Greg responds...

That mosquito is exactly when Elisa's DNA was taken for later use in creating Delilah.

Response recorded on August 17, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "Vendettas" today - this time around, I spotted what looked like a small village in the opening shot (near the former site of Castle Wyvern). A minor detail, I know, but I liked the discovery of a village or small town in the area.

Greg responds...

Yep. Especially one that the Vikings haven't sacked for a century or ten.

Response recorded on August 17, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "The Gathering" (both episodes) on DVD today. A few new things I noticed about it.

A minor detail, but which I find touching: when Renard learns about Anastasia's remarriage,, he sadly clasps her hand.

The letter X is prominent among the Xanatoses: Xanatos, FoX, and AleXander. And then I thought of LeXington, who isn't one of the family, but who's close to Alex, and who became Xanatos's secret successor in "Future Tense". (And there's that bit, also, in your "Gargoyles 2198" piece, about the Lexington-Xanatos Corporation.)

Goliath's homecoming makes a lovely contrast with "Future Tense", as he warmly embraces the overjoyed Brooklyn and Lexington (the two members of the clan who'd been bitter towards his late return in "Future Tense") and Hudson says "I knew you hadn't abandoned us." (While Broadway hugs Elisa, tying in with his being the closest to her among the trio, ever since "Deadly Force".)

One feature of Goliath's pondering the possibility that Avalon sent him to Manhattan to stop Oberon from taking Alex away; if his speculation was correct, that means that Avalon was, in a way, going against its lord and master. Though that made sense when I thought about it; without going too deeply into hypotheticals, I suspect that things would have not gone well for Avalon if Oberon *had* spirited Alex away (no way would his parents have accepted that), and Avalon would be sparing itself and its lord and master a lot of potential trouble in thwarting him.

You mentioned once that you wanted to have Puck break the fourth wall, but the rest of the production team objected to it. I noticed that he does come close, though, when he turns towards the camera while saying "I'm on a roll". (And when somebody *did* break the fourth wall, it was Brooklyn instead.)

At the very end, Broadway turns to stone shortly before the rest of the clan does.

Greg responds...

Interesting observations. Thanks for all these, Todd.

Response recorded on August 17, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "Future Tense" on DVD today. Things I noticed this time on it.

Bronx looks sad when Hudson's death is revealed; given the bond the two had showed throughout the series, I thought if both fitting and touching (even if it's not really Bronx).

Goliath tells Brooklyn "we thought our odyssey was fated". I thought "odyssey" an appropriate term, since Odysseus spent twenty years away from Ithaca, and Goliath supposedly spent forty years away from Manhattan - and since gargoyles age at half the speed of humans, twenty years for humans would translate to forty years for gargoyles. (I'll admit I'm reaching here - and it feels odd to be linking Goliath to Odysseus when I'd normally think of comparing a different "Gargoyles" character to Odysseus - a fellow Greek trickster....)

The Xanatos Program's intention of using the "World Wide Net" to download itself on every computer marks one of the extremely few occasions I can think of where the Internet was alluded to on "Gargoyles"; the only other example that comes to mind was Sevarius receiving his instructions for "kidnapping" Thailog via "electronic mail". (It also got mentioned in one of the Goliath Chronicles episodes, but that doesn't count.) The near-absence of the Internet from the series certainly makes it appear
technologically dated" from today's perspective.

Greg responds...

I think "odyssey" is a particular apt word. And though Goliath and Odysseus don't have a lot of character traits in common, I do think the comparison here was intentional. And they are both big, strong heroes.

The absence of something like the internet is less of a problem for me - in terms of dating the series - than, say, the brick-sized cellphones that Xanatos and others occasionally use.

Response recorded on August 17, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "Ill Met By Moonlight" today.

I spotted more hunting allusions in it (though this time, the gargoyles' "hunter" isn't a human); Titania's incantation to temporarily restrict Oberon's abilities includes the line "Till hunt be done", and Oberon says, after defeating Goliath, "And so ends the hunt". (He also evokes hunting imagery when he says "the rabbits would face the fox" - though I couldn't help thinking when he said it, "Technically, they're facing the fox's stepfather, though the audience isn't supposed to know that for another two episodes.")

Greg responds...

Nice.

Response recorded on August 17, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "Cloud Fathers" on DVD yesterday.

This time while watching it, I wondered how Bronx left Beth's apartment. Goliath and Angela glided off without him, and I didn't see him going out the door with the Mazas (which wouldn't have been an option in any case, for obvious reasons).

We get another bit of hunting "verbal imagery", though one of the rare occasions where it's not directed at gargoyles, when Xanatos refers to Coyote the Trickster as his "true quarry".

Coyote the Trickster disappearing when he got the Mazas to look away for a moment reminds me of the tradition about how, if you look away from the faerie-folk for even a moment, they can vanish.

Greg responds...

Don't really remember Bronx's exit without rewatching. But mightn't he have just walked down the outer wall of the building.

Response recorded on August 17, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "Bushido" today (I rewatched "Sentinel" yesterday, but had no new thoughts on it).

What most struck me this time around was the parallel to "Awakening", with Taro as like a less-serious version of Xanatos. The two specifics I noticed were the gargoyles' awakening in the theme park, which reminded me of the clan's first awakening in Manhattan, and their wondering if someone had moved the temple, which evoked Xanatos moving the castle to New York.

Greg responds...

Those parallels were very intentional.

Response recorded on August 17, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "The Green" today.

I might be reading too much into this, but I noted that the ones responsible for the theft of the Mayan Sun Amulet and the deaths of most of the Mayan clan were called "poachers" - a term for illegal hunters. Given the recurrent theme about gargoyles being hunted and facing danger from hunters that I've been paying close attention to in the 25th anniversary reviewing, I thought that an apt word choice.

This episode featured five "clawmark" transitions, the most I've noted to date in any individual episode of "Gargoyles". (I've been keeping track of those during the silver anniversary reviewing, and counted fifteen up to this point, of which five were in this episode - one-third, in other words.)

Greg responds...

Wow. That's a lot of claw wipes. But we also had more location transitions from Manhattan to the Green and back.

Response recorded on August 17, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "The New Olympians" on DVD today.

Continuing the "hunting" theme in "Gargoyles" that I've paid closer attention to this time around, I noticed that Ekidne described the New Olympians' ancestors as "hunted". (I also spotted a New Olympian extra who looked a lot like traditional depictions of Artemis/Diana, the goddess of the hunt - though I think I'm reading too much into that.)

Goliath's words to Angela about how they cannot wage war on an entire city remind me of his words to Demona in "Awakening Part Five" of how he cannot wage war upon an entire world.

Greg responds...

Also intentional. I love those kinds of callbacks.

Response recorded on August 16, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "Eye of the Storm" on DVD today.

I noticed, this time around, that after Goliath rescues Elisa from Odin, Odin cries "This isn't over!" - the same words that Hakon used after his initial attack on the castle was turned back at the start of the series. It struck me as appropriate, since they were both "Old Norse". (I don't know if that was intentional, though, or just a fortunate coincidence.)

Greg responds...

Intentional.

Response recorded on August 16, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "Pendragon" on DVD yesterday. A few observations from this time around.

Hudson recognizes the wind that heralds the arrival of King Arthur and Griff; I suspected that there's an interesting story behind that and how he came to know it. Most likely something that would be told in "Dark Ages".

Griff refers to Westminster Abbey as "my abbey" when initially confronting King Arthur - for me, it evoked Goliath speaking of "my castle" when confronting Elisa back in "Awakening Part Three". Evidently part of the gargoyles' territorial nature manifesting itself.

Macbeth immediately recognizes Griff as a gargoyle, though all his on-stage encounters with gargoyles up till then were with the Scottish variety. (Of course, most of the things that went on during those nine hundred years of wandering in his life, we don't know about - only his fighting at Bannockburn on the Scottish side, and taking part in the 1950 removal of the Stone of Destiny from Westminster Abbey.)

I really like the term "rookery poem" as a gargoyle counterpart to "nursery rhyme".

Greg responds...

Someone should write a book of rookery poems...

Response recorded on August 16, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "Mark of the Panther" on DVD today.

I've mentioned before how I've noticed a strong "hunting" motif running through "Gargoyles" during my reviewing it; this episode included more of that theme, though, for a change, it didn't involve humans going after gargoyles. Instead, it was the Panther Queen and, later, Fara Maku, hunting for Anansi, and then Tea and the poachers hunting panthers.

Elisa lists the body parts of panthers that poachers are after as skin, teeth, and claws. When Diane Maza tells the story of the Panther Queen shortly afterwards, her description of the Panther Queen stresses those same three attributes (well, fur rather than skin, but it's close enough), but now focusing on their beauty, rather than the monetary worth that motivated the poachers. (And when Anansi turns the Panther Queen into a human, the story stresses the Queen's loss of those same attributes.)

Goliath's explanation to Diane, when they're trapped in the pit, that he can only glide, not fly, echoed (for me) his explanation to Elisa on the ledge back in "Awakening Part Three". Like mother, like daughter....

Greg responds...

Yep...

Response recorded on August 16, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "The Hound of Ulster" yesterday, but I didn't have any new thoughts on it, so I skipped it over - and "Walkabout" today.

Things that struck me about "Walkabout" this time around:

I'd noticed this before, but Bronx growls at a kangaroo near the beginning. I wonder what he dislikes about them. (I also spotted a koala up in a tree - that I *hadn't* seen in past viewings.)

I was amused by Elisa's description of Dingo as "not one of the good guys" - since that could so easily be tweaked to "one of the bad guys". I don't know if you'd come up with the name for that spin-off at the time, of course.

Goliath at one point says "Aye, for now" - probably the one occasion where he says "Aye" - he usually leaves those Scottish-toned words to Hudson.

During the battle with the Matrix in the Dreamtime-world, Goliath imprisons it briefly within a dome that looks a lot like the domes it was producing in the waking world, and conjures up a shield with a sun-design upon it - a strange emblem for a gargoyle to bear.

Greg responds...

Maybe Bronx just had never seen a kangaroo before...

Response recorded on August 16, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "Grief" on DVD today.

The only new observation I have is that, this time, I noticed how Keith David did the "aged-up" Goliath; his voice sounded, while recognizably Goliath's, much older. I thought it another "mark of honor" for the "Gargoyles" voice cast.

Greg responds...

Yeah. Keith - and our whole cast - were just amazing.

Response recorded on August 16, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "M.I.A." today. One detail stood out to me this time; the human Londoners grouped in the background at the very end are the same ones we saw in Act I staring at the gargoyles in shock and alarm, when Leo and Una are confronting Goliath outside their shop. It made a pleasant touch, I thought, to see that those people have now recognized (judging from the way they were shown at the conclusion) that they didn't need to be scared of the gargoyles.

Greg responds...

Yep.

Response recorded on August 16, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "Sanctuary" on DVD today. New observations.

Elisa writes Macbeth's name as "MacBeth". Not quite as serious as the infamous "Servarius" error in "The Cage", but still a bit unfortunate.

I was amused to note that Demona barely even registers Elisa's presence in the middle of her fight with Macbeth, even though Elisa's calling out to both of them - until just before Elisa shoots her. She does finally spot the detective and aim at her, but Elisa takes her down before she can do more than that. Apparently her feud with Macbeth tops even her hatred for Elisa.

I felt a sense of near-horror, though, as I noticed how Demona and Macbeth's fight was damaging the library, with several books apparently getting damaged or destroyed.

And the silhouette of a gargoyle against the moon in the newspaper photograph bears an uncanny similarity (obviously coincidental) to the Bat-Signal.

Greg responds...

Those typos drive me nuts.

Response recorded on August 16, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

I rewatched "Golem" on DVD.

Not many new observations or insights, but I was impressed by the late Robert Culp's performance, the way he switches the tone of Renard's voice when he's in the Golem's body. It still sounds like Renard, but tougher, more vigorous.

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I found the scene where Janus was petting Bronx on the head charming. (And all the more impressive, given that he's just encountered his first gargoyle beast only minutes before. He clearly picked up on Bronx's nature quickly.)

Greg responds...

Bronx is very lovable.

Response recorded on August 16, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "Monsters" on DVD today. (Appropriate timing, I thought, since November 30 is St. Andrew's Day, dedicated to the patron saint of Scotland - and on that day, I was watching Scottish gargoyles encountering Scotland's most famous monster.) A few fresh thoughts on it.

When Elisa describes herself to the man at the souvenir stall as "not really the adventuring type", I found myself thinking of her statement in "High Noon", "I'm no hero; I just do my job". Certainly, whatever her incliations, she's had plenty of adventures.

I wondered whether Elisa's remark about theme parks doing "robot Nessie-type" stunts five times a day was Disney poking a bit of fun at itself - we'd see something similar in "Bushido".

And when Elisa says at the end how some legends need to stay that way, she looks in Goliath's direction as she speaks, making me wonder if it was just the Loch Ness Monster she was talking about. Certainly Elisa's been zealous about preserving the gargoyles' secrecy - maybe too zealous, in light of "Revelations" and "Mark of the Panther".

Greg responds...

She wasn't just talking about Nessie.

Response recorded on August 16, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

I've now rewatched "Heritage" and "Kingdom" on DVD. No new thoughts on "Heritage", but I still really enjoy the gargoyles bringing Cagney to the clock tower to look after him in Elisa's absence. I thought it appropriate that it was Broadway who found the kitty (he's the one of the four left behind gargs who's closest to Elisa). And I liked Hudson's rapport with Cagney, while missing Bronx. Including Cagney rubbing affectionately against Hudson - he's got no problems with gargoyles (though Maggie's another story).

I found myself wondering how that containment unit was still functioning after Fang ripped the cables apart to transport it. (To make up for it, I noticed this time around - and really liked - the way they did Talon's voice while he was stuck in there.)

As you pointed out in your ramble, Xanatos's security system does far more damage to the castle than to the gargoyles - I cringe as I see it blowing pieces of the castle apart (small wonder that, by the time of the Double Date story, Owen was getting fed up with all those repairs!) - but Xanatos's lines made up for it.

Greg responds...

Xanatos is just so much fun...

Response recorded on August 16, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

A postscript thought I had on "Shadows of the Past". Both it and "Future Tense" - the first and last episodes in the Avalon World Tour respectively - have Goliath being beset by terrifying magical illusions, but at last realizing that they're not real and confronting the person or people behind the illusion. I don't know if this was intentional or not, but I think it gives a great element of symmetry to the World Tour.

Greg responds...

It was indeed intentional.

Response recorded on August 16, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "Shadows of the Past" today.

Bronx was definitely not enjoying the wild boat ride through the stormy seas - his response put me in mind of the "series Pitch"'s description of him as angst-ridden and not fond of adventures.

I really enjoyed the little animation details in this episode - Elisa cautiously climbing up the path from the shore, grabbing hold of the stone wall at one point to steady herself, or Bronx slipping a bit when he starts climbing up the cliff.

The entrance to the rookery looked different than it did in "Awakening Part One" - apparently those doors and the gargoyle-like face over them were removed by Xanatos to New York, along with the rest of the castle. The depiction of the now castle-less cliff - with a huge gap - brought home just how much of it Mr. X had removed.

I really like the illusory Demona's words to Goliath "Join me in the dark" - it's an illusion of her, of course, but those words capture so well in metaphor what she's been trying to get him to do (when not simply trying to kill him).

This time around, looking at the giant skull-like shape left over from the Archmage's battle with the gargoyles in "Long Way Till Morning", I tried to work out (but wasn't certain) whether it was a real skull (if so, it belonged to something really huge) or just part of the cave sculpted into the likeness of a skull. I'll have to pay closer attention to it, the next time I watch "Long Way Till Morning".

Greg responds...

The animation on that episode was just lovely..

Response recorded on August 16, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched the "Avalon" triptych on DVD today. A few new observations.

The Magus's lyre in the "flashback on Avalon" scene looks a lot like Merlin's lyre in "A Lighthouse in the Sea of Time". Obviously not the same one, but evidently both wizards share a common taste in musical instruments.

Princess Katharine and the Magus's telling Elisa "Little is known of the Sleeping King" struck me as all the more appropriate since in 995, nearly all the major works on King Arthur had yet to be written (Geoffrey of Monmouth's "History of the Kings of Britain", the oldest extant start-to-finish account of Arthur's life, wouldn't be written for over a hundred years). There were one or two, like Nennius's "Historia Brittonum", but that was about it.

A detail that I hadn't spotted before: a couple of gargoyle-like sculptures were "guarding" the bridge leading to Arthur's resting-place within the Hollow Hill.

King Arthur and Goliath have both used a mace while fighting Macbeth (Goliath did so in "Enter Macbeth") - one of a few points in common they share (others are awakening in the modern world from a long enchanted sleep, and having scheming illegitimate sons).

The Archmage's boast that he could destroy Goliath with "just a word" struck me as apt, since all the "enhanced Archmage"'s spells were one-word ones ("Vessel", "Revert", "Ice", etc.).

It's difficult not to smile at Elisa's "Souvenirs" question after Season One of "Young Justice". Fortunately, she was asking it in a lighthearted tone.

Greg responds...

Certain elements run through my work, I suppose...

Response recorded on August 16, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "The Price" on DVD yesterday.

This time around, I noted the Macbeth-robot's "trophies" line, and how that continued the "hunting" imagery I'd been paying close attention to in the series during my 25th anniversary viewing. Because trophies are one of the reasons why someone would be hunting. (As far as I can tell, it's the only time that was given as a motive for hunting gargoyles - and, of course, it doesn't count, since it was all part of the misdirection tactic.)

Greg responds...

Yep.

Response recorded on August 16, 2021

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Talos writes...

in Upgrade Hudson called Wolf a Forest Demon, was that just an insult or did Hudson actually battle a Forest Demon in the pasts.
Followup Question: are demons real in the Gargverse?

Greg responds...

No spoilers.

Response recorded on August 16, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "The Cage" on DVD today (and "Protection" yesterday, but I had no new thoughts or observations on it).

I noted, this time around, Elisa's joke about webbed feet during the family dinner scene at the start, followed by Peter Maza's "and a great duck impersonation" line followed by a quacking sound, and wondered if that might have been intended as a tribute to the Disney Afternoon's "duck shows" - both "Duck Tales" and "Darkwing Duck".

Greg responds...

It's not NOT a tribute.

Response recorded on August 16, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "Upgrade" today.

Continuing the "animals/beasts/hunting" terms used for gargoyles - I noticed Dingo's remark to Wolf "I hope you're not planning to eat your catch" and Hyena's I wonder if gargoyles taste like chicken." This is the first time anyone was actually suggesting eating the gargoyles - they'd hunted them for other reasons - control, sport, revenge (I found myself suddenly comparing Gillecomgain's vengeful pursuit of Demona with Captain Ahab's pursuit of Moby-Dick - in both cases, to get back at the quarry for a lasting physical injury, whether facial scars or a missing leg), but this is the first time anyone seemed to consider eating the gargoyles. And, naturally, it'd be the Pack who'd be the ones to consider that.

Hyena also addresses Lexington as "flying rat".

When Broadway foils the most crimes, saying "You just gotta know where to look", I thought again of his detective interests in "The Silver Falcon" - and which resurfaces again in "Protection", the very next episode.

Greg responds...

Not just the Pack, but Hyena specifically. Not sure the rest of the Pack has her appetite.

Response recorded on August 16, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

I rewatched "Double Jeopardy" today - a few new thoughts.

Elisa's again driving along a lonely road by the coast, far from Manhattan, just as she'd done in the immediately preceding episode ("Revelations") - but this time, we know why she's out there (a warning about a power plant emergency - actually a hoax, courtesy of Thailog).

Broadway tells Elisa, as he and Lexington head off to Gen-U-Tech, "We're on the case". His way of phrasing it invokes again his interest in detective work (cf. "The Silver Falcon").

All the dates on Sevarius' video documentary about Thailog are written in the "British format" - i.e., "15 NOV", with the day first, then the month. Something you don't often see on American television.

Greg responds...

Dates are hard.

Response recorded on August 16, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "Revelations" on DVD.

The "creatures/beast" theme: Mace Malone describes Goliath as "a majestic beast". (The evidence, though, indicates that he recognizes Goliath as a sentient being rather than a mere "beast".)

This time around, when I saw Mace Malone's fate, I found myself thinking of the depiction of his ex-partner Dominic Dracon in the "Religion 101" radio play, searching everywhere for those diamonds in a way that indicated that he'd suffered a severe mental shock at the end of "The Silver Falcon". Though I recognize that the radio play isn't canon, I'd felt that it did seem like a probable consequence for DD, after discovering that those diamonds had never been in the Silver Falcon - and Mace Malone's own fate, frantically trying every door, convinced each time that this was the one which would get him out of the Hotel Cabal and to freedom, felt like a parallel to it.

Greg responds...

I like that observation.

Response recorded on August 16, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

My thoughts on rewatching "Outfoxed".

Not much new to say about it, but I spotted two things. First, just after Goliath heads off in pursuit of Fortress-Two, we get a shot of it flying towards the Twin Towers. From a hindsight perspective, an unsettling moment.

I noticed, also (continuing my examination of the "monster/beast/creature" terminology used by humans towards gargoyles during this rewatch) that both Renard and Vogel call Goliath "creature". Renard, of course, soon recognizes that Goliath's a sentient being, capable of understanding him when he speaks about the importance of taking responsibility for your actions. I'm not so sure whether Vogel came to the same realization, though.

Greg responds...

Ultimately, I think he did.

Response recorded on August 16, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

I rewatched "High Noon" over the weekend. ("Outfoxed", as well, but I'm giving it a separate entry.)

What struck me most about this episode this time around was that it was almost a "Shakespeare villain team-up" - Macbeth (and Demona, whom you could describe as a "Lady Macbeth" analogue) team up with Iago (more accurately, a gargoyle analogue for Iago, who's only called that in the voice actor credits). I doubt that Shakespeare should have objected to that, since he'd written at least one crossover himself ("A Midsummer Night's Dream", which blends Greek mythology with English fairy-lore).

I still like the touch of Hudson and Broadway learning to read from the newspaper - poor Broadway's still finding the word "right" a challenge (cf. "The Silver Falcon"). Again, I'm going to have to look through some books on the history of the English language to find out how so many words which sound like "-ite" came to end, in written form, with "-ight". It's probably one of the biggest challenges to someone learning written English.

Broadway's excited cry, as he and Hudson enter Macbeth's library, "Look at all these books!" struck me all the more, when I thought that, to someone who'd been born (well, hatched) and grown up in the 10th century, a library that size would indeed seem miraculous. What a difference the printing press has made!

"Iago"'s cry as "Othello" and "Desdemona" recover control of Coldstone, "I am besieged!", grabbed me this time around - such a dramatic way of describing the struggle within.

And this time, I also noted Coldstone's statement that, as long as "Iago"'s trying to recover control, "no *living* gargoyle" (emphasis mine) is safe from him. It brings home, I think, his awareness that he's now an "undead gargoyle".

Greg responds...

Glad you liked it, still, after all these years.

Response recorded on August 16, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "City of Stone" today (all four episodes). A few things that stood out to me this time.

Continuing the "gargoyles being called beasts" thread: the granary guards in Part One call Demona's clan "filthy beasts". Gillecomgain doesn't use the term "beast" for Demona, but does call her a creature and a monster.

(By contrast, the "breastplate gargoyle" comments about their old home, after Demona and her clan have to abandon it following Duncan's attack, "The hunting there was good" - probably one of the few occasions where gargoyles are talking about being the hunters rather than the hunted.)

Demona's clan uses nets twice in this multi-parter - once against the granary guards in Part One, once against Canmore's army in Part Four. The nets being in Parts One and Four gave a nice sense of "bookends".

A detail that I can't believe I missed before: Demona was bearing the Hunter's mask at her belt, as if a trophy, after the battle with Duncan. (The young Canmore grabs it from her during his attack upon her.)

Demona calls Bronx "my pet"; I looked up your remarks on gargoyle beasts in the archives and found that gargoyles don't see gargoyle beasts as pets, but as equals. Maybe another sign that Demona thinks far more like a human than she'd admit (or than it would be safe to tell her)?

I like the touch of the various new kings (like Macbeth and Lulach) being hailed as "High King of Scotland" - the "high king" part conveys all the more a sense of Scotland as a collection of recently-united chiefdoms (which it would have been at the time in actual history).

Greg responds...

We tried to get a feeling for the actual history into the piece.

Response recorded on August 16, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "Vows" today. A few new things that came to me.

I was hesitant about mentioning this, in case it comes across as an idea, but - from the way Goliath addressed Demona as "my angel of the night" at Prince Malcolm's wedding, I wondered if this was the first time he'd called her that.

When Xanatos referred to his getting the old coin that was the foundation of his fortune as "ancient history", I thought, "well, medieval history, to be precise".

I wonder how Prince Malcolm and his court must have perceived the Norman Ambassador's departure - he rides off just before the wedding, not staying to see Princess Elena, whom he'd escorted to the castle, wedded (even though he'd presumably be the closest thing to a representative of her father there). At least it doesn't appear to have caused a diplomatic incident between Scotland and Normandy.

The Archmage addresses Demona as "you stupid beast", continuing the pattern of unfriendly humans using such terms for gargoyles, that I've been paying close attention to this time around.

Brooklyn is the one most vocal about going to Goliath's rescue at the end; I wonder if Demona's involvement and his feelings about her had a lot to do about that.

I still think it's a pity that the original ending got onto the DVD; I hope that the Disney + version uses the corrected ending. (That's the main thing I miss from my old "Gargoyles" tapes.)

Greg responds...

<sigh> That damn ending...

Response recorded on August 16, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched my DVD of "Eye of the Beholder" today. I didn't find as much new to notice with this one, unfortunately, though I was delighted to note the moment where Xanatos placed his hand on Goliath's shoulder while pleading for his help at the castle - meaning that he had an opportunity (which he used, obviously) to plant that tracking device on him. I'm glad that the episode played fair with that.

Brooklyn's eyepatch as part of his pirate costume seems all the more appropriate after the ending of "Clan-Building".

Goliath echoes "Re-Awakening" when he speaks of Manhattan as "my castle, my city".

Greg responds...

Lots of echoes in this one - backwards and forwards...

Response recorded on August 16, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

New observations from rewatching "The Silver Falcon" today.

One line of Broadway's dates the episode: he mentions that Lexington and Brooklyn "have dibs on the VCR". I wonder how many of us remember VCRS, and how many of us have forgotten them thanks to DVDs and Blu-Rays.

Elisa's line about Broadway "living out a movie fantasy" brought "Deadly Force" to my mind this time (of course, it helps that Dracon's back in this episode). Fortunately, Broadway's wish to do that has less disastrous results this time.

I also spotted, this time around, the parallels between Matt's entering the remains of the Silver Falcon night club and Broadway and Elisa's later arrival - and how both Broadway and Elisa say "I've had better nights".

And this episode continues "A Lighthouse in the Sea of Time" , showing us that Broadway's begun to learn how to read, and has progressed enough to be able to read Mace Malone's note (and correctly figure out its meaning). In "Lighthouse" he'd initially been drawn to reading because of its ability to take you to other places and times; now he finds that it can be used to convey useful information. (And the poor guy has the word "right" in that note, though he manages to figure it out. It got me wondering - and I'll have to look it up - how so many English words which rhyme with "ite" are written "-ight" - bright, fright, fight, flight, night, sight, knight, tight, etc.

Greg responds...

Even DVDs and Blu-Rays are losing ground to streaming...

I always thought that for a new reader - which I can't quite remember being - words with the -ight formation would be tough. So would "tough".

Response recorded on August 16, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "The Mirror" today. A few new thoughts and observations.

I saw Demona's snarl at the "Dracula's daughter" in a new light this time. Dracula was a human before he became a vampire - and, naturally, Demona's going to regard any suggestion that she's related to a human - even a human who's become another "mythical creature of the night" - as the ultimate insult.

Not on the scale of Coldstone or the "Hunter's Moon" scheme, but Puck engages in a bit of "blending science with magic" when he uses the satellite dish and the television antenna atop the Twin Towers to help him turn all the humans in Manhattan into gargoyles and back again.

Bronx gets turned into an Irish wolfhound (or close to that kind of dog) - appropriate, in light of "The Hound of Ulster".

Greg responds...

Ah, memories...

Response recorded on August 13, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "A Lighthouse in the Sea of Time" - a few fresh thoughts.

I remember your mentioning that you'd intended to have Goliath list a few specific books about Merlin, with Mary Stewart's "The Crystal Cave" as one of them, but weren't able to clear the rights for that. It recently struck me as particularly unfortunate you couldn't mention "The Crystal Cave", since it was published in 1970 and "Lighthouse" first aired in 1995. Goliath could have given it a 25th anniversary tribute.

Continuing the "'beast and monster' terms used for gargoyles" thread that I've been paying particularly close attention to for "Gargoyles"' own silver anniversary viewing, I noted that Macbeth addressed Broadway as "beastie" (evocative of Robert Burns, though Broadway's definitely not "wee, sleekit, cow'rin', timorous" and there didn't seem to be any panic in his breastie) and Goliath as "monster".

I spotted a drawing of a Celtic cross at the top of one of Merlin's Scrolls, when it was unrolled and the writing was visible.

Greg responds...

Yeah, I wanted to acknowledge some of my influences, but Disney legal said no.

Response recorded on August 13, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

I rewatched "Legion" today.

When Goliath and Lexington were reunited with Coldstone near the start, I suddenly found myself thinking of your mention of a (rejected) outline for a live-action adaptation of "Gargoyles" you'd written which had Goliath, Lex, and "Othello" as the gargoyles who'd be awakened in the modern world.

This time around, also, the Xanatos Program felt like a foreshadowing of "Future Tense".

I also wondered (just a wondering, not a question) whether the ivied balcony in Coldstone's memories (where he's standing while Iago's "pouring poison in his ear" about Desdemona and Goliath) was supposed to be an actual feature of Castle Wyvern before the massacre, or just a symbolic construct.

Greg responds...

Yeah, one thing I'd have loved to do was to better integrate the Coldtrio into the early episodes.

I think maybe the castle might have had some kind of ivy. Maybe. Guess I'd have to research that.

Response recorded on August 13, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

I rewatched "Metamorphosis" today. A few things that struck me this time around.

When Derek and Elisa had their "Xanatos as the reincarnation of Snidely Whiplash" exchange, I thought "No, he's a lot more dangerous than that."

I noticed the pigeons clustered around Goliath just before he awakened; you'd think they'd be staying well away from the clock tower by now. (Though they do fly off in a hurry once the gargoyles wake up.)

I spotted a few animals in cages in Sevarius's lab that I don't think I'd noticed before, though I'm not certain what they were; they were too small to be jungle cats, and the wrong shape for bats.

Greg responds...

I'd have to look at the episode again to see if I could remember what they were.

Response recorded on August 13, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "Leader of the Pack" on DVD today. Elements that particularly stood out to me this time:

We see all the gargoyles awakening from their stone sleep, one by one. An appropriate way, I thought, to re-introduce them in the first episode of the second season.

Hudson displays his tracking skills in examining the traces of the fight between the Pack and Lexington, Brooklyn and Bronx at Pack-Media Studios. In fact, I've noticed him using that skill a lot - all the way back to "Awakening Part One", where he notes that the Vikings' horses' prints are too light.

Greg responds...

Yep, Hudson was our experienced tracker.

Response recorded on August 13, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

New thoughts on "Re-Awakening", after my rewatch.

I don't know whether this was intentional or not, but when Goliath and Elisa were having their conversation about the shopkeeper and why he doesn't leave the neighborhood, I found myself thinking of "Othello"'s suggestion, in the flashback, of abandoning the castle and letting the Vikings have it, and Hudson's response. I don't know if you intended those moments to be thematically connected, but they did feel that way to me this time.

It still strikes me that the fact that the gargoyles' resolution to protect the city and its inhabitants comes at the end of the first season says a lot about how different "Gargoyles" was from most super-hero series; the gargoyles are able to have plenty of adventures and experiences - thirteen episodes' worth of them - before making that vow. The series was rooted in their being gargoyles - ancient "mythical" beings with their own culture and world-view - re-awakened in the modern world, trying to make sense of it - and often making mistakes in the course of their attempts - rather than just crime-fighters.

Greg responds...

That was all intentional.

Response recorded on August 13, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched both "Her Brother's Keeper" and "Re-Awakening" today, as part of my "Gargoyles" 25th anniversary review. New thoughts on "Her Brother's Keeper" (ones that came to mind when I rewatched it).

Broadway's concerned remarks about Elisa near the beginning (including "If cops were meant to fly, they'd have wings") indicates that Elisa had shared with them how she was following Xanatos by helicopter before embarking on it.

Derek's remark to Diane that working for Xanatos "could be the start of a whole new career for me" feels all the truer in hindsight - though he obviously wasn't thinking in terms of running an underground sanctuary for Mutates and homeless people when he said it.

I spotted the clock's hands moving at one point in the episode; apparently Lexington had indeed gotten it working again.

Greg responds...

But was it telling the correct time?

Response recorded on August 13, 2021

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Jake N writes...

In the episode "The Cage" it's implied that the final scene where Sevarius is confronted by Talon and the Mutates to force a cure out of him, takes place at a Cyberbiotics lab. However, as the scene unfolds and different camera angles are shown, the electric eel tank with broken glass is shown, as well as the ceiling that the Gargoyles broke and escaped through with Maggie in "Metamorphosis". This leads me to believe that this final scene was a return to the original scene of the crime in the Gen-U-Tech building. Growing up watching this episode, I always thought of this scene taking place in the original Gen-U-Tech lab from "Metamorphosis." Are the holes in the ceiling and the eel tank just coinicidences, or was this final scene of "The Cage" intended to be at Gen-U-Tech rather than Cyberbiotics?

Greg responds...

I'd have to watch it again, but my memory is that it all took place underground in the abandoned Cyberbiotics complex that later becomes the Labyrinth.

Response recorded on August 12, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

I rewatched "Lnng Way Till Morning" today.

I'm not sure if I noticed it (or commented on it) before, but I spotted two parallel elements in the flashbacks (beside the obvious "Goliath and Hudson pitted against someone who made a poison dart attack upon a human friend"). The scene where Demona wounds Goliath parallels the Archmage's attack on Prince Malcolm; on both occasions, Hudson tries to block the attack, but to no avail. And in both the past and present parts of the story, Demona comments on the gargoyles going underground where their wings will be no use (though in different moods).

Continuing the study of how often "beast" imagery gets applied to the gargoyles: the Archmage calls Goliath a "beast".

Greg responds...

October 31st and you're not watching "Eye of the Beholder"?

Response recorded on August 12, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

I rewatched "The Edge" today - appropriately, since today (October 30) is, according to some sources, Dostoyevsky's birthday, and Goliath was reading his work in the episode.

I spotted more "hunted like animals" remarks (I'm keeping close watch for those in the 25th anniversary review) from Xanatos during his conversation with Goliath at the castle. (I don't recall any of that imagery in "Deadly Force". I think that Macbeth addressed Goliath as "beastie" in "Enter Macbeth", but I'm not certain - if he did, I must have temporarily forgotten my resolve to keep track of that element.)

I also couldn't help thinking, this time around, how convenient for the series it was that Elisa only got a partner *after* the gargoyles moved out of the castle and into the clock tower.

Greg responds...

Yeah. It was too convenient, which is why we gave her Matt.

Response recorded on August 12, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "Enter Macbeth" today.

I can't help womdering what must be going through Hudson's head as he watches a Donald Duck cartoon, thoughtfully stroking his beard. The spectacle of a duck grown to human size, wearing clothes and speaking (kind of) could be an even bigger argument for not believing everything you see on television than the revelation of the Pack's true nature.

U remember in your ramble on "Enter Macbeth", your daughter spotted what looked like the Mona Lisa in Macbeth's mansion. This time around, I noticed a portrait of a man apparently in 18th century attire, who reminded me of portraits I'd seen of Bonnie Prince Charlie.

The doors to Macbeth get it both coming and going; they first get broken down when Bronx escapes, and when he returns with Goliath, they demolish a second pair of doors. (Of course, it becomes academic after the whole mansion gets burned down.)

Lexington talks about getting the clock working again; I wonder if he ever succeeded before the Canmores blew the place up.

Greg responds...

1. Donald is a mystery to us all... ;)

2. I think Macbeth owned a lot of expensive art.

3. Yeah, so much destruction.

4. He never did.

Response recorded on August 12, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

Features I'd just noticed about "Temptation", this time around.

1. When Broadway tells Goliath that Brooklyn had gone on a joyride, he makes motions with his hands suggesting someone gripping a motorcycle's handlebars.

2. Demona, when she talks about the events of "The Thrill of the Hunt", uses the phrase "hunted like animals" - which not only continues the "humans seeing the gargoyles as beasts" thread that I'd noticed all the more in "Awakening" and "The Thrill of the Hunt", but also put me in mind of the Hunters - no wonder she uses that description!

Greg responds...

1. Yep.

2. She's got a history...

Response recorded on August 12, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

I also rewatched "The Thrill of the Hunt" and "Temptation" today. Things I noted this time in "The Thrill of the Hunt".

1. Lexington, angered about the Pack's treachery, cries that they're like animals. I thought that appropriate, given the Pack's "animal names".

2. The Pack continue the "referring to the gargoyles as beasts" practice from "Awakening" and even speak of hunting them, such as Wolf's cry "Let the hunt begin!" - the talk about hunting them also made me think of the Hunters (though they wouldn't be introduced until Season Two, of course).

3. When Brooklyn and Broadway arrive at the end to tell Goliath and Lexington how they'd seen a report on the news about Fox and Wolf's arrest, they come gliding in from outside the castle - so apparently they weren't watching television with Hudson when they found out, but somewhere else. (I won't ask where, but this detail struck me for the first time.)

4. Dingo's cry of "Stone me!" upon seeing the photographs of Goliath felt like a particularly appropriate response to a gargoyle.

Greg responds...

1. Yep.

2. Common themes running through the series, I think.

3. Or they were watching t.v. earlier.

4. :)

Response recorded on August 12, 2021

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Todd Jensen writes...

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of "Gargoyles", I watched "Awakening" (all five episodes) on DVD yesterday, and thought I'd share a few things I hadn't noticed before (or hadn't noticed enough) that struck my fancy.

1. When Goliath sends the trio and Bronx to the rookery, Bronx looks ashamed of himself - in a way that reminds me of times when dogs I'd known looked guilty over something.

2. When Xanatos tells Owen "Make the offer now" at the ruins of Castle Wyvern, I suddenly wondered whom he bought Castle Wyvern from. I won't ask here - it's obviously a "No spoilers" answer - but I was struck by the fact that this was the first time I wondered that.

3. I spotted what looked like a "foliate head" (or "Green Man"-type head) carved over the archway the gargoyles are standing beneath when the Commandos showed up in the courtyard, and a couple of winged figures on one of the tapestries. (I'll have to check for other unusual and remarkable features of the castle in later episodes, as well.)

4. Many of the human characters repeatedly call the gargoyles "beasts", both in the medieval scenes and the modern (Princess Katharine's protest at allowing beasts in the dining hall, Mary calling the gargoyles beasts, Bruno asking "Where's the beast?" while pursuing Goliath and Elisa).

5. Goliath asks Elisa, when they first meet, "What were you doing in my castle?" Despite Xanatos having bought it, he clearly thinks of it as still his - as if laying pipe for the arc about the gargoyles having to leave the castle and Goliath resisting it.

Greg responds...

1. The dogs I've had get that shamed look based on my reprimanding tone more than based on what they've done. As opposed to the cats I've had (and have), who at best stare at me as if to ask, "Are you talking to me?"

2. An interesting question.

3. Art Direction was pretty awesome on the show.

4. All very intentional.

5. We tried to keep each character's POV clear.

Response recorded on August 12, 2021

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Daniel writes...

What would have happened had Wolf challenged Coyote to take off his "battle armor" before he would have fought him in "Leader of the Pack"?

Greg responds...

I dunno. I'm not too interested in hypotheticals.

Response recorded on July 28, 2021

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Brian D writes...

Hi Greg I watched Season 2 of Gargoyles recently and I am left thinking about one character at the end of Hunter's Moon. I'm hoping you can help me with.

Low and behold Demona wants to kill the humans again. This time with a biological planetwide human killing virus and protect the Gargoyles from the virus with some sort of gargoyle magic statue.

There's two problems I saw with the plan.

One Demona herself is human in the day which means when the sun rises the virus would likely kill her. Which means she'll die every couple minutes while the sun is up due to her immortality.

Two even if her being a gargoyle at night protects her from the virus. It will do nothing to protect MacBeth who will die by her hand and as a result kill her for good with him wouldn't it?

As I was watching the episodes I thought they were problems with the plan until the very end where Demona once again flies off alone.

Is it really a problem with the plan, did she have everything covered, or did the destruction of her relationship with Angela break Demona to a point that she didn't care as long as she made a 'better' world for her race?

Greg responds...

In her mind, she had all the bases covered. But with Demona, if there's an element of self-destruction inherent to her plans, that should come as no surprise.

Response recorded on July 26, 2021

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animal writes...

When Titania says in the episode 'I'll Met by Moonlight'..."even Puck may have mended his ways" what exactly does she mean by that? Was he always just extra?

Greg responds...

"extra"?

Response recorded on July 26, 2021

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Jan Rott writes...

Hello,
What is the name of the dam on which Goliath and the hunters fight and where is it?

Greg responds...

I can't remember. Sorry. I do seem to recall it was somewhere in New York state.

Response recorded on July 14, 2021

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Skygoyle writes...

Hey Greg I've recently been re watching Gargoyles and just reached I'll be Met by Moonlight. I noticed that one of the Gargoyles greeting them at the castle in the first two minutes looks a lot like the Creature from the Black Lagoon or Abe Sapien from Hellboy having more fish fin like wings and aquatic features unlike any other Wyvern clan Gargoyle I've seen from the show and comics. So my questions are
1) Is this guy really "Scottish stock" same as the rest of the main Gargoyles?
2)if yes do his features come from some sort of mixed heritage?
3)Could he be related to the Loch Ness clan?
4)Or am I'm just reading too much into a character's design?

Greg responds...

It's been a long time since I saw the episode, so I'm not sure who you're referring to. It's possible that a Loch Ness Gargoyle joined the Wyvern Clan generations before the massacre and the laying of the Avalon eggs. But I'd have to see which Gargoyle you're referring to in order to make a judgement.

Response recorded on July 14, 2021

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Sahil writes...

Hi there. Just a quick question on magic. Couldn’t find this in the archives. How is it that with just one outburst of magic from a halfling, the most powerful of the third race, Oberon, can be blasted into a wall?? Love the odd fact that the magic is green though for all users. Thank you

Greg responds...

Why would that be an issue? You get blasted; you get blasted. Especially if you're not ready for it.

Response recorded on July 14, 2021

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Anonymous writes...

I looked at your timeline for Gargoyles (specifically, September 28) and was wondering, When Fox called Mr Vogel about her takeover plans, where they both Gargoyles at the time or did the call take place after puck reversed the spell?

Greg responds...

They were probably gargoyles, but it hardly matters as they wouldn't be aware of the change.

Response recorded on July 12, 2021

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Eddie Carter writes...

When Demona had the Phoenix Gate(Vows), why didn't she use it to transport some of the members of her clan to present day Scotland instead of bringing her younger self to the year 994?

Greg responds...

How would that suit her one-track-mind plans?

Response recorded on July 09, 2021

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Doug writes...

Dear Greg,

I am a huge fan of Gargoyles. However, there is something that I was always curious about. What did Cu Chulainn shout when he was charging the banshee in the episode The Hound of Ulster. It sounded celtic to me but I don't know for sure. I cant find a script and this I would really like to know what he said.

Greg responds...

It is - as I recall - a gaelic expression put in the script by Diane Duane and Peter Morwood (or maybe by Michael Reaves). I'm afraid I can't remember the exact words, let alone their spelling. And my Gargoyle scripts are all in storage. Wish I could be more help.

Response recorded on October 21, 2019

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Juan writes...

In "Vows" When Goliath told to the young Demona about doing nothing to prevent The Wyvern Castle Massacre.To not let the petty jealousies that prey upon her heart.To fortify herself with love.Was he really hoping to prevent the future and was it his last attempt to reason her?

Greg responds...

Yes, hopefully if forlornly.

Response recorded on December 15, 2017

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Merlin's Beard writes...

What was Demona's goal in City of Stone? Was a massive killing spree the goal?

Greg responds...

Certainly that was part of it.

Response recorded on September 05, 2017

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Dan writes...

Why did Diane react to the gargoyles the way she did in Nigeria? ("Elisa you know these monsters?!?!") By this time she had already learned what happened to Derek/Talon. Wouldn't she just assume the gargoyles were other innocent victims of Sevarius's experiments?

Greg responds...

If you say so. But obviously, we didn't see it that way.

Response recorded on January 04, 2017

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GoliathFan223 writes...

Hello, Weisman. Me again. Hope you're doing well and all of your projects are successful.

I was re-watching Gargoyles again and I was watching the "Hunter's Moon" three-parter and I was curious about something about Jason Canmore:

I noticed something in Part Two, when Robyn is talking to Jason and John about Demona being able to walk around in daylight and how the siblings were debating about whether she'd "share this sorcery with the others," and Jason says, "we'd never know" if she had.

My question is, did he suspect (albeit fleetingly) that Elisa might be a gargoyle in disguise (who was able to use magic to shape-shift at will) thanks to Demona or was he just overthinking the discussion, on top of suspecting that she was hiding something in general? That's the vibe I was getting from the exchange, at least.

Thank you for your time and for answering my question (:

Greg responds...

I don't think he ever thought Elisa was a gargoyle.

Response recorded on December 22, 2016

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Ice writes...

Why didn't Stuart Canmore chase after Demona after she escaped the net in the flashback at the start of Hunter's Moon Part 2? She was just a couple feet away when she got out of the water.

Greg responds...

I'd have to look again, I suppose, since it's been awhile, but as I recall, she was behind him, and he didn't spot her.

Response recorded on November 18, 2016

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&#1053;&#1103;&#1096;&#1085;&#1099;&#1081; &#1050;&#1101;&#1082; writes...

Hello, Greg! I hope you're doing well.

1. So long after I've seen "The Mirror" episode for the first time, and I'm still deeply curious: what was Xanatos look like as a gargoyle? Preeeeeeetty interested. I know, that this is not the best question to be answered in writing, but if only briefly...

2. Episode "The Edge" starts with a sparring between Xanatos and Owen. And Owen gets the upper hand.
a) Why did Xanatos stopped the following sparring?
b) Was the purpose of sparrings with Owen in training him in hand-to-hand combat?

Greg responds...

1. I'll leave this to your imagination.

2a. Didn't he have an appointment?

2b. No, it was to maintain his edge.

Response recorded on October 13, 2016

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GoliathFan223 writes...

Hello, Greg!It's me again. How are you? Well, I hope.

I was re-watching one of my favorite Gargoyles episodes, "Long Way to Morning" and I had a thought, particularly about Demona: How exactly did Demona know where Elisa's home was? I don't recall her knowing before this episode and i was curious. Was she somehow keeping tabs on her or spying?

Thank you for your time and answering my question. (:

Greg responds...

Maybe she checked the phone book.

I'm told it magically gives out addresses.

Response recorded on September 14, 2016

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Jarrod writes...

Hello Greg!

Love all your work, so thank you for such a great stories.

In the episode "the mirror," Puck Says "All Humans on this concrete Isle." NYC has such a constant flux of traffic, between cars, cabs, ferries, and public transport, when people entered Manhattan did they magically become a gargoyle even after the spell was cast? Did those who left the Isle magically revert to human form? Since the populace appeared to accept the notion that they were always gargoyles, I imagine that if those entering/leaving the island did change, then they did not notice. Would that be correct?

Thank you so much!

Greg responds...

Yep.

Response recorded on September 12, 2016

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Phill writes...

Hi Greg!
I suppose this is a bit of a nitpick about 20 years too late, but while rewatching the pilot of Gargoyles for the millionth time, I couldn't help but question how Goliath managed to carry all of the Gargoyles from the battle to Castle Wyvern.

Greg responds...

One at a time.

Response recorded on August 29, 2016

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Paul writes...

What was Xanatos' contingency plan in case Goliath threw him off the edge of the Eyrie Building at the end of "Awakening, Part Five"?

Greg responds...

Don't know.

Response recorded on July 22, 2016

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Max writes...

Hey Greg! My question is in regards to the letters sent by Xanatos in Vows:
1. What details were included in the first letter? Did he just say "here is a coin" or were stock tips or other future knowledge included?
2. Who did young David think sent the letter? Could someone as intelligent as X really leave that alone for 20 years?
3. Are the letters constructs of the time stream or out of David's head? Did he read (or copy) the originals before traveling back in time?

Greg responds...

1. Just the coin, basically, as I recall. It's been a while since I've rewatched the episode.

2. He never knew. He may have searched on and off for an answer, but didn't find one until the second letter came.

3. He probably had them memorized. So the content may in fact have been born with the time stream.

Response recorded on May 06, 2016

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Anonymous writes...

1) The spell the Weird Sisters cast on Demona and Macbeth ensures that the two of them are unaging and immortal, only able to be killed by one another. However, in "The Mirror", Demona expresses her wish to no longer turn to stone during the day, stating it makes her "vulnerable".

If Demona were to be shattered by someone other than Macbeth when stone during the day, would it bypass the Weird Sister's enchantment and kill both her and Macbeth permanently, or would the enchantment be powerful enough to simply piece her back together?

Greg responds...

1. Vulnerable to Macbeth, at least. The rest of your question is hypothetical and moot.

Response recorded on April 19, 2016

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Tyler Reznik writes...

Hello, Mr. Weisman. Back again.

Something that bugged me a little when I was watching "High Noon" and "The Price"; in both episodes, Goliath wonders how Macbeth could have escaped from the Weird Sisters (of course, Macbeth didn't actually escape, but that's neither here nor there with regards to my point).

Anyway, my question is this: did it never occur to Goliath that the Weird Sisters might have just let Macbeth go? After all, he doesn't really know anything about the Sisters at this point; they're almost entirely an unknown quantity. Did he think that they'd keep Macbeth and Demona prisoner indefinitely (that isn't rhetorical; I really do want to know)?

Thank you for your time, sir. Have a nice day.

Greg responds...

I don't know about indefinitely, but the Sisters didn't take them casually, hence Goliath's response.

Response recorded on February 09, 2016

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Greg Bishansky writes...

There has been a lot of talk over the years about why Demona told Goliath about the Praying Gargoyle during her gloating in "Hunter's Moon Part Three".

1. The gloating was exactly that, gloating. Like most villains, she had to have a "my brilliant plan" speech.

2. Subconsciously, she wants to be defeated because without humanity around, she'll lose her scapegoat and because she subconsciously knows she needs to be stopped, so she subconsciously handed Goliath the tools to stop her master plan.

3. And this is my interpretation, she actually believed Goliath would let her. After what happened on board the Hunter's airship in "Hunter's Moon Part Two", saying Goliath is thinking like a true gargoyle as he openly demands vengeance, seemingly killing two Hunters with Goliath, and Goliath himself not disagreeing when she says that perhaps they're not so different; she believed he was finally, finally seeing the light, finally coming over to her way of thinking, and... well, since gargoyles mate for life, thinking she might finally have her man back and a human free Earth.

Or maybe it was all of the above or none of the above.

Greg responds...

All of the above. And more. She's a bit of a complicated mess, huh?

Response recorded on November 13, 2015

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Jane The Dark Elf writes...

Dear Mr. Weisman I have a question about the Awakening episodes. Did you and your team want the audience to figure out Xanatos and Demona were the bad guys before Goliath found out? In the third part there is a scene where Xanatos says that everything is going just as planned which gives it away. And in the fourth episode there is that extreme close up on Demona's face when she and Goliath meet again and she smiles like a villain. If you did not wish for the audience to figure it out then why were these shots not cut? You could have kept the pretense going until the fifth part.

Greg responds...

Obviously, we wanted to let the audience know something was up, without letting them know exactly what.

Response recorded on October 27, 2015

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Nicky writes...

In the Mirror Episode, When the humans (including Elisa Maza) turned into gargoyles, did that include Elisa's Family Xanotos, Fox, the cops, and the parents of Xanotos and fox? Or is it just the minor characters and Elisa?

Greg responds...

Everyone on the island.

Response recorded on October 23, 2015

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NoOneSpecial writes...

Hi
1. In 'Double Jeopardy' Lexinton and Broadway view the tapes of Severius, detailing the creation of Thailog. (I'm being a bit specific in case some details have slipped your mind over the years) Anyway, Severious artfically aged Thailog to be the age of Goliath, but how did Severious know Goliaths age or did he just estimate?
2. Also in that tape, Severious mentioned how he managed to counter the 'slow aging process'. Goliath would later explain to Elsa that gargolyes age at 1/2 of humans, so once again, how did Severious know that?
3. If Thailog had been aged differently, say to the age of the Trio or Hudson, would that have affected his mind by much?
4. In Vows, Thailog and Macbeth meet for the first time and I do love Macbeths reaction. 'Who the blazes are you?!'. Did Macbeth react like that because he was put off by Thailog's resemblance to Golaith?
5. In that same scene, Thailog slips Macbeth a gun and allows him to escape. So I'm assuming that Macbeth was not entirely sure of Thailog's intentions, other than that it looked like he was double crossing Demona, but it has me thinking. Does Macbeth count Thailog as an alley, enemy, or just neutral?

Greg responds...

1. He estimated, I suppose. But I also think it's possible that he had that information from Xanatos, who may have gotten in the past through Demona.

2. I don't remember this. Are you sure you heard that right? Because Thailog from this point on ages at a normal rate.

3. Too hypothetical to answer.

4. He was reacting to that, yes.

5. I think by the time Macbeth and Goliath were done comparing notes, Macbeth would regard Thailog at best as someone to be very wary of.

Response recorded on November 13, 2014

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Anonymous writes...

Where was that dam where Goliath fought the Hunters? New Jersey? Long Island? Westchester County?

Greg responds...

I'm guessing the latter, but it's been so long, I honestly don't remember.

Response recorded on November 13, 2014

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Anonymous writes...

I'm back with some questions regarding the skiff Goliath and co. rode arround on during the World Tour.

For the life of me I cannot recall whether they kept the skiff with them in Manhatten or sent it back to Avalon, or if it was ever even shown what happened to it.

1. If they did keep it, would whoever rode it next be taken back to Avalon or resume the World Tour?

2. Also, if they kept it, how did Tom get from Avalon to Manhatten?

3. Kind of a related topic, but if not I'll understand if I have to ask again later...what brought King Arthur's body to Avalon?

Greg responds...

It wasn't shown, but you saw what happened to Arthur's skiff. The same thing happened to Goliath's. Since the skiff/Avalon "knew" it was the last stop, it sank away and returned to Avalon. Recycled, don'tcha know.

1. See above.

2. There is, by the way, more than one skiff.

3. A skiff.

Response recorded on September 17, 2014

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Merlin writes...

I just watched Enter Macbeth and I have a question about why he went to Xanatos with his offer. How did Macbeth know that there were gargoyles living modern Castle Wyvern in the first place?

Greg responds...

He had seen them.

Response recorded on December 18, 2013

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Jenna writes...

hey Greg, long time fan of the show, i started watching it when i was 11 yrs old, i'm 27 now. here's my question: in the episode High Noon just before the sun rises, what was Goliath looking at before he took his position since he shifts his head to the left (our right, his left)

Greg responds...

I'm sorry. I can't remember. I'd have to rewatch that specific scene.

Response recorded on December 13, 2013

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Brella writes...

Hello!

Not a very significant question here, but I couldn't help noticing as I was watching Young Justice that there were a few little references to the film "Casablanca." I really, really love that movie, and I loved the recurring callbacks to it - the episode entitled "Usual Suspects," the exchange in "Insecurity" of "At least a kiss is still a kiss," "And a sai is just a sai!", and (though this one's a bit more tenuous) the whole "We'll always have Paris" implication that was in "Endgame."

It's just really great stuff. I guess I've been wondering for quite a while what the inspiration or reasoning was behind it, or if it was just for fun, or just a coincidence; I dunno! They were all great little Easter eggs and made me smile whenever they'd pop up.

YJ is (was) a spectacular series and really changed my life, no joke! Thank you so, so much for sharing it with all of us (and for taking the time to answer fan questions; wow).

Greg responds...

I'm a huge fan of the movie. Slipped a visual reference to it into Gargoyles even. But I don't think there was much of a plan here. Some of its dialogue has simply slipped into the vernacular.

Response recorded on November 27, 2013

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Sean writes...

I recently read one of post about Reawakening and you said that even though some people saw the gargolyes and coldstone, the public still didnt know about them because there was no proof. I cant help but find this funny, because in todays day and age pretty much everyone carries a camera AND the internet in there pocket, so it is far easier to get phsiycal proof of something. So im curious but if you would have done things a little differently if the series had been set in a more recent time?

Greg responds...

Obviously.

Response recorded on May 09, 2013

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Sean writes...

Okay so i reaslie with your lack of actvity here, this post will go unawsered for a very long but i do hope it dosent get deleated like my last post.
In Double Jeapordy(which is probabley my favourite episode, for reasons you can guess), i noticed recently two things that i thought were strange. When serveius received the kidnapping instructions from thailog, thinking it was xanatos, did these instructions state specfically whether or not thailog was going to be in on it? That is to say did they tell serverius that thailog was going to know about xanatos plan to fake kidnap him? I ask because, when the comadoes bring thailog to the oil rig, serverius prepares to drug him, then thailog breaks out of the container and looks angry(of course you said he likes to perform). Then when he drugs golaith, he says his shackles werent locked and he clearly was not drugged himself. So what happened? Why did serverius put him in a cell unchained and in full strength? The only thing i can think of is, after thailog killed the comadoes, serverius told him about *ahem* xanatos plan, thailog then feigned ignorance and simply waited in the cell to make it look more convincing for whoever servius thought the plan was directed at.
The second thing i am wondering about is when xanatos arrives with ransom money and then attacks serverius. If xanatos had no clear intention of paying and was simply going to "make a example" out of serverius, then why did he bring the money at all? Also what xanatos mean by that? Was he actually going to kill serverius for his betrayal or just punish him in a very severe way?
And now that im done i actually thought of another question. When lexinton finds the gen-u-tech band, did thailog leave that here intentionally or was simply an accident? If his goal was to lure golaith to the oil rig, then why did he leave a clue that could have lead golith all the way back to the city? Anyway i hope you are able to answer these for an old fan like me and i also hope that when i read your answer in the future young justice was still be on. Have a nice day!

Greg responds...

Sometimes it feels like every day here at ASK GREG has a theme.

Today's theme is "ask me extremely specific questions about stuff from SO long ago that there's no chance I'll remember". I'd love to have the luxury of time to go back and watch the episodes, but I don't. I barely have the luxury of time to answer these questions.

Anyway, I'll do my best.

1. This one I really don't remember. It all made sense at the time though, and I tend to think it makes sense now.

2. Xanatos brought the money because he didn't know what the set-up would be when he got there. He thought he might have to show real money to get what he wanted. As for what he planned to do with Sevarius, I think it's best to leave that to your imagination.

3. Thailog knew there was more than one gargoyle. He wanted ALL to be discovered. If I'm recalling correctly.

Response recorded on April 26, 2013

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A Flash Fan writes...

And going back to Gargoyles and YJ, I noticed your secret connection with Celebrity Hockey (Hudson's favorite show). I thought that was pretty cool. I like how you use mirroring, foil characters, connections, irony, all that good stuff on your shows. Like in "Cloud Fathers" Coyote (the spirit) pulled a stunt on Coyote (the Xanatos robot) which was very similar to Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, and Superboy pulling on Blockbuster in "Fireworks". I also see you said once that the Light was perhaps influenced by the Illuminati in Gargoyles, but not directly, so I wanted to know if there are any other hidden connections between YJ and Gargoyles and if so what are they?

Thanks a lot Greg. Like I said before, I appreciate how you're willing to talk with your fans and I think this website and your work is really great!

Greg responds...

There are probably a ton. You can chalk up some of them to my sincere lack of imagination. But others are quite intentionally used as fan-service, particularly to Gargoyles fans, who have been beyond ridiculously loyal to me for over a decade. And often it's just for my own personal amusement. Trust me, if I could have figured out a way to put some version of the line "You beat up a beach!" into Young Justice, I would have.

Response recorded on March 22, 2013

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Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

Regarding Stargate: The Hunted.
I would have watched it. (I think I tried the first ep of the cartoon that did get made. Whatever it was, it wasn't Stargate.)

You said "Besides, night looks cooler om action animation than day does." That reminded me how day shots in Gargoyles used to jump out due to their rarity. Though I must add that one of the best tv action sequences anywhere is Elisa evading and taking out the goon squad while running through Central Park in the morning. (I also thought of B:TAS, but who doesn't think of Dark Deco when they hear nighttime and animation?)

One thing intrigued me; you made the large alien (name escapes me at the moment) only 12- a member of a long lived, quick growing species, but still a child. I would think living thousands of years would lead to an extended childhood, not quick growth. What made you choose that? (If you don't recall, what are your current thoughts on it?)

Greg responds...

I'm a little lost. Are you referring to Ohnu? If so, I think the idea was to keep the cast young and inexperienced. And I liked the idea of a man-child.

Response recorded on March 12, 2013

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Gilford writes...

Hi Greg,

I am just writing to say the gargoyles was and still is one of my favourite childhood shows. The twists with fox being part magic and owen was puck the whole time?!! I was utterly surprised!! Now i get how Xanatos knows some things that are unnatural.

Another thing, in the episode upgrade, i noticed that fox and Xanatos were playing a game of chess with the pack and the gargoyles as pieces whilst the pack and the gargoyles were fighting each other at the same time. That cannot be a coincidence. i believe they were playing their lives as if it was a game to them and chess seems to be a perfect way to illustrate the point.

Genius

Greg responds...

Thanks. (And I don't think we were being subtle about it. We never wanted the audience to think it was a coincidence.)

Response recorded on March 07, 2013

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Matthew writes...

I have a question about Vendettas. When Vinnie first encounters Goliath and Wolf fighting he was driving a fork lift. Why was this? Was that his job at the time? It would amuse me to think that Vinnie brought his pie firing cannon to work. Then again he mostly encountered the Gargoyles at work, so maybe he wasn't being so illogical.

Greg responds...

Boy, it's been a LONG time since I watched that episode. Wasn't he tracking them? Then he made use of the forklift because it was there? Honestly, I just can't remember. But what you're suggesting doesn't sound right.

Response recorded on February 21, 2013

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Facts and Fiction about "Deadly Force"

Facts and Fiction about "Deadly Force".

We got a shout out here:

http://m.mentalfloss.com/article.php?id=33538

15 Temporarily Banned Episodes of Popular TV Shows

"Deadly Force" made #5!!! Which is very, very cool!

It's ALWAYS nice to be talked about, and I don't want to sound like a churl, but in the very short paragraph describing the situation, there are at least four errors. Here's the original text from the website:

5. Gargoyles, "Deadly Force"
Controversy: Gunplay

While pretending to use a gun in "Deadly Force," Broadway accidentally shoots Elisa and attempts to cover up his crime. Although this episode was initially pulled from the rerun cycle thanks to objections by advisory groups, it was eventually re-aired after editors removed some of the blood from Elisa's shooting. It has since been added to the DVD collection.

Error #1: Broadway wasn't "pretending to use a gun". He was playing with an ACTUAL gun, pretending to be a cowboy. (This one may sound nit-picky, but I don't think the original phrasing is clear at all.)

Error #2: "[Broadway] attempts to cover up his crime". Not really. He's so afraid and ashamed, he runs away and hides. When Goliath accuses Dracon, it takes Broadway a few minutes to own up to his culpability. But there's no attempt at a cover-up.

Error #3: "[T]his episode was initially pulled from the rerun cycle thanks to objections by advisory groups..." That's untrue. In fact, the REVERSE is true. Advisory Groups LOVED this episode. For example, we got a positive write-up in Madeline Levine's "Viewing Violence", which I can tell you was not overly kind to most animated television series. No, the truth is we were fine when the series was in syndication and when it was rerun on the USA network. But when it moved to what was then called "ToonDisney", a new group of Disney S&P execs over-ruled what our original S&P exec had decided and ignored ALL the good press that the episode had received. Thus (for a long while), TPTB removed it from the rerun rotation.

Error #4: "...it was eventually re-aired after editors removed some of the blood from Elisa's shooting..." Again, this is inaccurate. The episode aired ONCE with the excessive blood, because Frank Paur and myself didn't get the retake with less blood back from Japan in time. WE were the ones who wanted less blood, because (a) we didn't want it to appear that Elisa had already bled out and (b) that much blood seemed distracting, like we were trying to get away with something instead of trying to tell the story. By the episode's second airing, the retake was in and the episode aired multiple times with less blood in syndication and on USA before the series' reruns moved to ToonDisney, and the version with less blood was pulled from the rotation. It's reinstatement had nothing to do with quantity of blood. It was originally brought back for Halloween marathons - I suppose because TPTB at ToonDisney thought they could get away with it on Halloween. Then later, when we began airing VERY, VERY late at night, I suppose they figured there was no reason not to include it.

Anyway, so there you have it. Still glad we were mentioned, but I figured I should set the record straight on these points.

I'm sure you're all still wondering why my presence here at ASK GREG has been so minimal. I'm still quite swamped with work, but I wanted to try to post a little something...


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Diana writes...

What happened to the disc Robyn stole from Demona? Did the police find it in the wreckage of the airship?

Greg responds...

SPOILER REQUEST. NO RESPONSE.

Response recorded on December 18, 2012

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Arlo writes...

Hi Greg. Thanks for giving us this great series, and for all you do to help keep it alive. Here's my question:

I've always felt that "Hunter's Moon" was a much darker storyline than any of the other Gargoyles episodes we've seen. I don't know if it's the way all three episodes open with a flashback that involves someone seeking vengeance, or the fact that this is the first time we actually see Goliath wanting to commit premeditated murder (not just "murder in the heat of battle" like before), or the fact that we almost lose two regular cast members (Angela and then Elisa), or the theme of hatred being passed on from parent to child for a thousand years. Maybe it's just that there's hardly any comic relief in these episodes, as almost every scene seems to involve one of our regular cast members going through emotional turmoil in some way.

Anyway, I was just wondering if you were deliberately trying to set a darker tone for these episodes, or if this is just how I perceived them myself. And if it was deliberate on your part, just wondering what your motivation was for that, because these episodes really do stand out to me as the darkest episodes in the series. And if it wasn't deliberate, then is there anything which in hindsight might have contributed to these stories coming out this way?

Also, why is it that you chose for the series finale to be so dark? I'm not criticizing, because I love these episodes and I love Gargoyles, but it just seems unusual (not in a bad way) that in a show where you've said yourself that you wanted Goliath's basic optimism to shine through, the way you chose to write the finale was by telling a story where we see his most vengeful side coming out. Just interested in understanding what your motivation for that was, story-wise.

Thanks for taking the time to read this question, and for all you do.

Greg responds...

It was a BIG story. But to me it seems of a piece with what came before (and even what came after in the comic). I'm not sure - though it was long ago - that we set out to make it darker, though we did set out for it to culminate much of what came before and to resonate with much of what came before too.

In any case, I think the ending of the thing is VERY optimistic. The fact that we put Goliath through the mill - and had him react realistically to that mill - during the three-parter doesn't change that. By the end, Goliath reaffirms his principles.

Response recorded on November 27, 2012

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Kofi Ki-Moon writes...

Hey Greg. I just had one question I wanted to ask you.

1. In the 2nd episode of the Pilot for Gargoyles, Owen mentions that Wyvern castle is haunted. Was this just originally a throw away line similar to Matt Bluestone's line about the Illuminati, or was did was the line meant all long to lay the seeds for a possible episode in the (then) future about the ghost of Hakon and the Captain? Or has it been so long that you honestly don't remember, because if it was that I honestly do understand.

Thanks.

Greg responds...

1. I think originally it was more of a throwaway, but it stuck with me.

Response recorded on September 18, 2012

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Melissa writes...

First of all, let me say that how much I have always enjoyed Gargoyles. It was a high point of the afternoon for my younger brothers and me during the original run (while our mother enjoyed having a half hour relatively free of sibling squabbles), and now I'm having a lot of fun introducing the show to my 4-year-old son. So, you see, your show has multi-generational appeal! Thank you for all your hard work and vision.

Secondly, I guess my question is about your writing process. I recently discovered via this site your ideas for the prospective Gargoyles spin-offs. This suggests to me that you write with a, for lack of a better term, "master plan" in mind. Unlike, say, David Milch, who famously writes and re-writes furiously as new ideas occur to him, and actually plans out very little.

1)Would you say this is accurate?
2)If so, do you ever deviate from this plan, if a new and different idea strikes you?
3)Again if so, would you mind providing an example? (A Gargoyles show example would be just fine, I'm not asking for spin-off spoilers here!)

Thank you in advance for your time.

Greg responds...

First of all, that really warms my heart. Thank you for telling me that.

Secondly...

1. I can't speak for David Milch, but yes, I do better when I've planned ahead. That doesn't mean I don't allow for new ideas and/or rewriting. I do. I just would rather have the structure in place to allow new ideas to grow, rather than - generally - winging it.

2. Yes. (Gotta start reading all the questions before answering any.)

3. Uh... one that comes to mind is one we didn't do. In "Grief", we belatedly came up with the idea to let Coyote kill the travelers, who wouldn't die because Anubis was off-line, so to speak. And if we had come up with that idea a bit sooner, I definitely would have incorporated it, because it's a GREAT idea. But unfortunately, the idea didn't strike us until AFTER the episode was completed.

Response recorded on September 18, 2012

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Captain Fan writes...

Someone in a Captain Action discussion group, found a clip from a Gargoyles episode entitiled "Eye of the Beholder". There is a brief appearance by Action Boy, who is the sidekick of Captain Action, a 1960's action figure from Ideal toys. His emblems were blacked out, I'm sure for copyright purposes. I was wondering if someone envolved with the show was a Captain Action or Action Boy fan. Anyway, it was a cool thing to see.

Greg responds...

I have no memory of this, I'm afraid.

Response recorded on September 12, 2012

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Greg Bishansky writes...

Not a question, but a comment. I was watching "Temptation" again, and when Demona first approaches Brooklyn she has this line "wasn't this like old times, fighting together side by side, comrades in arms..." and I have to say, kudos. Thanks to "Tyrants" and "The Gate" there so many more layers upon layers to that line especially. I could be wrong, but I never got the impression that they knew each other all that well prior to the massacre, so I used to wonder if the reference was generic or if she was just trying to make an appeal. Now, well... now the context of the line has changed, and for the better.

I don't know if the idea for their team up against Constantine existed in your head way back when "Temptation" was written, but I love moments of creative serendipity.

Greg responds...

It didn't way back when, but I ALSO think they fought side-by-side in the past from Brooklyn's POV. Keep in mind there's YEARS of adventures in GARGOYLES: DARK AGES.

Response recorded on April 12, 2012

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Vaevictis Asmadi writes...

This is possibly a separate subject from my first question:

After "Grief," how did Wolf get to Scotland, and subsequently back to New York? Not that Xanatos Enterprises lacks the resources to do so, but privately flying him so he can make friends with a possessed axe seems like a waste of Xanatos' effort. And I imagine that most humans at an airport would freak out if they got a good sight of him, and not allow him onto a passenger airplane. At least in the U.S., we need to show a face and a photo ID that match before boarding.

Thanks!

Greg responds...

Maybe he went by boat?

Response recorded on April 11, 2012

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Vaevictis Asmadi writes...

*rushing in before the queue gets flooded*

I have a kind of strange Gargoyles question.

When watching The Green, I began to wonder something:

When Jackal bought Hyena a first-class airplane ticket, was it for a regular passenger plane? I can't imagine how they could get through airport security, even before 9/11 -- their bodies are full of knives, guns, and saws!

Thanks for putting up with our questions all these years.

Greg responds...

*too late*

Let's call it a first class charter.

Response recorded on April 11, 2012

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Anonymous writes...

In awakenings when fortress 1 is destroyed we see the crew jumping out into the river. Does this mean all the crew escaped safely, if not were there any actual deaths from that incident?

Greg responds...

Hard to believe EVERYONE survived.

Response recorded on April 11, 2012

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Ice writes...

Alright, so, I'm curious about something. In Episode 2 Owen tells Xanatos that the cost of moving the castle and rebuilding it brick by brick would be "Astronomical". He also mentions something about the castle being hunted. Now, obviously now I know it was Hakon and the Captain. What I am wondering is if that was what was meant by that line at the time it was written for Owen, or if it was just a random throwaway line that ended up evolving into a part of the story like with Matt Bluestone's line about the Illuminati.

Greg responds...

I think he said the locals thought it was "haunted". Not "hunted." But more or less, yes. We had a notion of it.

Response recorded on February 08, 2012

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alfred writes...

I just wanted to ask something about the gargoyles episode The Gathering part 2.

Was Xanatos wearing an iron suit?If the suit is iron,how was Titania able to freeze him?

Greg responds...

His helmet was off.

Response recorded on February 02, 2012

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Anonymous writes...

According to your timeline, Demona and Thailog were back in New York when Oberon put the city to sleep. Did Demona and Thailog fall asleep?

Greg responds...

I'd think not.

Response recorded on December 28, 2011

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Anonymous writes...

My question didn't appear for some reason:

In one episode of Gargoyles ("High Noon", I think it was), Lexington is attempting to fix Coldstone. For a split second, the name "OTHELLO" appears on his laptop, is this a name that Xanatos (or possibly Lexington) gave to him for programming reasons (or possibly as a Project name?) or was it an easter egg that was not meant to be taken literally?

Greg responds...

Mostly the latter.

Response recorded on December 28, 2011

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Anonymous writes...

In Avalon Part II, why do the Weird Sisters say they are "banished from [Avalon] by a magicians parlor tricks"? Did the magus do more than turn them into owls or was it part of Oberon's law?

Greg responds...

Oberon's law kept them off the island. The Magus kept them at bay.

Response recorded on November 18, 2011

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MasterGandalf writes...

Something that I've always wondered about "Double Jeopardy"- when Xanatos and Owen are discussing who could have "abducted" Thailog, Xanatos explicitly lists a small number of enemies- and he uses that exact word- who could have pulled it off. Specifically, the three he names are Demona, Renard, and Macbeth. Now the first two are easy enough to understand- Demona is the enemy of all humanity and has a history with Xanatos personally, while Renard is his main business competitor- but so far as we've seen Xanatos and Macbeth have only met in person twice (once in "Enter Macbeth", when Mac was actually working for Xanatos, albeit for his own reasons, and once in "City of Stone" when Mac pretty much ignored Xanatos and focused all his efforts on Demona). So my question is- why does Xanatos consider Macbeth an enemy? Have they had an offscreen run-in that we never saw, presumably because it didn't concern the gargoyles, that would lead to this attitude, or is it just a case of Xanatos naturally being wary of someone with the resources and skills to pose a legitimate challenge to him? Or is there some other reason?

Greg responds...

I think they've been at odds -- and he feels Macbeth has the resources. "Enemy" probably is too strong a word.

Response recorded on November 17, 2011

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A.B. Washington writes...

Hi, Mr. Weisman!!

In the episode "Eye of the Beholder", I've seen "Fox"(a.k.a. Jeanine Xanatos" turns back into her human self and she was naked in this episode, how did you guys come up with that story which aired many years ago??

Greg responds...

Um... I'm not actually sure what you're asking.

The Eye of Odin was created by the video game folks, but we gladly brought it into the series. The discovery that Fox and Xanatos loved each other was a revelation that came with the "Her Brother's Keeper" episode. The idea of the gargoyles being free to walk around on Halloween seemed natural. Otherwise, the characters just sort of brought it all together, giving us what they would do.

Response recorded on November 15, 2011

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Richard Jackson writes...

In "Leader of the Pack", there was that ship, Otoshiana-maru, and "otoshiana" means "pitfall" or "trap" in Japanese. While watching Targets, I got a kick when Superboy was giving the history of Rhelasia and he talks about the Bokun Dynasty starting in 1855. I realized, "bokun" means "split" or "cleave" in Korean, the ultimate fate of Rhelasia. Do I get a no-prize? I love how you use serendipitous names.

Greg responds...

I'd love to take credit for both, but I can take credit for NEITHER. Michael Reaves, I believe, came up with Otoshiana. Andrew Robinson with Bokun.

Response recorded on October 31, 2011

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Anonymous writes...

Hey Greg, just curious: the folks who did Batman: the Animated Series have often said that if they could go back and change any one thing about any of their episodes, it would be to make Mr. Freeze's tears turn into snowflakes in "Heart of Ice"

My question now is this: if you could go back and change any one thing about one of your Gargoyles episodes, what would it be, and why?

Greg responds...

Two things, both of which I've mentioned before.

1. The Pack should have successfully killed Elisa, Goliath, Angela and Bronx in the Sphinx, but they don't die because Anubis has been bound.

2. Cu Chullain's armor and mummified corpse should have been inside the barrow where Elisa, Angela and Goliath were being held by Banshee.

Response recorded on October 04, 2011

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MacLeod writes...

Hey Greg,

This one's about High noon. Did Demona ever pay for that taxi? And if so, were did she keep her money? I mean, she was wearing her Gargoyle outfit after all.

Greg responds...

Use your imagination.

Response recorded on May 05, 2011

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Tiffany writes...

I'm trying to find out which episode this part I remember comes from. In 1996 I saw part of an episode where Angela and Goliath were chained to the wall in a dungeon or metal room. The shackles were overhead and bolted into the wall, like the ones Doyle's men used on Lexington in Ransom. They were struggling when Elisa ran in and hit a button or switch that released them. "But we weren't able to leave," Goliath remarked. Do you know which episode this is? I've tried looking up guides, but I still haven't been able to find it.

Greg responds...

It's not immediately ringing a bell. It frankly sounds a bit like "Double Jeopardy", but Angela wasn't in that. If it came from Goliath Chronicles (as "Ransom" did), I'm not likely to remember something I wasn't involved in and only saw once back in 1996 or 1997.

My best advice is to ask fellow fans in the Station 8 Comment Room: http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/comment/

Response recorded on May 05, 2011

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Richard Jackson writes...

In "Golem", when Vogel reads the spell to transfer Renard's consciousness into the Golem, was he reading Hebrew in the original alphabet or a Latin alphabet transliteration?

Greg responds...

I don't know. I'd have to look at the episode to see if it's visually obvious.

Response recorded on April 29, 2011

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John writes...

Dear Greg

Thank you for taking the time to answer all of our questions and for your part in creating so many works of exceptional story telling. May I please ask a few questions about City of Stone?

1. May I ask what the people of Manhattan thought of Demona's appearance when she appeared on their TVs? Did they just assume that she was a human in a really good costume?

2. May I ask whether the Weird Sisters saw the entirety of Demona's broadcast? In part 1, they appeared as super models standing with a crowd of New Yorkers in front of a TV store. If they did see the entire broadcast, were they unaffected simply because they're Children of Oberon?

3. Did Bodhe happen to see Demona when she first confronted the Hunter at Castle Moray? If so, may I ask if he recognized her and if he still thought of her as a potential ally?

Thank you for your time, and I apologize if any of my questions have been asked before.

Greg responds...

1. I hate to define things monolithically, but something like that.

2. They took whatever precautions necessary.

3. I'll leave that to your imagination for now.

Response recorded on February 09, 2011

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Jurgan writes...

Thirty minutes left until the reairing of the Young Justice premiere, so I thought I'd pass the time asking a completely unrelated question.

I saw your recent response about zombies, and how you like the old-fashioned "voodoo zombies" but not the modern, post-Romero zombies. I at least partly disagree, as I feel the best zombie movies can be good vehicles for social commentary (for instance, I thought the recent Land of the Dead was a brilliant metaphor for war profiteering- on the other hand, Dawn of the Dead was probably pretty clever at the time, but criticism of shopping malls now seems hopelessly dated). But that's just a difference of opinion. I was more interested in seeing how zombies might show up in your work.

1. Did you think of Goliath in "Temptation" as a zombie? Was that intentional on your part?

2. Do you think zombies may make a more formal appearance in Gargoyles, or have you covered that ground in "Temptation?"

Thanks for reading. I'll probably write up a ramble on YJ sometime this weekend, once I've seen it.

Greg responds...

1. Loosely, I guess.

2. At the moment I have no plans, but...

Response recorded on February 07, 2011

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Xander writes...

As the conspiracy buff that I am, I found a few references to the Erisian's Law of Fives on Gargoyles (most of which from "Revelations") that I would like you to bear in mind:

a) Mace Malone's key number was 23 (2+3=5).
b) Matt's key number was 13 (23-5-5=13; or 5+5+13=23)
c) Elisa and Matt work on the 23rd precinct;
d) and the most creepy of them all: this episode is the 36th to be produced, which means that by subtracting the 13 episodes of season one, it becomes the 23rd produced episode of season two!

I was wondering if these references were intentional or are just coincidental.

Greg responds...

Feels a little like answering could unleash a curse or something.

Response recorded on January 26, 2011

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Sasha writes...

Dear Greg,
I have always wondered about what happened to the audio tape which Elisa recorded in Season 1 Episode 12, when Fox confessed to her all of Xanatos's schemes concerning Derek/Talon. Did Derek/Talon ever listen to it, either before or after his mutation? If not, what became of the tape?

Greg responds...

I'll leave your first question to audience interpretation -- and refrain from answering the second question for now.

Response recorded on January 17, 2011

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Anonymous writes...

In "City of Stone," Demona said that after the clan and Xanatos blew up, she would take her laser cannon to Owen, Elisa, and Bronx.

Why was she going to kill Bronx? What did the poor beast ever do to her? She's another gargoyle, and still clan as far as Bronx knows. Couldn't she just take him home?

Greg responds...

Whether or not she ultimately would have killed Bronx is in question, but at that moment, she perceived him as a roadblock.

Response recorded on December 30, 2010

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Emily writes...

What inspired the Gargoyles episode A lighthouse in the Sea and the improtant message of reading? Was it tricky to make without sounding like after school special? (It's a really great episode by the way.)

Greg responds...

It was a topic we all felt strongly about, but it also made sense coming out of character that Broadway and Hudson wouldn't know how to read (for very different reasons) given their backgrounds and personalities. If that hadn't been the case, we wouldn't have done the story. As for the quality of the execution -- and I wouldn't knock after school specials so monolithically, as some were truly great -- we always just strived to do our best. I'm glad this worked for you.

Response recorded on November 18, 2010

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CapFan writes...

Is there a taboo against using Nazis in cartoon shows? I know "Gargoyles" featured Nazis in one episode, but most cartoons, even when they have flashbacks set during World War II seem to do everything possible to not address the enemy as Nazis.

Take the new "Avengers" show for instance, they got rid of the Nazis in Captain America's past and replaced them with Hydra. Hydra was now conquering Europe.

Did you have trouble getting Nazis and swastikas onto MIA? And why are so many cartoons scared to say the word Nazi?

Greg responds...

We had no particular problem that I can recall. I wasn't aware that other shows WERE having a problem with this. First I've heard of it.

Response recorded on November 04, 2010

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Vaevictis Asmadi writes...

Hello Greg,

Following (far) behind my long-overdue reaction to Bad Guys, here's my first question about it:

Why does Yama ask which specific gargoyle and human Sevarius used for the mutate DNA he was planning to use on Robyn and Yama? Why does Yama care? Is some human DNA more undesirable than others, or is he just curious?

Thank you.

Greg responds...

I'll leave that for your interpretation for now.

Response recorded on October 19, 2010

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Anonymous writes...

In High Noon, why could Elisa see Coldstone, Demona, Macbeth, and the gargoyles at the park when no one else could due to the spell that Demona had cast on them?

Thank you for your time and all that you do,

-Charisma82

Greg responds...

It was a condition of the spell that bystanders wouldn't notice, but "players" would.

Response recorded on October 19, 2010

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Purplegoldfish writes...

Hi Greg, this is a rather silly question...

I was watching the "Avalon" trilogy the other day, and it came to the part where King Arthur, Elisa, and the Magus arrived at Oberon's Palace after Arthur is awakened. Elisa introduces Arthur to Goliath and the others, and Arthur comments that he needs someone to tell him "what is going on".

So, here's the thing...I find it hard to believe that neither Elisa nor the Magus gave Arthur any background info on the walk back from the Hollow Hill. Were they talking at all? ( I know if I were personally taking a hike with King Arthur, I would be embarassed to say anything dumb and would just cast sidelong glances at him awkwardly lol).

Greg responds...

I imagine Arthur was largely still in recovery mode from a LONG sleep.

There may have also been some delaying tactics on the part of Elisa and the Magus as they struggled to figure out exactly how to explain everything.

Mostly, my answer is "Use your imagination!" ;)

Response recorded on October 14, 2010

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Greg Bishansky writes...

You've said in the past that "Awakening" was originally written and recorded as a four-parter. Out of curiosity, in the four-part version, where would the cliffhanger between parts three and four have been?

Greg responds...

You know, it's been so long, I'd have to look at the actual scripts to figure that out. And I only have copies of those at my Beverly Hills Office. Since I'm mostly at Warner Bros these days, I only get to B.H. about once a month.

Response recorded on September 18, 2010

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Charisma82 writes...

In Outfoxed, did Fox let Vogel keep the money she’d sent to him for betraying her father and helping her take out Renard’s company or did she take it back? Or did he give it back to her? If he kept it, what did he do with the money that was used to make him betray Renard (I would assume he’d feel guilty having it, but correct me if I’m wrong)?

Thank you for your time and all that you do,

-Charisma82

Greg responds...

I'm sure Renard would have insisted on Vogel returning the money as a condition of continued employment.

Response recorded on September 17, 2010

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Charisma82 writes...

In Outfoxed, who was Mr. Vogel going to blame for sabotaging the robots on the ship before Goliath showed up?

Thank you for your time and all that you do,

-Charisma82

Greg responds...

He'd have come up with something.

Response recorded on September 15, 2010

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Charisma82 writes...

In High Noon, what would Demona and Macbeth have done if Iago hadn’t been the personality to take control over Coldstone? What was their plan if Desdemona or Othello had taken over?

Thank you for your time and all that you do,

-Charisma82

Greg responds...

I'm afraid I'd have to watch this again too. It's just been too long.

Response recorded on September 15, 2010

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Mal writes...

Did Demona really need Thailog to bust her out of that cell? Those bars didn't look like they were that tough, and we saw some great feats of strength from her in other episodes. Like that time she lifted and threw that huge boulder in Temptation and that time in Hunters Moon where she tore that warehouse door out of the building and threw it down the street.

If Thailog never came to rescue her do you think she could have got out by herself?

Greg responds...

In some way. But the bars were obviously strong enough or Goliath and Talon wouldn't have put her in that cell.

Response recorded on September 09, 2010

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I miss the Blue Mug a Guests writes...

At the Gathering in Chicago, during the Blue Mug a Guest, you and Keith David were asked if Goliath and Demona had sex during Awakening 4. After the scene where they reunited in the Great Hall it fades to black. Then we see them on the turret with the rest of the gargoyles.

When you both got asked at the Gathering about this, Keith said something like "what couple in their right mind would meet again after a thousand years and go see the kids first?"

I don't remember if you answered. So, did they?

Greg responds...

Honestly, I'd have to view the episode again to see whether it plays as if there's time. But I don't rule out the possibility at all. Especially since technically the trio weren't their rookery children anyway. More like rookery cousins.

Response recorded on September 02, 2010

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Richard Jackson writes...

In "Temptation", Demona gives Brooklyn a tour of New York to show him how she views humanity. She and Brooklyn witness a purse snatching, a married couple fighting, and a murder scene. I can allow that at night and in a big city like New York, it would probably be easy to find crimes being committed or the aftermath.

what I always found a little suspicious is how Demona knew which house to go for the fighting married couple. And they are fighting (the wife even throws a vase at her husband) the exact moment Brooklyn looks in the window. Was there more to the married couple than meets the eye or does Demona just have a nose for troubled homes?

Greg responds...

I'll leave that to your interpretation.

Response recorded on August 27, 2010

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Richard Jackson writes...

Hi Greg,

Okay, I consider this the anti "What did Titania whisper in Fox's ear?" question.

In "Ill Met By Moonlight", towards the end, Oberon can be seen in the background talking to Angela while Tom the Guardian stands nearby. His lips are animated as moving, but we can't hear what he says, because the focus is on Goliath and Titania in the foreground discussing Oberon's trustworthiness.

My question is: What was Oberon saying to Angela?

If you wish to review, here is the clip. From approx. 5:25-5:29. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcmHmG0cylg

Greg responds...

Hah! Damn good question! Sharp eyes, Richard!

And I have no idea. I'd have to think about it. Pleasantries, probably, but...

Response recorded on August 16, 2010

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Clark Cradic writes...

Who's remains did Goliath confuse for Demona's when he returned to Castle Wyvern?

Greg responds...

A gargoyle without a name.

Response recorded on May 19, 2010

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TZ writes...

Another question...
When Elisa told (or admitted, however you want to look at it) Angela that it was true that Demona was her mother at the end of Sanctuary, was Goliath angry with her? Did they discuss it at all later or did he just let it go? Was he actually relieved to not have to be the one to tell Angela?

Greg responds...

I'm sure he was angry, but she probably convinced him of the obvious: (a) it was obvious and (b) it would have come out eventually and it was better coming from them then from Demona herself. Goliath would have grumbled at first, but known she was right.

Response recorded on May 14, 2010

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Clark Cradic writes...

Did the thought ever occur to naming one of the Gargoyles "Queens"? I know, bad joke. Sorry.

Greg responds...

Yes, that joke was in the pilot. But it got changed. Or did it?

Response recorded on April 21, 2010

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Random Fan writes...

Sorry for asking so many questions. I hope you've at least found them interesting. Any way, on to the next one I want to ask you. When Grandmother healed Elisa was that realy just the plants she used that did the trick or was it a little magical intervention supplied by a loophole of some sort?

Greg responds...

I think the former.

Response recorded on March 30, 2010

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mage_cat writes...

I’ve been thinking about “The Hound of Ulster” lately and a question came to mind. While the episode obviously takes place in, well, Ulster, Ulster has been divided between two countries since the early 1920s. So my question is: does the episode take place in the Republic of Ireland or in Northern Ireland?

Greg responds...

The town is identified... and if I could only remember it's name, I could do a quick search and answer your question. But I can't remember the name, and don't have the materials with me to look it up. Sorry.

Response recorded on March 01, 2010

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M. writes...

Related to "Future Tense":
When/How did Puck find out about Goliath having the Phoenix Gate. I don't recall Puck ever knowing this before.

Greg responds...

Puck would have found out from Owen, who would have found out from David.

Response recorded on January 25, 2010

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Daniel writes...

Hi Greg. In the Cauldron of Life episode, why was Xanatos so disheartened when he lost Hudson as a test subject?

"I was so close to finding out if the legend was true. Now there's no one to test it on."

Couldn't he have secured a simple test animal to dip into the cauldron? You'd said that he never expected Owen to lend a hand. It's odd for him to voice defeat without thinking of another plan.

On the subject of stone skin, why weren't there any skin shards lying around from all the times the Gargoyles had awakened at the castle? I seem to recall an episode where someone assumed an identity to get to the castle and he found a skin shard (unless, of course, that was from season 3).

Greg responds...

I'm not sure "disheartened" is the word I'd use. Wistful, maybe.

As for the skin shards, most had been cleared away, cleaned up, etc. It wasn't anticipated that they might be useful.

Response recorded on January 25, 2010

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Caitlin (again) writes...

Since your only involvement in the Goliath Chronicles was the first episode why did you have Goliath standing outside of Elisa's apartment? Wouldn't it have been safe to be inside while New York City is on a manhunt for gargoyles?

Greg responds...

He probably should have gone inside. But he didn't.

Response recorded on January 19, 2010

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Lexar writes...

Hi there, Mr. Weisman.
It's a great oportunity for all of us fans to be able to write you a few questions (a few thousands by now) about a show that we all enjoyed so long ago and keep loving through all these time, and to keep up with the spirit to publish/share your ideas withs us is even more than I had dreamed possible. Thank you for your time, your efforts, and for sharing that gift of creativity that makes us dream of another world of great adventures, while we secretly (or openly) hope someday will become true.
Now what intrigues me:
I was watching episode 10 - The Edge, and about minute 17, when Broadway makes a Steel Clan robot crash into the book of the Liberty Statue, he makes a very distinctive gesture: to pass a finger over his tonge and then draw a "1" in the air... the same gesture that Gillian uses in the opening sequence of Jayce and the Wheeled warriors. Who's idea was it to include a reference to the Wheelies? I almost fall from my chair when I saw this (and a lot of other puns, references and dialogs!). I'm sorry if someone already pointed it out, but I have read more than 500 records from the archive (only 138 from the search of "edge") and I haven't seen any reference to this.
By the way, I love some (if not most) of your short answers... The "Hey, if we can keep you uneasy, then I think we've succeeded." to Greg Bishannsky... wonderful. And answering to one of your questions in the rambling "Chapter XLIX: Eye of the Storm" that has an "edge" word in it, I was lightning-struck to find out that Odin's eye was actually his EYE!

Greg responds...

It's NOT a reference to a specific show (particularly a show I've never seen). It's a sports reference, that I'm guessing both shows utilized.

Response recorded on January 18, 2010

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vgmaster831 writes...

Dear Greg Weisman,

How exactly did Boudicca get beack to Avalon after "The Gathering: Part 1"? If I am not mistaken, she is not seen throughout the rest of "The Gathering".

Your brand new fan,
vgmaster831

Greg responds...

Oberon sent her back.

Response recorded on January 11, 2010

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Battle Beast writes...

Hello!

Greg,

Since we now call them "Beasts," if you could, would you change the line in "Awakening 1" from "I see you've met our Watch-dog..." to something like "I see you've met our Beast..." ?

Greg responds...

No. To Goliath, it is -- and always was -- a metaphor.

Response recorded on January 05, 2010

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Gargoyleslady writes...

Hi Greg! I have another question about Broadway. In The Silver Falcon, did Brooklyn and Lex really have dibs on the vcr or was that just an excuse Broadway came up with to stay at Elisa's?

Greg responds...

They had dibs.

Response recorded on November 20, 2009

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Gargoyleslady writes...

Hi, Greg! I've got a question about Broadway. In Deadly Force, did Broadway feel so guilty about shooting Elisa that he felt like throwing up?

Greg responds...

I'll leave that to your interpretation.

Response recorded on July 13, 2009

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Derek writes...

Why did Thailog not clone Angela? I know in the past you've said that Demona never released the mosquito to gain Angela's dna and that's why. But Thailog could have easily have had his own mosquito(sounds so silly when I say it like that) and got dna samples from the clan himself like he did from Demona and Eliza. Wouldn't he have wanted the additionally manpower? He was planning on betraying Demona anyway that's why he created Delilah. Why respect Demona wishes with Angela? Did he think the other male clones would be easier to control without another female gargoyle?

Greg responds...

Your premise is incorrect.

When would Thailog have had the opportunity to gather Angela's DNA (before Clan-Building, I mean)? He got Elisa's DNA from one of Demona's mosquitos. We saw that in the episode. One presumes he got Demona's the same way. That is, the mosquitos were released and took a blood sample. It's not like Demona could tell them whom to bite. Her only control was to NOT release a mosquito. So when Angela was around, she didn't release one.

Response recorded on June 05, 2009

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Todd Jensen writes...

A comment, inspired by my last question about the Standards & Practices deaths.

Many of the "deaths by falling" that you had in the series, such as Findleach's and Gillecomgain's, were there simply because of S&P, and I don't think that it would have made a sizable difference to the story and characterization if, say, Gillecomgain had run Findlaech with a sword instead.

But it made good dramatic sense, I think, to have the Captain and Hakon die that way. One of the crucial points of "Awakening"'s opening was Goliath being driven to despair by one blow after another, to the point where he finally commits suicide (in a sense). The Captain and Hakon falling off the cliff rather than being ripped to shreds by Goliath worked there; now, not only has Goliath's clan been massacred, but he can't even exact vengeance upon the two people most responsible for his loss. It brings him one step closer to devastation.

So I think that even without Standards & Practices, it was a good idea to have the Captain and Hakon die that way.

Greg responds...

Me too.

Response recorded on May 15, 2009

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Todd Jensen writes...

In "City of Stone", you had Findlaech, Gillecomgain, and Duncan all die by either falling off something or getting burned up by the Weird Sisters' magic, to make the methods of their deaths acceptable for Standards & Practices.

But in Part Four, you had Canmore temporarily slay Macbeth by running him through with a sword. Did you have any difficulty with Standards & Practices over that?

Greg responds...

Nope. Because (a) the audience saw no details of the event and (b) a few seconds later he stood up.

Response recorded on May 15, 2009

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Wesley Nichols writes...

I have another question regarding Oberon and Titania. Before the beginning of the Gathering and Titania offered to be his wife again was Oberon considering asking her to marry him?

Greg responds...

One assumes they had had some conversations about this before, with him asking her, and she demuring...

Response recorded on April 17, 2009

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OTHELLO writes...

In the "City of Stone" Part 1. How does Demona restrain Owen into a chair when shes speaking the "Stone By Night" spell?

Greg responds...

This has been answered before. I'll refer you to the ASK GREG archives and to my ramble on that episode.

Response recorded on April 06, 2009

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Landon Thomas writes...

In 'The Mirror', I appreciate the real-world reason why the human-form Manhattan Clan gargoyles look the way they do, namely that they more or less represent their respective voice actors. But I also like the cohesiveness it gives the Gargverse when you give a canon/in-show reason for something. In that spirit, when Goliath turns into a human analogue, why does he have darker skin--or appear to be of a different racial group--than the others who appear to be more Scottish?

Greg responds...

Elisa.

Response recorded on March 26, 2009

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Kevin Shane writes...

Did Demona and Macbeth realize that the "Coldsteel" personality was in control of Coldstone. Did he tell them? I was wondering because Macbeth seemed surprised when the real Coldstone took over the body and turned the tables.

Greg responds...

I'd have to watch the episode again.

Response recorded on October 06, 2008

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J. K. Moyer writes...

Mr. Weisman,

I'll start by saying that the commitment you have shown to your Gargoyles creation and its fans over the years is very admirable. Not many people in show business demonstrate that much long-term dedication to the consumers of their product. Bravo. Furthermore, as a biology/chemistry major I always get a kick out of the way you craft the creatures in the world of Gargoyles both in the TV show and the comics. If you're ever up late at night and need something interesting to read, look up the real-life term cryptobiosis (as in ''hidden life''). It isn't totally unrelated to the idea of stone hibernation.

That being said, I have a Gargoyles question for you that not at all science-based: The season one episode of Gargoyles entitled "Deadly Force" was one that I found to be one of the series' best. What served as the inspiration for a gun control episode? And, perhaps I am naively overlooking something, why did the first season of Gargoyles show the use of realistic, bullet-firing guns by both sides of the law and by the time season two rolled around, Elisa was the only one carrying a real firearm (even most of the street thugs we saw had some sort of laser weapon or no gun at all). It seemed odd that after making an episode like "Deadly Force" that went out of its way to deliver a message of responsible firearm use and care, the series would resort to use of futuristic, sci-fi weapons (with a handful of notable exceptions).

I'd like to end my post by saying that Gargoyles never failed to give me some issue of morality to ponder as I waited for the next episode. To this day, I have lines like "trust is not a commodity to be bartered for" sewn into the fabric of my consciousness, and I look forward to reading the maxims you weave into the dialogue of the Gargoyles comic. Rock on, Greg!

Greg responds...

"Deadly Force" is not a gun control episode; it's a gun safety episode. Inspiration can be found in any newspaper all too often.

The advent of our laser-guided "futuristic weapons" began before "Deadly Force" (with the Steel Clan) and was reinforced by that episode where those futuristic weapons were introduced and where it was stated that a quantity of them were sold on the open market. Cops (not just Elisa) continued to use real guns. It was not a second season change of direction.

Response recorded on August 01, 2008

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Tay writes...

In the episode Long Way to Morning, when Demona, Goliath, and Hudson turn to stone, why does Demona's cannon turn to stone too?

Greg responds...

She obviously regarded it as an extension of herself at that moment.

Response recorded on July 22, 2008

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Chris Velazquez writes...

During my reading of Bad Guys #3, one of the things I liked seeing the most was watching the clock tower being reconstructed (along with the absolutely psychotic expression the artist gave Robyn during the flashback of her blowing it up). Anyway, watching the clock tower being reconstructed reminded me also of Owen mentioning about being tired of overseeing the constant reconstruction of the castle due to the battles there. So, my question being, after the events of The Reckoning, is Coney Island being reconstructed? I'm quite curious about it, as Coney's quite a special place for both me and an aunt of mine (she's in her sixties of age and also a huge Gargoyles fan).

Greg responds...

I'm sure it's being rebuilt.

Response recorded on July 15, 2008

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Demonskrye writes...

This is more of a Wyvern Clan culture question than a hypothetical one.

After Goliath sends the Trio and Bronx to the rookery and Demona questions his decision to punish them (out of their earshot like a good second, as you noted in the commentary), Goliath tells her that he will make it up to them somehow. If the Wyvern Massacre hadn't intervened, what are some things Goliath might have done to make it up to the Trio and Bronx?

Greg responds...

I'm not sure he even knew. Probably a heart-to-heart and a little winging.

Response recorded on June 25, 2008

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Chip writes...

I was wondering...in "MIA" when Leo and Una noticed Goliath outside Into the Mystic didn't it strike them as odd that Goliath hadn't aged a day since they saw him in 1940? It seems like the kind of thing that I would notice...then again I'm not a gargoyle.

Greg responds...

Well, since Gargoyles don't age that fast... AND since they were more focused on the shock of seeing him alive at all, I don't think it registered. (It's not like they knew him well or long, so that they'd notice nuances.)

Response recorded on June 19, 2008

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Ashley writes...

In the episode "Kingdom", the gargoyles talked about how Goliath and Bronx had been missing for days. But when they all lined up to sleep on the clocktower, there's a shadowy Bronx climbing into position. Was that an artist mistake, or did some scenes just get copied and reused from episode to episode to save money?

Greg responds...

