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Happy Holidays...
I'm heading out of town. Don't know how much (if any) net access I'll have, so this may be my last post until January 3rd of the new year.
So all of you, have a great Holiday Season. I am so grateful to have all of you in my life.
Chapter LI: "The Green"
Time to ramble...
Chapter LI: "The Green"
Story Editor: Cary Bates
Writer: Cary Bates
Directors: Kazuo Terada, Takamitsu Kawamura
PREVIOUSLY
Use a voice actor. Pay a voice actor. That's the rule, and it's a good one. What that means practically is that even the guy who says, "Previously on Gargoyles" needs to be paid for that episode. Or rather, we won't use someone to say "Previously on Gargoyles" unless that actor is already appearing in the episode, because we don't want to pay someone JUST to say "Previously on Gargoyles..." Now, if you know that one fact, then when you hear our good friend Thom Adcox saying "Previously on Gargoyles" at the beginning of the episode, then it's a pretty safe bet that Lexington is going to appear... and yet, as the episode begins, it seems, at least by this time, to be a fairly standard World Tour Adventure: Goliath, Elisa, Angela & Bronx in the exotic locale of the week. So where in the world (since it ain't gonna be Guatemala) is Lexington going to pop in?
The origins of this episode ("The + [one word title]" attributable to me) come from two semi-competing desires. 1) I wanted to make sure we hit every continent, including South America on the World Tour. And I believed that the stunning visual image of Quetzacoatl, the Flying Serpent was another great inspiration for a Gargoyle character. 2) Frank felt strongly that we had not seen enough of Hudson & the Trio during the Tour. I'll admit, as I have before, that I underestimated their popularity and probably overestimated -- at least at the time -- the interest in our little odyssey 'round the world. But even then, I could see Frank's point. I didn't want to not do our Mayan adventure, so Cary & I constructed a story that would give us an interesting experience in the Green, but would also bring us back to the deep purples of Lex & Broadway's Manhattan.
IT'S ALL IN THE DELIVERY
Some great lines in this one, mostly from Hyena & Jackal:
Hyena...
"Hey, he's a fan."
"Have I mentioned how much I hate Gargoyles."
"They get no mercy." (This right before H&J get slammed by a pretty darn impressive throw of a bulldozer shovel.)
"Bowling for Gargoyles!" (To which my daughter Erin responded with: "That was disturbing." I found it interesting that in all the gonzo stuff in this episode, the thing she found most disturbing was Hyena rolling up into a ball. I mean is that really as disturbing as Jackal's dream of "resculpting" Goliath's head?!!)
Jackal...
"If a tree falls in the forest... do I get to hear it scream?"
"Timber!"
Zafiro had a good line too: "There's no such thing as a few trees."
And Goliath: "What's left of their world is rapidly dwindling."
And Broadway: "Leave our mothers out of this." (Broadway always thinks in clan-parentage mode. My son Benny wondered if they even knew whom their mothers were. Of course, they did. Not biologically, but they knew which females gargoyles were their rookery mothers. All gone now.)
And Morgan (to an unconscious Hyena): "You have the right to remain silent."
"WHAT IS THE GREEN?"
My kids wanted to know.
First off it's hot. Elisa takes off her jacket, revealing her (in this instance) short-sleeve black t-shirt. Even this slight clothing change for her comes off as exciting to me.
Second, it's full of potential herbal medicines, admirably demonstrated by Obsidiana.
Third, it's got Obsidiana. And Turquesa and Jade and the amazingly designed Zafiro. And the revelation, that long ago, Gargoyles were everywhere in the world. In hindsight, I wish that all four characters had had the serpentine lower body. Though I'm glad that only Zafiro had the feathered wings and snake-like head. There's a great Mayan/Aztec flavor to all four gargs. And you wouldn't believe the trouble we had figuring out their names. Now they seem so right. But we went through many permutations, before figuring them out. I think at one point, Zafiro was named Jose.
Fourth, it's got that cool pyramid.
Fifth, it's got amulets which defy the basic Day/stone dynamic. We had some fun with that. And my son Benny liked seeing them alive in the morning. It was different.
Sixth, what didn't get mentioned was Oxygen. I had a line in there which talked about the dilemma of losing the rain forest on the basic level of how much of our oxygen it produces. I felt that was a VERY important message. Frank felt it was preachy. I lost that battle, or ceded it or something. But the line's not in there.
FOR A CHANGE OF PACE
Elisa is accepted fairly easily by the Mayan Clan. Obsidiana takes a particular shine to her. Despite having undergone a Wyvernesque massacre, none of the Mayan gargs have a knee-jerk negative reaction to humans. And certainly nothing on the level of what Elisa had just experienced in New Olympus.
DID YOU NOTICE THE HOMAGE?
To THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN & THE BIONIC WOMAN? I think we did some cool things with Hyena's bionic ear and Jackal's seven-figure eye.
Also, Jackal has a built in hair dryer?
And there's a moment in the museum when Hyena activates her rear jetpacks, when both my kids and my wife thought that she had "rocket-boobies". The shot switches from front to back, and her jets emerge from bionic shoulder blades. But if you miss the camera-angle switch, it can certainly look briefly as if her breasts have become rocket powered. Top that Lyndsey Wagner!
Heck, Jackal even has a built-in Bionic wrist-watch. For some reason, I find that particularly hilarious. ("And he tells time...!")
VOGEL
Just a taste of him here. He's largely a place-holder. A bad employer of our two bad villains. But we tried to make even this little bit of Vogel interesting. He's still somewhat morally-challenged. And he reveals that he has gained more responsibility as Renard's affliction has worsened.
This episode is, by the way, loaded with references to OTHER World Tour episodes. That's supposed to be a no-no. We couldn't guarantee that they would all air in order within the World Tour Tier, i.e. between the AVALON Three-Parter and the GATHERING Two-Parter. But I guess, we had some confidence that "The Green" would air after "Golem", after "Grief", etc.
THE GOLIATH & ELISA FANCLUB
I love how they disagree with each other without losing respect or concern for each other. It's so DAMN mature.
WE TRASH ANOTHER LANDMARK
Yep, we're knocking down and burning down the rain forest right & left (in an attempt to save it by influencing public opinion, no less). But we also trash another museum. I was SO cavalier about it at the time, but when I see that Mammoth skeleton go down now, I cringe.
Cool amulet though. It rolls. It frisbees with a great sound effect. Since we had the NYC plot ending -- before the Guat-plot ended -- with Hyena's defeat, we wanted to maintain some suspense. So we have Broadway and Lex come to the incorrect but believable conclusion that the Amulet must be destroyed. Fortunately, they decided to confiscate it instead. And, yes, it survives the destruction of the Clock Tower in Hunter's Moon. Then back in Guatemala, we have Obsidiana lose her amulet so that we could see her in stone and wonder if Broadway had destroyed it so that all four Mayan gargs would be sleeping.
Speaking of Hyena's defeat, she goes down after a head injury. In today's world of S&P there's no way we would be allowed to give her that head injury in the first place.
