Laura 'ad astra' Ackerman writes...

Another try at sending this out-

I just typed up a particularly long question that didn't post and got lost, and I was foolish not to copy it somewhere before hitting submit. I apologize if it turns up later and this becomes a double post, and also if I can't get rid of the autoformating in Word and it looks a little screwy. After losing that long a question I am not taking a chance working directly into the web page.

It has been a long time since I posted a question... of course it has been a long time since I have been caught up with your answers. After reading all of the new responses, particularly those dealing with Oberon and Titania, a question has come to mind. [Actually two, but how many new ways can you ask, "What did Titania whisper to Fox?"? That question should almost have its own section.] The short form of the question is this: Just how different are Oberon's hildren from humans? I am not referring to physical or magical characteristics, but rather do they think in a quantifiably different way than do humans?

The long version of the questions comes after the long digression:

A while back a friend practically shoved an anthology into my hands and insisted I read a particular article. I believe it was called, "Hamlet in the Bush". The gist of it was that a young anthropologist found herself with an indigenous culture for a long boring stretch. [She had thought the off season would be a wonderful time to get to observe their culture. Had she asked them they would have told her the off season is the off season because the weather is so miserable that they cannot even visit the next village. They spend the time drink the local equivalent to bear waiting for it to pass.]

Before leaving she had had an argument with a friend. She argued that at base all humans are the same and once you do some explaining to take care of cultural differences, a great work of literature would be recognized as such by all people. The example that was bandied about was Hamlet, so he gave her a copy as a going away present.

With nothing else to do she sat in her tent and read it over and over until the locals asked her what on Earth she was doing. They were a non-literate culture and to them reading papers meant reading boring legal documents. Even a white person could not be so daft as to spend weeks doing so. She seized upon it an opportunity to test her theory and they, being a story telling culture, were happy to oblige.

She immediately ran into two problems:
-1-They didn't have a concept of "ghost". Zombie, yes. Evil spirit in false guise, yes. But the idea of a dead person's spirit hanging around this world was simply ludicrous to them.
-2-They thought Claudius was a great guy. He acted as an exemplary uncle and brother-in-law, although he waited a bit long in taking care of his brother's household. [Three whole months! And with only one wife to tend the fields!]

In the end they loved the story (with their corrections) and thought she was on her way being a great storyteller, (being female aside). They also told her to be sure to tell her elders that they had been good hosts and had corrected her misremembering lest she continue in error.

I think her premise held, but she hadn't realized how far cultural difference went. The more complex the story, the more it was tied to its own cultural assumptions and the harder it is to explain to another culture.

Back to Gargoyles-

In Gargoyles the basic emotions seem pretty much universal. Gargoyles, humans, New Olympians, and even Nokar and Matrix as far as we have seen them, display them. Love, hate, curiosity and fear, as well as slightly more complex emotions of protection and loneliness are clearly expressed and are more easily understood than some lost cultures of our own ancestors. Are Oberon's Children fundamentally different, or if we can imagine long enough the effects of great power and incredibly long lives we can empathize without too much brain-sprain?

There are great works of speculative fiction that try to understand the mind of The Other. Zelazny had a whole series of stories of robots worshiping and trying to understand the long last human race. I recently read a great book called "Exogesis" (a post-modern Prometheius) by Astro Teller dealing with how a newly emerged AI might think and how humanity might respond. If I would list every book I could think of on the topic I will never stop typing and will eventually have feel the urge to start listing plays and movies as well, (and probably have to deal with Frankenstein, and I am not fond of the book. It is hard to like a book when you hate the main character. Perhaps the movies were right to make the monster the lead character. :).

It all boils down to this: Are the Children of Oberon "the Other", or something very much like ourselves?

Boy this is long! sorry.

Phil writes...

I've enjoyed reading your development files for Gargoyles. The fact that you're here and still working on the concept years after it's been cancelled leads me to a question:

At what point did you realize that Gargoyles was not just another cartoon series? It's obvious now how different Gargoyles is from Bonkers or Tale Spin, but at what point in development did that emerge?

Greg "Xanatos" Bishansky writes...

