Todd Jensen writes...

Re your answer to my "Round Table" question:

You're right; I'd forgotten about the Stone of Destiny in its "Sword in the Stone" phase. Well, since your answer reminded me of that, I thought I'd ask a couple of Stone of Destiny questions now:

1. You mentioned having planned to include an episode reflecting the Stone's real-life return to Scotland in the "Pendragon" spin-off. Would the episode have been set during the actual return itself, or afterwards with the Stone already back in Scotland at the beginning of the story?

2. If you had done the episode, would you have explained in it how the Stone of Destiny got to be wherever the young Arthur pulled the sword out of it to become King the first time around (given that in actual history, it would have been in either Ireland or Dalriada at the time, rather than, say, London - where the traditional stories locate the Sword in the Stone)?

Greg "Xanatos" Bishansky writes...

What is Morgana la Fay's current relationship with Arthur? Does she still hate him?

Greg "Xanatos" Bishansky writes...

What would have Duval's physical cost to using the Grail have been?

Greg "Xanatos" Bishansky writes...

1. Did you ever have a love-interest planned for Arthur?

2. If so, care to talk about her?

Greg "Xanatos" Bishansky writes...

Which of the eight Arthurian survivors would have been the female acquantance that would have accompanied Arthur on his quests?

Aris Katsaris writes...

I'm also glad the prize went to Todd... He's the Arthurian expert over here after all, and if it was not for him *noone* would have guessed Blanchefleur... :-)

Anyway, here's another question concerning Morgana: Changelings were traditionally swapped for mortal children. Is this also the case here? And have you thought about what happened to the mortal child she replaced? (My thoughts on the subject, would most probably represent a story idea...)

Btw.. something else I've thought for a while now... Most modern versions of the Arthur legend have combined a number of characters in one: In "Excalibur" the characters of Nimue, Morgana, Morgause are combined in Morgana. The Merlin mini-series also had Morgana combined with Morgause (even though Nimue was separate). I know that other tales combine the characters of Morgana and/or Nimue with that of the Lady of the Lake.

You seem to be the exception and I'm rather glad of that... (in fact one of the reasons I hesitated early on to place Nimue in my guesses was that I was always combining her with either Morgana or the Lady of the Lake in my mind, rather than a separate character) Anyway, here's a question... I now know that atleast these three characters (Morgana, Nimue, Lady of the Lake) would be separate individuals... How about Morgause? Would you also keep her separate, or would you combine her with Morgana as others have done?

Todd Jensen writes...

Thanks in advance for the prize for winning the "Arthurian survivors" contest, Greg. Now, a couple of questions I'd like to ask about one particular survivor, Morgana:

1. You mentioned in your account of how the "Arthurian Eight" survived that Morgana is a changeling in the original sense (a faerie baby swapped for a human one). Does this mean that, in your Masterplan, she's not actually Arthur's *biological* half-sister or related to him by blood, but instead "adopted"?

2. I also noticed that you spelt her name "Morgana" rather than "Morgan". Were you planning to take this "different form of name" for the character, in the event that she showed up in "Gargoyles" or the "Pendragon" spin-off, in order to avoid getting her confused with Officer Morgan?

Todd Jensen writes...

What sort of antagonist do you picture Duval as being? Do you see him as a very malevolent figure, like Thailog and the Archmage, or a more "greyish" enemy, like Macbeth?

Todd Jensen writes...

I'm revising one of my earlier questions here, since you had (correctly) pointed out that I had made it cover way too much ground.

1. How did Guinevere feel about Arthur's alliance with gargoyles - and about gargoyles in general?

2. How did Lancelot feel about them?

Todd Jensen writes...

Is there any connection between Duval's Fisher King role (guardian of the Holy Grail) and those rejuvenation drugs that they give the older members of the Illuminati such as Mace Malone?

Anonymous writes...

We know that Nimue, Blanchefleur,Morgana le Fay and Lady of the Lake are the female Arthurian survivors.
You said that one of them would be traveling with Griff and Arthur. I know it can't be Morgana or Lady of the Lake. So it must be Nimue or Blanchefleur and I am guessing it is Nimue. Can you please tell me if I am right ?

Todd Jensen writes...

You mentioned once that one of the places that you would have sent King Arthur and Griff during their quest for Merlin was Tintagel. If you had gotten to do that episode, would you have been likely to include in it some fictionalized form or other of your near-religious experiences that you had there?

Todd Jensen writes...

Speaking of Percival, some time ago, I was reading a book about the Grail legends which mentioned a medieval German Grail romance where the knights who guarded the Holy Grail for the Fisher King were sometimes sent out in secret to rule kingdoms whose thrones had become vacant, although under strict orders not to reveal that they came from the Grail Castle. Was this where you got the idea for the Fisher King heading the Illuminati? That behavior certainly sounds very proto-Illuminati-ish.

Todd Jensen writes...

I've been meaning to ask you about this ever since your little "Bastards" ramble, but never got around to it until now. You gave a list of Arthurian figures who fit this archetype: Arthur himself, Merlin, Mordred, Galahad, and Percival.