WHAT IS THE GREEN PART TWO
Seventh, I hope, without getting TOO preachy, it managed to teach a lesson. Erin thought so. Which is perhaps good enough for me.
Anyway, that's my ramble. Where's yours?
freaked writes...
Demona Taina writes...
Greg, I'm glad to hear that you're okay. I hope your family is, too.
Well, I just dropped by to let you know of something. Curiosity got the best of me yesterday so I searched in the episode Future Tense for the World Trade Center that was destroyed yesterday, and I couldn't find it. You could usually see it from the Statue of Liberty, right? Well, they weren't there. Scary, huh?
Greg responds...
recorded on 02-14-02
I for one is a little freaked out by this,how can puck could have "guess" something like this,realy. O.o;;
Greg responds...
No comment.
Gargoylie writes...
Have you ever thought of a sequel or prequel to gargoyles?
Greg responds...
Yes. The prequel is called GARGOYLES: THE DARK AGES.
The sequel is called GARGOYLES 2198.
For more info on either, check out the ASK GREG archives.
Silence writes...
Hi Greg,
I wanted to ask you if the Gargoyles-DVD will ever be released in Germany?
Greg responds...
I don't know. But I think you can order it on Amazon.
Revel writes...
I made it back well enough, no problems other than I had to find which passenger pick up my mother was at.
**The gathering for me goes as followed. Some has been deleted for the eyes of the children (no, not for Josh or Greg's benefit)
THURSDAY
I made my flight with no problem, the security in Houston was pathetic and my belt buckle has still yet to set off a metal detector. So I get to La Guardia after having to listen to a chatty co-pilot who wants to talk about Houston, New York and whatever else comes to mind while in flight. The pilot must have thought he was on an air craft carrier becuase after a very hard and fast landing the co=pilot goes "Weclome to La Guardia, home of the short runway."
I got my bag and found where Spacie was to arrive and waited. She made it very easy for me to find her wearing a satin like shirt and short school girl plad skirt with hair in pigtails. No, it was not my idea, but I'm not complaining.
We made it to the hotel with a small transfer at Grand Central as I was expecting and checked our bags. The room was okay, but was very small and did not even have a tub in the bathroom. Good thing we only slept there. After some time together we found in the Lobby Hudson, Goliath 116, and Ziaus who were on their way to find Chris Rogers. we hung out and watch Hudson play a game or two of Quake 3. After getting some food we were on our way to find where the con staff were. Spacebabie, was being herself and I said to not scare the Norms. The Norm, turned out to be Greg W, who had grown a beard again. We found the Con Suit and staff. Dinner was at the Monster Sushi. We watched most of Rocky that night before going to bed.
FRIDAY
Had breakfast at the Lindey's down stairs, over priced. I registered and helped set up the art room, with my stuff and getting all the tags ready on other people's work and we constructed the panels for Othercon, which also had lots of nice work. It was unfortunate that they were on separate floors because many Other Con pieces were deprived of votes I'm sure.
Opening Ceremonies was fun, getting to see the videos and speaches, always get a show of hands of the "Con Virgins" quite a few as always. It's getting repeaters that is always the trick. I was a volunteer, and watched the art room and Auditioned for the Radio play and also attended "Hudson's Rant." This, in my opinion, is one of my favorite parts. The man needs his own stand up act.
I participated in the late night dart gun game and got a crowd pleaser cheer for jumping over one of the large round tables, though I did break one of the guns. My hat off to Goliath 116 , a worthy shooter.
The last thing I came in on was Thom and Greg W in an Adult "ask what you dare" sorta thing. Lots of fun question and a fun exchange between Thom and Greg W when Thom stated that Lex had a 10 inch tongue. Greg promptly glanced at him and stated, "What the hell are you talking about?!" while laughing. We got kicked out at 2am
SATURDAY
More art room watchdog duty and and some left over pizza from dinner, good pizza though. Found out I was in the Radio play later (kick ass!) and sat around and did a TGS panel which was more like a lunch room chat.
I attended a Costume panel that I ended up in the front of the room with Dreamie telling stories while Lynati got stuff stuff for the panel. My mother would have been better since she makes costumes, but I tried to entertain by doing what I could.
I played Talon in the Radio Play of the Reckoning. good thing we audition, because we all needed work at the start but fell into our roles. Thom fell WAAAAY in.
Masquerade was unfortunately short. so few in costumes but nice costumes. I, for soem reason got a HUGE standing ovation for my Vinnie costume. We won the Cutest Couple award of a pack of M&M's. and I got an award for a picture which will be on site when I update all this.
More Rocky which we did not stay for, you can guess why.
SUNDAY
The auction took most of the time, but unfortunately did not go over that well, a lot of items did not go for as much as they should have. Where were all the big spenders? Closing ceremonies was short and too the point and they tried auction again but it was dead except for Spacie getting Demona and Macbeth figures.
We Visited Ground Zero before Coney Island. Emotions are hard to put in to words as I saw that hole in the earth and in the heart of the city itself, enough on that. Coney Island was fun, rode the cyclone and had a romantic walk on the legendary boardwalk.
MONDAY
Heh, well besided post con activities, we went to Mid town comics, The Empire state Building, souviner shopping and Chinatown. While shopping for things for family Spacie and I shopped for something that I had been planing to get for her for a little while now. An Engagement Ring. It was not a surprise to her, but I made it official, or at least the promise of it official since we are both in school still and need to find jobs and careers first. But yeah, I asked Spacebabie to marry that night and she said yes.
Tuesday
Well, my now Fiance and I basically just stayed together all morning until we got some food and check out time before heading to the airport and the parting to our planes. Thus ending one of the greatest weekends so far in my life.
Greg responds...
Again, congratulations to Spacie & Revel.
See, come to the Gathering. It's magical.
Station Nine Guy writes...
Why is this forum set up so inadequately. Instead of listing praise and fan ideas why not cut it clean so its easier to find out what your answer to a question is?
Why include all the questions you won't answer or won't answer directly?
Wouldn't be much more efficient to have a list of questions you will not answer so people don't keep asking almost the same question? I mean write a list with things like;
* Will not answer anything about subject Y
* Will not answer anything about subject X
* Will answer all questions regarding subject Z except for those involving his origins.
I really would like to know what you think about things and how you define different parts of the Gargoyles universe but when there is more fluff and off topic material than actual questions and answers its hard and tedious to find the facts.
Greg responds...
Wow. Sorry. We're doing our best here. Your suggestion is of course WILDLY impractical. There is a list of rules, stating what is ABSOLUTELY off limits, but I don't feel like limiting it any more than that or trying to anticipate every possible question that might get asked. Heck, why open it up to questions at all? Why not let me guess at what you want to know about?
In any case, we (myself, Gorebash and Todd) are all aware that the system is flawed. Gorebash is in the middle of revamping it. He's made some great strides, since you posted, and he has even more ideas that he just needs to find time to implement. Hopefully, your experience here is and will continue to improve.
Spacebabie writes...
