Aldrius writes...

"Nature vs Nurture" The Review!

I loved this episode. I loved the 'creepy thriller' vibe the scenes at the parade had going. (With Spider-man searching the crowds.) And I loved each character's moment, I liked Liz, I liked Gwen (I really liked Gwen in this episode), I liked Mary Jane, I liked Peter and Flash, I liked Rand, I even liked Eddie. Well, no, I didn't like Eddie, but I understood Eddie.

Which is quite a leap from '*grumblegrumble*Eddie's an idiot.*Grumblegrumble*'. I got it in this one. The Connors are his Aunt May and Uncle Ben, and Peter was the one guy he thought he could really count on and depend upon. And then Peter hurt his Uncle Ben and Aunt May, and the symbiote manipulated him into being hateful and desiring nothing but solitude. After his 'Aunt May' turned him away (because he thought more of their relationship than was actually true), and after it seemed like Peter was no longer worthy of his friendship. A lot of the stuff in this episode made more sense, Peter calling Eddie to apologize about his job, after being responsible for him losing it. Eddie's comment about Peter saving Gwen to 'be the hero', clearly shows what he thinks of Spider-man's heroics: just another way to get glory and fame, by helping people. This was all stuff that I had considered before, of course, but for some reason it all clicked in this episode. It all made a lot more sense. I didn't need that 75 on the jerkometer anymore.

I am not a fan of the damsel in distress routine normally (even Lois Lane isn't really a 'damsel in distress' anymore), but here it kinda worked better for me. I think it was because Rand, Flash, Liz, Gloria, Mary Jane and even Sally helped out in rescuing Gwen. So she wasn't a 'damsel in distress', she was just someone who was in danger and needed helping out from her friends.

Loved the last scene too. Gwen finally works up her nerve and tells Peter how she feels (so to speak). All in the theme of 'responsibility' of course. Gwen not being able to date Peter has nothing to do with his ignorance, it has everything to do with her nervousness. She needed to take responsibility for her own feelings. And the theme of responsibility is prevalent in Eddie as well of course. He's allowed himself to be alone, because he's been too dependent on others for reassurance. He wanted the Connors to become his surrogate family, but they already had a family of their own. He wanted Peter to be his brother forever, but Peter had to grow up and branch out too. And that's Eddie's problem, really. He didn't look for another job after he lost his job at the lab. He didn't look for new friends after he 'lost' Peter. He just wallowed and wasn't proactive.

Where's Norman Osbourn to give an encouraging speech when you need him? "Man up!!"

And that really shows how different the stakes are here. With Gwen it's all about her romance with Peter. Her love of him. With Eddie it's all about his hatred, it's life or death. But both problems are equally important, because of the emotional stakes involved. It's just as important that Gwen tells Peter how she feels, as it is that Eddie kills Peter. And that's really good writing.

I did have some problems with this episode however. Nothing mind-shattering, as, as I've said before... I've enjoyed every single episode.

Problem 1 I had was that Peter still hasn't told Aunt May that he's Spider-man, but this is something that's always bothered me in any Spider-man story. The woman is supposed to be his surrogate mother, and yet he still won't be completely honest with her.

Problem 2 was that the 'Spider-man working for the Big Man' thing didn't really go anywhere, it just ended up being a set-up for Venom working for the Big Man. And now that Eddie's passed out on a roof top somewhere (was that resolved, by the way? If it was I must not have been paying close enough attention.) and the Symbiote is buried under a few feet of concrete, so that doesn't really seem to be going anywhere fast either.

But other than that, fantastic finale to a fantastic season, and I can't wait for next season. Let's hope it finds itself on a network that allows the show the same freedoms it was allowed on the KidsWB.

Edward writes...

I just started reading the comics there awesome.

I was just wondering how the gargoyles feel about the human race knowing they exist? Matt wants to cover them up, Xanatos wants to slowly expose them, and of course Castaway wants them all dead. But we don't really know what the Gargoyles want. They seem more concerned with their love lifes.

Alan Kistler writes...

Mr. Weisman, I am a journalist/reviewer for http://www.ComicMix.com and a big fan of your work. I will be attending the Gathering of the Gargoyles convention in Chicago and I wanted to ask if there would be anyway I could snag an interview with you for our readers. For your review, you can check out the kind of work we do at ComicMix.com and you can find previous interviews I've conducted at this link: http://alankistler.squarespace.com/journal/2007/11/20/alan-kistlers-interviews.html. My personal web-site is http://KistlerUniverse.com and my e-mail is KistlerAlan@gmail.com. Thank you in advance for your time.

