Goliath Fan writes...

I'd like to quickly discuss my feelings about "Awakenings" First of all I didn't watch the show till around "Enter Macbeth" Yup, got a little behind. But I caught the rerun of the first episode and wow it blew me away. I love the animation for that one the most, at least at this momment. About Demona, I knew she wasn't dead, obviously since I started late watching, but I wanted to say even though I hadn't watched the series from the start, I think Demona wasn't shadowed enough in Xanatos' office. Kinda premature re-veiling( I think that's the right word...) of the character. (my 2 cents on that)Now I don't mind the whole " I am demona" I kind of felt "So what?" but what was great was the reddish smoke effect around her, that spiced it up nicely.

To share my personal favorite scenes would have to be Just watching Goliath was fun. He looked so cool. Keith David is just amazing. I couldn't imagine another voice for Goliath. He is a unique man (Mr. David, in my opinion) I also love the caped wings. It looks fantastic when Goliath quickly drapes his wings when he talks to the Princess and Magus about the eggs. Oooh cool! Also after Demona said "Wrong, you've lost it all," the back shot of him lifting his wings up fast to intimidate the guy on the airship before using his tail to smack him. And The whole Goliath Elisa scene where they talk while standing on the Empire state building was just priceless to me. Well my favorites are all but too endless so I'll end this here. Thanks for your time.

My quick question. Just out of curiousity,what is Officer Morgan's first name?

Cassandra writes...

Hi, Greg. Here's my own ramble of things I love about Gargoyles. I found the show my senior year of high school and was hooked. And when Fox moved the second season episodes to 6 a.m., my handy VCR timer was always set. My college roommate soon became a Gargoyles fan too. On to the elements.

The shocks and surprises: I loved the way the smaller story lines worked into the larger ones. I know you're a long ways from talking about "The Gathering" but I'm starting there, sorry. I saw/heard that Kate Mulgrew was doing both Anastasia and Titania's voice without much difference, so I knew they were one in the same. But my congratulating myself on figuring that out stopped and I almost fell out of my chair when Owen was revealed to be Puck. My best friend DID fall out of his chair when I was showing him and his wife the episode. Going back to season one, actual blood was shown when Broadway shot Elisa! In a Disney cartoon! And when I told people about this, they didn't believe me. Derek goes to work for Xanatos and is mutated for ignoring his sister's advice. Fox and Xanatos got married. I caught the "she's totally in love with him" in "Her Brother's Keeper", but I didn't expect them to get married--live together maybe.

Elisa: Thank you for creating such a great female character. Tough, smart, and still a beautiful woman. She could have de-evolved from "Awakenings" into the helpless female that the gargoyles had to rescue every week (and part of me worried that it could happen), but instead she ended up saving them as often as they saved her. And who else would have had the guts to wake King Arthur up? But she isn't a superhero. She has problems dealing with her mother and brother, she gets hurt, and she gets a little obsessive.

Intelligent bad guys: I suppose more accurately stated is bad guys with intelligent motivations. Demona has psychological hang-ups that culminate in her desire to wipe out the human race. Xanatos is just fun. How many series villians never let revenge get in their way? Plus, he had most of the best lines. My favorite: "This is my first stab at cliched villanry. How am I doing?" from "Cloud Fathers". Thailog seems to have this Oedipal need to displace Xanatos in the world.

Characters evolve: No one remained static. Demona's downward spiral was shown, but it has the potential to end by her desire to protect and love Angela. Xanatos and Fox fall in love and have a child, and apparantly learn what it means to have someone manipulate your life, something they're both a little guilty of. Macbeth realize that the gargoyles are as honorable as he is, and finds a new purpose to life. I love his debate with Margot in "The Journey". The Pack gets their upgrade. Cameo characters get stories and prove that the six degrees of seperation works in the gargoyle universe too.

References: Shakespeare's plays; Scottish history; Eygptian, Irish, Norse, Greek, African, Jewish, King Arthur mythologies, pop culture, World War II, Loch Ness, aliens, werewolves, and fae. I was waiting for vampires to show up. Okay, maybe not real vampires, but Servarius could make some. It was great to watch a show that used this stuff inside its own mythos and used it effectively.

