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Bryant Bradby writes...

from ptrunks19@aol.com

Hey Greg, I know this is kinda' off the usual topics, but when is Buena Vista going to release the Uncut Gen13 animated movie?

Greg responds...

How would I know?

Response recorded on December 02, 2010

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Algernon writes...

Hey again Greg,
You once said that while you were working at Sony, you and Victor Cook tried to get Sony interested in doing a Ghost Rider series. Now the impression I got was that the "Powers That Be" weren't interested and the concept never got far beyond the "I just had a neat idea" stage, so I understand if you didn't draw out some big five season master plan about how you'd handle the series.

But I was just wondering if you'd given any thought to how you would have dealt with a lot of the S&P challenges that related to the character. Mainly that both GR himself and a good chunk of his rogues gallery are literal demons from Hell. Is America ready for a superhero cartoon where the Big Bad is Satan?

Greg responds...

I would have crossed that hellbridge when I came to it.

Response recorded on December 01, 2010

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Clark Cradic writes...

Ever watch Scooby-Doo as a kid? Favorite monster?

Greg responds...

Absolutely. Not sure about favorite, but the most memorable to me is the guy in the diving suit.

Response recorded on November 23, 2010

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lamberto writes...

hi, greg.

i remember reading here that you're a fan of dexter. from what i know of your writing career (gleaned online), you've written mostly pg-13 to g-rated material. i was just curious if you've ever written hard-r type stuff whether for fun or for work. if the opportunity presented itself, would you write a dexter: early cuts short? thanks.

Greg responds...

I've written more adult material here and there -- though of course, it's not wise to confuse me with Edmund Tsabard or imply that I have anything to do with Blue Mug Productions.

Anyway, yes, I'd love to work on ANY aspect of Dexter. Though I'm also happy just watching it!

Response recorded on November 23, 2010

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Anonymous writes...

Thank you for answering my "Requiem for a Scarlet Speedster" questions. As a follow-up, I was wondering if I could get your opinion on this: speaking as both a fan and a notable writer, is there any realistic potential for an animated series based around the Flash? Or does the character require a greater toehold in public consciousness, perhaps through a bigger media event (i.e., a film) before such a series would be likely to succeed?

Greg responds...

I'd tend to think the latter, but that's just a guess...

Response recorded on November 23, 2010

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Andres writes...

I wish you well on Young Justice! I must say while it seems there is so much comic/ superhero material from animation to movies to so many comics that is almost hard to get into anything if your a little bit more than a casual fan but I am excited and anticipating Young Justice and the reboot of Thundercats. I wanted to ask you if you saw and what you thought about The Secret of Kells? if you thought that it deserved to win the Oscar? Lastly what impact you think small indie animation and European animation will have on the larger animation industry?
P.S Loved the inclusion of St.Columcille/ St. Columbia in Secret of the Kells made me re reread the Gargoyles comic

Greg responds...

I haven't seen The Secret of Kells.

Response recorded on November 09, 2010

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CapFan writes...

Is there a taboo against using Nazis in cartoon shows? I know "Gargoyles" featured Nazis in one episode, but most cartoons, even when they have flashbacks set during World War II seem to do everything possible to not address the enemy as Nazis.

Take the new "Avengers" show for instance, they got rid of the Nazis in Captain America's past and replaced them with Hydra. Hydra was now conquering Europe.

Did you have trouble getting Nazis and swastikas onto MIA? And why are so many cartoons scared to say the word Nazi?

Greg responds...

We had no particular problem that I can recall. I wasn't aware that other shows WERE having a problem with this. First I've heard of it.

Response recorded on November 04, 2010

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Anthony Tini writes...

Greg,

From one Dexter fan to another, what did you think of the Season 4 finale? Does being a writer and involved in the creative process of creating entertaining television give you an edge to kind of guess or see events like that coming? Personally, I did NOT see it coming and I very surprised and bothered by it. It took me a long time to finally fall asleep after watching that final scene. It was fantastic and probably one of the best scenes I've ever seen on TV. I'm purposefully not mentioning details for those who have yet to see it.

At the time of this question, the first episode of Season 5 has premiered, but I have yet to watch it. By the time you get to this question I hope to have watched it. If you've seen it, I'd love to hear your thoughts about it, where you think the season will go, and your hopes for future seasons. Speaking of the Dexter premiere, good luck with yours! Take care.

- Tony

Greg responds...

Dexter aside, I often astound my kids by being able to predict what is to come on series. (I always pause the playback and ASK if they want me to tell them my theory. Usually, they say yes.) Often, my guesswork is a combination of story savvy and casting savvy. For an easy example, take the classic Murder, She Wrote template. Only one regular character and a handful of occasional recurring friends of hers. The rest of who you're seeing on screen is guest cast. The guests usually include some great character actors and some newbies in the mix. But there are almost always two stars (of varying degrees of magnitude). That's the eyeroll for me. Because inevitably one star is killed in either the Teaser or the first act. And the other star is always the killer. Because that's the thing with stars. They either want the one great scene that leads to their death -- but also means they don't have to work many scenes for the money. Or they want to be the killer, i.e the most significant character in the episode (not counting Jessica Fletcher). Few series were as casting blatant as Murder She Wrote was, but to some extent casting is still a tremendous indicator of what's to come on nearly every kind of series.

I don't just use casting either, of course. I know story. I know how writers think. Which does NOT mean I can't be surprised. But I think I'm a bit harder to surprise than the average joe or joan. I don't mind, generally. It's the ride for me, and if the ride is good...

Of course, none of that has much to do with Dexter and/or last season's season finale. I think I had a feeling of dread at the very least. Maybe a notion. But I don't remember, and even if I had a clear sense of what was going to happen, it didn't mitigate the horror of what came. My daughter and I needed a palette cleansing episode of The Office afterwards before bed.

I have seen the Dexter season premiere. But I hesitate to make any predictions. Trying just to enjoy the ride.

Response recorded on September 29, 2010

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Clark Cradic writes...

What comic universe would you say you're more knowledgeable about: DC or Marvel?

Greg responds...

I'm pretty equal on both companies.

Fairly knowledgeable (all things considered) on pre-1970s stuff.

More knowledgeable on the 70s.

Extremely knowledgeable on the 80s.

Less knowledgeable on the early and mid 90s.

Almost completely ignorant of the mid 90s through 2006.

Somewhat knowledgeable but with huge gaps on 2006 through the present...

Of course, I worked at DC as a freelancer from 1983-1991, and on staff from 1985-1987, so I have more INSIDE knowledge of that company, but during that period I was reading ALL the Marvel books too, so if we're talking CONTINUITY and CHARACTERS, I know both companies pretty darn well. I certainly grew up reading both. And when I was a little kid, I didn't even get that there were different companies that made comics. I'd see Green Lantern team up with Superman in one book. And Spider-Man team up with the Fantastic Four in another. And I didn't know that next month I might not see Captain America team with Batman. It took me a while to get the whole competing companies idea.