Simon Elst writes...

M. Weisman,

I'm a student soundengineering (final year) at the IAD (Institut des Arts de Diffusion de Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium ; http://www.iad-arts.be ). I take the liberty of writing you about my thesis. It had to handle on the role of sound in animationfilm. My ambition is to bring out the importance of sound in animation film, my passion in which I want to invest myself in the future. The fact is that the Gargoyles were my heroes wen I was young (thanks to belgian televisions to made it possible !).

I think Gargoyles would be an excellent example to analyse in detail for my thesis. To do so, I'd like of course your permission, but also, if possible, your help by means of a few questions to answer. Would you ? I can understand that answering all the questions may be heavy, so.. use the way you want ! :)

a) In your opinion, are there (or have there to be) differences in the aesthetic and the realism of the sound when handling on "live" film or animated film. If yes, wich ones, and why? If no, why?

b) What do you think about next three hypothesis :

1) "Reality Effect" : traditional animation film is, by essence, soundless : the elements (components) that forms the film (figures, objects, sets, …) are mostly "silent" and even if they could produce sounds, the fact of shooting image by image makes it impossible to record live. The artificiallity or virtuality of the elements on screen creates a lack of credibility : the audience isn't naturally absorbed in the represented world. In movies in general, sound permits to locate elements "off screen", to create a world of which a great deal isn't seen at the screen. It has to be the same in animation film. But, as the characters are artificial here, there presence and activity doesn't exist for the audience unless by a "sound confirmation".
2) "Sound inspires life into the virtuals worlds of animation film" : in the same way as the animator gives live to his figures, the soundengineer gives them a lively dimension (thanks to the voices, the presences and the interactions of the character with his environment).
3) Most of the animationfilms are shot at 12 frames per second. The result is tolerably well for the audience, but nevertheless less fluid than in a "live" film. Sound is a constant component that permits "to link up the frames", to put a smooth coating upon the frames, and so reduce partly the "jerky appearance" of the 12fps format.

Thanking you in advance for your answer, Simon Elst

evr4 writes...

(spectacular spider-man questions)
first let me say you are too good (for Gargoyles and for bringing back interest in spider-man)!
anyway,
1) did you watch "Intervention"? it was amazing and passed all my expectations of venom's origins. It was the perfect weave (of THE story (second most known history behind Peter's back story) I would think everybody knows) with a beautiful stylistic approach. All episodes so far, but especially this one, showed an approach with "we are going this direction with the storyline, but wait you (the viewer) were wrong because we are going to make a 180 degree turn and make you say, 'I can't believe they just did that!'" Genious...Utter Genious! My friends and I agree we can only dream the SEASON FINALE WAS A 2 PARTER. An interesting statement one of my friends made was Uncle Ben reminded him of Ben 10's grandfather. But one thing felt weird to me....was the episode's animation rushed or was it exactly how it was suppose to be...I can get the "it's in your (Peter Parker/Eddie Brock) mind" sequence so it resembles that of a "dream/fantasy" sequence....but during the episodes some of the lines didn't seem solid...and there was a scene where I think a screenshot stood still on Flash emotionless (though I do understand where the story was going with this) for an entire 1.5 seconds (AWKWARD)..but yeah was it rushed?

2) when Green Goblin has his first serious encounter with Spider-Man (after Spidey just saved Tombstone from Gobby), there was a scene where the glider went right through a building and GG acrobatically jumped over the building and landed on his glider, I saw this scene and immediately said, "TOO GOOD," and lowe and behold Spidey, says, "Okay wow, just wow." any information on who came up with Gobby performing the feat, and who wrote the lines, "Okay wow, just wow"?

finally, let me say, my circle of friends are either 20 or 21, and we love the direction spec spider-man takes every episode. One of my friend's girlfriends younger brother immediately hated the show when it came out but then changed his mind with the great direction and writing of the show (ironically he hated The Batman at first, then fell in love with it). And let me say for myself for one who notices all the smallest details and little intricacies of all your shows (not just Garg and Spec Spid), I will continue to say Greg Weisman is TOO GOOD!

save the shows writes...

i know this is not a question but it's a helpful way to save shows. if any one would like to save a show and get it aired again such as *hint hint* WITCH then go on this web http://help.savedisneyshows.org/ and follow the instructions also get as many people as possible to go on http://help.savedisneyshows.org/ and follow the instuctions (it says it was made by a greg, and im not sure if thats coincedental or the same person)
remember save great shows *hint hint* such as WITCH from not being aired ever again thank you

kyle tonarella writes...

well i actually have seen the joker episodes you've written and they are tureley works of art a shame that they could not make joker like that through the rrst of the series oh well anyone on to a new question i've heard molten man will be in the show and we he actaully have connections to Liz Allen like the comics is he part of the firs or second arc of season 2

Liz writes...

