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Anonymous writes...

This question has been bugging me for some time. I hope you can answer it.
;) Between the time of 1054 (I think that was the date) and 1994, did Demona have any contact with any other gargoyles, or was she truly 'alone' the whole time?

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.


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Anonymous writes...

Did Thailog ever really love Demona? Or did he plan on betraying her right from the beginning?

Greg responds...

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


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Anonymous writes...

Are the children of Oberon immortal? What are the details if so? Can they legitimately be called faeries?

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.


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Anonymous writes...

(1) Hi? (2) I really would like to stop talking about Goliath Cronicles, but I have one more question. How many members of the original development team were involved in TGC? If the whole development team was involved, how come it was so much different (and worse)? (3) Oh! Thought of another one! When did you have it figured out that Broadway and Angela were going to be a couple and not Brooklyn and Angela as many fans had thought? The first big clue was in that episode where Puck transferred the souls of Coldstone's three gargoyles into Broadway, Angela, and Brooklyn. Broadway and Angela became the two lovers, and Brooklyn was the evil gargoyle, trying to steal Angela away. If you had wanted Angela and Brooklyn together, you would have reversed Broadway and Brooklyn's parts. I think that Broadway and Angela make a better couple! (: That's one of my favorite episodes BTW!
(unfortuantly, it's the only one I've seen only once!!! ): )

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).


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Anonymous writes...

Hi! I have a few Q's about your wonderful show 1. I absolutely love Puck (er...Owen), the way you fit him in was really clever. Did you ever intend further develop him as a character? Give him a past? A love life? 2. Okay, this has been driving me nuts, Were Margo and Brenden actually planned to be characters, or were they some sort of inside joke made up by the animators? Thanks for your time! Long live Gargs!

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...


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Anonymous writes...

(1) I was wondering--what happened to the Guatamalan gargoyles? I don't want to guess, 'cause that'd be breaking the rules. What did Broadway end up doing with that amulet? (2)Also, I wanted to say that I'm really glad that you and Reaves'll be involved in the movie. (3) Also, were you planning on introducing lots of new characters? (4) When did you decide that Owen and Puck should be the same person? (5) What's your favorite episode of Gargoyles? (6) What were the plans for what was going to happen between Matt and theIlluminati? (7) Are there any gargoyles that are members of the Illuminati? (8) If all the stone statues are supposed to look alike (like I've heard as an explanation for the Brandon-Margot thing before, among other things) whydoes Elisa look like Elisa, and Owen look like Owen? (9) When Xanatos talked about it not being a good idea "mixing magics," was he referring to Puck in some way? (10) What kinds of magic are there in the Gargoyles universe? (11) How
long are Fox and Alex going to live (that is, if Mr. X DOESN'T reach his goal of being immortal), since they're part Third Race? (12) What does "Third Race" mean, anyway? I've heard it referred to numerous times. (13) Why won't Disney sell the rights to Gargoyles? (14) I've heard rumors that Mr. Xanatos'name was decided on by picking a name out of a phone book--is that true? (15) Last, but not least, was it even remotely planned that so many Star Trekactors would voice-act on Gargoyles? As a fan of both ST and Gargoyles, Ithink it's really great. ::whew:: That's a lot of questions.
Sorry ifsome've been asked before; don't worry 'bout answering if they had.
Thanks, and this place is great!

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.


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Anonymous writes...

Why did you decide to change Dekota to Demona?( Name and personality?) I hope I spelled Dekota right. If I didn't, sorry.

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)


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Anonymous writes...

Demona is definetly my favorite character on Gargoyles. She's intellegent, beautiful, has a great voice[excellant job Marina], and I can understand why she's insane. Imagine coming home one day and finding pieces of your loved ones all over the place. I guess we'd all snap. How did you come up with her character? The tragic villain, not the comedy character. Did you ever plan a spinoff show about her and what she did through the centuries?
I'd watch it.Well thanks for taking the time to read my question. Ciao.

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.


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Anonymous writes...

