My Journey to Oregon...

Around March of 1993, my boss at Disney, Gary Krisel, became fascinated with comic books -- mostly because his sons were collecting. At the time, no one was more successful than Tod McFarlane. He had launched SPAWN, and for awhile at least was bringing in multi-millions of dollars per month. WOW. I had worked briefly with Tod at DC Comics in the mid-eighties, when he was penciling INFINITY INC. for Roy Thomas, and I was Roy's Associate Editor on the book. At the time, Roy was a huge fan of Tod's. Most everyone else at DC thought his work was too eccentric. What did they know?

So anyway, Gary had me contact Tod. He wanted to see if he could get Tod interested in participating in GARGOYLES. We arranged a meeting at Tod's new home in Oregon. I prepared yet a tenth pass at the pitch, and Gary and I flew up north for an hour meeting with Tod. I did pitch the show, but Tod was way too focused on SPAWN to have any real interest. He and Gary talked about strategies for turning Spawn into a movie, and then we flew home. Nothing ever came of it. But here's the pitch, I pitched Tod:

GARGOYLES McFarlane Pitch
Semi-Modified Tenth Pass (Weisman / 3-4-93)

I. Trio of typical stone GARGOYLES.

"These are GARGOYLES. Ugly, stone statues that squat on the roofs of old buildings. But there was a time, one thousand years ago, when gargoyles were real, living creatures. During the day, they slept...frozen in stone."

II. GOLIATH, the GARGOYLE-MASTER. Proud and Noble.

"But when the sun went down, GOLIATH, the GARGOYLE-MASTER would lead his gargoyle-warriors in defense of the king's castle."

III. HUMANS scorning the Gargoyles.

"For these efforts, Goliath received no reward, no thanks or even kindness. In fact, the people of the castle treated all gargoyles with nothing but contempt."

IV. The Gargoyle-Master alone in the throneroom.

"Still Goliath could no more stop guarding the castle than breathing the air. It's part of a gargoyle's nature to be territorial, protective. And so for years, he maintained his lonely vigil. Then one night, Goliath was betrayed and lured away from his post."

V. SORCEROR curses Goliath and the other gargoyles on the castle ramparts.

"The castle was overrun and sacked. Goliath and the surviving gargoyles were unfairly blamed. The kingdom's SORCEROR laid a curse upon them, and they fell into a stone sleep--that lasted a thousand years."

VI. Castle on the skyscraper.

"New York City, 1994. A rich and powerful man has decided there's a better place for a medieval castle than a picturesque hill in Scotland. He's moved the whole place--lock, stock and gargoyle--to the top of the tallest skyscraper in Manhattan."

VII. Police Detective ELISA CHAVEZ.

"All of which means absolutely nothing to New York City Police Detective, ELISA CHAVEZ. She doesn't care about castles, and she doesn't believe in curses. She's hot on the trail of a major badguy."

VIII. She's ambushed on a rooftop by multiple THUGS. She's got the drop on most of them. But someone's about to nail her from behind. (And from another rooftop, someTHING is watching in the shadows.)

"Too bad that trail leads her right into an ambush. But thank goodness, a shadowy figure sees what's happening and decides to help."

IX. Reveal THE GARGOYLE, determined, as he dives into fray from above.

"Thank goodness for THE GARGOYLE."

X. Gargoyle lifts a badguy with either hand. While a third shoots at him, the bullets glancing off his stone-like hide.

"Goliath benchpresses two badguys easy. And that stone-like hide of his makes him practically invulnerable..."

XI. Romantic shot in moonlight. Close in. She reaches up to touch his face gently. He looks handsome and noble and just a bit uncomfortable and sad.

"...To everything but Elisa's kindness. She is the first human being who's ever offered him understanding and friendship, hope..."

XII. From atop the skyscraper, she shows him Manhattan. The city as fortress. This is our showpiece card.

"...And a sense of purpose. She introduces him to his new home, Manhattan, and asks for his help in protecting it against modern day barbarians."

XIII. HUDSON. (One pose, plus two headshots.)

"Fortunately, our hero isn't alone. This is Goliath's old friend HUDSON, a Gargoyle-Warrior long past his prime. Hudson helps out by keeping an eye on the young Warriors-in-training..."

XIV. Trio of young Gargoyles, BROOKLYN, LEXINGTON and BROADWAY. Same as card 1. (But in color, perhaps?)

"...BROOKLYN, LEXINGTON and BROADWAY. (Uh, they picked their own names.)"

XV. BRONX, the DOG. (Multiple poses.)

"And then there's BRONX, the Gargoyle-dog. He's not a big fan of adventure."

XVI. Bronx (two poses) chewing on a fire hydrant and flying.

"He just likes to eat a lot, sleep a lot and make a general mess."

XVII. Goliath and Elisa try to be inconspicuous on the Subway.

"Goliath has wider interests, but it can be hard for a seven-foot medieval monster to squeeze into the modern world."

XVIII. Interior of Gargoyle lair.

"Sometimes he just needs to retreat back to the old castle and let time stand still. Of course that can be tough too..."

XIX. XAVIER.

"Especially with XAVIER around. Rich, powerful and arrogant, Xavier bought the gargoyles' castle. Now he thinks he owns the gargoyles too."

XX. ROBOT climbing building toward Gargoyle.

"If something rotten is happening in New York...odds are Xavier's behind it."

XXI. DEMONA with BIG GUN.

"But Goliath's greatest foe is the evil gargoyle DEMONA."

XXII. Demona vs. Goliath, above the city.

"Once she and Goliath were friends. Now, she's his sworn enemy, and she won't rest 'til she controls the night..."

XXIII. Stone version of our Gargoyle. Looking vicious and scary. Daylight.

"And the night is all that matters, because the gargoyles still sleep as stone statues during the day, finding an outdoor ledge just before sunrise and striking a pose that could give you nightmares."

XXIV. Night. Goliath, handsome and noble again, on top of a skyscraper with the full moon, Elisa and the other Gargoyles right behind him. Gothic mood, but clearly set in the present.

"But when the sun goes down, they're our only protection from the city's dark terrors."

XXV. Title Card: "GARGOYLES".

"They are the GARGOYLES."

XXVI. KID at Disneyland.

"Joining the Disney Family in 1994."

FOCUS TESTING

Perish the thought that a yes answer can just be a yes answer. We had approval to proceed, but the powers that be at Disney were still not sure about doing this kind of cartoon at Disney. So they decided to focus test it with kids. Of course, we didn't have an episode produced yet to focus test. So they decided to put the pitch on video, and here I was doing a "Modified Ninth Pass" on the pitch, for this test.

In a focus group test, for those of you who've never heard of one, they pull a bunch of kids more or less off the streets (or out of malls) and put them in a room to watch a cartoon or something. Then a moderator asks questions, while we watch behind a one-way mirror and/or on closed-circuit t.v. The process, from my point of view, is WAY less than scientific, as one strong personality can push an entire group into saying almost anything. Some kids try to guess what answers the moderator wants, and try to make him happy or piss him off. The mere fact that they try this skews the results whether they're successful or not. Also answers get confused, particularly with kids. A kid will say, for example, that he or she "didn't like the villain." That might mean that he or she thinks it's not a very scary or interesting villain. Or it might mean they think it's a GREAT villain to hate.

Personally, focus groups are fascinating to watch in the way a train wreck is fascinating. You can't take your eyes off it. But as feedback goes, I don't hold much store by them.

GARGOYLES FOCUS GROUP VIDEO-SCRIPT
Modified Ninth Pass (Weisman / 1-29-93)

1-A. Trio of typical stone GARGOYLES.

"These are GARGOYLES. Ugly, stone statues that squat on the roofs of old buildings. But there was a time, one thousand years ago, when gargoyles were real, living creatures. During the day, they slept...frozen in stone."

2-B. GOLIATH, the GARGOYLE-MASTER. Proud and Noble.

"But when the sun went down, GOLIATH, the GARGOYLE-MASTER would lead his gargoyle-warriors in defense of the king's castle."

3-C. Goliath reading in library, sitting on small gargoyles.

"And if there was no battle to be fought, he'd retreat to the library to read and learn, all the while making sure that the other gargoyles stayed out of trouble."

4-D. HUMANS scorning the Gargoyles.

"For all these efforts, Goliath received no reward, no thanks or even kindness. In fact, the people of the castle treated all gargoyles with nothing but contempt."

5-E. The Gargoyle-Master alone in the throneroom.

"Still Goliath could no more stop guarding the castle than breathing the air. It's part of a gargoyle's nature to be territorial, protective. And so for years, he maintained his lonely vigil."

6. Close-up of Goliath.

"Then one night, Goliath was betrayed and lured away from his post."

7-F (and/or 7-Alt). SORCEROR curses Goliath and the other gargoyles on the castle ramparts.

"The castle was overrun and sacked. Goliath and the surviving gargoyles were unfairly blamed. The castle SORCEROR laid a curse upon them, and they fell into a stone sleep--that lasted a thousand years."

26. Xavier.

"Now it's 1994. A rich and powerful man has decided there's a better place..."

Pre-8. Castle.

"...for a medieval castle than a picturesque hill in Scotland."

8-G. Castle on the skyscraper.

"He's moved the whole place--lock, stock and gargoyle--to the top of the tallest skyscraper in Manhattan."

9-H. Police Detective ELISA CHAVEZ.

"All of which means absolutely nothing to New York City Police Detective, ELISA CHAVEZ. She doesn't care about castles, and she doesn't believe in curses. She's hot on the trail of a major badguy."

10-I. She's ambushed on a rooftop by multiple THUGS. She's got the drop on most of them. But someone's about to nail her from behind. (And from another rooftop, someTHING is watching in the shadows.)

"Too bad that trail leads her right into an ambush. But thank goodness, a shadowy figure sees what's happening and decides to help."

11-J (and/or 11-Alt). Reveal THE GARGOYLE, determined, as he dives into fray from above.

"Thank goodness for THE GARGOYLE."

12. Gargoyle lifts a badguy with either hand. While a third shoots at him, the bullets glancing off his stone-like hide.

"Goliath benchpresses two badguys easy. And that stone-like hide of his makes him practically invulnerable..."

13-K. Romantic shot in moonlight. Close in. She reaches up to touch his face gently. He looks handsome and noble and just a bit uncomfortable and sad.

"...To everything but Elisa's kindness. She is the first human being who's ever offered him understanding and friendship, hope..."

14-L. From atop the skyscraper, she shows him Manhattan. The city as fortress. This is our showpiece card.

"...And a sense of purpose. She introduces him to his new home, Manhattan, and asks for his help in protecting it against modern day barbarians."

15-M. HUDSON. (One pose, plus two headshots.)

"Fortunately, our hero isn't alone. This is Goliath's old friend HUDSON, a Gargoyle-Warrior long past his prime. Hudson helps out by keeping an eye on the young Warriors-in-training..."

16-N. Trio of young Gargoyles, BROOKLYN, LEXINGTON and BROADWAY. Same as card 1. (But in color, perhaps?)

"...BROOKLYN, LEXINGTON and BROADWAY. (Uh, they picked their own names.)"

20-O. BRONX, the DOG. (Multiple poses.)

"And then there's BRONX, the Gargoyle-dog. He's not a big fan of adventure."

21-P. Bronx (two poses) chewing on a fire hydrant and flying.

"He just likes to eat a lot, sleep a lot and make a general mess."

23-Q. Trio uses Bronx to play trick on Hudson.

"All in all, it's a lot for Hudson to handle."

24-R. Goliath and Elisa try to be inconspicuous on the Subway.

"Not that Goliath has it any easier. It's hard for a seven-foot medieval monster to squeeze into the modern world."

Pre-25 (and/or Pre-25-Alt). Exteriors of castle.
"Sometimes he just needs to retreat back to the old castle..."

25-S. Interior of Gargoyle lair.

" and take it easy. Unfortunately, he doesn't get much time for relaxation..."

26. XAVIER.

"Not with XAVIER around. Rich, powerful and arrogant, Xavier bought the gargoyles' castle. Now he figures he owns the gargoyles too."

30. ROBOT climbing building toward Gargoyle.

"If something rotten is happening in New York...odds are Xavier's behind it."

31. CATSCAN is discovered by Goliath and Elisa.

"Then there's CATSCAN. A scientist mutated by his own experiments..."

32. Catscan, in full pose and "Night Vision" head shot.

"...Into a bitter criminal with deadly Night-Vision."

33. DEMONA with BIG GUN.

"But the toughest villain of them all is the evil gargoyle DEMONA."

34. Demona vs. Goliath, above the city.

"Once she and Goliath were friends. Now, she's his sworn enemy, and she won't rest 'til she controls the night..."

35-T. Stone version of our Gargoyle. Looking vicious and scary. Daylight.

"And the night is all that matters, because the gargoyles still sleep as stone statues during the day, finding an outdoor ledge just before sunrise and striking a pose that could give you nightmares."

36-U. Night. Goliath, handsome and noble again, on top of a skyscraper with the full moon, Elisa and the other Gargoyles right behind him. Gothic mood, but clearly set in the present.

"But when the sun goes down, they're our only protection from the city's dark terrors."

37. Title Card: "GARGOYLES".

"They are the GARGOYLES."

38-V. KID at Disneyland.

"Joining the Disney Family in 1994."

Still at work on the pilot...

This is still us trying to work out the story we wanted to tell with the first writer we hired for the project (one previous to Eric Luke and two previous to Michael Reaves). I remember this writer felt that having the gargs turn to stone EVERY night was too limiting. He asked us to drop that. I didn't want to, but checked with my boss Gary Krisel for confirmation. Gary agreed with me, so the first order of business was confirming that rule.

Much of the rest of this is a repeat of stuff that already got said. The fact that I had to keep repeating myself was probably not a good sign that we had the right person for this particular project. (I've mentioned before, that I very much admire this writer; it was simply two people seeing things two different ways.)

GARGOYLES 1-22-93
Notes on First Part of multi-parter.

GENERAL NOTES
The following combines (in as coherent a form as we could manage) the General Notes of all concerned.

--First off, we 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, 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.

--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. But we don't want him to be a morose character. He's optimistic (until the very end). He believes that in time humans and gargoyles will learn to get along better. He has a sense of humor. He's heroic not dour.

--The-not-yet-named-Hudson is Goliath's aide and advisor. He is NOT a baby-sitter to the kids. In fact, if Goliath requested him to act as baby-sitter, 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. They're cocky and gung ho.

--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 promontory 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. And 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 noisy at night when humans are trying to sleep. Considered, at best, a necessary evil.

STORY NOTES
--The following "outline" is only designed to track the story and lay out the serious, emotional underpinning. It still needs to be injected with fun, humor, exciting action, etc. It comes to a tragic conclusion, but we aren't looking for 22 minutes of depressing tragedy. Obviously, it can be improved upon. Also, most of these scenes can be very quick.

ACT ONE
I. Open with peasants struggling on foot up the hill toward the castle on the promontory. It is minutes from sunset.
A. Intro ROBBY (a peasant boy) and ROBBY'S MOM. She's hurrying her son along (with other peasants) so that they reach the safety of the castle walls before the advancing army of MARAUDERS.
1. They enter the castle. The gates are closed.
B. CAPTAIN of the Guards has all his archers at the ready on the castle battlements. We establish hideous stone gargoyle statues.
C. Outside the castle, just out of arrow range, the Marauding Army waits for sunset. It's a large force.
1. LOCHTER, purely evil leader of the Marauders, is keeping his men in line. (Perhaps violently.)
2. One MARAUDER asks Lochter why they wait: "What about the Gargoyles?"
a. Lochter tells him that every castle in Scotland claims to have Gargoyles. Most are just statues. Soon it'll be dark. The archers won't be able to pick them off. They'll attack.
D. Darkness falls. Silently, the marauding horde climbs the hill. The Captain tells his men not to waste their arrows.
1. Marauders attack, perhaps with grappling hooks and ropes, their own archers, etc. Perhaps one grappling hook flies toward the largest of the stone gargoyles.
a. GOLIATH, the GARGOYLE-MASTER, suddenly comes to life, catching the hook. Play up the transformation big time. (Maybe as he awakens, he shatters a thin outer layer of stone, like shedding a new skin every night. Then again, maybe not.)
2. Goliath flies down upon the marauders, closely followed by many GARGOYLE WARRIORS. Fun action.
a. Maybe it looks for a moment as if Goliath has been dragged down by three or four marauders, but soon he's shrugged them off.
3. Prominent among the warriors is [DEMONA] a FEMALE GARGOYLE, that Goliath seems to favor.
4. Intro ELDER Gargoyle [HUDSON], who coaches from the battlements.
5. Also intro TRIO of "teen-age" Gargoyles [BROOKLYN, LEXINGTON, BROADWAY] and their GARGOYLE-DOG [BRONX]. One in particular [Lex] can't wait to be a gargoyle warrior himself.
a. The trio participates in action, but the way they fight brings in humor. More prankish. They make fools of enemy.
E. Gargoyles rout the Marauders who sound the retreat. The battle is over.

II. In throne room, intro the spoiled, beautiful, young QUEEN and her rich, foppish court.
A. Intro semi-dottering old WIZARD. Sweet, but largely ineffectual. Establish that his powers are on the wain. He needs to have his books of spells in front of him to perform any magic.
B. Captain enters with Goliath. They report the victory.
1. Though the Queen is polite on the surface, we can tell she took the victory for granted. We can tell she takes these two for granted. In fact, holds them in contempt.
a. Captain may be a bit of a pig. Tobacco-spitting kinda slob. Queen assumes Goliath's just like him.
b. Queen might also suggest that after this Marauder episode is done with, the Captain will be reporting to LORD FOPWORTH over here. Captain's clearly steamed.
2. Captain and Goliath exit, but before they're out of earshot, they hear the queen make snide, contemptuous comment about Goliath and Gargoyles.
C. Outside the throne room, the Captain and Goliath are joined by the old one [Hudson] and the female [Demona].
1. Captain is really burned up about the way Queen treats Goliath. Wants to know why Goliath puts up with it? Why he stays?
a. Female agrees.
b. Goliath responds on another level. He has the patience to wait for a better day. He sees a lot that's positive about humanity. And he's proud of his own race. Someday, things will get better. Besides, this is his ancestral home. The castle was built on Gargoyle Rookery. Gargoyles are instinctively and atavistically territorial beings. Where would he go?
c. Old Gargoyle is satisfied with answer. He and Goliath walk off.
d. We see that neither the Female nor the Captain find the situation satisfactory.

III. In open courtyard, where peasants are "camped out", we see Gargoyle dog and trio of young 'goyles wreaking havoc. A. They're waking people. Eating food, sloppily. Making a general mess. But not maliciously. They're just having a good time. (This should be a real fun, good time scene.)
1. It looks like fun to Robby the young peasant boy, and he moves to join them.
a. Robby's mom pulls him away. Gargoyles are dangerous and untrustworthy.
b. This really hurts the de facto leader of the trio [Lex]. He decides to live up to the gargoyle reputation and scare them.
c. He succeeds. Robby now believes Gargoyles are bad.
d. Goliath intervenes. Maybe even disciplines. (Though he's not humorless.) It's getting close to sunrise anyway.
2. Gargoyles all move to the battlements and strike a pose. They freeze into stone at daybreak. (We need to really play this up too.)