Response recorded on September 21, 2010

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lamberto writes...

hi, greg.

thanks for coming out to comic con this year. always nice to see you.

just wondering if you ever caught pirates of dark water, and what you thought of it. i hear that WB's releasing the series DVD "made-on-demand". we need to get Disney to do that with Gargoyles. there probably wouldn't be any bells or whistles added to the release, but i'll take it any way i can!

Greg responds...

I never saw Pirates of Dark Water.

And I'm game for getting Gargoyles out any way we can.

Response recorded on September 18, 2010

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Paul writes...

How much of Teen Titans and Justice League/Justice League Unlimited have you seen? I got the impression that you'd watched a bit of them since you referred to them as great shows in a Comic-con interview.

Greg responds...

When we first began developing Young Justice, I watched the first two seasons each of Teen Titans and Justice League and was halfway through the first season of Justice League Unlimited when production started up . Meant to watch EVERY episode of both (all three) series, but unfortunately I just don't have the time now.

Response recorded on September 17, 2010

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Greg Bishansky writes...

I wrote this blog entry up a few months back, and I thought I'd share it with you. I'm curious as to your thoughts on the matter:

Ever since Disney bought Marvel, people have been asking Greg Weisman if he has any interest in integrating the "Gargoyles Universe" (which would be the first sixty-five episodes of the series, and the two SLG comic series "Gargoyles" and "Gargoyles: Bad Guys") into the Marvel Universe, and Weisman keeps saying no. Yet people keep asking him.

I love "Gargoyles" and I love the "Marvel Universe." I love "Gargoyles" more, and I'm not afraid to say it. But this is a terrible idea, and I'm going to talk about why it's a terrible idea.

First of all, the two universes are pretty incompatible. Time travel works differently in both universe for one. In "Gargoyles" you cannot alter history, and that series is so much better for it. If it were a part of Marvel, it would be too easy for Goliath to, let's say, go back in time and prevent the massacre of his clan back in 994 Scotland.

I suppose you could retcon away those Marvel time travel stories like "Age of Apocalypse" and "Days of Future Past." While I would not mind that, it wouldn't be fair to the fans and creators of those stories.

Second, while I have no doubt the existence of gargoyles would be shocking to the people of the Marvel Universe, it wouldn't have the same impact it should. Not in a world where mutants, super-beings, Atlanteans, Inhumans, Eternals, Norse gods, and Fin Fang Foom are already known to exist with Galactus stopping by every other Tuesday.

Third, okay, Marvel's Odin is now a Child of Oberon, as are the Asgardians. Okay... how well do you think that's going to go over with the fans of Jack Kirby's Thor who have been reading it for nearly fifty years now? Hell, there are still some people who are uneasy about Odin being subject to Oberon in "Gargoyles." I'm not one of those people, but I understand where they're coming from.

Now, I know some people are bound to mention the NON-CANON Radio Play from the 2009 Gathering, that was a crossover between "Gargoyles" and "The Spectacular Spider-Man," so let's get this out of the way. That wasn't actually the Marvel Universe. It was a re-imagined, and stream-lined version of it. It also helped that both shows were created or developed by Greg Weisman. It was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed it, but I don't think anyone wants this to be a regular, or even a recurring occurrence. I think it worked well as a pandering love letter to fans of both franchises, and the voice actors who brought these characters to life.

Finally, and perhaps most important, the Marvel Universe is not really going anywhere. It is very cyclical. Things come, things go, status quos change and are restored. Spider-Man is married for twenty years, then he is single again. Magneto reforms, then is a villain again, then reforms, etc, etc.

For example, I respect a lot of what Joe Quesada has done for Marvel. However, the notion of him having any kind of creative influence over "Gargoyles" scares me. "Goliath and Elisa were more interesting before they finally declared their love and got together. The core of it was always impossible love, so now we have to split them up." You know it would happen.

"The Gargoyles Universe" is going somewhere, even if we're currently not getting any new fiction, it was always evolving. Never going backwards, but moving forwards. It was an evolving tapestry, and change was constant. Marvel, on the other hand, lives and breathes on the illusion of change, while actual change is non-existent. Death is meaningless. Characters don't age, and the status quo may shake up on occasion, but it is always eventually restored.

The Marvel Universe was built by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Steve Ditko, and maintained by many very talented and creative people acting as custodians of that work. But, for better or worse, it is a soup with hundreds of cooks. Many great chefs, and more than a few fast food fry cooks.

"Gargoyles" was co-created by Greg Weisman, and while he had a lot of help, he was the only co-creator, and the one who never stopped working on it. He was the first author of "Gargoyles" and more than likely he will be the last author of "Gargoyles." For the better. We saw "Gargoyles" without Greg Weisman, and it was nothing good.

Both universes have their place, but you couldn't merge them without one of them being significantly altered in the process. Now, I will admit my bias again and say that I wish the "Marvel Universe" was more like the "Gargoyles Universe" but, there's no real point. It's been around for nearly five decades (over seven if you want to talk about Timely Comics), and it's not going to change. As I've made clear, I think that's kind of the problem, but an understandable one given the nature of Marvel Comics. DC too, for that matter.

Now, I realize a lot of the above makes it look like I'm saying "Gargoyles" is great and Marvel is awful, but I don't feel that way at all. I just don't think such a thing would work without one of the universes suffering for it.

Greg responds...

I agree.

The Radio Play was a ... lark, a goof. But even if we were ONLY talking about the Spectacular Universe merging with Gargoyles, I'd be opposed.

Response recorded on August 18, 2010

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Battle Beast writes...

Greg:

In the 201st epsiode of the show "South Park," Comedy Central censored the final monologue from the character Kyle.

I think some extreamists threatened Comedy Central/Paramount, and they bowed down.

I don't know if you watch "South Park," but "South Park" has always gone way over the line, to disgusting levels at times, but has never been censored save profanity "F" and "Sh" words.

My questions is: From your point of view, do you think Comedy Central/Paramount went too far, or do you think they were justified in their actions? Or, do you think "South Park" finally went too far? (IE, it's creators?)

Thanks!

Greg responds...

My knee-jerk reaction is to be anti-censorship, but since I know none of the particulars of this specific incident, it would be irresponsible to take any stand. (And, no, that's not a veiled request to get me more info.)

Response recorded on August 16, 2010

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Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

This is touching on the type of theoretical questions you hate, but I’ll attempt it…

Are there any shows you watch that you wish you were involved in? Any shows you are glad you weren’t involved with because you wouldn’t want it any other different than it is? Any shows you didn’t enjoy, but think you could have made the concept shine? I don’t necessarily mean something you worked on and it didn’t work out, (like when you wrote the series bible to Roswell Conspiracies or the like), I mean even seeing a cartoon as an adult that you enjoyed as a child and thinking ‘if I were doing that…’. That creative itch that sometimes hits when watching a show and really wanting to play in that sandbox.

