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Pendragon
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Blaise writes...
Me again, Greg! Just trying my hand at the Arthurian survivors.
1) Arthur
2) Merlin
3) Lady of the Lake
4) Parcival (Percival, however you spell it)
5) Morgan Le Fey (Morgana)
6) Nimue
7) Blanchfleur
8) (alright, this is the one I DON'T know, so I'm just going to take an [egotistical] shot in the dark with what limited Arthurian knowledge I have) Blaise
Just let me know the score!
Greg responds...
Seven points.
Whew. Someone finally got over the six point barrier.
Good work. (Just not quite good enough.)
And of course...
Thank you. Come again.
Kalara of the Land of Athiria writes...
Mr. Weisman,
In your mind do you think dragons are evil or good? In the course of the show there are several references to these fantasy creatures. In the Gargoyles world are there any good dragons or only evil ones. Because in the episode "Pendragon" the stone dragon seems to be bad. It was only a stone dragon. However, is there a race of dragons like gargoyle or are they only a species of fantasty creatures?
Greg responds...
The stone dragon in "Pendragon" was a magical construct. Or at any rate it was brought to a semblance of life by magic. It wasn't truly alive. And I don't consider it a true dragon. Nor do I consider it evil. It was "programmed" to perform a specific function. To test for the one true king.
I'm not going to confirm or deny the existance of real dragons in the gargoyles universe, but if you've watched the series, you'll know thematically that I would never define an entire species, gargoyle, fae, human or dragons (if there are dragons) as either good or evil. To quote Goliath, "There is good and evil in all of us, human and gargoyle alike."
Nothing is one thing. Let alone an entire species.
Greg "Xanatos" Bishansky writes...
1.Arthur 2.Merlin 3.Lady of the Lake 4.Perceval 5.Galahad 6.Morgana 7.Bedivere 8.Nimue
Greg responds...
Six points.
Thank you, come again.
(I feel like this guess came in already.)
Todd Jensen writes...
Thanks for answering my "religion" question. Actually, there are two human characters in the series that you left out whom I'm curious about:
a) Macbeth
b) King Arthur
What (in your opinion) are their current religions? In particular, do you see the King Arthur of the Gargoyles Universe as a Christian (as per the traditional legends) or something else?
Greg responds...
I think Macbeth has been many things over the years. Obviously, he started as a Catholic. Now, I figure he's fairly omnireligious.
As for Arthur, I think he's a Christian. Officially, something of a Catholic... He probably hasn't had cause or opportunity to change.
Greg Bishansky writes...
Which of the seven series was Queen Mab supposed to appear in?
Greg responds...
Gargoyles. Maybe TimeDancer, though I had no specific plans for that. Possibly Pendragon too.
But mostly Gargoyles.
Greg "Xanatos" Bishansky writes...
Here I go again
1. Arthur
2. Merlin
3. Lady of the Lake
4. Percival
5. Morgana la Fay
6. Galahad
7. Nimue
8. Mordred
Greg responds...
six points
Thank you. Come again.
(This is getting scary.)
Anonymous writes...
Sorry to be back so soon with another line up for the Arthurian survivors but this one I just came up with seems more likely than the previous one (boy am I going to look stupid when this one turns out to be wrong too).
1)Arthur
2)Lady of the Lake
3)Merlin
4)Morgana Le Fey
5)Percival
6)Galahad
7)Bedivere
8)Nimue
Thankyou again.
Greg responds...
six points
Thank you. Come again.
(I should have a function key, that just types that up.)
niner writes...
Hello Mr. Weisman,
First of all, thank you for answering my questions.
Here are my guesses for the Arthurain survivors:
1)Arthur
2)Merlin
3)Lady of the Lake
4)Percival
5)Morgana Le Fey
6)Bedivere
7)Galahad
8)The Green Knight
Thank you very much.
Greg responds...
six points
Thank you. Come again.
(This is getting a bit repetitive.)
Aris Katsaris writes...