There has been one question bothering me for a long time. Are gargoyle talons like curved fangs that have been put at the end of their fingers(not the small ones I am talking Sabre Tooth Tiger fangs) or are they smaller like eagle talons/ thick curved fingernails? I saw one picture on the net and right after the second joint in their fingers they had this white curved-fang like talon that looked to about the same size as the barrel of a gun. On the show you can't really see how big the talons are, you can only guess. Please clear this up for me.

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.


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Anonymous writes...

Which buildings that were used more than once in the series really exist?

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?


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Anonymous writes...

1. Was Matt Bluestone inspired by Fox Mulder of "The X-Files"? 2. Whatever happened to those two cities that Jackal-as-Anubis wiped out in "Grief"? 3.
When you first did "Enter Macbeth", did you know that he was *the* Macbeth?
And what led to the decision to include Macbeth as a major supporting character in the series? Was his weariness of life inspired by the "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" lines in Shakespeare's play?

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.


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Anonymous writes...

What were you planning to do with Owen's stone hand, anyway? He only hit Oberon with it once I believe (I may be wrong) and that's about it. I doubt you would have made such a drastic change to a character without a plan on what was going to happen.

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.


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Anonymous writes...

(1)He isn't my favorite but by far one of the coolest, for lack of a better word. (2)How active of a part are you taking in the Gathering? (3)Since Gargs seems to be "Dead and dust" what was the future supposed to have in store
for Coldstone Desdemona/Coldfire and that annoying rustbucket, cliche-ing Coldsteel. (4) Why live action for the movie? Why not a animated feature, with the quality of work from eps such as 'Shadows of the Past' 'M.I.A.' and 'High Noon' (Three of my favorite episodes, for exceptional animation and storyline)? (5) Which leads me to my next question: Why was the animation quality of some eps better than others, ie 'High Noon': with it's superbly drawn and well rendered graphics, compared to Metamorphosis: with it's awkward movements and seemingly lowscale animation, and slightly less interesting storyline? (6) This is my personal biased opinion but almost always cartoons or animated shows/features etc. that turn to live action are inadequate by comparison. That is unless you pull some CGI graphic, Jurassic Park quality effects for the gargs. It just seems that the animation end of Gargoyles is so much more enticing than Live action. And it also seems that it [Animation] has much more to offer. Please surprise me with how incredible this movie will be just so you can tell me..."I told you so."

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.


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Anonymous writes...

Can we trust close-captioning to interpret hard to hear dialogue?

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.


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Anonymous writes...

Hi there! Please, once and for all: How the heck do you spell the name of that building? You know, the one that Xanatos owns, with the castle on the top?

Greg responds...

I think I've answered this but it's faster to type it in again then it is to check: EYRIE BUILDING. (I think Michael Reaves came up with that name.)


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Anonymous writes...

Two questions this time and a 'thank you for your time': 1. In "MIA" Griff looks at Goliath and guesses he is of "Scotish stock". Such a comment seems to imply that Griff has seen Scotish gargoyles. Are there surviving gargoyles in Scotland or does the English clan have some very well preserved thousand year old pictures? 2.'Time passes differently on Avalon' is that always or was an 'hour for every day' spell placed over the island to avoid the damages of a 1000 years of neglect? [I know there are myths of time passing differently on Avalon, but I thought those were to explain the longevity of the third race. In Gargoyles Oberon's Children do not seem to have aged noticably in a milenia.] Thank you

Greg responds...

1. Hee hee hee.
2. Always.


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Anonymous writes...

Greg, you stated that the ratings went from good, to not-so-good to bad. I write a column on television for my school newspaper and if you could provide me with those numbers (neilsons) I would really apreciate it. Thanks

Greg responds...

Sorry, but I didn't save that info. It must be on file somewhere, so why don't you try writing a polite, typed and carefully proofread letter to Nielson. (And no, I don't know their address, but a good reporter should be able to find it. :))


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Anonymous writes...

You stated at one point that Demona and Xanatos were intoduced by Puck/Owen. What was the reason for the introduction?

Greg responds...

Mutual self-interest.


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Anonymous writes...

