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RETORTS 2004-12 (December)

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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.

Response recorded on December 16, 2004

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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!!!

Response recorded on December 15, 2004

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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.

Response recorded on December 15, 2004

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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.

Response recorded on December 14, 2004

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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.

Response recorded on December 14, 2004

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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....

Response recorded on December 14, 2004

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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!


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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.


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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!!

Response recorded on December 10, 2004

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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.

Response recorded on December 10, 2004


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