That's just a few of the things that I loved about the show. Artwork was excellent and dialogue was wonderfully written and flawlessly performed. Here's my hope, wish, spell, prayer that GARGOYLES comes back to the air with you at the helm. And one quick question before I go find the episode rambles I've missed.

Question: Did you or do you plan on a flashback or a TimeDancer episode in which Will Shakespeare shows up as a character?

Cassandra writes...

Okay, I went back an read your rambles on the episodes (Awakenings - Her Brother's Keeper). You felt the moment when Demona revealed her name lacked punch. It did, for me at least, but not because of the scene itself. From the beginning of Awakenings, the gargoyles had a dangerous edge but Demona was the one with the least control over hers. The scene with the Trio decides to scare the peasants, I knew they were "just picking" (even though it was picking that could have gotten dangerously out of hand). But Demona acted like if she could have found an excuse to rip the throat out of Tom's mother, she would have. By Awakenings Part 5, it's chillingly apparant just how ruthless and demonic Demona has become. Besides, it's a great twist on Goliath's earlier name of affection/endearment, Angel of the Night. Angel=light, darkness=night, demon=fallen angel=darkness=night. The scene became one of those moments when everything felt RIGHT. Of course, what else could you name her? moment. The question was just how long ago was she given the name.

When I first saw the expression on Demona's face when she and Goliath reunited in 1994, I sat up. Yeah, she was glad to see Goliath but she was angry too. My thought first seeing it was "Poor Goliath, nothing good is going to come from this." Looking back now, knowing Demona's history, I have to ask did she read the Magus's version of events from the Grimorum? If the Magus recorded things fairly accurately, then she had to realize that Goliath chose suicide instead of trying to raise the eggs alone. If he had stayed with the eggs, she would have returned with a story Goliath would have swallowed and they could have raised the eggs together. She never would have created the Hunter, she never would have met Macbeth, she never would have made the deal with the Weird Sisters, she would have died centuries ago. And in that moment of reuniting, Demona blames Goliath for all of it. She buries it quickly cause she wants to give him a chance to realize why her way is the only way, but it still there. Wow, all that from one line of dialogue.

There's my feedback for the day. Caio.

Ed writes...

'REAWAKENING' comments.

At the time of writing, you haven't commented on this yet, but while I'm talking about the first season I ought to finish speaking about it.

And the big thing I remember about it is - I didn't like it.

Coldstone just doesn't appeal to me. I don't think any of his personalities are *that* fascinating, and the "it's alive!" line makes me wince all the time. Xanatos and Demona are just stock villains and don't show much of the individuality that is so evident in later episodes.

There are a few nice bits. The scene as Goliath is drowning. Goliath's vow to protect. The rounded section with that thief.

But all things considered, I wasn't that impressed.

It didn't matter; the first time I saw this, there was an advert for 'CITY OF STONE' on the next week with 2 back-to-back episodes for 2 weeks. In hindsight, this ruined two brilliant cliffhangers, but then I was gorging myself for CoS anyway from seeing teaser pictures of Demona blasting away stone humans.

Ed writes...

'HER BROTHER'S KEEPER' comments.

I've always loved 'DEADLY FORCE' but every time I watch this I like it more. Derek is just such a brilliant character! He's got a great stubborn attitude mixed with ambition and a wish to be supported. And Xanatos is so smooth!

"Yeah, use the force Lex!" was just one of those all-time classic lines that got me rolling around laughing. This being the case, I only noticed when watching it again how silly the helicopter repair thing seemed.

I'd already seen 'THE GATHERING PART ONE' (but annoyingly, not part 2!) when I saw this so the revelation that Fox loved Xanatos was hardly a big surprise to me. Still, Fox's self-assured scheming attitude always delights me. The prison scene that I always loved was in 'THRILL OF THE HUNT' - one of those eyebrow raising moments when you realise that this is a bit different from 'Ducktales' and 'Turtles'.

And the snow is breathtaking. I also like the ambiguity of the ending. It's magical. Fantastic stuff.

Ed writes...

'ENTER MACBETH' comments

This is a glorious episode. I suppose I can see why you don't like the animation, but I don't think it's nearly as bad as you make out. Of course, I didn't see it before you cut it.

