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POSTINGS 2008-06 (Jun)
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Todd Jensen writes...
My review of the latest "Spectacular Spider-Man".
Another enjoyable episode. Parts that especially stood out to me:
We see more of the consequences of the Lizard story (and now Eddie Brock's got even more reason to be angry with Peter - and this time with Spidey as well).
Although I'd heard that Chameleon would be showing up in this episode, I was still surprised when he pulled off the Dr. Connors disguise. And then when he shed the Norman Osborn disguise, as well.
J. Jonah Jameson in great form as usual. Telling Peter to get out of his office in seventeen words, shouting "Spiderman's not a fraud!" and then feeling amazed that he just said that, and printing the retraction - on page 42, in a small font!
Even though I knew from last week's episode that Harry Osborn had been sent away, I was still surprised to see Mary Jane replacing him in the opening credits. (Though, knowing your enjoyment of making changes as the story progresses, I shouldn't have been.)
The influence of the alien symbiote on Spidey was well-done, especially his justifications for keeping it. (The kind of justifications that wind up getting used for paving material on a certain road.) I'm looking forward to seeing where things go from here.
Fresh embarrassment for Peter - now seeing his alter ego being defended by Flash Thompson!
And we get a reference to the upside-down kiss (I've never seen any of the Spiderman movies, but I've still heard of it; it's one of those things you have to be aware of unless you become a hermit).
Another fine job, as ever.
Greg responds...
Thank you.
Anonymous writes...
*SPOILERS*
I enjoyed it. Venom, being one of my favorite spidey villains, made a strong entry into the series here, as it slowly absorbed Spiderman, turning him into a badass. Really looking forward to more Venom action.
Nice moment at the end with Black Cat. Definite echos of a certain infamous alleyway scene from the 2002 film. Thanks for that throwback, Greg.
Chameleon also made a strong showing, with his frequent impersonations (Dr. Connors, Spidey, Norman) that make it obvious where he got his name from. Kudos.
So Mason makes his first appearance. Forgive me for asking (I'm not AS MUCH of a Spider-man fan as other people here seem to be.) but who was the dark-haired guy working with Chameleon? His name escapes me. :(
Is this the season finale? There was no promo for the next episode. If it was, thanks for a great first season. If not, I still can't wait for more.
So, either way, great job on this episode and the series in particular.
End review.
See you at the Gathering next month.
Greg responds...
Quentin Beck.
Greg Bishansky writes...
"Persona"
... And so it begins, the Venom arc. I'll admit right off the bat, this is not a story arc I've been looking forward to. But, I'll save my ramble on Venom and everything that I think is wrong with him as a character and a concept for my review of the season finale, when Venom actually appears.
Peter is such a geek, alien life is discovered and no one seems to care. Not Aunt May, but she's got other things on her mind. Good to see him and Eddie on speaking terms again, but honestly, can you blame Martha Connors for not wanting him there? I can't.
Nice change to the title sequence. Harry's out and Mary Jane is in. That's funny considering that she did not even appear in the episode itself.
And here we have our favorite feline, the Black Cat. Tricia Helfer did an awesome, purrfect job with that character. Oh. My. God. What have I done? Did I just type "purrfect?" Yes, I did. I hate myself for doing that, as I genuinely think puns are the lowest, least funny form of humor there is. But, I can't help myself here, because Cat was indeed purrfect. Argh, I'm doing it again!
The Black Cat has always been one of my favorite characters in the Spider-Mythos. So, I've been anticipating her almost as much as I was anticipating the Green Goblin. I think she was done purrfectly here (Ugh, I'm still doing it?), from her moves to her lines.
Speaking of those lines...
"My kitty sense is purring."
"Try not to get your goop in my hair." .... and I thought Mary Jane and Rand's line about being randy was pushing S&P. How did that get on the air?
Yes, I like Black Cat better than Catwoman and I always have. There, I said it.
Loved Steve Blum as the Chameleon. It's also refreshing to see a more old school take on him, as opposed to him just being a standard, Mystique-like shape shifter. I suppose he could eventually become one, but I'm glad he's not starting out that way. "So, which captain of industry are you going to masquerade as this time?" ... hmm, I know I should be focusing on this episode, so, I'll just do that. La di dah. Oh, what the hell, I can't resist... when he shows up at the party later as Norman Osborn, my mind went back to last week's episode where for a brief time the Green Goblin and "Norman Osborn" were face to face and I shouted "I KNEW IT!" so loud, I think I woke up the neighbors. The Goblin mystery is definitely not over... but, enough of that, I've now indulged myself. Back to "Persona."