No scenes were reused to save money. Errors did occur, though I'd have to watch again to see if what you're describing is an actual error of if you are misinterpreting.

Response recorded on June 16, 2008

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Chip writes...

When Taro kidnapped the Ishimuran Clan (and Goliath, Angela, and Bronx) what did he do about the Gargoyle eggs? Obviously there were eggs in the Ishimurian Rookery, did he leave them in Ishimura, or did he take them "Gargoyle World" with the clan?

Greg responds...

Good question... uh...

The answer's ... uh...

Yeah.

Response recorded on June 13, 2008

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UncannyGarlic writes...

I'd like to start by saying that I like what I've seen of your work with Gargoyles (was around the target demographic when it was produced, the move to comics is probably for the best [even though I miss the quallity voice work]), WITCH (amusing show, interesting enough story and humourous dialogue [some of it is just that special kind of terrible ;)] keeps me watching when I'm awake for it), and 3x3 Eyes (quite the rarity, a good english dub for anime, major props for that) standing out. I'd comment on your newest serries but I haven't watched The Spectacular Spiderman, never really been a fan of the franchise.

Onto the question:
After watching "The Gathering: Part II" again I noticed that when Hudson attacked Oberon's hair with his sword (presumably made from steel as it was from the tenth century) he couldn't cut the hair and was zapped; however, when Angela and Brooklyn (I think, may have been Broadway...) attacked the hair with shards of the broken iron clan they cut clean through it without any negetive effects. My question is, why was Hudson's sword (presumably containing iron) ineffective while the scraps of iron worked great?

Greg responds...

I'll leave that to your imagination.

Response recorded on June 03, 2008

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Wheeljack writes...

Hey Greg,
just watched Temptation again. Right after Brooklyn escaped from Officer Morgan, he throws out the rest of his Donuts out of his BROKEN car window. When did the glas break? Was the chase originally planned a bit longer?

Greg responds...

I don't remember.

Response recorded on April 02, 2008

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Vaevictis Asmadi writes...

This is not a question, but a comment about "Heritage." I enjoyed the story (even though I prefer a less malevolent version of Raven), but I think there must be an error in it. Maybe you're already aware of it. I don't aim to make the show look bad, but only to inform you, because you have said you have future plans for Natsilane and the Haida.

The scene with the error is when Natsilane ascends the volcano to battle Raven. He is dressed in a buckskin jacket, buckskin pants, and a feather headdress. This is the kind of clothing that many people think of when they imagine a Native American chief, but this kind of clothing was only worn in or near the Great Plains. Before European clothing became common, each region of North and South America had a separate style of clothing, with further variation between the different cultures within each region. The traditional clothing in the Northwest Coast area did not include any buckskin or feather headdresses. In general, in the Northwest Coast people traditionally wore brightly colored woven cloaks and wide-brimmed conical hats.

Greg responds...

Thanks. Obviously, if your info is accurate, our character designer for that model of Natsilane didn't do his research.

Response recorded on March 17, 2008

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Matt writes...

Can you give us some clarification on what is going on with Macbeth's coronation in "The Rock" versus "City of Stone". Is this a retcon or did both scenes happen?

Greg responds...

I'm going to say BOTH happened. Yeah...

Response recorded on January 09, 2008

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Demonskrye writes...

I've gone through the archives and asked in the Comment Room and as far s I can tell, this question has never been asked or answered.

In the story memo for "Metamorphosis", you make mention of a "pinkie swear" concept, some kind of in-joke call and response back and forth between Elisa and Derek that is specific to them. So that when Elisa is talking to "Talon" and starts in with the first part of the phrase, Derek finishes it with his particular twist out of habit and Elisa immediately realizes who he is. But in the final episode, they just say "cross my heart" "and hope to die", which is pretty much the standard version of that saying which everyone uses. Granted, it would be a little odd for someone to finish the phrase when a complete stranger starts it, and I can accept the idea that hearing Derek say something that he says fairly often would be enough of a trigger for Elisa to recognize him. But I still can't help but think that the scene would have been clearer and more ffective if it had been established that Derek says "and cross my eyes" or "and hope there's pie" or something equally silly and unique whenever Elisa says "cross my heart". So why didn't the final script use the suggestion from the story memo?

Greg responds...

The idea that one starts and the other finishes struck us as unique enough.

Response recorded on December 20, 2007

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Ice Tyrant writes...

Hi again. Last time when I asked a question, I wasn't really that curious, I just kinda threw in the question so the message wouldn't be totally meaningless. So anyway, not sure if you remember this scene or not.

In Thrill of the Hunt when The Pack is fighting Goliath and Lexington, Goliath pulls off the circle thing (>_>) on the fire hydrant to push away jackal and Hyena. How could he have known that those Hydrants would make water come out? Maybe he figured out in previous episodes? Not that there are many previous episodes to that one... (That's the earliest I've seen so far.)

Greg responds...

Well, there are five episodes previous, but one has to assume that at some point, he saw that those things were full of water.

Response recorded on November 13, 2007

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Charisma82 writes...

Hey! I was reading up on the episode Hunter's Moon part 3 last night on GargWiki and when I was reading the part about Broadway giving Elisa a lift to where Goliath was fighting the hunters, I started wondering about something. Why was it that Broadway was the one to take Elisa and not one of the other gargoyles? I have some ideas on why it was him and not one of the others, like the fact that he and Elisa are somewhat closer than she is with the other members of the trio, and if she asked him to take her, he probably would. I also wondered why not Brooklyn since he's the leader while Goliath is gone, and then I thought that since he is the leader, he wouldn't want to go against Goliath's wishes. But I want to know what your reason was for having Broadway take Elisa, and not just me guessing at it. Now that starts me thinking on which of the gargoyles thought it was okay for Broadway to take Elisa and which ones didn't agree that it was the right thing to do. Do you think any of them were against them going, which would be going against Goliath's command? Could you please shed some light on this for me?

Thank you for your time and all that you do.

-Charisma82

Greg responds...

I guess I could, but frankly I don't think I should. This isn't some big secret, but I think we're all better served letting what exists stand on its own, leaving it to your (pretty valid as far as I'm concerned) interpretation.

Response recorded on October 15, 2007

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Todd Jensen writes...

In "Deadly Force", Lexington and Brooklyn describe the movie "Showdown" to Goliath as a "new western". The movie itself is a black-and-white one, however. Were the gargoyles describing it as "new" in a relative sense (the way that they described Shakespeare as a "new writer" in "Enter Macbeth")? Or was it a recently-made movie that had been deliberately shot in black and white rather than color?

Greg responds...

I honestly haven't decided. Though the question has occured to me before.

Response recorded on September 07, 2007

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Bazell writes...

I never noticed before, but in Awakening Part 1 the Trio are sent into the rookery for making threatening advances towards the humans, Broadway wasn't doing anything but eating... he was just in the wrong (or the right) place at the wrong time. Didn't he protest the mistreatment? Did the other two just let him take the fall with them? What about Demona, she saw the whole thing, didn't she say anything? Of course, it worked out in his benefit, cause he survived the massacre, but at the time, the injustice must have pissed him off...

Greg responds...

You saw what happened. Beyond that, what's your question?

Response recorded on September 05, 2007

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simon jardine writes...

If a gargoyle saw and herd the spell in City of Stone whould he stay stone at all times.

Greg responds...

Yep. He might have a few seconds here and there, but yep.

Response recorded on August 31, 2007

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Carita writes...

Where was Fox during City of stone part 2 til 4?
did she remain in the helicopter whole night during part 2?
did she know what exactly happened during the entire episodes?

Greg responds...

She was stone in the helicopter for the night. Then at daybreak, she awoke, and -- I'm sure -- returned to the castle. The situation was probably explained to her, and I would think David would do his best to make sure that by nightfall she was in a secure location.

Response recorded on August 24, 2007

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dph writes...

1.Why did Thailog set the ransom demand in Double Jeopardy for $10,000,000? I mean why not more or why not less.

Greg responds...

You pick a number that's the highest possible number you think you can get without causing the ransom-payer to balk -- for any reason. I'm sure Thailog did his research.

Response recorded on August 20, 2007

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Bazell writes...

In "A Long Way To Morning," Demona, Hudson and Goliath do not turn to stone until the clouds clear and the sunlight shines through - with the sun clearly well over the horizon, suggesting a bit of time has passed after sunrise. However, in "The Silver Falcon," Broadway turns to stone even though he is in a basement, cut off from the light of the sun, suggesting a circadian rhythm. Was it simply an animation error in "A Long Way To Morning," or is there a reason for this. (I assume it's the animation, but I was curious)

Greg responds...

A little from column A, a little from column B.

Response recorded on August 20, 2007

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Shannon 'Shan' Muir writes...

About the Dracon and G. F. Benton name choice... I never stopped to think about it before.

And I have a pretty good guess where Cary might have gotten Benton from.

See, Dracon is pretending to be someone else, which is like an illusion. Another type of illusion is a hologram. The name of the man who invented the hologram is Stephen Benton.

Which is why it was chosen as the last name of the two sisters in JEM, the show you first wrote on with Cary. (The other Holograms last names, Leith and Elmsford, also come from pioneers in holographic tech FYI).

Or it could just be total coincidence...

Greg responds...

You'd have to ask Cary.

Response recorded on August 03, 2007

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Zeki writes...

Still haven't gotten my paws on the lastest two comics, but when I was watching the Price I found myself wondering - if Xanatos didn't know that Owen was Puck, would he still have been so nonchalant about him turning his arm to stone?
I'm assuming probably yes, but you never know. Would he have a least looked for a way to reverse the effect?

On a more mindless note, it sounds like Macbethbot is saying, 'I've been WOOKING for you.'

I also like imagining that if he hadn't been destroyed, he'd have just flown around yelling 'TROPHIES! >=D' at people until he ran out of batteries.

Greg responds...

But Xanatos did know. I'm not interested in odd hypotheticals.

Response recorded on July 17, 2007

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Michael writes...

Hi Greg. First, I just wanted to say thanks for everything. For shaping Gargoyles the way it is. For being so open and accessible and involved with the fans.

In "Silver Falcon" Mace pretends to be this G. F. Benton character. I was wondering if there was anything behind the name G. F. Benton? Is it just something Cary Bates pulled out of thin air or was there a deeper meaning (as it seems is the case for a lot of what's put into an episode of Gargoyles).

Thanks again.

Greg responds...

No, not Mace. Dominic pretends to be G.F. Benton. I'm not aware of any significance to the Benton name, but you'd have to "Ask Cary" to be sure.

Response recorded on July 13, 2007

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Polgara writes...

Where was the toilet in Demona´s and Fang´s cages back in the reckoning?
Whom cooked for them?
How would they bath?

Greg responds...

Just OS.
Labyrinth types.
In the nude.

Response recorded on June 28, 2007

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dph writes...

Banks (and other businesses) usually have security cameras running during their normal office hours and throughout the night recording footage in case of a robbery. During City of Stone, assuming nothing happened to those cameras, the cameras would have caught people turning to stone on film. What happened to those video tapes showing evidence of Manhattan's human population turned to stone?

Greg responds...

Lots of cameras. Lots of explanations.

Response recorded on May 18, 2007

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Purplegoldfish writes...

Now you can't get rid of me...
So, watching through my tapes of the later episodes, and I just watched "The Green," one of my favorite world tour eps.

I remember when I first saw the scene after Goliath's and Elisa's argument, when Goliath turns around to glare at Elisa, and thinking 'What was that all about?'
I never felt he did that because he was simply angry at her for her point of view. All the other arguments that we've seen the two get into usually ended with either him agreeing with her, or just shrugging her off (or screaming in her face heh)-typical male ;)

So the way Goliath just stops in his tracks and slowly and deliberately turns to stare at her for a good five or six seconds suggests more to it-as if a realization about her just hit him.

So here's my theory: I think it just kind of hits Goliath how human Elisa really is. There's not just physical differences, but cultural ones as well. He realizes they're going to clash on many things because of their respective instincts and upbringings. Maybe he's thinking of his growing feelings for her-perhaps there's some human prejudice mixed in with those feelings as well-as if he realizes their vast differences and wishes for a moment that she were born a gargoyle and not a human.
And the way Elisa looks back at him suggests that she probably knows what he's thinking and is most likely sharing those same thoughts.

So am I on the right track or totally off?

Greg responds...

Well, I don't agree with your premise. I don't think that's even vaguely an angry look.

Response recorded on May 14, 2007

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Titanium Dragon writes...

I have a question about the episode "The Mirror". In it, Demona has Puck in chains (presumaly iron ones, given the nature of the fey). The thing about that episode was that it always felt to me like Puck wasn't really her captive at all, and was really just playing with her and using her as an excuse to do mischief. Was this intentional, or am I reading it wrong?

Greg responds...

All of the above.

Or, if you prefer, "All things are true."

Response recorded on May 04, 2007

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IncubusKitten writes...

Dear Greg,

First off, thank you for being the brain-child behind such a great series. During 'City of Stone', Demona went strolling about smashing humans left and right. My question would be: when everyone was released from the spell/when the sun came up, would they have seen rubble on the ground, or possibly body parts? (I would've tried to read the Demona section to see if this was addressed, but at 6am it's a bit too much).

Thanks for your time!

Greg responds...

Dude... think about what you just wrote. You're too busy or too tired to look for the answer. But you don't think I'm too busy or too tired. I mean I don't want to be a jerk, but it's hard not to balk at that attitude, you know? So... check the archives.

Response recorded on April 25, 2007

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Shadow Wing writes...

In "The Mirror," would the battle between Demona and Gargoylisa be considered a batfight?

Greg responds...

If you wish...

Response recorded on April 25, 2007

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Ntripy writes...

Hi Greg,
I just re-watched Double Jeopardy and noticed the last line by Xanatos is in stark contrast with one of his lines in Re-Awakening.

In Re-Awakening, Xanatos says, "Its alive, alive! I've always wanted to say that."

Whereas in Double Jeopardy, when he says, "Owen, I think I've created a monster", he seems to say that with the lament of a man who wishes he'd never have to say that line.

Was the line in Double Jeopardy intentionally meant to contrast the line in Re-Awakening, or, is this just another example of how in tune you are with the Gargoyle Universe? ;)

Greg responds...

Might just be the latter.

But generally, we like to do twists and riffs off of classic lines/moments/etc. from a variety of sources. (That's how you wind up with quotes from both Shakespeare and Monty Python back-to-back in "Future Tense".)

Response recorded on March 12, 2007

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Wesley writes...

Where the young Gargoyles (Bronx's generation) of the Wyvern clan killed by Hakon and his vikings as well? Or did they somehow escape?

Greg responds...

All that were there were killed except the guys you know about.

Response recorded on March 09, 2007

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Makhasu writes...

In COS part one, when Findlaech raises his sword to kill Gillecomgain, Bodhe can be seen next to Gruoch behind him at the entrance to the balcony. Do you consider this an animation mistake or canon?

Greg responds...

I'd have to look at it again.

Response recorded on February 21, 2007

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Battle Beast writes...

Posession>

<<FINALLY...
We wanted that giant pocket watch (or whatever) that Puck pulls out at the end to be a MICKEY MOUSE WATCH... but Disney would just not allow it. They were afraid it would come off as product placement in a kid's show or something.>>

...Because Puck is a mickey Mouse kinda guy???

Greg responds...

Because it was more specific, and thus funnier. Not to mention the in-jokiness of it.

Response recorded on February 08, 2007

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Todd Jensen writes...

I read and enjoyed your "pre-ramble" for "Possession". One tidbit that I especially liked was the very appropriate concept of Xanatos and Fox's specific destination when they went out that evening being a performance of Verdi's "Otello". Pity that it wasn't mentioned in the actual television episode.

Greg responds...

Yeah, why wasn't it mentioned? Fell away, I guess.

Response recorded on February 07, 2007

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Greg Weisguy writes...

In your ramble about the episode "The Mirror", you said you couldn't resist turning Bronx into a dog.

In response to why Thailog never cloned Bronx in "The Reckoning", you said it was because Bronx never guarded Demona like the other Gargoyles did.

Why is it that you made sure Bronx was included in the plot twist de jour of "The Mirror", but denied him similar inclusion in "The Reckoning", when it seems like it would have been relatively easy to just write him into having guard duty with one of the other Gargoyles. Did "cloning the dog" just seem like something too silly for Thailog and Demona to do?

Greg responds...

Not too silly, but the episode was pretty crowded already, and it felt like cloning Bronx would require explanation... screentime we just didn't have.

Response recorded on February 06, 2007

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Agoaj writes...

I thought the DVD was coming out next year! What a pleasure to have found it in the DVD aisle. I loved the extras, get more in the next volume if you can.

Now the question came from something I noticed on the DVD. During the episode Vows, around when Goliath and the two Demonas are using, Demona kicks Goliath and blood comes out of his mouth as he reels back from the hit. I was quite shocked when I saw this, having read about the three moments in the series where you used blood.
Was this blood in there on purpose? Was it put in by the animation staff and S&P just missed it?

Greg responds...

I honestly cannot remember. Sorry. It's just been so long...

Response recorded on January 16, 2007

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Idril writes...

I have a question about city of stone. Everyone kept saying that you had to see and hear the tv program to turn to stone. If thats true how can all those people outside driving or walking turn to stone? they were no where near a tv?

Greg responds...

The program was running non-stop for HOURS!! Obviously, all those people saw it at SOME point.

Response recorded on January 10, 2007

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Idril writes...

hi i have a question about the episode wear elisa goes under cover. At the end when elisa is talking to Goliaith and wearing her normal clothes. why dose she she suddenly wear her under cover cloths again for a few seconds? I haven't made a mistake I paused it right there and Its true. Is that a glich?

Greg responds...

I'd have to see it, but if you've described it accurately, then WOW congrats, you've found an animation error.

Response recorded on January 10, 2007

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Spen writes...

I just have one little comment about your ramble on "Awakening part V". You were wondering about Elisa holding up two fingers and her thumb instead of the usual three fingers. Now, I'm not sure if that is a Japanese custom or not, but I do know that my boss does that all the time, and he's Irish-American. My old Spanish teacher did the same thing.

Greg responds...

It strikes me as odd. But to each his or her own.

Response recorded on November 30, 2006

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Harvester of Eyes writes...

Hey, Greg. I just read your ramble on "Temptation," and since it was posted five years ago, what I'm about to ask might sound a bit dated, but I just watched the episode recently on my DVD (it being my favorite Season One episode), and noticed something. Did you ever find it odd that in Act III, when Demona lifted Brooklyn off the ground and is screaming at him, her eyes weren't glowing? The rage lines on her face were quite distinct, and on other episodes, I've seen gargoyle eyes glow over lesser things.

Greg responds...

Never leapt out at me, I'm afraid.

Response recorded on November 28, 2006

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Susan Leonard writes...

Something has always bothered me about the way the clan reacts to Elisa's hysterical sobbing on the hay at the end of the Metamorphosis episode. Why doesn't at least Goliath,who has more than a platonic interest in her at this point, go over to comfort her. The whole episode evolved with Brooklyn wanting to pursue Maggie due to his compassion over what she had gone through. I thought the episode was wonderfully done otherwise. I was despite knowing Xanatos always had some kind of agenda was willing to bite at first when he seemed shocked that Derek became a victim of Sevarius' mutagenic dart.

Greg responds...

I just think it's honest that sometimes big dumb guys (read the entire male population) don't know how to best handle public displays of emotion. We're not culturally trained.

But the other thing to keep in mind is that you're only seeing a fragment. The most dramatic, painful fragment, but a fragment nonetheless. You don't know what came before or after. Did she already tell them to give her a moment alone, and then when she broke down they didn't know how to respond (see above)? Or did Goliath head her way just after the scene ended?

I've been taken to task in the past for answers like this. Told that I was "cheating". That if it wasn't on screen, I can't fall back on the wiggle-room of what might have happened off-screen. But I don't think that's fair. 22 minutes an episode is all I get. (Or 24 pages an issue, which is a lot less, believe me.) I can't possiblly fit the entire range of responses to anything into that time. There MUST be off-screen moments. I go for the big punch on screen, as long as I feel that it's honest and not gratuitous, but there must be more.

Response recorded on November 17, 2006

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Rhea writes...

'The Mirror' is one of my favorites eps. But one thing bothered me about it when I first found out about Owen being Puck.
Did Puck transform Xanatos into a gargoyle with the rest of the city? Or did his terms/agreement with Xanatos prevent him from doing so?

Greg responds...

If X was in town, he got transformed.

Response recorded on November 13, 2006

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Wheeljack writes...

Hi Greg,
at the end of M.I.A there's a guy walking by playing on a Gameboy (not looking like the real one for legal issues or what?). The game he's playing looks so much like "Solar Striker". This can't be a coincidence, can it?

Oh... speaking of M.I.A. Una has a line like "I know the books I'm selling". Do the customers know, the books of the store actually contain real spells?

Greg responds...

I'm not a gamer, so I can't answer your first question.

As to your second question, I'd say some do and some don't.

Response recorded on October 20, 2006

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Joey writes...

How did Elisa know how to wake up Sleeping King Arthur in Avalon part 3?

Greg responds...

The Magus filled her in off-camera.

Response recorded on August 22, 2006

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Demona Taina writes...

Hi Greg! I couldn't make it to Montreal this year, but I've made up my mind to go to Vegas. Thank you so much for the DVD; I'll buy several copies when it comes out! Now, on to my questions... This is something that's been puzzling me for a while, and I couldn't find it anywhere on the archives. I'd be so happy if you had the answers.

1. In the episode Reawakening, after Coldstone and Goliath fell into the river and Goliath was losing consciousness, he holds on to Coldstone's forearm. Is there a deeper meaning behind that? Was it:

a) a warrior wrist-shake
b) a cry for help
c) asking forgiveness
d) an unconscious reaction

If the answer is a, b, c, or d, why? If none of the above, what? I'm just so curious about that scene. It's so deep and moving; definitely one of the best scenes in the entire series.

2. When Goliath and Coldstone are in the river, Hudson is heard in the background saying "A gargoyle can no more stop protecting the castle than breathing the air," it slowly trails off. Was Goliath thinking that and it trailed off as he lost consciousness? Was Othello? Or does it have a deeper meaning?

I would be so grateful if you had the answers! Thank you so much, and I look forward to meeting you in Vegas!

Greg responds...

1. All of the above.

2. It's somewhat symbolic, but yes, Goliath wa thinking of it. And it trailed off as Goliath began to lose consciousness. I like to think that Coldstone was thinking something similar.

Response recorded on August 17, 2006

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Gipdac writes...

I have a couple more questions about "Reckoning",
1. Does Demona know Thailog survived the fire?
2. Does Thailog know Demona survived the fire?

Greg responds...

As of when?

Immediately after the fire, I think neither of them could know. But I don't think either were sure that the other was dead either.

Response recorded on February 16, 2006

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Todd Jensen writes...

A long while ago, somebody asked you about what elements that you're strongly opposed to had been brought into "Gargoyles", and you said that illiteracy was one of them. Now, this clearly showed up in "A Lighthouse in the Sea of Time", with its point about how being able to read was important. But it recently occurred to me that the dangers of illiteracy showed up in another episode: "Awakening Part Two".

When Hakon tears a few pages out of the Grimorum and burns them (among them the counter-spell), he says sneeringly about the spell book, "Makes me glad I can't read." Thus, Hakon's illiteracy (and pride in it) is tied in to the destruction of the counter-spell, which results in the Magus being unable to undo his spell on the gargoyles, meaning that they're trapped in their stone sleep for the next thousand years.

I don't know whether you'd consciously planned for Hakon's illiteracy to be a factor in his act or if it was just a "fortunate accident", but I did find it interesting enough to mention it.

Greg responds...

It was VERY conscious. Long before "Lighthouse" was a glimmer in my eye, that was a message that I tried to get across with Hakon.

Response recorded on February 03, 2006

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Battle Beast writes...

Greg;

I try not to 'ask Greg' very often because most of my questions have been answered before. However, this one has been gnawing at me for some time.

1. Was there a double meaning in the title "Long way to Morning," or did it mean just what it says, or could it have meant that 'it'll be a long time before there is mourning over a death,' or something to that effect?

Thanks!

Greg responds...

I'm not going to toss out secondary interpretations. And the morning/mourning wordplay has occured to me. But mostly when I came up with the title, I just thought it sounded cool. No particular double meaning was immediately in my thoughts.

Response recorded on November 09, 2005

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J writes...

How did the Hunters replace the hatch on their airship that Goliath flung off? If they didn't replace it, wouldn't that have caused some problems when their airship was submerged underwater in "Hunter's Moon Part Two"?

Greg responds...

I guess they had a spare.

Or maybe duct tape. Yeah, duct tape.

Response recorded on November 02, 2005

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LEET HAXOR writes...

1.In Hunter's Moon why did Demona use a carrier virus to spread the detergent? Why not a bacteria seeing how they are more resilent abd there has been more research in using bacteria to produce certain compounds while viruses generally seemed to be used to insert genes.

2.How exactly did Demona hope to stop the carrier virus from mutating the chemical that it was suppose to carry especially since the component like the detergent would have killed the hosts and thus the virus thus there would have been a lot of selective pressure for the virus to not kill the host so that the virus could reproduce more in the human?

Greg responds...

1. Maybe Demona isn't as up-to-speed as you are.

2. Uh... huh? Magic?

Response recorded on November 02, 2005

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Vinnie writes...

Hey Greg, my question is simple how long are the sleeves on Elisa's black shirt? Because I noticed in the episode "The Green" she has short sleeves and in "Sentinel" she has long sleeves in the scenes where Elisa takes off her jacket. This is most likely a typo unless Elisa had time to run home and get a change of clothes. Just thought I would mention it, because unless she was caring a change of clothes with her when they first set out for Avalon or unless she stopped off on the quest to buy a new shirt I don't see how her shirt could change so drasticly.

Greg responds...

I'd say at home, Elisa has both long and short sleeve black t-shirts, but she didn't exactly pack for the trip.

On the other hand, she did have plenty of opportunity to pick up some stuff (say in Paris) and plenty of motivation (you try wearing the same clothes for weeks on end). So maybe she bought a new shirt. Or maybe Princess Katharine sewed it for her on Avalon. (We didn't show it, but the Skiffers stopped back at Avalon between every adventure.)

My point is... if you want to view it as a mistake, be my guest. Congrats. You found one. But if you'd prefer to find an explanation for it, it's not exactly a challenge.

Response recorded on August 31, 2005

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Alex Garg writes...

"Although I don't know if they actually used the M.I.A. acronym as far back as WWII. I associate it with Vietnam. Does anyone else know?"

The farthest back I've seen militaries use "Missing," not necessarily "M.I.A.," on casualty lists is the Crimean War. I know the U.S. used "Missing" during the Civil War. Before then, armies had "Unclassified" casualties because it was nearly impossible to tell if someone was missing as a result of a battle, was mixed up with another unit or had gotten scared and ran from the battle.

But going back to your actual question, the acronym came about during WWI (or at least that's when the U.S. began keeping track of M.I.A. figures) and was very much used in WWII. The U.S. Department of Defense Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office's mission of recovering M.I.A.'s begins with those missing from WWII.

Probably the reason why you associate the acronym with Vietnam is because the U.S. added the acronym M.I.A.P.D. - Missing in Action Presumed Dead - to its acronym-heavy lexicon either shortly before or during Vietnam, and because the government didn't want to keep reporting PD's to the media, they more readily reported those who were M.I.A. and might be found alive (of course, they might have been reporting PD's as well and just never informed the general public about the acronym's extension).

Sobering statistic time: Of the 217,000 U.S. soldiers reported M.I.A. from WWI through Vietnam, 42% remain unaccounted for; 88,000 of those still missing are from WWII-Vietnam.

Anyway, that's the best I can do with that - maybe someone else knows more. Thanks for the ramble, I hope you have more on the way.

Greg responds...

That's a lot, and very helpful. It's good to know that the title isn't anachronisitic to the content of the episode. Thank you.

Response recorded on July 14, 2005

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Vitor writes...

In Future Tense, Xanatos kill Demona. A big mistake, because Macbeth was still alive. How do you explain this? Was the spell broken at that time?

Greg responds...

The entire thing was a dream-vision created by Puck. What else do I need to explain?

Response recorded on June 23, 2005

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Phoenician writes...

Dear Greg,
I remember in Awakening Part II when Xanatos asks Owen to bring in the construction crew to transport Castle Wyvern to Manhatten, and Owen replies saying that not only will the cost be "Astronomical," but not many are willing to do it because the locals say Castle Wyvern is Haunted. My question is are the hauntings Owen refers to created by the ghosts of Hakon and the Captain, since as far as I know they may have hovered there for over a thousand years (I think Hakon mentions that himself, but I won't promise to it). If this was asked at some Gathering I wouldn't know since I've never been to one. However I do plan on going to Montreal this coming year! (:

Greg responds...

Did you make it?

Anyway, yes. Hakon and the Captain.

Response recorded on May 17, 2005

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"drunk" writes...

On city of stone 1 when demona was casting the spell,was it on perpos that she used the "devel horns" hand gester?

Greg responds...

I don't know what you mean by "on purpose"...?

Response recorded on April 20, 2005

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Chaos9001 writes...

Hey greg

love the show(obviously) but i have a question, if Fang was cooped up with demona for at least five weeks by the day that it showed on screen demona changing form, why did he looked so shocked when she turned human?

Greg responds...

I don't think he looked shocked. It may have taken him five weeks to come up with a funny line.

Response recorded on April 06, 2005

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Lawrence Matheson writes...

I noticed In the mirror that when Elisa turned away from the mirror her image stayed still was this part of the mirrors magic or just an animation mix up?

Greg responds...

The former.

Response recorded on March 22, 2005

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Vinnie writes...

What did the Gargoyles do to the Pack's helicopter after "Her Brother's Keeper? When I went through the archives the only thing that I could find was that it was not popular or something.

Greg responds...

Perhaps they buried it. Or just left it at Xanatopia.

Response recorded on February 09, 2005

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Ineyboy writes...

Greg, I absolutely love Gargoyles, almost more than any other cartoon, ever (I'm sure that's been said before, but every fan should say it). I have some ?s for you, but I would like to apologize first if they have been asked previously, as I have not got a chance to read all the FAQ's. I would appreciate it if you could email me (inianj02@yahoo.com) your response, when you get to it. If you prefer to only post them, then I understand. You could say that my ?s may not be directly related, but they are both concerning Goliath's confusion about something.

1) In the beginning of "City of Stone: Part One", who was the Weird Sister referring to when she told Goliath that when he "...forgets that every life is precious..." he is just like "her"? I believe Goliath points to the girl he calls a "terrorist", but the Weird Sister was referring to someone else...Who? (Right after Goliath says this, the 3 sisters disappear; not that you don't know that, but for quick reference)

2) I won't torture you with everyone else's ? in "Ill met by moonlight," but I would like to know something else: At the end of the episode, what favor was Titania referring to when she thanks Goliath for a "favor rendered"?

Greg responds...

1. They were referring to Demona, who is the next person we see.

2. For saving her (and everyone) in "Walkabout".

Response recorded on February 03, 2005

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Todd Jensen writes...

In "Awakening Part Four", when Goliath and Demona are reunited and Demona claims that she was under the Magus's spell of sleep also for a thousand years, Xanatos mentions that he'd bought her and then, after seeing how transporting Castle Wyvern to the top of the Eyrie Building had freed Goliath and the other gargoyles from the Magus's spell, figured that if he brought Demona to the castle, that would break the Magus's spell on her.

Now, it occurred to me that that part obviously doesn't fit what we know about the Magus's spell, since all that was necessary to end it was for "the castle to rise above the clouds". In other words, once the castle was atop the Eyrie Building, all the gargoyles under the Magus's spell, including (in her story) Demona, would be freed from it, regardless of whether or not they were actually in the castle at the time. So it wouldn't be necessary to bring Demona to the castle to awaken her.

Of course, that doesn't matter, since we know that Xanatos and Demona's story was a lie anyway. But what I'd like to know is - was Xanatos's mention of bringing Demona to the castle in order to free her a deliberate (on the production team's part) discrepancy from the terms of the Magus's spell, as a hint to the audience that Xanatos and Demona were lying?

Greg responds...

I don't know that our thinking was or wasn't that sophisticated. We knew it was a lie. It had to sound convincing enough to temporarily fool Goliath and at least some of the audience. But I don't know if we cared too much whether it planted a seed of doubt because the lie was fundamentally unsound.

Response recorded on December 14, 2004

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Billy Kerfoot writes...

Dear Greg,

I can't believe I'm talking to YOU!

1) Did you and the others really have to make the Future Tense illusion the way it was? It was horrifying the way you made that woman(Chavez' daughter y'all call her) weeping in devastated New York, made all the good guys except for Goliath and Elisa dead, and the most hardest of all which is Lexington turning into a villain you see in your nightmares! Lexington's my favorite character but this eposide shook me up quite a bit due to his change in person. I hope you don't let Lex become something like that. You won't right? Because if you do I'll be torn.

2) How exactly was Lexington going to rule the world?

3) What made Goliath realize this was all an illusion?

4) Is there a theme to Future Tense? If not did you and the guys just make it for the action?

Greg responds...

1. We were going for shock value, certainly, among other things. Looks like we succeeded.

2. Through his e-Xanatos surrogate.

3. Elisa acting out of character, mostly.

4. There's always a theme. In fact, there are a few in this episode, including: "Be careful what you wish for." "Even the enemy cares about something." "No matter how bad things get, you never stop trying." Etc.

Response recorded on October 27, 2004

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More info...

Greg Bishansky's going to town (to save my reputation, I guess)...

Okay, just went and did some research...

The Hunter's Moon is technically not the first full moon of October. It's
the first full moon after the Harvest Moon, which is associated with the
beginning of autumn... usually close to mid-September.

So, the September 28th date is still possible :)

That's great. Although it was my understanding that if a month had a second full moon, it was a BLUE MOON. But thanks, Greg.


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APOLOGIES

I just received the following e-mail from Greg Bishansky:

Hey Greg,

I was reading your newest update, and you had this answer in there...

"I didn't MISS anything. Yes, I chose that date because it was my birthday.
But I also never claimed that the confrontation with Charles took place on
the Hunter's Moon. It was the final confrontation between Demona, the other
Gargoyles and the Hunters which took place at St. Damien's Cathedral on the
Hunter's Moon."

Now, I really hate to be nitpicky, but to be fair, in the actual episode,
during the flashback Charles Canmore says...

"Tonight is the Hunter's Moon. Our moon, my children."

Now... considering Charles' line, I thought your answer was a little on the unfair side.

That it was, Greg. Thank you for keeping me honest and pointing out my error. Double error, it seems. Both in the original series and in my answer to Richard of Portugal's question.

My apologies on both counts.


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Ricardo from Portugal writes...

One thing I just realized: Hunter's Moon is the traditional name of the first full moon of October, but when Charles Canmore confronted Demona it was the 28th of September.

How come did you miss that? Or did you choose that date just because it is you birthday?

Greg responds...

I didn't MISS anything. Yes, I chose that date because it was my birthday. But I also never claimed that the confrontation with Charles took place on the Hunter's Moon. It was the final confrontation between Demona, the other Gargoyles and the Hunters which took place at St. Damien's Cathedral on the Hunter's Moon.

Response recorded on September 14, 2004

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Ancient Kaa The Souless writes...

Just one question about Hunter's Moon 2.

Matt mention to Jon "Carter" that Aliens were Eastern Island.

Did Jon believe him or not?

BTW, WVRN, very cleaver.

Greg responds...

I doubt Jon took him seriously. Now if someone had told Jon Carter about aliens on Mars, that's a different story... ;)

Response recorded on July 21, 2004

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Kyle writes...

In "Awakening" when the trio were playing with Bronx and Tom comes to talk to them. His mom throws a stick at them. When their eyes started to glow. Were they trying to scare people away from them or were they just trying to have some fun?

Greg responds...

More the former. They were hurt and angry. Basically, you can take at face value what they say in that scene.

Response recorded on June 25, 2004

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Kyle writes...

I was looking on another website and I saw a picture of Broadway dead in Goliath's arms. Why did Broadway get killed?

Greg responds...

He didn't really. But in an episode called "Future Tense", Goliath was presented with a vision of a (largely) false future by Puck. Among other shocking occurences, was the Death of Broadway.

Response recorded on June 24, 2004

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Babs writes...

So many questions, so little time. So i'll get right the the question :)
In the episode "Hunter's Moon - Part 3" what ever happened to the vile of the fullfillment spell that Demona threw into the air and Goliath caught, I saw him hand it over to Hudson but where did it go after that ?
Danke for answering.
Gargoyles Forever !!

Greg responds...

The vial wasn't the spell. It was a mix of chemicals that would be harmless the next day and/or away from the Cathedral. I have to assume that Goliath and company destroyed it at the first opportunity.

Response recorded on June 10, 2004

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J.J. writes...

Hey Greg. I found a picture of Brooklyn and Demona together in armor. Did they fight against Goliath? And I also found a picture and it said, "Goliath holding a dead Broadway". What happened at the end of the Gargoyles's series?

Greg responds...

I'm guessing that these are stills from the episode "Future Tense".

In that episode, Puck created the illusion that Goliath arrived in Manhattan forty years into the future.

The episode was intentionally apocalyptic and many characters "died" inside the illusion before Goliath figured out the truth.

It was also designed to freak out Goliath (and the audience) as much as possible. So among other bizarre revelations, Brooklyn & Demona were mates.

Response recorded on June 08, 2004

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NiteShayde writes...

In "That Gathering" Part 2 where Owen reveals himself as Puck why are there two different introductions? In one he spins around, stops, bows and says "Heeerrrrrrreee's..."and flies towards the TV screen and says "Puck!" In the other one he spins while saying "Heeerrrrrrreee's..." then stops spinning and says "Puck" when he gets to the TV screen.

Greg responds...

I'm not aware of (or at least don't remember) two versions. My guess is (if what you say is accurarate) that one was a mistake that aired in the first airing only, and was fixed by the second airing. But I'm not sure. Blaise probably knows.

Response recorded on April 12, 2004

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The Cat writes...

Hello Greg,

The Cat here. Okay, I was watching a particular episode, though I can't remember the name of it right at this very moment, anyway. The episode had Wolf in it and it was right after the Avalon Tour ended. Wolf has Hakon, in a battle ax, with him. At the first part of this episode there is this Scotish police officer driving down the road.

I completely understand the use of artistic lisense, but I realized that since the officer was in Scotland that he was driving on the wrong side of the road and he had an American car. I looked around for a question asking about this but I did not find any. The question is, was this an accident or was it done on purpose?

Greg responds...

I don't remember.

Response recorded on April 08, 2004

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RA writes...

In one of the episodes Demona points a lazer canonn at Goliath and Elisa runs at Demona to block the shought, then Demona ends up firing at one of the towers and causing both her and Elisa to fall down. Goliath saves Elisa but doesn't save Demona. How come Goliath didn't save Demona even though she was far enought from the ground?

Greg responds...

Goliath turned to save Demona after saving Elisa, but he could not see her for the wreckage perhaps. (In fact, Demona recovered enough to glide off.)

Response recorded on April 08, 2004

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Sam writes...

Dear Greg, In the Hunter`s moon3 when Golith said the hi=unter`s will pay after blowing up the clock tower. The repoter`s had the footage of him saying that ( I think )How ( they even did ) get that footage of him saying that when they where down on the ground and the gargoyles were on the clock tower?

Greg responds...

Well, I haven't watched it in a while, but I'm fairly certain that you are incorrect, or at least confused. The reporter (jon) definitely did NOT have the footage of Goliath speaking. Only footage of the clan flying away from the ruined tower.

Response recorded on March 24, 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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matt writes...

while watching "The Price" tonight, something struck me for the first time: when Xanatos builds the robot to distract the Clan while he does his thing with Hudson, why does he model the robot after MacBeth? he could've modeled any number of 'villains' or even a new character, so why MacBeth?

Greg responds...

I think he felt that Macbeth would be the perfect character for misdirection. Had he chosen Demona, there would have been a greater risk of Goliath et al figuring out that it was a robot, because they know Demona so well. And obviously, he didn't want to chose any villains (Pack members, Thailog) that Goliath would associate with him.

Plus he needed someone that Goliath would believe knew some sorcery -- in order for his con to work.

Obviously, there were other options. But his pick made sense.

Response recorded on March 02, 2004

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Todd Jensen writes...

In the notes that you recently printed for "Double Jeopardy", you mentioned in the outline, just after Thailog emerges from his box for the first time in front of Sevarius and his mercenaries, that this is the last time in the series that we would be seeing that particular band of mercenaries. Was there something ominous intended about this statement - as in, hinting at just what happened to them after Thailog got out?

Greg responds...

I don't think I could be any less subtle, frankly. Use your imagination.

Response recorded on January 27, 2004

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Liz writes...

what is the name of the episode when broadway shoots elisa?and why?

Greg responds...

It's called "Deadly Force". And the reason it's called "Deadly Force" is because that's the title that Michael Reaves picked out, based on the technical/legal term.

Response recorded on January 07, 2004

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The Soulider writes...

In "The Mirror," why did Elisa get her shoes back and none of the other humans-turned-gargoyles get theirs back when the were changed back into humans? And where *did* Elisa'a Jacket go?

Greg responds...

I don't recall everyone else using/losing shoes. I'd have to watch it again. Maybe the other people you saw all transformed before they had their shoes on in the first place? Never put them on, so never got them back.

As for Elisa's jacket... I don't know. I've never known the answer to that one. Magic and Puck's personal aesthetic, perhaps.

Response recorded on January 06, 2004

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michael writes...

what is the name of the last episode of gargoyles

Greg responds...

I guess it depends what you mean.

The last episode of the first season was "Reawakening".

The last episode of the second season, which was also the last episode of the GARGOYLES syndicated series was "Hunter's Moon, Part Three".

The last episode that I worked on in any way, and thus the last one that I personally consider to be canon, was "The Journey".

The last episode of ABC's GARGOYLES: THE GOLIATH CHRONICLES was, I think, called "Angels of the Night" or something like that. I'm not sure.

Response recorded on November 20, 2003

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Lynn writes...

Where do Demona's wings go when she's inside her exoframe?

Greg responds...

I assume they're folded in some way over her shoulder. I'd have to look again.

Response recorded on October 03, 2003

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Samantha writes...

Dexter writes...
Hey Greg,
Call me stupid, but I've seen the pilot "Awakening" several times and I still do not follow the plot! I'm such an idiot. Ok, why did Xanatos got through all that trouble to wake up the Gargoyles just to have them steal disks? Then he used to information on them to makes the Steel Clan, what's the point of that? So now instead of real gargoyles, he had robotic ones. Doesn't make sense. Also, when Goliath and Elisa were attacked in central park, Elisa said she traced the logo back to Cyberbiotics, which Mr. X owned. So does that mean his own people stole disks from him and then he went and restole them back from his own people? Ah! It confuses me. Please clear me up, I've been meaning to ask you about this plot, and now I finally had time to. Thanks!

I can answer part of that! Xanatos did not steal back his own disks. They were from another company, the company that Fox's father owned. Xanatos faked a robbery to make the gargoyles think that when he told them about the disks they were his, when nothing had ever really been stolen from him.
He used the gargoyles to steal these disks to upload his steel clan. By using the Gargoyles, no one would ever suspect him. No one even knew what Gargoyles were I think.
Once he got the stolen disks, he was able to load up his
steel clan, which meant he no longer had a name for the clan.
Since they would be too hard to control, he decided to test his new clan on them. And I'm sure you know the rest. I hope this helps.

Greg responds...

It does. Thank you.

Guys, it just goes to show that the fans are a much better first resource than I am. I just flat out take to long (over a year) to get to your questions.

Response recorded on September 24, 2003

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Dexter writes...

Hey Greg,
Call me stupid, but I've seen the pilot "Awakening" several times and I still do not follow the plot! I'm such an idiot. Ok, why did Xanatos got through all that trouble to wake up the Gargoyles just to have them steal disks? Then he used to information on them to makes the Steel Clan, what's the point of that? So now instead of real gargoyles, he had robotic ones. Doesn't make sense. Also, when Goliath and Elisa were attacked in central park, Elisa said she traced the logo back to Cyberbiotics, which Mr. X owned. So does that mean his own people stole disks from him and then he went and restole them back from his own people? Ah! It confuses me. Please clear me up, I've been meaning to ask you about this plot, and now I finally had time to. Thanks!

Greg responds...

All right, for starters Xanatos made a mistake. He assumed that the Steel Clan would out perform the actual gargoyles, and he was wrong. He was hoping, of course, that he could have both, but Goliath proved less than cooperative. Later, he realized his error and came to value the Gargoyles (even as opponents) much more than he valued his robots.

As to your last bit of confusion, Elisa said she traced the logo back to Xanatos, not Cyberbiotics. You simply misheard.

Response recorded on September 23, 2003

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Lexy writes...

Hey Greg! I have been really wondering about this one, but keep forgetting to ask about it. In ep. 18, "The Mirror", Lexington had brown eyes when he became human. My first question is:

1) Did you say that the artists tried to get the characters to look like their human voice actors? (I remember this, but maybe I am making this up!)

2) If you did say that, then why did Lex have brown eyes, and not blue?

2.2) Was that just a missed detail?

2.3) Or was that done on purpose, because somebody thought Lex should have had brown eyes?

I guess I don't remember the eye colors of the other actors enough to know if their's were different either, and I really hope I didn't just dream you sayihg that or something! Thank you anyway, as usual! :D

Greg responds...

1. I did, yes.

2. Well... I may not have known what color Thom's eyes are. Haven't studied him, I guess. (Also, being color deficient myself, I can't always tell.) And I'm sure the colorist didn't know. It's just a screw up, basically.

2.2. Yeah.

2.3. No.

I paid attention to basic hair color, where possible. (Jeff Bennett doesn't have white hair.) But I didn't think to check their eye colors.

Response recorded on August 28, 2003

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person writes...

I haven't seen Deadly Force, and they won't play it on toondisney. I wish I could see it, but I mostly want to know what happend.

Greg responds...

There are better places, and certainly quicker places, on the web to learn this info, but on the assumption that a person is still checking this site 20 months after posting this question, here's a brief synopsis:

Dracon steels Xanatos' prototype guns. Elisa confronts him, but has no evidence. Broadway goes to see a movie, and then goes to Elisa's home. Imitating the cowboys on the film, he picks up Elisa's handgun and accidentally fires off a round. Elisa is shot. Broadway takes her to the hospital then hides. Elisa comes close to dying. Goliath, Maria Chavez, Matt Bluestone and Elisa's family all assume that Dracon shot her. Goliath tracks Dracon. Broadway, meanwhile, goes on an anti-gun rampage and winds up tracing the weapons back to Dracon. Goliath attacks Dracon, but Broadway stops him from killing Dracon, admitting his mistake. Goliath destroys the weapons before Owen can buy them back. Goliath and Broadway stand vigil outside Elisa's hospital room.

Response recorded on August 27, 2003

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matt writes...

just watched Grief, had some questions:

1. Emir said his son had died two years ago, and Grief happened in early 1996, correct? so when did his son die? was it before Awakenings? was it before The Edge?

2. when Jackal/Anubis aged the gargoyles you said he just made them old in human terms, but how old were they anyway? older than Hudson?

Greg responds...

1. The Emir's son died on January 26th, 1994. The events of Awakening, at least the majority of those events, took place between October 4th and 7th of 1994. The events of Edge took place between January 12th and 14th, 1995. The events of Grief take place between January 25th and 26th, 1996.

2. I don't know. He wasn't counting.

Response recorded on July 17, 2003

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warrioress writes...

In the episode "Sanctuary", how was it that Demona could knock MacBeth out cold and remain conscious herself? (right after the wedding, when she reveals her true identity to him?)

(Marina Sirtis did a pretty hokey French accent, if you ask me... ;-)

Greg responds...

She was ready for the blow. Plus she's a garg. She feels the exact same force. But it's tougher to knock out a garg than a human.

Response recorded on June 20, 2003

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Vanity writes...

This is about the Light bulb contest, well more correctly the incident itself.
Fang was cracking at gargoyles right, I suppose thier intelligence or whatever. Why was Demona seemingly unoffended by that? While Goliath was atleast perhaps annoyed.

Greg responds...

It's possible that Demona had other things on her mind at that moment and wasn't paying attention.

It's possible, as Demona had been caged up beside Fang for weeks and weeks that she was long past the point of reacting to every damn thing he said. (Since any adult knows that reacting to an immature person saying stupid stuff is the best way to encourage that immature person to continue.)

Response recorded on June 18, 2003

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Stephaneus writes...

Hi Greg Happy New Year all

Vanity(don't you mean Gruouch??)

Know this is about Awakenings (which I think is the best episode in the whole series). Goliath caught Hakon's sword. What is the deal. Hudson's little dagger in Long way to morning cut a statue in half. But Hakons double edged long sword could only scratch Goliath. He's tough and rugged but come on now. And I really loved Hakon's reaction "Fight men they're not invincible" If that isn't invincible what the hell is? Why should Goliath even dodge weapons they just bounce off anyway?

Why did you let that happen? Catching a sword without it even hurting him seriously at all!!

Super Stephaneus

Greg responds...

I don't know what you're referring to vis-a-vis Vanity/Gruoch...?

As to your Awakening question, Hakon's sword did hurt Goliath. Cut down to the bone. He just toughed it out. Cuz he's Goliath. That's who he is. You expected him to cry?

And Hakon's sword could certainly cut THROUGH bone. But he would have needed to put more power behind the swing to do that. Given his position on that tower, Hakon did the best he could, but it wasn't good enough, and Goliath's been in enough fights to know what he can and cannot take. He stopped the blow with his hand before it could gain enough momentum to do serious damage.

What Hakon saw, before he spoke his line, was the Goliath's blood. We made a point of that, and even convinced our S&P exec to let us show the blood. Which is very rare for cartoons. If Goliath had been invincible, there would have been no blood. And the sword would have bounced off his hide. Which it didn't. Weapons don't bounce off our gargs.

Hudson doesn't have a dagger, by the way, but a sword. And a lot of Gargoyle muscle behind his swing.

And you, Super, have a lot of attitude, bordering on disrespect. Just so you know, it's really off-putting.

Response recorded on June 17, 2003

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~*Fiona Seckari*~ writes...

Dear Mr. Weisman,
What was the Magus brewing in the Episode Awakenings I?
Thanks!

Greg responds...

I either don't remember or never knew.

Response recorded on June 16, 2003

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Vanity writes...

In Hunter's Moon on the Hunter's airship when Goliath and Demona reaching for the laser rifle was he going to shoot her.

Greg responds...

I'm pretty sure the answer is no, but I can't recall the scene at the moment. Odds are he was simply trying to keep the weapon away from her.

Response recorded on June 11, 2003

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The Souldier writes...

I have an off the wall question for you, in "Enter Macbeth," what was Macbeth drinking? Was it coffee, tea, or cocoa? It had to have been something hot because there was steam coming off of it. If it was cocoa, did he have marshmellows in it?

Greg responds...

I don't know.

Response recorded on May 19, 2003

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Aaron writes...

Again, I forget who asked this: "4. Where was Vinnie when the Mirror took place? ~_^ "

Greg responds: "4. Haven't thought about it."

It would have been kinda funny to see Vinnie walk by in the background, maybe trip on his tail or something, and say "Can you believe it?" just so we'd be sure it was him.

In fact, and I realize there was neither time to design them, nor a place for such a thing in the story, but it would have been a great deal of fun to see what the human cast, Matt, Chavez, Morgan, Fox, Xanatos, Dracon, etc., would have looked like as gargs. (Especially those last three) Heck, it'd be fun to see what Owen would look like as a gargoyle, even though that obviously wasn't possible.

MacBeth... Was MacBeth in town for The Mirror, and if so, was he changed into a gargoyle? Puck said "All humans on this concrete isle...", and MacBeth is still a human, albeit a magically immortal one. Again, fun to imagine.

And, I know you don't like hypotheticals, but would a fey in human form, such as Anastasia Renard have been affected by the spell or not, since you said that in mortal form, Oberon's Children take on all aspects of that form.

http://www.adventurers-comic.com

Greg responds...

In my opinion, yes, Anastasia -- had she been in town, which is unlikely -- would have transformed. Of course, at will she could abandon her mortal (now gargoyle) form for and look however she wanted.

Response recorded on May 08, 2003

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Vashkoda writes...

I've never bother to question any of the following, and I still pretty much accept it as "just the way things are", but I figured I'd still ask about it just in case it led to any interesting revelations:

1) Why *do* gargoyles assume threatening poses while they sleep? You've mentioned that gargoyles have a similarity to scarecrows. Also, one explanation for building gargoyles on medieval churches was to scare away demons. But what's the "Gargoyles-Universe" explanation? Is it really that effective in scaring away predators (and what kind of animal would attack something made of stone, anyways?). Even scarecrows lose their effectiveness over time, once birds get used to them.

2) In Japan, where the clan said that they face inward as a sign of trust to the humans, they still strike frightening poses. Is this "pose-behavior" therefore something instinctual?

3) Similarly, why did the trio, Hudson and Bronx assume threatening poses as the Magus's sleep spell took place? I'm not sure the gargoyles even understood what was happening, or identified the Magus as a threat (Lex says, "What's he talking about?" and Hudson asks, "What's all this?" just before the spell). As they see the magic swirling around them, I think they get suspicious, but it still seems odd for them to assume attack poses at that moment (I would have expected them to be confused or afraid, but not violent, especially if they haven't had time to understand what's going on). I was wondering whether the fact that they were becoming stone had triggered their instinctual pose-behavior, or were they indeed getting ready to attack the Magus?

Greg responds...

1. Partially, it's just tradition. Keep potential enemies away. A reminder to any potential attacker of what they might face.

2. Possibly. You're in a state of relative vulnerability. The pose might lend some sense-of peace-of-mind.

3. That's possible too, although I always assumed that they were on the verge of leaping into action at the attack when they got caught in it.

Response recorded on April 11, 2003

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dan writes...

In the episode "Long Way Till Morning" the cave that goliath, demona, and hudson were in when there were going to attack the archmage, the one with the carvings that demona saw. Did you actually think this idea up or did you take it from some cave that had similiar wierd drawings that you heard of or maybe have visited?

Greg responds...

I don't know. I mean the influences exist, but there was no one specific cave that I personally had in mind, though many people worked on the episode.

Response recorded on August 16, 2002

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"Protection" Addendum

One thing I forgot...

When Glasses first shows up at Mr. Jaffe's store, he knocks over a bunch of cans.

Later Dracon shows up, and he also knocks over the cans.

I'm reminded of the Steve Martin movie "The Jerk".

"He hates these cans! Stay away from the cans!"


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Laura 'ad astra' Ackerman writes...

It has been a strange couple of weeks. Normally I wouldn't necessarily equate strange with bad, but in this case… I hope everyone and their loved ones are safe.

I have a few questions saved up, and a few new ones. Don't worry, they'll be in different posts:

First up- a quickie on the New Olympians: There is a gargoyle clan on the island, so it would be assumed that the fae/human hybrid portion of the population is at least passingly familiar with gargoyle custom. When Elisa was reunited with Goliath, and Goliath stroked her hair, did they recognize the gesture for what it was? If so, what was their reaction and did it influence the legal decision?

Greg responds...

I don't remember the image. It'll be a few weeks, but if we keep rambling on the episodes for the DCV, I should get to it soon.

Response recorded on April 29, 2002

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Courtnie writes...

Hey Mr. Greg,
Ummm here's my question...it's kinda dumb but I was wondering Why was there hay in the Clock Tower when Elisa was crying. Was there a reason or just there for effect?
Thanky very very much too.

Greg responds...

Honestly, I don't remember. Why was there hay?

This is gonna drive me nuts.

Response recorded on April 26, 2002

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Demona Taina writes...

Greg, I'm glad to hear that you're okay. I hope your family is, too.

Well, I just dropped by to let you know of something. Curiosity got the best of me yesterday so I searched in the episode Future Tense for the World Trade Center that was destroyed yesterday, and I couldn't find it. You could usually see it from the Statue of Liberty, right? Well, they weren't there. Scary, huh?

Greg responds...

...

Response recorded on February 14, 2002

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matt writes...

on Fox and David Xanatos's Marriage certificate/license, who signed as witnesses to their marriage? i mean, traditionally its the Best Man and Maid of Honor, but we can see why that wouldn't work...
did Owen sign it? did Petros?

also, i apologize if this was asked before, but, was Halcyon Renard or Anastasia invited to the wedding? if so, why didn't they come?

Greg responds...

1. Owen, probably.

2. I think not. Partially, because Fox was semi-estranged from her father at least. But MOSTLY because of the instructions Xanatos got from himself. Neither Fox or Xanatos are sentimental enough (at least not that they'd admit) to risk having either of Fox's parents there, when potentially they might interfere.

Response recorded on January 22, 2002

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Shan writes...

Matt asked re: "Leader of the Pack":

2. what does "snakes to a nest" mean anyway? from what i know of snakes, they all abandon their eggs completly or stay with their eggs until they hatch.

Greg responded:

2. Ask the writer. I was just the producer.

Shan contributes:

When I hear this phrase, "like snakes to a nest," it makes me think of snakes rushing to the nests of *other animals* to eat their eggs. There are some types of snakes that prefer only the eggs of other animals -- at least according to my Microsoft Encarta (R).

This sounds like a Southern (United States) phrase, but I'm not sure. My mother's from south-eastern Alabama, and I know they have do have some unusual turns of phrase in that part of the country.

The problem with this interpretation is that it gets muddled by the context, since Lex is theorizing that the Pack will return to familiar haunts. Which leads to the way Matt read Lex's comment (i.e. about snakes' own nests), which might have been the opposite of the writer's intentions. Since the Pack members can definitely be equated with "snakes" I can see how one would get Matt's reading.

Steve Perry's the writer, Michael Reaves Story Edited this episode. I confess I don't know too much on the non-professional background of either person, so I've got no clue where either person would have picked up that phrase.

Just thought I'd share my thoughts. Doesn't change the story any, but possibly of interest...

Greg responds...

Yeah. I took it the way Matt did, being ignorant of the behavior of snakes. Maybe snakes behaved differently in medieval Scotland?

Yeah, that's the ticket.

Response recorded on January 16, 2002

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Epantiras writes...

"Vows" has 2 endings, right? Why? What appended in the 2nd ending where Goliath and Demona are still together? How can they live in Manhattan if Demona didn't help the Vikings to attack the castle ?
Thanks!

Greg responds...

"Vows" really only has one ending. But the first time it aired, it aired with an uncorrected scene. It showed Goliath and Demona kissing. It's supposed to be a final flashback to them at the castle in the tenth century. But the first time it aired the wrong background was used, and so they seemed to be kissing in the present at the clocktower. This is just a mistake, and it was corrected for subsequent airings. (We ran out of time or it would have been corrected before the first airing.)

Some of the fans prefer the mistake. Don't ask me why.

Response recorded on November 29, 2001

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johnny writes...

hi greg again! here's the other part of my question:

1. on the previous post
2. in "grief," angela asks whether the sphinx are influenced by gargoyles. were gargoyles an inspiration for the sphinx in egypt?

Greg responds...

Maybe. >:)

Response recorded on November 06, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

The Weird Sisters had Demona and MacBeth steal Coldstone so Goliath wouldn't notice the disappearance of the Eye of Odin, the Phoenix Gate and the Grimorum and so he wouldn't go looking for them, but what I don't understand is why were the Weird Sisters afraid that Goliath would go looking for the talisman? I mean he'd never find them considering that the Sisters would have taken the talismans to the Archmage on Avalon where Goliath could never reach them.

Greg responds...

But Goliath did reach them, so the potential was there.

In fact, one could easily argue that the Archmage's greatest mistake was delaying for Goliath's arrival.

Response recorded on October 17, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

Did you have any plans for the mercenary team we saw in Double Jeopardy?

Greg responds...

Nope.

Response recorded on October 10, 2001

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Cha-Cha writes...

In Hunter's Moon why did Demona need the Praying Gargoyle to protect gargoyles from the virus?

With the healing ability of stone sleep wouldn't they be immune anyway? If they contracted the disease at night, during the day they'd heal and the next night they would be cured.

Greg responds...

You're assuming that (a) it works slowly and (b) it goes away.

Response recorded on October 10, 2001

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Demoness writes...

Watched "Ill Met By Moonlight" for the billionth time. :)

In the scene where the Gargs just flew through the lava hand and it crashes together and enfolds on itself and explodes, Oberon stops in front of it and tries to cover himself as lava spews everwhere.

I was wonderin:

Can lava hurt the Third Race and thats why Oberon was shying from it? Cause I was thinkin that if it doesnt hurt them, Obe could have just gone right through it without hesitation.

or was it just on impulse?

Greg responds...

His power was reduced, remember.

Response recorded on September 11, 2001

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matt writes...

in "Vows" Xanatos says a line and i'm not sure how/what he means with it?

does he say "Time travels funny that way." meaning that time is traveling funny or does he say "Time travel's funny that way." meaning that time travel itself is funny that way? does that make sense? i keep reading over it and i think it makes sense...

anyway, kinda a pointless question, but one i've been wanting to ask for a while now...

but on a related note, right before Xanatos says that, Goliath says he wishes he could leave Xanatos in that time and Xanatos says "You won't, because you didn't..." how did Xanatos know that? Goliath could've very well left Xanatos there and that may have been what always happened! you could say, Xanatos would've sent a letter to the Illuminati warning himself of his fate or some excuse like that, but as we've seen in "MIA" that letter would've been lost or something and all his ways of warning himself would've fallen through cuz the point is he did end up in Goliaths time and if he warned himself it would have created a paradox! so, there is no way Xanatos would have known for sure that Goliath wouldn't leave him there. was he saying that to Goliath to kinda trick Goliath into thinking that he had to bring him home or something, or was Xanatos just being confident and egotistical of his abilities to have a plan all worked out?

i hope all parts of this post make sense to you. if they don't, i apologize, its late...

Greg responds...

Time travel IS funny that way. Again, I think it's fairly self-evident. Meaning, hey, it's quirky.

It makes sense. It's just ANNOYING!!!

Sorry.

You're logic is flawless. I agree with everything you said.

Let's move on now.

Response recorded on September 11, 2001

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matt writes...

when Puck transforms the human population to gargs why is it that Elisa and the three teen girl gargs in the subway not have brow ridges or horns of any kind? every other gargoyle we've seen except for the English gargs had either horns or brow ridges or both, but these transformed humans had neither. in fact, besides the pointed ears and color difference (which Elisa didn't even have) their bodies from the neck up looked very human, not gargoyle. was it cuz you wanted these characters to be physically attractive to human viewers even as gargs? cuz i think physically Desdemona is more attractive than Demona or Angela and Des has big old horns, so why make these characters as gargs so human looking?

would you have objected to the animators giving Elisa a beak or a frill or any of the other non human features of gargs?

Greg responds...

Yes, I would have objected to Elisa getting a beak, because she wouldn't have looked viserally like Elisa. Other changes that were less significant would not have bothered me.

However, I loved the design they came up with and didn't question it.

As for the girls in the subway. MINOR, minor characters. There wasn't as much time to do all this stuff as you seem to think. We just had to get it done.

Don't read too much into it though. We all think that Desdemona is attractive. Frank in particular likes drawing attractive females. I think Demona and Angela and Elisa are pretty hot too. Among other characters.

Response recorded on September 11, 2001

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Alissa writes...

Morning Greg. I have a little confusion going on reguarding dialog in episode "Hunter's Moon" 3. I was confused between the conversation going on over justice and vengance.

Scene Elisa's apartment after the clock tower bombing.
"The law?! What about Justice?"- Goliath
"I'm sorry but you don't want justice. You want vengance."-Elisa
"What?"
"Look at what this feud has cost us already."-Angela

I followed it just fine until this line "That's exactly why we must have vengance!"-Goliath
I thought he wanted justice? Goliath said Justice. Elisa said vengance. They(The clan)contradicted him then he worded about vengance. Am I missing something or is Goliath? Could you explain to me the scene here. Thank you :)

Greg responds...

No. That is, I could. But I don't see any point. It speaks for itself. If you're asking whether we made a mistake, the answer is no. That is to say, we didn't forget and feed Goliath a word we didn't mean to.

I'll leave it for you to interpret why Goliath switched words.

Response recorded on September 11, 2001

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Lord Sloth writes...

Enter Mcbeth:

1) Why does McBeth's stone dungen floor burn so easily? I've never seen Stone burn so well.

2) Did McBeth loose much of importance in the fire, I'd imagin there would be a lot of old magic relics, and the like. b) Did the fire burn Everything he owned? c) Did he build his new house on the ruins of his old one? d)Do you now the history of his old house, is it relivant and will you tell us?

3) Why didn't Owen call Bruno's group, or summon the steel clan, or do something more, when Hudson and Broadway took the Grimorum?

5) Did Mcbeth put Bronx in a seprate cage on purpose cause he thought they would figue out how to get him out? Was he testing them?

6) What did Macbeth tell Xanatos he planed to do with the Gargoyles? b) What did he plan to do with them once he had found their "queen"? c)Did Demona tell Macbeth about Goliath and the spell on him? And then he figured out where she was in NY when the castle was brought there, and know she must be behind it?

6) I just want to be sure this is correct. Lex and Brooklyn didn't think Bronx was strong enough to break open their cage, and Bronx only did it the second time because he had an order from Goliath. Is that all right?

Thank you.

Greg responds...

1. And you may never see it again. Consider yourself lucky.

2. Yes.
b. No. For starters the fire did not spread to Paris, where he also owns a chateau.
c. Yes.
d. Haven't given it one. And it's gone now. The newer one is just a replica.

3. Summon them where?

4. There doesn't seem to be a question four.

5. All went according to plan.

6. He didn't.
b. That would depend on events.
c. Not necessarily.

The second question 6. Bronx had momentum the second time. He could have gathered it the first time, I suppose. But it cost him to break through, so maybe your right. They didn't want to take any chances. Get help while he's free.

You're welcome.

Response recorded on September 09, 2001

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matt writes...

in The Mirror when the are in that plaza and battling Demona as humans, why is there a shop selling medieval weopons? Demona breaks a store window and all of a sudden the clan starts grabbing swords, sheilds, maces, spears, axes... why are those in NYC?

Greg responds...

They just are. Have you been to New York? They sell all sorts of things there.

Response recorded on September 08, 2001

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matt writes...

Legion questions:

1. when Recap downloaded the computer virus through the taser line from Coldstone, why didn't the virus destroy recaps programming?

2. when Coldstone first arrives at the Clocktower with Goliath and Lex, Bronx is growling at him. why? Iago has yet to take control of Coldstone. does Bronx just hate the cybernetics of Coldstone or does he sense the evil one or something?

Greg responds...

1. It destroyed much of Recap's programming. But keep in mind, Xanatos knew what he was after. So he got the virus working on a loop of some kind so that it wouldn't SELF-destruct.

2. I'd have to see it again.

Response recorded on September 08, 2001

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matt writes...

Broadway bring back Maggie's Genutech bracelet after they first encounter her and Elisa says its a tracking device. doesn't that mean that Genutech knows where they went with it? is this how Xanatos found their new home? why wasn't the clan worried about bringing a tracking device into their home? seems kinda foolish to me, esspecially in light of what would happen with a tracking device in Hunters Moon!

Greg responds...

I'm fairly certain that Broadway says it's busted now. (But perhaps I'm confusing it with another episode.)

Response recorded on September 08, 2001

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matt writes...

in Metamorphosis Elisa and Matt show up at Genutech to investigate a kidnapping. whose kidnapping are they investigateing? i wouldn't think it was Maggie cuz i don't know who would report her as missing, and why would they think to look for anyone at Genutech anyway?

Greg responds...

I'd have to see it again, but I think they were investigating Maggie on Brooklyn and Broadway's tip. (Obvioulsy, Elisa must have been circumspect about what she revealed to Matt and the folk at Gen-U-Tech.)

Response recorded on September 08, 2001

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Lord Sloth writes...

Do you think that the the music in "the Green" was a bit over done when we first saw the pyramid? I think they had seen seen a few other more impressive sights, like egypt's pyramids, and Easter Island's heads. I'm not complaining, just wondering why the music was so dramatic.

Greg responds...

Well, I'd have to look at it again, I guess.

But probably, my answer would be "NO." After all, I was present when we mixed the show and I must have approved the music at that time.

Response recorded on September 08, 2001

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matt writes...

1. in Leader of the Pack when the clan learns from Elisa that the Pack escaped from prison Lex wants to head off to PMS cuz he thinks they'll return there like "snakes to a nest", Goliath and Elisa try to stop him and then Brooklyn says he'll go with Lex to PMS to check it out. what gives Brooklyn the authority to just run off with Lex like that, hes not yet Second and he never asks Goliath or anyone if they can go?

2. what does "snakes to a nest" mean anyway? from what i know of snakes, they all abandon their eggs completly or stay with their eggs until they hatch.

Greg responds...

1. Look, these guys have been working together for awhile. Brooklyn makes the offer (whether he phrases it that way or not), and Goliath tacitly accepts. What's going on here, primarily, is that everyone is aware that Lex is out of control. Elisa (and thus Goliath and Brooklyn and everyone) don't believe that the Studio is a likely place for the Pack to go to. So Brooklyn goes along to keep Lex out of trouble at a theoretically harmless location.

2. Ask the writer. I was just the producer.

Response recorded on September 08, 2001

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Jim R. writes...

Two questions on "Temptation." By the way, I'm sorry about asking too many different questions in the same post as you stated to me sometime ago. Thanks for reenforcing my organization.

1. Why doesn't either Lex or Broadway ask Brooklyn about the bike after he returns from his conversation with Demona? Even the next night, Lex and Broadway awaken to get "breakfast" but still don't ask him?

2. Was it a lucky guess that Brooklyn pulled the right spell from the Grimorum? Because under the circumstances, it seemed as if he didn't have much time. Or does he know partial Latin?

Greg responds...

1. Guess it slipped their minds. (What did you expect me to say?)

2. The page was marked by a bookmark ribbon.

Response recorded on September 06, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

Ok, in "Seeing Isn't Beveiling" Goliath was the mystery gargoyle that everyone thought was him and he said "and Dr. Sevarius is in jail.." When did that happen?

Greg responds...

Huh?

I think this is a Goliath Chronicles question. And I don't answer those. But honestly, I'm not sure.

Response recorded on September 06, 2001

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Kelly L Creighton/Kya White Sapphire writes...

i keep meaning to post this, and am either too busy or too forgetful.

I watched "Revelations" the other night. In it Mace/Mase (sp?) falls down the elevator shaft, and grabs the wires with his bare hands. I can understand why a garg would be able to do this, but many layers of skin should have been shed. then he jumped from the cables to the window, which still had broken glass in it. so he should then have been eviscerated. and in the same scene, goliath stopps his fall with his claws, feet and hands. he falls several meters, and yet his hands never overlap his foot claw marks.

a lot of creative animating in that episode...

Greg responds...

ANd your point is?

Response recorded on September 06, 2001

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Justin writes...

Greg,

In the episode Shadows of the Past when the captain and hakon brought the stone remnants of Goliath's fallen clansmen back to "life".
1> It seems to me that the clan consisted mainly of males in that scene. In fact, if memory serves me, the only female was Demona. So by the time of the massacre had the females gone off when the clan divided?
2> I saw a lot of the same physical types, such as fatter gargoyles with humanesque faces, and slender gargs with beaks. Why?

P.S. I did notice one garg that stood out from the rest. He was tall, thickly built, and had a long sharp nose. Well I bring this up because I applaud the little bit of diversity in the scene

Greg responds...

1. No. Mostly, it's about having time to design a whole clan. I.e. we didn't. Within the show, one might argue that the Captain and Hakon thought that the appearance of Demona would be heightened in its effect, if they didn't present any other females.

2. See answer 1.

Response recorded on September 06, 2001

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Lord Sloth writes...

Awakening Questions:

1. Why, in the first apperance of Goliath, his eyes glow green briefly

2. When Goliath found his clan was murdered, he said they should save the humans, but he obviosly wanted revenge the most. Would he still have wanted to save the humans if Demona's plan had worked? b. Would the other Gargoyles?

3. Was turning the Gargoyles to stone the best revenge the Grimorum had to offer? Magus seemed to have been studying it for that sort of thing, and he wanted something a kin to using a sword, so why not lightning or fire or magic spears?

4. Why is it nether Goliath or Demona performed a wind cerimony for their clan? I guess their greif and guilt level must have been quite high, but Goliath seems responsible enough. Or he could of asked Kathern to do something similar.

5. When Elisa spots Hudson and thinks he had moved, did Hudson know that and froze so she would dismiss it? His back was turned so how did he know? And Owen didn't seem to concerned(not that he ever is).

6. I take it Bruno was under orders not to shoot Goliath, so what was he planning to do when his men had him pinned? b. Was he under orders not to shoot Elisa? They seemed to be trying to kill her, but they had terrible aim.

7. Why could Bruno's guys shoot the gas canister once, when it started leaking out, but had to shoot again before they would blow up the shack?

8. Did you know about Renard being head of Cyberbiotics back then? If you did, did you want to show him at one of the bases? That would of been cool.

9. What evidence was there that Xanatos had Stolen from Cyberbiotics? It was pretty fool proof using the Gargoyels to do his dirty work for him, and I doubt the Gargoyles testified in court. Did they?

Thanks very much for taking the time for us Greg. U da man!

Greg responds...

1. Do they? Trick of the light perhaps?

2. I think so. I think she miscalculated all the way across the board.

3. He wanted something permanent that effected all the gargs at once.

4. I think you answered your own question. A wind ceremony for the entire clan is an overwhelming thing. Think about it. As for asking Katharine, he had already made a much more important request.

5. Owen is clearly covering. Hudson is standing still on purpose.

6. He was under orders to let Goliath escape but make it look real. He was free to kill Elisa if necessary.

7. I don't understand the question.

8. I didn't know specifically, no.

9. He had possession of the disks.

Response recorded on September 06, 2001

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Ambrosia writes...

Hi, Greg!
*Greatly* enjoyed the radio play. Thank you so much!
So...
Did the cut scene of Hunter's Moon III between Elisa and Jason in the decimated clock tower actually happen in the gargoyles universe, just off camera?

Greg responds...

Uh... I'd like to think so, yes.

Response recorded on September 05, 2001

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Lord Sloth writes...

Heya Greg
I'm just 17, and I got the tootsie rool thing right away.

Anyway, I read some more unsatisfactory responces so I'll just restate some of them.

1)For the ill met by moonlight questons you didn't answer one cause I called Angela "Angie", But why should that keep you from answering? Anyway the question again is:

2)When Goliath, Gabreil and ANGELA fall into the water being filled with lava, why isn't it too hot to survive? If you don't know, just say so.

3)And I didn't understand your answer about Oberon giving Goliath immunity to his magic. Didn't he take that away in the Gathering, or does he just temporarily set it aside when it suits him? b) Is Goliath and clan immune to his arts by the end of the Gathering?

thank you.
P.S.and, you right. I have a very dirty mind, so I'll just imagine Brooklen says what I want him to.

Greg responds...

1. Sloth. Let's start by saying I don't actually owe you an answer to anything. If I'm not in the mood, I may just try to be funny. I may fail. But I could use a bit less 'tude, dude.

2. Like here, for example.

3. He never took the immunity away, he just interpreted the edict. He never uses his magic DIRECTLY against Goliath or the clan.

b. Depends on who's doing the defining. Since it's Oberon, he was, is and will always be immune.

P.S. I've forgotten what this refers too, but maybe that's just as well.

Response recorded on September 01, 2001

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Lord Sloth writes...

The Hunters Moon(all):

1) Did the cops have some sorta clue that the subway might be hijacked? If so, where did they get it?

2)In part 2, why was the wall of the airship that Jon and Robyn were thrown against electrified?

3) By the end of part 3, did Jason figure out that the other special someone Elisa was talking about was Goliath, or even that it was a gargoyle? Did Elisa tell him in the end?

4)How old are you?

Greg responds...

1. If you mean robbed, yes. There had been a series of subway robberies.

2. That was never visually clear. And I forget what our original intent was exactly -- a junction box maybe -- but I was always a bit disappointed in that moment for that reason.

3. By the end, he knew.

4. 37. Although, technically that's a totally different topic and I shouldn't have answered the question.

Response recorded on August 30, 2001

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Lord Sloth writes...

Just read some responces and I now have to question some of your answers.

How did Matt not know Elisa jumped off the silver falcon building when Glasses shouted "that wacko dame took a dive!".

Greg responds...

I'll have to watch it again.

What was the original question?

Response recorded on August 30, 2001

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matt writes...

for some reason i feel compelled to share this with you:

ok, i didn't even think about this until you mentioned the "Cairn" that Goliath and co. were imprisoned in in a recent question, but my dog, Gus, is a Cairn Terrier, and i've commonly called him a hound of ulster in my best irish accent. and i suddenly realized that that is funny not only cuz his species was named for digging into the same kind of place as "The Hound of Ulster" had its climax, but a Cairn Terrier was also Toto in "The Wizard of Oz" which was quoted twice in the episode (once by Elisa, and once by Banshee). and then at random i choose Cuchallin as my new screen icon in the Comment Room here! wow! i just thought that was an amazing string of coincidences, or are they coincidences?

why was "The Wizard of Oz" quoted twice seperatly in this one episode, even when it was never quoted anywhere else in the series? seems weird...

anyway, thats all i have to say... oh, and hey! now my dog is famous for being mentioned online to the Wizard of Ask Greg! hooray Gus (aka the hound of ulster reborn, lol)

Greg responds...

Well, I like the Wizard of Oz.

I don't really remember the specifics of how those quotes got in there, but it's likely that if one was down on paper our brains may have been in Oz mode, summoning up the other.

Response recorded on August 30, 2001

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William Cain writes...

In the episode "Temptation", Goliath is placed under the a spell that makes him a slave to whom
Ever holds the Grimorum. OK. (A few point then my question and hopefully an answer.)
Point 1.The confines of the spell were that he would obey whoever held the book.
Point 2. In order to free Goliath from the zombie like state Elisa told him to act as is he was not placed under the magic spell.
Point 3. Demona took the actual counter spell.
I just don't feel that her having him act normal would cancel the effects of the magic as for him running around like a zombie yes but not the magic control its self but… I will leave that to you.
My question is if Demona was to take the book again could she take control over Goliath once more or are the effects of the spell no more?
Thank you for your Time
William Cain

Greg responds...

Here are my points:

1. Whoever held the spell. Not the book. At the end, Elisa was holding the spell.

2. Demona did not have the counterspell. She took other spells, like the one to summon Puck.

3. After Elisa issued her command, I'm betting they destroyed the spell. But who knows? (Well, I do. But I'm not telling.)

Response recorded on August 30, 2001

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Lord Sloth writes...

Hunter's moon part 1 questions:

1) When Jason said he had heard of alligators in the sewers, and Elisa said she could tell him stories, was she talking totaly about gargoyles, or has she ever had an experience with an alligator in a sewer? What would she have told him if the thiefs hadn't interupted?

2)Why do Demona's thugs need to steal DI7 disenfectant if it was a comonly used cleaner? Why not just buy it?

3a) Where do the hunter trio get the money for all their technoligy? I'm guessing stealing, but I dunno. b) did they get their airship from cyberbiotics? How? c) Have they ever hunted and or killed a gargoyle(s) before?

4) Did older hunters use real raven's or halks (or whatever that mech bird was) when hunting Gargs?

5) why didn't Gilcomgain's <sp?> scratches bleed a bit more when he was talking to his daddy?

Greg responds...

1. Nothing. Been a while since I saw this, but I believe that she was talking about gargoyles. And she wouldn't have told him anything.

[I should note that I am currently on vacation at my in-laws using their web-tv. The keyboard is stiff and various keys, the r in particular, stick. I don't think I have the patience to put up with this for long.]

2. It wasn't commonly used. It was in work to be commonly used.

3. They have a substantial Canmore Trust. The ship's designers have not been revealed. They have been hunting Demona since they were kids. Whether or not they had also hunted and/or killed other gargs has yet to be revealed.

4. Yes.

5. As opposed to when?

Response recorded on August 21, 2001

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Lord Sloth writes...

Possesion:
1) When Puck(in the guise of Goliath) was telling the Clan about the soul trasfer spell, Lex was amazed that Goliath knew magic and Puck put his hand on Lex's shoulder, and some sparkaly stuff came over Lex's face. What was that all about?

2)What did Angella(or Desdemona rather) do when she pulled Coldfire under the water? She didn't come up for a lond time, not untill Puck called her.

Greg responds...

1. It was about magically convincing Lex to be a little more trusting.

2. She meaning Coldfire? Angela inflicted grievous damage. But like Coldsteel, Coldfire could self-repair.

Response recorded on August 15, 2001

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matt writes...

ok, you've said that Angela would say the spell to reach Avalon after each adventure. well, at the end of "Bushido" its daytime and Angela is asleep, but yet the travelers still disappear into the mist, and i mean they really vanish, not just fade into the mist. at first i thought maybe Elisa could've said the spell, but if you watch the episode shes talking to the Ishimuran guy and herself as the travelors dissapear, so SHE didn't say the spell either. so how did the travelers dissappear without saying the spell?

sorry to try and trap you like this, but its only fair the way you dodge our questions! LOL, kidding! :) if you don't have an answer its ok!

Greg responds...

I'd have to look at it again. Elisa may have ALREADY said the spell. Or maybe that fog was just thick Japanese fog. And she said the spell after the fade.

I would think that Angela would generally be the one to say it. But after Goliath and Elisa had heard it over and over, I don't see why they wouldn't be able to do it too.

Response recorded on August 14, 2001

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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.

Response recorded on August 08, 2001

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Lord Sloth writes...

When Dominique was pretending to love Macbeth, was there any instant that she got hurt in his presence (stubed her toe or something)? Also, is it JUST pain that Demona and Macbeth both feel? Or can one feel the other touching his\her skin? How bout plessure? If Ms. Destine was to go as far as to bed with Macbeth (though I doubt that would happen), would that be VERY INTERESTING for Macbeth? I tend to think like this a lot.

Thanks

Greg responds...

Simple touching doesn't pass from one to the other. Intense feelings of pain and pleasure would.

And no, obviously Dominique was careful not to be in range when she was transforming. And she didn't slip up either.

Response recorded on August 08, 2001

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Lord Sloth writes...

Are the events in "Turf" and "Vendettas" ment to be happing at the same time? If they are, why wasn't Bronx with Goliath and Hudson in Vendettas and why were they gone for two night? If they wern't, why was it that Goliath, Hudson and Bronx were away two nights in Turf?

Also, In "Turf", why does Jack Danforth(is that his name) know so much about the Prison system and where Dracon was held? And what made Danforth want to join in the mob buisness? Don't the Feds keep a watch on their relocated witnesses? For that matter, why was Jack a relocated witness? What was he a whitness of?

Merci

Greg responds...

The events depicted in "Vendettas" (not counting the 7/18/96 prologue in Scotland) took place between August 1st and 2nd, 1996. Though neither Goliath or Hudson made it back to the clock tower before sunrise on the morning of the 2nd. The events of "Turf" took place between August 2nd and 3rd. Bronx was having his own little adventure at that time.

Jack Danforth (aka Jack Dane) has been in the prison system. And he still has friends inside. He made it his business to know. Dane wasn't joining the mob business. He was REJOINING the mob business. He was a mobster who was at odds with the Dracon family and had (at some point) testified against them. The Feds were aware that Dane had un-relocated. But they needed evidence to bring him in. Elisa eventually provided that evidence.

Response recorded on August 07, 2001

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Todd Jensen writes...

While I'm dealing with Oberon's non-intervention edict:

I happened to see "Future Tense" in the video room at the Gathering 2001, and spotted something that I hadn't noticed previously. Just before Goliath gets zapped by Puck's Future Tense illusion (by which, I mean, just before he gets struck by that lightning bolt which would have been Puck's spell), he wishes out loud to be able to see Hudson and the trio again. Is the timing significant, in that Goliath's spoken wish provided Puck with the loophole that he needed to put that illusion on Goliath?

Greg responds...

In part, yes.

Response recorded on August 06, 2001

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Lord Sloth writes...

Did Xanatos tell his present day Illuminati friends about his his plans for time traval? If he did, wouldn't they want he to retreve the Phenix gate?

Greg responds...

No, he did not.

Response recorded on July 27, 2001

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Lord Sloth writes...

Why do none of the New Olimpians bother to tell Goliath that there are other Gargoyles on New Olimpis? Where do the other gargoyles live on the island? How big is the Island? it looked like it was just one floating city.

Greg responds...

It's fairly big. They may have thought Goliath knew. The Gargoyles of New Olympus are isolationists, even from their fellow citizens.

Response recorded on July 27, 2001

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Lord Sloth writes...

Hi Greg, is it July 4th now? You seem to be making quite the effort to catch up to us. Just know that I have a big list of questons that I havn't even asked yet. Anyway, to the question.

When Goliath and co. returned to N.Y., what did they do with the skiff? Did it sink like Arther's? And when they got back, was it from the lake near Belveder Castle, or in from the Atlantic or what?
Tank u.

Greg responds...

It sank. And I like to think they took the same approach as Goliath took in "Future Tense", but without the devastation.

And it's currently July 20th.

Response recorded on July 20, 2001

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Aspen Taylor writes...

This may seem silly, but I was watching the episode Deadly Force on the Avalon web page and something stuck me. The doctor said that the bullet hit high in the chest, but the paramedics applied pressure to her stomach. Later when the dotor was discussing Elisa's condition to her parents, he described in incredibly detailed list of the bullet's path through her chest, from her heart to lungs and collarbone. I'm not a doctor by any means, but in order to make that kind of list as well as try and find the bullet-even if it ultamatly ended up in the base of her spine- would he not have had to crack her chest open for that kind of exploratory surgery? *Shutters at the the though of rib spreaders* Anyway I was just curious. Thanks!

Greg responds...

I'm not a doctor either. We tried to be both devastating and accurate. But I think yours would have to be a question for Michael Reaves who wrote the episode.

Response recorded on July 20, 2001

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Lord Sloth writes...

I take it thet Bronx's sudden appearance in "the Mirror" was an accedent, but did\could you come up with some sort of explanation for how he got there. A non Smart Ass answer would be nice, but I'll try to understand if you can't resist.

Greg responds...

I never said it was an accident. They went and got him.

Response recorded on July 20, 2001

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Lord Sloth writes...

Future Tense:
1 Why didn't Goliath just let Puck have the Phenix gate?
2 Why didn't Puck just ask for the Phenix gate?
3 What would be so bad about Oberon having time traval acsess?
4 How was Goliath able to create the phenix flame above him instead of around him?

Greg responds...

1. Would you after what you had been through?
2. Not in his nature, and it wouldn't have worked.
3. What would be so good about it?
4. He used the Gate.

Response recorded on July 17, 2001

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Lord Sloth writes...

Gathering questions:
1a) Why does Oberon need a tracker to find Puck(a fellow fey), when both Titanya and the Wierd Sisters were able to locate the Gargoyles in the clock tower? b)Why could Oberon sence Titanya and not Puck? c)How was Budicca able to track Owen from the Park to the castle? Had Owen been frolicking in the park earlier?

2a)Did Titanya want things to end up as they did from the begining? b) If she did, how was she sure Puck would of shown up? c) If she didn't, then should I assume she wanted Gargoyles to help take the baby, and it wasn't reverse pyicoligy?

3)Why were nither Rinard, Vogel, nor the Gargoyle's put to sleep? Am I right in thinking Titanya protected them?

4)How did Rinard know about the danger? Did Xanatos or Titanya ask him for help?

5a) Why would the people of manhaten, think this was all a midsummer night's dream, with all the car crashes, injuries and, probably, deaths that occured? b) Would not all that damage break the non-interferance law?

Good luck with these, for all our sakes.

Greg responds...

1a. He was in the mood. Besides, Puck is better at hiding.
1b. Puck is not his wife/soulmate.
1c. It's a magic flute, man. Just flow with it!

2a. So she says.
2b. Intuition?
2c. I'm not going to interpret it for you.

3. Renard and Vogel were not in Manhattan when the spell was first cast. Also they had an energy field around the bridge.

4. Yes. Xanatos informed him.

5a. That's Oberon's interpretation.
5b. From his point of view, he didn't cause the damage. He was merely taking the mortals out of a conflict that would have interfered with their lives. The damage was a minor repercussion.

Response recorded on July 17, 2001

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Lord Sloth writes...

How did Xanatos know what Iago and Desdemona looked like when he desined their robots?

Greg responds...

I could have sworn I've answered this. He accessed Coldstone's memory banks.

Response recorded on July 11, 2001

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Lord Sloth writes...

Have you noticed, in "Metamorphesis", when Brooklen is in the ally trying to save Maggie, and a tranquilizer hits him, he shouts "Argk" or something, but it sounds quite a lot like "Fuck". I think there is an other instant in Gargoyles where this happens. So I was wondering if you or anyone else had noticed it and if there were any problems or conflects in releasing it.

Greg responds...

I have not noticed that. Neither did anyone else at Disney or it would have been corrected. Is it at all possible, my Lord, that you have a dirty mind?

Response recorded on July 11, 2001

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Todd Jensen writes...

In "Deadly Force", the trio describe "Showdown" as a "new movie", but it's a black-and-white film. Were the trio using the word "new" in a comparative sense (the same way that Lexington described Shakespeare as a "new writer" in "Enter Macbeth"), or was it genuinely a recent film that happened to be shot in black-and-white rather than color?

Greg responds...

It was either the latter or a restored rerelease of an old film. Either way, it was new to them.

Hey, Todd, I hope you'll post a Gathering Diary here. I'd like to read it.

Response recorded on July 11, 2001

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Sloth writes...

Just saw and recorded Sentinal, an episiode I origanally didn't like very much, when I thought aliens and Olimpians were too fantastic. But now that I've read the layout for the new spin off, and I can see where all this space spawn stuff is heading, I found it much more intreging!
Some questions though:
1)When Nokar first appeared and toke Elisa away, why did he just knock out Bronx and wait till latter to catch him all over again?
2)Nokar had a bunch of small rat like droids running about his ship, what were their purpose?
3)Why did Elisa chose the name tiny for Goliath?
4)A)When Goliath destroyed the control panal, which in turn destroyed that big central thing, how much did that hurt the space ship? It was still able to rise outa the ground and fire that cannon. B)Will Nokar be able to repair it?
5)A)How is Nokar getting on with his new friends? B)Has he made any more?
Thats all for this fun Ep. Nice work!

Greg responds...

1. His priority was getting Elisa to safety.

2. Multi-fold.

3. She was being sarcastic. (Sloth, why did you think?)

4a. Some.
4b. Yes.

5a. Not saying.
5b. Not saying.

Response recorded on July 10, 2001

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Sloth writes...

How did Elisa explaine her jump of the building in "The Silver Falcon" to Matt?

Greg responds...

He didn't see it.

Response recorded on July 10, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

Any plans on retconning parts of Hound of Ulster?

Greg responds...

No. My only regret there is that I didn't put Cu Chullain's armor and skeleton in the Cairn with Goliath, Angela and Elisa.

Response recorded on July 10, 2001

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Pyro X writes...

Greg;
The Native Peoples of NA came to NA VIA the Bering Strait some thousands of years ago.

1) When Oberon dispatched his "family" to live among mortals, did Raven make his way imediatly to Q.F.I off Canada?
2)Did Raven "take on" the persona of "The Raven" based on Native legend, or was he always "Raven"?
3) As you have said, you never know if that is Pucks true form (As the in the elvish form). Does this, as well, apply to the Other children? Was that Raven's true form?
4) Does Raven have a true form?
5) Did the "Raven" legend spring from "Raven" himself?
6) What WAS that thing Grandmother turned into??? (the thing with the weird mouth).

Thanks!

Greg responds...

Pyro,

Your initial premise is scientifically accepted. But I think many Native American Tribes disagree. It doesn't fit their legends and holy stories. For the purposes of Gargoyles, I'm not taking sides. All things are true.

1. Keep in mind that what Oberon mainly did was to banish the Children from Avalon and insist that they not interfere with mortal lives. It's not like Raven had never been among mortals up to that point.

2. He's Raven.

3. It applies to ALL the other children. Including Raven.

4. Do any of them?

5. See question 2.

6. I assume you mean Thunderbird. (She says that in the episode.)

Response recorded on July 10, 2001

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Sloth writes...

In Pendragon, Arther gives the order to fire the lightning weapon at the base of the water elemental. Once this is done, the elemental is destroyed. Since I was never good at science, explane how electrisity would destroy the elemental and leave Arther unharmed.

Greg responds...

We never said Arthur'd be unharmed. He wasn't unharmed.

But have you ever heard of the electrolysis of water?

Response recorded on July 10, 2001

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matt writes...

in "The Mirror" when Puck transformed the New York citizens into gargoyles why did he make them Scottish gargoyles?

Greg responds...

He didn't. He made them Manhattan gargoyles.

Response recorded on July 09, 2001

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Todd Jensen writes...

At the end of "The New Olympians", Taurus, after discovering how Elisa had risked herself to stop Proteus from destroying New Olympus, comments that she is not like the "humans of legend". Was this particular phrase intended as a sort of "double-meaning one"? While the obvious and immediate meaning is the humans of the New Olympians' legends, the evidence presented in the episode is that the same humans who mistreated them and drove them into hiding in their tales were, or included, the heroes of Greek legend such as Theseus, so that "humans of legend" could mean as much the humans of our legends as the New Olympians'. Was this intended as being the case?

Greg responds...

Yeah. Plus the on-going reversal in this episode. Like Gargoyles of legend or Olympians of legend. Here we were taking the point of view of these mythical creatures, to whom humans were the legendary "Other" that we've been talking about recently. Just part of the on-going exploration of the shows core themes, seen from the other side.

Response recorded on July 09, 2001

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Sloth writes...

Sorry Greg, I know this isn't a chat room but... Matt, I think Demona said: why do the little people always frustate me. Just sounds a bit better.

K, guess I better add a question. After creaming Goliath, why did Vinni just throw away Mr. Cartter after develiping such a close bond with it?
Also do you have any more plans for Mr. Cartter?

Greg responds...

Vinnie's a funny guy. Very single-minded, one thing at a time kinda guy. Mr. Carter was created for a very specific purpose. Once that purpose was served, he was free to discard it. After all, it was out of pie.

I don't have any more plans for the pie gun.

But I have very specific plans for the guy the pie gun was named after.

Response recorded on July 06, 2001

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John writes...

Hi Greg,
Today no talk, just the question:
In "Sanctuary", Macbeth got a picture of Elisa hanging in his livingroom. Was that a joke by the writers, or have you too not noticed it untill yet?
By the way: do you know, that John Rhys-Davies will play Gimli in the Lord of the Rings movie?
OK, that's all
CU, John

Greg responds...

I knew John was in the movie, not what he was playing.

I have noticed that there is a picture that looks like Elisa. At present I have no explanation for it. It certainly wasn't in the script.

Response recorded on July 06, 2001

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Sloth writes...

Questions about MIA:
1) does the clerc who told the man that Leo and Una were wearing masks know that they are really gargoyles?

2) where does the man, who was being attacked by thugs, come from? He didn't sound british and the thugs were saying get out and keep england pure.

3)How did Leo and Una explane their gliding and cool manuvers to the crowd watching them at the end? I think it would take more then very real masks.

BTW, this is one of my favorite eps. My only complaint was that some of the germans looked a bit too evil.

Greg responds...

1. It was a customer, not a clerk. And she didn't know then.

2. He was Pakistani by birth. Why?

3. That ending changed everything.

Response recorded on July 03, 2001

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WereFox writes...

I'd have to say that my favorite "off camera" moment for the series would have been Demona 1st encounter with Thailog. I know it wasn't necessary to show it, but such moments exist shearly for the look of shock and surprise you see on peoples faces. Had you actually imagined how it transpired? For, example, die Demona mistake Thailog for Goliath? Did Thailog get the drop on Demona first? Would have been a classic moment. Possibly the perfect counter point to "The Kiss".

Greg responds...

It'll make a good flashback some day.

Response recorded on July 03, 2001

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Demoness writes...

In the "Gathering pt 1" Oberon reminds Titania "It is my law not to interfer in human affairs. Let the woman keep her child."

Then a minute later he says: "If it pleases you, you have my permission to take the child."

Xanatos: "It's alright, no one is going anywhere. It is the epiphany [sp?] in interfering in human affairs by taking a child from its parents. By your own law, you can't do this."

Oberon: "I've made up my mind."

Xanatos is right....So Oberon just broke his law by trying to take Alex whether he is of Fae blood or not. He would still be interfering in Fox and David's lives. Doesn't he realize that he made a big mistake concerning his law? Or is it just because he's the King and he can do whatever he wants?

Greg responds...

That's your point of view. Not his. Not even mine necessarily. I'm not saying he was right about taking Alexander in any kind of moral sense. But I certainly see his point from a "law-interpretation" sense. Alex was a "Child of Oberon" (not literally). He therefore was not a mortal and not subject to the non-interference rule. Quite the contrary, Oberon had declared the Gathering. Alex was REQUIRED to attend by Oberon's law. Since he couldn't get there on his own power, Oberon was simply providing a taxi service. Giving them an hour -- monstrously cruel as it sounds to us -- seemed to him like a generous concession. After all, Alex was due in Avalon yesterday -- literally.

You can see the 'fairness' of his judgment in the way he deals with Fox. He could have insisted that she come too. Costing Xanatos both wife and child. But he ruled that Fox was "regrettably human". And thus he could not touch her. From his point of view he was being very fair.

And mentioning Oberon's earlier comment is specious. He didn't know who Alex was at the time.

Xanatos certainly, and obviously, has his point of view. But who is he to interpret Oberon's law relative to Oberon himself. Who had the backing of Titania by the way in said interpretation.

Response recorded on July 02, 2001

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Todd Jensen writes...

When you first had Xanatos and Owen mention the Emir in "The Edge", did you know that he'd feature in an episode in a prominent role at that time? Did you when you got to their mention of him in "Double Jeopardy"?

Greg responds...

Edge - No.

DJ - I was beginning to suspect that everything would eventually be used.

Response recorded on July 02, 2001

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Jimmy_Q writes...

Hey, Greg, at the end of "the mirror" (or whatever it's called, haven't seen the series in a few years, so i may not remember every little detail), Demona was shown reacting to the situation as if she had no idea that she had somehow transformed. In fact, she didn't figure out she turned human until later in that scene. Now, if I was her, I wouldn't be enjoying the thought of not being stone during the day so much as I would be freaking out over the pain I just felt throughout my whole body. Sorry, but if all of a sudden I felt like every bone, sinew, muscle, etc. in my body was being twisted and tied into knots, I wouldn't exactly spring up and bask in the sunshine as if nothing happened. So what happened here? Is this simply simply another one of those errors made throughout the series? BTW, just in case you're wondering, i discovered this site just a night or two ago, so it's not like it took all these years for this question to occur to me. Thanks for your time, bud.

Greg responds...

You're welcome.

There was no pain during that first transformation. Puck wanted to spring it on her as a surprise, so the pain was surpressed that once.

Response recorded on July 02, 2001

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Blaine writes...

I might be mistaken on this, but as I recall in "Reawakening" didn't Demona say she something to the effect of she had tried everything (sorcery and science) to bring him (Coldstone) back to life? So, does that mean that she was carrying around what was left of Coldstone's body (and Desdemona and Iago's bodies also) around with her all over the world for the thousand years before "The Awakening"?

Greg responds...

You're mistaken. So, no.

Response recorded on July 02, 2001

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Corrine Blaquen writes...

Last night I was watching 'Hunter's Moon, Part II' on Toon Disney. Since it's definately one of my favorite episodes, I tried to spot all the stuff I'd missed when on previous viewings. I was delighted by what I found!

It was in the scene right after when Elisa gives Angela CPR. In a short time afterwards dawn comes. What I noticed was that just before they turn to stone, Broadway moves beside where Angela is lying and takes her hand. It was happening in the background and no attention was called to it, but I thought that was incredibly sweet! I really loved it. Was that another hint that Broadway and Angela would end up together? If it was, it was a VERY nice way to do so. :-)

Another question about Hunter's Moon, Part II: When Goliath is just outside Elisa's window, seeing all that happens within (My original reaction to Elisa and Jason was *GASP!* "OHMYGOD, NO, OHMYGOD, NO, OHMYGOD, NO, OHMYGOD, NO, OHMYGOD, NO OHMYGOD, NO!" So on and so forth), could he hear what was being said? I couldn't tell.

And I'd like to take a brief moment to say thanks for creating a show with characters that can endear themselves with little background actions and that make me care SO MUCH that its hero gets the girl!

Greg responds...

1. Yes. As soon as Gary Sperling and I decided (while working on Turf) that Broadway and Angela would wind up together, we tried to show their relationship building -- in subtle ways.

2. Yes, he could hear. But in Soap Opera fashion, he left before he heard it all. To our credit, even the stuff he missed wasn't exactly equivocal.

You're welcome. Thanks for watching.

Response recorded on July 02, 2001

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Demoness writes...

Isn't Elisa a member of Goliath's clan? If so, why was she affected by Oberon's magic in "The Gathering" when he decreed that Goliath's clan was immune.

Greg responds...

Oberon clearly doesn't realize that she's a member.

Response recorded on July 01, 2001

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Demoness writes...

1a. Do the Fae tap into Earth's Magic?

1b. If yes, lets say a Fae somehow finds himself on Mars, would he be weaker then normal or completely powerless, or not effected at all?

2. How come Oberon could throw Xanatos magically when his magic is powerless against iron? (The Gathering pt 2)

3. In your opinion, who would win in a fair battle, Q or Oberon?

4. When did the Mab/Oberon war happen? Could you please give me an estimated date like c. 1000 BC-500 BC.

Greg responds...

1a. Sometimes.

1b. I'm not big on hypotheticals.

2. He grabbed his head.

3. I have no interest in this question.

4. It is forbidden.

Response recorded on July 01, 2001

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Sloth writes...

When Goliath found out Puck was Owen, or owen was puck, whey didn't he persue the matter of whether Future Tense was a dream or a profossy?

Greg responds...

What's a 'profossy'?

Seriously, did the timing seem right to you?

And at any rate, G's not a dope. He knows he'd never get a straight answer from the Puck.

