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The Phoenix Gate

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Anonymous writes...

1a.In some cultures knowing the name of a person gives you power over it so is this true in the gargoyles universe?
1b.If so is that why the Archmage and Magus are called by their titles because of their names?

Greg responds...

1. It can be true. It certainly can't hurt.

b. Perhaps... ;)

Response recorded on August 30, 2001

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Lord Sloth writes...

1)So could the Magus cast any spell he had memorised ealier without the help of the Grimorum or Avalon? The way I understood it, he needed a conduit to cast any spell.

2)So then why didn't Tom or Goliath do it without a conduit?

Greg responds...

1. A conduit helps. Also certain spells are designed intentionally to be more difficult then others. More difficult to do, and more difficult to remember.

2. Tom and Goliath aren't sorcerers. But memorizing one incantation and using it over and over again isn't too hard. Jumping back and forth between multiple complex spells is a much different thing.

Response recorded on August 30, 2001

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William Cain writes...

In the episode "Temptation", Goliath is placed under the a spell that makes him a slave to whom
Ever holds the Grimorum. OK. (A few point then my question and hopefully an answer.)
Point 1.The confines of the spell were that he would obey whoever held the book.
Point 2. In order to free Goliath from the zombie like state Elisa told him to act as is he was not placed under the magic spell.
Point 3. Demona took the actual counter spell.
I just don't feel that her having him act normal would cancel the effects of the magic as for him running around like a zombie yes but not the magic control its self but… I will leave that to you.
My question is if Demona was to take the book again could she take control over Goliath once more or are the effects of the spell no more?
Thank you for your Time
William Cain

Greg responds...

Here are my points:

1. Whoever held the spell. Not the book. At the end, Elisa was holding the spell.

2. Demona did not have the counterspell. She took other spells, like the one to summon Puck.

3. After Elisa issued her command, I'm betting they destroyed the spell. But who knows? (Well, I do. But I'm not telling.)

Response recorded on August 30, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

How ofter does the London clan use magic? Are there any spellcasters besides Una? If so are they more skilled than her?

Greg responds...

I'm not going to quantify it.

And I'm not going to tie my hands one way or another on her clanmates.

Response recorded on August 15, 2001

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hbkholic writes...

What is the famous words used to activate the Phoenix Gate?

Greg responds...

From memory, which may not be too reliable:

Desligrate muri tempe et intervalia!

Response recorded on August 08, 2001

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JEB writes...

If the past is fixed in the Gargoyles universe, how does that affect those that can see the future? Can they change something that has yet to happen or are any efforts they make futile?

Greg responds...

Any 'sight' is generally subject to interpretation.

But who said ANYONE can see the future?

Response recorded on August 08, 2001

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Vashkoda writes...

Puck said that he couldn't take the Phoenix Gate from Goliath--Goliath had to "fork it over". Is the same true for other Avalonian magical objects? I may be remembering this incorrectly, but didn't Odin physically attack Goliath and try to take back the Eye? And does this rule only apply to Children of Avalon? If so, it would explain why the Weird Sisters had to use Demona and MacBeth to steal the talismans for them (were you consciously doing this so as not to break the rule you would establish later about the Gate in "Future Tense"?)

Greg responds...

Odin may have been an exception, as the EYE could arguably belong to him.

But the general rule of non-interference prevented Puck or the Sisters from just magically or otherwise stealing anything themselves.

Response recorded on August 07, 2001

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LSZ writes...

Prior to the 'arrival' of the fae as a species on the planet, did any of the earlier races use magic?

Greg responds...

Ever?

Response recorded on July 27, 2001

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Lord Sloth writes...

Gathering questions:
1a) Why does Oberon need a tracker to find Puck(a fellow fey), when both Titanya and the Wierd Sisters were able to locate the Gargoyles in the clock tower? b)Why could Oberon sence Titanya and not Puck? c)How was Budicca able to track Owen from the Park to the castle? Had Owen been frolicking in the park earlier?

2a)Did Titanya want things to end up as they did from the begining? b) If she did, how was she sure Puck would of shown up? c) If she didn't, then should I assume she wanted Gargoyles to help take the baby, and it wasn't reverse pyicoligy?

3)Why were nither Rinard, Vogel, nor the Gargoyle's put to sleep? Am I right in thinking Titanya protected them?

4)How did Rinard know about the danger? Did Xanatos or Titanya ask him for help?

5a) Why would the people of manhaten, think this was all a midsummer night's dream, with all the car crashes, injuries and, probably, deaths that occured? b) Would not all that damage break the non-interferance law?

Good luck with these, for all our sakes.

Greg responds...

1a. He was in the mood. Besides, Puck is better at hiding.
1b. Puck is not his wife/soulmate.
1c. It's a magic flute, man. Just flow with it!

2a. So she says.
2b. Intuition?
2c. I'm not going to interpret it for you.

3. Renard and Vogel were not in Manhattan when the spell was first cast. Also they had an energy field around the bridge.

4. Yes. Xanatos informed him.

5a. That's Oberon's interpretation.
5b. From his point of view, he didn't cause the damage. He was merely taking the mortals out of a conflict that would have interfered with their lives. The damage was a minor repercussion.

Response recorded on July 17, 2001

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Sloth writes...

Why is it that the Magus, whose trained all of his life for using magic, could not cast spells without the grimorim (except for tapping it from Avolon), while Tom (and I assume Goliath to) can easily use the incantation to get to Avolon?

Greg responds...

Memorizing one simple incantation is hard enough. The Magus was certainly capable of that.

But without the Grimorum to harness, focus and inform his efforts, managing much else was impossible.

Response recorded on July 10, 2001

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RANDOM STUFF

Another thing I REALLY wish I had seen at the Gathering is Keith David wielding a sword and quoting from Othello.

I heard that Michael Reaves has a brilliant (because it's simple) solution for how Goliath, Hudson and the Trio could speak modern English upon waking at the castle. Demona used a spell from the Grimorum on them the night before they woke up. Perfect. They'd never even have to know that there was a change in the language. I love it. (Wish I had thought of it.)


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LSZ writes...

Since you said you had plans for something as religious as Faust in the Gargoyles universe, did you have any actual solid plans for the Spear of Longinus/Destiny?

Greg responds...

Yes.

Response recorded on July 09, 2001

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matt writes...

1. maybe it was hard to see on the show, but in "The Green" are the magic pendants themselves made out of the different stones (Sapphire, Obsidian, etc.) or are they all made out of something else? if they are made of something else, what is it?

2. you've said that the pendants will be passed down along with the name of the garg who wears it, but does the actual color of the garg matter? for instance, can only a red gargoyle wear and use Zafiro's pendant? i know it sounds stupid that the magic would only work with skin color, but i don't see any evidence why it wouldn't... afterall, Bronx is blue like Obsidiana and he was ok using the her pendant, but if he had picked up a pendant of a different color than he, would it have still worked?

3. when Jackal knocked that tree on Obsidiana and her wing was all twisted and wounded looking until she turned to stone, had he actually broken the bone in her wing? i'm aking this cuz i think its one of the only times that stone sleep cures a major physical injury in the series...

Greg responds...

1. The former. One is Sapphire. One is Jade. One is Obsidian. And one is Turquoise.

2. No, the color of the garg doesn't matter. Zafiro in the twentieth century is red. The Zafiro of the twenty-second century is blue. (At least in my head.)

3. I'd have to see it again.

Response recorded on July 09, 2001

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matt writes...

what would happen at dawn if Demona put on a Mayan sun amulet? would she turn to a human or remain a gargoyle?

Greg responds...

I think she'd turn human. But I don't think she'd be able to nap.

Response recorded on July 03, 2001

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Demoness writes...

1a. Do the Fae tap into Earth's Magic?

1b. If yes, lets say a Fae somehow finds himself on Mars, would he be weaker then normal or completely powerless, or not effected at all?

2. How come Oberon could throw Xanatos magically when his magic is powerless against iron? (The Gathering pt 2)

3. In your opinion, who would win in a fair battle, Q or Oberon?

4. When did the Mab/Oberon war happen? Could you please give me an estimated date like c. 1000 BC-500 BC.

Greg responds...

1a. Sometimes.

1b. I'm not big on hypotheticals.

2. He grabbed his head.

3. I have no interest in this question.

4. It is forbidden.

Response recorded on July 01, 2001

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Oberon writes...

Are there any people in the gargoyles univers, born and raised in present day that,m for one reason or another practice magic

Greg responds...

Sure.

Response recorded on June 30, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

Did the Medici tablet belong to the real Medici family? What did they use it for?
Who created the Praying Gargoyle? How powerful is its magic?

Greg responds...

Yes.

I'm not saying.

You'll get a clue at G2002.

Potentially, very powerful.

Response recorded on June 29, 2001

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Vashkoda writes...

Fey magic and metals: I've noticed that most of the magical items forged by fey magic (the Eye, the Gate, and Puck's flute) are made of gold. Iron, of course, seems to have a disruptive effect on fey magic. Is there a particular reason why the fey chose to forge their talismans out of gold and not some other metal (except iron, obviously).

Greg responds...

It's shiny.

Response recorded on June 27, 2001

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Buck writes...

At the end of "Temptation", Elisa tells (commands?) Goliath (under the spell) to always act as if he was not under a spell. I'm assuming this means for all spells and not just that particular one he was under. If this assumption is correct, how would Goliath be affected by Puck's spells in "The Mirror"? I want to say there are other times he's been under a spell, but I haven't seen too many episodes on Toon Disney yet (I just got the station) and I'm cursed with a poor memory.

Greg responds...

You're assumption is incorrect.

She didn't (couldn't) give him full magical immunity. She didn't have that kind of control. She simply ordered the slave to act FOREVER as if he wasn't one.

Response recorded on June 20, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

How did the spear of light allow Rory to change into his Cuchulain form?

Greg responds...

The short answer is magic.

Response recorded on June 10, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

What was that thing in Pendragon? Was it a actual dragon or was it a gargoyle seeing that it was protecting the sword?

Greg responds...

Neither. It was a stone statue brought to life by powerful magicks.

Response recorded on June 10, 2001

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Siren writes...

In the Gargoyles Universe how much truth is in horoscopes?

Greg responds...

All things are true.

Response recorded on June 09, 2001

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Siren writes...

1.)The South American Clan, their stones they wear around their neck...Is that stone fae magic, or something different?
2.)Whom gave them this power?
3.) And why only them? I understand to protect their forest, but other clans could benifit from it. Wyvern would have.

Greg responds...

1. No. Human sorcery.
2. A Mayan wizard.
3. Well, sure. But this was done centuries ago. Fed Ex was not yet in business.

Response recorded on June 09, 2001

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Oberon writes...

In the Wierd Sisters incantation on Macbrth and demona they say "forever and eternal bound" so my quetion is
1) Can the Wierd Sister undo their spell
2) Can anyone else (with the exception of D and M killing each other)

Greg responds...

1. Nope.
2. Doubt it.

Response recorded on June 09, 2001

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Jim R. writes...

Does Demona sleep? How can she manage to be human during the day and still have energy to spare in being a gargoyle at night? Despite the fact she and MacBeth are magically linked, Demona is not immortal, so how does she acquire the energy to stay conscience 24 hours a day?

Greg responds...

I think Dominique must sleep some. And I think Puck's magic compensates some.

Response recorded on May 04, 2001

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Angie I. writes...

Hi, Greg. I know you've been asked at least twice on the changes to Demona's reproduction cycles after the Puck spell, but I could use a little more clarification on the subject.

1a) I remember somebody asking how her daily transformations affected her reproductive cycle and you responded thusly...

"No. But as I said, I think the magic would compensate for a pregnancy... ON THE HUGE ASSUMPTION that she ever gets pregnant."

That's what I would like a little more info on. What if Demona had relations with another gargoyle and she happened to be in her 20-year fertility cycle and she DID become become pregnant?

1b) What would happen to the potential child inside of her created from that fertile union considering the fact that she is full gargoyle at night and full human during the day?

1c) Would it be born or hatched?

1d) Considering the father is full gargoyle, would Demona's human transformations cause it to be a hybrid? Or would it be born/hatched full gargoyle and turn to stone like any other gargoyle?

2) How do her changes affect when she is fertile? As you've explained, female gargoyles only come into season once every 20 years. But humans are fertile almost all of the time. At least, from what I know.

3) This is not likely to happen knowing Demona, but what if she had relations with a human, while she was in her human form, naturally, and she actually became pregnant? Would it be born human or what?

4) I hope this isn't too off topic, but let's say that Puck cast the same spell of daily human transformation on a male gargoyle. How would it effect him reproductively? Would it change him at all?

Thank you, Greg. I hope my questions haven't burdened you in any way.

Greg responds...

1a. What's the ACTUAL question here? What if she did become pregnant? Then she'd be pregnant.

1b. I'm not an obstetrician. What kind of details are you looking for?

1c. Ahh, well, that would depend on timing to some extent. Most likely, Demona would lay an egg, before "Dominique" had the chance to come to full term.

1d. Again, timing is a factor.

(BUT LET ME REITERATE, that all this is based on the HUGE ASSUMPTION that she ever gets pregnant.)

2. Again, what's the question? I.e. what's the question that you haven't already answered within your question.

3. Again, it would depend on timing. And on the assumption that she knows nothing about birth control.

4. Does it change HER at all? Maybe I'm dense, but I don't really understand.

Response recorded on May 02, 2001

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The One writes...

1) Why did Odin's eye contain his magick and power? How did he come to lose the eye? Other fae have lost great parts of their perceived bodily mass seemingly without any loss of their magickal abilities (Anansi and Bean Sidhe).

2) Why didn't Odin call upon the Aesir or his magical servants to help him retrieve the eye? You said that since Goliath possessed the eye that Odin did not feel that he was breaking Oberon's law; so then, why not call upon Thor or the Valkryies (spelling)?

3) Are there any other fae body parts out there that function as potent magickal talismans? If so, what are they?

Greg responds...

1) The eye didn't contain his power. It linked to it. He traded the eye for a drink from Mimir's pool of wisdom.

2) The Children of Oberon tend not to travel in packs these days. Besides, him retrieving his eye isn't interfering. Asking Thor, assuming Thor survived Ragnarok, is a whole other kettle of Aesir.

3) Yeah, like I was going to answer that.

Response recorded on April 08, 2001

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Anonymous writes...

How is it that the Stone of Destiny can talk?

Greg responds...

How is it that you can?

