Blaze writes...

Hello, I'm a big fan of your work, especially W.I.T.C.H, which never seems to get the credit it deserves. So I've just a got a few questions on that front.
1. About how old is Phobos?
2. Was there ever a plan to show more about Elyon/Phobos's biological parents, and if so, what were they like, especially to Phobos?
3. I know this is a bit vague,so no worries if there's no answer. I like to write, but I always have a hard time coming up with villains. Any advice on how to create an interesting bad guy?

Thanks!

gaiachild writes...

It isn't really much of a question, but all in all, I just wanted to say "Thank you". Thank you for all the high quality shows you produced that enriched my childhood and still give me intelligent and gripping entertainment in my favorite media, animated shows, as an adult.
Most off all, I also wanted to express my admiration for your resolve. While privately I may often joke bitterly about the "Weisman curse" whenever one of your shows gets unfairly canceled way too soon despite (arguably) having the best quality in the entire program. You will always have my gratitude for continuing to produce great shows despite all the stones placed in your way.

As for questions:
1. If you had the means to, would you do a Young Justice/Gargoyles Crossover?
2. Sorry to bring up this unfairly missed opportunity gain, but if you had remained on the staff for "The Roswell Conspiracies", do you think that show would at some point crossed over with Gargoyles?
3. In the spirit of question one, do you think Demona would make a good Red Lantern?

In any case, once again, thank you. Thank you for raising the quality and complexity of the already great W.I.T.C.H. cartoon, thank you for producing the best animated Spider-Man series to date, thank you for bringing Starshiptroopers to the screen in the way it should have been in the first place, thank you for doing such a great job with Max Steel, thank you for doing a huge part in keeping animated DC material extremely high quality, especially at the moment, and of course, thank you for Gargoyles, probably my favorite franchise ever, and I am rooting for you to one day get it back and do more wonders with it.

Simon writes...

Dear Greg.

My question is regarding the W.I.T.C.H. series and it would be greatly appreciated if you would take your time and answer my question. I will try to keep my questions as short as possible.

1. First of all, I loved the W.I.T.C.H. as a youth, it teached me important and valuable things in life. I would hope future generation can have the same opportunity to watch series like this. I think the series came to an abrupt end, when instead it was set for a new season, given introductionen of the new teacher. Why did it end like this?

2. Is there any chance that the series will see a resurrection?

3. What can I do as a fan, to affect the possibility of a resurrection?

4. Can you do anything to get all of us who wish that our dreams of a season, not just remain a dream, but a reality? If not, who can?

Once again, if you would answer, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Simon

Nerd1001 writes...

When I was watching W.I.T.C.H., I always wondered one thing. Does Mr.Huggles have some sort of increased intelligence when he's in his Regent form? Normally, he's just a regular dormouse. Napoleon was already magically enhanced, so does the same apply to Huggles so he understands when to regent up?

Motti writes...

When I was young i watched Gargoyles. My reaction? Meh. Fast forward, year 2009. TvTropes recomended The Spectacular Spider-Man as best animated Spidey show. I hate Spider-Man, but hey, let's give a try. My reaction? AWESOME!!! Hm, lets check other stuff this Weisman guy did. And i rewatched Gargoyles and W.I.T.C.H. My reaction? THIS WEISMAN GUY IS AWESOME!!! He's funny, creative and his villains are amazing. Hm, he's gonna produce Young Justice. Let's check it when it comes out. My reaction? GREG WEISMAN IS OFFICIALLY DEITY IN MY EYES!!! So thank you, Mr. Weisman for giving human kind such awesome cartoons! And now some questions:
1) If you have a billion dollar budget what movie or show would you create? (Shakespeare excluded. We know you would do Kennet Branagh style, 4 hours long, Hamlet)
2) Did you ever met Alan Moore or Neil Gaiman or Grant Morrison?
3) Did you ever considered writing again comics? P.S. Loved Captain Atom both in YJ and comics
4) Whom do you preffer: DC or Marvel? As world, not as a employer
5) Ever been in Europe?
Also, I'm kinda worried for YJ. It seems TV network can't endure your awesomeness, so they ruin 3rd seasons for your shows. That, and Teen Titans are back and new Batman show is in production. Of course, i could be paranoid. No matter what, your work will be always epic! Once again, thank you Mr. Weisman for your awesome work!
P.S. Steve Blum as Green Goblin and Josh Keaton as Spider-Man? BEST. CHOICES. EVER.

