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RESPONSES 2001-7 (July)

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Gipdac writes...

I had a question/comment. This is the history of Excalibur I got from one of the most brilliant people on the face of the Earth, my English teacher, Dr. Randy Lee Eickhoff, about a year ago:
Excalibur was forged by Hephaestus in Greece around 1000 BC. Then it was taken by a band of nomads (they have a name, and I honestly can't remember it), who traveled through Europe, and ended up in England. From then on the sword was handed down from great warrior to king, etc. Then Fergus Mac Roth, a King of Ulster, gained control of the sword Excalibur, at this time it was called Caliburn. Fergus was a key player in the story of Medb (Maeve), the warrior-queen of Connacht, and Cuchullain. Later Fergus and Medb had a love affair and one day while they were making love on a raft in the middle of a lake Medb's husband found them, he picked up Fergus' sword, Excalibur, and throw it at him. The sword stabbed him through the heart, and his body, still on the raft, floated down stream. And that is how the Lady of the Lake obtained the sword.
I was just wonder if that is close to the history of Excalibur in the Gargoyles Universe.
*Just a couple of quick notes:
Most people believe that Mab and Medb could have been the same person, and anyone who enjoys Irish myths should read "The Raid" by Randy Lee Eickhoff

Greg responds...

I'd have to do my own research, and -- with all do respect to you and Dr. Eickhoff -- not just take your words for it. Some of it is new to me, some isn't.

But, hey, Todd? Does this stuff sound familiar to you?

Response recorded on July 20, 2001

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Gipdac writes...

Okay, you'll need your timeline out, so please have it handy or don't answer these questions until you have it. Thank you.
In the Gargoyles Universe, what years were the following people born:
(all the original one's from the Arthur legends)
1) Merlin?
2) Morgana le Fay?
3) Nimue?
4) Gwenyvere?
5) Lancelot?
6) Blanchefleur?
7) Gawain?
8) Percival?
9) Galahad?

Greg responds...

Haven't pinned a single one of these down at this time. Given that I have pinned down Arthur's dates, it wouldn't be too hard to extrapolate the rest -- if by too hard you meant weeks (if not months) of research and development.

Response recorded on July 20, 2001

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Greg "Xanatos" Bishansky writes...

I already know that this isn't true, but a friend and I have a bet, and I'd like to settle this.

Morgana is not one of the Weird Sisters, is she?

Greg responds...

No.

Response recorded on July 20, 2001

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matt writes...

suddenly all these people started coming out of the closet in the Comment Room, and i thought of a question:

you've said there are gay gargoyles, and there are certaintly gay humans, so if S & P had not been around or had approved it do you think you would have ever made on episode based on homosexuality?

are any known characters gay in "Gargoyles"?

Greg responds...

I'm not going to answer the last question at this time.

I try not to do episodes ON things. I know, I know, you'll point to THE GREEN or LIGHTHOUSE or DEADLY FORCE, but these are stories first and foremost. OUTFOXED was in many ways more about "Integrity" than Deadly Force was about gun safety.

Having logged that whole caveat, I think we would have eventually introduced the existence of homosexuality in the context of a need to tolerate differences and diversity in humans and gargoyles alike (at a minimum -- as I've mentioned before, I find tolerance by itself insufficient).

Is that clear as mud or does that make sense?

Response recorded on July 18, 2001

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Lord Sloth writes...

I can tell from what you put on my post(and other posts), that Entity's expasion on the vocabulary thing will make you pretty happy. I wanted to say a lot of that to, but I'm not as good with words. It's hard to believe though, that Power Rangers did better better then Gargs, when it's vocab pretty much limited to "Lets get em you guys" and the like. Here are some other good words from Gargoyles: Mechiabelliant<sp???>, enchilon, odyssey, avatar(did I mention that one already?), popirus, humility and some good latin words as well. A few times it seemed a little unrealistic (his reverse phicoligy was pretty blaitent), but otherwise, it has great sentance structure & dialouge(which is more than I can say for myself). That's all I've gota say, except sorry about my bad spelling.

Greg responds...

Yeah, I think you REALLY need to work on that. (I guess Gargoyles didn't help much with spelling.) But thanks. And here's a bit of help...

I'm guessing on some of these corrections:

expansion
Machiavellian
[enchilon -- I have no clue on this one. Enchilada?]
odyssey
avatar
papyrus
humility
reverse psychology
blatent
sentence
dialogue
got to

Response recorded on July 18, 2001

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Entity writes...

Hi again,

This is on Xanatos. Someone asked about the logic of Xanatos going through all of the trouble of bringing the gargs to life, only to have them steal some disks, then to just wastefully try to eradicate them with the Steel Clan. I have been conflicted with this contradiction in Xanatos' character as well, and I think it is a result of so much having to be inferred from the episodes. As viewers we are accustomed to being handed everything on a silver platter. Mainstream America is lazy like that. But in a 22-minute cartoon, you didn't have that kind of time. You couldn't explain everything. So characterization, especially, needed to be shown not told.