Hey! just wanted to know if you could talk to disney over making more WITCH or could i a fan do so, also wnated to know that if disney say no could another company make a differnt spin on witch such as jetix, 'coz back here in england WITCH is played on jetix not disney

any help would be appericiated
thanks Liz

ollie writes...

orry for the double comment but i just read the rules again, if i broke any sorry! i'm not looking for employment or mascarading any idea's i jus wanna know if W.I.T.C.H is ever gonna continue and if theres any specific reason or any reason at all why
sorry again if i've made a mistake Ollie

Ollie writes...

Hey Greg, im a fan of another programme you directed called W.I.T.C.H, and I've read the introduction to this website so i know there's a chance that you won't respond, but i might aswell give it a shot! I was wondering if you would ever continue the W.I.T.C.H series and if you would you could use the ideas from the comic books (i can't sure you if you deccide to use the comic ideas as i did not right them). I'm not sure if there is a specofic reason why the W.I.T.C.H series stopped and if it had anything to do wih ideas for the show, anyway i would be really greatful for a reply and if you need any story lines you can contact me (and i promise not to sue!) on my email; mrdudeman@live.co.uk
or if you want to reply to this message seperatly (as it has nothing to do with Gargoyles - which i totaly love aswell!)
Thanks Ollie

Charisma82 writes...

It's really late, but hey, better late than never, right? So here's the page-by-page review on Gargoyles #8.

Gargoyles: Clan-Building
Chapter Eight: Rock & Roll

Part 1 Pages 1-12

Cover: It's cool. Glad that Hudson got a front row seat on it.

Page 1: It's Griff! I was really excited when I found out Griff would be in the comics, and I'm so glad to finally get to see him in this comic. He's one of my favorite gargoyle characters. I like the estate that the London gargoyles have. It looks nice and very secluded. And I love the name: Knight's Spur. Cool.

Page 2: Another one of those pages that gives us a glimpse into the near future. I was glad to see Vinnie. I was also surprised to see Vinnie. I didn't think I'd see him for a while, but very glad at the surprise. He's a good guy to have around. Funny too. We see more about a bomb, which we still don't get much info on in this comic. We'll just have to wait for #9. And of course, at the top of the page we find Hudson duking it out with Cold Steel while exchanging harsh words.

Page 3: More of Shari's storytelling time. Thailog looks weird and creepy in the bottom picture on the page.

Page 4: Thailog thought he had one up on Shari, but then she gives her famous line "The story is told… though who can say if it be true?" I guess she has to cover herself by saying stuff like that so Thailog can't call her a liar.

Page 5: Arthur and Macbeth learn to play nice. They have a moment of doubt when they think the gargoyles will "be at each others' throats", but they worried for no reason. I really liked the two pictures of them being crowned as kings on the Stone of Destiny. They both have a connection to the stone (though in different time eras), and now, they'll have to work together to make sure it stays safe.

Page 6: The gargoyles are having a good time seeing old friends and making new ones. We also see Xanatos looking sly, pulling out some sort of mechanism with a button, and then pushing it. Can't wait to find out what that's all about.

Page 7: This is one of the two pages that are my favorites in this comic. I love the idea of Macbeth and Arthur getting to know each other better and sharing past experiences, seeing as they've both been around for a while. I love the lines exchanged between the two of them and hope to see more of this in the next comic. My favorite line is from Arthur after Macbeth tells him he's been "sleep-walking" for 939 years. "Guess I got the better bargain." Loved it.

Page 8: More of Shari's stories about the Stone of Destiny as she plays chess with Thailog. Thailog and Shari are so much like Xanatos and Fox in this aspect, it's scary.

Page 9: Some new gargoyle introductions. I like Coco. She's a go to kinda gal. I like Hudson's line, "Watch who you're callin' a yank, lass…"

Page 10: And we meet Staghart, or Amp. How did he get Amp out of Staghart? I like the transition where it goes from Coco saying no one calls him Amp to the scene where Lex does call him Amp. I also like on this page how Griff is confused about the robots looking like Goliath. Honestly, after watching the show so many times, I don't even think of the robots as looking like Goliath, they're just known as the Steel or Iron Clan robots.