This is one of the episodes that I remember my first reactions to quite well. Firstly, I had no idea that this was the same Macbeth that Shakespeare wrote about. I thought it was some mercenary that had the name because it sounded cool or something. It was only when 'CITY OF STONE' aired that I realised that he was the same as the king.

Kenner should have had a field day finding ways to build a Macbeth mansion with all those traps. The Hall of Mirrors was especially cool.

I never really considered the implications of Macbeth's claim that he named Demona. I remember being quite startled, but it still never made me think in the slightest that he was the Shakespearian Macbeth - he could have given her that name in the 1980s.

I love the Goliath and Elisa arguments here. Rather than have the fact that they really love each other be painted all over the shop, and have the two get on like a house on fire, this story has them arguing. It's not the only one. It's just gorgeous.

I also liked the credits at the beginning. It might be a small touch, but it always seemed so much more 'grown-up' than having them hidden at the end. Just like the "previously on Gargoyles..." section, it was one of those little touches that said: "look! This is different!"

A lovely episode.

Ed writes...

'DEADLY FORCE' comments

This is my favourite episode of the first season. It's thoroughly gorgeous.

One, I like Dracon. Glasses is nifty too.
Two, I like Elisa. The real human Elisa that is, not just the side that larks around with gargoyles all night.
Three, I like Broadway. I didn't do that much originally, but I certainly do now.

But there's so much more that's cool here. Elisa in the hospital, the subtle introduction of her family, the gun moral...

I actually never noticed - or at least don't remember - the blood. I might have been aware that it was there, but I can remember the scene quite clearly and don't really remember the blood. That wasn't what hit me. There was a brilliant impact from seeing her 'dead'.

It was lovely to see Matt in there too. Great stuff.

Ed writes...

'THRILL OF THE HUNT' comments.

Hi there, Greg. I'll be a bit behind everyone else with these comments I'm afraid. Should I put episode comments in separate posts if I talk about separate episodes? I'll do it just to be on the safe side.

Anyway, I like this episode a lot. It gives us the best view of Lexington's personality of the 66 (or indeed, 78), and I like the Pack here. Actually, the Pack appeal to me more here than in most of their subsequent outings. The predator/prey irony is very appealing, but the 'Evil Ninjas' amused me too. I wonder what happened to all those guys?

I never understood why this was listed under your list of dodgy animation anyway, really. Goliath was especially well-drawn throughout.

Loved Billy and Susan. The injustice is immensely frustrating to me, which of course is what makes it so great.

Incidentally, the first scene was nifty too. I'm not sure what about it appeals to me so much; maybe the great drawing, maybe the 'calm before the storm' tone, or maybe it's just because it's got Owen looking so... Owen. But it always sticks in my mind.

Pity that the last time I watched it (about a year ago), I pressed the wrong button after I wound it back and taped over this and most of 'TEMPTATION' before I realise what I'd done. Humbug. (It also took me forever to tape in the first place; Disney Channel UK ran through the whole series but played 'LONG WAY TO MORNING' twice in the proper spot and instead of 'THRILL OF THE HUNT'. Seems like it's one of those doomed episodes for me... not as doomed as 'MONSTERS' which I tried three times and had a disaster each time, but...

Demona Taina writes...

Me again!

I just realized that I had to thank you for those ramblings. :) I mean, I never thought of those episodes that way before, and now that you're explaining them, it all makes sense now. :) Thank you again, Greg, not only did you make one of the best shows there has ever been, but you've opened our minds. I mean, you've inspired us. Some fans have become great artists, some great writers, and some you've simply changed their lives! Like me! I'm a completely different person! And all because of the defenders of the night! I'll thank you always, I'm sure other fans will thank you too. :)

I'm looking forward to the rest of the ramblings. :) Thank you!

Jackal's Love writes...

Her Brother's Keeper:

This is one of the episodes that I watch the tape of frequently. Probably because it has some focus on Jackal and Hyena interacting, and such beautiful animation. Little details of the J&H converasation at the diamond exchange stood out to me, like the way Hyena kicks Jackal, then smiles at him, and the contrast between the two. "What's to keep us from just grabbing it and shooting our way free?" "Style, dear sister, style."