(1) I'm known in the comment room as Xanatos so you can call me that. (2) So the Illuminati funded the Quarrymen eh. Why? (3) Is Demona Brooklyn's mate?
Since the Future Tense episode, and the fact that you want to keep it a secret I'm begining to think she is. Plus she's the one no one would suspect. (4) I heard that you were going to be at the '97 Gathering, is it true? If so than I can't wait to meet you. I live in NY. I lve your show and am looking forward to the movie. I was relieved when I found out it would be about Goliath. I'm boring you now so good bye.

Greg responds...

1. Hey, Xanatos. I'd rather call you Greg, but I'll respect your wishes.
I added numbers to your questions to make this easier to read. No other editing. Hope you don't mind.
2. The Illuminati had their reasons.
3. No.
4. "Beth Maza" and I are trying to work out the details for me to be there.
We don't have it nailed down yet, so I don't want to make any promises. But we're trying, and it looks likely. Hopefully, I'll see you there.


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Anonymous writes...

Greg, I am re-sending the questions again via. this route as you requested: 1) Which story writer was responsible for the introduction of Shakespearean characters into the story plot and what motivated the decision? 2) Why was the ending in "Vows" changed? In the first version Goliath embraced Demona in front of the clock tower scene and then broke the Phoenix Gate. In the second version, the clock tower background is replaced by a castle window. The animation in the second version seems to be done by Nelvana. Why was this done? Did the clock tower background symbolize that Demona and Goliath's vows of love were "now and forever?" I noticed the ending changed right after Hunter?s Moon aired for the first time. Did the writers decide to alter the ending of "Vows" now that the end was no longer valid now that Goliath loves Elisa? 3) In the episode called "The Mirror" Puck shows an image of Goliath in the mirror to Demona and says, "So after all these
years, you still carry a torch for him." What did he mean by this? Does Demona still love Goliath deep down, or was Puck just playing mental games with her? 4) Why were the Weird Sisters named after moons. Did it have to do with Shakespeare's love with the topic in his works? 5) In City of Stone, the Weird Sisters are in front of a TV store and say to one another, "So, it begins again..." What begins again? Are they referring to the Gathering or to Demona and MacBeth? 6) In the series, the show seems to focus on Goliath and Demona's relationship. Later in the second season Demona begins to show some signs of repentance. The show seems to suggest that they were going to be re-united (The fact that Angela is their daughter) and then all of a sudden in Hunters Moon, Goliath chooses Elisa as his mate. Did the writers originally plan for the re-uniting of Goliath and Demona in the beginning and changed their minds later on, or was the Elisa/Goliath relationship planned from the start?
7) In The Goliath Chronicles, Goliath advises against any dealings Demona and shuns anyone idea of befriending her, but in "The Reckoning" he praises Demona sacrifice and states that it was an act of "good." Why did he change his mind all of a sudden? 8) What are the plans for the character Demona if there is a new season? Will Goliath, Demona and Angela become a family? Is the Elisa/Goliath relationship going to end? If not, why didn't The Goliath Chronicles portray it more? Was it executive pressure?

Greg responds...