Response recorded on July 01, 2001

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matt writes...

oh, and why did Gliath tell the trio to take Bronx down to the rookery with them when they got in trouble in "Awakening Part 1"?

Greg responds...

He seemed to be part of the disturbance.

Response recorded on June 30, 2001

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matt writes...

1. are beast egss different from regular garg eggs in any way? like size, color, markings, texture, etc.

2. are most gargoyle rookeries pretty similar? a dark, humid cave as we saw in "Awakening"?

3. what was that smily green stuff that who-would-be-Broadway find and eat on the rookery wall?

4. what was causing the rookery to glow? was it that grenn smily stuff?

5. do all gargoyle eggs look like each other among the different clans? would a wise gargoyle be able to tell the difference between a London garg egg and a Guatemalan garg egg for instance?

Greg responds...

1. No.

2. More or less.

3. Uh, mold?

4. Yes.

5. I doubt it.

Response recorded on June 30, 2001

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Epantiras writes...

What appends in "Future Tense" is the real future or only a nigthmare?

Greg responds...

Some from column A, some from column B.

Response recorded on June 29, 2001

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Shavri writes...

Hi, Mr. Weisman! I'm curious, how come Xanatos, in "Cloud Fathers," didn't seem to notice that Angela would have been a little too old, _biologically_, to be Goliath's daughter? I mean, she's like what--10 years younger than her father? I would have thought that was a little odd. How about you?

Greg responds...

Obviously, he didn't know the details of how it all worked out. But he knew from Sevarius that Angela was G's bio-daughter. So he wasn't SHOCKED at the news. And at any rate, he's not the sort to act shocked by anything.

Response recorded on June 29, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

In "Macbeth" when Elisa, Broadway and Lexington tried to get the Grimorum Akrimnorum (I think I spelled that wrong)
and Owen tries to stop them Elisa just gos ahead and takes Xanatose's property along with Broadway and Lex so if she's a police officer then doesn't she have to follow the law like everyone else?

Thanks Alot

Greg responds...

Arcanorum. And it's highly debatable who's property it was -- at least in Elisa's mind.

Response recorded on June 27, 2001

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Todd Jensen writes...

In "High Noon", why did the Weird Sisters get Othello to seize back control of Coldstone from Iago? That rather puzzles me, seeing that the result of Coldstone's "shift in loyalties" saved Elisa and the clan, and consequently allowed Elisa, Goliath, and Bronx to help the Avalon clan against the Archmage and the Weird Sisters - almost a case of the Sisters shooting themselves in the foot, in fact.

Greg responds...

Yeah, seems that way doesn't it.

But... first off, the Weird Sisters represent three opposing forces battling for ascendency without ever acknowledging or even being aware of the conflict. So more was going on then you saw.

Second, they were concerned with the Archmage's short term goals. They didn't want a prolonged battle. They wanted Demona and Macbeth to get away with the Gate, the Eye and the Grimorum. And they wanted the Manhattan Clan to be unaware of the theft. Helping Othello aided that cause.

Finally, it's asking a lot for them to predict what would happen on Avalon. Or is it?

Response recorded on June 27, 2001

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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.)

Response recorded on June 27, 2001

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Jim R. writes...

Questions on "The Mirror":
1. In the beginning, we see Elisa undercover as a nightwatchman or should I say "nightwatchwoman." Anyways, I'm sure anyone who watched real closely notices that when she looks in the mirror simply to beautify her hair, and then suddenly hears the noise of Demona approaching. She rotates quickly to see, but her reflection in the mirror does not. It remains the same image from only seconds before. Was this merely an animation mistake? Or was it intentional because it is Titania's mirror?
2. How did Elisa and Goliath know that Demona was going for the mirror? Kinda weird that by chance they just happened to be there, but I know there was some pre-existing knowledge of Demona's plan when we hear Goliath say, "At least she didn't get the mirror."
3. How did Demona manage to rent out an apartment or maybe even the whole building where she had the mirror delivered?
4. After Puck does his first major city-wide transformation, he falls unconscious. Demona picks him up, and we see her sort of taking advantage of his levitational ability to escape into the subway where the other gargs persuing fall short because lack of wind. Why is it that Puck can still fly even though unconscious? Or was he?
5. Why did Bronx not get transformed earlier?
6. Was the trash can (that I think Hudson used to trap Puck, but I don't remember accurately) made of iron or have traces of iron ore in it? I suppose it would have to in order to trap Puck, but most metal trash cans are usually made of aluminum.

Greg responds...

1. It was intentional to hint that the mirror had magical properties.

2. They didn't know. But they guessed right. It seemed like a tempting prize for the likes of Demona or Macbeth or Xanatos.

3. She owns that house and has for decades. A person with a lot of money can make arrangements.

4. She's not using his levitational ability. She's just leaping around. She has powerful legs.

5. He wasn't there.

6. Yes, it was an old iron trash can.

Response recorded on June 21, 2001

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Vashkoda writes...

I just rewatched "Vendettas", and yup, a few questions came to mind:

1) While battling Wolf/Hakon, I noticed that Hudson is pretty proficient with his sword, yet you said that he had just happened to pick up the weapon during the battle with the Vikings. Had he actually had some sword training beforehand, or did he learn how to use one through trial and error?

2) While Hakon was possessing Wolf, he told him that if he destroyed the axe, Hakon would lose his only link to the Earth plane and disappear. However, in "Possession", Desdemona and Othello lamented over the fact that if they destroyed the Coldstone body, they would be trapped in Broadway and Angela forever. You've said before that the relationship that Hakon has with the axe is similar to that of the Coldtrio and their mechanical bodies. a) So if what the Coldtrio said about possessing hosts also applies to Hakon, would he in fact have been able to remain permanently in Wolf's body if the latter had destroyed the axe while he was still being possessed? b) Puck had said that soul transferance was tricky, and that the host had to be willing to be possessed. So how was Hakon able to take over Wolf? Wolf didn't seem to happy about it when he regained consciousness, so I don't think he would have been willing. c) Why did Hakon need to worry about Wolf destroying the axe? Couldn't he have taken complete possession of Wolf once he managed to get inside him and prevented him from doing the weapon any harm?

Greg responds...

1. Maybe a bit of both.

2. a. Different deal, basically.

b. They were sympatico. Ancestor/descendent with a common hatred of Goliath.

c. Obvioulsy, he couldn't. Not when Wolf was conscious.

Response recorded on June 21, 2001

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matt writes...

well Todd, if you are not going to ask it, i guess i will...

in "Legion" when Coldstone first arrives at the Clocktower, Bronx is growling. Iago hasn't come to the surface yet, so is Bronx growling cuz he has something against Coldstone or robots/cyborgs, or does he sense the evil one inside Coldstone or what?

Greg responds...

I guess the latter. I'd have to look at it again.

Response recorded on June 20, 2001

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Buck writes...

At the end of "Temptation", Elisa tells (commands?) Goliath (under the spell) to always act as if he was not under a spell. I'm assuming this means for all spells and not just that particular one he was under. If this assumption is correct, how would Goliath be affected by Puck's spells in "The Mirror"? I want to say there are other times he's been under a spell, but I haven't seen too many episodes on Toon Disney yet (I just got the station) and I'm cursed with a poor memory.

Greg responds...

You're assumption is incorrect.

She didn't (couldn't) give him full magical immunity. She didn't have that kind of control. She simply ordered the slave to act FOREVER as if he wasn't one.

Response recorded on June 20, 2001

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Epyon Zero writes...

In Avalon 2, when Archamge 2 talk to Archmage 1, he says he' ll need many things: weapons, allies, soldiers, a base of operation, etc

Weapons: Eye of Odin, Grimorum, Phoenix Gate
Allies: Weird Sisters
Soliders: Demona, Macbeth
Base: Avalon

Beside those mentioned, did any others things/people were plan by the Archmage?

Greg responds...

Huh?

No. If I read you right.

(PROOFREAD, GUYS!)

Response recorded on June 19, 2001

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Jada writes...

Here's a question that's been bugging me for days:
In Awakenings part 1 when Hakon is climbing the castle and Goliath wakes up, but he dosn't roar, his eyes just glow and he stands up.

Thanks

Greg responds...

I'm sorry, what's the question?

Response recorded on June 10, 2001

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Jim R. writes...

Just watched "Vows" and I have some questions:
1. Demona breaks the Phoenix Gate in half to share it with Goliath. How is this possible? I would of thought the Gate, being forged on Avalon, would be indestructable since it is of pure magic. But how can a mortal such as Demona simply break it as if it were a cracker?
2. Stupid questions: Can the gate still work being broken in half? How much more can it be broken?
3. Does Goliath explain the whole situation to Hudson about how they turn to stone for a 1000 years, when Hudson first sees him after he has arrived from the future? I wouldn't think so, but I was thinking that Hudson might be a bit curious about Goliath's time-travel story. And Hudson, being a wise garg, would think twice as to whom this future Goliath could possibly be.
4. Why was castle Wyvern still burning when future Demona brought her past self to see what would become of their kind? Goliath and the rest of the gargs were already turned to stone to sleep for a 1000 years, and I would have thought that the castle fires would be out by then.

Greg responds...

1. I'm sorry, why should it be indestructable? I don't follow your logic there at all. After all, Oberon's not indestructable. Keep in mind, breaking it in half didn't destroy it anyway. It simply neutralized it until the pieces were joined again. At which point they soon sealed up as if they had never been broken.

2. No. Don't know.

3. Goliath consciously chose to reveal as little as possible. You saw most of their conversation on screen.

4. On one level, you can call it artistic license. Or you could say that there were still a few fires burning that no one bothered to put out.

Response recorded on June 10, 2001

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matt writes...

i just watched "Enter Macbeth". i think this was the first of lots of sad ending-episodes... after this in "Reawakening" Coldstone is awakened and apparently dies, in "Metamorphosis" Derek is mutated and decieved by Xanatos, really sad ending, in "Legion" Coldstone is brought back but is destroyed by a virus, and on and on until "Hunters Moon" when the Clocktower is destroyed and the gargoyles are exposed. a very bittersweet series, really, i love it! anyway, back to my point, in "Enter Macbeth" you opened with Xanatos in prison in a dark cell eating bad prison food, while the gargs are living it up at the Eyrie, Broadway cooking in a well-equiped kitchen, Hudson watching the tube in his own tv room, Brooklyn and Lex playing cards in the big foyer, Goliath reading in the nice library, and the Grimorum safe in a high-tech glass display case. but by the end of the episode the clan is the ones living in the dark uncomfortable cell, the Clocktower, no more tv room, you have to break into the public library to read, the best you have for a kitchen is a hotplate, and the Grimorum is now stored in a closet behind a regular wooden door, and as for Xanatos, he's back home now, living the good life atop the worlds tallest building. now, my literature teacher in high school taught me to always see symbolism in everything and though i didn't see it before, this whole episode teems with it. i just wanted to congratulate you and the writers, this is great television, i think!

Greg responds...

Thanks.

Images of HOME were consciously threaded throughout this episode. You've left out Macbeth's glorious home, which goes up in flames for his efforts.

Some justice in the world.

Response recorded on June 10, 2001

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matt writes...

you said that Iago decieved Othello and Desdemona in 993 and that he was banished after that, but he came out of his banishment in 994, in time for the massacre. is all that right?
why was it such a short banishment?
how do gargoyles decide on how long to banish a clan member?
does the whole clan decide the banishment time/punishment or just the leader?
was Goliath in effect banishing the trio but only lightly when he sent them to the rookery or was that a common punishment for young gargs?

Greg responds...

That's basically right.

The banishment was for a year, which isn't that short considering he didn't kill anyone. He was just causing trouble. (Whispering in Othello's ear, causing Othello to act like a jerk isn't that big a crime, I guess.) Also, Iago may have done something to get back in everyone's good graces. At least begrudgingly.

The leader makes the final decision.

He wasn't literally banishing them. Sort of telling them to sit in the corner. It was not an uncommon punishment. But it was mostly done just to temporarily difuse things while he was gone for what he assumed would be a short errand.

Response recorded on June 10, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

What was that thing in Pendragon? Was it a actual dragon or was it a gargoyle seeing that it was protecting the sword?

Greg responds...

Neither. It was a stone statue brought to life by powerful magicks.

Response recorded on June 10, 2001

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Jim R. writes...

Sorry Greg, I realized that I had an episode spelling error (because I know how you feel about spelling). In my last post the episode should be "Legion" not "Legend." For some strange reason, whoever created the video tape label on my tapeset spelled it "Legend". Thanks to matt for helping me realize my mistake... :)

Greg responds...

No prob.

Response recorded on June 09, 2001

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matt writes...

in "Shadows of the Past", did the stone clan that Hakon and the Captain created each look like actual gargoyles that died in the massacre, as in Goliath would recognize them individually?

Greg responds...

Theoretically. The Captain knew them all personally.

Response recorded on June 09, 2001

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Jim R. writes...

A few questions on "Legend" mainly some technical quarks, I noticed:

1. Who had the idea for designing the animation for the inside circuitry of Coldstone? I know its just a cartoon, but those gates that were opening and closing with electricity when Coldstone was repairing himself, I guess were supposed to be transistors, but looked nothing like them.
2. Who also, had the idea for the computer virus? Not exactly the way I'd see a virus, maybe in a biological sense. Nevertheless I guess it's how it's perceived by the person in contact with it, mainly Goliath, Coldstone, etc.
3. What caused Coldstone to go after the government-related data? It seemed as if the programming were controlling his actions, not one of the three souls trapped within him. He looked as if he were moving on impulse giving me the impression that someone else (maybe Xanatos) was controlling him remotely.
4. Even if one of the three souls (probably the hated one) was controlling him, what purpose would it want with government-related data on weapons systems? (That being if Coldstone was not being controlled remotely by someone else.)
5. How do the police boats coming after Matt B.'s VR device not notice the gargoyles? Surely someone would have noticed something seeing how they were in the middle of the bay, and the only means of escape for the gargs would be to liftoff.
6. At the end, Xanatos is sitting in front of his computer looking at what I guess is the virus running on it. If the virus were the most potentially-dangerous computer virus created thus far, why did it not destroy any of the files on his computer? Or did it?

Greg responds...

I assume you're talking about "Legion". We didn't have an episode called "Legend". At least not in the first 66.

1. Don't remember.

2. That would have been, me and/or the story editors and/or the writers.

3. Xanatos' programming. Some of which was broadcasted.

4. See above.

5. Uh, fog?

6. Safeguards? Maybe it was running on an isolated system.

Response recorded on June 09, 2001

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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...

Response recorded on June 09, 2001

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Todd Jensen writes...

Was part of the purpose of the eggs' brief mention in "Awakening" (aside from the preparation for their re-introduction in "Avalon" later on, when you got around to it) an indication to the audience that the gargoyles were genuine living beings rather than statues brought to life by magic? The presence of gargoyle eggs, after all, does indeed indicate that the gargoyles weren't mere magical creations (I doubt that animated statues would be able to breed).

Greg responds...

Yes, in a way, anyhow. It was part of the whole picture to that end. Goliath bled. He could be killed, etc.

Response recorded on May 30, 2001

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Vashkoda writes...

I just finished re-watching "Shadows of the Past" (wow, was that one well animated), and a few questions came to mind.

1) Was the rookery located outside the castle walls or within them? I had the impression from "Awakenings" that it was inside, but in "Shadows", Goliath looks forward into the distance and sees the illusion of the castle, and then looks to the right and sees the rookery (plus, if the rookery had been within the castle, I would think Xanatos might have taken it with him). I just wanted to be sure where it was.

2) When Elisa asks Goliath if there are caves nearby to take shelter from the storm, why don't they just go inside the rookery?

3) The group don't seem to go very far to reach the Archmage's cave, but I got the impression from "Long Way" that Hudson had been following the Archmage's tracks for a while, and it was apparently far enough away that the Captain chose to take a horse to get there in "Awakenings". Roughly how far (miles?) is the cave from where Castle Wyvern used to be?

4) You've said you didn't want to talk about the Monolith Dance, but there were several other structures in the cave, including the skull-like formation where the Archmage made his "last" stand, and the maw-like formation that Goliath entered after falling through the fissure. a) Were these structures shaped to represent any specific creatures (or a specific species)? b) If so, were these particular creatures/species important to those who built the structures in the cave?

5) Was the fissure Goliath fell through the same fissure that the Archmage fell into? Goliath had already passed the skull-like formation when he fell, and it didn't seem to be at the same spot the Archmage fell. Or is this a long fissure that runs through the entire cavern?

Greg responds...

1. Beneath.

2. What was the rookery, was just a glorified cave. When the castle was excavated for transport. The cave was basically wiped out.

3. I don't know exactly. It's down the hill, next cliff on your right.

4. Not discussing that at this time.

5. Two separate things.

Response recorded on May 08, 2001

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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.

Response recorded on May 08, 2001

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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.

Response recorded on May 08, 2001

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matt writes...

ok, now a few questions about "The Reckoning"...

1. did Demona keep a "mosquito" in her belt buckle for each gargoyle or just Lexington?

2. did she and Thailog plan to get Elisa's DNA together or was everything about Delilah a secreat from Demona? what i mean is, did Demona plan on getting Elisa's DNA or not?

3. TGC episode "Genesis Undone" is not canon, and you've said that Thailog had not died in the fire, is that right? if so, would he have suffered any major lasting injuries from the fire? if he did survive, why did he let Demona go on running Nightstone Unlimited even though some of it belonged to him?

4. i'm guessing Fang went back to his cell, correct?

5. if Sevarius could so easily combine human and gargoyle DNA to make Delilah, why not mix and match different gargoyle DNA for a bit of diversity? or did he? i've noticed that the four main clones seem to have combinations of different gargs. for instance, Hudson's clone looks mostly like Hudson, but has Lex's coloring, and Brooklyn's clone looks mostly like Brooklyn, but has Broadway's coloring and fanned ears. was there mixing going on?

Greg responds...

1. More than one for each.

2. Not.

3. He was laying low.

4. For a bit.

5. No. The coloring changes were a result of the forced aging. The same thing that caused Thailog's coloring to be different from Goliath's.

Response recorded on May 08, 2001

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Lady Dominique Macbeth writes...

Greg,
At the end of Metemorphosis, after Elisa learns her brother has been mutated, she sits in a corner of the clocktower crying. I completely understood this--a perfectly natural reaction-- but what I didnt understand is why no one tried to comfort her. I mean, she is close to the whole clan and ou said by this time Goliath already had definate feelings for her, so why didnt someone try to help her through something that could quite possibly be the hardest time of her life?

Thanks so much!!!!

Greg responds...

You only saw a fragment of time.

Response recorded on May 04, 2001

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Greg "Xanatos" Bishansky writes...

Here's a question about Demona in "Reawakening". She says to Goliath, "We have each created our own clans Goliath, you have yours and I have mine." and she says this indicating Coldstone, Xanatos in his armor and the Steel Clan robot.

While I can understand Coldstone and perhaps even the Steel Clan robot. Why does she acknowledge Xanatos in this? Especially considering that he's human.

Greg responds...

She's trying to convince herself, more than G. So she needs the numbers to make it seem clan-like. It's not rational.

Response recorded on May 04, 2001

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matt writes...

just watched "Possesions", one of my favirote eps by the way, anyway, i thought of a few questions...

1. ok, is it me, or does Lex hate Coldstone? the whole clan doesn't like Iago, but Lexington seems to hate Coldstone in general... in "Legion" he trys to convince Goliath not to invite Coldstone into the clan, or back to the clocktower and that was before they knew about the other souls in Coldstone, in "High Noon" he warns Goliath about freeing Coldstone, this time his concern was justified, but in "Possesions" Lex really seems to hate Coldstone, when Coldstone first arrives Lex screams his astonishment at Coldstone being brought to the clocktower by "Goliath" and "Hudson", then he seems to be the most skeptical about "Goliath's" plan, and then he is the only one not to volunteer for the soul transference. so, am i right? does Lex have a major problem with Coldstone? is it jealousy, i mean, does Lex wish he was as integrated with technology as Coldstone is? "Future Tense" comes to mind...

2. why does Puck keep trying to make Xanatos look evil to the gargs? in "Future Tense" his illusion of Xanatos is pretty nasty, and in "Possesions" Puck goes on about how Xanatos is about to unleash new robots and he is not sincere about oweing Goliath for helping to save his son, obviously Puck doesn't believe these things, but why try to make the gargs believe it?

3. any reason that Iago/Coldsteel didn't have a tail (either in cyberspace or as a robot) in "Possesions", but did have one in "Legion" and "High Noon"?

sorry for the lengthy questions...

Greg responds...

1. No. I don't think so. I just think he's very aware of Coldstone's potential danger to the clan.

2. He's simply playing to Goliath's weaknesses.

3. I never noticed that. Are you sure?

Response recorded on May 04, 2001

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Seeker of Knowledge writes...

Why didn't Renard and Vogal fall asleep when Oberon cast his sleep spell?

Greg responds...

They weren't in Manhattan when the spell was cast. Later, when they came in, they kept an energy field around the bridge of Fortress-Two.

Response recorded on May 02, 2001

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Angie I. writes...

Howdy, Greg! I'm not a regular visitor to this area, so I apolgize in advance if you've already been asked about this. I looked through the archived responses, but I might have missed something.

In the episode "Grief," Goliath mentioned that gargoyles age at half the speed of humans. Does that mean that a young gargoyle that has been alive for 20 years would only appear to be a 10 year old equivelant to a human child? Because if Jackel aged the Gargoyles for the same amount of years as he did Elisa, wouldn't they really have become half of what Jackel had intended? Aging 40 years ahead instead of 80? If it's true that they age at exactly half the rate of humans, I'm sure Angela would look worn and maybe a grey hair or two, but I doubt that she would look as near death as she did. Please clear this up for me. What is the exact rate that Gargoyles age when compared to humans?

Thank you. :)

Greg responds...

You got the age rate correct, but not Jackal's intentions. He was going for OLD -- he was draining energy. He wasn't specifically saying, I want fifty years from Elisa and 100 from those gargs. Just I want them old.

Response recorded on May 02, 2001

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matt writes...

in "Reawakening" we suddenly see Coldstone in Times Square. did Xanatos and Demona send him there to get Goliath's attention? or did Coldstone end up there himself? or what?

Greg responds...

They sent him out.

Response recorded on May 02, 2001

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Angel writes...

In Hunter's Moon, Demona is going to blanket the world with her virus, killing all the humans, i was thinking that, if Macbeth is human and Demona is responsible for the virus, would'nt die, and wouldn't she?

I'm sorry if this has already been covered, but i haven't seen that epiodes.
Anyway, just wondering.

Greg responds...

It's SO been covered. Did you even look in either the Demona or Macbeth archive?

Short answer: It would depend on Demona's true intent.

Response recorded on May 02, 2001

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matt writes...

okay, you don't have to tell me what Titania whispered to Fox, but Xanatos was standing right there, did he hear what Titania whispered? if not, did Fox tell him what Titania whispered to her?

Greg responds...

X did not hear. Fox did not tell him.

Response recorded on April 17, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

Why did the Weird Sisters have Demona and MacBeth steal Coldstone? I mean MacBeth and Demona stole it to make sure that the Gargoyles didn't find out about the theft of the three talismans, but what did the sisters have to gain from it? They could have teleported the duo beyond the grasp of the gargoyles.

Greg responds...

Demona and Macbeth were not in control.

The point was to steal the three items without alerting Goliath's suspicions. Stealing Coldstone accomplished that. Goliath never even realized the three items were missing. Teleporting has nothing to do with anything.

Response recorded on April 09, 2001

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Alex "Cyclonus" Bishansky writes...

When Goliath put on the Eye of odin, how come his armor looked like Odin's? Neither Fox not the Archmage took on any of elements of Odin's appearance.

Greg responds...

Proximity is literally part of the reason.

Goliath became an avatar of Odin, much like Jackal did for Anubis.

Response recorded on April 09, 2001

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Duncan Devlin writes...

In the Guatemala episode, Jackal carved his face into Goliath's in his dream. If a person were to do this to a Gargoyle and he woke up at dusk, what would happen?

Greg responds...

Nothing nice.

Response recorded on April 08, 2001

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matt writes...

in "Sanctuary" when Macbeth and Demona are fighting, Demona gets a hold of a gun and so does Elisa, Macbeth pulls back his jacket to let Demona shoot him and in the last second starts saying "NO!". is this because he realizes he doesn't want Demona to kill him and or is it because he sees that Elisa is about to shoot Demona and thus he won't die?

Greg responds...

He sees Elisa and realizes that her intervention will spoil his suicide attempt.

Response recorded on April 08, 2001

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matt writes...

i know Xanatos used the Cauldron of Life in Coyote's reconstruction cuz it was iron and would hold Coyote the Trickster, but couldn't he have used any old iron to do this? some may say that Xanatos used the Cauldron so as not to be wasteful, but i think he really was wasting the Cauldron on something that any iron would do. so why did he use the cauldron?

Greg responds...

He wasn't taking any chances, I guess. He wanted his robot to not merely be iron, but to be magically powerful.

Response recorded on March 29, 2001

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matt writes...

at the end of "The Mirror" Demona is looking out the window at the sun and she says, "I can't believe it, he actually did it. And the sun is so warm." i'm wondering, did she say she can't believe it because she thought Puck was playing games with her when he cast the spell or because she was astonished that the spell actually worked?

Greg responds...

The former. Which includes the latter.

Response recorded on March 29, 2001

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matt writes...

while reading Greg Bishansky's great rambles on "CoS" i thought of a question, or rather, a comment: was it me or were there an awful lot of people outside, on the street, driving around, etc. at dawn when they all turned to stone? i can't imagine people would be shopping and whatever so early, oh, well... maybe i'm wrong.

Greg responds...

New York. The city that never sleeps.

But you have it backwards. Those people were out at Dusk, not Dawn. They turned to stone at NIGHT. Sundown. Not sunrise.

Response recorded on March 13, 2001

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Jim R. writes...

In the episode, "The Mirror", why did Elisa act as if Goliath had turned back into a gargoyle when he already was one of course, whenever she was transformed into one? Vise versa when the clan was transformed into humans, why did they act as if they always had been humans? What I mean to say and what I always got confused about is, that Puck's spell shouldn't have made them forget what they were. When Elisa was transformed I would have expected her to be a little shocked at first, and then calm whenever she realized that she and Goliath were now of the same species, but she would still long to become human again deep inside.

Greg responds...

Why?

I mean why are you setting limits on Puck?

The whole point was that NOBODY noticed the transformation. When all of Manhattan was transformed, the former humans didn't run around panicked and screaming over their new bodies. The transformation was so complete they thought they had always been that way. Same with Elisa and the gargs until logic forced them to take a closer look at it.

Anyway, it worked fine for me. If it makes you feel any better a lot of my staff originally agreed with you. They thought I was nuts. But most vindicated me later.

Response recorded on March 13, 2001

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matt writes...

when the Magus died on the bed of the Sleeping King, did they just leave him there? i can't imagine they would unless there was some sort of magic there that would keep the Magus from decomposing, which would be kinda gross. so if they left him there, will he decompose or not?

Greg responds...

It seemed a fitting resting place. And crypts aren't that unusual. But I'm guessing they sealed off the Hill.

Response recorded on March 13, 2001

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Entity writes...

High Noon responses:

I always noticed the "sense of smell" error in the cyberspace scene. I'm gratified, as I've been with a lot of the revelations found in your episode-by-episode commentaries, that this not pure neglect or that at least it is recognized after the fact and has an explanation, in real life or in theory. Thanks.

On stealing Coldstone, I always wondered why Macbeth and Demona needed to sneak into the precinct house through the front door. Since they escaped in a hovercraft, couldn't they have landed from one directly atop the clocktower?

That's about all. I'm sure everyone else will cover the other bases.

Greg responds...

They didn't have the Grimorum UNTIL they snuck in, so they couldn't mask the hovercraft until after they stole the Grimorum.

Response recorded on March 13, 2001

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matt writes...

in "Awakening Pt 1" we see, briefly, another gargoyle with Lexington's wing structure. cosidering how rare it is, would it be safe to assume that the gargoyle was a close relative biologically to Lex, like his father or older brother? was that gargoyle one of these?

Greg responds...

Maybe. Though I never said it was rare. Just rarer.

Response recorded on March 13, 2001

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Aaron writes...

City of Stone, 1-4 mini-ramble.

There so much to address here, I should really dig out my tapes before attacking it, but...

A few things still stick out.

I remember the first time I watched it, and thinking something didn't quite add up with what Demona was saying. Before the advent of mass media, exactly how would Demona get enough people together to make a spell like the one she sold Xanatos on worthwhile?

I remember being really impressed with the scene where MacBeth goes skysurfing, or whatever you want to call it, with the line wrapped around Demona's leg. Really good showcase of exactly how determined, not to say completely mental, MacBeth is at this point. Can you imagine how much it would hurt if Demona did succeed in shaking him off? Even if you're immortal that's gotta suck.

And of course, I did love the double punch D&M give Goliath. (But then, I'm a Demona fan, so watching the big purple guy take one usually amuses me)

Greg responds...

I think the idea of the lie in the past was that Demona just stole massive quantities of youth from a few individuals. This was a way to do it so that NO ONE could possibly notice or miss the time. At least, that's what she told X.

Response recorded on March 13, 2001

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matt writes...

in "Heritage", does Raven call Natsilane a bratty Chief, as in a brat, or a Bradi Chief, as in the name of Natsilane's tribe when he says, "If the B.... Chief won't fight me, the island is mine!" i can see why Raven would say both, but i'm leaning toward the latter.

Greg responds...

Bratty, I'm pretty sure, if those are my only two choices. Because the name of the tribe was Haida, not Bradi. I don't know where Bradi came from. (Sounds like another mistake by the gang that did the close captioning. Why they didn't refer to the written scripts is beyond me.)

Response recorded on March 13, 2001

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Vanity writes...

I have been reading Macbeth and Demona responses and the above mentioned for "High Noon" where questions were asked why Macbeth didn't feel the pain when Elisa and Demona where in combat. And I think people are putting too much emphasis on the fact that Macbeth could prepare for the blows. Couldn't it be that, and if you watch the fight scene; Elisa didn't really "hurt" Demona enough to evoke the spell? Granted Demona ran head-first into a statue but that might not of hurt too much.

Greg responds...

A combination of all of the above -- including that we screwed up a bit.

Response recorded on March 13, 2001

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Sapphire writes...

In the episode high noon Elisa was waiting for her gargoyles to return because it is nearly dawn and she was worried for their safety but instead the only gargoyle that came around was Demona, Demona transformed into a human when the sun came up but when downstairs and hailed a cab. My question is was Demona carrying any money with her when she got into the cab or did she just got out when the ride was over and not pay at all?

Greg responds...

She was probably carrying money. Or she made Macbeth pay.

Response recorded on March 13, 2001

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Cassandra writes...

Cassandra writes...
Since stroking hair is gargoyle equilvant to a kiss, all the times Goliath touched Elisa's hair was a kiss? And how long would it take him to get used to kissing with lips?

Just feeling a trifle silly with that thought. But I seem to remember Goliath touching her hair fondly before they noticed or decided to act on the feelings they have for each other.

Greg responds...

Kissing is special, particularly romantic kissing. I'm not sure one wants to "get used to it" ever. It will always be special to Goliath.

And yes, everytime he touched her hair in any intimate way (as opposed to by accident or incidentally) it was the basic equivalent of a kiss. But by the way, it wasn't often.

recorded on 02-15-01

Okay, to clarify what I was talking about I think I was remembering the end of "Deadly Force". Goliath brushes Elisa's hair back when he tells her to sleep.

I didn't mean "getting used to it" to equal "become blaise about it". More like kissing is a feels-great-still-weird-but-I-like-it situation and Goliath would feel more comfortable with gargoyle display's of affection.

I know they're both mature adults and both of them realize there is going to be a lot of compromising and explaining in their relationship. It's just a quirky idea that popped in my head.

Greg responds...

And an interesting one. But yes, that Deadly Force moment was to Goliath, a kiss equivalent. Not necessarily a romantic kiss. But a caring one.

Response recorded on March 13, 2001

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matt writes...

in "The Gathering" when Goliath and co. arrived in New York what happened to the Avalon Skiff? did it sink as Arthur's skiff had done in London? if the just left the skiff in the lake or river could anyone have gotten in it and accidently gone to Avalon?

Greg responds...

It sank. But even if it hadn't, you need to know the incantation to get to Avalon.

Response recorded on March 08, 2001

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Durax writes...

City of Stone scenelet>> When Gil crushed the rose, I thought this was to tel the audience that, the scars on his face did more than damage his looks. I thought he had lost his sense of smell too. In my mind this provided even greater cause for him to grow more and more embittered against Demona. I don't think this is what you were intending though, not anymore.

Greg responds...

Hmmm. Interesting. Maybe I wasn't intending it. But maybe it's still true. Hmmm.

Response recorded on March 08, 2001

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matt writes...

Faieq, Goliath said, "I grow tired of this, take whats left of your men and begone!" i think he meant he was tired of that particular battle and i doubt there had been previous encounters with Hakon.

Greg responds...

Yeah. That sounds more like it.

Thanks, matt.

Response recorded on March 08, 2001

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Faieq writes...

In Awakening Part one, the Vikings or at least Hakon, are convinced that the gargoyles are just stone statues. This suggests that this is the first time Hakon has attacked Castle Wyvern. But when Goliath awakens he says something like, "I grow tired of these attacks." That means that the attack was only a middle of a series of attacks by the Vikings. Was the battle at the beggining of Awakening part one, the vikings first battle with Castle Wyvern. Or had another party of Vikings been attacking Wyvern and had moved on, leaving Hakon's army in charge of that area.

Greg responds...

Well, Hakon had never been there before. But you're quoting something that Goliath said in the MIDDLE of the battle. So he may have been talking about the fact that Hakon's crowd was still fighting. Or he may have been refering to the fact that Wyvern's isolated location often made them targets of attack. From other Vikings, etc.

Response recorded on March 08, 2001

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matt writes...

when Rory/Cuchalin said, "I had a dog like him once." (talking about Bronx) did he mean that the ancient Cuchalin had a garg beast or just an ordinary dog that was a loyal friend and warrior like Bronx is? sorry if you've been asked this before, but i couldn't find it in the archives...

Greg responds...

Garg beast.

And I don't think this one has been asked before. Good question.

Response recorded on March 07, 2001

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matt writes...

how long had Demona and Thailog been a couple when Goliath arrived in Paris? how long had Demona and Macbeth been in Paris?

Greg responds...

The following dates are tentative, based on my current reworking of the timeline -- still a rework in progress.

Demona and Macbeth arrived in Paris on 1-1-96.

Demona first encountered Thailog on 1-2-96.

Goliath, Elisa, Angela and Bronx arrived in Paris on 1-21-96.

Response recorded on March 07, 2001

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Mel. Celestial writes...

HiIIII!!!!!
1. Okay, so G&E's relationship is the only bridge, and Clan Manhattan didn't mind it at all; how do the other clans around the world might approve of it ?
2. That priceless look on Hudson's face(The Awakening eps.3), what was he thinking about those two(G&E, of course!), and did he find it appaling at first?

Greg responds...

1. Is this a reference to a previous response? If so, I've forgotten what we were talking about.

2. I'd say he was initially non-plussed. But I think he thought it healthy that Goliath was at least making a connection to a human.

Response recorded on March 07, 2001

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Siren writes...

I didn;t see this in the archieves and was just curious...
In Eye of the Beholder, whose idea was it to dress Elisa as Belle from Beauty and the Beast. It just seemed too perfect and at such a good time in the 1st season to do so.
Also a slightly related question...Where did Goliath learn how to ballroom dance? Demona just doesn't seem the type to have done so before 998AD ;)

Greg responds...

That was my idea, I believe.

And Goliath didn't really need to know how to "ballroom dance". He just needed to be strong enough to hold Elisa and move to the music. It wasn't a contest.

Response recorded on March 07, 2001

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matt writes...

when Goliath and Hudson return to Wyvern after the massacre is it me or did Hudson seem to take the whole thing pretty well all things considered? while Goliath goes into an uncontrollable but understandable rage, Hudson just makes some remarks about betrayal and bow strings having been cut. i don't want to say that Hudson had more reason to be upset than Goliath, but Hudson did have several generations of rookery children murdered and many friends that he has known most his life killed in the massacre, he doesn't scream in rage like Goliath or cry in sadness. did his long life in this "world of fear" and the death of his mate better prepare him for the death of his people than Goliath? Hudson just seemed really mellow about the massacre...

Greg responds...

For starters, I think he was in shock. But we all handle tragedy differently. He fell back on his training.

And it's certainly possible that past tragedies may have better prepared him.

But I hardly think his response was "mellow".

Response recorded on March 02, 2001

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matt writes...

Greg, about what Titania whispered to Fox: you know what she said, right? so if we just started asking you "Did Titania say:......." it wouldn't be considered submiting ideas, right?

Greg responds...

Yes. It would.

The fact that I know already, changes nothing. I can't prove that I know already.

And if one of you should guess right, than that person could get pissed if he or she thinks I stole the line.

Response recorded on March 02, 2001

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matt writes...

a stupid question, really:
i was reading your ramble on "Awakening 4" and you mentioned that the dog Elisa puts the transmitter on (Rover) is seen in the next scene as a puppy on a dog food commercial that Hudson is watching. this dog was on tv and now is scrounging for trash... was this your intent or were you just making a joke in your ramble? if the puppy in the commercial did grow up to be "Rover" would that dog show up again, seeing as how there is alot of foreshadowing in gargs? by the way, what did the commandos do with "Rover" when they found the transmitter on him?
you should put this post into a category called, "You know you are obsessed with Gargoyles when..." :)

Greg responds...

Mostly, I was kidding.

As for the Commandos, I'm sure they let the dog go. They're goons, not monsters.

Response recorded on March 01, 2001

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Adam writes...

Okay, I won't ask you what Titania whispered to Fox at the end of The Gathering. But the last time I watched the episode, I thought I heard a kiss at the end of whatever it was she said. So did Titania kiss Fox after she said whatever it was she said? Of am I just hearing things?

Greg responds...

It's been awhile since I've seen it. I honestly don't remember.

Response recorded on March 01, 2001

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matt writes...

in "Awakening" right before Goliath asks to have the sleep spell put on him, he asks the Princess to take care of the eggs. why was she thinking that Goliath was asking her this? why wasn't she confused thinking that Goliath could do a better job of raising the Hatchlings than her? did she figure that Goliath was going to ask for the sleep spell? she seemed surprised when he asked. i know she put her heart into raising these children and has been a great mother for them but i was really surprised that she wasn't scared to death when Goliath asked her this life-long favor, i would have been, what a responsibility!

Greg responds...

I'm not saying she wasn't intimidated, but she felt she could not deny him anything, under the circumstances.

Response recorded on February 26, 2001

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Chapter XXVII: "Outfoxed"

Time to Ramble...

My three year old son Ben watched the opening titles for about the five hundredth time. On the one hand, he made the point that it was getting dull seeing this same opening. He wanted me to fast-forward to the actual story.

On the other hand, he spent the time reviewing "the rules". How the gargs turn to stone during the day. How Goliath is the leader. Etc.

One thing we always cheated on was how Fortress-2 landed. There it is on the ground awaiting it's maiden voyage, and I just don't see any landing gear.

Vogel is introduced. This is another thing where I had to carefully explain my long-term intent behind the screen in order to get a model for the character that really looked like Owen but wasn't his twin. I remember a lot of people on the Disney Afternoon mailing list reacting negatively to Preston in this episode. Like he was a feeble imitation of Owen. Like we didn't know how to do any other kind of executive assistant. I was simultaneously amused and annoyed by those kind of comments. So now I'm curious. What was your initial reaction to Vogel? And what do you think of him now?

As usual, Travis has old-school attitude when interviewing his subjects. I like that. Makes him more of a character and not just a reporter place-holder.

Fox in casual clothes. With a very casual, yet strangely intense attitude. "I know what happens next," Fox says to David.

My six year old daughter Erin asked, "Why is she watching [Travis' report] like that?" She could tell something was up there.

And in fact, like UPGRADE, this was another episode where we were intentionally trying to show that Fox was David's equal. We show it physically in their martial arts work out. And we show it by giving her a ruthless and complex plot to take Cyberbiotics. In fact, in this episode, when you add in the fact that David is clearly in the dark about her pregnancy test, she seems to be a little equaler than he is.

Fortress-2 takes off. And Goliath sends us into flashback. This is flat-out padding. For some reason, though the script is the same basic length as any of our scripts, this one timed out short after story-boarding was done. (Most of my stories time out too long.) So we added this flashback. I think it was a mistake. It kills the stories momentum, and we already had the sequence later where Renard shows all the important scenelets to Goliath. Those become incredibly redundant. When you add in the "Previously on Gargoyles" opening, it was just too much.

Elisa reveals the show's Hill Street Blues influence by telling Goliath to "be careful out there."

Goliath gets attacked by cybots. As noted, any individual cybot is no match for him. But they have strength in numbers. I wanted to show that Goliath can still kick some ass when motivated. So the cybots shoot at him. And his only response is "That. Stings." Very intense. Unfortunately, I think sound-wise the line gets buried.

And that's a general problem with the episode. On a technical level this just wasn't one of our best. The animation isn't awful, but it's mediocre. Goliath's size relationship gets screwed up here and there. (Particularly in the brig sequences.) The story's padded by flashbacks. Our normally great sound team, didn't do the most inspiring job on this one either. It just generally feels like one that got away from us.

I still think there's some great stuff in it. And the revelation of Fox's pregnancy actually makes it something of a landmark (both for our series and for animated series in general), but the execution never quite lived up to its potential. Oh, well.

CONTINUITY & INTRIGUE

Did anyone remember Cyberbiotics before this ep? Had you ever wondered who Xanatos was stealing from in the pilot? We knew that Cyberbiotics abandoned their underground base, which became the home of the Mutates. Now we were rebuilding the air fortress and revealing that the CYberbiotics Tower is still in business.

Also, Renard mentions Gen-U-Tech. And the revelation that Sevarius and Burnett used to work for Cyberbiotics. Of course, Renard thinks that Xanatos stole Sevarius and Owen away. We know better. We knew even then that Sevarius is much better suited to work for a man like Xanatos than Renard. And of course, now we know why Owen was Xanatos-bound as well. But what did you guys think of that minor revelation at the time?

Renard's opinion of Xanatos is probably colored by his relationship to his daughter: "And that's the least that viper has stolen from me." Did you stop at that moment to consider what that meant and what he meant by the "My Anastasia. My Janine." line? Did anyone (from Renard's name, if nothing else) guess that Fox was his daughter, before the tag? Who did you think Anastasia and Janine were at that time? Or did Goliath's follow up line, "My angel of the night." distract you from considering these questions?

At this point, just before the Janine line, Erin (who has seen these before, but not recently) remembered: "That's Fox's daddy!"

Goliath has some cool lines here too. "I belong to no one." "I serve no master."

And Renard (voiced by Robert Culp to perfection) has some great lines too: "Not my fault, not my fault. You sound like every human employee I've ever FIRED." and "Take some responsibility."

What was fun for me, although maybe for no one else, was (a) to get some hard thoughts about both the need and the difficulty of maintaining personal integrity up onto the screen and (b) doing that by lecturing to Goliath, arguably one of the most "integrous" characters I've ever written. (b) served (a), by showing that even Goliath can be prone to slipping.

The thing is that integrity really matters to me. And yet, I don't know how much of it I exercise in my own life. I really do try. But it's so hard. And not because I'm a dishonest person, but more because I'm lazy. It's easier to shift blame, to tell white lies, etc. The alternative takes effort and vigilance. I think the rewards are immense, even if the costs are too. But I ain't kidding myself about the difficulty.

The martial arts scene. Reminiscent of the scene from the Edge where Owen toppled David. Here we hinted even more strongly that Fox is Renard's daughter. David is basically giving her permission to back out of the plan, to save face and exit, BEFORE she destroys her father. It's not that David really cares about Halcyon. I think he's thinking about his relationship to his own father. David likes to believe (at this stage in the series) that he's evolved beyond the need for a parental relationship. But "Vows" sort of demonstrates that his relationship with Petros is much more complex than that. David still needs parental approval and is somewhat amazed (at least subconsciously) that Fox does not. Again, in this episode, Fox is more than his equal.

And now the doctor calls with test results. David shows legitimate fear here for a moment. He's not thinking pregnancy. He's worried maybe she's sick or something. She enjoys toying with him. Maybe she's just in a mood. But her armor is on in force in this ep. We won't really get INSIDE Fox until "The Gathering" two-parter.

Finally, Goliath acknowledges his crime: "I was wrong." Cary had this great line for Renard: "I'm glad you're gargoyle enough to admit it."

Robert Culp and Peter Scolari were an interesting pair as Renard and Vogel. Culp was tough in the booth. Very precise. Very clear ideas about how he wanted to play the character. Tougher on his performance than Jamie and I were. And the results show.

Peter was a dream to work with. We spent an hour talking after the recording (about Busom Buddies, mostly). He's an incredibly nice guy. And he picked up the character right away. Despite the fact that we didn't have Jeff Bennett there to do a little Owen for him. He just got it.

Until the end, Vogel really plays Renard in this. He knows how much Renard hates whining blame-shifters, so he's constantly saying things like "You can place the blame on me if you like." in order to defuse any of Renard's suspicions.

But in a more subtle way, Renard is unwittingly playing upon Vogel as well. He doesn't intrude on Vogel's phone calls. He treats him with respect and gives him credit ("You and I built this ship together"). Insists that Vogel save the people in the tower, even if it means Renard's own life. We can see that Vogel was willing to take Fox's money for a bit of corporate espionage. But Vogel is not a killer. (It's important to see that he views Goliath as a creature.) This partially explains his turnaround at the end. (Which some people complained about.) All along he's been trying to get Renard to GET OFF THE SHIP. But Renard forces his hand. And when push comes to shove, Vogel likes Renard too much to see him die. "Mr. Vogel, I knew you wouldn't let me down." "You have that effect on people." And then Goliath basically bluffs him at the end there into confessing, screwing up their relationship.

But Goliath fixes it again. His last discussion with Renard sets up the reconciliation between them that must have taken place before "Golem".

At any rate, it's also nice to see Goliath make a NEW friend. This was important, because that has always been Goliath's goals. To make friends with humans on his own terms. Every once in a while, we had to show it working. Couldn't just be ONLY Elisa forever.

Ben weighed in at this point and said, "Daddy, I love Xanatos. And I love Fox." Of course, Ben and Erin dressed up as David and Fox at the last Gathering. In fact they dressed up in the martial arts outfits from this episode. Thus the affinity. I once played Theseus in the play THE WARRIOR'S HUSBAND. And Edmund in KING LEAR. It gave me an on-going affinity for both characters and awakened my interest in "The Bastard" archetype.

Now the tag. I'm usually pretty proud of our tags. They often advance the overall story as much as the entire episode. But this is one of my favorites. "Hello, Janine." "Hello, daddy." Was anyone ready for that? And her attitude: "Almost got you that time, didn't I?" The whole sense that Fox is in all this just for kicks. She's not as acquisitive as her husband. He'd always take the path of LEAST resistance to a goal. If Renard would give Janine the company, X would suggest she ask for it. But she doesn't care about the company. ONLY the game. X likes the game. But he's about RESULTS. All established in one little scene.

And of course that slick little pregnancy revelation. I think that was one of the most revolutionary and flat-out subversive things we did on the whole show. Was anyone ready for that? We had hinted at it with the "genetically compatible" line in "Eye of the Beholder" and obvioulsy with "It's your doctor... with test results." But I think it was quite the shocker.

And Fox is so tough. Pregnant and back on the hang-glider. I love it.

Okay, I'm done. You're turn. Ramble away...


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One writes...

Is there any particular reason Desdemona divided herself into three versions of herself (one with black hair, blond, and white) in "High Noon"... I just thought there might be relation between this and the fact the weird sisters were in the episode manipulatining MacBeth and Demona.

Greg responds...

Des didn't do it. She opened herself up to possession and the Weird Sisters did it.

Response recorded on February 22, 2001

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Memo on "Outfoxed"...

In anticipation of watching "Outfoxed" anyday now, I'm going to go ahead and post the memo I wrote to Cary Bates, after he turned in his outline for that episode, originally titled, "After the Fox".

WEISMAN 11-27-94

Notes on "After the Fox" Outline...

GENERAL
Well, one of the advantages of having you as one of my story editors is that I can be brutally honest. We got some problems here. The main one being that the story doesn't get going in earnest until the last scene of Act Two. We're horribly padded here. Normally, I would give this back to you for a second draft outline, but -- my fault -- I didn't read it in time. So I'll beat it out here.

FOX vs. RENARD
First off, let's make Renard the last name. I know I said it was o.k. to make Renard the first name, but the more I thought about it, the more I didn't want Fox's only connection to the Renard/Fox name to be that it was her father's first name. I don't think she could admit to herself that she was borrowing anything from him. So let's make her given name Janine Renard. He still calls her Janine. She rejects that and has her name legally changed to her nom de guerre: Fox. (Like Cher or Madonna, it's just the one word. Remember, she was a performer.) The "Fox" is the part of herself that she believes in. The irony, of course, is that the name did come from her father.

I don't think Fox consciously hates her father. I don't think she consciously admits to having feelings that could cloud her judgment. There's no vengeance kick here. No line of dialogue where she says she wants to see him suffer or that she only saved his life so she can continue to torture him. That all may be subconsciously true, but if so, she doesn't realize it. Remember, she's Xanatos' perfect mate. Neither her nor her husband get that emotional. They enjoy the game for its own sake. Playing it against her father may give it a special tang, but from her point of view, there's only one reason to do this: Cyberbiotics. She wants it, so she decides to take it. If it wasn't worth having, she wouldn't have bothered.

CYBERBIOTICS
The investor scenario doesn't work. Just because the investors aren't killed, doesn't mean these five terrorized guys are now gonna invest. The damage is done. The stock price will still fall and Cyberbiotics will still belong to Fox by close of business tomorrow.

The solution, I believe, is to change the location. Renard has just rebuilt the CYBERBIOTICS AIR FORTRESS. He's determined to prove that it's safe and effective. It's a corporate icon, like the Good Year Blimp -- and the public does think it's really cool -- but it's still not the smartest investment. It's hybris. Worse... it's Euro-Disney. Renard's had to invest way too much to rebuild it. If it's destroyed so soon after it's reconstruction, Cyberbiotics will be bankrupt and easy prey for Fox. This'll tie in nicely with Goliath's growing sense that he owes Renard a debt. Goliath helped destroy the first Air Fortress. Now, he must save the second one. And if you save the ship, you save the company from Fox.

INTEGRITY: GARGOYLE vs. HUMAN
For once, this should not be an issue. Renard accuses Goliath of not having as much integrity as humans do. But Renard doesn't believe humans have very much integrity -- that's why he's automated his operations -- so we're arguing the wrong premise. Integrity is not the province of either race. Deep down, Goliath may have a vague prejudice that gargoyles are generally more honest than humans, but in his head he knows that his race does not have a monopoly on integrity. Thanks to the events of our pilot, Renard may have a general mistrust of gargoyles, but that's not the point he should be making. Renard firmly believes that integrity is an absolute. You have it. Or you don't. Cut and Dry. Black and White. He's got it. Most humans don't, including Xanatos and his daughter. Machines can be programmed with absolutes. People can't. So he's populating his world with machines. His assumption is that Goliath is no better than Xanatos and that all of the creature's protestations about being duped are nothing more than whining excuses. Will Goliath take responsibility for his actions or won't he? Let's not distract this important theme, with issues of race.

Though I loved the line: "You're gargoyle enough to admit it."

VOGEL
Who is this guy exactly? Security man? Computer programmer? Born-again? Was he hired on a project basis to complete the automation? Is he helping Fox because he knew Renard was going to fire him? Has Vogel automated all of Renard's operations or just the security? If it's just the security, than what are they securing? Why does he repent? Basically, the character is coming across as very vague and contradictory. We have to clean this up.

Let's also make sure we fit Vogel into our theme. He is corrupted by Fox. Ultimately, Renard will use Vogel as another example of why humans cannot be trusted. But Goliath will point out that the cybots were just as corruptible, while incapable of experiencing a change of heart, as Goliath has had.

THE TITLE
"After the Fox"... I don't get it. Am I missing something?

BEAT OUTLINE
ACT ONE
1. Open quietly with FOX at the EYRIE BUILDING. She turns on the evening news. TRAVIS MARSHALL is on the air, reporting from JFK or LaGuardia or wherever. It is the Maiden Voyage of FORTRESS-2, the CYBERBIOTICS airship. Marshall had hoped to get an interview with the reclusive head of Cyberbiotics, HALCYON RENARD, but has to settle for Renard's right-hand man VOGEL. Fox watches all this with some interest.

2. Out at the airfield, Marshall, a tough journalist, questions the wisdom and expense of Fortress-2, particularly since FORTRESS-ONE crashed into the river last year. Vogel counters that the cause of that crash was an act of corporate espionage that was only successful thanks to human error on the part of Fortress-One's crew. Fortress-2 is fully automated, run by patented CYBOTS. Human error is not possible. No humans aboard at all? After this test flight, human scientists will occupy it's laboratories to research new wonders, but there is no human crew, except for Vogel and Mr. Renard, himself. Marshall asks if it's true that Renard has invested all of his personal fortune into Fortress-2, and that if it doesn't perform both he and Cyberbiotics will be ruined. Vogel has no comment on that, and heads inside the ship.

3. We follow Vogel, as he heads for the command center. Everything is automated, and there are little Cybots everywhere. All with very specific functions. No waste. At the command center, Vogel contacts Renard in his private office, elsewhere on board. Cut briefly to a shadowed Renard hovering in his ultra-chair, watching Vogel on a vid-screen. Renard gives permission to launch.

4. Fortress-2 launches. Huge turbines and compressors roar. And GOLIATH and ELISA watch from a nearby roof or hilltop. Goliath claims to be here because he is concerned that XANATOS might attempt to attack this ship, just as he tricked Goliath into attacking the first one. But Elisa probably knows that the air fortress is a symbol of Goliath's own guilt -- a guilt that Goliath has yet to come to terms with. Goliath decides to follow the airship, just to be safe.

5. In the air above Manhattan, a cybot alerts Vogel to their pursuer [Goliath]. Vogel informs Renard. Renard says Vogel knows what to do. (It doesn't hurt if we briefly misdirect the audience into thinking that Renard is a villain.)

6. Goliath glides a short distance behind the airship. Suddenly, flying cybots swarm out of a Fortress-2 hold. There're not very big, and they have very simple attack programming. They fire medium strength stun bolts and they miss more often than they hit. Goliath can swat them away easily. Clearly, these cybots don't seem to be on a par with Xanatos' STEEL CLAN. But if results are what counts, they turn out to be superior. There are just too many of the little things. No matter how many Goliath trashes, there are more coming at him. They hover, which Goliath can't do. And eventually, the stun beams add up. Finally, he gets hit with a barrage of them and passes out. Two larger cybots are waiting to catch him and bring him into the airship. (Let's consistently depict the cybots as mono-functional. Each model capable of doing only one thing.)

7. Inside the airship, Goliath regains consciousness in the brig. The bars on the cell might be bendable for Goliath, but he is forced back by Cybot guards with built-in cattle prods. Vogel is there, and a large metal pneumatic door slides open to finally reveal Halcyon Renard. He floats in on his hover chair. He has silver hair and a very sharp mind -- but he is definitely not "robust and vital".
Renard hovers around Goliath, sizing him up. "So this is what the boys at Gen-U-Tech have been up to. Xanatos must be very proud." Goliath responds that he is neither Gen-U-Tech's creation nor Xanatos'. Renard laughs. Goliath demands to know why he is being held prisoner. "Because if you're my prisoner, than I know you can't destroy Fortress-2 for your master." Goliath: "I have no master." "No? Then why did you do this?" Renard flicks a remote button on his chair, and the walls slide back to reveal a large screen. Another button, and video clips from "Awakening, Parts IV and V" show Goliath's participation in the destruction of Fortress-One. Chastened, Goliath tries to explain that he had been duped by Xanatos: "It wasn't my fault." But Renard doesn't let up: "It's not my fault. It's not my fault. You sound like all my human employees. My former human employees. Crush them all together and you couldn't squeeze an ounce of personal integrity from the lot of them. Don't make excuses, creature! Take responsibility for your actions! Stop whining!"
"I DO NOT WHINE," says Goliath, as he rips the bars off his cell and uses them to smash his cybot guards. But Renard doesn't even flinch. "You don't whine, but you also don't hesitate to destroy more of my personal property." He presses another button, and two stun cannons on his chair blast at Goliath until he is knocked out again.
Vogel apologizes. "All my fault, sir. I'll make sure he can't get out of the next cell." We see that Renard respects Vogel for taking the blame. A cybot informs Vogel that he has an incoming personal call. Renard exits, not wanting to impose on Vogel's privacy.
As Cybots drag the unconscious Goliath away, Vogel turns to a vid-screen and activates it. Reveal Fox on the other end. Is it safe to talk? Mr. Renard always respects my privacy. Is Vogel ready to sabotage Fortress-2? He is if the money's been deposited in his Swiss Bank Account. All taken care of. Vogel: "Then we're ready. And the good news is..." He looks at Goliath. "We've got a perfect candidate to take the blame."

ACT TWO
8. A short time later, Goliath awakens shackled to a wall in a new cell, with MUCH thicker bars, and even more cybot guards. Renard is there in his hover chair, brooding. If only Goliath could make him understand that Xanatos is to blame. But Renard: "Oh, I have no doubt of that. You aren't the first poor soul Xanatos has corrupted. Owen Burnett. Anton Sevarius. They both were Cyberbiotics employees... and they're the least of what that viper has stolen from me. I've no doubt he was behind the attack and no reason to doubt that he tricked you into participating." But if that's so, than why does Renard hold Goliath responsible? "Someone has to. And you obviously don't." It doesn't matter to Renard whose idea it was. It doesn't matter whether Goliath believed he was doing the right thing. Now he knows the truth. What's he going to do about it? Goliath grimly rattles his chains, then says, "I think a better question might be, what are you going to do about it."

9. Xanatos and Fox are working on their Kung Fu at the Eyrie Building. Make a point of showing that they are evenly matched. While they fight, they talk casually. Xanatos: "Weren't you mounting a hostile take-over of Cyberbiotics today? Your not having second thoughts about taking it from old man Renard?" Before she can answer, OWEN enters to alert Fox of a phone call from her physician. When Xanatos looks concern, she misinterprets and tells him not to worry: Cyberbiotics will be hers before morning. And as she says hello into the phone, we cut...

10. In the command center, Vogel instructs a random cybot to shut down for repairs. When it does, he opens it up and installs a chip into it's programming matrix. Then he reactivates the cybot, but when it turns on, an arc of electricity flashes around it, briefly. Vogel taps it on the head. Off you go.

11. Goliath and Renard are still talking practical philosophy. Renard has been brooding over the question of what to do with Goliath. He's trying to decide what the honorable thing would be. He'll probably just turn him over to the authorities. Goliath is aghast. "Look at me, human. Is that an equitable punishment? Was my crime against you heinous enough to justify turning me into a laboratory specimen?" Renard smiles. "Well, we're making progress. You've finally acknowledged that you committed a crime."

12. Elsewhere on the ship, the first cybot that Vogel infected passes another cybot. The same arc of electricity shoots out of the second 'bot. Then both 'bots move off and infect two more...and so on... and so on... and so on...
On Vogel's read-out screen, the percentage of cybots infected keeps rising. 13%... 27%... 32%...

13. Goliath eyes Renard. Almost despite himself, Goliath is beginning to regard the man with a grudging respect. "All right. I've admitted I was wrong. No more excuses. Now what?" But Renard doesn't have any easy answers for him. "Integrity is not easy. It is a daily struggle. A costly struggle. If you only knew what it cost me. My Anastasia. My Janine." Goliath lowers his head, "...my angel..." Renard looks at him closely. "So you do know." Goliath speaks slowly: "I know I owe you a great debt for what I did a year ago. And a greater debt for the education I received tonight. If the text was not new to me, it was at least... worth revisiting."
Now during this entire conversation, a cybot enters and approaches a guard cybot by the door. The guard cybot is infected, and approaches the other cybot by the door and infects it. Neither Goliath nor Renard notice until the cybots flanking Goliath's cell are infected and the arcing electricity catches the attention of both.

14. On Vogel's screen the percentage goes up from 99% to 100%, and "Right on cue" he gets a vid-call from Renard. He affects panic. Somehow that creature in the brig has infected every cybot on board with a computer virus. Renard says, "Nonsense. I've been sitting here talking with him the whole time." Vogel doesn't know how Goliath did it. But the Cybots are not responding to commands. They've set Fortress-2 on a collision course with the CYBERBIOTICS TOWER. They must abandon ship and activate the emergency self-destruct mechanism or both installations will be destroyed, and Cyberbiotics will be history. Renard is beside himself: If Fortress-2 is destroyed than Cyberbiotics is ruined anyway. Vogel shakes his head, flips a switch and a 10 minute time counter appears on the vid-screen. "I'm sorry, sir. You can place the blame on me if you must, but now we have no choice. At our present rate of speed we will hit the tower in ten minutes. You have nine minutes to meet me at the escape pod. After that I will jettison, and use my access code to destroy Fortress-2."

ACT THREE
15. Goliath offers to help Renard try to save the ship. Renard is so furious, he's half ready to believe that Goliath was responsible. But Goliath knows that Renard doesn't really believe that. Goliath helped destroy Fortress-One. "Let me help to save Fortress-2." Renard agrees and presses a button on his chair which releases Goliath. The Cybot guards interpret this as an escape attempt. Renard cannot override them. But between Goliath and Renard's hover-chair, they manage to destroy the cybot guards. They leave the brig. The seconds tick away.

16. Vogel monitors them from the comfortable escape pod. He can't believe the old fool is going to try to save the ship. Why doesn't he just admit defeat and head for the escape pod? Vogel's made sure that route is clear of cybots. He'll just have to discourage anymore heroics. He orders all the cybots to kill the creature and drive Renard toward the pod. (Note: he does NOT want to kill Renard.)

17. Now every cybot on the ship is against Goliath and Renard. The little flying ones that knocked Goliath out in the first place. The big ones that carried him inside. More cattle-prod guard 'bots. Zippy little messenger 'bots. Maintenance 'bots. All of them. The good news is that in the airship's small corridors, there are only so many that can go at our heroes at once. But the situation is intolerable. They can't destroy the 'bots one at a time. They need to cut off power to all the cybots at once. And it's possible. There's a power station at the center of the ship that transmits power to all the cybots. But if they destroy that then they destroy the cybots that pilot the ship. There won't be time to get to the power station, shut it off and then go to the bridge. They have to split up. And time is ticking away. And the Tower gets closer and closer.

18. Intercut between Goliath fighting his way to the power station; Renard fighting his way to the bridge, and Vogel getting very nervous in the escape pod. [Turns out that even Vogel didn't know how much the old guy had grown on him. Destroying his empire is one thing. But Vogel is no killer. He doesn't want Renard's death on his conscience. And/or he had explicit instructions from Fox that Renard not be killed.] And time is ticking away. And the Tower gets closer and closer.

19. Goliath gets to the power station and destroys it. All the 'bots shut down. But time is ticking away. And the Tower gets closer and closer.

20. With the cybots down, Renard is able to zoom the rest of the way to the bridge quickly. He puts Fortress-2 on manual override, but time has passed the nine minute mark. The tower looms right in front of him and navigation and the helm are located on two different consoles. At the last second, Vogel appears and between the two of them, they are able to turn the ship away from the tower and save it.

21. Aftermath between Renard and Goliath. At first, Renard is bitter. Vogel has confessed his betrayal. Further proof that the human species is devoid of integrity. But Goliath disagrees. Vogel's example hardly proves the wisdom of putting one's trust in single-minded automatons. Automatons are tools. They know nothing of honor or betrayal. They do what they are programmed to do. But a living being knows nothing of programming. A living being must choose. And, ultimately, Vogel chose honor.
Renard lets all that sink in. He's got a lot to think about, but one thing he knows is that Goliath has paid his debt. A ship for a ship. Renard: "We are even." But Goliath: "No... We are friends."

22. Goliath soars off into the night. And he doesn't notice a small hang-glider land on the now defenseless airship behind him. The newcomer abandons the glider and tosses a cloudy ball against the metal hull. The ball shatters and a corrosive substance is released that quickly burns a hole in the hull. The stranger enters the airship, and as she does, we finally get a look at her. It is Fox.

23. Back in Renard's office. He sits in his chair. Quietly. Fox enters behind him, and for a moment we think she's there as an assassin. But he seems to be expecting her. "Hello, Janine," he says. "Hello, Daddy," she replies. "I almost got you that time." "Yes, but why? I built this company for you. I'd have given it to you by now if you hadn't married that villain Xanatos. I'd still probably give it to you if you just stood up and asked me for it honestly." "Oh, Daddy. You and your integrity. Asking for it wouldn't be any fun at all." Renard: "And fun is more important to you than honor. I can't understand that." Fox: "Well, maybe you'll have better luck with the next generation." Renard: "What?" Fox: "That's right, Daddy. You're going to be a grandfather."
FADE OUT.


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"High Noon" story memo.

Late 1994. Writer Lydia Marano and Story Editor Brynne Chandler Reaves had turned in an outline entitled "Thieves in the Night". This memo and beat outline was my response to their work.

And before you ask... I have no memory of "the Zompanos". Perhaps a pre-cursor to the Sopranos? :)

WEISMAN 11-16-94

Notes on "Thieves in the Night" Outline...

GENERAL
The main problem for me here is the first act. From a plotting standpoint, everything with the Zompanos is largely immaterial to what follows. As with the outline for "The Mirror", the action of this story only begins at the end of Act One, when Mac and Demona stage their first attempt to steal stuff. We have to move that event up to the beginning of the act.

FOCUS ON COLDSTONE
Let's fool the audience into thinking he is the focus of the whole thing. It's a Coldstone story that turns out to be the set-up for something more dangerous. (Avalon.) To accomplish this, let's misdirect even more than we are.

MATT
I've basically cut Matt out of this story. I didn't like doing it, because I thought you gave him and Elisa a lot of nice character stuff. I even added some stuff to what you had done -- stuff that I also wound up cutting. The story was just too crowded and unwieldy with him there. (And thematically, the Elisa/Matt arc was just slightly off point.) Every time I worked on a scene, Matt got in the way. I wouldn't mind revealing just a little to him here, but there didn't seem to be any way to reveal "just a little". (Matt's not the type to just let things go or to settle for a partial explanation. And he's certainly shown a willingness to stick close to Elisa even when she's made it clear he's not welcome.)

I also would not be opposed to revealing the whole truth to Matt, but this story seemed to be too complicated to reveal just the simple truth about Goliath and company. We'd also have to tell him about Macbeth, Coldstone and maybe even Demona. It was just too much. But don't lose track of these ideas for Matt. We'll get to them all eventually.

THEME: HIGH NOON
"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing." Or put another way, "You can't crawl into a hole, no matter how nice the hole is, while others suffer." Obviously, this is Othello's arc to a tee.

I'm also giving it to Elisa. And since this is a lesson that Elisa really has already internalized 100%, I'm putting her through the wringer, so that in her exhaustion, she can have a moment of weakness, a crisis point where she can consciously reaffirm her belief. It's high noon, she tells herself. Is she gonna fight the good fight or not?

To a lesser extent, Goliath and the gargoyles reaffirm this belief every time they knowingly walk into a trap. Because the only alternative -- to do nothing -- is unacceptable to them.

CLOCK TOWER
We can't destroy the clock tower or even "all but destroy" it without attracting considerable attention from the precinct full of cops downstairs. A thunderstorm can cover a lot of noise, I suppose, but not extensive damage or explosions that might shake the building.

BACKSTORY
I don't want to count on the fact that our audience will have seen either "City of Stone, Part Four", "Legion" or "The Mirror". I don't want to be ham-fisted in our exposition, but I do want to make sure that we find a way to reveal that when we last saw Demona and Macbeth, they were in the custody of the Weird Sisters. Also that Coldstone has three personalities due to the fact that he was created from pieces of three separate gargoyles. And finally, that thanks to Puck's spell, Demona is now human during the day -- a situation which pissed her off at first, until she discovered the benefits of it.

COLDSTONE'S HEAD
The "tentacle vines" and the "vortex" were all the result of the computer virus. I think we can assume by this time that the virus has wiped out all programming, including itself. All that is left inside is the personality of the three gargoyles and whatever fantasy they create inside their mutual mind.

SHARED PAIN
Don't forget that Macbeth and Demona feel each other's pain. And also, as you had it in the outline, that they each share the opinion that the other is a royal pain.

BEAT OUTLINE
ACT ONE
1. Prologue: Coldstone's Mind. Othello and Desdemona enjoy an idyllic life in a virtual reality fantasy world that they've created. Electricity water-falls. A circuit-shaped moon. Whatever. They know it's not real, but it's close enough. They are together.
They are also aware of Iago's presence hovering darkly on the outskirts of their paradise, but he no longer has the power to come between them. They are content to let him hover.

2. Clock Tower -- Shortly before Dawn. Elisa has just ended a long night's shift and is stopping upstairs (via the broom closet) to see Goliath & co. before she heads home for some much needed sleep. Brooklyn is helping Hudson and Broadway with their reading lessons. Lexington is off in a corner working on Coldstone. Lex has opened up a metal plate on Coldstone, to get access to the circuits inside. He's hooked his laptop up to it and is checking things out. Goliath asks: is there any real hope of bringing him (her, them) back? As far as Lex can figure, the computer virus that attacked Coldstone has wiped its programming clean. Nothing's functioning, but nothing's broken. It's a blank slate. Even the virus is gone. After it finished attacking Coldstone's programming, it devoured itself. But none of that should have affected the souls of the three gargoyles that were used to create Coldstone. They were put there by magic, not programming. They've got to be in there somewhere. If Lex could devise a simple operating program, they might wake up. Well, he'll work on it some more tomorrow night. The gargoyles take their places. Sun rises. They get stoned.

3. Police Precinct -- Minutes later. Elisa's heading out the door, saying good-bye to Officer Morgan, who's also heading home. Coming in, is a uniformed female cop with red hair, pushing a felon who's got his cap pulled low over his eyes and his hands handcuffed in front of him. [Obviously, this is the human Demona and Macbeth.] Elisa pauses, and watches them head into the building and out of view. They both looked vaguely familiar, but she can't place either of them. Does Morgan know them? No, but the cop is obviously a rookie. Why else would she have cuffed the guy with his hands in front of him? Especially a guy that big.
Yeah, someone should tell her. Elisa heads back in. She spots them heading up the stairs. Sees them going around a corner. Always a step behind. Finally she sees them head into the broom closet. Horrified by what that might mean, she draws her gun, and follows them up into the clock tower.

4. Despite her precautions, she is ultimately jumped by the "felon" and the "cop". There's a struggle. And Elisa recognizes Macbeth, just before she is stunned into unconsciousness by Macbeth's lightning gun. Sweet dreams, he says. And the screen goes black.

5. Inside Macbeth's Airship - Twenty minutes later. Macbeth and the "cop" are flying along. The "cop" is angry that Macbeth wouldn't let her kill the gargoyles and especially Elisa, once and for all. Macbeth won't apologize for having a code of honor. But he's in a good mood. Their stolen cargo is safely stowed away in back, plus they got away without anybody else spotting them. "So lighten up... Demona!"

6. Clock Tower - Several hours later. Elisa comes to. She feels lousy, but she's basically all right. How long was she out? She checks her watch. Wow, most of the day. She looks around. Coldstone is gone!! Obviously taken by Macbeth and that woman. But how did they get him out of here in broad daylight? They couldn't just walk him out the door or even fly Macbeth's airship in to pick them all up without somebody noticing. Still, how they succeeded in doing it isn't as important as the fact that they did. She slumps into Hudson's recliner. "Might as well stop talking to myself and wait. It'll be sunset soon."

7. Macbeth's Mansion - Just before sundown. Human Demona is waiting for the sun to go down. Macbeth's a bit impatient. He thinks that despite her appearance, Demona's still thinking like a gargoyle. Why wait for night? Put the disk in now. She refuses. Coldstone doesn't know Macbeth, and wouldn't recognize her in her present form.
The sun goes down. Demona changes from a human into a gargoyle. The process is not without some pain. As she catches her breath, she wryly observes that despite an initial distaste for the human form, she's come to appreciate Puck's gift, although the fact that he made the transformation painful was probably his way of keeping her from appreciating it too much.
But, to work. They insert the operating program disk into Coldstone. And we push in hard and fast on Coldstone's eyes!!

8. Inside Coldstone's mind -- Same time. A tunnel of electric light appears before Othello and Desdemona. Des wonders if they should investigate, but before Othello can answer, Iago pushes them aside and glides down the tunnel out of sight. Now Desdemona is convinced they should stop or at least follow him. But Othello talks her out of it. Let him go. We are here and happy and together. What else matters?

9. Macbeth's Mansion -- Right then. Coldstone awakens and Iago is in control. He recognizes his rookery sister. (It doesn't really matter if Demona knows about Coldstone's multiple personality disorder.) She asks him how he feels. He quietly responds: vengeful. Demona and Macbeth smile at each other. They've found a friend.

ACT TWO
10. Clock Tower -- About the same time. The gargoyles woke up and got the gist of Elisa's story while we were at commercial. But everyone has questions. Goliath left Macbeth with the Weird Sisters, how did he escape them? And how did Macbeth know about the clock tower? And who was the human woman with him? Did Elisa recognize her? She seemed really familiar, but Elisa can't quite place her. Well, there's one thing they do know: Macbeth stole Coldstone. They have to get him back. So it's off to Macbeth's mansion. Elisa'd like to go with, but she's supposed to report to work in thirty minutes. Goliath assures her the six of them can handle it. She has an entire city to protect. She's not happy about being left out, but she can see his logic. She heads downstairs, talking to herself again. (Good thing I got that long enforced nap.)

11. Macbeth's Mansion -- A short while later. The place is very quiet. The gargoyles split up to search for Coldstone. Lex with Goliath. Brooklyn and Bronx. Broadway and Hudson.

12. Macbeth's Control Room. -- A bit later. Lex and Goliath break in, prepared to battle Macbeth. He's not there. Lex hits the control panel and soon he's found Coldstone on one of the screens. And what's more, he's found the creature awake and straining against chains that bind him to the floor of the dungeon. It must be a trap, but Lex can't figure out what the trap is. Goliath's all for heading straight down to the dungeon to free Coldstone, but first Lex reminds Goliath of some hard truths. Somehow, Macbeth got Coldstone operational again. That's the good news. But there'll be no way of knowing which of Coldstone's three personalities will be in control. One of the three hates Goliath's guts. Goliath has to be careful.

13. Another area in the mansion -- about the same time. Demona attacks Brooklyn and Bronx. They weren't expecting her at all, and it looks like she's got the upper hand.

14. Another area in the mansion -- about the same time. Broadway and Hudson find Macbeth. This is exactly who they expected to find and they're ready. It's a tough battle, but the good guys win.

15. Same as Scene 13. -- exactly the same time. When Macbeth is taken out by Broadway and Hudson, Demona doubles over in pain. She recovers quickly, but she's lost the upper hand, and Brooklyn is not about to let her get it back. He and Bronx defeat Demona.

16. Dungeon -- a few minutes later. Goliath and Lex approach Coldstone. Coldstone yells a warning: It's a trap!! But from another door, Broadway's voice calls out: "Not anymore!" He and Hudson enter, toting an unconscious Macbeth. But Coldstone still warns them away. Demona is still out there. And from a third door come Brooklyn and Bronx with the unconscious Demona as well. Goliath is surprised. Demona and Macbeth obviously escaped the Weird Sisters together, but who could have predicted they'd team up? They hate each other. But he can't worry about that now. He turns to Lex. Coldstone's warnings would seem to indicate that the right rookery brother is in control. Lex: "It's probably o.k. Just stay on your guard." So Goliath and Broadway help Coldstone break his chains. He greets them all warmly. Then approaches the fallen Macbeth and Demona. He effortlessly lifts them up by their shirt fronts, in a very threatening manner. But then his rocket jets turn on and he hovers a foot above the floor. Before the gargoyles have time to react, he says, "Now." Macbeth, who, like Demona, was only faking, has a small one-button remote control hidden in the palm of his hand. He presses it. The entire floor of the dungeon electrifies and all six gargoyles are knocked out.

17. Coldstone's Brain -- right then. Othello and Desdemona hear the deafening sound of Coldstone's laughter.

ACT THREE
18. Coldstone's Brain, in front of the electric tunnel -- a few seconds later. Obviously, Iago's up to no good. But Othello's being stubborn. Let someone else take up the cause. We have earned this peace.

19. Clock Tower -- Several hours later, just before sunrise. An exhausted Elisa is there (wearing at the very least, a different colored t-shirt, one would hope). She anxiously awaits the return of the Gargoyles. She tells herself that if they're not back by sunrise, she doesn't know what she's going to do. But before she can figure it out, she sees a winged silhouette approaching. She's initially relieved, until seconds later when Demona comes in for a landing. Elisa isn't exactly terrified. After all, the sun's coming up right now: Demona's about to turn to stone. But Demona merely laughs. And then transforms into the human woman that Elisa had seen 24 hours ago. As Demona grimaces from the pain of transformation, Elisa, despite her shock, draws her gun. If Demona's human, then she's subject to human law and under arrest.
But even unarmed, Demona has the upper hand. She, Macbeth and Coldstone have the gargoyles. If Demona doesn't return, the gargoyles won't either. She tells Elisa why she came. Before she kills Goliath, she wants to prove to him once and for all what humans are really like. So she's inviting Elisa to a high noon rendezvous at Belvedere Castle in Central Park. She warns Elisa that her only chance of surviving the encounter is to avoid it. Either Elisa dies or Goliath sees what human loyalty is really worth: either way, it works out fine for Demona, who then calmly takes her leave via the trapdoor. After a defeated beat, Elisa follows.

20. Ext. Precinct house. Elisa gets outside in time to see the Human Demona hail and get into a yellow cab. The cab pulls away, and for a second Elisa starts to follow, but then she says to herself, what's the point. I know where she's going. Officer Morgan exits the building, again on his way home. "We gotta stop meeting like this, Detective," he jokes. She's a bit dazed and just says, "I'm sorry, what?" He looks at her with concern. "You're looking a bit frayed around the edges."
Elisa: "Maybe that's because I haven't gotten any real sleep in the last 40 hours. I'm tired, hungry and, yes, afraid. I could just go home now and go to bed. When I woke up, it would be over for me. The world would suddenly be normal again. No more monsters -- good or bad. Just normal life."
Morgan: "Normal life would be nice."
Elisa: "But it isn't nice enough, Morgan. My life could never be nice enough or normal enough to make up for letting them down now. I can't crawl into a hole by myself and pretend that no one else matters."
Morgan, thinking he's finally getting it: "That's why you put on the badge."
Elisa: "Yeah, that's exactly why. Thanks, Morgan. You've been a big help." And she takes off.
Morgan, still a bit confused: "Sure, detective, anytime."

21. Belvedere Castle -- a few minutes before noon. The gargoyles are there in stone and in chains. Coldstone/Iago, Human Demona and Macbeth are there as well. Coldstone can't get over seeing the sun. He doesn't understand why he didn't turn to stone. Demona explains that he is no longer a gargoyle: day or night, he is Coldstone. Fine. But that doesn't explain how come no one in the park seems to notice their presence. Macbeth answers: "It's enough that they don't. Don't concern yourself with it." The answer satisfies Coldstone for the time being. He's in too good a mood to argue.

22. Inside Coldstone's Brain -- same time. Desdemona isn't sure that she and Othello are doing the right thing. Is this the gargoyle way? Othello tells her they are no longer really gargoyles. But he turns away, when he says it. He can't look her in the eye, cause he knows he's doing the wrong thing. But when he looks at her again, instead of seeing one Desdemona, he sees three. One with Blonde hair, one with Silver hair and one with Black hair. The Weird Sisters doing their thing.

23. Belvedere Castle -- Noon. Elisa arrives. Demona is surprised, but not upset. She lifts her plasma cannon. But Elisa says she's unarmed. Demona doesn't care, but Macbeth gets the message. This doesn't sit well, with his own strange code of honor. What's wrong, Demona? Afraid to face her on an even playing field? Thus Human Demona is goaded into a hand-to-hand match against Elisa. Demona's had a thousand years of warrior training. But not as a human. So it's pretty evenly matched.

24. Coldstone's mind -- Same time. The three Desdemona Weird Sisters confront Othello. Would he really be happy here in this false paradise knowing that he could have stopped all the damage that Iago is doing in the real world. Othello finally admits that he couldn't. The three Desdemona's merge together, leaving the real one there, a bit woozy, but still determined to help Othello fight Iago. They head down the electric tunnel together.

25. Belvedere - Right then. Coldstone/Iago suddenly cries out that he's under attack, then freezes up.

26. Inside Electric Tunnel - Right then. Iago blocks Othello and Desdemona's path. They fight. Desdemona will hold Iago at bay so that Othello can take control of Coldstone and try to repair the damage that Iago has done in the real world. With a last look back, Othello heads toward the light at the end of the tunnel.

27. Belvedere - That second. Coldstone/Othello awakens. Macbeth asks if he is all right. Coldstone simply asks for a moment to access his memory banks. He does. And then he attacks Macbeth. This catches both Macbeth and Demona off-guard and helps give Elisa the upper hand in her battle against Demona. Ultimately, Macbeth is forced to grab Demona and flee. (Maybe he summons his airship?) Coldstone starts to pursue, but Elisa needs him to help her get the chains off the guys, besides there's been enough fighting for one day. Coldstone uses his wrist cannon to snap the hold on all six. When they wake up at sunset, they should be able to shrug the chains off. Elisa asks him to stay. She knows that's what Goliath wants too. But Coldstone knows that Desdemona and Iago are still at war inside of him. The other gargoyles aren't safe from "Coldstone" until that battle is decided. He promises, that if he can, he will return someday. Then he rockets off into the sky. A few seconds later, a jogger jogs by. "Hey, where did those statues come from." Elisa heaves a big sigh. She sits down and leans back against Goliath. "Don't ask me. I'm just taking a nap."

28. Macbeth's Mansion - That night. Macbeth and Gargoyle/Demona are summing up. Demona's pissed that they failed to kill Elisa and the gargoyles, but that wasn't the primary objective. Plus they lost Coldstone, but that was always just a blind anyway. They've got the Grimorum, the Eye and the Portal-to-Avalon-Talisman. They stole all three when they took Coldstone. (They even used a spell from the Grimorum to hide their escape from the clock tower and to keep their fight in the park private.) If they had left Coldstone in the tower and only stolen the magic items, Goliath wouldn't have rested until he got them back. This way, it will be weeks before he notices that they're even gone.
But then they start to question they're own motivations: why did they want these items so badly? How did they know their secret location in the clock tower? For that matter, how did they know that the gargoyles lived at the clock tower at all? And why the heck are they working together when they hate each other's guts?
Just when they're about to murdilize each other, the Weird Sisters step in and put them both into a trance. They just made it under the wire. The "geas" spell on Demona and Macbeth was about to wear off. And of course they had no spell on Coldstone, which was why they wanted him separated from the other two. Besides they don't need Coldstone. Each of the three Sisters picks up one of the magical items. These will do quite nicely in the coming battle.

ONE LAST QUESTION: Given the above changes, does the title still work for you? I'm kind of mixed on it now.


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Chapter XXVI: "High Noon"

Following fast on the heels of City of Stone, here's my ramble on High Noon...

The recap is interesting here. It's all Coldstone oriented. Demona, Macbeth and the Weird Sisters aren't mentioned. Nothing from City of Stone, despite this being a direct sequel to those events. The reason is that the recaps got early criticism on a Disney Afternoon mailing list for giving too much away. We'd show a villain who didn't appear until the end of Act One, thus cueing our audience to expect that villain all along. A valid criticism. So we tried to adjust here. Coldstone's participation wasn't a secret. The episode opens in his "internal cyber-world" and he's shown dormant in the Clock Tower in the very next scene. But when Demona and Macbeth first walk past Elisa and Morgan, we're not supposed to know who they are. So I intentionally kept them out of the recap to preserve that reveal.

The heather Othello gathers has no scent. Why not? Everything in that world, except for the souls of the three gargs was simply a mental construct. Sight, sound, touch. So why not smell? No chemical senses, you might argue. But why no chemical senses? Why touch and not taste? I think that the lack of smell was an unconscious or subconscious boundary that Desdemona did not want to cross. Something to remind her that this world is not real. For all we know, Othello and Iago could smell whatever they imagined they could smell.

I like seeing Hudson and Broadway learning to read. We cheated a bit. I'm not sure they could have progressed as fast as they did in the short time since "Lighthouse". But we took that liberty to show that they had been working assiduously at it.

I have mixed feelings about Hudson's "Why would she want to 'hit a sack'?" line. On the one hand, I'm not sure we ever did enough of this. Playing with the contrasts in language and expression between their world and ours. On the other hand, it just seemed a bit late in the game for Hudson not to have heard this one already. (And for that matter, I have no idea when that particular phrase originated. For all I know they've been hitting the sack since the Middle Ages.)

Elisa makes a point of saying that she's "no hero". Just a gal doing a job. But of course, we know that's not true. It's simply how she'd prefer to view herself -- particularly when she's so tired. I tried to use this episode to emphasize that Elisa works the night shift. That she gets off work just before sunrise. Starts work just after sunset. (I actually imagine that she works a four day ten hour shift, plus mucho overtime.) Sometimes it seemed like the fans had forgotten that. I got a lot of questions back then like: "She works during the day and hangs with the gargoyles at night. When does she sleep?"

Morgan has a real nice role in this one. Keith is great as Morgan. So distinctive from Goliath in a part that was a mere throwaway in Awakening, Part One. Morgan and Elisa's easy rapor in this episode and Avalon One is what gave me the idea that he might someday ask her out (on that 2nd Halloween episode I've mentioned a few times). And the notion of a Keith-Salli-Keith triangle tickled me a bit.

Enter Macbeth as a perp with a human Demona dressed as a cop. (Always nice to show our characters in different costumes on occasion.) I'm curious how many people IMMEDIATELY recognized Demona as herself? After all, you'd only gotten a BRIEF glimpse of her human form in "The Mirror". And we hadn't shown it at all in "Vows" or "City of Stone". In fact, City of Stone began what we then called our Third Tier of stories. (Tier One was the first season. Tier Two was the first eight episodes of the second season: Leader, Legion, Metamorphosis, Lighthouse, Silver Falcon, Mirror, Eye of the Beholder, Vows.) And of course, City of Stone was transitional, so one could argue that Tier Three was beginning here with High Noon. Anyway, Demona's in atypical dress and species. Who knew it was her?

And once you did know, what were you thinking? The gargoyles have the same questions, I'd imagine. Last they (and you) saw, Mac and Demona hated each other, and had been taken away by the seemingly benevolent Weird Sisters. What was going through your heads about all this? Did you wonder at the seeming inconsistencies, like their knowledge of the Clock Tower? Their ability to get Coldstone out of the tower in daylight, unseen?

When my son Ben saw Demona, he thought it was one of the "triplets", which is what he calls the Weird Sisters. (They've fast become his favorite characters.) When I pointed out that she had red hair and not white, yellow or black, he was resistent to giving up on the idea that they weren't going to appear. (I was glad they eventually did. And now I wonder what he's going to think about the next seven episodes in which they do NOT appear.)

Throughout this, we cheat a bit on Elisa's exhaustion. We knock her out, but keep her tired. The subtle differences between various means of being unconscious and their effects on how tired one is confuse me.

I love Mac and D's exchange...
Mac: "You're still thinking like a gargoyle."
D: "I am a gargoyle." And don't you forget it.

Again, back in those days I just thought the audience would get revved up merely because we were teaming up THREE of our major villains. Macbeth, Demona and the villainous side of Coldstone. In Batman or Superman that would be a BIG EVENT. A huge threat to the hero. Did it have that effect on you guys? I feel vaguely that in a strange way, it did not. That our villains were so complex, that for once they backfired on us. That it wasn't viewed as, "Wow, our heroes have barely survived an encounter with one of those guys, how will they handle three?" Rather, the conflict was less interesting than the machinations and personalities. Am I being clear? Your thoughts?

This episode had some truly gorgeous animation in it. And the transformation scenes are both very cool. The Pain Link plays well here, though occasionally seems more geared to comedy than drama for some reason. The theme of gifts coming with a price... particularly the gifts of tricksters is emphasized in this scene.

Meanwhile Othello is desperately trying to remain an ostrich with his head in the sand. A position that on at least one level, Elisa 'believes' she'd like to take as well. With Othello, I think it's a real possibility that he will never act. With Elisa, I don't think we believe it for a moment. That's part of the reason they're both in there. To make sure that the theme of "Standing Up" is emphasized. Which brings us to the title, "HIGH NOON". That was one of mine, I believe. And I stole it right from the Gary Cooper movie. Sure we'd have a battle at High Noon. Because this was Elisa's story, not the gargoyles. Because the gargoyles would be asleep and vulnerable. But also because it was that kind of archetypal the-hero-stands-alone western battle.

You may notice that Xander Berkeley (the voice of Iago) does not appear in this episode. Because Iago has no lines when he's not in control of the Coldstone body. Again, I'm always so impressed with what a great job Michael Dorn does contrasting the Othello and Iago personalities without actually changing his voice.

I like Elisa's line when Brooklyn asks her if she recognized the woman with Macbeth. "She seemed familiar." Think about this for a second. If this was real life and not a cartoon, do you think you'd recognize Demona in Dominique? And yet I completely buy that Elisa recognized something in there. There's a strange nega-intimacy between Elisa and Demona. (Which is one of the sick reasons why I created Delilah, later.)

Goliath and Elisa engage in a little dueling patronizing here. Elisa has to go back on shift, so can't accompany the 'goyles to Mac's place. Goliath is pretty smug when he says the six of them can handle it. (The smugness, I hope, is undercut when he follows it up by saying, "You have a whole city to protect." Which is how he views it.) Then Elisa talks to them like they're little kids. She wants a full report when they get back. (Who says these two weren't made for each other?)

Lex, who has been and will continue to be very adept at breaking alarm systems, etc., for once admits that it's all too easy.

I like the moment when Goliath taps the camera with his wing. A nice little touch. And very well animated.

Lex is always the voice of warning in regards to Coldstone. This is important. Goliath listens to Lex this time. And Lex is fooled when Coldstone reveals Demona's involvement, seemingly before they know Demona is involved. I thought that was very clever on the villains' part.

Bronx smells Demona behind the closet, just as he did behind the tapestry.

I like how the marble bust flies and crashes. Another nice touch in the boarding and animation. Nice weight to the whole Brooklyn-Demona-Bronx fight scene.

I liked staging the Macbeth, Husdon, Broadway fight in a library. Felt like a thematic rematch from "Lighthouse".

The pain link here is a BIT of a cheat. Usually with them in different rooms on different floors, it wouldn't be quite this intense. Maybe the library is directly above whatever room Demona was in.

Lex is sure Coldstone's wrong about Demona. Brooklyn's "Uh, guess again." line is fun.

The entire battle at Macbeth's place is part of a technique I enjoy using on occasion called "Suspended Structure". This is really an Elisa and Othello Story. But we let the gargs carry the action for a period of time, while the true protagonists can't or won't take action. This keeps the story moving, without compromising the inaction of our "leads".

Demona confronts Elisa at the clock tower. The animators get a little carried away here with some of Demona's body language. God knows, it's fun to watch. But would she really do all those sexpot poses? Is that in character?

It is fun to see her hail a taxi though.

Morgan's back. Elisa now looks VERY tired. Again, great work from the animators. It's all in the eyes. Morgan helps Elisa though he thinks she's just talking about normal copwork. It only proves there's really no such thing as a "Normal Life". Morgan certainly doesn't think he has one.

Meanwhile Desdemona's gettin antsy. It's the "in" that the Weird Sisters need. They take over. Unfortunately, here, the animators screwed up. The three Desdemona's were supposed to have silver, gold and raven hair. Instead, in most shots, they just look like three Dessies. Then when they finally do get the hair right, it's just before they merge back into one Desdemona. At which point, the hair color should have been Des'. Instead, I think it's Luna's -- briefly. Oh, well. Anyway, I could have just done this with Desdemona herself. But I wanted to give the audience a hint that the Weird Sisters were still involved. Ben was thrown by the hair. He almost didn't believe these were the triplets.

I like the line: "Even shadows must be true to their shade."

High Noon at Belvedere Castle. Coldstone wonders that he can see the sun. Again, that's me making sure people are clear that Coldstone is RE-ANIMATED STONE, not flesh. I don't think it's visually clear. (Part of the problem being that Othello's coloring is too similar.)

Then Elisa arrives -- counting on Macbeth's honor to keep Demona from shooting her. For that reason, she intentionally doesn't bring her service revolver to the party. Quite the gambit. Elisa also counts on Demona's temper -- and on the fact that Demona is unaccustomed to fighting with reduced human strength. She goads Demona: "I'm here to save him." and "You fight like a rookie." I love, positively LOVE, the former of those two lines. Elisa is a hero in her own right. Though Goliath has rescued her on occasion, I felt we did a pretty good job of always evening the score. She's no damsel in distress.

Mac & Coldstone: "This is diverting." "You have no idea." (Quotations approximate.) I like that. A tip of the hat to my being a guy, if you will.

We cheat a bit here on the pain link too. One could argue that Mac IS feeling the pain. But he's ready for it and covering. He does seem to be grimacing a bit when he says, "You have no idea." But still, I think we cheated.

I love the animation on the Othello, Desdemona, Iago fight.

Battle over, Coldstone leaves. Sends himself into exile. This is the gargoyle way.

And hey, our jogger is back. Again wondering where all these statues are coming from. That's just fun continuity for me. And Elisa: "Don't ask me. I'm just taking a nap."

And then the whole final scene between Mac and D and the sisters is so much fun. I love the sense of the fog lifting from their eyes. "What Primary Objective?" "Why are we working together?"

And I'm also proud of the trick. A very Xanatosian tag here. Steal Coldstone to distract the gargs from noticing the thefts of the gate, book and eye.

And how about that reference to "The coming battle..." that the Sisters end the episode on? What did you all think of that at the time?

I'll try to post the High Noon writer's memo tomorrow. (Meant to do it yesterday, but I forgot.) Anyway, Done rambling. You're turn. (Again, I'm interested in both your original and current responses to the episode.)


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Jim R. writes...

Is there really a garden maze known as the "Brooklyn Botanical Gardens" in Brooklyn, NY? And is there really a dragon statue in the middle? Just wondering...

Greg responds...

There is a Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. But we made up most of the rest. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it.)

Response recorded on February 15, 2001

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Jim R. writes...

In the beginning of "Temptation" episode, how did the Trio manage to find an empty warehouse and welding tools? And how did they manage to fix the motorcycle without any notice from bystanders or other people?

Greg responds...

Well, they searched around until they found a place they could get into and use after dark. In a neighborhood where most people don't hang after the sun sets.

B&E, of course. I don't recommend it.

Response recorded on February 15, 2001

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Sixshot writes...

About Hunter's Moon 3, this is how I remembered the final battle: Goliath was pounding his fists on Jon's armor. His helm was cracking and was about break. Then Goliath rip the collar off and that's where Elisa came in to stop the fight.

That was the first time I saw the episode 5 years ago, at least how I remembered it. I seen it recently this year, but the scene changed: The pounding scene was removed and only the collar ripping was left. Did my memory play some tricks on me? Do you know if the scene I describe first was the original sequence or my tv station edited the scene?

Greg responds...

It's been awhile for me too, I'm afraid. And my memory isn't quite that specific. My tapes tend to be the version originally aired. Not those later corrected or re-edited by Toon Disney. I'm slowly rewatching all the episodes. Remind me when I get close.

Or come to the Gathering in Los Angeles this June. Lots of tapes there.

Response recorded on February 15, 2001

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He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named writes...

I just read a question that interested me. I thought that I had seen all of the Garg episodes, but now I know that I haven't. I started watching the show last summer, on Toon Disney; I watched it every night, from Awakenings back to Awakenings. Anyway, the question asked why Toon Disney refused to air Dark Force. Never heard of it. Could you give us "rookies" a lil synopsis?

Greg responds...

I think you mean "Deadly Force". Toon Disney does refuse to air this episode. In it, Broadway accidentally shoots Elisa with her own gun. She is rushed to a hospital and nearly dies.

(Question: Did you wonder in Enter Macbeth why Elisa was on crutches? Did you wonder what she was talking about in "The Edge" when she tries to get Chavez to NOT partner her with Matt?)

Response recorded on February 15, 2001

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Jim R. writes...

I as curious to know if gargoyles lived in North America before Columbus discovered it in 1492? I mean, surely the native americans (Indians) must have seen them. Because the episode involving Raven and Grandmother specifically indicates totem poles in the forms of gargoyles.

Greg responds...

Actually, you weren't paying close attention. We made a point of saying the totem poles were not modeled on Gargoyles. (Raven lies about this, but Grandmother is clear. And by the end of the episode, it's also clear who to trust.)

Having said that, I have every reason to believe that Gargs lived in North America before 1492. After all, they clearly lived in South America before 1492.

Response recorded on February 15, 2001

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matt writes...

you've said numerous times that there are no aquatic or amphibious gargoyles, however in "Ill Met by Midnight" as Katherine, Goliath, and everyone are arriving at the castle at the beginning of the ep there is a Avalon clan garg shown that looks extremely aquatic. he has what looks to be gills, fins, fishy looking eyes, webbed appendages, and on top of everything else is a aquamarine hue. i just thought i'd mention it...

Greg responds...

I haven't seen that episode in a while. I'd have to look again.

And by the way, I've "said numerous times that there are no aquatic or amphibious gargoyles"? When? At any rate, it depends how you define "aquatic".

Response recorded on February 15, 2001

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Bruno writes...

Hi, Greg,

In your "Vows" ramble, you asked from were came "more's the pity".

Well, I was reading Richard III and found it in the scene 1, act 1: Hastings and Gloucester are talkin about Hastings being freed from the tower, and Clarence throwed there:

HASTINGS
MORE PITY that the eagle should be mew'd,
While kites and buzzards prey at liberty.

Greg responds...

Yeah. But is that the original? And how and when did it take the current form?

Response recorded on February 15, 2001

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matt writes...

in "Awakenings, part 1" when Tom first comes up to the trio and they have that talk about calling each other friend (by the way, this is one of my fav scenes in the series) and then the gargs scare the humans and everything, what was Tom thinking? i know he really liked the gargs and wanted to be their friends but if these "monsters" than turned around and purposely frightned my mother, i'd be pretty upset. i don't know Tom's background but i'm sure that he's had a rough life. he's a refugee, so he has lost his home, we never see his father so i assume given the time period that he is dead and now these creatures are threatening his mom! Tom is a smart kid not to follow so many of his role models, including his mother, into believing that the gargs are demons, etc. and even after this he still calls the gargs his friends. what are your thoughts of young Tom and this incident?

Greg responds...

I think Tom saw the whole thing. Saw that the gargs were insulted and hurt. Saw that they were fooling around and then got punished for it. Tom loves his Mom, but he thought she was wrong.

Response recorded on February 07, 2001

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matt writes...

what other spells besides the sleep counter spell were on the page of the Grimorum that Hakon burned? if you have this planned out, i'll be surprised so i really don't expect a big answer!

Greg responds...

I didn't have anything too specific in mind.

Response recorded on February 07, 2001

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Entity writes...

Hi Greg,

In your latest beat sheet for the series opener, I see that the idea of the Trio being young and inexperienced was still prominant. I understand where you came from in eventually changing that, but when I first watched AWAKENING I was distraught by the Trio. Every gargoyle we saw was a full-fledged warrior. Where _were_ the inexperienced kids? The elderly? It seemed slightly out-of-sync that the Trio were such able-bodied fighters. Was the Viking attack a real threat or wasn't it?

That is just my original impression of the events of the initial Viking attack. Later on, when the gang counterattacks the camp, I can understand their participation.

I guess the battle just came off too light-heartedly when we glimped the Trio, starkly contrasting with characters like Goliath's and Demona's scenes. A real sense of danger is added by Hakon drawing Goliath's blood, boulders crashing into stone, refugees huddling about, the Captain barking orders, etc. But then we have the Trio gallavanting through the battle like it's, as Brooklyn puts it, just "fun."

I think their innocense could have been portrayed in a way that didn't detract from the realism that was so effectively installed earlier on.

This isn't intended to come off as pure criticism. AWAKENINGS was brilliant, especially Part 1. But I thought I'd mention my first impressions.

Another little thing I noticed from the beat sheet is that the flashback originally began showing the refugees entering the castle, with the Marauders/Vikings on their tail, and then both parties camp for the day till dusk. This struck me in two ways: First, it gave me a better grip of realism. Enemy attackers camping right outside the castle, both sides waiting for the battle to begin... that could've added a cool flavor to things, and immerse us more into the medieval setting. Secondly, showing the refugees herded into the castle beforehand would've better clarified the events surrounding the battle. In the final product, we jump straight into the fight and, as a result, a reason is not even necessarily needed. The Captain's off-hand comment about refugees comes off as superfluous. I remember shrugging. 'That's nice' I thought. We were in the battle. Who needed backstory? Of course, the refugees were an important component, for the sake of Tom and his mother, and to better portray the environment of 10th century Scotland. If we'd seen the prologue to the battle, that's included in the beat sheet, I think it would've been much more effective.

I guess what this comes down to in the end is my earlier message I sent to you, in which I asked about trimming episodes with Last Time and Next Time segments. You defended, saying they were useful for tightening the episodes, but I put forth, as shown here, that some valuable stuff can be lost. Of course, it's doubtful you would've wanted or could've gotten a 6th Part to AWAKENINGS, but don't you think you could use ANY extra time you have to better flesh things out?

Greg responds...

The trio are new to this warrior thing at the time of the Viking attack. Brooklyn takes it more seriously, and unfortunately we don't see much with Lex (not enough time in the episode). Broadway enjoys the battle and doesn't take it as seriously as he should. We did this on purpose in order to contrast his response in the second battle at the Viking encampment.