I know the above seems only to be a smart-ass response, but think about it.

Response recorded on March 29, 2001

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Vashkoda writes...

Iron is obviously harmful to the fey--even deadly. However I don't understand why it is that once Puck and the Sisters were wrapped in iron chains, they followed the orders of whoever captured them. It's not like they weren't able to use magic to free themselves, as Puck was obviously able to cast spells for Demona. I don't see why they couldn't do something simple like turning themselves into mortals or teleporting away and leaving the chains behind. Similarly, I don't see why Oberon couldn't use his powers to escape from the bell (unless the bell shorted out his magic completely, but then I don't understand why this is more harmful than being in direct contact with iron chains).

Any clarification would be appreciated!

Greg responds...

You're just being too literal minded. The iron bell sent out waves of ANTI-MAGIC against a creature of pure magic.

The chains created a bondage/servant situation.

Etc.

Or come up with your own explanation.

Response recorded on March 29, 2001

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matt writes...

do the pendant wearing gargoyles in Guatemala have to sleep as a human does to rest their bodies or does the pendant's magic cover that too?

Greg responds...

They have to rest periodically. Sometimes they nap as humans do. Sometimes they take off the pendants and sleep as stone. But the magic also helps compensate. SO ALL OF THE ABOVE, I guess.

Response recorded on March 29, 2001

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Vashkoda writes...

1a) Which race and civilization (or "clan" if they were gargoyles) created the Cauldron of Life? b) Which was the Cauldron made of--mortal, fairy, or some other magic? c) If it was made of mortal magic, did the mortal energies have any adverse effect on Puck when he dipped in his hand (other than the petrification itself), or was he spared any possible additonal effect because he was in mortal form as Owen?

2a) When the Cauldron's iron was reforged into the Coyote robot, was its ability to turn objects to stone lost? b) Did the Cauldron have any magical abilities other than petrification? c) Did the magic in the Cauldron's iron really make it more effective at capturing the Coyote fae, or would regular iron have been just as effective? If the Cauldron was made with mortal magic, did these mortal energies play a part in its effectiveness as a prison for fey?

3) What did Xanatos do with the magical iron after that Coyote robot was disabled?

Greg responds...

1a. That's a story in its own right.
1b. Mortal, largely.
1c. No adverse effects on Puck.

2a. Not necessarily.
2b. Not necessarily.
2c. Didn't hurt.

3. Wouldn't you like to know?

Response recorded on March 29, 2001

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Jim R. writes...

In the episode, "The Mirror", why did Elisa act as if Goliath had turned back into a gargoyle when he already was one of course, whenever she was transformed into one? Vise versa when the clan was transformed into humans, why did they act as if they always had been humans? What I mean to say and what I always got confused about is, that Puck's spell shouldn't have made them forget what they were. When Elisa was transformed I would have expected her to be a little shocked at first, and then calm whenever she realized that she and Goliath were now of the same species, but she would still long to become human again deep inside.

Greg responds...

Why?

I mean why are you setting limits on Puck?

The whole point was that NOBODY noticed the transformation. When all of Manhattan was transformed, the former humans didn't run around panicked and screaming over their new bodies. The transformation was so complete they thought they had always been that way. Same with Elisa and the gargs until logic forced them to take a closer look at it.

Anyway, it worked fine for me. If it makes you feel any better a lot of my staff originally agreed with you. They thought I was nuts. But most vindicated me later.

Response recorded on March 13, 2001

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Oberon writes...

Where did you get the name Grimourum Arcanorum

Greg responds...

Michael Reaves came up with that. But I think it's simply Latin for "magic book".

Response recorded on March 13, 2001

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matt writes...

does Demona have to sleep? i figure that when she is human her garg side sleeps and when she is gargoyle her human side sleeps. if this is true where does she get the solar energy from to support her gargoyle form?

Greg responds...

Magic compensates to some degree, but she does sleep as a human periodically.

Response recorded on March 13, 2001

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Corrine Blaquen writes...

What language is the Grimorum written in? I imagine the spells are in Latin, but what language did the Magus use to recount the story of the gargoyles?

Greg responds...

Most (but not all) of the Grimorum is in Latin. The Magus used Latin as well, which was in those days the language of scholars.

Response recorded on March 08, 2001

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Jim R. writes...

matt,

I thought the skiff was blown up at first, but i remembered that only happened in the "Future Tense" episode, which I suppose wasn't real to Goliath. But no one could accidently go to Avalon, because one would first have to recite the Latin to reach it. I got you on this one buddy. :)

Greg responds...

Yup.

Response recorded on March 08, 2001

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michael regan writes...

Dear Greg
can you answer this,cause their is no scientific way about it(maybe magic,anyway)
a gargoyles flesh and bone turns to stone in the day,but how is it their clothing does as well?

Greg responds...

The clothes thing is magic. Part of a modesty spell cast in the year 10 A.D.

Response recorded on March 08, 2001

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Malcom writes...

Why did Xanatos find he Grimorum Arcanorum?
Did Dmona help him finding the book?

Greg responds...

Why? Do you mean how?

And, no, Demona wasn't involved in finding the book, just in interpreting it once it was acquired.

Response recorded on February 08, 2001

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Jim R. writes...

Do you think our technology will progress further than the magic of Oberon's children? When will Oberon's children reach the limitations of their magic? Would any of them possibly decide to live amongst us mortals and begin thinking scientifically, like an outcast fae, that would prefer sceince over sorcery?

Greg responds...

1. Apples and oranges.
2. Who says they will?
3. To some extent, Titania has done this already.

Response recorded on February 07, 2001

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matt writes...

Greg, i have some questions about the "Praying Gargoyle". i know you'll probably answer, "I'm not telling" to most but we'll see:
1. Who created the Praying Gargoyle or was it always in existence? Is it a gargoyle magic as the Grimorum is human magic and the Eye and Gate are fae magics, or is a human or fae majic? does that make sense?
2. Why was the Praying Gargoyle created?
3. What are the abilities of the PG? is it some sort of gargoyle protector? if so. does it have any other abilities?
4. How did Demona know about the PG? where did she keep it during the 15 years before Hunter's Moon?
5. Was the PG always kept at Notre Dame? if so, why there?
6. You do plan on doing a background story of the PG, right? esspecially if you don't answer these questions!
7. the PG is one of the only magic talismans that we never got to see hardly at all in the show or know anything about. is there a reason for this?
thanks

Greg responds...

1. It was created. It makes sense, but the answer is more complex than that.

2. To protect the protectors.

3. It depends on how it is used.

4. She kept it in her townhouse. She learned about it decades before.

5. No. Demona left it there for safe keeping.

6. Yes. Plans more immediate than you can know. *Though, as usual, the answers will raise more questions.*

7. Uh... Cuz Goliath broke it?

Response recorded on February 01, 2001

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Todd Jensen writes...

One question that I found myself reminded of because of your piece about "you have to both see and hear magic in order for it to affect you" in "City of Stone". Now, I very much liked the concept because of it giving established rules for how magic works in the Gargoyles Universe, helping to give it its feeling of verisimilitude. But at the same time, I've occasionally wondered about just how universal that particular rule is.

First off, faerie magic clearly doesn't always follow this rule. In "The Mirror", Puck was able to transform humans into gargoyles and gargoyles into humans when they weren't able to see or hear him. In "The Gathering Part One", Oberon was able to put the whole city to sleep even though, again, the affected people were clearly not all seeing and hearing him. Of course, the above rule probably was only meant to apply to human magic anyway, so these exceptions don't count.

But the area that I do sometimes find myself wondering about is the Roman Magus's "spell of modesty" that you mentioned, back in the days of Caesar Augustus. Because it affected every gargoyle on the planet, including their descendants. But nearly all the gargoyle clans that we know of are from areas that weren't part of the Roman Empire: Britain (which was partly conquered by Rome, but only after Augustus's lifetime), the Far East (never a part of the Roman Empire), and Guatemala (beyond ancient Rome's very knowledge). Obviously, the gargoyles in those regions didn't see or hear the Roman Magus when he cast the spell, but were affected by him. (I assume that it was probably a very unusual, even unique case, though of course, I doubt that you feel ready yet to explain it to us). A small mystery that I thought that I'd mention here.

Greg responds...

Mortal sorcery, yes. Not fae magic.

As for the modesty spell. Well, uh, hey, um, well, that was one darn POWERFUL magus. (Must have had the backing of ALL of Rome's Standard's and Practice's Executives.)

But seriously, he had help. The Archmage wasn't the first guy to combine magical artifacts.

Response recorded on February 01, 2001

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Andrew Hume writes...

1) When the Archmage used the Eye Of Odin, the Phinex Gate, and the Grimorum was he more powerful than the Weird Sisters.

2) In Avalon part 2, the future Archmage told the past Archmage to use Avalon as a base for when he took over the world. If the wierd sisters found out about this would they have become enemies of the Archmage.

Greg responds...

1. Largely.

2. No, not when they were in erinyes mode.

Response recorded on January 17, 2001

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LSZ writes...

Are some languages more arcane or magical than others?

Greg responds...

No. But some spells were written long ago.

Response recorded on December 01, 2000

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matt writes...

is a blind man immune to fay magic as well as human magic? how different are fay and human magic?

Greg responds...

Very. And it depends on the nature of the spell as it is cast.

Response recorded on December 01, 2000

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Anonymous writes...

1.What kind of magic powers the Holy Grail? Fay magic? Location magic?

2. Who made the Holy Grail?

Greg responds...

1. There are other categories. Talisman magic for one.

2. In this case, it's less about who made it and more about what happened to it.

Response recorded on November 17, 2000

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LSZ writes...

What makes some languages(Latin, Hebrew) etc more magical than others(modern English)?

Greg responds...

Their older and the given spells were WRITTEN in them originally.

Response recorded on November 16, 2000

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Vashkoda writes...

You said that Wyvern and St. Damiens were both built over "a nexus of energy"/"holy ground".

1) Will New Camelot also be built over such a "nexus"?

2) Is Avalon just one REALLY big nexus?

3) Is the "mystic energy" that flows from these nexuses of a general "earth magic" nature, or is it specific--depending on the nexus--for either "fae" or "mortal" magic?

4) You said that the Megalith Dance and the other ruins "sorta"/"not really" were the reason why the Archmage came to Wyvern. Was it then the nexus that drew him there?

5a) You called such places "holy ground". Do you also have plans of incorporating the traditional belief that undead creatures hate holy ground into the series? (I know you have plans for vampires, which is why I wonder) b) If so, and if you answered yes to #2, does that mean that such creatures cannot go to Avalon?

6) Who can detect these "nexuses"? Does it depend on profession (priest, wizard) or race (fae, gargoyle, human, lost), or is the ability randomly and equally dispersed among earthlings?

Greg responds...

1. Parts of it.

2. YES!

3. More the former, but there can be elements of one or the other or all of the above.

4. Not exactly.

5a. I always have plans.

5b. I don't always reveal my plans.

6. Very little in the Gargoyles universe is Random. That's not necessarily a good thing. But you're stuck with it.

Response recorded on November 13, 2000

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LSZ writes...

1) Can Puck also be summoned by Oberon's Mirror?
2) Was Titania's Mirror meant to be used to summon Puck only, or could it summon any fae if you knew how?
3) If so to the former, what makes Puck connected to the Mirror?

Greg responds...

1. In theory.
2. It's something of a generic portal.
3. See 2.

Response recorded on November 10, 2000

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LSZ writes...

Did New Olympian scientists ever try to explain the workings of magic scientifically, seeing how it's a tech-driven society but has knowledge of magic?

Greg responds...

To some extent.

Response recorded on November 09, 2000

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Vashkoda writes...

1a) Would there be any point in the future when the practice of mortal magic becomes more common than it is at the time of "The Journey"?

b) If so, roughly how long would it take for such a revival to come to pass? (decades, years, centuries?)

2a) Why is it so dangerous to mix fae and mortal magic? Energy is energy, right? And both fae and mortal magic are presumably of earthly origin. So what makes them so incompatible? b) What are the actual consequences of mixing the two?

3) The Archmage was able to bring the Grimorum to Avalon by "bending the rules", and so bypassed Oberon's Law. But in the end, he was still using the Eye to control the Grimorum, and hence, was "mixing magics". Why didn't this have any (visible) consequences?

4a) You've mentioned "ghost magic" before. Would it fall under the "mortal magic" category, or is it a completely different form of magic? b) If it's different, is it safe to mix with mortal or fae magic?

5) Which is the Megalith Dance powered by--fae or mortal magic?

6a) Do any New Olympians possess (or are capable of practicing) "fae" magic? b) Do any New Olympians practice "mortal" magic?

Greg responds...

1a. Maybe a tiny bit -- but not until WAY beyond 2198.

b. Centuries.

2a. Different frequencies maybe. Feedback. I don't know exactly. Just is.

b. BOOM. Usually. Or some other backfiring.

3. The Eye is a bit more flexible. It WANTS to "help".

4a. Another category, I think, maybe, sorta.

b. Not recommended, but less dangerous.

5. Not telling its origin right now.

6a. Maybe, but it's more internalized as "powers" generally.

b. Maybe, but not many. They're a technology driven society.

Response recorded on October 26, 2000

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LSZ writes...

Do you personally believe magic similar to the way magic is portrayed in the Gargoyles universe exists in real life?

Greg responds...

I believe in everything. But that doesn't change the pragmatic way that I generally lead my life.

Response recorded on October 05, 2000

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LSZ writes...

A more careful rephrase of the earlier question, which got a rather good smart-ass answer:

Just what is it that makes Oberon and Mab so powerful magically? Is it acquired power? Is it luck? Does it come just from being the ruler of Avalon? Does it come from, for lack of a better word, genetics?

Greg responds...

A lot of it is "genetics". A lot is WILL. A lot is about natural magical loci. Some is acquired. And you could call it all luck on at least some level.

Response recorded on October 05, 2000

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Vashkoda writes...

1) Are you considering bringing back the Grimorum in some way (or parts of it, if not the whole book)? I can't help but feel sorry for all those wizards who spent their lives writing spells in that thing, only to have it eaten and destroyed by the Archmage.

2) Was the Grimorum the most powerful/comprehensive book of human sorcery in existence? How would Una or Macbeth's magic books rate against it?

3) Will Brooklyn ever meet the original Magus who created the Grimorum?

4) Did Merlin contribute any spells to the Grimorum?