IV. Daytime in Lochter's camp. Marauders are nursing their wounds.
A. Lochter is visited by a mysterious shrouded figure who wants to make a deal. (Maybe to misdirect the audience, we will put this stranger in the voluminous robes of the Wizard.)
1. In exchange for a fair share of the profits, stranger promises to secure entry for Lochter and his men.
a. And they won't have to worry about Goliath or his Gargoyles.

ACT TWO
V. That night, Captain talks to Goliath, Female Gargoyle and Old One. (Perhaps in front of Queen, as well.)
A. Captain urges Goliath to take all his Gargoyles and chase Lochter's army out of the county.
1. Goliath doesn't like the idea. He basically believes in DEFENSE, not OFFENSE.
2. Captain, with some support from Female, argues that the best Defense is a good Offense.
a. Besides, Goliath doesn't have to battle Lochter's forces, he just has to put a good scare into them so they'll never come back.
3. Goliath reluctantly agrees, but he's not going to take all the gargoyles with him. He'll go alone.
4. Female takes him aside. It isn't safe. He could never fight off all of Lochter's army alone. She's worried about him.
a. But Goliath has no intention of fighting. And he can be plenty scary enough, by himself. (Makes a scary gargoyle face to prove it.)
b. She says, at least, let me go with you for back-up.
c. He claims he needs her (his best warrior) to stay behind at the castle. (But it's clear that truthfully, he doesn't want to put her at needless risk.)
d. To make her feel better, he agrees to take Old One with him, in case something goes wrong. But the rest will maintain their nightly vigil.
5. Goliath and Old One take off after Marauders.
B. Lochter gets word from the traitor: there's been a slight change in plans.

VI. Intercut between the following:
A. Goliath and Old Gargoyle follow the tracks of the Marauders by starlight.
1. Goliath is impressed by how fast the army has traveled in one day.
B. Another fun scene with the Trio and their dog, before they are chased off by frightened and annoyed humans.
1. They explore the bowels of the castle and find the ancient caverns of the Gargoyle rookery that the castle was built on.
C. The Captain is giving some odd orders to his night guards. Sending them away from weapons' room. Etc.
1. He is examining their bowstrings, etc.

VII. Goliath and Old Gargoyle catch up with "army", only to discover it is a small band of men running abreast without equipment.
A. Goliath realizes something's definitely wrong. He and the Old One head back to the castle. But it's almost dawn.
B. The sun comes up.
1. Goliath and Old One are frozen, en route back to castle.
2. Trio and Dog are frozen in bowels of castle.
3. Gargoyle warriors are frozen on parapets.
4. Archers take up their stations, unaware that their bows have been sabotaged.
5. The captain (i.e. the traitor) gives the signal for Lochter's men to attack.

VIII. Lochter and his army attack.
A. Each bowman gets off one shot, before their bowstrings snap. (The Captain had tampered with them.)
1. Soon the castle is overrun.
2. And it doesn't help that the Captain opens the gates as well. This is probably all we see. The rest [in brackets] is just for story-tracking purposes.
[ 3. The battle is short.
B. The castle is sacked.
1. Anything worth anything is taken by the marauders.
2. All the humans including the Queen and the Wizard and Robby and his mom are put in chains and dragged off.
C. Lochter's men begin to destroy the stone Gargoyles with maces.
1. Captain tries to stop it. This wasn't part of the deal and isn't necessary anyway.
a. If Marauders leave territory with their slaves and booty, the gargoyles won't follow. It's not in their nature.
2. Lochter isn't taking any chances. All the gargoyles are destroyed.
a. Ultimately, the Captain has no choice.]

IX. Fade to sunset. Goliath and Old One awaken and hightail it back to castle.
A. They arrive long after Lochter has left. A small fire still burns here and there.
1. The castle has been sacked of all valuables.
2. There are no people.
3. And worst of all, the Gargoyles have all been destroyed, i.e. murdered.
a. They lie in stone rubble all around him. Partial pieces, etc.
b. There is no particular sign of the female; Goliath assumes that she is among the rubble. Big time FURY.

ACT THREE
X. The trio and dog emerge from rookery caverns. (Maybe they were temporarily trapped there by damage done during the battle.) They are torn up by what they find.
A. Goliath and Old One are relieved that someone survived. But that doesn't abate their anger.
1. Together, the six gargoyles fly off to get their revenge.

XI. Lochter's army has encamped for the night.
A. We see our Marauder taunt Robby and his mother outside in chains.
B. Inside his tent, Lochter and the Captain discuss how much ransom they can get for the Queen.
1. They figure the wizard is probably worthless.
a. Wizard wishes he could just get his hands on his books of magic.
b. Lochter taunts him with the books, burning them one by one. (Only one left.)
C. Outside the gargoyles attack. Lots of fun and action here.
1. Gargoyles are way out-numbered.
2. Old one is old. But he picks up a sword and holds his own.
3. Trio and Dog have little fighting experience.
a. Trio leader [Lex] makes use of some of the "scare" techniques that worked on the peasants in act one.
b. [Lex] saves Robby's mother from Marauder.
c. Robby saves him from one too.
4. Goliath is a holy terror. Wading into the hordes. Tossing them aside. Scaring the stuffing out of them.
D. Lochter and Captain hear the noise and look outside.
1. Despite the overwhelming odds, the Gargoyles are winning.
2. Captain says they better get out now.
3. Lochter dumps the last magic book and grabs the queen.
a. Wizard tries to stop him, but is pushed aside.
b. Lochter says he'll never see the queen again.
c. Wizard assumes they're going to kill her.
4. Lochter and Captain flee with Queen in tow.
5. Goliath sees them go. Follows alone.
E. Wizard stumbles out of tent with last magic book.
1. Battle is winding down.
a. Freed peasants and guards are now helping gargoyles.
b. Marauders retreat, scatter.
c. Queen is nowhere in sight.
2. Irrational Wizard blames gargoyles for causing the queen's death.
a. Using his spell book, he curses them. [See spell options below.]

XII. Goliath catches up with Captain and Lochter.
A. Captain tries to reason with Goliath.
1. Tells him he never meant for Gargoyles to be destroyed.
2. Besides, what does Goliath owe the queen anyway. Now he can return to his rookery and be left in peace.
B. Goliath rejects Captain's excuses.
1. The Captain had taught him to go on offensive. "See what your lessons have wrought." Etc.
C. Goliath defeats (kills?) Lochter and Captain.
1. Rescues grateful (and much changed and matured) Queen.

XIII. Goliath and Queen return too late.
A. Though it is still night, the other Gargoyles have been turned to stone.
B. Wizard feels like garbage when he finds out the truth.
1. But he can't undo the spell. Lochter burned his other books.
C. Queen says that her people will not return to the cursed castle. They will start a new life/build a new castle elsewhere in the kingdom.
1. She sincerely invites Goliath to join them.
D. Goliath says no. He will return to the rookery.
E. Only gift that Wizard can offer is to cast the same spell on Goliath that he cast on the other gargoyles. (Or perhaps a slight variation.)
1. Goliath agrees to this.

XIV. The stone Gargoyles are perched on the abandoned castle walls by the humans. Robby waves goodbye.
A. One DAY, 1000 years later.
1. XAVIER is looking over his newly purchased ancient castle.
a. "Terrific," he says, "Now move it to Manhattan."

END OF PART ONE

[NOTE: DEMONA's story tracks as well. Like the Captain, she hates to see the way Goliath and the Gargoyles are treated by the spoiled Queen. She and the captain make a deal. They will convince Goliath to temporarily remove the Gargoyles from the castle. Lochter will sack it and take away the humans as slaves, leaving the empty castle for Demona, Goliath and the rest of the Gargoyles.
Goliath screws up the plan by refusing to take all the Gargoyles away. Captain says, no problem. He'll sabotage his archers and the attack can take place during the day. He promises to protect the frozen Gargoyles.
Demona agrees, but just before dawn she gets nervous and flies away to hide.
She returns at some point (though Goliath won't see her). She sees the destroyed 'goyles and realizes that Goliath would never forgive that. She flies away to find a new life. Somehow, she will survive into the twentieth century, by which time, three factors will have turned her bitter and evil and eventually make her Goliath's worst enemy. (1) Her largely negative and criminal experiences since she last saw Goliath. (2) Goliath's inability to forgive her, (as much as he might wish he could). (3) Goliath's modern loyalty to humans, particularly Elisa Chavez.
In light of this, we should probably bring her back in @part Four of five-parter. She eventually teams up w/Xavier, raising the stakes, and tying part one to the rest of the story. However, though we should plant the clues, we shouldn't give any real indication that she was part of the Captain/Lochter conspiracy in Part One. All the revelations about her roll in the betrayal should wait until we see her again in 20th Century.]

SPELL OPTIONS
For initial spell that Wizard casts upon Old One, Trio and Dog in anger...
1) Frozen in stone for 1000 years.
2) Frozen in stone 'til castle rests in the clouds.
3) Frozen in stone so long as this castle stands on this ground.

For spell Wizard casts upon Goliath, as the best he can do for him.
1) Same, or maybe the slight variation of 999 years, giving Goliath a headstart, and an ability to see if it's safe.
2) Same.
3) Same.
4) He will continue his endless cycle of sleeping as stone in day, guarding the castle and his friends at night until either 1), 2) or 3) occurs.

Advantages and Disadvantages to various choices:
The main question, is whether or not Goliath has been awake and alone every night for a thousand years. (Goliath option 4)). If he has, it would allow him to be at least passingly familiar that modern technology exists. I.e. when we get him to NYC and he sees an airplane, he won't think it's a dragon. Plus there's the tragedy of that much loneliness. And the possibility down the road of one or two flashback episodes (Goliath fights in WWII or something). Disadvantages include that it adds a layer of complication to the spell. And maybe we like the idea that he thinks an airplane is a dragon. (Although keep in mind, we can always play those beats with the other 'goyles.)

As to the other gargoyles, the main issue is when do you want them to wake up. If it's not until after the castle is installed at the top of the skyscraper, than option 3) doesn't work. 1000 years makes a nice round number, but is it a stiff coincidence that the 1000 years ends in NYC? Probably no more so than the Castle in the Clouds curse, though the latter may have more ambience.

And again, if we want Goliath awake BEFORE the castle arrives in NYC, i.e. on the boat, than we have to vary the spell with him to some degree or else it won't be possible.

Right now we're leaning toward Goliath Option 4) "the endless cycle" coupled w/ Option 2) "the castle in the clouds". There is some concern that the Wizard casting two spells may be awkward though. So it's still open for discussion.

That's it.

At work on the pilot...

We were still working with the first writer on the pilot story. This was a story that those of us at Disney, who had been working on this show since 1991, felt VERY strongly about. So I was taking a much stronger hand than I normally would (or should) as a development executive. Though I wasn't yet conscious of it, I was already moving toward being a producer of the series.

Among other little details, you'll notice that our enemy is "marauders" at this point. Not Vikings. You'll notice that we still have the personalities of Lex and Brooklyn switched, and in general they come off more as kids than young teen warriors. Tom is called Robby. (Later, I'd use the name Robby for the Captain.) Princess K is a queen. And the Magus is old and dottering.

GARGOYLES 1-20-93
Notes on First Part of multi-parter. (Weisman)

BEAT OUTLINE
ACT ONE
I. Open with peasants struggling on foot up the hill toward the castle on the promontory. It is minutes from sunset.
A. Intro ROBBY (a peasant boy) and ROBBY'S MOM. She's hurrying her son along (with other peasants) so that they reach the safety of the castle walls before the advancing army of MARAUDERS.
1. They enter the castle. The gates are closed.
B. CAPTAIN of the Guards has all his archers at the ready on the castle battlements. We establish hideous stone gargoyle statues.
C. Outside the castle, just out of arrow range, the Marauding Army waits for sunset. It's a large force.
1. LOCHTER, purely evil leader of the Marauders, is keeping his men in line. (Perhaps violently.)
2. One MARAUDER asks Lochter why they wait: "What about the Gargoyles?"
a. Lochter tells him that every castle in Scotland claims to have Gargoyles. Most are just statues. Soon it'll be dark. The archers won't be able to pick them off. They'll attack.
D. Darkness falls. Silently, the marauding horde climbs the hill. The Captain tells his men not to waste their arrows.
1. Our Marauder reaches the foot of the wall and tosses a grappling hook tied to a rope up toward the battlement. Toward the largest of the stone gargoyles.
a. GOLIATH, the GARGOYLE-MASTER, suddenly comes to life, catching the hook.
2. Goliath flies down upon the marauders, closely followed by many GARGOYLE WARRIORS.
a. Prominent among the warriors is [DEMONA] a FEMALE GARGOYLE, that Goliath seems to favor.
3. Intro ELDER Gargoyle [HUDSON], who coaches from the battlements.
4. Also on the sidelines, intro TRIO of "teen-age" Gargoyles [BROOKLYN, LEXINGTON, BROADWAY] and their GARGOYLE-DOG [BRONX]. One in particular [Lex] can't wait to be a gargoyle warrior himself.
E. Gargoyles rout the Marauders who sound the retreat. The battle is over.

II. In throne room, intro the spoiled, beautiful, young QUEEN and her foppish court.
A. Intro semi-dottering old WIZARD. Sweet, but largely ineffectual. Establish that his powers are on the wain. He needs to have his books of spells in front of him to perform any magic.

B. Captain enters with Goliath. They report the victory.
1. Though the Queen is polite on the surface, we can tell she took the victory for granted. We can tell she takes these two for granted, particularly Goliath.
2. Captain and Goliath exit, but before they're out of earshot, they hear the queen make snide, contemptuous comment about Goliath and Gargoyles.
C. Outside the throne room, the Captain and Goliath are joined by the old one [Hudson] and the female [Demona].
1. Captain is really burned up about the way Queen treats Goliath. Wants to know why Goliath puts up with it? Why he stays?
a. Goliath responds on another level. True, it saddens him that his loyalty means nothing. But this is his ancestral home. Explains castle was built on Gargoyle Rookery. Gargoyles are communal, territorial beings. (Perhaps explain here why Goliath is the only garg. w/a name.) He cannot leave. Where would he go?
b. Old Gargoyle is satisfied with answer. He and Goliath walk off.
c. We see that neither the Female nor the Captain find the situation satisfactory.

III. In open courtyard, where peasants are "camped out", we see Gargoyle dog and trio of young 'goyles wreaking havoc.
A. They're waking people. Eating food, sloppily. Making a general mess. But not maliciously. They're just having a good time.
1. It looks like fun to Robby the young peasant boy, and he moves to join them.
a. Robby's mom pulls him away. Gargoyles are dangerous and untrustworthy.
b. This really hurts the de facto leader of the trio [Lex]. He decides to live up to the gargoyle reputation and scare them.
c. He succeeds. Robby now believes Gargoyles are bad.
d. Goliath intervenes. It's getting close to sunrise anyway.
2. Gargoyles all move to the battlements and strike a pose.

IV. Daytime in Lochter's camp. Marauders are nursing their wounds.
A. Lochter is visited by a mysterious shrouded figure who wants to make a deal. (Maybe to misdirect the audience, we will put this stranger in the voluminous robes of the Wizard.)
1. In exchange for a fair share of the profits, stranger promises to secure entry for Lochter and his men.
a. And they won't have to worry about Goliath or his Gargoyles.

ACT TWO
V. That night, Captain talks to Goliath, Female Gargoyle and Old One. (Perhaps in front of Queen, as well.)
A. Captain urges Goliath to take all his Gargoyles and chase Lochter's army out of the county.
1. Goliath doesn't like the idea. He basically believes in DEFENSE, not OFFENSE.
2. Captain, with some support from Female, argues that the best Defense is a good Offense.
a. Besides, Goliath doesn't have to battle Lochter's forces, he just has to put a good scare into them so they'll never come back.
3. Goliath reluctantly agrees, but he's not going to take all the gargoyles with him. He'll go alone.
a. Female balks. It isn't safe. He could never fight off all of Lochter's army alone.
b. But Goliath has no intention of fighting. And he can be plenty scary enough, by himself. (Makes a scary gargoyle face to prove it.)
c. He agrees to take Old One with him, in case something goes wrong. But the rest will maintain their nightly vigil.
4. Goliath and Old One take off after Marauders.
B. Lochter gets word from the traitor: there's been a slight change in plans.

VI. Intercut between the following:
A. Goliath and Old Gargoyle follow the tracks of the Marauders by starlight.
1. Goliath is impressed by how fast the army has traveled in one day.
B. The Trio and their dog are chased off by frightened and annoyed humans.
1. They explore the bowels of the castle and find the ancient caverns of the Gargoyle rookery that the castle was built on.
C. The Captain is giving some odd orders to his night guards. Sending them away from weapons' room. Etc.
1. He is examining their bowstrings, etc.

VII. Goliath and Old Gargoyle catch up with "army", only to discover it is a small band of men running abreast without equipment.
A. Goliath realizes they've been fooled. He and the Old One head back to the castle. But it's almost dawn.
B. The sun comes up.
1. Goliath and Hudson are frozen, en route back to castle.
2. Trio and Dog are frozen in bowels of castle.
3. Gargoyle warriors are frozen on parapets.
4. Archers take up their stations, unaware that their bows have been sabotaged.
5. The captain (i.e. the traitor) gives the signal for Lochter's men to attack.

VIII. Lochter and his army attack.
A. Each bowman gets off one shot, before their bowstrings snap. (The Captain had tampered with them.)
1. Soon the castle is overrun.
2. And it doesn't help that the Captain opens the gates as well.
3. The battle is short.
B. The castle is sacked.
1. Anything worth anything is taken by the marauders.
2. All the humans including the Queen and the Wizard and Robby and his mom are put in chains and dragged off.
C. Lochter's men begin to destroy the stone Gargoyles with maces.
1. Captain tries to stop it. This wasn't part of the deal and isn't necessary anyway.
a. If Marauders leave territory with their slaves and booty, the gargoyles won't follow. It's not in their nature.
2. Lochter isn't taking any chances. All the gargoyles are destroyed.
a. Ultimately, the Captain has no choice.

IX. Fade to sunset. Goliath and Old One awaken and hightail it back to castle.
A. They arrive long after Lochter has left. A small fire still burns here and there.
1. The castle has been sacked of all valuables.
2. There are no people.
3. And worst of all, the Gargoyles have all been destroyed, i.e. murdered.
a. They lie in stone rubble all around him. Partial pieces, etc.
b. There is no particular sign of the female; Goliath assumes that she is among the rubble. Big time FURY.

ACT THREE
X. The kids emerge from rookery caverns. They are torn up by what they find.
A. Goliath and Old One are relieved that someone survived. But that doesn't abate their anger.
1. Together, the six gargoyles fly off to get their revenge.