Don't have time for a large ramble on "Outfoxed", so I'll just comment on a few key points.

Cyberbiotics> I was wondering what became of Cyberbiotics after "Awakening", so it was nice to see them again. And personalizing them in Renard, so we know who it was that got hurt by Goliath and everyone's actions.

I didn't think much of Vogel's resemblence to Owen. I thought they were cousins or something, or perhaps that one was a clone. He also made an interesting character, and I thought his change of heart was believable at the end.

Halcyon Renard. First of all, that is a great name. I like the sound of it. Yes, I did figure that he was Fox's father. I may have flunked out of French class that year, but I knew what Renard meant. He was a great character to, and Robert Culp did a great job doing his voice. Also he made a nice opposite to Xanatos.

Goliath was well-used in this episode. Also nice to show that he's far from perfect in his waiving off his responsibility in the destrcution of Fortress I.

Fox was great in this episode also. She became one of my favorites here. I was surprised by her pregnancy, but it seemed to be a natural step in where she and David were going. Seeing her beat David in their karate match was fun, but I'd like to see him win one some day, he lost to Owen to. Fox's attitude at the end with Renard was priceless, and nice to learn her birth-name. Janine was very appropriate.

Also, with Demona, Elisa, Angela, Fox etc, "Gargoyles" has a lot of great woman characters. That's one thing I really like about this show.

The theme/moral of integrity was a good one, and well handled. I understand how Renard feels when he says it's a daily struggle. I for one have been guilty of taking the easy way out and waiving off integrity. But I try to practice it as often as I can.

This was a very good episode. Not one of my favorites, but very good.

Also, don't ask me how, but I knew that David and Fox were going to have a son. I also knew that IF Goliath and Demona had an egg it was a daughter. Don't ask me how, I just knew.

Hopefully I'll have a longer Ramble/Review for "Revelations". I enjoy doing those.

Seeker of Knowledge writes...

In an earlier post, you said you wanted the God of the gargoyle universe to be bigger than the God of Abraham. How is that possible? The very nature of the Judeo-Christian-Muslim teachings makes this impossible. And He is in no way limited to these three religions. If you examine other faiths, it is easy to see that even religions as distant from these three as American Indians have some similarities.

Bruno writes...

Hi, Greg,

Do you play - or played - videogame?

Pyro X writes...

Greg;
Are you really colorblind?

I am as well! I didn't know this. we have something in common, although not a great thing.

Jim R. writes...

Where do you answer our questions? At home? Work? In your car? In your sleep?

demona writes...

hi greg could u go to my chat room the addy is http://www.masquerade.com/main.htl my group sog would be very excited to see u there out meetings are every sunday at 8:00 pm eastern or standerd time i am there as demona there is also a macbeth etc and we all would love 2 see u there !

Demona Taina writes...

One of my favorite smart-ass responses, among many, well, one guy asked (I can't remember whom) what Goliath was like when he was a baby. You replied: "Purple." [LOL] So I'm a hopeless Goliath fan. :P

Jim R. writes...

Greg,

I just thought to let you know, that I enjoy reading your movie reviews. You see way more movies than I do, so reading some of your thoughts about them is interesting to see whether I would agree if I've seen the movie or not, and to see whether if I should. Ebert and you would be a sight to see...

Cleo writes...

Who is your favorite character on the Show?

Thanks!

Jim R. writes...

What was your very first job? And what was the first job that was relevant to what you really wanted to do for a living or that you enjoyed? Was it working on Gargoyles?

Andrea L. Marbry writes...

Dear Greg,
Just wanted to offer my very belated congratulations on the Starship Troopers video Roughnecks: The Pluto Campaign, coming out in March 2001 (according to Previews Magazine). Hopefully, this will be the beginning of getting out a whole lot of your work out,
including a certain other show of mine that's near and dear to my heart. Do you know who I can write to in order to get more dvd's and videos of Sony's animated stuff out?

Shavri writes...