5) Were copies of the Grimorum ever made?

Greg responds...

1. It felt like a device (in both senses of the word) that had served its purpose, run its course. Flashback uses, sure. But I felt done with it in the presense.

2. Yes. But there are individual spells of greater power on things like the Medici Tablet.

3. Maybe. ;)

4. Maybe ;)

5. No.

Response recorded on September 25, 2000

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Anonymous writes...

Is the Phoenix Gate called the Phoenix Gate because it will be destroyed and recreated or is it something else ?

Greg responds...

It's mostly about the flame effect, but it's also about its circular/cyclical nature.

Response recorded on September 25, 2000

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Vashkoda writes...

1a) Are/were there any living phoenixes in the Gargoyles Universe? b) If so, were/are they a separate species, or are they Children of Oberon or a form of gargoyle?

2a) Did the forging of the Phoenix Gate have anything to do with (an) actual phoenix(es)? b) If so, was whatever involvement they/it had, voluntary?

3a) Was Princess Katharine's mother ever aware of the powers of the Gate? b) ...was the Normand ambassador? c) Was Malcolm ever aware that he was going to receive the Gate?

4a) When the Gate was broken in half, did it become *completely* nonfunctional, or did some residual magic remain? b) When it was whole again, was it as good as new?

5) What is the immediate source of the magic/energy that the Gate draws on?

6a) Why is the incantation for an Avalonian magical artifact in Latin? b) Is that particular incantation necessary, or can the Gate be activated some other way?

Greg responds...

1a. Maybe.

b. Not saying.

2a. Maybe. If the Gate was forged. Which it wasn't.

b. Maybe.

3a. No.

B. No.

c. He was informed after it was stolen.

4a. Non-functional.

b. Yes.

5. Ambient time stream need. (Generally measured in Farquars.)

6a. Necessary for a human to harness it.

b. When free, the gate travels about on its own, as Brooklyn learns to his chagrin.

Response recorded on September 25, 2000

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Vashkoda writes...

1) Has Demona already used all the spells available in the pages she tore from the Grimorum?

2) Did Elisa or the others do anything special with that page from the Grimorum with the spell that enchanted Goliath? If Goliath must obey anyone who holds it, couldn't someone say, "I negate the last command", and have Goliath fall right back under its spell? Even if that isn't the case, I would think that the possibility was enough that they would take certain precautions with it. Just wondering.

Greg responds...

1. All but one.

2. They burned it.

Response recorded on September 21, 2000

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Matthew writes...

What would have happened to Puck if he broke the rules and simply taken the Pheonix Gate?

Greg responds...

He couldn't. It's not just a rule. It's Oberon's Law.

Response recorded on September 16, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

How did the Banshee get around Oberon's non-intervention edict when she kidnapped Goliath, Elisa, and Angela, and took them to Cairn na Culainn for interrogation?

Greg responds...

Her excuse was she thought they were agents of Oberon. The scent of Avalon was upon them, so she thought she wasn't interfering with mortals. Just with Oberon. Of course, she did this at her own peril. But there was nothing magical preventing her from doing it.

Response recorded on September 09, 2000

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LSZ writes...

Are there any planets in the Gargoyles universe which totally lack native magic sources?

Greg responds...

In an infinite universe there are infinite possibilities.

Response recorded on September 02, 2000

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Brian writes...

You've said that the reason the gargoyles turned to stone under the magus's spell is because it put them to sleep, and that's how gargoyles sleep. But what about una's spell in MIA?

Greg responds...

That wasn't a sleep spell. It was a lose consciousness spell. There's a difference.

Response recorded on August 23, 2000

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LSZ writes...

Just what is magic in the Gargoyles Universe? How can it be described as a natural force?

Greg responds...

It's an energy that can be harnessed in numerous ways.

Response recorded on August 22, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

I recently rewatched my tape of "Eye of the Beholder", and thought that I'd ask you a question concerning it. In the course of the series, three successive characters, Fox, the Archmage, and Goliath, all wear the Eye and are all transformed by it. When the Archmage and Goliath wear the Eye, the transformation is immediate (for the Archmage, a "super-sorcerer" and for Goliath, an "Odinized gargoyle"), and stays that way until the Eye is removed. Fox, however, didn't immediately turn into a "werefox" when she wore the Eye, but shifted back and forth from one form to the other, being sometimes human, sometimes "werefox". Why did Fox's transformation by the Eye follow a different pattern than that of the Archmage and Goliath?

Greg responds...

Awareness and need and desire.

Response recorded on August 22, 2000

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LSZ writes...

1) Do fae grow weaker magically as they grow older?
2) Is there any limit to how powerful a fae can grow unaided by any magical artefacts?
3) How seriously can fae be hurt by human magic?
4) If gargoyles could develop their own sorcery, would the magic they utilise be identical to human magic?
5) Did the Zeroth/Lost Race use magic?
6) Do the New Olympians use magic these days?

Greg responds...

1. Generally, no.

2. Probably.

3. Seriously.

4. Identical? Garg sorcery + human sorcery = mortal sorcery.

5. Zeroth? Who's that?

6. Rarely.

Response recorded on August 22, 2000

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Wing writes...

Hi Mr.Weisman or Erin or Benny,
Is Goliath immune from spells affecting his actions? In Temptations he was cured by Elisa from Demona's controlling spell. "I want you to act from now on as if you were never under a spell" Does this not mean his actions can not be altered by magic? In Future Tense this holds true. Only the setting was magic, his response to them was not. His action to not give Puck the Gate was not influenced by magic because by law Puck wasn't supposed to, but then, He tried to control Goliath's actions with magic(by assuming Elisa's form and the whole FT situation). I can think of an exeption-when he was wearing Odin's eye. But his nature was amplified there, not altered. Any Insights? Thanks to the Weisman (mostly you, Greg) family for answering our questions. When is your wife going to join in on the fun?

Greg responds...

Maybe.

And my wife put her foot in the water at G2K.

Response recorded on August 21, 2000

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Aaron writes...

You've probably answered this, but I was reading your mirror memo, and I remembered the bit where Puck says, "Does this look like Aladdin's lamp? I have limits."

Does that imply that:

1. Aladdin's lamp exists in the Gargoyles universe.

2. It *does* have enough power to wipe out all the humans on earth.

Greg responds...

1. Probably. But it was mostly a Disney in-joke.

2. Uh... Hmm... Well....

Response recorded on August 21, 2000

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LSZ (repost by Aris) writes...

If Jackal/Anubis had succeeded in 'bringing the gift of death to the world', how would the powers of death affected Macbeth and Demona? Could it cancel out their immortality spell? In short, which is greater, the power of an immortality spell cast by the Weird Sisters, or the power of a Death God like Anubis?

Greg responds...

More hypothetical/quantifying questions from LSZ.

I feel guilty because you're sincerity shines through in the questions you ask. Unfortunately, my mind just doesn't work that way.

To me, these things aren't quantifiable. They aren't cut and dry. There are a myriad of situational answers that your hypothetical doesn't address. Sorry.

Response recorded on August 01, 2000

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Tana (repost by Aris) writes...

Greg,

Read your "Temptation" Ramble, and there were a few things that I would love to point out about that episode.
First off: I loved the leather jacket and HOW brooklyn folded his wings under his arms. He really did look good in that episode. ^_^

Second: The bike. It was a cool bike! BUT, the bikers when they see it say: "Cool Hog." Now, okay people who don't know much about motorcycles would refer to any bike as a hog, but these Biker's would know better. A Hog is a Harley Davidson...and Lex's creation looked nothing like a Harley. I dunno if that was you, or somebody else. But oh well, it was still a cool bike.

Third: The spell. Now Elisa says: "I want you to act, FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, as if you weren't under a spell." Wouldn't that in sense nullify some future spells on the big guy? I mean sure, Puck's spell worked well, cause he still ACTED like he wasn't under a spell. Were you maybe planning on keeping with this for future continuity?

oh, and I LOVE your little analizations (sp?) of the episodes. It really lets us get more into your head, and into the world of the Gargoyles.

Greg responds...

The 'hog' reference was ultimately my responsibility. (Obviously, I know next to nothing about motorcycles.) Though Michael and Brynne Reaves (the story editor and writer) can share some of the blame.

As for the spell, it would have to be a case-by-case thing. But most spells would not be affected.

Response recorded on August 01, 2000

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Nemi writes...

On to the serious stuff! All have to do with Iron and the Avalon

The Human body, Earth, and all other natural organisims can cleanse themselves.

Avalon is natural, if magical.

We know that Avalon's magic can effect Iron, it's just the fey in that respect.

But if Iron was dumped into Avalon and the fey couldn't remove it, could Avalon itself process the iron out of it's system?

Would Avalon remove it in the first place since suposedly it does no harm?

How long would this take?

Greg responds...

If Iron was dumped there?

First answer my question. What if it wasn't?

Response recorded on July 29, 2000

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Isaac Kelley writes...

Alright, in Hunters Moon, my personal favorite episode, Demona almost unleashed a magical disease that would have killed all sentience. Gargoyles would be immune to it's effects thanks to the Praying Gargoyle.
Now we all know Goliath smashed the statue and saved the world. But what if this was not the case...
1. All humans would have died. Macbeth is obviously human. Would this not have qualified as death at Demona's hands, thus killing Demona (oops)?
2. If not, would she fall prey to it when she turned into human form? How would this work?
3. Would this spread to Avalon and/or the isle of the New Olympians?
4. How would it affect... Oberon's Children?
5. ...New Olympians?
6. ...Gargoyle clones?
7. Any other effects?

Thanks for your time. Love your rambles, by the way, look forward to next season's rambles.

Greg responds...

More hypothetical questions... YAY!

1. I've answered this many times before. Try looking through the Demona or Macbeth archives. Briefly, it would depend on Demona's intent.

2. I'm sure she thought she was safe.

3. No reason why it wouldn't spread to New Olympus. No reason why it would spread to Avalon.

4. Potentially not at all.

5. Kill most of them probably.

6. Not at all.

7. Anyone who asks hypothetical questions based on untread pathes would die. :)

Response recorded on July 27, 2000

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Chapter XVIII: "The Mirror"

Story Editor: Brynne Chandler Reaves
Writer: Lydia C. Marano

Arguably the best single episode of the series. The animation is fluid, dynamic and very strong. The writing is sharp, even quite funny over and over. And yet, dramatically the story is still potent. It really advances the Goliath & Elisa romance arc. Changes Demona permanently. And introduces Puck -- and by extension, the entire third race: The Children of Oberon. All in a mere 22 minutes.

It's also very gratifying for me. A bit of a vindication. As you may have seen from the memos I wrote to Brynne & Lydia, there was some considerable resistance to the notion that none of the characters would notice their own personal change from one species to another. Most of my collaborators thought the idea was way too complicated to pull off. I argued that it might seem complex, but in fact it would play cleaner on screen -- and funnier and more directly to theme. In my mind, another title for this episode could have been -- had we already not been using it for our Werefox episode -- "Eye of the Beholder", because all the transformed characters really noticed was when someone else was "OTHER". Being a monster or being "normal" was based on their point of view, not any objective look in the mirror. [As it is, the title is the kind I like. Simple, objective and yet metaphoric. At one point, it was titled: "Mirror, Mirror". But we simplified it even more.]

But anyway, when the human Brooklyn, Lex and Broadway are confronted by "Gargoyles", the scene is an intentional mirror of the scene from AWAKENING, PART ONE where Brooklyn says, "If they think we're beasts and monsters..." Again, this is playing with the idea of "beasts and monsters" being merely in the eye of the beholder. The species have reversed, but the situation is exactly the same simply because the Trio remain in the minority. I suppose that's one thing that X-Men's mutants have in common with the Gargs. Both are a metaphor for being part of a minority. Feared almost automatically.

On the other hand, when Elisa is transformed, she believes that Goliath & Co. have been transformed into something like her. I think her immediate reaction is very telling about how she ALREADY felt about Goliath at that point. She's thrilled. She throws her arms about him. Now they're the same species. There's no impediment to their love. What's interesting is that if you stopped and asked Elisa under normal circumstances whether she would wish for Goliath to be transformed into a human, the answer would most certainly be "No." She knows that being a Gargoyle is fundamental to who he is. You can't change that without changing him -- and yet in that instant, in that unguarded moment, her desire to be with him overwhelms that rational knowledge. She's just happy.

At the museum, Elisa looks at herself in the mirror. She then moves, but the reflection holds. That was the idea of one of our board artists. A little clue that the mirror is magic. (It's not an animation error.)

Family Reactions #1

During that museum chase, my wife wanted to know why no alarms were going off. I figure Demona or the thieves just shut them off.

Erin didn't realize that that was Elisa dressed as a security guard at first. We were trying to withhold that information for a bit.

"Titania's Mirror", "The Children of Oberon", "Oberon sent me." We were laying groundwork to expand the entire series' base. But I don't know if back then I knew that much about what if anything I had planned specifically for Titania & Oberon.

Anymore than I knew then what I'd do with the "Dracula's Daughter" reference. But we try not to waste anything.

Coming up with that "Children of Oberon" name was a struggle. And so many people have asked me since whether or not Oberon is literally everyone's father, I almost regret landing on that choice. Our thought process is largely present in the episode when Goliath et al, go through various noms: Fair Folk, Dark Elves, Changelings, Shape-Shifters. Of course, at the time we were misusing the term Changeling. I think that was Odo's influence frankly, but I should have known better. I suggested "The Oberati". But the Reaves didn't care for that. I think they thought it sounded too much like an Italian sports car.

I do love the moment when Brooklyn cites Shakespeare's play as a sort of reference work on the Children. I hope we sent a few people to the library with that line. Did we?

I also love Hudson's line in response to Elisa's question: Are they real?

Hudson: "As real as I am, if the stories be true." It's full of delicious dramatic irony. If you can suspend belief on a bunch of gargoyles, then this shouldn't be a problem for you. I love things that work on multiple levels.

I also love Hudson's "Be careful what you wish for" line.

We were trying to show a bit here how Demona had managed to operate in the modern world up to this point. One of the thieves has clearly worked for Demona before without ever having laid eyes on her. Of course, showing Demona's M.O. here, was like giving it a swan song. Because after this episode, though she clearly doesn't realize it yet, her life is going to get MUCH easier. Being a human during the day is a great boon to all her scheming. I'm very curious about everyone's reaction to that? Shock? Amusement? I also tried to work very hard so that in that last two minutes of epilogue, everyone would get that she only was human during the day. I was very afraid that the audience would think she was permanently transformed into a human. Was anyone confused? Or was anyone surprised that Puck's revenge/gift STUCK? We wouldn't really explore the change until HIGH NOON. Had you forgotten about it by then?