I figure either you'll hate this question or one or two examples will suddenly spring to mind.

Greg responds...

Yeah... I would have loved to work with Joss Whedon on Buffy or Angel or Firefly. Not that I think I would have improved on it, but I would just have loved to play in that world with the master.

There are cartoon series I was really jealous of, like the MTV Spider-Man series. But (no surprise) I'm over that now.

I haven't seen anything but a few clips of the upcoming series, so this isn't a comment on it per se, but I would have loved to do an Avengers series. Frankly, I would have loved to have taken what we did on SpecSpidey and widened it, building an entire Marvel Universe. It's one of the things that's so fun about Young Justice. We're not just adapting YJ or Teen Titans, but the entire DC Universe (or one of them (#16) anyway).

The Highlander TV series was one where I thought it had moments of greatness, but was also a bit of a mess at times. I would have loved the POWER (Bwahaha) to grab the reins of that one.

I'm sure there are plenty of other examples, as I have generally -- and I'm not proud of this -- lived a professional life filled with (and marred by) tremendous ENVY. I just can't think of any others at this time. At least not any others that wouldn't get me in some trouble. ;)

Response recorded on August 03, 2010

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Clark Cradic writes...

What are your thoughts on The Princess and the Frog? I thought it was a wonderful throwback to the days of the Disney Renaissance.

Greg responds...

I enjoyed it. And it's hard not to love Keith's performance -- if anything, I wish he had been in it more -- but it didn't quite send me the way movies like Little Mermaid, Mu Lan and Aladdin did.

Response recorded on June 23, 2010

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Leon 'the wolf' Johnson writes...

Hey man greg,
have you ever seen Steven Spielberg comedy series: Freakazoid? This series came out way back when, during the production of Gargoyles, but if you ever seen the second part to the episode 'And his name is fanboy', you'd probably be laughing in your seat. Steven did a big parody off of your series Gargoyles, staring Lawn Gnomes that change from stone during the day to flesh at night because of a curse. Man it's so funny, during the end of the skit, the Gnomes break of of their stone shells (and the lawn sprinklers come on) and the scream "WE. ARE. LAWN GNOMES!", just like Goliath did during the opening sequence. Man, so funny! If you haven't seen it, you need to check it out on youtube.

Greg responds...

I haven't seen more than a soundbite of it, but I've heard about it.

Response recorded on June 08, 2010

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Jess writes...

Hey Greg! I was wondering if you'd seen any of the recent BBC series Merlin, where Merlin is roughly the same age as Arthur, and if so, what did you think of it?

Thanks for your time!

Greg responds...

Haven't seen it.

Response recorded on May 25, 2010

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Bazell writes...

Do you like musicals?

Have you seen Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog?

Greg responds...

Yes.

Yes.

And, yes, I thought it was great.

Response recorded on May 21, 2010

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Todd Jensen writes...

I recently bought a copy of Dan Rosa's "The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck". The first chapter had the young Scrooge, as a boy in Scotland, learn about many of the deeds of his McDuck ancestors in Scottish history; one of them, Sir Quackly McDuck, fought for Macbeth in the "civil war of 1057" and was rewarded for his services with a large treasure chest (unfortunately, while walling it up in his castle to keep it safe, he accidentally walled himself in with it).

I thought you'd like to know that someone else at Disney's been working on early Scottish history (other MacDucks were connected to Hadrian's Wall, Kenneth mac Alpin, Malcolm II, and the Battle of Hastings).

Greg responds...

Very cool.

Response recorded on May 21, 2010

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Balron writes...

Are you a MARVEL or a DC?
And even if you aren't one or the other, did you like the movie "Watchmen?"
Was that particular comic book any good inspiration on the works you have done in this decade? And if so, who was a favorite character of yours from that particular story?

Greg responds...

I'm both. I've worked for both companies, and even before that I was a fan of both sets of characters. When I was very young, I didn't even understand that they were too separate companies. I saw Superman team with Batman and Spider-Man team with Daredevil, and figured next issue I might see Daredevil team with Batman. Of course, I soon realized the truth, but it doesn't change the fact that I have an abiding affection for characters from both companies.

There were things I admired about the movie "Watchmen". But I thought Ozymandias was massively miscast, and that spoiled a lot of the film for me.

Watchmen's influence is probably in the mix somewhere, but I can't think of any specific way it has inspired me. As to my favorite character... I'm tempted to say Rorshach, but just because I donated his thumb prints to the original book.

Response recorded on March 25, 2010

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Gareth T writes...

Given that you've done work for DC comics (I.e captain atom),

1) Do you still keep in touch with current DC comics continuity, like recent developments such as Final Crisis and Blackest Night?

2) If so, what do you think of them?

3) also, have you been approached to work on any of their more recent straight-to-DVD movies like Superman: doomsday or Green Lantern: first flight?

thanks for answering, if you do.

Greg responds...

1. Just a little.

2. I'm not up to speed enough to comment, one way or the other.

3. Yes. We'll see.

Response recorded on December 02, 2009

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Pete writes...

back again, just want to rephrase some of my questions and ask a few more, hope its not to much...

1.) If you could use any one else in the marvel universe for his or her own show who would it be?

2.) Same as question 1 but DC?

3.) Have you ever read Amazing Spiderman To Die a Hero, when F. Fosswell dies? I just want to know what you think of it, I personally think it's one of the better comics from the Lee/Romita stories right next to Spiderman No More.

4.) Which issue was the Kraven mutation I've read a few Ultimate comics. I just ordered Issues 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8. I already have 1,2 and 6.

Greg responds...

1 & 2. The list is nearly endless for both Marvel and DC. I've been reading those comics since I was a kid. Not every character has as rich a history as Spidey, but even the ones with less canon... leave me free to develop them more.

3. Yes. I like it.

4. I don't remember off the top of my head, and I don't have my Ultimates with me at this moment. Besides, that's research you can do on your own.

Response recorded on October 26, 2009

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Todd Jensen writes...

I was rereading "Quidditch Through the Ages" (a small book put out by J. K. Rowling a few years ago as part of a support to a British charity group) last night, and came upon a passage that mentioned a Quidditch match between the Toyohashi Tengu (a Quidditch team from Japan) and the Gorodok Gargoyles (a Quidditch team from Lithuania) in 1994. Now, this is probably just a coincidence (I don't know if Rowling's even ever been that aware of "Gargoyles"), but I thought that you might be amused at the notion of two teams with those names having a match in the very year that "Gargoyles" premiered.

Greg responds...

That is very cool. Thanks.

Response recorded on October 21, 2009

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abnormalpixarfan writes...

if you could would do a revamped of johnny quest with you at the helm?

Greg responds...