I don't think the realism was damaged (though, of course, you're entitled to your opinion). I just think we were showing a variety of responses to the stimuli at hand.

And we did show the elderly -- in the person of Hudson. We couldn't show everyone, so he stood in for all of his generation that still survived. The only group we didn't show at all were kids (Bronx's age). It was felt that it would just be too brutal to establish and show these kids -- only to have them smashed later.

As for the prologue, well, I liked it too. But talk about superfluous...

I mean, what would you have been willing to cut from the episode in exchange for adding that prologue. It's not like I can say, "Hey, we want this prologue. Let's animate an additional three minutes here." Ultimately we have an absolute time limit to every episode. A footage limit (based on budget concerns) that we are allowed to send overseas to be animated. Something had to go. And I think the Captain's line covers the necessary info. It might not be elegant. But it's servicable.

But don't start on the Previously and Next Time segments. They don't count. What I'm talking about is how much we were allowed to ANIMATE at our budget. That was limited to about twenty-two minutes and thirty seconds. Putting entire new sequences in would require us to speed up the pacing of everything else. Using thirty seconds for a PREVIOUSLY segment allows us to tighten pacing and cut out bad frames of animation once something is animated. Because, the truth is, nothing ever came back to us PERFECT. NOTHING.

So AGAIN, had I cut all those previously and next time segments you would not have gotten any extra scenes. You just would have had the scenes you saw with some bad animation and pacing left in. And if there's still bad animation and pacing in there -- well, trust me, we used those thirty seconds to cut out the worst of it.

We clear now?

Response recorded on February 07, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

In the episode long way till morning we see how princess Katherine gets her xenophobic behavior of gargoyles by her father telling her things like "the gargoyles would get you." Hudson hears this and tells her father "we will never hurt the lass" My questions are

1) Why did prince Malcolm tell his daughter "The gargoyles would get you" since he knows the gargoyles would never do such a thing?

2)What would Hudson do if he were to ever meet Princess Katherine again?

Greg responds...

1. Malcolm is being expedient, not wise.

2. Thank her for raising the eggs.

And it's Katharine. With two "a"s.

Response recorded on February 07, 2001

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Chapter XXV: "City of Stone, Part Four"

Time to ramble...

Picking up right where Part Three leaves off, Demona is forced to back off on killing Elisa right away because of Bronx. I really like that scene, mostly for how it illustrates Bronx's level of sophistication. It's not like he understands English, beyond a few simple names and commands. But he understands tone of voice. Something that Demona uses. She talks him down by saying nasty things in a nice tone of voice. He's still suspicious. But as long as her actions and tone don't get hostile, he's content to back off. At one point though, she can't restrain her venom, and he starts to growl again. And she has to regain her composure.

FLASHBACK

Great Choral music during the battle. Carl Johnson and music editor Marc Perlman (both of whom will be attending the Gathering this June in Los Angeles) did a magnificent job with this.

And there's some great fog as well.

It's also nice to see a legitimately joyful Demona, hoisting Macbeth into the air. He laughs, but his mind's on other things, wondering why Bodhe wanted to talk to him without Demona present. Perhaps he's feeling guilty. Perhaps she picks up on that, which is why she eavesdrops.

A tragedy of bad timing: My sense is that Macbeth is about to read Bodhe the riot act, when Luach interrupts. Mac essentially agrees with Luach, but not with his manner. He takes JUST the wrong moment to teach him a lesson about being a good king. Luach reacts badly and storms out. And it is Luach's behavior that Macbeth is considering when Demona leaves. Two seconds later, I'm quite sure the conversation went like this:

Bodhe: "Well, sire?"

Macbeth: "Well, what?"

Bodhe: "The Gargoyles, sire. You must disavow them!"

Macbeth: "Don't be a fool." etc.

The siege is pretty cool too. (Though you'd think boulders dropped from the battlements would be a touch more effective.)

Mac rescues Gruoch. Even at this age, I still think they're a sexy couple.

I like the scene where Canmore removes his Hunter's Mask. Like Gille before him with Demona, he's truly annoyed when Mac doesn't immediately recognize him.

"Never would I have done so! We have been allies for thirty-seven years!!" Demona ain't a great judge of character.

Luach and Bodhe show up. I like this scene too. (O.K., I'm partial. What can I tell you?) Bodhe has an interesting moment. One of two things happens here. Either he's pleased to finally have one of his own blood (i.e. his grandson) installed as King or the death of Macbeth has finally awakened the hero inside him. Or both. For once, I tend to give Bodhe the benefit of the doubt. I think, at this late date, he's finally come into his own. I like to think he died a good warrior's death at Luach's side.

Demona wakes up. She claims not to believe Gruoch's admonishment, but NOTE, she does not kill Gruoch. Underneath it all, she knows that Gruoch is right and feels chastened.

Macbeth wakes up. Here we have our final scene on Lunfanan Hill. It parallels the previous break-up of Mac and Gru. That time Mac sent her away, but he loved her still. This time she sends him away. She loves him too. But this parting is permanent. Very moving to me. "I will always love you." And because of that, he must leave her. But we know he hasn't forgotten her even into the present. Her loss informs what follows.

Back to the present. Over episodes two and three, things in the present have been progressing very slowly. Now the present takes center stage.

Demona echoes what I'm sure by this time we were all thinking: "Take off that mask. You aren't fooling anyone... Macbeth." And he explains that he wears it as a symbol of her betrayal. (And for a psychological edge, no doubt.)

Meanwhile, we have that semi-feeble exchange between Goliath and Xanatos in the air. Feeble (a) because in one little scenelet, the mouth on Xanatos' armor is moving like it had lips; and (b) because the whole tapestry thing was a fairly forced way to get X and Goliath back to the castle.

I like Demona's line: "Let's not start that again. You blame me. I blame you..." etc. It's a very rational Xanatosian moment for her. But that rationality is born from the knowledge that she can't kill Macbeth without killing herself. Her usual vengeful attitude is useless. What she doesn't know is how suicidal he is. "Revenge is a dish best served cold. And I have waited 900 years for mine." Hey, leave a dish out for 900 years and it will get pretty cold.

There's always a bit of comedy in the pain-sharing battles of D&M.

When the floor starts to give way, it reminds me of a scene that was WAY better animated in the DuckTales pilot. Where the bricks of gold fall away in a simlilar vein. It's nice here, but it was awesome there.

I also like when Demona has Mac's E-M gun, tosses it and catches it to fire at X and G. Nice little touch.

And Xanatos' truly frightened yet underplayed: "This is bad." when he sees the computer screen.

I like the multiple falls that get us down to the Atrium -- a wonderful setting for the final confrontations.

And Goliath's speech: "...Death never does."

Again we get multiple images of the Sisters throughout this scene. And again, I had to fight for that.

Each Sister gets to take a mental punch to weaken first Macbeth and then Demona. Are they being hypocrites here? One aspect of their persona is, certainly. But there's more going on, some of which I still haven't revealed.

But the key thing in terms of this scene (and the events of AVALON) is that both Mac and Demona need to be mentally weakened for the spells of control that the Sisters are going to use on them in HIGH NOON and AVALON. And M&D need to borderline volunteer to relinquish control over themselves. Macbeth, who has been suicidal, is tired and willing. Demona's tougher. But even she doesn't put up much of a fight. "You tricked me." she says. And certainly they have, but she can't break the grip of three children, and though of course they are not ordinary children, one must wonder if she really wanted to.

Goliath: You have learned nothing.

The sisters (as children) say their cool (and ironic) line: "We have written their stories. They are our responsibility. They are our children." My three year old son Ben says: "I love the triplets."

But theirs is a story for another day.

Xanatos really has to sweat in this one. Unusual for him. I love his line to Bronx: "What are you looking at?"

But once the skies burn, he's back to his old self: "Magnificent." Believe it or not, it took some effort to really get the skies burning. The animation came back with only a few contrails of gas burning. We used video tricks to get that whole sky-burning effect that was SO important to the story.

When the gargs rush back inside they were supposed to lift Elisa up into the air in their joy at seeing her unstoned again. Thus you have contrast to explain Xanatos' line to Owen, "You'll forgive me, if I just shake your hand." (But you also have to wonder how he'd respond to Fox when next he saw her.)

And Xanatos gives a line I'd been waiting to use for a year. "I always wondered why I allowed you gargoyles to live. You come in handy now and then." I had always worried that an audience raised on certain villain cliches would just assume that the reason Xanatos never killed the gargs on one of the myriad occasions when he had the chance, was because we were bad writers. This X/G exchange was here to demonstrate that X wasn't that kind of villain. That he was never wasteful. Maybe at this point in the series, it wasn't necessary to spell it out. But it was still nice to get the sentiment across.

Of course, this ends the Xanatos/Demona partnership. Uneasy though it had been. It's why VOWS had to come first.

And that's my ramble...

Where's yours?


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Chapter XXIV: "City of Stone, Part Three"

Time to ramble...

So the sun rises on the next day. Elisa IMMEDIATELY starts talking, even though she's facing the wrong way, putting to the lie all those nice fans who tried to make excuses for why she was animated facing that direction.

It's also kind of cool to watch Goliath and Brooklyn turn to stone and then see Owen turn from stone to flesh. He's got that URGENT-Owen tone going there for a sec, then quickly regains his usual Owen composure. It's fun.

There's a line in here about mixing magics, which was supposed to be a vague, vague cover for later revelations that Owen is Puck. Owen suggests getting the Grimorum from Goliath. X responds it wouldn't do any of them any good since none of them are sorcerors and MIXING MAGICS is supposed to be dangerous. That last phrase is REALLY a reference to a notion in X's head, that Puck might be able to help. X than rejects the notion himself. He's right about mixing magics, but that isn't the main reason that Puck won't help. Puck won't help because that's not the deal that Owen made with Xanatos.

I like Xanatos' casual confidence though: "We'll just have to set the sky ablaze."

Travis scene is fun for me too. Gives me one of those oblique opportunities to semi-break the fourth wall. A woman comes up, tells Travis the truth. He discounts her story, nominally because she doesn't watch television. Anyone who doesn't watch television must be a kook. Now a report on Mass Hypnosis... (That last bit is in there to explain in passing what the world response to the City of Stone events is likely to be.)

FLASHBACK TIME: Duncan has a beard. "Some cousins are not that close." I love how Neil Dickson read that line. And I love Duncan's genuine surprise when Mac saves his life.

Mac saves Demona again. Proving what a good, loyal guy he is.

And then we bring in the Weird Sisters, in the most SHAKESPEAREAN scene in City of Stone.

But first let's talk about the title. I LOVE that title. "CITY OF STONE". I think it was one of mine. But I have to admit it's flawed. Though it's spooky and evocative it really only covers the present day story. The present day story is certainly important, but I think we'd all agree that the real juice in this four-parter is in the tenth and eleventh centuries. And the title doesn't really cover that stuff at all. I didn't notice it at the time, because the importance of the flashbacks snuck up on me. At first I thought they would simply inform the action in the present. But it wound up being more of the reverse. Still I like the title. It sounds like a Movie title to me. What do you guys think?

Anyway, we bubble, bubble, toil and trouble it a bit. I love the nasty expressions that Canmore and Luach shoot each other. [I also love J.D. Daniels work as Canmore. He's such a little nasty. Great contrast to his work as the goody-good kid Tom.]

I'm fairly certain that we screwed up on Luach's name. The name should have been Lulach. But a typo got us stuck on Luach. At first I thought maybe either name would be accurate, like Malcolm and Maol Chalvim. But now I think we just blew it.

I love Luna's line: "You would lecture US on fate."

Erin, my six year old daughter, began to get very annoyed with Duncan here. "Why doesn't he give Macbeth one chance? He just saved his life! Duncan is a fraidy-cat. And stupid." I love a good judge of character. When Bodhe ("Be reasonable, Macbeth") tells Mac that Duncan's after him, and Mac can't believe it, Erin felt quite vindicated, "See, [Mac] just asked the same question that I did."

I like Mac's sad line to Gruoch: "The Journey will be brief."

And I like D and Mac's exchange:

Mac: "You are the answer."
D: "I'm uninterested in the question."

Ben, my three year old son, was having a little trouble with how fast everyone was aging. He didn't always get that the flashbacks weren't taking place right after each other. He got the difference between past and present. But not that we kept leaping forward from say 1032 to 1044 etc. "That's a different Demona," he would say, before I explained that she was just getting older. It then occured to me that I'm not even sure if he knows that white hair specifically signifies old age in a cartoon. After all, Brooklyn's hair is white. So's Luna's, in all her forms. (It's supposed to be silver, but it looks white most of the time.)

Mac is surprised, and not a little freaked out, to hear that there's still a Hunter out there. With Gill dead, he has no clue who it could be.

He offers an alliance, and Demona -- clearly thinking of the Captain of the Guard -- says, "You sing an old song." That, for me, helped tie in our Wyvern flashbacks to the whole Mac/Demona story. I was always afraid they weren't really related enough.

The whole thing with the Sisters looking different depending on the point of view, was another idea of mine that most people thought I was nuts about. (Like having characters unaware of the change in themselves in "The Mirror".) It worked just fine, and in many ways is clearer than any alternative I can think of. But man, I had to WORK to convince people.

The sisters are pretty tricky here, they use the barest excuse of an offered trade to more or less enforce their will on Mac and D. Bending Oberon's law without breaking it. That's not too important here, but will obviously be important in later episodes.

The clues of course are planted in the spell. "Forever and eternal bound and each the other's pain resound." How many people got the implication here as opposed to figuring it all out when the sisters explained it near the end of part four?

Seline handing Mac that magic ball was another instance of us cheating a bit. We were sick of using the fall to the death shtick. But we couldn't just have Duncan skewered. So this was an S&P compromise. The good news was it looked pretty cool. Brief but scary. It even seems to scare Mac.

When Gruouch says that she's afraid Mac's made "a bad bargain," she was supposed to touch his hair to give a visual reminder that he had given up his youth to protect his clan -- and that it scared and saddened her more than a little. I gave that note over and over, but somehow it never got in there. It still works, but I really wish she had run her fingers through his hair there.

D likes Mac and Gruoch here. Look at her face. Maybe she sees a bit of herself and Goliath in them. (With Gruoch as Goliath, of course.)

I like the battle too. It's very economical staged, yet it feels kinda epic to me. Very smartly story-boarded. I really like Demona's clean sweep of Duncan's cavalry off their horses.

Mac says: "You fight like a demon." Laying the groundwork for Demona to get named. This was a bit of an argument with S&P. "Demon" was supposed to be an off-limit word for us. I convinced Adrienne Bello it was important to justify Demona's name. And my bosses backed me up. (That never happens anymore, by the way.)

There's a character in here that we never name except in the credits. He's Duncan's right hand man and Demona appears to brain him by flying him head first into a big rock. He's called MacDuff in the credits. Obviously, another name from Shakespeare. I think maybe he didn't die, but became an ally of Canmore's in part four. But I'm not sure. I know that in part Three, Charlie "Travis Marshall" Hallahan did his voice. In part Four, the character I'm thinking of (both of whom have red hair at least) is voiced by Jeff Bennett.

M&D find the mask with Duncan, and Mac says, "so the battle is truly over for us both." Which is majorly ironic, since we know the battle will continue for at least 900 years.

Bodhe comes out from the background only after "THE NIGHT IS WON!"

Bodhe, though contemptuous, is a very fun character to write. I love his little aside about Canmore: "He'll be trouble; slay him now." We like Mac better that he won't kill a child. But you'll notice that Demona won't kill the kid either.

The coronation is fun. That whole naming sequence is fun.

M: "They will learn to respect you."
D: "I'd rather they feared me."
M: "They'll do that too... 'Demona'"

A nice bow tied on that "Know her?!! I named her!!" line from way back in "Enter Macbeth".

Now as we prepare to segue back to the present, Erin recognizes the three sisters as serving wenches "Because of their hair". To which Ben says, "Me too". But when we get to the present, neither realize that the sisters are also posing as cops. Mostly, because they're police hats largely cover their hair.

Now finally, back to Elisa. Confused as hell, but beginning to catch on at the mention of PackMedia Studios. She heads for the Eyrie. X's response: "Ah, the charming Detective Maza." Love that guy.

Owen and Elisa do their little dance and we get to play a gargoyle recurring bit with them as they freeze into stone mid-argument. At this point my kids catch on to the basic rules. (All of which might have been clearer if we hadn't had such a big gap between watching part two and part three). Erin: "So the humans are the opposite of the Gargoyles. When they turn to stone, the others wake up."

Xanatos starts explaining the plan, and my son turns to me and says, "Daddy, I have to tell you something." [Which is how he starts most conversations these days.] "I had a lot of dreams about fire in the sky." I'm not sure if I believe him, but it was a nice conversation piece.

I like the way Goliath looks at Elisa when he says, "This has to work." Feelings showing.

Then everyone leaves to go pass gas. :) [I know. I'm really mature.]

Bronx goes after the tapestry. We wanted to keep that subtle so that we weren't tipping our hand. Did anyone wonder about that or did it just slide by? Did anyone remember at the cliffhanger that Bronx had been left behind to save Elisa?

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


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Jim R. writes...

In one the first series episodes, (i forgot the name), where Xanatos donated the eye of Oden and then had it stolen again for himself, there in the museum scene there was night watchman who was walking down a corridor, and he stopped to look at a painting. He said "Yeh, you and me both, pal." Was that painting any famous one in particular? I almost thought it looked like Edward Munch's "Scream" but then I thought why would the night watchmen associate what he was feeling with "Scream"(not the movie)?

Greg responds...

Scream the movie wasn't out yet when we made that. It had no influence on us. And in any case, I've never seen it.

That was supposed to be Edvard Munch's painting though.

Response recorded on February 01, 2001

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matt writes...

okay, you told us to stop asking detail questions about the Puck created world in "Future Tense" cuz there were no details and Puck didn't work any harder than he had to so what about Maria Chavez's daughter? why was she included in Puck's ruse? i don't think Goliath had much of a relationship with Chavez and might not have known her, in fact, i don't see it as very likely that Goliath even saw that picture! so why did Puck include that detail? (lets see you get yourself out of this one. :) )

Greg responds...

Goliath would recognize Chavez. Thus the importance of the photograph in "the daughter's" cart. If Goliath had made an effort, Puck would have given young Ms. Chavez more of a personality, with a sob story about her mother to further discomfit our boy.

(How was that? Amateur.)

Response recorded on February 01, 2001

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Heather N. Allen writes...

City of Stone...what a great miniseries! Not one of my specific favorite sets of episodes, but I love how everything storywise came together ('what a tangled web we weave'!) I ADORE continuing story lines, which is why I never got into many 'sitcom' cartoons. (I DO admit having a weakness for "Freakazoid", though...)

And thanks for explaining that whole screw up with Demona looking too old in that 'new' scene with the Captain of the Guard. That has always annoyed the heck outta me, but I wasn't thinking along the lines of the poor animators trying to keep things straight. Considering I want to go into some type of animation, I feel guilty for not being more thoughtful! ^_^

Now, on to some questions/musings/etc...

"If it turns out short, we can add the bit about 'Birnam Wood coming to Dunsinane', which I've left out for now."

1>You planned to use this witches' prophecy from the play in the show? How were you going to fit it in exactly?

This was one of my favorite ironies in the play (now that I've read it!), right next to the prophecy about Mac not being killed 'by a man of woman-born'. And if you think about it, that irony _was_ portrayed in the series. Demona isn't woman-born, and she certainly ain't a man! ^_~

"He gets in his helicopter heading for Studio, with Derek at pilot."

2> You mean you didn't have "Metamorphosis" planned out at this point in time? Or were you just confused? Or am I just confused...?

"Duncan goes to destroy them starting with Demona."

3> Whoa, hold on! I just thought of something...how'd Duncan know about Gil's feud with Demona specifically? Did Gil tell him? And did he pass on the legend of "The Demon" down to Canmore? How did the Eternal Hunt for the Demon get passed down (I mean, how did future Canmores specifcally know to hunt HER?)

"Duncan is killed in some way. (Preferably the same way Find & Gil bought it.)"

4> Well, we know he DIDN'T die this way. How did that whole magical orb thing come into the picture? Who's idea was it? (Yours? Mr. Reaves?)

"...To Demona, who is having a grand old time with the 'stoners'..."
"...She's practically giddy, talking to herself and the 'stoners'..."
"...In the skies above Manhattan, Xanatos & Goliath fly abreast for a moment as they 'pass gas'..."

>No questions here, I just thought that was funny. ^_~

>Hmm...I just ran this by spell check, and it suggested "manatees" for "Xanatos". How the heck do you get _manatees_ outta that?! There's no "X" in manatees! Sheesh!

Ciao, thanks again!
~H\A~

Greg responds...

1. Honestly, I no longer remember exactly. But it would have been part of Canmore's attack on Castle Moray. The one where Demona switched sides.

1a. I liked that irony too.

2. We didn't have the order of things planned out at that time. We knew Metamorphosis was coming. Didn't yet know where it would fall.

3. He didn't. (Now I think one of us IS confused.) She was hunted (a) because she was the only one left (as far as they knew) and (b) because of a little mishap with Canmore and one of his sons that I haven't told you about yet.

4. I don't remember. I'm guessing Michael (or Lydia or Brynne). Maybe they remember. Come to the Gathering this June in L.A. and ask them. All three will be there. (End of plug #562 in a series.)

5. Gotta keep myself amused, you know.

Response recorded on February 01, 2001

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matt writes...

Greg, just read the ramble on "City of Stone". what a great bunch of episodes!!! it's very typical of the series to reveal one secret but create ten more mysteries. when i first saw "City of Stone" i thought, "Hooray! now i know how Macbeth named Demona and how she survived the centuries but who are these "wierd sisters", where did they take Demona and Macbeth, is Xanatos becoming a good guy, and i wonder if that was the last Hunter?..."
i'm glad you waited on telling Matt about the gargs, i thought that desearved its own episode esspecially since this one is the villian's story not the good guy's. i also loved Bronx being the protector without the other gargs and how he continues to have loyalty to Demona but not enough to allow her to hurt Elisa. until this episode i had begun to wonder why Bronx was in the series, he just did so little... i really liked the role revearsal of the gargs protecting the stone Elisa.
as for why Elisa was turned the wrong way when she turned to stone the first time, i always assumed she was pacing in anticipation for the gargs to wake up and her pacing caught her facing inward.
i have two questions about "City of Stone" (for now):
you have said that Demona did not have any children with her little almost all male clan but by "CofS IV" there are dozens of garg warriors in the fight with the English. did Demona's clan assimilate another garg clan into thiers or were these all rougue gargs who heard of Demona's clan and decided to join it or what? also did Demona even bother to assign a second in command?

Greg responds...

Demona's clan was larger than appearances, because they lived in "cells" (not literally), i.e. small groups. That way if one cell was discovered and/or destroyed, the rest would still be safe.

And the garg with the metal breastplate was her second, but she didn't give him much room to stretch his wings.

Response recorded on February 01, 2001

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(The Guppi) writes...

Did the Egyptian government ever notice that an entire city was wiped out in _Grief_? Did it bother with an official explanation?

Greg responds...

Yes, they noticed.

There was both an official explanation and a cover-up, mostly designed to cover-up their complete ignorance as to the cause.

Response recorded on February 01, 2001

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matt writes...

i was just reading through the archives. you said something about a good scene cut from "Hunter's Moon III". what was this scene?

Greg responds...

It's in the archives somewhere. It's a scene between Elisa and Jason in the wreckage of the clock tower. Elisa's there to salvage whatever of the gargoyles' stuff that she can find. Including there radio equipment (which Goliath and Lex use for the rest of the episode) and a charred photo from Halloween of Goliath dancing with Elisa in her Belle gown. Jason shows up and they have a conversation/stand-off that deepens everything. Unfortunately, the script was too long and the scene was cut for time. It was never animated.

Response recorded on February 01, 2001

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(The Guppi) writes...

1) Was Fox really serious about her plans with David to "use Matrix to reshape the entire planet to suit" themselves? Talk about extreme. Looks like _HERITAGE_ wasn't Xanatos' first stab at "cliched villany" after all.
2) Having an entire ocean and continent between yourself and a risky project is always a sensible idea, but why was Operation Matrix was based in Australia in particular?
3) Was this the only Xanatos-sponsored project that Anastasia worked on?

Greg responds...

1. Selectively, yes. But not a full make-over. And I think you're thinking of "Cloud Fathers".

2. They had what they thought was a secure and deserted territory. Plus property values.

3. Pretty much.

Response recorded on February 01, 2001

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matt writes...

in "Future Tense" Puck tells Goliath that he can't take the Gate from him, Goliath has to give it to him. Does this rule apply to other magical talismans? if so, how did Odin manage to snatch the Eye of Odin from Goliath in the form of a polar bear in "Eye of the Storm"?

Greg responds...

It was his eye.

Response recorded on February 01, 2001

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Tim writes...

City of Stone 1 ramble:

The Revelation about the Weird Sisters double agent motiviations was a thrill to read. It worked on me exactly like you said it did...did you have a camera inside our heads? Those are still the most wonderfully mysterious fey ever...I loooove Kathie Soucie's voicework.

In the top 5 of the most heart and gut wrenching scenes ever, Demona turinng to stone with a tear in her eye, the massacre finding scene (I thought "COLDSTONE!!!" when she picked up the piece of face) and her tearful goodbye to Goliath and any hope of a non-vengeful life.

1. Eggs: I never gave any thought to the eggs, but once they were shown driven away, it just opened up a whole new subplot to wonder about.

2. MacBeth, I was wondering about, he was neither a hero, nor a villian, something grey in between, which is always the best character. Young Macbeth and Young Gruoch certainly had to grow up fast. Loved the battle scene between Young MacBeth the Hunter and his "Nooooo!" Bodhe seemed to be a shrewed negotiator...probalby would make a good ambasador.

3. I really thought that was how Demona got her immortality, from the Grimorum. Why the heck not? Xanatos seemed to be desperate enough to trust her. Either he would have used the spell on Fox if it worked on him, or he didn't love her enough to ask her about it...wouldn't he have tested it on somebody first?

4. Yeah, Owen being caught by the spell was a bit cheating...but that's okay. :) Never even thought about the "tricky one" comment until I saw the Gathering. Once again, love the latin spells, gives the show authenticity, plus latin sounds just really darn cool and mystical.

Overall, the fact that this show provides wonderful backstories for the "villians" in a FOUR PARTER episode just goes to show why this is on nearly everybody's top 5 best episodes list.

Questions: 1. What did Standards and Practices think about the implications of Goliath and Elisa's relationship by the end of the series?

2. Who came up with the brilliant idea of the access code being "ALONE"? That just fits so well. Thanks so much for these episode rambles!

Greg responds...

1. They weren't thinking ahead, just responding to what was before them. Our S&P executive on the first 65, Adrienne Bello, was very good at seeing the forest for the trees. She was rational and a pleasure to work with. The kiss was fine and earned after 65 episodes.

2. I don't remember. Me or Michael or Brynne or Lydia, I imagine.

Response recorded on February 01, 2001

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Laura 'ad astra' Ackerman writes...

A recent comment on the final scene in Hunter's Moon III brought a question to mind. Being typically human I had not realized Goliath putting Elisa's hair behind her hair was an equivilent to kissing- I just saw it as an intimate gesture. Is Elisa conscious of the meaning of stroking hair to to gargoyles?

Greg responds...

Not fully, but she did read it as an intimate gesture, as you did.

Response recorded on February 01, 2001

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Tanika writes...

Hello, Greg!

I was recently reading a Nigerian folktale, "Nana Miriam," (in the book "Not One Damsel in Distress," bu Jane Yolen) which reminded me of some questions I had about "Mark of the Panther," and brought up some new ones.

1. Specifically, two of the characters in the tale are named Fara Maka and Kara-Digi-Mao-Fosi-Fasi. What is the relation of those people/names to the character of Fara Maku and the city of Kara-Digi? (Were those the correct spellings of the names in the episode?)

2. Was the tale of Anansi and the panther woman an actual folktale, or did you (or someone else) write it for the show?

3. If it was written, what elements, such as the character of Anansi himself, were drawn from actual legend?

4. If it is an actual legend, what elements, if any, were changed or adapted to suit the purposes of the episode?

Thank you . . . this is something I've been wondering about for some time. :)

Greg responds...

1. You're spelling's correct as far as the episode's concerned. Those names came to the show from either writer Lydia Marano or story editor Brynne Chandler. I don't know where they got them from. But you could ask Lydia and Brynne at this year's Gathering in Los Angeles. (I'm really shilling up a storm, aren't I?) Both of them will be attending.

2. I pretty much made that up. Though I tried to base Anansi's actions and responses on folk tales that I had read about him.

3. Mostly, Anansi. Other things which I had probably absorbed subconsciously. Again, Brynne and Lydia might have also added touches of their own from legend.

4. See above.

Response recorded on January 26, 2001

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Aaron writes...

Okay, I've been trying to find a way to ask this without tripping over the original ideas restriction. Here goes:

In Metamorphosis, Sevarius says something like: "Aren't you surprised we managed to pull it off at all? It took months of forcing the early test subjects to escape without the gargoyles encountering even one."

What's he talking about?

Greg responds...

Before Broadway and Brooklyn found Maggie in that alley, Sevarius was allowing Fang and Claw and (briefly) Maggie, to periodically escape. Xantos' security squad would give them time at night to run around and attract attention, hoping that the gargoyles would either stumble on them or here about them and seek them out. At first they had remarkably little luck. Finally, Broadway and Brooklyn stumbled on Maggie. Once that happened, the rest of the plan could be put into effect.

Response recorded on January 26, 2001

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(The Guppi) writes...

Why'd Cyberbiotics have a hidden underground base? ('Doesn't everyone?' Right. :P) So why and when did they abandon it?

Greg responds...

They had a hidden underground lab, as a precaution against industrial espionage. That lab was destroyed by a fire at the same time that Fortress-1 went down. Renard could not afford to redeploy both locations. So the underground lab/complex was abandoned.

Response recorded on January 26, 2001

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(The Guppi) writes...

[1] The first time I watched _Possession_ I pretty much took it for granted how much Coldfire and Coldsteel resembled 'Desdemona' and 'Iago'. It makes sense when you're used to half-baked comic book logic (not to disrespect your own fine work in the field), but Gargoyles takes great pains to create a more, erm, well-done and realistic (or at least snarkily pseudo-scientific :P) universe. On later viewings, I was compelled to contemplate further. The techniques used in creating the Steel Clan wouldn't apply here, I think. The techies at Scarab Corp. (or wherever) probably had lots of old security tapes of Goliath to pore over as much as they liked, but it's hard to imagine how that'd work with the Legionnaires. Was the likeness of design only in animation, then?
[2] Likewise, with the the WWII statue in London, which off-the-bat was recognizable as being of Goliath and Griff. Was its sculptor working solely off of Sir Douglas' accounts? (Pilots are generally more observant than the average bear, and from the impression he made on you as a kid, he musta made one heckuva eyewitness. It still is kind of a stretch, though...)

Greg responds...

1. You're forgetting Puck. And various memory chips inside Coldstone.

2. I always thought that that statue was funded by Leo and Una. Ostensibly as a memorial to the Battle of Britain, but really as a memorial to Griff and Goliath.

Response recorded on January 26, 2001

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Aaron writes...

Hmmm, you did your ramble on Vows over a month ago, but I'm a little bit behind on Ask Greg. Okay, a very huge giant little bit.

Anyway, I have always wondered if a couple of scenes in Vows are in-jokes or not.

1. Xanatos' proposal. Two people alone at opposite ends of a huge table. A bit of a ref to a similar scene in the first movie of the modern Batman franchise?

2. The confrontation at the meat warehouse. Eerily similar to the climax of the second Predator movie. (Which I think Rachael Ticotin is in, now that I think of it) Gary Busy is tracking the Predator through a meat warehouse, wearing some kind of armored suit, weilding a weapon meant to disable, not kill the Pred, which also has a flashlight mounted on it, like Xanatos' dart gun. Of course, the Pred's not nearly as merciful to Gary...

Although it'll be quite belated by the time you get this, here's wishing you and yours a happy holiday season.

Greg responds...

Well, first of all, that was from "Eye of the Beholder" not "Vows".

1. And, no, I don't think so. Just a rich guy cliche.

2. Never saw the second Predator movie. Someone may have though.

Thanks.

Response recorded on January 17, 2001

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Ambrosia writes...

In The Gathering I, the trio and Hudson are watching a TV report by Travis Marshall on Alex's birth. Q: When was this filmed? As soon as he was born, he was taken to see his grandparents (and Vogel). After they've fawned over him a while, the whole Titania and Oberon thing happens and then they only have an hour to prepare for Oberon's attack. Second Q: Was the report staged primarily to get the attention of the gargoyles and possibly their help?
Thanks, Greg!

Greg responds...

Q1: You're assuming you saw every minute of Alex's life on screen. That's not a safe assumption. It's been some time since I saw the episode, but I'm sure there was a moment in there (pre-Oberon) when a picture or two could have been taken and released to the press.

Q2: No.

Response recorded on January 17, 2001

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Netlady writes...

Wow, you know, that 'What did titania whisper to Fox' should have it's own little archive, it's asked so often. But seriously, I have a really, really cool sound system and I cranked the sound up to the max-And I could tell you exactly what I heard, but I don't think I will.

Which leads to my questions:

Why do you avoid the question so much? And on a scale of 1 to 10, how much to you enjoy keeping your fans guessing? 'Cause I find it hilarious. :)

Greg responds...

Unless you're making it up in your head -- or someone played a trick on me -- you didn't hear anything relevant when it was cranked up. It's not like we recorded a line and then mixed it really low.

Largely, I avoid answering that question because I think it's MORE interesting to guess the answer than to know.

Generally, I do enjoy keeping my fans guessing. Wish I did it more.

Response recorded on January 17, 2001

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Andrew Hume writes...

1) When the Archmage used the Eye Of Odin, the Phinex Gate, and the Grimorum was he more powerful than the Weird Sisters.

2) In Avalon part 2, the future Archmage told the past Archmage to use Avalon as a base for when he took over the world. If the wierd sisters found out about this would they have become enemies of the Archmage.

Greg responds...

1. Largely.

2. No, not when they were in erinyes mode.

Response recorded on January 17, 2001

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Chapter XXIII: "City of Stone, Part Two"

Time to ramble...

Xanatos again does equally well as hero and villain, as he opens the episode saving his and Fox's lives.

He's got some nice lines here too:

Another reprise of Launchpad McQuack's old: "Any landing you can walk away from..."

"At least she's not chipped."

"Demona and I need to have a little talk."

"No sense hailing a cab." Or stealing one. I'm not sure if it's clear, but we wanted to give the impression that traffic was hopelessly stalled by all the stone people behind the wheels of their cars. And that Xanatos would have to hoof it.

And then it's back to the clock tower where my favorite line is Brooklyn's as he's looking at what he thinks is a statue of Elisa:

"The nose is all wrong." Gotta love a critic.

Goliath doesn't objectively know that the statue is really Elisa, but his instincts are clearly firing up early warning signs.

Meanwhile, my daughter Erin is busy advising all of us: "They should make sure... cuz that's really her!" and "I bet they're going to Elisa's house." Which they weren't.

CONTINUITY
Originally, we had planned to (as usual) leave Hudson behind with Bronx. But we switched it to Broadway, so that Hudson could come with and reestablish his fine relationship with Robbins. I should point out that we BEGAN work on City of Stone before Lighthouse. We knew we needed a blind man for City. That blind man was then developed for Lighthouse, making for a great scene in City. Sometimes, things just seemed to work.

Brooklyn still hates Demona intensely. Forcing Goliath to compensate.

My son Ben was all nervous that "They're gonna turn to stone again." He was vague on who the "THEY" were.

Demona's reign of terror on the statues presented us with interesting S&P problems -- and some bizarre but VERY FUN solutions. Adrienne understood the necessity of having Demona blow up and/or smash a few of the stone humans. Even though the implication was death for those people. She was okay with it on the condition that we didn't spell it out, because, at worst, the death's were so fanciful, they certainly weren't imitatible. But she did want us to limit the number of deaths. So at one point she nixed the idea of blowing up yet another statue, but allowed us to blow up the shopping bags (and hand and arm) of one. This seemed less harsh to her. Of course, bloodthirsty lot that we were, we loved it. Because if you think about it, it was certainly more horrific come sunrise.

I finally saw the two statues that people thought were Brendan & Margot. Certainly, they looks like them a bit. But trust me. Two different people got destroyed. That woman was a brunette. And the guy was wearing a toupee.

At this point, Benny became as concerned as Goliath that Demona would shoot Elisa.

Then we segued into our flashback and Benny was still trying to figure out why Demona scratched Gillecomgain in the previous episode. Erin, meanwhile, wanted to know why Gille was wearing a mask.

Me, I'm still fascinated with Bodhe for some reason. I love how he talks big at first, until Mac makes it clear that he's not going to obey. Then he goes into pleading mode.

I also love the scene with Gruoch on Lunfanan Hill. Very heartbreaking and romantic. Did kinda make me wonder what would have happened if Macbeth had just said "Screw it!" and spirited Gruoch away with him. What would there lives have been like then?

The Weird Sisters are fun at the wedding. I like the line: "Certainly not our hero." It's one of those self-aware-tv-moments-that-ride-the-edge of which I'm so fond.

I also really like Duncan's scene with Macbeth after the wedding. He's such a manipulative bastard.

And now we begin to parallel similar scenes in City One. The Weird Sisters again go to Demona to get her to ally with Mac.

Demona: "Ally with a human. Never Again." Well, obviously Demona should never say never again, but in this context she's thinking about her alliance with the Captain and the tragedy that led to.

There's a nice little beat with Gruoch's rose. Gruoch seems cold to her new husband Gillecomgain. We wonder if we should feel some sympathy for a man who has married a woman who loves another. We wonder if he has feelings for her as he gently takes up the rose she was sniffing. But then he crushes it underfoot, so basically we feel okay about hating him again.

Erin asked: "Why'd he step on it?"

And I didn't want to answer, because the writers are trying to manipulate you.

Ben answererd for me: "Because he's a bad hunter." A much cleaner explanation, don't you agree?

Notice here that Mac is not yet the fighter that he someday will be.

Notice also if you watch all four parts of City of Stone together that Emma Samms who voiced Gruoch -- but had never done voice work before -- gets progressively better with every episode. She's somewhat stiff in City One. As with many live-action actors, she's unused to using her voice alone to project subtleties. She's a bit better here. But by City Four, she's rockin' the joint with some really powerful work. I can't remember when I've ever seen any performer push the learning curve that quickly. Most either get it or don't. A few of those who don't, slowly improve with practice. Emma just revved UP.

Did anyone else feel that we went to the well with that long drop from the Terrace at Castle Moray once or twice too often? Again, we were trying for parallelism, but I hope it didn't get boring.

Erin: "I like Macbeth when he was a little boy. I don't like him when he's a grown up." (I think she meant she liked the younger red-headed heroic Macbeth in general in these City flashbacks. Didn't like him as a present day villain in Enter Macbeth, etc. This actually pleases me a great deal. It's the ability to create sympathy in villains that separates Gargoyles from many of its rivals.)

I love that moment when Demona rips the mask off. Gille indicates his scars, "'Tis you're handiwork, remember?" And Demona honestly and simply answers "No." And he goes BERSERK! Bad enough she scratched him and altered the entire course of his life. But that the event was so insignificant to her that she doesn't even remember it...! Now THAT pisses him off.

Gillecomgain should have known: "Live by the drop, die by the drop." As he follows Findlaech's course to doom.

I also like the little moment o' connection between Mac, Gruoch and Demona. Demona actually says Thank You to a human.

And another wedding. Two in one episode. Bodhe introduces: "Lord and Lady Macbeth!" I wanted to get the designation 'Lady Macbeth' in here somewhere. Just to provide more obvious contrast between our version of Gruoch and Shakespeare's.

I also get a kick out of the chilling little scene back in the present with Brooklyn & Goliath. Brooklyn bringing up the "Massacre at Castle Wyvern". Fearing that Elisa could wind up a victim too. This sets Goliath off to the point where he is CLEARLY thinking that he needs to KILL Demona now. "Once and for all." And then those creepy little stone Weird Sisters. Yikes.

Then Xanatos has finally made it across town and is back in hero mode. He saves Owen. And shuts off the broadcast, clearly thinking that that will break the spell. At least, I hope that was clear. Honestly, I'm not sure if it was. I wanted the audience to think that would work. Then be surprised when it doesn't. Did that work for anyone?

The "Hunter" shows up. Demona at first recognizes only the mask. How many times must I destroy you?! she says. A hint to events in the past of both City and Hunter's Moon. But than when she sees him feeling her pain, she knows exactly who's behind that mask. I'm curious how many people picked up on that. This was the first time we showed them feeling each other's pain. The first time we had them in real proximity to each other.

Their fight is kinda cool. There's a neat moment when Macbeth is flying Demona like a kite. And he's very gutsy throughout, leaping after her. Of course, he's semi-suicidal, so it's no surprise he's fearless. But we don't know that yet.

And finally, our cliffhanger. X is so sanguine. "You want vengeance or a solution?" And we end on a surprising image: Goliath and Xanatos shaking hands. Now, it's like no big deal. They ended up teaming upfrequently. But I thought that then, it would be startling.

WHAT DID YOU ALL THINK?


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Chapter XXII: "City of Stone, Part One"

Time to Ramble on "City of Stone, Part One", which I watched the other night with my family....

Story Editor: Michael Reaves
Story: Michael Reaves
Teleplay: Brynne Chandler Reaves & Lydia Marano

Well, over a year had passed since we had revealed in "Enter Macbeth" that Macbeth had named Demona. Now we were gearing up to explain that little tidbit of info. I'm curious to know how many people were still focused on that before the "PREVIOUSLY ON GARGOYLES..." reprised it.

City of Stone was a story I had conceived originally (but briefly) as a Direct to Video movie. My boss Gary Krisel rejected it. He felt that a movie featuring the Gargoyles needed to feature our heroes a LOT MORE than this story did. Nevertheless, he liked the concept of the HUNTER a lot. So I got him to agree to let us do City of Stone as a multi-parter for the series. And I promised that Michael and I would come up with a new Hunter story that focused more on our heroes. Thus Hunter's Moon was born -- as a Home Video, originally, and we had an ending to shoot at for the entire second season.

Meanwhile, I couldn't actually disagree with Gary too much. This was Demona and Macbeth's story. The origin of two of our major villains. We had some great animation on this from Koko in Korea. Not as strong as our WDTVJapan stuff, but still very good.

What was the terrorists' cause, you might ask? I'm not telling. At the time, I had no answer. We were vague on purpose. Since then, I've come up with an answer. Now I'm being evasive on purpose.

I love Matt as a hostage negotiator.

But not as much as I love Brendan & Margot as hostages. They're a hoot.

How fast was everyone on the uptake with the Weird Sisters? Those three little girls. Even before the gargs showed, one was saying something like: "Don't worry, it'll be over soon." Did you think they were odd then? Did you notice them?

I like Brooklyn's "Don't gush" line.

When the Weird Sisters tell Goliath they weren't talking about THAT terrorist, my six year old daughter Erin said: "I think they were talking about Demona." For Chanukah, I gave Erin a Kenner Brooklyn, Broadway and Hard-Wire Goliath (which I told her was a Goliath robot). My three year old son Benny got Goliath, Lex and Xanatos. So for the first time, while they watched they could play with the toys.

It's interesting to watch the first flashback SET. All sorts of old footage from Awakening Part One, mixed with new footage. It's all very seemless thanks to great editing by Bob Birchard. And it wasn't easy. Because there was considerable confusion overseas throughout City of Stone, in terms of which model of Demona to animate. We had her standard model. Plus one that was slightly older, for the second set of flashbacks in this episode. They were constantly mixing the models up. We'd call retakes whenever we could, but sometimes we decided just to make due. So you have the flashback from Awakenings, where Goliath tells Demona to stay behind. That's followed by us finally seeing what Demona and the Captain said to each other after Goliath left. No great revelation in that scene, but we figured it would be nice to finally reveal it. Plus we wanted to clarify things from Demona's point of view. But in some of those shots, Demona appears to have aged a bit.

We see Othello & Desdemona. We are allowed to do something in this episode that we couldn't really do for S&P reasons in Awakening. To personalize the victims of the massacre a bit. In Awakening, we only got to meet the survivors. Finally we meet the victims. Of course, we're still cheating a bit, since my excuse to S&P was that our audience already knew (1) that these two died and that (2) they survived in a sense in Coldstone. But it did, independent of previous episodes, allow the startling moment when Demona picks up a fragment of Othello's face. Of course, I tried to get tha fragment -- and all those fragments in the immediate vicinity -- to be the pieces that survived into Coldstone. I think that was semi-successful.

Demona's cowardice overwhelms the courage of her strongly held convictions. She flees. Benny: "The sun's gonna come up." Yep. She turns to stone, shedding a tear. That "TEARS OF STONE" image was so effective that I allowed it to repeat in the episode. Later, her tear drops onto the stone Goliath and seems to be coming from his eye. A nice visual variation on a theme.

Demona: "It worked! At last my clan is free of human rule!"
Erin: "No. It didn't work."

Later Erin sees Demona watching Goliath holding some smashed gargoyles' remains and crying "my angel of the night". Erin says: "He thinks that was her [Demona]." Now you may be wondering why I'm reprinting such obvious responses here. But they interest me. It really struck me this viewing that in this episode, despite the "Previously" segment and all the flashbacks, that you really would be lost if you were a new viewer. Is there anyone out there for whom City of Stone was your first Gargoyle experience? If so, I'd love to hear from you. Did you have a clue as to what was going on?

Demona's classic neurotic short-circuit: "What have I -- What have THEY done to you?" The motivation that writer's live for.

And a little hint of Avalon things to come, as we see Tom, Princess K and Magus depart with the eggs. How many people had given the eggs any thought since Xanatos told the gargs back in Awakening Two that they were the last of their kind? And did this little tidbit whet the appetite, or did you forget about it immediately? I was already planning the Avalon/Archmage/World Tour/Angela stuff.

Benny (out of nowhere) asks: "What happens if someone is frozen in the sky?" We discussed various possibilities. But we're still weeks away from getting around to seeing "The Price". So I didn't want to spoil that one for him.

The intro of Gillecomgain. Erin (who has seen these before once, long ago) suddenly remembers: "His face is gonna get scratched."

Now, back in the 20th century, Owen points out that Xanatos' tv override works for "Cable, as well." I always liked that.

I also like Demona's VERY convincing lie. At this point, we don't know how she's survived through the centuries. Maybe she did do it by stealing minutes of life from thousands of people. And maybe now, she and Xanatos will do the same on a citywide scale. I always thought it was a very elegant lie. What did you guys think? Did you buy it?

The "Watch or Listen but not both" stuff regarding the magic, wasn't just a convenient excuse to give us a Robbins expository scene later. I always felt that the magic our various sorcerors did couldn't be as simple as it seemed. Anyone who reads the spell out loud can do it? No. There are complex inflections, movements, etc. involved. Study and willpower, etc. This was an attempt on my part to demonstrate that it was about more than just being in range with someone who has a copy of a Grimorum page.

On the other hand, I do think we cheated a bit to trap Owen. That spell she reads is the City of Stone spell. Yet it seems to put Owen, of all people, into a trance. We talked about her nailing him some other way first. But it was too clumsy and time consuming, so we just cheated.

Gathering Clue: Demona to Owen: "You are the tricky one." And she wraps him up in iron cable.

Elisa's watching Casablanca. Great movie.

Phoebe is looking at Seline when she speaks to Luna. Like Demona aging, we had a hell of a time getting the overseas studio to keep the three sisters straight. I began to insist that each of their appearances on the storyboard was accompanied by a hair color chart. And once more, it's black for Seline, blonde for Phoebe and silver for Luna.

We also made a real effort to put subtle character distinctions between the three sisters. Seline is the hard case. Phoebe is the gentle one. Luna is the mystic. It was part of hinting that the Sisters would serve multiple purposes in the series. Some of which I still have not revealed.

Back to the past. The guard says "Maybe they won't come." Erin asks: "Maybe who won't come?" And then the gargoyles come. The guards are taken down, and Demona raises her mace into the air. Erin asks: "Are they dead?" And dad... equivocates.

I like that gargoyle (Demona's second) with the breast plate. John Rhys-Davies did his voice.

At this stage, Demona believes that these scattered gargoyles are all that are left in the world. A second later, three gargoyles she's never met show up. (Now, true, they're the Sisters. But I was trying to make a general point, hinting that sometimes characters make absolute statements when they flat out don't know what they're talking about. Audience members beware.)

Benny immediately figured out that the three old gargoyle females were the weird sisters, or as he put it: "They're the humans. The one's that disappeared." I.e. the kids that disappeared in the first sequence of the episode. That made me feel a little better. People are always telling me that I write stuff that is too adult for kids to get. I tell them that I try to write on multiple levels. So that the kids get what they need to get and that adults, etc. get more. But it's nice to get confirmation that the kids do get it on occasion. Particularly in an ep as complicated as this one.

Intro Findlaech, Gruoch, Bodhe and young Macbeth. I like how quickly they are all characterized in that scene. F is loyal. B is equivocal at best. Bodhe is already thinking about how to marry G off to advantage. "What about Macbeth? Is he a match for the lass?" Yeah, sure he's talking about chess. I came to have a great deal of contempt for the character of Bodhe. (Too be fair, I have no idea what the historical Bodhe's character was like.) And yet, almost simultaneously, I became fond of him too. He was SO human. SO flawed. SO afraid of the world. And yet SO desperate to tread water in it.

We also establish the "SIGIL OF MORAY" which will become an important prop throughout.

I like that little blushing moment of G & Mac's. But mostly, I like it because of B & F's reactions. Bodhe is suddenly nervous that Gruoch might, shall we say, lose something with Macbeth prematurely. Though he pushed them together, he now rushes to separate them. But it's too late. The connection has already been made. F just laughs.

Now... Enter the HUNTER. The Hunter got a sort of Steve Canyon intro. That is, he's been talked about by various people for the last few minutes, though we haven't gotten a look at him. (This was the technique used when Steve Canyon was first introduced in the comic strips.) Now he shows up, and I trust he isn't disappointing. Benny immediately says: "THat's the one that got scratched." Sharp boy. (Keep in mind, that we haven't yet seen the adult Gille, so we haven't seen his scarred face yet.)

I love this sequence. It's a great fight, full of great little touches, flourishes, etc. Great storyboarding work here.

Again, characters are revealed in a nutshell. Gruoch's already loyal. Bodhe's revealed to be a coward. Even when his daughter rushes downstairs, he stays above.

Findlaech dies. It's a classic Disney fall-to-one's-death death. But there is a difference. F is the good guy. Usually, that's done with the villain. Was anyone shocked?

I love how at this point, Macbeth is nothing but an annoyance to both Demona and the Hunter. I also love how complex Demona is. Under it all, she's really something of a romantic. She rescues the young lovers. Then can't believe she did it. She's trying to will herself to be cold. So that she won't feel anything. But it isn't natural. She's not a cold woman, though her plans often are. It's that divide that's generally gonna screw her up everytime.

When the Hunter first enters on Prince Duncan, we were supposed to (BRIEFLY) think he was there to attack the Prince as well. But I don't think that comes off even slightly.

And o.k., yes, Gillecomgain has a face to match the Hunter's mask. It's worse than Clark Kent and those glasses. Does Scotland really not know it's him? Believe it or not, that never even occured to me initially. (Yes, I'm a dope.) Now, I'll chalk it up to the notion that everyone figures he's TOO obvious a suspect. You can almost here the water cooler talk:

MacMorris: "Hey, MacTavish, have you ever noticed that that Gillecomgain guy has scars across his face just like the red marks on the Hunter's mask?"
MacTavish: "What are you saying, MacMorris? That Gillecomgain is so stupid, he'd wear a mask and then put his scars ON the mask? Not much of a disguise. Know what I think. I think the Hunter is trying to throw suspicion onto old Gilley."
MacMorris: "Oh, give me a break."
MacTavish: "Hey, pal, it worked with you."

I made a real effort to just have the Weird Sisters EVERYWHERE.

Back to the present. Someone dons a Hunter's Mask. How many knew it was Macbeth right away? I figured at the time that regular viewers would figure that out pretty darn quick. That didn't bother me. For them, I figured the mystery would be "WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD MACBETH DON A HUNTER'S MASK, WHEN THE HUNTER KILLED HIS FATHER?" I thought that mystery was at least as intriguing. Do you guys agree or disagree?

I also liked the variation on the mask. No eyes. Nothing. Modern technology.

Fox. Fox presented an interesting dilemma. What was Xanatos' attitude toward her in this? We already know he loves her. But he doesn't include her in the immortality thing with Demona. Why? Demona won't allow it? Or he thinks Demona won't? Or he doesn't fully trust D and won't risk Fox until he knows the set-up works?

And then he finds out that she did watch the broadcast. He had told her not to, but she did. He doesn't fill her in. (Not that there's much time.) Is he prepared to let her lose a minute from her life (as he believes has happened)? How would he have felt if Demona wasn't lying about that? At the end of her life, would an immortal Xanatos be desperate to give her that one minute back? Of course, given Fox's heritage, which I didn't know yet, it's possible, she'll outlive him by quite a bit. Course, anything's possible.

How's the cliff-hanger? We haven't seen the city yet, but we do get to see Owen, Fox and Elisa all turned to stone. We're so used to the Gargoyles in stone, but not humans. I thought it was sort of chilling. The more chilling, because we know from earlier in this very episode, what can happen when living beings are turned to stone. (The Wyvern Massacre.) Now we've seen this four-parter a bunch of times and we're used to it. But I'm curious as to how you all felt the first time you saw Part One.

Another interesting aspect, is that 3/4 of the threat is to characters that we consider to be villains. Or more than 3/4. In the past, young Macbeth has lost his father and is clearly at risk. And Demona is being hunted. In the present, Fox and Owen are stone. And Xanatos and Fox appear to be falling to their deaths. Sure, the clincher is Elisa. But I think it's a tribute to how well-rounded are villains are that we care what's going to happen to them. Can you imagine most cartoons making the death of the villains a cliff-hanger? People would simply cheer.

One little flaw: Elisa's facing the wrong way. It was easier to board that way, I'm sure. But I can't figure out why she would have been standing and facing that direction at sundown.

Comments welcome, as usual...


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matt writes...

in your analysis of "the mirror" (or somewhere) you mentioned that you wondered what the humans of New York thought when they suddenly relized they were not wearing shoes. last night, as i watched the episode i noticed that only one human was shown without shoes at the end of the episode. i don't think he was wearing shoes to begin with, here's why: the animators would probably pay closest attention to Elisa's changes back and forth cuz she was the main human character. when she became a gargoyle she no longer had shoes (or a jacket for that matter) and when she changed back she did. i think therefore that when Puck changed everyone back they would be as they were before, as Elisa was. that one guy probably was at home or something without shoes on when he was changed to a gargoyle than left his house and happened to be in the street when changed back. i realize i just rambled on about something completely pointless, but it was an observation that i had to share with everyone at "ask Greg".

Greg responds...

Brilliant. (I'm not kidding.) I think you're right.

Response recorded on December 22, 2000

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matt writes...

in "the cage" when the trio returned from a concert in the park what concert was it? i heard it was the "smashing pumpkins".

Greg responds...

Who might it have been in late 1995?

Response recorded on December 22, 2000

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Vilija writes...

In the episode "Walkabout," there's a little nameplate we see on a computerized arm. On it, it says "Waldo." Is there anything significant we should know about this?

Greg responds...

"Waldo" is the jargon term for those kind of computerized arms. We didn't make it up.

Response recorded on December 22, 2000

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Aris Katsaris writes...

Random thoughts about Vows:

I think it was around this episode that I decided I really loved the series. Or perhaps it was "The Mirror". One way or another this ep solidified the feeling...

There's an interesting thing about the greek dubbing. When the series was first shown in all the episodes the word "Illuminati" was spoken translated with the (archaic) Greek "Pefotismenoi"-"Enlightened Ones".

This created a very nice subtlety when the Norman ambassador greets Xanatos. He didn't say the obvious "a fellow Illuminatus" (in fact I was quite surprised -and disappointed- when I learned that's what was spoken in the original ep). He said "an Enlightened comrade." I really, *really* loved that line. Both the viewers and Xanatos knew what he was referring to. But the bystanders would get no special meaning by this, other than that the ambassador was praising Xanatos...

Something more about the translation was that it was strangely constructed in the speeches of the 10th century humans- adjectives after the nouns, a rhythm in their speech: Almost as if they were speaking poetry. Probably meant to make a distinction between their speech and the modern-day one... Was there anything analogous in the original?

<<Was anyone expecting Fox and X to really get married? And once they were, did you think you'd see them have a kid by season's end?>>

Once they'd gotten engaged, I did expect them to get married - but the child certainly stunned me. I think my mouth was hanging open at the end of "Outfoxed".

And I certainly didn't expect how that arc would go - that it'd cause Xanatos's redemption. What I had thought immediately after Outfoxed was "Poor kid! He's going to be experimented upon.". I knew that Xanatos had feelings for Fox, but I didn't know that he'd also have feelings for his son...

Greg responds...

That is a nice line in translation.

As for the speeches, we tried to give them a more classical tone, but we weren't doing iambic pentameter or anything.

Response recorded on December 22, 2000

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JADE writes...

I was just wondering, if a gargoyles died in battle would they turn to stone, or stay in their flesh form? Because I belive that in "Future Tense" it showed Hudson in stone and he was said to dead, or was that just some type of a memorial? Just wondering....

Greg responds...

That was a BRONZE memorial. Not stone. Metal. Not him. A statue.

When a garg dies, he or she stays in whatever form he or she was in when he or she died. Presumably, any garg that died in battle was flesh when he or she died. Thus they'd stay flesh.

Response recorded on December 22, 2000

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puck40 writes...

I read through as much as I could before my eyes started burning out the back of my head. @.@;; hoi. So if this question was already asked, ignore it.

Demona in Vows.
1. Where did she go the second time with the gate? (after she brought everyone to the past, and when she lost Goliath)
2. Did she do something of importance?
3. She hit a Mc Donalds and have a burger and relax from the headache of Goliath and Xanatos and ponder leaving them there?
4. Would we have seen that much like how we would've eventually seen the Archmage and Goliath in Timedancer?

Greg responds...

1. Just answered this a couple of questions back.

2. See above.

3. Probably not, no.

4. Possibly, but not in my current plans.

Response recorded on December 21, 2000

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Faieq writes...

Concerning 'Vows' (again), when Demona takes Golaith, Petros Xanatos, herself and the newly-weds to 975 she travels somewhere using the Phoenix Gate by herself. Goliath chases her but is too late. Where did she go or rather when did she go? Did she go straight to Castle Wyvern to inform her younger self about the humans or did she go some where else.
By the way I loved Vows. It was probably one of my favourite episodes followed by 'Future Tense' and 'The Mirror'. I would have loved to have seen more gargoyles in 975, but the show was pretty packed already anyway.

Greg responds...

I liked Vows too. I was proud of that plot.

I'm pretty sure that Demona went straight to her next appearance in that episode. But I won't be held to that if I think of a brilliant detour at some later date.

Response recorded on December 21, 2000

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Vashkoda writes...

1a) What had Sevarius actually concocted at the end of "The Cage"? b) What would have happened to Maggie had she drunk it?

Greg responds...

I like the ambiguity, so I'm not going to answer.

Response recorded on December 21, 2000

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matt writes...

why is that in "the price" hudson says Macbeth is dead and later says macbeth is immortal?

Greg responds...

I'm not sure I remember the details precisely, or if you've got them right.

But it Depends how you define immortal.

If you define immortal to mean you're still alive even after centuries, that doesn't necessarily mean you cannot be killed.

Look at Highlander. All them immortals. But all killable.

Response recorded on December 01, 2000

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matt writes...

if a gargoyle remains very still does he/she appear to be a stone gargoyle? in thrill of the hunt goliath did something like this on that rooftop covered in gargs

Greg responds...

Depends on the lighting, I guess.

Response recorded on November 21, 2000

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Duncan Devlin writes...

Concerning "Future Tense"

Towards the end of the episode, Lexington says,
"...I kept his memory alive so I could run the show unmolested."

1) Did you or anyone else get into trouble over the use of the word 'molested'? (I know I reacted to it when I was younger)

2) Did anyone object to the higher-than-normal level of violence in the episode? (personally, I loved it)

Greg responds...

1. You must have had a dirty mind. Though the word has sexual connotations in certain contexts, there's nothing in its denotation that suggests what I assume you're suggesting. So, no. No one got in trouble.

2. It didn't have a higher than normal volume level. We had a max volume that we approached in every episode. This may have stayed closer to our max for longer periods due to the heavy action/explosion content of the story. But it's not like the whole thing was played at a higher volume.

Response recorded on November 21, 2000

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Kalafarski writes...

A couple comments on your Vows ramble....

As I've said in a couple of posts about the Phoenix Gate before, I love the way you handle time travel. It just works so perfectly.

But here's what I found interesting. Demona has brought her past self nineteen years into the future. She shows her that her home has been invaded, her clan has been betrayed, her brothers and sisters are dead. And her true love has been turned to stone.

I thought it was interesting that Demona doesn't try to convince her younger self that Goliath is naive, too trusting of humans, or foolish. She doesn't even try to tell her that all this destruction will be Goliath's fault. Instead, she plays off of young Demona's love for Goliath, blaming the humans for what has happened to him. But it's not like the humans are the only ones old Demona blames in her own head right now. Goliath is clearly there. "Do not share it with....do not share it!"

So my question is, why does Demona do this? Is she certain that, knowing how she herself thought 1000 years ago, her younger self would never turn away from Goliath? Or is it that Demona's plan is to use her past self's own "foolish trust" in Goliath to serve her own ends?

Greg responds...

Actually, she does tell younger Demona that Goliath is naive and cares more about the humans than his own clan. She advocates killing him. Have you seen the episode recently?

Response recorded on November 21, 2000

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Chapter XXI: "Vows"

Written by Shari Goodhartz
Michael Reaves, Story Editor

Benny: "But Daddy, when it's dark they get alive. But when it's light, the get frozen like a statue."

Last night, the kids, my sister, my wife and I all watched "Vows" together. Time to ramble.

Back to the Golden Cup Bakery Building. As I noted in the previously posted memo about this episode, I wanted a little opening battle, but I didn't want to waste time in a tight, packed script explaining how this came about. It does beg the question though. Assume that X contacted Elisa. She told Goliath. He went ALONE? His friends allowed this? Hmmm.

Xanatos knows from the letter to himself what to do, but I sometimes wonder just how detailed the letter was. I like to think it was fairly sketchy. That exactly HOW Xanatos got Goliath to come was his own machinations. Otherwise, though he takes the credit for the letter, the truth is that the plan itself wasn't his idea. He got the idea from the letter. And he wrote the letter based on what he had done, which he had gotten from the letter. None of this is really his to own, though he does claim ownership. So I like to think that at least some of the details were X's. For example, X knows what G will respond to, i.e. Demona.

Hudson, on hearing about the wedding, suddenly makes the connection to the long ago incident when he met the Goliath from the future. So he's strangely ambivalent. Elisa on the other hand, seems flat out jealous to me. After the events of "The Mirror" and "Eye of the Beholder", she's much more aware and focused on her feelings for Goliath. SHE DOES NOT WANT TO ACT ON THOSE FEELINGS. At this time, she thinks it's impossible. But that doesn't change how she feels. And now, she's jealous. Goliath's feelings for Elisa are just as intense, but so are his feelings for the "Angel" of his youth. He HAS to give it one last chance. (And this will be the last chance. The final nail in the coffin of his and Demona's "marriage".) Brooklyn, meanwhile, is just knee-jerk against anything involving Demona.

PETROS XANATOS is introduced. Again, I wonder why he was invited. Was he also included in the letter? Or did Xanatos invite him to prove something to his father. Is X that needy? Or did X invite him to the wedding, because of course he'd invite his father to his wedding, and his already planned "honeymoon" to 975 shouldn't alter his decorum. Perhaps he's mildly surprised his father winds up coming along? Anyway, Petros was a fun character. A tough hard physical man. With morals. A great contrast to the son. I knew even then that we'd give Petros and David an arc to their relationship, (one that eventually would culminate in Gathering2).

"Oh, reason not the need." A little King Lear is always nice. And I love Petros' attitude on the line, "And the armor?" I mean what would you say to your son if you saw him dressed like that? I'd like to know how many people had sort of forgotten that X was even wearing armor (we're so used to it) until Petros made an issue of it?

I love all the irony in the dialogue between Petros and David. David knows what he's planning. He must be smiling when Petros says "I'd like to get my hands on the man who gave you that coin." And when David says, "Someday, I'll prove to you that I'm a self-made man," he must really be patting himself on the back.

I love the voice work of Keith and Marina when doing their teen-age counterparts. So subtle, yet it's always clear which Goliath and Demona is talking at any given moment.

CONTINUITY:
Gotta love that storage room in the clock tower. The Eye of Odin, the Grimorum, half the Phoenix Gate, and, oh, yes, a comatose Coldstone. By the way, despite what the memo said, I think generally, Goliath carried that Gate in the pouch attached to his belt. Not behind some brick. We hadn't actually come up with that pouch yet, not until the World Tour. But using RetCon, I think that's where he kept it until they moved to the clock tower and Demona tried to kill him, Hudson and Elisa in "Long Way to Morning".

One interesting thing: this is the first episode where we actually CONFIRM that the ILLUMINATI does exist. Matt's mentioned it. Even chased it in SILVER FALCON, but we've never been shown any proof of it's existence until now. Was anyone surprised by that?

Judge Roebling was interesting in theory, though not so much in the episode. I'd like to do more with him some day. I also thought that it was interesting that despite seeing the tape of the Gargoyles in advance. And not reacting outwardly when he saw Goliath, he still gasps when Demona enters. What is it about her? When she entered, Benny turned to me and said: "She's queen of the Gargoyles." Oh. So that's it.

(And everytime Xanatos and Fox are on screen together, Benny likes to point out that he and Erin dressed up as them at the last Gathering. "That's me. That's you, Erin.")

To some extent, X must have filled D in on his plan. I love her "acting" when she enters and gives her bitter "excuse" for being there to Goliath. She's playing hard to get!

I love Petros: "Unnacceptable." He's still trying to teach David the error of his ways.

The Gate itself is very idiosyncratic. It's size, the size of its portal, and the duration the portal stays open seems to vary not just from episode to episode but from scene to scene. Sometimes it annoys me, like when Princess Elena removes the Gate from her sleeve, and suddenly it's bigger than her hand. But now I'm just amused by it. Again, if you think of it as a steam valve for the timestream, it explains a lot.

I love the little sound that Paca put in when the two pieces of the Gate first come together. What a tip-off that was, yet it's subtle. Did anyone think about the significance of the talisman that Demona had shared with Goliath before she started speaking in Latin and flames appeared out of nowhere?

It was hard to make people understand the time loop a bit. But it seemed really hard to make them see why I kept wanting to repeat scenes to show the connective tissue. We had to squeeze in Owen's "Honeymoon" line the second time. No one left space for it.

For the first of many times in the series, someone (X) says the line: "It's not where, it's when". (Erin: "I know when.")

I love X & Fox's relationship. "Having fun." "A marvelous time." Great stuff.

Hudson gets a close look at 1995 Goliath and immediately sees the age and wear and tear on the guy. (I love the shot of Goliath gagging him.) That says a lot for Hudson, because the visual difference between the two Gs was extremely subtle in the animation -- when it existed at all.

Knowing what we had planned (more or less) for Avalon, we were already laying groundwork here for that. Setting up the combined power of the Gate, Grimorum and Eye. Setting up the Archmage's desire for that power. Further demonstrating his enmity for the people he'd wind up using. Of course, making Demona his apprentice was fun. Tells a lot about her own desire for power that even when she was a good girl, she was still willing to work for the Archmage in order to learn his secrets. Willing even to steal for him.

The Norman Ambassador and Prince Malcolm make a BIG deal about how odd the Xanatoses' clothes are. But were they THAT strange? Was Fox's wedding gown that odd? And even if they were strange, did they look as shabby as Prince Malcolm seemed to suggest?

Not every episode gives you a double wedding. Fox and David. Elena and Malcolm. Hey, did anyone notice that we married off our lead villain? That was very daring, and we all but threw it away in Act One. Was anyone expecting Fox and X to really get married? And once they were, did you think you'd see them have a kid by season's end? I think we broke new ground there.

I like the exchange between Goliath and Hudson. Goliath's trying to explain that he's not a creature of sorcery, but a time traveler. H: "And I suppose you came back in time on the wind." O.k., well sorcery was involved if you're gonna get technical. And Goliath has some amusing tense problems while trying to describe what happened in his recent past, Hudson's FAR future. Then Hudson looks him in the eye and decides to trust him on no further evidence. Cool.

I knew a girl named Bryant from Bar Harbor, Maine once. That's where we got X's home town.

Fox is so proud of her man. But I love Petros' "Mr. Big-Shot Time Traveler" line. Or rather I love the way Morgan Shepard read the line.

How hard did Demona try to do things differently from the way she remembered them being done? She knows Goliath is going to fly down to try and join her and her younger self. She tries to leave before he can get there. But the gate stays open long enough for him to go with. Did it ever occur to her to go somewhen else other than 994? I guess part of it could be chalked up to dim memory. It was over a thousand years ago. And Demona lived through that 1000 years. Even for a very significant event in her life, it must still be very hazy.

That exchange between Demona and Demona is a lot of fun. Demona is so brutal to Demona. (And, hey, she spells out the Gate's power to any audience member who hasn't yet caught on.) "Do not share it with-- Do not share it!" I love that line. Also:

"I am what you will become."
"I will never be like you."
"I don't want to hurt you."
"And I don't want to BE you."

pretty cool stuff.

I also like the moment when we have two gates rolling about on the floor and young Demona and older Goliath both bend over to pick them up. At first we had a lot of discussion as to who should pick up which gate. But the discussion became moot, since after the gate pieces were reunited, they almost always seemed like they had never been broken in the first place. Magic.

And the young Demona, older Goliath scene is also gorgeous.

"What am I to do?"
"Nothing."

Love that. Love his whole "Do nothing/attend the petty jealousy" speech. I think it's very pretty. Very sad. At that moment, does Goliath hope he's changing the future? Or is he simply trying to spare this young Angel a couple extra decades of pain?

Showing Demona's natural bents again: Goliath isn't sure if he remembers the incantation, though he's heard it multiple times by this point. Young Demona, having only heard it ONCE, does remember and uses the Gate perfectly.

"Time Travel's funny that way." At least it is in the Gargoyle Universe with the strict, strict rules that I imposed. Of course, I've always thought that those strict rules made the stories more challenging for the writer and, yet, more fun and satisfying for the viewer.

I also really like Petros' "American Penny" speech. For once the "Xanatos Tag" of victory doesn't go to David.

Where did the expression "More's the pity." come from? I've heard it many times. I know what it means, though that's more from sound and context than from the words themselves. What am I quoting when I use it? Does anyone know? (This isn't a contest. I really don't know.)

Finally, my tape has the weird mistake ending that first aired, which shows Demona and Goliath in the clock tower. It's pretty, but it drives me nuts and I think it's really confusing. But I've talked about that many times before, and I'm sick of it, so this time, I'll let it go.

COMMENTS WELCOME!


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VOWS memo

Saw "VOWS" last night with the family. I'll ramble on that one shortly, but here's the memo from November '94. Shari Goodhartz wrote the outline, which Michael Reaves edited. Shari's entire story was more or less set at the Eyrie Building. It was about Demona and Xanatos using the wedding to get half of a magical talisman from Goliath. Goliath prevents them from using this macguffin, but realizes once and for all that he and Demona are over.

As I noted below, it seemed like that wasn't enough. So I took ALL of Shari's story and CRUSHED it into Act One. Then I came up with the Time Travel story that was the heart of VOWS. All of Acts Two and Three as presented in the memo below are my work. But I think Shari and Michael did a great job of executing it in this jam-packed episode.

One little tidbit. Petros was my original name for Xanatos' father. (I went to college with a guy named Petros.) But Shari and/or Michael named the dad "Stefan", which I went with here. At the recording session, Marina Sirtis pointed out that the name didn't work for some reason that I can no longer recall. (Aris, any thoughts?) So I jumped in and rechristened him Petros. Later we realized that both Elisa and David had fathers who had been named variations on Peter. To me, that was a very cool thing.

WEISMAN 11-25-94

Notes on "Vows" Outline...

GENERAL
Basically, it still didn't seem like we had enough story. So I compressed what was here and tried to extrapolate forward to fill out acts 2 and 3.

THE TALISMAN
I'm calling it the PHOENIX GATE. It can be used as a gateway to anywhere and anywhen. (The Gate will, I believe, eventually give us our Battle of Britain Story. And give the Archmage a powerful weapon for reaching and conquering Avalon.) By combining the two halves of the Phoenix Gate and invoking the Latin translation of the phrase: "Burn down the walls of time and space!", the gate opens in flame and sucks up anyone in the immediate vicinity, transporting them to the place and time chosen by the invoker. But choosing requires incredible concentration. Otherwise, the chooser's emotional or mental whim of the moment may cause the gate to drop everyone off at Burger King instead of Fort Knox.

TIME TRAVEL
So we're going to do a time travel story. Which means we need to establish traveling rules for our series. I'm going with the most conservative, most restrictive rules possible, because more than any other type of fantasy or science fiction convention, time travel is really subject to logic abuse. So...

Whatever's happened in the past has already happened, including the actions of our time travelers. Recorded history may be incomplete or incorrect, but true history cannot be changed. When Demona and Goliath go back in time to meet the young Demona, both of the older gargoyles are seeking to change or influence the young Demona's history. But this meeting already took place. The older Demona remembers it. (Maybe not every precise detail, and maybe she didn't fully understand the event at the time, but she does remember it.) Whatever influence the modern gargoyles had on her has already been figured into the events that followed, many of which have already been depicted in other episodes. (Sadly, in this case, neither Goliath or Demona had any real sustained influence on the younger Demona at all. That's the tragic flaw of both Demonas. They just never learn.)

WHERE AND WHEN ARE WE GOING?
Castle Wyvern. 975 A.D. The castle is ruled by the 21 year old Prince Malcolm of Wyvern. Malcolm's chief advisors are the 35 year old Captain of the Guard [NOTE: per my recent work on the timeline, the Captain was 29 years old in 975.]; the Archmage (nine years younger than when he appeared in "Long Way to Morning"), and Hudson who is biologically 49. Young warriors, Goliath and Demona are both biologically 19, (in "Long Way..." they were more like 23). If you have space for them, Brooklyn, Lexington and Broadway are all biologically nine. Bronx hasn't hatched yet. In contrast, our modern Goliath is biologically 29 years old and Hudson's 59.

VOWS
That's the theme. Vows. When you keep them. When you can't. Why you do or don't. Don't hesitate to play it up.

STEFAN
In thinking about it, I think Stefan Xanatos should be a naturalized American Citizen living in a north eastern fishing community. Maybe somewhere in Maine. He's still Greek, but he emigrated before David was born. That way, David Xanatos could have been born and raised to pursue (and pervert) the American Dream.

BEAT OUTLINE
ACT ONE
1. Night by some landmark, (maybe the Goldencup Bakery Building or the Cyberbiotics Tower). DAVID XANATOS (in armor) and GOLIATH fight. No stolen Cyberbiotics devices. I really don't want to sweat this scene too much. There are a hundred ways that this could have begun, and in the interest of getting to our main story quicker, I don't want to spend a lot of time "prologing" our prologue. But for the sake of consistency, I'll posit the following: Xanatos left a vaguely menacing message for Goliath with ELISA, whom he can reach easily enough at the precinct house. (The location of the rendezvous itself may have suggested bad news.) Goliath, prepared for a trap but not about to hide from danger, went to the stated rendezvous and, expecting the worse, waded into battle before Xanatos could get a word in edgewise. Well, Xanatos is always up for a little workout, so he fought back with relish, taking his time to reveal the real reason he had asked Goliath to come: He wants Goliath to be best man at his wedding tomorrow night. As a little incentive, he's invited DEMONA, and wrested a promise that she'll be on her best behavior throughout the event. [Reveal as much or as little of the "prologing" as necessary in order to make the scene play.]

2. Clock Tower just before Dawn. HUDSON seems strangely ambivalent, but Elisa and BROOKLYN can't believe Goliath would even consider going to the wedding. They have a hundred reasons each why it's obvious lunacy. Goliath doesn't put up much of a counter-argument. He knows they're right. He won't go. Dawn comes. They all turn to stone. Elisa heads home.

3. Castle during the day. In the courtyard, Xanatos waits for something, still in his armor but with the helmet off. A helicopter lands, piloted by FOX and carrying STEFAN XANATOS, a big, tough, weathered but honest Greek fisherman. Stefan is a little put off by his son's armored attire, but tries at first to make the best of an awkward situation. He is teasingly superstitious about his son seeing Fox on the day of the wedding, but the happy couple make their own luck and patronizingly ignore his concerns, which darkens Stefan's mood. Fox exits to get dressed. David asks his dad, what he thinks of the place. Stefan is frankly appalled by the conspicuous consumption. Why does his son need a place like this? "Oh, reason not the need, father. I wanted it. So I took it." Stefan is disgusted by his son's attitude. Why does he need to wear armor? David assures him, the armor is purely defensive. Defense against what? What kind of life does his son lead? He think David would have been better off being a humble fisherman, like himself: "In fact, if I ever get my hands on the man who sent you that coin, I swear I'll teach him a lesson for meddling with my family." David smiles when his Dad brings up "the coin". That's ancient history, Pop. Besides, that coin was only worth about 20 grand. David's now worth "considerably more". But Dad's not letting him off the hook. If he had never received that coin anonymously, he'd never have become what he is now. "You know, Dad, someday I'm going to prove to you that I really am a self-made man. And that's a promise." Besides, if the castle and the armor upset you, wait until you meet the best man.
On cue, OWEN enters with the JUDGE who is to perform the ceremony. Owen has prepared a little videotape of the gargoyles for Stefan and the Judge to watch. That way, they won't swallow their tongues when they see Goliath and Demona. As they all head inside, Owen questions whether this is necessary, will Goliath really show? He'll be here, Xanatos assures him, "I'd take an oath on it."

4. Back at the clock tower during the day, we push in on the stone Goliath and ripple dissolve to his dream/memory.

5. Castle Wyvern, 975 A.D., night. YOUNG GOLIATH finds YOUNG DEMONA standing on the tower with YOUNGISH HUDSON. Demona seems ridiculously happy to see him. Goliath doesn't want to miss PRINCE MALCOLM'S Wedding. She seems a bit distracted. She looks at Hudson, who says "Go on, then." She and Goliath glide down to one of the upper windows of the Great Hall. From there, they watch this strange human ceremony of bonding, including the exchange of rings. Goliath comments on the beauty of the symbolism or something, and Demona takes out the PHOENIX GATE. She separates the two pieces and hands him one. She swears she will never stop loving him. (If she seems a little too intense, we'll chalk it up at this stage to the emotion of the moment.) Goliath takes his half of the gate, and somewhat awed by her intensity, makes a similar vow. They embrace, stroking each other's hair. (The Gargoyle equivalent of kissing.)

6. Dissolve back out to the Clock Tower at Dusk. Goliath and the others explode awake. Goliath goes to a secret hiding place in the clock tower. (Behind the comatose, COLDSTONE, perhaps.) We see the GRIMORUM and the EYE OF ODIN, as well as Goliath's half of the Gate. (He had hidden it a thousand years ago in a hollow brick at the castle, which Xanatos had transported to NYC unaware of its contents. Goliath had retrieved it before moving to the Clock Tower.) He clutches the gate-piece in his huge hand and leaves, never giving the other gargoyles a chance to talk him out of what even he must realize is a foolhardy quest. Hudson watches him go.

7. Night at the castle. Xanatos and Owen wait in the courtyard for Goliath. Both are now dressed in tuxedos, and Xanatos is wearing a lapel pin that depicts a pyramid with an eye at its apex radiating light. Owen questions whether he should be wearing the emblem of the ILLUMINATI SOCIETY in public. Xanatos says cryptically that it's a necessary risk. [By the way, I have no idea if this is an Illuminati symbol or not. But it seems to fit.] Goliath arrives. Owen offers him a bow-tie. Goliath is not amused. Xanatos gives him Fox's wedding ring to hold. That's what the best man does, you see. Hold the ring, until the couple exchanges vows.
The three enter the Great Hall. Everyone is there. The judge and Stefan have already seen Demona, but Goliath is even more startling thanks to his imposing size. Fox is wearing a white dress, but something non-traditional and sexy. And Demona broods. Goliath approaches her, clutching the gate-piece tightly in his fist. She does not even want to talk to him. She feels she has to attend this farce because Xanatos insisted, and she needs to keep him as an ally. But she cannot fathom why Xanatos wants Goliath here. Goliath attempts to remind her of the last wedding they attended together, but she is not interested in reminiscing.
The wedding ceremony begins, rather informally at first. Keep it very short. (At some point, the Judge should ask Fox's real name. Fox coldly informs him that "Fox" is legally her real name now.) We get to the exchange of rings. Goliath hands Xanatos one for Fox. Demona hands Fox one for Xanatos. Demona looks across at Goliath and seems to break down. Just as the Judge pronounces David and Fox, HUSBAND AND WIFE, Demona runs from the Hall. Goliath pursues. Xanatos & Fox, exchange glances. "Now the fun really begins." They start to follow the gargoyles. Stefan tries to restrain his son: What are you up to now? You'd interrupt your own wedding to engage in Machiavellian scheming? But Xanatos is in a bit of a hurry. He and Fox head out the door pursued by Stefan. The Judge turns to Owen very confused. Owen says something dry and witty. And then both men follow the rest.
Outside, Goliath catches up with Demona before she can glide away. Does she remember their vows? Is there still a chance for them? He shows her his gate-piece. He's always kept it. She gently removes it from his hand and takes out hers. So has she. She puts the interlocking pieces together to form the PHOENIX GATE. And then... she laughs. Goliath is such a fool. He's fallen right into Xanatos and Demona's sentimental trap. Now she has the Gate. And she intends to use it. And just as the Xanatos clan approaches, she speaks the incantation. A huge bird of fire seems to engulf Goliath, Demona, David, Fox and Stefan Xanatos. The fire consumes itself. Owen and the Judge arrive just in time to see the last spark go out. There is no sign of the wedding party. Owen: "It seems the honeymoon has begun earlier than expected."

8. Wyvern, Scotland, on the cliffside near the forest overlooking Castle Wyvern. (This is where Hudson and Goliath froze the morning of the gargoyle massacre of 994 A.D. Only now, it's 975 A.D. -- the night of Prince Malcolm's wedding.) Our five time travelers materialize out of the flaming gate. Stefan asks "Where are we?" David: "The question isn't where... but when?"

ACT TWO
9. Pick up right where we left off. Demona laughs and launches herself off the cliff. Goliath pursues, leaving the humans behind. Xanatos doesn't waste any time. "Follow me!" He runs back into the forest followed by Fox and a very confused Stefan.

10. Air chase. Demona manages to put some distance between herself and Goliath. She chants the incantation and vanishes into the flaming "Gate", leaving Goliath alone.

11. In the forest, Clan Xanatos comes upon TWO HOODED RIDERS who are being attacked by FOUR ARMED BANDITS on horseback. Although he is unarmed, Xanatos never hesitates, wading right in against the bandits. Xanatos, Fox, the larger of the two riders and even Stefan make short work of the bandits. The bandits are forced to flee without their horses, which Xanatos commandeers for his family. The large rider is grateful but suspicious of these strangers in bizarre garb. Then he notices Xanatos' Illuminati pin and warms up fast, briefly drawing back his cloak, to reveal that he wears the same Illuminati emblem. He tells Xanatos that he is the NORMAN AMBASSADOR. He and his "companion" bring "priceless gifts" to Prince Malcolm of Wyvern. Xanatos may wear strange garb, but he's a great fighter (and a fellow Illuminatus). The Ambassador would be honored if Xanatos' would accompany them the last few miles to Castle Wyvern. He also promises that Prince Malcolm will be very grateful for their help as well.

12. Having lost Demona, Goliath soars closer to the castle, debating with himself whether or not he should land there. Then he spots Demona again from a distance. He circles to intercept her, but as she lands on a castle battlement, she is greeted by a young Goliath. And the adult Goliath realizes that he wasn't tracking his enemy, but her younger counterpart. He comes in for a landing on one of the high towers of the castle, and surreptitiously watches the young lovers below him. It almost tears his heart out. And then he hears Hudson's voice behind him, demanding to know what he's doing up on the tower when he had been assigned to hold watch on the battlement. Adult Goliath turns to see his MENTOR, (the YOUNGER HUDSON). When Hudson gets a good look at him, he immediately sees that something is wrong. And when Hudson sees young Goliath and young Demona, below on the battlement, he's ready to cry sorcery, and Adult Goliath has to slap a hand over his mouth.

13. At the gates of the castle, Xanatos, Stefan, Fox, the Ambassador and the hooded rider are greeted by young Prince Malcolm and the ARCHMAGE. The rider is revealed to be PRINCESS ELENA of Normandy. (I made this name up, and have no idea if it's accurate to tenth century Normandy.) The Ambassador had hoped that by arriving in secret, he and the Princess would avoid just the kind of trouble that Clan Xanatos saved them from. Malcolm is very grateful. He was to marry Elena tomorrow, but because the princess was attacked, he has decided to move up the wedding to this very night. He tells his SERVANTS to prepare the Great Hall. At the Ambassador's prompting, Elena pulls out her father's wedding gift. It is a priceless golden treasure known as the PHOENIX GATE, which she will officially present to the Prince after the ceremony.

14. Meanwhile, with great difficulty, Goliath is trying to convince Hudson that he is not a sorcerous creature, but a visitor from the future. (He does not choose to reveal how far in the future.) Goliath is a bit flustered himself: he doesn't know how much to reveal, and he has to remind himself not to use anachronistic names like Hudson and Demona. He manages to babble out the fact that sometime in the future, he attended the wedding of an enemy and that he and his... enemies were sent back in time by some kind of sorcery. He is particularly concerned for the younger versions of himself and Demona. He needs his MENTOR's help. (This conversation will explain the older Hudson's ambivalence in Scene 2. He remembered meeting the adult Goliath after the latter had attended the wedding of an enemy.) Hudson isn't sure what to believe, but he looks deeply into adult Goliath's eyes and decides to trust him.

15. The Archmage returns to his laboratory. He is furious. At first we think he's ranting to himself, but then we realize he's talking to his apprentice, who cowers a bit in the shadows. It turns out that the Archmage hired the bandits to steal the Phoenix Gate from the Normans. To Malcolm, it is just a gaudy bauble, but to him it is the second talisman of power that he needs. (He has the Grimorum. Doesn't yet have the Eye of Odin.) With it he can transverse space and time in a thought. He needs his apprentice to steal it from the Princess before the wedding. Hesitantly, the apprentice steps forward out of the shadows. It is the young Demona.

16. Fox and Stefan watch as Xanatos hands the Ambassador a letter, and returns to face his father. He tells him that the letter contains instructions for the Illuminati society and two sealed envelopes. The Society is to wait 1000 years and then deliver the first envelope to a young David Xanatos of Bar Harbor, Maine. The envelope contains a small coin, a minor reward requested of the Prince for saving the Princess. The coin is practically worthless in 975, but by 1975 it will be worth about 20 grand. The second envelope is to be delivered twenty years after the first. It contains a detailed account of how the coin was obtained. That's how Xanatos knew how to set all this up. He had received instructions from himself last week. "So you see, Pop. I am indeed a self-made man." Fox beams with pride. Stefan is quiet for a beat. Then asks: "All right, Mr. Big Shot Time Traveler. You sent yourself your little letter before you answered one important question: How do we get home?"

17. Young Demona sneaks into the Princess' room through a window and grabs the Phoenix Gate, while Elena's back is turned. She leaves by the same window, but she doesn't get very far. Suddenly, her older counterpart appears before her in a fiery flash of Phoenix flame.

ACT THREE
18. Up on the tower, the burst of Phoenix flame attracts the attention of Goliath, Hudson -- and Young Goliath down on the battlement! Adult Goliath knows the flame signals the arrival of his... enemy. But his younger counterpart MUST NOT investigate. Hudson agrees to waylay young Goliath. Adult Goliath takes off in the direction of the fading flame.

19. Meanwhile, the older Demona confronts her younger self. Both hold a complete version of the Phoenix Gate. (Don't you just love time travel stories?) Anyway, the younger Demona is obviously stunned by what she sees. The older one is right to business. She knows for a fact that her arrival is about to attract some unwanted attention. They need to go somewhere private to talk! She invokes the Latin spell and her gate opens into fire that sucks in both Demonas. At the last possible second, Adult Goliath flies into the fiery gate, and all three vanish.

20. Castle Wyvern. The highest tower. 994 A.D. A few nights after the Massacre. The 994 counterpart of Goliath is frozen in stone (in Thinker pose) at night! Small fires still burn. Fragments of other gargoyles litter the ground. On the cut, the Phoenix Gate deposits Young Demona, Adult Demona and Adult Goliath a few yards above the tower. The Demona's drop down gently enough, but Goliath's momentum from scene 19 sends him crashing into the stone floor of the tower. Adult Demona seems ready for this as well. Before Goliath can recover, she slams him across the back with all her might, plus both fists and the anger of 1000 years. He is knocked unconscious.
And then her real work begins. Young Demona is still in a state of semi-shock. Adult Demona wastes no time. Yes, she is her older self returned from the future with a warning. See the destruction. The death. Goliath frozen in stone at night! Humans did this! And you can stop it! You have the Phoenix Gate. All you have to do is think of a place and time. Hold it in your mind, and by speaking the incantation you are there. With its power you can accomplish anything. Do not give it away to the Archmage. Do not share it with... Do not share it! USE IT!! Destroy all the humans! Rule the Gargoyles! Rule the world!! It's all within your grasp!!!
Goliath starts to come to. Young Demona rushes to his side. Adult Demona intercepts her. "Believe me, I know exactly how you feel." But you cannot trust Goliath. He is weak. He cares more about the humans than the gargoyle clan! The greatest favor you can do him would be to put him out of our misery. (And here is where our Demona has made her big mistake. A mistake made despite the power of hindsight. Because Demona never learns. And because at this time, the younger Demona loves Goliath with all her heart.) Adult Demona: "You must know I'm right! Can't you see I am what you will become?!" And young Demona, still largely innocent and good, snaps: "I will never become like you!" Young Demona attacks adult Demona! Fight scene. Frankly, Young Demona wouldn't be a match for adult Demona, except that the latter is a bit reluctant to trash "herself". Still, it's for her own good.
Goliath regains consciousness and joins the battle. The tide turns and Adult Demona is knocked out this time. Goliath takes her version of the Phoenix Gate from her. Young Demona is pretty near shattered by this whole experience! She turns to Goliath, pleadingly. What should she do?
Goliath is reluctant to use Adult Demona's methods. But he also wants to undo some of the damage the Adult Demona did. Young Demona is touching the frozen version of Goliath. Our Goliath approaches her. Tells her not to worry about this. Not to fear it or look for it. It is not the big catastrophes that must concern her. It is the little slights. The little jealousies and angers that prey upon the heart. Fortify yourself with love and trust, and you need not fear this future.
Goliath looks at Adult Demona. He holds up her Gate. He's not sure he knows how to use it. The younger one lifts her version. She knows how. She speaks the words and the three of them disappear in flames.

21. They reappear in flame on the same tower in 975. Xanatos, Fox and Stefan are there. (The highest point on the castle was the logical place to watch for the Phoenix flames.) Goliath would be tempted to leave Xanatos behind if he wasn't afraid of the damage the guy could do to the future. Goliath says good-bye to young Demona. By now, he's figured out how the gate works. Young Demona steps back out of range. With some hesitancy, Goliath speaks the Latin and our five time travelers disappear.
Young Demona is left alone. She still has her version of the Phoenix Gate, which she holds tightly behind her back. The Archmage comes running up the stairs, clutching the Grimorum. He had seen the Phoenix fire and jumps to the conclusion that young Demona let somebody else get away with the Gate. Before she can reveal that she still has her Gate, he punishes her with a bolt of lightning, and threatens to tell the Prince that she stole the Gate. Hudson glides in, landing between Demona and the Archmage. Hudson wonders why the Archmage would expect Demona to have the Prince's wedding present? If Demona did steal it, who would she be stealing it for? The Archmage takes the hint, begrudgingly. But he won't forget this. He heads back downstairs, grumbling: Those strangely dressed strangers have disappeared. The theft of the Gate can be blamed on them. Obviously, Young Demona never reveals that she still has the Gate.
Young Goliath glides in and in a repeat of the first half of scene 5, Demona seems ridiculously happy to see him. Goliath doesn't want to miss Prince Malcolm's Wedding. Demona seems a bit distracted. She looks at Hudson, who says "Go on, then." She and Goliath glide down to one of the upper windows of the Great Hall.

22. Xanatos' Castle in Manhattan, 1995. A repeat of the end of scene 7: Owen and the Judge arrive on the scene just in time to see the last spark go out. There is no sign of the wedding party. Owen: "It seems the honeymoon has begun earlier than expected."
Our five time travelers reappear. Demona is recovering. Goliath may have defeated her, but he failed too. Demona remembers his little speech from when she was young. She never forgot it. And it didn't change anything. "More's the pity," he says. And he glides off with the Gate.
In excellent spirits, Xanatos approaches his father. "Did you have a good time at the wedding?" Xanatos Senior takes a penny from his pocket and flips it to Xanatos Junior. David catches it and asks, what's this? Stefan says, "It's called a penny. It's not worth much now, but in a 1000 years, who knows. It's my wedding present to you. Because it's all you seem to care about." Stefan turns his back on his son, and walks away.

23. Goliath arrives back at the Clock Tower. Elisa and Brooklyn are there, ready to blast him for going to the wedding. But Hudson takes one look at Goliath and stops them. Goliath puts the Phoenix Gate back in its hiding place with the Grimorum and the Eye. When he turns to face us, there's a single tear rolling down his cheek. Push in on him and ripple dissolve...

24. Castle Wyvern, 975 A.D., night. M.O.S., Young Demona separates the two pieces of the Phoenix Gate and hands one to Young Goliath. They embrace, stroking each other's hair. FADE OUT.


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EYE OF THE BEHOLDER MEMO

Last week, I posted my ramble on EYE OF THE BEHOLDER. But I forgot to post the memo from that episode. Here it is.
This is from October of '94, though the episode wouldn't air until September of '95.

Steve Perry wrote a first draft script (which I know longer have), edited by Michael Reaves. This was my memo to Michael in response to that first draft. Usually, these memos come at the outline stage. I'm not sure why this waited until the script stage. Making changes at this stage creates pressure. And I think that pressure is reflected in my brusker tone. (A tone which I regret in rereading it now.)

WEISMAN 10-11-94

Notes on "EYE OF THE BEHOLDER" Script...
This will be a fairly extensive rewrite. Mostly necessitated by Xanatos coming across as weak and moonstruck for the entire episode. We've got to do some restructuring to solve that problem. Sorry.

GENERAL STUFF
XANATOS
We cannot weaken Xanatos to the degree we do here. He should appear to be his normal machiavellian self through the whole episode. Going through life, despite minor setbacks, with an ever-present ace up his sleeve. With only two exceptions... at the crisis point, when he finally has to admit to Goliath and himself that he cares about Fox, and at the end when he feels Goliath has the goods on him. Both of these are important but brief moments. At the very end, we need to feel like Xanatos is more well-rounded, but still formidable.

FOX
In the first scene, please mention Fox's facial tattoo in description. No matter how fancy she dresses, it's a reminder that she still has the beast within. Like Xanatos, let's not play her sappy or moony. She's cut from the same cloth as he is. She may truly love him. But she's not gonna easily be carried away by those feelings. Do we want to give Fox a real name? I feel like she would have had hers legally changed. Maybe not. But how about Janine instead of Janet? Sounds slightly more exotic. Do we want the Werefox to be proportioned like a bodybuilder? She'll have super-strength of course, but shouldn't her proportions remain similar to Fox's design?

TRAVIS, etc.
You'll see below, that I've added a bit for Travis Marshall. If you can figure a way to get the exposition smoothly across without Travis, you can skip him. In either case, during Elisa's first battle against the Werefox in the grocery store, let's reuse the store and store keeper from -013. Charlie H. did that voice and you'll probably need him for Travis. (This doesn't mean the store keeper has to speak, it just gives us a convenient option and saves our artists some work.)

IT'S A CHOKER NOT A PENDANT
I know we discussed that.

TODAY'S THEME: VULNERABILITY
It's there, but I think we could be hitting it harder. (It's not that I advocate a lack of subtlety, but in our scripts we need to emphasize the theme to maintain the audience's focus. We always have so much going on that it would be easy for them to feel like it's just a lot of fighting and not about anything.)

NO 40 PAGE SCRIPTS
I don't want to see any script that is longer than 39 pages. Even at the first draft stage. Please make sure that this is to length. This shouldn't be tough. The script seemed heavily padded to me. There are entire scenes that can come out.

CAST LIST
Please make sure that this is complete. Elisa was left off. I've cut Dr. Stein. Also don't forget to include characters with no lines. They are still needed for design purposes. And describe the costumes of Elisa, Brooklyn, Broadway, Lexington and the costumed man. You don't have to go into great detail. Just make sure that it's noted that they appear in normal garb and in these other costumes.

BEAT SHEET
ACT ONE
1. SUPER: OCTOBER 1st. Our prologue. Xanatos proposes, in a decidedly business-like manner. We don't get to see the Eye. (This scene is largely successful in Steve's draft.)

2. SUPER: OCTOBER 31st. On the streets, late afternoon. Halloween prep going on. Wind, leaves. And Elisa walking with her (unrevealed) costume by the store as the bookrack flies through the store window. She goes in, coming into conflict with this monster WEREFOX. We should see the Werefox eating. Establish that basic motivation. We should also see the EYE. Werefox escapes.

3. Time cut to aftermath. Brief moment between Elisa and Morgan, as Travis Marshall reports live. This is not the Werefox's first sighting.

4. Back at the castle, Xanatos and Owen click off the television (and the Travis Marshall report) as Fox enters. She's got an overcoat pulled tight around her neck. Xanatos asks her if she is wearing her engagement present. She says nervously, that she never takes it off. She exits. He and Owen look at each other. They clearly suspect something.

5. At clock tower, gargoyles EXPLODE awake. Elisa's there. Tells what happened. Brooklyn figures that blows his theory that the Monster sightings were all pre-Halloween shenanigans. (Let's get in here that they are excited about Halloween and being able to appear in public. Hudson's less sanguine.) Goliath takes Elisa aside: "I should have been with you." But Elisa won't let him feel guilty. He can't be with her all the time anymore than she can spend every hour of daylight guarding him. They're all vulnerable. It's scary, but knowing someone cares whether they make it through the day makes it worthwhile. (Or something like that.)

6. Back at the castle, Xanatos calmly approaches Fox and asks for her engagement present. He wants to have it engraved. She tries to demure. He insists, gently pulling her collar away from the EYE!!! She slams him back and transforms into the werefox!

ACT TWO
7. Xan was more-or-less ready for this, he has a tranquilizer gun, but she's much more powerful than he anticipated. The dart doesn't seem to slow her down. Owen enters prepared, with what appears to be another tranquilizer gun. But it's really a tagging device of some sort. The Werefox escapes. (This is tricky, given the setting.) Xanatos: "So much for doing things the easy way." Owen's tagger tracks the beast and sends back vital signs. Owen explains that her metabolic rate is skyrocketing, explaining why the tranquilizer had no effect, and also revealing that she's gonna burn out and die. Xanatos seems unconcerned. (This is a facade, but even he doesn't realize it yet.) He needs to get the Eye of Odin back. If he had known it was anything more than a fancy jewel he'd never have given it away. "Oh, well. On to plan B."

8. Elisa finds Goliath in the library. She's gotten an anonymous tip about where to find the Werefox. (She doesn't know it, but it's from Xanatos.)

9. Xanatos in his battle armor, tracks and confronts the Werefox on the rooftop. (Of a bakery? Or a meat packing warehouse? In any case, reestablish her metabolic hunger.) He tries to get in close enough to remove the Eye. Goliath and Elisa arrive and, thanks to a little play-acting by Xanatos, become convinced that the Werefox is another of Xanatos' victims (ala Maggie Reed). They try to intervene, but obviously the werefox isn't too helpful. Xanatos takes this opportunity to make his grab for the Eye. He's blasted by magical energy. And the Werefox trashes his armor. He's forced to flee. Goliath tries to talk to Werefox, but she slams him into Elisa, nearly knocking the latter off the rooftop. Goliath and Elisa recover, by which time, Werefox is gone. They confer. Elisa is convinced that Xanatos has victimized this poor creature just as he did her brother. He's clearly after the eye. They have to gather all the gargoyles and make sure they get it first. Goliath looks suspiciously toward the Castle in the distance. Maybe he can barely see Xanatos limping toward it.

10. Xanatos comes in for an unsteady landing at the castle. He's greeted by Owen: "So much for plan B." And Xanatos: "True. But now plan C is activated. Goliath and company are, as usual, determined to thwart me. They'll pull out all the stops to get the eye off Fox before I do. They'll do all my work for me." Owen is confused. How will this help him recover the eye? (This is a hint that the eye isn't really Xanatos' main concern.) But before Xanatos can address that question (or even give conscious thought to the answer), Goliath and Elisa dramatically reveal their presence. It's clear they've heard everything. (Or almost everything.)

ACT THREE
11. Goliath is major angry. (But kind of proud of himself that he didn't get fooled again.) Xanatos can do his own dirty work. Goliath and Elisa start to go. And suddenly, almost against his own will, Xanatos stops him. Reveals to himself, Goliath and audience that he really cares for Fox. He needs help to get the eye off of her. The legend says that this is what the Norse God Odin traded for POWER AND INSIGHT. He had no idea the legend had any basis in fact or that the eye had any real metamorphic abilities. Goliath comments wryly that it should give Xanatos some "insight" as to Fox's true bestial nature. It's made her more like herself. (Xanatos does not find that unattractive.) Why should Goliath help? Xanatos makes the Demona reference. (At some point in here, Xanatos should make physical contact with Goliath. Touching his arm. Needing his help.) Goliath starts to waiver, but Elisa's convinced that this is just another scam. A plan D, if you like. Goliath nods agreement. In any case, it's Xanatos' mess. He can fix it himself. They leave. Xanatos seems momentarily desperate, but then controls himself. Asks how long it will take for armor repair. Owen says a couple of days and then takes a quick look at his tracker/scanner. Fox doesn't have that long.