Family Reactions #2
As Demona's casting the spell that will summon Puck. (Which I always thought was very cool, with the feather and all.)
Benny: "That's a magic mirror. Is Demona going in there?"
Erin: "Puck's gonna come out."

As I've mentioned before, during the writing of this story we figured out that Owen was Puck. So to play fair we dropped a hint here. Demona (who knows) says to Puck: "You serve the human. You can serve me." Puck changes the subject, replying "Humans [note the plural] have a sense of humor, you have none." This was done intentionally to distract the audience away from the hint we had just dropped. But obviously, in hindsight, it's a clear reference to Owen serving Xanatos. Anyone get it right off the bat? Anyone even take note of the line the first time? Originally, the line read, "You serve him, now you can serve me." With the "him" referring to Xanatos. But our S&P executive was afraid the "him" could be taken to mean Satan. I know that seems silly now. But keep in mind, we were very paranoid back then about the show being attacked for promoting devil worship. So we made the change.

Sensitive Broadway: "Maybe even love." It's a nice moment. Wistful.

Puck reminds Demona that the mirror isn't "Aladdin's lamp". At the time, the Aladdin series was still in production at Disney. So that's a bit of an in-joke.

And how about that: Demona is still carrying a torch for Goliath. On some level, she wants him more than almost anything. Yet she continually allows her hatred to get in the way. And the irony is, that at this point, pre-Vows it isn't yet too late for them. But her actions further serve to cement the Goliath/Elisa relationship. More now than ever before.

Puck/Brent Spiner is just fantastic. I love that "charming personality" line. And "You don't know what you're asking, believe me." And "I'll do EXACTLY as you asked." And "My mistake." And "A very long nap." He's just so rich.

Plus the boarding and animation on Puck is just great. As is the sound work that accompanies him zipping around.

I always wanted Puck to be the one character who could break the fourth wall and talk directly to the audience. Every time he appeared, we'd put a line or two in the script that was addressed to the audience. And every time, Frank or Dennis Woodyard would cut it out of the board. They didn't like breaking the fourth wall. (A lot of guys don't. I tried to do that with Max on Max Steel, but Richard Raynis and Jeff Kline wouldn't allow that either.) Oh, well....

Puck also establishes that Oberon's Children generally use rhyming spells instead of Latin or Hebrew or whatever. (Thus making life slightly -- but ONLY slightly -- easier on me and the writers.) But Puck isn't too formal: "Human's love a battle hearty, so does Puck, come on, let's Party!" Fun. (And I like Brooklyn's line, "Party's over." too.)

Family Reactions #3
When Elisa's transformed into a gargoyle.

Erin: "She looks cute." [I very much agree. Though I always wonder where her red jacket goes.]

Ben then asked why she was transformed.

Beth explained that Demona didn't want Elisa to be human anymore.

Erin then corrects my wife and explains that Puck is tricking Demona.

KIDS GET IT! Adults need to pay closer attention!

Goliath suddenly has lust in his heart:
G: "I never realized when you were human just how beautiful you were."
E (with a smile): "You mean you thought I was ugly?"
G: "Uh... careful! Updraft!!"
Man, that guy is smooth.

Anyway, that's one of my all-time favorite exchanges. I think it reveals so much. Somewhere underneath, Goliath has been attracted to who Elisa IS deep-down -- at least since AWAKENING, PART THREE. But he never thought of her as a potential love interest. He wasn't brought up liberally enough to think that way. After all, she has no wings, no tail. And those human shaped feet!

But suddenly, she's revealed as a FEMALE. Now, even when she goes back to being human, his perspective is permanently altered. Hers, however, is not. She's already consciously had those thoughts. Consciously rejected them. So at the end of the episode, he wants to discuss these (for him) new feelings -- but she does not. And the sun helps shut him up.
G: "That's not what I meant."
E: "But that's the way it is."
Another of my all-time favorite exchanges. (I'm really partial to things involving the G/E relationship. I know, I know, I'm a romantic sap.]

I also like the ongoing confusion. Elisa: "Everyone in Manhattan has been turned into... HUMANS!" Goliath: "No, no, no, no, no." And when the Gargoyles are changed into humans, Brooklyn is so sure that they've always been humans, it's funny. Like that moment in CITY OF STONE, when he's convinced that the "statue of Elisa" is a bad likeness of her: "They got the nose wrong."

FYI, there was an honest attempt, within the logical parameters of what our gargs looked like, to make their human versions resemble the actors who played them. Thus Goliath has darker skin than the others, because Keith David is African-American. (Though otherwise Goliath really looks like Conan to me.) The bald Lex has brown hair and the bald Broadway has blond like Thom Adcox and Bill Fagerbakke respectively. Brooklyn resembles Jeff Bennett but with Brooklyn's white hair instead of Jeff's blond. And Hudson looks like Ed Asner with a beard. More or less. Thom Adcox is the one who most looked like the human version of his character.

Cool little touches:

Demona nudges an unconscious Puck with her tail.

She continues to call Hudson, "Old Soldier". Her tenth century "name" for him.

Her line about the "gift of being a gargoyle". I love that superior attitude.

Lexington's "Fun, but weird" line.

Hudson wrapping the sheet over the mirror.

Elisa and Demona have a brief "cat-fight" as Gargoyles. Not quite as diverting as the one they'll have as humans in High Noon. But it was nice to put them on equal physical footing for a change. Let them have it out.

Demona mentions that Puck isn't too tired to make himself "invisible to the crowd". This was us trying to plug a hole in our story. We felt it would undercut the mob's reactions to our newly human heroes if they had the same reaction to seeing Puck. And yet Puck clearly looks more human than Gargoyle. More "other". So we slid that line in to avoid the whole problem.

FAMILY REACTION #4

Beth laughed at Hudson's very Scots reading of "No doubt about it." Which is pronounced more like: "No doot aboot it."

More sappy stuff (which I love):

Goliath's line: "I'll always be there to catch you."

Elisa completely forgetting her fear of flying in order to save the MAN she loves.

That brief moment when both Elisa and Goliath are humans at the same time.

Hudson's wistful line about seeing the sun, just once.

Although it had little to do with the metaphor, we couldn't really resist the notion of showing Bronx transformed into a dog. We picked the biggest dog we could think of, a Wolfhound type, though a bulldog might have been more reminiscent.

In the script, Demona smashes the mirror upon seeing her human reflection in the glass. But somehow the scene never got animated. So we added the sound of the mirror being smashed to the exterior shot at the end. This was important in order to give the story full closure. The initial point of the episode was to prevent Demona from getting Titania's Mirror. Structurally, therefore, I couldn't allow her to keep it.

But no fear, later we introduced Oberon's Mirror (clearly part of a matching set) in THE GATHERING, PART ONE.

I wonder what all those Manhattanites thought when suddenly they realized they were all barefoot.


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Another "Mirror" Memo...

Though I think it's one of our most rewarding episodes, it was a tough one to make come together. So after I received the first draft script on "The Mirror", I sent a second memo to Brynne. Here it is, UNEDITED:

WEISMAN 11-13-94

Notes on "The Mirror" Script...

O.k. The problems here seems to be mostly my fault. I haven't been able to make clear to you guys how I want our characters to react when they've been changed. It's been clear in my head. And for me the logic flows backwards from a scene I want to see where an average-human-pedestrian-who-has-been-turned-into-a-gargoyle sees one of our transformed-into-human-heroes and screams: "Look at that monster!! It's like some kind of horrible... HUMAN!!" The key is that the bystander actually uses the word "HUMAN", and that he says it with the same kind of fear and revulsion that we would normally hear (in a more typical episode) being used for the word "GARGOYLE".

In order to get both the revulsion into the word "Human" and a strongly negative reaction to our heroes' new human appearance, the bystander needs to believe that being a gargoyle is the way it's supposed to be. Therefore when the bystander's appearance was changed his mind-set must have been changed as well.

Working backwards from that goal, how would our main characters react to being changed?

THEIR MINDSET WOULD CHANGE SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH THEIR APPEARANCE:
Elisa is the first to be transformed. Thus, ELISA'S REACTION to being changed into A GARGOYLE is the surprising statement:

"Goliath, You've been changed into a gargoyle!"

Reasoning: Goliath &co. were always "the other" to Elisa. But when she was transformed, her mindset changed with her appearance. So she now believes that being a gargoyle is normal. Since, Goliath &co. now look "normal" to her, she figures that they must have been magically changed from being "the other" into being "normal"--i.e. they have been transformed into gargoyles.

[I realize this seems byzantine, but ultimately it'll be the most straightforward reaction on screen, short of having everyone entirely self-aware from the moment they change, (which just isn't as much fun to me). See how it plays out in beat #11. (Also #9, 13, 14 and 21.) If you're still not clear, please don't hesitate to call me.]

TENSION
Despite absurdist moments in this story, we must keep the tension and suspense running high, throughout.
--Don't reveal Elisa's presence at the museum until last possible second. Same with Goliath.
--Don't let Gargoyle's lose track of their objective for more than a line of dialogue here or there.
--Don't let the battle meander from place to place. Keep battle and chase scenes focused and specific.

WHAT THEY'VE BEEN WISHING FOR:
DEMONA'S WISHES
1. Get rid of humans, particularly Elisa.
2. Get rid of Goliath and Co.
3. Stop turning to stone during the day.

GOLIATH & ELISA'S WISH - To be together. (Elisa is slightly more self-aware than Goliath, but neither should specifically wish in dialogue to become the race of the other. It's too on the head.)

TRIO'S WISH - To assimilate.

CLARITY IN SCRIPT
O.K. TO USE: ELISA/GARGOYLE
HUMAN/"GARGOYLES"
GOLIATH/HUMAN
HUDSON/HUMAN
BROOKLYN/HUMAN
BROADWAY/HUMAN
LEXINGTON/HUMAN
OUR HEROES

DON'T USE: HUMAN/GARGOYLES
GARGOYLES/HUMANS
TRIO/HUMANS
Even for me, these were too confusing.

In group scenes, LIST ALL CHARACTERS IF NECESSARY.

BEAT SHEET
ACT ONE
1. Museum.
--Establish two security guards - but don't reveal that one of them is Elisa (or that Goliath is there).
--Demona breaks in and takes out the first guard.
--Second guard turns out to be Elisa, ready and waiting w/Goliath.
--Establish how much Demona hates humans in general, and Elisa specifically.
--Demona never gets as far as laser-grid around mirror.

2. Chase.
--Demona Escapes.
--And while Goliath and Elisa are chasing her...
Maybe inter-cut w/...

3. Museum.
--Thieves get past laser-grid to steal mirror.

4. Ext. Demona's house.
--The two thieves deliver mirror.

5. Int. Demona's house.
--Demona summons Puck.

6. Clock tower.
--Elisa arrives. They were duped. Mirror was stolen.
--Elisa's: So how bad is this? What can D do with that mirror?
--No one knows for sure, but it leads to the discussion of Oberon's Children.
--Refer here to Midsummer Night's Dream.
--Scotsmen called them "Fair Folk".
--Vikings called them "Dark Elves".
--Shape-shifters.
--Trio: Imagine what it would be like to shape-change. Fit in anywhere.
--Hint subtly at Elisa and Goliath's desires.

7. Demona's house.
--Make sure we know Puck's name here.
--Our Demona and Puck wish scene.
--Puck uses a rhyming spell.
--Puck's arms are pinned by chains, so magic energy comes out of his eyes.

8. Clock Tower.
--Elisa: All we can do is wait til Demona makes her move.
--Elisa transforms into a gargoyle.

ACT TWO
9. Clock Tower.
--Everyone including Bronx is pretty stunned by Elisa's change.
--She seems happy though.
-- Elisa: "This is wonderful. Goliath, you've been transformed into a gargoyle!"
--Goliath: "What?!"

10. Demona's House.
--Puck tells her the deed is done.
--Demona wants to escalate. Every human in Manhattan.
--Puck again stresses difficulty of "big wishes".
--Demona yanks chain: "Answer truthfully. Can it be done?"
--Puck: Yes, but not from here.

11. Clock Tower.
--Bronx sniffs at Elisa.
--Goliath: "We've always been gargoyles. You're the one who's been changed."
--Elisa: "I've always been a gargoyle. I think I'd know it if I wasn't."
--Goliath: "How did we first meet?"
--Elisa: "I fell off a skyscraper; you glided down and caught me."
--Goliath: "If you always had wings, why would you need me to catch you."
--Elisa: "I can't glide with these."
--Goliath: "Yes, you can."
--AND OFF THEY GO.
--Hudson and Trio stare at each other for a beat and then follow.
--Bronx is left behind.

12. WORLD TRADE CENTER
--Puck and Demona materialize w/mirror.
--P: This is gonna take a while.
--He begins visually gathering magical energy. Just a little at first.

13. Flight over the city.
--Goliath NEVER LETS GO OF HER HAND, even after it's clear that she's gliding under her own "power", because she's afraid. She doesn't want to lose that contact.
--Goliath can't help staring at her: "I never realized when you were human just how beautiful you are."
--Elisa: "You mean you used to think I was ugly?"
--He doesn't have a good answer to this.
--Fortunately for him, she segues to: "This is so confusing. Have I always been able to glide like this?"
--[She's still hasn't quite grasped the situation.]
--Goliath: "No. No. Try to understand. You've been changed into a gargoyle. Follow me, I'll show you."
--They glides in low over the streets. Elisa sees the humans and freaks!! (Her freaking needs to be ambiguous. Goliath thinks she understands now. She doesn't really.)
--Goliath: "Maybe we should land somewhere and talk."

14. Rooftop.
--Goliath, Elisa, Hudson and Trio come in for a landing.
--(Establish clothes line. Someone has left their laundry, including bedsheets, to dry in the warm night air.)
--Elisa: "Did you see? Everyone in Manhattan's been turned into a HUMAN?!!!"
--G: "...no, no, no..."
--HUDSON: "LOOK!"
--He points at light show that seems to be gathering around one of the towers of the WTC.