I'm a big fan of Jonny Quest, so if anyone asked me...

Response recorded on July 03, 2009

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Bazell writes...

Will you/did you participate in Free Comic Book Day and pick up the offerings? If so, what did you think?

Greg responds...

I don't know about this.

Response recorded on June 30, 2009

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CL writes...

Did you see James Cameron's Titanic, and if so, how did you like it?

Greg responds...

I have not seen it.

Response recorded on June 24, 2009

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Antiyonder writes...

Since you mentioned having not seen The Incredible Hulk tv series for quite a while, I thought you might want to check the page: http://www.hulu.com/the-incredible-hulk

Has the first 3 seasons of the show as of now for viewing.

Greg responds...

Thanks, but I just don't have the time right now.

Response recorded on March 31, 2009

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Wesley Nichols writes...

I read on one of youre answers that you are a huge batman fan. Did you see the Dark Knight and what did you think of the Joker? I feel that the Joker blew all the other characters away, but apparently some people don't like the interpretation. One person said that the Dark Knights's Joker is the best film version to date, but didn't approve of the interpreation, because of how sloppy he was and he considered Joker to be a neat freak.

Greg responds...

I thought it was a stunning interpretation.

Response recorded on October 08, 2008

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Tex writes...

If Conan the Cimerian fought Goliath who would win?

Greg responds...

Uh... Disney?

Response recorded on September 24, 2008

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Todd Jensen writes...

You mentioned reading "Bone" at Comic-Con. What did you think of it? (I read it a few years ago - I have the one-volume edition as well as the first two individual volumes, which I bought before the one-volume edition came out - and enjoyed it.)

Greg responds...

I love it. I think it gets a bit messy toward the end. Thorn's "powers" seem to come and go at will, as does her ability to be sick, be healed, etc. Episodically, it may not have registered, but read in one sitting...

And although I wasn't at all disappointed with the ENDING, ending, I really felt like Bone's crush went unresolved. And I would have liked to see a scene where it was DEALT with.

But these are quibbles. Overall, I thought it was great.

Response recorded on September 24, 2008

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kyle tonarella writes...

hey greg i just want to say thank you once again for making Spectacular Spider-Man. It has become my second favorite cartoon after Batman The Animated Series becasue you handle the charcters just like bruce timm and paul dini did. I look forward to the second season. here is my question will we Doc Ock come back to lead the sinister six in the second group ?

Greg responds...

Bruce Timm and ALAN BURNETT. Not to knock Paul, but Paul and Michael Reaves and quite a few others were working for ALAN, and I just don't understand why Alan never gets credit for being (with Bruce) the driving force on that series.

Doc Ock will be back in Season Two.

Response recorded on September 19, 2008

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Bruno writes...

Hi, Greg,

Nobody seems to have asked you this in a long time, so:

Which tv series have you been watching lately? LOST, Smallville, maybe?

Thanks.

Greg responds...

Smallville is a show I try NOT to watch, though an occasional commercial tricks me into tuning in. I do watch Lost.

My favorite shows of last season were... well, House and Life come to mind. I liked Slings & Arrows a lot. Pushing Daisies was fun. And I had a number of guilty pleasures.

I do miss Veronica Mars.

Right now I'm enjoying Swingtown, and I kinda like Flashpoint too, though that may be because I'm a big Enrico Collatoni fan.

Response recorded on August 11, 2008

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Movie-Brat writes...

Hi, my name is Movie-Brat but if you like, you can nickname me M-B for short. And I like your show (Gargoyles) and your work in general and I do find your work on Gargoyles fascinating and anyway, to ask my question, what are your thoughts on such film as The Incredible Hulk (The new film taht just came out), A Nightmare on Elm Street (And its sequels), The Hills Have Eyes (Remake), The Saw films, Borat, Kiki's Delivery Service and Wes Craven's Shocker?

Greg responds...

I enjoyed the recent Hulk movie quite a bit, which surprised me, I must admit. Not a perfect fit, but...

Nightmare - I'm not a big fan of slasher films. I did see the first two NIghtmare films (way back when) because I went to college (and took a drama class and had one date) with Heather Langenkamp. But it's really not my thing.

Never saw and have no interest in Hills or Saw.

Never saw Borat.

I think Kiki is terrific!

Never saw Shocker.

Response recorded on August 04, 2008

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Antiyonder writes...

Since you've mentioned the Hulk being one of the comics that you've picked up quite a bit (I believe you said that you never missed an issue), I was wondering what your thoughts on the 1970s series The Incredible Hulk (with Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno) provided you've seen it. Also if you've watched them, your opinions on the following TV Movies they've made:

- The Incredible Hulk Returns (Which features Don Blake and Thor).
- Trial Of The Incredible Hulk (Which features Matt Murdock/Daredevil and Wilson Fisk)
- The Death Of The Incredible Hulk

Greg responds...

I never said I never missed an issue. I read a good chunk of Peter David's run -- until events elsewhere in the Marvel Universe made it incoherent for me. It was the last Marvel book I gave up before I stopped reading comics in 1996. I've since started again, but the only Marvel comic I'm currently reading is Amazing Spider-Man (for work reasons).

I have fond memories of the Bixby/Ferrigno Hulk series, though it's been so long that I do wonder if it would hold up.

I remember the first two movies you referenced. Don't remember thinking they were very good, but I remember almost no details. I don't recall the third at all.

Response recorded on August 01, 2008

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Beth B. writes...

Dear Greg,

I was just wondering if you had seen the new Transformers: Animated show now airing on Cartoon Network... I checked back in the archives and found that no one had asked this yet, so I thought I'd give it a go.

It's interesting that it centers around five Autobots, "in statsis" for the past few decades or so that are suddenly reawakened when they are in need. The five include Optimus Prime (David Kaye), Rachet (Corey Burton ), Bumblebee (Bumper Robinson ), AND

Bulkhead (Bill Fagerbakke ) and Prowl (Jeff Bennett ) !!!!

I was pretty amazed when I saw this. Not only did the former voice actors from Gargoyles come back to do a show together but in relatively the same roles as they had played back in Gargoyles!

Jeff Bennett does a superb job as Prowl (a sleek cyberninja... kind of an outcast of the group= Brooklyn!!!), and sounds about as dead pan as Owen Burnett, which makes me giggle with joy. Bulkhead is... bulky and the bigger guy of the group (and voiced by our old friend Broadway!).

Even the others match up:
Rachet: old veteran 'bot, akin to Hudson
Bumblebee: smallest of the group: Lexington

So all that to say this: What do you think of your formula being used again in another hit show? I know we can't credit you coming up with the archetypes, but certainly perpetuating them in a way that many fans have grown to love. Have you seen the show? What are your impressions of the show?

Thanks again,
-Beth B.

Greg responds...

I'm afraid I haven't seen it, but I'm always glad to hear Bill, Jeff and Corey are getting work.

