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Chapter XXXIV: "Avalon, Part One"
There's no memo, outline or script for this one on my computer, so we'll head right into my ramble on...
"AVALON, PART ONE"
DIRECTOR: Dennis Woodyard.
WRITER: Lydia Marano.
STORY EDITOR: Brynne Chandler Reaves.
THE RECAP
...is all over the place. So much was coming together in this three-parter. The Weird Sisters, the eggs, the Archmage, Tom, Princess Katharine, the Magus, Macbeth, Demona. This was our most ambitious story yet. Which given episodes like "The Mirror" or "Vows" and multi-parters like "Awakening" and "City of Stone" was saying something.
Of course "Avalon" was never designed to be the cohesive single story movie that "City of Stone" was. It was designed as a tryptych. Part one would bring our heroes up to date. Part two would bring our villains up to date. Part three would pit them against each other.
"Avalon I" also represented the first episode in our fourth tier. The three-parter was what we called a 'tentpole'. We knew we couldn't air it until all the Tier 3 episodes had aired. And we knew we couldn't air any other Tier 4 episodes until this three-parter had aired. Despite the fact that "The Price" aired out of order, generally our Tentpole/Tier system worked very well. Out of 66 episodes that I worked on only two: "The Price" and "Kingdom" aired out of order, hopefully with minimal damage to the continuity.
THE TITLE
The title was one of mine. But initially I wasn't sure that we were going to call the island Avalon. Now, it's mind-boggling to me, but I actually had my assistant Monique Beatty (who's now a producer in her own right) research Brigadoon to find out if that name was created only for the musical, or if it was something pulled from legends. I was thinking of Avalon, but looking for something from a Scotish tradition as opposed to British. Fortunately, Brigadoon was created for the musical. So we were 'stuck' with Avalon. Which made including King Arthur a natural.
Many series don't reveal that an episode is going to be a multi-parter until you get to the 'To Be Continued' line at the closer. "Avalon, Part One" could have just been titled "Avalon". The conventional wisdom is that people are reluctant to commit the time to a multi-parter in advance. That it is better to hook them on the story before revealing that they HAVE to come back to see the end. I always felt that was cheating. What is your reaction to seeing "Part One" attached to a title?
OPENING
Another cool shot of our gargs waking up. Always nice to reiterate that at the start of our bigger stories.
Bronx gets left behind. Of course, this often happens. It was one of the things that the World Tour would set about correcting in a BIG way. But we made his getting left behind a bit more obvious here. Usually, he just doesn't go. This time they won't take him and he's sad. We were laying pipe.
My 5-year-old son Benny asked where Hudson and the Trio were going. I had to think about it. "On Patrol, I guess."
OLD FRIENDS
Then the GUARDIAN shows up. I love his cool, Goliath-inspired armor. My 7-year-old daughter Erin immediately demanded to know who he was. I wouldn't tell her. (I'm so mean.) Did any of you guess?
Of course he immediately encounters BRENDAN & MARGOT. (What would one of our multi-parters be without him?)
Then comes the three gang-bangers from "AWAKENING, PART THREE". As usual, Keith David does the voice for one of them -- making it distinctive from both Goliath and MORGAN, who's about to come in and speak. The problem is we got a touch confused. In Awakening, Keith voices the bald white guy. Here he does the same voice, but it's assigned to the black guy. Hard to say which is wrong, except by virtue of which came first. It annoys me though.
Morgan's fun in this. I really like him. No one but Simon DelMonte will get this, and I don't know if he even reads these rambles, but Morgan kind of reminds me of Jeff Goslin, a character that Cary Bates and I created in Captain Atom.
Anyway, I like how Morgan talks Guardian down. And I like how the sword is much heavier than he thought it was going to be. His cop buddies tease him, but he maintains his sense of wonder and goodness when talking about the Guardian to Elisa.
That's kind of a cool scene. First off he describes Guardian's armor: "Real armor. King Arthur stuff." Anyone think this was a clue to what was coming in the next episode? Even with the Avalon title? Then he tells her the guy's looking for Gargoyles. Elisa of course discourages her fellow officers from taking Garg reports seriously. Everyone who's seen one must be a nut-case. These guys should form 'a club'. Then she finds out that this Guardian was asking for Goliath by name. BOOM.
BELVEDERE CASTLE
Site of our last encounter with Demona and Macbeth. Another clue.
Once Elisa got a look at the Guardian's armor, she must have thought -- yeah, there's a Goliath connection here all right.
Goliath shows with Bronx, who gets to come along and come along and come along for once. Bronx always seemed underutilized to us. We knew we couldn't bring the whole clan along. (Too many characters and no poignancy.) But Bronx was an easy addition. Of course, Bronx is also useful as a kind of living personality test. If Bronx likes you, it's a damn good sign. Bronx likes Tom. Does he remember him? What scents do you figure the Guardian carried back from Avalon. Anyway, Bronx engenders immediate trust in the Guardian for Goliath.
I love this scene. Guardian gives everyone so little time to catch up. He talks about the Archmage, reveals that he's Tom and talks about 'the eggs' being in danger. *That was a fun idea. Keep you guys thinking in terms of eggs for twenty minutes and reveal that it's just a pet name for the Avalon Clan.*
Benny asked: "What kind of Eggs?"
Erin: "Gargoyle Eggs."
Benny: "I didn't know Gargoyles hatch out of eggs." [Well, keep in mind it's been a year since he saw the first thirty episodes. And he's too young to remember the first time he saw the ones we're watching now.]
Then there's the skiff. Elisa: "Where'd that boat come from? ... To where? The other side of the lake? ... Wait for me!"
This all sounds fishy to her. Nothing makes sense. I wanted to get a clear shot in there of the pond in Central Park so that you could see objectively that it doesn't go anywhere. But I never quite managed that. I wanted you guys to be confused. Or at any rate to have a million questions. But like Elisa, no matter how suspicious, I figured you'd want to go along for the ride.
FLASHBACK
Mary, Katharine, the Magus and young Tom are all reintroduced. It's very clear that the first three have all learned their lesson from Awakening. They've all really become better people. Tom, of course, didn't need to learn that lesson. But he does learn to be a hero. He officially becomes the Guardian. It begins, I believe, as just a nice gesture on the part of the Princess. Later, of course, it'll become the truth. Then there's the long journey. I like the montage there. Hardship. We never had the time to show enough of the hardship of tenth century life.
Our gang heads into Edinburgh. Constantine's followers are all over the place. They all seem to look like Disney storyboard artists for some reason. ;)
VOICES
There's some stellar voice work in this ep. Morgan Shepard as King Kenneth II. Sheena Easton making her Garg Premiere as Finella. Ian Buchanan as Constantine. (I've already mentioned Keith's versatility.)
But as usual, real props must be handed out to Jeff Bennnett and Kath Soucie.
Jeff plays Brooklyn, the Magus and Maol Chalvim. (No Bruno or Owen or Vinnie in this ep, I'm afraid.)
Kath plays Katharine, Mary and all three Weird Sisters.
They're amazing.
SOAP OPERA
Benny saw Finella and said: "That's one of the witches."
A year ago, Tom was his favorite character. Now Tom barely registered. And he really is fascinated with the Weird Sisters. Anyway, I corrected him, but I was glad that they were appearing later.
Ian Buchanan, once of General Hospital, is playing a cad here. We have to very quickly set up a lot of politics, sexual and otherwise. This story was as historical as we could make it based on the available research, the fact that we had to fit in a few fictional characters and eggs, and screen time compression.