XI. Lochter's army has encamped for the night.
A. We see our Marauder torment Robby and his mother outside in chains.
B. Inside his tent, Lochter and the Captain discuss what to do with the Queen.
1. They figure the wizard is probably worthless.
a. Wizard wishes he could just get his hands on his books of magic.
b. Lochter taunts him with the books, burning them one by one. (Only one left.)
C. Outside the gargoyles attack carefully.
1. They are way out-numbered.
2. Old one is old. But he picks up a sword and holds his own.
3. Trio and Dog have no fighting experience.
a. Trio leader [Lex] makes use of some of the "scare" techniques that worked on the peasants in act one.
b. Saves Robby's mother from Marauder.
c. Robby saves him from one too.
4. Goliath is a holy terror. Wading into the hordes. Tossing them aside. Scaring the stuffing out of them.
D. Lochter and Captain here the noise and look outside.
1. Despite the overwhelming odds, the Gargoyles are winning.
2. Captain says they better get out now.
3. Lochter dumps the last magic book and grabs the queen.
a. Wizard tries to stop him, but is pushed aside.
b. Lochter says he'll never see the queen again.
c. Wizard assumes they're going to kill her.
4. Lochter and Captain flee with Queen in tow.
5. Goliath sees them go. Follows alone.
E. Wizard stumbles out of tent with last magic book.
1. Battle is winding down.
a. Freed peasants and guards are now helping gargoyles.
b. Marauders retreat, scatter.
c. Queen is nowhere in sight.

2. Irrational Wizard blames gargoyles for not protecting castle in first place and for starting this fight which caused the queen's death.
a. Using his spell book, he curses them. [See spell options below.]

XII. Goliath catches up with Captain and Lochter.
A. Captain tries to reason with Goliath.
1. Tells him he never meant for Gargoyles to be destroyed.
2. What does Goliath owe the queen anyway. Now he can return to his rookery and be left in peace.
B. Goliath rejects Captain's excuses.
1. Captain taught him to go on offensive. "See what your lessons have wrought." Etc.
C. Goliath defeats (kills?) Lochter and Captain.
1. Rescues grateful (and much changed and matured) Queen.

XIII. Goliath and Queen return too late.
A. Though it is still night, the other Gargoyles have been turned to stone.
B. Wizard feels like garbage when he finds out the truth.
1. But he can't undo the spell. Lochter burned his other books.
C. Queen says that her people will not return to the cursed castle. They will start a new life elsewhere.
1. She sincerely invites Goliath to join them.
D. Goliath says no. He will return to the rookery.
E. Only gift that Wizard can offer is to cast the same spell on Goliath that he cast on the other gargoyles. (Or perhaps a slight variation.)
1. Goliath agrees to this.

XIV. The stone Gargoyles are perched on the abandoned castle walls by the humans. Robby waves goodbye.
A. One DAY, 1000 years later.
1. XAVIER is looking over his newly purchased ancient castle.
a. "Terrific," he says, "Now move it to Manhattan."

END OF PART ONE

[NOTE: DEMONA's story tracks as well. Like the Captain, she hates to see the way Goliath and the Gargoyles are treated by the spoiled Queen. She and the captain make a deal. They will convince Goliath to temporarily remove the Gargoyles from the castle. Lochter will sack it and take away the humans as slaves, leaving the empty castle for Demona, Goliath and the rest of the Gargoyles.
Goliath screws up the plan by refusing to take all the Gargoyles away. Captain says, no problem. He'll sabotage his archers and the attack can take place during the day. He promises to protect the frozen Gargoyles.
Demona agrees, but just before dawn she gets nervous and flies away to hide.
She returns at some point (though Goliath won't see her). She sees the destroyed 'goyles and realizes that Goliath would never forgive that. She flies away to find a new life. Somehow, she will survive into the twentieth century, by which time, she will be bitter and evil and Goliath's worst enemy.
Which again raises the question, are we sure we don't want her teaming up with Xavier in parts 2-5?]

SPELL OPTIONS
For initial spell that Wizard casts upon Old One, Trio and Dog in anger...
1) Frozen in stone for 1000 years.
2) Frozen in stone 'til castle rests in the clouds.
3) Frozen in stone so long as this castle stands on this ground.

For spell Wizard casts upon Goliath, as the best he can do for him.
1) Same, or maybe the slight variation of 999 years, giving Goliath a headstart, and an ability to see if it's safe.
2) Same.
3) Same.
4) He will continue his endless cycle of sleeping as stone in day, guarding the castle and his friends at night until either 1), 2) or 3) occurs.

Advantages and Disadvantages to various choices:
The main question, is whether or not Goliath has been awake and alone every night for a thousand years. (Goliath option 4)). If he has, it would allow him to be at least passingly familiar that modern technology exists. I.e. when we get him to NYC and he sees an airplane, he won't think it's a dragon. Plus there's the tragedy of that much loneliness. And the possiblity down the road of one or two flashback episodes (Goliath fights in WWII or something). Disadvantages include that it adds a layer of complication to the spell. And maybe we like the idea that he thinks an airplane is a dragon. (Although keep in mind, we can always play those beats with the other 'goyles.)

As to the other gargoyles, the main issue is when do you want them to wake up. If it's not until after the castle is installed at the top of the skyscraper, than option 3) doesn't work. 1000 years makes a nice round number, but is it a stiff coincidence that the 1000 years ends in NYC? Probably no more so than the Castle in the Clouds curse, though the latter may have more ambience.

And again, if we want Goliath awake BEFORE the castle arrives in NYC, i.e. on the boat, than we have to vary the spell with him to some degree or else it won't be possible.

GENERAL NOTES
Finally, the following combines (in as coherent a form as I could manage) the General 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, 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.

--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.

--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. And 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.

That's it.

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.

Sold...

Although the Eighth Draft of the Pitch was far from final, by December of 1992, we had finally sold Eisner on doing the Gargoyles series. We quickly (before anyone could change their minds) began work on the pilot multi-parter.

Keep in mind, this was before Michael Reaves or Frank Paur came aboard. This was even before I knew that I'd be producing the series. But I suppose I should have known. We received an outline from a writer, which wasn't bad but wasn't the series I wanted to make. So I tried to redirect things. You can see below that I'm still floundering around with a whole bunch of different thoughts. But the pieces are starting to come together.

GARGOYLES 12-4-92
Notes on 5-part Outline

GENERAL NOTES

--We want to stick closer to the original pitch. Keep the story solidly from Goliath's point of view, with his relationship with Elisa as the central emotional arc.

--We want to clarify what a Gargoyle is and what the "rules" are:
1. Gargoyles were not created by an individual. One thousand years ago, they were real living creatures, a now extinct race that even then was scarce.
2. Gargoyles are nocturnal. At sun-up they transform into stone statues as a protective measure. Theoretically, there may be some magic involved, but from a gargoyle's P.O.V. it's a natural biological process.
3. They cannot wake up at will. They cannot turn back and forth from stone at will. Daytime, they are sleeping. Frozen in stone. That makes them fairly protected, though if someone took a sledgehammer to them, it would kill them. At night they are not stone, they are strong and powerful, and they can fly, etc. But they are not invulnerable.
4. Gargoyles don't have any special instinct or telepathy for danger. What they do have, instinctively, is a territorial and protective nature. Up to this current story, that never extended beyond the castle walls. One of our main objectives is for Elisa to give Goliath a wider definition of his territory...extending it across all of Manhattan (all of NYC?). She gives him hope and a revived sense of purpose.
5. Naming is a human trait. The medieval humans deal w/Goliath so he gets a name. The others have none until they get to the twentieth century, when Elisa encourages/insists on it. Then they pick their names.

CHARACTERS
--We have to know and sympathize w/Goliath much sooner on in the story. We should largely see it through his eyes. His concern for Elisa should drive the latter half of the story, much more than any desire to foil a crime.

--The absolute key to this is the relationship between Goliath and Elisa. We need to develop this slowly. She's got to get used to him in a big way, and for his part, he's not comfortable around humans, and definitely unused to human kindness. He's awkward. Maybe even stunned. We don't have to play it for romance, per se. Even friendship from a human is a foreign concept.

--Hudson is an ex-gargoyle warrior, long past his prime, who now acts as Goliath's advisor. He tends to knock around the castle. Maybe, he likes television. He is not and would refuse to act as a baby-sitter for the younger kids. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. Goliath is the Gargoyle-Master. The other gargoyles are HIS responsibility, not Hudson's.

--We'd like to play the younger Gargoyles (Broadway, Brooklyn and Lex) more as teens than little kids. Very eager to explore the new world as you have it, but with a more adventurous sensibility.

--Bronx, the gargoyle-dog does not have wings. His ears allow him to hover a bit for short periods of time. But it's hard. (Keep in mind, he has a weighted tail, like a mace.) He can't really fly. He CAN scurry all over the place, up straight vertical walls, across the ceiling, etc. He has claws that really allow him to dig in.

--Our fault, but we don't think the Bannister character is adding anything. We can probably drop him.

--Xavier needs to be much more imposing. Not bordering on broke. Though obviously, he's not in Goliath's league in terms of brute strength, underneath that three-piece suit he should be a powerful man. As men goes, he should be very strong. And brilliant. On the surface, a rich powerful man, but underneath with his hand in all-things nefarious. He should not be petulant. He should always feel menacing threatening. If, at the end, we do send him to prison, we should not weaken or reduce him. He should go off like Al Capone, with an attitude like "You don't expect prison walls to stop me, do you?"

--We don't necessarily have to use the Gladiator-esque PACK, but if we do, we should keep their strengths clear in mind. The television aspect is a front, but one we might need to see in order to understand why the public regards them as good guys. Since clearly, no single member could be as strong as Goliath, their strength lies in the pack mentality. Goliath tosses one aside, their are five others leaping on top of him, etc. Also keep in mind, that our toughest pack members as they were originally designed were probably Wolf, Jackal and Hyena. Dingo, Fox and Coyote were never designed to be very threatening on their own. Another possiblility might be the SCARAB CORP. Robots from the pitch. (Scarab could also be a division of Xavier Enterprises.) However, feel free to create new villains or a different threat.

PART ONE
We want to get to know Goliath right away. Preferably, all the beats we played in the pitch.
1. He and his fellow Gargoyle warriors defend the castle from "barbarians". We establish his territorial and protective nature.
2. For their pains, they get no thanks or even kindness. Humans look at them as necessary evil.
3. Goliath spends his time reading and keeping the younger Gargoyles out of trouble.
4. We might want to plant a seed for the Demona character here. Establish her as the gargoyle he cares for the most.
5. Also establish Hudson, his advisor, and the younger gargoyles.
6. Goliath and Hudson are sent or lured away from the castle (perhaps by Demona, though the viewers don't have to know she betrayed them). They do not get back before sunrise.
7. The trio of younger gargoyles chase Bronx down into some hidden dungeon. At daybreak they are frozen their.
8. During that day the castle is overrun and sacked.
9. When Goliath and Hudson return that night, Goliath is horrified to discover that the rest of his Gargoyles have been destroyed. Someone took the equivalent of a sledge hammer to them during the day. Demona, his love, is probably part of the rubble. (We don't have to revisit her in the five parter. She can be an element of the tragedy of Goliath. We can bring her back in an episode if this goes to series).
10. Bronx and the younger Gargoyles survived, because they were hidden from the attackers.
11. It may be stronger for Goliath not to be cursed into a thousand year sleep. He takes responsiblity for the disaster. Hudson and the others are cursed to sleep "Until the castle rests in the clouds." (I.e., theoretically, until kingdom come.) Goliath is forced to guard them (the last of his race) alone for a thousand years. This means that he won't be totally ignorant of planes and cars etc. He's seen them over the years. And it might increase his tragedy. At any rate, we don't want to bring up the issue of exorcisms. Dangerous ground.

PARTS TWO - FIVE
1. Let's keep in mind that the whole castle is moved to New York. It can be dismantled, but the human focus should be on moving this castle to the top of the skyscraper. The gargoyles are nothing more than decoration to the humans.
2. There's probably something to Goliath being on a castle top in Scotland one night. Falling asleep and waking up crated in the bowels of a ship, the next night. But we probably want to go for a more dramatic problem than him leading them with a lamp.
3. The other gargoyles, Hudson and Bronx included, don't wake up until the first night after they are installed on top of the castle in the clouds. They've gone from riding a parapet a 100 feet above the ground, to the top of this mega-story skyscraper. It's a pretty hefty transition for them.
4. Art thefts and Bank thefts aren't nearly as crucial as putting Elisa in danger and involved in the case. That's what brings Goliath in. Perhaps we should open with her undercover, infiltrating Xavier's organization. Perhaps that leads her to the Pack training grounds or some other aspect of Xavier's operation. Make her a vital and integral part of the Xavier story. Not simply on the trail of it. And though we don't want to make her helpless, we do need to put her in jeopardy.
5. We're not sure what the red herring of blaming the gargoyles for Xavier's crimes buys us. Not opposed to it, but does it just force us into awkward moments? Lots of talk about guys in gargoyle suits. That's not really a major issue for the series.

Trying again to sell the thing...

Well, if you've been following the early nineties adventures of Greg Weisman and his development staff, you've watched him fail to sell Gargoyles TWICE. First as a comedy. Then as a drama. Now (October, 1992) we were preparing to try again. Again as a drama. We liked the show we had developed, so we weren't actually planning on redeveloping it a third time. We simply wanted to rework the pitch, which mostly meant SHORTENING it.

Now, finally, Goliath sleeps for a thousand years.

GARGOYLES PITCH Reduced Eighth Pass (Weisman / 10-21-92)

A. Trio of typical stone GARGOYLES.

"We all think we know what GARGOYLES are. Ugly, stone statues squatting on the roofs of old buildings. But there was a time, one thousand years ago, when gargoyles were real, living creatures. During the day, they slept...frozen in stone."

B. GOLIATH, the GARGOYLE-MASTER. Proud and Noble.

"But when the sun went down, GOLIATH, the GARGOYLE-MASTER would lead his gargoyle-warriors in defense of the king's castle."

C. Goliath reading in library, sitting on small gargoyles.

"And if there was no battle to be fought, he'd retreat to the library to read and learn, all the while making sure that the other gargoyles stayed out of trouble."

D. HUMANS scorning the Gargoyles.

"For all these efforts, Goliath received no reward, no thanks or even kindness. In fact, the people of the castle treated all gargoyles with nothing but contempt."

E. The Gargoyle-Master alone in the throneroom.

"Still Goliath could no more stop guarding the castle than breathing the air. It's part of a gargoyle's nature to be territorial, protective. And so for years, he maintained his lonely vigil. Then one night, Goliath was betrayed and lured away from his post."

F. SORCEROR curses Goliath and the other gargoyles on the castle ramparts.

"The castle was overrun and sacked. Goliath and the surviving gargoyles were unfairly blamed. The kingdom's SORCEROR laid a curse upon them, and they fell into a stone sleep--that lasted a thousand years."

G. Castle on the skyscraper.

"New York City, 1994. A rich and powerful man has decided there's a better place for a medieval castle than a picturesque hill in Scotland. He's moved the whole place--lock, stock and gargoyle--to the top of the tallest skyscraper in Manhattan."

H. Police Detective ELISA REED.

"All of which means nothing to New York City Police Detective, ELISA REED. Castles and curses don't even enter her mind. She's hot on the trail of a major badguy."

I. She's ambushed on a rooftop by multiple THUGS. She's got the drop on most of them. But someone's about to nail her from behind. (And from another rooftop, someTHING is watching in the shadows.)

"Too bad that trail leads her right into an ambush. But thank goodness, a shadowy figure sees what's happening and decides to help."

J. Reveal THE GARGOYLE, determined, as he dives into fray from above.

"Thank goodness for THE GARGOYLE. When you're as strong as Goliath, benchpressing two badguys is easy. And that stone-like hide of his makes him practically invulnerable."

K. Romantic shot in moonlight. Close in. She reaches up to touch his face gently. He looks handsome and noble and just a bit uncomfortable and sad.

"...To everything but Elisa's kindness. She is the first human being who's ever offered him understanding and friendship, hope..."

L. From atop the skyscraper, she shows him Manhattan. The city as fortress. This is our showpiece card.

"...And a sense of purpose. Because by nature, a gargoyle protects his home from 'barbarians at the gate'. And Goliath's new home, Manhattan, has its fair share of barbarians."

M. HUDSON. (One pose, plus two headshots.)

"Fortunately, our hero doesn't have to face them alone. This is Goliath's old friend HUDSON, a Gargoyle-Warrior long past his prime. Hudson helps out by keeping an eye on the young Gargoyles-in-training..."

N. Trio of young Gargoyles, BROOKLYN, LEXINGTON and BROADWAY. Same as card 1. (But in color, perhaps?)

"...BROOKLYN, LEXINGTON and BROADWAY. (Uh, they picked their own names.)"

O. BRONX, the DOG. (Multiple poses.)

"And then there's BRONX, the angst-ridden Gargoyle-dog. Bronx doesn't like adventure. Doesn't like new technology."

P. Bronx (two poses) chewing on a fire hydrant and flying.

"He just likes to eat a lot, sleep a lot and make a general mess."

Q. Trio uses Bronx to play trick on Hudson.

"All in all, it's a lot for Hudson to handle."

R. Goliath and Elisa try to be inconspicuous on the Subway.

"Not that Goliath has it any easier. It's hard for a seven-foot medieval monster to squeeze into the modern world."

S. Interior of Gargoyle lair.

"Sometimes he just needs to retreat back to the old castle and let time stand still. Of course that can be tough too. Particularly when you're constantly facing yet another bizarre and dangerous criminal of the night..."

T. Stone version of our Gargoyle. Looking vicious and scary. Daylight.

"And the night is all that matters, because the gargoyles still sleep as stone statues during the day, finding an outdoor ledge just before sunrise and striking a pose that could give you nightmares."

U. Night. Goliath, handsome and noble again, on top of a skyscraper with the full moon, Elisa and the other Gargoyles right behind him. Gothic mood, but clearly set in the present.

"But when the sun goes down, they're our only protection from the city's dark terrors. They are the GARGOYLES."

V. KID at Disneyland.

"Joining the Disney Family in 1994."

Another pass at a test...

Still May. Still 1992. (More than two years before the first episode would air.) Ten days after my previous attempt, I took another pass at outlining a five minute animation test (which was never made). It's labeled as a "2nd Draft", but is in fact a third. Bronx is still a comedic character. Issues of scale with him are confused at best.

GARGOYLES (Weisman / 5-18-92)
2nd Draft Outline for five-minute animation test.

DISTRIBUTION: Cranston, Fair, Kline, Krisel, Lacy

I. Sundown.

A. Cityscape of Manhattan (at an angle) just before sundown. (Camera is "flying" west toward the setting sun.)

B. We quickly "fly" by castle-skyscraper.

C. We see the sun go down as we come upon the municipal building.
1. We push through an arch into rotunda of municipal building and hold on a giant stone gargoyle, frozen in a frightening pose in front of the clockface interior.
2. Tight in on gargoyle, as it gets dark, we see cracks forming in the stone.
3. Cut to exterior, silhouette of GOLIATH the GARGOYLE as seen through the face of the clock, bursting out of his shell. Fragments fly everywhere.
4. He suddenly leaps into the air and flies out thru top of rotunda and away from us. Roaring thru the new night. We do not get a clear view of him yet.