Sunday
Revel and I found some good spots too watch the auction and eat donuts. We received our numbers. At the beginning Cat immediately pulled a Winterwolf. It could have gone better. Cat had to result to stripping to get higher bids. We tried to continue the auction when Greg W, Thom, and Vic broke away for the Atlantis Q and A but with no one in the room it became a bust. We decided to wait until closing ceremonies.
Closing ceremonies is always bittersweet. I hate having to say goodbye to those what checked out that day. We keep in touch over the web but meeting people and seeing online friends in person is even better.
After Revel and I paid for our goodies we dropped them off in our room and returned to the lobby for the trip to Coney island. That was my first time on a subway. Greg W took head counts of us at different intervals although I think he could have counted Revel and me as one person.
We paused to view Ground Zero. My heart fell to the bottom of my body. The feeling was indescribable. I wanted to hug everyone, especially Ethan who lives in Manhattan.
The first thing in Coney island that greeted us was the sweet smell of various goodies. Once we were at the boardwalk we separated and promised to meet back at ten.
Revel and I didn't too much. We did ride The Cyclone first ( Better than Space Mountain). We were famished so we had a couple of Coney Island Hotdogs, and rode the scrambler. The ride lasted longer then the one at the Central Florida Fair. I was glad I brought my coat because it got chilly. I loaned it to Revel until he warmed up. We spent some time at the beach until it was time to go back.
We were walking back to our hotel when Greg developed a craving for pancakes. I love pancakes, but revel and I were tired and still full. We returned to our room.
Monday
We woke up late and checked on our friends in Mara's room. Lynati was dead tired. She was burning up and her skin was like paper. Revel bought her some fruit drink to hydrate her body and restore her electrolytes.
Revel and I took a small stroll through the city. I wanted to have some Chinese food. We had lunch at the Hunan restaurant. (the one that was in Seinfeld). Verra good food and the meal came with a complimentary pot of tea.
After lunch we walked over to the Empire state building. I can safely say I have been inside it. We didn't go to the top because of the price. We did manage to buy miniature Pewter Empires in the gift shop before we went into the adjoining Walgreen's to buy more NY related goodies for our families.
After dropping off our gifts we joined some of the Gathering folk to going to Mid Town comics. Revel checked out the marvel issues with Wolverine, and I loaded up on Shojo manga before we went to China town. After searching through a lot of shops I found a lovely jade house decoration for my brother. I also purchased some candy for my family and wasabi peas for Mara.
We went to Aaron and Mara's and gave Mara her peas before we just hung out and talked for hours and had dinner of burritos. Revel and I returned to our room around midnight to pack. Before we went to sleep he pulled the claddaugh out of its bag and proposed to me. I naturally said yes.
Tuesday
After a quick breakfast we finished packing and checked out. We were slightly confused about the bus but figured it out. Revel and I said goodbye at the airport before we went to our separate gates.
After another dull flight. I grabbed my luggage and called my house. The second I stepped outside my hair poofed up. I stared at the cloudy sky and felt it was good to be home.
Now I have to wait for 2004
I love this fandom. I made many friends and fell in love and became engaged. The fandom has also helped with my social anxiety disorder. I feel more talkative and outgoing thanks to Greg, Thom, Vic, Greg G from last year and my fellow fans. I cannot give everyone enough thanks.
Greg responds...
That's great news. I knew you guys were engaged, but didn't realize it happened at the Gathering.
I'm still waiting for my first Gathering Wedding. And I don't mean a wedding generated from fans who met at the Gathering, cuz we've had a couple of those, but rather a wedding that actually takes place at the Gathering.
Course we're going to Vegas next year, so we could wind up with a few Britney Spears specials.
And, hey, the first wedding I ever attended was my Grandfather's wedding in the basement of Circus Circus.
Alan writes...
Dear Greg
Any up-date on the 2004 DVD release? Do you know if this is still slated to happen?
Greg responds...
Yep. It happened on December 7th, 2004. So go out and get a copy!!!
Lis M writes...
"Hello, Greg! I love the show Gargoyles and have been a fan for many years. I've read the Ask Greg from top to bottom and I haven't found the answer to this question: What exactly was Goliath feeling when he saw Elisa and Jason kissing? In my opinion, the episode made it look like Goliath seems to forget about it too easily even though he doesn't always let his feelings out in the open..." What do you think, Greg? And thank you so much!"
Greg responds...
He was DESTROYED!!
I honestly don't know how you can look at that episode and not realize that. Soon after, he runs into Brooklyn & Lex, and he's in a major bad mood. A Demona-esque bad mood. It extends right through to the scene at the dam in the next episode. Look again. I think you'll agree.
jan michael writes...
greg how can i mail order the whole series?
Greg responds...
You can't. But you can RUSH out and buy the first season on DVD!! And if you don't want to leave the comfort of your home, you can order it through Amazon or a similar service.
Todd Jensen writes...
In "Awakening Part Four", when Goliath and Demona are reunited and Demona claims that she was under the Magus's spell of sleep also for a thousand years, Xanatos mentions that he'd bought her and then, after seeing how transporting Castle Wyvern to the top of the Eyrie Building had freed Goliath and the other gargoyles from the Magus's spell, figured that if he brought Demona to the castle, that would break the Magus's spell on her.
Now, it occurred to me that that part obviously doesn't fit what we know about the Magus's spell, since all that was necessary to end it was for "the castle to rise above the clouds". In other words, once the castle was atop the Eyrie Building, all the gargoyles under the Magus's spell, including (in her story) Demona, would be freed from it, regardless of whether or not they were actually in the castle at the time. So it wouldn't be necessary to bring Demona to the castle to awaken her.
Of course, that doesn't matter, since we know that Xanatos and Demona's story was a lie anyway. But what I'd like to know is - was Xanatos's mention of bringing Demona to the castle in order to free her a deliberate (on the production team's part) discrepancy from the terms of the Magus's spell, as a hint to the audience that Xanatos and Demona were lying?
Greg responds...
I don't know that our thinking was or wasn't that sophisticated. We knew it was a lie. It had to sound convincing enough to temporarily fool Goliath and at least some of the audience. But I don't know if we cared too much whether it planted a seed of doubt because the lie was fundamentally unsound.
Spacebabie writes...
Friday
Woke up at 6:Am. The phone that woke us sounded like an alarm. Revel answered the phone while I went back to sleep. We snoozed for a couple more hours/
We had breakfast the Lindy's in the lobby. Talk about over priced. Even the juice was expensive. After breakfast we went back to our room to grab our gathering gear. Revel went up to set up his art and I went to the lobby for registration.
After mingling with a few off the con goers for a few minutes reg was set up. I got my packet and placed on my badge. Like last year they were on lanyards. This year they were braided. On the back there was the banquet and on the front the other con smiley.
The first thing I participated in was the Care Bears call of Cthul RPG. After the game I went out for my pursuit of a NY pretzel and a soda. After scarfing it down I checked out the con suite, cuddled my man and went to the audition for the radio play. I got a kick out of the fact that Thom liked the way I spelled my first name.