I always noticed that those two seemed to have a big thing for knives. Always whipping them at someone. Although I am curious about where Hyena had been hiding the knife at the Exchange. Her dress didn't seem very ideal for concealing weaponry.

Nichelle Nichols did the diamond exchange saleslady's voice. Eep. Forget the villains, that woman was terrifying :-)

I also noticed the irony about Jackal & Hyena, the bad guys of the episode, getting along better than the good guys are. They may be nut cases, but at least they're compatible. It seems that they have more fun with their fighting than anything else.

"Any landing you can walk away from." Doesn't Xanatos say also say that in 'City of Stone'? It's one of the quotes from Gargoyles that I remebered even after I hadn't seen the show for four years, along with "What's the matter, never seen a cybernetic jackal before?" and "I trust you about as far as I can throw you."

Hyena's smile at the end is a really intruiging moment. I love the animation there. I had it as my computer background for months, the bonus being that it scared my friends.

Anyway, thank you for your time.

Ed writes...

'THE EDGE' comments.

Not a big favourite. The animation is gorgeous, and the ending is sublime. But the Steel Clan echoed the Foot Clan a bit much for my tastes. I can't remember my first viewing that well, but I'm pretty sure that I didn't expect the red robot to be Xanatos. (Although I should have, because I'd seen 'FUTURE TENSE' a few months previously).

In hindsight, there are several nice touches and the writing is delightful. But it wasn't one of those episodes where the difference between normal action cartoons and 'Gargoyles' leap out and grab you.

I guess I just never liked the Steel Clan.

Blaise writes...

HER BROTHER'S KEEPER

Boy, I'm dense. I hadn't realized just how far the "siblings" idea went (Jackal and Hyena were right out of my mind--I just thought they were good villains).
Speaking of the terrible twins, they got some pretty good dialogue throughout, but especially at the beginning. I like how Mr. Reaves managed to put in some exposition on the other Pack members and make it sound organic. BTW, Hyena thinks Dingo knows how to have a "good time," eh? If what she said was true, and considering her own personality, Dingo changed A LOT by the end of the series. And I always have to say "OW" when Hyena digs her heel into Jackal's shin.
I kind of figured the gargoyles were throwing the twins out of the 'copter with the intent to kill. I pretty much KNEW you guys would slap parachutes on them, but I didn't expect the gargoyles themselves to be that "PC". Like I said, I always liked that edge.
Going to the trio--some of the best lines in the series there, IMHO. And most of them Brooklyn's! "Famous last words," "Yeah, use the Force, Lex," and "You and what Starfleet" always make me smile. I also like the look on their faces when Goliath yells at the Maza siblings at the end. A particularly memorable moment that. Excellent dialogue (Mr. Reaves always seems to have a gift for that).
Now I get to the main part of the ep. Just as the Trio and Hudson (who doesn't have a single line in this ep, hmmm) had their own ep to shine, this one belonged to Elisa. I liked the struggle she had with her brother over Xanatos. I began to notice the irony of each sibling's discussion with their parents in later viewings, but the fact that both siblings were wrong did strike me. As for that ending...I was sure he was going to play the tape and listen to it, but I did like it that the ending was ambiguous as to that event. The snow was a nice touch, too (and it actually made a crunching sound when they walked on it--this was the first animated show I saw where that happened!).
And one must admire Xanatos and his chutzpa. Love his ego in this one. Then there's Fox. When I saw her final remark, with the camera position and lighting, I knew that she loved him, or was at the very least infatuated. I didn't know if the feeling was mutual, however.
BTW, the beverage that Peter Maza was drinking...was it alcoholic?

I do enjoy watching this ep.

Todd Jensen writes...

One additional response to your "Her Brother's Keeper" ramble. You mentioned that the original idea for Catscan/Talon was to make him a scientist in Xanatos's employ who got mutated, but then realized that it should be Derek instead. I felt that the role going to Derek was a very good idea. If it had been a more or less unconnected scientist, it could still have made a good story, but making the victim Derek strengthened it. Here, it isn't just anybody getting mutated, but Elisa's own brother. Not only does that tie the victim in all the better with the main characters, but it also brought in those great scenes at the end of "Metamorphosis" where Elisa, after discovering who Talon really is, proceeds to let Xanatos have it, and then weeps back at the clock tower. I'd say that the Gargoyles Universe intuition was batting a thousand on that one.

