Greg responds...

Nope. Sorry. (GDW / 12-5-97)

Greg responds...

1. I'm not saying right now. I didn't plan on revealing Mab right away
either. You're just getting ahead of me.
2. Yes.
3. Mab is more powerful. No one else.
4. Nokkar's race IS one of the other two. (And keep in mind, I said
three races were the main players in the conflict. I never said
there were the only players.)
5. No. There were other events, but they were more cummulative than
defining. Wyvern is still the defining moment. She wasn't genocidal
immediately after Wyvern, because I don't think genocide occured to her. She
was alone (largely) and hunted. I don't think she felt that powerful. Her
brief alliance with Macbeth only confirmed her feelings about humanity. But
it also gave her immortality. The ability to start making some long term
plans. As I said, other things happened. But nothing as devastating as
Wyvern.
6. Samson will be born in 2058. The inciting incident of that
proposed spin-off series was to take place in 2158. I'm sure you can do
the math. (GDW / 12-5-97)

Greg responds...

Puck wanted to devastate Goliath enough that he would be willing to turn over
the Phoenix Gate. Death makes for great devastation (which is why we
included it in the story). Goliath didn't immediately react to Angela's
death, because (frankly) he didn't know he could at first. (GDW / 12-5-97)

Greg responds...

It's a law he must follow which makes him physically unable to become Puck...
unless he can think of a loophole. (GDW / 12-5-97)

Greg responds...

When push came to shove, Puck/Owen cared about Xanatos, Fox and Alex.

Thanks for numbering your questions, although when you only have one, it
isn't that necessary. (GDW/12-5-97)

Greg responds...

Elena got the Gate from her father. The Gate exists, like the protagonist of
Robert Heinlein's "All You Zombies". Goliath, Elisa and the Avalon clan
learned of the link after the death of the Magus and before the good-bye
scene at the beach. The rest of the Manhattan Clan learned of the link when
Goliath and Angela returned to the Tower, sometime after saving Alex from
Oberon. As I've said before, Hudson knew Demona and Macbeth were immortal.
That's obvious. They're not dead. They're really old. He didn't know any
details about the how or why. He didn't know about the link, though their
behavior did suggest a connection of some sort. Why would Hudson know
Brooklyn's future? I'm skipping the Titania question on purpose. Oberon is
Merlin's dad.
In the future, please number your questions. (GDW/12-5-97)

Greg responds...

Eventually, way, way down the line, I see Elisa and Goliath addressing the
issue of children. All sorts of options are available, except natural
procreation between two widely and wildly divergent species. Elisa could
never be pregnant with Goliath's child without assistance from science or
magic. I've already stated that I don't see them going that way. But I do
see them raising a child together. But not without serendipity (and
some tragedy) playing a role. I don't want to say anymore right now.
As to Bronx and Boudicca, of course they could have offspring. One every
twenty years if they saw each other at the right times. I'm not sure what
"explanation" you're referring to that would lead you to believe otherwise.
And yes, hatchlings do turn to stone during the day. The lighting in the
scene you're referring to is misleading. It's night time.
In the future, please number your questions. (GDW/12-5-97)

Greg responds...

1. I've already explained the working time paradox that allowed the Archmage to save himself. If you haven't seen the explanation, check the archives for this page. If you have.... well, all I can say is that it seems pretty straight-forward to me, though you're not the only one who didn't get it. In any case, his "mentor" was not a look-alike. He was the more powerful Archmage of the future. And from my point of view, no "creative license" was taken, unless you count time travel itself as creative license. The classic story of this kind of time travel working paradox is by Robert Heinlein.
It's called "All You Zombies". Maybe reading that would help clear up "Avalon", Part Two for you. It's worked for others.

2. Hudson had had the most contact with Scotish humans.

3. In the movie version of "Awakening", which we originally produced for the DisneyWorld Premeire, my boss decided that references to the eggs slowed down the film and raised questions that "the movie" would not even attempt to answer. Since we were cutting the length down for time anyway, I reluctantly agreed to remove egg references. I had no idea that Disney's Home Video Division would later decide to use this edited version for the video. As to "Vows", I've mentioned before that mistakes were corrected in that and many other episodes after they first aired. (6-23-97)

Greg responds...