II. The Fight.

A. We continue our "flight" over the city and push in again on a slum neighborhood rooftop. Night has completely fallen.

B. ELISA (in plainclothes) is climbing up a fire escape ladder and onto the roof.

C. Suddenly, she is surrounded by three THUGS coming out from the shadows. (Two carry crowbars; one, a gun).

D. Pull back, we see glowing, inhuman eyes, watching the scene from the shadows of a higher rooftop.

E. The Gargoyle leaps down upon the criminals--this is our first clear view of him.
1. Elisa dives out of harm's way.

F. Quick cuts: The thug with the gun shoots at Goliath.
1. The bullets, glance off his stone-like hide, chipping off stone fragments.

G. Meanwhile the other two thugs, try to brain Goliath with their crowbars.
1. Goliath catches the downward swing of each crowbar in either hand.
2. He yanks the crowbars out of the hands of the two thugs.
3. He twists the crowbars into a pretzel.

H. The first thug runs out of bullets, turns to run, followed by #2.
1. Thug #3 starts to run as well, but he's not getting anywhere.
a. Goliath has a grip on his shoulder.
b. He lifts the thug to eye-level, and grins evilly. (Does the thug faint?)
2. From off-screen, the Gargoyle tosses Thug #3 at the other two, bowling them over.

I. Gargoyle drives his claws into the roof, peeling up a section (as if it were carpet) and rolls all three thugs up into it.
1. Imprisoning them in a "cylinder" of rooftop.

III. Romance Interruptus.

A. Elisa approaches the hulking Gargoyle from behind. What will happen to her?
1. He turns to face her, and we see they are already acquainted. She has a big grin on her face. He looks sheepish, puppy-dog like.

B. She touches the place where the bullet chipped his hide. Platonic, caring, gentle, concerned, etc.
1. He winces, less from pain, than from not being used to a kind touch.
2. Then he smiles. A romantic beauty medium two-shot in the moonlight.

C. Suddenly, BRONX tears between them.
1. Elisa looks amused; Goliath, perturbed.
2. Very dog-like, Bronx chews on the crowbar pretzyl.
3. Also very dog-like, Bronx takes off playfully, as soon as Goliath comes near him.
a. Bronx runs at full speed vertically down the side of the building.

E. Bronx runs into the street and right into the path (and headlights) of an oncoming truck, which breaks to a stop, right in front of him.
1. As the large TRUCK-DRIVER gets out of his cab to investigate, Bronx flaps his ears in an attempt to fly away. He never quite gets off the ground. His mace-like tail is too heavy.
2. The angst-ridden Bronx cowers, as the shadow of the Truck-Driver falls over him.
3. Suddenly a larger shadow looms over the Trucker.
4. Goliath stands there, relatively benign, but incredibly huge, and lifts Bronx by the scruff of the neck.
5. Truck-driver watches in absolute shock as Goliath majestically takes to the sky with Bronx in one massive hand.

F. Goliath (with Bronx in hand) wings over the slum rooftop.
1. Elisa already has two of the thugs handcuffed to the fire escape.
2. She's helping the third out of the "cylinder" of roofing.

G. The Gargoyle flies high above the city he's sworn to protect. Patrolling.
1. Bronx, scurries up and perches on Goliath's massive shoulders.
2. They fly into the moonlight and away from us.

IV. Sunrise.

A. Dissolve to a random Manhattan rooftop, just before dawn. Goliath and Elisa are sitting quietly, watching the sun come up.
1. Bronx is already asleep, snoring loudly in a gargoyle-esque "crouch" position.

B. Elisa mimics a Gargoyle pose. Goliath shakes his head.
1. She tries another. Still not right.
2. She tries a third, and he nods.

B. She pats him on the shoulder and walks away, turning to look over her shoulder as the first rays of the sun peak through.
1. He strikes her third pose, and though she looked pretty silly, he looks pretty frightening.

C. The sun rises and he freezes quite suddenly into a stone gargoyle perched on a ledge.

D. We pan back from him, past Elisa who is climbing down the fire-escape and then across our just waking city.

V. "GARGOYLES" logo.

2nd Draft of Animation Test

Here's my second attempt to outline the Animation Test that we never did. The biggest change is that it's simply longer. Note that the [bracketed] material below is part of the original document.

GARGOYLES (Weisman / 5-8-92)
Outline for five-minute animation test. No dialogue.

DISTRIBUTION: Cranston, Fair, Kline, Krisel, Lacy

I. Cityscape of Manhattan (at an angle) just before sundown. (Camera is "flying" west toward the setting sun.)

A. We quickly "fly" by the castle at the top of Xavier's skyscraper.
1. We pause briefly to see XAVIER dressing down his SUITS inside his "throne-room" office.

B. We see the sun go down as we come upon the municipal building.

II. Top of municipal building, as the sun vanishes, we push through an arch into rotunda and hold on a giant stone gargoyle, frozen in a frightening pose in front of the clockface interior.

A. Tight in on gargoyle, as it gets dark, we see cracks forming in the stone.

B. Cut to exterior, silhouette of GOLIATH the GARGOYLE as seen through the face of the clock, bursting out of his shell. Fragments fly everywhere.

C. He suddenly leaps into the air and flies out thru top of rotunda and away from us. Roaring thru the new night. We do not get a clear view of him yet.

III. We continue our "flight" over the city and push in again on a slum neighborhood rooftop. Night has completely fallen.

A. ELISA (in plainclothes) is climbing up a fire escape ladder and onto the roof.

B. Suddenly, she is surrounded by three THUGS coming out from the shadows. (Two carry crowbars; one, a gun).

C. Pull back, we see glowing, inhuman eyes, watching the scene from the shadows of a higher rooftop.

IV. The Gargoyle leaps down upon the criminals--this is our first clear view of him.

A. Elisa gets out of the way.

B. Quick cuts: Goliath reaches into shot and grabs crowbars out of the hands of the first two thugs.
1. He twists them into pretzels.

C. He lifts these two thugs easily, while the third thug shoots at him. The bullets, glance off his stone-like hide, (maybe chipping off stone fragments).

D. From off-screen, the Gargoyle tosses each thug, one by one, onto a "thug pile".

E. Gargoyle rips up a section of the roof and rolls all three thugs up into it.
1. Imprisoning them in a "cylinder" of rooftop.

V. Elisa approaches the hulking Gargoyle from behind. What will happen to her?

A. But when he turns to face her, we see they are already acquainted. She has a big grin on her face. He looks sheepish, puppy-dog like.

B. She touches the place where the bullet chipped his hide. Platonic, caring, gentle, concerned, etc.
1. He winces, less from pain, than from not being used to a kind touch.
2. Then he smiles. A romantic beauty medium two-shot in the moonlight.

VI. Suddenly, BRONX tears between them, followed by LEX, BROADWAY and BROOKLYN.

A. Bronx has half-eaten hockey stick in his mouth.
1. The others are outfitted w/roller blades, skating helmets, and hockey sticks.
a. Lex is without his stick since Bronx is eating it.
2. Elisa looks amused; Goliath, perturbed.

B. Bronx runs at full speed vertically down the side of the building.
1. The young gargoyles give chase.

C. Bronx runs into the street right into the path (and headlights) of an oncoming truck, which breaks to a stop, right in front of him.
1. The other gargoyles scatter.

D. The angst-ridden Bronx cowers, as the large TRUCK-DRIVER gets out of his cab to investigate.
1. He stands over Bronx.
2. Suddenly a shadow falls over him.
3. Goliath stands there, relatively benign, but incredibly huge, and lifts Bronx by the scruff of the neck.
4. Truck-driver watches in absolute shock as Goliath majestically takes to the sky with Bronx in one massive hand.

VII. The other three gargoyles fall into line behind Goliath, and the group wings over the slum rooftop.

A. Elisa waves to them as she handcuffs a thug to the fire escape.
1. One is already secured, the third is still stuck halfway inside the "cylinder" of roofing.

B. Following the flight of our gargoyles as they fly back the way we came.
1. Past the municipal building.
a. He drops off Bronx and the kids with HUDSON, who was waiting there annoyed as Uncle Charlie.
2. Past Xavier's castle skyscraper.
a. DEMONA makes a move to attack him, but Xavier restrains her.

C. The Gargoyle flies high above the city he's sworn to protect. He seems to hang in the air for a beat, framed by the over-sized moon, as if listening, watching...
1. Below we hear sirens and the red flashing light of a police cherry top.
2. And Goliath dives down suddenly into the city toward the unseen trouble spot. Leaving us.

[Note: Depending on how long a test we want, we could end here and bring up the "GARGOYLES" logo, or we could continue on.]

VIII. Goliath lands on a deserted street. The siren and flashing red light are emanating from a box in the middle of the street between two manholes. There is a water tower overlooking the street.

A. He studies the box with curiosity. Obviously, he was expecting to find cops, trouble, a crime.
1. On either side behind him, robotic tentacles lift the manhole covers up silently.
2. The tentacles rear back and then slam the manhole covers like cymbals against the unsuspecting Goliath.

B. While Goliath reels from the attack, we pull to a wide shot as the street cracks, collapses and shatters around him.
1. A SCARAB CORPORATION ROBOT bursts out from underground and presses it's attack.
a. The tentacles wrap around Goliath, pinning and strangling him.

C. Goliath looks doomed, he's being crushed by the robot.
1. Finally, he grabs hold of one tentacle with each hand, and with great effort, rips them right out of the robot.
a. The damaged robot, sparks with power from exposed circuits and wires.

D. Goliath tosses the tentacles aside and takes off like a shot into the air.
1. He crashes at an angle up through the water tower.
2. The water pours out onto the short-circuiting robot.
a. There is a flash of electricity, and then the whole thing explodes.
3. Tight in on the Gargoyle. Grimly triumphant.
a. He flies away.

IX. Dissolve to a random Manhattan rooftop, just before dawn. Goliath and Elisa are sitting quietly, watching the sun come up.

A. She mimics a Gargoyle pose. He shakes his head.
1. She tries another. Still not right.
2. She tries a third, and he nods.

B. She pats him on the shoulder and walks away, turning to look over her shoulder as the first rays of the sun peak through.
1. He strikes her third pose, and though she looked pretty silly, he looks pretty frightening.

C. The sun rises and he freezes quite suddenly into a stone gargoyle perched on a ledge.

D. We pan back from him, past Elisa who is climbing down the fire-escape and then across our just waking city.

E. "GARGOYLES" logo.

ANIMATION TEST

Well, I'm reconstructing events from memory. But I believe in March or April of 1992, we pitched the series to Michael Eisner, who rejected the 38 card pitch (version seven) which I posted here yesterday. Jeffrey Katzenberg, however, saw something in the show and told us to pursue it further. One idea that my boss Gary Krisel came up with was to do a five minute animation test, in the hopes that that would sell everyone on the idea. Now, before you ask to see it, let me say right off that WE NEVER MADE THE ANIMATION TEST. But we sure spun our wheels on it for a long while. This was my first pass on what that test would contain.

You'll note that we still had the gargoyles capable of real flight. Also, the garg's skin, even at night, is stone-like. Both of these attributes would eventually change to make them more vulnerable, less all-powerful in battle.

GARGOYLES
Outline for five-minute animation test. No dialogue.
(Weisman / 4-23-92)

I. Cityscape of Manhattan (at an angle) just before sundown. (Camera is "flying" west toward the setting sun.)

A. We quickly "fly" by the castle at the top of Xavier's skyscraper.
1. We pause briefly to see XAVIER doing business inside his "throne-room" office.

B. We see the sun go down as we come upon the municipal building.

II. Top of municipal building, as the sun vanishes, we push through an arch into rotunda and hold on a giant stone gargoyle, frozen in a frightening pose in front of the clockface interior.

A. Tight in on gargoyle, as it gets dark, we see cracks forming in the stone.

B. Cut to exterior, silhouette of GOLIATH the GARGOYLE as seen through the face of the clock, bursting out of his shell. Fragments fly everywhere.

C. He suddenly leaps into the air and flies out thru top of rotunda and away from us. Roaring thru the new night. We do not get a clear view of him yet.

III. We continue our "flight" over the city and push in again on a slum neighborhood rooftop. Night has completely fallen.

A. ELISA (in plainclothes) is climbing up a fire escape ladder and onto the roof.

B. Suddenly, she is surrounded by three THUGS coming out from the shadows.

C. Pull back, we see glowing, inhuman eyes, watching the scene from the shadows of a higher rooftop.

IV. The Gargoyle leaps down upon the criminals; Elisa gets out of the way.

A. He lifts two easily, while the third thug shoots at him. The bullets, glance off his stone-like hide, (maybe chipping off stone fragments).

B. From off-screen, the Gargoyle tosses each thug, one by one, onto a "thug pile".

V. Elisa approaches the hulking Gargoyle from behind. What will happen to her?

A. But when he turns to face her, we see they are already acquainted. She has a big grin on her face. He looks sheepish, puppy-dog like.

B. She touches the place where the bullet chipped his hide. Platonic, caring, gentle, concerned, etc.
1. He winces, less from pain, than from not being used to a kind touch.
2. Then he smiles. A romantic beauty medium two-shot in the moonlight.

VI. Suddenly, BRONX tears between them, followed by LEX, BROADWAY and BROOKLYN.

A. Elisa looks amused; Goliath, perturbed.

B. Bronx has half-eaten nunchaku in his mouth, as he runs at full speed vertically down the side of the building.
1. The young gargoyles give chase, outfitted like karate blackbelts.

C. Bronx runs into the street right into the path (and headlights) of an oncoming truck, which breaks to a stop, right in front of him.
1. The other gargoyles scatter.

D. The angst-ridden Bronx cowers, as the large TRUCK-DRIVER gets out of his cab to investigate.
1. He stands over Bronx.
2. Suddenly a shadow falls over him.
3. Goliath stands there, relatively benign, but incredibly huge, and lifts Bronx by the scruff of the neck.
4. Truck-driver watches in absolute shock as Goliath majestically takes to the sky with Bronx in one massive hand.

VII. The other three gargoyles fall into line behind Goliath, and the group wings over the slum rooftop.

A. Elisa waves to them as she handcuffs the third thug to the fire escape. (The other two are already secure.)

B. Following the flight of our gargoyles as they fly back the way we came.
1. Past the municipal building.
a. He drops off Bronx and the kids with HUDSON, who was waiting there annoyed as Uncle Charlie.
2. Past Xavier's castle skyscraper.
a. Inside Xavier and DEMONA scheme.

C. The Gargoyle flies high above the city he's sworn to protect. He seems to hover for a beat, framed by the over-sized moon, as if listening, watching...
1. And then he dives down suddenly into the city toward some unseen trouble spot. Leaving us.

END

Pitch version 7

I know what you're thinking. "What happened to Version 6?" Answer: I'm not sure. I don't seem to have that one anymore. But as you can see there aren't THAT many changes between five and seven. Six would have been probably just a couple more minor nuances.

THE major change here, is that now, finally, Goliath is also put to sleep for a thousand years. Up to this point, we had kept him awake and alone for a thousand years. It was such a tragic idea, I personally had been reluctant to abandon it. But ultimately it was unworkable. For starters, why hadn't he aged? And then it also prevented the full culture shock we wanted to put him through in twentieth century Manhattan. I'd just have to find another way to do the Battle of Britain story that I so wanted to do.

Also notice that with the renumbering this pitch consisted of nearly 40 cards. That would prove to be a problem later. Too much information.

GARGOYLES PITCH Seventh Pass (Weisman / 3-3-92)

1. Trio of typical stone GARGOYLES.

"We all think we know what GARGOYLES are. Ugly, stone statues squatting on the roofs of old buildings. But there was a time, one thousand years ago, when gargoyles were real, living creatures. During the day, they slept...frozen in stone."

2. GOLIATH, the GARGOYLE-MASTER. Proud and Noble.

"But when the sun went down, GOLIATH, the GARGOYLE-MASTER would lead his gargoyle-warriors in defense of the king's castle."

3. Goliath reading in library, sitting on small gargoyles.

"And if there was no battle to be fought, he'd retreat to the library to read and learn, all the while making sure that the other gargoyles stayed out of trouble."

4. HUMANS scorning the Gargoyles.

"For all these efforts, Goliath received no reward, no thanks or even kindness. In fact, the people of the castle treated all gargoyles with nothing but contempt."

5. The Gargoyle-Master alone in the throneroom.

"Still Goliath could no more stop guarding the castle than breathing the air. It's part of a gargoyle's nature to be territorial, protective. And so for years, he maintained his lonely vigil."

6. Close-up of Goliath.

"Then one night, Goliath was betrayed and lured away from his post. The castle was overrun and sacked."

7. SORCEROR curses Goliath and the other gargoyles on the castle ramparts.

"Goliath and the surviving gargoyles were unfairly blamed. The castle SORCEROR laid a curse upon them, and they fell into a stone sleep--that lasted a thousand years."

8. Castle on the skyscraper.

"New York City, 1994. A rich and powerful man has decided there's a better place for a medieval castle than a picturesque hill in Scotland. He's moved the whole place--lock, stock and gargoyle--to the top of the tallest skyscraper in Manhattan."

9. Police Detective ELISA REED.

"All of which means nothing to New York City Police Detective, ELISA REED. Castles and curses don't even enter her mind. She's hot on the trail of a major badguy."

10. She's ambushed on a rooftop by multiple THUGS. She's got the drop on most of them. But someone's about to nail her from behind. (And from another rooftop, someTHING is watching in the shadows.)

"Too bad that trail leads her right into an ambush. But thank goodness, a shadowy figure sees what's happening and decides to help."

11. Reveal THE GARGOYLE, determined, as he dives into fray from above.

"Thank goodness for THE GARGOYLE."

12. Gargoyle lifts a badguy with either hand. While a third shoots at him, the bullets glancing off his stone-like hide.

"When you're as strong as Goliath, benchpressing two badguys is easy. And that stone-like hide of his makes him practically invulnerable."

13. Romantic shot in moonlight. Close in. She reaches up to touch his face gently. He looks handsome and noble and just a bit uncomfortable and sad.

"...To everything but Elisa's kindness. She is the first human being who's ever offered him understanding and friendship, hope..."

14. From atop the skyscraper, she shows him Manhattan. The city as fortress. This is our showpiece card.

"...And a sense of purpose. Because by nature, a gargoyle protects his home from 'barbarians at the gate'. And Goliath's new home, Manhattan, has its fair share of barbarians."

15. HUDSON. (One pose, plus two headshots.)

"Fortunately, our hero doesn't have to face them alone. This is Goliath's old friend HUDSON, a Gargoyle-Warrior long past his prime. Hudson helps out by keeping an eye on the young Gargoyles-in-training..."

16. Trio of young Gargoyles, BROOKLYN, LEXINGTON and BROADWAY. Same as card 1. (But in color, perhaps?)

"...BROOKLYN, LEXINGTON and BROADWAY. (Uh, they picked their own names.)"

17. Lexington. (Central pose, ninja pose and gun-biting pose.)

"Lexington (or Lex) is the ring-leader. He's always looking for adventure. Always looking for trouble."

18. Broadway. (Central pose, party pose and banana pose.)

"Broadway, on the other hand, is always looking for a good time. She's been asleep for a thousand years, and now she's ready to party."

19. Brooklyn. (Central pose, motorcycle pose and hockey pose.)

"Brooklyn is fascinated with the twentieth century. He thinks watching television is great. Of course, he also thinks watching a traffic light change colors is great. He's ready for anything this brave, new world has to offer."