Eddie Brock now hates both Peter and Spider-Man. Too birds, one stone. So far, this has been the best depiction of Eddie Brock I have seen yet, but... I am still apprehensive about the whole Venom story. As I've said before, Venom is a character I've never liked. I'm going to give the character and concept another chance in this universe, but I am remaining skeptical.
Chameleon disguised as Spider-Man cracked me up with his faux Spider-Wit. "My amazing insect sense is tingling." And I loved how Jameson just knew that the real Spidey was real, yet was still slandering him. Daran Norris is great.
And now we meet Mayor Waters. Okay, first thing I want to know is, was she in the comics? I don't recall her, and Marvel always preferred to depict the real Mayor of New York (Giuliani appeared as mayor several times in the 90s comics). She also reminds me of Senator Hillary Clinton, and with that, I'll refrain from going any further. Best not to bring politics into this review.
I liked seeing Quentin Beck and Phineas Mason as the Chameleon Goon Squad. Looking forward to them popping up again. Beck looks kine of like Moe. Wait... Bowl Cut Beck. Balding Mason and no hair Chameleon... no, too easy. ;)
The symbiote itself was well done. I like how it subtly took over Peter's costume, and seems to be playing evil Jiminy Cricket on his shoulder. Peter is going to go dark, and I'm hoping for some wacky malicious hijincks and no dancing and strutting in the streets.
Finally, the infamous upside down kiss between Spidey and Black Cat. Purrfect... I promise you, and I promise myself, I will never do that again.
Greg responds...
Mayor Waters name (though not her gender) does come from a Spider-Man comic set in the future.
ColdFusion writes...
Just watched "Persona" and I have to say, I'm ecstatic about there being such an intelligently-done show on a channel block that calls itself "for kids" @_@
The attention to detail was perfect. They actually showed all of Chameleon's tricks instead of being lazy and letting us assume he can fake things... Showed several instances where he had to 'prove' he was the real deal.. people suspected his height.. and best of all, when his goon pressed a button on his watch, he actually had to DO something with that button to make his boat arrive.. he slid it to the left a bit. That right there is what TV for any demographic is sorely lacking right now. I actually have faith that maybe entertainment is de-retardifying as we speak :D
Keep up the excellent work.
Greg responds...
Thanks. I'm big on attention to detail, myself.
Anonymous writes...
will there be a new gargoyles dvd
Greg responds...
I hope so.
gargoylemaster writes...
in the episode the stone city when demona thinks of her past and she had a diferent clan. where did she find them and what happen to the rest of their clan. THANKS
HUGE FAN!
Greg responds...
She scoured up survivors from around Scotland. They were massacred by Canmore's forces.
HILL STREET BLUES ON DVD
As many of you know, perhaps my favorite television series of all time is HILL STREET BLUES. A couple years ago, the first season was put out on DVD. There was no marketing that I noticed... but there was a bit of publicity. A year later the second season came out. This time no marketing and no publicity. Also, I'm GUESSING, not much in terms of sales -- as the third season isn't on the schedule. I've signed up at Amazon to be notified if-and-when it is released...
SOUND FAMILIAR?
I bring this up, since it allows me to do a few things:
1. SPREAD THE WORD! I encourage you all to buy the first two seasons of Hill Street Blues. This was one of the truly seminal shows in television history, brilliantly written and acted and directed and a HUGE, HUGE influence on Gargoyles. Like Gargoyles it created a tapestry, a world of characters. Very much worth your time and disposable income.
2. CREATE A REALITY CHECK. For those of you who STILL seem to feel Disney is doing something unusual (let alone nefarious) in its treatment of Gargoyles, this is one of just many, many, many examples that demonstrates it's not. We can all sturm and drang about how business should be done, with marketing and publicity galore for every product, with a guarantee that once a company starts a project they must finish it (whether or not the economics justify it), etc. But the gnashing of teeth doesn't change the reality. Companies -- even companies as huge as Disney have LIMITED resources and must deal with the notion of OPPORTUNITY COST. So one company takes a flier on a Gargoyles DVD set, another takes one on Hill St. Both do fairly well in their first season releases, despite limited or no marketing and limited or no publicity. Both fair poorly in their second release. Both don't seem to rate a third release. It's sad. But it's life.