1. We do the voice work first. Animators animate to the voices, not the other way around.
On extremely rare occasions we did something called ADR (short for Automatic Dialogue Replacement). This is something done as a last minute fix in both animation and live action. In that case, we do have a screen. The actor (usually, one at a time) looks at the lip movements, practices getting the rhythm down that he or she needs to match, and then speaks the line (cued by an electronic tone which tells the actor exactly when to start speaking).
ADR is a tremendous pain in the rear, so we avoided it whenever possible.
2. I've answered this... in the same answer where I listed Elisa and Demona's old names. I'm not sure how you could have missed it. No other names for Angela. No other names for Goliath that we considered for more than a minute or two. The trio had names like Coco, Lassie and Amp in the original comedy development.
ANOTHER RAMBLE FROM GREG:
"Once upon a time there were three brothers..." PART TWO
[Disclaimer: I should have mentioned this somewhere before or after Part One. The historical framework for this story is all true. Most of the details, on the other hand, I'm making up.]
The year is 962. King Indulf is 58 years old. Prince Culen is 40. Neither are happy men. Culen is childless. He is heir to the throne, but it's beginning to look like Indulf's dynasty will end with his only son. Assuming it even lasts that long.
No one likes Indulf very much. The main problem is that everyone knows that he has kept (the former Queen) Katharine and her young son Malcolm prisoner in Edinburgh Castle. This alone is enough to make people believe that he is a tyrant. After that, any little infraction on Scottish liberty is viewed as more evidence that Indulf is unfit to rule. Honestly, Indulf wouldn't mind dumping both prisoners, but, aye, there's the rub. Katharine and Malcolm are the only insurance Indulf has against Malcolm's older brothers Duff and Kenneth.
And as Indulf's popularity has waned, Duff's has waxed. Even noblemen who had once helped Indulf to the throne approach the fifty year old Duff and his thirty year old brother Kenneth and pledge their support if only Duff will act. But Duff stubbornly refuses to risk Katharine or Malcolm's lives. What kind of King would he make if he can't even keep a vow made to his own father on the man's deathbed?
Malcolm isn't exactly a happy child. He's eight years old, and he's never been outside the walls of Edinburgh castle. He has only one friend. A peasant boy named Robbie who's twice his age. Robbie's a short, stout lad with a face like a bulldog, but he's loyal and helps Malcolm with some petty acts of ceremonial sabotage that would only earn Malcolm a reprimand if he was caught, but would certainly cost Robbie his life.
Malcolm's mother Katharine is a strong woman but she knows the situation is intolerable. She conceives a plan, and through Robbie, sends a letter to Duff. Duff and Kenneth consider her proposal. They argue about it. But, ultimately, they agree. They summon Robbie, who knows nothing of Katharine's plan. They give him no details, only a date. They send him back to Katharine. Then Duff and Kenneth gather their forces.
Word of Duff's rebellion reaches Indulf, but he's slow to react. After all, he has his hostages, safe at hand. But then on the pre-arranged date, Duff and Kenneth march on Edinburgh Castle. They demand Indulf's unconditional surrender. Indulf orders his guards to bring Katharine and Malcolm to him. Soon, Katharine is dragged before the king. But Malcolm cannot be found. Indulf orders Culen to personally search every inch of the castle. Duff and Kenneth and their armies settle down to wait.
Culen searches for hours. Katharine seems anxious. Still, Malcolm cannot be found. Indulf draws his sword and threatens to cut Katharine in two if she doesn't reveal Malcolm's whereabouts. She hesitates, but finally agrees.
She leads them to the tallest tower in the castle. Malcolm isn't there.
Indulf threatens to throw her off the ledge, but she points to the ground below. There in the moonlight, Malcolm can be seen riding away from the castle, his purple cape flapping in the breeze, toward the safety of Duff's camp.
Indulf is furious! But he still has Katharine. Duff still won't attack.
But Katharine doesn't agree. Her tone becomes threatening. She commands Indulf to open the castle gates and let Duff's troops enter. He laughs at her. Why would he do that? "Because," she tells him as she climbs out of his reach onto a battlement, "If you don't open the gates, I will jump off this tower." Indulf starts to laugh again, but the impulse catches in his throat. It all becomes clear. If Katharine throws herself to her death, than his last hostage is gone. Worse, his last hostage is martyred. Duff and Kenneth will lay siege to Edinburgh and in time, they would ultimately triumph and then... And then things might go very badly for a tyrant.
He makes a quick decision. He and his son will be granted safe passage to Ireland immediately following his "voluntary" abdication of the throne to Duff. Culen protests, but Katharine agrees to his terms. She remains on the tower's battlement until the gates are open and Duff and Kenneth are at her side. "Hurry," she says, and rushes with her step-sons to the Castle's small cemetary.
Robbie is already there, still wearing Malcolm's purple cape. He is digging up a fresh grave. Some of Duff's men are helping him, but Duff and Kenneth push them aside and personally begin to dig. Katharine falls to her knees, pulling dirt aside with her hands until a waiting woman is brought to comfort her. The coffin is unearthed. Robbie has a crow, and snaps off the lid with the kind of bull-like strength he would one day be famous for. Malcolm lies still in the grave. Suddenly he gasps for air. He is alive. He had been buried alive with a slim wooden tube to provide air. But he had spent hours below ground. And the tube had been only barely sufficient. Much longer and he would have succumbed. But now the brave boy rocks back and forth in his mother's arms. He smiles at his good friend Robbie. And then he is introduced to his two older brothers for the very first time. He has worshipped them from afar his whole life. But it is they who are impressed.
Duff, soon to be King Duff, lifts Malcolm to his feet. "Prince Malcolm," he says, "I am honored to be your brother."
TO BE CONTINUED

