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Anonymous writes...

****Blaise walks in.**** Hello again Mr. Weisman. Sorry to ask a second
set of questions before my first set is answered (I strive to avoid that
so I don't bog you down with endless questions), but I have a few things on
my mind that I wanted to get down before I forgot. First of all, I won't ask
about the HOBGOBLIN OF LITTLE MINDS ep because a bunch of other people
have asked about it, and it would be redundant. Next, I can understand
your...disconcertion (?) with revealing suprises (like Merlin's
parentage). That's pretty much why I try my best to avoid asking questions about the
future in GARGOYLES and try to focus on the "Why and wherefore" (or
whatever) of the show (I don't ALWAYS succeed). So, I come to my Q's.
Both are pretty much about the show's evolution from the "comedy" development
into what we have today.

1) First, Elisa Maza: a) When the Archive first came out, you gave a
very nice explanation on why you made the name change from "Elisa Chavez" to
"Elisa Maza." However you never explained why you changed it from the
original "Morgan Reed," or where the surname "Bluestone" appeared in
there, nor why you made those changes. So, why those names and why the changes?
b) In addition to her name, Elisa went through a lot of concept changes
as well: school teacher, firefighter, museum worker (or something), mother,
descendent of Princess Catharine (please excuse my spelling on that),
etc.. Why so many changes and why those particular changes.

2) Now for Xanatos's original: Originally, Xavier was supposed to be a
descendant of the Magus (or whatever his character was called at the
time), and was supposed to be rather petulant; "Captain Hookish." Why the change
from this to the Machavellian, arguably Edmundish villain with no ties to
the Magus today?

3) Now Owen's first, Mr. Owen: An aardvark? What prompted that? I know
that the "comedy" development was a "no-go" and it's all pretty much a
moot point now, but I'm still curious. I mean, I like finding out something's
origins and seeing how it evolved. See you later, and I hope my questions
aren't too much of a bother. Have a nice day! ****Blaise dissolves.****

Greg responds...

1. Morgan Reed was part of the comedy development. It pre-dated
Goliath's inclusion and therefore pre-dated any Beauty/Beast thread to the
series. When Goliath entered, Morgan's name switched to Elisa for purely
aesthetic, sonorous reasons. Meaning, I just liked the sound of it for the
new way the character functioned in the show. Chavez was her working last
name, because I intended to make the character hispanic and again I liked
the sound. When we cast Salli Richardson, we dumped Chavez, because Salli's
not Hispanic. Paul Lacy compiled a short list of possible Native American
surnames, including Bluestone, which was my bosses' early pick on my
recommendation. Later, he changed his mind and we went with Maza.
Obviously, for the hell of it, I wanted to preserve all the old names in one
way or another. So our beat cop became Officer Morgan. Maggie was Maggie
Reed. Maria was Maria Chavez. And Matt was Matt Bluestone (which is also a
Jewish name).
2. Like Elisa, he was put through the prism of Goliath. The old
traits fell away, and he emerged as Xanatos. It was a process, but it felt
right.
3. Aardvarks are funny, don't you think? When you're developing a
comedy, you don't need much of a better reason.

(GDW / 7-22-98)

Response recorded on July 22, 1998