Ed writes...

'LONG WAY TO MORNING' comments.

Just like 'TEMPTATION', I loved this first time around. It had Demona, it had the Dark Ages, it had a thrilling chase scene, loads of laser blasting, a lot of atmospheric running water (I love it when running water is used alongside high drama - I don't know why, but it always appeals to me). It's fraught, has a great graveyard scene and lots of cool flashbacks. It shows us Goliath out of action.

But as I go back to it the thing that annoys me most, is Demona. She grates so much! Her dialogue seems to be frustratingly similar throughout.

Also, I felt that the Archmage was weak here. He lacked the conviction and menace that made him such an effective villain in later episodes. Which is probably why I forgot all about him, and by 'VOWS' (which I saw months later first time around, because of the order GMTV showed it) my memory had fogged sufficiently so that I got him confused with the Magus.

Ed writes...

'TEMPTATION' comments.

Hi, Greg.

When I saw this the first time on GMTV, I was blown away. At least, for months after this was the episode I remembered. It had Brooklyn (whose name I took about 20 episodes to memorise for some reason), and more importantly - it had Demona. I loved Demona here, and I was delighted at the theme of betrayal that flows through here. There's a great sense of hurt. It's really gorgeous.

But watching it the second time and times after, I have to say that I was less impressed. Demona seems to have a stock of classic villainess threats that she doesn't really grow out of in this season. They were great first time, but I'd seen 'LONG WAY TO MORNING' just the episode previously (see my 'THRILL OF THE HUNT' comment) and heard very similar dialogue.

Also, I can't help feeling that the ending was a bit of a con. It was very clever, but the idea that all through CITY OF STONE, HUNTER'S MOON and whatever comes after Goliath is still under a spell from episode 7 (even one that is inactive) doesn't appeal to me much.

Aaron writes...

Long Way to Morning.

I love this episode. It's definately one of my top ten. Quite well done overall, but I love it for one reason above the others:

This is the last time we will see Demona like this. No, it's hardly the last time we'll see her being evil, but after City of Stone, (And Vows, to a lesser extent) our perception of Demona changes. Post-COS, Demona's a tortured sociopath who's spent the last 900 years living a painful, screwed-up life. Even if most of that was her own doing, there's still some sympathy factor there. (Of course, this is all just my opinion, others may think differently)

In Long Way to Morning Demona's just *evil*. From her casual "Ciao" to the (she thinks) dying Elisa to... almost everything she says to Hudson, she's just pure and unadulterated badness.

The fight in the graveyard is quite cool, especially the sequence where Demona's wings unfold from behind the angel statue, (complete with sinister flash of lightning) Hudson swings his sword, and it looks like nothing happened... until the statue falls apart, bisected diagonally.

And of course, there's the irony of Hudson's last words to Demona, about patience coming with age, which only shows up the second time through. Demona, of course, being probably nine or ten times older then Hudson, but has still never learned to think things through calmly, rather then charging off in anger.

Lexy writes...

Hey Greg,

Episode 12. Ahh, Episode 12. I guess I could ramble on about the excellent animation and such. But I'll answer your Q's;)

Derek working for Xanatos: You know..it really didn't throw me for a loop. Don't get me wrong, this isn't because you guys were being predictable. Certainly not. It was because after 11 episodes of Gargoyles already I realized that this wasn't your joe-blow plot line. The kind I can show up halfway and watch five min's and guess with dead near perfect accuracy what is going to happen. No, this was GARGOYLES we were talking about. I just got into the habit of NOT guessing at anything. That is probably the wussy no-brainer way out..infact it _is_ the no-brainer way out. But for the most part it is true. I wasn't shocked, though I was throughly (sp?) entertained. It was awsome to, again, see you guys doing unconventional things with lead characters. It's just such a breath of fresh air to see a main or basic character get pulled into the muk. I know that is probably a little crule on my part. But just because you are nice most of the time, and important, dosn't give you a free pass out of all the crud that can go wrong in life.