Greg responds...

1. This is too big a question to answer here.
2. 11 issues worth of stuff. I consulted on the comics, but I'm hardly an authority on them, so you'll have to look to another source for that information.

Greg responds...

Demona is always alone, even in a crowded room. But basically, the answer to your question is a story (actually many stories) for another day.

Greg responds...

From the beginning, yes, though that doesn't mean he wasn't physically attracted to her.

Greg responds...

"Faeries" is one name. The Fair Folk is another. So is Dark Elves.
Changelings. Fae. The Children of Oberon. The Third Race. The Aesir Gods. (The Vikings took certain very powerful Children of Oberon to be gods. For that matter, so did the Egyptians. So did at least two Native American tribes and the Hauka tribe of Nigeria. (At least, that's how we played it in the GARGOYLES Universe.)) The generic name doesn't matter so much. Because it changes depending on who you're talking too.
As to their immortality, it depends on how you define it. Certainly they are extremely long-lived. Certainly they are difficult -- but not impossible -- to kill. Certainly, they are almost all shape-shifters, so no matter how old they are, they can always look as young as they desire. So, again, it depends on point of view.

Greg responds...

[Questions numbered to make life easier. As usual, no other editing.]

1. Hi? Uh, hi back to you.
2. The development team? None. Well, me. Keep in mind, the team that developed the show was largely not the same team who produced the first two seasons. The unsung (read largely uncredited) people who worked on the development of the series included the following:
Greg Weisman - Director of Series Development (Greg went on to be Supervising Producer of GARGOYLES.)
Bob Kline and Dave Schwartz - Development Art Directors (Bob later became a Producer/Director of GARGOYLES in its second season.)
Paul Felix and Greg Guler - Development Artists (Greg became lead character designer for GARGOYLES in its second season.)
Fred Schaeffer, Paul Lacy, Kat Fair, Cindy Chupack, Ellen Gurney - Development Associates.
(I hope I'm not leaving anyone out; we had a lot of development
associates at Disney, and I'm not 100% sure if any of the others worked
on GARGOYLES specifically.)
Also Gary Krisel and Bruce Cranston - my bosses, who were very involved in
developing the show.
And Tad Stones - who provided some important conceptual advice.
After the show was developed and sold, we began assembling a production team for the first season, most of which was pre-produced and produced in Japan.
I was still a development executive at the time. I asked to be switched over to Producer, but my bosses wanted me to prove that I could do the job while I simultaneously held down my Executive slot. So that's what I did.
We went through a couple of writers who didn't work out, and then Michael Reaves was brought aboard as writer and story editor.
In Japan, Kazuo Terada, Saburo Hashimoto and Takamitsu Kawamura were brought on as directors. Kazuyoshi Takeuchi was our lead character designer. And that's just the tip of the iceberg in terms of Japanese talent that worked on the show. (But I don't want this answer to turn into me just rewriting 66 episodes worth of credits down here.)
Back in L.A., Frank Paur was hired as our producer. Jamie Thomason was brought on as voice director. Laura Perrotta was our production coordinator. Dave Witting was our production assistant. Denise Byrne was our script coordinator. And Carl Johnson was our composer. Again, a lot of other people were involved, but that was the basic team for the first thirteen episodes.