I had a nightmare last night, Mr. Weisman, and it was about you. In it, you died, and in one of the suckiest ways, too. You fell backwards off a bunk-bed ladder and cracked your skull. It was so horrible! I saw it in slow-motion over and over again; you falling down, your mouth gaping open in a scream, then, "BOOM, CRACK," and I think there was blood coming out of your mouth when you were lying on the floor...you looked so pitiful and helpless. You weren't even that high up (about 2 or 3 feet off the ground)! I wasn't there, but somehow I saw that event (you know how weird dreams can be). I remember seeing somewhere in a comment room and on the news that you had died, and then I was flashed with the image of your horrific death. I felt so bad! I was thinking about how you weren't going to be able to answer the question I asked you yesterday, or any question for that matter. It broke my heart to think that, if a "Gargoyles" movie was going to come out, you wouldn't be there to see it or critique it; and how you'd never be able to work on another show if you were given leave to. I mean, you fall 2 or 3 measly feet off a ladder and die! What a horrible way to end your life! It must have been one of those dreams where you couldn't tell whether it was a dream or not, because I woke up thinking you were dead and how badly it sucked. I was thinking, "Wait a minute IS he dead?"...And trying to remember if someone had said you were or not. Then finally, I got over my disorientation and remembered you were NOT. Please don't think I'm crazy or anything. I'm not sure what brought this on. Probably partly because of the injury that caused Dale Earnhardt's death(a fractured skull), and that somehow incorporated itself into my dream. I really don't know why you were in it. Mr. Weisman, Dear, Sweetie, even though I don't know you personally and vice versa: would you do me a favor and PLEASE, please, BE CAREFUL around LADDERS(especially bunk-bed ladders) or ANYTHING else. Maybe you should wear a helmet or something when you climb one (yeah…I know what you're thinking, but still). If you die should from something stupid I will be VERY unhappy with you for not heeding my advice. So BE CAREFUL, please, don't make me into a psychic.

Pyro X writes...

Greg: Did any of your personal views -IE) something you were really opposed to- come out in any way on the show?

Bruno writes...

Hi, Greg,

You walked out of Meet the Parents. If this was your second time, what was your first?

Dan M writes...

My dog's name is Norman too.

Aaron writes...

Thanks for the reminder that you worked on DuckTales. I've been meaning to ask you, there was an episode where Scrooge and co. go in search of a lost play by the great bard William Drakespeare. Was that one of yours?

Or the one where Magica sends Scrooge into the future and everything has gone wrong in his absence? Shades of Future Tense?

One writes...

1) What are your personal feelings regarding Demona? Do you see her as a tragic victim of humanity's fear, the weird sister's machinations, etc? Just a mad gargoyle who can't let go of the past and refuses to accept responsibility for her own actions? What's your take on her?

2) In your opinion, which character of the series is most like you? Why?

3) If you had to go through everything Demona went through... how do you think that would have changed you? What would you be like?

Jim R. writes...

3 questions directed towards you:

Will you ever write a book? Maybe an autobiography or production series telling about what you've accomplished?

If you should ever be asked to tell about yourself on the A&E show, "Biography", would you?

Jim R. writes...

I am curious. You were an "executive producer" for Gargoyles, right? What does an executive producer do for an animated series? Did you work on any of the artwork? Any of the storyline? The voice actors?

What is it that an executive producer does? In a nutshell, of course, I know you're busy...

Jim R. writes...

I am curious, why did you leave Disney in 1996? (I hope this question doesn't open up some old wounds that you may have encountered.) And I wasn't sure if anyone had ever asked you that.

Jim R. writes...

I guess Elisa won't be taking Goliath to '"catch a Giants game" after all since they lost to the Ravens. Ha, Ha. So, Greg, which team were you gunning to win, or don't you care?

I personally don't care much for football, I just watch it for the commercials... :)

Baal writes...

At times, have you considered NOT working on new Gargoyles stuff and just leaving the series as is? I would understand if you gave up, tho I'd be a little disappointed (among others). It would be a shame, but thats life. Tho it seems like you've come close already with one of the spin offs.

Pyro X writes...

Hello;

Generally, what does an Executive producer do, as in preparing a show like Gargoyles?