Page 11: More fighting, and Macbeth figuring out that Xanatos is in on the game now. And then Arthur mysteriously disappears. I just figured he walked off to go help fight or he saw something else that was suspicious, but others think he might have been kidnapped or something. That thought never crossed my mind while reading this, but then I wouldn't cross that off as something that could happen. You never know with people like Xanatos.

Page 12: More chess playing and more storytelling, except now Shari is telling the story of Arthur. She sure does know a lot. She must be a reader.

Soon to come, part 2! And hopefully I'll be getting Bad Guys #2 & #3 in the mail soon so I can do them too. Then I'll be all up to date.

Thank you for your time and all that you do.

-Charisma82

Charisma82 writes...

Hey, Greg. Driving home today I was pondering over this question. In the episode "The Gathering Pt. 2" when Titania whispers to Fox, when you wrote this scene, did you have in mind what Titania was saying? I mean, did you know then when you were writing it, or did you, for mystery's sake, come up with what she said later on once the show aired on TV? Did you even think it would get that much attention, not putting in what Titania was saying to her daughter? Thanks in advance for the answer, and please do not think of this question as a way for me to figure out what exactly Titania said, because I'm really not trying to. I'm just curious about WHEN you decided what Titania said, just to ease my wondering mind.

Thank you for your time and all that you do.

-Charisma82

Tay writes...

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

Ernie writes...

I haven't seen it posted as a question yet, but Gargoyles Season 2 Vol. 2 is now listed on Amazon.com here:

http://www.amazon.com/Gargoyles-Season-Two-Vol-2/dp/B00198X0YA/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1213057189&sr=1-4

for sign-up to be notified when it comes out and write reviews for it. I've heard before that if enough people show interest on Amazon they forward this on to the distributors and it can make a difference. Don't know if this is true or not or if you would know if this helps, but I thought it would be worth mentioning to the fans on this site in the hopes that maybe if enough people sign up to be notified and write reviews it will get Amazon's attention which will get Buena Vista's attention.

Matthew Roye writes...

Dear Greg.

I am an 18 year old comic book nut, one who's often been criticized by my friends or others for having differing opinions on what makes something great (My tastes never really went into the 90's "everything must be bad ass and with GUNS" attitude, so i didn't cling to wolverine or venom much into my childhood, not to offend anyone who did) so I'm used to getting into arguments to defend my stance on what i enjoy, but boy, did Spectacular Spider-man ever change that!

Not a single person I've met can say anything negative about this show, including me! You and everyone involved have crafted, what i believe, is the single greatest rendition of spider-man the world has EVER seen. i was so happy that a show with great emotion, dialog, action, and acting has been so loved by all who have seen it.

So i should probably get to the question huh? Well this stems from the FIRST argument I've had with my best friend about a certain identity mystery on the show... Tombstone/ The big man, now, I'm not asking for a straight answer, I'm pretty sure you not only can't straight out say it, but you really wouldn't WANT too, but I'm pretty frustrated at being called naive in thinking that the big man may be someone else pulling the strings... like a certain daily bugle reporter perhaps?

If you could, all I'm asking for, and you can outright reject... but all I'm asking for is a clue, something small, I'm good at picking up on little details. you could outright tell me I'm absolutely wrong but throw in a strange word like BAGEL or something non-sequitur that'll let me know something is off. I'm BEGGING sir, with a smile, but still begging.

If not, i would just love to let you know that 'spectacular' has become my favorite show of all time... and I'm a LOST fan, so... theres that...

-Matt

Todd Jensen writes...

A few comments on "Intervention".

The symbiote's tightening hold on Peter/Spidey was handled effectively in this episode. I was increasingly unsettled as he yelled at his friends when they tried to help him - and then decided to accept Tombstone's offer after all. (Tombstone's conditions that Spidey had to give up foiling ordinary criminals but was still allowed to face super-villains didn't make things any better. The man who murdered Uncle Ben was an ordinary criminal.) I'm looking forward to seeing what the consequences of that meeting with Tombstone will be.

I wasn't expecting a look back at Spidey's origin story, or an appearance (at last) from Uncle Ben, but I thought they worked well - and especially since they played an integral part in the struggle with the symbiote.

The ending is one of the most chilling moments yet: I can think of few things more dangerous for a super-hero than one of his adversaries finding out who his civilian identity is. That gives me one more reason to look forward to next week's episode.

Thanks for another great story, Greg.

Anonymous writes...

On the cover of Bad Guys; The Lost, a picture of yama is uploaded onto the screen of a "Weisex" computer. Does WEISex have anything to do with your last name, WEISman?