Some of you may have noticed that I don't have a credit on the episodic television version of "Awakening". That's because, I was still officially an executive, and Disney executive's don't receive credit. The decision to allow me to officially move over from Executive to Producer came after the pre-production of the first season was completed. In fact, it came during post-production. As a matter of fairness, it was decided that any work that I had done as an executive would still not be credited. Frank Paur posted the five part "Awakening" by himself, while I posted the "Movie Version" for our Disneyworld Premiere. So I was credited as co-producer on the "movie" (which later became the home video) and on the other 8 episodes of the first season. Co-producer because I hadn't participated in pre-production except as an executive. I received no credit on any of the five parts of the television mini-series "Awakening" because my pre-production contributions were as an executive and
my post-production contributions were minimal, because I was busy on the "movie".
The second season was a whole other story. We did 52 episodes and the crew expanded geometrically. Most (though not all) of our pre-production was brought back to the U.S. We added Bob Kline and Dennis Woodyard as Producer/Directors. Lisa Salamone was brought on as Associate Producer.
(Laura Perrotta left Disney around this time.) Tom Pniewski was added as another Production Assistant. Greg Guler became our lead character designer. Butch Lukic, Patrick Archibald, Doug Murphy and others were brought aboard to storyboard and design, etc.
I officially shared producer credit (later supervising producer credit) with Frank. Michael remained a story editor and Brynne Chandler Reaves, Cary Bates and Gary Sperling were added as additional story editors. Lydia Marano became a regular writer on the series. My assistant Monique Beatty made the move with me and joined the Gargoyles team as a script coordinator.
Since I was no longer an executive, new executives were assigned to oversee the show. Jay Fukuto was director of current programming. Initially, he had Ellen Gurney watching the show. Later, my former development associate Kim Christianson took over. Adrienne Bello was the S&P executive from day one.
Again, refer to episode credits for a fuller listing of people.
GOLIATH CHRONICLES was a whole different animal. I wrote and story edited one episode only. Jamie Thomason remained the voice director. Denise stayed on as script coordinator. Tom Pniewski was promoted to Production Coordinator or Manager (sorry, Tom, I get those credits mixed up). Cary Bates wrote a couple episodes. Lydia wrote one. Another of our writers, Adam Gilad wrote one. Jay and Kim were still overseeing the scripts, but otherwise Pre-Production and Post- Production were moved to Nelvana in Canada. A new Supervising Producer, Scott Thomson was brought in. A new story editor, Eric Lewald, was brought in. Officially, I was a consultant, but I had my consultant credit removed, because I felt I hadn't been consulted enough
to earn that credit. I believe Frank Paur may have consulted a bit as well, but I'm not sure. For the most part, it was a complete turnover in creative personnel. I've always thought that hurt the show.
But there were also other problems that I've gone into before, (and this "answer" has gone on long enough). I should say, however, that Goliath Chronicles is probably still an above average cartoon show. Any problems with it are probably relative.
3. When Gary Sperling and I were working on the episode "Turf" we realized that we needed to know who, if anyone, Angela would wind up with. We talked about it. In some ways, Brooklyn did seem like the obvious choice, but it soon became clear that he was the wrong choice. It had to be Broadway.
Nothing else made sense. There are some subtle clues in "Turf". For example, Broadway never refers to Angela as Angie in that episode, despite the fact that he had been the first one to call her that in "The Gathering, Part Two". By "Turf" he had already realized she didn't care for the nickname. Lex and Brooklyn didn't figure it out until she told them (at high volume).

Greg responds...