Response recorded on May 29, 2008

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Algernon writes...

Hey Greg, just thought I'd clarify something I read in one of your recent responses.

On the 14th of March you wrote "I'm not sure I know what 616 means". As I understand it in the context of Marvel's fictional multiverse, Earth-616 refers to the mainstream Marvel Universe that read about in the comics every month. As opposed to the various alternate universes like Ultimate Marvel and those old issues of What If? The term was allegedly first coined by Alan Moore in an old Captain Britain story.

Greg responds...

Oh.

Response recorded on May 03, 2008

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Miranda Doughty writes...

How would you like to team up with Kevin Eastman, Peter Laid, and Kevin Munroe, and Make the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles meet the Gargoyles based on a script I am Writing?

Greg responds...

I wouldn't.

Response recorded on April 07, 2008

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UmbrellaFish writes...

Hello! First off, I want to say thank you for creating Gargoyles. It was an amazing show, truly. And it certainly modeled bits of my personality. When it premiered, I was still pretty young, but I can remember drawing pictures of Goliath and me. When I later rediscovered the show, I found out that the voice actor of my favorite character, at least when I was younger, Keith David, had the same first name as me! I just find that so cool, kinda geeky, but cool.
The comic books are great! I never would have imagined that one day there'd be more Gargoyles to enjoy. I have all the comics so far, and I plan to buy the book later. I'm still waiting for a little more Demona, though. Demona, I would say, is my favorite character. Then Macbeth and later Goliath.
I missed the premiere of The Spectacular Spider-Man, but I did watch the third episode today. First off, I know next to nothing about Spider-Man, so I'll admit I was somewhat confused with the characters. I do know some basic stuff, though, and when I watched it, I thought it was really great! I'm definitely going to tell my cousin about this, at least if she hasn't already discovered it. She's a big Spider-Man fan, and of the little knowledge I know of the franchise, I learned it from her.
Now, I hope its okay to ask a question that's not about any of the stuff above. Have you seen the film "Enchanted" yet? I'm a huge Disney fan, so I might be a little biased, but it is a terrific movie. I pre-ordered the film in January!

Greg responds...

I did see it. But I'm afraid I'm not a fan. The animated world and the characters that emerged from it felt too generic to me. You'd never get away with them in a current animated movie. I know that was kind of the point, but it grated on me. And the real world wasn't real enough to me. Patrick Dempsey never tries to get her medical help. (Compare "Miracle on 34th Street".) Anyway, I can see why it charmed some people, but it just didn't work for me.

Response recorded on April 04, 2008

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Robert writes...

Hey Greg have you seen the JJ Abrams Mystery Trailer from Bad Robot Productions? If so, is there anything you'd like to tell us?

Greg responds...

I have seen it. Don't know what to make of it. I know someone who's pretty obssessed with finding out, but I'm not that interested. Maybe it's unfair, but it looks very "Independence Day" to me, which was a movie I couldn't stand. And to be fair to me, if they're going to market the thing this way, then they're stuck with whatever impressions I get from it.

Response recorded on August 03, 2007

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Antiyonder writes...

With the upcoming Spider-Man cartoon, I was wondering if you saw Spider-Man 3. Did you think it was overall a good end for the first two movies? Also:

1. What did you think of Superman Returns as well as Fantastic Four 2 Rise Of The Silver Surfer, providing you saw them? The Silver Surfer is currently in the works for the movie

1a. For that matter, you looking forward to seeing the upcoming Ant-Man film? Suppose to be out next year. It'll be featuring both Henry Pym and Scott Lang. The former being the 1960s version and the latter being the modern day version.

2. You see any episodes of the recent Fantastic Four cartoon?

3. Are you looking forward to seeing the upcoming Wolverine and The X-Men cartoon?

Greg responds...

Spider-Man 3 - I work for Sony, so I think I'll refrain.

Superman Returns - Plenty I liked about it, though I would have loved to have edited the thing differently. And there was stuff that just drove me nuts. I initially appreciated all the touchstones to the Donner Superman movie, but at some point it seemed almost slavish to it.

FF2 - Well, it was SO much better than FF1, that it's hard to be too critical, but I still think that Reed Richards and Dr. Doom were both horribly miscast.

1a. I don't know who Scott Lang is. But I'd love to see a Hank Pym Ant-Man movie, assuming he was the Hank Pym I remember and not the sob that I've heard they've turned him into.

2. I have not.

3. It's not a lock that I will see it. I work during the day, and I don't get cable.

Response recorded on July 24, 2007

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Jarrod writes...

Hi Greg! I was very sorry that again, i could not make the gathering this year, I had the time, but not the funds. :-( Very sad. Anyways, my question is:

Have you seen the new Transformers movie yet? I just saw it tonight, and it is amazing! I do not know if you even like transformers, but I figured as one cartoon guy to another, What do you think? Thanks!

PS- Oh and I love the comics, and I cant wait for Bad Guys!

Greg responds...

I have seen Transformers, and I enjoyed it. But that's not the same as thinking it's very good. I thought the movie had a lot of problems. A lot of logic gaps. Fight photography that got on my nerves because it made it difficult to tell who was who -- although to be fair my color deficiency may also have played a role in that. But I was dreading it a bit, so I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it.

Also, I do NOT know the Transformers cartoons (any of them) at all. So I have no emotional connection to any of the characters, human or robot. And I still don't, I'm afraid.

Response recorded on July 17, 2007

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Charisma82 writes...

Have you ever seen the movie "Dead Poet's Society"? (Robin Williams and Ethan Hawke were in it, if that helps ring a bell for you). If you have, what was your opinion on it? If you haven't, then I would highly recommend you see it. It is definitely in my top 10 favorite movies of all time. I would write a ramble or something on the movie, but I don't want to in case you haven't seen it. Heck, I still might right something on it even if you haven't seen it… but at a later date…

Thank you for your time and all that you do.

-Charisma82

Greg responds...

I've seen it. I remember being a bit frustrated by it. There's a lot of good performances, but -- SPOILERS -- I remained unconvinced by Sean Leonard's demise -- though my father felt that given the era it was set in, that it was fairly realistic.

Response recorded on June 01, 2007

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Antiyonder writes...

You mentioned not hearing about Daredevil The Director's Cut, so I'll explain it as much as I can. Daredevil as was originally planned was R Rated. Characters like Foggy Nelson and The Kingpin (who's sense of menace is built upon more) got more screen time. It includes a murder subplot missing from the theatrical cut, which had Coolio playing accused murderer Dante Jackson (Though his name was left in the credits in the theater). Overall the murder case plays a part of how Wilson Fisk was revealed as the Kingpin.

As the commentary would describe it, the Director's Cut puts more emphasis on Matt representing the underdog, less on the love story. You'd probably like it (better than the theatrical cut).

Greg responds...

