Shavri writes...

My last question brought some others--what is the average biological age a male gargoyle first produces enough sperm to fertilize an egg? For that matter, what is the average biological age a gargoyle(male or female) start puberty? And do some gargoyle males experience something similar to _ahem_ "wet dreams?"(Their stone while they're asleep, so does something like that happen while they're awake?) Thanks, and I hope my questions were not too offensive.(You know how some people are...)

Sapphire writes...

Hi Mr. Weisman

In reference to the mutates Talon and his clan and Wolf the exact term in Genetic engineering to call creatures like these that are genetically engineered with the DNA of different species of animals is the word chimera in reference to the legendary chimara that was part lion, snake, and goat. My question is why did Talon and his clan and Wolf be called mutates instead of chimeras since chimeras is the scientifically way to call human-animal hybrids?

matt writes...

given that Mary (Tom's mother) will do some time-dancing with Brooklyn and Tom has had a long life on Avalon, have they or will they ever be reunited?

Anonymous writes...

If the Brooklyn is able get his hand on the gate and get home then why doesn't he keep the gate?

Anonymous writes...

Why did you send Brooklyn on a forty-year journey? Why not Broadway or Lexington?

Anonymous writes...

In what period would Timedancing Brooklyn arrive in Xanadu, China?

Anonymous writes...

Why does Brooklyn stay so long in 7th century Ishimura? Was it because of Katana or was it because of something else?
What is Brooklyn's mate Katana like?

WereFox writes...

Hi Greg

I wonder how Goliath would have reacted to some of the other
tennets of Bushido. We saw how the code teaches redemption of honor through acceptance of personal responsibilty for your actions. However, this is pretty much a universal creed.

There were other aspects of the Bushido code, practiced by the Samaraii, that were very alien to western ideals. For instance, an unredeemable failure is seen as such an affront to the Bushido code, that ritual suicide or Seppaku, was often the only way to restore ones honor. The samarai disembowels himself with a curved knife. Then his "second" decapitates him.

Vengeance is a highly valued right among the practicers of bushido, as evidence by the classic story of the 47 Ronin. When a feudal lord was killed due to treachery of another, his 47 samaraii were shunned and disgraced as warriors without a master. There sense of honor demanded that the offender and his family be hunted down and killed, so the 47 Ronin dedicated the remainder of their lives to this task. Upon completion, the surviving Ronin committed Seppaku.

Surrender was also not tolerated by the bushido code. The samarai would fight to the last man, and enemies who did surrender were executed on the spot.

Were the Japanese gargloyes more selective in their practice of Bushido. I think it would have been interesting to see how Goliath would have reacted to ideals practiced by Japanese gargoyles which would have been so at odds with his own sense of what honor demanded. Dedicating ones life to vengeance? Summarily killing a helpless enemy? Failures so great that ritual suicide is a reasoned expectation, rather than an expression of anguish? There have certainly been instances where his anger or grief might have driven Goliath to these actions. Yet, Bushido enshrines such behavior as honorable and necessary.

Rob Irwin writes...

#3
When Puck showed himself to Xanatos and offered a wish or life time service, did immortality cross divid's mind, was he not interested in it at the time, or did he think he could get his service and try to live forever another day?

I'll add this one too cause it's about Xanatos. What were Xan's thinkings when he made the steel clan and decided to kill the gargs. He went through a lot of trouble and money to bring them back just to have them steal some disks and then pulverize them. And when he gets out of jail he wants to go back to using them. Can this be explained?

One more about future stories if it's alright. Was Xanatos compleatly turned to a "good guy" or would he latter have had his moarlity conflict with his need for immortality. Same about Fox
Thank U

Anonymous writes...

Were there any matings between Gargoyles and fay? If there was did they inspire any monster legends?

Anonymous writes...

Why is it that you couldn't afford to design the Avalon clan yet you could afford to design Raven's fake clan?

Rob Irwin (the Sloth) writes...

1. were all the episodes in TGC a "mutation" of your ideas.

2. You said before that if the show started agian, you would discard these eps. Does this mean you would use the same ideas that were put in thoes shows but make it the way you wanted to?

Sapphire writes...

Dear Mr. Weisman

When creating Gargoyles have you ever been under attack by the super conservative Southern Bapitist convention and other religious groups for giving reference to magic and a gothic atmosphere in the Gargoyles television show? I'm asking this question because when I accidentially stumbled across the Focus on the Family with Dr. Dobson official web site movie and television review web page They give two thumbs down to every movie and television show for showing magic.

Anonymous writes...

What did the Archmage do to get charged with attempted treason?