12. Greenwich village. The party. Let's take some time to play this. The trio and their costumes. And particularly, play the beauty of Goliath and Princess Elisa. Maybe a band is playing something classical on Bleeker Street and they dance. Suddenly Goliath spots the werefox. He grabs the creature. Only to discover it's a guy in a costume. But it starts him thinking. He's going to help Xanatos. Elisa protests (not too strongly; she's not immune either). But Goliath has good reasons. The Werefox is dangerous to his "castle". But truly, if a man like Xanatos can love...well, there's hope for the whole world. From behind Xanatos agrees. How did he find them? Almost embarrassed, Xanatos pulls a Scarab transmitter off Goliath's arm. Old habits die hard. He pulls out the scanner. Come with me.

13. Elsewhere in the village, there's a lot of free food being given out at booths. (I know this would never happen in real life, but let's just assume that local restaurants are looking at it as an advertisement expense.) All the trio, not just Broadway, are partaking. But the Werefox is hungry too. Her attack is closely followed by Goliath, Elisa and Xanatos' arrival. Ultimately, Goliath gets her in a full-nelson that allows Xanatos to reach in with his gauntlet-covered hand and painfully remove the Eye. Fox transforms back, in Goliath's arms. Goliath demands the Eye; he won't trust Xanatos with it. (Xanatos will assume he's being asked to trade the eye for Fox. This is not Goliath's intent, but leave it ambiguous.) For once, Xanatos can't refuse. The exchange is made. Xanatos, cradling Fox in his arms: "Well, Goliath, now you know my one weakness." Goliath regards him with disdain: "Only you would regard love as a weakness." He, Elisa and the Trio depart with the Eye. As all this is happening, Owen has pulled up in the limo. He caught the tail end of the conversation. He agrees with Goliath: "Frankly, Mr. Xanatos, you've never looked quite so formidable." Xanatos smiles. Fox awakens. He says something tender, but it's clear he's back to his old self, just as dangerous as ever.


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Todd Jensen writes...

In your reply to my "Future Tense" ramble, you mentioned that I was forgetting one fact about it. Is this fact the bit about Goliath, in the "actual" Gargoyles Universe, returning to New York in 1996 rather than 2036 (something which would definitely invalidate the literal fulfillment of "Future Tense")? (I really should have remembered it in my ramble).

Greg responds...

That too.

Response recorded on November 14, 2000

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TK writes...

Hey me again I haven't been o in a while----no that it matters
OK, When Elisa went under cover as the blond
- sorry i can't remember the Episode name
1. the trio and Angela saw her and freaked (well Brok-- did) before she told them it was her, what would Golith have done
---would he know it was her
--would she milk it a little longer to tease him
2.what was her role in the one gang,
--was she the gag leaders--um--"not girlfriend but just like hung around so it looked like he had a girl around"
(if that makes sense, sorry if it doesn't)

Thats all for now thanks alot and
P.s. You are a very talented person and unique and successful,I've seen your work, don't ever loss that.

Thanks alot

Greg responds...

The episode is "TURF".

1. I think Goliath would have recognized her. But that's a what if...

2. She was a participating member, who helped organize gang actions against Dracon.

Thanks for the kind words.

Response recorded on November 13, 2000

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matt writes...

in "reawakening" how is it that xanatos manages to tell everyone to meet at the brooklyn bridge without all the public and media overhearing?

Greg responds...

Most everyone was far away. Elisa could only hear because Goliath was wearing a mic.

Response recorded on November 13, 2000

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matt writes...

why did Broadway have more head horns in "future tense" than in the 1990's?

Greg responds...

Perhaps more will grow as he matures more. Or perhaps, Puck made a mistake.

Response recorded on November 13, 2000

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matt writes...

maybe im just an idiot for not understanding but what is puck talking about when he responds to demona," Did you say that human or that human." ive watched the episode a lot of times and i consider myself a pretty smart guy but i can't figure this out.

Greg responds...

By changing the emphasis, he was merely hinting that he wasn't going to kill THAT human Elisa Maza. But get rid of that HUMAN Elisa Maza, i.e. by changing her into a gargoyle. But he wasn't trying to be clear, so don't feel too bad.

Response recorded on November 13, 2000

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Beckie writes...

What regular episode number was, "The Mirror," aired as? And if do you know what episodes were aired right before and right after it?

Greg responds...

I'm not sure what you mean by "episode number". As I once explained, each episode of the series had a production number from Walt Disney Television Animation. Each episode also had an "episode number" from Buena Vista Television. These numbers occassionally, but not always, corresponded to their airing order.

I'll assume you're referring to airing order, because I don't see why anyone would be interested in production or episode numbers.

"The Mirror" was designed to be (and actually was) our 18th episode. It was preceded by "A Lighthouse in the Sea of Time" and succeeded by "The Silver Falcon".

Response recorded on November 13, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

I'm resubmitting this question since you (I assume inadvertently) posted the same answer to it that you did to the "Max Steel" question preceding it. I hope that you don't mind.

In "City of Stone Part Three", when Xanatos and Owen are discussing how to find a way of breaking Demona's spell, Owen suggests researching the Grimorum Arcanorum. Xanatos correctly points out that even if they could find a counter-spell in its pages, they wouldn't be able to use it (and it could even be dangerous to do so on account of the "mixing magics is a bad idea" business).

The revelation later on that Owen was really Puck made that suggestion of his a bit puzzling to me. I would have thought that Puck would have already been aware that the Grimorum wasn't an option for the solution without Xanatos needing to tell him that. Or is he less knowledgeable about human magic than about faerie magic?

Greg responds...

You're misreading the scene, I think. (THough it's not fresh in my mind.)

Xanatos is responding to two different thoughts.

1. That neither he NOR "Owen" are sorcerors.

2. Then Xanatos is immediately jumping to the NEXT logical thought, which is what if PUCK were to do something. (Not that Puck would have.) He's asking for CONFIRMATION that Puck couldn't help, even were he so inclined because mixing magics is dangerous.

I think.

Response recorded on November 09, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

In "The New Olympians", when Proteus is masquerading as Goliath and Elisa suddenly notices that he doesn't turn to stone in the daytime, Proteus replies that New Olympus's cloaking device must be altering the sun's rays so as to allow him to remain flesh by day. It recently struck me that this was not only a lie, but actually a rather poor lie, because of this: as we know, it isn't sunlight that causes gargoyles to turn to stone in the daytime, but rather their internal biological clock. So whatever effect the New Olympians' concealment technology would have on the sunlight, it wouldn't prevent the gargoyles from turning to stone by day (for that matter, we do know that gargoyles on New Olympus must turn to stone in the daytime on account of such a thing happening to Goliath, Angela, and Bronx while they were on the island).

So was Proteus not too well-versed in gargoyle biology, that he made such an error about what causes them to turn to stone by day? Or did he know the truth, but assume that Elisa didn't?

Greg responds...

He was vamping.

Response recorded on November 09, 2000

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Tim writes...

What was that place that Oberon sent Angela and Brooklyn too in Gathering pt 1 where they floated and stammered that it was cold? A part of Oberon himself, or another dimension, or something else entirely?

Greg responds...

A part of his cloak.

Response recorded on November 09, 2000

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Faieq writes...

Probably a pointless question, but in 'Deadly Force', just before Broadway shot Elisa, she was cooking something on the stove. Who turned the cooker off? We saw Broadway pick up Elisa and just glide off. He didn't turn the stove off. Who did?

Greg responds...

The cops.

Response recorded on November 09, 2000

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Monzo writes...

Since you ramble on "Eye of the Beholder", I have a Silly question. Any reasons why Owen took the Commandoes' armored heliopter instead of the usual 'civilian' helicopter?

Greg responds...

In case there was trouble, I guess. But I hadn't noticed.

Response recorded on November 09, 2000

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Maverick writes...

I saw recently the episode "Upgrade". My thought is:

1) Goliath must make a BIG choice
2) Brooklyn/Lexington/Broadway must proove themself worthy
3) The Pack get a *New* look
4) (In my opinion) The is the first step to Dingo's *turn Around* (Becoming a good guy eventually in the Matrix Ep)

In your opinion, is this a very immportant episode, A *Pivitol* episode, more so than, say Avalon Prt 1, in your views?

Greg responds...

In my view, they're all fairly pivotal for different reasons, many of which weren't revealed in the first 66.

But Upgrade had soeme good stuff in it, yeah.

But quantifying "pivotalness" i.e. Upgrade vs. Avalon 1 seems beyond pointless to me.

Response recorded on November 09, 2000

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Faieq writes...

In Awakening Part one (and at the beginning of Awakening part two), Goliath was sure that those destroyed gargoyle peices he held were the remains of his mate. I get the feeling that the gargoyles had their own sleeping places on the castle battlements. Is this the case, or did Goliath assume that because he saw a few of the gargoyles destroyed, he assumed that the whole clan was destroyed?

Greg responds...

The former. With Demona absent, someone obviously chose to sleep in her spot.

Response recorded on November 09, 2000

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Vashkoda writes...

After asking about Goliath having foreknowledge of the Timedancer, I got to thinking of other gargoyles with foreknowledge of someone's fate--Hudson and Demona. In "Vows", Hudson's old self meets future Goliath, and Demona's old self meets future Goliath and Demona. My question is whether Hudson and/or Demona ever truly realized that those encounters meant that Goliath would survive for many years to come (well, exactly how many, they couldn't have known). Did Hudson ever use that as a reassurance that Goliath would return safely from patrols or other dangerous missions--because until "Vows", Hudson knew that Goliath didn't have access to the Gate, and wouldn't be able to accomplish his destined visit to the past? And during all those centuries, did Demona also rely on the memory of that visit as a reassurance that one day, Goliath would awaken?

Greg responds...

Maybe. But keep in mind, until "Vows" they didn't know that Time was immutable. There was no guarantee that the future hadn't been altered in such a way that Goliath would never travel.

Certainly, when Hudson heard about Xanatos' wedding invitation, he had a hunch where the whole thing was going.

Response recorded on November 01, 2000

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Emmlei writes...

In 'Future Tense', when Goliath first comes into the city, the Talon-esqe soldiers blast a woman's cart and steps on a framed photo. correct me if i'm wrong, but was it intentionally implied that the girl was supposed to be a daughter of Chavez? taller woman had a similar outfit as Chavez.

Greg responds...

Yes, it was implied. That was our intent anyway.

Response recorded on October 26, 2000

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Razorclawz writes...

In City of Stone 2, when Demona rip off the Hunter's mask, Gillecomegain shot something like: "Do you remember me? The boy you disfigured?" Demona said no. Did she lie or she didn't remember the boy?

Greg responds...

I don't think she knew who the hell he was.

Response recorded on October 26, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

By the time of "The Journey", have the public been informed that it was actually the Canmores who blew up the clock tower, and not the gargoyles?

Greg responds...

Probably, but that doesn't mean they listened.

Response recorded on October 20, 2000

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Abbie writes...

Hunter's moon III-- the best episode ever made! I still like Goliath's surprised look in the romantic last few seconds of the episode. (save the best for last) I still love the goofy, lopsided grin he has on when he turns to stone after Elisa kisses him. Did you plan that, or did the animators just add it in 'cause it was cute??
NEway, on Toon Disney, on Friday the thirteenth, they have a Gargoyles marathon on. YES!!! WOOHOO~! I'm taping all of the twenty-two eps they're playing back 2 back!!!! Just thought you'd like to know!!!
*** Abbie smiles, scrunches up her thirteen-year old nose in a cutesy grin, and logs off, heading for bed... big science test 2morrow!***

Greg responds...

Both.

And good luck on your test.

Response recorded on October 20, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

I was just watching my tape of "Possession", and thought that I'd ask you a question about it. In the scene where Goliath and Hudson are talking to a "Puck-possessed" Coldstone in the clock tower (who dupes them into thinking that Xanatos is planning a fresh offensive against them), Bronx walks over and rubs affectionately against Coldstone's legs. Now, we know that Bronx is a very good judge of character, and from that, I suspect that he'd probably be able to detect the fact that it was somebody other than any of the three gargoyles making up Coldstone inside his body. So - does Bronx like Puck, or was he still under the influence of the spell that Puck placed on him while disguised as Goliath earlier in the episode?

Greg responds...

Still spelled.

Response recorded on October 20, 2000

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Vilija writes...

In "the Edge," Goliath sees Xanatos on tv, and Goliath gets pissed off. He runs away, but where does he go? To be alone?

Also, we see him in the library. Does he break in or what? (I take it he doesn't have a library card...)
Is that a public library or part of the police building?

Greg responds...

It's a public library that's part of the same building as the police station. If you watch the episode, you can see an exterior diagonal pan from the clock tower down to the library.

He does break in, sort of, but it's not hard. No one bothered to lock the attic.

He goes off for a glide to blow off steam.

Response recorded on October 20, 2000

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Vilija writes...

Where did Demona get her armour suit in "Reckoning?" Did she make it? Did someone else? Did she steal it? Order it from the Sears catalouge? (Help me out here.)

Why was her tail not protected? Was the suit deigned for a human? (I'm guessing not, there was a space she could stick her tail out of.)

What was she stealing from that factory anyway?

Greg responds...

She had JUST stolen it from GoldenCup.

Response recorded on October 20, 2000

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Darunia (no, a different one) writes...

Why didn't Thailog clone Angela or Bronx along with the other gargoyles in ''The Reckoning''?

Greg responds...

Bronx was never on guard. Demona didn't want Angela cloned and never released a mosquito while she was there.

Response recorded on October 20, 2000

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Justin writes...

Dear Greg,
Here are some questions about Future Tense.
1)When did Brooklyn feel the need to don that armor? Obviously it wasn't right after Goliath left.
2)When exactly would you figure Lex would need cybernetic replacements?
3)I know the battle in which Broadway goes blind, but what's the year?
4)When was the Eerie Pyramid constructed?

I understand this was just a dream fabricated by Puck, if you could please answer it hypothetically.

Thanks a bunch

Greg responds...

But I'm not a big fan of hypotheticals. You're guess is as good as mine on all this stuff.

Response recorded on October 20, 2000

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Kalafarski writes...

A question about Future Tense, a great episode that I recently rewatched. I loved your description of the Gargoyle Wind Ceremony....things like that enhance the depth of the series. But I wondered why no one performed the ceremony on Hudson's remains.

Obviously, it could have been a screw up on Puck's part, like not knowing that Demona had chosen Thailog as her mate. Then again, he seemed to know a lot about everything and everyone else. If Puck knew about the ceremony, did he think that the trio wouldn't or didn't know how to perform the ceremony? Or had you simply not developed the concept of the wind ceremony when the episode was produced (I realize that the dramatic element of Goliath's learning that his mentor is dead would have been reduced if there had been no remains). Anyway, just wondering.

Greg responds...

There were no remains. I'm not sure what you're talking about. Whether or not Puck knew about the Wind Ceremony (and I most certainly did back then) is immaterial, because in the reality that Puck presented to Goliath, Hudson had died years earlier. Goliath would have expected (had he thought about it) that the ceremony took place at the time of Hudson's death.

Perhaps you think that statue of Hudson WAS Hudson. But it was only a bronze statue. Metal -- not stone or sleeping Gargoyle. Specifically Bronze to make sure the audience didn't get confused.

Response recorded on October 19, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

Did Oberon remember to take Boudicca back to Avalon in "The Gathering"?

Greg responds...

Yes.

Response recorded on October 19, 2000

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Adam Z. writes...

If all the Gargoyles have to do to defeat Oberon is ring a bell, then why didn't they simply do so during the Gathering. And why didn't Puck know that was his weakness.

Greg responds...

My guess is that (a) forging an iron bell is a bit harder than you think. And (b) Puck can't handle that bell or whip one up magically. And (c) I wouldn't be surprised if Oberon has a contingency for that now.

Response recorded on October 18, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

A question about "Ill Met By Moonlight". At the end of this episode, Oberon appoints the Avalon clan his "honor guard". Is this going to turn out to be a largely ceremonial function with little real work? I can't help but suspect this, in view of the fact that anything capable of seriously threatening Oberon, a fellow capable of swelling up to giant size, animating stone figures, and ordering the earth to swallow up intruders, (and I will confess that the only thing that I can think of in the Gargoyles Universe that could really endanger him at present is Queen Mab) would be able to easily wipe out a whole clan of gargoyles without much effort. (I do have the suspicion that Oberon's appointing the gargoyles to that position was more a matter of "practical politics" - giving them a definite role in Avalonian society - than a matter of "providing for defense", myself).

Greg responds...

Generally, an "honor guard" is by definition ceremonial. If not literal definition, then certainly by common practice.

So I agree. But it doesn't hurt to have loyal warriors handy the next time someone shows up with an iron bell.

Response recorded on September 30, 2000

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Brian writes...

In High Noon when Desdemona splits her self in three and says, "Even shadows must be true to thier shade". Her three images have the same different hair as the Wierd Sisters. Coincidence, I think not.

Greg responds...

I think not too.

Response recorded on September 27, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

I was watching my tape of "Cloud Fathers" and wondered over one line in it. In the "Arizona - 1960" flashback scene, Carlos Maza protests his son's decision to leave his people to live with the "Waseshu". Who are the "Waseshu"? (I assume that it's a name for the people of Manhattan, given the context, but want to make certain).

Greg responds...

It's a perjorative term for caucasians. Or so I was told.

Response recorded on September 26, 2000

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Denis writes...

Hello, Greg!

About the episode future Tense
when Goliath "kills" Xanatos' perso, shouldn't it have killed Lexington by feedback (like it killed Alexander, Brooklyn, Angela and Demona?

Was it a glitch in Puck's illusion, or the Xanatos persona was a mere artificial intelligence?
((Next time, before Puck create a cyberpunkish illusion, he would gain to read William Gibson's Neuromancer ;p))

Greg responds...

Why would it have killed Lex? He wasn't hooked into Xanatos. He simply manipulated the program.

Response recorded on September 26, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

In "Bushido", when Taro is arguing with Kai over Kai's decision to leave, he reaches for a small gargoyle statue on his podium and tilts the head. Nothing happens, however (the one element in the gargoyle theme park that we see afterwards that it could possibly have triggered, the laser weapons firing from the cathedral towers and other such places, doesn't start up until some time later, when Taro gives the actual verbal order for it). What exactly was it supposed to do?

Greg responds...

I'd have to watch it again. I don't remember.

Response recorded on September 25, 2000

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Sixshot writes...

In "The Reckoning", we see Demona in a exosuit. Did she built it or stole it from the Golden Cup?

Greg responds...

Stole it.

Response recorded on September 25, 2000

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Elizabeth Mason writes...

Okay, Hi I love your show and am currently watching City of Stone and reading the play Macbeth. But I do have a question reguarding the human statues.

1. Were the human beings killed and if so why wasnt there a news cast or some sort of uproar about it?

2. If they were killed then why is the lawyer couple Margert Yale and hubby still alive if they were statues, and I saw them as statues when demona was hanging on them.

3.

Greg responds...

1. There might have been. We just didn't show it to you.

2. Looks a lot like them, doesn't it? But it wasn't.

3.

Response recorded on September 25, 2000

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Vilija (Demona's greatest fan) writes...

Hi Greg! I was wathching "The Reckoning" last night on the family channel (Yay, Canada!)I noticed that when (Fang?) was in the cell beside Demona's, he asked Goliath a joke. I couldn't help but wonder, what was the second part of "How many Gargoyles does it take to screw in a lightbulb?" Anyway, thank you to all of you guys for giving the fans a great show. Gargoyles is the best.

Greg responds...

Actually, I might save that for a contest. Thanks for reminding me.

Response recorded on September 25, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

In "M.I.A.", when Una is attempting to dissuade Griff from going off with Goliath to defend London from the Nazis during the Battle of Britain, she says that she has "a bad feeling about tonight". That very night, of course, is the night that Griff disappears (thanks to Goliath and the Phoenix Gate, who brought him to 1995).

Did Una's uneasy forebodings have a prophetic element in them (given that she is a practicing sorceress), or did they stem purely from her mundane fears that Griff would be killed in the fighting, that merely seemed prophetic from the vantage point of hindsight?

Greg responds...

Both.

Response recorded on September 21, 2000

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Mara Shinigami Cordova writes...

Quick Q...

In the FUTURE TENSE universe ( ie, had Goliath not realized that it all was a big hoax by the changeling Puck and it thereby became Goliath's reality)

1. Did Brooklyn and Demona have any eggs?
2. During the roof scene between Demona and Goliath, she begs him to save their daughter. I'm assuming off-camera he had explained the entire situation to the surviving clan... doesDemona at this point harbor any grudge towards Elisa or is she forgotten?
3. In Future tense... WOULD gargoyles make marks on hardwood floors?

suimasen, Weisman-sama

Greg responds...

None of these questions make much sense, except maybe 3. You're looking for completeness and rationales in a VERY incomplete faux world. Did you see the Truman Show? Think of what Goliath was presented with as a glorified Hollywood Movie set. Puck didn't work any harder than he had too.

Response recorded on September 21, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

In Puck's "Future Tense" illusion, was he attempting to use guilt as a weapon against Goliath to break him down, as well as shock and grief? Brooklyn and Lexington both berated Goliath severely for "running away" and leaving the clan and Manhattan defenceless against Xanatos, making it clear that in their eyes, it was all his fault that the city was in the condition that it was. Lexington also implied (at least, how I saw it) that Goliath's "abandoning" the clan was a reason for his turning evil. So, was Puck attempting to fill Goliath with guilt to weaken him all the more?

Greg responds...

Yep.

Response recorded on September 21, 2000

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Phil writes...

Hi, Greg.

I love the show; thanks for answering our questions, etc.

Now that the clans contest is over, I have a question. In "Bushido," Taro built a gargoyles theme park. The first few times I watched it, I was too enthralled by the new Japanese gargoyles to notice the backgrounds. Recently I realized that the park was more than a re-creation of Ishimura. The castle looks just like Wyvern, Notre Dame de Paris can be seen, and there were a few other buildings of various architechtural design.

1) Did Taro really know there were gargoyles at Wyvern, Paris, etc. or did he just guess?
2) If he did know, how? Is he acquainted with Xanatos, the Illuminati, or someone else who knew?

Thanks for your time!

Greg responds...

1. It's not Wyvern. It's Edinburgh, I believe. And no. He was creating different "lands" for his theme park. So he picked a medieval Scotish Castle. And he picked a cathedral in Paris that is famous for his gargoyles. And currently, there are no gargoyles in either location.

2. No.

Response recorded on September 16, 2000

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Faieq writes...

Did we see Brooklyn's permanent injury, in any form in the episode 'Future Tense'.

Greg responds...

Not that I can recall. Was he injured in that episode?

Response recorded on September 16, 2000

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Faieq writes...

I just read your scene that got cut out of 'Hunter's Moon part three' again and it made me wonder would you ever use that scene again in a flashback?

Greg responds...

I'd love to if I could work it in organically and not force it in, simply because I think it's cool.

Response recorded on September 16, 2000

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Ambrosia writes...

Okay, another question from someone else's question:
Ed asked about vampires in the Gargoyle universe. I've never really thought about vampires myself, but since you mentioned that vampirism is a curse, not a race, I started wondering, can gargoyles become vampires?
Thanks!

Greg responds...

We tried to make in ambiguous for the hopeful. Obvious, for the cynical. Does that make sense?

Response recorded on September 16, 2000

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Ambrosia writes...

Sixshot asked if anyone survived the crash of Fortress I and you responded: "I'm not saying until the families can be notified."
They haven't been notified after 6 years??? :)
Anyway, I think this was my "Omigosh, this is unlike any show I've ever seen before" moment. As each of the motors are blowing up, trhere's a scene where people are bailing out into the river and just before someone jumps, there's another explosion and he doesn't make it. I was aghast the first time I saw it. I kept thinking it would go back to that scene and make it clear that everyone was okay... but it never did. Tragedy is part of life... and it was a part of the show.

Greg responds...

We tried to make in ambiguous for the hopeful. Obvious, for the cynical. Does that make sense?

Response recorded on September 16, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

How did the Banshee get around Oberon's non-intervention edict when she kidnapped Goliath, Elisa, and Angela, and took them to Cairn na Culainn for interrogation?

Greg responds...

Her excuse was she thought they were agents of Oberon. The scent of Avalon was upon them, so she thought she wasn't interfering with mortals. Just with Oberon. Of course, she did this at her own peril. But there was nothing magical preventing her from doing it.

Response recorded on September 09, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

You mentioned that the Archmage does take a little extra "time travel journey" in Avalon Part Three, if one watches carefully. Is this the part where the Archmage and Goliath are battling and the Phoenix Gate starts transporting the two of them all over the place? (I always liked that scene).

Greg responds...

Clever boy.

Response recorded on September 06, 2000

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Vashkoda writes...

Wyvern area questions:

1) Do the ancient ruins within/beneath the Archmage's lair have anything to do with that ancient--and now extinct--fourth race of sentient beings on Earth? 2) Did the presence of a gargoyle clan at the cliffs of Wyvern have anything to do with those ruins in the Archmage's lair? 3) When I asked about your answer that the area was "mostly" haunted by Hakon and the captain, you asked "when?". So to specify, who else haunted the area a) in the days the 4th race still roamed the Earth b) the time between their extinction and the appearance of the Wyvern clan on the cliffs c) the time between when the Wyvern clan appeared and when Malcolm constructed a castle on the cliff d) The time between when Malcolm's castle was built and Hakon and the Captain were killed (this includes the period directly after the Wyvern massacre). 4) In "Shadows of the Past", upon looking at the carvings, Angela sees the Archmage attacking a gargoyle. Yet you said that the hieroglyphics in this cave were ancient, so they *couldn't* be of the Archmage himself, right? And Goliath seems to see something different. So are different people *really* seeing different things, or is Goliath hallucinating because of the ghosts, or it a property of the carving itself? 5a) Are the ones who built the ruins beneath the cave, also the ones who built the ruins over which Malcolm built his castle? 5b) Did any of those ruins at the old castle site possess magical properties, like the temple building in the lair? 5c) Were any parts of these ruins directly incorporated into the foundations of Malcolm's new castle? 6a) When the captain explained why they were trapped there, he said "Maybe it was the magic in this place....". Is the magic he's referring to solely a property of the ruins that were constructed there, or is the area itself inherently magical? b) If it's the latter, how far does this magic extend? Outside of the cave? The entire cliff? Miles? c) If it includes the cliff, would this magic still remain in the pieces that were transported to Xanatos's building? d) If the magic of the area helped hold Hakon and the captain's spirits, was it also a factor in why the Coldtrio's spirits were held in suspension and still around to be transferred to Coldstone? e) Hakon and the Captain seemed to be able to animate bits rock to look and act like Goliath's clan. But Goliath's clan was also killed nearby, and their spirits could have animated the rock-clan (except Demona). Just to be clear, was the rock-clan controlled entirely by Hakon and the Captain?

Greg responds...

Vash, it would really make my life easier if you would hit the return key between each question.

1. I'm not saying.

2. Sorta.

3. Does 4th race equate with LSZ's "Zeroth" race or am I just getting confused again? Look let me just sum up by saying that the Captain and Hakon weren't the only ghosts to ever haunt that place.

4. All of the above. And it could be the Archmage, if the carving is prophetic.

5a. Kinda.

b. Not so much.

c. Yes.

6a. Both.

6b. Wyvern.

c. Like radiation? I'm not sure about that. It's the place. A nexus of power. Holy ground.

d. Maybe.

e. Yes. They were attempting to gaslight Goliath.

Response recorded on September 06, 2000

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Kelly L Creighton / Kya White Sapphire writes...

on august 23 you ansered someone's question about children coloring. ie- children are the color of their other-gender parent, but look like the same-gender parent. you said its not a rule, but its commonplace. then you said "Gabriel looks a bit like Coldstone with Coldfire's coloring." uhh.. did i miss something? ColdStone/Othello is grey with white hair, ColFire/Desdemona is brownsih with gold hair, and gabriel is GREEN... hes not colored like ColdFire... *blinks* or did i miss something? *laughs* i tend to do that..

Greg responds...

Keep in mind, I'm color-blind. I know what I asked for, but I may not have gotten it.

Response recorded on September 05, 2000

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Duncan Devlin writes...

In Avalon (part 1 0r 2, I don't remember), the Archmage says something to the extent of "the stories of the sleeping king are ture?!?"
One of the weird sisters responds "All things are true."
I don't quite understand the response. From my experience, not ALL things are true. This seems like one of those "English to English" translations.

Greg responds...

I don't understand what an "English to English translation" means...

But she was talking of stories, and she was being loose. All stories have some basis in truth. All legends in the Gargoyles Universe certainly. That doesn't mean they are all literally true.

Response recorded on September 02, 2000

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LSZ writes...

Did Anubis return all the lives Jackal/Anubis took(such as those crocodiles, and wipng out that town)?

Greg responds...

He could not.

Response recorded on August 22, 2000

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Demona Taina writes...

Three in a row! [laughs]

Okay, I just remembered that you had asked me to repost a question but with a little more detail. :P Sure! Why not? [chuckles]

Okay, in the episode "Upgrade," Goliath and the trio are patroling the city. "It's a quiet night," Goliath says. Guess again. The Pack are robbing a bank. Goliath and the trio swoop down to stop them. It's a hard battle, but Goliath keeps saving the trio. Helping Lex catch a current, flinging Wolf away from Brooklyn.. making it hard for the Pack to take them down. Wolf gets tired of it, and throws a device at Goliath, and it hits him right between the wings. [winces in sympathy] Electrocutes him, and then he passes out.

My question is.. how did the trio get Goliath back to the Clock Tower after he got electrocuted? He seemed unconscious, though I think he sort of moved when the trio started to help him up.

Thank you for your time. :)

Greg responds...

They carried him.

Response recorded on August 22, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

When and how did Owen/Puck find out about the gargoyles living in the clock tower? He clearly knows by "Possession", since he knew where to find them when he was taking Coldstone to the clock tower (and also clearly knows in "Hunter's Moon Part Three" when he comments that obviously the clan wouldn't have destroyed their own home). I'm assuming that he found out from Goliath during "Future Tense" when Goliath talked about getting back to the clock tower near the beginning; am I correct on that one?

Greg responds...

Yes.

Response recorded on August 22, 2000

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aXvXia writes...

Dear Mr. Weisman:

Sadly, because i have only seen the episodes of the gargoyles aired on Toon Disney, I have NEVER seen the episode of DEADLY FORCE because they never air it.
Supposedly it is too violent. I know this is asking for some time here, but for the sake of a fan, could you give me a very brief synapses? Pretty please with jalepenas on top???
Thanks,
aXvXia
(axe-vix-ee-uh)cool name, huh??

P.s. say hi to your kitties and puppies for me!!! ^^
**

Greg responds...

Two cats. One dog. Hi has been said.

DEADLY FORCE (in brief):

Broadway accidentally shoots Elisa while playing with her gun. He drops her off at the hospital and then runs away, ashamed. Everyone assumes that Elisa was shot by Tony Dracon, a mob boss who she had encounted earlier. Goliath hunts down Dracon. Meanwhile Broadway goes on an anti-gun rampage that likewise leads him to Dracon. They attack, but Broadway admits that he shot Elisa to stop Goliath from killing Dracon.

Later, Broadway apologizes to Elisa for playing with her gun. Elisa apologizes for leaving it out.

Response recorded on August 22, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

An afterthought on "The Mirror": I've sometimes wondered about the fact that, during the time when all the New Yorkers are gargoyles, but Goliath and his clan haven't been changed into humans yet, nobody seems to notice that Goliath and the others are walking around the city dressed only in loincloths - not to mention Demona's own get-up. (Of course, this IS New York that we're talking about.... :)

Greg responds...

Exactly.

Response recorded on August 22, 2000

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Sixshot writes...

Hi mr. Weisman

In Mark of The Panther, Goliath killed "Anansi". He used a spear, but was it in iron? If not, how could a spear make him disappear like that?

Greg responds...

It wasn't iron. So Anansi wasn't killed. But it still hurt, so he reverted to a small spider to escape.

Response recorded on August 22, 2000

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Demona Taina writes...

Here's a question that got lost in the crash. I posted it a LONG time ago, and I just realized that it got lost. o_O I think I posted it in May. [looks at the date] Yep. It's been a long time. :P

Okay, as I said in my previous post, my native language is Spanish, English is my second, and stuff like that. Well, first, I became a fan with the Spanish episodes first. I mean, sure, I loved the English episodes, but didn't have cable long enough to actually start taping them. [grumbles] At least the translations came along. Well, everything is different in Spanish. Goliath's voice is much less like Keith David's. I think it's done by Felipe Preciado, but I wouldn't bet on that. [laughs] Much less dramatic, let me tell you. It simply can't compare with Keith David's. His is SO dramatic, so powerful, and yet, so beautiful. [giggles]

I fell in LOVE with a cartoon character.. I mean, Goliath is SO perfect! Except for that temper, but I love him anyway! You probably found out about my love for him when you read my ramble on Goliath.. [giggles] And every word I said is true... ;)

Oops, I forgot about the question. o_O Anyway, here it goes before I forget and start talking about something else. :P

Okay, I taped the episodes in both Spanish and English, but I taped them in Spanish first. City of Stone 1 was the first I'm sure, because Demona started crying, and I totally got hooked with that scene.. it was so powerful.

Okay, so, I have the episode "Vows" in Spanish. In Spanish, it has Goliath and Demona in the Clock Tower, and they HUG. Awww... well, then my grandma got Cable again. The English episodes. USA Network. I was disappointed when I noticed that they cut out the best scenes, but at least the voices were new. I mean, they totally cut out the Keith David's narration!! I've never been able to actually see that narration in English.. [grumbles]

ANYWAY.. they aired the episodes Vows in English. Okay. so, everything seemed normal, except for the cuts, until they aired the ending. o_O It was different!! Instead of the couple being at the Clock Tower, they were in a castle! With a very bright light behind them! Well, I was beaming with joy because there was something new.

And then, Demona is left with her mouth open. I go O.O. Goliath SMILES, capes his wings around her, and brings her close. I'm like "DO IT! DO IT!" And they're about to kiss, but then they disappear into a star. [whimpers] WHY!? They were THIS close! WHY? WHY? WHY!? That was so cruel. [laughs] I wanted to see them kiss at least once. :P

Now let me put all that in a sentence. [laughs] Why are there two endings of the episode Vows? No other episode has two endings, to my knowledge anyway. [blinks, then pokes you] Are there anymore alternate endings?

You guys have done a GREAT job with the show. And you're a great guy, too. [grins] And you're cute. [snickers] Couldn't RESIST. [laughing]

That's all for now. :P

Greg responds...

Kissing is a human custom. Gargoyles stroke hair and or brow ridges.

There are two endings because one was a mistake that we couldn't get corrected in time for its first airing. That scene was supposed to be a flashback to them embracing at the castle. Instead it mistakenly has them embracing at the clock tower, which they've never done.

Response recorded on August 22, 2000

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Anonymous writes...

In Grief why did the Emir need Xanatos?

Greg responds...

Money, equipment, personel...

Response recorded on August 21, 2000

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Tk writes...

Hi Greg,
hope i didn't ask this yet.

Why do Goliath,Hudson, and Broadway look I guess upset or hard when Elisa is crying in Brother's Keeper?,Instead of looking at least compassionate, or look like they have pity for her. If not or i am totally off tract, please explain it to me.

Thanks so much!
-Tk

Greg responds...

When does Elisa cry in "Her Brother's Keeper"?

Response recorded on August 19, 2000

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Abigail Thorne writes...

Did a lot of people see the Gargoyles during the Times Square Battle in "Reawakening"? I know they were just barely on the evening news, but I'm talking about the large number of police officers and civillians at the scene. There were several points where the clan (especially the Trio on the car) was fighting out in the open, exposed by headlights and everything. And I could have sworn Matt saw Goliath, or at least realised that Goliath and Elisa were connected after she shouted out his name. But when the next season started, Matt still had no clue, and the Gargoyles were still generally regarded as a myth. Is that just an extreme case of good luck, or were they not as out in the open during the fight as I thought?

Greg responds...

Less than YOU thought, clearly. Matt and Elisa weren't together after Coldstone threw that car, so he didn't make ANY connection between her and Goliath. Also, we had the broken fire-hydrant obscuring things. But Matt and Morgan and QUITE A FEW OTHER PEOPLE did see the gargs, etc.

But that wasn't the first time. There was still no proof. Matt knew what he saw, but didn't know how to pursue it. The Daily Tattler reported the sightings, but the "legit" papers wouldn't touch it for just that reason. So the public at large did not believe.

Response recorded on August 18, 2000

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Matthais writes...

Hello! First of all, I thought I should say that I really love Gargoyles, I write role playing games and a lot of Fae concepts comes from the show. So, without further ado:

At the end of "Ill Met By Moonlight", Oberon says something like "From now on you and your clan shall be imune to all our powers" to Goliath. You have mentioned before that Oberon uses the royal "we", or "us", or "our", but says "I" if it would be confusing otherwise. This is certainly a confusing instance. I hope by "our" powers he dosn't mean the powers of all Fae? I couldn't remember if any of the clan are affected by Fae powers after Ill Met. (Unless "Future Tense" was after it?)

Greg responds...

Just his. And of course he "bends" THAT rule all the time too.

Response recorded on August 18, 2000

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Abigail Thorne writes...

In "The Thrill of the Hunt," Fox and Wolf were arrested when the photographer took pictures of them holding a women hostage. Don't you think that, while he was busy getting pictures, he would have taken the time to photograph Goliath too? I mean, that would seem a bit more noteworthy to me than two TV stars turning bad. Why didn't he?

Greg responds...

I don't think he intended to photograph Fox and Wolf either. He was stunned, paralized. But his camera had an auto-shutter and he was pressing down on the button. Fox and Wolf were standing right where his models had been. So he got them on film. Goliath was out of view. The photographer didn't have the presence of mind to do anything but stand there. Rewatch the episode. I'm not making this up. That's what happened.

Response recorded on August 17, 2000

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Ed writes...

"METAMORPHOSIS" - a big favourite of mine.

I liked Derek after "HER BROTHER'S KEEPER"; I suppose his situation was so believable and yet immensely gripping.

But "METAMORPHOSIS" stunned me. I remember that I timed this episode for some reason - I think I'd assumed up until then that cartoons were cut to exactly 20 minutes and wanted to check it out just out of curiosity. So when I was timing it I was thinking "yeah, right - how long until he gets his cure?" Despite everything, I thought they'd suddenly turn up with a cure eventually. Of course, when my watch told me the thing had been running 19 minutes, my eyebrow raised.

The ending was incredible. I was hooked. I just had to know what happened to Talon. In fact, GMTV never showed it. Eventually I caught "THE CAGE" on the Disney Channel (which I didn't have access to when they showed the episodes first time around). In fact, I think the first episode I saw on TDC that I hadn't already seen was "THE CAGE", which pleased me. That was great too.

I think the whole business of Sevarius' death play and the serum bothered me. How on earth could they have timed it so precisely that Sevarius had his serum to smash at the same time the "Gargoyles" arrived, and that he could be sure of a good way to "die".

Greg responds...

Well, keep in mind that the serum was phony. A test tube full of stuff could be ready at any time. And I think that hidden earpieces played a roll. We assumed that Lex got them into Gen-U-Tech without being spotted, but that's unlikely.

Just think about it. It's not as hard to time it as it might seem.

Response recorded on August 02, 2000

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Faieq Ali writes...

A very close observation always reveals an error,
(of course with Gargoyles this is a rare occasion):
At the end of CITY OF STONE part four, when the whole clan is watching the steel clan blow up and the sky is burning, When we see the feet of the clan, I saw an ankle braclet on a gargoyle (I think it was Goliath). As it is before Angela was even heard of, it can't be her and Demona was taken away by the Weird sisters. Is it an animation glitch or did one of the gargoyles go mad and think he was a female or something.

Greg responds...

Males can wear anklets. But what color was the gargoyle?

Response recorded on August 02, 2000

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Aaron (repost by Aris) writes...

Temptation> While this may pale at getting a body-bagged corpse through, don't Goliath and Demona go through a plate glass window in the course of their fight? I've been told that is, for want of a better term, a big no-no in children's television.

Greg responds...

Generally, it is. I remember that we had a big discussion about it. I don't remember how we got it through.

Response recorded on August 01, 2000

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Tana (repost by Aris) writes...

Greg,

Read your "Temptation" Ramble, and there were a few things that I would love to point out about that episode.
First off: I loved the leather jacket and HOW brooklyn folded his wings under his arms. He really did look good in that episode. ^_^

Second: The bike. It was a cool bike! BUT, the bikers when they see it say: "Cool Hog." Now, okay people who don't know much about motorcycles would refer to any bike as a hog, but these Biker's would know better. A Hog is a Harley Davidson...and Lex's creation looked nothing like a Harley. I dunno if that was you, or somebody else. But oh well, it was still a cool bike.

Third: The spell. Now Elisa says: "I want you to act, FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, as if you weren't under a spell." Wouldn't that in sense nullify some future spells on the big guy? I mean sure, Puck's spell worked well, cause he still ACTED like he wasn't under a spell. Were you maybe planning on keeping with this for future continuity?

oh, and I LOVE your little analizations (sp?) of the episodes. It really lets us get more into your head, and into the world of the Gargoyles.

Greg responds...

The 'hog' reference was ultimately my responsibility. (Obviously, I know next to nothing about motorcycles.) Though Michael and Brynne Reaves (the story editor and writer) can share some of the blame.

As for the spell, it would have to be a case-by-case thing. But most spells would not be affected.

Response recorded on August 01, 2000

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Angela (repost by Aris) writes...

Hello, Greg! In "City of Stone: Part 4" MacBeth was going to throw Demona over the bridge in Xanatos' castle in the selarium, but Goliath talked MacBeth out of it. By doing this, Goliath saved both Demona and MacBeth's lives. Now, Goliath could have gotten rid of 2 of his biggest enemies, but he convinced MacBeth that "Death is never the answer, life is." This is proof that Goliath still has feelings for Demona. He could have easily let MacBeth kill her if he didn't love her, but he still does. SO......my question to you is -- this is proof that Goliath still loves, or at least still has feelings for Demona, I am correct?? Please let me know, Greg. I really appreciate it!! :)

Greg responds...

I hate to encourage you. Because frankly Goliath would have said the same thing to Macbeth if Mac had been threatening to kill Xanatos or Tony Dracon or anybody. (By the way, Macbeth wasn't threatening to throw Demona off the bridge. He was threatening to impale her on a jagged piece of metal debris that had fallen from one of the upper floors.)

On the other hand, I never denied that Goliath still has strong feelings for and about Demona. When they finally capture her in "The Reckoning" he won't consider killing her. But what I do deny, is the notion that he still loves her romantically. That ended decisively with "Vows". But theirs is a complex relationship. And feelings don't go away, don't vanish. They simply alter with time and experience.

Response recorded on August 01, 2000

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Warrioress writes...

Hello again!

A question about "Deadly Force": my sister watched this show the first time it aired(I was at class, ugh:), and she is certain that in the scene where Broadway put Elisa on the gurney outside the hospital, she saw a quick shot of Broadway's hands, from his POV, covered with blood(right after he raises his hands and gasps). She didn't record the ep, and the next time it aired, the scene seemed to have been cut. Was there such a scene, that got cut out due to being too graphic?

In any event, I thought it was a great episode as far as stressing gun safety. I have a pro-gun friend who HATES the ep, though. He insists that it's "anti-gun". Was that the message you intended? I didn't think it was anti-gun, personally...

Greg responds...

I don't think anything was cut, but we may have down the blood in retakes. I know we did in the scene that ends act one, with Elisa lying on the floor.

I think it was more pro-gun-responsibility than anti-gun. Goliath uses a gun. Elisa has good reason to have one.

On the other hand, I won't pretend that it was PRO-gun. It was designed to give kids a healthy fear and respect for firearms. I'm not sure how ANYONE could object to that. But I'm sure Charleton Heston could find a way.

Response recorded on July 29, 2000

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Anonymous writes...

I just re-watched "Vows" on Toon Disney last night and I have two questions:

1. When and how did the Xanatos time loop begin?

2. If the loop had never existed, would Demona have become so evil and betrayed the clan?

Greg responds...

1. It's circular. It doesn't begin, it loops. Otherwise, it depends on your point of view.

2. Everything's part of the whole. I don't know how to remove pieces of the tapestry and answer how things would have gone without them.

Not to beat a dead horse, but as I'm sure you can ALL see, I'm not too fond of hypothetical questions.

Response recorded on July 29, 2000

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Entity writes...

Hello,

This is in response to your 'Leader of the Pack' memo. I noticed that the writer must have had a scene where the gargs' stone shards dissolve, because in the memo you mend it. However, I think that there may have been something there.

Don't misinterpret me. You know your series better than anyone else, yet it seems like a dissolving method would've been a good way to tie up the plot hole of what happens to all those stone shards.

What if the stone simply went into "hyper-rusting," where it loses cohesion over the course of the next few hours and eventually crumbles to dust, and is then swept away by the wind? Since the gargs usually perch on high places, the winds would even help in the break-down process. If not wind, then rain would accomplish the same thing.

This wouldn't conflict with "The Price" because Hudson uses a fresh stone shard. It hasn't had time to breakdown. And as for "Hunter's Moon," well, there are always inconsistencies in nature. It was just the little shard that could.

(Incidentally, it DID seem as if "The Price" was out-of-order. Not because of any detail or clue, but just the feel. It didn't seem to fit as the last ep before "Avalon." Moreover, if it aired AFTER the World Tour, as I presume it should have, that really would've helped with that section of the series - it was a bit thin ep-wise. And of course there's the way Xanatos' quest for immortality is confronted and pulled into question, and then shown progressing normally later on in the World Tour. Still, the episode is one of the best, no matter where it was positioned.)

Greg responds...

"The Price" wasn't THAT far out of order. It was definitely designed to air before "Avalon" and the World Tour. It originally aired even earlier. So that a couple episodes where Owen's hand was still flesh aired AFTER "The Price." But since Owen's hand was stone during "Kingdom", it's obvious that "The Price" wasn't meant to come after that. And therefore couldn't have taken place anytime after "Avalon". And your point about Xanatos' quest completely escapes me.

As for your dissolving shard theory, I never said that the shards were impervious to wind and weather. I just said they don't instantaneously start to dissolve. And they don't. Not in my Gargoyles Universe.

Response recorded on July 29, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

I thought that I'd ask you a question about Goliath's decision in "Awakening Part One" to just take Hudson with him instead of the entire clan when he went to pursue the Vikings. What is your stance on his motivation? Many fans of the series have different opinions on it. Some, such as myself, see it as simple "sound strategy" - that, as Goliath had said, it would be dangerous leaving the castle unguarded by any gargoyles while he was out driving the Vikings away from the castle. Others saw it as arrogance and overconfidence, citing his attitude that he could scare the Vikings away without any help. I thought that I'd ask you what your personal take is on this.

Greg responds...

1. I think it was fairly sound strategy on the assumption that you don't have traitors in your midst. As demonstrated in Awakening Part Two, it doesn't take a hell of a lot of gargoyles to route those Vikings. And Goliath's plan wasn't to route them but to scare them off. He and Hudson were probably enough. Not that there wasn't a risk involved, but I hardly would call it arrogance.

Obviously it was the wrong choice, but only because the duo who suggested the "scare" tactic were in fact planning to betray the castle.

Response recorded on July 29, 2000

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Isaac Kelley writes...

Alright, in Hunters Moon, my personal favorite episode, Demona almost unleashed a magical disease that would have killed all sentience. Gargoyles would be immune to it's effects thanks to the Praying Gargoyle.
Now we all know Goliath smashed the statue and saved the world. But what if this was not the case...
1. All humans would have died. Macbeth is obviously human. Would this not have qualified as death at Demona's hands, thus killing Demona (oops)?
2. If not, would she fall prey to it when she turned into human form? How would this work?
3. Would this spread to Avalon and/or the isle of the New Olympians?
4. How would it affect... Oberon's Children?
5. ...New Olympians?
6. ...Gargoyle clones?
7. Any other effects?

Thanks for your time. Love your rambles, by the way, look forward to next season's rambles.

Greg responds...

More hypothetical questions... YAY!

1. I've answered this many times before. Try looking through the Demona or Macbeth archives. Briefly, it would depend on Demona's intent.

2. I'm sure she thought she was safe.

3. No reason why it wouldn't spread to New Olympus. No reason why it would spread to Avalon.

4. Potentially not at all.

5. Kill most of them probably.

6. Not at all.

7. Anyone who asks hypothetical questions based on untread pathes would die. :)

Response recorded on July 27, 2000

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Anonymous writes...

In the mirror, Elisa looks in the mirror and when she hears
Demona, she looks away. But her reflection stays the same.
Is this because of the magic possessed by the mirror, or is
it an animation glitch?

Greg responds...

The former.

Response recorded on July 26, 2000

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Puck40 (repost by Aris) writes...

Ooooooh, thought myself up a couple of questions. I was thinking, Puck... he always seems to be one step ahead of everybody, with the possible exception of Titania <who I don't know if *anyone* is more clever than>. I mean, one step ahead of Oberon in The Gathering, Demona in The Mirror. Probably one of the most clever beings in the show, with more secrets than most. I'm sure he has a bag full of em more.

I mean, he did the whole Goliath being lost for 40 years, when it would've actually been Brooklyn for Timedancer, I doubt its a freak chance. To me, this shows him being one step ahead. Xanatos naming his son Alexander <though given he could've confided in Owen ahead of time>. Thailog dying in the "Clone Wars", if that wasn't an outright finger pointing at the amusement park clone episode, I don't know what is.
So my question.....

Sure... Puck wanted to get the Pheonix Gate from Goliath. But given that he seems to have more knowledge than most of the future<putting his own fun spins on it>....
1) Did Puck mind that Goliath threw the Gate in the Time Portal?
2) Did Puck intend the Gate for that ultimate destination in the first place?
3) If 2 is no.... Was one of Pucks reasons for trying to snag the gate from Goliath, Just so he could try and cheat the time paradox of where the Gate was supposed to ultimate end up<being lost>?

and last but not least....

4) Did Puck have any encounters with a Timedancing Brooklyn in his past? <that would explain *so* much>

Thanks for answering the questions. Or giving smart ass responses, either or, thanks for taking the time to read em.
~puck40

Greg responds...

1. Yes. I know it would be "cool" if that was ALL part of Puck's plan, but I don't want to undercut FUTURE TENSE itself.
2. No.
3. No.
4. Maybe...

Response recorded on July 26, 2000

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Lexy (repost by Aris) writes...

Nope..still not done yet..

Ok, I put this in a separate post _just_ in case.

1) Could you tell us what the episode, "Ransom" would have been like if you had had more control over it?

I put this in a separate post cuz..as you may notice you have answered this one from me before. I admit that. Its just that when you did it was awful vague. I was just wondering if right now you could tell us something more besides, "It was pretty much the same plot except the kidnappers were from Avalon." Ok they were from Avalon?

2) Would we have seen these characters in any episodes after Ransom?

We never saw Puck in TGC. But im SURE Alex getting kidnapped would have warrented a Puck episode;)

3) Would Puck have been the first one to know and not his parents?

Everyone got together trying to figure out how to go about getting Alex back

4) In the ep you had planned, would it have been more of a Puck/Lex teamup?

5) Where would've the mystery characters from Avalon taken our lil prince?

U know..Q's like that?

Pulezz?;)

Greg responds...

1. Is that quotation an actual quotation or a paraphrase? I can't imagine that's what I wrote. It certainly was never going to be the same plot. It was a Tricksters story. Initially it was to include Owen/Puck, Raven, Anansi and Coyote. Plus Lex and the Family Xanatos. I think as time has gone on, I would have dropped Anansi and Coyote from this one. Focused more on Raven as the Trickster/Villain. Saved the multi-Trickster episode for another story.

2. In that season or ever?

3. Uh, I don't pretend to have every little detail worked out. I never actually wrote the story, I simply proposed it. They took a kernel of it and turned it into Ransom.

4. Probably.

5. Don't know.

Response recorded on July 26, 2000

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Silver Falcon story memo...

I'm not sure when I'll get around to viewing the next episode of Gargoyles with my family, but I thought I'd get ready to ramble by posting my November, '94 memo to story editor Cary Bates. This was Cary's first Gargoyles script, so he was still new to the characters, which was one of the reasons he started with a single gargoyle story. Just Broadway, Elisa and a little Matt, basically.

You'll notice in what follows that some of the big twists still weren't present at this stage. We just hadn't cracked it fully yet. As I recall, Development Associate Eddie Guzelian suggested making the OLD MAN into Dominic Dracon. I was probably resistant a bit at first, just because of how much work that change would involve. But we all realized that Eddie's idea made the story much, much better. So the change was made...

Anyway, here's the memo, unedited as usual:

WEISMAN 11-7-94

Notes on "The Silver Falcon" Outline...

GENERAL CONCERNS
My main problem is that as a mystery story, this is a bit of a dud. We want to stump our audience, but here, we're cheating to do it. There's no way they could figure out where the diamonds are. We don't show them any options but the red herring. And if we did show them the true location, the answer becomes too obvious, and frankly not tricky enough. There's a silver falcon gargoyle on top of the speakeasy. There's another on top of the building across from Malone's office. We check both. One has it. One doesn't.

We need a double entendre here somewhere. We're looking for a silver falcon, and it turns out to be something that isn't literally that. Or in this case, Malone is being literal -- the jewels are in the silver falcon across from his office. But for most of the episode, we're looking for a more obscure answer, i.e. the speakeasy itself. Best not to have a literal silver falcon gargoyle in the vault at the speakeasy.

Even so, it's pretty straightforward. So let's make the whole situation more mysterious. Let's not learn what Matt was up to quite so fast. Let's not have Elisa be a Mace Malone expert. Let's not learn about the loot at all until act three. Let's misdirect more.

We also need secondary suspects. I suggest the Illuminati. That's the name of the Secret Society that Matt's always going on about. It'll be a huge red herring, if even Matt thought he was investigating the Illuminati, when in truth he stumbled on something considerably more mundane. For us, this would accomplish two goals. One, it misdirects Broadway, Elisa and the audience. Two, it sets us up for a future story where we actually use the Illuminati.

THEME
You get major points here. The theme is partnership, and it's presented clearly. Let's just give it more of an arc. Elisa doesn't have to be thrilled to have Sam Broadway Spade as a partner at first. She learns to appreciate the back-up.

S&P
You need to start thinking about the Audience you're writing for. Vogel's murder in the other premise, was never gonna fly. Likewise, here, a major clue revolving around alcohol consumption is definitely out. I wouldn't be afraid to do a story about alcohol, if we were really going to focus on that issue, but not as a throw away.

BROADWAY
Don't make him or his rookery brothers too young. They can have the occasional childlike response, but don't overdue it. Showing them enjoying a cartoon is one thing. Generalizing that they always are watching cartoons makes them sound like kids. Think of 19 or 20 year old Viet Nam Vets. These guys are warriors.

Also, when he's stone, Broadway is WAY TOO HEAVY for Elisa to budge.

And as flesh, Broadway getting shot is like anybody getting shot. Fatal. Or maybe he'd just bleed to death before sunrise. Even if sunrise were close, without surgery to remove the bullets, he wouldn't heal. Basically, what I'm getting at is that the gargoyles are NOT invulnerable.

DRACON AND GLASSES
Dracon is young and hungry. He's tough, violent, savvy, sarcastic. It's not that he can't get angry, but please resist the temptation to show him throwing temper-tantrums -- ranting (and whining) like a cliché d foiled villain.

He's got money, but he doesn't have the high-tech resources of a Xanatos. We have to be sparing with our use of that stuff. Which does not mean we can have massive gun battles with real bullets. (For S&P reasons.)

And if Dracon is not Xanatos, Glasses is not Owen. Glasses shouldn't quietly clear his throat so that he can feed his boss a plan. It's not that Glasses is stupid, but he's not the brains behind the organization either. He's an aggressive, tough and violent street thug in expensive clothes.

Let's also keep clear on Dracon's motivations and how they differ from Elisa's. He wants the loot, but he doesn't want to have to flee to South America with it. He's crossed the line by kidnapping two cops. He's going to have to kill them.... So he frees Elisa to follow her to the diamonds? Major problems all around. 1) Why does he think Elisa will be able to find them? 2) Why does he think she's even going to try after she's freed her partner? She has no motivation for finding the loot. She's a cop who's out to save her partner and bust the guy who kidnapped them both. (It's not that I don't buy her being curious. But that can wait until after Dracon is in custody.) 3) After she drops Matt off at her place, why don't Dracon's men sneak in and kill the unconscious detective? After all, they can't let him live. What are they waiting for? For him to wake up and come take them out? Etc.

Also, blowing up Matt's apartment is cool, but it has to feel like more of a last resort. Dracon doesn't want to draw any more attention to Matt's disappearance than necessary.

And, please note in your script that Dracon has a white streak in his hair from his previous encounter with the gargoyles.

CHAVEZ & BLUESTONE
Please do not play Maria as a callous boss, who doesn't care that one of her detectives has gone missing for two days. And yes, Matt's into secret society's and the like, but he's not the type to blow off work for two days in a row. Despite Matt's paranoia/hobby, he's a good partner and a good cop, someone that Elisa and Maria can count on.

On the other hand, Matt isn't psychic. He's seen gargoyles at a distance, but he knows nothing about them. Certainly, he has no idea of Elisa's connection to them. There's no way he'd casually decide that a "gargoyle" helped them crack a case. Why would it?

And we must resist the constant temptation to knock Matt out so that he doesn't find out the truth. We don't need it here. So I cut the drugged sleep.

HACKER
Let's change Hacker into a real character that we might want to re-use later. An FBI agent who used to be Matt's partner before Matt was booted out of the bureau for investigating the Illuminati Society. The bureau doesn't officially acknowledge the Illuminati's existence. (All this will be a revelation to Elisa. She didn't know Matt had ever been in the bureau. Her surprise about this will add to the general feeling of mystery in the story.) Matt is persona non grata with the FBI, and Agent Smith (or whatever) can no longer be seen with him, which explains the clandestine meeting.

LIBRARY
For future reference, the library is the other face of the same building that houses the twenty-third police precinct, above which is the clock tower where the gargoyles live. The library is closed at nights, and Goliath often reads down there. But I've cut the library scene, so it doesn't matter here.

BEAT OUTLINE
ACT ONE
1. Make the setting someplace other than a slaughterhouse, but otherwise MATT's kidnapping can play pretty much the way you had it.

2. Two days later at ELISA's place. BROADWAY is there to watch his video of the detective movie, (because Hudson is sick of him playing it over and over again on the tv set at the clock tower). Elisa gets a phone call from CHAVEZ. (Intercut.) Matt took some personal time to investigate Bigfoot or something. But he hasn't checked back in 48 hours, which isn't like him. And there's no answer at his place. Elisa hasn't heard from him either. This isn't good. Elisa's going to check on him on her way to work. Chavez makes Elisa promise to call for back-up if there's any trouble. Elisa says, yeah, sure, whatever.... (But she doesn't really think she needs any help.) Broadway overhears and wants to come along. He'll act as her back-up, her partner until she solves the mystery of the missing Matt. But Elisa's got one partner already. She doesn't need two. She'll handle this alone.

3. Matt's apartment. Elisa's outside Matt's door. She rings bell, knocks, calls for him. What she doesn't know is that the place has already been ransacked and that the ransack-er, a man dressed all in black and wearing a black SKI-MASK, is still inside. Plus another, bigger man in a trench coat and slouch hat (think Ben Grimm) is out on Matt's small terrace/balcony. (We should momentarily think these two men are working together -- the man on the balcony acting as look-out for Mr. Ski-Mask inside, but in reality, Ski-Mask is one of Dracon's men, and the guy on the balcony is Broadway. So in fact, Ski-Mask is unaware of Broadway's presence.) Elisa reaches above the door and finds Matt's spare key on the molding. She does not take out her gun. She is not expecting trouble. But inside, as she unlocks the door, Ski-Mask has his gun out and ready. Which is more than enough justification for Broadway to rip the terrace door right off and reveal himself, in a decidedly monstrous fashion. (NOTE: He does not crash through the glass!!) The clothes he's wearing should increase the scare factor, not make him look silly. By the time Elisa gets the door open, the terrified thug is pushing right past her and high-tailing it down the empty hallway with Broadway (who pauses only to say "Got you covered, partner") in close pursuit.
Ski-Mask makes it to the waiting elevator, and the doors close before Broadway can get to them. But Broadway pulls the elevator doors open and grabs the moving cable, which strains against him, until the elevator stops. Then he leaps down (about a flight) onto the roof of the elevator, shaking it's occupant. He rips open the trap door and yanks the guy up. By the time a stunned Elisa gets to the elevator, she barely misses getting hit by the flying thug whom Broadway has tossed out of the shaft. Ski-Mask crashes into the corridor wall and is temporarily knocked out.
Broadway climbs out of the shaft only to face the wrath of...ELISA. She definitely isn't pleased. But she's not going to fight with Broadway out in the open. They'll discuss things privately, in Matt's apartment. She indicates the thug. "Better bring him too."
Inside Matt's place, Elisa searches the thug, while she verbally chews Broadway out for interfering. She removes the ski-mask, but she doesn't recognize the guy. She does find a page that the thug clearly ripped from Matt's calendar with today's date, a time and a specific location (just saying Central Park isn't enough, it's a big park). Ski-Mask starts to come to just as Broadway suggests checking Matt's computer to see if they can find any info there. The thug panics, tipping Elisa off that the thug had rigged the computer to blow. She tries to stop Broadway from flipping the switch, but it's too late.
Cut to outside Matt's window. There is a brief high-pitch whine, during which Broadway leaps out holding both Elisa and the thug -- and then BOOM!! The force of the explosion propels them across the gap to another lower rooftop. (Broadway can't spread his wings because of his trench coat.) They land hard. Broadway drops both humans and the momentum nearly takes him over the roof. Elisa helps him up, and by the time they turn around, the thug has split.
Now Elisa is really ticked off. But Broadway points out that he did just save her life. Only after creating the dangerous situation in the first place, Elisa reminds him. Broadway's embarrassed, but tenacious. Look, it's obvious that Matt was working alone and got into something way over his head. If Elisa tries to handle this alone, the same thing could happen to her. We get tight on Elisa. What will she decide?

4. Elisa arrives alone at the meeting described on the page from Matt's calendar. She cautiously approaches a man, who turns out to be Matt's ex-partner from the FBI, AGENT SMITH (or whatever). It's tense at first, but once Elisa identifies herself, Agent Smith is very cooperative. Matt's told him that Elisa is all right. A good partner. (Elisa's a little embarrassed.)
So Smith fills her in. As usual, Matt's been trying to prove the existence of the Illuminati Society. He's been investigating a gangster from the 1920's who was rumored to have ties to the Illuminati and vanished mysteriously on March 22, 1924. Matt had found a letter, that he wanted Smith to authenticate. The letter was hand-written on Malone's pre-printed stationary:

MACE MALONE
3150 Third Avenue #45D, New York

March 21, 1924

D.D.,
Our little Society is turning a nice profit.
Everyday I see the Silver Falcon, I smile. You
would too, if you knew what I knew.

Your Senior Partner (and don't you forget it),

Mace

The ink and paper do date from the 20s and the signature checks out too. The letter is legit. But where did Matt get it? Smith doesn't know. What's the Silver Falcon? Smith doesn't know. Who's "D.D."? Smith doesn't know.
Smith isn't happy to hear that Matt is missing. If he can help Elisa in any way.... But Elisa insists she can handle it from here. So Smith takes off. Elisa stands there examining the letter. She seems to be talking to herself. The only real lead it offers is Malone's address, but what good could it be 70 years later.
And Elisa may never find out. Suddenly, we discover that Elisa is surrounded by three BAD GUYS, led by Ski-Mask. It looks bad.

ACT TWO
5. Elisa calls out: "Broadway, NOW!!" And Broadway comes out from wherever he's been hiding and takes out two of the thugs. But Ski-Mask hops into a getaway car that pulls up fast and takes off faster. Elisa handcuffs the two unconscious thugs to something, but she's worried. She doesn't know if the escaped thug heard her talking about Malone's old address. They have to get there before the Illuminati blow it up like they did Matt's apartment. Broadway sweeps her up and they're off.

6. 3150 Third Avenue. 45th floor. Elisa's inside. Broadway watches from the roof. (We need to somehow establish that Elisa and Broadway both might have seen the Falcon-heads across the street -- and yet we need to do it in a way that doesn't immediately tip off our audience. One thing that would help is if the chrome falcons were now literally black with NYC soot and grime.)
There's a light on in 45D. An OLD MAN answers Elisa's knock. He's an accountant, working late. She realizes it's a long shot, but wonders if he knows anything about Mace Malone. Turns out that he's something of a Mace Malone buff. That's why he rented this particular office. He's got Mace's original desk and everything. Here, sit down.
Mace's mysterious disappearance makes him a curiosity, and every once in a while someone stops by and asks questions. Why just the other day, that nice red-headed boy was here. Elisa realizes he's talking about Matt. What did the old man tell Matt? Nothing. He ran out of here, as soon as he saw the picture. What picture? This one. It's an old photograph of Malone and a couple of other men (at least one of which is Dracon's grandfather) in front of a non-descript building. Does the old man know where this was taken? Sure, that's Malone's old speakeasy, the Silver Falcon. He gives Elisa the same lower east side address he had given to Matt, and the same caveat... the Falcon was torn down ages ago, they built something else there. Elisa thanks him as she ushers him out of his own office. It's temporarily unsafe here. She asks him to call Chavez and fill her in on everything he told Elisa and Matt, (and also about the two hand-cuffed thugs). She's heading straight to the lower eastside, as the crow flies, so to speak.

7. Elisa and Broadway arrive at the scene-one location where we last saw Matt. They soon discover GLASSES and his salvage operation. He's clearly digging for something, but what? Matt is there. Tied up and blind-folded. But before they can get near him, Broadway's weight collapses the wooden staircase, and they're discovered. A brief battle ensues. Glasses and his MEN use their semi-hi-tech construction equipment as make-shift weapons. Plus maybe a stick of dynamite or something. There's a cave-in that buries Elisa and Broadway. Glasses turns to Matt and taunts him. So much for the cavalry, Bluestone -- That was your partner. And she's dead.

8. Cut to a small cavity, with-in the cave-in. It's pitch black except for Broadway's glowing eyes. Elisa asks Broadway if he's o.k. He says he is but his voice is clearly straining. As she fumbles for her pocket flashlight, Elisa points out that there can't be much air in here. Will Broadway be able to use his claws to dig them out? Broadway has a couple of problems with that. The main one being that he's starting to feel real tired and that can only mean one thing. What? But Broadway is strangely silent and his eyes stop glowing. Elisa finally clicks on her flashlight and looks. Broadway's frozen in stone.

ACT THREE
9. Outside, the sun has come up on a new day. Inside the cavity, Elisa realizes that when the cave-in occurred, Broadway acted as a living pillar, straining under the weight of a lot of rock and dirt, protecting them both from being buried alive. Now he stands there frozen like a medieval column. There isn't anything she can do but start digging.

10. Out in the main cave, Matt convinces Glasses to try and dig Elisa out. She's probably dead anyway, but she might have Malone's letter. If she does, Glasses' boss can stop looking for it. Glasses isn't dumb. He knows that Matt is simply trying to save his partner, but he can't deny Matt's sound logic regarding the letter, so he sets his men working.

11. Dissolve to a short while later. Glasses' men are getting close to Elisa, who's dug a little of the way out but is running out of air. She can hear them getting close, and she can't let them find Broadway in his vulnerable state. So to protect him, she pulls down one of the rocks above her own little dugout, and allows herself to be buried alive. Fortunately, she's timed it right. Glasses digs her out, but to all appearances, she's lucky to be alive and the guy in the trench coat is still buried under all that rock. She has Malone's letter. So the guy can stay buried.
Finally, DRACON arrives with the Ski-Mask guy from Matt's apartment and the old man from Mace's old office. Ski-Mask got to the old man before he could call Chavez, so there's no help on the way. (And Elisa realizes that the few minutes it would have cost her to call Chavez herself would have been well worth it.)
Dracon's fairly annoyed that Glasses hasn't finished digging through to the vault yet. Glasses explains the delay and produces the letter. But Dracon, shakes his head. We don't have to worry about someone else getting the letter, if we already have the loot. Dig out that vault!!
Loot? Vault? Dracon? What's going on? Matt fills Elisa in. Malone's letter didn't refer to the Illuminati at all, but to a bank robbing syndicate that included both Malone and Dracon's grandfather, Dominic Dracon (aka D.D.). Malone disappeared before he got around to telling Dominic where the loot from all their heists was. But the letter suggests that it might be here at the speakeasy. It wasn't found when the place was demolished decades ago, so Tony is convinced that there must have been an underground vault.
But how did Matt get involved? Matt had found the letter, among the younger Dracon's papers when Dracon was arrested months ago for grand theft. (Dracon's case is still pending. He's out on bail.) Matt investigated on his own, thinking he was on the trail of the Illuminati, and accidentally stumbled on this. Dracon kept him alive, because they wanted to make sure the letter was out of circulation. They didn't want anyone else stumbling on their little operation, before they had the loot. Matt apologizes for not keeping his partner up to speed. He really screwed up by acting alone.
Finally, Glasses hits pay dirt. There is a vault. Soon, they're burning through that. They break through. And inside... nothing. Nothing but a note:

Sorry, D.D.

Guess again.

Mace

Dracon is furious. But Elisa's not surprised. If the loot had been there, Dominic would have found it when he first received the letter seventy years ago. He must have been pretty confident it was here, or he wouldn't have gotten rid of Mace the day he received the letter. Dracon's a bit embarrassed by Elisa's superior powers of deductive reasoning. Embarrassed enough to tell Glasses to "take care of" the three hostages. But Elisa stays their hands by telling them she's figured out where the loot is hidden. Dracon demands to know where. But Elisa's not dumb. If she tells now, then she, Matt and the Old Man are wormfood. She's willing to take Dracon there. But it's pretty public, they'll have to wait until after dark, and we push in on the mound of dirt where Broadway is buried.

12. Let's indicate some passage of time here. The sun sets. Then we return to the underground chamber. No one's there at all. Broadway bursts from the cave in. He's panicked about Elisa. He finds Mace's second note and reads it with great difficulty. Will he figure everything out?

13. In a helicopter above the city, Dracon, Glasses and Ski-Mask are escorting Elisa, Matt and the old man to the roof of the building opposite Malone's old office. Matt whispers a warning: "They'll kill us as soon as you show them where the loot is." But Elisa says, "Don't worry, I've called for back-up. I think."
The building's too old to be equipped with a heli-pad, but Glasses manages to get close enough to allow Dracon and Elisa to jump onto the roof. Once on the roof, Elisa explains that from Malone's desk across the street, you can see these black bird-heads. And sure enough when she wipes the grime of seventy years away, she reveals the silver-like chrome beneath. Dracon probably has to check a couple heads, before finding the little bag of precious jewels that Mace had the bank loot converted to.
Now all Dracon has to do is get rid of his trio of hostages. He invites Elisa to step off the side of the building. And to his surprise she does.
Of course, she did it because she had already spotted Broadway, who catches her. (He didn't know anything about the loot or Dominic Dracon. But Mace's 2nd note invited "D.D." to guess again. The falcons on this building were the only other place Broadway could think of to check out. He's just glad he guessed right and that he was in time.)
Ultimately, Broadway takes out the chopper, without revealing himself to Matt or the old man. With Matt's help, Glasses, Ski-Mask and Dracon are all taken down. (This can all play largely as you had it.)
Matt thanks his partner Elisa for pulling his fat out of the fire.

14. And in the TAG at the clock tower, Elisa thanks her partner Broadway for doing the same.

That's it. Call me if you have any questions.


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Chapter XVIII: "The Mirror"

Story Editor: Brynne Chandler Reaves
Writer: Lydia C. Marano

Arguably the best single episode of the series. The animation is fluid, dynamic and very strong. The writing is sharp, even quite funny over and over. And yet, dramatically the story is still potent. It really advances the Goliath & Elisa romance arc. Changes Demona permanently. And introduces Puck -- and by extension, the entire third race: The Children of Oberon. All in a mere 22 minutes.

It's also very gratifying for me. A bit of a vindication. As you may have seen from the memos I wrote to Brynne & Lydia, there was some considerable resistance to the notion that none of the characters would notice their own personal change from one species to another. Most of my collaborators thought the idea was way too complicated to pull off. I argued that it might seem complex, but in fact it would play cleaner on screen -- and funnier and more directly to theme. In my mind, another title for this episode could have been -- had we already not been using it for our Werefox episode -- "Eye of the Beholder", because all the transformed characters really noticed was when someone else was "OTHER". Being a monster or being "normal" was based on their point of view, not any objective look in the mirror. [As it is, the title is the kind I like. Simple, objective and yet metaphoric. At one point, it was titled: "Mirror, Mirror". But we simplified it even more.]

But anyway, when the human Brooklyn, Lex and Broadway are confronted by "Gargoyles", the scene is an intentional mirror of the scene from AWAKENING, PART ONE where Brooklyn says, "If they think we're beasts and monsters..." Again, this is playing with the idea of "beasts and monsters" being merely in the eye of the beholder. The species have reversed, but the situation is exactly the same simply because the Trio remain in the minority. I suppose that's one thing that X-Men's mutants have in common with the Gargs. Both are a metaphor for being part of a minority. Feared almost automatically.

On the other hand, when Elisa is transformed, she believes that Goliath & Co. have been transformed into something like her. I think her immediate reaction is very telling about how she ALREADY felt about Goliath at that point. She's thrilled. She throws her arms about him. Now they're the same species. There's no impediment to their love. What's interesting is that if you stopped and asked Elisa under normal circumstances whether she would wish for Goliath to be transformed into a human, the answer would most certainly be "No." She knows that being a Gargoyle is fundamental to who he is. You can't change that without changing him -- and yet in that instant, in that unguarded moment, her desire to be with him overwhelms that rational knowledge. She's just happy.

At the museum, Elisa looks at herself in the mirror. She then moves, but the reflection holds. That was the idea of one of our board artists. A little clue that the mirror is magic. (It's not an animation error.)

Family Reactions #1

During that museum chase, my wife wanted to know why no alarms were going off. I figure Demona or the thieves just shut them off.

Erin didn't realize that that was Elisa dressed as a security guard at first. We were trying to withhold that information for a bit.

"Titania's Mirror", "The Children of Oberon", "Oberon sent me." We were laying groundwork to expand the entire series' base. But I don't know if back then I knew that much about what if anything I had planned specifically for Titania & Oberon.

Anymore than I knew then what I'd do with the "Dracula's Daughter" reference. But we try not to waste anything.

Coming up with that "Children of Oberon" name was a struggle. And so many people have asked me since whether or not Oberon is literally everyone's father, I almost regret landing on that choice. Our thought process is largely present in the episode when Goliath et al, go through various noms: Fair Folk, Dark Elves, Changelings, Shape-Shifters. Of course, at the time we were misusing the term Changeling. I think that was Odo's influence frankly, but I should have known better. I suggested "The Oberati". But the Reaves didn't care for that. I think they thought it sounded too much like an Italian sports car.

I do love the moment when Brooklyn cites Shakespeare's play as a sort of reference work on the Children. I hope we sent a few people to the library with that line. Did we?

I also love Hudson's line in response to Elisa's question: Are they real?

Hudson: "As real as I am, if the stories be true." It's full of delicious dramatic irony. If you can suspend belief on a bunch of gargoyles, then this shouldn't be a problem for you. I love things that work on multiple levels.

I also love Hudson's "Be careful what you wish for" line.

We were trying to show a bit here how Demona had managed to operate in the modern world up to this point. One of the thieves has clearly worked for Demona before without ever having laid eyes on her. Of course, showing Demona's M.O. here, was like giving it a swan song. Because after this episode, though she clearly doesn't realize it yet, her life is going to get MUCH easier. Being a human during the day is a great boon to all her scheming. I'm very curious about everyone's reaction to that? Shock? Amusement? I also tried to work very hard so that in that last two minutes of epilogue, everyone would get that she only was human during the day. I was very afraid that the audience would think she was permanently transformed into a human. Was anyone confused? Or was anyone surprised that Puck's revenge/gift STUCK? We wouldn't really explore the change until HIGH NOON. Had you forgotten about it by then?

Family Reactions #2
As Demona's casting the spell that will summon Puck. (Which I always thought was very cool, with the feather and all.)
Benny: "That's a magic mirror. Is Demona going in there?"
Erin: "Puck's gonna come out."

As I've mentioned before, during the writing of this story we figured out that Owen was Puck. So to play fair we dropped a hint here. Demona (who knows) says to Puck: "You serve the human. You can serve me." Puck changes the subject, replying "Humans [note the plural] have a sense of humor, you have none." This was done intentionally to distract the audience away from the hint we had just dropped. But obviously, in hindsight, it's a clear reference to Owen serving Xanatos. Anyone get it right off the bat? Anyone even take note of the line the first time? Originally, the line read, "You serve him, now you can serve me." With the "him" referring to Xanatos. But our S&P executive was afraid the "him" could be taken to mean Satan. I know that seems silly now. But keep in mind, we were very paranoid back then about the show being attacked for promoting devil worship. So we made the change.

Sensitive Broadway: "Maybe even love." It's a nice moment. Wistful.

Puck reminds Demona that the mirror isn't "Aladdin's lamp". At the time, the Aladdin series was still in production at Disney. So that's a bit of an in-joke.

And how about that: Demona is still carrying a torch for Goliath. On some level, she wants him more than almost anything. Yet she continually allows her hatred to get in the way. And the irony is, that at this point, pre-Vows it isn't yet too late for them. But her actions further serve to cement the Goliath/Elisa relationship. More now than ever before.

Puck/Brent Spiner is just fantastic. I love that "charming personality" line. And "You don't know what you're asking, believe me." And "I'll do EXACTLY as you asked." And "My mistake." And "A very long nap." He's just so rich.

Plus the boarding and animation on Puck is just great. As is the sound work that accompanies him zipping around.

I always wanted Puck to be the one character who could break the fourth wall and talk directly to the audience. Every time he appeared, we'd put a line or two in the script that was addressed to the audience. And every time, Frank or Dennis Woodyard would cut it out of the board. They didn't like breaking the fourth wall. (A lot of guys don't. I tried to do that with Max on Max Steel, but Richard Raynis and Jeff Kline wouldn't allow that either.) Oh, well....

Puck also establishes that Oberon's Children generally use rhyming spells instead of Latin or Hebrew or whatever. (Thus making life slightly -- but ONLY slightly -- easier on me and the writers.) But Puck isn't too formal: "Human's love a battle hearty, so does Puck, come on, let's Party!" Fun. (And I like Brooklyn's line, "Party's over." too.)

Family Reactions #3
When Elisa's transformed into a gargoyle.

Erin: "She looks cute." [I very much agree. Though I always wonder where her red jacket goes.]

Ben then asked why she was transformed.

Beth explained that Demona didn't want Elisa to be human anymore.

Erin then corrects my wife and explains that Puck is tricking Demona.

KIDS GET IT! Adults need to pay closer attention!

Goliath suddenly has lust in his heart:
G: "I never realized when you were human just how beautiful you were."
E (with a smile): "You mean you thought I was ugly?"
G: "Uh... careful! Updraft!!"
Man, that guy is smooth.

Anyway, that's one of my all-time favorite exchanges. I think it reveals so much. Somewhere underneath, Goliath has been attracted to who Elisa IS deep-down -- at least since AWAKENING, PART THREE. But he never thought of her as a potential love interest. He wasn't brought up liberally enough to think that way. After all, she has no wings, no tail. And those human shaped feet!

But suddenly, she's revealed as a FEMALE. Now, even when she goes back to being human, his perspective is permanently altered. Hers, however, is not. She's already consciously had those thoughts. Consciously rejected them. So at the end of the episode, he wants to discuss these (for him) new feelings -- but she does not. And the sun helps shut him up.
G: "That's not what I meant."
E: "But that's the way it is."
Another of my all-time favorite exchanges. (I'm really partial to things involving the G/E relationship. I know, I know, I'm a romantic sap.]

I also like the ongoing confusion. Elisa: "Everyone in Manhattan has been turned into... HUMANS!" Goliath: "No, no, no, no, no." And when the Gargoyles are changed into humans, Brooklyn is so sure that they've always been humans, it's funny. Like that moment in CITY OF STONE, when he's convinced that the "statue of Elisa" is a bad likeness of her: "They got the nose wrong."

FYI, there was an honest attempt, within the logical parameters of what our gargs looked like, to make their human versions resemble the actors who played them. Thus Goliath has darker skin than the others, because Keith David is African-American. (Though otherwise Goliath really looks like Conan to me.) The bald Lex has brown hair and the bald Broadway has blond like Thom Adcox and Bill Fagerbakke respectively. Brooklyn resembles Jeff Bennett but with Brooklyn's white hair instead of Jeff's blond. And Hudson looks like Ed Asner with a beard. More or less. Thom Adcox is the one who most looked like the human version of his character.

Cool little touches:

Demona nudges an unconscious Puck with her tail.

She continues to call Hudson, "Old Soldier". Her tenth century "name" for him.

Her line about the "gift of being a gargoyle". I love that superior attitude.

Lexington's "Fun, but weird" line.

Hudson wrapping the sheet over the mirror.

Elisa and Demona have a brief "cat-fight" as Gargoyles. Not quite as diverting as the one they'll have as humans in High Noon. But it was nice to put them on equal physical footing for a change. Let them have it out.

Demona mentions that Puck isn't too tired to make himself "invisible to the crowd". This was us trying to plug a hole in our story. We felt it would undercut the mob's reactions to our newly human heroes if they had the same reaction to seeing Puck. And yet Puck clearly looks more human than Gargoyle. More "other". So we slid that line in to avoid the whole problem.

FAMILY REACTION #4

Beth laughed at Hudson's very Scots reading of "No doubt about it." Which is pronounced more like: "No doot aboot it."

More sappy stuff (which I love):

Goliath's line: "I'll always be there to catch you."

Elisa completely forgetting her fear of flying in order to save the MAN she loves.

That brief moment when both Elisa and Goliath are humans at the same time.

Hudson's wistful line about seeing the sun, just once.

Although it had little to do with the metaphor, we couldn't really resist the notion of showing Bronx transformed into a dog. We picked the biggest dog we could think of, a Wolfhound type, though a bulldog might have been more reminiscent.

In the script, Demona smashes the mirror upon seeing her human reflection in the glass. But somehow the scene never got animated. So we added the sound of the mirror being smashed to the exterior shot at the end. This was important in order to give the story full closure. The initial point of the episode was to prevent Demona from getting Titania's Mirror. Structurally, therefore, I couldn't allow her to keep it.

But no fear, later we introduced Oberon's Mirror (clearly part of a matching set) in THE GATHERING, PART ONE.

I wonder what all those Manhattanites thought when suddenly they realized they were all barefoot.


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GATHERING UPDATE

GOT SOME GOOD NEWS & BAD NEWS...

Bad news first, due to a family health crisis, storyboard artist Brad Rader will not be able to attend the Gathering next week.

But, the Good News: Storyboard Artist Victor Cook has stepped up to take his place. Vic worked on a good quarter of the series' second season including:

The Silver Falcon
Eye of the Beholder
Outfoxed
The Price
Avalon, Part Two
Golem
Sanctuary
Mark of the Panther
Bushido
Ill Met By Moonlight
The Reckoning
Possession
Hunter's Moon, Part Three

Specifically -- and among other things -- Vic designed the unique "Tale of the Panther Queen" Sequence in MARK OF THE PANTHER.

I'm sorry Brad won't be able to make it (we'll get him next year in L.A.), but I'm very pleased to announce that Vic Cook will be joining Character Designer Greg Guler, Voice Actor Thom "Lexington" Adcox and myself at the Gathering. Attending the San Diego ComicCon only wet my appetite for "the real thing". I can't wait.


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LSZ writes...

What's the Emir's real name?

Greg responds...

Why do you want to know?

Response recorded on July 24, 2000

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EZRIE BELIT writes...

Can you put some info about episodes "The Journey" and "Hunter's Moon"? I never saw those episodes.

Greg responds...

Uh, I guess so, though it seems to me that there are faster ways to get this "info" than waiting over two months for me to respond.

SPOILERS

"Hunter's Moon" was a three-parter. It introduced the modern-day decendents of the Canmore Clan, revealing that they were still hunting Gargoyles and Demona specifically. Demona meanwhile, was trying to destroy the human race using magic she had stolen centuries earlier. The Gargoyles and Elisa were in the middle of this costly conflict. Angela was nearly killed. Elisa briefly acquired a new romantic interest. The clock tower was destroyed. And Goliath was consumed by a very Demona-like need for vengeance. In the end, humanity was saved. One of the Canmores was arrested. Another was left a paraplegic. The third went nuts. Demona escaped. The gargoyles were caught on tape and revealed to the world. Xanatos invited them to return to the castle.

"The Journey" picks up shortly after the end of "Hunter's Moon". Goliath is bumming that humanity still has it in for the Gargs. A new threat has surfaced: THE QUARRYMEN. Led by John Castaway, this group is determined to wipe gargoyles off the map. Goliath goes to see Elisa. He's injured, and he and Elisa are forced to cross the city atop rooftops, while the Quarrymen pursue. One Quarryman, VINNIE (from "Vendettas") has a change of heart and holds Castaway off long enough for Goliath and Elisa to triumph.

Response recorded on July 18, 2000

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Another "Mirror" Memo...

Though I think it's one of our most rewarding episodes, it was a tough one to make come together. So after I received the first draft script on "The Mirror", I sent a second memo to Brynne. Here it is, UNEDITED:

WEISMAN 11-13-94

Notes on "The Mirror" Script...

O.k. The problems here seems to be mostly my fault. I haven't been able to make clear to you guys how I want our characters to react when they've been changed. It's been clear in my head. And for me the logic flows backwards from a scene I want to see where an average-human-pedestrian-who-has-been-turned-into-a-gargoyle sees one of our transformed-into-human-heroes and screams: "Look at that monster!! It's like some kind of horrible... HUMAN!!" The key is that the bystander actually uses the word "HUMAN", and that he says it with the same kind of fear and revulsion that we would normally hear (in a more typical episode) being used for the word "GARGOYLE".

In order to get both the revulsion into the word "Human" and a strongly negative reaction to our heroes' new human appearance, the bystander needs to believe that being a gargoyle is the way it's supposed to be. Therefore when the bystander's appearance was changed his mind-set must have been changed as well.

Working backwards from that goal, how would our main characters react to being changed?

THEIR MINDSET WOULD CHANGE SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH THEIR APPEARANCE:
Elisa is the first to be transformed. Thus, ELISA'S REACTION to being changed into A GARGOYLE is the surprising statement:

"Goliath, You've been changed into a gargoyle!"

Reasoning: Goliath &co. were always "the other" to Elisa. But when she was transformed, her mindset changed with her appearance. So she now believes that being a gargoyle is normal. Since, Goliath &co. now look "normal" to her, she figures that they must have been magically changed from being "the other" into being "normal"--i.e. they have been transformed into gargoyles.

[I realize this seems byzantine, but ultimately it'll be the most straightforward reaction on screen, short of having everyone entirely self-aware from the moment they change, (which just isn't as much fun to me). See how it plays out in beat #11. (Also #9, 13, 14 and 21.) If you're still not clear, please don't hesitate to call me.]

TENSION
Despite absurdist moments in this story, we must keep the tension and suspense running high, throughout.
--Don't reveal Elisa's presence at the museum until last possible second. Same with Goliath.
--Don't let Gargoyle's lose track of their objective for more than a line of dialogue here or there.
--Don't let the battle meander from place to place. Keep battle and chase scenes focused and specific.

WHAT THEY'VE BEEN WISHING FOR:
DEMONA'S WISHES
1. Get rid of humans, particularly Elisa.
2. Get rid of Goliath and Co.
3. Stop turning to stone during the day.

GOLIATH & ELISA'S WISH - To be together. (Elisa is slightly more self-aware than Goliath, but neither should specifically wish in dialogue to become the race of the other. It's too on the head.)

TRIO'S WISH - To assimilate.

CLARITY IN SCRIPT
O.K. TO USE: ELISA/GARGOYLE
HUMAN/"GARGOYLES"
GOLIATH/HUMAN
HUDSON/HUMAN
BROOKLYN/HUMAN
BROADWAY/HUMAN
LEXINGTON/HUMAN
OUR HEROES

DON'T USE: HUMAN/GARGOYLES
GARGOYLES/HUMANS
TRIO/HUMANS
Even for me, these were too confusing.

In group scenes, LIST ALL CHARACTERS IF NECESSARY.

BEAT SHEET
ACT ONE
1. Museum.
--Establish two security guards - but don't reveal that one of them is Elisa (or that Goliath is there).
--Demona breaks in and takes out the first guard.
--Second guard turns out to be Elisa, ready and waiting w/Goliath.
--Establish how much Demona hates humans in general, and Elisa specifically.
--Demona never gets as far as laser-grid around mirror.

2. Chase.
--Demona Escapes.
--And while Goliath and Elisa are chasing her...
Maybe inter-cut w/...

3. Museum.
--Thieves get past laser-grid to steal mirror.

4. Ext. Demona's house.
--The two thieves deliver mirror.

5. Int. Demona's house.
--Demona summons Puck.

6. Clock tower.
--Elisa arrives. They were duped. Mirror was stolen.
--Elisa's: So how bad is this? What can D do with that mirror?
--No one knows for sure, but it leads to the discussion of Oberon's Children.
--Refer here to Midsummer Night's Dream.
--Scotsmen called them "Fair Folk".
--Vikings called them "Dark Elves".
--Shape-shifters.
--Trio: Imagine what it would be like to shape-change. Fit in anywhere.
--Hint subtly at Elisa and Goliath's desires.

7. Demona's house.
--Make sure we know Puck's name here.
--Our Demona and Puck wish scene.
--Puck uses a rhyming spell.
--Puck's arms are pinned by chains, so magic energy comes out of his eyes.

8. Clock Tower.
--Elisa: All we can do is wait til Demona makes her move.
--Elisa transforms into a gargoyle.

ACT TWO
9. Clock Tower.
--Everyone including Bronx is pretty stunned by Elisa's change.
--She seems happy though.
-- Elisa: "This is wonderful. Goliath, you've been transformed into a gargoyle!"
--Goliath: "What?!"

10. Demona's House.
--Puck tells her the deed is done.
--Demona wants to escalate. Every human in Manhattan.
--Puck again stresses difficulty of "big wishes".
--Demona yanks chain: "Answer truthfully. Can it be done?"
--Puck: Yes, but not from here.

11. Clock Tower.
--Bronx sniffs at Elisa.
--Goliath: "We've always been gargoyles. You're the one who's been changed."
--Elisa: "I've always been a gargoyle. I think I'd know it if I wasn't."
--Goliath: "How did we first meet?"
--Elisa: "I fell off a skyscraper; you glided down and caught me."
--Goliath: "If you always had wings, why would you need me to catch you."
--Elisa: "I can't glide with these."
--Goliath: "Yes, you can."
--AND OFF THEY GO.
--Hudson and Trio stare at each other for a beat and then follow.
--Bronx is left behind.

12. WORLD TRADE CENTER
--Puck and Demona materialize w/mirror.
--P: This is gonna take a while.
--He begins visually gathering magical energy. Just a little at first.

13. Flight over the city.
--Goliath NEVER LETS GO OF HER HAND, even after it's clear that she's gliding under her own "power", because she's afraid. She doesn't want to lose that contact.
--Goliath can't help staring at her: "I never realized when you were human just how beautiful you are."
--Elisa: "You mean you used to think I was ugly?"
--He doesn't have a good answer to this.
--Fortunately for him, she segues to: "This is so confusing. Have I always been able to glide like this?"
--[She's still hasn't quite grasped the situation.]
--Goliath: "No. No. Try to understand. You've been changed into a gargoyle. Follow me, I'll show you."
--They glides in low over the streets. Elisa sees the humans and freaks!! (Her freaking needs to be ambiguous. Goliath thinks she understands now. She doesn't really.)
--Goliath: "Maybe we should land somewhere and talk."

14. Rooftop.
--Goliath, Elisa, Hudson and Trio come in for a landing.
--(Establish clothes line. Someone has left their laundry, including bedsheets, to dry in the warm night air.)
--Elisa: "Did you see? Everyone in Manhattan's been turned into a HUMAN?!!!"
--G: "...no, no, no..."
--HUDSON: "LOOK!"
--He points at light show that seems to be gathering around one of the towers of the WTC.

15. World Trade Center.
--BIG LIGHT SHOW as Puck glows with magical energy.
--P: "This is really going to wear me out."
--D: "Quit complaining and do it already."
--Puck casts rhyming spell.
--Magical energy shoots from entire body to hit mirror.
--Spell reflects off mirror and hits giant hyperbolic sattelite dish. --Sattelite dish fires magic off across the whole city.
--Puck collapses.

16. Rooftop.
--Goliath & Co. have seen light show from WTC, (but not result).
--Goliath &Co. leave Elisa on the roof and head toward WTC.
--Elisa's not happy about it, but they don't give her a choice.
--And she's still phobic about flying alone, so she can't follow.

17. WTC
--Now that the light show has subsided, Demona wants to see her "empty city", but Puck is out of it.
--Goliath and co. attack. She's forced to flee with Puck, but without mirror.
--(Somewhere in here, Demona has to mention Puck's name.)
--To save herself, she tosses it. Hudson saves it.
--Goliath and Trio pursue Demona.

18. Downtown streets/subway/ whatever
--Even though she's being chased and is hampered by the unconscious Puck, Demona still comes in for a landing to see the results of her wish.
--She's furious as she sees the human/"gargoyles" going about their business.
--Use this chase (and this scene) to reveal the extent and absurdity of the change that hasn't really changed anything but the appearance of the people. Take us down into the subway, maybe.
--Demona ultimately uses the situation to get lost in a crowd.
--For the pursuers, Goliath and trio, it's like finding a needle in a haystack.
--Throughout scene, Trio may get wistful and a little distracted about being able to fit in.
--There are female "Gargoyles" walking by, catching trio's eyes.
--They have to remind themselves that this is wrong. And they're not entirely convinced that it is.
--But other "gargoyles" still shy away from trio because of how they are dressed. (Or how little they are dressed.)
--At any rate, the trio don't totally lose track of their objective: Demona.
--But Demona's gone.
--Goliath: Let's go get Elisa and plan our next move.

19. A deserted alley.
--Demona confronts a very worn-out Puck.
--D: I wanted you to destroy the humans, not give them the gift of being a gargoyle!!
--D: "Change the gargoyles back to humans."
--Puck: "O.K., o.k., give me a chance to catch my breath."
--He leans to look at his reflection in the side-view mirror of a car.
--The image in the mirror wavers.

20. Rooftop.
--Goliath, Hudson, Trio and Elisa confer.
--They have the mirror.
--That was definitely one of Oberon's Children with Demona.
--Demona called him Puck.
--Elisa: In Shakespeare, Puck was a harmless trickster.
--Goliath: What's happened below isn't harmless. Come, we must continue to search for Demona and Puck.
--Elisa: "I'll never get the hang of leaping off rooftops."
--Goliath: "I will always be there to catch you."
--She hesitates. He takes off to set an example.
--A bolt of Magic shoots out of the mirror catching Goliath, Hudson and the trio.
--Goliath changes to human and falls.

ACT THREE
21. Rooftop.
--Elisa dives and catches Goliath. Overcoming her fear without thinking about it.
--Meanwhile, Hudson grabs a sheet off the clothesline and covers the mirror: "Don't want anything else jumping out at us from this thing!"
--Goliath doesn't understand why he fell.
--Suddenly he stares at her: "Elisa...You've changed back to normal!!"
--E: No. I haven't changed. You have. You're a human. You fell because, you don't have wings.
--Brooklyn: "We've always been humans."
--Hudson: "And we've never needed wings to glide before."
--Lex (the engineer of the group): "Wait a minute, we must have used wings. How else could we do it?"
--Goliath, sinking in: "Elisa's right. We're supposed to be gargoyles. And we're not. Everyone else should be human. But thanks to Demona and Puck, they're not."

22. Alley & Street.
--Puck is very weary.
--Demona asks if it's done.
--Puck says yes.
--Demona and Puck cautiously exit alley.
--Obviously, all the humans are still "Gargoyles".
--Demona turns on Puck. I told you to turn the gargoyles to humans.
--Puck: "Oh, you meant these gargoyles! I thought you meant Goliath and the gang. My mistake. Sorry."
--Demona: "You turned Goliath into a human?!!"
--She's ready to murdilate Puck. She pulls the chain tighter, crushing him.
--Puck: "Hey, hey, hey, You're missing the big picture, here. This is your big chance to get rid of Goliath. Now, while he's weak as any human."
--She stops, smiles.
--Dissolve.

23. Rockefeller Center. Some time later.
--Bronx runs into shot. [He has not been transformed yet.]
--A human/ "gargoyle" pedestrian bends over to pet the nice doggie and then runs away screaming when he sees the doggie's masters.
--Our "human" heroes now fully clothed (and looking cool) walk with determination right up to the center of Rockefeller Center. Hudson still has the mirror, covered in the bed sheet.
--(Elisa is not in sight.)
--Everywhere, pedestrian/"gargoyles" run screaming: "Ahhh, humans!! Run!!" "Oh, they're so ugly." "Keep away, you...you monster human, you."
--Hudson to Goliath: Are you sure this is a good idea?
--G: Demona must have done all this for a purpose. What else could it be except to leave us vulnerable to her attack. So we'll let her come to us, but we'll pick the place of battle. Here on the ground and in the open where her wings won't help her much.
--They take their stand. Not all the pedestrians have run. Some stop and stare, but they all keep their distance from these human monsters.
--Goliath instructs Hudson to unwrap the mirror.
--The instant he does, Puck and Demona fly out of it.
--BATTLE ROYALE (Needs real choreography.)
--Demona's armed with her plasma rifle.
--Gargoyle's are armed with medieval weapons.
--Battle is largely land bound.
--Puck's having a good time and helps Demona.
--His stunts can be darkly funny, i.e. they can be absurd, as long as they increase the danger to our heroes.
--Puck turns Bronx into a Russian Wolf-hound, just for fun.
--Some brave bystanders see Demona being attacked by all these monsters and run in to help.
--Trio are forced to battle them.
--These human/ "gargoyles" don't know their own strength, so fighting them isn't easy.
--Obviously at some crucial moment, Elisa (their secret weapon) flies in and takes on D.
--Demona should not instantly recognize Elisa.
--But when Demona does, she goes nuts. Elisa's presence (both the fact that she is alive and a gargoyle) is a double-edged sword. The best (psychological) weapon the good guys have, it throws Demona into a rage, which makes her doubly dangerous, but careless.
--Goliath and Elisa stand together to defeat D.
--Trio take on and scare off the "gargoyle" good samaritans.
--With Bronx's help, Hudson bags Puck with metal-mesh trashcan.

24. WTC
--Goliath promises to free Puck if he changes things back to normal.
--Puck complies. He'll start with the biggest job -- getting all the humans back to normal. (Fortunately, changing something back to its normal state is easier for him than the reverse.)
--Using rhyming spell, mirror and sattelite dish, Puck lets the magic fly.
--Elisa is human again.
--Puck needs a moment to recover.
--Elisa and Goliath have a brief moment.
--Elisa (self-depricating): "Well, I guess I'm back to my old ugly human self."
--G: "Never, to these eyes. But I'm curious. Am I handsome to you like this?"
--E: "You've always been handsome to me."
--PUCK: "Allright, enough of the mushy stuff!"
--He zaps Goliath, Hud, Bronx and Trio back into Gargoyles. (Note: he doesn't need the mirror, since they're all standing right in front of him.)
--Goliath frees Puck.
--Puck takes off with Demona through Mirror, taking mirror with.

25. Demona's house.
--Puck's grateful for a good time, enjoyed by all.
--He'll grant Demona her original wish: She won't turn to stone during the day.
--She's suspicious, for obvious reasons.
--He must SPELL OUT that she will still be her normal GARGOYLE self at night. But during the day, she won't have to sleep as stone.
--One last little rhyme spell.
--And he disappears through mirror.

26. Clock Tower.
--Final scene with Bronx, Hud, Trio, Goliath and Elisa. (This was really nice, as written.)

27. Demona's House.
--The sun is rising.
--We can only see Demona in sillouette.
--Until she turns to look at herself in the mirror.
--Which she smashes.

PAGE NOTES
(The script I received had some odd page numbering. The title page was numbered as page one, some pages were skipped and had no numbers, and the last page was numbered 33. So I just renumbered it from the first page of script on through the last [39]. The following notes therefore refer to my numbers. Call me if you have any questions.)

P.2
If Demona never gets the opportunity to destroy or turn off the laser-grid around the mirror, than we can leave it for the thieves to deal with and ditch all this dialogue and action revolving around alarms. Demona's meant to be a diversion.

Please don't refer to the Security Guard as Sarge or Old Soldier. I know it's just character stuff, but we don't have the space to give it context. It winds up confusing us as to who the guard really is.

Remember: Male gargoyle eyes glow white. Only female gargoyle eyes glow red.

Throughout script we use both "rooklings" and "hatchlings". I prefer "hatchlings". That way audience members who have missed the one or two references to the rookery, will still understand.

P.5
Goliath's getting wounded is problematic. We don't deal with it in the story. It's quickly forgotten. We don't want to play fast and loose with something like that.

P.9
Don't forget to give us some description of Puck. (He definitely should have pointed ears, for example. I added pointed ears to the description of the Weird Sisters in their true form.)

P.10
I don't know that we want to refer to all of Oberon's Children as "real mean". Seems blatantly racist.