Believe it or not, we also had another character originally that we cut early on because it was just getting too damn complicated. Katharine and Maol Chalvim's cousin: the future King Kenneth III. The father of Bodhe. Yep. That Bodhe. The father of Gruoch.
Kenneth III winds up being made High King of Scotland after Constantine is killed. To get a sense of their relationship, at least as I see it, you might want to check out "Once upon a time there were three brothers..."
(Or to give you a hint, ten years after the events depicted here, King Kenneth III would be murdered by Maol Chalvim's operatives during a civil war. Maol Chalvim was also known as Malcolm Forranach, the Destroyer. We used the Maol Chalvim version of his name so as not to confuse him with Katharine's father Prince Malcolm. Just as in City of Stone we emphasized Malcolm Canmore's Canmore name for the same reason.)
Anyway, Maol Chalvim seems intense but right on the money here. He's even kind of heroic when he and the Magus bring Tom back to Katharine's apartment, and he begs Katharine to go. Kind of heroic. He still leaves her. We were trying very hard to balance out his minor role here with his future roll as the grandfather of and major influence on Duncan. (Of course, he's also Macbeth's grandfather, as well.)
After Katharine tells Maol to go, there's a weird cut of him just standing there smiling. We needed some kind of transition before he took off running, and I guess that was the best we could do. But it's still awkward as hell.
THE MURDER
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
We establish early on that Katharine doesn't think much of Constantine. You wouldn't know it from Awakening, but obvioulsy she's learned to be a decent judge of character.
Kenneth isn't quite so sharp. Everyone can see that he's a fool for Finella. And he doesn't recognize Constantine's threat (despite the fact that Constantine's father was a bitter enemy and) despite the fact that his son flat out tells him to beware. My thinking was that the crown had kept bouncing back and forth between different branches of the royal family. Kenneth had hoped that by taking Constantine in, instead of banishing him, he'd be able to be a positive influence on the boy. A nice idea perhaps, but maybe Kenneth was too innattentive to pull it off. And Maol probably was too covetous to really be a brother to young Con.
Anyway, Constantine tricks Finella and kills the king. We hear Finella sobbing, just to prove that she was neither in on it nor that she would approve of it. (Though one wonders what her reaction would have been down the road if Constantine hadn't spurned her in favor of Katharine. Would she have adjusted to the crime? Or did Constantine become an unredeemable villain in her eyes immediately? I hate to say it, but I tend to think it's the former. Actually, I don't hate to say it. She's more interesting to write that way.)
Erin asked: "He killed King Arthur? Why?"
That's a tough question. So first I had to explain that it was King Kenneth, not King Arthur. Then my wife Beth helped out by explaining that Constantine wanted to be king.
We come back from the act and we see that Constantine was ready for the takeover. The Banners are immediately changed in a scene clearly inspired by the Ian McKellan (spelling?) movie version of Shakespeare's Richard III. (A version I heartily recommend, by the way.)
We also continue to set up the Magus' own tragedy. He loves Katharine. Has loved her since before Awakening. That feeling is shown to deepen here when she is once again in danger. And when Constantine tries to coerce her into marrying him. (The astute Mary and Tom have to hold him back.) Here, we sense that maybe Katharine might some day return that love. That's what I wanted you all to think anyway. Did you?
Constantine takes his crown. Originally we wanted to stage this with the Stone of Destiny as we did with Macbeth. But again, I think we just had too many sets.
Michaelmas. I just like that word.
Constantine is fairly astute himself: "You have 36 very good reasons to obey." We kept reiterating the number of eggs for what was coming later.
THE ESCAPE
The Magus disguises broken pots as eggs and vice-versa. But it always seemed to me that the kitchen staff at Edinburgh sure broke a lot of pots. I mean a LOT!
I like the lines: "Taking the wee bairns for a walk?" and "I don't think I like Gargoyle eggs." Very menacing.
Princess K burns her wedding dress. She feels she cannot leave because C will follow her to "the ends of the Earth." So the Magus responds: "Then I will take you beyond them." Again. Very romantic moment between them.
Finella joins the troop. The WOMAN SCORNED. She's really fun now. Dangerous. I always laugh when Constantine drinks the brew and collapses so abruptly.
Erin: "The Weird Sisters". My kids are just fascinated with this trio. I wonder if they still will be by the end of this three-parter or if like many fans, they will be disappointed?
They get turned into owls. But the Magus worries about giving up the source of his power. K doesn't care about that.
And Finella and Mary agree to take the book. I love these two. I think they'd make a totally kick-ass team. I doubt it would be commercial enough, but I'd love to do a spin-off show just with these two women. At any rate, there was the plan to include them as recurring characters in TimeDancer.
Tom has to leave his mother and his childhood behind. Now his role as the Guardian is a way for Katharine to make him accept the loss. It is the start of their relationship, though neither knows it. I watch this now, and I can't help thinking of the Anakin & Padma relationship and where that's destined to go.
AVALON
Back to the present. We see the impressive shores of Avalon. Very cool painting.
Bronx reacts. Guardian: "He's found the eggs..." And the music swells and two gargs and a garg beast appear on the cliff.
Now is that a cliff-hanger or what? What was your reaction?
Erin and Benny wanted "to see ther rest!" I told them they'd have to wait a week and we got a lot of protesting. Just what I was hoping for.
Anyway, that's my ramble. Where's yours?
Galvatron writes...
1.Why didn't Kenner make any action figures of the characters that we saw in the World Tour? They might have made some money with Griff, Arthur, Nokkar, Cuchullain, Golem or Fara Maku figures so why didn't they?
2.Whose idea was it to have the World Tour?
Greg responds...
1. They only wanted to make toys based on characters who appeared in a large percentage of episodes. And sometimes, not even then.
2. Mine, largely.
Anonymous writes...
Shaman&Dreamtime
The dreamtime in Australian legend was where life began and the abode of the gods so is this true in the gargoyles universe?
I just thought Goliath and Dingo¡¯s battle with Matrix is quite similar to shaman battles so was it suppose to be a Shaman battle?
Greg responds...
Shamanistic certainly. We did our best given our resources.
Anonymous writes...
Karadigi
How did Fara Maku find Karadigi when nobody else found it?
Greg responds...
Maybe for once, Anansi wanted it to be found...
Anonymous writes...
Were that guy and his son we saw in eye of the storm 100% human? What happened to the kid's mother?
Greg responds...
Yes.
She died.
Anonymous writes...
Why didn¡¯t Banshee kill Bronx and Rory when they climbed out of the pit? Why did she take him back to his home after she kissed him? Why didn¡¯t she do anything to Bronx?
Was Banshee the original Deathworm that inspired the legends or was the original another child of Oberon? If not what was it?
Greg responds...
It would really help if you'd number your questions.
1. There's no one simple answer. But she wanted to avoid waking Rory. An actual attack might have triggered the very thing she feared.
1a. She was trying to put him back to sleep.
2. She said that she didn't perceive him as a real threat.
3. I believe so.
JEB writes...
If Avalon only dropped Goliath and company off in Manhattan to deal with Oberon, then why did their skiff sink? Wouldn't it have remained if it still had more tasks for them?
Thanks!
Greg responds...
It didn't. But it also didn't simply drop them off to let them come home. Sometimes things can have more than one purpose.
Anonymous writes...
From what source of water did Goliath and co. arrive in Tiber?
Were there any other guest characters there besides Coldstone?
How did Coldstone get from New York to Tibet? Did he fly there? If so how did he maintain his supply of rocket fuel?