After the audition I caught the tail end of the myths and legend panel. The discussion was on the topic of werewolves. Once it ended I introduced myself to Dylan Blaquire. I didn't expect him to be so adorable.
At opening ceremonies I took plenty of pics of Greg W and the gathering staff of 2003 and 2004 and took a random shot of the crowd. Answered Greg when asked for the third timers and still amazed at those who had made it too every single gathering. Sat back and watched the visual goodies that Greg brings every year.
Opening over I went to the Paris room to co run the Othercon Round Robin with Mooncat. My Revy came through with pizza and a soda. The RR was a hoot despite the fact we were creating our parts on the fly and were doing them orally.
The RR ended with enough time to take a quick break and meet in London for the Blue Mug-a-guest. I had an interesting question and my heart was pounding. Finally I asked it. Some people laughed. Greg W blinked and Thom dropped his jaw. The best part was the revelation that Lexington is gay and when Greg W topped his famous quote from G99. We stayed until 2 am and were kicked out. Revel and I stumbled back to our rooms to crash.
Saturday
Decided to go cheap with breakfast and had McDonalds. I tried my first Mcgriddle. Wolfed down our food in time to attend the panels. I went to the fanfic panel run by Ellen, Patrick, Dylan and Allaine. It went well and I managed to snap another picture.
Spent some time in the con suite sketching until it was Greg W's and Vic Cook's writing for animation panel. Greg told how he pitched Gargoyles and his spin offs before showing what he had been working on.
Goofed off some more in the art room, bought a calendar and registered for next year. I will make it. I MUST make it. Looked at Dreamie's fun sketches until it was time for the radio play.
I took a lot of pics, mostly of Revel. I might draw him as a winged catman later. The play was awesome, great reading by everyone. Loved Gabe's Lex and I will never get Thom's maniacal laugh out of my head and who could forget Claw?
When the play was over we filed out so we could prep for the banquet. I changed places with Leo so I could sit at the same table with Revel. I think my Tiger-eye necklace likes Greg W since Revel and I ended up at his table and I was wearing it when I won a spot to be at Greg W's table at the 2000 banquet. Food was good even if the rolls were a little chewy and the desserts were deeeeeelish.
I love dressing up for the masquerade and my Revy makes a cute Vinnie. It was hard to walk with the kneepads and the goggles kept fogging up (but it did look more like the white eye guards) Loved everyone's costumes. We usually have an Owen and a Fox. This year we had two Owens, one came with an interesting sign. Kanthara was a lovely Fox with Patrick (Who did it again) as Anastasia. We also had a lovely Gruoch, a recent college graduate, The Matrix with Agent Smith and a couple of gargoyles, one was on a leash.
M&Ms were given out a an award and Revel and I won the cutest couple prize. Gore gave Patrick the Gorelisa award and Siryn was given the guest of honor prize. Greg W gave the art ribbons out and I loved his expression when he gave ribbons to the BiZZ
After receiving my free shirt, a glow in the dark 2000, I returned to my room to get comfy and then returned to the ballroom to dance and mingle. By the time they set up for Rocky I was about to pass out…and that ended Saturday.
Greg responds...
Good times....
Gargoyles DVD
Still, don't have my copy. I ordered it from Amazon with Return of the King, so I guess I'm on Hobbit time waiting to get both DVDs.
I went to Target near my house. They didn't have it. No indication that they ever had it.
So I'm still waiting.
In the meantime, for those of you who do have it, I'd love to see DVD reviews posted here at ASK GREG.
Again, it helps to have one centrally located spot where I can direct the Powers That Be at Disney. So all of you... review!
Buffyverse Stats
BUFFYVERSE STATS
TOP 40 CHARACTER LIST:
Once again, I'm wasting my semi-valuable time (and hopefully yours) to bring you the latest update in my attempt to catalogue the most significant characters in the BUFFYVERSE. The three previous CUMULATIVE updates covered the first, second and third seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The idea behind a cumulative tally is to mimic the original experience of following the Buffyverse. It's a horse race. Some of the winners and losers are a bit surprising. Others are decidedly predictable.
The task has gotten more complicated with Buffy's fourth season, which airs simultaneously (day for day, literally) with the first season of Angel. Since a normal season of Buffy (the first excepted) consists of 22 episodes, the fourth of Buffy added to the first of Angel will total 44 episodes, and that seemed too long to wait for an update. So I'm taking the pulse at the halfway point, after 11 episodes of each series.
As you may recall, I've tried to inform this subjective task with an objective formula. I tried, as much as possible, not to allow my knowledge of future events to influence the current standings. Still, I won't deny that subjectives have played a role. It's hard not to take extra notice of a character you know is going to be important later. And ties were broken based entirely on subjective criteria - i.e. my personal preference.
I have a list of ALL the characters that have appeared in both series up to this point. It's so long (including everything from leads to ridiculously minor characters) that I haven't even bothered to count how many there are. But my list of MOST significant currently tops out at 86 characters.
But I think listing the top 40 is plenty. Or largely. I just want to note a few characters introduced (or revisited) in these two half-seasons, who haven't yet or never will make the top 40, but whom I believe are memorable enough to merit honorable mention.
Starting with…
#84 - Lee Mercer. Lee was a cold-blooded Wolfram & Heart attorney that I remember being sure would become a recurring danger. During this first half, W&H didn't focus on any one recurring villain. And I kept thinking any minute now… Any minute now… And I was right. But I picked the wrong horse.
#82 - Dennis. The Ghost haunting Cordelia's rent-controlled apartment. He was a good roommate, who obviously had a crush on her. He was sweet, and I worried about him after Cordelia was gone.
#81 - The Gentlemen. The lead Gentleman in particular. The best single episode menaces - EVER. Terrifying in look. Terrifying in M.O. Stylish. In one of the most impressive hours of television I've ever watched.
#75 - Aura. Aura appeared as an incredibly minor character in the Buffy pilot. And never again. But her name stuck with me and obviously with the Whedon team as well. Because in an early Angel, when they needed a high school pal from Cordelia's past to give her a call, they used Aura.
#74 - Tom. Tom was a vampire, part of a clique who preyed on Freshman at UC Sunnydale. The rest of his crowd was staked, but Tom was the first "Hostile" we saw captured by the Initiative. He later helped Spike escape, and we never saw poor Tom again.
#70 - Trevor Lockley. Police Detective Kate Lockley's jerk of a dad.
#67 - Lyndsey. The first W&H lawyer we met wound up being the most important. But halfway through the season, we still hadn't seen him after the pilot.
#65 - D'Hoffryn. Anya's former boss as a Vengeance Demon. He offers Willow a job after Oz leaves. (We should have seen her sixth season rampage coming.)
#64 - Tara. Willow's fellow witch makes her first appearance, and although she has very little screentime, and doesn't immediately appear again, she does seem interesting from moment one.
#61 - Sunday. Buffy's first college Vampire. #74's boss. Some nice attitude.
#57 - Olivia. Giles' incredibly hot girlfriend from London. She appears twice, including memorably in "Hush". At the end of that episode, she says she isn't sure she can take Giles' "lifestyle". And then she never appears again…
#53 & #54 - Oracles. Male and female representatives of the Powers That Be. They're not particularly interesting, so they'll die soon.