In Xanatos' case, he really is more of the trickster than the megalomaniac. In the show we got more of an impression of control and dominance. This is the air that X likes to put off. Cool and collected. With a master plan for everything. This was mostly a FRONT. The REAL Xanatos is, as you've accentuated through your episode reviews, a trickster. He lives by the moment. He's a thrill seeker. He makes up his plans as he goes along. That's why his plan in "Metamorphosis" seemed so flimsy, as so many Ask Gregers have brought up. That's why he seemed to change priorities so much in the first season. He re-evaluated. And if you think about it, this more dynamic approach to his character makes his 'reformation' all the more plausible. X, whether we've realized it or not, was in a constant state of change throughout the entire series.

Greg responds...

Sure.

Although, I don't think I agree with the flimsy making-it-all-up as you go along FRONT interpretation.

He is a Trickster, but a well-prepared one. (No magic to rely on.) He does adapt, but he also plans. And he enjoys the game, so results don't always matter as much to him.

Response recorded on July 18, 2001

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Entity writes...

Hi Greg,

Wow, you can definitely tell the difference between your pre-LA and post-LA responses. ;)

I just had to join Sloth in complimenting you and the other writers who worked on Gargoyles on the unbridled freedom of vocabulary you embraced. In too many cartoon shows, the dialogue is dumbed down to the point where you get angry that someone's actually getting paid for writing it. Adults tend to not realize that kids appreciate good entertainment. They aren't just mesmorized by pretty flashies. And dialogue is a pivotal part of good entertainment. Now that I think about it, I believe Gargoyles has had an even bigger impact on me than I've previously imagined. Words like "cliche" and "naivete" are ones I got directly from Gargoyles. Sure I've seen them elsewhere, but I GOT them from Gargoyles. I'm about to start my first year at college and I am majoring in Creative/Professional Writing (haven't decided between the two yet). Gargoyles is probably the influence that drove me most toward the decision to take my life in that direction. I realize that Gargoyles really was an educational program, and I'm not speaking of the few token episodes that dealt with gun control or literacy or deforestation. Watching Gargoyles made me smart. It is like the anti-cartoon, because it did precisely the opposite of what most typical children's entertainment does, at least when you or Michael Reeves isn't on deck: vegetabilize.

Greg responds...

What is the difference between my "pre-LA and post-LA responses"? Since I'm ALWAYS in L.A., I'm not sure what you mean.

But otherwise, thanks. As a writer and teacher you couldn't have paid me (or Michael, if I might briefly speak for him) a higher compliment.

Response recorded on July 18, 2001

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Blaise writes...

Hi again!

This question actually deals with the credits listing of the series (yeah, I know it seems I have too much time on my hands, but that's beside the point).
Two things about GARGOYLES' credits stood out. The first you already talked about--the writers recieving credit at the beginning of episodes during the first season. The second however I also found to be quite interesting--GARGOYLES actually gave a true cast list. Usually in these Disney shows, when the credits say, "With the Voice Talents of..." they just lump the actors' names together without telling who they played. GARGOYLES was the first Disney animated series I know of (BUZZ LIGHTYEAR did it later) that actually listed both the actors and the characters they played. This enabled me to (when I started taping the episodes and could hit pause) more fully discover just how diverse and talented this cast was. I could recognize names and see if a person played multiple roles, and I was quite pleased.

So...
1) Is there any story behind this, like there was for giving the writers' credit up front?
2) Whatever the case, I'm glad I could know who played who.

Thanks!

Greg responds...

I don't know if this would qualify as a story, but I liked how Batman the animated series listed who played who. It seemed to show more respect for the actors (and as I was a fan of Batman) more respect for the fans who might be VCRing the thing and want to know.

So we followed their lead. And I'm glad we did. I tried to talk SONY into doing that for Starship and/or Max Steel, but they weren't interested.

Response recorded on July 18, 2001

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Lady Leto writes...

First of all, I just wanted to say that I love Gargoyles and would like to thank you for sharing your idea with us.

I was watching the episode; 'Vendetta' and I couldn't believe Vinnie. I am very curious to find know, how did you think of this character?

Thanks for your time.

Greg responds...

A combination of factors went into the creation of Vinnie.

In no particular order:

1) We asked Jeff Bennett to play the role of a dumb Gen-U-Tech security guard. He put on this great Vinnie Barbarino voice (from Welcome Back, Kotter). It was hilarious.

2) I had this idea to do an episode about the nameless schlub that the gargoyles had effected without ever knowing it.

3) Brynne Chandler had this idea about Goliath getting a pie in the face.

4) I had a separate idea about Wolf and Hakon teaming up to get vengeance on Goliath.

It all just came together. Strangely. The episode was supposed to be a comedic change of pace from the rest of the series. I don't think the animation supported the comedy very well. But it was the first episode I ever voice directed, so I'm fond of it.

Response recorded on July 18, 2001

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Jimmy writes...

If gargoyles evolved before humans and the fay, what did they to protect?

Greg responds...

Each other, as usual, and whatever else was around. Also that long ago, I'm not guaranteeing that GARGOYLES PROTECT was the big slogan.

Response recorded on July 18, 2001


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