I saw Daredevil on a plane, and I'm generally more forgiving of movies on a plane. Having said that, my memory of the film is pretty vague.

Response recorded on April 12, 2007

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Emperor Auladarr I writes...

Not really a question but a bit of info:

Mr. Weisman,
You said you wished to know what had happened to the elves at Helm's Deep in LOTR: The Two Towers. It is my belief (if I'm reading Tolkien's original work correctly) that the elves there all "died." The quotation marks are used because on Middle-earth, the elves are immortal. If they are killed, they are re-born, so to speak, some time later with full memories of their past experiences.
Just thought I'd share that...although, by the time you read this, I'm sure you'll have sated your curiosity.

Greg responds...

It's been years and years since I read Tolkien, and it may be true that in the book the elves all died. But I see NO indication of that in the movie. So when I comment on the movie version of Return of the King, I think it's fair to ask the question what happened to the elves from the movie version of TT.

Now of course, we very dramatically see one elf die. The guy we've met before, whose name escapes me at the moment. But I saw no indication that either he was the last one left and/or that all the others died after him.

Given how the movie presents the elves as SO much better fighters than anyone else we meet, I likewise find it hard to believe that so many humans survived and not one elf.

Keep in mind, though, that I DO love these movies.

Response recorded on November 11, 2005

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Buffy Season Two Character Countdown

As noted yesterday, I'm as big a geek -- if not bigger -- than anyone in the room.

So now, for no particular reason, I've put together a countdown of the GREATEST BUFFYVERSE characters from Seasons One & Two.

I thought about doing Season Two separately, as if it stood alone, but that felt artificial. (Like the rest of this feels natural? Yeah, right.) Think of the Buffyverse as an eight year horse race. You're not sure which nag is going to go the distance... But cumulatively, you begin to discover things.

So here's the top 30 characters of the Buffyverse for Seasons One & Two combined. In reverse order...

#30 - The Judge. Medieval demon raised by Spike & Dru to burn the humanity out of, well, humans. Killed by a rocket launcher. (Previous Rank: Did not appear in first season.)

#29 - Mr. Norman Pfister, a.k.a. Worm Guy. One of the assassins hired by Spike to kill Buffy. Could transform his whole body into worms. Stomped by Xander & Cordy. (Previous Rank: Did not appear in first season.)

#28 - Dalton. A relatively brainy vampire flunky, who appeared in a couple of episodes working for Spike & Dru. Burned by the Judge. (Previous Rank: Did not appear in first season.)

#27 - Luke. Still a fairly memorable first opponent for Buffy even a year later. (PR: #14. Okay, he's memorable, but not that memorable, falling 13 rankings with no where to go but down.)

#26 - Harmony Kendall - Made another humorous appearance. (PR: Honorable Mention.)

#25 - Hank Summers. Still, if barely, a part of his daughter's life. (PR: Honorable Mention.)

#24 - Willy. The weasley guy who runs the demon-bar hangout and plays both sides of the fence. (PR: Did not appear in first season.)

#23 - Amy. Back as a full-fledged witch. (PR: Honorable Mention.)

#22 - Ethan Rayne. Giles old chaos-worshipping "friend". (PR: Did not appear in first season.)

#21 - Uncle Enyos, a.k.a. Gypsy Man. Jenny Calendar's vengeance-seeking Gypsy uncle. Killed by Angel. (PR: Did not appear in first season.)

#20 - Jesse. (PR: #13. Drops seven rankings, and counting, as he's been totally forgotten.)

#19 - Jonathan (variously spelled Johnathan and Jonathon, a.k.a. Student and/or Hostage Kid and/or Freshman (which he later turns out not to be, unless he skips a couple grades by the time Buffy graduates). Jonathan with something like 6 appearances but VERY little screen time in each really makes an adorable impression, thus it's not surprising that he winds up playing an increasingly larger role with every year. (PR: Did not appear in first season.)

#18 - Whistler. The demon, played by the always interesting Max Perlich, who helped redeem Angel from the gutter. This guy interested me a LOT, but never (as I recall) returned. I always wondered if Doyle was a reworking of Whistler when they couldn't get Perlich to be a regular on Angel. (PR: Did not appear in first season.)

#17 - Kendra the Vampire Slayer. Came and went. But before you know how interesting Faith can be, she was very cool. (PR: Did not appear in first season.)

#16 - Principal Bob Flutie. (PR: #9. Drops 7 places and being still dead, likely to keep heading south.)

#15 - Darla. Appears in a wonderful flashback, where she sires Angel. (PR: #11. Only drops 4 ranks, and is likely to make a comeback, because death plays much more fast and loose with Darla than with Principal Flutie.)

#14 - The Annointed One. Spike just overwhelmed this guy (and then flambéd him). I suppose it was also a liability to have an eternally youthful child in an ongoing series. It won't take long before a growth spurt changes the kids looks significantly. (PR: #10. Another four rank drop and falling.)

#13 - The Master. Influence still being felt... (PR: #8. Down five rankings.)

#12 - Oz. Becomes Willow's guy after a slow burn. And gets to be a Werewolf to boot. (PR: Did not appear in first season.)

#11 - Jenny Calender, a.k.a. Janna the Gypsy spy. Becomes SO important that Angel has to snap her neck, breaking Giles heart -- and falling into a Buffy/Angel trap that is common to most TV dramas (except Gargoyles) which states that no relationship really has long term potential. (PR: #15. Actually moves up 4 rankings, while most are moving down.)

#10 - Principal Snyder. (PR: #12. Also moving up a bit.)

#9 - Spike, a.k.a. William the Bloody. Enters the list in the top ten.

#8 - Drusilla. This surprised me a bit. Would not have guessed that Dru would beat out Spike. But in their first season, she's actually a tad more important. His villainy culminates in hers. (Of course, both are overshadowed by Angelus) (PR: Did not appear in first season.)

#7 - Joyce Summers. (PR: #7. Holding her spot.)

#6 - Angel, a.k.a. Angelus. Really starts to come into his own here, but missed a couple episodes and Cordy had a headstart from season one. (PR: #6)

#5 - Cordelia Chase. And Cordy also begins to truly come into her own in this season. Evolving out of her funny but one-note stereotype from Season One and beginning a relationship with Xander that I was sorry never got to be played again in Angel (even historically). (PR: #5)

#4 - Willow Rosenberg. Xander's headstart kept him ahead in a season where they had a much more neck-and-neck pointscore. (PR: #4)

#3 - Xander Harris. (PR: #3)

#2 - Rupert Giles. Still a bit surprised how he continues to rank above X&W. (PR: #2)

#1 - Buffy Summers. (PR: #1)

Honorable mention goes to the following (for making one or two memorable appearances):

Catherine . Okay, normally, I'm not going to honorably mention someone in consecutive seasons, but that great scene where Oz is watching the Cheerleading trophy follow him with his eyes, is priceless continuity.