1. Yes.
2. Brendan & Margot were in "Awakening". They had lines. They were in the script. The animation is done last. In other episodes we began using them as background characters. That became amusing to us. So we kept using them as recurring. We made a particular effort to parallel their appearance in "Hunter's Moon" to their original appearance in "Awakening". Later, I decided to make more use of Brendan & Margot in the third season -- develop them beyond their cliches, which is why Margot had such a prominent role in "The Journey". But then I didn't do the rest of the third season, so I had no control over how Margot was used or how Brendan wasn't. But the animators only put in the characters we told them to use. As far as I know.
A LITTLE BACKGROUND (aka GREG'S ABOUT TO RAMBLE):
"Once upon a time their were three brothers..." PART ONE
The year is 954. The King of Scotland, Maol Chalvim I, is 66 years old. He is very ill.
He has two sons. They are half-brothers. (Maol is the father of both, but they had two different mothers, both of whom died in childbirth.) The eldest son, Duff, is 42 years old. The youngest, Kenneth, is 22 years old. Despite the twenty year age difference, they are the best of friends.
Maol Chalvim also has a new, young wife. Very young. And very pregnant.
She is 18 years old, and her name is Katharine.
On his deathbed, Maol begs his sons to support each other and to protect his third wife and their child. The brothers vow to do just that. Duff assumes he will be the new king. Kenneth assumes he will be Duff's strong right arm.
Indulf has other ideas. Indulf is a 50 year old nobleman and is, himself, a descendant of kings. He has a 32 year old son named Culen, and hopes to launch a dynasty of his own. While Duff and Kenneth wait by their ailing father's bedside, Indulf makes alliances. While Duff and Kenneth close their father's eyes for the last time, Indulf gathers his troops. While Duff and Kenneth take their father to be buried on the holy Island of Iona, Indulf has himself crowned King on the Lia Fail at Scone.
Needless to say, Duff and Kenneth aren't too pleased. They prepare for battle, but Indulf pulls his trump card. He has Katharine. And he will kill her if they raise a sword against him. Bound by their vow and their sense of honor, Duff and Kenneth retire to a family stronghold and wait.
At Edinburgh, Katharine gives birth to a boy. She names him Malcolm, (which is a more modern variant on the name Maol Chalvim). Indulf is now willing to return Katharine to her step-sons. But the babe will stay in his custody as insurance. For obvious reasons, Katharine chooses not to leave.
TO BE CONTINUED...

Greg responds...

As usual, I've added numbers to your questions to make them easier to answer. No other editing was done.
1. Thanks for not breaking the rules. Jade & Turquesa eventually returned to Guatemala after dropping the plants off in Avalon and making a couple of other quest-type stops. I had plans for Zafiro to come in search of the Sun Amulet, which is still in Broadway's possession.
2. I'm glad your glad, but let's take everything one step at a time.
Nothing much has been done on the movie yet. We'll see how truly involved we are when the thing gets rolling.
3. Where? In the movie? If we had done more episodes? I guess the answers probably yes, either way.
4. I didn't exactly decide. I realized Owen was Puck about 12 hours after I decided to put Puck into the series. At almost the exact same time, Lydia Marano and Brynne Reaves realized the same thing independently. That confirmed we were on the right track.
5. I've answered this fully elsewhere. My favorite single episode is "The Mirror", but I like all 66 that I worked on, particularly the multi-parters.
6. I'm not going into this now.
7. Maybe.
8. That was a joke.
9. Yes.
10. Mortal Sorcery. Fae magic. Talisman magic. Location magic. Ghostly illusions and telikinetics. Just to name a few.
11. Until they die.
12. Gargoyle hatchlings are taught in the rookery that there are three races. Gargoyles. Humans. And Oberon's Children. The fae are the third race from the Gargoyle point of view. (To themselves, I'm sure the fair folk feel that they're number one.)
13. Why would they? Why give up something with long-term income potential?
And by the way, who exactly is lining up to buy the rights? No one with nearly enough money, I'll tell you that.
14. Sort of. Xanatos' orignal name was Xavier, which we dropped because of Professor X from the X-Men. But I still wanted a name that had that same kind of sound to it. It's a subjective thing, but I liked it. I thought of Thanatos, which is the name of the Greek God of death, which seemed cool. X and TH sounds are often exchanged. So I tried Xanatos.
Everyone liked the sound of it. Later, I checked the phone book, and the name was there, (different first name though). It all seemed to fit. The name David was chosen because Goliath's name was Goliath. The hero/villain role reversal of David & Goliath was too perfect to resist. I have on occasion abbreviated the above story by simply saying I found it in the phone book. But usually I only do that when someone says the name sounds phony or cartoony.
15. It wasn't planned. I think I've answered this, but who remembers?
Marina nailed her audition right out of the gate. Jonathan had a more competitive field, but after a few false starts he got the job. After that, it was natural when we were casting new characters to think about the gang from the various Trek shows. Michael, Brent, Nichelle, Colm, Kate, Le Var, etc. They did great work for us.