When Demona summoned Puck earlier, she did it in Latin. So please make sure we name him here in this scene.

P.12
DEMONA
If you cannot rid me of all humans,
then at least rid me of that human --
Elisa Maza!

We need the double entendre of Demona asking Puck to get rid of that
human-Elisa. ("Oh," Puck weasles to himself, "get rid of the human-Elisa. Make her a gargoyle-Elisa instead.")

P.21
Our Gargoyles shouldn't notice that anything has changed among the pedestrians below, until they get close enough to see. (From a practical standpoint, the idea of each person suddenly taking up more room, might be tough to get across in animation.)

Let's show at least one of the Human/"Gargoyles" looking at his or her reflection (in a store window or something) and preening. Totally unaware of the change.

Goliath says, "What sorcery is this?" twice in the episode. Let's skip both. He said this exact line in "Awakening".

P.23
Keep focus and imperative of THIS story. No one has time to stop for hot dogs or to deal with vandals. (So skip both incidents.)

P.25
Puck doesn't have to pretend that he did "exactly" as Demona commanded. He can have more attitude. "Hey, close enough." or "If you're going to split hairs..."

Again, let's not make Hudson an expert on Puck as an individual. We don't need him to identify Puck from tapestries. (And I doubt if his education has progressed to the point where he's read Shakespeare.) Plus, I'm not sure we have to label Puck as the "worst" of Oberon's children, either.

P.34
Gargoyles including Elisa/gargoyle CANNOT hover.

Also don't forget...
--Cast List.
--Latin version of Demona's spell from Grimorum. (It doesn't have to rhyme.)
--Rhyming spell in English for what Puck does to everyone. (Needs to be vague enough so that Demona isn't immediately tipped off.) Doesn't need to be same spell each time.
--Somewhere in here, we need to justify why none of the human/"gargoyle" crowd reacts to Puck. Do they see him as a gargoyle, ala the Weird Sisters? Or is he invisible to them? Or can we get away with them just walking by and ignoring him?
--Make sure final page count will be within our page range (pp. 35-39) after Denise has conformed it.

THANKS. DON'T HESITATE TO CALL WITH ANY QUESTIONS.


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"THE MIRROR" Outline memo...

Next up for my Ramblings is "The Mirror". What follows is the UNEDITED memo I sent to story editor Brynne Chandler Reaves regarding the first draft outline for that episode.

This is one I had very specific ideas on, so I may have been even tougher than usual. Oh, well...

WEISMAN 10-30-94

Notes on "The Mirror" Outline...
Brynne, I hope you consider this flattering: I'm gonna be very tough on you here, because I think you can handle it. It's not just because of this outline, but because in general, I want you to be handing me cleaner, more finished pieces. Although the story is full of great ideas, there are logical and structural problems here that need fixing. As I've discussed, I want to be less "hands-on" so that the schedule keeps flowing and we all stay sane, but that means I need you to catch much more of this sort of thing before I ever see it.

One particular concern of mine (and not so incidentally of Gary Krisel's) is padded first acts, where nothing of substance happens until the cliffhanger. Each story dictates its own structure, so I don't want to make any hard and fast rules, but this is one thing you should be thinking about on every episode you edit or write. We can have a prologue scene or two. But we don't want to turn the whole first act into a prologue to events that only begin seconds before the commercial break.

Scene One is a nice prologue. So is Two, if it's brief. Three, Four and Five are padding. Six is good prologue, but by this time it feels like padding. Seven is problematic from a character/logic standpoint. Finally, we get going at Eight.

And opening acts aside, we need to beware of scenes that serve no function in the structure of the story. A real good character moment is worth a detour on occasion. But our stories have to be coming out of character anyway, so nine times out of ten, the detour shouldn't be necessary.

Ever since "Reawakening" we've tried to make the Gargoyles much more pro-active. But even by first season "survival-mode" standards they seem downright slow to act here. In scene Three, they suspect magical bad news is on the way. In scene Six, they confirm Demona's involvement. Yet in scene Ten, they go to the play in the park like nothing was wrong. Worse, in scene Sixteen, when the humans are transformed, the younger gargoyles actually think that the transformation is part of the play? They're more sophisticated than that. And instead of reacting like it's a problem, they just want "contact with their kind". I wouldn't mind a wistful line that summoned up their feelings about how this reminds them of their old lives when there were many gargoyles and/or that it's nice to be able to walk out in the open without everyone running away screaming, but they have to realize that this transformation is bad news. Then in scene TWENTY-TWO (that's the beginning of ACT THREE and a full fourteen scenes after Goliath battled Demona in the museum) they "are certain now that Demona is behind this". Who did they think was behind it for the last act and a half? This is a good sign that we're either short on structure, heavy on padding or both.

THEME
We must have a clear theme that involves at least one of the "good" gargoyles in every episode. We shouldn't have to dig deep for it. It's what focuses the events that dictate our structure. Today's theme is "Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it." It applies to Demona, obviously. But it applies to subconscious desires on the part of Goliath. And wistful, but conscious desires on the part of Elisa. And even (to a small extent) the desire of our young trio to assimilate. Emphasize the theme as much as possible.

GARGOYLES AND MAGIC
Please remember that the gargoyles are largely ignorant of the workings of magic. They have an advantage over humans in that they know magic exists. That's about it. Demona and Macbeth have had centuries to study it. Guys like the Magus and the Archmage dedicated their lives to studying it. Brooklyn, on the other hand, is no expert. I doubt he can even read Latin. And the GRIMORUM is not a textbook that would provide easy answers even if he could read it. It is, in essence, a cookbook. If a recipe is torn out, there's no way to infer very much about it from the remaining pages. Remember, the Magus had the sleep spell he used on the gargoyles, and even with that and all his training, he couldn't wake them up without the specific page that held the counterspell. HOW could Brooklyn find a list (scene 5) that matches Demona's list? WHY would the Grimorum list the items for one specific spell twice? HOW could he know the name (Scene Eight) of the entity being summoned?

Could the Grimorum tell them that Puck's spells must be reversed before dawn? Or how Puck frees himself? Unlikely. (Would Julia Child's cookbook feature recipes by the Frugal Gourmet?) But (if we assume Goliath reads Latin, and could make heads or tails of the Grimorum, without having to sit down and spend an entire week reading the thing cover-to-cover to find a helpful passage in a book which, as you noted, has no index) -- it is possible. We always skate by a few things in every script. But the more we have to skate, the thinner the ice in general. Something that normally would fit neatly beneath our audiences suspension of disbelief, becomes one more contrivance in a story that's got a few too many.

DEMONA'S MOTIVATIONS
First off, she's not looking for an equal partner or ally. She's made that clear enough. That's exactly her problem with Xanatos. He always wants to know what's in it for him. He can't be easily controlled. He's fine if they have a mutual interest (resurrecting Goliath or Coldstone), fine if she can con him into helping her (as she does in "City of Stone"), but the latter isn't easy. Otherwise, they can't work together. They're goals are too diverse.

As for Macbeth, don't even bring him up. This story airs before CITY OF STONE. She hasn't seen Macbeth for decades probably. And it's been centuries since they worked together on anything.

None of this changes the story, but it's important to get her mind-set clear. She isn't summoning Puck as an ally. But as a slave.

And what does she want her slave to do? Basically, this episode is going to underline Demona's truly short-term thinking. She knows she wants humanity eradicated. But not what she'd do if she ever accomplished that goal. She's closed her heart to anything that doesn't serve her immediate short-term plans. (She's really, really screwed up.) At one point, Puck should offer her Goliath. He can make Goliath love her again. But she's so distracted by her hatred for Elisa in particular and humans in general, that she can't keep a positive thought in her head. Her monolithic and myopic fanaticism allow Puck to make a primate out of her, literally and figuratively.

PUCK
First big note from Adrienne and ME: we cannot play this character like he's a demon. His summoning in particular came off as very satanic. Let's try to make it more fanciful and magical. One thing that would help avoid this problem, is to be clear about what Puck is. If we aren't clear, people might think demon or devil. If we are clear, they'll believe us. We've got to establish, not only Puck, but his entire magical race. They are the third sentient group that once populated our planet in addition to humans and gargoyles. We need a name for this race that we can be comfortable with. (We can say at some point that the Scots called them the Fair Folk; the Vikings called them Dark Elves. But neither name is great. There must be something that could work for us. "The Oberati" perhaps, after their king?)

Then we need to set some rules and limits. Particularly given what we know about the Weird Sisters (and about Puck's secret identity). Obviously, not all of these rules need to be spelled out in this script. But let's make sure we know them. Let's begin by saying that the Oberati can all shape-shift. But when they morph into a form, they're stuck with that form's limitations. No magic happening if they pose as human.

In their true forms, they have a lot of magic power, but a rule against the direct use of it in the world of man (witness the Weird Sisters more indirect manipulations). Maybe this is a command from Oberon which they are afraid, but not unable, to break.

An obvious exception to the rule occurs when they are enslaved by someone else who commands them to use their magic. They are off the hook responsibility-wise, so they can go to town. Thus, most cultures have wish-granting legends about Leprechauns or Djinn or whatever.

Conveniently, the Oberati are creatures of pure magical energy. When they cast a spell, the spell doesn't have the limitations imposed on the studied magic of human or gargoyle sorcerers. The subjects of their spells don't have to see and hear them to be affected. It's a more fluid, less structured form of magic. Magic to the Archmage is an art, craft or science to master. Magic to Puck is as natural (or super-natural) as breathing.

But even Puck must have his limits. Even magical energy should be finite. We MUST establish this fact, at least. If Demona asks to get rid of all the humans on the planet, Puck will have to admit that it's too much for him. Would she settle for all the humans on the island?

Did the Gargoyles meet or hear of Puck specifically, back in the tenth century? I doubt it. They lived fairly isolated lives out at Wyvern. And Puck didn't get famous until Shakespeare made him famous quite a few centuries later. Maybe they've heard stories about the Fair Folk, but again, let's resist the temptation to make Goliath or Brooklyn or Hudson experts on the subject. They seem pretty perplexed by the Weird Sisters in "City of Stone". That should define their reaction to Puck, whom they're meeting here prior to that story.

Why does Puck help Goliath turn stuff back to normal at the end? Well, for this episode's purposes, it'll probably work that Goliath holds the chain and issues a command. But Demona held the chain, and Puck always found a way to circumvent her commands. So why doesn't he do the same to Goliath? Two reasons, probably. First, it further annoys Demona, who he's peeved at for enslaving him in the first place. Second, once Puck is free, he can return to his secret identity, where he's been having such a good time. He wants things back to normal himself. Still in future appearances, we need to be sure that Puck doesn't turn into a personification of Deus ex machina.

Use it sparingly, but it's o.k. with me if Puck breaks the third wall and addresses the audience on occasion.

Finally, Puck's name. The Disney execs are of two minds on this. Bruce prefers Goodfellow. His main concern is the constant policing we'd have to do to make sure Puck doesn't ever come out Fuck. Ellen feels that Goodfellow has more association with Satan than Puck does and that Puck is safer on that level. I'm really torn. I tend to agree that Puck is a slightly more recognizable Shakespearean reference than Goodfellow, and thus stonger and safer. I also think the name suits the character. On the other hand, I think Goodfellow is an effectively ironic name for a character who is, for all intents and purposes, a villain. Part of me really wants to use both. Could the spell that enslaves Puck to Demona have something to do with her knowing his true name, Robin Goodfellow? Adrienne, I think, is on the fence with me. But I'm not sure. We should probably discuss this one last time before you go to script.

THE MIRROR
Think of the Wicked Queen's Magic Mirror times ten. It is a window, a doorway, a Peeping Tom.

HUMANS AS "GARGOYLES"
As we discussed, I don't think the humans notice they've been transformed. Some of the ridiculous fun of this episode should be to see them, walking around, going about their normal business, briefcases and subway tokens in hand, with no indication that anything is different. If they looked in a mirror, they'd preen as usual. They wouldn't freak out or recognize the change.

Although they have wings, I don't think it occurs to any of them to start gliding around the city. And if they see (the soon-to-be more self-aware) Elisa flying, it would be shocking: "Look, Mommy, that lady is flying!!" It's not that they'd see her suddenly as a gargoyle. (It'd be like seeing Superman. A normal enough looking person. He just happens to be leaping tall buildings with a single bound, which is, of course, unusual enough.)

When Goliath and clan walk among them as gargoyles, I don't think they see them as unusual. For once, looking like a gargoyle is normal. Like Halloween, in "Eye of the Beholder", it's another rare moment for our guys when they can be out in the open. (This may have been what you had in mind in scene 18. I wasn't clear.)

However, when Goliath and company enter their midst as "Humans", it should scare them. Once again, ugliness is in the eye of the beholder, and the "human" Goliath is still the monster. We should not skip this beat (as you planned to in scene 24). We should play it. It can be bitter, poignant and, yes, funny. (Appealing to Puck's dark sense of humor (and mine too, for that matter).)

ELISA AS A "GARGOYLE"
Like the other transformed humans, Elisa doesn't immediately realize she's been transformed. And looking in the mirror won't clue her in either. (And in any case, Elisa isn't the type to faint dead away.) In fact, she might turn to Goliath and suddenly ask, "Could you remind me why you guys are hiding up here in the clock tower?" Suddenly, they don't look so strange to her. Goliath is going to have to sit her down and talk her through the differences between humans and gargoyles. Her realization should play like a fog lifting.

And we probably should play out Goliath and Elisa both as gargoyles for an act. Maybe he teaches her how to fly. Maybe they're just about to get close enough to do the gargoyle equivalent of an embrace, when he's transformed to human. Get it so that we can all almost taste it. Then yank it away. (I know, I'm a cruel bastard.)

I also want to contrast Goliath's reaction to "gargoyle" Elisa with Elisa's reaction to "human" Goliath. He may say, "Elisa, I never realized how beautiful you are," because he always liked her for her inner beauty but, frankly, never found her physically attractive (no wings, no tail--shudder). And he's always made that mental distinction between the surface and what lies beneath.

Elisa never did. She recognized his inner beauty in episode three or four and ALWAYS thought he was handsome. Even before this episode, I think she's thought about the two of them and come to the inescapable conclusion that romance is impractical. Better keep it platonic. I think he's had those feelings, but has never connected to them mentally. (Look, no matter what the species, or how evolved the individual, he's still a guy. And guys are fundamentally stupid about this stuff.) Until this episode, it never crossed his mind that Elisa could replace Demona in his heart. The fact is she already has. But he never thought about it before now.

OUR GARGOYLES AS "HUMANS"
To be consistent, they shouldn't recognize the change until Elisa points it out to them. Maybe they were about to leap from the clock tower, and Elisa has to stop them and say: "Look, guys, you don't have wings anymore!"

But let's keep in mind that these guys are still heroes. NO WAY are they going to agree to step back because a gargoyle Demona is too tough for them now. Did Elisa ever step back when she was human? For that matter, there have been plenty of humans willing to go toe-to-toe with the gargoyles. Certainly Goliath is as brave as Macbeth or Wolf or Commando #3.

Also, I got confused in scene 29. Goliath has been transformed to human. That means human proportions. Sure, he'd be a big guy, but not as big as he was as a gargoyle. I don't know why armor would fit, say Broadway, and not him.

TONE
In contrast to our typical episodes, I think this one can have a more absurdist tone. Puck should both further the tone with his actions and undercut it with wry asides. Plus there'll be romantic stuff, also undercut, this time by Goliath's reaction to Elisa and the genuine frustration that comes from the situation's mutability.

GOLIATH BLAMES XANATOS...
For everything, it seems. In "Lighthouse" and to a lesser extent in "Leader", we've played the beat of Goliath mistakenly going to the castle to confront Xanatos for something that the latter had nothing to do with. I think by now, Goliath has learned his lesson. Particularly since the going's on here smack much more of Demona or Macbeth than Xanatos.

DEMONA'S HOME BASE
Let's get a clear sense of what this place is like. Particularly, how it is distinct from Macbeth's mansion: we've played his place like Wayne Manor. Dracon has the penthouse at the Park Manor Hotel. And Xanatos has this incredibly cool castle-on-a-skyscraper H.Q. Demona's home needs to be different from all of these and special in its own right. Also give us an at least approximate idea of where this thing is located. Gramercy Park, maybe?

SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK
This was a great way to ground our Puck in Shakespeare, as opposed to Satan. No doubt about it. And no fault of yours, but I want to save this setting for a story that Michael and I have discussed involving Macbeth and an adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth. Plus, in this story, I want to play with Manhattan life going on, business as usual, despite the fact that everyone's been turned into a gargoyle. We can't do that if we limit ourselves to the Park and the closed Museum. I want to get this story out in the open. Have the "gargoyle" humans reacting in panic to the "human" Goliath and clan, the way they'd normally react to them as gargoyles. That's an opportunity we won't get in another story. We must take advantage of it. But having taken the story out of the park, we should work other Midsummer references into the script. Name the mirror after Oberon or Titania, perhaps.

BEAT SHEET
ACT ONE
1. A warm Midsummer's Night. Demona arrives at the museum with grand theft in mind. She's come to steal the Mirror of Oberon (or whatever we ultimately call it) which has just arrived from Ireland (or Italy or wherever). The first museum security guard is no problem. But the second security guard turns out to be Elisa -- undercover, prepared and not without back-up, i.e. Goliath. They suspected that the mirror would be a prize too tempting for Demona to resist. Demona seems particularly furious over Goliath's continued "partnership" with Elisa. SHE HATES HUMANS AND SHE REALLY HATES ELISA!! (Demona knows how Goliath feels about Elisa, even if the big lug hasn't admitted it to himself yet.)

2. Anyway, we get a big action sequence in the museum which leads to a chase outside. Demona gets away from them, but without the mirror. And because our heroes are so thoroughly engaged in these activities...

3. ...They are absent when two high-tech but very human cat burglars show up at the museum, seconds later, to crate up and steal the mirror. (The real security guard is still unconscious and thus unable to do anything about them.)

4. The two thieves arrive at Demona's townhouse (or whatever) with the crated mirror. Otherwise, the scene plays pretty much as you had it with the delivery men.

5. Inside her home, Demona wraps thick iron chains across the glass of the stolen Mirror. She summons Puck. He comes flying out through the glass and thus winds up wrapped in the iron chains. He spends almost the entire episode with the chains pinning his arms across his chest.

6. Back at the clock tower, Goliath and Elisa are feeling like grade-A dorks. Elisa's just back from investigating the museum crime scene. It's now clear that Demona's job was to take out security and, if necessary, act as a diversion for the real thieves. Now the big questions are, what can she do with this mirror and how bad is this going to get? Perhaps this is a place to discuss the Oberati. Hudson tells what little he knows about them.

7. Our Demona and Puck scene. If he ever wants his freedom he must serve her. He tries to discourage her: he'd make a lousy servant. She doesn't buy that. Puck works for "him". He can work for her, etc. (That whole exchange.) O.K., okay, what does she want? Freedom from her one great vulnerability -- turning to stone during the day. What good is that, he wonders. You think you're gonna be able to walk down 5th Avenue in broad daylight? I can if you obliterate all humans, everywhere. What am I, the Genie of the lamp? There are limits, kiddo. C'mon, what do you really want? She pauses, and an image appears in the mirror. It is Goliath (in the clock tower, but we're tight on him, so we aren't tipping the location). Puck: "How quaint, after all these centuries, you're still carrying a torch. Well, if that's what you want, I can make him love you again. Although it will be really hard, because you're not exactly Miss Lovable." And then, in the mirror, Elisa steps into the shot, and puts a hand on Goliath's shoulder. Demona goes ballistic. She knows her heart's true desire. Get rid of the human -- Elisa Maza. Puck: "That I can do." He fires a magical bolt into the mirror at the image of Elisa.

8. Back at the tower, Elisa has a hand on Goliath's shoulder, reassuring him that they'll stop Demona's scheme, whatever it is. Suddenly, she is surrounded by a magical energy that rips her away from Goliath. The gargoyles try to help her, but they can't get close. We should think for a moment that this is the end of Rico... uh, Elisa. And then there is a blinding flash of light that whites out the whole screen. Followed by pitch black darkness. Elisa is still there. We see her silhouette as our eyes adjust and the light returns slowly to normal. She says she's o.k. And then she steps into the light. Transformed into a gargoyle version of herself.

END OF ACT ONE

Now I have to apologize. I know I promised you this for Monday. It's two a.m. Sunday and this is as far as I got. There's a reason (an excuse). Monday is Corporate Seminar. And my last act as an executive (before becoming a full-time producer on Tuesday) is to pitch all our new development to Michael Eisner and Rich Frank. This is a twice yearly event that requires a lot of preparation, and I just ran out of time to get these notes done. Normally, I'd pull an all-nighter, but I need some sleep to face these guys tomorrow.

You gotta admit, that was a pretty good excuse.

So I have to leave this to you. You're mission, if you chose to accept it, (AND YOU REALLY HAVE NO CHOICE IF YOU EVER WANT TO GET TO SCRIPT) is to write up a quick beat outline of acts two and three for me based on the sketchy notes below. It doesn't have to be long. Two to four pages is fine. The amount of detail that I gave you for Act One is all I'm looking for.

Act Two should have Goliath filling Elisa in about the change she's undergone. Maybe take her flying. Maybe this is where we get the line about him never realizing how beautiful she was.

Demona should be temporarily fooled into thinking Elisa's dead, and flushed with success, she asks Puck to rid all of Manhattan of its humans. Bing, bang, boom. Everyone's a gargoyle. People on the subway in from Queens, change into gargoyles as soon as the E-train hits the first Manhattan stop. "Gargoyles" on the way home to Jersey change back to human as they cross the bridge in their cars. NO ONE NOTICES AT ALL.

But Demona doesn't know any of this yet. She wants a tour of what she expects to be an empty city. Puck is secretly eager to see his handiwork, so they step into the mirror, which transports them to the heart of the city. Times Square, maybe? 5th Avenue?

Meanwhile, Hudson, Goliath, Elisa and the trio are all hunting for Demona. They quickly notice the change in the populace. (Maybe the shock of this wide-spread change interrupts what might have been the only chance Elisa and Goliath had for a same-species clinch.) They all know it's bad news, but the trio can't help enjoying the ability to walk among gargoyles again. Even if they are gargoyles in business suits: New Yorkers who still won't give them the time of day. Still, would it be so bad if this didn't get fixed? Yeah. Probably.

When Demona figures out she's been duped, she demands that the gargoyles be changed back to humans. Bing Bang Boom. Goliath, Hudson and the Trio are human. (I'm torn about Bronx. I guess the big dog is o.k. It just seems outside the terms of Demona's request, even by Puck's loose standards.)

Was Goliath flying at the time or is this another interrupted clinch between him and Elisa?

Act Three opens with Elisa saving Goliath from plummeting to his death perhaps. Then she has to make him understand that he has been transformed as well.

We wind up with a very public battle featuring Elisa and our Newly Human heroes against Demona and Puck. It's complicated by the fact that the general populace (who are all now Gargoyles) perceive the human Goliath, Hudson and Trio (and Bronx?) as monsters attacking what to them seems to be a very normal-looking Demona.

Still in the end, good triumphs. Puck makes everything right at Goliath's command, (but let's make it clear that at least in part, he's doing this to spite Demona and/or to suit his own agenda). Elisa is changed to human, before Goliath is changed back, and we have another near-clinch, that Puck interrupts with good-humored spite by changing Goliath back into a gargoyle.

Goliath frees Puck and he vanishes with Demona, rescuing her from Goliath.

Turns out Puck had more fun than he thought he would so he feels like he owes Demona a favor. He'll give her her original wish. No turning to stone during the day. (BUT WE NEED TO MAKE IT PAINFULLY CLEAR THAT SHE WILL STILL BE HER NORMAL GARGOYLE SELF AT NIGHT.) He takes his leave via the mirror.

Cut back to Elisa and Goliath for emotional wrap up. Just before the sunrise which, as usual, separates them.

And back to Demona. Silhouetted against the rising sun. It's up, and she's not stone. Puck kept his word, she can't believe it. Then she sees her human self in the mirror, which she smashes, yelling NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! And fade to black.


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Chapter XVII: "A Lighthouse in the Sea of Time"

Written by Brynne Chandler Reaves & Lydia C. Marano
Story Edited by Michael Reaves

Well, I watched "Lighthouse" again last night with my family. First thing I noticed was the bad "Previously" recap. This is all my fault. The recap features Macbeth, because I wanted to make sure the audience knew who he was. But that blows out the first act surprise reveal that he's behind it all. Up to that point in the story, you'd be thinking Xanatos. But because of the dopey recap, you know it MUST be Mac. Later in the season, after I got hammered over these recaps by the folks on the Disney Afternoon e-Mailing list, I learned never to put anything into the recap that wasn't revealed in the first five minutes of the show to follow. But here's a perfect example of me screwing up my own mystery.

We introduce archeologists Lydia Duane and Arthur Morwood-Smythe. Dr. Duane was named after writers Lydia Marano and Diane Duane. Professor Morwood-Smythe was named after writers Arthur Byron Cover and Peter Morwood. Arthur is Lydia's husband. Peter is Diane's husband. I don't know anyone named Smythe.

Macbeth episodes, at least up to this point, seem to be cursed with mediocre animation. (Of course, everything's relative. Mediocre on Gargs was still better than most series got. But relative to our expectations, this ep is pretty weak.) I bet Elisa would have really looked cute in that red baseball hat if the animation had been even slightly better.

I don't know how clear it is in the prologue. The idea there, was that the wind was blowing through the lyre. The haunting sound drew the archeologists further into the cave. They read the warning which indicates that the seeker of knowledge has nothing to fear, the destroyer everything. They are supposed to hesitate, look at each other, decide that they are seekers not destroyers and then open the chest. Merlin's clearly put a safety spell of some kind on the chest. An image of the old man appears and basically checks to confirm whether the archeologists are in fact seekers or destroyers. Satisfied, the spell disipates. But you can imagine what would have happened if a Hakon type had stumbled in.

Anyway, it never felt like all that came across. Did it?

Brooklyn (re: Broadway): "Ignorance is bliss." In High School, I had a classmate named Howard Bliss. We had chemistry together with Mr. Miller. Mr. Miller once asked the class a question that we all should have known. No one knew the answer, and our own idiocy generated laughter among Miller's students. He just shook his head and said: "Ignorance is bliss." He forgot that he had a student named Bliss. It generated more laughter. I don't know why I told you that. But it's what I thought about when Brooklyn read that line.

There's a semi-heavy-handed "Read More About It" feel to the clock tower conversation regarding Merlin. Goliath practically quotes those public service announcements, saying there are many books about him in the library. I don't mind. I had wanted to cite a few actual books -- like Mary Stewart's THE CRYSTAL CAVE -- but our legal department wouldn't give us clearance for that. Very short-sighted.

A connection is made between Merlin and the Magus. This was not an accident, as at that time, I had planned to have the Magus journey with Arthur on his Pendragon quests to find Excalibur and Merlin. I later changed my mind. But the Magus does at least play a Merlin-esque roll in the Avalon three parter.

I always wonder who was playing in "Celebrity Hockey" that night.

Macbeth's standard Electro-Magnetic weapon was my idea. I didn't design it exactly, but I did make crude little drawings of something that looked vaguely like a staple gun, with two electrodes that generated the charge. I was always proud of that weapon. It was uniquely Macbeth's (and Banquo and Fleances'). Set him apart from all the concussion, laser and particle beam weapons we used elsewhere. (I did the same kind of thing on the Quarymen's hammers.)

It's fun to listen to B.J. Ward voice both sides of the confrontation between Fleance and Duane.

Banquo's model sheet showed him squinting out of one eye. Some episodes, not so much this one, but some took that to mean he only had one eye. So he walks around looking like Popeye for the entire episode. (His big lantern jaw helps accentuate that.) There are a couple of Popeye moments in this ep. But more in his next appearance I think.

It was my idea to just have Mac's mansion rebuilt without explanation. I don't exactly regret it, but it's kinda cheap. We burned it way down. He has it rebuilt. It makes sense. But we usually dealt with consequences more than that.

When he rebuilds it, he installs those cannons. They were supposed to be giant-sized versions of the hand-held E-M guns. But they don't come off that way. Instead they fire at the gargoyles. And mostly seem to destroy the various turrets of Macbeth's own place. Ugghh.

As in "Leader" we get another scene of Goliath and friends confronting Owen at the castle. Looking for Xanatos, when in fact Xanatos isn't the threat. It made sense in both episodes. And it's always nice to showcase Owen a bit. But after two of those in four episodes, I wasn't gonna do that again. (At least not until KINGDOM.)

I love the "Macbeth Theme" that Carl Johnson created for the villain, which is featured at the end of ACT ONE.

Macbeth opens the "second scroll" and starts to read Merlin's seal. This caused tons of fan confusion, as he read "Sealed by my own [i.e. Merlin's] hand". No one seemed to get that he was reading that. They thought Mac was saying that he [i.e. Macbeth] had sealed the scroll. Of course that notion renders the whole thing confusing as hell. But it never occured to us that anyone would take it that way.

We also introduce Jeffrey Robbins and Gilly in this episode. Gilly is of course short for Gilgamesh, one of the legendary characters that Robbins once wrote about. It's just a bit odd, because Gilly is a female.

Robbins is a very cool character. Wish we had had the opportunity to use him more.

I like how when Robbins and Hudson are introducing themselves, Robbins gives his first and last name. Hudson says, I'm Hudson, "like the river". An echo of how he got the name. And a reminder that names aren't natural to him. Even if they are addictive.

John Rhys-Davies is just fantastic as Macbeth. I love his speech to Broadway. It accomplishes everything we needed it too. That line about the "human heart" by the way is a reference to the Arthur/Lance/Gwen triangle.

I also love his line: "I'm Old, but not THAT Old." This was a little hint to what we'd reveal in CITY OF STONE. Sure Macbeth's from the eleventh century, but not the fifth or sixth. It's like someone saying to someone my age, "So what did you do during World War II?"

Lennox Macduff. That was a cool touch. Also a hint as to how Macbeth feels about Shakespeare.

I like the Phone Book scene too. Hudson says "Hmm. Magic Book." Robbins replies: "Aren't they all." Great stuff.

By the way, as Robbins goes through the phone book, scanning names, he passes "Macduff, Cameron". One of my college roommates was Cameron Douglas, who was really interested in his Scotish heritage. That was a mini-tribute to him.

My daughter Erin reacts to the fact that Macbeth threatens to use Merlin's spells on Broadway. She points out that Macbeth had promised to let Broadway go after he had the scrolls. She's surprised he hasn't kept his word. My wife at that point reminds Erin that Macbeth is the villain. Erin gets that. But you can tell it isn't quite sitting right with her.

Later when Macbeth DOES let everyone go without a struggle, Erin is clearly not sure what to make of him.

And on one level, that's exactly as we wanted it. Macbeth is a troubled guy -- a hero who's devolved into a villain. A suicidal villain on top of that, though we hadn't revealed that yet. But he is a villain. Later, it's debatable, but here he's taken to being an ends-justify-the-means kinda guy. And even his ends are hazy at best.

I love Broadway's "precious magic" speech. It's so wierd hearing poetry from the big galoot. But that's so Broadway. The soul of a poet. Bill Faggerbakke was a huge help.

And I love Robbins "They are lighthouses in the dark sea of time..." speech. I love that it's not exactly the title. Brynne and Lydia did fine work on this one.

I wonder what happened to that lyre?


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Lighthouse Outline Memo

I haven't re-watched "A Lighthouse in the Sea of Time" yet. But we all know that's next, so I thought I'd go ahead and post the memo I sent to Michael Reaves, Brynne Chandler Reaves and Lydia C. Marano, based on the first draft outline they gave me on this story. Here it is, unedited:

WEISMAN 9-15-94

Notes on "A Lighthouse in the Sea of Time" Outline...
O.K. I'm gonna suggest some major changes here, though not without purpose. Brynne, they come right out of the phone conversation that led us to trade Xanatos & Demona for Macbeth. I don't think we've adjusted enough from the premise to meet our objectives.

THE MAIN OBJECTIVE
Remember, our primary objective is NOT to teach Hudson and Broadway to read. It is to ENGAGE them in the wonder of reading, to convince them it is a worthwhile, rewarding and magical endeavor. To make them WANT to learn how to read.

We discussed that Hudson and Broadway had two very different reasons for not wanting to learn. Broadway thinks it's a waste of time. He's got television, video, movies and a very exciting life. (The latter is the most important. I'm not going to preach the evils of the visual media, which are other legitimate windows into "other worlds", but which cannot and should not substitute for reading.) At any rate, Broadway doesn't see the relevance of reading to his life. This is a major cause of illiteracy among teen-agers.

Hudson doesn't learn for a very different reason. He's ashamed that he hasn't learned already. This is the main cause of continued illiteracy among adults.

I'm not getting a clear distinction between the two characters -- partially, because we're not getting much screen time for Broadway at all. We've got a lot to fit in here, but we still need to have enough time to explore both Hudson and Broadway's very different arcs. I think there's a relatively simple solution. Cut Elisa from the story, (at least for the most part). She's a great character, but she doesn't have a lot to learn from this adventure. We're wasting screen time on her. Make Broadway the V.T.O.L. stow-away instead of Elisa.

ROBBINS
We also discussed toning Robbins' role down. I know some of that has been done, but the guy is still coming across as St. Jeffrey to me. He's an integral, not incidental part of the plot. Now normally, I'd cheer about this, but here it's not convincing. Hudson happens to be injured near the house of the one author that Goliath loves and Elisa mentioned, who also happens to be an Arthurian expert, who if not for his blindness, would be the only person who Macbeth could get to translate the scrolls. It's just too much.

I do not believe that after nine centuries, Macbeth needs any mere mortal to translate a book for him. It's not like he has only just now started searching for magic books. If he needed to know a language he didn't know, he has had plenty of time to learn it. If no one could translate the spells, that would be another thing. But the notion that some mortal knows a Celtic language that's a mystery to the immortal Celtic Macbeth doesn't play for me.

Again, I think the solution here is simple. Macbeth doesn't get the scrolls until near the end of the play. After Macbeth's men steal the scrolls, we have Hudson and Broadway steal them back before Macbeth can get his hands on them. Hudson's injured and washes up and into Robbins' lap. Mac's men return without Hudson's scrolls. Mac and his men have to go after them. They track Hudson to Robbins' nest. Now with this change, we don't need Robbins to be the only guy who can translate these spells. He doesn't have to be the foremost authority on all things Arthurian.

In fact, he doesn't have to be the foremost anything. Frankly, he doesn't even have to be Goliath's favorite author. He doesn't have to be famous or collectable. In a way, I think it works against us if he is. What if he's just a relatively average guy. He writes novels that take myth, legend and/or history and try to render them believable and "true". Think Mary Stewart or Mary Renault. He's had some success. Enough to make him comfortable. But he's no Stephen King. He's just a writer operating in relative obscurity. (We can all relate.) I feel strongly that this makes him a better messenger for our purposes. The guy just loves his job. It hasn't made him rich or famous, but he loves it. He gets to do all this research, all this reading, on the period he's going to write on. He writes. (He loves words, and his dialogue should show it -- no easy task, because simply giving him a big, latinate vocabulary won't cut it.) And then he gets a tremendous kick out of knowing that people read what he wrote. It's immortality. And a better kind of immortality than Macbeth's. (I mean, hell, that's why I'm in the business -- fame and wealth would be nice, but what I really need is to live forever.) Maybe he's never even written about Merlin or Arthur before. Maybe this adventure inspires him to. It would be a lot less contrived if all this were true.

THE VILLAGE
Another thing that I think we should cut is Macbeth's little village. I don't know why it's been created. It seems to thematically fit our idea of visiting other places and times through books, but in fact it works against that theme. (As Broadway would say, "Why do I need to read about this stuff, when I can spend an hour at this glorified museum and see it? Not that I like museums.")

PHONE BOOKS, ETC.
Unfortunately, some of my changes are going to force adjustments to all the truly wonderful incidental references and uses that we put "reading" to in this outline, but we need to make sure the tail doesn't wag the dog. Let's get the structure squared away, and then work to fit as many of these as possible back into the show. Or come up with new ones. (Sure, easy for me to say.)

THE SCROLLS OF MERLIN
Let's refer to them as the SCROLLS OF MERLIN, not MERLIN'S JOURNALS. The former is neutral. The latter implies that they are exactly what they turn out to be: a narrative. We want everyone thinking that this is a book of spells. And that's everyone, not just Macbeth. We're tipping our hand otherwise. The treasure is the narrative, but it's a secret treasure. The notion of our gargoyles and all of New York getting hyped for narrative early on, makes the revelation less special. Plus, I don't want to be flagging to our audience from moment one that this is an episode about "LITERACY". Let the audience believe what Macbeth believes: we're hunting a magical macguffin. We'll sneak up on them with our true purpose (and Lord knows we're not being that subtle, so there won't be any doubt about it by the end). That way when Hudson meets Robbins, our audience won't say, "How convenient? Story about reading, and Hudson meets a writer!" They won't know the story's about reading when this happens.

FADS
With all of the above in mind, I think we need to be careful about dressing Elisa like Guinevere. It comes across as a fad here, and she doesn't seem the type to go in for a fad. It's not like this is gonna suddenly become standard attire in NYC. Let's not oversell our point, or I'm afraid we won't make the sale at all.

MORGAN THE DOG
Sorry. We already have Morgan the Cop. You need a new name. (Again, I wouldn't chose an Arthurian reference. Let this episode pique Robbin's interest in Arthurana. Up to now he's been writing novels about Beowulf or Gilgamesh.)

MACBETH'S MEN
Instead of making them mercenaries, let's just give him two specific henchman. Tough and very well-trained. Maybe not geniuses, but definitely not stupid. (Why do intelligent villains always employ such dumb henchmen?) Maybe their real names are Mel and Steve, but Macbeth calls them BANQUO and FLEANCE. A private joke that maybe they don't even get. (When I got to page 10 of the outline I was gonna suggest Banquo and Macduff, until I saw the Lennox Macduff thing on page 11. So I switched Macduff to Fleance. We can still use the Lennox Macduff alias.)

MACBETH'S CODE
Macbeth has a code of honor. It's flexible, but it exists. He's clearly willing to take prisoners. Hostages and ransom were an established and legitimate part of medieval warfare. But I don't know if he'd hold a knife to someone's head to facilitate his own escape. This isn't a hard and firm note, just keep it in mind. Also, I don't think his men have made a habit of stealing statues for him. After 900+ years, I doubt he'd be that much into material possessions. That's more Xanatos' gig. Macbeth keeps a fine house, but it's easier to buy than steal, and he's very wealthy.

MATT'S INJURY
Don't really see any purpose to it anymore.

BEAT SHEET
ACT ONE
1. Open with a prologue that shows us the British archeologists discovering the two large scrolls. More exciting than watching a report about it on television. Maybe the underground chamber was sealed magically. (A red herring to get us thinking spell book, instead of narrative.)

2. But now we segue to the clock tower. Lex is reading a newspaper article about the scrolls out loud to the rest of the gang. It seems the Scrolls are coming to NYC for authentification or whatever. Elisa says she and Matt volunteered to guard the shipment of the scrolls, and they got the nod. She admits that it's silly for her to be so excited, after all, she won't get to read them, but the whole thing really intrigues her.

Brooklyn wants to know more about Merlin. He had heard of him even back in the 10th century. He knows Merlin was some kind of 5th century magician, but that's about it. Goliath recommends some books.

(Adrienne, can we recommend a real book? Mary Stewart's THE CRYSTAL CAVE is a wonderful novel about Merlin. I read it for the first time in eighth grade. I'm rereading it now to Erin. I know we usually don't want to appear to be endorsing anything, but given this episode's subject matter, shouldn't we make an exception? Wouldn't this be a public service? We could slip in the titles of a number of good books throughout this episode. They do it on CBS with those "Read More About It" segments. Anyway, let me know.)

Broadway doesn't get it. He doesn't know how to read, and he doesn't see why he should bother to learn. Let's rent the video. They argue a bit. Hudson pointedly refuses to give his opinion, but we don't reveal his illiteracy here. (Let's make a small point of showing Hudson's rapport with Bronx here though.)

Goliath wants to know what the scrolls contain? Elisa says the seals won't be broken until they are authenticated, but the rumor is they might be Merlin's magic spells. Goliath looks concerned.

3. Dark, stormy night. Low visibility. Harbor attack by two VTOLs. Elisa and Matt are guarding the two scroll containers. But Banquo and Fleance outgun them by a mile. They each take one container into their VTOLs. Thank goodness the gargoyles were gliding nearby. (Goliath was worried that the magic scrolls might be a prime target for Demona or Xanatos.) The gargoyles attack the VTOL's. (Maybe Broadway makes a crack: "When your life is this exciting, who needs books?")

In the confusion, Hudson manages to rip open the hatch of Banquo's VTOL. He grabs the container from the shocked Banquo, but Banquo manages to get off a concussion blast that severly wounds Hudson. He's blown out of the VTOL and into the bay, still clutching the water-proof container. None of the other gargoyles see this happen.

Fleance and Banquo hit their turbo buttons and go shooting off into the night. Goliath, Lex and Brooklyn can't keep up, but a flash of lightning reveals that Broadway has managed to dig in and hitch a ride on the underside of Fleance's VTOL. They don't see Hudson, but they assume/hope that maybe he's done the same. They retreat as police helicopters approach the scene.

But Hudson (still clutching the container) is in the water, maybe going down for the last time.

4. Banquo & Fleance land their VTOL's at their boss's compound. (It might as well be Macbeth' mansion from episode -008, rebuilt since the fire.) Banq tells Fleance that he lost his container. "WHAT?! The boss is gonna kill us!" Well, big shot, where's yours? Safe in the hold of my VTOL where it belongs. Well, one scroll is better than none. Let's bring it to him. They go to get it, but the hull's been torn open and the scroll is missing.

5. Down by the docks, Elisa confers quietly with Goliath, Lex and Brooklyn. They are all worried about Broadway and Hudson. Plus this whole theft smells like Xanatos to Elisa. But no proof. So no warrant. Goliath doesn't have that problem.

6. Still raining. Hudson sees the sillouettes of a bunch of gargoyles and heads for them. He just barely makes it to shore. He's hurting bad, and is wildly disappointed when he realizes that the sillouette's weren't Goliath and the trio, but "phonies". He collapses.

7. Goliath, Brooklyn and Lex arrive at Xanatos' castle. Owen's there alone. Goliath insists on searching the place... top to bottom. (At this point in story, we should not feel that Goliath is wasting time. Owen should be ambiguous enough so that the audience WILL think that this is a Xanatos plan.)

8. Back at the Compound's hangar, we find Broadway in hiding, clutching the second container. (And feeling like this "old book" definitely isn't worth it.) Well, Banquo and Fleance are going nuts looking for the stupid thing. Now seems like a good time to bolt for the exit. He goes for it. Catches B&F off-guard and bulls his way past them. Only to be taken down by... the boss. Macbeth.

ACT TWO
9. Broadway recovers and attacks. But Macbeth makes short work of him. By now B&F have him totally covered (by high-tech futuristic non-imitatable weapons of course). Macbeth opens the container and carefully removes the scroll. He examines the seal and confirms that the scroll is authentic Merlin and that it is the second of the two scrolls. He doesn't break the seal, because he believes the scrolls contain magic. It's dangerous to get things out of order. Where's the first scroll?

10. Still raining. Robbins and his dog find Hudson, who. is regaining consciousness. Robbins surmises that Hudson was mugged, and Hudson lets him think so. The dog likes Hudson. Hudson says he's good with animals. Robbins appreciates that and is solicitous. Hudson sees that Robbins is blind. He gets an idea. He just needs a safe place to rest 'til morning. Then he'll cease to be any trouble. Robbins invites him inside, offers to help. But Hudson won't let him get too close. They go in.

11. Mac, Fleance and Banquo are in a VTOL, heading back to the harbor. Broadway is there too, in VERY heavy chains. Macbeth's keeping him around until he gets hold of the other scroll. Banquo protests: he blew that old gargoyle away, the other scroll is probably lying on the floor of the bay. Macbeth says it better not be, or Banquo will join it.

12. It's still storming outside. Breathing heavily, Hudson lowers himself into an easy chair and looks around Robbins' home. It's wall-to-wall bookshelves. Hudson doesn't like being here, but he's a bit of a captive audience. There's an uncomfortable silence. On a table near his chair, Hudson picks a medal off a display case. Also on the display case, is a plaque of some kind that clearly reads something like: "ROBBINS RECEIVES PURPLE HEART", but Hudson still asks what it is. Eventually, we get the idea that Robbins lost his sight in the war. (Vietnam? Korea? How old do we want Robbins to be? If we want him to be the same (biological) age as Hudson, we should go with Korea.) Hudson points to his one blind eye, which was also injured in battle. (Against the Archmage in episode #11, but Hudson won't go into details.) The two old warriors have made a connection. Now they can become friends. Robbins asks Hudson what he does. Hudson says he's...still a soldier. Robbins is a novelist. Or he used to be, before he ran out of ideas. He did have a few minor successes. Maybe Hudson's heard of them. Hudson doesn't read much, but he's shocked that the blind Robbins can read and write. Robbins is borderline insulted. Hasn't Hudson heard of braille? Hudson hasn't. Robbins is surprised. He hands Hudson a braille book (one that he wrote). Hudson runs his fingers over the bumps. Robbins then hands him the same book in standard English. Hudson lets slip that the bumps mean as much to him as the chicken scrawl. Robbins puts two and two together. And we find out that Hudson can't read.

13. In the harbor, near dawn, The VTOL searches for some clue. Broadway asks Macbeth what all the fuss is about. Who was this Merlin guy? Just another stupid magician. Macbeth tells him who Merlin was. Tells him about what he, Arthur and Guinevere created. Maybe he quotes Tennyson or Muir. But he's eloquent and evocative, and Broadway listens with rapt attention, perhaps (do we dare?) even visualizing Macbeth's words with hazy images. When Macbeth finishes Broadway says with awe: "You describe it like you were there..." Macbeth tosses off his reply (he doesn't realize the effect he's had on Broadway): "I'm old, but not THAT old. Obviously, I read about it in books." But Broadway can't help repeating to himself: "But you describe it like you were there..."

14. Back at the castle, Goliath and co. have obviously, found nothing of value. It won't be long til sunrise and they dare not stay much longer. Owen enters with the early morning edition under his arm. He's deduced what they're after from the news story. Suggests that the VTOL described in the article has more in common with the kind of vehicle that Macbeth is wont to drive. (Goliath feels like big dumb jerk. But there's no time to fight about it.) Goliath, Brook and Lex leave.

15. Hudson: "I'm too old to learn to read now." Robbins: It's never too late. I had to learn to read all over again, learn to read braille after I was blinded. Hudson: Who would teach me? He's ashamed to tell his friends he doesn't know how. Robbins offers to teach him, but makes the point that Hudson should only be ashamed to continue his illiteracy. There's no shame in learning -- ever. Hudson doesn't respond.

The storm is breaking and dawn approaches. Hudson, still hurt, gets up to leave. Robbins is afraid he's gotten too preachy. But Hudson insists he must go. He goes to the terrace. Takes his place among the gargoyles. Turns to stone, still clutching the scroll container. The dog barks. Robbins calls out to his new friend. But there's no sound, no movement. He doesn't know how Hudson got away so fast, but he did.

16. On the VTOL, Broadway, still in chains, has turned to stone. Macbeth spots the gargoyles of Robbins' terrace. He orders Banquo to head that way.

ACT III
17. Robbins and his dog hear a noise on the terrace. He calls out "Hudson?", but the dog is growling and he knows Hudson isn't there. It's a man named Lennox Macduff, who claims to be a friend of Hudson's; he's looking for him. Robbins is suspicious. But Macduff is very polite and leaves without incident. What Robbins doesn't see is that Macduff slips the container out of Hudson's stone hand.

Dissolve to:

18. Sunset. Hudson bursts free. But the scroll container is gone. The noise has again brought Robbins to his terrace. Hudson claims that when he left in such a hurry this morning, he must have left something here accidentally. Has Robbins "seen" it? No, but you're friend Lennox Macduff was here, maybe he took it. Hudson knows no Macduff. Robbins isn't too surprised. He thought the name was odd. The two characters who found the dead king in Shakespeare's MACBETH. Hudson: "Macbeth?!!"

And maybe here is where we get the looking up of "Lennox Macduff's" address in the phone book. (Hudson never saw Macbeth's mansion in Episode 8. Goliath, Brook and Lex did.)

19. Inside Macbeth's compound Macbeth is preparing for some magic ceremony thing. There's a flame pit and other magical acoutrements. Broadway's flesh again, but still bound by heavy chains now anchored to the floors. He'll be Macbeth's guinea pig for trying out Merlin's spells. He starts to open the first scroll.

20. Outside the compound, Hudson is reunited with Goliath, Brook and Lex. They briefly exchange info. Then they attack. But Banquo and Fleance are ready. They're on turret mounted laser cannons that turn and twist like the ones on the Milennium Falcon (or something like that).

21. Macbeth tries to open the first scroll. It has been magically sealed, but a simple spell can break it open.

22. Goliath, Hudson, Brooklyn and Lex defeat Banquo and Fleance. They head inside.

23. Macbeth begins to read aloud from the first scroll. (I'm tempted to say he translates from Latin, but I don't know if that serves our aim. We could ignore the translation question. He reads it to us in English. Which may mean he's translating it for us automatically without bothering to mention that fact. Or we just do what we always have in this series which is ignore the differences between Old, Middle and Modern English, extending it to whatever Celtic dialect Merlin might have written in.) As he reads aloud, it soon becomes clear that it is not a spellbook but an autobiography, a narrative. A history. You get the idea. He's furious. All that trouble for a stupid book.

Hudson, Goliath, Brook and Lex storm in. Macbeth is unprepared, so he flips a release on Broadway's floor chains, but then uses him as a hostage for his escape. (Now I know I said to watch out for this. And we still need to. Macbeth needs to rationalize this. Probably outloud.) Goliath threatens to drop the scrolls into the fire if Macbeth doesn't release Broadway unharmed. (Goliath still believes that this is a book of magic, i.e. a dangerous human weapon.) Macbeth is about to laugh at this threat, when Broadway protests. "Goliath, you can't." Broadway now believes that the scrolls are infinitely precious. Goliath is surprised to hear this from Broadway. Where'd he get this from? From Macbeth. Those scrolls are magic. They can transport us back...all that good stuff. Even Macbeth is impressed. Cautiously, he releases Broadway. He tells the gargoyles they are tresspassing on his property. Take the scrolls and go.

24. The gargoyles wing their way back towards the clock tower. They plan on giving the scrolls back to Elisa, so that she can return them to the museum. Goliath's sure that after the museum has authenticated them, they will be transcribed and published. But if the others want, he can read the scrolls aloud to them, before he gives them to Elisa. But Hudson says no. For a moment, everyone is a bit taken aback. Then Hudson says that he wants to read them himself. As soon as his friends help teach him how. They glide off across the city.

25. Dissolve to Robbins at his house with his dog. He's reading a braille newspaper about the recovery of the Scrolls of Merlin. "Hmmm.... Scrolls of Merlin.... I think I've found my next novel."

And we get our Tuchman quote, probably read by Robbins (Ray Charles?).

O.K. That's it. Let me know if you have any questions or problems.


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Andrew Warren writes...

A quick reply to your ramble on "Re-Awakening."

I found this episode to be very satisfying. I was particularly thrilled that you kept track of what was known by the characters. Too many shows would have assumed that since the audience knew the red Steel Clan design was Xanatos, so did the heroes. Kudos for avoiding the pitfall.

Greg responds...

Thanks. Tried to keep up with that stuff.

Response recorded on July 10, 2000

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Ambrosia writes...

Was Gary Sperling the one who wrote Grief? :)
Anyways, sorry about my last post on Max Steel. I should have known you'd clear that up long before you got to read it.
See you later!

Greg responds...

No, I don't think so. I don't have the credits in front of me, but I'm confident that Michael Reaves story edited that episode, and Gary didn't write for Michael. Only for himself. (They both wrote for me.) I can't remember who wrote GRIEF off the top of my head. Ask again, and if I'm in the office when I'm answering the question, I'll look it up.

Frankly, I'm embarrassed that I don't know.

Response recorded on July 10, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

Another question about Demona's "Hunter's Moon" scheme. If she had succeeded in wiping out humanity in it, wouldn't the gargoyles have been in serious trouble even if the Praying Gargoyle hadn't been destroyed? After all, six billion decaying human corpses wouldn't be very good for the environment (even if the gargoyles are protected by the Praying Gargoyle, there's still the impact on the animals and plants to be considered). Or did Demona have some solution for that problem?

Greg responds...

Depends on how and how quickly those corpses decayed. But it didn't happen. So who cares?

Response recorded on July 10, 2000

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Elisa writes...

yo greg.....
OKAY....i was just watching "Future Tense" and something has been bothering me....
you notice that when Goliath, Claw, and Bluestone are in the city shortly after Angela and Elisa are captured by Xanatos robots, a bunch of 'Talon' mutates patrol down the street. and one of them approaches a woman who is supposed to be Maria Chavez's daughter....
the first time i saw that ep, i mistook her for Elisa...
but why exactly DO they make Chavez's daugher look just like Elisa? i don't get it!

Greg responds...

I don't think she looks much like Elisa at all. Does anyone else think so?

Response recorded on July 10, 2000

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Demona Taina writes...

(Maria Destine: Thanks for reading my post. :) Well, I found those concept pics on the Avalon Archives, there are plenty of concept pics there. Here's a link to the pic:

http://avalon.gargoyles-fans.org/ftp/pictures/bible/9c.jpg)

Hey there, Greg!

Just a quickie. How did the trio get Goliath to the Clock Tower when Wolf electrocuted him? He seemed unconscious, or was he?

Thanks!

Greg responds...

Which episode are we discussing?

Response recorded on July 10, 2000

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Demona Taina writes...

Here's a quickie...

You know in the episode "Reawakening" when Goliath and Coldstone fell to the water? Well, why couldn't Goliath just swim to the surface? Why did he have to stay in the water? Was he trying to anything?

Thanks!

Greg responds...

You mean the first time they hit the water? If so, Goliath was stunned by falling off the bridge. It was a long fall, and he hit the water hard. He didn't swim, because he was losing consciousness. The second time, he dived in. He was ready. And he did swim.

Response recorded on July 10, 2000

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James Park writes...

One of my favorite quotes is the one by Jeffrey Robbins at the end of Lighthouse in a Sea of Time. The one

The written word is all that stands between memory and oblivion. Without books as our anchors, we are cast adrift neither teaching, nor learning. They are windows on the past, mirrors on the present, and prisms reflecting all possible futures. Books are lighthouses erected in the dark
sea of time.

1) Who wrote this? I have it currently attributed to you, but do you know who actually wrote it?

2) Didn't oral traditions serve the same function (in at least some ways--keeping customs and histories alive) as books in certain cultures, like Native American, and others?

Greg responds...

1. No, not me. It was either Brynne Chandler Reaves or Lydia Marano or both. The title itself, "A Lighthouse in the Sea of Time", comes I believe from a Barbara Tuchman book. (Can anyone confirm this?)

2. Probably, yes.

Response recorded on July 10, 2000

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Zeliard writes...

Hi mr. Weisman!

In Metamorphosis, why Xanatos didn't provided Goliath's DNA to Sevarius?

Thanks!

Greg responds...

He had already. That was a lie to help fool Derek. Thailog was already in the works.

Response recorded on July 10, 2000

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Chapter XVI: "Legion"

Story Editor: Michael Reaves
Written by Marty Isenberg & Robert N. Skir

I just watched "Legion" again. Time to Ramble.

From the memo I posted earlier this week, you'll see that the never used on screen names of Othello, Desdemona and Iago were my idea. But I've always wondered if that's the case. The outline that Marty and Bob wrote immediately prior to that memo had all the Othello elements very, very present in the story. All they didn't do was NAME the characters. I always wondered whether they and/or Michael had the Othello story specifically in mind, consciously or un-, and I just capitalized on it.

The Goldencup Bakery Building, which semi-secretly houses a defense department hi-tech research and development installation is modeled after the Silver Cup Bakery Building -- which actually exists in Brooklyn (as I recall). That Building was trashed in the original HIGHLANDER movie in the final battle between Connor and the Kragen (who was played by a pretty damned horrific Clancy Brown). Small world.

I was always worried that the whole Othello, Desdemona, Iago, Cassio (whoops, I mean Goliath) backstory was a bit vague in this episode. Did anyone have problems getting it?

I don't think I'd like to be one of those Goldencup Guards. Coldstone punches one of them out. That's gotta hoit. He just seems fairly unstoppable in that Xanatos-program controlled sequence. I like how that plays.

Matt says to Elisa: "You never let me drive." My wife's reaction: "Was that in homage to me?" My wife, you see, almost always drives when we're together. She gets carsick when anyone else drives. And I don't much care.

Speaking of Matt, we've got that line about him spending six months reading RECAP manuals to justify why a normal detective would be in charge of RECAP in the first place. Just trying to avoid either adding a superfluous character and/or making the situation seem artificial.

Another appearance of the Scarab Corp. Logo, even though Scarab is never mentioned by name. Oh, well...

Coldstone flees the Goldencup. Goliath and Lex pursue, and Coldstone attacks them. Then he immediately stops, when he sees it's Goliath. The problem I always had with that scene is that the lighting made it obvious that it was Goliath from moment one. (Not just to us, but to Coldstone.) If Goliath had been in shadows, it would have played better.

Minutes later Lex asks Goliath if it's wise to take Coldstone into their home: "He hasn't always been your friend." This was, theoretically, a reference not simply to the most recent attack, nor even only to the events of "Reawakening", but also a reference to the pre-Massacre backstory of the actually non-existent love triangle (or square or pentagram if you include Demona) that caused Goliath and Othello to fight way back when. Lex remembers those days too. Othello was always a bit of a hot-head.

I love Goliath's response: "Without trust there can be no clan." And I love that this is part of a Lex/Goliath exchange. It fits in perfectly with the message they taught each other in "Thrill of the Hunt". Gotta take some chances on occasion. Or else you'll always be alone. It's an anti-Demona mentality. Or rather a mentality that is strikingly un-Demona-esque.

From the moment Coldstone premiered in "Reawakening" I knew (that if we survived to a second season) we'd discover that he was created from three Gargoyles. Tried to work that conceptually into the design more, but we never quite achieved it. So basically that becomes something that the audience has to take on trust.

Which brings me to the title "Legion". It's a one-word title which usually is a tip-off that it's one of mine. I know it's a biblical reference. Some possessed guy with a demon/devil inside who goes by the name "Legion". But that's not actually where I got it. When I was a kid, I saw this tv movie based on Mary Shelley's FRANKENSTEIN. It starred Michael Sarazan or Chris Sarandon. (I always used to mix those two guys up.) It was trying to present a more realistic believable version of the Frankenstein story. I was pretty young. And I don't remember too much about it. I do remember that I was supposed to be asleep -- past my bedtime in the days before my parents gave up and I began going to bed long after they were asleep. But instead of being asleep, I was watching it, in the dark, with the volume turned as far down as possible, me sitting right by the set, so I could flip it off if I heard my parents' door opening. (This was long before remote controls were common.) Anyway, the one scene that I really remember is a scene where they put the Monster under hypnosis. The voices of all the people who "donated" body parts begin to speak. And one of them quotes the "Legion" thing from the bible. But I didn't know that. That is I didn't know back then that he was quoting anyone or anything. It just seemed like a very powerful, poetic and humanly true statement. So it wasn't until college that I read that passage in the bible and realized where it was from. Can anyone cite the actual quote? I can't remember where exactly it's from, and I don't feel like searching right now.

Anyway, all this is relevant because Coldstone was ALWAYS our Frankenstein character from the "IT'S ALIVE!" moment to the "Legion" stuff here.

Coldstone calls Hudson "Mentor". That's a "name" I've been long considering for Hudson's "designation" in the DARK AGES prequel spin-off.

Coldstone shoots Goliath at point blank range. Goliath gets up unharmed. A far cry from what happened to G in "Long Way to Morning." Now in the outline and script, it says that Coldstone uses his "concussion cannon" as opposed to his laser cannon. But nothing in the as-aired episode makes that distinction. And so it just looks irresponsible to me. Like suddenly we're saying violence has no repercussions. Did that bother anyone else?

I love the dark comedy of Coldstone going bonkers at Ellis Island. Fighting with himself. I think Michael Dorn did a terrific job playing all four aspects of CS's personality. Which of you figured out what when? I'd like to know.

The Trio has the Recap visor. Now all they have to do is find Goliath, Hudson and Coldstone. How will they do that? "Three guesses?" A very elegant way to explain how in a huge city, they're able to locate three gargoyles.

Kenner's Coldstone toy is a lot of fun. With it's window into Coldstone's soul. And the spinner that allows any of the four personas to take over at random.

Xanatos doesn't even appear until the VERY END of Act Two. And it's not even really Xanatos, just a program designed by him. Normally, I'd say that wasn't playing fair. But I feel like his presence was obvious all-along. (And did David personally design that program. Or did he just put his stamp on it, management-style?)

There's a moment when Goliath, thrilled to see his rookery sister again, hugs Desdemona. She is immediately annoyed, because she knows that hug is prone to misinterpretation. It's a nice little touch in the animation.

I always wondered what if anything Demona thought about that ancient conflict way back when. Was Iago playing her as well? Trying to make her jealous of Desdemona? I think maybe he did try. But wouldn't it be cool if she didn't credit it for a second. If she just knew intuitively that Desdemona didn't present any threat at all to her relationship with G? Because, I feel the opposite is true. That Demona knew intuitively that Elisa DID present a threat. Say what you want for Demona, but her subconscious knows her man.

I love that moment where BOTH Iago and Xanatos are whispering in Othello's ears. Poor slob never stood a chance.

We've got a nice little Xanatos tag in this one too. Certainly not a doozy as in "Leader" or "Metamorphosis", but it's got a nice little kick to it, I think. And that's THREE episodes in a row. X had been busy.

And then I love the last beat back at the clock tower. Goliath has confiscated Coldstone's body, to keep it safe and "among friends" should he/she ever wake up again. I wanted to keep it in the corner from that point until "High Noon". Always present and visible. We didn't for two reasons. First, we figured it would be a bit confusing. The Batcave can get away with the giant penny and other souvenirs from Batman's cases, because there ARE multiple souvenirs. But just having one immobile gargoyle in the background, as cool and creepy as that is, would be horribly distracting for any audience member who missed this one particular episode. And second, we had our tier system. What if "Legion" wasn't ready as scheduled. We couldn't have Coldstone sitting around the clock tower in later episodes that we'd be forced to air first. Talk about disconcerting. So we invented a back room. Where Coldstone, the Grimorum, the Gate and eventually the eye could be stored.

Comments welcome, as usual...


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Demona Taina writes...

Me again!

I was watching the episode "The Price" a while ago. Great work on it! It really had me fooled the first time I watched it. I believed that Hudson put a spell on Hudson until I saw him on that cage. Great animation, too. I think Goliath look incredibly handsome! I'm a big fan of him. :)

Xanatos took a piece of Hudson's stone skin and threw it in the Cauldron. Owen submerged his hand in the Cauldron of Life, it turned to stone. So, I was wondering... what if Xanatos had taken a bit of Hudson's brown skin and threw it in the Cauldron instead?

What if instead of turning the body to stone it would make it immortal?

After all, wasn't it obvious to Xanatos that using a piece of stone would turn the body to stone? (Sure, it would make him immortal, but obviously not alive; unless he would've been alive under that stone skin, was he?)

Thank you for your time!
A devoted fan

Greg responds...

"...Hudson put a spell on Hudson"?

You mean sliced off some of Hudson's flesh? Ewwww. Not exactly X's style, eh what?

Anyway, no the recipee was specific. Gargoyle's STONE skin. And the result was intentional and ironic.

Response recorded on July 05, 2000

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Anonymous writes...

Just another little question. :)

I was watching "Deadly Force" this morning, in spanish anyway, and that scene where Goliath visited Elisa at the hospital really touched me. I mean, someone could've gone in and seen him, but he didn't care, he had to see his human friend.

I think it was a great episode and that all kids should watch it. It would teach them not to mess with guns because someone you love could get hurt.

Why did the USA Network cut out that scene? That touching, beautiful scene of Goliath visiting his wounded friend. Why did the USA Network cut out scenes after all?

So, back to my question. Was Goliath on his knees when he was at the hospital? I saw him get down to reach her, but maybe he just found a chair nearby to use. Was he on his knees then?

Thanks for reading. :)

Greg responds...

I didn't know USA did cut that scene. Are you sure? I know Toon Disney isn't airing that entire episode. They think it's innappropriate for their audience (even though the series airs after 10pm).

USA, which no longer has the series, mostly cut things for time. That is, cut stuff to give more time for commercials.

Toon Disney cuts stuff because they think it's innappropriate. I hate both rationales.

And as for your question, he was kneeling.

Response recorded on July 05, 2000

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Memo on "Legion" outline...

I re-watched "Legion" the other night. I'll post my Rambling on it sometime this week, but first here's a memo from September, '94, written by me to Michael Reaves in response to Bob Skir & Marty Isenberg's first draft outline on the episode [reprinted here unedited]:

WEISMAN 9-1-94

Notes on "LEGION" Outline...
Lots of great stuff in here. I just want to make sure that (1) we're clear on the theme and we milk it for all it's worth; (2) we're not skipping beats that will keep things mysterious and interesting for our audience; (3) we clarify the relationships (and names) a bit, and (4) we divorce it all from the 994 Viking attack.

General notes, in no particular order:

NAMES
O.K. I'm as well versed in our series as anyone is going to get, and even I found myself confused by (and backtracking because of) our name problem. Coldstone... Pre-Coldstone... Coldstone's Love... Coldstone's Foe... Coldstone's Dyslexia could cause Coldstone's Ulcer. So let's give our "internal characters" names. I would suggest carrying these names into the script for use in character descriptions and stage directions. Use the names to indicate who is controlling the Coldstone creature at any given moment. And when we are in the inner world of Coldstone's psyche they can also be used as headings for the dialogue. The only place where we should not use these names is in the actual spoken dialogue. They are for our designation only, since, as we all know, gargoyles had no names in the tenth century.

COLDSTONE = The cyborg/gargoyle creature currently known as Coldstone and voiced by Michael Dorn. Use this name only when referring to him in the present. Or in stage directions when referring to the external creature. And obviously, this is the one name we can use in spoken dialogue.

OTHELLO = (Hey, we've already done Macbeth.) The situation you described naturally brought Othello to mind. Othello will refer to Pre-Coldstone (also voiced by Michael Dorn) when he is internally depicted as he was in the tenth century.

DESDEMONA = Will obviously refer to Othello's female gargoyle lover. (Please remember that Desdemona was a warrior in her own right. She can justifiably be confused by this new and bizarre situation, but she shouldn't be weak, clingy or changeable.)

IAGO = Will refer to Othello's male gargoyle foe.

THE BACKSTORY
The main problem I had with this backstory was its tough-to-swallow interweaving with the Viking massacre. I sense you were trying to explain how all their gargoyle parts got mixed up together. This isn't necessary. I think it's safe to assume that when Demona and Xanatos were gathering parts to create Coldstone, they couldn't find enough usable parts from any single gargoyle. We don't know the magical and scientific details that were necessary to revivify this creature, but I think we can safely assume that neither Demona or Xanatos simply wanted to graft Othello's head onto a robot body. Demona especially would have wanted the creature to be as much a gargoyle as possible. So she found a large chunk of Othello's head and a few other usable pieces. She chose him because the Viking who shattered him was lazy and left some chunks intact, but also because she may have had reason to believe that Othello had shared her negative views of humanity. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough of him to build Coldstone. So she turned around and found a nice unbroken piece of Desdemona. And over here, a piece or two from Iago. Toss in Xanatos' computer parts and you've got yourself a creature. She didn't have to be mixing them together by accident. We can posit that she did it out of necessity.

That gives us the freedom to remove this event from the Viking attack. We don't need to imply that Goliath is distracted by an impending Viking attack (which frankly I don't think he was expecting). And we don't need to sandwich in Othello's pursuit of Goliath on the fateful night. And we don't have to toss Demona into this particular story at all. (It's crowded enough as it is.) In fact, the incidents of this story's flashback could have happened months or years before they were all destroyed by Hakon's men. Let's give ourselves this breathing room.

COLDSTONE'S VOICE
I think Coldstone only has one voice-box: Othello's. No matter who controls the creature from the inside, from the outside he sounds like Michael Dorn. I'm not simply suggesting this for logic and/or economy (we'll still cast a different actress and actor for Desdemona and Iago in the mind-world sequences), but because I think we'd be missing a bet by not keeping our audience guessing until the third act as to what's causing the odd behavior of Coldstone. When Othello is in control, he will remember the events of "Reawakening". Neither Desdemona or Iago will, and they will react very differently to being awakened in the 20th century. When the computer is in control (i.e. when Xanatos is issuing simple and direct commands), Coldstone will respond like an automaton. But in every case, he will speak with Dorn's voice. This does more than present an interesting challenge for Dorn. It keeps our audience guessing as to what is going on.

However, we have no desire to keep our storyboard artists and animators guessing. Please resist the temptation to write the script as a mystery that only reveals things to the reader when the audience discovers the same truth. We need this teleplay to be a blueprint: as clear and straightforward as possible. We need to track who is in control of Coldstone at all times. (And if the above paragraph goes without saying, accept my apologies in advance.)

THEME
The theme of today's adventure is TRUST. And I really want to emphasize it as much as possible. Misplaced trust. Lack of trust. The need for trust. Betrayed trust. All those good trust beats. Goliath puts his trust in Coldstone, who seems to betray it. Othello trusts Iago instead of Desdemona and Goliath. Iago puts his trust in Xanatos. Etc. Etc. Etc. Just at the point where you've put the trust brick through the plate glass window of our audience's attention is the point where we've hit the mark. Anything short of that is liable to get lost in the shuffle of such a complex story. Playing this theme in action and dialogue will help keep us focused.

GOLIATH'S GOAL
Goliath's goal is to restore Coldstone to the clan. Goliath misses his rookery brother. Remember, there are so few gargoyles left, that Goliath would value every one.

THE POLICE TICKING CLOCK
Rather than create a whole new character in charge of the police probe robot, I'd like to use Matt Bluestone. It's a bit of a stretch, I know, but there've been episodes of Hill Street where normal everyday cops were given the opportunity to test and evaluate new hi-tech material to see how it performed in real life situations. I think we can buy into it here as well. Particularly given Matt's personality. He's the kind of guy who would study the manuals and learn how to use this stuff. He's seen Goliath and Coldstone battle in Times Square. And he's an odd combination of compassionate idealist and minor paranoid. He might feel that it's better to know how this stuff works than be at the mercy of it. He could get into it.

And once the VR hook-up was "borrowed", he'd be pretty intent on finding out what was going on. He knows weird shit has been happening in Manhattan, but we've kept him an outsider to the world of the gargoyles. Though he's a decent guy, his ignorance makes him a viable threat to our heroes.

SCIENCE, SORCERY & CYBERSCAPE
In the beat sheet that follows, I've tracked the story in the most basic terms. [The science mostly.] But as you noted in your outline, Coldstone was created from both science and sorcery. So feel free to embellish the basics which I describe here. Particularly in the cyberscape scenes. Here, I've laid out only the bare bones to make sure the story tracks. The cyberspace reality should be fluid and changing, easily influenced by the thoughts, emotions and memories of the players involved. (Particularly Othello, but also Desdemona, Iago and even Xanatos and Goliath if appropriate.)

BEAT SHEET:
ACT ONE - (The idea in this act is to depict Coldstone under the control of each of his four masters (Xanatos, Othello, Desdemona and Iago) in turn, without revealing to the audience or our characters what exactly is happening.)

1. The George Washington Bridge, just before sunset. Coldstone's red robotic eye burns awake in the muck beneath the bridge. Automatic repair work begins. (Remember, the last time we saw him, Demona blew him away with a cannon.)

Intercut between these repairs and brief flashbacks to 10th century Scotland. Fleeting images of Othello and Desdemona in love. Of Iago sewing seeds of jealousy in Othello while Desdemona confides with Goliath. Of Othello attacking Goliath. Of Desdemona coming between them.

Then repairs complete, Coldstone rockets into the night sky. The creature speaks with Coldstone's voice (Michael Dorn) but in a modulated automaton-like fashion. "Repairs complete. New programming downloaded. Initiating Prime Directives."

[Basically Xanatos has broadcast a new binary code and reactivated the creature. It is Xanatos' computer programming which is now in control. Othello is still dormant.]

2. Goldencup Bakery Building, dusk. (Since this is a fictionalized location anyway, let's relocate it to Manhattan, so that we can pretend that it is located within Elisa and Goliath's "beat".) Coldstone [still under complete computer control] raids the government installation. His approach is anything but subtle. Alarms sound.

3. Clock Tower, just after sunset. Elisa's tosses Lex a headset receiver/transmitter. She tells him that she and Matt had been put on alert and now they got the call. Something's going down and they're going to test "the thing". It's clear from dialogue that they've discussed this already, as Lex is very excited to see how and if "the thing" works. Goliath is curious. What are they talking about? A new police robot probe for dealing with high-risk situations. The cops control it by using a virtual reality hook-up. Goliath: "Virtual... Reality?" This he has to see. He and Lex will follow her by air. They promise to stay out of sight.

4. Back at Goldencup, Coldstone moves like a juggernaut towards the computer room. He does not fight against the building's security forces, he simply ignores all opposition. Finally, he plugs into the computer. Suddenly Coldstone seems to have no idea where he is, what he was up to or why everyone is shooting at him.

[Although we shouldn't reveal what's going wrong yet, the computer virus has begun its attack on Coldstone's programming. It causes the creature to freeze up for a moment, and then Othello wakes up within his own body.]

Not knowing how he came into the windowless room, Coldstone doesn't even know the way out of the building. Well, he may not have the answers, but he can do something about his attackers. He begins to fight back. The humans are driven out.

5. Outside, Morgan tells Elisa & Matt that some kind of semi-robotic creature is pinned down inside. Matt is putting on the VR interface visor. Elisa asks him if he's sure he knows what he's doing. Matt says "Trust me, I didn't study all those manuals for nothing." The probe robot moves in. (Obviously, this thing shouldn't come close to being on a par with any of Xanatos' robots, but let's not make it a push-over either.) Lex and Goliath watch from building-tops, despite Elisa's warnings that they could be mistaken for the "creature". Lex is fascinated with the probe. Goliath is more interested in seeing what kind of creature the probe flushes out.

6. Meanwhile, Matt is getting the hang of the probe robot. At first it doesn't seem to be responding well. It freezes up by a computer bank and the visor goes dark for a few seconds, but then it kicks into gear. The robot approaches Coldstone. Matt tries to get Coldstone to surrender, via his connection to the Probe. But Coldstone's still a 10th century warrior at heart. He won't surrender to some Iron Tree stump (or whatever it looks like). So now it's Coldstone vs. the Probe. The Probe gets in a couple good shots, but soon it's on the ropes. Matt whips the visor off, just before the probe is destroyed. The feedback could be dangerous. (But note, the robot should not be blown to bits, just wrecked.) At any rate, the battle has led Coldstone to an exit (or at least to a small window, which he cannons into an exit). He takes off. Spotted by Lex and Goliath who pursue.

7. Goliath, Lex and Coldstone are reunited. (Maybe Coldstone is defensive and antagonistic until he gets a clear look.) They pause on a building top to talk. Goliath is thrilled that Coldstone is still alive. Coldstone is mightily relieved to see a friendly face. Lex is a bit dissatisfied with Coldstone's non-answers to his questions about what he was doing at Goldencup. But Goliath happily invites Coldstone to join the clan at their new home. They take off. Lex glides up close to Goliath and quietly questions the wisdom of taking a former enemy (and a guy who's acting pretty strange) into their home. But Goliath TRUSTS his rookery brother.

8. They arrive at the clock tower. Coldstone is especially thrilled to see his "Old Mentor", Hudson. Coldstone didn't see Hudson in "REAWAKENING" and is thrilled that Hudson survived the centuries. Nearly overcome with emotion Coldstone says there's only one other that he would be happier to see alive. And suddenly, he begins acting very odd. "Where am I? Goliath is that you? What's wrong with my voice?" That kind of stuff.

[The virus has had a systemic effect on Coldstone. It broke Xanatos' pre-programmed control, allowing Othello to regain control of his body. But as the system continues to break down, other voices are coming to the surface. You could call them ghosts, if you want. But they are the personas "haunting" the pieces of Coldstone that were neither Othello nor electronic. The first to surface is Desdemona, summoned to some degree by Othello's intense emotional memory of her. She has not been briefed on her circumstances and is legitimately confused.]

Somewhere in here, Coldstone catches sight of its own reflection, freaks out and takes off. Goliath and Hudson pursue. Brooklyn and Broadway are about to follow, when Lex stops them. Something's wrong inside Coldstone's head. And he thinks he knows how to find out what.

9. Goliath and Hudson catch up to Coldstone (after a chase?) at Ellis Island. As they approach, Coldstone stands very still, out of breath. Stunned by the huge city of Manhattan.

(Note: somewhere in here, Brooklyn glides toward them, spots them and then instead of landing, doubles back.)

Goliath asks "What's wrong?" Coldstone's whole demeanor changes: "What's wrong? Why, nothing. Nothing at all."

[The enormity of events has weakened Desdemona's hold over Coldstone. Iago has stepped in. The difference is that Iago arrives prepared. He has been briefed by the Xanatos programming. More on this later.]

Goliath hesitates for a moment, but in for a penny, in for a pound. He trusts Coldstone, approaches him openly. And Coldstone takes the opportunity to blow Goliath away.

ACT TWO - (In this act, Coldstone's deterioration continues. The personality shifts come quicker and ultimately don't wait for Othello to vacate control.)

10. Hudson moves quickly to Goliath's side. Good news. Coldstone used his concussion cannon, so Goliath is still alive. Of course, that could change. Goliath and Hudson barely avoid a blast from Coldstone's other cannon. The one that could kill them. Goliath can't understand what's going on, but Hudson points out that he's not going to have a chance to figure it out if they don't start fighting back. So it's a fight.

11. Meanwhile at Goldencup, Elisa and Matt are tying up loose ends. Lex arrives, and via his headset hook-up and her hidden microphone and ear piece, he tells her that the creature was Coldstone and that he's acting really weird. She's not surprised. Coldstone had plugged into a computer usually loaded with military defense secrets. But Goldencup had received a tip that there might be trouble. (That's why the Police had the Probe Robot ready.) But Goldencup took extra precautions, the defense computer was loaded with a new computer virus. It's probably destroying Coldstone's internal programming.

Lex takes this all in and then makes his request. He needs Matt's VR visor and the interface off the wrecked Probe Robot.

12. Back to Goliath and Hudson vs. Coldstone. Just as the tables might be turning, Coldstone's demeanor changes again. Why is Goliath attacking him?

[Iago was afraid of losing. During that moment of doubt, Othello regained control. As yet, Othello is unaware of the changes Coldstone's been going through.]

Now at this point, both Goliath and Coldstone [Othello] are pretty suspicious of each other. Goliath doesn't want to be fooled again. Coldstone says he blacked out at the clock tower. Now he's here and fighting with his rookery brother? He's confused and his head hurts....

And now Coldstone goes through some major mood swings.

[Rapid fire changes from Othello to Desdemona to Iago, etc.]

And now things get really strange. Coldstone can't seem to control some of his body parts. He's arguing with himself -- out loud. (Note: all these voices are still Michael Dorn.)

[Though Othello retains partial control, the other personas are bubbling to the surface as the whole system continues to break down. Now for the first time, Othello can hear the other voices, but it is a cacophony that is driving him nuts. I don't think he yet recognizes them specifically as Desdemona or Iago.]

Some of the voices tell him to trust Goliath. Some say destroy him. Some reiterate the events we saw in the flashback.

The "argument" gets more violent. Coldstone holds his head. He demands silence. He begins to fire blindly in all directions as if he could silence the voices that way. He's losing it. Goliath and Hudson dive for cover.

Suddenly Lex dive-bombs in, smashing into Coldstone and, not-so-incidentally, installing the VR interface hook-up. Coldstone collapses to his knees, begging for quiet.

Brooklyn and Broadway come in for a landing behind Lex. (While Lex was getting the equipment from Elisa, they had been scouting for Goliath, Hudson and Coldstone. When Brooklyn spotted them, he doubled back to tell Lex where to find them.)

Goliath tells them that Coldstone is being destroyed from the inside out.

Lex agrees and holds up the visor. If they want to save him, someone's going to have to go inside to do it.

13. Back at Goldencup, Matt tells Elisa that the VR visor and the hook-up have been stolen. Since secretly she took them and gave them to Lex, she shrugs and says they'll turn up. He's sure they will. This was expensive equipment with built-in homing beacons. He shows her a tracking device. They'll find them, all right. And when they do, he won't be half surprised if they find their creature as well.

14. Back on the Island, Lex is not at all thrilled about Goliath's decision to put on the visor himself. Lex feels that he's the best qualified to handle the technology, which is exactly why Goliath needs him on the outside in case something goes wrong. Goliath puts on the visor. An aura of Electricity and Magic surround him and Coldstone.

15. Goliath finds himself in cyber-sorcer-limbo-space . In front of him is a bridge leading over a swirling vortex [the virus] . There's nowhere to go but across. So he goes. There are already holes in the drawbridge. And the holes are getting bigger.

[The virus is now eating away at the VR interface.]

Goliath realizes that he's going to have to fix this problem, and get back across the bridge/interface before there's nothing left of it. On the other side of the bridge rising out of the cyber-mist is a dreamscape version of the 10th century Castle Wyvern. There are three gargoyles (Othello, Desdemona & Iago) frozen in cyber-stone. And half-hidden in the shadows is another familiar face -- Xanatos. He welcomes a shocked Goliath as we fade to black.

ACT THREE - (Revelation and conflict inside the deteriorating mind of Coldstone.)

16. The vortex is everywhere, and the castle is slowly sinking into it. Goliath demands an explanation from Xanatos, who steps out of the shadows and reveals that his body is full of cyber-holes, and is partially gone. Like the bridge, he is being eaten away by the virus. Xanatos explains that he is not in fact Xanatos, but a computer program with a primary objective to enslave Coldstone to Xanatos' grand design. Goliath is determined to stop him.

Suddenly the three gargoyles explode free of their stone shells. Othello again drops to his knees. Still traumatized. Desdemona runs to Goliath. (She was his rookery-sister, and he would remember her and greet her as such.) Now she fills in the blanks. Xanatos used more than one gargoyle to build his creature. They all live on inside it. But Iago is trying to wrest control of the creature from Othello. He's made some kind of deal with the human (i.e. Xanatos). But she won't let it happen. She loves Othello. Goliath must help her save him.

But meanwhile, Iago and Xanatos haven't been wasting any time. They whisper in Othello's ear. "See how Goliath steals your love away? It was the same 1000 years ago and now, once again, they have betrayed your trust."

Othello turns on Goliath. Knocks him back. Basically, tries to drop-kick him into the vortex.

17. On the outside, a catatonic Goliath and Coldstone seem to reel from the blows of invisible foes. Lex doesn't know what to make of the glowing aura that surrounds them. But Hudson recognizes sorcery when he sees it. Coldstone was created by science and sorcery. It was something Lex hadn't counted on. Then, via headset, Elisa alerts Lex that Matt is determined to get to the bottom of this mystery and that he and the authorities are closing in on them by SWAT helicopter and police boat. They better make tracks. Lex tries to take the visor off Goliath but the aura throws him back. It ain't gonna be that easy.

18. Inside, Desdemona tries to separate Goliath and Othello. Othello: "Again, you come to his defense." But she protests. He is forgetting what happened. 1000 years ago he was jealous of Goliath, but needlessly. Her love for him is eternal and true. And Goliath was not and is not his enemy but rather his brother and true friend. He has been tricked again by Iago. It's a crucial moment. Who will Othello trust? Desdemona & Goliath or Iago & the human Xanatos? Othello will trust his heart. He turns to face his true enemies.

But it's too late. The partial Xanatos is already merging with Iago. Together they are transformed into a Cyborg version of Iago, but giant-sized. The giant Cyborg-Iago smashes Goliath and Othello and prepares to throw them over the ramparts and into the vortex. With his other hand, Iago lifts Desdemona to eye level and invites her to merge with him as well. Then they can finally be together as Iago always knew they should be.

19. Outside, Lex stands watch over Coldstone and Goliath, while Hudson, Brooklyn and Broadway try to sabotage Matt's attack force without hurting anyone or being seen. They cut fuel lines on the choppers. Overturn the boats or whatever.

20. Inside, Desdemona tries to hand Cyborg-Iago his head. She's a warrior and will choose her own love. This gives Othello and Goliath the chance to recover. Now it's the three gargoyle heroes against the giant cyborg-monster. Maybe the castle landscape itself begins to change and mutate into a hollow vision of Coldstone. (They are battling for the soul of this creature-amalgam.) Ultimately, (surprise, surprise) it is the giant-cyborg-Iago that is tossed into the vortex.

But time is running out. Othello and Desdemona insist that Goliath return to his own body before the vortex swallows everything. But what about them? They are finally together. If they can halt the vortex, so be it. If they fall to it, so be that. At least they will be together. The bridge appears. Goliath crosses it, just as it collapses into the vortex.

21. Outside, the magical aura fades away just as Broadway, Brooklyn and Hudson return. Authorities are still coming. Couldn't do anymore without revealing themselves. Goliath removes the visor. Lex removes the interface from Coldstone. For the first time since scene one, Coldstone's red robotic eye dims and fades.

22. Matt and Elisa finally arrive on the island. Matt uses his tracking devise to lead them to the equipment. They find the visor and interface on the ground. The area is otherwise deserted. Not a creature in sight.

23. At Xanatos' castle, Xanatos asks Owen if there were any problems. Besides the minor setback of losing Coldstone, no. Xanatos' Scarab Corp. Robotics Division confiscated the remains of the Probe Robot (including the interface and visor) which they had supplied to the police in the first place. Coldstone was the perfect cover for the Probe Robot to get what Xanatos really wanted: the virus. Forget defense secrets, the virus is the deadliest weapon he knows of. It even defeated the mighty Coldstone.

24. Inside the clock tower, Goliath has installed the dormant Coldstone in the corner. Someday, he trusts, his rookery brother and sister may fight their way to the surface. He wants them among friends when they do.


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Blaise writes...

HER BROTHER'S KEEPER

Boy, I'm dense. I hadn't realized just how far the "siblings" idea went (Jackal and Hyena were right out of my mind--I just thought they were good villains).
Speaking of the terrible twins, they got some pretty good dialogue throughout, but especially at the beginning. I like how Mr. Reaves managed to put in some exposition on the other Pack members and make it sound organic. BTW, Hyena thinks Dingo knows how to have a "good time," eh? If what she said was true, and considering her own personality, Dingo changed A LOT by the end of the series. And I always have to say "OW" when Hyena digs her heel into Jackal's shin.
I kind of figured the gargoyles were throwing the twins out of the 'copter with the intent to kill. I pretty much KNEW you guys would slap parachutes on them, but I didn't expect the gargoyles themselves to be that "PC". Like I said, I always liked that edge.
Going to the trio--some of the best lines in the series there, IMHO. And most of them Brooklyn's! "Famous last words," "Yeah, use the Force, Lex," and "You and what Starfleet" always make me smile. I also like the look on their faces when Goliath yells at the Maza siblings at the end. A particularly memorable moment that. Excellent dialogue (Mr. Reaves always seems to have a gift for that).
Now I get to the main part of the ep. Just as the Trio and Hudson (who doesn't have a single line in this ep, hmmm) had their own ep to shine, this one belonged to Elisa. I liked the struggle she had with her brother over Xanatos. I began to notice the irony of each sibling's discussion with their parents in later viewings, but the fact that both siblings were wrong did strike me. As for that ending...I was sure he was going to play the tape and listen to it, but I did like it that the ending was ambiguous as to that event. The snow was a nice touch, too (and it actually made a crunching sound when they walked on it--this was the first animated show I saw where that happened!).
And one must admire Xanatos and his chutzpa. Love his ego in this one. Then there's Fox. When I saw her final remark, with the camera position and lighting, I knew that she loved him, or was at the very least infatuated. I didn't know if the feeling was mutual, however.
BTW, the beverage that Peter Maza was drinking...was it alcoholic?

I do enjoy watching this ep.

Greg responds...

Don't remember what Peter was drinking? Guess I have to watch it again.

Response recorded on July 03, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

A question about "The Silver Falcon". I recently discovered that the Chrysler Building was built in 1930. How, then, does Mace Malone manage to hide that bag with the marbles in it in one of its falcon-heads in 1924, six years earlier?

Greg responds...

Everyone has always assumed that that's the Chrysler Building. It's not. The script refers to it as "The Apex Tower". It's a fictional building, like the Eyrie. I won't deny that the artists used the Chrysler as inspiration. But we never called it the Chrysler. Never intended it to be the Chrysler.

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to set the record straight.

Response recorded on June 29, 2000

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Cyclonus writes...

Didn't Demona destroy a woman's arms in City of Stone. What happened to the woman?

Greg responds...

She probably died.

Response recorded on June 27, 2000

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"Metamorphosis" Memo

I recently re-viewed "Metamorphosis". Before typing up my ramble on the subject, here's an unedited look at the memo I wrote to story editor Michael Reaves in July, 1994 regarding Brynne & Lydia's first draft of their outline for the episode....
________

WEISMAN 7-27-94

Notes on "Metamorphosis" Outline...
O.K. I made a few changes, as usual. Here's a bit of the reasoning, so they don't seem arbitrary. (I may be a pain to work with, but I try not to be arbitrary.)

THEME
The theme of today's adventure is SELF-DECEPTION. (We played the family theme in "Her Brother's Keeper". And since this is such a direct sequel to that one, I don't want to be playing the same emotional beats. That's not to say that "Family" isn't a secondary or tertiary theme running through this episode as well as our entire series, but we don't need to go out of our way to emphasize it here.) Derek is DECEIVED by Xanatos and Sevarius. But the deception would not have worked without Derek's own cooperation and SELF-DECEPTION. That's the tragedy. He's a victim, but he's helped to victimize himself, by fooling himself into believing that Xanatos was either a right guy or someone he could handle. But you can't play with fire without getting burned.

We'll reemphasize the theme with Xanatos himself, who will say that Sevarius fooled him and then admit that he really fooled himself, because he wanted to believe Sevarius. Of course this whole thing is an act on Xanatos' part, but it'll still reinforce the theme.

But as well as the above works, it unfortunately leaves our gargoyles as real fifth wheels to the story. So I've tossed in a little self-deception sub-plot for Brooklyn, as well.

ELISA & DEREK'S PARENTS
I've cut them. Partially out of economics. But mostly because they didn't seem to have much to say or do here. So I decided to keep our focus on Elisa & Derek.

ELISA & DEREK'S ARGUMENT
I'd rather not simply reiterate the conflict of "Her Brother's Keeper". In fact, I don't want to have to summon up the specific details of that episode. I think we should assume that in between the two seasons, Derek listened to Fox's taped "revelation" and that he and Elisa have already argued about it specifically. Now they are past that and in a mode of uneasy truce. He's talked himself into believing that Xanatos can't be that bad... or that if he is Derek'll find out for himself from the inside. Either way he can handle it. (Again: massive self-deception here.) Elisa has retreated to a "it's-your-life-but-don't-expect-me-to-approve" mode. They've agreed to disagree.

DEREK'S JOB
I think soliciting the homeless with a promise of money and food in exchange for being part of a scientific experiment is too slimy for even the self-deceiving Derek to swallow. Besides, it's not what he was hired to do. He's Xanatos' pilot and bodyguard. For these reasons, I've altered the set-up some.

THE HOMELESS
Michael, this story really seemed to dovetail with what you suggested for a future story on the Homeless underground. MAGGIE and the homeless men seemed like great potential characters. So I've increased their role here. (Particularly Maggie's.) In some episode down the road, Derek can lead his "people" underground.

CYBERBIOTICS
I don't want Xanatos to own Cyberbiotics. I don't have a specific idea in mind, but we might need a corporate opponent someday and I'd rather not have to create a new one. I've switched it to Genetic Undiscovered Technical Systems, also known as Gen-U-Tech or G.U.T.S., which I stuck into the bible a long time back. We never used it last season, so when it's first mentioned here, neither Elisa or Goliath will know that Xanatos owns it. I think it'll serve the same purpose.

POLICE PROCEDURES
Some of the actions that Matt and Elisa take seemed odd to me. Elisa allows Goliath to stop her from confronting Derek outside the building, but is intent on confronting him inside the building and is willing to bend the law to do it. I don't mind the bending so much as the inconsistency. Matt and Elisa talk their way by the guard, but then someone manning the cameras activates the security doors and gas. Who's manning the cameras? A different guard? Someone who wants Elisa to get through, but not Matt? The cameras must have seen that they got Matt but not her. I may be missing something, but I've made some changes to streamline this stuff.

THE PINKIE SWEAR
I don't think Derek would reveal his condition to his sister. Deep down, he must know that his self-deception has gotten him into this mess. He'd be ashamed of that and his monstrous appearance. He wouldn't initiate the pinkie swear at the end. Then again, neither would she with a monster she doesn't know. I love the pinkie swear, but I don't know if it can work here. What if in scene 2, Elisa's gesture is a more standard cross-my-heart thing, which Derek usually follows with some unique response like cross-my-eyes. Something silly that they've been doing since they were kids. Then at the end, she tries to talk to the monster; tries to inspire its trust with the standard cross-my-heart gesture. And before Derek can think about it, he automatically responds with his unique response.

THE MONSTER'S MIND
I don't think Xanatos ever wanted to destroy Derek's mind or make him amnesiatic, weak or easily controllable. That's more Demona's style. Xanatos has set up this whole con to manipulate Derek into serving him, as he did with Goliath in the pilot. He doesn't need Derek to be an automaton. He's already got robots. They haven't worked so great. He prefers having independent thinkers working for him. Like Owen, for example.

BEAT SHEET
ACT ONE
1. Open at NIGHT, with a shadowed DOCTOR SEVARIUS (Brent Spiner?) soliciting MAGGIE, the young homeless woman in the alley. Emphasize his limp. [No Derek involved.] Maybe give her a bit of dialogue. She's down on her luck. Lost her job, her apartment. It's a temporary set-back. (A bit of self deception here too.) She goes with him.

2. The next day at a small air field, ELISA is watching her brother DEREK land the new glider he just bought with the high salary that Xanatos pays him. They eat lunch at a hot dog stand. It's a bit awkward. But it's not Elisa's problem. It's Derek who clearly has a chip on his shoulder.

Derek: You're still mad I'm working for Xanatos. But he's not as bad as you think. And if he is, then I'll be right there on the inside to nail him.

Elisa: I think you're kidding yourself. But it's your life. Just don't expect me to agree with your decision.

They agree to disagree and do some equivalent to the pinkie swear thing. Something where she initiates the exchange with something more generic and he does something unique as an almost automatic response.

3. That night at the clock tower, the gargoyles split up to patrol the city they protect. BROOKLYN and BROADWAY are one team. They spot a shadowy creature on the ground. (It has wings, but it doesn't fly. Maybe the wings aren't fully developed yet.) For a second, the gargoyles think that it may be another gargoyle (perhaps Demona) and pursue it. The thing is clearly afraid of them and flees.

They finally catch up to it. We get a quick partial view. It's female! Maybe by the hair color and voice the audience guesses that it's Maggie. She is wearing a special bracelet, with a small light that blinks on and off and beeps quietly. Brooklyn is instantly smitten. (Maybe he thinks she's a gargoyle at first, maybe her shapely wings turn him on or something.) He says they aren't trying to hurt her but help.

Suddenly, they are surrounded by private "ambulances", out of which pour private "orderlies" (i.e. armed troops). (All of the above bare the GUTS logo.) The bracelet was a tracking device. Maggie is still more afraid of the gargoyles than the humans trying to take her back into custody. The troops are clearly surprised to see three creatures instead of one. The head guy says take them all. They pull out tranquilizer rifles and start shooting. Maggie tries to surrender. Brooklyn tries to stop her and accidentally pulls the bracelet off her wrist. He is shot by the tranq darts. It's all Broadway can do to get him safely out of there. The troops get away with Maggie.

4. At the Castle, Derek lands Xanatos' chopper and the two men disembark to find OWEN waiting for them. Owen's gotten some interesting expense reports from Gen-U-Tech Systems, one of Xanatos' subsidiaries. XANATOS isn't surprised. He gave Doctor Sevarius, the head of R & D there an interesting assignment. Would that assignment require armed mercenaries? No... it would not. Xanatos says he better check this out personally. Derek insists on coming along. (As a good bodyguard should.)

5. Back at the clock tower, Brooklyn is just coming out of it. Broadway has already filled Elisa and the other gargoyles in on what happened. But Brooklyn's version is slightly different. He's convinced himself (self-deception) that he made a real connection with the she-thing. She needs and wants his help. (Broadway's dubious. She was clearly more scared of them than of the goons.) Brooklyn shows Elisa the bracelet. (We know it's not tracking anymore because the light is busted and it no longer beeps.) She sees the G.U.T.S. logo. Brooklyn & Broadway remember the same logo being on the "ambulances". It means nothing to her, but she promises to check.

6. At Gen-U-Tech, Xanatos and Derek are greeted by Sevarius. Emphasize Sevarius' limp. He seems over-anxious, slightly paranoid. A bit of a mad scientist. Xanatos is playing it cool. He wants an update. Sevarius sits them down for a Jurassic Park style slide-show presentation. Xanatos had asked Sevarius to genetically create Gargoyles from scratch. (Derek is stunned. But keeps his cool and says nothing.)

As Sevarius explains his thought processes, we watch footage of Goliath battling a Steel Clan robot or Macbeth from the first season...
A. The logical decision would be to clone gargoyles from a gargoyle specimen.
1. But he was told that there was no specimen available. a. Sevarius, greedily: "Or has that changed?"
b. Xanatos says, no, it hasn't changed.
B. S: Well, then, in lieu of a direct clone he would have to build his gargoyle from scratch using available genetic material.
1. It would require the strength, speed and agility of a jungle cat (or maybe a bear? are there other options? Talk to Frank about what he wants to do? No wolf or other canines though.)
2. The wings of a bat.
a. Mutated to giant size.
3. Xanatos: "And the intelligence of a human being."
a. S: "Exactly."
C. But according to his calculations it still wouldn't work.
1. Animals are no different from machines.
a. They still require fuel to operate.
b. We get fuel by eating.
2. To keep its strength and stamina this thing would have to eat the equivalent of three cows a day.
3. X: Well then how do the gargoyles survive?
4. S: By hibernating as stone for 12 hours a day.
a. This allows them to store up energy and thus work at peak efficiency for the entire night.
b. The stone hibernation process is unknown in the animal kingdom. Sevarius had to find a substitute.
5. He presses a button revealing a glass case full of electric eels. The electric eels store and utilize myo-electric (bio-electric?) energy which could fuel the new creation.

Derek finally cuts in. This is all great theory (he's still deceiving himself into believing that these are two guys discussing hypotheticals), but why is Sevarius hiring armed mercenaries?

Sevarius seems sincerely embarrassed. He had to hire them. One of his test subjects escaped.

Xanatos and Derek simultaneously: WHAT?!! (Meaning: "You have test subjects?!!"

Sevarius misses point of their concern and says don't worry we caught her again. Look... And he presses a button that slides a panel revealing a glass wall revealing Maggie and two males now fully morphed into winged cat creatures. (Or whatever. Perhaps one looks Tiger-esque, one looks lionesque, etc., saving the coolest look for Derek. Again, ask Frank how he wants to go.)

On the reveal... we fade to black.

ACT TWO
7. Pick up where we left off. Xanatos is stunned. Derek is horrified. Sevarius is giddy. (He seems like a border-line nut case throughout acts one and two.) Xanatos is astounded that Sevarius grew these things from scratch in such a short time.

Sevarius admits proudly that he took a shortcut. He injected bums with a mutagenic formula. Now Xanatos is horrified. And furious. Derek starts to turn on him, but Xanatos never intended for this to happen. "Sevarius deceived me. No. That's not entirely true. I deceived myself." He'd been warned about Sevarius' "unethical" practices, but he wanted to believe in the man, because he wanted to achieve his own goals. Xanatos is deeply ashamed of himself. But he's determined to make it better, cure these people.

Sevarius is astonished. He has no idea what he's done wrong. They were just bums. No friends. No family. He's made them into something better. He won't let Xanatos destroy all the progress he's made. He reaches for one of the tranquilizer guns that his troops used earlier, he takes aim at Xanatos and fires. Derek pushes Xanatos out of the way and takes the dart in the shoulder. He then quickly disarms Sevarius.

Derek and Xanatos examine the dart. A tranquilizer? Derek doesn't feel sleepy. Sevarius crumpled in the corner starts to laugh. The dart wasn't loaded with tranqs. It was loaded with the mutagenic formula.

8. Back at the precinct, Matt has tracked the GUTS logo to Gen-U-Tech. But he won't tell Elisa until he finds out why she needs to know. Elisa says she got an anonymous tip on a kidnapping. The bracelet was their only clue. She and Matt leave to investigate.

9. Back at Gen-U-Tech, Derek's still in shock. Xanatos demands to know if there's an antidote. Sevarius says there is one. Inside his head. He could create one, but why should he? Just then, a Gen-u-Tech guard comes in with word that the police are here. Xanatos gets very threatening: "By all means invite them in. Let's give them the slide show. Introduce them to the finished product.."

S: "You bankrolled all my experiments. You wouldn't dare."

X: "I'll take my chances. I've been in prison before. But you... The police, the press, the public... they're going to crucify you. And if they don't -- I will."
(The audience should believe that Xanatos was prepared to do anything to help Derek.)

Sevarius is very frightened and agrees to manufacture the antidote if Xanatos will agree not to turn him in. X agrees for now. But one more step out of line and it's over.