The Irony: Like you said..it was _everywhere_ in this episode. Just like Episode 6, it made it sparkle for me. It wasn't black and white. There wasn't one side that was dead wrong and one side that had it correct. It's cool to see characters fighting for things that arn't per say wrong..they just don't work in that perticular situation. Like you said, stuff happens.

Chucking the twins off the Chopper: Well, I guess it never really bothered me since, as you already pointed out, they had parachutes. So all is well right? But I suppose I never _really_ thought about it enough. As you had pointed out in your post, _did_ the trio _know_ they had those parachutes? Your answer is very statisfying (sp:P) to me. Just like Goliath and his whole "We defeated him, the castle is ours now" complex, it shows that they still have a lot of throw backs to their Wyvern years. Not that they just _adapt_ to this century and become modern day crime busters. Again, its just a nice touch.

Xanatos' bravado: I think you just about rounded it up for him as usual. Him telling Fox to spill the beans freely for Elisa didn't _shock_ me per-say, but it did make me shake my head and grin at that guys audacity. I mean.._really_.

David and Fox sitting in a Tree: In this episode it's pretty clear that something is really up with these two. I don't think I _really_ caught it with the force that I did untill this episode. But when I did, I didn't have any after thoughts like "Hmm wonder how long this will last." They are just _perfect_ for eachother.

Eating Jokes: Ya..it did get strung out. But it wasnt like "Oh geez, this again?" I mean, they are siblings..and sibs will be sibs. I didnt expect any of them to get really original in their come backs. Besides..it was nice to just sorta ween viewers off of the whole eating machine lable that got stuck on Broadway in earlier episodes. If he had just _stopped_ being somewhat ..well a big eater will say, or the subject was just dropped like a stone I would have been kinda thrown.

Well, I suppose thats pretty much all I got. Another contest ha? Coolies. Though I dont _think_ I'll enter.

Oh and by the way Greg. I'm sure you probably already know this. But if you gave one of us a box of used paperclips off your desk, most fans would be like "OH MY GOSH!! I have _GREGS'_ PAPERCLIPS!!! And he actually USED THEM!!!"

*shrugs* I know..but its probably true:) Were kinda insane that way.

Todd Jensen writes...

An addendum to my last post. I'm really enjoying these "episode ramblings" of yours, and thought that I'd thank you for posting them. Until/unless you get to write a book about "The Making of 'Gargoyles'" (for which, alas, there doesn't seem to be a market at present - I fear that Gargoyles fandom isn't big enough yet to offer enough sales to make a publisher happy), this counts as the next best thing.

Todd Jensen writes...

A sort of "return-ramble" about "Her Brother's Keeper". One thing that I will admit is that the first time around that I saw it, I actually believed that Elisa's tape recording of her conversation with Fox would change Derek's mind about remaining in Xanatos's employment. Of course, we know from "Metamorphosis" that it didn't happen. (The one thing that we probably never will know was whether Derek never listened to the recorder or whether he did but remained unconvinced even after listening to Fox's words on it. Admittedly, after the way that Elisa had been pushing him to leave Xanatos's service, I suppose that it's not too surprising that even the recording wouldn't have changed Derek's mind).

I agree with your analysis of the behavior of the Mazas over Derek's situation. (And I've got to add that I consider Elisa's meeting with Derek in the locker room a BIG mistake on her part; it obviously didn't do her cause any good. Not to mention that it wasn't too much fun for a lot of her male co-workers, either :)

I also enjoyed your analysis (which I thought was also very accurate) of the trio in this episode, and of Goliath. And I agree that the snow at the end of the story is a great touch in conveying mood.

I'd also noticed about why Jackal and Hyena would still be at liberty in this episode (and Dingo, too); nobody had seen them chasing after the gargoyles and their actions hadn't endangered any humans, so only Fox and Wolf would be facing charges and locked away in prison. (Of course, by the end of the ep, it's a whole different story for Jackal and Hyena).

Blaise writes...