Greg responds...

You didn't. But that's o.k. Dakota was a bland comedy heroine who was transformed into a much more interesting comedic traitor and villainess named Demona. The reason for the name change is probably obvious: Demona sounds more villainesque than Dakota, which is kinda generic, and certainly has no particular gargoylean feel to it. 6-10-97)

Greg responds...

No spin-offs were planned for Demona, though I had hopes to tell more flashback stories about her life. She would have remained a recurring character in GARGOYLES and she would have been a regular in both DARK AGES and FUTURE TENSE. And she would have appeared at least once in TIMEDANCER.
All of that is moot for now, but maybe someday...
I basically enjoy villains a lot. I think the villains in our show were very unique, particlarly Demona and Xanatos. Much of Demona's character came so easily and fit together so well, I hesitate to take credit for it. Demona was out there in the mist ready to be revealed to the world. At any rate, I certainly must share credit with everyone else who worked with the character, in particular Michael Reaves, who wrote "Awakening". Still, from the beginning of our second phase (read non-comedy) development, we already knew Demona was a traitor who had meant well initially but could not face up to her own guilt. Though I hadn't worked out all the details of "City of Stone" from that early point of pre-Awakening development, I also knew that she had not slept through the centuries as Goliath and the others had. She would have had to live through 1000 years of persecution and prejudice. I knew that she was Goliath's lost love. How he viewed her defined both who she was
and who she wasn't. I knew she was a tragic figure. I didn't want the audience to forgive her actions, but I did want them to understand.

Greg responds...

It depends. Outside of the series, different artists have interpreted their talons/claws differently. I'd have to say, all of those interpretations aren't cannon. On the series, Frank Paur had the designers make the claw an integral part of each finger or toe. It made for cleaner animation, but you'd have to ask Frank for a definitive anatomical description.
A FEW ADDITIONAL WORDS FROM GREG
Today is Monday, June 9th. On Friday, June 6th, I logged onto Gore's chatroom. It was fun, but I must admit that I felt rushed. Part of the problem was that just as I was scheduled to log on, I got an important phone call that I had to take. That meant I was late getting to the room, and I never had time to get settled. Another problem was technological.
Everything was moving very slow for me at this end. Maybe, it's my computer. Maybe it was heavy traffic to the site. I'm not sure. But today JEB sent me a transcript of the questions and answers, and I realize that I missed a ton of questions which had scrolled off the bottom of the room by the time the page reloaded to my screen. Sorry about that. If I missed your question, ask it again here. But the result of all that rushing and missed postings was that I didn't really get to "chat" with you. I just answered questions at a faster speed than I do here at ASK GREG.
I'll try the chat thing again sometime, I promise. But all this led me to realize something else. Answering questions is only part of what I want to do here. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the question/answer thing. All the details, all the plans for the future. But I'd also like to discuss the show with you guys. Discuss the episodes we already made. The characters, the themes, etc. Occasionally, I lurk in the comment room, but I almost always have to vacate fast, because someone invariably posts an original notion, like a "What If" or something. That's appropriate to the comment room and I WOULD NOT want to see that change, but unfortunately, it keeps me out.
So let's turn ASK GREG into a bit of a comment room also. Feel free to post your reactions to a given episode. Sometimes I'll respond. Sometimes, I may not. But I'd like to hear what you have to say. And you never know, it might inspire me to relate some behind-the-scene story and/or some tidbit of the Master Plan and/or what was going through my head at a given time and/ or what I think of the episode in hindsight. I'm not suggesting we quit with the questions, but I think adding this aspect to the page would be more fun for me, and I hope, ultimately, more interesting for you.
A few brief groundrules:
1. Don't forget the old groundrules. They still apply.
2. Let's limit discussions to the first two seasons of Gargoyles and also "The Journey" from the Goliath Chronicles. I'm not saying that the other 12 Goliath Chronicle episodes aren't cannon, but since I had almost nothing to do with them, I'm not going to be able to respond effectively to them.
Anyway 66 episodes worth of material should keep us busy enough.
3. This is not supposed to take the place of the existing Comment Room, obviously. For starters, this page doesn't "move" fast enough for ongoing (or even cogent) discussions. But a comment here or there, and my response to it, might spice up this page a bit.
Anyway, let's give it a shot.