Greg responds...
Tibet, not Tiber. Two very different places.
1. I'm not telling.
2. Yes, technically.
3. He got there, mostly by flight. But let me ask you... how do you know he even uses rocket fuel?
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.
Jim R. writes...
Do the other clans existing throughout the world all speak English so well? Are they fluent in a more native tongue? I didn't expect Golaith, etc. to be able to communicate so easily with foreign clans or did this just have to do with the simple fact that the TV show was being watched by a majority of Americans? (Basically the same as asking why all the aliens in Star Trek English fluently)
Greg responds...
I would have liked to have done more with foreign languages during the world tour, but that was actually vetoed by our bosses.
We'll assume for now, just for now, that Zafiro, Kai and the others had reason to learn English.
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.
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.
Lord Sloth writes...
Was there a reason that so many of the world tour eps were about locals learning to accept thier responcibility and or heritage seriously (ie. heritage, hound of ulster, cloud fathers, golem)?
Greg responds...
Yes. Absolutely.
Anonymous writes...
What exactly is the dreamtime? Is it like the astral plane?
Greg responds...
Uh... sure.
Sloth writes...
When the Goliath & co. finished the egypt ep, they just calmly turned to stone in front of the spinx. Since they weren't sure what happend to they pack, weren't they being a bit careless about where they slept, or were they confident that Elisa could protect them from Wolf, Jackel AND Hyena?
Greg responds...
Choose your own interpretation. Just keep in mind... nothing happened.
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.
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.)
Todd Jensen writes...
In "Eye of the Storm", Erik and Gunther's surname was "Sturluson". Was this an allusion to Snorri Sturluson, the author of the Prose Edda (one of the leading primary sources on Norse mythology)?
Greg responds...
Absolutely, my friend.
Sloth writes...
Did Goliath, elisa, Angela & Bronx return to Avolon in between every world tour episode? If so was it just to go there and quickly leave, or did they have more adventures there? And when they leave do they just sail into the mist and land where ever Avolon wants?
Greg responds...
Yes.
Sometimes it was quick and leave. Sometimes they stayed longer. Sometimes they arrived at sunrise and HAD to stay.
Yes.
Please, do me a favor and number your questions in the future.
Sloth writes...
The show states that gargoyles can withstand very cold tempretures, but how about hot? I'm asking cause Goliath and co fly close to the Magma in two volcanos and seems fine. BTW, can volcanos be like that and not be active?
Greg responds...
On Avalon they can. I'm not an expert otherwise. But I also never said they were NOT active.
Gargoyles raised in Scotland don't do quite as well in the heat. But they are generally pretty tough cookies. They can take most anything for brief periods of time.
matt writes...
just watched "The Hound of Ulster", and (arn't you surprised?) i had some questions:
1. when the Banche saved Goliath, Elisa, and Angela from drowning in the bog, how did she do it? did she transport them to that chamber, or was that chamber directly below the bog or what?
2. How old is Rory? and how old is Molly? Rory said he was out of school and i'm asuming he means high school... so is he, 19? 20?
3. after the episode, what and how much did Rory tell his father? everything?
and as Gargoyles is known for its foreshadowing:
4. when Goliath said, "A whole clan of gargoyles could not batter down these walls!" were you thinking of the Irish garg clan you've said existed being in that same chamber ever?
5. Rory said, "The Hound of Ulster? Sure, and dwarves made me shoes..." well, the hound turned out to exist, so DID dwarves make Rory's shoes? :)
Greg responds...
1. She transported them.
2. I don't have that information with me at this time. But he's under 20 in that episode.
3. I'm not committing to that right now.
4. Ditto.
5. Not the ones he was wearing at that moment. But the Nike's he had back in his closet.
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.
Anonymous writes...
Are there actual gargoyles that resemble Raven's clan of illusion?
Greg responds...
Not particularly.
Greg "Xanatos" Bishansky writes...
Ok, this has been on my mind for a while, and checked the archives and didn't find it there.
What was Raven hoping to gain by driving everyone away from Queen Florence Island in "Heritage". I don't really understand his motivations there.
Greg responds...
I used to live on Queen Florence Lane in Woodland Hills, California.
He was looking to gain power. Queen Florence Island was a place of power. He didn't want to share.
Sloth writes...
Was there a point To Xanatos finding out that Goliath was missing in "Kingdom" other than to prove that Brooklen is a good desision maker? Xanatos did meet up with Goliath in Arazona, but that seemed to be a coincidence that he turned to his advantage in finding Cyotie (the trickster, not the robot :^). Was this a point you wanted to expand more on?
Greg responds...
Yes, it was. Never got to it, unfortunately.
But there's an untold story in there somewhere.
Todd Jensen writes...
This is something that I should be posting later, ideally, since you haven't yet gotten to the Avalon World Tour episodes in your ramblings, but I finally decided that I needed to let this out of me soon, so I'm doing so now.
I've noticed, over the years since I discovered "Gargoyles" fandom on the Internet, that many people didn't like the Avalon World Tour for various reasons (the length of time, the absence of Hudson and the trio, the focus on myth and fantasy aspects rather than more "mundane" elements like crime-fighting, etc.). On the other hand (while I may have had my moments of wondering when Goliath, Elisa, Angela and Bronx were going to get back to New York), I quite liked the World Tour. To a certain extent, I'll admit that I'm biased - my tastes naturally run towards fantasy/myth elements. But after doing a little thinking on this one, it increasngly struck me that, aside from all that, something of the nature of the Avalon World Tour was a must for "Gargoyles" at some point.
The reason for this is that the World Tour served a very crucial purpose (besides the general one that you mentioned of expanding the "Gargoyles Universe"). It made it clear that Goliath, his clan, and Demona weren't the only gargoyles left. And that was a crucial step. Because if they really had been, the gargoyle species would have been almost irrevocably doomed to extinction, with only seven members left, only one of those seven a female, and that one estranged from all the rest and very unlikely to reconcile with them. Goliath and the others would have been the "last gargoyles", not only in the sense of being the only ones left, but also in the sense that no new gargoyles would come along after them.
If that had been the case, it would have obviously made a rather depressing series. Admittedly, having the main character be the "very last of his kind" wouldn't necessarily be utterly melancholy - Superman is the very last Kryptonian, and his story's an upbeat one, on the whole. But the situation there's different; Superman's alien origin is treated more as a plot device to explain his abilities, so his being "the last of his kind" doesn't appear quite so melancholy. Goliath and his clan's "gargoyleness", however, was treated in the series from the start as a crucial part of them and their very nature, rather than a similar handy plot device to allow them to serve as effective protectors of New York. And also, it was clear enough from the start that an important part of the series would be the gargoyles seeking to make peace with humanity, to overcome the fear that so many humans view them with. Such a quest would have been futile (in a sense) if they were the last of their kind - the understanding on humanity's part of the true nature of gargoyles would come too late to avert the race's extinction - the best that the gargs would be able to hope for in such a situation was that they might be able to live out their last years without the general human population hunting them down, but still aware that there would be no new gargoyles after them. Not very happy.
So there'd obviously have to be gargoyles living in other parts of the world to ensure a future for the species. And Goliath and his clan would have to come into contact with those other gargoyles for the audience to see that they weren't the last. But the clan's situation would make that tricky. For one thing, there'd be the obvious transportation problems - they can't simply hop aboard the next plane bound for London or Japan. And given how secretive gargoyle clans would obviously have to be in modern times, even if Goliath and Co. had a mundane means of transportation to wherever it was that one of these clans was living, they would certainly not be likely to find out about these other clans easily. The only solution to both questions that wouldn't feel contrived was magic - as in the magic of Avalon that sends you where you need to be. That way, Goliath could be brought to the locations of the clans in London, Guatemala, and Ishimura in a convincing fashion.
