Phil writes...

Hi, Greg

A few questions about "The Hound of Ulster"
1) What is Rory Dugan's father's name?
2) Where is Rory's mother? Did she live with them and we just didn't see her in that ep, or is she separated from Rory's father, or maybe dead?

Todd Jensen writes...

How did Raven get around Oberon's non-intervention edict when he laid Queen Florence Island waste in "Heritage"?

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)?

Sloth writes...

Was the first hound of Ulster a gar-beast?

Has the Banshee/Molly seen the Wizard of Oz and did she like it?

Anonymous writes...

What is the Order of the Guardian? Who started it?

Sloth writes...

in Heritage, grandmother states that Nick's dad and grand dad and so on, had to fight Raven on the volcano. I don't think Ravin is keeping that low of a profile by trying to take the Island every generation. Were their fights more of a meditative thing?

Also, why does raven wan't the island so bad?

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? :)

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."

Anonymous writes...

Who was the original Cuchulain's father? Was he a god or a mortal?

Anonymous writes...

How did the spear of light allow Rory to change into his Cuchulain form?

Anonymous writes...

So have you planned a crossover with the casts of Pendragon, Bad Guys, Gargoyles and New Olympians appearing in the same episode?

Anonymous writes...

You said that there was actually an internal reason for all these heroes being reawakened in the Gargoyles Universe including Goliath and the clan. Could you tell us the reason? If not was this the same reason that Arthur was originally taken to Avalon?

matt writes...

since Cuchalin had a garg beast, is it safe to presume that there was once at least one garg clan in Ireland?

if so, what was this clans relationship to the feud between Cuchalin and the Banche if any? was the clan not involved, Cuchalin's allies, etc....

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?

Anonymous writes...

Are the were-panthers and Natsilane also suppose to be weapons of war like Demona and MacBeth?

Anonymous writes...

How did Cuchulain survive to the modern world?

Anonymous writes...

Did you plan to have any characters that we meet in the mist of avalon episodes get knighted by King Arthur?

matt writes...

when Rory/Cuchalin said, "I had a dog like him once." (talking about Bronx) did he mean that the ancient Cuchalin had a garg beast or just an ordinary dog that was a loyal friend and warrior like Bronx is? sorry if you've been asked this before, but i couldn't find it in the archives...

Entity writes...

Hi Greg,

In "Walkabout," you state that David and Fox really were going to follow through with the Matrix reshaping the planet. I find that pretty jaw-dropping, even if it was to be a selective reshaping. They'd have to basically take over the world in order to do it. Not like they can just do it here or there and go about their business. But onto the specific questions:

1) What in particular did David and Fox have in mind for the world's reshaping? What did they see wrong with it that they sought to righten, or alter in their favor, with the Matrix?

2) How does this goal mesh with Xanatos' pre-established personality? I thought he was already comfortable in the world as it was. And why not? Free trade had evidently benefited him quite well. He was probably the most powerful, non-governmental man on the planet, no? X doesn't seem like the type to rule an empire, like in "Future Tense" (which was a tip-off as to the falsehood of Puck's dream). Rather, he seems to simply want control and power, but in a, well, down-to-earth way.

3) Did Anastasia care?

4) Does Xanatos still have the Matrix technology?

Justin writes...

Greg,
Hey a few more questions.
1) Who is Kai's mate?
2) By the time of the Journey how old is Kai biologically?
3) How many children have Kai and his mate produced? And what years did they hatch?
4) Have Yama and Sora had a child yet?

Thanks again

matt writes...

Jim R.'s last question made me think of one myself. in "Heritage" were the totem poles at least partially inspired by gargoyles or just as a sign of the people's animal ancestors as Natsilane said, after all, at that point he certaintly didn't know much about the gargs or even the heritage of himself and his people. he didn't really believe any of it...

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!

matt writes...

when Rabbi Lowe created the Golem did he have alot of inspirations from gargs? i realize the Golem is made of clay, but its sorta like stone and his mission is to protect Prague. i also assume that Prague never had a garg clan since they needed the Golem in the first place, but did the Rabbi see garg clans in other cities and decide that Prague needed that sort of protection, thus the Golem? i'm attempting to ask these questions without appearing to submit ideas, sorry if i was unsuccessful.

matt writes...

is the technology that allows the Iago and Desdemona robots to heal have anything to do with the Matrix?

LSZ writes...

Which of the series would Rory Dugan be making appearances in?