An earlier guess of mine but with a different Grail Damsel :).
1.Arthur 2.Merlin 3.Lady of the Lake 4.Perceval 5.Galahad 6.Morgana 7.Nimue 8.Cundry
Greg responds...
six points
Thank you. Come again.
Greg Bishansky writes...
Another shot at the Arthurian Survivors
1. Arthur
2. Merlin
3. Lady of the Lake
4. Percival
5. Morgana la Fay
6. Lancelot
7. Bedivere
8. Nimue
Greg responds...
six points
Thank you. Come again.
Todd Jensen writes...
In your opinion, what's Titania's attitude towards Merlin? (I hope for Merlin's sake that it's nothing along the lines of Hera's attitude towards Zeus's illegitimate offspring such as Heracles).
Greg responds...
Her attitude when?
Todd Jensen writes...
In both "Avalon Part Three" and "Pendragon", it was made clear that King Arthur had been awakened "ahead of schedule", well before the time of Britain's greatest hour of need when he was meant to return from Avalon: Arthur admits it in "Avalon Part Three" and the Stone of Destiny and the Lady of the Lake both say as much in "Pendragon". If you had made the "Pendragon" spin-off, would this element have been addressed in it, that Arthur had been awakened by Elisa before the appointed time - and what the possible consequences for it could be for Britain when it reached the point that it needed Arthur's return?
Greg responds...
Absolutely. Believe me, I wouldn't have gone to so much trouble to point it out if it wasn't for a reason. I'm not really that subtle a guy, am I?
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.
Alaxk writes...
When the your envolvement with the series ended, where you happy with the character of Arthur.
Greg responds...
Huh?
I was happy with him up to that point...
As many of you know, I had hoped to spin him off into his own show, PENDRAGON. And I'm sorry I didn't get to tell those stories, but I'm happy enough with the two stories we did tell with him.
Todd Jensen writes...
You gave a list here once of Arthurian writers that you've read: Geoffrey of Monmouth, Sir Thomas Malory, T. H. White, Mary Stewart, Roger Lancelyn Green, John Steinbeck, Thomas Berger, and Norma Lorre Goodrich, as I recall. I was wondering if you might be interested in giving your opinions (in brief, of course) on their Arthurian writings - and Goodrich, in particular. Having read her Arthurian books myself, I'm curious as to what you thought of them. (My own response to them was that the author had an engaging style, but a lot of her notions struck me as improbable - such as her effort to substantially revise Arthurian geography by putting everything up in Scotland - and I even detected a number of factual errors and slip-ups in them).
Greg responds...
Believe it or not, I've never read Malory from cover to cover. I've read huge chunks of it. And I've skimmed the whole thing. But he doesn't really engage me as a writer. I'm not sure why.
Thus, it is Roger Lanelyn Green who almost acts as my so-called primary source. God, I loved that little book.
Geoffrey was endlessly fascinating.
Steinbeck didn't finish, which was frustrating. It wasn't the best read.
Berger was a lot of fun. Though I don't personally "believe" many of his interpretations of the legends, it was a great read.
I loved Stewart's THE CRYSTAL CAVE. But with each successive book, I found less and less to connect with Stewart's interpretations. And her Mordred book really bummed me out. It seemed like she felt a need to turn Mordred into a real hero at the expense of just about anyone else. Bugged me.
T.H. White's ONCE AND FUTURE KING. I love this book. And I love his "Book of Merlyn." Beautiful writing. Human and fanciful. Irresistable to me.
As for Goodrich, well, I don't have the background to argue her facts. I found much of the material unconvincing and flat-out dull. But I thought she had one real insight. Lancelot has always been viewed as a late addition to the mythology. As a character who was probably NOT historical. (Whereas Arthur likely was.) Her linguistic explanation, connecting Malory's Lancelot with Monmouth's Angus was very convincing. I'll try and duplicate it here...
ANGUS latinized becomes something like ANGUSELUS.