20. BRONX, the DOG. (Multiple poses.)

"Unlike BRONX. This Gargoyle-dog is one angst-ridden pet. Doesn't like adventure. Doesn't like new technology."

21. Bronx (two poses) chewing on a fire hydrant and flying.

"Just likes to eat a lot, sleep a lot..."

22. Trio chases Bronx through a fancy restaurant.

"...And make a general mess."

23. Trio uses Bronx to play trick on Hudson.

"All in all, it's a lot for Hudson to handle."

24. Goliath and Elisa try to be inconspicuous on the Subway.

"Not that Goliath has it any easier. It's hard for a seven-foot medieval monster to squeeze into the modern world."

25. Interior of Gargoyle lair.

"Sometimes he just needs to retreat back to the old castle and let time stand still. Of course that can be tough too..."

26. XAVIER.

"Particularly when you have to face villains like XAVIER. Rich, powerful and arrogant, Xavier is the master of behind-the-scenes manipulation. If something nefarious is happening in New York...odds are Xavier's behind it."

27. WOLF and FOX.

28. JACKAL and HYENA.

29. DINGO and CY.O.T.I.

"Then there's THE PACK. WOLF, FOX, JACKAL, HYENA, DINGO and their mechanical helper CY.O.T.I. To the public they're television's greatest Wrestling-Gladiator Team. But to the Gargoyle, they're the most dangerous enforcers he's ever faced."

30. ROBOT climbing building toward Gargoyle.

"Except maybe the ROBOTS built by the SCARAB CORPORATION. Modern-day nightmares worse than anything Goliath saw in the dark ages."

31. CATSCAN is discovered by Goliath and Elisa.

"But no worse than CATSCAN. A scientist mutated by his own experiments..."

32. Catscan, in full pose and "Night Vision" head shot.

"...Into a bitter criminal with deadly Night-Vision."

33. DEMONA with BIG GUN.

"Still, the toughest villain of them all is Goliath's old friend DEMONA, who's taken to the Twentieth Century like bullets take to guns."

34. Demona vs. Goliath, above the city.

"Once she was his most trusted Gargoyle-Warrior. But a thousand years ago, it was her betrayal that cost him the castle. Now she's his sworn enemy, and she won't rest 'til she owns the night..."

35. Stone version of our Gargoyle. Looking vicious and scary. Daylight.

"And the night is all that matters, because the gargoyles still sleep as stone statues during the day, finding an outdoor ledge just before sunrise and striking a pose that could give you nightmares."

36. Night. Goliath, handsome and noble again, on top of a skyscraper with the full moon, Elisa and the other Gargoyles right behind him. Gothic mood, but clearly set in the present.

"But when the sun goes down, they're our only protection from the city's dark terrors."

37. Title Card: "GARGOYLES".

"They are the GARGOYLES."

38. KID at Disneyland.

"Joining the Disney Family in 1994."

PITCH 5.0

My fifth attempt to come up with a pitch for the show. (You'll notice it isn't THAT different from version 4. We really nuanced the hell out of these things back then.) Also note that [bracketed] material was original to the document. I'm guessing we were gearing up for a big pitch in March of '92.

I also think it's interesting that I was already targeting 1994 as our start date, despite the fact that I was writing this early in '92. Shows how long it takes for things to get going.

GARGOYLES PITCH
Fifth Pass (Weisman / 2-7-92)

[Information in Brackets [] is in preparation for March.]

1. Trio of typical stone GARGOYLES. (B&W)

"We all think we know what GARGOYLES are. Ugly, stone statues squatting on the roofs of old buildings. But there was a time, one thousand years ago, when gargoyles were real, living creatures. During the day, they slept...frozen in stone."

2. GOLIATH, the GARGOYLE-MASTER. [Proud and Noble.]

"But when the sun went down, GOLIATH, the GARGOYLE-MASTER would lead his WARRIORS in defense of the king's castle.

[2a. HUMANS scorning the Gargoyles.]

"For these efforts, the gargoyles received no reward, no thanks or even kindness. In fact, the people of the castle treated the Gargoyles with nothing but contempt. Still the Gargoyles could no more stop guarding the castle than they could stop breathing the air. It's their nature to be territorial, protective."

3. Close-up of Goliath.

"But one night, Goliath was betrayed and lured away from his post. The castle was overrun and sacked."

4. Medieval Flashback continues: SORCEROR curses Goliath.

"Goliath was unfairly blamed. The SORCEROR MALACHITE laid a curse upon him, condemning Goliath to guard the empty rooms and ramparts of the castle...`til its spires touch the clouds.'"

[5. Goliath reading in library, amid stone gargoyles.]

"Now that's the kind of curse that's designed to last forever. The other gargoyles fell into a stone sleep and could not be roused. But Goliath was not granted that peace. Left with only the King's library for company, he passed the time reading, learning, changing..."

5[a]. Last Medieval Flashback: The Gargoyle-Master alone in the throneroom.

"And guarding that castle--for a thousand years."

6. Castle on the skyscraper. (Now, for the rest of the pitch, we're in color.)

"New York City, 1994. A rich and powerful man has decided there's a better place for a medieval castle than a picturesque hill in Scotland. He's moved the whole place--lock, stock and gargoyle--to the top of the tallest skyscraper in Manhattan, where its spires can finally touch the clouds, ending the curse."

7. Police Detective ELISA REED. (Following a CROOK? If so, it's nighttime.)

"All of which means nothing to New York Police Detective, ELISA REED. Castles and curses don't even enter her mind. She's hot on the trail of a major badguy."

8. She's ambushed on a rooftop by crook and multiple THUGS. She's holding her own. But someone's about to nail her from behind. (And from another rooftop, someTHING is watching in the shadows.)

"Unfortunately, that trail leads right to an ambush. Now, Elisa is tough. She can hold her own. But she doesn't have eyes in the back of her head."

9. Reveal THE GARGOYLE, as he dives into fray from above.

"Fortunately, someone else was watching out for her."

10. Gargoyle lifts a badguy with either hand. While a third shoots at him, the bullets glancing off his stone-like hide.

"The strength that served the Gargoyle so well in the past is doubly-dangerous today. And that stone-like hide of his makes him practically invulnerable to his enemies."

11. Romantic shot in moonlight. Close in. She reaches up to touch his face gently. He looks handsome and noble and just a bit sad.

"Though all too vulnerable to Elisa. She understands him, like no one else ever has. Goliath's been alive for one thousand years, but in all that time, she is the first human being who's ever offered him kindness and friendship, hope..."

12. From atop the skyscraper, she shows him Manhattan. The city as fortress. This is our showpiece card.

"...And a sense of purpose. Because if a gargoyle is supposed to protect his home from barbarians at the gate, then this one has found the right place to live. `Fortress Manhattan' has its fair share of barbarians."

13. XAVIER.

"Take XAVIER, for example. Rich, powerful and arrogant, a master at behind-the-scenes manipulation, Xavier is the man who's usurped possession of the Gargoyle's castle... and turned it into his own personal headquarters."

14. The PACK. WOLF, FOX, HYENA, JACKAL, DINGO and the CY.O.T.I. [All of them attacking our Gargoyle.]

"Then there's THE PACK. To the public they're television's greatest Wrestling-Gladiator Team. But to the Gargoyle, they're the most dangerous enforcers he's ever faced."

14a. Wolf and Fox.

"WOLF and FOX."

14b. Jackal and Hyena.

"The twins: JACKAL and HYENA."

14c. Dingo and CY.O.T.I.

"DINGO and the CY.O.T.I."

14d. CY.O.T.I-SHIP, etc.

"A versatile little fellow capable of transferring between multiple bodies or piloting the CY.O.T.I.-SHIP. The Pack purchased this technology from the SCARAB-CORPORATION."

15. ROBOT climbing building toward Gargoyle.

"But it's the least of their inventions. Most of their ROBOTS are modern-day nightmares worse than anything Goliath saw in the dark ages."

16. CATSCAN (grappling w/Gargoyle), blasting away w/"Night Vision" from his eyes.

"But no worse than CATSCAN. A scientist mutated by his own experiments into a bitter criminal with deadly `Night Vision'."

17. DEMONA facing off with BIG GUN.

"Still, the toughest villain of them all is an old friend. DEMONA was once Goliath's most trusted Gargoyle-Warrior. But she betrayed him. Now she's his sworn enemy, and unfortunately, Demona's taken to the twentieth Century like bullets take to guns."

18. HUDSON. (One pose, plus two headshots.)

"Fortunately, our hero doesn't have to face these villains alone. In addition to Elisa, Goliath has help from his old friend HUDSON. When the curse was lifted, the few remaining Gargoyles who survived the attack on the old castle woke up for the first time in 1000 years. Hudson is an old Gargoyle-Warrior long past his prime. Now his main duty is to keep a close watch on the young Gargoyles-in-training..."

19. Trio of young Gargoyles, BROOKLYN, LEXINGTON and BROADWAY. (Same as card 1 but in color, perhaps?)

"...BROOKLYN, LEXINGTON and BROADWAY. (Uh, they picked their own names.)"

20. Lexington.

"Lexington (or Lex) is the ring-leader. He's always looking for adventure. Always looking for trouble."

21. Broadway.

"Broadway, on the other hand, is always looking for a good time. She's been asleep for a thousand years, and now she's ready to party."

22. Brooklyn.

"Brooklyn's been asleep too, but he's just fascinated with the world he's woken up in. He thinks watching television is great. Of course, he also thinks watching a traffic light change colors is great. He's ready for anything this brave, new world has to offer.

23. BRONX, the DOG. (Multiple poses, definitely.)

"Unlike BRONX. This Gargoyle-dog is one angst-ridden pet. Doesn't like adventure. Doesn't like new technology. Just likes to eat a lot, sleep a lot, and make a general mess.

24. Exterior of municipal building.

"Together, they've all left the old castle behind and taken up residence in MUNICIPAL HALL."

25. Interior of municipal building.

"There, above the police station, above the library and the mayor's office, Elisa has found them the perfect home."

26. Stone version of our Gargoyle. Looking vicious and scary. Daylight.

"They still sleep during the day, finding an outdoor ledge just before sunrise and striking a pose that could give you nightmares."

27. Night. Goliath, handsome and noble again, on top of a skyscraper with the full moon, Elisa and the other Gargoyles right behind him. Gothic mood, but clearly set in the present.

"But when the sun goes down, they're our only protection from the city's dark terrors."

28. Title Card: "GARGOYLES".

"They are the GARGOYLES."

THE PITCH: Version 4.0

We were still working on perfecting our pitch for Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg. You'll note we now had names for ALL the gargoyles, including Goliath.

You'll also note that Goliath still has Demona's curse of living through the thousand years. That Broadway is still a chick. That Brooklyn and Lex still have each other's personalities. That Elisa's last name is still Reed (a name we eventually gave to Maggie) and that at one point I forgot to correct her first name from Maria. That Catscan still combines Talan and Sevarius in one person. That Xanatos is still Xavier. That Coyote is still C.Y.O.T.I. and that he was an original member of the Pack. Etc. But we were definitely closing in on the show we wanted to make and sell.

Another interesting thing -- something I had completely forgotten -- is that the Magus was then called Malachite, which I believe wound up being the name of a villain on Sailor Moon.

GARGOYLES PITCH
Fourth Pass (Weisman / 2-6-92)

1. Trio of typical stone GARGOYLES. (B&W)

"We all think we know what GARGOYLES are. Ugly, stone statues squatting on the rooves of old buildings. But there was a time, one thousand years ago, when gargoyles were real, living creatures. During the day, they slept...frozen in stone."

2. GOLIATH, the GARGOYLE-MASTER. (Medieval Flashback: G-M in fg, HUDSON and DEMONA in bg tossing human barbarians off the ramparts of the castle.)

"But when the sun went down, GOLIATH, the GARGOYLE-MASTER would lead his WARRIORS in defense of the king's castle. For these efforts, the gargoyles received no reward, no thanks or even kindness. In fact, the people of the castle treated the Gargoyles with nothing but contempt. Still the Gargoyles could no more stop guarding the castle than they could stop breathing the air. It's their nature to be territorial, protective."

3. Close-up of Goliath.

"But one night, Goliath was betrayed and lured away from his post. The castle was overrun and sacked."

4. Medieval Flashback continues: SORCEROR curses Goliath.

"Goliath was unfairly blamed. The SORCEROR MALACHITE laid a curse upon him, condemning Goliath to guard the empty rooms and ramparts of the castle...`til its spires rest among the clouds.'"

5. Last Medieval Flashback: The Gargoyle-Master alone in the throneroom.

"Now that's the kind of curse that's designed to last forever. The other gargoyles fell into a stone sleep and could not be roused. But Goliath was not granted that peace. He guarded the castle alone--for a thousand years."

6. Castle on the skyscraper. (Now, for the rest of the pitch, we're in color.)

"New York City, 1994. A rich and powerful man has decided there's a better place for a medieval castle than a picturesque hill in Scotland. He's moved the whole place--lock, stock and gargoyle--to the top of the tallest skyscraper in Manhattan, where it's spires can finally touch the clouds, ending the curse."

7. Police Detective ELISA REED. (Following a CROOK? If so, it's nighttime.)

"All of which means nothing to New York Police Detective, ELISA REED. Castles and curses don't even enter her mind. She's hot on the trail of a major badguy."

8. She's ambushed on a rooftop by crook and multiple THUGS. She's holding her own. But someone's about to nail her from behind. (And from another rooftop, someTHING is watching in the shadows.)

"Unfortunately, that trail leads right to an ambush. Now, Elisa is tough. She can hold her own. But she doesn't have eyes in the back of her head."

9. Reveal THE GARGOYLE, as he dives into fray from above.

"Fortunately, someone else was watching out for her."

10. Gargoyle lifts a badguy with either hand. While a third shoots at him, the bullets glancing off his stone-like hide.

"The strength that served the Gargoyle so well in the past is doubly-dangerous today. And that stone-like hide of his makes him practically invulnerable to his enemies."

11. Romantic shot in moonlight. Close in. She reaches up to touch his face gently. He looks handsome and noble and just a bit sad.

"Though all too vulnerable to Elisa. She understands him, like no one else ever has. Goliath's been alive for one thousand years, but in all that time, she is the first human being who's ever offered him kindness and friendship, hope..."

12. From atop the skyscraper, she shows him Manhattan. The city as fortress. This is our showpiece card.

"...And a sense of purpose. Because if a gargoyle is supposed to protect his home from barbarians at the gate, then this one has found the right place to live. `Fortress Manhattan' has its fair share of barbarians."

13. XAVIER.

"Take XAVIER, for example. Rich, powerful and arrogant, a master at behind-the-scenes manipulation, Xavier is the man who's usurped possession of the Gargoyle's castle... and turned it into his own personal headquarters."

14. The PACK. WOLF, FOX, HYENA, JACKAL, DINGO and the CY.O.T.I. (All of them attacking our Gargoyle.)

"Then there's THE PACK: WOLF, FOX, JACKAL, HYENA, DINGO and the CY.O.T.I. To the public they're television's greatest Wrestling-Gladiator Team. But to the Gargoyle, they're the most dangerous enforcers he's ever faced."

15. ROBOT climbing building toward Gargoyle.

"Except maybe the ROBOTS from SCARAB-CORP. Modern-day nightmares worse than anything he saw in the dark ages."

16. CATSCAN (grappling w/Gargoyle), blasting away w/"Night Vision" from his eyes.

"But no worse than CATSCAN. A scientist mutated by his own experiments into a bitter criminal with deadly `Night Vision'."

17. DEMONA facing off with BIG GUN.

"Still, the toughest opponent of them all is an old friend. DEMONA was once Goliath's most trusted Gargoyle-Warrior. But she betrayed him. Now she's his sworn enemy, and unfortunately, Demona's taken to the twentieth Century like bullets take to guns."

18. HUDSON. (One pose, plus two headshots.)

"Fortunately, our hero doesn't have to face these villains alone. In addition to Elisa, Goliath has help from his old friend HUDSON. When the curse was lifted, the few remaining Gargoyles who survived the attack on the old castle woke up for the first time in 1000 years. Hudson is an old Gargoyle-Warrior long past his prime. Now his main duty is to keep a close watch on the young Gargoyles-in-training..."

19. Trio of young Gargoyles, BROOKLYN, LEXINGTON and BROADWAY. (Same as card 1 but in color, perhaps?)

"...BROOKLYN, LEXINGTON and BROADWAY. (Uh, they picked their own names.)"

20. Lexington.

"Lexington (or Lex) is the ring-leader. He's always looking for adventure. Always looking for trouble."

21. Broadway.

"Broadway, on the other hand, is always looking for a good time. She's been asleep for a thousand years, and now she's ready to party."

22. Brooklyn.

"Brooklyn's been asleep too, but he's just fascinated with the world he's woken up in. He thinks watching television is great. Of course, he also thinks watching a traffic light change colors is great. He's ready for anything this brave, new world has to offer.

23. BRONX, the DOG. (Multiple poses, definitely.)

"Unlike BRONX. This Gargoyle-dog is one angst-ridden pet. Doesn't like adventure. Doesn't like new technology. Just likes to eat a lot, sleep a lot, and make a general mess.

24. Exterior of municipal building.

"Together, they've all left the old castle behind and taken up residence in the old MUNICIPLE HALL."

25. Interior of municipal building.

"There, above the police station, above the library and the mayor's office, Maria has found them the perfect home."

26. Stone version of our Gargoyle. Looking vicious and scary. Daylight.

"They still sleep during the day, finding an outdoor ledge just before sunrise and striking a pose that could give you nightmares."

27. Night. Goliath, handsome and noble again, on top of a skyscraper with the full moon, Elisa and the other Gargoyles right behind him. Gothic mood, but clearly set in the present.

"But when the sun goes down, they're our only protection from the city's dark terrors."

28. Title Card: "GARGOYLES".

"They are the GARGOYLES."

Closing in...

[My immediate boss, Bruce Cranston, also responded to my call for names. Here are his choices, a few of which he marked with asterisks:]

Walt Disney Television

Bruce P. Cranston

LAFAYETTE
*HUDSON
STEALTH
VIDEO
MICROWAVE
QUARK
MERANGUE
MOUSSE
*BROADWAY
*BURBANK
BEDFORD STUYVESANT
AVE OF THE AMERICAS
GRAMMERCY
CARLYSLE
AMSTERDAM
COLUMBUS
CHELSEA
STEROID
MADISON
5TH
BROOKLYN
LEXINGTON
SOHO
GREENWICH
TRIBECA
BRONX
BATTERY

TOPEKA
BURBANK
SKIDMORE
RADCLIFFE
McGUIRE
McPHERESON
McKAY
McTAVITCH
McINTOSH
McINTYRE
McKANE

[My memory fails, but it certainly seems like the conceit of naming most of the gargs after New York locations was Bruce's idea. On the back of his note, I hand-wrote the following:]

[blank] - Master [Proto-Goliath]
Lexington - Cubbi
Brooklyn - Kramer
[blank] - Demona

Bronx - Dog
Broadway - Belushi
Hudson - RALPH

[Obviously, and finally (thanks to Bruce's inspiration), I found names that I liked. These names stuck, even through Broadway's gender switch. Cubbi, who looked like Lex but had Brooklyn's personality got the Lexington name. And that stuck, even when the personalities got switched. Same (in reverse) for Kramer/Brooklyn. The name stuck with the character's look, not his persona.]