1. Most (though not all) of the Shakespeare was me. Beginning with Macbeth. We were looking for an immortal Scottish hunter. Macbeth had the name recognition. It felt like the kind of thing Stan Lee would have done in the early sixties at Marvel. Plus I love Shakespeare. The other things flowed from that rather smoothly. The Weird Sisters were obvious. Puck, Oberon and Titania likewise. Marty Isenberg & Bob Skir, the writers on "Legion" created an Othello/ Desdemona/Iago/Cassio set up (with Goliath in the Cassio role). I'm still not 100% sure if Marty and Bob did that on purpose, because per our rules, none of the other characters were named in their original outline for the story. In order to relieve some of the stress on our all-too-human brains, I suggested the Shakespearean names for internal use in order to keep all the characters straight. With more episodes, we would have included more Shakespearean characters. But I think that covers it for now.
2. NO. NO. NO. First off, Nelvana did none of the animation on the first two seasons. (Frankly, they didn't do any animation production for the third season either. They just handled pre-production.) The original background in front of the clock tower was a mistake. A MISTAKE. It was supposed to be a flashback to the moment when Demona first broke the gate and gave her piece to Goliath at the castle. A wistful memory. The mistake with the clock tower background came in too late to fix in time for the first airing. Maybe too late for the second too, I can't remember. But eventually, we got the correct background back from overseas and cut it in. Our intent never changed. Pragmatic realities dictated the two versions you saw. Sorry if that's disappointing.
3. Both.
4. There is a tradition of triple goddesses connected to the phases of the moon. It seemed to me that the Weird Sisters fit that tradition.
5. Demona and Macbeth. And the Archmage.
6. Elisa/Goliath from the start, and we never wavered. Demona's journey to some kind of redemption is another subplot, (if possible an even slower one then Goliath and Elisa's journey to finding each other). Sometimes, these subplots are going to intersect. But again, our intent remained constant.
7. I can't answer any questions about any Goliath Chronicle episodes except for "The Journey". Didn't work on them.
8. Again, I had little to do with Goliath Chronicles. But I doubt there was any executive pressure. Your questions suggest a clear bias toward wanting Goliath and Demona to reunite. All I can say is it wouldn't happen if the show was under my watch. As far as I was concerned we put any real chance of that to rest with "Vows". Someday, Goliath and Demona might have eventually reached some kind of detante. But Goliath's destiny is with Elisa. IMHO.


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Anonymous writes...

Dear Greg: First off, I'd like to thank you for taking the time to answer our questions. I wonder how many people would continue to promote interest in a project that's no longer providing them with employment, and we are all very appreciative of your comments. RE questions: 1. In MIA it seems Griff and Una were romantically involved in the 40's. Are they still romantically involved? Did Una get together with Leo? I love the British gargs. 2. Do the names of the Japanese gargs (Kai, Yama, Sora) have special meanings in English, and what are they? 3. Do the Illuminati in Gargoyles have any connection to the real historical Bavarian ILluminati of the 1700's? 4. Is there a reason Malibu's arm shield has the Maltese Cross of Germany on it? 5. Would there ever have been a cure for the mutates?
6. WOuld the child of Ophelia and Gabriel have been in the Future Tense series? 7. Someday, when you feel like rambling, Brooklyn and Lex's mates and the fifth member of the Ultra-Pack would be interesting to hear about.
:-) also, if Hudson would ever have found some company... I respect your freedom not to answer any of the above questions, and thank you again for taking the time to talk to us.

Greg responds...

1. Griff and Leo were involved in the 40s, but by the 90s Una and Leo were mates.
2. Yes. Yama means "the Mountain". Gary Sperling told me what all the names mean, but I don't remember the others. Sorry.
3. Sure.
4. Not that I know of.
5. Not really.
6. Probably.
7. You're welcome.


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Anonymous writes...

How would I get involved in writing for an animated series? Or any TV series for that meatter.

Greg responds...

First and foremost, you write. Then write some more. Then do a little writing. Read a lot. Write some more. Read some more. Read a lot. Write a lot. Study story structure. Study great literature. Study myth and legends. Joseph Campbell. Listen to how people talk. How they really talk. Learn your craft. Get a kick-ass education. Write. Read. Write.
Get copies of animation (or other television) scripts. Learn the format.
Write spec scripts for shows that you like. Try to use those specs to get an agent. Then your agent can use those specs to get you work. Write more specs. If you can't get an agent, send the specs to production companies that you admire. Don't send a Batman spec to Warner Bros or a Gargoyles to Disney. Legally, they can't risk reading those. But you can send Batman to Disney and Gargoyles to Warners. (I know it sounds weird. There's a real good reason for this, but it's a whole other question, so for now just trust me.) Actually, you shouldn't be writing a Gargoyles spec at all, since that show isn't producing new episodes now. You don't want your spec to come off as yesterday's news. Keep reading. Keep writing. Try writing a pilot script and a short bible for an original series. Try using those to get an agent or work (any work, you need credits on your resume.) Oh, yeah.
PROOFREAD. PROOFREAD. PROOFREAD. Read your own work aloud, you catch more mistakes that way. Read. Write. Write some more. Get used to a lot of rejection. A LOT OF REJECTION.
That's the best advice I can give you except this: writing for television is an extremely difficult career to break into, let alone succeed at; so if you don't really have a PASSION for it, then do something else. You'll need that passion to see you through a lot of dark times. If you can be happy doing anything else, then do that other thing. Otherwise, good luck.