15. World Trade Center.
--BIG LIGHT SHOW as Puck glows with magical energy.
--P: "This is really going to wear me out."
--D: "Quit complaining and do it already."
--Puck casts rhyming spell.
--Magical energy shoots from entire body to hit mirror.
--Spell reflects off mirror and hits giant hyperbolic sattelite dish. --Sattelite dish fires magic off across the whole city.
--Puck collapses.

16. Rooftop.
--Goliath & Co. have seen light show from WTC, (but not result).
--Goliath &Co. leave Elisa on the roof and head toward WTC.
--Elisa's not happy about it, but they don't give her a choice.
--And she's still phobic about flying alone, so she can't follow.

17. WTC
--Now that the light show has subsided, Demona wants to see her "empty city", but Puck is out of it.
--Goliath and co. attack. She's forced to flee with Puck, but without mirror.
--(Somewhere in here, Demona has to mention Puck's name.)
--To save herself, she tosses it. Hudson saves it.
--Goliath and Trio pursue Demona.

18. Downtown streets/subway/ whatever
--Even though she's being chased and is hampered by the unconscious Puck, Demona still comes in for a landing to see the results of her wish.
--She's furious as she sees the human/"gargoyles" going about their business.
--Use this chase (and this scene) to reveal the extent and absurdity of the change that hasn't really changed anything but the appearance of the people. Take us down into the subway, maybe.
--Demona ultimately uses the situation to get lost in a crowd.
--For the pursuers, Goliath and trio, it's like finding a needle in a haystack.
--Throughout scene, Trio may get wistful and a little distracted about being able to fit in.
--There are female "Gargoyles" walking by, catching trio's eyes.
--They have to remind themselves that this is wrong. And they're not entirely convinced that it is.
--But other "gargoyles" still shy away from trio because of how they are dressed. (Or how little they are dressed.)
--At any rate, the trio don't totally lose track of their objective: Demona.
--But Demona's gone.
--Goliath: Let's go get Elisa and plan our next move.

19. A deserted alley.
--Demona confronts a very worn-out Puck.
--D: I wanted you to destroy the humans, not give them the gift of being a gargoyle!!
--D: "Change the gargoyles back to humans."
--Puck: "O.K., o.k., give me a chance to catch my breath."
--He leans to look at his reflection in the side-view mirror of a car.
--The image in the mirror wavers.

20. Rooftop.
--Goliath, Hudson, Trio and Elisa confer.
--They have the mirror.
--That was definitely one of Oberon's Children with Demona.
--Demona called him Puck.
--Elisa: In Shakespeare, Puck was a harmless trickster.
--Goliath: What's happened below isn't harmless. Come, we must continue to search for Demona and Puck.
--Elisa: "I'll never get the hang of leaping off rooftops."
--Goliath: "I will always be there to catch you."
--She hesitates. He takes off to set an example.
--A bolt of Magic shoots out of the mirror catching Goliath, Hudson and the trio.
--Goliath changes to human and falls.

ACT THREE
21. Rooftop.
--Elisa dives and catches Goliath. Overcoming her fear without thinking about it.
--Meanwhile, Hudson grabs a sheet off the clothesline and covers the mirror: "Don't want anything else jumping out at us from this thing!"
--Goliath doesn't understand why he fell.
--Suddenly he stares at her: "Elisa...You've changed back to normal!!"
--E: No. I haven't changed. You have. You're a human. You fell because, you don't have wings.
--Brooklyn: "We've always been humans."
--Hudson: "And we've never needed wings to glide before."
--Lex (the engineer of the group): "Wait a minute, we must have used wings. How else could we do it?"
--Goliath, sinking in: "Elisa's right. We're supposed to be gargoyles. And we're not. Everyone else should be human. But thanks to Demona and Puck, they're not."

22. Alley & Street.
--Puck is very weary.
--Demona asks if it's done.
--Puck says yes.
--Demona and Puck cautiously exit alley.
--Obviously, all the humans are still "Gargoyles".
--Demona turns on Puck. I told you to turn the gargoyles to humans.
--Puck: "Oh, you meant these gargoyles! I thought you meant Goliath and the gang. My mistake. Sorry."
--Demona: "You turned Goliath into a human?!!"
--She's ready to murdilate Puck. She pulls the chain tighter, crushing him.
--Puck: "Hey, hey, hey, You're missing the big picture, here. This is your big chance to get rid of Goliath. Now, while he's weak as any human."
--She stops, smiles.
--Dissolve.

23. Rockefeller Center. Some time later.
--Bronx runs into shot. [He has not been transformed yet.]
--A human/ "gargoyle" pedestrian bends over to pet the nice doggie and then runs away screaming when he sees the doggie's masters.
--Our "human" heroes now fully clothed (and looking cool) walk with determination right up to the center of Rockefeller Center. Hudson still has the mirror, covered in the bed sheet.
--(Elisa is not in sight.)
--Everywhere, pedestrian/"gargoyles" run screaming: "Ahhh, humans!! Run!!" "Oh, they're so ugly." "Keep away, you...you monster human, you."
--Hudson to Goliath: Are you sure this is a good idea?
--G: Demona must have done all this for a purpose. What else could it be except to leave us vulnerable to her attack. So we'll let her come to us, but we'll pick the place of battle. Here on the ground and in the open where her wings won't help her much.
--They take their stand. Not all the pedestrians have run. Some stop and stare, but they all keep their distance from these human monsters.
--Goliath instructs Hudson to unwrap the mirror.
--The instant he does, Puck and Demona fly out of it.
--BATTLE ROYALE (Needs real choreography.)
--Demona's armed with her plasma rifle.
--Gargoyle's are armed with medieval weapons.
--Battle is largely land bound.
--Puck's having a good time and helps Demona.
--His stunts can be darkly funny, i.e. they can be absurd, as long as they increase the danger to our heroes.
--Puck turns Bronx into a Russian Wolf-hound, just for fun.
--Some brave bystanders see Demona being attacked by all these monsters and run in to help.
--Trio are forced to battle them.
--These human/ "gargoyles" don't know their own strength, so fighting them isn't easy.
--Obviously at some crucial moment, Elisa (their secret weapon) flies in and takes on D.
--Demona should not instantly recognize Elisa.
--But when Demona does, she goes nuts. Elisa's presence (both the fact that she is alive and a gargoyle) is a double-edged sword. The best (psychological) weapon the good guys have, it throws Demona into a rage, which makes her doubly dangerous, but careless.
--Goliath and Elisa stand together to defeat D.
--Trio take on and scare off the "gargoyle" good samaritans.
--With Bronx's help, Hudson bags Puck with metal-mesh trashcan.

24. WTC
--Goliath promises to free Puck if he changes things back to normal.
--Puck complies. He'll start with the biggest job -- getting all the humans back to normal. (Fortunately, changing something back to its normal state is easier for him than the reverse.)
--Using rhyming spell, mirror and sattelite dish, Puck lets the magic fly.
--Elisa is human again.
--Puck needs a moment to recover.
--Elisa and Goliath have a brief moment.
--Elisa (self-depricating): "Well, I guess I'm back to my old ugly human self."
--G: "Never, to these eyes. But I'm curious. Am I handsome to you like this?"
--E: "You've always been handsome to me."
--PUCK: "Allright, enough of the mushy stuff!"
--He zaps Goliath, Hud, Bronx and Trio back into Gargoyles. (Note: he doesn't need the mirror, since they're all standing right in front of him.)
--Goliath frees Puck.
--Puck takes off with Demona through Mirror, taking mirror with.

25. Demona's house.
--Puck's grateful for a good time, enjoyed by all.
--He'll grant Demona her original wish: She won't turn to stone during the day.
--She's suspicious, for obvious reasons.
--He must SPELL OUT that she will still be her normal GARGOYLE self at night. But during the day, she won't have to sleep as stone.
--One last little rhyme spell.
--And he disappears through mirror.

26. Clock Tower.
--Final scene with Bronx, Hud, Trio, Goliath and Elisa. (This was really nice, as written.)

27. Demona's House.
--The sun is rising.
--We can only see Demona in sillouette.
--Until she turns to look at herself in the mirror.
--Which she smashes.

PAGE NOTES
(The script I received had some odd page numbering. The title page was numbered as page one, some pages were skipped and had no numbers, and the last page was numbered 33. So I just renumbered it from the first page of script on through the last [39]. The following notes therefore refer to my numbers. Call me if you have any questions.)

P.2
If Demona never gets the opportunity to destroy or turn off the laser-grid around the mirror, than we can leave it for the thieves to deal with and ditch all this dialogue and action revolving around alarms. Demona's meant to be a diversion.

Please don't refer to the Security Guard as Sarge or Old Soldier. I know it's just character stuff, but we don't have the space to give it context. It winds up confusing us as to who the guard really is.

Remember: Male gargoyle eyes glow white. Only female gargoyle eyes glow red.

Throughout script we use both "rooklings" and "hatchlings". I prefer "hatchlings". That way audience members who have missed the one or two references to the rookery, will still understand.

P.5
Goliath's getting wounded is problematic. We don't deal with it in the story. It's quickly forgotten. We don't want to play fast and loose with something like that.

P.9
Don't forget to give us some description of Puck. (He definitely should have pointed ears, for example. I added pointed ears to the description of the Weird Sisters in their true form.)

P.10
I don't know that we want to refer to all of Oberon's Children as "real mean". Seems blatantly racist.

When Demona summoned Puck earlier, she did it in Latin. So please make sure we name him here in this scene.

P.12
DEMONA
If you cannot rid me of all humans,
then at least rid me of that human --
Elisa Maza!

We need the double entendre of Demona asking Puck to get rid of that
human-Elisa. ("Oh," Puck weasles to himself, "get rid of the human-Elisa. Make her a gargoyle-Elisa instead.")

P.21
Our Gargoyles shouldn't notice that anything has changed among the pedestrians below, until they get close enough to see. (From a practical standpoint, the idea of each person suddenly taking up more room, might be tough to get across in animation.)

Let's show at least one of the Human/"Gargoyles" looking at his or her reflection (in a store window or something) and preening. Totally unaware of the change.

Goliath says, "What sorcery is this?" twice in the episode. Let's skip both. He said this exact line in "Awakening".

P.23
Keep focus and imperative of THIS story. No one has time to stop for hot dogs or to deal with vandals. (So skip both incidents.)

P.25
Puck doesn't have to pretend that he did "exactly" as Demona commanded. He can have more attitude. "Hey, close enough." or "If you're going to split hairs..."

Again, let's not make Hudson an expert on Puck as an individual. We don't need him to identify Puck from tapestries. (And I doubt if his education has progressed to the point where he's read Shakespeare.) Plus, I'm not sure we have to label Puck as the "worst" of Oberon's children, either.

P.34
Gargoyles including Elisa/gargoyle CANNOT hover.

Also don't forget...
--Cast List.
--Latin version of Demona's spell from Grimorum. (It doesn't have to rhyme.)
--Rhyming spell in English for what Puck does to everyone. (Needs to be vague enough so that Demona isn't immediately tipped off.) Doesn't need to be same spell each time.
--Somewhere in here, we need to justify why none of the human/"gargoyle" crowd reacts to Puck. Do they see him as a gargoyle, ala the Weird Sisters? Or is he invisible to them? Or can we get away with them just walking by and ignoring him?
--Make sure final page count will be within our page range (pp. 35-39) after Denise has conformed it.

THANKS. DON'T HESITATE TO CALL WITH ANY QUESTIONS.


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"THE MIRROR" Outline memo...

Next up for my Ramblings is "The Mirror". What follows is the UNEDITED memo I sent to story editor Brynne Chandler Reaves regarding the first draft outline for that episode.

This is one I had very specific ideas on, so I may have been even tougher than usual. Oh, well...

WEISMAN 10-30-94

Notes on "The Mirror" Outline...
Brynne, I hope you consider this flattering: I'm gonna be very tough on you here, because I think you can handle it. It's not just because of this outline, but because in general, I want you to be handing me cleaner, more finished pieces. Although the story is full of great ideas, there are logical and structural problems here that need fixing. As I've discussed, I want to be less "hands-on" so that the schedule keeps flowing and we all stay sane, but that means I need you to catch much more of this sort of thing before I ever see it.

One particular concern of mine (and not so incidentally of Gary Krisel's) is padded first acts, where nothing of substance happens until the cliffhanger. Each story dictates its own structure, so I don't want to make any hard and fast rules, but this is one thing you should be thinking about on every episode you edit or write. We can have a prologue scene or two. But we don't want to turn the whole first act into a prologue to events that only begin seconds before the commercial break.

Scene One is a nice prologue. So is Two, if it's brief. Three, Four and Five are padding. Six is good prologue, but by this time it feels like padding. Seven is problematic from a character/logic standpoint. Finally, we get going at Eight.

And opening acts aside, we need to beware of scenes that serve no function in the structure of the story. A real good character moment is worth a detour on occasion. But our stories have to be coming out of character anyway, so nine times out of ten, the detour shouldn't be necessary.

Ever since "Reawakening" we've tried to make the Gargoyles much more pro-active. But even by first season "survival-mode" standards they seem downright slow to act here. In scene Three, they suspect magical bad news is on the way. In scene Six, they confirm Demona's involvement. Yet in scene Ten, they go to the play in the park like nothing was wrong. Worse, in scene Sixteen, when the humans are transformed, the younger gargoyles actually think that the transformation is part of the play? They're more sophisticated than that. And instead of reacting like it's a problem, they just want "contact with their kind". I wouldn't mind a wistful line that summoned up their feelings about how this reminds them of their old lives when there were many gargoyles and/or that it's nice to be able to walk out in the open without everyone running away screaming, but they have to realize that this transformation is bad news. Then in scene TWENTY-TWO (that's the beginning of ACT THREE and a full fourteen scenes after Goliath battled Demona in the museum) they "are certain now that Demona is behind this". Who did they think was behind it for the last act and a half? This is a good sign that we're either short on structure, heavy on padding or both.

THEME
We must have a clear theme that involves at least one of the "good" gargoyles in every episode. We shouldn't have to dig deep for it. It's what focuses the events that dictate our structure. Today's theme is "Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it." It applies to Demona, obviously. But it applies to subconscious desires on the part of Goliath. And wistful, but conscious desires on the part of Elisa. And even (to a small extent) the desire of our young trio to assimilate. Emphasize the theme as much as possible.