3. ENCOURAGE YOU TO SPREAD THE WORD! The best thing any one of you can do to help get the next release of ANY show you love -- short of spending your own money -- is to help us Spread the Word! About the DVDS, the comics, the Gathering. Oh, and about Hill Street Blues. (See, I practice what I preach!)
With that in mind, I depart in less than 48 hours for Chicago and my 12th Annual Gathering, followed immediately by a trip to Minneapolis for ConVergence (http://www.convergence-con.org/). I won't have internet access while I'm gone, but when I return I'll post my conjournalx2. I encourage all of you who are attending the Gathering to post/cut&paste their conjorunals, diaries etc. here to ASK GREG. It creates a central place where I can refer ignorant PTB-types. Also, if you see me at either con, please come up and say hello. I am notoriously bad with names, and I admit (with some embarrassment) that it often takes me two or three conventions to really nail a name down. But I do want to meet you, and I do want to get to know you. I'm not much at small talk, but I can talk about animation and comics and pop culture in general ad nauseum (just ask my wife).
alex31 writes...
is eliza like a surrogate mother to the trio?
Greg responds...
More like a big sister.
Enterprise writes...
I know you been asked this before but dose disney have a say so or the rights in weather a film could be made out of this spectaculer series
Greg responds...
Are we talking about Spider-Man or Gargoyles?
Gargoyles - Of course.
Spectacular Spider-Man - None at all.
Shadow Wing writes...
Okay, I just picked up Bad Guys 2 yesterday. Loved what you've done so far, and I just have a couple comments (holding back the flood for when the whole six issues are out):
1) You weren't the first person to make the Tengu-Gargoyle connection.
2) LOVED the inside joke on the post-it on the cover. Was that your idea or Guler's? Also, I could only read the second line...what did the first say?
Greg responds...
1. How do you know when I made the connection?
2. Guler's. I don't know what any of it says.
P.B.D. writes...
Is there a chance Norman staged the whole green goblin is Harry thing to throw people off his trail?
Greg responds...
<sigh>
P.B.D. writes...
Why did you go more with the movie symbionite suit instaed of the classic look?
Greg responds...
We decided to do both, as you probably know by now, in order to show how the Symbiote was gradually taking Peter over.
Dirk writes...
1. Since Harry was the First Green Goblin in the new cartoon, does that mean that Norman Osborn will never become the Green Goblin?
2. Will the Hob Goblin, Scorpion, Mysterio and other villains appear in the series?
3. Will Carnage eventually appear in this series (like Season 4 or 5 if the show stays succesfull)? Or is he too violent/scary to put in this cartoon.
Greg responds...
1. GANG, GANG, this is NOT a forum for me to post all sorts of ridiculous spoilers about Spider-Man. Why would I do that and scoop my own stuff?
2. Yes. Mysterio is slated for the first episode of Season Two. I've previously revealed that both Hobgoblin and Scorpion will debut in Season Three (if there is a Season Three).
3. Time will tell.
Nabil writes...
Hey Greg,
you guys are doing a fantastic job on the series i really love it, every bit and piece of it i have couple questions though:
1- Do you have any idea on when the first dvd will be released and will it have a bluray edition as well?
2- is there any chance that tombstone is not really the big man, but as foswell put it "some other guy pulling the strings from behind" especially that tombstone never refer to himself as the big man?
3- there surely a lot of mystery surrounding goblin's identity even though we are to believe it is harr after the unmasking in last episode, when will we have a definitve answer on who the goblin was/is? (season 3 ?)
4- are there any plans for a series of comics or video games based on the spectacular spidey series?
Keep up the good work and thanx a bunch for all your efforts
Greg responds...
1. No idea.
2. Did you really think I was going to answer this?
3. Who says you don't?
4. I don't know.
(Sorry, I know the above isn't too helpful, but...)
Chip writes...
I was wondering...in "MIA" when Leo and Una noticed Goliath outside Into the Mystic didn't it strike them as odd that Goliath hadn't aged a day since they saw him in 1940? It seems like the kind of thing that I would notice...then again I'm not a gargoyle.
Greg responds...