10. Downstairs, a very nervous and hinky Sevarius agrees to take Matt and Elisa on a brief tour of the facility to allay their preposterous suspicions of a kidnapping. At one point, Xanatos and Derek watch them from behind a one way mirror. Xanatos tells Derek that if he wants to step out and tell his sister everything, Xanatos would support that decision, even if it meant he had to go back to prison. But Derek decides not to. He'll give Sevarius a chance to come up with a cure first. But he tells Xanatos that if Sevarius can't cure him... If he turns into a freak like one of those others... Well, if that happens, he doesn't ever want Elisa to know.

11. Back at the clock tower, Elisa fills the gargoyles in. Sevarius was one hinky individual. She thinks Brooklyn may be right. But there's nothing she can do without evidence for a warrant. But Brooklyn's a private "citizen". He doesn't need a warrant. He's determined to help that she-thing and nothing's gonna stop him. Except the dawn. They turn to stone.

12. Back at Sevarius' lab, he's hard at work on the antidote serum. (He grouses about having Xanatos looking over his shoulder all the time.) In a shadowed corner, Derek cries out in pain. The transformation is beginning. (Though we don't see him clearly.) Sevarius suggests putting Derek in the glass prison with the other specimens. Xanatos just tells him to shut up and keep working.

13. Sunset at the clock tower. Brooklyn and the others explode out of their stone cocoons. Brooklyn's fire hasn't died out during their sleep. He's determined to go. Goliath agrees. But they'll do it his way.

14. At Gen-U-Tech, we find out what Goliath had in mind. Not a massive raid, but a surgical strike. Just himself, Brooklyn and Lex. (He needs Lex to work the security systems. He would have left Brook at home if he thought Brooklyn would have stayed put.) They get in all right, they even discover Maggie in her glass cage. But again she is more afraid of them, than of her captors. Brooklyn is determined to "save" her, and the ruckus they cause soon alerts Sevarius' guards. She is shot with a tranq dart. Brooklyn scoops her up and the gargoyles attempt to fight their way out. A battle through the complex begins, the guards switching to heavier weapons.

15. Meanwhile Sevarius has finished the serum and is about to inoculate a shadowed Derek. Unfortunately, the battle has moved in their direction. Derek is forced to battle the gargoyles to protect his chance at a cure. We reveal Derek as 50% mutated and already unrecognizable to Goliath and the others. In the struggle, the air-hypo with the serum falls and shatters. And then there is an explosion. Sevarius is thrown against the tank of electric eels and is electrocuted. He falls to the ground. Xanatos approaches. Checks for a pulse. He turns to Derek. Sevarius is dead.

ACT THREE
16. Brooklyn, Lex and Goliath escape with the unconscious Maggie. Derek curses them, blaming them for ruining his chance at a cure. Then he collapses to the floor. Xanatos tries to snap him out of it. They have to get out of here before the police show up. Or does he want his sister to see him like this? Derek agrees to leave with Xanatos. But what about the other creatures? We'll bring them, poor souls. Somehow, some way we'll find a cure for all of you.

17. Back at the clock tower, Maggie awakens to find herself surrounded by six monsters...the gargoyles. Brooklyn tries to reassure her. She's safe now. But she's terrified. She unconsciously sparks off electrical energy that keeps Brook at a distance. Maggie doesn't want to be a monster, she just wants to be human again. Can they make her human again? Brooklyn doesn't know what to say. The sun is about to come up. The gargoyles will soon turn to stone. They tell Maggie to rest. (Hudson offers her the use of his t.v.) Goliath promises they will start searching for some kind of cure tomorrow night, even if it means confronting Xanatos in his castle.

18. Gen-U-Tech, daytime, but very foggy. Matt and Elisa are racking up the overtime, as they investigate last night's ruckus. No signs of the kidnapping victims. No signs of Sevarius. A lot of mangled high-tech equipment and weapons. And cages full of jungle cats, bats and eels. And the not-so-shocking discovery that Xanatos owns Gen-U-Tech.

19. Just after sunset at the clock tower. Brooklyn is bumming because Maggie has vanished. He's still not ready to admit that she doesn't want his help. She probably took off immediately after sunrise, when the fog-shrouded streets were still pretty empty. But where would she go? Xanatos' castle. That's where Goliath said they'd start their search for a cure. Hudson and Bronx will stay at the clock tower on the off chance she returns. Goliath and the trio will head to the castle.

20. At the castle, we find Xanatos telling Owen to find him the best geneticist on the planet, and fast. Outside in the wards, above the layer of fog, we find Derek, now fully transformed. He is teaching Maggie and the other two to glide. (They don't have a bat's natural instinct or the training that he has.) He's a natural if reluctant leader. Figures that until they find a cure they might as well learn to use their new abilities. (One of the guys should probably really enjoy flying. He's the only one not in a hurry to be cured. The other guy is mute, but with a saner more normal response.) Even Maggie seems a bit more at ease. She's now with people facing the same predicament, who are actively looking for a cure. Derek seems like a pillar of strength to lean on.

The Gargoyles arrive. Derek requires no prompting to lead his flying tigers on the attack. He beelines for Goliath. The other two males go after Lex and Broadway. But Brooklyn targets Maggie. He's determined to reach her. Air battle, complete with electricity. Somewhere in here Elisa arrives. Xanatos lets her in, hoping that somehow she can stop this pointless fighting.

Maggie battles Brooklyn, who doesn't really fight back. He tries again to tell her that he cares about her. You don't even know me, she says. The only thing they have in common is that they're both monsters. She doesn't want to be a monster. She hates monsters!! She gives him one massive zap to drive the message home.

Although Lex and Broadway are more than holding their own, Goliath isn't doing as well against Derek and is zapped into unconsciousness, falling across one of the outer battlements. Derek comes in for the kill. But Elisa is there. She doesn't recognize Derek, and for obvious reasons it never occurs to her that this is her brother. But she's never been one to judge by appearances, so she tries to talk to the creature, calmly. She asks its name. Derek laughs for a moment. Then looking at his own hands, he coins the name TALON. She tries to tell Talon that Goliath is her friend. Talon says that "her friend" is the reason Talon's been turned into a monster. Elisa says that if that's true, it must have been an accident. Goliath would never intentionally hurt anyone. She swears, cross-her-heart. And without thinking, he does the follow up gesture. She's stunned. (He's horrified.) It takes a moment to compute, but when it does... "Derek? Is that you?!" Derek denies it, but she knows now. "Xanatos. Somehow he did this to you?!" "No, he's my only chance at a cure." "Derek, how long are you going to grasp at that straw?! Deep down you must know who's to blame for this. Derek, let me help you!!" She moves towards him, but he can't face her. Because deep down he knows that he's to blame for his predicament. He goes screaming off into the night.

The other "cats" including Maggie don't know where Talon's going, but he's their leader. They follow. Broadway and Lex help Goliath and Brooklyn to their feet. Should they pursue the cats? But Brooklyn says no. He'd been kidding himself. He can't help her, particularly if she doesn't want his help.

Elisa faces off against Xanatos. He says he's been trying to help. But there's no way she's buying it. IT'S WAR NOW. Somehow, she's going to nail him. Count on it. Elisa and the gargoyles leave.

Owen enters. He's found the best geneticist on the planet that Xanatos was asking for. A man enters wearing a slouch hat and trench coat. With a flourish, he reveals himself as Sevarius. (Minus the cane, the limp, and the manic, paranoid, mad scientist demeanor. It was all a put on.) He's very proud of his performance, particularly his death scene, though Xanatos thought he hammed it up a bit. Still Sevarius is amazed they pulled it off. It took months of forcing the early subjects to "escape" until one of them was spotted by the gargoyles. For a while there he thought they'd never find each other. Yes, Xanatos agrees, but once the gargoyles did find the test subject things couldn't have proceeded more predictably. And Xanatos was right that Derek's particular abilities were well-suited to his new form. Sevarius is worried that they've lost Derek and the others. But Xanatos knows they'll be back. Talon has convinced himself that I'm his only chance at a cure. It's a delusion he can't afford to give up. Not without giving up all his hope as well.

21. Back at the castle, Brooklyn nurses his own wounds in bitter silence. But Goliath is more concerned about Elisa, who is also quiet, but crying bitter tears in spite of herself. It's not over, he tells her. No, she agrees, wiping her eyes. It's definitley not over.


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Aaron writes...

In "Leader of the Pack" right after the title there's a long shot of the prison the pack are in. I would've sworn the first time the episode aired that shot had a caption identifying the place as Riker's Island Maximum Security Prison. But subsequent airings did not have this caption. Was it ever there, or did I imagine the whole thing?

Oh, and the Y2k thing. I didn't mean just the disaster (Or lack thereof) Times Square was quite a show, or so I understand. Just thought the clan might want to check it out.

Greg responds...

I don't recall a caption. It's not really our style to use captions for present day locations. It was Rikers, however.

Response recorded on June 26, 2000

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Chapter XIV: "Leader of the Pack"

I've already dealt with the changes between the first and second seasons of GARGOYLES. (See a previous ramble on that subject.) And hopefully you've all read the serialized postings of the memo I wrote to Michael Reaves in July of 94. Note the date. I was writing that memo to Michael a good three months before the first season of the series would actually premiere. Meaning, Michael, myself, all of us, were just guessing.

Now, finally, I have the time to sit down and ramble about my recent re-viewing of "Leader"...

STORY EDITOR: Michael Reaves.
WRITER: Steven Perry.

Some things were coming to fruition in this episode. A CY.O.T.I. robot had been part of the original development of the show and the Pack. Six characters seemed like a bit much, but the main reason we left CY.O.T.I. out of "Thrill of the Hunt" was because of the way we wound up intro-ing the Pack, that is as a group of T.V. super-heroes. Giving them a realistic robot in that context didn't seem to fit. By the time we got around to introducing the show's version of the Coyote robot (note the NORMAL spelling) much had changed in how we conceived the thing. And yet many of the original elements were still present, if altered. The orignal CY.O.T.I. (CYber-Operational Technical Individual -- or something like that) was a hovering robotic head. But not a Xanatos head. It was a dog-faced head. The head could attach to multiple different robotic bodies, as well as lock into various vehicles as a kind-of autoMATED pilot. One of the robotic bodies was four-legged, dog-shaped. Another was bipedal. But in either case there was never any question that the robot was a robot.

But by the time, we got to "Leader" we had learned so much more about our characters, that our whole conception of CY.O.T.I. changed into the Coyote you know. Part of the change came right out of how sophisticated Xanatos himself was. David constantly made Michael and I jump through hoops to come up with trickier and trickier plots. Plots that would allow the Gargoyles to generally triumph, and yet allow Xanatos to snatch some real victory out of seeming total defeat in what had become our trademark Xanatos Tag sequences. The one in "Leader" is one of the best, which brings up another thing that came to fruition in this episode. When we first created the Pack, I had NO IDEA that Fox and Xanatos were an item. That was a complete discovery, a revelation that came to us during the making of "Her Brother's Keeper": akin to, "Ohmigod, Fox is in love with David!!!" I don't know if it shocked you guys, but it sure came as a surprise to me, their so-called creator. Another instance when I think of myself less as a writer, and more as simply the guy who was tapping into what was really going on in the GARGOYLES UNIVERSE. When did you guys figure it out? During "Brother's Keeper"? During "Leader"? Or not until the end of "Leader" when it was objectively revealed? (Obviously, any of you who saw later episodes first are disqualified from voting on this one.)

Anyway, since we knew they were destined for each other, and we had this semi-top secret plan for them to marry and extremely top-secret plan for them to procreate, we knew we had to get Fox out of jail. And not break her out. But have her out more-or-less scott free. So that would be Xanatos' plan. All the subterfuge would lead to that. Having the robot pose as Xanatos in armor, allowed us for the kind of multiple surprise onion-peeling kind of story that I just live for. Plus it would leave us with a more wieldy five-man Pack again. Fox would graduate. Coyote would take her place.

One tricky thing was electronically futzing Jonathan Frakes' voice when Coyote was wearing his helmet. We wanted to alter it enough so that no one would know it was "Xanatos" until after he took off the helmet. But we didn't want to alter it SO much that you couldn't register Jonathan's standardly and casually wonderful acting AS Xanatos inside the armor. I think we succeeded. (Credit for that goes to the guys at Advantage Audio, who mixed the show. Real unsung heroes.)

We also gave Jamie Thomason, our voice director, and Jonathan the key note that would differentiate the true Xanatos from Coyote. And that was Coyote's fairly primitive desire for vengeance. If I do say so myself, I thought this was a terrific clue, a great moment of fair play, planted in the story. I wanted people to be a little surprised that Xanatos would care about vengeance. But I also figured most would buy into it, because we're all so trained to think of villains in a certain way. But then when Xanatos calls revenge a "sucker's game" at the end, the audience would feel "Oh, of course. That's OUR Xanatos. The other guy was just a cheap imitation." Who was fooled? Who wasn't? I'm curious to know.

When Coyote first took off his helmet at the end of Act One, my three year old son Ben yelled out "Xanatos!" He was truly and wonderfully surprised at that moment. It was fun.

Random observation: Wolf's not doing real push-ups. Not fully extending, either up or down.

Another thing we did do for the NEW SEASON start up was feature the gargs EXPLODING out of stone. Another of our series' trademarks that we wanted to be sure to get into the first episode of the new season.

Coyote clearly has a "quip chip" installed. He's got some great very Xanatosian lines. "Exact change". "Wanna see what I can do with both hands." Etc.

In fact lots of characters have great cutting lines in this one. Owen is wonderfully officious, even a tad smarmy in this one. You can almost see Puck smiling through, and this is before I knew Owen was Puck. But his, "Shouldn't you... be there." is just great.

Or Brooklyn's line: "Yeah, why should we stay up here... where it's safe." Great.

And Hyena: "I love a man who brings me weapons..." and "A robot?! Even better." Classic. And that was another discovery. Hyena would have the hots for Coyote. It wouldn't necessarily be reciprocated, but the mere fact that he was a robot wouldn't bug her. (I'm guessing she's used to using technology to satisfy her desires.) On some level, I think this was us (and Hyena) just being perverse for the sake of perverseness. But I also think it created an interesting parallel to Goliath and Elisa's relationship, if that doesn't sound to preposterous.

______

Another random observation: Hyena mentions Santa Claus. :) Ho ho ho.

______

CHARACTER CONTINUITY:
I think there was a semi-conscious desire to give every character something that new and returning viewers could use to hang their hats on, so-to-speak.

Lex is still so angry at the Pack for events in "Thrill of the Hunt" that he's literally HOPPING mad. Actually, that bit of hopping bugged me. Made Lex look silly and young at a point when I was hoping to present him as truly dangerous. Oh, well...

Brooklyn still feels the same way about Demona. And he's self-aware enough to know it. Though not mature enough to get passed it. (That'll come -- sometime in 2158.)

Broadway still hates guns and smashes them at every opportunity. (Lex obviously doesn't share his rookery-brother's opinion. Lex looks real tough holding that launcher. And I think it's a fairly shocking moment when that hole gets blown in Coyote's torso, and Lex is revealed -- through the hole, no less -- as the shooter. Even though we know by this time that Coyote is a robot, I still think it's one of the most violent images that ever appeared in our show. And it's all about context and attitude. You get the sense that Lex might just do the exact same thing to any of the human members of the Pack too.)

Hudson is still the observant guy who deduces events from what remains behind. "There's been a struggle here..." is right in keeping with his tracking skills and the way he examined that tampered-with bow back in "Awakening, Part Two".

Bronx is still a good judge of character. And he hates robots with fearful abandon. We decided he could literally smell when something isn't human. If it talks like a duck and walks like a duck, we naturally assume that it's a duck. But for Bronx it better smell like a duck or he's going to rip its face off, eh? That was another great shocking moment, I think. There's a little bit of WESTWORLD homage going on. Or FEMBOT homage, depending on how old you are. (I'm old enough to remember both.) It's pretty cool. And I love Coyote's head rocketing off at the end. It's so cool and sick. I fell in love with that head, and decided to use it in all future Coyote's -- one way or another.

Nietzche, Sartre, Kafka. That exchange was pure Perry-Reaves. And people tell me _I_ write to old for the demographic. Geez.

I love that moment when the phone rings at PackMedia Studios. (Also have I mentioned I love the name PackMedia. It's so perfect.) Anyway, Broadway's tentative response, before picking it up. And Owen knowing someone WOULD just pick up. It kills me.

As most of you know I favor one word titles. But "Leader of the Pack" WAS in fact one of mine. It was just irresistible.

The fight between the Gargs and the Pack aboard the oil tanker was very well-choreographed in script. But this was an instance where, in my opinion, our board artists lost the forest for the trees. The fight in storyboard went off on some wonderful tangents -- that wound up creating problems for those interested in keeping track of our combatants. Who was where and when just became a mess. We basically were able to fix those problems in film editing. But that's accomplished by keeping the fight well-paced. In the script, I actually think it's well-choreographed. In particular, Broadway freeing Lex, Brook and Bronx made a bit more sense in the script.

Coyote's perception-warping weapon is very cool. We probably didn't use it enough. Mainly because it was too effective. Too hard to stop.

I wanted the gargs to have to swim back to shore from the sinking tanker. But no one else agreed with me.

The head of Fox's parole board is voiced by Jim Cummings (aka Dingo, Darkwing Duck, Bonkers, etc.), doing his best Orson Wells imitation. Which is damned good by the way. Jim Cummings and Jeff Bennett in the same show. Man, were we blessed or what?

And coming full circle, we have our great Xanatos Tag. The villains kiss passionately. You don't see that too often in cartoons, I think. I love Xanatos' great line "That was merely the icing, you're the cake." And also his "true love is so much harder to come by." But here's my question for you guys. At the time, did you really think Xanatos was truly in love with Fox, or did you think he was merely being glib? I knew by that time, but even David didn't. Wasn't until "Eye of the Beholder" that HE realized how deep his feelings were for Fox.

So, comments?


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Aaron writes...

Okay, either I'm really bad at writing these questions, or you're a genius at smartass responses. (Or both) Anyway, I'll clarify my last questions.

About The Mirror. We know Xanatos has some security cameras set up in and around Castle Wyvern, hence the one we see get wrecked in Enter MacBeth, and the footage shown to the wedding guests in Vows. (Actually, for all we know, Xanatos has a Sliver setup going and knows *everything* that goes on in the whole Eyrie Building. I wouldn't put it past him)

Now, if Puck turned *everyone* in the city into gargoyles, this presumably included Xanatos. I was just wondering if Xanatos had any archived footage where there seemed to be something a little different about the people wandering around the place.

What can I say, I'd like to see what Xanatos and Fox looked like as gargoyles.

Greg responds...

Maybe. Sure. Why not? Especially, if it makes the fans happy.

Response recorded on June 23, 2000

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Ambrosia writes...

Ah, The Edge…
I just adore that scene where Owen and Xanatos are sparring. The first time I saw that episode though, I thought it was laughable: Owen Burnett in a gi, his glasses and electronic organizer set aside so he can be beat on by his employer. I was quite surprised when he actually won. I looked at Owen a lot differently from that point on. He is, as Demona likes to say, "A force to be reckoned with."
I'm afraid I did guess that the red robot was Xanatos. Still, the part at the end where he removes the helmet is wonderfully dramatic.
It's been a long time, so I don't remember for absolute sure, but I think, since the museum was so dark, I thought it *was* Goliath stealing the Eye. You're right, it seems obvious, but after that scene with him roaring at the news report and the whole clan looking at him in that, "uh oh, he's lost it," kind of way, I thought he was enraged enough to do it.
About Munch's "The Scream" (and this is straight from my art history text): it's in Nasjonalgalleriet, Oslo. Don't ask me where exactly that is… but it's not in Manhattan. Sorry.
Absolutely amazing that the Emir was mentioned this early in the series but wouldn't physically appear for another season or so. Were you planning the Avalon eps in that much detail, that much ahead?
I *love* Travis Marshall. He always seems to tell it the way it is… whether it's against public opinion or not.
I'm with Erin. I was on the edge of my seat in the battle scene, seeing this ep for the first time, not as much because of the danger and action, but because I was sure someone was going to damage Lady Liberty. Why did Xanatos choose her as their battle field anyway? Goliath had said before that he probably didn't want anymore damage done to his city…
Thanks, Greg. We love ya!

Greg responds...

RE: "The Scream". I've never been to Oslo. I feel like I saw it in Amsterdam. But it doesn't really matter. It could have been a traveling exhibit. Happens all the time.

RE: The Emir. No, we didn't have Grief planned in THAT much detail that far in advance. The point is that little touches don't get by me. That was, I believe a Reaves/Perry throwaway line. But I remembered it. The second time the Emir is mentioned, in season two, I did have Grief in mind.

RE: Travis. I like him too.

RE: Lady Liberty. Sorry, but didn't the Gargs choose the battle sight?

Response recorded on June 23, 2000

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"Leader" memo concluded...

Finally, the last section of the 7/94 "Leader of the Pack" memo. Act Three of the Beat Sheet. I'll try to type up my new ramble on the episode soon...

ACT THREE
8. Goliath, Hudson and Broadway arrive at the Packmedia Studio. It's quiet. Inside, they see the damage. But no sign of the missing gargoyles. The phone rings. Broadway answers it tentatively. It's Owen. He was wondering if he could schedule an appointment for the Gargoyles to have a big fight with the Pack at the Oil Tanker Whatever-Maru in the harbor. Is Midnight convenient?

9. On the Tanker. In a carvernous empty oil tank, Lex, Brook and Bronx sit inside, effectively imprisoned. Lex swears even more vengence [sic]. Brooklyn can't get through to him. (Maybe Brook makes some sarcastic reference to the three of them always getting captured. First Macbeth nets them, now the Pack.) [Note: This story just structured out that way. So this tidbit was me acknowledging the coincidence, so that the viewer wouldn't think we -- the writers -- were oblivious to it. Greg 2000] Eventually, the other three gargoyles show up for the fight. Broadway is sent to find the others while Goliath and Hudson run interference. At one point, Goliath digs his claws into Coyote's helmet and rips it off, revealing "Xanatos". Goliath isn't too surprised. But eventually after the others are freed, he is surprised. Bronx again beelines for "Xanatos"/Coyote. He smells robot and claws off half of the rubber Xanatos mask to reveal the Coyote robot beneath. [Do you know, I was half afraid that some people would take this to mean that Xanatos had been a robot all along. Greg 2000] Even the Pack is shocked and the tide of battle begins to turn for good, especially after Lex picks up one of Dingo's fallen weapons and blows a hole in Coyote's chest. The robot really malfunctions now. The head "evacuates" and rockets into the sky to escape. The Pack decides to retreat in their Attack Vehicle, but opt to blow up the tanker to cover their escape. Lex in the end has to choose between saving Brooklyn and preventing the Pack's escape. Obviously, he saves Brooklyn and the Pack gets away, though with their doggy tails firmly between their legs. The ship goes down. The Gargoyles tread water. Brooklyn thanks Lex, but Lex is grateful that Brooklyn reminded him what was really important to him. And the gargoyles have a long swim back to shore.

10. Parole board. Fox is released. (Let's not mention Xanatos here.)

11. Fox steps out of prison to be greeted by (surprise, surprise) Xanatos in his Limo. They kiss. She's grateful to be out, but she's sorry his vengeance plan against the gargoyles didn't work. But Xanatos never wanted vengeance. (He's no mook.) He has his priorities straight. He just wanted to stage scene [sic] to get her out. (I love the line about icing and Fox being the cake.) But, she asks, aren't you anry that Coyote was destroyed. Xanatos holds up Coyote's head and admires it like Yorick. Half of it is still recognizable as Xanatos. Half reveals the robot skull underneath. My dear Fox, robots are easily destroyed and rebuilt. But they'll never destroy the true Coyote. Because the true coyote is Xanatos. Or some such. [Interesting. We seemed to save this idea for "Cloud Fathers". Went with the "true love" line instead.] Go out on the robot head, half smiling a typical Xanatos smile.

And that's all folks....


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More of the "Leader" memo...

Here we have Act Two from the Beat Sheet I gave Michael Reaves in my 7/94 memo on "Leader of the Pack":

ACT TWO
4. Hyena and Jackal are ready to kill Xanatos/Coyote for revenge. X/C puts them down hard. He reminds them that it was Fox who told them to go after him. She's out of the picture now. Besides, it was the gargoyles who really sent you down. They put him away once too. They've destroyed enough of his plans. He wants them bad. He's [sic] works the Pack up into a revenge-fest frenzy. They want the gargoyles. But how do they find them? As X/C puts on his helmet, he says, we let them find us.

5. Goliath, Broadway and Hudson arrive at the castle. Owen is there, but not Xanatos. Goliath is confrontational but cautious. Woen has the Pack's social calender and says they should be at PackMedia studios shortly. Goliath is immediately concerned about the others. They take off.

6. From a nearby shadowed rooftop, Brooklyn, Bronx and Lex watch the police (Elisa, Matt, maybe Morgan) check out the Studios. It gives Brooklyn time to talk to Lex. He knows how Lex feels. Everytime Demona's name get's [sic] mentioned Brooklyn feels the same way. But you can't let it take you over. You need to remember what's really important, etc. Lex isn't listening. The police leave. Lex insists on going in. Brook & Bronx follow.

7. Inside, the place is deserted -- UNTIL SUDDENLY the floor begins to open up beneath them. The PACK Assault vehicle, rises up from a secret entrance beneath. Brokklyn suggests retreat, at least until they can get reinforcements from Goliath, et al. Lex ignores him and wades right in. The battle is on. Lex (followed by Brooklyn) goes after the four pack members they recognize. Lex is a holy terror and they're doing all right, at first. His shocking ferocity making up for any deficiencies. Bronx for some reason beelines for Coyote. (Basically, he smells robot.) It's a good fight, but soon all three gargoyles are out cold and at the Pack's mercy.

ACT THREE
(To be completed next time... Finally.)


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More of the "Leader Memo"...

Sorry, everyone, I know this is going very slowly. But transcribing is really boring. So I can't stand to do too much at a time. Anyway, here's another chunk of my 7-2-94 memo to Michael Reaves regarding "Leader of the Pack":

Beat sheet:
ACT ONE
1. Sundown. Open w/prison break. Let's make it much more fast and furious. It can start quier, but almost immediately should go to explosions, alarms, etc. The guards become aware of the break IMMEDIATELY. A big action set-piece. No time for a lot of talk. Also, let's have Dingo bust out the boys, and Coyote bust out the girls. It's a more practical plan. They'll all meet up in the NEW all-terrain PACK ATTACK vehicle. (And no, Kenner isn't asking for this, I am. Xanatos has the resources. After he saw Macbeth's hover-thing, he'd start his people on R&D. This is the result. The Pack should not be hand-to-mouth. This thing should be a flying submarine multi-purpose thing. Real cool.)

2. Just after sundown at the clock tower, Elisa informs the argoyles that there's a prison break and the Pack's involved. Lex goes bananas. WE'VE GOT TO BRING THEM DOWN. Goliath agrees with the sentiment, if not he intensity. Manhattan is their castle to protect. But Broadway wants to know, how do they find the Pack? Lex is sure they'll return to Packmedia Studios. Elisa disagrees, that's the first place the cops are going to look. Lex is positive. They're like animals. They'll eventually return to their cave to hide. He's going there to wait and watch. Goliath figures on being more pro-active. He knows Xanatos is behind the Pack from Elisa's talk with Fox in "Brother's Keeper". He's going to the castle. Broadway & Hudson are going with him. Brooklyn is concerned about Lex. He insists on going with Lex to the studio. He also insists on taking Bronx.

3. Aboard the Pack's vehicle, Coyote and Wolf fight for the right to lead. (Let Wolf make the first challenge, so that we aren't forced to make Hyena politely step aside.) Coyote wins, but Hyena and Jackal insist on seeing his face. Coyote vouluntarily removes his helmet, revealing that he is "Xanatos".

ACT TWO
(to be continued...)


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Phil writes...

Hi, Greg.

1) In "Kingdom," whose arsenal did Fang raid? Those weapons were pretty high-tech; they obviously hadn't been there long. Was it Xanatos's, the Illuminati's, or someone else's?

2) Why was it there? Just for storage? Or was Fang meant to find it?

3) This is the first time I've watched "Kingdom" since hearing about your plans for "Bad Guys." With that possible spin-off in mind, I was impressed with Fang's potential as more of a primary character. Were you thinking of "Bad Guys" this early or are you just a natural genius?

Thanks for your time.

Greg responds...

1. Erin says: I think that was a very good question. But I don't know whose weapons they were. I'm just guessing Xanatos.

Greg says: They were Cyberbiotics weapons. The whole Labyrinth was the old Cyberbiotics base from Awakening, Part V.

2. Erin says: I also think that's a good question. They were left behind when Cyberbiotics abandoned the base.

Greg says: By accident. An oversight.

3. Erin says: I think that is a good question too. Because I think my father is both of those things.

Greg says: Fang (and in particular Jim Belushi's very fun performance in the roll) just begged for more attention. But I can't honestly say for sure whether we had the Bad Guys idea that early. Bad Guys evolved out of the Dingo/Matrix spin-off idea I had. Fang WAS the next join. Then Hunter. Then finally Yama.

Response recorded on June 17, 2000

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Nick writes...

Hey hey. I still remember seeing the first episode of Gargoyles. I guess I was about 9 or so. I still get goosebumps when I watch the intro. And I wasnt surprised to read that you work on the ST series. I've watched it too from its first broadcast (in my area anyway). I think I've only missed it 3 times but seeing how they dont play the episodes in any specific order odds are I havent missed anything I havent already seen. But onto my question. Can you sum up the Goliath Chronacles for me? I never saw them since for a while I didnt have cable and dont currently have toon disney. Thanks.

Greg responds...

Erin says: I think that was a very good question. I have a friend at school and his name is Nicholas. And he likes the GARGOYLES show too. And Nicholas has a nickname, and his nickname is Nick.

Greg says: I'll sum up "The Journey" which was the first episode of THE GOLIATH CHRONICLES: Goliath is brooding about the loss of the Clock Tower and about how humanity seems to be perpetually at odds with the Gargoyles. He visits Elisa. And they are attacked by Quarrymen, a KKK-esque organization that hates Gargoyles. Elisa & Goliath survive, and Goliath realizes his Journey isn't over. (A lot more happens, but you asked me to sum up.) As for the other 12 episodes of Chronicles, well, I had nothing to do with them. They aren't cannon in my mind. And I'm not qualified to describe them to you. Ask in a comment room.

Response recorded on June 17, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

A couple of questions about the point during "The Mirror" when Puck had temporarily turned all the humans in the city into gargoyles.

1. What happened to those humans entering and leaving Manhattan during the time that the spell was in effect?

2. What effect did the spell have on live broadcasts from New York going out to other parts of the U.S. or the world during that time? As in, did people watching such broadcasts away from New York suddenly see the humans in those broadcasts change into gargoyles, or did the spell somehow prevent this?

Greg responds...

1. They automatically changed when entering and leaving the island. Because of the way the change was perceived, no one noticed.

2. Outsiders could have seen changes. But, hell, it's tv.

Response recorded on June 14, 2000

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Alex Wittenberg writes...

Two questions inspired by the Avalon World Tour and "The Gathering"

1. What is the nature of Avalon that it sends poele where they need to be? It is alive or sentient or just an agent of kismet? And why is the island endowed with these powers? (OK, that's really three questions, but one answer, I suppose)

2. We don't see Goliath, et al, actually return to New York. What happened to the skiff? Did it sink like Arthur's skiff did? And was there a scene perhaps showing them returning that was left on the cutting room floor?

Greg responds...

1. One answer: Yes.

2. No scene on the cutting room floor. We had JUST shown a very similar scene in "Future Tense". Basically, we felt it would have played the same way minus the "Planet of the Apes" shock value of seeing the Statue of Liberty half-destroyed. So we chose NOT to show their arrival, not to show a LESS dramatic version of what we had just depicted one episode previous. Instead, we decided to give the PoV to Hudson, Cagney and the Trio. See their surprise. Get a cliff-hanger out of it. You understand. As for the skiff, yes it sunk, as Arthur's had. Again, something we had shown before.

Response recorded on June 14, 2000

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"Leader of the Pack" Background memo...

ASK GREG is back up and running. (Thank you, Gorebash.)

Unfortunately, Murphy's Law in in effect, and I'm now swamped with work. (More on that tomorrow.) I'll try to get to your questions and comments A.S.A.P. In the meantime, I've watched another episode "Leader of the Pack". I've taken notes to write a ramble but I don't have time to compose it tonight. But I also wanted to post my July, '94 memo to Michael Reaves regarding his first draft outline on this episode. (Like the one I posted for "Reawakening".) I have a hard copy of this memo, but unfortunately -- there's that Murphy's Law again -- I don't seem to have a computer file for it. (Which, frankly, is truly bizarre.) Still, retyping this is faster than composing something original. But I don't know if I'll have time to retype the entire five page memo tonight. So bear with me. This could take a while... (I'll try to keep all the typos intact. And I'll add a few new comments in [brackets].)

Greg Weisman 7-2-94

NOTES ON OUTLINE for "Leader of the Pack"
Michael, I think we can focus the story a little more. And I think there's quite a bit of padding that we can trim down, but on the whole, a good start.

General Notes...

--Let's focus this by making it Lexington's story. A real companion piece to "Thrill of the Hunt". In that story, Lex was too trusting. In this he'll be hell-bent on REVENGE. That's today's theme. And today's lesson is about setting priorities -- and how revenge ain't a great one. Lex comes close to letting his lust for revenge take priority over his concern for his life and his friends. Same with the Pack. They break prison; they could head for Rio. But they want revenge on the gargoyles more. It gets them in trouble. Ironically, only Xanatos has his priorities straight. He didn't give a damn about revenge on the gargoyles. He just cared about his "friend" Fox and getting her released from her unfortunate incarceration. [A DESIGNING WOMEN reference -- Greg 2000]

--Given the above. Let's see Lex as the true monster he can be. As frightening as possible, as often as possible.

--The stuff w/Dingo's change of heart was nice. It gave me a great idea for a story about him trying to go straight, set in Australia during the WORLD TOUR. But I think it's out of place here. It's distracting to the main story. I don't want Dingo to start to turn yet. He didn't have to come back from Europe to help the others. Let's keep him gung-ho for now. (When we do the Pack Upgrade Story, in which Wolf will submit to Doc Sevarius' genetic treatment ala Talon, and Hyena and Jackal will undergo cyborgizing ala Coldstone, we'll plant the seed there that Dingo thinks things are getting carried away. He'll choose removable robot-armor, and we'll play some of these beats then.) [When you're working on 65 episodes you try not to waste anything. And the characters begin to define their own destinies. But you need to pace them. -- Greg 2000]

--Coyote's abilities need some clarification. Let's start by thinking this is a stranger wearing some kind of power-armor. Jet black, anubis-headed armor. We'll modify or harmonize Jonathan's voice. Then when he removes the dog-faced armored head, we reveal that it's Xanatos inside the armor. The audience will buy this because of "The Edge" story. When COYOTE has the "helmet" off, we'll use Jonathan's voice un-harmonized. But obviously for battle scenes he'll put the helmet back on. A slight clue that Coyote isn't the real Xanatos will be that Coyote seems more determined to get revenge than we'd normally expect from the rational Xanatos we've come to know and love. Then at the end, we'll reveal the robot beneath the Xanatos face. We also need to make a bigger deal of this reveal. I think it would be cool, if after the body is damaged beyond repair, the semi-damaged head, takes off, shooting into the sky like a comet, abandoning the Pack. At any rate, we can now have Coyote be very powerful throughout the episode, without our audience suspecting the truth. What can the Coyote "armor" (i.e. the Coyote/Xanaots robot) do? Does it have built-in jet-boots and weapons systems? Let's make it real tough and cool.

--In general, we need to be really careful not to let the Pack seem weak or incompetent. I doubt Elisa can outshoot them. They've been defeated twice already. If we don't up the ante, we've lost these characters as effective adversaries.

--The huge emphasis on updrafts can be dumped. We've already shown the gargoyles glide to and from Liberty Island in "The Edge". How far out in the water is this tanker? Better not to go into too much detail.

--Same with the Pack's search for the gargoyles. Why raise the issue about how easy it is to find the gargoyles? Besides, the method used here could take weeks, if not months. Let the gargoyles find the Pack. We can dump the CD-ROM disk.

--The mirrored shields was a good idea. But it pre-supposes a Lexington who is rational enough to use his head and come up with it. Not this story. But remember it for later use. [O.K. I guess some things did get wasted. --Greg 2000]

--We definitely don't need or want Derek in this story. If it comes before "Metamorphosis" than we don't want to mess with his loyalty to Xanatos. If it comes after, then obviously he's not Derek anymore, but Talon. Anyway, we won't need him. The way I figure it, Elisa's role in this story is fairly minimal. I didn't like her as victim/hostage, so I largely dumped her. So we can leave Derek out, as well.

--Fox should protect he guard first, then refuse to go. When she refuses Hyena's inclined to kill her too. Coyote prevents it by indicating there's no time. Also, I've cut the middle Fox scene 14. Better that the audience forget about her until the end.

Specific Notes & Questions....
[to follow tomorrow, hopefully...]


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Chapter XIII: "Reawakening" (The new ramble...)

As promised, I'll now attempt to recreate the lost ramble on this episode, which I recently watched again with my family.

For those of you who haven't seen it, I refer you to my recently posted "Memo" on this episode dated back in April of 1994. One thing you might have noticed was that the title of the episode was "The Awakening". In the memo, I suggested what I thought was the more appropriate title "Reawakening". Michael liked that idea but had a suggestion that did it one better. He suggested renaming our pilot five-parter "Awakening". I jumped at the idea. At the time, the five-parter was simply titled "Gargoyles, Part One", "Gargoyles, Part Two", etc. I've never liked that sort of cop out where the pilot's title is simply the series' title. Among other things, it lacks imagination. And it's dishonest. By that standard, "The Journey"'s real title should have been "Gargoyles, Part Sixty-Six". So giving our pilot its own title seemed like a very good idea to me.

But there was another reason why I liked Michael's plan. We were working on our last episode of the first season. It was April of 1994, nearly a year before that episode would air. And a good six months before our premiere. There was no way of knowing whether or not there would ever be a SECOND season. And so to protect myself (emotionally) I had to operate on the assumption that their might not be. Obviously, I wasn't going to do anything apocalyptic. I wanted there to be a second season, so I wanted to leave the doorway open for it. So Michael, Frank, Brynne and I discussed the idea of open-ended closure. If there never was a second season, we'd go out with a bang. We'd give some small amount of closure to our characters. Let them reach a turning point. If this was to be it, we'd have created a little 13 episode novel that brought the Gargoyles from the past to the present and renewed (reawakened) their sense of purpose.

Nice. We'd done the open-ended closure thing (to a lesser degree) at the end of what would eventually be called "Awakening, Part Five" and we'd eventually do it again at the end of "Hunter's Moon, Part Three". And I'd do it for myself in my script for "The Journey".

But there are tricks to achieving a sense of closure. And one of the tricks is to create parallels with the episodes that launched your story.

So by retro-titling our pilot "Awakening" and naming our last ep "RE-Awakening" you can see how we gave ourselves a headstart.

But there were other parallels. The flashback to the past, (which we intentionally built so that it could theoretically be edited into the pilot if necessary) included the Magus at his most pre-Avalon obnoxious. Obviously, that flashback also intro'd pre-Coldstone, but it served the purpose of calling those first couple of flashback episodes clearly into the viewers' minds. (The only problem with that scene, is that Hudson has his sword in a couple of the shots. This is a mistake, as any good Garg fan knows that Hudson first acquired his sword in the battle with the Vikings that took place the following night.)

We also did the big event VILLAIN TEAM-UP thing, bringing Xanatos and Demona back together for the first time since "Awakening, Part Five". (I love the exquisite tension that plays between them. They are both SO using each other. When Demona tells Coldstone that X is her servant, you know that she's partly doing that to circumvent Coldstone's questions, but that she also partly believes that it's true.)

We also used Morgan in Times Square in a very similar way to how he was used in "Awakening, Part One" (reiterated in "Awakening, Part Two").

And then there's that moment near the end where Elisa asks Goliath if there's anything he needs. He answers "A Detective" verbally echoing a key moment from their first meeting in "Awakening, Part Three". That still tickles me.

HOMAGE

Obviously, Frank and I both worked overtime to pay homage to the classic Universal "FRANKENSTEIN" movie. I can say "pay homage" with a straight face (as opposed to rip off) because we so clearly acknowledged the source. Frank's art direction of the lab. X's line: "It's alive! Alive!" (Wonderfully undercut by Jonathan Frakes' reading of the follow-up "I've always wanted to say that.") And the whole idea behind Coldstone. (More on this when I eventually ramble on "Legion".)

Coldstone would be our Frankenstein's monster. Pieced together. Gargoyle & Machine. Reanimated (reawakened). I even love the Coldstone name. And wasn't Michael Dorn's sepulchral tones just perfect for the role?

And Goliath's reaction is so multi-faceted, so Dr. Frankenstein... [You know Goliath's response to his brother here, would be echoed later in his response to his "son" Thailog in "Double Jeopardy". Initially, Goliath's simply repulsed by what he sees, calling Coldstone "an abomination". But given a bit of time, Goliath quickly sees past appearances and attempts whole-heartedly to save his brother. He'll go through the same changes with Thailog. Well... at least we (and Goliath) were consistent.]

CONTINUITY

Snow. It started snowing in "Her Brother's Keeper" and now the city is blanketed in the stuff. (And doesn't Elisa look cute in her scarf and gloves.)

Brooklyn's still pissed off at Demona, specifically and sarcastically asking if she has anymore "spells to save you now". In fact, we wanted to make clear that the spell used to resurrect (reawaken) Coldstone was one of the spells she tore out of the Grimorum in "Temptation". Instead, we cheated a bit. By having her tell Xanatos that the "Cantrips have already been spoken" it saved us the trouble of getting another spell translated into Latin. We were either lazy or short on time or -- most likely -- both.

Following out of "The Edge", and until the helmet comes off at the bridge, the gargs assume that Xanatos in his armor is simply another Steel Clan Robot. The next upgrade. The red model. They have no idea it's actually Xanatos himself in armor.

Small observation: Mirrors don't fare too well in the Gargoyles Universe.

Emotionally, I think the story is very successful at taking the audience through Goliath's spiritual reawakening. I love how he starts out pensive and brooding, listening to that great exchange between the trio and Hudson, realizing that all of them have lost track of their true purpose. Hudson recites the Gargoyle credo merely as an excuse not to go out in the cold. (And I love Thom's reading on Lex's "We don't even live in a castle anymore" response.) The trio are clearly missing the point, but methodical thinker Goliath isn't sure he remembers what the point is either.

And that dovetails SO nicely with Elisa revealing the Police motto "Protect and Serve". The police motto/gargoyle credo connection is so perfect, it struck me even at the time as further proof that we were tapping into something very true in our little fictions. (And don't cops -- for better and sometimes for worse -- act just like a clan?)

From there, Goliath moves past the notion of simply being a reactive character, struggling only to SURVIVE one crisis after another. Now he will strive to be proactive. To rededicate (reawaken) the clan toward their original life purpose. Extending the term "castle" to Manhattan island was always our plan. Even that was intentionally primitive in our view. Goliath doesn't protect New York City. Not all five burroughs anyway. That's beyond his medieval scope at this still-early stage. He can get his head around protecting an island surrounded by water. Not the whole world. But eventually, the plan would include expanding the clan's definition until Castle Earth was the only thing that made sense. Of course, that might not have been fully realized until 2158. But we'd have gotten there. And the World Tour was part of that process too.

PROBLEMS
(Besides Hudson's sword...)

--One line in the ep. that for some reason still makes me cringe is Elisa's "My car's big." It just seems awkward to me. Not sure why.

X & D watch Coldstone's progress from the castle. Almost instantaneously they're at Times Square. We always knew we were just skating by on that.

Goliath & Coldstone go into the water at the bridge TWICE within the span of a couple of minutes or so. The first time, Goliath nearly drowns. The second time he's completely uneffected (physically) by the experience. We get away with it because the second time he's diving in on purpose. But just the fact that we had to dunk them both twice is an awkward construction (and my fault). At least, Goliath looks good with wet hair.

Some really graceful animation here. Goliath has some great moves, and I love that moment when Matt and especially Elisa are diving into the snow, out of the way of the car that Coldstone has just thrown... And speaking of that scene...

TIMES SQUARE SEQUENCE

There's some very interesting, fun stuff here besides what I've already mentioned about it above. A sampling:

Explosions in Bambi. :)

Demona's Clan: Herself, Coldstone, a Steel Clan Robot and Xanatos in Gargoyle Battle Armor. It's so twisted. I love it.

Goliath's very smart here. He doesn't want the fight to take place in public and basically convinces Xanatos to take his side on the issue by flattering him. Goliath refers to Manhattan as "your city" (i.e. Xanatos' city), this despite the obvious fact that Goliath does NOT regard Manhattan as Xanatos' personal property. And Xanatos, usually immune to such stuff, falls for it -- maybe BECAUSE it comes from the ultra-sincere Goliath.

I also am very fond of the Mr. Jaffe book-ends. I think they're a lot of fun. And I love how Matt talks about Mr. Jaffe. It gives us insight into Matt's character, his background, his youth. His empathy for Jaffe really helps humanize him. Matt was always eminently human.

Signing off now...

"Because six monsters just told me to..."


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Chapter XIII: "Reawakening" (background rambling)

I'm trying something different with this ramble. And because of recent difficulties, I'm going to break the Ramble into two parts. My thoughts on reviewing the episode last Friday night will need to be recreated from scratch. And I'll get to that as soon as I can.

But first I thought you guys might appreciate a little background. What follows is a long memo that I wrote to Story Editor Michael Reaves after receiving the first draft of writer Brynne Chandler Reaves' outline on our thirteenth and final episode of the first season. Pay careful attention to the date of the memo and the title of the episode. I'll comment on both sometime in the next few days...

THE MEMO (unedited):

To: Michael Reaves Date: 4-10-94

From: Greg Weisman Ext: 7436

Re: Notes on "The Awakening" / Outline for 4319-013 of GARGOYLES

GENERAL NOTES
This is a tough one, because in this episode, we have a very specific mission, which is to remind Goliath of his. In order to accomplish this, I'd like to focus both our efforts and Goliath's soul-searching. These aren't simple concepts but I'm gonna try and go through them in baby steps. This is less for our benefit than for the benefit of our audience & Goliath. (Remember, Goliath is a determined thinker if not a quick one.)

Goliath spends the episode searching for the true meaning behind the gargoyle motto, "A gargoyle can no more stop protecting the castle than breathing the air."

We begin by defining our terms. Goliath first needs to understand the following equation: "Castle = Home = Family = Community". He more or less learned the Castle through Family section in "ENTER MACBETH", but we'll need to reiterate the lesson in some way for our audience. Then we need to take him the final step from Family to Community.

After that (or perhaps simultaneously), he needs to decide on what is meant by "protect". Protect what? The physical structure he lives in? No. Again, Home leads into Family which leads into Community.

Protect why? To survive in a hostile environment? Ultimately and by the end of the episode Goliath decides/remembers that to survive is not enough. Coldstone and Demona provide cautionary proof; both of them are abominations of a sort, created in the name of "Survival". Survival ("breathing the air") is important, but clearly survival isn't enough. Goliath and his clan need purpose. They need to return to the mission: Protect the castle (i.e. protect the community).

This dovetails nicely w/Elisa's mission as a cop: "To protect and serve." And leaves us, at the end of our first season, with a more pro-active group of heroes.

SPECIFIC NOTES
Just a few specifics that aren't covered in the beat outline that follows.

Page 1.
--The trio saw snow last episode. Let's make the winter weather the backdrop to the action. Not part of the story.
--I don't think we want to light any fires in the clock tower.

Page 2.
--We no longer need Madame Serena in this story. Plus she adds another new element to a pretty full plate.
--Remember this is one of the spells that Demona ripped from the Grimorum back in "Temptation".

Page 3.
--Coldstone wouldn't name himself. It's not gargoylean thing to do. And he hasn't been awake long enough to know he needs a name. Let Demona do it.

Page 7
--I think we can fit the action of this story into one night, so this is kind of a moot point, but I don't think Demona would risk sleeping as stone in Xanatos' castle. She doesn't trust anyone that much.
--Let's not overplay Matt's conspiracy fettish. It's o.k., but we don't want him to come off as a "babbling".

Page 11
--Remember, unless we're getting biblical here, Gargoyles weren't "created". They have very strong territorial and protective instincts. These instincts are as strong as their survival instinct. But I want to make sure we don't imply that they were magically created by someone or something who gave them a mission.

Finally, if I could recommend a title change... how about "Re-Awakening" instead of "The Awakening". I think it's a bit more appropriate all the way around.

ACT ONE
1. Prologue #1 - Present Day Manhattan - All-Nite Grocery - Winter Night
--It's snowing in Manhattan and will continue to snow until the last scene.
--A lone thief holds up the owner of a small and otherwise empty All-Nite grocery store.
--Thief tells the owner: "I guess we just live in dangerous times.

2. Prologue#2 - Flashback to 994 A.D. Scotland - Castle Wyvern - Night
(Note this scene happened off-camera during part one of the five-parter, somewhere around page 24 of script #4319-001.)
--Goliath informs Hudson that they must leave to harry the vikings far away.
--He'll need Hudson's tracking skills.
--Demona and "pre-Coldstone" gargoyle (Goliath's rookery brother) are also present.
--Magus comes thru and says or does something obnoxious.
--Demona, secretly desperate for Goliath to bring them all along, asks why they bother protecting the human's castle at all?
--Pre-Coldstone agrees: "Let them keep the castle, we can survive anywhere."
--(We see he is of a semi-simlar mind-set to Demona, which explains why she uses him 1000 years later for Coldstone.)
--Hudson firmly states the gargoyle mission statement: "A gargoyle can no more stop protecting the castle than breathing the air..."
--Goliath instructs his rookery brother to stay w/Demona and protect.

3. Present Day - Winter - Clock Tower - Night
--Goliath's been daydreaming (at night) about old memories.
--Trio are going to a movie; they invite Hudson along.
--Hudson's a couch potato. He'll wait to see it on cable. Besides he's got to guard their home.
--Trio: We live over a police station. What could happen? We don't have to guard the place every night.
--Hudson tosses off gargoyle truism: "A gargoyle can no more stop protecting the castle than breathing the air..." (But that's just an excuse to be left alone.)
--Goliath reacts silently, realizing their mission has lost meaning for the gargoyles, even Hudson. Maybe even himself.
--Trio leaves ("We don't even live in a castle anymore...")
--As Elisa enters.
--She wants to know how gargoyles are "surviving" the cold weather.
--G says they're fairly immune... to the elements.
--Elisa starts to leave for her shift w/offhand remark: "Time to do a little of the old 'Protect and Serve'."
--G stops her to find out what she means.
--Police motto.
--But what does it mean? Protect who?
--(Maybe Elisa can get us from Castle to Family here.)
--Goliath decides to accompany Elisa on the night shift.
--Which is a bit problematic now that she has a partner.

4. Castle
--Demona has talked a reluctant Xanatos into another attempt to destroy Goliath.
--Xanatos & Demona use science & sorcery to revive creature made from cybernetics and mismatched gargoyle parts. (The head is that of Goliath's rookery brother, our pre-Coldstone, augmented by cybernetic-eye & etc.)
--Demona names him Coldstone.
(--Perhaps she represents Xanatos as her servant. Perhaps he allows it.)
(--Note: in this episode, I think we want to sense a tension between X & D, but I don't think we want to bust them up here. It's distracting and we have enough to deal with.)
--Coldstone's confused. Last thing he remembers is Goliath & Hudson leaving the castle. Then came sunrise and oblivion.
--Demona: "Goliath abandoned us to the mercy of humans."
--He has been seduced by their beliefs.
--It is because of him that you look like this....
--It's mirror time.
--Does audience see him or do we save that revelation?

5. Manhattan Streets / All-Nite Grocery / Rooftop across the street.
--Elisa & Matt are driving in her car.
--Goliath is following them from above. (She's given him a walkie-talkie or headset or something. She's basically wearing a wire so that he can be on her shift with her.)
--They investigate All-Nite grocery store robbery from scene 1. (Not a crime in progress. Remember, they are detectives, not beat cops.)
--While Matt questions the owner...
--Goliath, watching from above, is able to talk quietly w/Elisa.
--We get from Family to Community.
--Elisa: No one wants to live a prisoner of their own castle anymore. We live in a community. The whole community needs to work together...
--G: "To survive." (He still hasn't gotten it yet.)
--Radio call: "All available units."

6. Times Square.
--That tortured soul, Coldstone, is going bonkers.
--(He hated "Cats". No, wait... he hates humans.)
--(Physical strength only. No robotic weaponry yet.)
--Morgan and other cops are just securing the perimeter, keeping people clear.
--From a distance, Goliath surmises another Xanatos robot ploy. (He sees the occasional metallic glint. The rest is in shadow.) He won't be dragged into another of Xanatos' schemes.
--Elisa & Matt don't have that luxury. They approach the thing. Tell it to cease and desist, etc.
--Coldstone prepares to throw a small car at them or something.
--As Goliath reacts, we fade out.

ACT TWO
7. Times Square.
--With Elisa endangered, Goliath doesn't hesitate to intervene and save her and a flabergasted Matt.
--Now Coldstone really goes ballistic. Literally. Barrel rises from robotic arm and fires.
--Goliath dodges or maybe he is hit, but Coldstone is too shocked to notice. --He didn't know he could do that.
--(Xanatos had a pre-programmed battle mode built-into his circuitry.)
--While C is figuring this out, Goliath comes in and smashes him.
--It's only in close that Goliath realizes he's not fighting a robot.
--(Is this the audience's first full look at Coldstone too??)
--And it's only now that Coldstone recognizes G.
--But all this convinces Coldstone that Demona was telling the truth.
--Goliath is attacking his own rookery brother to defend a human.
--But Goliath is out-matched, and soon losing.

8. Inside Orpheum Theatre (Times Square).
--Trio are watching movie from balcony.
--(As Broadway did in "Deadly Force").
-- "There sure are an awful lot of explosions in this movie."
--But are those explosions coming from outside?
--Suddenly movie stops. House lights come up.
--On ground level, Morgan is ushering people out the back entrance, calmly and for their own safety.
--Trio exit to see what's going on.

9. Times Square.
--Trio arrive in time to save Goliath from Coldstone.
--Coldstone surrounded by all four gargoyles.
--Looks like the tide of battle might have shifted.
--We see gargoyles thru Coldstone's robot POV.

10. Castle.
--Matchcut to Xanatos office monitor.
--Seems he gets a direct feed on whatever Coldstone sees or hears.
--X to D: Looks like sonny-boy's having trouble making friends.
--(No indication that they're going to help yet.)

11. Times Square.
--Goliath does not attack; he's still trying to put everything together.
--Could this abomination really be his rookery brother?
--At first, Goliath doesn't talk to Coldstone, rather he speaks about "it".
--Which of course doesn't endear him to Coldy one bit.
--G tries a kinder, gentler approach.
--Might even be starting to reach him.
--G: What happened to you, pal?
--From off-screen Demona says: "We did."
--Goliath, trio and Coldstone turn to see Demona, Xanatos in Gargoyle armor and a Steel Clan Robot. Fade to black.

ACT THREE
12. Times Square.
--Stand-off.
--Demona: If you're going to bring your whole clan, you can't expect me not to bring mine.
--G: You call that a clan?
--Coldstone is torn, confused. What should he do?
--Demona: "Destroy Goliath. Destroy him, and we survive."
--Coldstone looks down at his cobbled-together form: "Is this survival?"
--Demona tells him not to be fooled by appearance.
--Goliath and the others have been corrupted by humans.
--"We are the only real gargoyles left."
--Travis Marshall pulls up in newsvan.
--While cameraman is setting up, Elisa uses "wire" to warn Goliath.
--Goliath appeals to Xanatos
--(Probably doesn't yet know that Xanatos IS one of the robots.)
--(G thinks he's talking by radio-link via the robots.)
--G: It's your city, X, shouldn't we reconvene someplace less fragile.
--Demona doesn't like the idea, but Xanatos insists.
--(She's not ready to sever their partnership yet).
--Xanatos quietly names a spot that only Goliath (and Elisa via their wire) can hear.
--The eight combatants fly off, severally.
--Marshall only gets the tail end on camera.

13. Clock Tower.
--Hudson sees Marshall's report on t.v.
--Discusses dilemma (theoretically w/Bronx, but he's really talking to himself).
--Goliath told them to stay and guard the tower.
--What should he do?

14. George Washington Bridge.
(Or whatever bridge is closest to Times Square.)
--Your basic battle royale...on the bridge, in the air. Among other things...
--Brooklyn goes after Demona.
--He's still mad at her from "Temptation."
--Which allows Goliath and Coldstone to continue their face-off.
--The Steel Clan robot is destroyed.
--Xanatos is forced to unmask.
--But generally, the bad guys are winning, if barely.
--Coldstone & Goliath plunge into the icy river.

15. The River.
--Coldstone's got a built-in breathing apparatus that extends over his mouth and nose automatically.
--As they struggle underwater, Goliath's losing air and consciousness.
--G. hears Hudson's voice: "A gargoyle can no more stop protecting the castle than breathing the air."
--Suddenly, Goliath is pulled out of the water... by Coldstone.

16. An Ice flow.
--As G. gasps for breath he sees that a battered Demona and Xan have the drop on an even more battered Trio. The fight is over; the good guys lost.
--Demona's glad Coldstone saved G. for her to finish off.
--But Coldstone wants some answers first.
--Coldstone: "You said if Goliath dies. We would survive."
--Again, he indicates himself: "Is that all there is... surviving?"
--Demona's almost tender with him, but what she says is something like: "That's all that counts."
--But Goliath has finally figured it out. Surviving is not enough. To merely survive at all costs is not the gargoyle way. Gargoyles protect the way gargoyles breathe. To forget that leads to true corruption. Not the corruption of humans, or even Coldstone's metallic corruption. But the bitter fanaticism of Demona's corrupt soul. Or something like that.
--Of course, Demona's not just gonna sit there and let Goliath speechify forever.
--She takes aim.
--Coldstone leaps between them, takes the blast and is blown off the ice into the water. He does not resurface.
--Goliath immediately dives in after his brother.
--Demona fires into the water at both of them.
--She is furious at Coldstone's betrayal.
--Trio try to take some advantage of situation, but Xanatos won't allow it.
--Suddenly, the ice seems to be hit from above by a cannonball that sends everyone reeling.
--That was no cannonball that was Bronx. Hudson dropped him from on high.
--Again, the tide has turned. And it's all Xanatos can do to grab Demona and rocket her out of there.
--Goliath comes up for air. There's no sign of Coldstone.
--Goliath has lost his only surviving brother.

17. Epilogue #1 - Bridge.
--The six gargoyles are climbing back up the bridge. (They'll need some height to glide home.)
--Hudson apologizes for abandoning their home, the clock tower.
--Goliath points toward Manhattan and says something like: "The clock tower is where we sleep. But our home is that island. Our castle is Manhattan. And gargoyles always protect their castle... and anyone, human or gargoyle who resides within."
--Elisa pulls up in her car. It took her awhile to get clear of Matt.
--Are they o.k.? Do they need anything?
--Goliath: "I need a detective."

18. Epilogue #2 - All-Nite Grocery - Dawn.
--The thief from scene 1 comes in again.
--The owner is scared at first but the thief is very contrite.
--He gives back all the money and asks the owner to call the police so that he can turn himself in.
--When the flabbergasted owner asks why, the frightened thief replies: "Six monsters and a cop told me to."

19. Rooftop across the street from the All-Nite Grocery - Morning.
--In the cold early morning wind amid hazy sunlight, Elisa stands on the roof across the street from the grocery store amid six horrific stone gargoyles.
--Elisa watches, as Morgan (at the end of his shift) takes the thief away in his squad car.
--Elisa: "Well, it's a start. Xanatos, Demona, you two are next."
--The sun breaks through the clouds, shining brightly on a beautiful winter's day in Manhattan.
--E: "You know, guys, the city feels safer already."
--She leaves them there to sleep and heads home after a long night.
--FADE.

End of memo. My real Ramble should come soon.


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Todd Jensen writes...

A ramble-reply to "The Thrill of the Hunt".

I liked reading your comments on it. I will confess that I can't remember now what my response was, when I first saw this episode, to the fact that Xanatos was still in prison or to Elisa's indication that the gargoyles would have to leave the castle (although looking back on it now, I'd say that I appreciate both - and the bit at the end where we get that look at Xanatos again and that taste of his character). A few bits that do stand out to me:

1. I always get a bit of a chuckle at the way that the announcer shouts, "Oh, no, it's the Evil Ninjas!" The guy sounded there as if he'd taken the same acting class that Sevarius did :)

2. That little bit where Lexington enthusiastically calls the Pack "defenders of the realm". I liked that touch as fitting in with the gargoyles' medieval origins and the fact that, so soon after their awakening, they'd still be seeing the world in such a light.

3. The bit where Billy and Susan show up was extremely funny, particularly the groans and facial expressions from Fox and Hyena over the timing of their arrival. (And I must confess, I hadn't even given that much thought to Wolf showing a bit more smarts in that scene in coming up with a way of explaining the gargoyles to those kids. Thanks for pointing it out).

I'm looking forward to the rest of your rambles on each individual episode.

Greg responds...

Thanks. I like all those things too. (That's Jim "Dingo/Darkwing Duck" Cummings saying "Oh, no, it's the Evil Ninjas!" Jim is, of course, a fine actor. It takes real skill to ham it up that badly and still make it play funny and not cringe-worthy.)

Response recorded on April 21, 2000

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Adam writes...

Just a comment on your ramblings about episode 5. My brtother is in the army and has fired LAW (Light Anti-Tank Rounds) in practice. He told that his intructor informed him as to the necessity of always pointuing the weapon up. Should it go off while pointed at the gound, the resulting shrapnel from the round alone, would shread everything within a five foot radius. Modern bazookas are designed to cut through up to 400 mm of composite tank armor.

What all of this means is that you'd be picking up pieces of both Goliath and Demona had Elisa not intervened. All though I suppose Demona's pieces would still be alive. Talk about going over the deep end!! But then Demona was never one tho think ahead when she's angry.

Greg responds...

O.K.

But I'm not sure Demona's "bazooka" is the same thing your brother uses. (Notice "bazooka" is in quotes.)

Response recorded on April 05, 2000

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Aaron writes...

Awakenings 4. Hmmm, this's where I started to think something was weird with Demona. Her language is too modern, and she knows the guards can't fire their guns in the airship.

Something I've always wondered. When Goliath won't let her drop that guy out the door, Demona flings him into the bulkhead face first instead. Given gargoyle strength, doesn't that have about the same result? (Love that scene, btw)

Greg responds...

It's ambiguous. :)

Response recorded on April 04, 2000

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p;xl writes...

You ask for comments, and boy, do people give them to you. I think you'll be shackled in this Ask Greg piece for the rest of your life, or if by some miracle... <which won't come cause Disney corps are stupid and inherently greedy> the shows ressurected.

Anycase.... I was going through my very fractured gargoyle collection. <I had started taping the episodes off the WB, but the show was cancelled, le sigh, and never got key episodes like "The Mirror" which I so adore, so I only have the crappy USA versions and a couple of uncuts>. Anyways... I saw a handfull of episodes. I'd forgotten how powerful some scenes were.

The first episodes I popped in and saw. Avalon 1-3. Avalon 1 was nice, flashback, filler episode. And then came Avalon 2, with David Warner <who for Star Trek fans voiced a cardassian in an episode where Picard was captured, the "how many lights" big brother deal ep>. His interaction with anyone is great, but with himself?! Pure genius. But even yet... this probably didn't prepare anyone for Avalon 3. This was truly a pivotal episode. In it we see the typical fights, Archmage, Macbeth/Demona. But the Magus. Wow. My congrats whoever did that... The Magus. How you expanded in on his character to let everyone know *who* he was. His feelings, regrets, hardships, guilt. And then the impossible battle he fought... you stated that Puck would have a hard time taking on the Weird Sisters. But he did it, a single sorceror, without the strength to weild the magic, took them on anyways. And in his last ounce of strength, cast a spell sealing the battle. Just must applaud whoever wrote that, whether you or anyone. And the Death scene, I'm not a cryer, but I swear I nearly shed tears. Goosebumps..

The Price came next. Another very key episode. It shows how much Goliath cares for his former leader, and the loyalty of Owen. Xanatos really pissed me off at the end of that episode, how he casually shrugged off the loyalty bit.

Well I'm gonna end my little episode opinions, but its fun to talk about them and such. With such a *huge* audience. If Gore ever put a counter on this page, I'd laugh to see what its little ticker would be. You get at least 15 questions a day I'd think.

Thanks for the show.

Greg responds...

I'd hardly call AVALON I, filler. Anyway....

As for Avalon III, I think Lydia wrote the episode. I came up with the basic story idea, and Lydia, Brynne and I worked out the plot together.

As for "The Price", you don't need to be quite so pissed at Xanatos. He knew Owen was Puck.

As for how many questions I get... I'm not sure. But February's going on forever.

Response recorded on April 04, 2000

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Robin Wynn writes...

Hey Greg,
I thought I'd just add my two cents on something I saw a couple of ppl ask.
The question was concerning the scene in Highnoon (i think that's the right ep.) when Demona and Elisa are fighting, and Macbeth is just sitting there not feeling anything. Your reply was that you lost track of the whole pain thing, (i think there was another explanation that you gave, but I cant' remember it right now) Well, I had always been under the impression, that in that scene, when Coldstone says "Well, this is diverting" (or something like that) And Macbeth replies, "You don't know the half of it" I always figured that that was what he was refering to. That he could feel the pain, and so it was even more 'diverting' that it seemed. But maybe he didn't react to it because he had seen teh pain coming, and so braced himself for the impact. And, maybe he was getting a tad bit of pleasure at watching Demona get her but whipped by Elisa. ;)

Anyway, that's my two cents worth..

Greg responds...

I do think I more or less said that as my "in-Universe" explanation, but at any rate , I like your interpretation.

Response recorded on April 04, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

Just read your "Awakening Part Two" ramble, and thought I'd give you my comments on it as well.

One thing that I particularly like about that episode, where the gargoyles awaken in New York for the first time, is just how impressive, awe-inspiring, and almost alien the city looks. It's the familiar Manhattan skyscrapers, but we can actually see them through the gargoyles' eyes as something mysterious and strange, so different from the medieval world that they were hatched in. Nothing like seeing the modern world through a 10th century gargoyle's eyes to make us appreciate how amazing things that we usually take for granted can be (as Elisa mentions in Part Three when she's giving Goliath the grand tour).

As for Xanatos - the first time that I saw "Awakening", I was never really certain as to what to make of him. I suspected that he would ultimately turn out to be the villain, but I found myself hoping that he really was on the level until Elisa's revelations to Goliath in Part Five forced me to realize that his seeming benevolence was just an act. (I went through the same thing in "Metamorphosis", where the first time around, I actually believed Xanatos to be telling the truth about not having wanted Derek to get turned into a Mutate - and by then I knew what he was really like! Funny the sort of effect that Mr. X has on you, isn't it?)

One part of the episode that I always find a little amusing, oddly: the bit where Lexington catches the grenade, stares at it for a moment, then tosses it away over his shoulder with explosive results.

I also liked the bits about Lexington asking the female Xanatos Commando member if she was a Viking, and Hudson initially mistaking their helicopter for a dragon. One of the things that really appealed to me about the early episodes of the series was the gargoyles trying to understand the world of the 1990's while still stuck with a 990's world-view.

Greg responds...

Numbering your paragraphs...

1. I'm glad it had that effect. It is a cool moment, but you always worry that the audience is just gonna say, "Big Buildings. Big deal."

2. Yeah, David is just so ingratiating. It's hard not to want to shake his hand, even thought the odds are even that there's a knife in it.

3. That bit amuses me too.

4. I hope we didn't lose that tenth century POV too quickly. I think the first season maintained it well, but we lost it a bit in the second. OR rather, we applied it emotionally rather than experientially. Which may have been to subtle an approach. We just figured that after a year, the gargs couldn't be that shocked by, say, a toaster anymore.

Response recorded on March 31, 2000

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Chapter XII: "Her Brother's Keeper"

I think Michael Reaves came up with this title. I wanted to shorten it to "Brother's Keeper" so that it would implicitly include the Trio, Goliath and his late rookery-brothers, Jackal & Hyena. But Michael talked me out of it. He was right.

This was the second out of three episodes where we attempted to do Kenner a solid by inserting a toy into the series. The Helicopter was a much more awkward fit than Brooklyn's motorcycle had been. But we all agreed to make it work. Originally, Lex was going to repair Derek's police chopper, but someone suggested using the Pack 'copter instead. So we tried to make it all play as organic as possible. Lex and the Simulator, to set up his ability to pilot the thing. Broadway bringing up the obvious question as to why winged gargs would need a chopper, so that the audience didn't think we were ignoring those points. Etc. And in the end, it still plays artificial. But fortunately it's in an episode that is othewise filled with tremendous emotional honesty. So maybe it all balances out.

Of course, the irony was that Kenner never made a gargoyle helicopter. Without telling us, they switched to a sky sled sorta thing, because they couldn't figure out how to do a helicopter that successfully interacted with the garg-toys' wings. No good deed goes unpunished.

Broadway: "If cops were meant to fly they'd have wings." I love that line.

Derek - This was part of our plan to turn Derek into Catscan. Of course, the Catscan name was eventually dropped for Talon. The original plan for Catscan had him being a scientist that worked for and was duped by Xanatos. Picture us trying to combine Derek and Anton. (I know it's a mind-bender. It was more like Derek's personality and Anton's expertise.) But the Garg Universe told me otherwise once we created Derek for "Deadly Force". He'd be the cursed one. And this was just step one. Step only, if we never got a second season. So we left it open ended. And I think it's a pretty stunning bittersweat ending. The snow starts to fall (all very symbolic) and we don't know if Derek will listen to Elisa's tape of Fox or not. And we leave Elisa, standing, wondering, thinking, as the snow falls. It's not your typical Saturday morning cartoon conclusion -- not even for a drama. What did you all think at the end of that after your first viewing?

The snow became a very important visual metaphor for me. I exchanged a few faxes with Japan to make sure (that contrary to the script) there was NO SNOW on the ground at Xanadu, no snow at all, until it starts falling during Elisa's last conversation with Derek.

CONTINUITY:

Sure, Jackal and Hyena were at large, but we establish here that Wolf and Fox are in prison. Anyone looking back at "Thrill" would know that this makes sense. Lex and Goliath take Dingo, J & H out on the roof. No human witnesses to their evil. And they didn't do anything against anyone but the gargs. But Wolf and Fox were photographed taking human (well, fashion model) hostages. So they go to prison. Dingo goes to Europe. J&H are still around to do mischief. But meanwhile, most normal humans still regard them as celebrities, until Hyena pulls a knife. (We had planned once-upon-a-time to make knives a bigger element/part of their arsenal. But it was a bit problematic S&P-wise, and it became moot after "Upgrade".)

Broadway, ever Elisa's biggest fan, thinks Derek should just trust her.

Brooklyn, still scarred from trusting Demona, points out that trust doesn't mean much without honesty.

Lex, still pissed at the Pack, just wants to catch them.

And it's nice to see Morgan and Matt again. If you like guys in towels.

Xanatos, as usual, is so cool.

"Never a gargoyle around when you need one."

"Detective. Always a pleasure."

"My life is anything but dull."

And that's just his dialogue. His plan is audacious. He has Owen call the Police, counts on Elisa and the gargs to rescue him from Jackal & Hyena. (We loved playing that irony.) And instructs Fox to tell Elisa everything. He's so confident, he even has no qualms about leaving Elisa and Derek alone to talk at the end.

And you gotta love a guy named Xanatos naming his retreat Xanadu.

I love the Hannibal Lechter inspired scene between Elisa & Fox. This of course was the moment when we all figured out what the garg universe already knew: "My god, Fox is in love with Xanatos." I hadn't known that back when Fox was created in the development days of yore. Hadn't known it when we did "Thrill". Hadn't known it until we were way into script on this. But there it was. And nothing would ever be the same. (Did you guys realize it there? And how far did you think we'd take it?)

Suddenly, the events of "Leader of the Pack", "Eye of the Beholder" and "Vows" seemed to spread out before me. And Alexander became a glimmer in my eye (if not Xanatos').

Elisa acts true to form here. What we'd spell out later in "Revelations" is already implied here. Elisa is extremely (if subconsciously) reluctant to share her gargoyles secret with anyone. Three times Goliath tells her to share her secret with her brother. Three times she finds an excuse not to. (Frank Paur found this repetitive. He tried to take one of the scenes and make it play more subjective. Like Elisa imagining a conversation with Goliath, while the actual Goliath was sleeping in stone. It was a sweet idea, but it didn't make any logical sense in terms of story flow and forced us to make storyboard changes and call retakes in order to get the version we've all seen.)

We loved playing irony. Elisa and Peter are right about Xanatos, but dead wrong about the way they're trying to control Derek's life. Diane and Derek are absolutely right about Derek needing to control his own destiny, but make the tragic choice of trusting that destiny to Xanatos. Those two scenes are terrific. (Helped immensely by vocal performances. And I also love Nichelle Nichols as the diamond exchange saleslady.)

Derek thinks Elisa thinks Xanatos is the "Prince of Darkness". "He practically is!" she responds. <SIGH> Tricksters are always being confused with Satan.

But that was more irony. It's not the demonic-looking gargoyles who are being compared to Satan. It's the handsome, rich Bruce Wayne-esque playboy. I guess the goatee helps.

My daughter's reactions:

As you may have gathered, it's become fascinating to me to see how Erin is reacting differently seeing all these episodes for the second time at age 5 1/2.

She was stunned at the end of Act One and following when Derek told Elisa that he was accepting Xanatos' offer. "That's not supposed to happen," she kept saying.

And all the trio stuff made her laugh. She especially liked Goliath's admonitions to the Trio: "Try to get along."

Brooklyn sure knows his pop-culture: Star Wars and Star Trek references within a few minutes of each other.

It was important to us to show that even guys as close as the Trio could get tired of each other. Sure they're all Rookery brothers and best friends. But if they had stayed at Wyvern (i.e. if there had been no massacre) they wouldn't have had to spend ALL their time together. At the very least, females would have provided a distraction. But here in the 20th century they're all they've got. So of course, there'd be good days and bad days. Like any siblings.

And of course, the sibling theme was central to the episode, including the Jackal & Hyena's relationship. The irony there being that they were getting along better than the Trio or the Mazas.

I loved Goliath's outrage at the lack of appreciation that the Mazas and Trio have for their siblings. It's very moving to me. (And helps us set up Coldstone for next episode.)

When Lex comments that if Broadway had his way, the garg-copter would be covered with food, I knew that we were pushing Broadway's eating habits into the dull one-joke tired category. I hate that line. And we tried to back off the eating jokes after that.

Anyone notice our tribute to Launchpad McQuack when Lex says "Any landing you can walk away from..."

Some gorgeous animation in this one. I loved what they did with the lighting when Lex gets Jackal and Hyena in the chopper's spot.

S&P

--The trio toss Jackal & Hyena out of their chopper. It's o.k. They're wearing parachutes. But did the Trio know that? Maybe with Jackal, since Hyena's chute had already opened. But was Hyena tossed to her presumptive death.

Yes. After all they're still thinking (first season) like tenth century warriors, not like twentieth century super-heros.

--One of the advantages to Syndication over Network is a more liberal S&P. We could show Broadway's fist heading into camera. We couldn't actually show him punching Jackal in the head, but we could show Jackal's POV of that fist heading toward him. A couple frames of black, and then we cut wide to Jackal on the ground, and we know what happened. But on Network, in "The Journey" or, say, "Max Steel", we are NEVER allowed to even imply a head blow. And we can't show a fist or gun or whatever pointed directly at camera (i.e. at the audience). Too disturbing, I'm told.

And finally, at the end, when Elisa arrests Hyena, I've got to ask, what do you think Hyena's smiling about?

Maybe that's the next contest...

Hmmm....


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Coldplasma writes...

Hi mr. Weisman

I'm having a little argument with my friend. In "Awakening 4", Elisa shot a commando in the park. Base on what Bruno says later, I assmue that the commando is only wounded. My friend says that the commando is dead. So, who's right on this one?

Thanx, bye.

Greg responds...

She shot him with a tranquilizer dart. He didn't die until "Monsters".

Response recorded on March 25, 2000

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Chapter XI: "Long Way To Morning"

"Long Way To Morning" This was my title, based on an idea I'd had from way early in the development of the series. It was always obvious to me that the fact that the gargs turned to vulnerable stone at sunrise, gave the series a built-in ticking clock that added tension. But given the gargoyles' healing factor (to borrow a Wolverine term) it occured to me early on that there might come a time when sunrise couldn't come fast enough. That was the origin of this episode and the title. (I think I may have even mentioned the scenario in the Series' Writers' Bible.)

The other obvious purpose of the episode was to give Hudson a showcase episode to equal the Trio tryptich. As I've mentioned before, Gargoyles was originally developed as a comic series, and one of the funny little gargoyles in that show was "Ralph", a very domestic couch potato Gargoyle who loved to stay at home and watch T.V. Hudson developed out of Ralph, but he spent much of the first few episodes "Guarding the castle" (or the clock tower). We'd given him some great action in AWAKENING. But we still felt a major need to UN-RALPH him.

I wanted to deal with his age as realistically as possible. To have him doubt himself, maybe even be aware of his limitations, but then have him prove to himself that he still had something to contribute. I think we basically succeed in that here.

But this ep afforded us other opportunities as well. Opportunities to explore Wyvern backstory in our parallel flashback story:

--We find out definitively that Hudson WAS the leader of the clan and that Goliath was his second. We also get to see the baton get passed.

--We learn how Hudson was blinded in one eye.

--We meet Prince Malcolm and get a sense of how Princess Katharine became the bitch she was at the start of "Awakening". I think this was very important in paving the way for her role in the "Avalon" tryptich. By the end of "Awakening", she's remorseful and has seen the error of her ways, but it doesn't change how badly she acted. But this episode reveals how and why her antipathy toward Gargoyles was created. It doesn't excuse her behaviour, but it helps to explain it enough so that we can buy her as a heroine when we next see her. Malcolm doesn't come off as well. I wanted to present how easily casual thoughtless words could be hurtful, and even lead to tragic consequences. My daughter Erin (age 5 1/2) had seen this episode at least once before. But this time, that aspect of Malcolm's inadvertent damage and Katharine's mistaken blame really grabbed her attention. The injustice of it really troubled her. Which is exactly the response I was looking for. (My kids are so cool. She also noticed Hudson's eye getting injured, and commented on how smart Hudson was to jump off into the waterfall.)

--I love the subtle changes that Jeff, Keith and Marina made in their voices when playing the young Magus, Goliath and Demona. It's interesting to see Demona's progression in hindsight from "Vows" to "Long Way" to "Awakening, Part One" to "City of Stone" to the present day. She really is a fascinating character, if I do say so myself. Here, you see her ambition. But no villainy. Of course, it made for a nice counterpoint with her vicious murderous tendencies in the present day story.

--Throughout production of this episode, I had to keep pointing out to the artists, etc., that the flashbacks all had a point of view, i.e. Hudson's. That Demona and Goliath's "private conversations" could NOT be as private as they thought. Hudson had to know what they were saying about him. Both because it further eroded his confidence in both the past and present (the true demon he had to overcome) and because if he didn't hear those conversations it would be cheating to include them in HIS dreams and flashbacks.

--We also intro'd the ARCHMAGE. A one-shot villain if I ever saw one, except that David Warner was so amazing, I knew I had to bring the character back. When he falls into the chasm, you can just here the Phoenix Gate exploding open down there. (Of course, to some people that sounded like him hitting bottom. Their mistake.)

Continuity:

Brooklyn still has it in for D. Broadway is now Ultra-Protective of Elisa. Hudson has superior tracking skills in the past and the present.

And Demona has clearly focused her hatred on Elisa. (Who, by the way, loses her second gun of the series.) It was important for these early episodes that we fool Demona into thinking that Elisa was dead. Otherwise, how else do we explain why she doesn't just kill her.

Demona at the end, uses her cannon as a club. This was designed to be ambiguous. Did Hudson's sword damage the weapon? Or was Demona just so furious that she wanted the satisfaction of cudgeling the old guy to death? Yeah, it was designed to be ambiguous, but no one ever EVER thought that the gun was damaged. They all assumed Demona just lost it. Which is probably true.

Speaking of that Waterfall thing, that image was important retro-pipe for Hunter's Moon, Part Three. (More on that in 54 chapters.)

Animation-wise, I just wish Demona hadn't come off as such a lousy shot.

I love Hudson and Goliath's last exchange. Goliath assures Hudson that he still has "Years of fighting left". Hudson, glad to be of use, is still less than thrilled at the prospect. It's a great wry beat, but it was also important to me to point out that no rational person would wish to fight like that forever. The gargs, including Hudson, fight the good fight because they have to, because it is their duty, part of their natural protective instincts. But none of them WANT to fight.

As usual, I'd like to encourage responses to this episode here at ASK GREG, particularly how you responded to viewing this for the first time.


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Todd Jensen writes...

What was the bridge that Goliath and his clan had their show-down with Xanatos, Demona, and Coldstone upon in "Re-Awakening"? I thought that it was the Brooklyn Bridge, but somebody else said that it was the George Washington Bridge.

Greg responds...

Yeah, George Washington.

Response recorded on March 22, 2000

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Todd Jense writes...

The first time that I saw "The Price", when Macbeth appeared to return from the dead to hunt the gargoyles down again, I had already seen "City of Stone" and so naturally thought when he had seemed to survive even Goliath downing his sky-sled, "Of course! Only Demona can kill him, so he'd be able to survive Goliath's attack!" Consequently I was genuinely surprised when it turned out that the real reason for this survival was that it wasn't the real Macbeth but a robot (although I was already starting to get a little suspicious about Macbeth here anyway since hunting the gargoyles down simply for trophies didn't seem quite his style; he generally had far more significant reasons for hunting them). Now, were you going for this response from those members of your audience who'd already seen "City of Stone"? A sort of feint left, turn right tactic to initially dupe us into thinking that the reason for Macbeth's survival was his link with Demona, before revealing the real reason?

Greg responds...

That was part of it, but mostly I just wanted to fool them with the robot, and still play fair (like by having the 'bot repeat the same few phrases over and over) so that when the truth was revealed, the audience would go "Oh, of course!" instead of saying "Duh!" or feeling cheated.

Response recorded on March 22, 2000

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WereFoX writes...

Greg, did Oberon erase every obvious trace of his presence in New York during the Gathering. I imagine he would show up on a few video surviellance cameras or in real time photos from overhead satellites.

Greg responds...

No. I doubt he bothered.

Response recorded on March 21, 2000

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Adam writes...

What was Thailog thinking when he turned on Demona? He can't kill her and after all the quality time he'd spent with
her, he has to know that she can carry a grudge for centuries.

Greg responds...

I think Thailog perceived Demona as the kind of loose cannon that he ultimately had to eliminate one way or another. If that meant chaining her in a funhouse basement, so be it.

Response recorded on March 21, 2000

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Onil writes...

In response to your Ramble, I suggest you forget about the Chronicles completely. I was repulsed by EVERY episode; I didn't even like The Journey very much. The eps got worse week after week and I didn't know why until I found out online that you left the show. I kept watching anyway because I couldn't keep away. I eventually saw one episode I liked -- more for the unique animation style than the actual story -- with Proteus finding his way to New York. All other episodes repulsed me.

In my mind, the series ended with the conclusion to Hunter's Moon. I suppose I was dissappointed with The Journey because I wasn't expecting so much time to have passed since returning to the castle.
The kiss shared by Angela and Broadway caught me off guard and I thought it was somewhat out of context. A courtship episode would've been nice, but I understand if you were trying to pack a lot of your ideas in before you left.
I also disliked the form in which John Canmore returned. He was really different from the way he was in Hunter's Moon. I hope you didn't plan for his "cause" to be the central storyline for the forseeable future. I probably would've been tired of it after two or three eps. That is, unless you brought back the Hunter armory, exo-suit, and foreign accent :)

Greg responds...

Sorry, you didn't like "The Journey". I wasn't happy with how it was boarded or edited, but I think it turned out O.K.

(On the other hand, the Aladdin-style animation on that Proteus episode really bugged me. Like a different series.)

I don't think much time HAD passed between Hunter's Moon and The Journey. A few weeks at most. The Broadway/Angela courtship had been going on in subtle ways since they met. But that was their first kiss. You didn't miss anything. They found each other right there. As for Canmore/Castaway, well, the idea was that some astute viewers would recognize him as the same guy, but I didn't plan on revealing that right away. The Quarrymen would have been a significant subplot, but they wouldn't have taken over the series. And, by the way, John Castaway did have an accent. An English accent. (As opposed to Canmore's Scottish accent.) Personally, I thought Castaway in "The Journey" was kind of chilling.

Basically, I'd hope you would have trusted me to give you the same level of quality that you seem to have enjoyed during the first two seasons.

Response recorded on March 19, 2000

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Ambrosia writes...

Hi, again, Greg!
How long do you suppose it would be (in years or whatever) before the ridiculous humans put away their predjudices and, worldwide, it was cosidered perfectly normal for gagoyles, New Olympians, humans, and Oberon's Children to be seen wandering down a street or in a dance club? I'm not saying all humans, or every member of the other races for that matter, will ever completely accept the members of the others (Margot, for example. That woman...!), but do you forsee basic equality for all the races in the future?

BTW, I have to put this in... I was reading through the archives and I came accross Celano's post. S/he's right! That gargoyle mother in The Mirror really did have a beard! I've always wondered about that too...
thanks for your time, Greg! You're my hero!

Greg responds...

I don't remember any beard, and I've seen the episode about 50 times.

As to your real question, I like to think that as a species humans take two steps forward and 1.9 steps back. Meaning that eventually, we get where we should be going. But I'm not going to attempt to set a date on the end of universal prejudice. I'm not in the Utopia business.

Response recorded on March 19, 2000

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Michael Norton writes...

Is there any logical reason that Owen did not include a giant iron bell in the castle defenses? I know this would have ruined the drama of the battle. But it is hard to accept the fact that it never occured to any of the defenders during the battle with Oberon.

Greg responds...

I'm not sure that the bell solution is that obvious to Owen. I think it was very clever of Titania to come up with something that generally a fae would have little interest in exploring.

And where would Goliath and Angela found a big iron bell?

Response recorded on March 19, 2000

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Michael Norton writes...

In Walkabout, would Titania have revealed herself and magically intervened if Goliath and Dingo had failed to reason with Matrix?

Greg responds...

What could Titania have done against Matrix?

Response recorded on March 19, 2000

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Aris Katsaris writes...

I started to wonder about the 'Future Tense' episode...

1. What would have happened if Goliath had indeed given Puck the gate? After all he was dreaming the whole thing - would the real-life gate have just disappeared and been taken by Puck or something? Goliath waking up and finding it missing?

2. That thing about Puck not being able to take the gate, he having to be given it - is that again a law of Oberon's or something inherent in the nature of the Gate and/or fae?

3. And if the former, why when in other cases the fae could use just any flimsy excuse to bend Oberon's law, this one was so strictly interpreted that even 'Here you have it, take the gate' wasn't sufficient for Puck to take it?

Greg responds...

1. Goliath would have physically taken the Gate from his pouch, held it out and let go. Puck would appear to take it. All very real. But it didn't happen.

2. It's a law, but I don't know if it's Oberon's law.

3. I'm not sure that their excuses were that flimsy. We always made an effort to bend the laws with a real rationale.

Response recorded on March 19, 2000

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Demona writes...

Hello, Greg! In "Hunter's Moon: Part 3", at the very end, how come you had Demona throw up the vile into the air? I mean, right after Goliath said, "you can destroy all of us, you and me, the whole clan, and our daughter." When he involved Angela, you would think that Demona would do anything for her because she loved her so much. In "The Reckoning," Demona used Angela, but realized what she had done wrong, so she saved her from being killed. Now, Demona doesn't care? I don't understand. Is it maybe because Goliath destroyed the Praying Gargoyle that her spell wouldn't work anyway? So, out of frustration, she just threw the vile up in the air, because she knew that if Goliath didn't catch it nothing would happen? Thanks for your time, Greg! I hope I didn't confuse you with what I'm trying to ask. :)

Greg responds...

I think that on one level, Demona was fairly confident that Goliath (or one of the gargs) would catch it. But I also think on some level, Demona's action was nihilistic. If the vile broke, so be it.

Response recorded on March 19, 2000

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Chapter X: "The Edge"

By the end of this episode, everyone is happy.

Both Goliath and Xanatos are afraid they've lost their edge. Both are convinced by the end that they've regained it. Both are at least partially deceiving themselves. [One of the little ambiguities that I love about the Xanatos tags is that one way to interpret them is that David is just full of it. He loses, but claims victory anyway.]

But David is just so lovable in this episode. You gotta love the villain who does NOT penalize his subordinate for beating him in a judo match. And he has such great audacious dialogue (kudos to Michael Reaves and Jonathan Frakes). A few approximate samples:
--"I'm the best friend you have."
--"If you're going to be picky, we won't get anywhere."
--"You're taking this much too personally."
And those were all in one scene. A scene where he's just standing out there awaiting their arrival. I mean, a guy as busy as he is... Is that confidence/arrogance or what?

And he's not afraid to get his hands dirty. Giving X the armor was essential. Up to this point, David had been only the brains. But to be a true reverse-hero, he had to be a warrior as well. Here we showed he had what it takes to mix it up. But always without being stupid. Question: How many of you knew the "red robot" was Xanatos in armor before the tag? Of course, now it seems obvious, but what about the first time you saw this ep?

And yet Elisa "Wouldn't want his karma." What goes around comes around. All that arrogance, had to receive some commeuppance. (Can anyone say Oberon?)

One thing that I thought was TOO OBVIOUS was the Steel Clan theft of the EYE OF ODIN. I would have preferred if that scene had been more ambiguous in Act One. Preferred that the audience maybe think that the Robot WAS Goliath, so that when Matt takes aim at the cliffhanger, we think he's going to shoot Goliath. The cliffhanger doesn't really play as is. Only Elisa is fooled, not the audience.

Everyone wonders why Xanatos donated the Eye to the Museum of MODERN Art. (Maybe because it had mediocre security, but adequate security cameras.) But what I want to know is whether or not Edvard Munch's "The Scream" is really at that museum?

Speaking of THE EYE, I may have mentioned that this was actually the idea of the Disney interactive video game people. We wanted to be synergistic, and I kinda liked the whole idea, so we put it into the show. It was another of our step-by-step additions to the continuity. Intro it as a minor maguffin. A dewdad for Xanatos. And build from there, with the eventual plan to actually make it Odin's eye. At some point in all this, we completely forgot that the idea came from the interactive people. We went back to see them months and months later and were reminded. Luckily the concepts hadn't gotten too far away from each other. But the design did. Unfortunately, our design wound up looking a bit Egyptian for my tastes. The Interactive design had a great Raven motif. (Oh, well.)

New characters (more or less):

A cameo by Derek.

The first mention of the Emir.

The first appearance of Travis Marshall. Michael and I worked this guy out together. He wouldn't be one of those fluff journalists. He'd be old school. He wouldn't whitewash David, just because the guy was a rich man. We always made sure to give Travis that edge. And still, I always felt we underused him. In this episode, Matt gives him a lift in Derek's chopper. Matt says, "You owe me one." Eventually, I'd like to see Matt collect on that favor in a story focusing on the two of them.

And speaking of Matt...

The first real appearance of Matt Bluestone. This guy was largely Michael Reaves' creation. (Although the "Bluestone" name was one of our earlier choices for Elisa's last name. After Chavez, Reed and Chavez, but before Maza.) At first, I admit I was dubious about him being a conspiracy nut. But it so worked. And this was the first time I ever worked with Tom Wilson. He's just so great. And so damn funny to have in the booth. (I love him in FREAKS & GEEKS.)

Matt & Elisa discuss the Illuminati, UFO's and Loch Ness. I love how dubious she is, with her inside joke: "Believe me, the world's strange enough as it is." Little does she know.

But my favorite thing about Matt is that ultimately he's a healthy influence on Elisa... "Maybe that's when you need one [a partner] the most." He's just a really good guy.

As usual, characters keep their promises. Matt vows to find out what those creatures (the gargs) are. And by God, eventually he does.

More on continuity...

Elisa's only JUST coming back to work. In cartoon terms, the fact that we waited this long after her gunshot wound, was a relative eternity. The height of cartoon realism. It doesn't seem like very long, but months passed between the original airings of DEADLY FORCE and THE EDGE.

And Chavez won't let her go back on the job without a partner. Michael conceptualized Matt -- after I mandated the creation of Elisa's partner. Cops have partners. It is one of the defining things about cops. When cop-shows show cops working solo, it always bugs me. I felt we got away with it for a bit. But it was time to make Elisa a more real cop. And that meant a partner. Not a bad guy. But someone who could potentially cause her trouble. And yet still really be her partner.

Broadway is still very solicitous toward Elisa. Taking the tv from her. It's sweet.

Random stuff:

The show is gorgeous to look at. (Thanks Roy, et al.)

I love Lexington's line when he regains consciousness: "We're still alive. How come?"

Watching the show this time, my daughter was very nervous that the Statue of Liberty would be damaged in the battle between our gargs and the Steel Clan. But when Broadway nailed one robot by impaling him with a metal claw from the other robot, Erin said, "Nice one."

Goliath is reading Dostoevsky. Are you?


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Ray Kremer writes...

Greg,
Another enormous fan of the show here. Gargoyles is truely the Babylon 5 of animation. (And if you haven't experienced Babylon 5, it's recommended. The reference is to the interlinking plot elements that gives the show a "big picture" quality.)
One of your ramblings asked for comments about blowing up the clock tower, moving back into the castle, etc. I think those were great moves, and fit well into the story. I always hoped they would make it back into the castle someday. Even the world tour eps were great, the only annoying thing was we went through several rerun cycles before getting to "The Gathering". On a straight run through of the eps, I don't think there were too many world tour eps at all.
Anyway, there needs to be a question here. In "Metamorphosis", the 'death' of the Sevarius was so convincing because just as Derek was about to get the antidote shot, the gargoyles burst in the door, threw Anton into the eel tank (breaking the antidote vial), and escaped. Now, this works out the way Xanatos wanted, but how could they have set it up so perfectly, with such wonderful timing? There was no way to tell when the gargoyles would make the rescue attempt, or which door they come through, or where they would be throwing people.
Thanks again for the show, and count one more vote that it comes back someday. (Speaking of which, using the net to ignore TGS and the time gap - I'd go for that.)

Greg responds...

Re: World Tour. Yeah, reruns killed us. (Or at least maimed us.) But what could we do? We had been given way too little time to produce the 52 episode second season. We just couldn't get them all ready fast enough. And, unfortunately, the big delay took place during the Tour.

Re: Metamorphosis. Actually, if you assume that Xanatos and Sevarius knew exactly when Goliath, Brooklyn and Lex broke in, and had some covert way of keeping track of their progress, it wasn't too hard to rig the "death scene".

Response recorded on March 17, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

You asked in a recent rambling about our responses to a number of the "permanent changes" in the course of the series. In the case of the ones that you cited, I can't really recall now how I responded to them at the time (for example, in the case of "Enter Macbeth", my attention was more grabbed by Macbeth's entrance into the series - particularly on account of his name, since that's always been one of my favorite Shakespeare plays - than by the gargoyles' forced relocation - and I was even more delighted in later episodes when we found out more about him and that he was *the* Macbeth).

However, I do recall two "changes" (if relatively small ones) that did startle me. The first was Owen's hand getting turned permanently to stone at the end of "The Price". The second was the destruction of the Grimorum Arcanorum in "Avalon", which particularly raised my eyebrows since that book had been around since the beginning of the series, so that I was astonished to see it go. (I might add that, from my subjective view-point, the end of the Grimorum came, in a sense, not so much when it self-destructed in "Avalon Part Three" as when the Archmage devoured it in "Avalon Part Two").

But when I did look back on them in retrospect, I found that I very much appreciated the changes. It was one of those things that gave "Gargoyles" a special feeling about it that I've so rarely seen in television animation. More like a televised novel, almost.

Greg responds...

Thanks. That was the goal. I figure, hey, S**T HAPPENS. And some things you can't take back. Yeah, sure, I wasn't gonna leave all the gargoyles as humans for all the eps after "The Mirror"; after all, the show wasn't called "HUMANS". And of course, even the loss of the castle wasn't permanent, as Goliath predicted.

But some things can't be changed. Demona can't take back the massacre. History is immutable. And the Magus... well, he's gone. That's life. And death. And everything in between.

As for the two specifics you mentioned...

I wanted to get a rise out of all of you with Owen's hand. It was designed to shock. It was also a bit of a clue. And it flat-out amused the hell outta me.

As for the Grimorum, it honestly felt played out to me. (How many stolen spells could we pull out of our collective hat?) But I wanted to give it a memorable exit. I thought having it swallowed whole by the Archmage was pretty cool.

Hmmm, "HUMANS"... Maybe there's a spin-off idea there...

Response recorded on March 17, 2000

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Ambrosia writes...

Hi, Greg!
I was wondering what Oberon did with himself during the thousand-year-long banishment? He obviously wasn't on Avalon because that's where Katherine, Tom, Magus and the eggs were... but he also seemed *completely* naive of the modern world- like when Xanatos or Elisa pulled their respective guns on him- he acted like he'd never seen such things before. Not to mention his comment in The Gathering, "Interesting what these mortals can acheive with their 'science'."

Greg responds...

I think there's a big difference between his reaction to Elisa's gun and Xanatos'. With Elisa, he was reacting to the iron content in the weapon. With Xanatos, he was curious about its futuristic look and nature.

Likewise, I don't think Oberon had had much exposure to force fields. Have you?

I think Oberon was out and about all those years. He knew the modern world. But not everything about it.

Response recorded on March 13, 2000

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Aaron writes...

Does any security camera footage shot during The Mirror exist? I'd love to see what the human cast members looked like as gargoyles.

Greg responds...

Huh?

Response recorded on March 11, 2000

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Heather N. Allen writes...

Okay, these questions sorta ended up essay form. I hope I didn't make things TOO complicated. (But they're all on one topic: 'The Gathering' episodes.)

*1* In The Gathering, Puck mentions he noticed Titania in human form and thought it looked like fun. Therefore, he created Owen. Obviously he knew about her, but did she know about him? I mean, he didn't reveal himself to anyone but Xanatos. And after being brought to see grandbaby Alex by Owen himself, when Puck is noticeably missing from Avalon, wouldn't she have known right where to look for him if she knew his human guise?

If she DIDN'T know, like didn't sense or anything (the way Oberon senses her once in the Eyrie Building) then that means she didn't reveal herself to Puck. Then how'd HE know ANASTASIA was TITANIA in the first place, if he couldn't sense it?

Did that come anywhere near making sense?

I'm adding this on as an afterthought sparked by Robby in the CR--perhaps it helps out the confusing mess I posted above:

*2* a) What if Titania DID know Puck was Owen, and kept it to herself (seeing that she'd had in mind it was likely the Xanatos family would get to keep Alex anyway). Was this what was mentioned in the infamous 'thing whispered into Fox's ear that made her smile'?

*2* b) If not, what WAS whispered by Titania into Fox's ear that made her smile? {Are you tired of this one yet? Hopefully not as much as the 'Which Weird Sister is which' questions ^_^}

~H\A~

Greg responds...

All right for starters, the GATHERING info Puck gives assumes that he was watching Titania. Followed her at some point and saw her transformation to Anastasia. Then secretly observed Anastasia to find out what the fascination was.

Theoretically, Titania did NOT know. Owen certainly doesn't think she knows. So the question really is, do you believe Titania's implied statement that everything in GATHERING PART TWO went as she planned. That's hardly possible if she didn't know that Puck was available to act as a tutor that Fox and David would implicitly trust. So the question is, who do you believe?

As to the whisper... Well, I won't say what she said, but certainly it was nothing as Prosaic as "Listen, Janine, this all worked because I already knew that Puck was Owen."

Response recorded on March 11, 2000

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Aaron writes...

Greg, can we make guesses as to the identity of the fifth member of the Ultra-Pack, or will those fall under the category of ideas?

(Prediction: We can guess as much as we want to, but the answer, like Lex's mate is and what Titania whispered to Fox,will remain mysteries forever)

Greg responds...

On a scale, where the likelihood of my revealing what Titania said is a ten and revealing BROOKLYN'S MATE is a one (since I alreadly revealed that), I'd put Lex's mate at about a six and the fifth Pack Member as a four.

It's really pointless to guess, however. The character is brand new. There are no clues currently built into the cannon. Thus, as you surmised, almost every guess would play like an idea and Gore would have to boot them.

Response recorded on March 11, 2000

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Jarrod writes...

Hello Greg, A question in Future Tense Xanatos or Lex killed Demona... Wouldn't that be impossible. I know it was a dream and all...

Greg responds...

Yeah. It was a trick.

Response recorded on March 09, 2000

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Chris writes...

In Temptation, when Elisa told Goliath to "act for the rest of his life as if he weren't under a spell", was that the actual way to break the spell, or was it the next best thing to actually breaking it?

Also in Temptation when Demona was controlling Goliath, if she got fed up with trying to reason with Brooklyn and told Goliath to just kill him, would Brooklyn have stood a chance against Goliath?

P.S. Sorry if these are dumb questions, i was just curious

Greg responds...

Probably the next best thing.

Yes, because Goliath was basically in automaton mode.

Response recorded on March 09, 2000

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Chapter IX: "Enter Macbeth"

Another episode by episode ramble. Feedback encouraged.

So here's where all that great continuity got us in major trouble.

The episodes were all designed to play in a certain order. But I didn't tell my bosses that in advance. I know it sounds sneaky, but it wasn't really. We wrote the darn things and sent them off in order. It never occured to me they wouldn't be able to come back and air in order. I mean, how could a newer episode get the jump on an older one? How could an older episode not be ready before a newer one? Then the footage came back on "Enter Macbeth".