Anonymous writes...

Why would the Illuminati be the antagonists in Dark Ages? What is their interest in the civil war?

Anonymous writes...

What other gargoyle would be major characters in Dark Ages besides Goliath, Demona, Hudson, Hipployta, Iago, Othello and Desdemona?

Anonymous writes...

How much would the Wyvern gargoyles be involved in the war against Culen? Would they fight in any major battles?

Sloth writes...

If you were able to do the "dark ages", would you be adding a lot more story about the big events in 975, 985 and 994 ad besides what we know?

matt writes...

you said that the cross-generational love between Yama and Sora isn't the norm, but isn't unheard of, so:

1. are there gargoyles (esspecially among the Ishimura clan) that are against relationships between non-rookery siblings?

2. have Yama or Sora ever wondered if perhaps they are biologically closely related, like brother/sister, uncle/niece? are they ever insecure about having a non-traditional relationship?

3. will they still be able to have 3 children if they want to? obviously, Sora being younger should be able to concieve 3 times, but are male gargoyles able to fertilize an egg at any time in their life? if they have 3 eggs, Yama will be a generation older than most the other fathers in the clan...

SEM writes...

Greg, saw "Walkabout" recently and had a question about Dingo's ending line about Australia having a new kind of hero. Was this intended in any way as a jab to Crocodile Dundee, who had been very popular in the previous decade? Maybe it's just because CROCODILE DUNDEE IN L.A. came out in the last few months that my mind made that kind of connection... not sure. Thanks!

The Sloth (rob) writes...

ummm, did wolf die when all those cars fell on him or was he sent to jail? Seems like a lot of impact for even a mutate werewolf to take!

Anonymous writes...

What kind of government does New Olympus have?

Anonymous writes...

How does the New Olympus cloaking field work? Does it make it invisible from sensors and our eye?

Anonymous writes...

You said that the New Olympians had something better than nuclear tech could you tell us what it is?

Anonymous writes...

What faction does Sphinx's family belong to?

Anonymous writes...

Why is Proteus an insane mass murderer?

Anonymous writes...

Who was the father of the original minotaur? Was it fay?
Who was the person that bore the Minotaur's children? What happened to her?
Was the minotaur locked in the Labyrinth on Crete really slayen by Thesus?

Anonymous writes...

Happy Fourth of July

What does Sphinx's family's think of her relationship with Terry?

What does Terry's family think of his relationship with Sphinx?

Rob Irwin writes...

Man, they just keep coming!
The new Olimpiens, I get the felling that they are not a group of Oberon's children, yet they all seem to differn't to be of one race. Are they a group of many differn't races living together to help ech other, there seemed to be only one of each kind (ie. centaur, winged guy, fire dude).

OK, that will be the last one for awhile I think, at least till my others get answered

Anonymous writes...

Who exactly is Terry's mother? Has she been mentioned or seen in the series?

Anonymous writes...

Did you have plans for the monoliths we saw in Shadows of the Past in Dark Ages? Does Demona know about the monoliths there?

Rob (the Sloth) Irwin writes...

Does Demona know that Puck is serving Xanatos, since she said "You served the human, now you serve me".
just wondering

matt writes...

ok, from what you've told us, Angela and Broadway will raise their children in human fashion, being their children's only parents, but you've also said that Lex and other gargs of certain ages will be the parents of their children? how will their children be raised, from a biological standpoint or a rookery standpoint or in a combination of these ways?

Justin writes...

Greg,
Hey here are some questions
1) Will Broadway and Angela's kids know that those two are there biological parents?

2) Will Broadway be more of a traditionalist in the sense that he would want the clan to raise the children, or will he want to raise his children as his own? I would think Angela want want to do the a latter.

3)Will Broadway and Angela see eye to eye on the parenting proccess?

Thanx

Todd Jensen writes...

This is something that I should be posting later, ideally, since you haven't yet gotten to the Avalon World Tour episodes in your ramblings, but I finally decided that I needed to let this out of me soon, so I'm doing so now.

I've noticed, over the years since I discovered "Gargoyles" fandom on the Internet, that many people didn't like the Avalon World Tour for various reasons (the length of time, the absence of Hudson and the trio, the focus on myth and fantasy aspects rather than more "mundane" elements like crime-fighting, etc.). On the other hand (while I may have had my moments of wondering when Goliath, Elisa, Angela and Bronx were going to get back to New York), I quite liked the World Tour. To a certain extent, I'll admit that I'm biased - my tastes naturally run towards fantasy/myth elements. But after doing a little thinking on this one, it increasngly struck me that, aside from all that, something of the nature of the Avalon World Tour was a must for "Gargoyles" at some point.