Well, since Gargoyles don't age that fast... AND since they were more focused on the shock of seeing him alive at all, I don't think it registered. (It's not like they knew him well or long, so that they'd notice nuances.)
dph writes...
Previously in Ask Greg - http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?qid=10471 ,
dph writes...
Thank you for your previous response to my question about Ophelia. IYou have stated that the ability of a female gargoyles and female gargoyle beasts to become pregnant is tied to Earth's natural cycles. Are the abilities of female gargoyles and female gargoyle beasts to lay eggs also tied to Earth's natural cycles?
Greg responds...
Uh... probably.
Without getting to graphic, if a female gargoyle was artificially inseminated with the proper cells on the right day of the year but not in the right year, would her body start forming an egg so she could possibly lay an egg in an odd year?
Greg responds...
"Right day of the year"? You're assuming years act independent of these cycles... as if a right day COULD occur in a wrong year... or am I not understanding your question?
jon writes...
What is my real name?
Greg responds...
You mean it's not "jon"?
Arcturus writes...
First of all, I just want to say that the Spectacular Spider-Man is perhaps the best Spider-Man television series in a long time! The writing, the animation, the voice work and the plot lines are all excellent! I also like how the episodes flow together. I can certainly see all the dedication throughout the series, keep up the good work! I do have a few questions, where has Eddie Brock been? What has he been up too? I believe the last we seen of him was in Catalysts. I understand that the symbiote saga is underway, and Eddie Brock is an essential part of the arc, are we going to see what drives him into wanting to smash Spider-Man/Peter Parker? I simply ask because Venom is my favorite Spider-Man villain.
Greg responds...
Well, by now, I'm hoping you've seen all 13 episodes, and most of your Venom questions have been answered. So feel free to stop by here again if you still have questions.
Anonymous writes...
I've always been wondering, is the illuminati of great interest to you? Did you ever have to explain or get those references approved by Disney? Not that it's bad, it just seems to be pretty deep for a y7 cartoon.
Greg responds...
"Disney" never gave us any trouble over that. And I don't think the way we've handled it is all that depthful... or no more so than everything else. Kids get it well enough, if that's what you mean.
Anonymous writes...
what is the purpose of a gargoyle
Greg responds...
What is the purpose of anything... say... YOU, for example?
Algernon writes...
I've searched the archives and I don't think this has been addressed but it's something I've been wondering about for a while.
1) Did Derek ever listen to that tape of Fox's confession that Elisa gave him in "Her Brother's Keeper"?
2) If yes, what did he make of it?
Greg responds...
1. I'll leave that to your interpretation, I think.
2. If yes... ditto.
Ashley writes...
I was a big fan of Tony Dracon throughout the series. If it had continued, were there any plans to bring him back for a few more episodes?
Greg responds...
Yes.
Todd Jensen writes...
My review/report on the latest episode of "The Spectacular Spider-Man", if a day late.
Obviously, the big question about this episode is: Is Harry really the Green Goblin, or has he been framed? Bishansky's already said a lot about that, so I won't say anything more (except that I also think that Harry *is* being set up).
What more appropriate time for the Goblin to show up than Halloween? I enjoyed Spidey's parody of "Twas the Night Before Christmas", especially his not-too-successful effort at the rhymes. And talk about daring! Peter actually making Spider-Man his Halloween costume. Shades of the gargoyles' own two Halloween parties ("Eye of the Beholder" and the Double Date story in the comic).
And not only does Flash Thompson wind up dressing as a cheerleader, but so do all his football buddies. I hadn't expected that latter part.
Tombstone's as imposing as ever (I can see why Hammerhead respects him). And I got a kick out of Goblin's "deja vu" remark to Spidey.
Great to see more of J. Jonah Jameson's human side, as he waits anxiously for news about the shuttle landing. Which itself looks like it'll have its own big consequences: now Venom's in town. Things are going to get even more lively in the Big Apple now....
Greg responds...
I'm not sure Pete was planning to go as Spidey for Halloween -- of if he was just improvising.
Rose92 writes...
I hope there's going to be a live-action movie of Gargoyles, question for you, Greg. Are you a director or something?
Greg responds...
Not in the sense you're suggesting. I've voice directed, but mostly I'm a writer-producer-story editor-development guy.
Anonymous writes...
Is Vinnie's last name Grigori or Gregarino?
Greg responds...
Grigori. Gregarino was a joke I posted once.
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