But Anguselus was a title that could properly be rendered as THE ANGUSELUS.
Frenchifying this would make it L'ANGUSELOS. With the last letter silent.
Over time, it would not be unlikely for the name to be simplified. If a syllable got dropped it could very easily become L'ANSELOS.
And if the last S is silent (as it likely would be in French) then it could easilty become an equally silent "T". Thus L'ANSELOT.
Or LANCELOT once it was anglicized again.
This may sound like a stretch. And I may not be doing it justice above. But early Celtic accounts include the character of Angus. Lancelot was assumed to be a later and fictional French addition to the legend. (And thus a character from France.) If Lancelot is in fact Angus, then that lends a certain credence to the entire legend. And I just love that idea.
Todd Jensen writes...
A new guess for the 8 Arthurian survivors:
1. King Arthur
2. The Lady of the Lake
3. Merlin
4. Sir Percival
5. Blanchefleur (Percival's wife in Roger Lancelyn Green)
6. Lohengrin (he's Percival's son in the legends about him, so he probably counts as Arthurian)
7. Morgan le Fay
8. Nimue
Greg responds...
Seven points.
Todd Jensen writes...
A little side-note. I happened to see the episode that you wrote for "Disney's Hercules" - I thought I'd mention it after noticing that somebody else on the list mentioned it. I quite enjoyed it - particularly the portrayal of Theseus as a sort of ancient Greek version of "Batman". I also noticed, as a side-note, that there was a certain thematic echo of "Hunter's Moon" in it (although I don't know if you'd intended it or not) where Hercules got so caught up in his efforts to wreak vengeance upon the Minotaur that he lost sight of what was really important, much the same way as Goliath in his pursuit of the Hunters.
Greg responds...
First off, Todd, thanks for the kind words.
There are certain themes that interest me, and so you'll see them revisited in my work (probably ad nauseum) over and over. The theme of, well, let's call it "What Profit Vengeance?" is one of my favorites. So I wasn't deliberately trying to echo "Hunter's Moon" so much as I was servicing a set of ideas that seemed apropos to both series.
As for the Theseus-as-Batman stuff. Well, that's a no-brainer. The Superman/Batman dynamic -- that is the teaming of a hero possessing superhuman abilities with a hero who merely makes the best possible use of his human abilities -- originated with Herakles and Theseus. (Or at any rate, it goes back that far.) So the notion of flipping that, and playing Herc/Theseus as Superman/Batman seemed wonderfully ironic and a fertile place to find comedy.
In high school, I acted in a play called THE WARRIOR'S HUSBAND. I played Theseus, and I've had a real affinity for the character ever since. In that play, Hercules was kind of a mope. (Very strong, but a mope.) The Greeks were waging war against the Amazons. Hercules was in charge, but Theseus was the real brains of the operation. Yet he's also the guy who really falls hard in love for Antiope, sister to Queen Hyppolyta. So instead of conquering -- as he had originally intended -- Theseus winds up manipulating everyone into a compromise. I like that in a hero.
Theseus is part of a sub-genre of archetypes, (an off-shoot of Trickster figures like Puck, Coyote or Odysseus/Ulysses). He's the primary example of the Archetype of "THE BASTARD", which includes such diverse characters as Shakespeare's Edmund from KING LEAR, Joan of Arc's ally Dunois and multiple characters from Arthurian legend (including Merlin, Arthur, Percival, Galahad and Mordred). There are so many parallels between Arthur and Theseus that reading Mary Stewart and Mary Renault seemed almost redundant. (Not really.)
In fact, Luach (or Lulach) is also a prime candidate for that archetype. When he was born, Gruoch was still married to Gillecomgain. But gossip around the castle hinted that the babe's true father was Macbeth. After Macbeth and Gruoch married, Macbeth adopted the boy as his own. At which point the gossip shifted to insist that Gillecomgain was the boy's father. (You can't win.) Pre-DNA testing, there would be no way for Luach to ever be certain of the truth. Maybe Macbeth didn't even know. Hell, Gruoch might not know.