This was the first episode not animated in Japan. And immediately we knew we were in trouble. I'm not talking about the version you all have seen. The one that aired. I'm talking about stuff you never saw. Much of the original footage we got was unusable. This wasn't about just calling retakes. This wasn't about us bitching how "Thrill" wasn't as well animated as "Awakening". This was a major disaster. So my bosses said: "Air the next one." And I responded, "We can't."

And not just because they were all designed to air in order. It was a horrible coincidence, but this episode, this episode that was unairable, was a tentpole. Yeah, if Thrill or Temptation had been reordered it would have been sad. Same with "The Edge" and "Long Way To Morning". But big deal, right? Better to get a new episode out and not make the audience deal with repeats this early in the season. (Remember, we had aired our first five episodes in one week. This was only week five. In those days, week five was considered way too early in the year for reruns.)

But this was the follow-up to Elisa's injury. It was important to us that we continue our policy of "repercussions". We put her on crutches to show that a gunshot wasn't something that was solved in twenty-two minutes. This was an ongoing recovery. If you pulled the crutches out by airing Edge next, you blew out the sense of repercussions.

But that wasn't the clincher. Of course, the clincher was the Clock Tower. This was the episode where the Gargs were "banished" from the castle and moved to the Clock Tower. That was a major shift. If we cut straight to Edge, the audience would be lost. Fortunately, Gary was convinced. In a way, I was lucky that our first crisis of order came on such a pivotal "tentpole" episode. We couldn't reorder these. So we went with reruns. But it was a lesson learned. And it would effect the way we approached the second season.

But meanwhile, we had the problem at hand. We couldn't reanimate the entire show. So we picked shots to redo judiciously. There are still some awful looking scenes. When Goliath says, "How Dare You?!" to Elisa, he looks like an Animaniacs parody of Goliath. And that sarcophogus/iron maiden thing that Goliath follows Macbeth through looks like a prop out of CHIP N DALE'S RESCUE RANGERS. (Another perfectly good series, but with a slightly different art style, if you know what I mean.) Or how about the GIANT remote that Macbeth pulls from his duster in order to summon his ship? "Enter Macbeth" is still, as aired, the worst looking episode of the first season. And that really killed Frank and I, because we both really loved this story. We were sure that the bad animation would kill any interest in Macbeth. The fact that generally, the character did catch hold of fandom's collective imagination is a true testament to the work of Steve Perry, Michael Reaves, John Rhys-Davies and Jamie Thomason. And, oh, yes... William Shakespeare.

The weak picture forced us to use a lot of little tricks to get a final cut. One thing we did, which I regret, is reuse dialogue. Elisa says "You aren't safe here" like three times. And it isn't three different takes. It's just the exact same take reprinted and reused. Lex & Brooklyn also reuse lines to get Bronx to find Goliath. That sort of thing drives me nuts.

There is one really nice moment in the animation. When Macbeth chooses his sword off the wall, the reflection effect is quite sweet. And I also like the down shot of Bronx running right down the middle of Broadway (the street not the gargoyle). I also love how Goliath makes no attempt to hide. That really spoke to the Gargoyles attitude about living among humans. They wouldn't hold press conferences, but they would not cower.

Anyway, we ran reruns. Awakenings. And obviously all five episodes on five consecutive weeks. That might have been a good thing for people who had heard about the show by word of mouth in week two or later and needed to catch up. But for anyone who had been following the show from its premiere, it was a long time to wait for new episodes. By the time we came back, so much time had passed since "Deadly Force" that we felt the need to put a "Previously on Gargoyles" at the head of the episode. Another trick I cribbed from HILL STREET BLUES. Cartoons rarely did that sort of thing. Sure multi-parters had to. But single episodes... For some reason, it made me feel very grown up. (Which only proves how immature I really am.) The "Previously" also allowed us to cut 30 more seconds of bad looking footage out of the episode. That little bonus was something I'd remember for season two as well.

HOME

As we pushed guns in the previous episode, this one is laced with the imagery and language of home. What is it? What makes it? What price is one willing to pay to keep or secure it? There are four homes depicted. Well, really five. The Gargoyles' castle. Xanatos' prison. Macbeth's mansion. The Clock Tower. And the Castle again, once it is reclaimed by Xanatos and thus becomes a very, very different place.

I tried to make sure, as much as possible, that every episode had that kind of underlying theme. (I recently tried with very limited success to do the same thing in MAX STEEL. Someone asked me once, why the one-word S-Titles for all the Max Steel episodes. They were my attempt to make me and the writers focus on the theme of each story.)

And how do all these homes turn out? Macbeth is so obsessed that he loses his home to a fire. Xanatos finally gets out of prison. (Not on Halloween by the way, or that would make the dates depicted in Double Jeopardy innacurate. Obviously, Halloween was circled on his calendar because the guy just loves Halloween. And after all, Owen specifically says in a LATER scene that Xanatos has one week left before he gets out. The wall calendar had shown only a few days.) The Gargoyles lose the castle, gain the clock tower, but realize that home is literally where the heart is. And Xanatos... well all other concerns of Grimorum and gargoyle of destruction and competition pale next to the simple pleasure of being back home.

And how many of you were suprised that the Gargoyles lost the castle? That was supposed to be another pretty shocking development. I mean, sure, Batman might lose the Batcave for an episode, but for 56 episodes? When Goliath said "We'll be back to claim that which is ours" at the end, did most of you think he'd be back next week? Next month? By the time, the gang finally did return in chapter 65, did anyone still remember Goliath's vow?

MACBETH

I've discussed this before, but Macbeth's origins (at least in terms of our series) were (ironically) an early attempt to play the notion of THE HUNTER. I was looking for someone human who could physically take on the Gargoyles as prey. Someone smart, with an agenda. We actually started with the notion of trying to create our own KRAVEN THE HUNTER type character. But it quickly moved in its own direction. Frankly, away from Kraven and more toward BATMAN. In those days, we were constantly being told that we would be accused of ripping off Batman. So Frank, Michael and I decided to create a villain who, at least in M.O. would be our Batman.

I had a semi-separate idea to add a human to the cast who was from Goliath's time. Thus creating a good thematic nemesis or opposite for him. (The key to creating a good villain, in my opinion.) But this villain would have lived through the centuries. So that he was familiar with the very latest in technology. This dove-tailed with our anti-Batman, and was also exactly how we viewed Demona. So it soon became clear to Michael and I that the two characters must be connected in some way. That suggested that he shouldn't merely be 1000 years old. He should be Scottish as well. All that was left was a name. And given my love of Shakespeare, I'm surprised it took me so long to figure it out. Our nemesis was Macbeth himself. An immortal Scottish King. What Scottish King was more immortal than Macbeth? More mortal too for that matter.

This was the beginning of countless Shakespearian references that I would either slide (or force) into the show, or that the writers would stick in knowing I was a sucker for them. And I love the little exchange between Lex & Brooklyn...

[dialogue approximate]
LEX: "Wasn't "Macbeth" the name of that play by that new writer Shakespeare that Goliath was talking about?"

BROOKLYN: "Have you read it?"

LEX: "No. Have you?"

BROOKLYN: "No. But maybe we should."

This was my little way of trying to encourage our viewers to read or at least learn about the play. If they wanted to know who Macbeth was, it wouldn't hurt to go to the primary source.

And at the time, Shakespeare was my primary source for Macbeth. This was long before Tuppence Macintyre and Monique Beatty did all their research for me for "City of Stone". Back then, the only Macbeth I knew about was Shakespeare's.

We gave him a sense of honor, but a twisted one. And we gave him a very interesting motivation. I didn't yet know the particulars, but this guy was after Demona in a major way. He had stained glass windows in his home depicting the two of them. He was the man who named her. It was all pretty intriguing stuff to me. I love the exchange between him and Goliath. Goliath is a pawn. Mac wants the queen and believes that endangering Goliath is the surest way to ensnare Demona. And how does Goliath respond? By gum, if he doesn't laugh -- MANIACALLY!! And watch how the tables turn. Macbeth is not infallible and suddenly Goliath has him on the defensive. Goliath even uses a MACE!! Great stuff.

Incidentally, we had in the script described Macbeth as wearing a thin layer of exo-armor. And Goliath was supposed to dig his claws into it. Macbeth would escape by detaching from the armor. Instead, the artists did the bit with the duster coat. But I remembered the claws in armor thing and eventually found a place for it... in HUNTER'S MOON, PART THREE.

Finally, watching the episode tonight, my five year old daughter said she spotted the Mona Lisa on Macbeth's wall. I didn't see it. But I believe her. And I wouldn't be at all surprised if that was the original. Too bad about that fire.


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Todd Jensen writes...

Since you mentioned Thor in your last batch of responses, that reminded me of something that I'd been meaning to ask you for some time. You mentioned that the Eye of Odin came from a "Gargoyles" computer game (and added that you thought that the folks who did the computer game had a better, more Norse, design for the Eye than did the series). I read that in the computer game, they had a "Thor" robot as an opponent for Goliath at one point, armed with a high-tech hammer. Was the hammer an at least partial inspiration for the Quarrymen's hammers in "The Journey"?

Greg responds...

If so, it was pretty subconscious. As I don't remember the Thor robot or the hammer, even with you mentioning it now. Of course, I never played the game.

But frankly, I think the hammers were a natural extension of the whole Quarrymen/Freemason idea. What's a gargoyles natural enemy? A hammer.

Sometimes a hammer is just a hammer.

Response recorded on March 03, 2000

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Jackal's Love writes...

Okay, I realize this is a very insignificant question, but it has been driving me nuts for quite some time. What is wrong with Banquo's eye? If memory serves me, it's his right eye that is sometimes drawn open, and other times closed, like it's been injured (at first I thought it was missing). Is there any reason why that I'm just missing? Thank you for your time.

Greg responds...

Banquo is Popeye's second cousin once removed.

To be perfectly honest, I think the model sheet showed him squinting, and the animators assumed that he was missing an eye or something and gave him a permanent squint. But from scene to scene the squint shifts. We didn't notice the problem until after "Lighthouse" and it was too late to fix it.

Response recorded on March 03, 2000

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Greg "Xanatos" Bishansky writes...

Allan Cumming was the voice of Castaway in "The Journey"? I thought it was Scott Cleverdon. Why the cast change?

Greg responds...

Scott was massively unavailable at the time. So was Marina Sirtis, forcing us to recast Alan in the roll of Jon Canmore/John Castaway and Tress MacNeill in the roll of Margot Yale. Both Alan and Tress were terrific, but I must admit I was sorry we weren't able to use the originals.

Response recorded on March 03, 2000

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Kenneth Chisholm writes...

Thank you for being open to questions again.

One thing that annoyed me in the episode "Outfoxed" was that every one kept saying "wiped out" around 4 or 5 times regarding CyberBiotics failing. That repetition really felt juvenile and beneath this series. What happened? Did the writer forget a certain reference guide called a thesaurus?

Greg responds...

Jeez, Kenneth, you'd be a fun boss.

Anyway, I suppose you can blame Cary a bit, but every script went through me, so I'll take the heat. I don't remember this little detail, but for all I know, Cary may have only used the phrase once and I might have added in the other times. I don't remember. Sorry if you were disappointed.

Response recorded on March 03, 2000

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Chapter VIII: "Deadly Force"

Another ramble as I review the entire series. Comments welcome.

"Deadly Force". I have to admit. I never liked the title. It always sounded too generic to me. Michael Reaves pointed out how appropriate it was, but "Temptation" had already given me a taste for one word titles. I came to prefer those, unless I was given a damn good reason not to.

The third episode of our trio tryptich. Broadway. Broadway and Goliath. Broadway, Elisa and Goliath. But this episode represents so much more.

If you were watching the series in '94 during it's original run, and you didn't already think, "Hey, this is different." Then by the end of Act One of "Deadly Force" you knew. I don't know if there's ever been a cartoon like "Deadly Force". A mainstream media production. We had had up to that point a few fairly shocking cliffhangers, a few fairly shocking events, but what equals Broadway pulling that trigger, the suddenly "empty" kitchen and Elisa lying in a pool of her own blood as we fade to black and cut to a commercial?

Where do I start? With pride, I guess. I am extremely proud of this one.

Guns. My personal stance on gun control isn't an issue. Not in this episode. This is about something that I think every even vaguely intelligent person can agree on. Guns aren't toys. Guns aren't "cool", no matter how they're depicted in the media. Guns demand respect. Elisa is at fault. Broadway's massively at fault. Because neither held enough respect for the weapon. (Now one might argue that Elisa lived -- nominally -- alone. It didn't occur to her that she needed to be more careful with her weapon. But it should have. She's a cop. She should know better.) As I write this, as I watched the episode tonight, my head is of course filled with thoughts of the six year old boy who yesterday took his uncle's gun to school and shot a six year old girl, killing her. And I don't want to sound arrogant. But I am angry. And I feel like this episode could really help people. That parents should HAVE to watch this with their kids. Required viewing. And the fact that Toon Disney won't even air it...! I'm furious. Simply furious.

Guns are the least of it. We wanted to send a message about repercussions. Real world repercussions. I wanted our series to be ABOUT repercussions. Demona and the Captain betray Wyvern. There are repercussions. You can't fix things. You can't go back and change it. That's why time travel in the Gargoyles' Universe has such STRICT laws. Without those laws, you remove the dramatic law of repercussions. The real world law that actions have repercussions. This episode was our ode to repercussions. The guns were just our means to an end.

Still, guns would be our medium and the episode is laced with them. With gun imagery. With gun language (e.g. Chavez referring to Dracon's alibi: "He's bulletproof.", etc.). I don't think the episode is too pedantic. I hope it's honest. Probably the most dishonest thing in the story was that Elisa DIDN'T die. Forgive me for that. But I couldn't let her go just then. Still, I think we gave our audience a bigger scare in this one then in most of the other episodes combined. Maybe she would die. There's a sense of scary (again real world) vulnerability in this. And we tried to make her injuries and suffering as realistic as possible. We weren't doing E.R. (or St. Elsewhere, since E.R. didn't exist back then), but we did try to make the medical stuff play true.

All this makes me proud. Proud of what's on the screen.

But there's a whole other side to the making of this show that makes me proud. For what isn't visible on screen. For teamwork. This is a story that seemed to need to be told. Most of the springboards for the 66 chapters came from me, but this one was waiting for us. My bosses Gary Krisel and Bruce Cranston were behind the story from the start. Michael Reaves wrote an amazing script, and my God the thing is beautifully made. No one balked. Not our S&P executive. Not our bosses. No one. Think about how amazing that is? We had one of our young heroes pick up a very REAL gun and shoot our female lead in her own kitchen. That's pretty intense.

And fairly rewarding. Even our publicity department saw the value in this one. They got advance copies and sent them out. We had (always had) phenomenally good reviews. But this episode brought us praise from the kind of parents groups that most action cartoon shows usually fear. People got it. They got it. Dr. Madeline Levine wrote a book called "Viewing Violence". It's a fairly sobering study of the effect of modern media on impressionable minds. Disabused me of a few notions, I'll tell you. But she praises GARGOYLES, specifically this episode, in her book. People got it. But not TOON DISNEY people, I guess. They show a huge lack of respect for everyone who worked on that show. Everyone who did or might benefit from it.

(Re: The pool of blood. When it first came back from Japan, the pool of blood was much larger. We pulled it back by calling a retake. This wasn't cowardice on anyone's part. This was us trying to get our message across. We didn't want kids goofing on the pool of blood. Interested in the pool for the pool's sake, so to speak. We wanted enough blood there to make it real. To scare everyone. But we didn't want the pool to be distracting. And also we didn't want to imply that Elisa had already bled out.)

CHARACTERS

Broadway - First and foremost, this was still designed to showcase Broadway. All our nobler aspirations wouldn't matter if you walked out of this episode still thinking of the big guy as an eating machine and nothing else. So let's start by praising Bill Faggerbakke and voice director Jamie Thomason. Bill's performance is wonderfully poignant without falling into bathos.

And man, who is the scariest gargoyle when angered? Goliath? Demona? How about a vote for old Broadway? Guilt and anger tear him apart, and no one's safe. He PALMS Glasses for God's sake. He's young but maturing fast. I only had vague notions of Angela at this time. And I sure didn't know they were destined for each other. But I can see it here. The child who's done something so bad he's afraid to go home, ultimately taking responsibility for actions too horrible for most of us to face. Amazing strength of character.

Elisa - A secondary purpose (tertiary?) was to demonstrate that Elisa was a real human being, with real connections. A real life. She has a boss (introducing Maria Chavez), an apartment (introducing the loft), a cat (introducing Cagney). And she wasn't born a twenty-something police detective. She has a family. A father (introducing Sgt. Peter Maza), a mother (introducing Diane Maza), a brother (introducing Derek Maza) and a sister who's away at college (we even get a photo peak at Beth Maza). This wasn't some cypher who existed only to facilitate things for the Gargoyles. This was a woman whose life extended beyond their reach. A woman who now lived in TWO worlds. With two sets of hospital visitors.

Elisa's ethnic/racial make-up parallels actress Salli Richardson's, who has both African American and Native American ancestry. This is where serendipidy played a roll. We'd later get stories out of her multi-racial background. And it paralleled the inter-species romance we were preparing to build slowly. Sometimes, everything just goes your way.

Goliath - He says he'll find the man who shot Elisa and "Make him Pay". We didn't have to say "kill" there. Again, because this early in the series, we could all easily believe that Goliath could kill. And in fact, when Broadway tells Goliath that he "can't" kill Dracon, Goliath's response is: "You think not?" All the gargoyles had an edge of danger. We may have lost some of that along the way. It's natural. You get to know characters, you stop feeling tense around them. But here, both Goliath and Broadway go a little berserk. And we don't know how they'll act.

And Goliath already loves Elisa. It's so clear to me. The way he touches her hair. The way he reacts to her being shot. He loves her. He doesn't know it yet. But it is SO there. That moment when Goliath tells Broadway that they should go see Elisa, and Broadway is thrilled because he thinks that means that Elisa survived. And then Goliath stops. Because he realizes he isn't sure if Elisa is still alive. It slays me.

And meanwhile, Goliath is adapting fairly fast to the modern world. He clearly got his head around the idea that Xanatos was put away for possessing "stolen property", so he leaves the busted gun in Dracon's lap to make sure Dracon goes away too. He says as much. Not bad for a medieval gargoyle.

And this whole episode is a character-fest. Besides the above mentioned Family Maza, etc. We bring back Bruno, head of Xanatos' security. This was intentional. Establishing that the commandos from episode 2 were just Xanatos' security team being given an unusual assignment.

There's Dracon (pre-stripe) with Glasses and even Pal Joey. Rocky Caroll really brought Glasses to life. I like him. And Dracon, well, I just love his old-fashioned "noive". Calling Elisa "Honey" and "Sugar". Sending Glasses off to sell guns right in front of her. He's pretty fun in this episode.

Owen is incredibly cool. You can really see the Mr. Smithers influence in this one. Times ten. He fights, he negotiates. He manipulates. He's a phenomenal proxy for Xanatos. A true trickster with a low burning flame.

We also introduced Doctor Sato. I always planned on using him more. We just never found the story. Too bad. I liked him a lot.

And we cameo Matt. Originally, Chavez's driver was going to be Morgan. But we had already started work on "The Edge". We knew Matt was coming. So we decided to preview him here. Just a nice little touch for anyone paying attention.

MISCELLANEOUS STUFF

I'd love to know a little bit more about the movie "Showdown", a black and white western that was premiering in 1994. A score by Ennio Morricone (channeled through Carl Johnson -- a guy who doesn't get enough praise for the stunning work he did on the show). And the movie seemed to be a hit. Go figure.

And what about that movie theater. The balcony is closed. But they're storing bags of pre-popped popcorn. How old was that stuff?

Finally, Owen is very specific about the 37 missing weapons. Early on, I tried to keep count. To allow Broadway to eventually account for every one of those guns. But that was one detail that got away from me.


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Chapter VII: "Temptation"

[More rambles on individual episodes. As usual, I encourage you to post your responses here.]

Part two of our trio tryptich. Brooklyn looks pretty cool in this one. I have to admit, I didn't realize what a break-out star Brooklyn was back then. I mean I liked him, but I didn't yet realize how much he would really capture a huge chunk of fandom's imagination. (Of course, back then the show hadn't aired yet, so there wasn't any fandom.) But seeing this episode in hindsight, you can sure see how cool this guy was. Good-looking with the hair and the muscles and everything. Even the snout adds to the look.

And he's so sympathetic too. Yes, he gets "turned" by Demona. But he immediately realizes that what she's doing is wrong. He admits his mistake and tries to correct it. He's such a good guy. Later, of course, I'd recognize the star power and attempt to give him his own series: TIMEDANCER.

Back then, of course, I had really modeled the ensemble nature of the show on HILL STREET BLUES. Goliath was my Frank Furillo. Everyone would get their own stories, but Goliath carried the weight. So, although the tryptich was designed to deepen the characters of the trio, you can see that each episode also prominently features Goliath. THRILL: Lex & Goliath. TEMPTATION: Brooklyn & Goliath. DEADLY FORCE: Broadway & Goliath. (And later, LONG WAY TO MORNING: Hudson & Goliath.) Don't get me wrong, I don't regret this at all. I think those are all great stories, and without Goliath they would not have worked as written. But I think the design of them betrays a bit of insecurity. We weren't sure if the other characters could carry their own episodes alone. The nice thing about the tryptich (and LONG WAY) was that it proved to us what a strong ensemble of characters we had built.

Lex has some real attitude here: "You rode a horse once, does that mean you could build one from scratch."

The motorcycle is interesting. It was one of three toy driven elements we consciously put into the show. (The others were in "Her Brother's Keeper" and "Eye of the Storm".) It was a rare moment of Kenner and Disney being in semi-synch. And the toy actually looks like the motorcycle. But of course, what the hell were we going to do with a motorcycle? How could we make that an on-going element in the show. Sure Batman has a batmobile, but the garg-cycle just sounds silly. So we put it in, but Michael, Brynne, Frank and I are so subversive that we blow the thing up before the end of Act One. Kenner never said anything. I'm not sure if they ever saw the episode. (But we weren't being very good partners.) But what goes around comes around. I'll tell the flip side of this when I ramble on Keeper and Storm.

S&P required that Brooklyn wear a helmet when riding. That was fine with me, but I wanted to make an effort to make it organic. Brooklyn puts it on because it's "All part of the look." Helmets make it cooler. Thus helmets are cool. Thus kids will wear their helmets. Aren't we sneaky?

Also, Brooklyn loses yet another pair of sunglasses.

Morgan's back. But he litters. That always bugged me. Talk about setting a bad example.

And is that Margot Yale's actress sister on the television sitcom saying, "Who do you think you are... Elvis?" [Add laugh track here.]

CONTINUITY

"Kindred Spirits" - Brooklyn quotes Lex from Thrill and attempts to make the same kind of connection with the bikers that Lex attempted with the Pack. With similar results. Later, Demona refers to Lex's little adventure with the Pack. This was the moment when Michael Reaves and I decided to attempt to treat the series as episodic but sequential. The order of the episodes would matter. Yes, you should be able to enjoy any individual story... but viewing is enhanced when you see the shows in order. This was not an obvious decision. Most shows REQUIRE that episodes are airable in ANY ORDER. We had that requirement too, up to a point. But we wanted to add something more. To play with continuity. With evolving lives. This wasn't an issue in the pilot five parter. Of course, that had to air in order. And then there was Thrill. Just the first one we made after Awakening. That aired next. But we didn't think about it. But here, we had to decide. So we opted for an episodic but sequential series. (My favorite kind.) We referred to previous conversations. (Elisa's still pestering Goliath about the Xanatos-ticking clock.) And we laid pipe for future episodes, by having Demona rip a few spells out of the Grimorum. (At the time, I didn't even know what those spells were for. But I knew she had them. I knew we'd use them.) We had Demona admit she had lied about how she had survived to the present. Etc. Anyway, all this continuity would later bite us on the ass a bit. (I'll talk more about this when we get to "ENTER MACBETH", which forced us to slightly change our M.O. for season two.) But again, I have no regrets; I think it's one of the things that makes the show special.

Meanwhile, how did Demona know about the Pack & Lex? Although the pact with Xanatos clearly hasn't been broken yet (not till CITY OF STONE, obviously), she also doesn't exactly have free run of the castle. She has Brooklyn steal the book. Of course, she wants Brooklyn complicit. And it's hard to sneak around the castle, when the Gargoyles (at least think that they) are the proprieters. I just always wondered whether Demona might not have been following Lex & Goliath around throughout that entire Pack battle. Or whether, Xanatos just phoned her and told her. Obviously, the former is much more interesting.

ANIMATION

Another great looking episode that we didn't fully appreciate at the time. Lots of great little touches. I love when Demona casts her spell, and then closes the Grimorum with one last flash of magic. So cool. And, as I said, Brooklyn really looks great throughout.

But there are a couple things...

The bikers approach Brooklyn. They get very close, and he's not in shadow. But they don't notice he's a "monster" until he takes off his helmet. What?! The snout didn't give it away?! That scene continues to drive me nuts. I just hate how it was staged.

And when Elisa's lecturing Goliath she is wagging her index finger in his face. That's annoying enough. But worse, the finger seems to get longer (like Pinocchio's nose) the more she wags (or nags). It's sorta mesmerizing. In that scene, I can't see anything else.

CHARACTER

I love how Marina Sirtis' voice bristles when Brooklyn mentions Elisa to Demona. Demona/Marina forces herself to say that the Detective may be "The exception [to human evil] that proves the rule." It seems sincere, but I really hear the hatred underneath.

Elisa tries to talk Goliath into leaving again. This time, she's got an idea where he can go. (So although that seems to be a repeat of their conversation from THRILL, we actually advanced that plot too. Weren't we smart?)

[And yes, I realize that all these rambles sound incredibly arrogant and immodest. I'm sitting here praising me and my team's own work. But what can I tell you? I do really like it. And I figure you guys might still be interested in my -- totally biased -- observations.]

Anyway, I love how what Elisa's saying to a very close-minded Goliath plays right into what Brooklyn heard from Demona. Brooklyn tries to argue Elisa's point. Putting Elisa and Demona, ironically, on the same side. Kudos to Brynne and Michael. It's a great little scene. Of course it ends with Brooklyn and Goliath turning to stone mid-argument. Just like Lex & Goliath did in the previous episode. Frank came to me and warned me not to do that again. Twice in two episodes was enough. At least for a while.

I also love Goliath's lines about "half-truths that [Demona] has thoroughly embraced."

LITTLE TOUCHES

Goliath just loves saying "Joy-Ride". It seems so pleasant.

Lex's double take reactions to finding out the motorcycle was blown up.

Elisa's "Thanks, I think." reaction to Brooklyn saying that he knew that she at least was a worthwhile member of the human race. Brooklyn still isn't quite free of prejudice. A work in progress.

The DEAD BODY. I held my breath on that one. We've got a chalk outline. And a corpse in a body bag. I was sure S&P would balk. But Adrienne was great. She saw that it was important to the story. And since we didn't dwell on it or explain it, she figured little kids wouldn't get it and/or be traumatized. As you can see we had a great working relationship with S&P. I mean, a DEAD BODY! It still shocks me.

Did Demona pay that family to perform their little scene for Brooklyn? I didn't think so at the time. But now I'm suspicious.

Brooklyn has a perfectly innocent line about the Cloisters being a place like the "world we came from" or something like that. Meaning of course, the medieval time that they came from. Once this aired, I immediately start seeing e-mails claiming this as evidence that Gargoyles are from another planet. This misapprehension may be one of the reasons I so quickly got involved with fandom.

Did we cheat? Elisa solves Goliath's slave-spell problem by using the spell to unhex him. I love that little bit. But Michael Reaves and I had a long back & forth discussion where we debated whether we were cheating the audience. (I seem to recall that at different times he and I both came down on both sides of the argument.) We finally decided to go for it. And again, no regrets. I do think it worked. And we sort of both promised each other that we wouldn't pull that kind of thing again. (Airwalker, I think there's a mention of this in the City of Stone memo I sent you.)


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CHAPTER VI: THE THRILL OF THE HUNT

More musings on individual GARGOYLES EPISODES. As usual I welcome reactions and responses posted here based on both your original impressions from when you first saw the episode and later thoughts from repeated or recent viewings.

After the semi-epic "Awakening" multi-parter, Michael Reaves and I consciously set about creating a tryptich to develop each member of the Trio. Lex up first.

In hindsight, we probably didn't do enough Lex episodes. (I think this is Thom Adcox's favorite. He said "Leader of the Pack" at the pro-chat the other day, but the more I think about it, the more I think he was describing "Thrill".) We tried to give each member of the Trio equal coverage, but down the road, Lex might have been cheated a bit. But not here.

I love the fact that Lex is RIGHT. Sure, he's wrong about the Pack, but he was so right about taking chances on people. And I love that as stubborn as Goliath is, he's capable of admitting his mistakes, giving Lex full credit for, uh, rightness. Practically quoting back to Lex everything Lex had said to him.

You may notice that starting with this episode and running through the end of the first season, the writer's got their credit at the beginning with the title of the episode. This was a function of the Disney Afternoon. Michael Reaves rightly objected to the "gang credits" at the end of the two hour block. It had never been an issue before, because annually each new series, i.e. the one with original episodes, had always aired last with its credits immediately following. But in Gargoyles' first season, we aired on Fridays at 4pm, a half-hour before the last show. That meant that the writers' credits didn't appear until a half hour after the show ended. Gary Krisel agreed to make an exception and display writer's credits at the head of the episode for that one season. I wish I had fought to make that rule permanent. I didn't. Mea culpa.

I think Thrill is important right off because it established a few things which today we take for granted, but which I think were, at the time, fairly unusual for a cartoon series.

CONTINUITY.
--Xanatos was still in prison. He hadn't just "somehow" gotten sprung between the end of Episode 5 and the beginning of 6.

REAL RAMIFICATIONS.
--The Gargoyles won the Awakening war. And the castle still wasn't theirs to keep. At every turn, Michael and I just tried to make things play in a slow, steady logical progression. I wasn't trying to change the world in every episode. Not because I'm against world changing, but because each new situation was fascinating to explore. But we wouldn't let the world stand still either.

Early on, you can still see signs that to the creators, the audience AND the other characters, the Gargoyles themselves were still a wonderfully alien species. (And I don't mean that literally. Geez.) We tried to maintain the perspective of creatures out of their time. Goliath is stubborn, even dense and condescending toward Elisa, when she tries to convince him to leave the castle. But I think from his POV, his responses were perfectly natural. Xanatos was banished. The castle was theirs. The concept of ownership was sketchy for the Gargoyles at best, but if they did understand it, they understood it in the "Possession = Ownership" sense. The notion that Xanatos could still "own" the castle after an embarrassing defeat was completely ALIEN to Goliath.

Likewise, look at Fox's actions at the end of the episode. Can you imagine Fox in any later episode crudely taking a hostage? It seems like she checked her brain at the door. But it works for me because at that time, she (and we) didn't truly know what an angry gargoyle was capable of. Maybe Goliath would dismember her. Our boys got so borderline cuddly as the series progressed that I had to remind everyone just how dangerous they could be in HUNTER'S MOON. But Hunter's Moon wouldn't have worked back in Season One. Because in Season One, no one would have been shocked by Goliath's desire for Demonaesque vengeance. Maintaining that edge was always very important.

But if Fox wasn't acting her brightest here, I think Wolf was. That scene with Susie and Billy, where he pretends the Gargoyles were monsters sent by the evil ninjas, is about as smart a move as we ever see Wolf make. When you think about it, it's pretty darn clever. For him anyway. In later episodes, I think I got too big a kick out of making him dumb. I could justify it after UPGRADE. But if I got back, I think I'd give him a bit more of a mental edge.

And speaking of Wolf and Fox, how about that Pack? Their first appearance. The thing I was most struck by in viewing it here is how great they were cast. Clancy Brown, Laura San Giacomo, Matt Frewer, Cree Summer and Jim Cummings. Man, what a great ensemble. Hats off to casting and voice director Jamie Thomason. Time and again, he assembled great, great people for us.

There are a lot of little touches that make me smile. Jim Cummings "narration" during the appearance at Madison Square Gardens is priceless. We were consciously trying to do a professional wrestling meets (the hated) Power Rangers thing, and it amuses me to no end. There's that very anime shot of the Pack standing absolutely still (a held cell) while spotlights pass over them. It's very cool.

I even like that we got the notion of the Daily Tattler into the episode. That was something I wanted to expand on more. The Gargoyles never made any real attempt to keep themselves very hidden. Oh sure, they weren't holding New Olympian style press conferences, but they didn't sweat it if they were spotted. But we figured that the more of an urban myth they became, the less the majority of the population would believe in them. And once stories about Gargoyles started regularly appearing in the Tattler, people would be sure the whole thing was faked. I'm not sure we mentioned the Tattler again until Hunter's Moon, which is too bad. Though it does show how consciously Michael and I were echoing first season concerns and contrasts in that final mini-series.

Fox and Lex. Their relationship is established in that one moment when she strokes him under his chin. Even I didn't know that down the road they'd become flat-out allies thanks to Alex. Hell, back then I didn't know Alex was on the way. Didn't even know that Fox and David were an item. The characters were just beginning to teach me who they were and what they wanted.

Action-wise this thing is taut. The Pack just keeps coming and coming. The Gargs never have a chance to catch their breath. And, then, suddenly, they do. And the tables turn fiercely. And the Point of View, as well. We are ALWAYS on the side of the hunted. When it's Goliath and Lex, we get very little of the Pack. Just snatches of them attacking. The gargs struggling to stay alive. But up on that roof, we abruptly switch POV. Suddenly, we're following the Pack. Even, dare I say, sympathising with them. Not that we want them to win. But we begin to identify with them as they battle these strange creatures. I love that.

It's hard to believe, but when Frank Paur and I first saw the animation on this episode we were crushed. I look at it now and think its gorgeous. But we were so spoiled by the Awakening animation, we thought this was a debacle. Later we'd get some truly mediocre animation and learn to appreciate the good stuff more. But back then... we were idiots.

Those tv lines were my idea. I love television. I mean I really, really love it. And I hate when people attack it. I think on a percentile basis, there's more good work being done in television than any other medium. Doesn't mean there isn't a lot of crap being done. But that's true in everything. But still it's fun to poke fun. To bite the hand that's feeding you every once in awhile. One of the trio says: "The Pack is just like us. They fight evil. And they do it on television." (I just saw the episode half an hour ago, and I can't be sure who said it. That's pathetic.) Of course, whoever said that didn't mean to say that the Gargoyles were also on television. That was an afterthought. But it's a bit of an in-joke for us and our audience, because the Gargoyles are just like the Pack. I just like to think they had a better show.

But my favorite is Hudson's line: "Maybe we shouldn't believe everything we see on the television..." A lesson we all should live by.

And finally, "Thrill" contained the first of what would soon be a Gargoyles Trademark. The Xanatos Tag. Our favorite manipulator snatching partial victory from seemingly overwhelming defeat. Again, something vaguely revolutionary for a cartoon. You gotta love the guy.


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Aaron writes...

In Enter MacBeth, after Owen tosses Broadway and Hudson around, he pulls a gun on them. Does Owen normally go around armed, or was it something he started after Dracon snatched that shipment of particle beam weapons right in front of him the episode before?

Greg responds...

I assume Owen is as prepared as Owen needs to be. The guy does not get flustered often.

Response recorded on February 24, 2000

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Liquid Snake writes...

In that eppisode, why didn't you keep everyone as gargoyles? It would have made an excellent season.

Greg responds...

I assume you're talking about "The Mirror". It would have been less fun than you think. The cool looking characters would be commonplace and boring. Our guys would look like humans and THAT would get very old after awhile. And frankly, it would have so divorced the series from reality that our ability to relate to their world would have been severly hampered. It would have KILLED the show, I'm quite sure. Not that we ever considered doing that for a second.

Response recorded on February 23, 2000

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Oberons Child writes...

Hi Greg,
It's good to see that you're answering questions again - just take your time, you'll get through them! I have a question I would like to ask of you, It probably seems stupid, but...

In the episode 'Mark of the panther' (I think that's the name) , when Fara Maku transforms, his Necklace is not 'absorbed' by the magic spell. Was this just to distinguish the two were-panthers, or was there another reason?
See, told ya it was stupid!
Anyway, thanks.

P.S. Am I the only Irish gargoyles fan? If not please mail me at oberons.child@oceanfree.net . I'm dying to meet other fans! Thanks again for your time. Oh, and Have a happy X-Mas!!!!

Greg responds...

I hope there are other Irish fans, but I don't think posting here is the best way to meet them. Try a chat or comment room.

As to your question, I think you need to look at it like Hudson's sword. If the jewelry is regarded mentally as something other than clothing, then it probably doesn't change with the spin of Anansi's spell. Anansi might just like decorative things.

Response recorded on February 21, 2000

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AWAKENING: PART FIVE

More tidbits and observations...

The first appearance of the Steel Clan. It's a silly little thing, but at the time I was ridiculously pleased by the name "The Steel Clan". It just seemed so right. Cool sounding, tough. And yet original and appropriate to the series. It was one of those early moments that made me feel like I was really tapping into the Gargoyles Universe.

Also the first appearance of the Eyrie Building Lobby Security Guard. The one that Oberon will later do his Obi-wan number on. I never forget a minor character.

One reason some of the editing is different between the video version and the tv episodic version has to do with when the two separate products were due. (I'm not referring to the TV movie version that's been appearing recently. I have no idea who edited that one. Or when. Or why.) As I've mentioned before, the video version was not originally created for video. It was created for our world premiere on two big screens at the movie theater multiplex on Pleasure Island at Walt Disneyworld. That premiere was in September of 1994. But the series premiere was almost a full month later. While I was supervising the editing of the movie version, Frank was (relatively speaking) taking his time on the five episodes. In my editing bay, we didn't have the luxury of waiting for all the retakes to come back before we had to complete OUR edit and lock picture for sound design. In fact, sometimes we were editing to pencil test animation. That's animated pencils without background paintings or ink or paint. It can sometimes be very hard to read at all. But we had to make decisions based not soley on "ART" but also on what we likely thought we'd get back in time to get the two prints made for the Florida premiere. Sometimes we cut little pieces that wound up turning out fine and making it into the episode.

Generally, I think the animation in this episode is just stunning. A few examples.
--Hudson lifting Bronx off that train.
--The whole scene with Xanatos, Demona and Owen standing beside the Steel Clan robots while they are covered with sheets. Some incredible shadow work. And the character stuff is so sweet.
--Some gorgeous battle stuff with those robots.
--The castle tower blowing up, crashing and falling apart.
This and more can still take my breath away.

I love all the Demona-Goliath-Elisa triangle stuff. It's all spelled out in the confrontation when Goliath wants to go keep his appointment with Elisa, and Demona's trying to stop him. If Demona hadn't been so bloodthirsty aboard FORTRESS-1, would Goliath have even remembered his appointment with Elisa? Or would he be off cuddling with his long-lost love?

Anyway, that whole conversation is just full of delicious irony -- all working against Demona. Goliath says, "I cannot make war on an entire world," completely unaware that that's exactly what Demona wants to do. He says, "Doesn't Xanatos prove that some humans can be trusted?" But of course, Demona knows that Xanatos absolutely cannot be trusted. Every statement Goliath makes pushes Demona toward further extremism. And he isn't even trying. Finally, after Demona reminds him of the Wyvern betrayal and Massacre, he says that the ones responsible for that "have been dead for 1000 years." Now putting aside that the Captain and Hakon aren't quite as dead-dead as Goliath thinks, this has got to push Demona over the edge. Deep down she knows her own responsibility. Again Goliath is wrong, because the traitor is standing right in front of him. My hats off to Michael Reaves. What a great scene! "So be it." she says. Goliath won't know it until VOWS. But they are DONE. Right there.

Cultural Differences 101: Elisa is trying to convince Goliath not to trust Xanatos. I don't remember the exact line, but she says something with the word "three" in it. (Maybe refering to the three disks or the three Cyberbiotics installations...?) Anyway, to indicate three she holds up her index finger, her middle finger and ... her thumb. It still looks totally goofy to me. I don't know anyone who wouldn't use their ring finger with the other two, using the thumb to hold the pinky down. Does anyone know if in Japan the thumb is preferred?

When Demona's destroying FORTRESS-1, Goliath is standing around stunned. She tries to get him to leave, but he refuses. Finally, she pulls him out. What was supposed to happen was that the tilting ship was supposed to dump him out the hatch at the same time Demona was pulling. So that he was more unwilling to abandon the crew of the ship. But it never animated with the tilt going the right way.

In our original development we planned on making a lot bigger deal of all the various Xanatos Enterprises sub-divisions. You got a taste of that with PackMedia Studios and Gen-U-Tech (a.k.a. Gen-U-Tech Systems or G.U.T.S.). But we were also going to make a bigger deal of his robotics division, which was going to be called the Scarab Corporation. (Thus the scarab design that appears on the transmitter.) But Xanatos wound up being even more hands-on then I anticipated. Less Lex Luthor. More his own glorious self. So Scarab never got much of a spotlight because Xanatos handled those kinds of adventures himself and/or the robots handled things themselves (cf. Coyote in Leader of the Pack). For those of you who have been to one of the Gatherings and seen the original Gargoyles Pitch, you might recall a giant chrome cockroach climbing up the side of a building to attack Goliath. That was going to be a Scarab Corp. creation.

Isn't Xanatos just too cool:
"Let's let them play out there little drama, shall we?" He's so amused. He can't resist watching the confrontation. And for once I don't feel like it's cause he's a villain stupidly giving the hero time to turn the tables. He's sincerely entertained by the show.

"Without me you'd still be gathering moss." Nuff said.

There's another great little dialogue editing moment. Real subtle. When Demona says: "The plan was perfect." Goliath whispers "Plan?" She says something else and then he completes his thought "What Plan?" That little overlap wasn't scripted. It was another product of me having the luxury to really nurse those dialogue edits on those early scripts.

There is good and evil in all of us. Human and Gargoyle alike. Hey, Lexy, there's another major theme of the series. No one group has a monopoly on either attribute.

One thing that never quite worked for me, was the reveal of Demona's name. She makes such a big deal of it. But the name (at this point in the series) just doesn't have enough resonance for me yet. Later, sure. "Demona". We all sit up and take notice. But there. "Demona". Yeah, so? Did that moment play for you guys?

Goliath is about to toss Xanatos off the building. Elisa begs him not to. That'll make you just like Demona she says. Then Hudson pipes in and says, "She's right, lad. Is that what you want?" I intentionally instructed our voice director Jamie Thomason to direct Ed Asner to read that line with ambiguity. Hudson DOESN'T care whether Goliath tosses David or not. He simply wants Goliath to make an informed choice.

And yeah, yeah, David & Goliath. Perfect opposites.

Elisa: "Maybe, we'll catch a Giants' game."
Goliath: "Giants?"
Were any of you surprised when a Giant Oberon attacked the castle?

As usual, I encourage responses posted here, on either your original feelings when seeing the episode for the first time and/or newer more recent observations from repeat or recent viewings.


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AWAKENING: PART FOUR

More random observations...

Jogger's first appearance.

Cyberbiotics first true appearance.

Bruno (aka the Commando Leader) gets a bit of character development. I remember when voice director Jamie Thomason asked Jeff Bennett to do that voice. Jeff asked what Jamie wanted and Jamie said something like: "Do a George C. Scott/Patton thing." I don't know if that's what I'm hearing, but I like the end result.

We see Vinnie for the second time. Of course, we still didn't know that was Vinnie yet. His nose is HUGE. He must have had a little work done between this show and Metamorphosis. (Not the smartest way to spend money when you're out of work.) One of my favorite bits in "Vendettas" is the reveal of how exactly Vinnie was knocked out by Goliath aboard the airship. In Awakening IV, Goliath lifts Vinnie out of the shot. We hear a loud <SMACK> and Vinnie falls unconscious. The implication being that G knocked him out. But in Vendettas, Cary and I showed what was previously off-screen. You see that the <SMACK> came from G hitting his fist against the wall. Vinnie wasn't knocked out. He fainted.

Elisa looks damn good with her jacket off. I wish we had had more opportunities for costume changes with her. They always work so well.

I always thought that the tranq the Commandos used on Goliath in parts III and IV was pretty unreliable. It seems to knock him down. Then he's up again. Then he's staggering. All very story convenient. You could look at it as a flaw in the episodes. Or you could justify it by saying that they had never had the opportunity to test the stuff on Gargoyles before. It had strange effects.

Owen has one line in the whole episode: A very effective clearing of his throat. You gotta love a character who can be so memorable with so little.

The Commandos seem to be pretty bad shots, until you realize in episode V that killing Goliath isn't really what they're after. In my head, they were told NOT to kill him if they could effectively put a scare into him. Elisa was probably much more expendable. Bruno's discretion.

This seemed like the first episode to use the "CLAW WIPES"... but I'm not sure. A Wipe is one means of moving from one scene to another. Other methods are straight CUTS or DISSOLVES, etc. But Japan started doing these very dramatic CLAW WIPES, where a Gargoyle hand seems to be tearing the old scene away with his or her claws. It wasn't called for in early scripts, but after we had seen it a few times, we started to call it out.

Elisa puts the transmitter on a dog she calls Rover, a dog that's scrounging through garbage in the park. In the very next scene, Hudson is watching TV and a dog that could easily have been Rover as a pup is seen starring in a dogfood commercial. How the mighty have fallen.

There's a few great moments with the trio in this show. Maybe not the obvious ones. I love their exchange of dialogue to Hudson when they come back from their night on the town. We had the opportunity to really edit the dialogue with multiple overlaps and rhythms before it went to Japan. The scene really snaps. In later episodes, we wouldn't always have that luxury.

The scenelet where they fly away from the castle on their way to the Cyberbiotics Tower is also very cool. A combination of animation, editing and sound, that really gives SNAP to their departure. I love it.

Of course, the naming scene is great. Names are so addictive.

And I still like the character development in our love triangle here. Goliath doesn't trust Elisa even yet. Hasn't told her about his daytime vulnerability. And he might not have, if he hadn't been caught outside. But her loyalty and steadfastness really impresses him. I feel the connection very strongly. And I think she does too, when she asks if she can see him again later tonight. It's not just curiosity about a new life-form.

And Demona. I love that wing hug when she and Goliath are reunited. But you have to wonder about that reunion from her point of view. Yes, she's scheming here. But she must be thrilled to see him and the other gargs awake and alive. THRILLED. All those years of lonliness and now her true love is awake. But she never hesitates to prioritize her scheming. All those years of bitterness have stunted her emotions even more.

Finally, lots of people keep telling me that Elisa says "Damn" in the boathouse in at least one version of this thing. But it's not true. We never even recorded her saying Damn. Why would I? No way it would get by S&P, so why bother. Didn't even occur to me. She does grunt right before she says "Empty". And I suppose that grunt might sound a bit like the word "Damn." I mean, I don't think so, but it's the only explanation for this myth that I can come up with.


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Todd Jensen writes...

I was recently re-watching the tape that I'd made of "The Silver Falcon" one evening, when I suddenly thought that it reminded me a bit of a story in Herodotus. Herodotus told a story about a queen in ancient Babylon named Nitocris, who left a message after her death that any future ruler of Babylon who needed money could help himself from her tomb, provided that he really needed it. When King Darius of Persia came to power in Babylon, he decided to enter the tomb and help himself to her wealth, but instead of treasure, found only an inscription stating, "If you were not so consumed with greed that you would stoop to anything to gain wealth, you would never have considered robbing the dead."

Was this story in Herodotus a partial inspiration for the denouement of "The Silver Falcon", or a matter of "parallel ideas"?

Greg responds...

Probably the latter. I've never read Herodotus, but I had a couple of great ancient history teachers (thank you Mr. Ackerman and Dr. Johnson) and they might have imparted this story to me in either ninth or twelfth grade. I don't recall it. But it might be down there in the depths.

But Cary Bates and I came up with this story together, and I am sure Herodotus never came up.

Response recorded on February 17, 2000

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lisa writes...

HI GREG!
you said that when you wrote avalon part one it was to long so some of the scenes were taken out. what were those scenes about?

Greg responds...

First off, I didn't write Avalon, Part One. Lydia Marano did.

I'm sure it was too long. (Most of our scripts were.) But I don't have it with me at this moment, and I don't remember anything in particular that was cut. Probably there were a few little trims here and there. No major scene cuts.

Avalon, Part Two had WAY more cuts.

Response recorded on February 17, 2000

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AWAKENING, PART THREE

Watched this with the family half an hour ago...

More random observations...

RE: Our supporting cast...

Who knew that Brendan & Margot would wind up being so important? Credit Marina Sirtis, for making Margot so gloriously bitchy.

And then there's Vinnie's first appearance on that motorcycle. Of course, no one knew Vinnie existed back then, which is thoroughly appropriate to his character.

And credit Keith David with breathing real life into Morgan the cop. Morgan didn't even have a name then. He was just a place holder, someone for Elisa to respond to. But Keith made me interested in him.

Little things still bug me. Xanatos' floating ponytail in the scene where he and Elisa first meet.

In the Kitchen, the Freezer door was supposed to have one of those easy to open latches on the inside. The irony being that Broadway could easily extricate himself, if he just knew how to operate the latch (or even what it was). Something a kid could do, assuming the kid was born in the 20th century. But BW has to bust down the door.

In the original script and the recording of that script, it's Brooklyn who says "So many wonders..." and it's Broadway who says "Goliath said not to let anybody see us." But in those early days, lots of people in L.A. and in Tokyo kept confusing their names (and Bronx's) so the animation came back as you see it. And it was easier to re-record the voices then to reanimate. (Or am I getting all this totally backwards? I just saw the show again half an hour ago, and already, I'm confused.)

(CAVEAT: In all these little things, I'll probably be pointing out animation errors here and there. But please understand, I think most of the animation we got, particularly from Walt Disney TV Animation - Japan, was brilliant. I think those guys did a great job and don't get enough credit. But anecdotes generally come out of when things go wrong, not when they go right, so it may seem like I'm talking about mistakes more often than not. Sorry, in advance to Roy Sato or anyone else who might take offense.)

When Elisa is first being checked out by the Trio, there was a scene in the original animation where Brooklyn seems inordinantly interested in her behind. We had to call a retake, cuz the guy was practically drooling. I wonder if that's where I got the idea that Brooklyn would fall for anyone in a skirt (or with a tail).

Also, after Goliath saves Elisa from falling off the building we have a point of view shot from her. It begins at Goliath's feet and pans up to his face, as she takes him in. In the original animation, the pan started at his head and panned down. That seemed less effective, so we had our editors reverse the pan, without calling for a retake.

At the end of Act Two, the door slides open revealing Demona in silhouette, clearly plotting something with Xanatos. That always really bugged me. I didn't want to give away that she was alive in this episode. I didn't want to know who Xanatos was talking to. How did you guys react to this? Did that spill everything? Did any of you not know that Demona was alive? Did any of you, by this point, not know that she and Xanatos were the bad guys?

Elisa says something like "This is where Dracula shows up." when she's walking through the corridors of the castle. If you take that literally (and you might as well), then you gotta figure that someday, Dracula will be roaming that very hallway.

Elisa loses the first in her series of guns, when Goliath crushes it near the end of Act One.

Goliath tells a joke: "And please, don't fall off the building this time." Goliath tells a joke. Can you believe it? It wasn't bad either. We should have let him tell jokes more often.

Elisa's surprise that Goliath can talk is indicative of what I thought a 20th (or 21st) century initial response to the gargs would be. That's why Goliath Chronicles' trial episode bugged me so much. I don't think humans would take for granted sentience. And I think most humans, those less open than Elisa, wouldn't even buy talking as enough evidence that the gargs weren't just beasts. (Cf. Margot Yale.)

Goliath is a pretty begruding hero. That's somewhat unique for cartoons. Elisa asks if there are more gargs, and Goliath responds: "Barely." He cuts her very little slack. But already you can see their relationship developing. I still think Hudson's expression after Goliath sweeps Elisa up into his arms is just priceless.

In that same scene, Hudson gets named for the river. I love that scene, as I loved the scene where Tom, Brook and Lex are talking about names. Of course, the desire not to name most of the gargoyles until we got to NYC '94, was mostly pragmatic. It allowed us to use those fun, cool NY names for most of the characters. But once we came up with the rationale for it, and once I managed to explain it to everyone, I really fell in love with the concept. Hudson's lament, here, that humans don't think something is real until they've put there stamp on it, is, to me at least, so damn true. And Elisa's response is so feeble and circular. "Things need names." Pathetic. But I'm no different. <SIGH> I'm such a human. But I aspire to gargoylosity. Anyway, after Hudson points to the river, and Elisa basically tricks him into taking that name, she used to have a line, as I may have mentioned before, where she said (under her breath) "Good thing we weren't facing Queens" -- implication being that Hudson nearly ended up being called Queen, I guess. It was always funny, but S&P didn't care for it, and I couldn't really defend it. So out it went. We tried another version, where she just says, "Good thing we weren't facing East." But it didn't play. So out it went too.

The thing that struck me most, however, was the almost thorough lack of action in this episode. After all that Viking stuff in Part One, and Vikings and a full act of commandos in Part Two, Part Three is a mood and character piece. Sure Elisa falls off a building, but that was a problem easily solved. Until the commandos' Central Park attack in the last seconds of Act Three, nothing else happens that could genuinely qualify as action. That was mostly a result of what was once a four-parter being turned into a five-parter. The reason we made that change is because Michael Reaves wrote a brillaint four-part script. It was amazing. But it was WAY too long. I was faced with either having to make drastic cuts (as I would later have to do in Avalon and Hunter's Moon) or expand it. Fortunately, Gary Krisel and Bruce Cranston saw the wisdom of expansion. For one thing, it would save us money. But also, it made sense because we could run the five parts across a whole week of the Disney Afternoon like a mini-series special event. It wouldn't require us to re-program one day of that first week. So we were all agreed, the four parter would become a five parter.

But that meant adding act breaks, and redividing everything. The episode that most benefited was Part One. In the orignal version, Part One covered all of what is currently part one, plus the first act of what's currently part two, i.e. ALL the Scotland stuff. The episode ended with Goliath's "suicide". A great ending, but we would have obviously had to cut a TON out of the flashback. This way we were able to expand into part two and preserve almost all of the story.

So Part Three winds up being nearly action-free. And by the way, I love that. I still think the episode works great, and it proved to me that the charcters themselves could really hold the audience's attention. (I'm such a proud papa. Unashamedly so. It must be pretty obnoxious.) I wish we had always had the luxury to be so... well, luxurious. To expand and play character. But generally a half-hour format makes it tough. I'm very sick of writing half hours, actually. But the powers that be in Animation believe that kids can't or won't sit through an hour long show.

As usual, I welcome posts here responding to this episode. Both your original reaction to seeing it for the first time, and your current reaction if you've seen it again recently.


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AWAKENING, PART TWO

Watched the episode again last night.

Little things....

My two year old son is fascinated with Tom. And misses him in the second act after he's gone. Misses him in other episodes too. Kinda puts the lie to the strongly held belief I've always had that contrary to Network Executive Dogma, kids don't need animated shows to be about kids. Of course, my son is just two. My five year old has no problem with their being no "little girl" in the show.

Goliath says "What sorcery is this?" for the first time. We wound up using it over and over in the series, til it became something of an in-joke. But the truth is, we could never come up with a better line that said the same thing.

Goliath's "suicide" at the end of Act One, is still one of the most startling things I've ever seen in a cartoon. That was Gary Krisel's idea (my boss Bruce Cranston's boss). And I've always admired him for it. It's also the reminder I use to keep me humble when I'm listening to notes from the higher ups. Michael Reaves and I were just going to have the Magus offer to cast his spell on Goliath as something of a consolation prize. "Best I can do" kinda thing.

Love that Chernabog moment where Goliath says "I've been denied everything, even my revenge!" Man, Keith David is great.

The way it's edited you'd never know the problem the last fight in the Viking's camp caused me vis-a-vis Broadway. As you may recall from Part One, during the Viking's initial attack, Broadway stopped for a snack, and then opportunistically used the turkey leg to bonk a Viking. A nice little comedic beat. Well, in Part Two, we wanted to contrast that by having Broadway land in front of the roasting spit by the fire -- so that the audience again thinks he's just thinking about his stomach. But that after the massacre, the much more serious Broadway immediatlely starts using it as a weapon. That's pretty much what you see. But that's not what we received in Animation. What we got was a virtual replay of the scene from Part One. Broadway lands with a big grin and starts to eat. Then he gets attacked and uses the spit as a weapon. It took judicious editing to keep Broadway from feeling too one-dimensional. And even then as the series progressed, we started to downplay Broadway's appetite (another good Gary Krisel suggestion). We brought it up again in Hunter's Moon, Part Three to show how far the character had come. Yeah, great kitchen, but an even better library. That kind of thing.

We had a similar problem with Hudson's sword. We were supposed to make a big deal of him using it for the first time in the battle at the Viking camp. But some of the animation in both Parts One and Part Two showed him using the sword and/or having it by his side before that. That's what retakes are for, I guess.

Xanatos' first appearance... I'm really curious to know how many people, seeing this for the first time knew that Xanatos was the bad guy. I thought it was a little too obvious myself. There's a look he gives Goliath when he's taking the gargs' questions in the Great Hall that I thought absolutely tipped his hand to the audience. But we did try to create a guy who looked like he should be the hero of the show. Handsome athletic Bruce Wayne type up against scary monsters. And Jonathan Frakes is terrific.

(There was a while when Gary Krisel thought maybe we should have Xanatos -- or another rich guy, a pre-Renard if you will -- actually be the gargoyles modern benefactor. I'm glad that's one bit of advice I didn't take from Gary.)

We also get the first look at Owen. Jeff Bennett. Man. What a great cast we had. Wasn't Owen just fascinating from moment one? I didn't know he was Puck way back then, but I sure did know there was a story behind him.

Love that moment when they all Shatter out of stone near the top of Act Two. The sky spinning behind Goliath. The rotating camera for the others. Bronx leaning into the foreground. Still gives me a little thrill. Don't disappoint me Xanatos said. Well, it worked for me.

The first time we got the animation back on that sequence, their stone skins didn't really EXPLODE off them. In fact the first version of the footage had no stone at all. Those of you who have been to the GATHERING have seen that footage. We really had to push to make that concept of them exploding to life every night play visually.

There's an intentional this-ain't-Batman moment during the fight with the Commandos. Goliath gets tossed off the building. He's falling and he grabs for a flagpole, just like Batman would. But Goliath is so heavy, he rips the flagpole right off the building, and he has to use his claws to save himself. Back in those days, everyone was terrified that GARGOYLES was going to be perceived as a BATMAN rip-off. I actually had to write up a memo for the Marketing Department, listing all the significant ways the shows were different. This flagpole bit was our (me, Frank, Michael's) conscious reaction to the constant comparisons.

There's a moment during the fight where Goliath is facing a Commando, and from off-stage Xanatos rescues Goliath by firing his laser at the wall and dumping the masonry on the commando. But that scene gave us nightmares, because it looked like the laser beam was coming from Goliath's eyes. Like he was Cyclops of the X-Men. This made us nervous, because the concept was so new, we were afraid that the audience would think that maybe Gargoyles have all sorts of "cool" super-powers like that.

One line got cut from Part One that would have helped a bit in understanding Lex's character. In Part One, during the initial battle with the Vikings, we had Lex investigating a catapult, fascinated with how it works. That little scenelet got cut from the script for time. But I still miss it.

Anyway, please feel free to post your own responses here on the episode. Both how you felt when you first saw it, and what strikes you now looking at it again.


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"Awakening, Part One"

My kids and I have started watching the 66 chapters of Gargoyles from start to finish, so I thought I'd give a shot at rambling on each episode as we view them.

So starting at the beginning...

Random thoughts:

In the original script, there was a bit that came right after Princess Katharine reprimands the Captain for inviting the Gargoyles into the Great Hall. She says something to the effect of: "To allow beasts in the dining hall..." Right then, we were supposed to cut to a shot of one of those hounds that you can see milling about in the initial establing shot. The hound was supposed to grab a chunk of meat off of one of the nobles' plates. This would further establish Katharine's hypocracy, but also embarrass her further, lending believability to the things she says and does thereafter. I recall that the scenelet got animated, but not well. Frank refused to include it in the final cut. He may have been right, given what we had to work with. But I still miss the moment I envisioned in my head.

Katharine and the Magus are so nasty in this episode. Boy, did they go through some changes.

I'm also struck by just how much the Trio grew from this first appearance. They're kinda medieval ninja turtles here. But they show potential. I still love their exchange with Tom as he tries to get names out of them and they are baffled as to why names would be important.

I do wish we could have seen more Gargoyles flying around. (It really would have been nice to catch a glimpse of the Coldtrio, but frankly, they hadn't been designed yet. We knew they were coming, but we didn't have time to design them before they were necessary.) But it would have been great to see more beasts, more females. More young and old. But I guess we did all right.

The cliffhangers are interesting too. In both, the threat is the Gargoyles themselves. Princess Katharine says something nasty about gargoyles, just as Goliath enters the Hall. He growls, clearly having heard her statement. And we go to commercial... I could never have gotten away with that by even episode 2. But this early on, we didn't know the gargs well enough to know how they'd react. Clearly they had our sympathy. But would Goliath go berserk? Obviously, not. But that was the tension in that beat. Same thing happens between Acts II & III. The threat seems to be from Brooklyn, Lex and Bronx. Of course, they're bluffing. Annoyed with the humans, they are simply trying to put a scare into them. But the audience doesn't know that yet, so I can get away with the second cliffhanger being a Garg threat as well. Of course, by the end of the episode, we know just how noble they are. And that's a great cliffhanger I think. Goliath roaring to the heavens filled with grief over the death of his "Angel of the Night". 'SCool. (But how many of you really thought she was dead?)

There are also moments that are fairly mundane to us now. Elisa pulling up in her car. Goliath first breaking out of stone. Demona stepping out of the shadows. I'd be curious how all those moments made you guys feel the very first time you saw them, particularly those of you for whom this was in fact the first episode you ever saw.

I invite you to post your comments here on Awakening, Part One.


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OnyxStar writes...

I guess this is sort of a reference question. My favorite quote comes from Gargoyles (Awakenings I). Goliath says, "It is the nature of mankind to fear what they do not understand." I'd like to quote that in a college essay I'm writing, but I don't know who to attribute it to. Did you guys come up with it, or is it some famous quote I'd never heard of?

Thanks a lot for all your time and effort, and good luck with the new series.

Greg responds...

Although I'm sure similar things have been said over and over by multiple people, I'm not aware of a specific source for the quotation. If you want to be absolutely certain, you'd probably have to ask Michael Reaves, the writer of that episode.

Response recorded on February 09, 2000

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Blaise writes...

Hi there! Me again.

Here's a Q that's been rattling around in my head for some time. We all know NOW that the cloaked figure riding out to meet the Vikings in "Awakening: Part 1" is none other than the Captain of the Guard. However, he speaks in a voice that sounds like Jeff Bennett's (sp?). In fact, I'm quite positive that was Mr. Bennett's voice. This, as well as the robe being white, make me think that suspicion was intentionally being thrown on the Magus.

1) WAS suspicion being intentionally thrown on the Magus?
2) If so, why?

Thank you!

Greg responds...

First off, that's not Jeff. That's Ed Gilbert doing Jeff, because...

1) Yes, we were intentionally trying to throw suspicion onto the Magus.

2) Why else... to fool you.

Response recorded on February 09, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

Something that I've been wondering for some time about that secret passageway that Demona used to sneak into the great hall of Castle Wyvern in "City of Stone Part Three". How did she manage to conceal it from everyone else when the castle was being moved from Scotland to New York? I'd think that it would be extremely difficult to have hidden it while the castle was being transported stone by stone.

Greg responds...

I think so too. Maybe the transport wasn't quite as stone by stone as it looked to be. Or maybe in the replacing of stones the supervisors of the reconstruction didn't put two and two together and realize that by attaching stone A to stone B they were creating a secret passsage, and so neglected to alert Xanatos or Owen.

Response recorded on February 09, 2000

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Aaron writes...

Just out of curiosity, was MacBeth's Paris home based on an actuall house? Thanks.

Greg responds...

Not that I'm aware of, but it's possible that our layout artists used some reference for it.

Response recorded on February 09, 2000

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Aris Katsaris writes...

One of the scenes that most intrigued me, was the final action of Demona in the Hunter's Moon incident: throwing the container in the air, a deed through which she risked the annihilation of not only humans but her own race as well, including her daughter.

I always considered this a very nihilistic action of hers (I hope I'm using the term correctly) as if she was saying "I won't choose to destroy the world myself, but if the glass breaks and the virus escapes and we all die, so be it." Others in the fandom see it as just a way for her to buy some time and manage to escape. If so it was a very risky way indeed...

Your thoughts (and Demona's thoughts) on the issue?

Greg responds...

I can't put either argument any better than you just did, so my answer would have to be: ALL OF THE ABOVE.

Response recorded on February 09, 2000

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lisa writes...

when demona told brooklyn about what she did during the centurys what did she tell him,did she tell him about macbeth?

Greg responds...

In "Temptation"? No. I think people have the notion that Demona and Brooklyn had a lot going on off-screen and/or between scenes of that episode. (Again, Christine, I've heard the rumors.) But it ain't true in the cannon. What you saw was largely what took place.

Response recorded on February 09, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

Something else that I've been wondering lately, about the betrayal of Castle Wyvern by the Captain of the Guard and Demona. There was one snag in it (aside from the use of the common enemy as allies in settling an internal dispute - always a Very Bad Idea) that I found myself suddenly noticing. Demona and the Captain's plan was to have the Vikings take away all the humans while the gargoyles were absent (foiled by Goliath deciding to pursue the Vikings with only Hudson), believing that then the gargoyles would have the castle all to themselves. But - did those two *seriously* believe that Goliath would, upon coming home to find that the castle had been sacked and the humans taken prisoner, just say "Well, that's that," and do nothing about it? I certainly can't imagine him just letting the humans be led away by the Vikings and do nothing about it, even if the massacre of the bulk of his clan hadn't taken place.

Greg responds...

I think that was a miscalculation.

But I believe that Demona believed that once the humans were gone -- long gone -- she could convince Goliath not to send the clan. The danger of being more than a night's glide from the castle was too great -- as proven by the Viking's ability to sack the place while they were all away.

I think she and the Captain were, of a measure, kidding themselves. But all that self-delusion is hardly out of character for either of them.

Goliath probably would have sent a small expedition. Himself, Hudson, Coldstone. Left Demona in charge back at the ranch. Anyway, that's my guess. We'll never know.

Response recorded on February 09, 2000

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Aris Katsaris writes...

Is there a special story behind the flute of Puck that was seen in "Gathering, Part I"? Or the harp seen in "Lighthouse in the Sea of Time"? Were you planning to do stories on either or both of the two?

Greg responds...

I had planned on using the flute in THE GATHERING, PART TWO -- and it's probably a mistake that I didn't. I wanted Puck to use it to temporarily subdue Oberon, but it got away from me somehow.

But yes, the flute definitely interested me, and I would have done something with it eventually.

The harp, I hadn't given any real thought to. But it could probably come into play down the road in Pendragon.

Response recorded on February 09, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

Something that I've recently been wondering about Demona's genocide attempt in "Hunter's Moon". The plague that she used the Fulfillment Spell and Sevarius's carrier virus to create would have wiped out all of humanity if released, and the entire gargoyle race as well were it not for the protection of the Praying Gargoyle. Since humans and gargoyles are clearly not very closely related from a biological standpoint, a plague capable of wiping out both species must be very far-reaching in its range. So, if Demona had released her plague, would other species (say, most mammals) have been killed by it as well? Or did it only work on sentient species?

Greg responds...

I think it was limited to sentience. How that would have effected chimpanzees, gargoyle beasts, dolphins, whales, etc. I'm not sure. Hard to say what a combination of science and sorcery would consider sentient. But I think rats, cats, dogs etc. were safe.

Response recorded on February 03, 2000

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Ash writes...

1) What are the Matrix's abilities? Can she simply replicate nano-robots inifinately? Or can she crank out toaster ovens, listen in on police broadcasts and surf the WWW?

2) Does the Matrix really want to do good, or does she think that the "law" that Dingo told her about was merely a missing peice of her programming?

Greg responds...

The most interesting thing about your questions to me is that you identified Matrix as a she. This never occurred to me, since Matrix was voiced by Jim Cummings in "Walkabout" and by Jeff Bennett in "Bad Guys". Also, Matrix's basic body shape was male, i.e. there's no sense of female mamary glands in the design. Still, even with all that there's no particular reason to identify it as male. Hmmmm.....

1. Yes.
2. At first, just the latter.

Response recorded on February 02, 2000

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Excelsior writes...

In "The Price," after Hudson escapes Xanatos's dungeon, Xanatos bitterly comments that he now has no one to test the Cauldron of Life's magic on. Ever the good servant, Owen volunteers and sticks his hand into the cauldron without a second thought.

Now, I know Xanatos isn't the most practical being on Earth, but couldn't he have just dipped one of his little lab animals into the brew, or even one of his lower-level lackeys?

Greg responds...

Owen didn't give him the chance. I think Owen was feeling a little jealous of Xanatos' praise of the Macbeth robot. He dived right in, so to speak.

Of course, both men knew that "Owen" really had nothing to lose by dipping his hand. That's why both had such mild reactions to Owen's hand turning into stone.

Response recorded on February 02, 2000

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Andrea "Elisa Maza" Ivanovs writes...

Hi Greg,
Hope you're alright and survived the GWT well. ;)
Here's my question: it's about the aging of Gargoyles. We all know they live longer than humans, but e.g. in "Awakening", the whole Clan Wyvern is seen, but there's no Gargoyles as old as Goliath and Angela look in "Grief". Do they die fighting before they get that old, or do they never after all?
Thank you for your time!

Greg responds...

In the Dark Ages, it was rare that a gargoyle lived into old age. It was a violent time. But also, lets remember that Wyvern had a clan of about 40 gargoyles and beasts. We didn't get to see them all. We barely saw a quarter of them.

Response recorded on February 01, 2000

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Aaron writes...

Probably irrelevent, but... In Reawakening, when Xanatos says "It's alive! Aliiiive! I've always wanted to say that." does Demona know what he's talking about, or does she just think he's being goofy. In other words, does she get the reference?

Greg responds...

It's probably funnier if she doesn't.

Response recorded on February 01, 2000

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Zeliard writes...

Hello mr. Weisman!

In "Eye of the Beholder", Xanatos used put a transmitter on Goliath to find him. Does that mean that Xanatos knew that the Gargoyles lived in the Clock Tower, since the transmitter was still attach on Goliath until the next day?

Greg responds...

I'd have to look at the episode again, but I think you have the timing off. I think he planted the transmitter earlier Halloween night.

Response recorded on January 31, 2000

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Snow writes...

In watching Bushido, I noticed among other things that the village/town of Ishimura seemed to be located in a fairly flat area of Japan, not located among many hills or mountains. Living in the country for a while, it seemed to me that a tiny away place like that would be somewhere up in the mountains...
Therefore I was wondering how much researching of other countries was done for these Avalon-traveling episodes?

Greg responds...

Quite a bit, but I don't know that I agree with your assessment of Ishimura's locale. Gary Sperling wrote and researched that show. Not everything makes it onto the screen, but we try...

Response recorded on January 31, 2000

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Zeliard writes...

Hi mr. Weisman!

Here are my impressions on the lost moments of "Hunter's Moon 3". First, it was the missing link. When we saw Elisa, Matt and Maria Chavez talking, Elisa was angry toward Jason. At the dam we saw Elisa trying to stop Goliath and Jason. I always wondered why she wasn't angry anymore toward Jason; the lost moment explained all.

It most have shocked Elisa, falling in love with someone who was gonna kill her friends, espacially Goliath. If Elisa shot Jason or called for backup, the incident at the dam could have been prevented, but her heart told her otherwise. The lost moment really took me; this is probably the most dramatic scene since Broadway's "death" in Future Tense. Shame I had to imagine the whole scene in my mind.

Greg responds...

It killed me to cut that scene. It was beautifully written and it contained the theme of the whole three-parter in a nutshell. And full of emotion.

But I had no choice. There was nothing else I could cut...

Response recorded on January 25, 2000

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Fan writes...

I noticed there was considerable space between "Enter Macbeth" and the "City Of Stone" miniseries that explained his and Demona's history. Was it your intention to keep us guessing or did the storyline just work out that way?

Greg responds...

Are those options mutually exclusive?

Response recorded on January 25, 2000

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Airwalker writes...

In CITY OF STONE 3 Owen mentions that he and Xanatos should search the Grimorium for a solution. But at that point Xanatos didn't have the book in his possession plus Goliath is stone so he can't ask him to get it for them. Did he have a copy of the Grimorium somewhere in his possession that he could search through?

Greg responds...

I'd have to look at the episode again, but they may have been discussing options, some of which would have to wait until Goliath woke up.

Response recorded on January 10, 2000

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Zeliard writes...

Hello mr. Weisman!

1.You said that cetain scenes of "Avalon part 2" had been cutted because the episode was too long. Will tell us what was those missing scenes?

2.Why the Archmage chose Demona and MacBeth as allies?

Greg responds...

1. Stuff with the Archmage-Plus mentoring the original Archmage and guiding the Weird Sisters.

2. His "future" self told him too.

Response recorded on January 10, 2000

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Airwalker writes...

Just wanted to make a small comment on AWAKENINGS 5:

When Demona revealed her name to Goliath in AWAKENINGS 5, I know it's supposed to be this huge dramatic moment:

"I have a name too Goliath. You should know it before you die. I am..... Demona!"

But the moment that she said that, all I could think was "She's named after a city in Southern Israel?"

Greg responds...

I wasn't aware that Demona was the name of a city in Southern Israel. What's the etimology there?

It's kinda hard to imagine. "Hi, I live in Demona." Any fans from Demona out there?

Anyway, I think it was the whole scary demon association thing that she was going for. I never thought it was our most effective moment. But a city in Israel?

Response recorded on January 10, 2000

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Airwalker writes...

In HIGH NOON when Broadway and Hudson attack Macbeth, Demona feels his pain from across the house. Yet later when Demona is in a fight with Elisa 2 feet way from Macbeth, he feels absolutely nothing. Why is that? Does the spell that allows them to feel each other's pain only apply when she is in her Gargoyle form?

Greg responds...

No.

I'd say that Macbeth must have been feeling something, but that he was steeling himself against the pain. (Something he couldn't do when he didn't know the blows were coming.) I realize this is a bit of a cheat, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Response recorded on January 10, 2000

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Zorlond writes...

Good evening, Greg. My question is something I know you've skirted before, but the question wasn't very specific. Okay, question is:

In The Green (think that's the name), Jackal's imagining the things he's going to do to the Aztec Clan and the Tourists. One of those things is re-carving Goliath's face to resemble Jackal's. If Jackal had actually done that, would Goliath wake up looking like Jackal? Wake up with his own face? Not wake up at all?

Hopefully this specific question isn't a repeat...

Greg responds...

He probably would not have woken up. It probably would have killed him.

Response recorded on January 10, 2000

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Celano writes...

Hey Greg!

I noticed this a long time ago, but apparently, I was the only one. When Puck and Demona are in the alley in The Mirror, they are passed by an obese blue female she-Goyle who is dragging her giggling beaked Goyle-child. What I'm curious about is, why does she have a beard???

Greg responds...

I never noticed any beard. Are you sure?

Response recorded on January 07, 2000

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lisa writes...

1.was future tense a dream or a prophesy?

Greg responds...

Both to some extent. And neither of course.

Response recorded on January 07, 2000

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E.J. Kalafarski writes...

Hi Greg, just one question that I've wondered about ever since I saw "Temptation." At the end, Elisa tells Goliath to act for the rest of his life as if he were not under a spell, the key word being 'a' as opposed to 'the spell' or 'this spell.'

Did you mean for this to be taken as though he could never be put under a spell again, and if so, to what extent? Puck was seen messing with Goliath's mind in "Future Tense." Did you ever plan on this one plot point being brought up again?

Greg responds...

It wasn't meant to be generic. It refered to the spell in question.

Response recorded on January 07, 2000

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Zeliard writes...

Hello Mr. Weisman! The questions are who's what.

1.Is Natsilane a Halfling or a Fay?

2.Is Rory a Halfling or a Fay?

Thanx in advance!

Greg responds...

1. Natsilane is human. Though he's inherited a position (and tools) of power.
2. Rory is also human, though he is a reincarnated soul.

Response recorded on January 07, 2000

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Airwalker writes...

In LIGHTHOUSE IN THE SEA OF TIME, when those two explorers entered Merlin's cave, in the background a cauldron can be seen. Is that the Cauldron of Life?

Greg responds...

That would be cool, wouldn't it?

I'd have to look at the episode again.

Response recorded on December 30, 1999

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Blaise writes...

Hey Greg, hope you had a great vacation. Thanks for answering my questions earlier (sorry my post was one of the one's you had to retype the answer to multiple times!). But I'm glad I have a better idea of what went on behind the scenes of "Gargoyles", it just adds another level of the show to appreciate for me.

Anyway, I've been thinking about what my next question would be for a while, and all I could think of pretty much was this....

In "The Journey" you mentioned that you had put a scene in there between Capt. Chavez (sp?) and Matt Bluestone. Would you be willing to share that scene with us?
I don't care if it's inconsequential to the ep as a whole or whatever, I got a kick out of reading all those missing scenes from "Hunter's Moon" and I just HAVE to know what these two talked about in "The Journey."

I do have some more questions, but they're on differing subjects so I'll just post them here later. Thanks again, and see you around!

Greg responds...

Yes. I'm willing. But it takes a lot of time. And I'm trying to power through the huge backlog. So ask me again later.

Response recorded on December 30, 1999

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Amberie writes...

In "The Gathering," Goliath suddenly realizes that they were sent to Manhattan to battle Oberon, not sent home. After the show, how did they get the message that they were to remain in New York?

Greg responds...

They decided that on their own.

Response recorded on December 30, 1999

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JEB writes...

Thanks for answering my previous question. :) Two more...

1) Was there supposed to be any connection between the Norman Ambassador and Chair One (from TGC's "To Serve Mankind")? I know that since you weren't involved with that ep, you likely don't know, but I figured they might have taken a cue from you in making Chair One have the same voice as the N.A....

2) You said you have gotten story ideas from dreams- could you name some specific examples?

Thank you for your time. :)

Greg responds...

1. Please don't ask me anymore questions regarding the last twelve episodes of Chronicles. Please.

2. Sorry. Questions on separate topics, must be posted separately.

Response recorded on December 30, 1999

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Airwalker writes...

In HERITAGE, when Raven in Gargoyle form first introduced himself to Goliath and Angela he had five fingers. Later when he again appeared as Gargoyle, he had four fingers. Was this an animation error or was it done on purpose as a sort of hint to Raven's true identity?

Greg responds...

Uh....

A hint. Yeah. That's the ticket.

Response recorded on December 30, 1999

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Airwalker writes...

At the end of THE GATHERING 2, did Oberon restore Fortress 2 to the air and fix up Central Park so there was no evidence of any battle, or did he leave it in place?

If it wasn't moved, then how did Renard explain why it crashed again? And if people think that yet another flying fortress crashed, why would they be willing to allow it to go up a third time?

Greg responds...

Do you really think Oberon would have bothered?

And who said it went up a third time?

Response recorded on December 30, 1999

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Airwalker writes...

Who designed the Golem? In all the legends I read of the Rabbi Loew's Golem, he was a huge giant but of Manlike proportions, not like he was in the episode, but more like a taller version of Bane from BATMAN & ROBIN.

Greg responds...

I'm not familiar with Bane. Isn't he just a big guy?

Anyway, I'm not sure what you're asking? Do you mean who on Frank Paur's team designed Golem or are you asking if Rabbi Loew designed him?

Response recorded on December 30, 1999

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Airwalker writes...

Would you ever consider reprising your role as Xanatos Goon #3 if the show ever returned?

Greg responds...

Actually, I was the 2nd Commando.

But I'm not in the Union. So theoretically I never said "Nice mask!" Never. Understand.

Response recorded on December 30, 1999

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Zeliard writes...

1.In "The Mirror", why Demona refused the suggestion from Puck i.e. "Make Goliath fall in love with Demona again"? Or take over the mind of Goliath or the clan like in "Temptation"?

2.Why Xanatos hasn't place Coyote's (the robot) artificial intelligence in the Steel Clan robots? They would have given the Gargoyles a real challenge.

3.I learned that the space war involved 3 races: Space-Spawns, Nokkar's people and another race. What is the name of the other race and Nokkar's spicies?

4.Bruno and the Commandoes are working for Xanatos only or are they freelance?

Thank you for your time, bye!

Zeliard

Greg responds...

1. Demona no longer thinks she wants Goliath's love. And Elisa's appearance in the mirror interrupted any other thought.

2 - 4. Sorry. Questions on separate topics, must be posted separately.

Response recorded on December 30, 1999

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Airwalker writes...

In THE CAGE, while I understand Talon was eager to look for any excuse to blame Goliath for his troubles, how could he take in Xanatos' story so easily? I mean, he heard the whole presentation in METAMORPHASIS, he knew Xanatos financed everything, how could he be so willing to ignore that?

Greg responds...

You're asking this from the man who had Demona say "What have I... What have THEY done to you?"

Never underestimate the power of denial, pal.

Response recorded on December 30, 1999

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Zeliard writes...

Good day/Good evening mr. Weisman

1)When the Hunters(Charles, Jason, Robyn, Jon) and the Quarrymen are wearing their masks/hoods, why can't we see their eyes?

2)If you had the chance to create only one of the spin-off (Timedancer, Bad Guys, Pendragon, Dark Ages, 2158, ) from your master plan, besides the Gargoyles main story, which one will you choose and why?

Greg responds...

1. Technology.

2. Questions on separate topics must be posted separately.

Response recorded on December 29, 1999

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Mark Dorgan writes...

Hello,
Thank you for taking the time to answer everyone's questions, here are mine:
1)Were the markings on the sides of the stones in the episode with Cuchulain Ogham?
2)If the spin off featuring King Arthur would any other knights from the legends make an appearance?
3)How did Avalon guide the skiff to the places they needed to be?

Thank you again,
Marrok

Greg responds...

1. I don't know what that means. Sorry.

Questions on separate topics require separate posts.

Response recorded on December 29, 1999

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Aris Katsaris writes...

So, (a silly question) who would have won, Odin or the Banshee, if Oberon hadn't stopped the fight? :)

Greg responds...

I'd have to lay odds on Odin, but the Banshee might have gotten lucky.

Response recorded on December 29, 1999

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Aris Katsaris writes...

Would you accept with the assessment that the portrayal of Bodhe throughout 'City of Stone' was that of a spineless coward? (doesn't come to his friend's or even young daughter's aid - gives Gruoch to Gillecomgain - suggests that Macbeth surrenders - suggest that he murders child Canmore) and so on...

Greg responds...

I had a lot of contempt for Bodhe. Which may be unfair. Who knows what the historical Bodhe was like? I may have slandered him worse than Shakespeare slandered Macbeth.

But when you just now (back in July) called him a spineless coward, it made me balk. And the reason is that I just saw City, Part IV again recently. (The first episode my grandmother ever saw. All she kept talking about was how attractive Macbeth was.) And Bodhe has a moment when he gives Macbeth's crown to Luach... It suggests to me that maybe late (too late) in life, Bodhe had a change of heart. I like to think that he died a good death, by his grandson's side, fighting for kith, kin and country. (I know. I'm a sap. But I just hate two dimensional characters.)

Response recorded on December 29, 1999

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Scott Iskow writes...

I've always wondered: Why was "Temptation" given that particular title?

Greg responds...

Doesn't it seem self-evident?

I guess not or you wouldn't be asking, right?

Demona was tempting Brooklyn.

There are a few deeper resonances as well, but I'd just recommend viewing the episode again...

Response recorded on December 29, 1999

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Entity writes...

In the "Avalon" trilogy, the Archmage's arsenal consisted of himself, the Weird Sisters, Demona and Macbeth. Why did he feel the need to have Demona and Macbeth? I know he said they were canon fodder, but why did he even need canon fodder? Couldn't the Weird Sisters have just waved their hands and eradicated every single gargoyle and human on Avalon? Why did he build his assault around those two? For all the trouble that the Weird Sisters went through in obtaining them, it just doesn't seem that they were worth it. How the Archmage told the Sisters to "guide their paths", you would've thought that they were instramental in some way to his plans; that he specifically needed those two. But what's so special about them?

Greg responds...

Good question.

The answer requires looking at the situation on (at least) two levels.

Level One. Taken at face value, he did need cannon fodder. The Sisters had to be very careful how they operated, in order not to break Oberon's Law. And the Archmage had a few personal vendettas he wanted to deal with. So he needed Demona and Macbeth to handle some of the more mundane work of eradicating the enemy.

Level Two. Who said any of this was the Archmage's plan? Well, he did. But he was an arrogant bastard. So do you trust him? Where did he get the plan? By observing his future self carry it out. Where did his future self get the plan? By observing HIS future self carry it out. Maybe there's something larger going on here...

Ya think?

Response recorded on December 29, 1999

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Airwalker writes...

In HUNTER'S MOON 3, the date (September 28) that you picked for the confrontation between Charles Canmore and Demona in Paris, did you have a specific reason for picking that date or was it just chosen at random?

(I wonder because September 28 1980 was my 2nd birthday and when I saw the date on the screen, I immediately sat up.)

Greg responds...

My birthday is September 28th too. Although I wasn't two in 1980.

Response recorded on September 21, 1999

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Airwalker writes...

What do you you think would be the reaction of the Canmore siblings (especially Jon) if they found out that Demona literally killed their father with one hand tied behind her back? (She was holding onto the Praying Gargoyle at the time he attacked her.)

Greg responds...

Gee. I think they'd dance a jig.

Whaddaya think their reactions would be?

Response recorded on September 21, 1999

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Airwalker writes...

Does it haunt Goliath that he could kill Lexington so easily for being a traitor in FUTURE TENSE when he couldn't do the same to Demona in a similier situation?

(I know that he knows now that it was all just a Puck created illusion that he disposed of, but at the time he really thought it was Lexington.)

Greg responds...

I'm not sure he was conscious of a desire or intent to kill. (Which is not the same as denying he had one.) Technically, I think we're talking voluntary manslaughter.

But to answer your question, I think that Goliath -- being a straightforward guy, with enough real tragedy on his plate -- would not be too inclined to dwell on actions that he was driven to by a fantasy world perversly designed to drive him to absolute despair.

Response recorded on September 21, 1999

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Airwalker writes...

In THE PRICE, it never seemed to occur to Goliath that perhaps Hudson died in his sleep. Is dying in their sleep THAT rare among Gargoyles?

Greg responds...

Yep. Also, however, I don't think he wanted to believe that. If the cause was magical, he could find a counterspell. If Hudson passed away, he's lost another dear friend. Do the math.

Response recorded on September 17, 1999

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Todd Jensen writes...

Something that I've wondered about "Metamorphosis" for some time, and finally remembered to ask here. Why did Xanatos choose Derek as one of his victims for the Mutates project? The reason why I'm wondering this is because unlike Maggie (whose folks were presumably all back in Ohio), Derek had family living in New York who would notice his disappearance and investigate - and indeed did. And in particular, Elisa was already definitely not a member of the David Xanatos Fan Club even before the events in "Her Brother's Keeper" and "Metamorphosis", and Xanatos was surely aware of this. It must have been pretty obvious that he'd be in real trouble with her if she ever found out that he'd turned her brother into a winged panther.

Obviously Xanatos must have felt there to be some practical benefit to turning Derek into a Mutate that was enough to outweigh the disadvantage of making even more of an enemy out of Elisa. What I'm curious about is: what was that practical benefit that was strong enough for Xanatos to take the risk?

Greg responds...

First off, Derek had qualities that Maggie, Fang and Claw did not.

Simply put if you are creating your own race of gargoyles, you might consider that you need your own equivalent of Goliath too lead them. Even, literally, to teach them how to fly.

Secondly, I don't think he really feared making an EVEN bigger enemy out of Elisa. That ship had sailed. Rather, I think he felt, particularly if he succeeded -- as he very nearly did -- in keeping Derek/Talon in his employ, that having Derek as a Mutate-bodyguard would be a very effective deterrent against anything Elisa might do. Using Derek was a huge potential bonanza. And the downside (to Xanatos at least) was minimal.

He never really suffered for it.

Great question, by the way.

Response recorded on September 05, 1999

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Kevin writes...

This is my first time asking a question, although I've read your responses on and off for 2 years now.

I have never found any answer to this in the archives, so I figured I'd give it a shot.

1. Did David Xanatos actually choose to have Derek become a mutate? This is something I was never clear about...Yes, Xanatos and Sevarius were basically putting on an act for Derek, but was Sevarius shooting Derek with the formula come about as just part of the acting on the Mad Doctor's part, or was Sevarius told ahead of time by Xanatos to specifically inject Derek.

2. Another Metamorphisis question. If Sevarius is really not the old man with the cooky accent he portrayed in the beginning of that episode, why did he feel the need to dress up like one??? I ask because if it was to disguise himself so that after faking his death he could go about freely, well then it failed. Everyone reckgonized him immediatly, including Goliath and Derek. So why bother pretending to be an old man in the first place?

3. And how did Sevarius "pretend" to be electocuted to death by eels anyway??? Did he have some sort of insulated suit?

4. Another Metamorphisis question. (something about that episode) How did Maggie end up on the streets of New York anyway? Was she hooked on drugs? She looked very unhealthy, much like she was coming down off after being high.

5. Okay, this one isn't Metamorphisis related. And I don't recall this one being asked either, but it does concern the whole Time loop thing which has been discussed. How did the Archmage even know about Macbeth(and the older version of Demona for that matter). Why did he choose to perserve those particular two?

Thank you for your time

Greg responds...

1. I'm not saying there was no ad libbing going on, but the evening went pretty much as Xanatos had planned.

2. He's a ham. He was having a good time. Weren't you?

3. He had something, obviously. Does it matter what?

4. I think Maggie came to New York to be a "STAR". She was tremendously naive. She probably had, like a thousand bucks, and figured that would last her the two or three months it would take before she was "discovered". Of course, a grand won't last you one month in Manhattan. Not if you don't know anyone that you can trust and not if you have no where to stay. I think she was rather quickly in desperate circumstances and living on the streets. She might very well have been sick, but no she hadn't been using drugs.

5. O.K. Per our new rules, since this is a new topic, you'll need to resubmit this question as a seperate post. Sorry.

Response recorded on September 05, 1999

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Aris Katsaris writes...

Was the Eyrie Pyramid in 'Future Tense' intentionally reminiscent of the Illuminati symbol? (a pyramid structure with a light on the apex)

Greg responds...

If I told you I'd have to kill you.

Response recorded on August 31, 1999

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Robin Wynn writes...

Hi Mr. Wiesman,
the first of my questions was asked by another person,but because the post it was in was so long you didn't answer it. I wanted to know the answer so i thought I'd post it again.
ok, here they go:
1)Is there faster-than-light travel in the Gargoyles universe? faster-than-light communications? If yes, why is Nokkar so isolated and uninformed about outside happenings?
2) ok, originally someone asked you what made Anubis connected to death. Your answer was "Fay are tied to the pure magic of Earth. Individual fay have different 'connections', just as individual humans have different talents, etc. Anubis and other "death gods" come by it naturally". My question is this:
a) Does Alex have any special connection? any particular magical talent that he comes by naturally?
b)if so, what is it?

well, thanks in advance for your time.

Greg responds...

1. Actually, I did answer this in the sense that I rejected the form of the question. It's a two-part question that assumes a connection that doesn't exist.

And per our new rules, you'll have to resubmit your other questions (as they are on unrelated topics) as separate posts.

Response recorded on August 24, 1999

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Aris Katsaris writes...

I have to admit I have not understood the death-god thing and the events of 'Grief' in their entirety.

1. While Anubis was captured, was noone able to die in the whole world, or only around Egypt?
2. If the former, how come, since there are other death-gods than Anubis? Were they also powerless while Anubis was captive?
3. If Anubis had remained captive, or even more so if Jackal had remained his avatar, how would the other death-gods have reacted to the situation?

Greg responds...

1. Whole world.

2. Powerless, no. But the spell put DEATH itself in stasis. Leading to...

3. I think you would have seen something cataclysmic from the other Death-Gods. Can you picture Odin, for example, just sitting back?

Thank God, Avalon sent our four heroes to Giza.

Response recorded on August 24, 1999

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Derek writes...

Hi again Greg, sorry about my last Mega-post, I posted all those questions as a lump before you asked us not to, so sorry.
ANYWAY- Here's my question...

Where did Dracon's white streak come from? It wasn't there in DEADLY FORCE and then in THE SILVER FALCON, it was. Was there both a behind the scenes and a "real" reason for this like the change in the mutate's appearance? That's it, thanks.

Greg responds...

Yeah. Two reasons.

I felt that Dracon didn't look distinctive enough in his first appearance, so Frank and I discussed it and decided that Goliath scared him so badly it turned part of his hair white. We even considered doing the same thing to Glasses. The idea appealed to me on some level, but it just seemed to artificial. And in some ways Glasses already looked more distinctive. (I always loved Glasses.)

Response recorded on August 23, 1999

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Matt Dymond writes...

Hi Greg, thanks for such a fantastic series, and thanks in advance for some answers (I hope).

1) In Awakenings pt1, Elisa and Morgan's initial conversation gave the impression that they didn't know each other - She identified herself and gave her precinct number, yet they both work in the 23rd. I know this was likely just scene setting, but it makes it seem like one of them transfered there recently. Was this intended to be the case?

2) Is there any particular backstory as to why Elisa drives her particular make & model of of car (either within the context of the series itself, or a reason one of the writing staff wanted that particular car used?)

3) Since the stone sleep is a biological function, with practice (e.g over several years), would it be possible for a gargoyle to train him/herself to put off the transformation, for a short while at least?

Greg responds...

1. Behind the scenes, we weren't thinking about reusing Morgan at that time. I assumed, that Morgan transferred to the 23rd either right before or right after "Awakening". In any case, Elisa didn't meet him until that moment.

Per our new rules, you'll have to resubmit your other questions on separate posts.

Response recorded on August 22, 1999

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Jenna writes...

Hello there, Greg--was wondering two things.

First-- How did the Childern of Oberon come into existance?

Second--Why did Golith tell Elisa that Thailog was his son in the ep "Double Jeapordy". Did he do it out of concern for him or guilt?

Greg responds...

1. Incubated magic. Evolution. God. CHOOSE YOUR POISON.

Sorry, as per the new rules, you'll have to resubmit question #2. I hope you do. (Though if you watch the episode again, you won't need to.)

Response recorded on August 22, 1999

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Warpmind de InzanE writes...

What is the middle name of Mace Malone?
In "The Silver Falcon", there was a letterhead reading "Mason E. Malone", if my memory serves me right. What does the E stand for?

Greg responds...

If I ever knew, I don't remember. I don't recall that letterhead. I'd have to review the episode.

Response recorded on August 17, 1999

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Thilo writes...

First of all thanks to Gorebash for bringing this one online again. And so hello again to you, Greg! Here are some more questions:
1. Xanatos (or Owen) attached a sender to Goliath - as we learn in "Awakening" Part 4. How can it still at Goliaths body, when he looses his stoneskin at sunset?
2. Elisa and weapons - she lost at least 3 pistols: in "Awakening" Part 3 one was destroyed by Goliath, in "Eye of the Beholder" one by Xanatos in his Battle Suit, and in "Ill met by moonlight" one was used for the bell. How does she explain this?
There were some more, but I can't remember right now, so until next time.

Greg responds...

1. Uhhh, super-glue?

2. She probably blames Xanatos.

Response recorded on August 17, 1999

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Zeliard writes...

Hello Mr. Weisman.

My first time ever that I ask a question in Station 8!

1.a)In "Her brother's keeper", did Derek listened to the tape Elisa gave him?

1.b)If Derek did listened to the tape, what did he thought about Xanatos and elisa?

2)What happened to Fortress 2 after the crash? Did Cyberbiotics left it or the air base is still operational?

3)Why Matt Bluestone hasn't revealed his membership to the Illuminaty to Elisa and the Gargoyles?

Thank you for your time, bye!

Greg responds...

1. I think that's an ambiguity better left ambiguous.

2. For you to answer, really...

As per our new rules, I invite you to resubmit your remaining questions as multiple separate posts.

Response recorded on August 17, 1999

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Nick "Elessar" Oder writes...

Actually getting to communicate with THE Greg Weisman, should I be in reverental awe or just hop-up-and-down giddy? Maybe both at the same time. Anyway, here goes my long-winded questions...

This may take a while, but yes, it does actually get to a question :)

While watching Gargoyles, I can't help but get shivers down my spine and goosebumps whenever someone starts chanting in Latin. Whether it's the actual chanting in Latin, the creepy music, or the animation, I don't know. Though I tend to think it's the Latin, because it's how I noticed the difference between the two types of magic in Gargoyles. When watching the Magus cast the spell of sleep on the gargoyles, or Goliath throwing the Phoenix Gate into the void, I always get goosebumps. On the otherhand, when Oberon, Titania, or Puck use magic, there was no tingly feeling, and that's when I finally noticed.

Humans and gargoyles (hencefore refered to as mortals, even though some aren't) always chant in Latin while using magic. Members of the Third Race (henceforth refered to as Fay) speak in plain english, although it's usually in the form rhyme/short poem.

Though there were exceptions, which all proved dangerous, sometimes fatal, as Xanatos said "I'm told mixing magics is dangerous anyway."

Now I start making assumptions, generally intelligent ones though.

First off that all mortal magic is in Latin, while Fay is in English or whatever other language they prefer at the time, or subliminal, not requiring speech.

I can think of three instances of a mortal using fay magic, and perhaps one of a fay using mortal magic, and one of a fay realizing not to get involved with mortal magic.

Let's start with the mortals. In Grief, the Emir uses the Scroll of Thoth to summon Anubis, of the Fay. I will now be brash enough to assume that the Scroll is of Fay origin, since:

a) It was powerful enought to summon Anubis, a Fay (though Demona summone Puck with a Latin spell that I assume was of mortal origin)

b) It was spoken in english, like other Fay magic.

c) If Anubis is Fay, it stands to reason that all the other Egyptian gods were also and since it's the Scroll of Thoth, an Egyptian god, it must be Fay in origin.

And in the end the Emir presumably dies, the usual fee for mixing magics.

Second scenario. In the Avalon Trilogy the Magus casts two spells, both in english, whereas he previously used Latin. Which brings me to my next assumption, "When in Avalon, do as the Avalonians do," or that you can't even use mortal magic on Avalon, it has to be Fay in nature.

And the Magus also paid the price for magic mixing.

Part Three. All the uses of the Eye of Odin were pretty ugly, Fox almost died, Goliath went nuts, and the Archmage died since without it's assumed Fay (it's Odin's eye, he's a Fay, it's Fay) power, he couldn't contain the mortal-magic Grimorum.

Are we seeing a pattern here or what?

Ok, I lied, one more mortal use that could have been dangerous. Fara Maku and Tea being were-panthers. Um, that's just plain dangerous. :)

The fay perhaps using mortal magic. While I don't know if the Cauldron of Life is of fay or mortal origin, it was dangerous to Owen (fay in human form) and would have been dangerous/fatal to both Xanatos and Hudson. Which leads me to believe the Cualdron is of Fay origin, Xanatos probably wanted to see if this mixing was indeed dangerous. And even though it was a Fay trying out Fay magic, it did alter Puck's human form, but his natural form is still fine.

And Owen/Puck was smart enough not to try reversing Demona's spell in City of Stone, since he knew she used mortal magic. Which re-enforces the belief that the Cauldron is of Fay origin, otherwise I doubt Owen would have gone ahead with dunking his hand. Even though it was a Fay using Fay magic, his human form still got chumped. I suppose this was a learning experience for the Puck, don't use Fay magic in mortal form.

1) So the question is: Are my assumptions correct? Please correct me if I've goofed anywhere, I'd love to know the real answers if I'm wrong.

2) The Emir used the Scroll of Thoth to summon Anubis and used the Papyrus of Thoth to become a vessel. Are they two different things or one thing refered to by two names.

3) Even though the Phoenix Gate is of Avalon origin, it's used by a Latin incantation. Ermmm, why? Wouldn't this be mixing magic?

4) Why did Elisa hand Tom her gun in Ill Met?

4a) How did Tom know how to hold it?

4b) Why did she call it a revolver in Sentinel? Semi-autos have a very hard time revolving. :)

4c) Speaking of that, is it full auto, or just semi?

5) Where does Xanatos aquire all his cool stuff? The Cauldron of Life, the Star of Arabia, the Coyote Diamond, the Eye of Odin, the Grimorum Arcinorum, etc... I know where he got the diamond, but why would anyone be selling the other stuff?

Well that's it for now, my brain's starting to go numb. Thanks for taking the time to read these.

Greg responds...

1. Some of your assumptions are correct. Some aren't completely correct, but most are close enough.

Latin isn't the only language of magic. Hebrew works as well, we know. And they can't be the only ones. In theory, English could work, but it would take more than a literal translation to imbue modern English with the correct magical cadences.

The Cauldron, being iron, isn't Fay magic.

And Owen wasn't really at liberty to reverse Demona's spell or even to reverse the whole stone hand thing. He was bound by his pact with Xanatos.

2. The latter.

3. It clearly is. Don't you consider the Gate fairly dangerous?

As per our new rules, I invite you to resubmit your remaining questions as multiple separate posts.

Response recorded on August 17, 1999

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Wilek Nereus writes...

Hello! This is my first time, so my apologies if I mess up here...

1: 7 Arthuran survivors...Arthur, Merlin, Lady Of The Lake, Duval, Gwynevere (sp?), Morgana le Fay, and Nimue.

2: What exactly was the Xanatos Program from Future Tense? Was it a virtual avatar of sorts, under the direct control of Lexington, or was it an independent and possibly sentient program? Or does it matter since it was all a dream? ^_^

Thank you for your time and attention. :)

Greg responds...

1. O.K. Again, we're up to eight survivors now, and contest entries must be on a separate post. (And yes, I realize that you posted this before I posted the new contest rules. I can't believe how many people managed to post on Independence Day. Weren't any of you watching fireworks?

2. I'm not sure I understand, but Yes, Yes and no.

7-20-99