GARGOYLES AND MAGIC
Please remember that the gargoyles are largely ignorant of the workings of magic. They have an advantage over humans in that they know magic exists. That's about it. Demona and Macbeth have had centuries to study it. Guys like the Magus and the Archmage dedicated their lives to studying it. Brooklyn, on the other hand, is no expert. I doubt he can even read Latin. And the GRIMORUM is not a textbook that would provide easy answers even if he could read it. It is, in essence, a cookbook. If a recipe is torn out, there's no way to infer very much about it from the remaining pages. Remember, the Magus had the sleep spell he used on the gargoyles, and even with that and all his training, he couldn't wake them up without the specific page that held the counterspell. HOW could Brooklyn find a list (scene 5) that matches Demona's list? WHY would the Grimorum list the items for one specific spell twice? HOW could he know the name (Scene Eight) of the entity being summoned?

Could the Grimorum tell them that Puck's spells must be reversed before dawn? Or how Puck frees himself? Unlikely. (Would Julia Child's cookbook feature recipes by the Frugal Gourmet?) But (if we assume Goliath reads Latin, and could make heads or tails of the Grimorum, without having to sit down and spend an entire week reading the thing cover-to-cover to find a helpful passage in a book which, as you noted, has no index) -- it is possible. We always skate by a few things in every script. But the more we have to skate, the thinner the ice in general. Something that normally would fit neatly beneath our audiences suspension of disbelief, becomes one more contrivance in a story that's got a few too many.

DEMONA'S MOTIVATIONS
First off, she's not looking for an equal partner or ally. She's made that clear enough. That's exactly her problem with Xanatos. He always wants to know what's in it for him. He can't be easily controlled. He's fine if they have a mutual interest (resurrecting Goliath or Coldstone), fine if she can con him into helping her (as she does in "City of Stone"), but the latter isn't easy. Otherwise, they can't work together. They're goals are too diverse.

As for Macbeth, don't even bring him up. This story airs before CITY OF STONE. She hasn't seen Macbeth for decades probably. And it's been centuries since they worked together on anything.

None of this changes the story, but it's important to get her mind-set clear. She isn't summoning Puck as an ally. But as a slave.

And what does she want her slave to do? Basically, this episode is going to underline Demona's truly short-term thinking. She knows she wants humanity eradicated. But not what she'd do if she ever accomplished that goal. She's closed her heart to anything that doesn't serve her immediate short-term plans. (She's really, really screwed up.) At one point, Puck should offer her Goliath. He can make Goliath love her again. But she's so distracted by her hatred for Elisa in particular and humans in general, that she can't keep a positive thought in her head. Her monolithic and myopic fanaticism allow Puck to make a primate out of her, literally and figuratively.

PUCK
First big note from Adrienne and ME: we cannot play this character like he's a demon. His summoning in particular came off as very satanic. Let's try to make it more fanciful and magical. One thing that would help avoid this problem, is to be clear about what Puck is. If we aren't clear, people might think demon or devil. If we are clear, they'll believe us. We've got to establish, not only Puck, but his entire magical race. They are the third sentient group that once populated our planet in addition to humans and gargoyles. We need a name for this race that we can be comfortable with. (We can say at some point that the Scots called them the Fair Folk; the Vikings called them Dark Elves. But neither name is great. There must be something that could work for us. "The Oberati" perhaps, after their king?)

Then we need to set some rules and limits. Particularly given what we know about the Weird Sisters (and about Puck's secret identity). Obviously, not all of these rules need to be spelled out in this script. But let's make sure we know them. Let's begin by saying that the Oberati can all shape-shift. But when they morph into a form, they're stuck with that form's limitations. No magic happening if they pose as human.

In their true forms, they have a lot of magic power, but a rule against the direct use of it in the world of man (witness the Weird Sisters more indirect manipulations). Maybe this is a command from Oberon which they are afraid, but not unable, to break.

An obvious exception to the rule occurs when they are enslaved by someone else who commands them to use their magic. They are off the hook responsibility-wise, so they can go to town. Thus, most cultures have wish-granting legends about Leprechauns or Djinn or whatever.

Conveniently, the Oberati are creatures of pure magical energy. When they cast a spell, the spell doesn't have the limitations imposed on the studied magic of human or gargoyle sorcerers. The subjects of their spells don't have to see and hear them to be affected. It's a more fluid, less structured form of magic. Magic to the Archmage is an art, craft or science to master. Magic to Puck is as natural (or super-natural) as breathing.

But even Puck must have his limits. Even magical energy should be finite. We MUST establish this fact, at least. If Demona asks to get rid of all the humans on the planet, Puck will have to admit that it's too much for him. Would she settle for all the humans on the island?

Did the Gargoyles meet or hear of Puck specifically, back in the tenth century? I doubt it. They lived fairly isolated lives out at Wyvern. And Puck didn't get famous until Shakespeare made him famous quite a few centuries later. Maybe they've heard stories about the Fair Folk, but again, let's resist the temptation to make Goliath or Brooklyn or Hudson experts on the subject. They seem pretty perplexed by the Weird Sisters in "City of Stone". That should define their reaction to Puck, whom they're meeting here prior to that story.

Why does Puck help Goliath turn stuff back to normal at the end? Well, for this episode's purposes, it'll probably work that Goliath holds the chain and issues a command. But Demona held the chain, and Puck always found a way to circumvent her commands. So why doesn't he do the same to Goliath? Two reasons, probably. First, it further annoys Demona, who he's peeved at for enslaving him in the first place. Second, once Puck is free, he can return to his secret identity, where he's been having such a good time. He wants things back to normal himself. Still in future appearances, we need to be sure that Puck doesn't turn into a personification of Deus ex machina.

Use it sparingly, but it's o.k. with me if Puck breaks the third wall and addresses the audience on occasion.

Finally, Puck's name. The Disney execs are of two minds on this. Bruce prefers Goodfellow. His main concern is the constant policing we'd have to do to make sure Puck doesn't ever come out Fuck. Ellen feels that Goodfellow has more association with Satan than Puck does and that Puck is safer on that level. I'm really torn. I tend to agree that Puck is a slightly more recognizable Shakespearean reference than Goodfellow, and thus stonger and safer. I also think the name suits the character. On the other hand, I think Goodfellow is an effectively ironic name for a character who is, for all intents and purposes, a villain. Part of me really wants to use both. Could the spell that enslaves Puck to Demona have something to do with her knowing his true name, Robin Goodfellow? Adrienne, I think, is on the fence with me. But I'm not sure. We should probably discuss this one last time before you go to script.

THE MIRROR
Think of the Wicked Queen's Magic Mirror times ten. It is a window, a doorway, a Peeping Tom.

HUMANS AS "GARGOYLES"
As we discussed, I don't think the humans notice they've been transformed. Some of the ridiculous fun of this episode should be to see them, walking around, going about their normal business, briefcases and subway tokens in hand, with no indication that anything is different. If they looked in a mirror, they'd preen as usual. They wouldn't freak out or recognize the change.

Although they have wings, I don't think it occurs to any of them to start gliding around the city. And if they see (the soon-to-be more self-aware) Elisa flying, it would be shocking: "Look, Mommy, that lady is flying!!" It's not that they'd see her suddenly as a gargoyle. (It'd be like seeing Superman. A normal enough looking person. He just happens to be leaping tall buildings with a single bound, which is, of course, unusual enough.)

When Goliath and clan walk among them as gargoyles, I don't think they see them as unusual. For once, looking like a gargoyle is normal. Like Halloween, in "Eye of the Beholder", it's another rare moment for our guys when they can be out in the open. (This may have been what you had in mind in scene 18. I wasn't clear.)

However, when Goliath and company enter their midst as "Humans", it should scare them. Once again, ugliness is in the eye of the beholder, and the "human" Goliath is still the monster. We should not skip this beat (as you planned to in scene 24). We should play it. It can be bitter, poignant and, yes, funny. (Appealing to Puck's dark sense of humor (and mine too, for that matter).)

ELISA AS A "GARGOYLE"
Like the other transformed humans, Elisa doesn't immediately realize she's been transformed. And looking in the mirror won't clue her in either. (And in any case, Elisa isn't the type to faint dead away.) In fact, she might turn to Goliath and suddenly ask, "Could you remind me why you guys are hiding up here in the clock tower?" Suddenly, they don't look so strange to her. Goliath is going to have to sit her down and talk her through the differences between humans and gargoyles. Her realization should play like a fog lifting.

And we probably should play out Goliath and Elisa both as gargoyles for an act. Maybe he teaches her how to fly. Maybe they're just about to get close enough to do the gargoyle equivalent of an embrace, when he's transformed to human. Get it so that we can all almost taste it. Then yank it away. (I know, I'm a cruel bastard.)

I also want to contrast Goliath's reaction to "gargoyle" Elisa with Elisa's reaction to "human" Goliath. He may say, "Elisa, I never realized how beautiful you are," because he always liked her for her inner beauty but, frankly, never found her physically attractive (no wings, no tail--shudder). And he's always made that mental distinction between the surface and what lies beneath.

Elisa never did. She recognized his inner beauty in episode three or four and ALWAYS thought he was handsome. Even before this episode, I think she's thought about the two of them and come to the inescapable conclusion that romance is impractical. Better keep it platonic. I think he's had those feelings, but has never connected to them mentally. (Look, no matter what the species, or how evolved the individual, he's still a guy. And guys are fundamentally stupid about this stuff.) Until this episode, it never crossed his mind that Elisa could replace Demona in his heart. The fact is she already has. But he never thought about it before now.

OUR GARGOYLES AS "HUMANS"
To be consistent, they shouldn't recognize the change until Elisa points it out to them. Maybe they were about to leap from the clock tower, and Elisa has to stop them and say: "Look, guys, you don't have wings anymore!"

But let's keep in mind that these guys are still heroes. NO WAY are they going to agree to step back because a gargoyle Demona is too tough for them now. Did Elisa ever step back when she was human? For that matter, there have been plenty of humans willing to go toe-to-toe with the gargoyles. Certainly Goliath is as brave as Macbeth or Wolf or Commando #3.

Also, I got confused in scene 29. Goliath has been transformed to human. That means human proportions. Sure, he'd be a big guy, but not as big as he was as a gargoyle. I don't know why armor would fit, say Broadway, and not him.

TONE
In contrast to our typical episodes, I think this one can have a more absurdist tone. Puck should both further the tone with his actions and undercut it with wry asides. Plus there'll be romantic stuff, also undercut, this time by Goliath's reaction to Elisa and the genuine frustration that comes from the situation's mutability.

GOLIATH BLAMES XANATOS...
For everything, it seems. In "Lighthouse" and to a lesser extent in "Leader", we've played the beat of Goliath mistakenly going to the castle to confront Xanatos for something that the latter had nothing to do with. I think by now, Goliath has learned his lesson. Particularly since the going's on here smack much more of Demona or Macbeth than Xanatos.

DEMONA'S HOME BASE
Let's get a clear sense of what this place is like. Particularly, how it is distinct from Macbeth's mansion: we've played his place like Wayne Manor. Dracon has the penthouse at the Park Manor Hotel. And Xanatos has this incredibly cool castle-on-a-skyscraper H.Q. Demona's home needs to be different from all of these and special in its own right. Also give us an at least approximate idea of where this thing is located. Gramercy Park, maybe?

SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK
This was a great way to ground our Puck in Shakespeare, as opposed to Satan. No doubt about it. And no fault of yours, but I want to save this setting for a story that Michael and I have discussed involving Macbeth and an adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth. Plus, in this story, I want to play with Manhattan life going on, business as usual, despite the fact that everyone's been turned into a gargoyle. We can't do that if we limit ourselves to the Park and the closed Museum. I want to get this story out in the open. Have the "gargoyle" humans reacting in panic to the "human" Goliath and clan, the way they'd normally react to them as gargoyles. That's an opportunity we won't get in another story. We must take advantage of it. But having taken the story out of the park, we should work other Midsummer references into the script. Name the mirror after Oberon or Titania, perhaps.

BEAT SHEET
ACT ONE
1. A warm Midsummer's Night. Demona arrives at the museum with grand theft in mind. She's come to steal the Mirror of Oberon (or whatever we ultimately call it) which has just arrived from Ireland (or Italy or wherever). The first museum security guard is no problem. But the second security guard turns out to be Elisa -- undercover, prepared and not without back-up, i.e. Goliath. They suspected that the mirror would be a prize too tempting for Demona to resist. Demona seems particularly furious over Goliath's continued "partnership" with Elisa. SHE HATES HUMANS AND SHE REALLY HATES ELISA!! (Demona knows how Goliath feels about Elisa, even if the big lug hasn't admitted it to himself yet.)

2. Anyway, we get a big action sequence in the museum which leads to a chase outside. Demona gets away from them, but without the mirror. And because our heroes are so thoroughly engaged in these activities...

3. ...They are absent when two high-tech but very human cat burglars show up at the museum, seconds later, to crate up and steal the mirror. (The real security guard is still unconscious and thus unable to do anything about them.)

4. The two thieves arrive at Demona's townhouse (or whatever) with the crated mirror. Otherwise, the scene plays pretty much as you had it with the delivery men.

5. Inside her home, Demona wraps thick iron chains across the glass of the stolen Mirror. She summons Puck. He comes flying out through the glass and thus winds up wrapped in the iron chains. He spends almost the entire episode with the chains pinning his arms across his chest.

6. Back at the clock tower, Goliath and Elisa are feeling like grade-A dorks. Elisa's just back from investigating the museum crime scene. It's now clear that Demona's job was to take out security and, if necessary, act as a diversion for the real thieves. Now the big questions are, what can she do with this mirror and how bad is this going to get? Perhaps this is a place to discuss the Oberati. Hudson tells what little he knows about them.

7. Our Demona and Puck scene. If he ever wants his freedom he must serve her. He tries to discourage her: he'd make a lousy servant. She doesn't buy that. Puck works for "him". He can work for her, etc. (That whole exchange.) O.K., okay, what does she want? Freedom from her one great vulnerability -- turning to stone during the day. What good is that, he wonders. You think you're gonna be able to walk down 5th Avenue in broad daylight? I can if you obliterate all humans, everywhere. What am I, the Genie of the lamp? There are limits, kiddo. C'mon, what do you really want? She pauses, and an image appears in the mirror. It is Goliath (in the clock tower, but we're tight on him, so we aren't tipping the location). Puck: "How quaint, after all these centuries, you're still carrying a torch. Well, if that's what you want, I can make him love you again. Although it will be really hard, because you're not exactly Miss Lovable." And then, in the mirror, Elisa steps into the shot, and puts a hand on Goliath's shoulder. Demona goes ballistic. She knows her heart's true desire. Get rid of the human -- Elisa Maza. Puck: "That I can do." He fires a magical bolt into the mirror at the image of Elisa.