So I think that the Avalon World Tour was indeed a practical must for the series, to allow the crucial moment when the clan can learn, as Hudson put it in "The Gathering", "We're not alone. We're not the last."
Greg responds...
Hey, pal, I'm with you.
From moment one, we wanted to present an OPTIMISTiC world view, that mirrored Goliath's own. (Not that he hasn't had a bad moment or mood or two.)
The World Tour was a necessity from that stand point for all the reasons you stated.
Plus it was a necessity given some of my future plans. 2198 immediately comes to mind. But there was other stuff too.
Anonymous writes...
What was the purpose of the episode Cloud Fathers? Was it to introduce Coyote the trickster or Beth?
Greg responds...
There were many purposes. (Though Beth had already been introduced.) Mostly, I thought it was a good story.
Anonymous writes...
Did you have plans for Tea's hunter friends?
Greg responds...
For the poachers. No. Nothing specific at this time. But you never know. I'm not a particularly wasteful guy.
Anonymous writes...
Whatever happened to that guy and his son that we saw in eye of the storm? Do you have plans for them?
Greg responds...
Erik and Gunnar. Yes.
matt writes...
obviously Elisa told Matt about many of the World Tour adventures (i.e. Hunters Moon- Easter Island Statues) did she tell him about the New Olympians? did she tell any other humans? did Goliath and co. tell the trio and Hudson about the New Olympians?
Greg responds...
My guess is that Elisa told Matt some of their adventures, but not everyone. She probably left out the New Olympians as (a) not her secret to reveal and (b) not the most fun adventure for her.
But I'm guessing that either Goliath or Angela eventually told Hudson and the Trio EVERYTHING.
Justin writes...
Hey Greg, it's been awhile since I posted.
My question is
1) Was it Avalon's magic that enabled Goliath and co. to talk to Zafiro, Kai etc. during the world tour?
2) If yes then would the residents of New Olympus speak some Mediterranean language?
Thanks
Greg responds...
No. Those other guys spoke English. (Not exclusively, but they were clearly fluent.)
durax writes...
<i>You said that the yeti would be seen in Gargoyles for sure. Is it an animal elated to the gargoyles or a gargoyle.
--------------------------------------Greg answered---------------
That story is actually written. It was written for Marvel's Gargoyle comic book before it was cancelled.</i>
Would Coldstone have been involved with this story?
Greg responds...
Yes.
Anonymous writes...
You said that the scenario in Bushido was purposely similar to that surrounding the Wyvern massacre so was the scenario of the two were panthers purposely similar to MacBeth's and Demona's scenario which is a fay giving mortals extraordinary power for a price?
Greg responds...
Parallels exist so deep in the tapestry, that I won't deny them here. But I wasn't conscious of it, no.
Anonymous writes...
Whats the difference between Shangri-La and Xanadu?
Greg responds...
Look it up.
matt writes...
ok, if you won't answer what other World Tour episodes you had "planned" besides the Himalayas and Korea, what were some ideas you had for other possible locations?
Greg responds...
I'm sorry. What's the difference between these two questions?
Todd Jensen writes...
You indicated in one of your recent responses that Shangri-La came to mind as the site of a possible, but unmade, Avalon World Tour adventure. What I'm curious about is whether it'd be possible to include Shangri-La in "Gargoyles". I believe that it was invented by James Hilton in his novel "Lost Horizon", written and published in the 1930's, which could make it a little too recent to be quite in the public domain as yet, though I'm not certain on that.
Greg responds...
Yeah, I'm not certain either. Shangri-La was mentioned in passing in the comic book story that I wrote for Marvel, which was never published. That was allowed, because it was a "diminimous" reference.
Before I actually set an adventure there, I'd need to make sure I was legally allowed to. If in fact, Shangri-La was created by Hilton and wasn't in the public domain, I'd probably shift to something like Kun-Lun. Tell the same kind of story there.
You know, on a related note, we did check Brigadoon (which was mentioned in a similar diminimous fashion in the Gargoyles/Captain Atom/Justice League Europe parody story I wrote, which WAS published by DC Comics) way back when, as a kind of proto-Avalon. We found out that wasn't legendary, but a creation of the modern non-public domain musical. So I went with my initial plan and used Avalon.
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.
matt writes...
besides the Himalaya w/ Coldstone episode and the Korean garg episode were there any other possible World Tour eps planned? if so, where would they have taken place?
Greg responds...
Define "planned".
Shangri-La comes to mind.
matt writes...
when Derek was mutated into a panther like mutate did you have "Mark of the Panther" in mind? i found it really great that Diane was telling this story about humans turning into panthers, which is kinda what happened to her son, and then is still surprised when the were-panthers change, and again has seen Derek as a pseudo-gargoyle and still is shocked by the gargoyles in Nigeria with Elisa!
Greg responds...
We suspend our disbelief. And eventually, nothing seems too weird, I suppose. But from Diane's POV, I don't think that's automatic. It's a step-by-step process. One thing doesn't lead into another.
And no, we didn't have "Mark" in mind when we planned Talon. Talon developed out of a character called Catscan in our original development. But we did have Talon in mind when we wrote "Mark".
matt writes...
how does the World Tour thing work? do the travelers return to Avalon after every stop in the real world, or only sometimes, or only when the spell is cast? who would cast this spell among Goliath and co. and Jade and Tequesa?
Greg responds...
They returned in between every "real world" adventure. Though sometimes only long enough to start out again.
Either Goliath or Angela would tend to cast the spell. Either Jade or Turquesa could do it, once they learned how.
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.
(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.
Ambrosia writes...
I was just driving around yesterday and something came to me that I thought I'd ask you.
In Sentinel, Elisa appears to be kidnapped by this huge... *monster* from the perspective of the doctor and Duane and co. No doubt all sorts of awful thoughts are running through their minds so when they find her again at the end of the episode, I'm sure they really want some answers. So when Elisa suggested to Nokkar that these people could be his new allies and he went off to talk with them, did Nokkar tell them the *whole* story? About who the gargoyles were and that he was the one who gave Elisa her amnesia? If they know about gargoyles now, they could be allies to the clan as well.
Thanks for your time! Happy Holidays!
Greg responds...
Very likely.
matt writes...
how many eggs are in guatemala in 1996?
what year were the other clan members destroyed?
having the ability to function in daylight, wouldn't it be a top priority for the pendant wearers to watch over the pyramid, clan, and amulet during the day? why then were ALL four of them away the day the pyramid was raided and the clan destroyed? were they tricked?
Greg responds...
I don't think they were intentionally tricked, but it worked out that way.
I don't have the chronology solidified yet, but I figure there are between twenty and forty eggs.
Faieq writes...
Quite some time ago you told us some of the religions of the humans and you asked whether you'd missed anyone. No-one major, but I was just wondering if you've given any thought in the religions of the following people:
1)Margot Yale
2)Brendan
3)Officer Morgan
4)Fara Maku
5)Taya
6)Taoro
7)The Emir
8)Travis Marshall?
I know most of these are very minor characters and that you probably haven't given any thought into them, but I was just wondering.
Greg responds...
