Todd Jensen writes...

Was the list of "eight Arthurian survivors" something that you came up with before you ever began working on "Gargoyles", or was it something specifically designed for the series? I do think that all eight members of the list work as surviving from Arthurian times to the present day even without the specifically Gargoyles-related elements such as Percival heading the Illuminati in it; i.e., the rationale for their survival fits the original legends in general.

Todd Jensen writes...

Just visited "Ask Greg" and read your response to my question about Percival's birth. Thanks for reminding me of Green; I'd been mentally following the Malory version where Percival's father was King Pellinor. (It probably helped here that Pellinor is one of my favorite characters in the Arthurian legend, largely on account of my having been introduced to him through T. H. White. I always enjoyed White's interpretation of Pellinor and his constant hunt for the Questing Beast). But you're correct; Green does indeed hint at Gawain being Percival's father.

(Which, incidentally, means that two of the Arthurian survivors in the Gargoyles Universe would be closely connected to Gawain, even if he himself is long since gone: Percival, if you view him as Gawain's son in the Masterplan, and the Green Knight, who tested him in both his castle and at the Green Chapel).

Todd Jensen writes...

Did the two animated suits of armor that guarded Arthur's sleeping place on Avalon belong to anybody prior to their being put there (as in, say, having been worn by Arthur's knights), or were they specially constructed for the purpose of guarding him and used only for that purpose?

Lexy writes...

Hello Greg:)

*checks out the latest Contest guesses* yup, just as I thought, I wouln't have said anything original;) But I _did_ happen to think up some more Q's at work. Exciting hey?

1) You said that there was a rather large gargoyle clan somewhere outside of London. That we just happened to only see Grif, Una, and Leo.
What is their purpose for staying at that store?

2) Do they keep in correspondence with the rest of the clan?

3) How often do they visit?

4) For question one. Was it the clans' idea for the shop or just Una, Grif, and Leo's?

5) When Grif vanshied with Goliath and was missing for all that time, did the clan try and search for him? Where they even informed? (duh but still)

6) Did Una and Leo continue to stay at that store in the hope that Grif would return someday? Or was it just some job that they were assigned and Grif or no they stayed??

7) About Grif and Una. I dont know if someone asked this or not before. I don't recall seeing it. So sorry in advance if this is old news:P But Una seemed to like him a lot. I guess I dont know if they were actually an item or not. Where they? Or was it just Una that felt that way? Or did I totally screw it up again like the whole Angela Gabe thing and she's alone or with Leo for crying out loud??

8) In the event that the answer was "Ya _duh_ they are an item. Haven't you been paying attention in here?". Then will the age differnce that they now have do any damage to the relationship?

Ok, thats enough on that topic. Thanks Greg!;)

Kayless writes...

About Merlin...

1. Does he use human magic or fae, or perhaps a combination of the two? If he does use human spells wouldn't that be mixing magics, given his half fae status? (The same applying if he uses a combination of spells)

2. Merlin's age various from source to source. About how much older than Arthur is he?

3. How would you describe Merlin's personality? Eccentric but wise and kindly like in T. H. White's story, or a wry, enigmatic codger like in the movie Excalibur?

Todd Jensen writes...

In your opinion, is much of Merlin's status as "the greatest wizard of all time" thanks (from the perspective of the Gargoyles Universe) to his being a biological son of Oberon's? Given how much magic Oberon must have in him, it does seem logical that an offspring of his, even a halfling, would have more magic to inherit than a halfling child of any other fay, or a fully-human wizard.

Matt writes...

Hello I'm a really big fan of Gargoyles, I watch the show all the time.

Well here's my Q.

Is there anywhere on the web that your spin-offs are in print, or are they only at the gatherings?

Todd Jensen writes...

Re your answer to my "Round Table" question:

You're right; I'd forgotten about the Stone of Destiny in its "Sword in the Stone" phase. Well, since your answer reminded me of that, I thought I'd ask a couple of Stone of Destiny questions now:

1. You mentioned having planned to include an episode reflecting the Stone's real-life return to Scotland in the "Pendragon" spin-off. Would the episode have been set during the actual return itself, or afterwards with the Stone already back in Scotland at the beginning of the story?

2. If you had done the episode, would you have explained in it how the Stone of Destiny got to be wherever the young Arthur pulled the sword out of it to become King the first time around (given that in actual history, it would have been in either Ireland or Dalriada at the time, rather than, say, London - where the traditional stories locate the Sword in the Stone)?

Greg "Xanatos" Bishansky writes...

What is Morgana la Fay's current relationship with Arthur? Does she still hate him?

Greg "Xanatos" Bishansky writes...

What would have Duval's physical cost to using the Grail have been?

Greg "Xanatos" Bishansky writes...

1. Did you ever have a love-interest planned for Arthur?

2. If so, care to talk about her?

Greg "Xanatos" Bishansky writes...

Which of the eight Arthurian survivors would have been the female acquantance that would have accompanied Arthur on his quests?

Aris Katsaris writes...

I'm also glad the prize went to Todd... He's the Arthurian expert over here after all, and if it was not for him *noone* would have guessed Blanchefleur... :-)

Anyway, here's another question concerning Morgana: Changelings were traditionally swapped for mortal children. Is this also the case here? And have you thought about what happened to the mortal child she replaced? (My thoughts on the subject, would most probably represent a story idea...)

