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Ray Kremer writes...

Greg,
Another enormous fan of the show here. Gargoyles is truely the Babylon 5 of animation. (And if you haven't experienced Babylon 5, it's recommended. The reference is to the interlinking plot elements that gives the show a "big picture" quality.)
One of your ramblings asked for comments about blowing up the clock tower, moving back into the castle, etc. I think those were great moves, and fit well into the story. I always hoped they would make it back into the castle someday. Even the world tour eps were great, the only annoying thing was we went through several rerun cycles before getting to "The Gathering". On a straight run through of the eps, I don't think there were too many world tour eps at all.
Anyway, there needs to be a question here. In "Metamorphosis", the 'death' of the Sevarius was so convincing because just as Derek was about to get the antidote shot, the gargoyles burst in the door, threw Anton into the eel tank (breaking the antidote vial), and escaped. Now, this works out the way Xanatos wanted, but how could they have set it up so perfectly, with such wonderful timing? There was no way to tell when the gargoyles would make the rescue attempt, or which door they come through, or where they would be throwing people.
Thanks again for the show, and count one more vote that it comes back someday. (Speaking of which, using the net to ignore TGS and the time gap - I'd go for that.)

Greg responds...

Re: World Tour. Yeah, reruns killed us. (Or at least maimed us.) But what could we do? We had been given way too little time to produce the 52 episode second season. We just couldn't get them all ready fast enough. And, unfortunately, the big delay took place during the Tour.

Re: Metamorphosis. Actually, if you assume that Xanatos and Sevarius knew exactly when Goliath, Brooklyn and Lex broke in, and had some covert way of keeping track of their progress, it wasn't too hard to rig the "death scene".

Response recorded on March 17, 2000

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Blaise writes...

Hey Greg! Just read your ramble about taking risks on the show. I have to tell you, I liked that.
Actually the first thing that got my attention was in the first five episodes when a) the majority of the clan was massacred, b) there were actual children (eggs) that vanished, and c) a character who was introduced as a "good guy" and the hero's love to boot ended up a dangerous villainess. I liked that. I wasn't initially as surprised at the gargoyles moving to the clock tower--I guess I kind of expected them to leave the castle sometime (because of Xanatos and all).
During the second season, however, the permanent changes really started hitting me. Elisa's brother and three other humans are turned into Mutates and NOT CHANGED BACK at the end of the episode. Hell, the ep ends with Xanatos pretty much triumphant, Brooklyn depressed, Elisa crying and the other gargoyles troubled (at least, that's how I interpreted it). And of course, Demona gaining the ability to turn human during the day! The Pack's permanent body upgrades (and Dingo's eventual reformation). Owen's stone hand--quite an ending that. And of course the addition of Angela to the cast. I always find it interesting when a new character is added to the show as a REGULAR.
Then there's the Avalon World tour. I got to admit, that's gutsy. Yeah, I got annoyed sometimes--4th or 5th ep I started wondering "when are they going to get home?"--but then I realized I just had to sit back and enjoy the ride. And I did.
The Xanatos family--I didn't really see that coming (how many other characters in animated afternoon shows get married and have kids like this?). The Clocktower's destruction--I could have killed you guys for that cliff-hanger. ;-) I did not expect that, but after it happened, I figured Xanatos would help them and they'd live in the Castle again. But that was only AFTER you destroyed the place they lived in for the majority of the show.
This is a book now, so I'll just finish by saying this: You guys did a bang-up job!

Greg responds...

Wow. Thanks. I was particularly proud of the Fox/David marriage and child thing. I mean, he's the bad guy after all, and she ain't much better. And yet...

Hey, you know it actually is working. I feel like we've got a substantial back/forth dialogue going over the last few posts.

Response recorded on March 17, 2000

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Abigail Thorne writes...

I've been a fan of Gargoyles since it first came on--it's one of my all time favorites. I just wanted to thank you and your staff for creating such an imaginative, complex world for viewers like me to escape into for a half hour. Hopefully, you'll be able to continue your work on the show one day.

Okay, here's the question (I have others, but you said ask one at a time, which makes sense). Elisa, Goliath, and Bronx were gone for many months during their Avalon adventures. Explaining their whereabouts to Matt Bluestone and the rest of the Maza's was no problem since they are all in on the clan's secret. But what about Elisa's superiors at the police station? How did she explain what she had been up to for the past two or three months?

Greg responds...

Largely, she didn't. And that created trust problems with Chavez. Unfortunately, I didn't really have the time to deal with those problems. So I partially used TURF to reaffirm her committment to the job.

As to what she said, I think it was something along the lines of I needed some personal time. I tried to call Matt and my parents, etc.

(Also keep in mind, that after GOLEM and especially NIGHT OF THE PANTHER, I'm sure some communication made it back to Chavez. Not satisfactory communication. But something. And it doesn't hurt that Elisa has a great record and that her dad is a respected Sergeant.)

Response recorded on March 11, 2000

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Ed writes...

Nokkar is trapped on Earth with no way of knowing how his people (or his enemies) are doing or even if they are still alive.
1. Does he still believe that they are out there?
2. Does he believe he will ever regain contact in his lifetime?
3. Does he have a family or relations that he has left behind?

Greg responds...

1. Yes.

2. Yes. He has renewed faith after "Sentinel".

3. Yes.

Response recorded on February 24, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

You've stated that gargoyles, in your vision at least, came about naturally in the way that all other living things did, and were not creations of faerie or human magic. I certainly feel that that's the most probable explanation for them. But something that I would like to raise is this - in the Gargoyles Universe, would it even be possible to create a genuinely sentient race using magic?

