More work on the pilot...

In January of 1993, we were still working with our first writer (two previous to Michael Reaves) on the outline for our pilot. We weren't quite seeing things eye-to-eye. No one's fault. Just a few creative differences of opinion.

GARGOYLES 1-19-93
Notes for 1st Part of 5-part Outline

The following combines (in as coherent a form as I could manage) the notes of all concerned.

First off, I raised the issue of the stone/day - alive/night rule and the problems it can potentially cause. The consensus was an acknowledgement of the difficulty, but a real desire to keep that element. Gary [Krisel], in particular, felt very strongly that it was one of the main appeals to the concept: an automatic ticking clock to every story, kryptonite, etc.

We also felt strongly that the castle should be home to both the gargoyles and the humans in 994 A.D. We discussed the following back-back-story as rationale:

Long before 994, there was a gargoyle rookery high on a rocky promintory overlooking the sea. Medieval man sought out these rookeries as prime real estate for building their fortresses or castles. For one reason, the cliffside protected there backs, and the only accessible wall was easily manned by archers, etc. Secondly, medieval man knew that the gargoyles were instinctively territorial and protective of the rookery's inhabitants, whether those inhabitants were gargoyles or humans. If the humans of the castle could put up and co-exist with the gargoyles they'd have a built in group of warriors at night. It was mutually beneficial. The gargoyles received human protection during the day.
Though not as rare in Europe as, say, the giraffe, even then Gargoyles and their rookeries were scarce. A castle-builder who couldn't find one to build on might carve stone gargoyles to fool and thus scare away would-be attackers. (Back then everyone knew about gargoyles.)
But our castle in Scotland was built on a rookery. And the gargoyles and humans have coexisted there for years. But as our story opens, relations are tense. Humanity as a race is taking on airs. To the humans, the gargoyles are uncouth. Grotesque. Ill-mannered. Nocturnal, and therefore noisey at night when humans are trying to sleep. Considered, at best, a necessary evil.

OTHER GENERAL NOTES:
Though we all agree that the ECLIPSE would make a great episode some day, we're very concerned about establishing the gargoyle rules here in the first part. We don't want to confuse the issue with an eclipse.

We want to keep the story largely from Goliath's point of view. His problems. His tragedies.

The-not-yet-named-Hudson is Goliath's aide and advisor. He is NOT a babysitter to the kids. In fact, if Goliath requested him to act as babysitter, he'd probably refuse. From his point of view, Goliath's the gargoyle-master, and the kids are his responsibility. Anyway, we'd like to establish the kids independence from the get-go, to help establish them as being more teen-age in nature than real young. They don't need a chaperone.