8. Back at the tower, Elisa has a hand on Goliath's shoulder, reassuring him that they'll stop Demona's scheme, whatever it is. Suddenly, she is surrounded by a magical energy that rips her away from Goliath. The gargoyles try to help her, but they can't get close. We should think for a moment that this is the end of Rico... uh, Elisa. And then there is a blinding flash of light that whites out the whole screen. Followed by pitch black darkness. Elisa is still there. We see her silhouette as our eyes adjust and the light returns slowly to normal. She says she's o.k. And then she steps into the light. Transformed into a gargoyle version of herself.

END OF ACT ONE

Now I have to apologize. I know I promised you this for Monday. It's two a.m. Sunday and this is as far as I got. There's a reason (an excuse). Monday is Corporate Seminar. And my last act as an executive (before becoming a full-time producer on Tuesday) is to pitch all our new development to Michael Eisner and Rich Frank. This is a twice yearly event that requires a lot of preparation, and I just ran out of time to get these notes done. Normally, I'd pull an all-nighter, but I need some sleep to face these guys tomorrow.

You gotta admit, that was a pretty good excuse.

So I have to leave this to you. You're mission, if you chose to accept it, (AND YOU REALLY HAVE NO CHOICE IF YOU EVER WANT TO GET TO SCRIPT) is to write up a quick beat outline of acts two and three for me based on the sketchy notes below. It doesn't have to be long. Two to four pages is fine. The amount of detail that I gave you for Act One is all I'm looking for.

Act Two should have Goliath filling Elisa in about the change she's undergone. Maybe take her flying. Maybe this is where we get the line about him never realizing how beautiful she was.

Demona should be temporarily fooled into thinking Elisa's dead, and flushed with success, she asks Puck to rid all of Manhattan of its humans. Bing, bang, boom. Everyone's a gargoyle. People on the subway in from Queens, change into gargoyles as soon as the E-train hits the first Manhattan stop. "Gargoyles" on the way home to Jersey change back to human as they cross the bridge in their cars. NO ONE NOTICES AT ALL.

But Demona doesn't know any of this yet. She wants a tour of what she expects to be an empty city. Puck is secretly eager to see his handiwork, so they step into the mirror, which transports them to the heart of the city. Times Square, maybe? 5th Avenue?

Meanwhile, Hudson, Goliath, Elisa and the trio are all hunting for Demona. They quickly notice the change in the populace. (Maybe the shock of this wide-spread change interrupts what might have been the only chance Elisa and Goliath had for a same-species clinch.) They all know it's bad news, but the trio can't help enjoying the ability to walk among gargoyles again. Even if they are gargoyles in business suits: New Yorkers who still won't give them the time of day. Still, would it be so bad if this didn't get fixed? Yeah. Probably.

When Demona figures out she's been duped, she demands that the gargoyles be changed back to humans. Bing Bang Boom. Goliath, Hudson and the Trio are human. (I'm torn about Bronx. I guess the big dog is o.k. It just seems outside the terms of Demona's request, even by Puck's loose standards.)

Was Goliath flying at the time or is this another interrupted clinch between him and Elisa?

Act Three opens with Elisa saving Goliath from plummeting to his death perhaps. Then she has to make him understand that he has been transformed as well.

We wind up with a very public battle featuring Elisa and our Newly Human heroes against Demona and Puck. It's complicated by the fact that the general populace (who are all now Gargoyles) perceive the human Goliath, Hudson and Trio (and Bronx?) as monsters attacking what to them seems to be a very normal-looking Demona.

Still in the end, good triumphs. Puck makes everything right at Goliath's command, (but let's make it clear that at least in part, he's doing this to spite Demona and/or to suit his own agenda). Elisa is changed to human, before Goliath is changed back, and we have another near-clinch, that Puck interrupts with good-humored spite by changing Goliath back into a gargoyle.

Goliath frees Puck and he vanishes with Demona, rescuing her from Goliath.

Turns out Puck had more fun than he thought he would so he feels like he owes Demona a favor. He'll give her her original wish. No turning to stone during the day. (BUT WE NEED TO MAKE IT PAINFULLY CLEAR THAT SHE WILL STILL BE HER NORMAL GARGOYLE SELF AT NIGHT.) He takes his leave via the mirror.

Cut back to Elisa and Goliath for emotional wrap up. Just before the sunrise which, as usual, separates them.

And back to Demona. Silhouetted against the rising sun. It's up, and she's not stone. Puck kept his word, she can't believe it. Then she sees her human self in the mirror, which she smashes, yelling NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! And fade to black.


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Punchinello writes...

Hello greg and Gorebash.

Punchinello, here, with another question. I was thinking recently of the phoenix gate. It had always seemed to me that the design of the gate was odd, in that it's form reflected a specific history. One that you never had the chance to elaborate upon. Or never chose to. Let me explain.

The gate was identifiable as one of three magical objects that played a role in the series. The Grimorim. The Eye of Odin, and the gate. Of these three, the origin of the book seemed to be the least perplexing. Even if you had intended to develop a more involved history for the book, had the series continued, one could still reasonably conclude that it was the product of many magicians, who passed it down over generations, each making their own contribution to the knowledge within the text. The revelation that the eye was the actual eye of Odin was well recieved by myself. I think there is actually some kind of precedent for the body part of a god or magical figure being represented within a culture by an artifact (but as the literal body part). I am uncertain what it is I recall, of this sort, but the Osiris myth and various christian mythos come to mind.

The gate was given no historical origin. The rather robust histories of the other two artifacts, and what you intended with the "Timedancer" series, (which I had no idea about prior to finding this web site) incline me to believe that something more was intended with the objects origin. Further, the gates physical appearance struck me as being more that the arbitrary design of one of the show's artists. It's appearance was strangely deliberate. The heraldric profile of the bird. It's form reminiscent of a shield? The gate seemed to have had some function. (Perhaps before it became the phoenix gate.) So...

Was the gate something with an origin you intended to elaborate on?

Was it possibly part of some larger artifact? (I had the notion in my head, that it was a component from some other fictional artifact. Something from the same mythos as the Arthurian legend, perhaps. That it had been broken off or otherwise removed.) If that were the case then...

Was the artifact from which it came something that we might recognize? That is, something not too obscure? Something with it's own surrounding mythology like Excalibur or the holy grail?

I am thankful for any insight you can offer. Otherwise I just wont be able to get to sleep tonight.

Punchinello.

Greg responds...

1. Yes.
2. No.
3. It depends on how you look at it. (But you're skipping over the obvious.)

Response recorded on July 10, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

My iron question, posted again because of the crash.

The obvious reason for why Oberon's Children are vulnerable to iron is: a) they need some sort of kryptonite to keep them from getting out of control, and b) it's an element that comes from legend. But did you ever work out an "internal rationale" for why cold iron has the effect on them that it does?

Greg responds...

I can't remember my answer.

Hmmmm...

a and b are certainly true. But I think that iron ore may be something solid and ancient that pre-dates their evolution.

But honestly, I think it's more a and b.

Response recorded on July 10, 2000

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Faieq Ali writes...

In the Gargoyles Universe is fate a person (a fay) or an element like time?

In M.I.A Goliath says to Griff "Fate is conspiring against us." and "Maybe fate can somehow be... aaah..."*pushes Griff away* "cheated."
"Time is a river correcting it's course." Is fate also an invisible element like time correcting peoples lives and stories? Or is it one of Oberon's children, a trickster maybe?

Greg responds...

Fate isn't a person. (I'm not sure what you mean by "element".) But that doesn't mean that there aren't fae connected to fate the way Anubis for example is connected to Death.

Response recorded on July 10, 2000

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Abigail Thorne writes...

How did Goliath and the others learn that Demona and Macbeth can only be killed if one kills the other? Demona told Brooklyn in "Temptation" how she had been dealing with humans for hundreds of years, and Macbeth told Goliath in "Enter Macbeth" how he had named Demona, which she herself said in "Awakening Part 5" happened long ago. So I get how they could figure out both were immortal, but how exactly did they figure out the terms of the spell?

And another thing--if they knew that only Macbeth could kill Demona and vice versa, how come they thought Macbeth died in the crash in "The Price" and Demona died in the fire in "The Reckoning'?

Greg responds...

From the Weird Sisters, after they were captured -- but before they were released -- in "Avalon, Part Three".

"The Price" took place before "Avalon". And they never said she was dead in "The Reckoning". Goliath simply acknowledged that he wasn't sure. I mean how many questions have I had to answer here about the rules of the whole Macbeth/Demona thing. If you all have some doubts about how that spell works, don't you think Goliath and Angela might also.

Response recorded on July 10, 2000

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Demona Taina writes...

Me again!

I was watching the episode "The Price" a while ago. Great work on it! It really had me fooled the first time I watched it. I believed that Hudson put a spell on Hudson until I saw him on that cage. Great animation, too. I think Goliath look incredibly handsome! I'm a big fan of him. :)

Xanatos took a piece of Hudson's stone skin and threw it in the Cauldron. Owen submerged his hand in the Cauldron of Life, it turned to stone. So, I was wondering... what if Xanatos had taken a bit of Hudson's brown skin and threw it in the Cauldron instead?

What if instead of turning the body to stone it would make it immortal?

After all, wasn't it obvious to Xanatos that using a piece of stone would turn the body to stone? (Sure, it would make him immortal, but obviously not alive; unless he would've been alive under that stone skin, was he?)

Thank you for your time!
A devoted fan

Greg responds...

"...Hudson put a spell on Hudson"?

You mean sliced off some of Hudson's flesh? Ewwww. Not exactly X's style, eh what?

Anyway, no the recipee was specific. Gargoyle's STONE skin. And the result was intentional and ironic.

Response recorded on July 05, 2000

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Ed writes...

'TEMPTATION' comments.

Hi, Greg.

When I saw this the first time on GMTV, I was blown away. At least, for months after this was the episode I remembered. It had Brooklyn (whose name I took about 20 episodes to memorise for some reason), and more importantly - it had Demona. I loved Demona here, and I was delighted at the theme of betrayal that flows through here. There's a great sense of hurt. It's really gorgeous.

But watching it the second time and times after, I have to say that I was less impressed. Demona seems to have a stock of classic villainess threats that she doesn't really grow out of in this season. They were great first time, but I'd seen 'LONG WAY TO MORNING' just the episode previously (see my 'THRILL OF THE HUNT' comment) and heard very similar dialogue.

Also, I can't help feeling that the ending was a bit of a con. It was very clever, but the idea that all through CITY OF STONE, HUNTER'S MOON and whatever comes after Goliath is still under a spell from episode 7 (even one that is inactive) doesn't appeal to me much.

Greg responds...

Well, it always was a cheat. Getting off on a technictlity. I thought we could get away with it, and in a way, I think it's sorta cool, from a trivia standpoint, but I was aware that some people wouldn't be pleased. Ah, well...

Response recorded on July 03, 2000

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Faie writes...

In City Of Stone, Xanatos said to Owen, 'I'm told mixing magics is dangerous', did he mean Demona's spell and Puck magic or something else

Greg responds...

Yeah, Demona and Puck. Mixing mortal sorcery with Fae magic.

Response recorded on June 30, 2000

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Aris Katsaris writes...

Okay, this is what I meant with my question about prophecy and the existence thereof...

Usually in mythology/etc when an oracle/prophet speaks of the future this is due to some special power he/she/it has. In the episodes we've seen so far though, people like the Archmage (and perhaps the Weird Sisters as well) could only prophesy through the mechanism of time-travel. The knew of the future because they had been there or talked with the people who had been there, etc...

So... is there in your universe prophecy which is not simply knowledge gained through time-travel?

Greg responds...

Yep. (And I don't recall the Weird Sisters having done any time traveling -- except forward like the rest of us.)

Response recorded on June 29, 2000

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A Fan writes...

I'm curious exactly how magic casting works. It seems to be established that humans and gargoyles need a magic object and/or a magic spell to do magic.

But Oberon's Children seem to not have to use spells. Although Puck seems to. How do you explain that?

Greg responds...

How do you want me to explain it?

How about in writing?

Look, Fae magic and Mortal Sorcery are two different things. With Mortals, most of the magic comes from without. With Fae, most of it comes from within. Fae are made of magic.

After that clear distinction, the specifics depend on control, style, training, power, i.e. lots of factors. Anansi spins his spells. Puck rhymes his. Oberon is so powerful he just has to speak his will. But rhyming helps, so he does that too sometimes. Most Fae rhyme, but there are plenty of exceptions.

Mortals need something to gather and focus energy. A place, a talisman, a spell.

I'm not exactly sure if that answers your question. If you need more specifics, post again.

Response recorded on June 29, 2000

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Kayless writes...

Hey Greg, I have some religious questions for you.

1. Since you are seemingly very well versed in religious doctrine, I'm curious as to how you feel about the Judeo/Christian scriptures that prohibit wizardry. Deuteronomy 18:9-18:12 (Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord) makes it quite clear that God brooks no wizards in his fold. Is there a conflict for you since so much of the myth Gargoyles is based on revolves around magic?

2. What about the uncanny resemblance between gargoyles and demons? Why do the two look so much alike? Did dybbuks manifest themselves in the form of gargoyles in order to sow discord with humanity, hence the current demonic stereotype and poor human/garg relations?

3. How do the Fae feel about the whole God business? They seem a rather worldly lot, though some might be old enough to remember biblical events.

4. Why is Percy still using the grail? The Holy Grail is a sacred artifact, not your run-of-the-mill magical maguffin. Why would it continue to grant its power to Duval, who has since proved unworthy? I know you said it was costing him a high physical price but I find it odd that it should be giving him any kind of benefits at all (Anybody see what happened to the bad guy in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade?).

5. Last one. Is the Judeo/Christian God the supreme ruler of the Gargoyle universe? Given the plethora of Gods and Goddess on the show, I'm just wondering what your views on this are (I prefer to think that He's the one in charge, but I had to ask).

Thanks for your time, as always. Now I must return to the Vole Wars…

Greg responds...

1. I'm clearly less "versed" than you seem to think. I won't comment on your citation in a vacuum. And I don't have a bible here in the office to check the context.