Still searching...

Bob Kline, our Development Art Director also answered my call for name suggestions for our characters. These are his suggestions:

NAMES AND MORE NAMES (GARGOYLE)

GARGOYLE MASTER:
OBSIDIAN
GRANITE
TITAN
RAGNAR

DEMONA:
SHALE
SLATE
MALACHITE
ANTHRACITE

RALPH:
BATHOLITH
TALUS
FELDSPAR
MARTIN

CUBBI: FLASH, ACE, KILLER, LANCE

BELUSHI: JENNIFER, MARILYN, LIZA, ANNETTE

KRAMER: HOWARD, MORTIMER, WALTER, FRANKLIN

DOG: REX (WRECKS), BUBBLE, DUMBO, PIGEON

XAVIER:
WINSTON SHARP
MATHEW SKRAG
LESLIE SLEAN
SIMPSON DEALE

CATSCAN:
JONATHAN RAGE
RICHARD SLASH
MARCUS KLAW
TRENTON PROWL

T.E.:
TERROR ENVOY
TECHNICAL EXPERT
TRANSMUTATE ENSIGN

ROBOT ORGANIZATION:
GENERAL MECHANICS
GENERAL AUTOMATICS
ELECTROSERV CORPORATION
GENERAL DYNATRON
SENSOSERV INC,
SERVOSENSE INC

Still searching for names...

Tad Stones weighs in to suggest some names...

[3] From: Tad Stones 2/3/92 10:23AM (448 bytes: 12 ln)
To: Greg Weisman
Subject: Rock names

------------------------------- Message Contents -------------------------------

Good idea as long as no one takes them for granite!
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahhahahha

Actually I like Malachite as a name. Jaspar for a goofy type.

Agate
Feldspar - old guy?
Onyx
Obsidian
Pyrite - fool's gold

Must you humans name everything...

...Actually, yes, we must. Names are very important to me. I love the names we wound up with on the show, but getting there wasn't quick or easy. (Except with Demona.) As you may recall, I had asked everyone on the development team to come up with new names for our characters. Here was Fred Schaefer's submission. Note how proud he was of it, he didn't want anyone but me to see it. Guess (nearly nine years later) I'm breaking a confidence. :)

Note that the stuff in [brackets] is Fred's comments on his own stuff. Not mine. My comments are in {fancy brackets}.

THE GARGOYLE -- NEW NAMES (Schaefer 2-3-92)

DISTRIBUTION: For Weisman's eyes only ...

THE GARGOYLE-MASTER {PROTO-GOLIATH}

Pleiades
Sirius
Procyon
Titan
Darius
Sparta [Greek city-state that emphasized training children (our smaller gargoyles) to be soldiers]
Cato
Mortar
Palisade [See how I cleverly slip in this name and the previous one, in the hope that the weis one
won't notice he's seen them before.]
Rubicon [A river in northern Italy. "Crossing the Rubicon" is an expression for taking a dangerous,
decisive, and irreversible step.]
Argus [constantly on alert]
Gauntlet [as in "fling down the..."]

DEMONA {PROTO-DEMONA}
Gelignite
Javelin
Fury
Electra

RALPH (The Caretaker) {PROTO-HUDSON}
Epoch
Stratus
Igneous
Stony
Shale
Millstone
Ockham

CUBBI {PROTO-BROOKLYN, though he looked more like Lex}
Crag
Pyrite
Stony
Shale

BELUSHI {PROTO-BROADWAY, but female}
Boulder
Eddy

KRAMER {PROTO-LEXINGTON, though he looked more like Brooklyn}
Cobble
Bluff
Clod
Clay

DOG {PROTO-BRONX}
Hydrant
Concrete
Asphalt
Bassett
Clod
Canis

MARIA CHAVEZ {PROTO ELISA MAZA}
Claire Porter
Katherine Duncan

XAVIER {PROTO-XANATOS}
Gordian
Mars
Marlowe
Tarnas
Iacoaca

MORE SCIENTIST NAMES_(aka CAT SCAN) {PROTO TALAN/SEVARIUS combo}
Dr. Gordax
Dr. Mortirip
Dr. Orthrag
Dr. Parox
Dr. Thenogen
Dr. Toral
Dr. Pendoom
Dr. Athalon
Dr. Penalt
Dr. Tath

VOWS memo

Saw "VOWS" last night with the family. I'll ramble on that one shortly, but here's the memo from November '94. Shari Goodhartz wrote the outline, which Michael Reaves edited. Shari's entire story was more or less set at the Eyrie Building. It was about Demona and Xanatos using the wedding to get half of a magical talisman from Goliath. Goliath prevents them from using this macguffin, but realizes once and for all that he and Demona are over.

As I noted below, it seemed like that wasn't enough. So I took ALL of Shari's story and CRUSHED it into Act One. Then I came up with the Time Travel story that was the heart of VOWS. All of Acts Two and Three as presented in the memo below are my work. But I think Shari and Michael did a great job of executing it in this jam-packed episode.

One little tidbit. Petros was my original name for Xanatos' father. (I went to college with a guy named Petros.) But Shari and/or Michael named the dad "Stefan", which I went with here. At the recording session, Marina Sirtis pointed out that the name didn't work for some reason that I can no longer recall. (Aris, any thoughts?) So I jumped in and rechristened him Petros. Later we realized that both Elisa and David had fathers who had been named variations on Peter. To me, that was a very cool thing.

WEISMAN 11-25-94

Notes on "Vows" Outline...

GENERAL
Basically, it still didn't seem like we had enough story. So I compressed what was here and tried to extrapolate forward to fill out acts 2 and 3.

THE TALISMAN
I'm calling it the PHOENIX GATE. It can be used as a gateway to anywhere and anywhen. (The Gate will, I believe, eventually give us our Battle of Britain Story. And give the Archmage a powerful weapon for reaching and conquering Avalon.) By combining the two halves of the Phoenix Gate and invoking the Latin translation of the phrase: "Burn down the walls of time and space!", the gate opens in flame and sucks up anyone in the immediate vicinity, transporting them to the place and time chosen by the invoker. But choosing requires incredible concentration. Otherwise, the chooser's emotional or mental whim of the moment may cause the gate to drop everyone off at Burger King instead of Fort Knox.

TIME TRAVEL
So we're going to do a time travel story. Which means we need to establish traveling rules for our series. I'm going with the most conservative, most restrictive rules possible, because more than any other type of fantasy or science fiction convention, time travel is really subject to logic abuse. So...

Whatever's happened in the past has already happened, including the actions of our time travelers. Recorded history may be incomplete or incorrect, but true history cannot be changed. When Demona and Goliath go back in time to meet the young Demona, both of the older gargoyles are seeking to change or influence the young Demona's history. But this meeting already took place. The older Demona remembers it. (Maybe not every precise detail, and maybe she didn't fully understand the event at the time, but she does remember it.) Whatever influence the modern gargoyles had on her has already been figured into the events that followed, many of which have already been depicted in other episodes. (Sadly, in this case, neither Goliath or Demona had any real sustained influence on the younger Demona at all. That's the tragic flaw of both Demonas. They just never learn.)

WHERE AND WHEN ARE WE GOING?
Castle Wyvern. 975 A.D. The castle is ruled by the 21 year old Prince Malcolm of Wyvern. Malcolm's chief advisors are the 35 year old Captain of the Guard [NOTE: per my recent work on the timeline, the Captain was 29 years old in 975.]; the Archmage (nine years younger than when he appeared in "Long Way to Morning"), and Hudson who is biologically 49. Young warriors, Goliath and Demona are both biologically 19, (in "Long Way..." they were more like 23). If you have space for them, Brooklyn, Lexington and Broadway are all biologically nine. Bronx hasn't hatched yet. In contrast, our modern Goliath is biologically 29 years old and Hudson's 59.

VOWS
That's the theme. Vows. When you keep them. When you can't. Why you do or don't. Don't hesitate to play it up.

STEFAN
In thinking about it, I think Stefan Xanatos should be a naturalized American Citizen living in a north eastern fishing community. Maybe somewhere in Maine. He's still Greek, but he emigrated before David was born. That way, David Xanatos could have been born and raised to pursue (and pervert) the American Dream.

BEAT OUTLINE
ACT ONE
1. Night by some landmark, (maybe the Goldencup Bakery Building or the Cyberbiotics Tower). DAVID XANATOS (in armor) and GOLIATH fight. No stolen Cyberbiotics devices. I really don't want to sweat this scene too much. There are a hundred ways that this could have begun, and in the interest of getting to our main story quicker, I don't want to spend a lot of time "prologing" our prologue. But for the sake of consistency, I'll posit the following: Xanatos left a vaguely menacing message for Goliath with ELISA, whom he can reach easily enough at the precinct house. (The location of the rendezvous itself may have suggested bad news.) Goliath, prepared for a trap but not about to hide from danger, went to the stated rendezvous and, expecting the worse, waded into battle before Xanatos could get a word in edgewise. Well, Xanatos is always up for a little workout, so he fought back with relish, taking his time to reveal the real reason he had asked Goliath to come: He wants Goliath to be best man at his wedding tomorrow night. As a little incentive, he's invited DEMONA, and wrested a promise that she'll be on her best behavior throughout the event. [Reveal as much or as little of the "prologing" as necessary in order to make the scene play.]

2. Clock Tower just before Dawn. HUDSON seems strangely ambivalent, but Elisa and BROOKLYN can't believe Goliath would even consider going to the wedding. They have a hundred reasons each why it's obvious lunacy. Goliath doesn't put up much of a counter-argument. He knows they're right. He won't go. Dawn comes. They all turn to stone. Elisa heads home.

3. Castle during the day. In the courtyard, Xanatos waits for something, still in his armor but with the helmet off. A helicopter lands, piloted by FOX and carrying STEFAN XANATOS, a big, tough, weathered but honest Greek fisherman. Stefan is a little put off by his son's armored attire, but tries at first to make the best of an awkward situation. He is teasingly superstitious about his son seeing Fox on the day of the wedding, but the happy couple make their own luck and patronizingly ignore his concerns, which darkens Stefan's mood. Fox exits to get dressed. David asks his dad, what he thinks of the place. Stefan is frankly appalled by the conspicuous consumption. Why does his son need a place like this? "Oh, reason not the need, father. I wanted it. So I took it." Stefan is disgusted by his son's attitude. Why does he need to wear armor? David assures him, the armor is purely defensive. Defense against what? What kind of life does his son lead? He think David would have been better off being a humble fisherman, like himself: "In fact, if I ever get my hands on the man who sent you that coin, I swear I'll teach him a lesson for meddling with my family." David smiles when his Dad brings up "the coin". That's ancient history, Pop. Besides, that coin was only worth about 20 grand. David's now worth "considerably more". But Dad's not letting him off the hook. If he had never received that coin anonymously, he'd never have become what he is now. "You know, Dad, someday I'm going to prove to you that I really am a self-made man. And that's a promise." Besides, if the castle and the armor upset you, wait until you meet the best man.
On cue, OWEN enters with the JUDGE who is to perform the ceremony. Owen has prepared a little videotape of the gargoyles for Stefan and the Judge to watch. That way, they won't swallow their tongues when they see Goliath and Demona. As they all head inside, Owen questions whether this is necessary, will Goliath really show? He'll be here, Xanatos assures him, "I'd take an oath on it."

4. Back at the clock tower during the day, we push in on the stone Goliath and ripple dissolve to his dream/memory.

5. Castle Wyvern, 975 A.D., night. YOUNG GOLIATH finds YOUNG DEMONA standing on the tower with YOUNGISH HUDSON. Demona seems ridiculously happy to see him. Goliath doesn't want to miss PRINCE MALCOLM'S Wedding. She seems a bit distracted. She looks at Hudson, who says "Go on, then." She and Goliath glide down to one of the upper windows of the Great Hall. From there, they watch this strange human ceremony of bonding, including the exchange of rings. Goliath comments on the beauty of the symbolism or something, and Demona takes out the PHOENIX GATE. She separates the two pieces and hands him one. She swears she will never stop loving him. (If she seems a little too intense, we'll chalk it up at this stage to the emotion of the moment.) Goliath takes his half of the gate, and somewhat awed by her intensity, makes a similar vow. They embrace, stroking each other's hair. (The Gargoyle equivalent of kissing.)

6. Dissolve back out to the Clock Tower at Dusk. Goliath and the others explode awake. Goliath goes to a secret hiding place in the clock tower. (Behind the comatose, COLDSTONE, perhaps.) We see the GRIMORUM and the EYE OF ODIN, as well as Goliath's half of the Gate. (He had hidden it a thousand years ago in a hollow brick at the castle, which Xanatos had transported to NYC unaware of its contents. Goliath had retrieved it before moving to the Clock Tower.) He clutches the gate-piece in his huge hand and leaves, never giving the other gargoyles a chance to talk him out of what even he must realize is a foolhardy quest. Hudson watches him go.

7. Night at the castle. Xanatos and Owen wait in the courtyard for Goliath. Both are now dressed in tuxedos, and Xanatos is wearing a lapel pin that depicts a pyramid with an eye at its apex radiating light. Owen questions whether he should be wearing the emblem of the ILLUMINATI SOCIETY in public. Xanatos says cryptically that it's a necessary risk. [By the way, I have no idea if this is an Illuminati symbol or not. But it seems to fit.] Goliath arrives. Owen offers him a bow-tie. Goliath is not amused. Xanatos gives him Fox's wedding ring to hold. That's what the best man does, you see. Hold the ring, until the couple exchanges vows.
The three enter the Great Hall. Everyone is there. The judge and Stefan have already seen Demona, but Goliath is even more startling thanks to his imposing size. Fox is wearing a white dress, but something non-traditional and sexy. And Demona broods. Goliath approaches her, clutching the gate-piece tightly in his fist. She does not even want to talk to him. She feels she has to attend this farce because Xanatos insisted, and she needs to keep him as an ally. But she cannot fathom why Xanatos wants Goliath here. Goliath attempts to remind her of the last wedding they attended together, but she is not interested in reminiscing.
The wedding ceremony begins, rather informally at first. Keep it very short. (At some point, the Judge should ask Fox's real name. Fox coldly informs him that "Fox" is legally her real name now.) We get to the exchange of rings. Goliath hands Xanatos one for Fox. Demona hands Fox one for Xanatos. Demona looks across at Goliath and seems to break down. Just as the Judge pronounces David and Fox, HUSBAND AND WIFE, Demona runs from the Hall. Goliath pursues. Xanatos & Fox, exchange glances. "Now the fun really begins." They start to follow the gargoyles. Stefan tries to restrain his son: What are you up to now? You'd interrupt your own wedding to engage in Machiavellian scheming? But Xanatos is in a bit of a hurry. He and Fox head out the door pursued by Stefan. The Judge turns to Owen very confused. Owen says something dry and witty. And then both men follow the rest.
Outside, Goliath catches up with Demona before she can glide away. Does she remember their vows? Is there still a chance for them? He shows her his gate-piece. He's always kept it. She gently removes it from his hand and takes out hers. So has she. She puts the interlocking pieces together to form the PHOENIX GATE. And then... she laughs. Goliath is such a fool. He's fallen right into Xanatos and Demona's sentimental trap. Now she has the Gate. And she intends to use it. And just as the Xanatos clan approaches, she speaks the incantation. A huge bird of fire seems to engulf Goliath, Demona, David, Fox and Stefan Xanatos. The fire consumes itself. Owen and the Judge arrive just in time to see the last spark go out. There is no sign of the wedding party. Owen: "It seems the honeymoon has begun earlier than expected."

8. Wyvern, Scotland, on the cliffside near the forest overlooking Castle Wyvern. (This is where Hudson and Goliath froze the morning of the gargoyle massacre of 994 A.D. Only now, it's 975 A.D. -- the night of Prince Malcolm's wedding.) Our five time travelers materialize out of the flaming gate. Stefan asks "Where are we?" David: "The question isn't where... but when?"

ACT TWO
9. Pick up right where we left off. Demona laughs and launches herself off the cliff. Goliath pursues, leaving the humans behind. Xanatos doesn't waste any time. "Follow me!" He runs back into the forest followed by Fox and a very confused Stefan.

10. Air chase. Demona manages to put some distance between herself and Goliath. She chants the incantation and vanishes into the flaming "Gate", leaving Goliath alone.

11. In the forest, Clan Xanatos comes upon TWO HOODED RIDERS who are being attacked by FOUR ARMED BANDITS on horseback. Although he is unarmed, Xanatos never hesitates, wading right in against the bandits. Xanatos, Fox, the larger of the two riders and even Stefan make short work of the bandits. The bandits are forced to flee without their horses, which Xanatos commandeers for his family. The large rider is grateful but suspicious of these strangers in bizarre garb. Then he notices Xanatos' Illuminati pin and warms up fast, briefly drawing back his cloak, to reveal that he wears the same Illuminati emblem. He tells Xanatos that he is the NORMAN AMBASSADOR. He and his "companion" bring "priceless gifts" to Prince Malcolm of Wyvern. Xanatos may wear strange garb, but he's a great fighter (and a fellow Illuminatus). The Ambassador would be honored if Xanatos' would accompany them the last few miles to Castle Wyvern. He also promises that Prince Malcolm will be very grateful for their help as well.

12. Having lost Demona, Goliath soars closer to the castle, debating with himself whether or not he should land there. Then he spots Demona again from a distance. He circles to intercept her, but as she lands on a castle battlement, she is greeted by a young Goliath. And the adult Goliath realizes that he wasn't tracking his enemy, but her younger counterpart. He comes in for a landing on one of the high towers of the castle, and surreptitiously watches the young lovers below him. It almost tears his heart out. And then he hears Hudson's voice behind him, demanding to know what he's doing up on the tower when he had been assigned to hold watch on the battlement. Adult Goliath turns to see his MENTOR, (the YOUNGER HUDSON). When Hudson gets a good look at him, he immediately sees that something is wrong. And when Hudson sees young Goliath and young Demona, below on the battlement, he's ready to cry sorcery, and Adult Goliath has to slap a hand over his mouth.

13. At the gates of the castle, Xanatos, Stefan, Fox, the Ambassador and the hooded rider are greeted by young Prince Malcolm and the ARCHMAGE. The rider is revealed to be PRINCESS ELENA of Normandy. (I made this name up, and have no idea if it's accurate to tenth century Normandy.) The Ambassador had hoped that by arriving in secret, he and the Princess would avoid just the kind of trouble that Clan Xanatos saved them from. Malcolm is very grateful. He was to marry Elena tomorrow, but because the princess was attacked, he has decided to move up the wedding to this very night. He tells his SERVANTS to prepare the Great Hall. At the Ambassador's prompting, Elena pulls out her father's wedding gift. It is a priceless golden treasure known as the PHOENIX GATE, which she will officially present to the Prince after the ceremony.