#47 - Kathy. Buffy's original Freshman roommate. A Celine fan. Brrrrrr.
#44 - Veruca. The werewolf that broke up Oz and Willow, and sent Oz running from Sunnydale.
AND NOW THE TOP 40
#40 - Graham. No previous rank. Riley Finn's second best friend. Laconic.
#39 - Scott Hope. 3rd Season Rank: 33. Buffy's one real normal boyfriend. He's still holding on to the top 40, but down 6 places, and not likely to still be around by the end of the year.
#38 - Deputy Mayor Finch. 3rd Season Rank: 32. Also down six places. Faith's murder victim.
#37 - Whistler. 3Season: 31. 2Season: 18. The Demon who set Angel on the right path. Kind of the guy I figured to take the Doyle role on Angel. But he's lost 6 rankings (19 since Season 2) and is falling fast.
#36 - Kendra. 3S: 30. 2S: 17. This whole crowd is dropping six rankings. Kendra the original auxilary Vampire Slayer deserves a bit better, I think.
#35 - Ethan Rayne. 3S: 29. 2S: 22. Giles former friend still looms larger in my memory than his ranking suggests. I keep thinking he's going to appear again, because I find it hard to believe he registered so well in so few appearances.
#34 - Devon. 3S: 28. 2S: 37. Oz's bandmate, has peeked.
#33 - Forrest. NPR. Riley's best buddie at the Initiative and the Fraternity.
#32 - Principal Flutie. 3S: 24. 2S: 16. 1S: 9. The original Principal of Sunnydale High is still hanging on.
#31 - Willy the Snitch. 3S: 21. 2S: 24. Looks like Willy has peeked also.
#30 - Larry. 3S: 25. 2S: 35. Hard not to peek when your dead. But I always liked Larry. A former bully, he became one of the White Hats and was killed by the Mayor. And he's still in the top 30.
#29 - Darla. 3S:23. 2S: 23. 1S:11. Hard not to slip when you're a vampire who's been staked. But Darla's poised for a comeback.
#28 - Percy. 3S: 26. I'm stunned Percy's holding on. He's not even vaguely interesting. But he keeps showing up.
#27 - Parker Abrams. NPR. The second guy that Buffy ever slept with. A real jerk. Makes me miss Scott Hope.
#26 - The Annointed One. 3S: 19. 2S: 14. 1S: 10. The Master's mini-me.
#25 - Mr. Trick. 3S: 18. Staked and falling. But his attitude is missed.
#24 - Amy. 3S: 27. 2S: 23. 1S: 17. Her continuing appearances as a Rat, are keeping her in the top 25.
#23 - Kate Lockley. NPR. Angel's cop friend seemed like a potential love interest, but has at the first season's halfway point, become something closer to an enemy.
#22 - Jonathan. 3S: 17. 2S: 19. Jonathan's falling, but his presence is missed, and he'll be staging a comeback.
#21 - The Master. 3S: 16. 2S: 13. 1S: 8. Buffy's first big bad appeared in a shortened first season, so has fallen out of the top twenty.
#20 - Harmony. 3S: 20. 2S: 26. 1S: 18. Harmony's emergence as a vampire was a stroke of comic genius, and has allowed her to hold onto her #20 ranking.
#19 - Maggie Walsh. NPR. The Ice Queen enters the rankings as a real comer.
#18 - Anya. 3S: 22. Halfway through the season, and Anya's admirably filling the Cordelia role, but she's still not a regular. Still she's moved up four rankings already.
#17 - Riley Finn. NPR. But the big news is Riley. Entering the rankings at 17. A new regular (hopscotching over Anya) before the Season's half over. He's Buffy's new boy. A soldier and a nice guy. Cornfed Iowa boy.
#16 - The Mayor. 3s: 14. 1S: 40. The Mayor's only lost a couple slots. Probably the best of the big bads - unless you count Angelus.
#15 - Wesley. 3S: 15. Wesley's midseason reappearance on Angel, allows him to hold onto his #15 ranking.
#14 - Jenny Calendar. 3S: 13. 2S: 11. 1S: 15. Still maintaining a good number.
#13 - Drusilla. 3s: 11. 2s: 8. Dru has fallen a couple ranks, but she's still up there.
#12 - Doyle. NPR. Okay, bigger news than Riley is Doyle. Although with his midseason death, he's got nowhere to go but down. But I loved this character. He was a blast. And his death really did catch me off guard. His ranking was really helped by Angel having such a small regular cast initially. It gave him a lot of screen time and story points.
#11 - Faith. 3s: 10. Faith only loses one rank (thanks to Spike).
#10 - Principal Snyder. 3S: 9. 2s: 10. 1s: 12. Snyder falls one rank, to equal his 2season score. But he's still in the top ten, which is pretty good for a dead guy.
#9 - Spike. 3s: 12. 2s: 9. Spike jumps (finally) past Dru, past Snyder, past Faith, as he becomes a regular. The start of something truly beautiful. (I'm choking up here.)
#8 - Joyce. 3s: 8. 2s: 7. 1s:7. Joyce has barely appeared this season, but she's got points to spare to keep her up in the high numbers.
#7 - Oz. 3s: 7. 2s: 12. Well, Oz'll be back, briefly, but he's clearly peeked. So it's all downhill from here. Still, I'm sure he'll remain in the top 40 forever.
#6 - Angel. 3s: 6 2s:6. 1s:6. This surprised me. Though Angel is climbing fast, even his own series hasn't been enough for him to catch up - yet - with Buffy's main Scoobies.
#5 - Willow. 3s: 4. 2S: 4. 1s: 4. But THIS just stunned me - and frankly makes me question my system entirely. Yes, Cordelia's position as Angel's Gal Friday on Angel gives her a ton of screen and story time. And she was close enough to Willow, to allow her to pass our young Wicca. But perception of course, suggests that Willow should be #3 or even #2 behind only Buffy. This may still end up to be the case. Figure by the end of the horse race, to see Buffy & Angel in the one/two slots, but I'd assume that Willow would pass Cordelia (once Angel gains more cast members) and maybe even Xander. (And certainly Giles).
#4 - Cordelia. 3s:5, 2S: 5. 1S: 5. See above. She's #2 in a tiny regular cast.
#3 - Xander. 3s: 3. 2s:3. 1s: 3. Xander hasn't quite found his place in Buffy's college life. But then neither has Giles. So both of them are cruising on old points.
#2 - Giles. 3s: 2. 2s:2. 1s: 2. Giles still hanging on to the #2 slot.
#1 - Buffy. 3s: 1; 2s: 1; 1s: 1. Duh.
FireFoxFay writes...
I did read the faq and I would still like to know. What is the latest on the episode comming out on DVD? Thank you for your time.
Greg responds...
The DVD was released this week on December 7th, 2004. It is out; it is available and I BEG you all to spread the word!!
Kassey writes...
Hi!