Btw.. something else I've thought for a while now... Most modern versions of the Arthur legend have combined a number of characters in one: In "Excalibur" the characters of Nimue, Morgana, Morgause are combined in Morgana. The Merlin mini-series also had Morgana combined with Morgause (even though Nimue was separate). I know that other tales combine the characters of Morgana and/or Nimue with that of the Lady of the Lake.

You seem to be the exception and I'm rather glad of that... (in fact one of the reasons I hesitated early on to place Nimue in my guesses was that I was always combining her with either Morgana or the Lady of the Lake in my mind, rather than a separate character) Anyway, here's a question... I now know that atleast these three characters (Morgana, Nimue, Lady of the Lake) would be separate individuals... How about Morgause? Would you also keep her separate, or would you combine her with Morgana as others have done?

Todd Jensen writes...

Thanks in advance for the prize for winning the "Arthurian survivors" contest, Greg. Now, a couple of questions I'd like to ask about one particular survivor, Morgana:

1. You mentioned in your account of how the "Arthurian Eight" survived that Morgana is a changeling in the original sense (a faerie baby swapped for a human one). Does this mean that, in your Masterplan, she's not actually Arthur's *biological* half-sister or related to him by blood, but instead "adopted"?

2. I also noticed that you spelt her name "Morgana" rather than "Morgan". Were you planning to take this "different form of name" for the character, in the event that she showed up in "Gargoyles" or the "Pendragon" spin-off, in order to avoid getting her confused with Officer Morgan?

Todd Jensen writes...

What sort of antagonist do you picture Duval as being? Do you see him as a very malevolent figure, like Thailog and the Archmage, or a more "greyish" enemy, like Macbeth?

Todd Jensen writes...

I'm revising one of my earlier questions here, since you had (correctly) pointed out that I had made it cover way too much ground.

1. How did Guinevere feel about Arthur's alliance with gargoyles - and about gargoyles in general?

2. How did Lancelot feel about them?

Todd Jensen writes...

Is there any connection between Duval's Fisher King role (guardian of the Holy Grail) and those rejuvenation drugs that they give the older members of the Illuminati such as Mace Malone?

Anonymous writes...

We know that Nimue, Blanchefleur,Morgana le Fay and Lady of the Lake are the female Arthurian survivors.
You said that one of them would be traveling with Griff and Arthur. I know it can't be Morgana or Lady of the Lake. So it must be Nimue or Blanchefleur and I am guessing it is Nimue. Can you please tell me if I am right ?

Todd Jensen writes...

You mentioned once that one of the places that you would have sent King Arthur and Griff during their quest for Merlin was Tintagel. If you had gotten to do that episode, would you have been likely to include in it some fictionalized form or other of your near-religious experiences that you had there?

Todd Jensen writes...

Speaking of Percival, some time ago, I was reading a book about the Grail legends which mentioned a medieval German Grail romance where the knights who guarded the Holy Grail for the Fisher King were sometimes sent out in secret to rule kingdoms whose thrones had become vacant, although under strict orders not to reveal that they came from the Grail Castle. Was this where you got the idea for the Fisher King heading the Illuminati? That behavior certainly sounds very proto-Illuminati-ish.

Todd Jensen writes...

I've been meaning to ask you about this ever since your little "Bastards" ramble, but never got around to it until now. You gave a list of Arthurian figures who fit this archetype: Arthur himself, Merlin, Mordred, Galahad, and Percival.

Now, Merlin, Mordred and Galahad are all definitely illegitimate in the traditional legends, and the circumstances of Uther's visit to Igraine at Tintagel would make Arthur's legitimacy a matter of controversy, so all four of them can indeed be fitted into that archetype. (I'd hesitate at calling Galahad a bastard, mind, but that's another story :)

What puzzles me, though, is your inclusion of Percival in the list. I don't recall anything in any version of the Arthurian legend that I've read about him being illegitimate. The closest that I can think of is his secret rearing by his mother away in the woods after the death of his father and older brothers to keep him from finding out about knights. Is this what led to your classification of him as a "bastard"?

Bengali writes...

1.In Lighthouse in a Sea of Time, Macbeth said that Merlins magic was stronger than anything, exept the human heart. Was this a reference to the Lancelot/Guinevere affair or to Romeo and Juliet?

Bengali writes...

My guess for the the 8 arthurian survivors.

1.Arthur
2.Merlin
3.Banchefluer
4.Lancelot
5.Lady of the Lake
6.Sir percival
7.Galahad
8.Morgan le fay

Todd Jensen writes...

You mentioned a while ago your having rather liked Goodrich's notion that Lancelot's name was really a French distortion of "Angus". If you had done the "Pendragon" spin-off and brought Lancelot into it somewhere (presumably via flashback since I get the impression that he's not one of the eight survivors), would you have used this concept?

Todd Jensen writes...

In a post related to (though not actually part of) the "Arthurian Survivors" contest: I thought that I'd raise the question about the three famous Arthurian artifacts, Excalibur, the Holy Grail, and the Round Table. Now, we definitely know that Excalibur still exists in the Gargoyles Universe. It seems more than likely that the Holy Grail's still around, given that you were going to send Arthur and Griff after it once they had found Merlin, and Duval's Fisher King role. But how about the Round Table? Is it still extant in the Gargoyles Universe, or has it been destroyed?