Now, Merlin, Mordred and Galahad are all definitely illegitimate in the traditional legends, and the circumstances of Uther's visit to Igraine at Tintagel would make Arthur's legitimacy a matter of controversy, so all four of them can indeed be fitted into that archetype. (I'd hesitate at calling Galahad a bastard, mind, but that's another story :)

What puzzles me, though, is your inclusion of Percival in the list. I don't recall anything in any version of the Arthurian legend that I've read about him being illegitimate. The closest that I can think of is his secret rearing by his mother away in the woods after the death of his father and older brothers to keep him from finding out about knights. Is this what led to your classification of him as a "bastard"?

Bengali writes...

1.In Lighthouse in a Sea of Time, Macbeth said that Merlins magic was stronger than anything, exept the human heart. Was this a reference to the Lancelot/Guinevere affair or to Romeo and Juliet?

Bengali writes...

My guess for the the 8 arthurian survivors.

1.Arthur
2.Merlin
3.Banchefluer
4.Lancelot
5.Lady of the Lake
6.Sir percival
7.Galahad
8.Morgan le fay

Todd Jensen writes...

You mentioned a while ago your having rather liked Goodrich's notion that Lancelot's name was really a French distortion of "Angus". If you had done the "Pendragon" spin-off and brought Lancelot into it somewhere (presumably via flashback since I get the impression that he's not one of the eight survivors), would you have used this concept?

Todd Jensen writes...

In a post related to (though not actually part of) the "Arthurian Survivors" contest: I thought that I'd raise the question about the three famous Arthurian artifacts, Excalibur, the Holy Grail, and the Round Table. Now, we definitely know that Excalibur still exists in the Gargoyles Universe. It seems more than likely that the Holy Grail's still around, given that you were going to send Arthur and Griff after it once they had found Merlin, and Duval's Fisher King role. But how about the Round Table? Is it still extant in the Gargoyles Universe, or has it been destroyed?

Kayless writes...

Hail Mr. Weisman. Or do you prefer Greg? In any case, here are my questions...

1. Just what are Arthur's powers? He can sense the Stone of Destiny when he nears it in London and is capable of defeating MacBeth in single combat (no small feet considering the latter's centuries of experience). As I recall, Arthur, though a good warrior, was never the strongest in Camelot. A master strategist and tactician yes, but Lancelot was his combat better (at least when Excalibur is taken out of the equation). Plus the Weird Sisters once said in Avalon "beware the sleeping king, his power is great" or something to that effect. So just what are his abilities? Simply heightened awareness and battle prowess or something more, as befits the once and future king?

2. I assume Arthur was born with these talents but did Merlin have a hand in helping him improve them? (I'm probably going to get a response like: 'Merlin helped him with everything' but I'm asking anyway.)

P.S. Thanks. It's always great when important T.V. folk such as yourself take time out of their busy schedule to talk to us yokels. Bob Skir who (as I'm sure you know) wrote several episodes of Gargoyles like 'Future Tense', has a similar site for Beast Machines. Thanks again for putting up with our fanboy crap. Though I suspect it does wonders for your ego. :)

The Gatekeeper writes...

Hi Greg,
First off I would like to say that I think it is great that you take the time to interact with all of us.
I'm was just reading your latest responses on Arthur and got to thinking about your Pendragon spinoff. I was just wondering if you have tried to sell the idea to any of the other networks?
Of all the spinoffs you have thought of, Pendragon would probably be the easiest to reshape into something that would not resemble Gargs and still catch the flavor of your vision and writing. (Just don't make his knights some silly robot ala Sherlock Holmes, UGH!!) Or does Disney hold the rights to Pendragon as well?
Just some thoughts, thanks for listening.

Kayless writes...

The Arthurian Survivors:
1. King Arthur
2. Merlin
3. The Lady of the Lake
4. Nimue
5. Percival
6. Morgan Le Fay
7. Blanchfleur
8. The Fisher King

Nathan Sheaffer writes...

I'll take a stab at the 8 Arthurian survivors:

1. King Arthur
2. Merlin
3. Percival
4. The Lady of the Lake
5. Nimue
6. The Fisher King
7. Lohengrin
8. Morgan le Fay

Christal Miller millertime@ghcc.net writes...

8 Servivors
Ihav no clue if this contest is over but here is my try
1.Author
2.Merlyn
3.Lady of the lake
4.Perceval
5.Blanchfleur
6.Morgana La Fay
7.Nimue
8.Lancelot

Puck40 writes...

Okay! Second question! Macbeth!!! He's got to be one of my favorite antagonists, because he's not truly evil at heart and such.

1) Would King Arthur and Macbeth ever crossed paths again? I'm like positive this answers yes so onto the next question.
2) I'm pretty much guessing that King Arthur isn't immortal. He's always captured my fancy because he was a regular man, who accomplished so much. With help from others and such but hey.... now to my question so its not off topic. Would Macbeth of ever inherited Excalibur?
(10 to 1 you don't give the answer to that. heheh)

Pyro X writes...

Hey Greg!

Some Questions About MacBeth:

1) In "A light house in the sea of time," MacBeth says "The Scrolls of Merlin, Seeld by my own hand." Did he mean the He (MacBeth) seeled the scrolls?

2) If that is the case, then did MacBeth know Arthur and
Merlin, or were they before his time? In pendragon, he did seem kinda shocked that that was King Arthur, so it make for a conflict.

the Next two also relate to MacBeth...

3. Did Macbeth Know that a play was being written about him by Shakespear and did he ever "see" the play?

4. Did Demona ever see MacBeth, because she knew it was about Macbeth?

5. Did MacBeth MEET Shakespear?

Thanks man!