The reason for this is that the World Tour served a very crucial purpose (besides the general one that you mentioned of expanding the "Gargoyles Universe"). It made it clear that Goliath, his clan, and Demona weren't the only gargoyles left. And that was a crucial step. Because if they really had been, the gargoyle species would have been almost irrevocably doomed to extinction, with only seven members left, only one of those seven a female, and that one estranged from all the rest and very unlikely to reconcile with them. Goliath and the others would have been the "last gargoyles", not only in the sense of being the only ones left, but also in the sense that no new gargoyles would come along after them.

If that had been the case, it would have obviously made a rather depressing series. Admittedly, having the main character be the "very last of his kind" wouldn't necessarily be utterly melancholy - Superman is the very last Kryptonian, and his story's an upbeat one, on the whole. But the situation there's different; Superman's alien origin is treated more as a plot device to explain his abilities, so his being "the last of his kind" doesn't appear quite so melancholy. Goliath and his clan's "gargoyleness", however, was treated in the series from the start as a crucial part of them and their very nature, rather than a similar handy plot device to allow them to serve as effective protectors of New York. And also, it was clear enough from the start that an important part of the series would be the gargoyles seeking to make peace with humanity, to overcome the fear that so many humans view them with. Such a quest would have been futile (in a sense) if they were the last of their kind - the understanding on humanity's part of the true nature of gargoyles would come too late to avert the race's extinction - the best that the gargs would be able to hope for in such a situation was that they might be able to live out their last years without the general human population hunting them down, but still aware that there would be no new gargoyles after them. Not very happy.

So there'd obviously have to be gargoyles living in other parts of the world to ensure a future for the species. And Goliath and his clan would have to come into contact with those other gargoyles for the audience to see that they weren't the last. But the clan's situation would make that tricky. For one thing, there'd be the obvious transportation problems - they can't simply hop aboard the next plane bound for London or Japan. And given how secretive gargoyle clans would obviously have to be in modern times, even if Goliath and Co. had a mundane means of transportation to wherever it was that one of these clans was living, they would certainly not be likely to find out about these other clans easily. The only solution to both questions that wouldn't feel contrived was magic - as in the magic of Avalon that sends you where you need to be. That way, Goliath could be brought to the locations of the clans in London, Guatemala, and Ishimura in a convincing fashion.

So I think that the Avalon World Tour was indeed a practical must for the series, to allow the crucial moment when the clan can learn, as Hudson put it in "The Gathering", "We're not alone. We're not the last."

Anonymous writes...

Is Nimue a villain in Pendragon?

Anonymous writes...

How many episodes did you plan to dedicate to Arthur' search for Merlin?

Anonymous writes...

Who created the stone dragon in Pendragon? Do we know their names?

Anonymous writes...

Is Gargoyles Merlin a prophet like the Merlin of legends?
If Morgana were to fight Merlin who would win

Anonymous writes...

How old is Merlin biologically and chronologically in 1995?

Anonymous writes...

What powers does Excalibur have? Can it cut through anything?

Rob(the Sloth)Irwin writes...

Fine, I guess I'll keep writing while everything is fresh in my mind. The questions are fading quickly so I'll get right to it.

1.Did Arther Pendragon have any adventures in the time before Avolon sent him to London in the skiff? It dosn't seem to fit that Goliath had been all around the world by the time it took Arther to get from Avolon to London.

2.If #1's answer is yes, will you tell me what thoese adventures were?

Thanks Greg.

Anonymous writes...

What is the next contest going to be? Does it in anyway resemble the clan contest?

Laura 'ad astra' Ackerman writes...

Another try at sending this out-

I just typed up a particularly long question that didn't post and got lost, and I was foolish not to copy it somewhere before hitting submit. I apologize if it turns up later and this becomes a double post, and also if I can't get rid of the autoformating in Word and it looks a little screwy. After losing that long a question I am not taking a chance working directly into the web page.

It has been a long time since I posted a question... of course it has been a long time since I have been caught up with your answers. After reading all of the new responses, particularly those dealing with Oberon and Titania, a question has come to mind. [Actually two, but how many new ways can you ask, "What did Titania whisper to Fox?"? That question should almost have its own section.] The short form of the question is this: Just how different are Oberon's hildren from humans? I am not referring to physical or magical characteristics, but rather do they think in a quantifiably different way than do humans?