LONG WAY TO MORNING

A little late, I know, but we all get bogged down in RL every now and then.
I liked the Archmage. Now this is mostly because I just like magic-using characters no matter how cliched (just an odd affinity) and my like for this character increased when (on the second viewing) I finally recognized his voice.
I also like the exposure Hudson gets in this episode, and was thrilled to see that the ep showed how his eye was damaged. As far as I know, usually when an animated character is introduced with a damaged/missing eye it is not shown how that happened. I was glad that "Gargoyles" actually took the time to do that.
I must admit, although I noticed Malcolm's casual use of the gargoyles as a boogeyman to scare Katharine during my first viewing of the episode, it was in the later viewings that their long-term effects really started hitting me. Apparently, Malcolm can be quite thoughtless at times. I wonder if he lived long enough to see Katharine's growing dislike for gargoyles.
The fight with Demona, while for the most part well staged, was not quite as interest grabbing for me (always liked the characters more). In fact it's mostly in how Hudson handles that fight and views it that really grabs interest. There are a few moments in the fight that stretch credibility (Hudson cuts through a statue but Demona's gun remains [apparently] in one piece, etc.) however, Demona using the gun as a blunt instrument was not one of them. To me, she just seemed the type that would do that sort of thing.
I never really thought about the "hidden meaning" of the last exchange--I guess because I already took it for granted that the gargs were not fight-mongers. But all the same, I love the wry humor in it.

Matt writes...

Hey, I'm a big fan of the Gargoyles and I've been reading 'The Gargoyles Saga' Gargoyles. It's really cool. I was wondering what comments on the series would be?

I really like Goliath and Elisa together.

becky writes...

dear greg,
i love th gargoyles show and i've been watching on sunday on disney's sneak peek on toon disney. the only proble is they shut it off. our cable operator doesn't carry toon disney so i have no hope of seeing it ever again. please help! i really love watching gargoyles.

Greg "Xanatos" Bishansky writes...

Ahh man. Todd pointed out the Demona/Lady Macbeth connection before I did.

Since I'd rather not repeat everything he said, I'll just say that "Long Way to Morning" was a great episode.

Oh by the way, I'm glad the Archmage did return. I like evil sorcerors, even if some are cliched. And David Warner is one of my favorite voice-actors. He was great as Ras al'Ghul in Batman, and Alpha in MiB. Thanks for bringing him back to "Gargoyles". It's just too bad that we didn't get "Dark Ages".

Ambrosia writes...

Hey Greg!
This is another response to a ramble on another beautiful ep!

Like Erin said, it's not supposed to happen. The brother of our heroine isn't supposed to be in the employ of the Bad Guy. The thing that interested me most was that scene with the different reactions between the trio. Broadway and Brooklyn's lines beg some thought… Derek should trust you… but trust doesn't mean much without honesty. In a kid's show, there is usually a very clear definition between Good and Bad, but Brooklyn is subtly saying that she hasn't been entirely honest with her brother. I love my trio. Oops, there's three. And poor Lex who carries a grudge as long as any other gargoyle is inching out the Six trying to start hunting the Pack down. Great personality work. These aren't Huey Duey and Louie.

Again, the Good and Bad thing going on with Xanatos. He's supposed to be the antagonist, but he just acts so… suave! One might mistake him for a great guy… I guess Derek did.

The scene with Fox? I think the beams of light from heaven surrounding her enraptured face as she pictures "David" gave it away. :) When I first saw it, I for some reason thought that Fox was infatuated with Xanatos, but didn't know it was mutual. Silly me.

Thanks!

Andrew Warren writes...

In regards to "Her Brother's Keeper."

Great episode for Xanatos. The convuluted plan demands respect, but I was even more impressed with how his whole team worked together. While Elisa is bickering with her brother, Xanantos, Fox, and Owen are working together seamlessly to call the tune. Even Jackal and Hyena seem to be playing at sibling rivalry rather than suffering from it.

And, yes, it was obvious Fox had a thing for Xanatos here. Also that she was already pretty close to him. Not only is there that whole "brilliant man" line, but she also calls him David. Not many people in the series are on a first name basis with the guy.

The coyote diamond would be a great clue later on in the series. Was this conscious forshadowing for "Leader of the Pack" or "Cloud Fathers?" I'd guess almost certainly the former and perhaps the latter as well.