EXALT writes...

Ok, my question is about the "death rules" in your shows, AKA the conditions under which you could kill a character off (for example, you said in your Gargoyles' rambles that you could show Othello and Desdemona in "City of Stone, Part 1" because A)the audience already knew they were dead and B)it already knew they'd be back as Coldstone, otherwise you couldn't have personalized the victims of the massacre; you also said that, even though you killed off the Magus in "Avalon, Part 3", you couldn't actually say outloud that he was dead).
So, the question is: under which conditions you could actually kill a character off in Gargoyles, W.I.T.C.H. and Young Justice?
(Ok, fine, I suppose it counts as three questions)

Todd Jensen writes...

The first season of "Young Justice" takes place over the course of half a year, starting on the Fourth of July and continuing to New Year's Eve in the Season One finale (with episodes set on Halloween and Thanksgiving along the way). I remember that the first season of "The Spectacular Spider-Man" similarly stretched from the start of the school year in September to Thanksgiving (with a Halloween episode along the way), and that the second season got up at least to Valentine's Day. The time progression in "Gargoyles" was more vague, but we had two Halloween stories ("Eye of the Beholder" and the Double Date story) and three wintry episodes in New York ("Her Brother's Keeper", which ends with a snowfall, "Re-Awakening", and "The Price"), as well as a clear timeline for the Stone of Destiny story.

I like this sense of the year's progress through the seasons and landmark days (like the Fourth of July and Halloween), but it doesn't seem that common in animated series outside your own work. I've seen two speculations on why that element is so rare in animated series. One is that a lot of the people who engage in such creative work aren't big on continuity and change, far less than you are. Another is that most people involved in creating animated television series live in or near Los Angeles and other parts of California, where the climate is pretty much the same year around and there's less a sense of four seasons than in other parts of the United States. I was wondering what your thoughts were on these theories.

EXALT writes...

In W.I.T.C.H., why some of the Hearts, like Lillian and Elyon, have sentient forms, while others are simply majical objects?

EXALT writes...

Hello, Greg! I have some W.I.T.C.H. questions.
1)In the series finale, when the C.H.Y.K.N escaped from the jewel, why did Nerissa remain young, while the reverted back to their original forms?
2)Why Cassidy stayed alive, instead of becoming a ghost again?
3)Does Nerissa know that her fantasies (when she remains trapped in the jewel) are just fantasies, at least deep down, or she really believes they're real?

Zach Baker writes...

Hey Greg!

I recently saw this line from an interview with Steven Bochco in the early 80's, talking about Hill Street Blues (which currently has its first two-and-a-half seasons on Hulu Plus, by the way):

"Maybe the biggest problem with Hill Street, in terms of popular success, is that it is a show that demands to be watched. And most people do not watch television. They simply are in its presence."

I love that quote. What an insightful way to encapsulate about what was essential and great about Hill Street Blues, without going into all the details of what made it so outstanding. Just leave at this: unlike nearly anything before it, in many ways it was a show that demanded to be watched. I think that characteristic also applies to Gargoyles as well, no doubt due to the major influence Hill Street Blues had on the show (as you've often mentioned).

Nowadays, that quality, of being a show that "demands to be watched," is characteristic of so many excellent shows that appear on HBO, Showtime or AMC (before hitting DVD boxsets and iTunes), places where popular success isn't the one and only yardstick. And again and again, we've seen how this kind of series can flourish in the atmosphere of creative freedom offered by these outlets.

Can viewers hope that someday soon, that kind of environment will produce an animated serial drama that has the same level of quality, complexity and acclaim as these channels' current headline series? If so, what might it take for that to happen?