14. Meanwhile, with great difficulty, Goliath is trying to convince Hudson that he is not a sorcerous creature, but a visitor from the future. (He does not choose to reveal how far in the future.) Goliath is a bit flustered himself: he doesn't know how much to reveal, and he has to remind himself not to use anachronistic names like Hudson and Demona. He manages to babble out the fact that sometime in the future, he attended the wedding of an enemy and that he and his... enemies were sent back in time by some kind of sorcery. He is particularly concerned for the younger versions of himself and Demona. He needs his MENTOR's help. (This conversation will explain the older Hudson's ambivalence in Scene 2. He remembered meeting the adult Goliath after the latter had attended the wedding of an enemy.) Hudson isn't sure what to believe, but he looks deeply into adult Goliath's eyes and decides to trust him.

15. The Archmage returns to his laboratory. He is furious. At first we think he's ranting to himself, but then we realize he's talking to his apprentice, who cowers a bit in the shadows. It turns out that the Archmage hired the bandits to steal the Phoenix Gate from the Normans. To Malcolm, it is just a gaudy bauble, but to him it is the second talisman of power that he needs. (He has the Grimorum. Doesn't yet have the Eye of Odin.) With it he can transverse space and time in a thought. He needs his apprentice to steal it from the Princess before the wedding. Hesitantly, the apprentice steps forward out of the shadows. It is the young Demona.

16. Fox and Stefan watch as Xanatos hands the Ambassador a letter, and returns to face his father. He tells him that the letter contains instructions for the Illuminati society and two sealed envelopes. The Society is to wait 1000 years and then deliver the first envelope to a young David Xanatos of Bar Harbor, Maine. The envelope contains a small coin, a minor reward requested of the Prince for saving the Princess. The coin is practically worthless in 975, but by 1975 it will be worth about 20 grand. The second envelope is to be delivered twenty years after the first. It contains a detailed account of how the coin was obtained. That's how Xanatos knew how to set all this up. He had received instructions from himself last week. "So you see, Pop. I am indeed a self-made man." Fox beams with pride. Stefan is quiet for a beat. Then asks: "All right, Mr. Big Shot Time Traveler. You sent yourself your little letter before you answered one important question: How do we get home?"

17. Young Demona sneaks into the Princess' room through a window and grabs the Phoenix Gate, while Elena's back is turned. She leaves by the same window, but she doesn't get very far. Suddenly, her older counterpart appears before her in a fiery flash of Phoenix flame.

ACT THREE
18. Up on the tower, the burst of Phoenix flame attracts the attention of Goliath, Hudson -- and Young Goliath down on the battlement! Adult Goliath knows the flame signals the arrival of his... enemy. But his younger counterpart MUST NOT investigate. Hudson agrees to waylay young Goliath. Adult Goliath takes off in the direction of the fading flame.

19. Meanwhile, the older Demona confronts her younger self. Both hold a complete version of the Phoenix Gate. (Don't you just love time travel stories?) Anyway, the younger Demona is obviously stunned by what she sees. The older one is right to business. She knows for a fact that her arrival is about to attract some unwanted attention. They need to go somewhere private to talk! She invokes the Latin spell and her gate opens into fire that sucks in both Demonas. At the last possible second, Adult Goliath flies into the fiery gate, and all three vanish.

20. Castle Wyvern. The highest tower. 994 A.D. A few nights after the Massacre. The 994 counterpart of Goliath is frozen in stone (in Thinker pose) at night! Small fires still burn. Fragments of other gargoyles litter the ground. On the cut, the Phoenix Gate deposits Young Demona, Adult Demona and Adult Goliath a few yards above the tower. The Demona's drop down gently enough, but Goliath's momentum from scene 19 sends him crashing into the stone floor of the tower. Adult Demona seems ready for this as well. Before Goliath can recover, she slams him across the back with all her might, plus both fists and the anger of 1000 years. He is knocked unconscious.
And then her real work begins. Young Demona is still in a state of semi-shock. Adult Demona wastes no time. Yes, she is her older self returned from the future with a warning. See the destruction. The death. Goliath frozen in stone at night! Humans did this! And you can stop it! You have the Phoenix Gate. All you have to do is think of a place and time. Hold it in your mind, and by speaking the incantation you are there. With its power you can accomplish anything. Do not give it away to the Archmage. Do not share it with... Do not share it! USE IT!! Destroy all the humans! Rule the Gargoyles! Rule the world!! It's all within your grasp!!!
Goliath starts to come to. Young Demona rushes to his side. Adult Demona intercepts her. "Believe me, I know exactly how you feel." But you cannot trust Goliath. He is weak. He cares more about the humans than the gargoyle clan! The greatest favor you can do him would be to put him out of our misery. (And here is where our Demona has made her big mistake. A mistake made despite the power of hindsight. Because Demona never learns. And because at this time, the younger Demona loves Goliath with all her heart.) Adult Demona: "You must know I'm right! Can't you see I am what you will become?!" And young Demona, still largely innocent and good, snaps: "I will never become like you!" Young Demona attacks adult Demona! Fight scene. Frankly, Young Demona wouldn't be a match for adult Demona, except that the latter is a bit reluctant to trash "herself". Still, it's for her own good.
Goliath regains consciousness and joins the battle. The tide turns and Adult Demona is knocked out this time. Goliath takes her version of the Phoenix Gate from her. Young Demona is pretty near shattered by this whole experience! She turns to Goliath, pleadingly. What should she do?
Goliath is reluctant to use Adult Demona's methods. But he also wants to undo some of the damage the Adult Demona did. Young Demona is touching the frozen version of Goliath. Our Goliath approaches her. Tells her not to worry about this. Not to fear it or look for it. It is not the big catastrophes that must concern her. It is the little slights. The little jealousies and angers that prey upon the heart. Fortify yourself with love and trust, and you need not fear this future.
Goliath looks at Adult Demona. He holds up her Gate. He's not sure he knows how to use it. The younger one lifts her version. She knows how. She speaks the words and the three of them disappear in flames.

21. They reappear in flame on the same tower in 975. Xanatos, Fox and Stefan are there. (The highest point on the castle was the logical place to watch for the Phoenix flames.) Goliath would be tempted to leave Xanatos behind if he wasn't afraid of the damage the guy could do to the future. Goliath says good-bye to young Demona. By now, he's figured out how the gate works. Young Demona steps back out of range. With some hesitancy, Goliath speaks the Latin and our five time travelers disappear.
Young Demona is left alone. She still has her version of the Phoenix Gate, which she holds tightly behind her back. The Archmage comes running up the stairs, clutching the Grimorum. He had seen the Phoenix fire and jumps to the conclusion that young Demona let somebody else get away with the Gate. Before she can reveal that she still has her Gate, he punishes her with a bolt of lightning, and threatens to tell the Prince that she stole the Gate. Hudson glides in, landing between Demona and the Archmage. Hudson wonders why the Archmage would expect Demona to have the Prince's wedding present? If Demona did steal it, who would she be stealing it for? The Archmage takes the hint, begrudgingly. But he won't forget this. He heads back downstairs, grumbling: Those strangely dressed strangers have disappeared. The theft of the Gate can be blamed on them. Obviously, Young Demona never reveals that she still has the Gate.
Young Goliath glides in and in a repeat of the first half of scene 5, Demona seems ridiculously happy to see him. Goliath doesn't want to miss Prince Malcolm's Wedding. Demona seems a bit distracted. She looks at Hudson, who says "Go on, then." She and Goliath glide down to one of the upper windows of the Great Hall.

22. Xanatos' Castle in Manhattan, 1995. A repeat of the end of scene 7: Owen and the Judge arrive on the scene just in time to see the last spark go out. There is no sign of the wedding party. Owen: "It seems the honeymoon has begun earlier than expected."
Our five time travelers reappear. Demona is recovering. Goliath may have defeated her, but he failed too. Demona remembers his little speech from when she was young. She never forgot it. And it didn't change anything. "More's the pity," he says. And he glides off with the Gate.
In excellent spirits, Xanatos approaches his father. "Did you have a good time at the wedding?" Xanatos Senior takes a penny from his pocket and flips it to Xanatos Junior. David catches it and asks, what's this? Stefan says, "It's called a penny. It's not worth much now, but in a 1000 years, who knows. It's my wedding present to you. Because it's all you seem to care about." Stefan turns his back on his son, and walks away.

23. Goliath arrives back at the Clock Tower. Elisa and Brooklyn are there, ready to blast him for going to the wedding. But Hudson takes one look at Goliath and stops them. Goliath puts the Phoenix Gate back in its hiding place with the Grimorum and the Eye. When he turns to face us, there's a single tear rolling down his cheek. Push in on him and ripple dissolve...

24. Castle Wyvern, 975 A.D., night. M.O.S., Young Demona separates the two pieces of the Phoenix Gate and hands one to Young Goliath. They embrace, stroking each other's hair. FADE OUT.

EYE OF THE BEHOLDER MEMO

Last week, I posted my ramble on EYE OF THE BEHOLDER. But I forgot to post the memo from that episode. Here it is.
This is from October of '94, though the episode wouldn't air until September of '95.

Steve Perry wrote a first draft script (which I know longer have), edited by Michael Reaves. This was my memo to Michael in response to that first draft. Usually, these memos come at the outline stage. I'm not sure why this waited until the script stage. Making changes at this stage creates pressure. And I think that pressure is reflected in my brusker tone. (A tone which I regret in rereading it now.)

WEISMAN 10-11-94

Notes on "EYE OF THE BEHOLDER" Script...
This will be a fairly extensive rewrite. Mostly necessitated by Xanatos coming across as weak and moonstruck for the entire episode. We've got to do some restructuring to solve that problem. Sorry.

GENERAL STUFF
XANATOS
We cannot weaken Xanatos to the degree we do here. He should appear to be his normal machiavellian self through the whole episode. Going through life, despite minor setbacks, with an ever-present ace up his sleeve. With only two exceptions... at the crisis point, when he finally has to admit to Goliath and himself that he cares about Fox, and at the end when he feels Goliath has the goods on him. Both of these are important but brief moments. At the very end, we need to feel like Xanatos is more well-rounded, but still formidable.

FOX
In the first scene, please mention Fox's facial tattoo in description. No matter how fancy she dresses, it's a reminder that she still has the beast within. Like Xanatos, let's not play her sappy or moony. She's cut from the same cloth as he is. She may truly love him. But she's not gonna easily be carried away by those feelings. Do we want to give Fox a real name? I feel like she would have had hers legally changed. Maybe not. But how about Janine instead of Janet? Sounds slightly more exotic. Do we want the Werefox to be proportioned like a bodybuilder? She'll have super-strength of course, but shouldn't her proportions remain similar to Fox's design?

TRAVIS, etc.
You'll see below, that I've added a bit for Travis Marshall. If you can figure a way to get the exposition smoothly across without Travis, you can skip him. In either case, during Elisa's first battle against the Werefox in the grocery store, let's reuse the store and store keeper from -013. Charlie H. did that voice and you'll probably need him for Travis. (This doesn't mean the store keeper has to speak, it just gives us a convenient option and saves our artists some work.)

IT'S A CHOKER NOT A PENDANT
I know we discussed that.

TODAY'S THEME: VULNERABILITY
It's there, but I think we could be hitting it harder. (It's not that I advocate a lack of subtlety, but in our scripts we need to emphasize the theme to maintain the audience's focus. We always have so much going on that it would be easy for them to feel like it's just a lot of fighting and not about anything.)

NO 40 PAGE SCRIPTS
I don't want to see any script that is longer than 39 pages. Even at the first draft stage. Please make sure that this is to length. This shouldn't be tough. The script seemed heavily padded to me. There are entire scenes that can come out.

CAST LIST
Please make sure that this is complete. Elisa was left off. I've cut Dr. Stein. Also don't forget to include characters with no lines. They are still needed for design purposes. And describe the costumes of Elisa, Brooklyn, Broadway, Lexington and the costumed man. You don't have to go into great detail. Just make sure that it's noted that they appear in normal garb and in these other costumes.

BEAT SHEET
ACT ONE
1. SUPER: OCTOBER 1st. Our prologue. Xanatos proposes, in a decidedly business-like manner. We don't get to see the Eye. (This scene is largely successful in Steve's draft.)

2. SUPER: OCTOBER 31st. On the streets, late afternoon. Halloween prep going on. Wind, leaves. And Elisa walking with her (unrevealed) costume by the store as the bookrack flies through the store window. She goes in, coming into conflict with this monster WEREFOX. We should see the Werefox eating. Establish that basic motivation. We should also see the EYE. Werefox escapes.

3. Time cut to aftermath. Brief moment between Elisa and Morgan, as Travis Marshall reports live. This is not the Werefox's first sighting.

4. Back at the castle, Xanatos and Owen click off the television (and the Travis Marshall report) as Fox enters. She's got an overcoat pulled tight around her neck. Xanatos asks her if she is wearing her engagement present. She says nervously, that she never takes it off. She exits. He and Owen look at each other. They clearly suspect something.

5. At clock tower, gargoyles EXPLODE awake. Elisa's there. Tells what happened. Brooklyn figures that blows his theory that the Monster sightings were all pre-Halloween shenanigans. (Let's get in here that they are excited about Halloween and being able to appear in public. Hudson's less sanguine.) Goliath takes Elisa aside: "I should have been with you." But Elisa won't let him feel guilty. He can't be with her all the time anymore than she can spend every hour of daylight guarding him. They're all vulnerable. It's scary, but knowing someone cares whether they make it through the day makes it worthwhile. (Or something like that.)

6. Back at the castle, Xanatos calmly approaches Fox and asks for her engagement present. He wants to have it engraved. She tries to demure. He insists, gently pulling her collar away from the EYE!!! She slams him back and transforms into the werefox!

ACT TWO
7. Xan was more-or-less ready for this, he has a tranquilizer gun, but she's much more powerful than he anticipated. The dart doesn't seem to slow her down. Owen enters prepared, with what appears to be another tranquilizer gun. But it's really a tagging device of some sort. The Werefox escapes. (This is tricky, given the setting.) Xanatos: "So much for doing things the easy way." Owen's tagger tracks the beast and sends back vital signs. Owen explains that her metabolic rate is skyrocketing, explaining why the tranquilizer had no effect, and also revealing that she's gonna burn out and die. Xanatos seems unconcerned. (This is a facade, but even he doesn't realize it yet.) He needs to get the Eye of Odin back. If he had known it was anything more than a fancy jewel he'd never have given it away. "Oh, well. On to plan B."

8. Elisa finds Goliath in the library. She's gotten an anonymous tip about where to find the Werefox. (She doesn't know it, but it's from Xanatos.)

9. Xanatos in his battle armor, tracks and confronts the Werefox on the rooftop. (Of a bakery? Or a meat packing warehouse? In any case, reestablish her metabolic hunger.) He tries to get in close enough to remove the Eye. Goliath and Elisa arrive and, thanks to a little play-acting by Xanatos, become convinced that the Werefox is another of Xanatos' victims (ala Maggie Reed). They try to intervene, but obviously the werefox isn't too helpful. Xanatos takes this opportunity to make his grab for the Eye. He's blasted by magical energy. And the Werefox trashes his armor. He's forced to flee. Goliath tries to talk to Werefox, but she slams him into Elisa, nearly knocking the latter off the rooftop. Goliath and Elisa recover, by which time, Werefox is gone. They confer. Elisa is convinced that Xanatos has victimized this poor creature just as he did her brother. He's clearly after the eye. They have to gather all the gargoyles and make sure they get it first. Goliath looks suspiciously toward the Castle in the distance. Maybe he can barely see Xanatos limping toward it.

10. Xanatos comes in for an unsteady landing at the castle. He's greeted by Owen: "So much for plan B." And Xanatos: "True. But now plan C is activated. Goliath and company are, as usual, determined to thwart me. They'll pull out all the stops to get the eye off Fox before I do. They'll do all my work for me." Owen is confused. How will this help him recover the eye? (This is a hint that the eye isn't really Xanatos' main concern.) But before Xanatos can address that question (or even give conscious thought to the answer), Goliath and Elisa dramatically reveal their presence. It's clear they've heard everything. (Or almost everything.)

ACT THREE
11. Goliath is major angry. (But kind of proud of himself that he didn't get fooled again.) Xanatos can do his own dirty work. Goliath and Elisa start to go. And suddenly, almost against his own will, Xanatos stops him. Reveals to himself, Goliath and audience that he really cares for Fox. He needs help to get the eye off of her. The legend says that this is what the Norse God Odin traded for POWER AND INSIGHT. He had no idea the legend had any basis in fact or that the eye had any real metamorphic abilities. Goliath comments wryly that it should give Xanatos some "insight" as to Fox's true bestial nature. It's made her more like herself. (Xanatos does not find that unattractive.) Why should Goliath help? Xanatos makes the Demona reference. (At some point in here, Xanatos should make physical contact with Goliath. Touching his arm. Needing his help.) Goliath starts to waiver, but Elisa's convinced that this is just another scam. A plan D, if you like. Goliath nods agreement. In any case, it's Xanatos' mess. He can fix it himself. They leave. Xanatos seems momentarily desperate, but then controls himself. Asks how long it will take for armor repair. Owen says a couple of days and then takes a quick look at his tracker/scanner. Fox doesn't have that long.

12. Greenwich village. The party. Let's take some time to play this. The trio and their costumes. And particularly, play the beauty of Goliath and Princess Elisa. Maybe a band is playing something classical on Bleeker Street and they dance. Suddenly Goliath spots the werefox. He grabs the creature. Only to discover it's a guy in a costume. But it starts him thinking. He's going to help Xanatos. Elisa protests (not too strongly; she's not immune either). But Goliath has good reasons. The Werefox is dangerous to his "castle". But truly, if a man like Xanatos can love...well, there's hope for the whole world. From behind Xanatos agrees. How did he find them? Almost embarrassed, Xanatos pulls a Scarab transmitter off Goliath's arm. Old habits die hard. He pulls out the scanner. Come with me.

13. Elsewhere in the village, there's a lot of free food being given out at booths. (I know this would never happen in real life, but let's just assume that local restaurants are looking at it as an advertisement expense.) All the trio, not just Broadway, are partaking. But the Werefox is hungry too. Her attack is closely followed by Goliath, Elisa and Xanatos' arrival. Ultimately, Goliath gets her in a full-nelson that allows Xanatos to reach in with his gauntlet-covered hand and painfully remove the Eye. Fox transforms back, in Goliath's arms. Goliath demands the Eye; he won't trust Xanatos with it. (Xanatos will assume he's being asked to trade the eye for Fox. This is not Goliath's intent, but leave it ambiguous.) For once, Xanatos can't refuse. The exchange is made. Xanatos, cradling Fox in his arms: "Well, Goliath, now you know my one weakness." Goliath regards him with disdain: "Only you would regard love as a weakness." He, Elisa and the Trio depart with the Eye. As all this is happening, Owen has pulled up in the limo. He caught the tail end of the conversation. He agrees with Goliath: "Frankly, Mr. Xanatos, you've never looked quite so formidable." Xanatos smiles. Fox awakens. He says something tender, but it's clear he's back to his old self, just as dangerous as ever.

Still reworking the pitch...

Another draft of the pitch. Note I forgot to change the heading at the top of the page, but in the actual pitch the show is no longer "The Gargoyle" but is once again "Gargoyles".

Note also that we were still thinking that Goliath was awake for a thousand years, something we'd eventually transfer to Demona.

Also, at the time, we were thinking that gargoyles had stone-like skin even when awake.