1. Wasp.
2. Wasp.
3. I'm not sure. Christian of some denomination.
4. He practices the ancient religion of his people.
5. Is this Tea? I don't think she practices anything.
6. I'm not sure who you mean?
7. I'm sure he was Muslim originally. He's dead now.
8. I think he probably comes from a Protestant background, but I don't see him as being very religious now. Godless media and all that.
Joxter writes...
Sooo... Why *was* Margot Yale in Paris? Coincidentally at about the same time as the Avalon tour group?
Greg responds...
Vacation.
Sapphire writes...
Was the Panther Queen a Fay
Greg responds...
No.
Tim writes...
Just thought you might like to know that Toon Disney channel ran a marathon of each and every Gargoyles episode [Minus the Goliath Chronicles. :) ] on Friday the 13th of October from 7 at night to 5 the next morning. I was rather pleased and astonished to see this! Either this was a completely Halloween theme and they needed some appropriate cartoons, or we might actually be getting through to Disney through fan writing and letting them know that YES, we want this show back on the air! Either way it was pretty cool to see Gargoyles all in a row for a page on the T.V. Guide.
A few questions! {A}What exactly did Raven want Queen Florence Island for? {B}Was it his nature as a trickster to oppose Grandmother? {C}What was he going to do with it if he succeded?
Greg responds...
Everyone should e-mail and/or snail mail Toon Disney to say thank you. Did they air "Deadly Force"?
A. His domain.
B. More the other way around.
C. Party!
Sapphire writes...
In the episode Mark of the Panther what was the Panther Queen? was she an ordinary panther or a fay? I was just wondering because the Panther Queen seemed to have the feelings of a human since animals doesn't have human feelings in any sence of the word
Greg responds...
How do you know?
Ed writes...
You established that the Himalayan Coldstone adventure was such that it wouldn't affect the continuity of "POSSESSION" very much. But were there any new parts of the tapestry that would be brought back later on?
Greg responds...
It was designed to fit seemlessly. Eventually, that story would have had repercussions. Still might for that matter.
Ed writes...
Did you have any further plans for the "WALKABOUT" Shaman?
Greg responds...
Yep. Particularly in Bad Guys.
LSZ writes...
Does the survival of the Loch Ness Monster have anything to do with the fae or the Lost Race?
Greg responds...
No.
Vashkoda writes...
skiff questions:
I noticed that there was a face on the Sisters' barge that resembled the face on the skiffs.
1a) Are they of the same person/being? b) Is this person/being a Child of Oberon? c) What is this person/being's name? d) Is he (if it's a "he") still alive at the time of "The Journey"? e) Does he have any associations with sailing or water?
2a) The Princess and company originally left in three skiffs, but Mary and Finella took one back to the mainland, leaving two at Avalon. So how was it that there were three skiffs at the end of "Avalon, Part 3"? (one for the gang, one for Macbeth/Demona, and one for Arthur) b) Why would they need the extra skiff at Avalon? c) Did the Princess or Magus or any of the "eggs" ever accompany Tom to the outside world?
3) Since the incantation to reach Avalon is referred to as a "spell", and the Magus orginally read it from the Grimorum (which may have acted as the necessary conduit), how is it that Tom could invoke the spell, not being a wizard and having no conduit? (in addition, the Magus worries about whether "Constantine or his *sorcerers* get a hold of [the spell]", implying that his sorcerors might be needed to cast it.) For that matter, how will Jade and Turquesa be able to cast it?
Greg responds...
1a. Yes.
b. Maybe.
c. I'm not saying.
d. Perhaps. (That's a new one, right?) ;)
e. Obvioulsy.
2a. You can never have too many skiffs.
b. There is no b.
c. No.
3. Magus was able to teach it to Tom. Angela also knew it. She could teach it to Jade.
Jherti/Patricia writes...
You asked for a confirmation on the meaning of 'yama' in Japanese. Well, I'm no Japanese, but I know that Mount Fugi is called Fugiyama. So I guess Mountain means Yama.
:)
Greg responds...
I knew that.
Axem Gold writes...
You remembered how you said that the events in Turf and Vendetta could have happened at the same time.
Did Avalon Part Three and Kingdom occur at the same time? Here's what I mean.
1. Talon asked Xanatos where Goliath, Elisa, and Bronx were. He didn't know. So that mean Goliath and company didn't disturb his projects in Eygpt, Scotland, etc.
2. Goliath, Elisa, Bronx, and Angela were probably fighting The Archmage's group while Brooklyn, the Manhattan clan, and the mutates were fighting Fang.
Greg responds...
1. Kingdom clearly took place before Golem, which took place before Grief. I'm not sure, Xanatos had a way of finding out what exactly went wrong in Loch Ness or Giza, however. Who would have hung around to tell him?
2. I don't think it was quite that early, but I haven't worked it out so precisely yet. I'm working on that now, slowly but surely. Ask me again in the spring.
deb writes...
Because this question hasn't been answered yet, I'd like to re-submit Jeff Lenihan's question:
"2)In "Grief," Anubis states that that which is dead and gone cannot be brought back. Why, then, was Demona able to bring the spirit of Coldstone (and those of Coldfire and Coldsteel) back from the dead? Was Anubis trying to say that he is under some sort of magical restriction similar to Oberon's law of non-interferece that prevents him from bringing back the dead, or something else entirely?"
Greg responds...
Anubis refused. And he had good reasons, as the Emir realized after he became the Avatar. I never said that ghosts don't exist. Coldstone is still dead.
Bruno writes...
Hi, Greg.
My last question (edited)
"Bruno writes...
2- Why every one of them join the group? Blackmail, redemption, who is who?
Greg responds...
2. Bruno, I don't give novel-length responses here. And if you don't know who is who then what makes you think it would be a good spin-off?
Briefly,
Hunter is a highly trained human (and former gargoyle hunter) who first appeared in "Hunter's Moon". She's Scotish.
Dingo is a former mercenary and member of the Pack who first appeared in "Thrill of the Hunt". He's Australian. Both Hunter and Dingo have prison sentences hanging over their heads.
Matrix is an artificial intelligence comprised of millions of nanotech robots. He/it first appeared in "Walkabout". He is a friend and ally to Dingo.
Yama is a Japanese Gargoyle from the Ishimura clan. He was banished from Ishimura after the events of "Bushido".
Fang was an American human mutated by Sevarius in "Metamorphosis". He was one of the Redemption Squad's first opponents. After being defeated, he was recruited.
recorded on 09-16-00"
A small comment about my last question: You're right. My second question about the 'Redemption Squad' was bad written. It really sounded how if I didn't knew who was Fang, Matrix, Yama, etc. But I know. The trouble is that, when I realized my mistake, I'd already posted it. My mistake. I'm sorry.
And, well, yes, I have a fairly, yet vage, idea about these guys' motivation. Except for Yama. If that's alright to you, I'll especulate a bit about him, ok?
Yama is in a quest, searching for his own honor - for both a gargoyle and a samurai (or Bushido warrior), one of the top important things in the world - then why should him join up with the Bad Guys? (and the Squad leader is Robyn Canmore, the Huntress!! Funny, huh?)
He should may had given up of his honor, but I dont't believe this. I believe that this was a voluntary action. Yama believe that "If I can teach some honor for these felons, maybe I can recover my own". And the Director may wish to have a true Good Guy in the Squad, why not?
Then I believe that he will be the group "conscience". And that, eventually, he may just leave and come back home. (But he will not make this, off course: The contrast among him and the others can make great storys.)
Well, that's it.