Absalom. Vampire working for the Annointed One trying to raise the Master. The last champion of the Season One storyline. Buffy burns him.

Nurse Greenliegh. Eaten by fishboys. Probably gets extra juice because I like actress Conchatta Ferrell in just about anything.

Ted Buchanon - Psycho Robot Serial Killer. Lots of evil fun. Trashed by Buffy.

Devon - Dopey lead singer of Oz's band.

Inca Mummy Girl, a.k.a. Empada. Poor kid. She just fell apart on us.

Larry. School bully who turns out to be a sensitive gay guy.

Lyle Gorch - Cowboy vampire, barely smarter than his brother.

Chanterelle - Goofy vampire wannabe.

Detective Bob & Detective Stein - Each appeared twice. Bob was Snyder's cop. The one who helped Snyder cover up the macabre doings at the school. Stein was Buffy's vague nemesis. The one who questioned her about Ted's "death" and suspected her of Kendra's. Both are interesting and feel more important than they wind up being.

The Mayor. Doesn't appear at all. But Snyder's both scared of him and desperate to impress him.

And that's it. But Season Three just came in the mail today. It'll obviously take me some time to watch it. But eventually, I'll be continuing this pointless exercise...

Aren't you glad?


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Buffy Season One Character Countdown...

Yes, that's right, I'm as big a geek -- if not bigger -- than anyone in the room.

I bought the 1st and 2nd Seasons of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER on DVD. And I've been watching the episodes. Or studying them actually.

So now, for no particular reason, I've put together a countdown of the GREATEST BUFFYVERSE characters from Season One.

(WHY, you ask? Because it amuses me and appeals to my geeky mind. <Yeesh, what a dopey question.>)

Now, this is a truly subjective (if not pointless) exercise that I've tried to reduce to an objective task. I've awarded points per episode to each character based on a number of criteria. Then I totalled up the points for each character for the season. In case of a tie, I made a subjective call.

I tried NOT to make the point totals reflect what happened with characters in subsequent seasons. This is a countdown reflecting Season One only. Though I won't deny the fact that if a character reappeared later in the series, it probably meant that said character was memorable to the creators (and the viewers) in his or her original appearance(s). So I allowed some bias to filter in. But I tried to be strong.

Most of the results aren't particularly shocking, but a few things surprised me a bit.

Originally, I was just doing this for myself. But I figured, what the heck, might as well share my obssessive behaviour with you poor victims.

So here's the top 15 characters of the Buffyverse for Season One in reverse order...

#15 - Jenny Calender. In season one, she's merely the computer teacher/techno-pagan. But she already seems to have some interest in Giles.

#14 - Luke. The vampire who was the surrogate for the Master's "Harvest" during the 2-part pilot. An impressive first foe, who'd be topped many times over. But he set the bar well. He received the same point total as Jenny, and long-term she's MUCH more important, but in the first season, I think Luke's role was much more crucial.

#13 - Jesse. Jesse was Xander's best friend, who became a vampire in the pilot and was accidentally staked. Jesse would have been more important if anyone had EVER mentioned him again -- even in episode three. It strikes me as a very un-Joss like thing that Jesse completely faded from memory... INSTANTLY.

#12 - Principal Snyder. The new and harsh replacement principal makes an immediate impression.

#11 - Darla. The vampire who served the Master and was revealed as Angel's sire. Jealous, vulnerable, greedy and sweet all rolled into one. She was staked in her third appearance, but it's not surprising she came back both in flashbacks and in ANGEL.

#10 - The Annointed One. Also known as Colin and/or the Boy. This guy was built up to be VERY important in Season One, though he wound up not being important at all.

#9 - Principal Bob Flutie. The conflicted original principal of Sunnydale High. For obvious reasons, adjusted to be MOST sympathetic just before he was eaten by the quartet of Hyena-Avatars.

#8 - The Master. The main recurring villain for Season One. Staked at the end of the season, though his influence would continue into Season Two and beyond. (FYI, one of the DVD extras revealed that his real name was Heinrich Joseph Nest.)

#7 - Joyce Summers. Buffy's mom.

#6 - Angel. Made a pretty big impression in relatively few appearances. Obviously.

#5 - Cordelia Chase.

#4 - Willow Rosenberg.

#3 - Xander Harris. This surprised me. I would have thought that Willow and Xander would have been neck and neck -- impossible to declare as anything but a tie. But at least in Season One, Xander really got more screen time and a much bigger overall role in the series.

#2 - Rupert Giles. This surprised me a bit too, as I would have guessed that Xander & Willow would have both scored ahead of Giles. But nope. Not when you break it down.

#1 - Buffy Summers. Duh.

Honorable mention goes to the following (for making one or two memorable appearances):

Catherine & Amy, mother & daughter witches. Amy obviously will become more important, but Catherine's end, forever imprisoned in the cheerleading trophy, was too cool.

Dr. Gregory. Buffy's biology teacher. Made two appearances before being killed by the She-Mantis. Was the only teacher who believed in Buffy.

The She-Mantis. A fun villain.

Harmony Kendall. Only made two brief appearances, but she stood out enough as one of Cordelia's "Cordettes" that she would wind up being brought back again and again. A certain comic timing, probably.

Hank Summers. Buffy's dad.

Joy. The Senior Cheerleader.

Sid. The human trapped in the body of a ventriloquist's dummy.

That's it. I'll have Season Two shortly. I bet you can't wait.


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SPIDER-MAN 2 - SPOILERS

Took the kids to see Spider-Man 2 yesterday.

SPOILER WARNING

The murder of all those doctors seemed gratuitous to me. Trashing them, sure, but why did the arms (particularly at this early stage) feel the need to kill. I know, I know, self-defense. But in a movie like this, where otherwise I thought it was more-or-less okay to bring my kids, I thought it was really unnecessary.

The death of Otto's wife didn't bother me. Except that it became gratuitous as nothing at all was done with it. Her entire character became gratuitous. And I like Donna Murphy.

I've already talked about my whole Kirsten Dunst would make the perfect Gwen Stacy but is unconvincing as Mary Jane Watson thing. Nothing in this movie convinced me otherwise, despite the "Go get 'em, Tiger" line at the end. I guess you just have to get used to the idea that they've combined these two characters into one and chosen MJ's name.

Peter's objection to dating MJ, because it could put her at risk seems a little preposterous given how much risk she's been put in over these two movies even though they haven't been dating. I don't mind this, I just wish that someone, specifically MJ in their last scene together would have pointed that out.

The theme of this movie is "LET'S REVEAL MY SECRET IDENTITY TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE". At the end of the previous film, it was beyond clear that MJ had figured out that Peter was Spider-Man. This is somewhat successfully slid by in this film. But by the end of the second film, the list of people who have seen Spidey's face is nearly endless:

MJ
Doc Ock
Harry
The New Green Goblin
About thirty-seven people on the train

and let's face it, even Aunt May seemed to be strongly implying that she had figured it out.