Life's a bitch when you're a bastard.
Greg "Xanatos" Bishansky writes...
Aside from the Illuminati, what did you have planned in the way of villains for PENDRAGON?
I have a few ideas, but I'm not going to list them here because of the rules.
Greg responds...
This'll have to wait 'til you know what is over.
Derek! writes...
Arthurian Survivors-
1. King Arthur
2. Merlin
3. the Lady of the Lake
4. Morgan Le Fay
5. Percival
6. Nimue
7. Lancelot
8. Gwenever
Greg responds...
Sorry.
Six points though.
(Anyone with a basic knowledge of Algebra should be damn close to solving this contest.)
lisa writes...
1.did goliath and co ever tell macbeth or demona of what happened on avalon and if so how did they react?
Greg responds...
My guess is that no one filled Macbeth in. If they had, then Macbeth would have reacted differently to Arthur in "Pendragon". It's possible that Angela told Demona about it during her "Reckoning" incarceration. But then again, maybe she didn't. I'm not sure that Angela would feel any value would come out of bringing that up.
Aris Katsaris writes...
And yet another survivors list:
1.Arthur 2.Merlin 3.Lady of the Lake 4.Perceval 5.Galahad 6.Morgana 7.Blanchfleur 8.Nimue
Greg responds...
Now we're getting somewhere.
You scored 7. (If this doesn't give it away, nothing will.)
Greg "Xanatos" Bishansky writes...
Another shot at the Arthurian Survivors
1. Arthur
2. Merlin
3. Lady of the Lake
4. Percival
5. Morgana la Fay
6. Guinevere
7. Lancelot
8. Bedivere
Greg responds...
Nope.
You scored 5.
I think I'm giving out the points just to make the thing more interesting for me.
Aris Katsaris writes...
And yet another survivors list:
Arthur, Merlin, Lady of the Lake, Perceval, Bors, Galahad, Blanchfleur, Morgana
Greg responds...
No. Boy. I never thought this contest would be so hard. I mean I knew the clan contest would be impossible, but I figured this one would have been nailed ages agot. Should I start giving points here too?
You're answer scored 6.
Airwalker writes...
Do you have voice actors in mind for some of the characters in the unmade spinoffs? Do you have any in mind specifically for Katana, Nashville, Tachi, Duval, The Director, and Merlin?
Greg responds...
The Director was cast in our Animatic reel for Bad Guys. He was William Devane. And he was great as anyone who has attended a Gathering could attest to.
As for the others... No. Hadn't thought that far in advance.
DougJoe writes...
Greg,
Well, first of all, let me congratulate you on an _excellent_ series. It was very refreshing to see a daytime cartoon with such an extensive, intelligent, and well interwoven plot. The first episode I saw was at the end of an all-nighter with some friends who were helping keep me awake to study for a final exam during my 2nd semester of college. By some karmic irony, the episode was entitled _Long Way to Morning_, and it got me (and my friends) hooked. (Any time any of the gang gets to reminiscing, someone always says, in a bad Scottish accent, "Remeber the quest for the archmage...")
Anyway, on to my questions... (I don't think any of them have been asked yet...) Hopefully, I've caught you in the right mood today.
1. What is Mr. Duval's _first_ name?
2. You've told us that Mr. Duval is the Fisher King, but does his current alias give some clue as to his original identity? (For example, Fox's original name was Janine Renard. Renard is French, I believe, for fox.)
3. Somewheres in the archives you mentioned that Oberon & Titania had two children, a boy and a girl. Are they characters that we met during the course of the series (in some way or another)?
Well, I'll keep my number of questions short for now. Thanks again for your time and efforts!
Greg responds...
1. I've never given it any thought. Honest.
2. Why don't you just come out and ask who Duval is? Actually, I think this is the worst kept of all my secrets. Which should answer your question.
3. Sorry. Questions on separate topics, must be posted separately.
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