I really like you're style of writing for the show of Max Steel did you ever meet Christian Campbell? Does the letter 'S' stand for something? Because I think that it's cool the way you put those titles together so "those are my two questions"
you're biggest Max Steel fan Kassey Demers Chapleau Ont,Can
THANK YOU!!!
Greg responds...
Hey Kassey,
Don't know if you're still reading ASK GREG, but yes, I knew Christian quite well, though I haven't seen him in a couple years.
S stands for Steel.
Todd Jensen writes...
When you recently answered one of my questions about "Pendragon", you said in the course of it:
<So elements, like the Illuminati, the Gargoyles and Macbeth would have definitely entered into stories of the Questing Beast and the Holy Grail, and vice versa, etc.>
I was interested in the "Questing Beast" part, because I hadn't seriously thought that the Questing Beast was going to show up in "Pendragon" - for one thing, it hadn't made the "Arthurian survivors" list - but now it appears that the Beast would still be around. Did I read what you said correctly? That the Questing Beast would feature in "Pendragon"? I'm glad to learn that, since I'd always had a certain fondness for the Questing Beast dating back from when I first read about it in T. H. White's "The Sword in the Stone".
Greg responds...
As I've said, given enough time and episodes, we'd eventually cover everything in one way or another -- so how could I leave out the Questing Beast?
Spacebabie writes...
I guess Ask Greg is open again for our Gathering Journals. If that is the case then here is the first part of mine.
Thursday
Woke up at seven, ate showered and dressed in my naughty school girl outfit. I went online briefly to print out two more copies of my itinerary, one to keep, and another to leave with my family. Made sure the animals were secure with enough provisions.
My mother returned home from a REAL EARLY morning shift. She helped me with my luggage. (I packed the night before) and off we went to the airport. She dropped me off and helped me unload my bags before she gave me money to get my brother something nice.
Nothing really interesting happened at the airport nor during the flight. (I'm getting used to using E-tickets) Landed and followed the signs to luggage pick up. I was a bit surprised that La Gaurdia didn't have a tram, but it made it easier to find the luggage area.
Standing near the conveyer belts was my Revy aka William "Revel" Anson. Being the sweetie that he is he offered to carry my heavy carry on. We went to wait for the bus to grand Central Station where it dawned on me I was in New York, not just NY but in Queens where my father was born and raised.
At Grand Central I did the average tourist thing and took a picture the large clock. We switched to another bus that took us to the corner next to the hotel. We checked in, found our room and dropped off our luggage.
Our room was tiny. It had a long hallway with a small room. It had a bathroom with a phone booth sized shower. So small that if you bent down to pick up your shampoo you would bump your head. There was a tiny closet, a big bed, a dresser with a TV, two lamps, a night stand and small fridge where I stowed my snack pack that I took on the plane with me.
After I changed shirts decided to search around for other attendees. After stepping into the lobby I noticed three guys in trench coats and knew that they had to be with us. Turns out they where Hudson, Goliath 116 and Zaius. They did not know where everything was.
After scoping out Chris Roger's LARGE room Revel and I went to get sandwiches. We ate them along with a couple of sodas while watching TV. (Can't get away from Disney World Commercials).
After we ate we went to check out the lobby to find out if others had checked in to the hotel. I got little cuddly with Revel when we entered the elevators. There was man standing there wearing a tie dyed T-shirt.
"Not in front of the Norms," Revel said, but the norm turned out to be The Man himself Greg Weisman. He knew where the Con suite was. We rode with him down one floor and found the gang…aka the con staff. They were busting their butts over the last minute details but Lynati took a brief brake to show Greg W her beautiful bronze craft of the Phoenix Gate.
We decided on dinner of sushi. I just had a sandwich but that did nothing to quell my burning hunger, and who could resist sushi?
We were joined with Thom before we made our walk to the restaurant. The place is called Monster Sushi and they ha tables for us…we just had to separate. I sat in front of my Revy and stared into his beautiful blue eyes before we ordered. While waiting for the food we talked about our plane trips. Our food came and I received my Tigers eyes (Cooked salmon wrapped in seaweed and squid, served with radish noodles and sprouts) a rare treat for me and I eat a lot of sushi.
After dinner we returned to the suite and munched on cookies while watching Rocky Horror until we were about to drop. We crawled back to our room and crashed.
Greg responds...
Ah, yes, fond memories of sushi dinners in NYC...
So, the Gathering 2003 has officially begun here at ASK GREG. And before we hit 2005 in real time. That's progress of a sort.
Zarok writes...
SANCTUARY
Ding Dong the queue is dead, well wounded anyway. I Know this is late but the asking function was closed down before I could post it and I've been awful busy lately. A well here it is.
I was interested to learn you had planned to use a Quasimodo character originally since Quasi is kind of a Gargoyle himself. I wonder if Quasi existed in the Gargoyle Universe, hey if you can have J.V.
I also was kind of disappointed you didn't give Demona's alter ego an angel themed name like Angelique like you planned in your memo. Would've made a great parallel with Angela and created another of those cool name parallels like Peter Maza and Petros Xanatos or Alexander Xanatos and Alexander
Speaking of thailog I have something to tell you that I think you'll like. When these episodes were first being aired on Disney Channel UK they seriously aired them out of order, skipping over most of the episodes between "City of Stone" and "Avolon" as well as a few pre-CoS episodes. They actually aired half the world tour before "Avolon" and even that before "Eye of The Beholder"! Luckily they sorted it out for the reruns but the point is that when I first saw "Sanctuary" I had not yet seen "Double Jeopardy" and it didn't hurt my enjoyment of this episode one bit. Sure there was some initial confusion over this Goliath look-alike (I thought at first that Thailog's "no way to treat a lady" line was Goliath's) but once the word clone popped up I immediately went "now I get it". More reason to believe that new viewers can get into "Gargoyles". In fact I think the World Tour was good at bring new viewers in, the episodes were much more stand alone
Greg responds...
That is good news. Thanks for telling me that.
We made a conscious decision not to use Angelique. Dominique just seemed more like the kind of name Demona would choose for herself.
Zarok writes...
Gargoyles 2198
Greg I have a question regarding "Gargoyles 2198", actually it's more of a comment, to be brutally honest it's a criticism.
Every time I read through the G2198 outline I am fascinated by the little glimpse I get of the new characters, Delilah's insecurities, Zafiro's spirituality and Guardian's embracing the Gargoyle way of life.
They all show great potential as characters, with one dubious exception
Samson has a 150 word long profile all to him self but do we get any of the same Character insight? No, instead we are merely told that he looks like Goliath and then are treated to a lot of speculation as to who his parents were. Even Brooklyn's dog gets more characterisation than Samson! What is even more distressing the fact that this is supposed to be the show's lead.
I'm sorry if this sounds like a rant because it really isn't. I'm sure you have lots of interesting character stuff in mind for Samson but none of that came across in the outline. I really think a great character should defined by their choices, personality and beliefs rather than their lineage, even if their lineage is as illustrious as Samson's. Don't you agree?
Greg responds...