PS. When I watched 'Bushido', it was recordered in my VCR. But a trouble in the tape erased the sound. Yes, video but no sound in all the episode. And do you want to know? Even without sound, I could understand the story basis perfectly: The friendship among the gargoyles and humans in Ishimura, the idea of a theme park with the gargoyles, and the great final fight. The scene where Yama and Goliath argue in the 'Wyvern castle', I near could ear Goliath talking something as "It seems to me that he wants you and your clan as animals in a circus". Congratulations: These great storys survive everything, even lack of sound.
PS2. In the fight, one of the gargoyles, an old female, has a beak. Coincidence, or a descendant of Brooklin and Katana? (Sorry, silly question ^-^)
PS3. Another thing I noticed: Taro burned ALL his money with that park. For this, he could not mind with the fact that some gargoyles didn't want to be part of that. He must be paying the money losses until today. (he, he :-)
Greg responds...
Bad Guys is the title of the show. But an earlier title was "The Redemption Squad". The idea is that working for the good guys (even if you're working WITH bad guys) offers each of these characters, but particularly Hunter, Dingo and Yama, a shot at redemption. That's the carrot. But there's also a stick. In the case of Fang, Hunter and Dingo, that stick is a prison sentence. In the case of Yama it's a threat against his clan.
PS1 - cool
ps2 - lots of gargs with beaks.
ps3 - Maybe not all. Limited liability partership and all that.
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.
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.
Kalafarski writes...
Finding myself lost in that massive "Old Ask Greg Archive," I stumbled across a mention of a missing World Tour episode featuring Coldstone in the Himalayas. What would've happened there?
Greg responds...
An entire story.
Entity writes...
Hi Greg,
Before I say anything, I'd like to apologize for the impersonalness of my last two guesses for the Clans Contest (about a dozen posts previous). I just figured a preamble was unnecessary, but looking back, it feels cold.
Anyway, I wanted to ask about the unrealized Tibetan adventure. Did it have to do with:
1) Religion
2) Politics/Current Events
3) One of Oberon's Children
Also, how far did it get in development before it was canned?
The revelation that this story was cut for episode volume is disheartening, especially since we won't get another World Tour, even if the show returns.
Greg responds...
1. No.
2. No.
3. No.
At Disney it was just a springboard. It never went any further than that. But it wasn't canned. We just decided that we had other stronger stories to tell.
I later wrote it as a comic book story for Marvel's GARGOYLES comic book. But the book got cancelled before the story was published.
Don't be disheartened, it'll see the light of day sometime. It was already a flashback story when I wrote it for Marvel.
Matthew Smith writes...
At the end of "Mark Of The Panther" was that little spider scurrying away Anansi making an unnoticible escape, or was it just any other spider?
Greg responds...
Anansi.
Todd Jensen writes...
Was watching my tape of "Golem" recently, and found myself wondering about something in it for the first time. After Renard finishes the ritual that transfers his soul into the Golem's body, he tells Vogel to keep his original body safe, because they might need it later on. My question is: what was he planning on needing it for?
Greg responds...
Nothing specific. But maybe in the back of his mind, he knew what he was doing was wrong. Knew that he'd probably have to reverse what he had done.
Also, as a scientist, he wouldn't want to just throw something like that out. And this was probably his rational excuse.
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.
Bud-Clare writes...
1. What were the names of the four members of the Guatamalan clan before they were given the pendants? (It's odd that I'd ask you a question that I don't really expect you to have an answer to. Consider it definitive prove that the universe is a silly place.)
2. Will they revert to their old names when they "retire"?
(2b. Am I correct in assuming that, unless they die, they'll eventually pass their pendants on to younger gargoyles?)
Greg responds...
1. They had no names. They're Gargoyles. ;)
2. See above.
Entity writes...
Why was the visit to Tibet not shown in the World Tour? Considering it's only one extra location, I doubt it had to do with episode volume. Was it an idea you thought of afterwards?
Greg responds...
It very much had to do with episode volume. We only had 52 episodes (only, jeesh) in the second season. We couldn't tell all the stories we had. It's not like I could say, "Hey, I've got a Tibet story. Can we do 53?" Well, I could have said it, but every one would have looked at me like I was a moron.
LSZ writes...
1) What was it that allowed Sevarius to discover the LNM(Loch Ness Monster) when so many other people have failed? Chance? Better equipment?
2) Who funded his expedition?
3) What were his main purposes for finding the LNM?
4) By the time of the Future Gargoyles Series, whenever it is set now, would the world know about the LNM publicly? Meaning would they have been discovered and even slightly studied by the scientific public post-Sevarius..
5) Do any of the fae seen on the show know about the survival of the LNM?
6) Does the Illuminati know?
7) Does Xanatos?
8) Does Demona?
Greg responds...
1. Better equipment and a bit of luck.
2. Xanatos.
3. What he said in the episode. Genetic field day.
4. I hope not.
5. Probably.
6. Probably.
7. He does now.
8. Does it matter?
Emmlei writes...
Quick questions.
1. Were there any plans to use some eastern European and/or Russian folktales during the foreseeable course of the series (any series actually)? I can think of at least 3 stories that might have come up, with two possibly Fae related.
2. I hope this isn't going to come off as an idea, but were you going to do anything with the Romany (aka Gypsies)? They have to be the one of the most mysterious group in all of European history (for a number of reasons).
Greg responds...
1. Yes. Baba Yaga for sure.
2. Eventually.
Todd Jensen writes...
You mentioned in one of your most recent responses about the Rory/Cuchulain business reminding you of Thor as portrayed in Marvel Comics (and wanting to handle his transformation differently if you ever got to do Rory again). That part intrigued me because I'd been wondering for some time about the fact that there did seem to be a certain basic similarity between Rory/Cuchulain and Marvel's Thor (whom, I confess, I'm not that familiar with, but, because of my interest in Norse mythology, I did read up a fair amount on the Marvel Comics interpretation of the Norse myths). I did see the resemblance in the fact of a seemingly ordinary human transforming into a "real" mythological figure (Thor for Dr. Donald Blake, Cuchulain for Rory Dugan) through the use of a staff or cane that was really the traditional "magical weapon" of that figure (Mjolnir/the Gae Bolga). In your opinion, was there some influence there?
Greg responds...
Probably. Probably a certain lack of imagination too. Most likely, just a lack of time. Easy (familiar) solutions come to mind, and there isn't always the time to figure out something more unique. So again, we wind up heavily influenced by the great Jack Kirby. Now there are worse influences, by a long shot. But since all of American Comics have been influenced by Jack's work, I wish I had had time and thought to come up with something different. Of course, since then I've had plenty of time. And I have a few new ideas, but I'd need an artist to help me flesh them out...
I love how Banshee looks, by the way.
LSZ writes...
How long did it take Sevarius to find the LMN?
Greg responds...
A while.
Todd Jensen writes...
In your first season Gargoyles Bible, you raised the question of whether gargoyles fought in the Battle of Britain, a notion that eventually became "M.I.A." in the second season. This indicates that the notion of gargoyles protecting London from the Germans in 1940 was one that you'd had quite early on in the history of making the series.
Is there any particular reason why you had thought of gargoyles as participants in the Battle of Britain?
Greg responds...
It was cool.
(I know that's not too deep, but that's the truth.)
Justin writes...
For starters I love the show and I was deeply saddened when it was canceled.My question is that you mentioned that one Zafiro's descendants would play a role in 2158.
1)Who exactly would his/her parents be?
2)Will any other descendants of clans from the world tour play a part?
3)Who exactly is/was Zafiro's mate?
Greg responds...
1. Gargoyles.
2. Yes.
3. Obsidiana.
LSZ writes...