When you ask if I'm conflicted, I'm not clear on your question. Are you looking for my opinion on the bible? Personally, I think the bible is an astounding piece of literature with much to teach us. But I see the hands of man all over that book. And although it might lose me some fans, I cannot believe that God authored it. Inspired it maybe, but authored it, no. At any rate, I think many things in the bible are subject to interpretation. Often multiple interpretations.

2. Where do you get the idea that there is ANY resemblance between gargoyles and demons? From Medieval painters? Look, we haven't seen any demons in the series. We haven't seen any demons in the gargoyles universe. No angels either. I'm not saying whether they exist or not. But you're question assumes facts not in evidence.

3. The whole God with a capital G business? Like humans, every Child of Oberon is different. I try not to make monolithic generalizations.

4. Assumes facts not in evidence. A. Who says he's still using the grail? I said he still had it. B. And in any case, your question asked "Why". Why wouldn't he if he could? C. Who said the grail can "grant" power? D. If it can, who said it is? E. Who said Duval has proven unworthy?

And I certainly refuse to use "Last Crusade" as an authority.

I will say that the Grail is part of the reason that Percival and Blanchefleur are still alive. And that a price for that has been paid. But don't oversimplify.

5. As you may know, I'm Jewish. Most of my fellow Jews would not consider me to be religious, though that's something I might argue with. Personally, I believe in God with a captial G. Whether that means he's the Judeo/Christian God seems like a parochial question to me. Almost an elitist question. I also believe that God is REAL BIG on free will. His miracles are many but subtle, and all come with a free scientific explanation -- because if he simply manifested like George Burns on trial, then where's the free will? So why should things be any easier in the Gargoyles Universe. The Gargs believe in a God that is the sum total of all things. They are monotheists and animists all at once. I don't think that's inconsistent with Judeo/Christian beliefs, but I also don't think you're going to see any purely objective evidence on the show, ever. Take to the Gargoyles Universe what you will. And it should, if I'm doing this right, give you something back -- whatever you do, or don't, believe in.

Look, I know it seems like I'm blowing off your questions. I'm not. But try reading them with a fresh eye. They're almost impossible TO answer in a straightforward manner, because they are extremely complex, and yet they take for granted so many things as fact that have not been established either in the cannon or here at ASK GREG. These are all interesting topics and I encourage you to pursue them. But break your questions down. It'll help you avoid making assumptions.

By the way, what's a Vole?

Response recorded on June 29, 2000

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WereFox writes...

Greg

Even though her lycanthropy was induced by the eye of Oden, would Fox have been subject to the normal limitations associated with werewolves/foxes? Would she have had a vulnerabilty to silver? Also could she, and did she pass on her lycanthropy by bightring someone. I realize that we already have Wolf, our favorite mutate
Werewolf. What possible reason would we need another.

Greg responds...

I don't think so. Neither Wolf or Fox fit the traditional lycanthropic mode. Fara Maku and Tea are better examples.

Response recorded on June 21, 2000

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Faieq Ali writes...

In Huter's moon part three, Demona was going to cast a spell which would wipe out all life except gargoyles. But wouldn't she kill herself because, she would have killed Macbeth and she would have perished as well or would Macbeth be the only human alive? Would Demona's disease or plague have reached the shores of Avalon and killed tom and the Princess?

Greg responds...

Both these points are debatable. I've answered the first one before. (Check the archives for a fuller answer.) It would depend on her mindset. It's possible her survival would have kept Macbeth alive.

I think it's unlikely that it would have hit Avalon.

Response recorded on June 21, 2000

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LSZ writes...

Ok, I'll ask this again: Can a fae change a human or a gargoyle into an actual in-reality fae with all fae powers and weaknesses and so on, as big a species change as gargoyle-to-human?

Greg responds...

Erin says: I think you got a point there. I think you are right.

Benny says: I love this candy. [He's eating PEZ.]

Greg says: No. Where would the energy come from unless the fae were permanently relinquishing all his powers.

Response recorded on June 17, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

A couple of questions about the point during "The Mirror" when Puck had temporarily turned all the humans in the city into gargoyles.

1. What happened to those humans entering and leaving Manhattan during the time that the spell was in effect?

2. What effect did the spell have on live broadcasts from New York going out to other parts of the U.S. or the world during that time? As in, did people watching such broadcasts away from New York suddenly see the humans in those broadcasts change into gargoyles, or did the spell somehow prevent this?

Greg responds...

1. They automatically changed when entering and leaving the island. Because of the way the change was perceived, no one noticed.

2. Outsiders could have seen changes. But, hell, it's tv.

Response recorded on June 14, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

In the Gargoyles Universe, the fay are vulnerable to cold iron. Now, the obvious reasons for this are: a) they needed some sort of "kryptonite" to keep them from unbalancing things, and b) it's a traditional part of faerie mythology (and I'd read about that problem of theirs with cold iron long before "Gargoyles" came out, and even used it in an Arthurian fantasy novel that I'm still writing). But, did you ever develop a "within-the-story" rationale for why iron has such a drastic effect upon Oberon's Children?

Greg responds...

Fairie magic doesn't "conduct" through iron.

But mostly it was the traditional legend thing.

Response recorded on April 23, 2000

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WereFox writes...

Greg, you mentioned that earth is the well spring or source of power for the third race. They would need to find an alternative power source were they to leave it. What about existing spells?. If Macbeth or Demona ever left Earth in the coming centuries, would the various spells on them still be in effect. Is leaving earth essentailly pulling the plug on the power source that maintains their link of immortality or Demona's transformation.

Greg responds...

Well-spring and power source are two different things, of course. The fact that they can use the magic in the earth as a power source, doesn't mean it is their SOLE power source.

And human/gargoyle (i.e. mortal) sorcery is a whole different animal.

Response recorded on March 22, 2000

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Aris Katsaris writes...

Is there 'prophecy' in the Gargoyles universe? So far all the pieces of prophecy we've seen are either related to time-travel (Archmage, etc), or are ambiguous in nature (Weird Sisters in 'City of Stone', Puck in 'Future Tense').

Were the Weird Sisters (for example) making a true prophecy concerning Macbeth and Duncan, or simply saying something and then manipulating events so that it took place?

And was Puck aware that parts of his 'dream' would indeed take place (other than Alex's name ofcourse which he could have been informed of as Owen)?

Greg responds...

Uh...

Paragraph one, I don't understand.

Paragraph two, both.

Paragraph three, both.

Response recorded on March 21, 2000

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Scott Iskow writes...

On the subject of magical artifacts:

1) Demona was taking quite a risk in depending solely on the Praying Gargoyle to protect her kind from the fulfillment spell. My question: Did she have a backup plan in case it didn't work?

2) Is there a way (in the Gargoyles Univserse, of course) to determine the authenticity of a magical artifact before it needs to be used?

Greg responds...

1. Obviously not.

2. Sometimes.

Response recorded on March 21, 2000

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E.J. Kalafarski writes...

Hi Greg. Did you walk into the World Tour with the intention that Goliath would loose all the items the Gargoyles had been safeguarding? I mean, by the time the travelers got home, Goliath had lost the Grimorum (destroyed), the Eye of Odin (recovered by Odin), and the Phoenix Gate (lost in time). I realize the Gargoyles picked up the Guatemalan Medallion along the way, but was the concept of Goliath returning home with none of these items a conscious decision on your part, or just the way things worked out? Thanks.

Greg responds...

Yes. Conscious. That's why I had him guarantee that no one would ever use those items again. Arrogance, even heroic arrogance, deserves comeuppance. And I liked the irony that it was Goliath himself who first used the Gate and the Eye. No one takes either item from him. He chooses to use them.

Response recorded on March 21, 2000

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Michael Norton writes...

Is there any logical reason that Owen did not include a giant iron bell in the castle defenses? I know this would have ruined the drama of the battle. But it is hard to accept the fact that it never occured to any of the defenders during the battle with Oberon.

Greg responds...

I'm not sure that the bell solution is that obvious to Owen. I think it was very clever of Titania to come up with something that generally a fae would have little interest in exploring.

And where would Goliath and Angela found a big iron bell?

Response recorded on March 19, 2000

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Aris Katsaris writes...

I started to wonder about the 'Future Tense' episode...

1. What would have happened if Goliath had indeed given Puck the gate? After all he was dreaming the whole thing - would the real-life gate have just disappeared and been taken by Puck or something? Goliath waking up and finding it missing?

2. That thing about Puck not being able to take the gate, he having to be given it - is that again a law of Oberon's or something inherent in the nature of the Gate and/or fae?

3. And if the former, why when in other cases the fae could use just any flimsy excuse to bend Oberon's law, this one was so strictly interpreted that even 'Here you have it, take the gate' wasn't sufficient for Puck to take it?

Greg responds...

1. Goliath would have physically taken the Gate from his pouch, held it out and let go. Puck would appear to take it. All very real. But it didn't happen.

2. It's a law, but I don't know if it's Oberon's law.

3. I'm not sure that their excuses were that flimsy. We always made an effort to bend the laws with a real rationale.

Response recorded on March 19, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

You asked in a recent rambling about our responses to a number of the "permanent changes" in the course of the series. In the case of the ones that you cited, I can't really recall now how I responded to them at the time (for example, in the case of "Enter Macbeth", my attention was more grabbed by Macbeth's entrance into the series - particularly on account of his name, since that's always been one of my favorite Shakespeare plays - than by the gargoyles' forced relocation - and I was even more delighted in later episodes when we found out more about him and that he was *the* Macbeth).

However, I do recall two "changes" (if relatively small ones) that did startle me. The first was Owen's hand getting turned permanently to stone at the end of "The Price". The second was the destruction of the Grimorum Arcanorum in "Avalon", which particularly raised my eyebrows since that book had been around since the beginning of the series, so that I was astonished to see it go. (I might add that, from my subjective view-point, the end of the Grimorum came, in a sense, not so much when it self-destructed in "Avalon Part Three" as when the Archmage devoured it in "Avalon Part Two").

But when I did look back on them in retrospect, I found that I very much appreciated the changes. It was one of those things that gave "Gargoyles" a special feeling about it that I've so rarely seen in television animation. More like a televised novel, almost.

Greg responds...

Thanks. That was the goal. I figure, hey, S**T HAPPENS. And some things you can't take back. Yeah, sure, I wasn't gonna leave all the gargoyles as humans for all the eps after "The Mirror"; after all, the show wasn't called "HUMANS". And of course, even the loss of the castle wasn't permanent, as Goliath predicted.

But some things can't be changed. Demona can't take back the massacre. History is immutable. And the Magus... well, he's gone. That's life. And death. And everything in between.

As for the two specifics you mentioned...

I wanted to get a rise out of all of you with Owen's hand. It was designed to shock. It was also a bit of a clue. And it flat-out amused the hell outta me.

As for the Grimorum, it honestly felt played out to me. (How many stolen spells could we pull out of our collective hat?) But I wanted to give it a memorable exit. I thought having it swallowed whole by the Archmage was pretty cool.

Hmmm, "HUMANS"... Maybe there's a spin-off idea there...

Response recorded on March 17, 2000

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Llewwellyn Gaelfire writes...

Hi Greg

1. Would Oberon's Mirror work for doing the same sorts of magicks as Titania's (specifically the spell Demona used in "The Mirror" to summon Puck)?

2. If yes, then why did not Oberon simply yank Puck back through his mirror in "The Gathering pt1" instead of going after him?

thanks

Greg responds...

1. Yep.

2. Oberon does what he wants.

Response recorded on March 11, 2000

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Kar -kwannon@yahoo.com writes...

When Xanatos loses his "guinea pig" aka Hudson in "The Price" why would he allow Owen to test the Cauldron of life for him? Since Owen is Puck, and Puck being a Fey is naturally immortal what does this accomplish? If it worked Owen would be no different or did Owen set out to prove that it did NOT work?

Greg responds...

Owen is human. He can turn back into Puck. But that's his only magical ability. It was a legitimate test. Besides, what did X have to lose?

Response recorded on March 11, 2000

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Aaron writes...

Greg, thanks for taking these questions. I'm sure you've answered this before, but I can't find any mention of it in the archives.

You've stated that female gargoyles have a worldwide 20-year fertility cycle.

1. Does Demona conform to this cycle, or does her being forever 70(35) short-circuit that?

2. The last question applied for about nine hundred years. But now, what effect do Demona's daily transformations have on her reproductive cycle? I remember a question about this, but I think all you said was that Puck didn't design the spell with pregnancy in mind.

3. When Demona changes to a human, is it simply an exterior, cosmetic change, or does she become fully human internally? I'm betting the former, since she doesn't seem to have a belly button in human form, but that could be either an animation glitch or simply a detail too small to pick up.

4. If she does make a full change, does she have a human reproductive system, and all the monthly fun that comes with it?

Thanks again.

Greg responds...

1. Yes. She does. After all, until Puck, she conformed to the day/night cycle. But that doesn't mean she HAS to mate.

2. No. But as I said, I think the magic would compensate for a pregnancy... ON THE HUGE ASSUMPTION that she ever gets pregnant.

3. Fully human.

4. Yes, during the day.

Response recorded on March 09, 2000

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Bud-Clare writes...

What is the Stone of Destiny? Until now, I never gave it any thought, dismissing it as just another magical artifact... except no other magical object shown on Gargoyles had the ability to talk. What makes it so special?

Greg responds...

Frank Welker.

Response recorded on March 03, 2000

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Bud-Clare writes...

Why did the Eye of Odin only transform Fox at night?

Greg responds...

Who said it did?

Response recorded on March 03, 2000

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Aris Katsaris writes...

In "Hunter's Moon" one of the requirement for Demona's spell to work was that it should be cast in "holy ground". For that reason she uses an abandoned church... The question I'm going to ask is a bit vague, but hopefully you'll understand it: what does this place's "holiness" as pertaining to the spell, derive from? Is it something all places of worship would have, even "pagan" ones? Does it derive from people considering it 'holy' or is an objective "gift" (so to speak) from the deity in question and thus unrelated to belief?

It's almost certainly something which you couldn't answer within the series (I think), but perhaps you could answer it here... :-)

Greg responds...

I want to posit that some ground just is holy. Or perhaps more clinically, these locations act as a nexus of mystic energy. The fact that churches temples, etc. are often built on such spots is no coincidence. There may be a guiding force. A sense that this is a place of prayer. Of connection to God, or the Great Spirit or the Earth or WHATEVER.

Anyway, that's how I see the Gargoyles' Universe working.

Response recorded on February 25, 2000


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