For once the information in [brackets] below is from the document itself, not my 21st century additions.

THE GARGOYLE
(Weisman / 2-2-92)

DISTRIBUTION: Cranston, Fair, Felix, Guler, Kline, Krisel, Ryan, Schaefer, Stones

PITCH BREAKDOWN
(Third Pass)

[Please note the "dialogue" is rough. The main purpose of this draft is to lay out the art cards. In addition, we are working on new names for all the characters.]

1. Trio of typical stone gargoyles. (B&W)

"We all think we know what GARGOYLES are. Ugly, stone statues squatting on the rooves of old buildings. But there was a time, one thousand years ago, when gargoyles were real, living creatures. During the day, they slept...frozen in stone."

2. Medieval Flashback (B&W): GARGOYLE-MASTER in fg, RALPH and DEMONA in bg tossing human barbarians off the ramparts of the castle.

"But when the sun went down, the GARGOYLE-MASTER would lead his WARRIORS in defense of the king's castle.

"Then one night, the Master was lured away from his post. The castle was overrun. Sacked. The people dragged away in chains."

3. Medieval Flashback continues (B&W): WIZARD curses the Gargoyle-Master.

"The Gargoyle-Master took full responsibility. And the WIZARD of the castle layed a curse upon him: `Your task was simple. You failed. As punishment, you will guard the empty rooms and ramparts of this castle, 'til its spires rest among the clouds.'"

4. Last Medieval Flashback (B&W): The Gargoyle-Master alone on the castle ramparts, howls in loneliness at the moon. (Or nobly accepting his fate?)

"Now that's the kind of curse that's designed to last forever. The other gargoyles fell into a stone sleep and could not be roused. But the Master was not granted that peace. For a thousand years, he waited...alone.

5. Castle on the skyscraper. (Now, for the rest of the pitch, we're in color.)

"New York City, 1994. A rich and powerful man has decided there's a better place for a medieval castle than a picturesque hill in Scotland. He's moved the whole place--lock, stock and gargoyle--to the top of the tallest skyscraper in Manhattan, where it's spires can finally touch the clouds."

6. Police Detective MARIA CHAVEZ. (Following a CROOK? If so, it's nighttime.)

"All of which means nothing to New York Police Detective, MARIA CHAVEZ. Castles and curses don't even enter her mind. She's hot on the trail of a major badguy."

7. She's ambushed on a rooftop by crook and multiple THUGS. She's holding her own in the fight. But someone's about to nail her from behind. (And from another rooftop, someTHING is watching in the shadows. Keep this subtle though.)

"Unfortunately, that trail leads right to an ambush. Now, Maria's tough. She can hold her own in a fight. But she's outnumbered here...and almost out of time."

8. Reveal GARGOYLE-MASTER, as he dives into fray from above.

"But not out of luck. Maria, meet the new kid in town."

9. Gargoyle lifts a badguy with either hand. While a third shoots at him, the bullets glancing off his stone-like hide. (Basic demonstration of his strength and invulnerability.)

"The strength that served the Gargoyle-Master so well in the past is doubly dangerous today. And that stone-like hide of his makes him practically invulnerable to his enemies."

10. Romantic shot in moonlight. Close in. She reaches up to touch his face gently. He looks as handsome and noble as we can manage.

"Though all too vulnerable to the kindness of his new-found friend. He tells her his story. Tells her of the thousand years he's spent in solitude. She offers him hope, real human friendship..."

11. From atop the skyscraper, she shows him Manhattan. The city as fortress. This is our showpiece card.

"...And a sense of purpose. Because if a gargoyle-master is supposed to protect his home from barbarians at the gate, then this one has found the right place to live. `Fortress Manhattan' has its fair share of barbarians."

12. XAVIER.

"Take XAVIER, for example. Rich, powerful and arrogant, a master at behind-the-scenes manipulation, Xavier is the man who's usurped possession of the Gargoyle's castle... and turned it into his own personal headquarters."

13. The PACK. WOLF, FOX, HYENA, JACKAL, DINGO and the CY.O.T.I. All of them attacking our Gargoyle.

"Then there's THE PACK: WOLF, FOX, JACKAL, HYENA, DINGO and the CY.O.T.I. To the public they're television's greatest Wrestling-Gladiator Team. But to the Gargoyle, they're the most dangerous enforcers he's ever faced."

14. ROBOT climbing building toward Gargoyle.

"Except maybe the ROBOTS from SCARAB-CORP. Modern-day nightmares worse than anything he saw in the dark ages."

15. CATSCAN grappling w/Gargoyle, blasting at him w/"Night Vision" from his eyes.

"But no worse than CATSCAN. A scientist mutated by his own experiments into a bitter criminal with deadly `Night Vision'."

16. DEMONA facing off with BIG GUN against our Gargoyle.

"Still, the toughest opponent of them all is an old friend. DEMONA was once the Master's most trusted Gargoyle Warrior. But she betrayed him. Now she's his sworn enemy, and unfortunately, Demona's taken to the twentieth Century like bullets take to guns."

17. RALPH. (Two poses, perhaps?)

"Fortunately, our hero doesn't have to face these villains alone. In addition to Maria, the Master has help from his old friend RALPH. When the curse was lifted, the few remaining Gargoyles who survived the attack on the old castle woke up for the first time in 1000 years. Ralph is an old Gargoyle Warrior long past his prime. His primary duty has always been to keep a close watch on the young Gargoyles-in-training..."

18. Trio of young Gargoyles, KRAMER, CUBBI and BELUSHI. (Same as card 1 but in color, perhaps?)

"...KRAMER, CUBBI and BELUSHI. (Uh, they picked their own names.)"

19. Cubbi. (Multiple poses?)

"Cubbi is the ring-leader. He's always looking for adventure. Always looking for trouble."

20. Belushi. (Multiple poses?)

"Belushi, on the other hand, is always looking for a good time. She's been asleep for a thousand years, and now she's ready to party."

21. Kramer. (Multiple poses?)

"Kramer's been asleep too, but he's just fascinated with the world he's woken up in. He thinks watching television is great. Of course, he also thinks watching a traffic light change colors is great He's ready for anything this brave, new world has to offer.

22. The DOG. (Multiple poses, definitely.)

"Unlike DOG. Dog is one angst-ridden pet. Doesn't like adventure. Doesn't like new technology. Just likes to eat a lot, sleep a lot, and make a general mess.

23. Exterior of municipal building.

"Together, they've all left the old castle behind and taken up residence in the old MUNICIPLE HALL."

24. Interior of municipal building.

"There, above the police station, above the library and the mayor's office, Maria has found them the perfect home."

25. Stone version of our Gargoyle. Looking vicious and scary. Daylight.

"They still sleep during the day, finding an outdoor ledge just before sunrise and striking a pose that could give you nightmares."

26. Night. Gargoyle-Master, handsome and noble again, on top of a skyscraper with the full moon and Maria (& other Gargoyles?) right behind him. Gothic mood, but clearly set in the present.

"But when the sun goes down, they're our only protection from the city's dark terrors."

27. Title Card: "THE GARGOYLES".

"They are...THE GARGOYLES."

A random thought that went nowhere...

We were still struggling to come up with some kind of motif or at least consistency for the names of our gargoyle characters...

[3] From: Greg Weisman 2/2/92 4:39PM (375 bytes: 4 ln)

To: Gary Krisel, Kimberlee Mozingo, Greg Weisman, Bruce Cranston, Kathy Fair,
Fred Schaefer, Mike Ryan, Hali Helfgott
Subject: Addendum to Gargoyle names

------------------------------- Message Contents -------------------------------
What if all the gargoyles were named after types of stone or rock?

Just a thought.

[On the back of my copy of this memo, I hand wrote the following:

CRONOS (I crossed this out.)
KRONOS
ORESTES
Prometheus
Connery
AJAX (I crossed this out too.)
TYR]

[Two days later, my boss Gary Krisel returned his copy of my memo to me.]

RECEIVED BY
FEB 04 1992
GREG WEISMAN'S OFFICE

From: Greg Weisman
Date: 2/2/92 4:39PM
To: Gary Krisel Kimberlee Mozingo
Greg Weisman
Bruce Cranston
Kathy Fair
Fred Schaefer
Mike Ryan
Hali Helfgott

Subject: Addendum to Gargoyle names

What if all the qarqoyles were named after types of stone or rock?

Just a thought.

[At the bottom of the page, Gary handwrote the following:

Greg
Pls. use names. It gets too cumbersome when we appropriate nouns for names
GK]

NAMES

It's February, 1992 and we're circling in on our concepts. Trying to find names for our characters. Here's a memo I wrote to organize an effort to get the names once and for all. The people addressed include my bosses Gary Krisel (President of TV Animation) and Bruce Cranston (Vice President of Development for TV Animation), Gary's assistant Kim Mozingo (who was copied to make sure that Gary actually got this e-mail). My assistant Hali Helfgott (who I asked to copy the e-mail to the artists who didn't have computers, including Art Director Bob Kline, character designer Greg Guler and development artist Paul Felix.) Also copied were Development Associates Kat Fair, Fred Schaefer and Mike Ryan. This, at the time, was the team involved in developing the series.

[3] From: Greg Weisman 2/l/92 8:13PM (4538 bytes: 86 ln)
To: Gary Krisel, Kimberlee Mozingo, Greg Weisman, Bruce Cranston, Kathy Fair,
Fred Schaefer, Mike Ryan, Hali Helfgott
Subject: GARGOYLE NAMES

------------------------------- Message Contents ------------------------------
Hali, please copy Bob, Paul and Greg.

We need to come up with new names for most of the characters in Gargoyles. The method we used for "Wind-Ryders" seemed fairly successful, so we'll try it again. [Wind-Ryders was another series we developed and failed to sell. Wind-Ryders was just one of its names. It was set in a VR world. The Cade & Togo characters mentioned in a previous memo came from Wind-Ryders.] Please take a few minutes to write up your suggestions and then turn them into me a.s.a.p.

I've included our theory on names. It's only a working theory, however, so if you've got a great name that doesn't fit, don't hesitate to include it. (Though you might also try to give me one that does fit the theory just in case.) I'll collate all the entries and we'll put em to a vote again.

Gary and I discussed the notion that naming things is a human peculiarity. [This actually became the key to solving our name problems. I think deep down I realized that. But I didn't yet have confidence in it.] Gargoyles don't normally do it, referring to each other by their job-descriptions, (e.g. Gargoyle-Master or Gargoyle-Warrior) or by "Hey, you!"

When they all wake up in the 20th century, their new friend detective Maria feels that they need names. My guess is the three kids each pick their own fun names and also choose a name for the dog. [See. We did that.] Demona might pick her own name as well, either before or after she leaves them to join Xavier. [Back then, we had Demona waking up WITH the other gargs. Then switching sides. (As you may recall, the Demona name was left over from the old comedy development. When Dakota became Demona.]

Ralph probably can't think of a name, so Maria picks one for him. [This more or less happened with Hudson, except that Hudson's naming, became the catalyst and key to our other New York City inspired names. This THEMING of all the names was eventually very important to give us all something to hold onto, instead of having a bunch of random names, as listed below.]

The Gargoyle-Master might choose his own name or Maria might choose it for him. Shouldn't matter much, we still want something heroic and classical, I think. [We eventually allowed the tenth century humans to name this guy, instead of Maria/Elisa.]

Here are the characters we need names for:

THE GARGOYLE-MASTER (I'd rather not have anything reminiscient of "Vincent" the name of the live-action T.V Beast. Whether he chose his own name or not, we might want to wind up with something Shakespearean or Mythological. Something that sounds heroic, certainly, but might have an edge of sadness to it. This is the tough one.) [I wrote a few notions of my own on my copy of this memo: "ATLAS, STONE, CALABAN, PROMTETHIUS, TITAN". You can see that I didn't have the name "Goliath" yet, but I had the feeling I wanted in mind.]

DEMONA - (We might still use this name, but Gary is concerned that it might be too on the nose for the pitch. Would she pick a name that labels her as a villain? Does any villain think of him or herself as a villain?) [I wrote: "Angelica, Carve, Dagger". When Demona's "origin" was altered (to in effect take over the tragic idea of a gargoyle being ALIVE AND AWAKE for a thousand years) this dilemma went away. The idea of Macbeth naming her and her liking the name came later. But you can see that the Angelica/Angel/Angela (opposite of Demona) name was already roaming about in my head.]

RALPH - This is our old past-his-prime former Warrior. Caretaker for the young gargoyles. [I wrote: "ROLF, RALPH, ROCK" For some reason, I really liked the name Ralph for this character, this proto-Hudson. I was stuck on it for awhile.]

CUBBI - This is the small, male, trouble-making, adventure seeking Gargoyle. [I wrote: "NASTI, AMP, STATIC, MOE". This was the garg that looked a bit like Lex, but had Brooklyn's personality. He had been called (at least briefly) "Amp" in our old comedy development. I was still stuck on that. Cubbi, of course, was the name of a Gummi Bear, another of our inspirations.]

BELUSHI - This is our larger, female, party-animal gargoyle. [I wrote: "BELUSHI". This was our female proto-Broadway character. The one who was called Coco in the comedy development. Of course, years later, we'd cast Jim Belushi as Fang. But the inspiration here was Jim's late brother John.]

KRAMER - This is our sorta out-there, easily distracted, easily fascinated gargoyle. Modeled after the Kramer character on Seinfeld. [I wrote: "LASSIE, WEDGE". This character looked vaguely like Brooklyn but had a bit of Lex's personality. Though more of an idiot savant, than Lex's technically brilliant guy.]

DOG - Our angst-ridden pet. [I wrote: "LASSIE, DOG". Our proto-Bronx.]

MARIA CHAVEZ - When we actually do the show, we might be able to go back to this name. (We'll try anyway.) For purposes of the pitch, however, we don't want a name that emphasizes that she is hispanic. [I wrote: "LISA REED, ELISA". This paragraph is really embarrassing. I had been told by my bosses that we couldn't SELL the show with an Hispanic human lead. And so I pandered to get it sold, with every intention of going back to "Maria Chavez" once I was definitely in business. In the interrum, I fell in love with the first name Elisa. So she became Elisa Chavez. (And we did end up using that name in the pitch. Later when we cast African-American/Native-American actress Salli Richardson, Elisa's last name changed to "Maza". But we used the Maria Chavez name for her boss and Captain. So I feel good about the end result. But I'm ashamed that I didn't demonstrate the courage of my convictions throughout the process.]

XAVIER - Marvel has a semi-prominent character named Xavier. So we just need a new name that gives us the same effect. [I wrote: "MR JONAH, CARRIOS, SKANE". Yuck.]

CATSCAN - Catscan is fine for his super-villain name. We need a name for the scientist, before he becomes Catscan. The first name should probably be fairly normal. The last name (though it doesn't have to be an existing word) should probably have an ominous or dangerous sound to it. [I wrote: "DR. SKANE". I'm surprised I didn't revive this Skane name for Sevarius. But it obviously didn't stick with me.]

CY.O.T.E. - CYber-operational works great for me, but I'd like to get some other options on the T. and E. [I wrote: "C.Y.O.T.I CYber-Operational Transferable Intelligence". Ultimately, C.Y.O.T.I. became just Coyote, because we didn't want to tip that he was a robot right away.]

ROBOT & ROBOT ORGANIZATION - Could be the same name. (I.e. if the organization is called TOBOR CORP. Than the Robot could be called the TOBOR-1 or something.) [I wrote: "SKARAB, R-CORP". We wound up keeping the Scarab Corp. name. But we barely used it in the show.]

Thanks, G.W.

More on villains...

Fred Schaefer was still working on villains. We had one great art card of Goliath confronting an insect-like robot scaling a building. Those of you who have seen the final pitch at a Gathering have seen it. I'm guessing -- cuz I don't remember for sure -- that the art came first and that Fred was writing up info based on that. But it's possible it's the other way around. Anyway, we were still working on Catscan (the proto-Talon/proto-Sevarius). We were looking for Catscan's real name. Fred's picks seemed too goofy to me, which is why my initial impression of the name Sevarius was negative. Too hokey. Now I'm used to it.

As for the robot, it never appeared in the actual series, but I liked the "Scarab" name and made it (at least unofficially) the name of Xanatos' robotics company.

RECEIVED BY
JAN 29 1992
GREG WEISMAN'S OFFICE
THE GARGOYLE -- VILLAINS
(Schaefer 1-29-92)

DISTRIBUTION: Cranston, Fair, Felix, Guler, Kline, Krisel, Ryan, Stones, Weisman

CAT SCAN -- Thumbnail Sketch

CAT Scan is a ruthless mutant [I altered "mutant" to read "mutate"] -- part man, part panther -- who was once a dedicated scientist working for our master villain, Xavier. The victim of a grisly lab accident, he was forced to abandon his life as a scientist and become one of Xavier's most deadly weapons.

Too bad for our nocturnal Gargoyle who can't hide from the doctor's panther-like night vision and power blasts.

Alternative (non-code) names for CAT SCAN

Dr. Rapier
Dr. Havelock
Dr. Skulk
Dr. Lurk
Dr. Jag
Dr. Panzer
Dr. Pincer
Dr. Sinew
Dr. Jag Sinew
Dr. Flint Kragmore
[I wrote "Too Silly" next to all these names.]

(Does it make sense to give this character a tough, evil sounding name, when he doesn't begin as a villain? He's a dedicated scientist who later gets screwed by Xavier. He's mortified over his metamorphosis and becomes very bitter and dangerous.) [Next to this paragraph I wrote: "Think SOUND like we did w/Cade & Togo, Not Words." Cade & Togo were two characters from another show we were developing set in a virtual reality world.]

THE ROBOT -- (A Possible) Thumbnail Sketch

Part insect. Part crustacean. All machine. It's an indestructible robot that's been developed by Tech-Pod Industries (whatever). It's controlled via remote from corporation headquarters. It can scale buildings using its powerful front claws and, although massive in weight, can leap from building to building with amazing ease. Deadly. Relentless. Inexhaustible.

A termite eats through wood -- this baby eats through stone, steel, and glass. Can draw blood from a gargoyle. [I wrote "GOOD" under this.]

Possible names for the robot:

SCARAB [I put "++++" next to this, indicating that I liked the name.]
THE KRAW
THE LOCUST
THE CUSP
DECAPOD ["+++" by this one.]
DECAPODA
DECAPITATOR (because of its massive front claws)
THORAXIAN
THE TECH-POD

The Robotics Organization---(A Possible) Thumbnail Sketch

This corporation is involved in the cutting edge of robotics. Some of its divisions are clandestine, particularly the one that's a member of the Business Alliance of Infra-world Technology (B.A.I.T.). The Alliance is a [sic] underground network of weapons facilities and research labs that sells technology to worldwide crime syndicates.

Possible names for the robotics organization:

SCARAB MACHINES
SCARABEOUS, INC.
KRAY-BOTICS
KRAW-BOTICS
LOCUST, INC.
BIOCHINE, INC.
HUMACHINES, INC.
HUMECHANICS, INC.
ANTHRO-TECH, INC.
TECH-POD INDUSTRIES

[Next to all this "Robotics organization" material, I wrote: "fine don't need it now" Indicating that we wouldn't use the organization for the pitch. Just the robot itself.]