Were any golems created before the Golem of Prague?
Greg responds...
I'm not sure.
Demona Taina writes...
Here's something I've been wondering for a long time, Greg. You see, my native language is Spanish, so I started taping the show in Spanish, then in English. I've got several questions about the translations of the names and all, but I'll stick to the questions I need an answer for.
In the episode "Mark of the Panther," or "La Marca de la Pantera" as the case would be, there's Tea and Faramaku. Well, in the Spanish translation, she calls him "father," and in English, "love." Well, I'm pretty sure that you wanted them to be daughter and father to reflect Goliath and Angela's feelings, but in that last scene, they hug each other so tightly, and talk to each other about love and all, that it's hard to tell whether they're related or not.
Sorry if I spelled the names wrong, but they're always changing them in Spanish. And I do mean always. Like "New Olympus" and "Nueva Olimpia," "Goliath" and "Goliat," "The Pack" and "La Manada".. little details that are hard to keep track of. But hey, I try. ;)
Thanks for your time, Greg. :)
Greg responds...
No. Fara Maku and Tea are not father and daughter. If the Spanish Translation suggested that to you, it was a mistake. They were boyfriend and girlfriend.
Personally, I'm lousy at languages, but they fascinate me.
Abigail Thorne writes...
During the World Tour, Goliath and Co. ran into many members of the Third Race and screwed up their plans. Did Oberon find about about that? I was just trying to figure out if he'd find it amusing or if he'd be irritated. From his point of view, the gargoyles had already invaded his island--now these four puny mortals were besting his powerful children? I don't think he'd take that lightly, but maybe I'm wrong. What do you think?
Greg responds...
I don't think anyone went into very specific details. Kinda embarrassing, and runs the risk that Oberon might say: "Were you breaking my non-interference edict?"
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.
Anonymous writes...
In Hound of Ulster was Cuchulainn lying when he said he use to have a hound similar to Bronx? According to Celtic myths he never owned a hound, but he did kill one.
Greg responds...
Maybe the Celtic myths were incomplete.
Anonymous writes...
Avalon World Tour Questions and Comments
1) When did Goliath, Bronx, Elisa, and Angela finally arrive in New York on The Gathering Part One? What I mean is did they arrive at the same time Oberon gone to the Eeire Building?
2) You mention that if the Gargoyle Comic Series continued there would be an Issue where Goliath and Company were sent by Avalon to the Himalayas to run into Coldstone. If and when you get to continue doing Gargoyle episodes would you consider converting the issue into an episode?
3) During the episode Golem Goliath was hoping that Renard could help them get back to New York, but then he realizes that fate has guided them to every place on their journey and they must see it through to the very end. Here's the question though why didn't he consider using the Phoenix Gate to get them back to New York? Plus they would have returned to New York a few minutes after the left for Avalon.
P.S. I have more questions on the way.
Greg responds...
1. In the neighborhood.
2. Yep.
3. He had, at that time, sworn that no one would use the Phoenix Gate again. He broke that vow in London. But at that time, he was determined to keep it.
LSZ writes...
If these questions have been asked before, they aren't in the old or new archives, though I'm sure at least the first has been asked before:
1) How long were Goliath, Elisa and Bronx away from New York on the World Tour?
2) What was Elisa's explanation to Chavez and her friends?
3) How many places besides the ones we saw did they go to?
4) Care to name some of the unseen ones?
5) Is there any significance to the carved face on the skiff?
Greg responds...
1. Less than a year, though I haven't made precise calculations. Coincidentally, I plan on making precise calculations within the next three months. Ask me again later.
2. To Chavez, it was "personal time", and not much more. Which didn't sit well with Maria, but Elisa was still one of her best detectives. To Matt she told the truth (and he helped defend Elisa to Maria). What other friends were you referring to.
3. At least one, Tibet. But that's probably it.
4. Tibet.
5. Yes.
Todd Jensen writes...
This is about your mention once that King Arthur and Griff would visit the South Pole during their quest for Merlin:
1. I understand if you don't want to answer this question, but I'm a bit curious as to why they'd think of looking for Merlin in Antarctica. Back in the 5th century, nobody in Britain would have been aware of Antarctica's existence, so it would be a rather unlikely place for Merlin's Crystal Cave. Why would Arthur and Griff consider it a candidate, then?
2. Was your decision to include the South Pole on Arthur and Griff's itinerary influenced at all by the fact that Antarctica was the only continent that Goliath and Co. never visited on the Avalon World Tour?
Greg responds...
1. Nobody in Britain? Or nobody with normal resources?
2. Not particularly.
Aris Katsaris (repost by Aris) writes...
This comes with some delay but better late than never... Concerning Morrigan (to give credit where due) Todd had already guessed that in the Gargoyles Universe she may have been Banshee... I had my doubts, in part because I hadn't guessed that the 'love' part in their love/hate relationship went back to their earlier life...
Anyway... So, the Morrigan of legends is an amalgation of Banshee and the Weird sisters... interesting and ofcourse quite fitting. (I also wonder if the idea of the Weird Sisters in love with anyone could ever pass S&P - it would seem a bit like a group orgy or something... :-)
I was intrigued (and quite pleased) when I found out that you had further plans for Banshee as Molly - the episode had left me rather unsatisfied, Rory transforming into Cuchullain and attacking/killing the Banshee as if Molly had meant nothing to him... it felt kind of a letdown (especially since I quite liked Molly while the Banshee seemed two-dimensional). So I'm glad this is not the end of their relationship, even though I agree with you that it would be difficult to near-impossible to focus a whole series on the two of them.
Hmm... here are a couple of questions. Does Rory know that the Banshee is still out there or does he think that he has killed her? And that 'transformation' into Cuchullain... would you have it happen again, or even on a regular base? (I rather disliked the transformation - I didn't much like Cuchullain's form...) And how does Rory feel now about Molly/Banshee/Crom Cruach?
Thanks btw, for the compliment on my usage of English... However the specific post concerning the Morrigan was in great part a copy-and-paste job from a mythological website... :-)
Greg responds...
I think to the extent that Rory is only just starting to remember his past life, he probably realizes taht Cuchullain has "killed" her before and will probably have to "kill" her again. He doesn't expect Molly to reenter his life though. That should come as a surprise.
Some transformation will be part of the equation. But I too wasn't satisfied with what we had. For starters, it seemed to much like Marvel's Thor to me. And I wasn't wild about the Cuchullain model either. It was servicable, and we were on deadline. But I'd like to come up with something stronger. Something that mixes Rory and Cuchullain more. Something that better integrates the Spear of Light. I have some ideas about it, if I ever get the chance to revisit.
As for Rory's current feelings, I think he largely felt betrayed by Molly. Felt she had been using him, felt she never had any real feelings for him. I think she thinks that he's right about that. But "going undercover" as Banshee did gets complicated. Nothing's as cut and dry as either of them think.
Demona (repost by Aris) writes...
Hi, Greg! I have a quick question for you -- why did Avalon send Demona and MacBeth to Paris? Goliath, Angela, Elisa, and Bronx were sent to Paris because of Demona and MacBeth. So, why were Demona and MacBeth there? Thanks!! :)
Greg responds...
Thailog. And a need for them to confront each other one more time.
LSZ writes...
At what period in history was Karadigi built?
Greg responds...
The long ago period...
LSZ writes...
What's the Emir's real name?
Greg responds...
Why do you want to know?
Justin writes...
The guatemalan clan was almost nearly wiped save four.
did any eggs survive? If so, how many?
Greg responds...