The long version of the questions comes after the long digression:

A while back a friend practically shoved an anthology into my hands and insisted I read a particular article. I believe it was called, "Hamlet in the Bush". The gist of it was that a young anthropologist found herself with an indigenous culture for a long boring stretch. [She had thought the off season would be a wonderful time to get to observe their culture. Had she asked them they would have told her the off season is the off season because the weather is so miserable that they cannot even visit the next village. They spend the time drink the local equivalent to bear waiting for it to pass.]

Before leaving she had had an argument with a friend. She argued that at base all humans are the same and once you do some explaining to take care of cultural differences, a great work of literature would be recognized as such by all people. The example that was bandied about was Hamlet, so he gave her a copy as a going away present.

With nothing else to do she sat in her tent and read it over and over until the locals asked her what on Earth she was doing. They were a non-literate culture and to them reading papers meant reading boring legal documents. Even a white person could not be so daft as to spend weeks doing so. She seized upon it an opportunity to test her theory and they, being a story telling culture, were happy to oblige.

She immediately ran into two problems:
-1-They didn't have a concept of "ghost". Zombie, yes. Evil spirit in false guise, yes. But the idea of a dead person's spirit hanging around this world was simply ludicrous to them.
-2-They thought Claudius was a great guy. He acted as an exemplary uncle and brother-in-law, although he waited a bit long in taking care of his brother's household. [Three whole months! And with only one wife to tend the fields!]

In the end they loved the story (with their corrections) and thought she was on her way being a great storyteller, (being female aside). They also told her to be sure to tell her elders that they had been good hosts and had corrected her misremembering lest she continue in error.

I think her premise held, but she hadn't realized how far cultural difference went. The more complex the story, the more it was tied to its own cultural assumptions and the harder it is to explain to another culture.

Back to Gargoyles-

In Gargoyles the basic emotions seem pretty much universal. Gargoyles, humans, New Olympians, and even Nokar and Matrix as far as we have seen them, display them. Love, hate, curiosity and fear, as well as slightly more complex emotions of protection and loneliness are clearly expressed and are more easily understood than some lost cultures of our own ancestors. Are Oberon's Children fundamentally different, or if we can imagine long enough the effects of great power and incredibly long lives we can empathize without too much brain-sprain?

There are great works of speculative fiction that try to understand the mind of The Other. Zelazny had a whole series of stories of robots worshiping and trying to understand the long last human race. I recently read a great book called "Exogesis" (a post-modern Prometheius) by Astro Teller dealing with how a newly emerged AI might think and how humanity might respond. If I would list every book I could think of on the topic I will never stop typing and will eventually have feel the urge to start listing plays and movies as well, (and probably have to deal with Frankenstein, and I am not fond of the book. It is hard to like a book when you hate the main character. Perhaps the movies were right to make the monster the lead character. :).

It all boils down to this: Are the Children of Oberon "the Other", or something very much like ourselves?

Boy this is long! sorry.

LSZ writes...

Of the more obscure(meaning you can't hear their regular voice elsehwere on tv or movies like say Jonathan Frakes or Kate Mulgrew) voice actors of Gargoyles, which character's voice did their usual speaking voice most closely assemble?

Specifically Jeff Bennett, Kath Soucie, Jim Cummings and Tress MacNeille?

Pyro X writes...

Greg you said in response to this question...

Siren writes...
The Fox/Titania controversy...
In the script for The Gathering, were the words that they spoke written out or was it just "psst psst..."?

Greg responds...

I guess if I wanted to start a bidding war on my copy of the script, I should answer, "The Former". :)

But I don't. Unless we're talking BIG money. Now what am I bid?
____________________________________________________________

I will trade you my piece of land on the Moon for the script. Truely. I really have one. They sold them at the West edmonton Mall for $25 Canadian. Wouldn't you like to see your children live on the moon?

(Insert Smart ass answer.)

Thanks.

Vashkoda writes...

Just in case you haven't revealed who she is yet:

1) Is Fiona a blood relative to one or more "known" characters in the Gargoyles universe? ["known" being defined as a character(s) who was/were either shown in the show or who you have previously identified and discussed having plans for]

2) In which spinoffs do you have plans for her to appear in?

3) To which of the three surviving Earth races does she belong?

Anonymous writes...

Can stone sleep heal damages done to the nervous system such as to the spine?

Anonymous writes...

What is the birthrate for Oberon's children?
What is the birthrate for Nokkar's race?
What is the birthrate for the Space-spawn?
What is the birthrate for the third race involved in the galactic war?
What was the birthrate for the lost race?

LSZ writes...

since you weren't sure the last time I asked this question, was there any ruler of the Third Race before Mab?