Canus Shamus writes...

It's great watching how the episodes in "Spider-Man" build off one another and create one coherent storyline. I especially liked Peter's line in the Sinister Six ep about Lizard and Goblin being absent, as it lets us know that what we've seen so far has been the complete story; and I was positively geeking out when I heard the voice of "Gargoyles" alum Ed Asner as Uncle Ben. I can hardly wait for the Venom-based season finale. Now, a moment of your time for a few questions:

1. You said in an earlier post that the reason Kingpin wasn't used as the Big Man was because you "didn't have the rights to the character." What?! Marvel owns both characters, how could you not have the rights? (Don't get me wrong: I've always hated the Kingpin character, and I think Tombstone is a much better choice. I'm just curious about what prompted the change.)

2. As Electro left the asylum, he referred to his therapist as 'Dr. Kafka'. Now, even though I've been a Spider-Fan my whole life, I came to the comics themselves relatively late. As a result, I remember that Venom's therapist/love-interest from the 90s series was also Dr. Kafka, but I've never seen her show up in the comics. So: comic book reference that I missed, or sly nod to one of Spidey's earlier incarnations?

Thanks again for your time and for the great show!

Greg Bishansky writes...

Intervention
Okay, first off, if Pete is going to get that ruthless under the influence of the symbiote, I'm glad they built up to it slowly and subtly. Far better than the 90s series, which turned him into a monster within a single day, and the less said about symbiote Peter's depiction in "Spider-Man 3" the better. I especially like how my expectations were completely played. I expected Peter to punch out Flash, to do something nasty to Sally. To beat the snot out of Tombstone. But, nope, the people he's cruel to are his friends. Speaking of Tombstone, I am looking forward to the consequences of Spidey's deal with him. Spidey realizing he's saying "we" instead of "I" was well done, and it's nice to see the now, iconic cathedral scene. Hmm, Saint Damien's Cathedral, Greg? ;)

Flash Thompson was the voice of reason. Wow. I really liked that, it makes Flash a strong character and not just a stereotypical jock/bully. He dislikes Peter because he thinks Peter is an elitist jerk. Under the symbiote's influence, Peter proved him right. Now,

Flashback time. Okay, I'm sure some people won't like it, but I'm enjoying the black and white. But the most pleasant surprise is Ed Asner as Uncle Ben. That's perfect casting, and I'm glad that was kept under wraps. Really enjoyed it. This was also a great way to present the origin, a nice combination of the original comic book origin, and the movie's origin.

Uncle Ben as Peter's conscience, and the symbiote as the devil on his shoulder. I like it. Lots of flashbacks, almost like a clip show, and yet it wasn't. I know some people aren't into that sort of thing, but I loved this episode. It wasn't just an origin, it was a character study. A very solid character study.

Fanboy moment, I loved the homage to the cover of "Amazing Spider-Man #100"

Finally, Eddie Brock becomes Venom. Allow me, if you will, my own tangent here. I never liked Venom and mostly because of Eddie Brock. This is a character who has never been done well in any prior incarnation, even the original comic books. He was poorly conceived, poorly written, poorly characterized... and became a super star character. He's the Michael Bay of comic book villains. After he first appeared, everyone it seems, tried to create over the top muscle bound villains with no depth who could kick the hero's asses worse than any of their pre-established nemesis. For Batman it was Bane; for Superman it was Doomsday... when those stories would better be told with pre-established villains like the Joker, Ra's al Ghul, Lex Luthor or Darkseid. I could go further, but there are entire essays on this. Personally, I think Venom is the poster child for everything that was wrong with comic books in the 90s, from the lack of creativity to the internal politics.

Now, all that being said, I liked this. It was definitely the best origin for Venom I have ever seen, and while that may not be saying much, I really did enjoy it. The symbiote itself was very well depicted. While I had misgivings about Eddie's behavior last week, he made a lot more sense today. He lost his job, his education, his future. Not to say he's absolved of responsibility. If he didn't let his hatred for Peter get in the way, he could have made the best of it, found another job and really worked for it. There are people out there who scrub toilets to pay for their educations. But then, when everything seemed okay, and the symbiote wasn't dead, Eddie released it and bonded with it. So, in the end, Eddie really screwed himself over. But it was done well, certainly better than the Sin Eater retcon in the original comic books. I have never been a fan of Venom, but I have accepted a while back that he's here to stay. The Green Goblin; Dr. Octopus and Venom... the unholy trinity.

Brilliant script, Greg. Brilliant episode. I am looking forward to next week's. Make me a fan of Venom.