A full rookery of eggs survived.
Nyrtleka writes...
It seems that naming is not a gargoyle custom. Yet the other clans in the World Tour (London, Ishimura, Guatemala) have names. My question is how did Griff and Una and Leo get their name?
Greg responds...
The more gargs live with and interact with humans, the more likely they are to have names. Thanks to their Soho store, the London clan has been interacting with humans for centuries.
Pamber writes...
Great work on Gargoyles, Mr. W!
With the Guatemalan gargs, the names Obsidiana and Turquesa are similar to the stones obsidian and turquoise. Jade is spelled like another stone, jade. On that sun amulet thing in "THE GREEN", some of the stones were black, green, and I think bluish, which are the same colors as obsidian, jade, and turquoise. I think there's another color also, but I'm not sure. My question is this: is the name Zafiro based on another type of stone?
Greg responds...
Sapphire = Zafiro
Make sense?
Pamber writes...
have jade and turquesa returned to guatemala from avalon yet? did they go on adventures wherever avalon sent them?
Greg responds...
Yes. Yes.
Kevin Catchpole writes...
How come you didn't use the silent c pronunciation for Cuchulain (phonetic: Koo-hul'-in)..I noticed this in a reference guide in the Morgan Llywelyn novel Red Branch. Is she in error listing it thusly, or is either pronunciation considered acceptable. Just curious :)
Greg responds...
The pronunciation we used is the pronunciation we were told was correct. I can't verify it. And at this point, I don't remember who told us. It might have been Sheena Easton and/or Scott Cleverdon. It might have been Diane Duane and or Peter Morwood. It might have been Michael Reaves. I don't remember. I just know, I didn't know, and asked. The pronunciation we used was the one we were given.
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.
Nyrtleka writes...
In the AskGreg Archive, you wrote: "I expect Angela, Sora, Ophelia, Boudicca, Obsidiana, and Turquesa to all lay eggs in 2008."
As I see it, Angela is Broadway's mate, Sora is (presumably) Kai's mate, Ophelia is Gabriel's mate, Obsidiana is Zafiro's mate, and Turquesa is Jade's mate. But what about Boudicca? Did she and Bronx mate? It seems logical, since (other than Fu-Dog) there are no other gargoyle beasts in the series. Is this true?
Greg responds...
Sora is Yama's mate. And Boudicca has mated and probably will again mate with Bronx.
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?
JEB writes...
Was the inclusion of the Scroll of Thoth in "Grief" a references to the Conan stories/Cthulhu Mythos?
Greg responds...
Not that I know of. Thoth is an Egyptian diety. We were doing an ep set in Egypt.
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.
F.A writes...
Whatever happened to the Guatamalan Sun Amulet? The last time we saw it Broadway was holding it when he turned to stone.
Greg responds...
Broadway still has it. But eventually I would have had Zafiro come and get it. (Or maybe Jade & Turquesa en route back from Avalon.)
By the way, Elisa Gabrielli who played Obsidiana on Gargoyles is the voice of the Doll Demon in 3x3 EYES, which I just finished voice directing for New Generation Pictures and Pioneer. Watch for it on video and DVD. (And sorry for the plug.)
Scott Iskow writes...
Hi, Greg.
Just last night, I was talking to a few of my floormates, talking about childhood cartoons, toys, and the like, when the subject of the Disney Afternoon came up. After going through each cartoon in the order that they aired, we came to "Gargoyles," at which point I was surprised to learn that it was pretty much a consensus that the show was "amazing." I say "surprised" because I didn't figure these types of people to appreciate a show like that, yet here they all were, in the same room.
One person in particular appreciated the "Avalon" storyline. He loved the mythology, and didn't know until a chance encounter at the library after "Mark of the Panther" that Anansi existed outside of the show.
Just letting you know that there must be tons of people you reached with "Gargoyles" that aren't even part of the fandom.
Greg responds...
Great.
[But Scott, try to recruit them, eh? :)]
"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...]
Robin Wynn writes...
Hi Greg!
I figured I'd take this time just to state my opinions on the Avalon episodes. Especially since so many people seem to have disliked them (mostly I finally decided to do this after reading Alaxk's negative posts). I, on the other hand, LOVED them. I mean, I had wondered about other gargoyles living in the world, and it had already occured to me (before all the Avalon stuff) that unless the other gargs found some reason to come to New York, (and that seemed unlikely, seeing as mostly the gargs were unknown, and that gargoyles would want to stay at their homes to protect them) we would never see them, because our gargs certainly didn't seem to be going anywhere. The Avalon eps. were the perfect opportunity.
The Avalon eps. accomplished a lot of stuff that otherwise never could have been touched in the normal series. Also, as far as the quality of the show, if anything, i think it went up. From episode to episode you never knew what was going to happen. When would Goliath get home? Would Angela find a place to stay along the way, or would she follow them all the way to Manhattan(yeah..I actually wondered that for awhile)? What was happening back home?(which my only complaint would have to be that you didn't manage to do very many eps on this issue. Though i think you said that you had planned for one) Plus, though I'll admit a couple of the eps weren't that great, and maybe one or two that were, in my opinion, a little corny(ie Vendettas), but those eps existed in the series even before Avalon (ie. A Lighthouse in the Sea of Time, Silver Falcon, Protection, etc.), Most of the episodes were really good! (IE. Shadows of the Past, Future Tense, MIA, Grief, Bushido, etc.)
...ok...lets see..did I leave anything out...I think I've sorta lost my train of thought....what was I talking about?....
Greg responds...
You did o.k. (I kinda lost you there near the end too, though.)
Thanks. Look it worked for some people. Didn't for others. But I did the stories I wanted to do. Had to trust my instincts.
The Gatekeeper writes...
In your ramblings on 1/24/00 you asked for what our reactions were to several of your more risky plot twists. It is hard to think back to when I first saw them, particularly when I rewatch the episodes and see new things; but I'll give it a go.
When the World Tour was originally airing, I found it interesting to begin with, but the major characters that I liked at the time were back in New York, so I would start groaning at another world tour episode. In retrospect, the world tour was probably a very good idea. Too often a series dies due to lack of new material. In doing the world tour, you opened up a large number of new ideas and possibilities.
I don't really remember my reaction to the clocktower beign blown up. I think I was surprised. It had become a standard set piece, and people generally don't go destroying things like that. I was not surprised at the return to the castle. With Xanatos' change in attitude after Alex's birth that move was being telegraphed.
I was also not suprised at the move out of the castle, Elisa was pushing so hard during the entire episode that Goliath didn't have much of an option.
Just my $.02 worth. I mainly just enjoyed being able to escape reality for a while and not be bored silly while exercising. (An hour on a rowing machine while watching the news can be mind numbingly dull).
Greg responds...
Thanks.
E.J. Kalafarski writes...
Hi Greg. Did you walk into the World Tour with the intention that Goliath would loose all the items the Gargoyles had been safeguarding? I mean, by the time the travelers got home, Goliath had lost the Grimorum (destroyed), the Eye of Odin (recovered by Odin), and the Phoenix Gate (lost in time). I realize the Gargoyles picked up the Guatemalan Medallion along the way, but was the concept of Goliath returning home with none of these items a conscious decision on your part, or just the way things worked out? Thanks.
Greg responds...
Yes. Conscious. That's why I had him guarantee that no one would ever use those items again. Arrogance, even heroic arrogance, deserves comeuppance. And I liked the irony that it was Goliath himself who first used the Gate and the Eye. No one takes either item from him. He chooses to use them.
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