Totally. And it's very possible I got distracted by less important stuff in that document. Rest assured, Samson would be a strong lead character -- as strong and interesting and fascinating, etc. as I know how to make a character -- if I ever get the chance to do that series.
Zarok writes...
Bringing Gargoyles Back
You know Greg, recently I've become far more optimistic about the prospect of bringing "Gargoyles" or one of the spin-offs back to the small screen. Don't know why, maybe it's because of the DVD release or maybe I'm just in an optimistic mood but I am willing to bet that we will have a new "Gargoyles" series on the air by the end of the decade. So I thought I'd follow this train of thought with some questions…
1) From your point of view does the promotion of David Stainton to the head of Disney's Animation Department increase or decrease our chances of getting "Gargoyles" or one of the spin-offs back on the air?
2) On 07-18-00 you said "I'm still in there trying to come up with ways to bring the show back in some, well, way, shape or form. In fact, I've got a new nefarious plan in the works now with Doug Murphy, a former GARGOYLES (and BAD GUYS) storyboard artist. Too soon to talk about now, but give me time". Did you have any success with this?
3) If you do bring the show back what do you think the chances are of getting back most of the old writing staff? (with the obvious exception of the late Gary Sperling)
Greg responds...
1. David's no longer running WDTVA, but in hindsight he had no effect.
2. No. The various artists and tech people we had involved, including Gorebash, just couldn't put enough unpaid time in (though they put a LOT of unpaid time in), to get the project off the ground. I've tried other things since with other groups of people, with no more success, I'm afraid. It's a lot of work to do on spec and juggle with paying assignments.
3. I don't know. I'd hope that Michael, Brynne, Lydia and Cary would be able to contribute. But in any case, I'm confident that we'd be able to assemble a stellar writing staff. I currently have a stellar staff on W.I.T.C.H. (that includes Cary).
Gerald Smith writes...
what else have you written? before and after gargoyles.
Greg responds...
My complete resume as of October, 2004:
GREGORY DAVID WEISMAN
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY:
4/83 - present: Emmy Nominated Freelance Writer / Producer / Story Editor / Voice Director / Development Guy. See credits below.
1/02 - present: Voice Instructor, SPECIAL DATA PROCESSING CORPORATION, Clearwater, Florida. Developed and gave seminars to telemarketers on how to increase sales by using their voice and acting skills as tools.
1/98 - present: Writing Instructor, UCLA EXTENSION PROGRAM. Introduction to Animation Writing, From Script to Cell: The Complete Writer's Guide to Television Animation. Designed and taught course on animation writing. Evaluated exercises and spec teleplays for both format and ability.
6/96 - 9/98: Writer / Developer / Producer, DREAMWORKS SKG TELEVISION ANIMATION. Developing series and video projects including Invasion: America, Steven Spielberg's Cliffhangers, Sword of the Shogun, The Avenger, Blackhawk, Madison & MON-Ro, Rain of the Ghosts, Tai-Fu The Series, Treasure Hunters, Inc., Small Soldiers: The Animated Series.
10/94 - 5/96: Creator / Supervising Producer / Supervising Story Editor, Gargoyles animated television series, WALT DISNEY TELEVISION ANIMATION. Created and developed series and characters. Writer/Producer on 66 half-hour episodes. Came up with overall story arc, and all 66 springboards. Managed four story editors; oversaw all premises, outlines, scripts and voice recordings. Voice directed an episode. Gave notes on storyboards, design work and timing direction. Supervised editing, sound mixes and video on-lines. Nominated for "Golden Reel," "EMA" and "Annie" Awards. Created and developed sequel series, Bad Guys, Pendragon, The New Olympians, TimeDancer, Dark Ages, Gargoyles 2198.
2/93 - 10/94: Director of Series Development, DISNEY TV ANIMATION. Developed new series for afternoon syndication and network Saturday morning. Including Marsupilami (CBS), Bonkers (syn), Aladdin (CBS & syn), Schnookums & Meat (syn), Timon & Pumbaa (CBS & syn), Quack Pack (syn), Mighty Ducks (syn), Gargoyles (syn) and Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles (ABC). Developed animated feature length idea, The Tempest.
2/90 - 2/93: Creative Executive, Current Programming and Series Development, DISNEY TV ANIMATION. Current Programming (including Talespin syndicated series, among others): managed staff of over fifty writers, story editors, development artists and script coordinators. Negotiated contracts. Gave notes on scripts, outlines, premises & storyboards. Supervised voice-recording sessions. Story Edited episodes of Duck Tales syndicated series. Series Development: developed new series for afternoon syndication and network Saturday morning, including Darkwing Duck (ABC & syn), Raw Toonage (CBS), Little Mermaid (CBS) and Goof Troop (ABC & syn).
7/89 - 2/90: Staff Assistant, DISNEY TV ANIMATION. Covered outside submissions. Read current programming; gave notes. Worked in development. Acting Creative Executive on New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (ABC), Gummi Bears (NBC, ABC & syn), Chip N' Dale Rescue Rangers (syn) and DuckTales the Movie: Secret of the Lost Lamp (feature film).
8/88 - 5/98: Assistant Lecturer, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. Taught courses in Composition. Designed curricula and assignments; evaluated papers and examinations.
2/88 - 8/88: Food Server, Cashier & Soda Jerk, JOHNNY ROCKETS, Melrose Avenue, CA. Waited on counter; worked computerized cash register; made great shakes & malts.
3/87 - 7/87: Associate Editor, DC COMICS, New York, NY. Edited and developed new comic book series, including Young All-Stars.
3/86 - 3/87: Assistant Editor, DC COMICS. Trafficked comic art and stories; maintained schedules on over five monthly titles, including Teen Titans.
10/85 - 3/86: Editorial Assistant, DC COMICS, Distributed mail, photocopied, etc.
2/85 - 6/85: Teaching Assistant and Preceptor, STANFORD UNIVERSITY. Led discussions and evaluated student work including fiction, essays and quizzes for two courses. Shakespeare: Organized discussion sections for class of 140 students. Personally responsible for section of 15 students. The Mythic Hero in Modern Literature: Proposed, designed and taught accredited seminar of 11 students.
WRITING / PRODUCING / STORY EDITING / VOICE DIRECTING / DEVELOPMENT CREDITS:
2004 - Present: W.I.T.C.H., SIP Animation/Disney Channel. Supervising Producer & Story Editor of Second Season of Animated Series.
2004 - Present: Robotech: Mars Force, Harmony Gold. Developed new Animated Spin-off Series. Wrote Bible.
2003 - Present: Kidd/Hero, DAG. Developed Animated Series, writing bible and voice directing sales reel.
2002 - Present: The Bible for the Platinum Megaverse!, PLATINUM STUDIOS. Developed multiple series, characters, movies and stories for comic books, television and features. Writing Bible for their entire comic book universe, including encyclopedia, biographies, mini-bibles and timeline.
1997 - Present: Ask Greg, Maintained website at http://s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/. Designed to keep fan interest in the Gargoyles television series alive.