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Anonymous writes...

Hi. Wow, this is nifty. But, anyway, here are my questions. 1: How is Sevarius (or Servarius) really spelled? 2: Xanatos is a Greek name, but does it come from Thanatos, the name of the Greek god of death? 3: I just love those names. I discovered on accident that Dracon means snake in Greek, which was neat, and very appropriate. Makes the quote 'honor of a Dracon' even more oxymoronic. Or was the quote 'word of a Dracon'? Oh, well. But on to the question: What does the name Sevarius (or Servarius) mean, or where did it come from? Sevarius sounds Latin, but it's all Greek to me. (Ooh, bad joke. Sorry!) 4: Hmm. Well, I could ask another question, but hmm.. what? Oops, that wasn't the question. But wait, that gives me an idea. Here it is: what question (or questions) would you most like to be asked, and who would ask them? :-) Not very creative of me, I know, but I hope you have fun with that one.I guess that's all. Thanks for taking the
time to answer these questions. And thanks for Gargoyles.
Gargoyles has been a work of art, a real gift to the world. It's inspired many people. I hope someday you can continue it. Good luck!

Greg responds...

1. Sevarius.
2. Yes.
3. Michael Reaves came up with the name "Sevarius". I don't know if it had a meaning to him. Initially, I wasn't sure if I liked the sound of the name. It sounded cliched to me at first, though I was at a loss to explain why. Later, it seemed perfect for the character. I was wrong on that one, so I'm glad I deferred to Michael.
4. Uh.... Sorry. I can't think of anything that hasn't been asked. But I'm sure you guys'll come up with something.


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Anonymous writes...

O.k.#1 I was just wondering, if you were going to have more episodes on Elisa and Goliath's relationship? They don't seem to be doing anything lately.#2 Are the recordings (for voices) more fun, or more like work?
Tha's all my questions for now. Thanks!

Greg responds...

1. I've answered this. The short answer is yes. For a longer answer look at the archives for this page.
2. They were (usually) a tremendous amount of fun. The most fun part of the job, frankly. You get to be there as actors bring your characters to life with their voices. I sat second chair to our fantastic voice director Jamie Thomason, so I got to pretend I was helping. Plus most of our actors were a complete joy to work with. Particularly our regulars: Keith, Jeff, Bill, Thom, Ed, Brigitte, Salli, Frank, Marina and Jonathan. Laura San Giacomo, Peter Scolari, Sheena Easton, Jim Cummings, Morgan Shepard, Kath Soucie and John Rhys-Davies were also great fun people to work with and talk to. (Actually, I'm nervous about leaving people out. Most everyone was great.) Anyway, yeah, it was a lot of fun. It WAS also work. Some sessions lasted for hours and could be grueling. But mostly it was a hoot.


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Anonymous writes...

Greg, I have greatly enjoyed your work on Gargoyles. Have you worked on other shows or books in the past, and do you have anything in the works for the future.

Greg responds...

The future is hazy. I'll consult Puck later (not that he can be trusted).
As to the past, I've worked on a number of animation projects, most of them as a development executive. These include (in no particular order) Gummi Bears, Duck Tales, Winnie the Pooh, TaleSpin, Rescue Rangers, Duck Tales the Movie, A Goofy Movie, Mighty Ducks, Bonkers, Goof Troop, Darkwing Duck, Aladdin (series), Little Mermaid (series), JEM, Timon & Pumbaa, Schnookums & Meat,
Raw Toonage, Marsupilami, Quack Pack, etc. Some of these I had a lot to do with, others I had almost nothing to do with.
I also worked for DC Comics for some time. The main thing I did was CAPTAIN ATOM. But I worked as a writer or assistant editor on DC Challenge, Tales of the Teen Titans, Justice League of America, Justice League, Justice League International, All Star Squadron, Infinity Inc, Young All Stars, Titans Spotlight, Silverblade, Watchmen, Secret Origins, Millenium, Who's Who, etc.



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