Greg responds...

I don't know. I'd have to go through every episode to answer that question.
Any specific buildings you're curious about?

Greg responds...

1. I wanted Elisa to have a partner, but it was Michael Reaves who basically originated Matt. I wasn't watching X- Files much in its first couple of seasons, so Mulder definitely wasn't in my mind. You'd have to ask Michael if he had Mulder on the brain when he came up with Matt's conspiracy- hunting mentality.
2. One town, as I recall. It was wiped.
3. Yes, Macbeth was always Macbeth. And he was included because he fit. He filled a short-term role, AND he was perfect for our long-term plans. I've read and seen Shakespeare's MACBETH so many times, I can't say if any one line influenced me so much as my entire reading of the character did. His weariness, however, was again, logical and right to the character we had "created". Nothing else made sense.

Greg responds...

Owen never hit Oberon with it, though he did use it on Talon once.
Originally it was put in to deepened the mystery of who Owen was. What kind of man would react so casually to such a drastic change? I also felt it was a kind of clue to Owen's true identity. Now, it's largely a reminder of what Puck has lost to stay in the mortal world; a disability he lives with and a weapon he occasionally makes use of.

Greg responds...

(Numbers have been added to your comments/questions to make my life easier.) 1. Who?
2. I've been asked to attend, and if we can work out the details, I'll be there.
3. Lots of interesting stories that you just wouldn't be able to get enough of.
4. No one offered to make an animated feature. But the guys at Touchstone were interested in making a live-action movie. Who am I to say no?
Actually, no one. I have no control over what Disney does with the property.
5. You've raised two different points. Animation was done at a number of different studios. Our best work was done by Walt Disney Japan's in-house teams. Second best work was done by other Japanese units. Third best by KoKo in Korea. That was all great stuff. The rest ranged from O.K. down to poor. Your second point was about storylines, but I think it's interesting that you credit better animated episodes with having more interesting storylines. You're not alone, I've noticed in general that fans of the show seem to like the stories of better animated episodes and dislike the stories of poorly animated episodes. My guess is that at least to some extent, the animation is creating a bias negative or positive. The reason I feel that way is because, with the exception of the multi-parters, I never knew which studio an episode was going to go to when creating our stories. I never knew whether it was going to get great animation like "The Mirror",
"Future Tense" or "M.I.A." or whether it was going to get lousy or mediocre animation like "Monsters" or "Vendettas". We wrote the best 66 episodes we could. I find it hard to believe that the best stories just coincidentally happened to go to the best studios. Some stories certainly turned out better than others, but evidence suggests that animation quality had a larger subliminal effect on which stories people liked than anyone realizes.
6. First off, I don't have a lot (read any) control over this situation. I hope the live action movie is great. They are planning to use some CGI, although I don't think even they know how much yet. But mostly, I'm not worried about the look. Hollywood movies invariably look great. I'm hoping for a good story that is faithful to the spirit of the GARGOYLES property, if not the details.

Greg responds...

Good question, Greg. NO, YOU CAN'T. It's probably right most of the time, but as far as I know no one involved with the show approved the close captioning, and I know of at least a couple of examples where it was dead wrong. Particularly on the spelling of names. That suggests to me that whoever wrote the captions didn't even have access to the scripts. I'm guessing he or she simply listened to the episodes and wrote down what they heard (or thought they heard). That means the "guesswork" known as close captioning has no more authority than what your own ears reveal. If you have any specific questions about dialogue or name spelling, don't check the captioning. Ask Greg.