A little bothered by the way some of Peter's late-arrivals were staged.

Did he really lose THAT much time delivering Pizza.

But more importantly, it seems clear that being Spider-Man aside, he just flat out didn't leave enough time to get to MJ's show in the first place. Face it, he lost his mo-ped but arrived in the bad-guys car. And it took less than a minute to capture them. And he was still late. This bugged me because he was blaming Spidey for screwing up his life, when clearly if he had left for the play in a timely fashion, he would have arrived on time (and missed the crime completely).

I didn't quite know what to make of the whole thing with the landlord's daughter. Kept expecting her to see Peter with MJ in the last scene and turn into a super-villain or something. She was sweet. Didn't catch the character's name, though it's a very similar character to the character that same actress plays on Joan of Arcadia.

Everyone seems wowed by Molina's performance and by Doc Ock, especially as compared to the last film's Green Goblin. I have no objections to either Molina or Doc, but I don't get the raves. Green Goblin's motivations made a lot more sense to me than Ock's. Sure the arm effects were cool. But the whole AI thing effecting his brain seemed forced. And frankly, a bit unnecessary.

From all of the above, I'm sure it must seem like I didn't like the movie. But in fact I did. I even liked how nearly everybody now knows Parker's secret. How did it help any of those people to not know?


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WHATEVER HAPPENED TO SECOND & THIRD BASE?

The following RANT is somewhat ADULT. You've been warned.

There are two prime time television series that I'm fond of that I'm annoyed with for a very specific reason.

One is GILMORE GIRLS. The other is JOAN OF ARCADIA.

Last week, on Joan of Arcadia, 16-year-old Joan nearly decided to lose her virginity with Adam.

Last week on on Gilmore Girls, 19-year-old Rory lost her virginity with Dean.

In both cases, it's not the losing or not losing that bothers me.

It's just that in both cases, we've more or less been witness to these girls sexual awakening. And I've never gotten any indication that either girl has done anything beyond kissing, that neither guy has ever gotten past what we used to call first base.

One of my biggest pet peeves about television is that second & third base (including anything and everything in between kissing and sexual intercourse) do not exist. Oral sex? Doesn't exist. Touching and/or nudity without intercourse? Doesn't exist.

I don't need to see it. (Not that I'd object, but this isn't about me being a pervert for once.) But I would think that two shows as smartly-written as Gilmore & Joan should be able to find a way to suggest that such "intermediate steps" DO exist. I mean if they can talk about full-on intercourse, why can't they talk about things that are safer, younger, more exploratory, with FEWER consequences.

I feel it's TERRIBLY irresponsible to teach kids and teens that there's no way to express themselves sexually, once they've gotten past a kiss, except by going all the way. By hitting home runs, by scoring, so to speak.

Look, when I was a teen, there was a LONG, LONG gap between my first kiss and my first time engaging in sexual intercourse. There was a pretty substantial gap between my first kiss with the girl that I would end up losing my virginity to and the actual act of losing said virginity. In fact, in every relationship I ever had, up to and including my wife, kissing was a prelude to touching, etc., which was in turn a prelude to "making love"... assuming the relationship lasted that long.

The frustrating truth is that I really like both Gilmore Girls and Joan of Arcadia. I even really liked the episodes that are currently annoying me. But I'm still waiting for someone to brave the taboo and bring back second and third base.

PROPS TO "THE WONDER YEARS" for the only example of Second Base on a Prime Time series that I recall. But what was that -- ten years ago? Has there been no progress since?


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A Farewell to Joss...

Let me get this out of the way first:

I love the television work of Joss Whedon.

Love Buffy.

Love Angel.

Love Firefly. (I'm very much looking forward to Serenity too.)

I am stunned that after eight years (thirteen seasons worth of television) that I won't be able to get new episodes of a Joss Whedon series next year.

Yes, they claim they'll bring back Buffy or Angel or both in t.v. movies. But frankly, I don't want to get my hopes up too high.

This season of Angel was brilliant in episode after episode. The insane Slayer. The Angel muppet. The return of Cordelia. The return of Conner.

And last night's finale... was stunning.

---SPOILERS---

The really smart thing was what they left out -- ironically, mostly action. I mean face it, do we really need to SEE Gunn take out six vamps? Do we really need to see Illyria take out four demons in a car? Do we really need to see Spike take on a cult? (Well, actually it might have been fun to get a little more of this -- what with his Lone Wolf & Cub dilemma of fighting while holding a baby.)

Harmony was a bit weak, i.e. I don't mind that she betrayed Angel or that Angel knew she would, but how did she know anything to betray him with. And I've never understood the transition between the Lyndsey who left L.A. at the end of season two and the Lyndsey who came back midway through season five. Why was he suddenly Angel's enemy again? It was cool that Lorne shot him, but I have to admit I wasn't sure if it was justified. Didn't he deserve a chance at redemption? And what was the deal with Eve at the end?

But that's quibbling.

Wesley had a decent death. And an even better end. The Illyria stuff was all great.

And of course, the final final ending, with the four warriors against the horde and Angel's last line, "Personally, I'd like to
slay a dragon." was just brilliant.

This was, in my opinion, much superior to the Buffy series finale. Both had the problem of only having one hour to stuff a ton of content in. But again, Angel was much smarter about what it LEFT OUT. Buffy's finale just seemed VERY rushed to me. Anya's death barely registered, even with Xander. And did the First get any comeuppance at all?

And sure, I'll admit that the last couple seasons of Buffy suffered from a real one-step-forward-two-steps-back-then-the-SAME-step-forward syndrome.

But all these negatives are quibbling based largely on the superior quality of Joss' series in general.

How did this happen? (Not the great work. But the absense of it next year.)

Just a couple years ago, I was in Whedon heaven. Buffy. Angel. Firefly. And any minute the Buffy Animated Series (which I was SO dying to work on, but couldn't even get my foot in the door) and Ripper. How did five series (four set in the Buffyverse) drop down to zero in just 18 months?

Yes, thank god for Serenity, which is in production.

But whether he likes the grind or not, Joss was born for Series TV not one-shot movies.

I'm really going to miss him.

Guess it's time to buy the DVDs.


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Aris Katsaris writes...

<g> I'm asking this question with the assumption that it'll be past December 19th that you'll respond to it. And the assumption that you saw the movie. Uh... and the assumption that you took your family to see it also. :-)

What did you think about the Lord of the Rings movie? What did your children think?

Greg responds...

I have really loved BOTH LOTR movies. (See, you were right. It's past Dec. 19th. TWICE OVER.)

My kids, however, are six and eight. (Younger than that when the first one came out.) I don't think either film was appropriate viewing material for them. But I bought the DVD of the first one, so when their older, they can see it.

Response recorded on May 28, 2003


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