My own feeling is that it isn't, based on what I saw in the series. Oberon, one of the most powerful magic-users in the Gargoyles Universe, animates a number of statues in "The Gathering Part Two" to aid him against Goliath and his clan, but the statues remained made out of stone rather than becoming flesh and blood, and showed no sign of true sentience in battling the clan, no more so than - say - the Steel Clan. The same thing was the case with Raven's "totem beasts" in "Heritage", who, when animated by him, remained made out of wood and also behaved more like automatons than like truly alive and intelligent beings. And in "Golem", the Golem that was created by Rabbi Loew likewise didn't come across to me as truly sentient, but just a walking clay statue - it never even spoke except when Renard was possessing it. (The Golem did show some dim signs of genuine awareness, but not on the level of a gargoyle, certainly).

So, what I'm basically asking here is - aside from your belief that gargoyles were not created by magic - would it even be possible in the Gargoyles Universe to magically create a truly sentient being or race? Or is such a thing beyond the capabilities of any being other than God?

Greg responds...

I think it would be basically impossible to create sentience from scratch. Which doesn't mean that someone like the Golem or Matrix might not evolve into true sentience. (Neither is there yet, in my opinion.)

Response recorded on February 23, 2000

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Oberons Child writes...

Hi Greg,
It's good to see that you're answering questions again - just take your time, you'll get through them! I have a question I would like to ask of you, It probably seems stupid, but...

In the episode 'Mark of the panther' (I think that's the name) , when Fara Maku transforms, his Necklace is not 'absorbed' by the magic spell. Was this just to distinguish the two were-panthers, or was there another reason?
See, told ya it was stupid!
Anyway, thanks.

P.S. Am I the only Irish gargoyles fan? If not please mail me at oberons.child@oceanfree.net . I'm dying to meet other fans! Thanks again for your time. Oh, and Have a happy X-Mas!!!!

Greg responds...

I hope there are other Irish fans, but I don't think posting here is the best way to meet them. Try a chat or comment room.

As to your question, I think you need to look at it like Hudson's sword. If the jewelry is regarded mentally as something other than clothing, then it probably doesn't change with the spin of Anansi's spell. Anansi might just like decorative things.

Response recorded on February 21, 2000

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caveat

I feel like a came down to hard on Alaxk, and I didn't mean to. Again, I have no trouble with people not liking aspects of the show (or the entire show for that matter). And I think this (ASK GREG) is a legitimate forum to express those opinions. I welcome, even encourage criticism. I'm happy to respond.

The only thing that sorta bugged me about Alaxk's approach was that he didn't state his opinions as his own. He put them in the form of questions meant to imply that by now I must realize what a mistake I had made. Since I don't feel that way, it procluded any clear discussion of ideas. It felt a bit precious to me, and I'll admit, it bugged me a bit.

But that's not to say that Alaxk isn't 100% entitled to his opinions about the World Tour -- or anything. And those opinions are perfectly legitimate. Next time just state them.

Sure we're called "ASK GREG" but this isn't JEOPARDY, and your posts don't HAVE to be in the form of a question.


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Alaxk writes...

After Avalon, you drop four strong characters (Hundson and company) and their stories so that you can introduce Angela, get rid of the eye and the gate, and to change Goliath's view of Angela as a clan member to Angela as a duaghter, do you feel that this could have been done without devoting 22 episodes to the World Tour.

Greg responds...

Again, Alaxk, you're question reveals your opinion. Next time just state it.

For starters, I reject the premise of your question. I didn't see any of what we did as any kind of trade-off.

I didn't even know I was going to get rid of the Eye and the Gate when I first planned the tour. And we didn't drop four characters. We dedicated two and a half episodes to them. That may not have been enough for your tastes, and I wouldn't have minded doing more episodes with them, but I only had a limited order. So at any given moment I used the best stories in my arsenal.

What the World Tour was really about was a conscious expansion of the Gargoyles Universe, both in character, chronology, territory, science and mythology. I couldn't have done that without "devoting 22 episodes to the World Tour" and I have no regrets, as I think we succeeded in reaching our expansionist goal.

And I liked the World Tour. Did then. Do now. I don't regret a single episode. I think they were all important to the tapestry. So if you're looking for me to admit I screwed up you're barking up the wrong tree. Cuz I don't think I did.

Again, you'd be better off simply stating your opinion then trying to prod me into doing it for you.

Response recorded on February 01, 2000

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Alaxk writes...

During pre-Avalon Gargoyles, you developed wonderful conflict in New York between various groups, why did you not continue to use them after Avalon?

Greg responds...

Sigh. I did. And I would have continued to. We did more with Demona, Macbeth, Thailog, Xanatos, the Mutates, Dracon, the ColdTrio etc. The World Tour didn't prevent any of that. We never got around to another Illuminati story, but I would have third season, if I had stayed on. We would have had more of everything.

Exactly what conflicts did you miss?

Response recorded on February 01, 2000

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Alaxk writes...

Had to do over again, what would you change about the series? (have I biased you yet :>)

Greg responds...

Alaxk --

No you haven't biased me yet -- except maybe against this approach to asking questions.

No. There are details I'd like to fix and change. There are additional stories I'd like to do. There's more, more, more, I'd like to do.

But no, I wouldn't make the changes that this series of not-too-subtle questions is suggesting.

I don't agree with your point of view.

(Man, I hope this is the last of these. What a downer.)

Response recorded on February 01, 2000


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