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?....

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).

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.

Ray Kremer writes...

Greg,
Another enormous fan of the show here. Gargoyles is truely the Babylon 5 of animation. (And if you haven't experienced Babylon 5, it's recommended. The reference is to the interlinking plot elements that gives the show a "big picture" quality.)
One of your ramblings asked for comments about blowing up the clock tower, moving back into the castle, etc. I think those were great moves, and fit well into the story. I always hoped they would make it back into the castle someday. Even the world tour eps were great, the only annoying thing was we went through several rerun cycles before getting to "The Gathering". On a straight run through of the eps, I don't think there were too many world tour eps at all.
Anyway, there needs to be a question here. In "Metamorphosis", the 'death' of the Sevarius was so convincing because just as Derek was about to get the antidote shot, the gargoyles burst in the door, threw Anton into the eel tank (breaking the antidote vial), and escaped. Now, this works out the way Xanatos wanted, but how could they have set it up so perfectly, with such wonderful timing? There was no way to tell when the gargoyles would make the rescue attempt, or which door they come through, or where they would be throwing people.
Thanks again for the show, and count one more vote that it comes back someday. (Speaking of which, using the net to ignore TGS and the time gap - I'd go for that.)

Blaise writes...

Hey Greg! Just read your ramble about taking risks on the show. I have to tell you, I liked that.
Actually the first thing that got my attention was in the first five episodes when a) the majority of the clan was massacred, b) there were actual children (eggs) that vanished, and c) a character who was introduced as a "good guy" and the hero's love to boot ended up a dangerous villainess. I liked that. I wasn't initially as surprised at the gargoyles moving to the clock tower--I guess I kind of expected them to leave the castle sometime (because of Xanatos and all).
During the second season, however, the permanent changes really started hitting me. Elisa's brother and three other humans are turned into Mutates and NOT CHANGED BACK at the end of the episode. Hell, the ep ends with Xanatos pretty much triumphant, Brooklyn depressed, Elisa crying and the other gargoyles troubled (at least, that's how I interpreted it). And of course, Demona gaining the ability to turn human during the day! The Pack's permanent body upgrades (and Dingo's eventual reformation). Owen's stone hand--quite an ending that. And of course the addition of Angela to the cast. I always find it interesting when a new character is added to the show as a REGULAR.
Then there's the Avalon World tour. I got to admit, that's gutsy. Yeah, I got annoyed sometimes--4th or 5th ep I started wondering "when are they going to get home?"--but then I realized I just had to sit back and enjoy the ride. And I did.
The Xanatos family--I didn't really see that coming (how many other characters in animated afternoon shows get married and have kids like this?). The Clocktower's destruction--I could have killed you guys for that cliff-hanger. ;-) I did not expect that, but after it happened, I figured Xanatos would help them and they'd live in the Castle again. But that was only AFTER you destroyed the place they lived in for the majority of the show.
This is a book now, so I'll just finish by saying this: You guys did a bang-up job!

Abigail Thorne writes...

I've been a fan of Gargoyles since it first came on--it's one of my all time favorites. I just wanted to thank you and your staff for creating such an imaginative, complex world for viewers like me to escape into for a half hour. Hopefully, you'll be able to continue your work on the show one day.

Okay, here's the question (I have others, but you said ask one at a time, which makes sense). Elisa, Goliath, and Bronx were gone for many months during their Avalon adventures. Explaining their whereabouts to Matt Bluestone and the rest of the Maza's was no problem since they are all in on the clan's secret. But what about Elisa's superiors at the police station? How did she explain what she had been up to for the past two or three months?

Ed writes...

Nokkar is trapped on Earth with no way of knowing how his people (or his enemies) are doing or even if they are still alive.
1. Does he still believe that they are out there?
2. Does he believe he will ever regain contact in his lifetime?
3. Does he have a family or relations that he has left behind?

Todd Jensen writes...

You've stated that gargoyles, in your vision at least, came about naturally in the way that all other living things did, and were not creations of faerie or human magic. I certainly feel that that's the most probable explanation for them. But something that I would like to raise is this - in the Gargoyles Universe, would it even be possible to create a genuinely sentient race using magic?

My own feeling is that it isn't, based on what I saw in the series. Oberon, one of the most powerful magic-users in the Gargoyles Universe, animates a number of statues in "The Gathering Part Two" to aid him against Goliath and his clan, but the statues remained made out of stone rather than becoming flesh and blood, and showed no sign of true sentience in battling the clan, no more so than - say - the Steel Clan. The same thing was the case with Raven's "totem beasts" in "Heritage", who, when animated by him, remained made out of wood and also behaved more like automatons than like truly alive and intelligent beings. And in "Golem", the Golem that was created by Rabbi Loew likewise didn't come across to me as truly sentient, but just a walking clay statue - it never even spoke except when Renard was possessing it. (The Golem did show some dim signs of genuine awareness, but not on the level of a gargoyle, certainly).

So, what I'm basically asking here is - aside from your belief that gargoyles were not created by magic - would it even be possible in the Gargoyles Universe to magically create a truly sentient being or race? Or is such a thing beyond the capabilities of any being other than God?

Oberons Child writes...

Hi Greg,
It's good to see that you're answering questions again - just take your time, you'll get through them! I have a question I would like to ask of you, It probably seems stupid, but...

In the episode 'Mark of the panther' (I think that's the name) , when Fara Maku transforms, his Necklace is not 'absorbed' by the magic spell. Was this just to distinguish the two were-panthers, or was there another reason?
See, told ya it was stupid!
Anyway, thanks.

P.S. Am I the only Irish gargoyles fan? If not please mail me at oberons.child@oceanfree.net . I'm dying to meet other fans! Thanks again for your time. Oh, and Have a happy X-Mas!!!!