2004: Alien Racers, MGA Entertainment. Wrote an episode of Animated Series.
2004: Robo-Sapiens, WARNER BROS. Co-created and developed original Animated Series. Wrote bible and pilot treatment.
2004: Mechromancers, DISNEY. Voice directed pilot for Animated Series.
2004: Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!, DISNEY. Writer for multiple episodes of Animated Series.
2003 - 2004: The Batman, WARNER BROS. Writer for multiple episodes of Animated Series.
2002: Phoenix Force, HASBRO. Developed animated series based on the Action Man toy property.
2002: Kim Possible, DISNEY. Writer for Animated Series.
2002: Creature Force, DISNEY. Developed Animated Series. Wrote Series Bible.
2002: Spider-Man, SONY. Writer for Animated Series.
2002: Bionicle, LEGO. Story Editor / Consultant for Animated Direct to Video Feature. Shared Story Credit.
2002: The Mummy, UNIVERSAL. Writer for Animated Series.
2000 - 2002: Team Atlantis, DISNEY. Writer / Story Editor / Voice Director for Animated Series and Direct-to-Video Feature.
2000: 3 x 3 Eyes, NEW GENERATION PICTURES / PIONEER. Voice Director for Direct-to-Video Anime Series.
1999 - 2000: Max Steel, SONY. Developed Series. Producer / Story Editor for first season. Writer, multiple episodes.
1999: Macbeth, DREAMWORKS FEATURE ANIMATION. Writer.
1998 - 99: Roughnecks: The Starship Troopers Chronicles, SONY. Story Editor (10 episodes), writer (2 episodes), assisted on Post-Production (7 episodes). Series and Writer nominated for Best Animated Series Special Class Emmy.
1998: Justice League Giant, DC COMICS. Writer.
1998: Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, DISNEY. Writer (multiple episodes) for Animated Series.
1998: Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot, SONY. Writer for Animated Series.
1998: Roswell Conspiracies: Aliens, Myths and Legends, BKN. Developed Series. Writer / Story Editor on Bible and Pilot.
1998: Disney's Hercules, DISNEY. Writer for Animated Series.
1997 - 1998: Stargate: The Hunted, MGM. Developed Animated Series, wrote Bible.
1997 - 1998: Men In Black: The Series, SONY. Writer for Animated Series, multiple episodes.
1996: Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles, DISNEY. Developed series. Writer / Story Editor of pilot episode.
1994 - 1996: Gargoyles, DISNEY. Creator / Supervising Producer / Supervising Story Editor on 66 half-hour episodes. Nominated for "Golden Reel," "EMA" and "Annie" Awards.
1995: Gargoyles Comic Book, MARVEL COMICS, New York, NY. Writer. Supervised writing on all issues.
1986-1991: Captain Atom, DC COMICS. Reconceived and revamped character of "Captain Atom" with partner. Co-wrote 33 issues of comic book series, plus two annuals. As an individual, wrote 16 issues. Samples available upon request.
1990: Duck Tales, DISNEY. Story Editor on multiple episodes.
1983-1990: Secret Origins, among others, DC COMICS. Proposed, plotted and scripted many comic book stories. Also wrote text pieces published in Who's Who in the DC Universe, among others.
1989: The Artemis Choice, U.S.C. Two-act stage-play.
1988: Valley of the Vampire, INTERVISUAL COMMUNICATIONS, L.A. CA. Writer on Pop-Up Book.
1987: Jem and the Holograms, SUNBOW PRODUCTIONS, NYC, NY. Writer (with partner) for Animated Series.
* Multiple short stories also *
EDUCATION:
9/87-10/89: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA. Masters of Professional Writing (M.P.W.). Course work included fiction and screenwriting, with emphasis on playwriting. Produced and directed my own play, The Artemis Choice.
9/81-6/85: Stanford University, Stanford, CA. B.A. in English and Creative Writing. Course work included a broad Liberal Arts background specializing in Shakespeare, Faulkner and fiction writing.
9/84-12/84: Stanford-in-Oxford, Oxford, England. Studied Shakespeare and the English Novel. Wrote short story published in New Oxford Magazine.
MEMBERSHIPS:
3/92-present: Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
2/95-present: N.A.T.P.E. International.
3/95-present: Museum of Television & Radio.
9/98-present: Motion Picture Screen Cartoonists a.k.a. The Animation Guild
NOMINATIONS:
1994: Golden Reel Award Nomination for Outstanding Achievement in the Motion Picture And Television Industries for GARGOYLES, "Awakening, Part Five".
1995: Annie Award Nomination for Individual Achievement for Creative Supervision in the Field of Animation for GARGOYLES.
1996: Environmental Media Award Nomination for Children's Animated Television Program for GARGOYLES, "The Green".
1996: Annie Award Nomination for Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Television Program for GARGOYLES.
2001: Emmy Award Nomination for Best Animated Series - Special Class for ROUGHNECKS: THE STARSHIP TROOPER CHRONICLES.
10/11/04
I GOT MINE!!
Just got back from the Amazon my friends -- went their via the Gathering 2005 site at www.gatheringofthegargoyles.com -- where I purchased my copy of the GARGOYLES SEASON ONE on DVD. I'm pretty excited. Nervous too.
I want to thank all of you who are supporting this product. Supporting this property, this fandom and my emotional state.
But let's try this. Everybody contact SOMEBODY from the fandom whom you haven't heard from in a while. Someone maybe who attended a Gathering in 1998, maybe. Or someone who used to frequent Station 8, but just sort of drifted off. Search these people down. Odds are they'd love to get the DVD, but if they've been out of the loop, they may not know it's available NOW!!!
If all of you contact just one lost fan, it would really help to spread the word!!
Thanks!
TOMORROW OR NEVER
Well, guys, tomorrow -- December 7th, 2004 -- is the big day. The GARGOYLES first season comes out on DVD.
I know I'm preaching to the converted, but I can't emphasize enough how important it is to the fandom that this DVD sells well.
Good sales on the first day, particularly a nice Amazon turnout, are important, but what's more important are PHENOMENAL SALES over the next month or two.
If you can't get it at Amazon, get it somewhere else.
If you can't get it tomorrow, get it soon.
But get it. And more than that get everyone you know to get it.
Get strangers to get it.
Yes, I know we're all a bit disappointed in the way Disney has somewhat failed to support the DVD with advertising. But as I've always maintained... the burden is on the fans. They need to prove to Disney that Disney needs to spend money to make money on Gargoyles.
They need to prove to Disney that the fandom is rabid and large and ready to support the property with actual dollars and cents.
A very small part of me feels bad about asking you to spend money. But keep in mind if this DVD doesn't do EXTREMELY well, it will be very difficult to convince Disney to support the property in other ways -- including a second season on DVD, let alone new and original material set in the Gargoyles Universe.
By the way, we did get a nice write-up here:
http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com/rage/index1.htm
Check it out.
But mostly, take advantage of this opportunity to demonstrate your love for the show. Again this is NOT just about money. This is about SPREADING THE WORD WITH RELIGIOUS FERVOR!!!
Good luck to us all.
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