Mara writes...

The Spectacular Spider-man episode 1
Survival of the Fittest

Ramble, as I re-watch:

Opening: Nice landscape shot. Hudson! Stone... at night? Eh, it's a different universe. Really, really nice backgrounds. You definitely get a sense of the normal NYC landmarks (like Cheesewedge building.)

We have title.

Spider sense tingling!

It looks like the spidey signal is sticking it's tongue out because of the placement of the bag.

Marco needs to rethink his life. I like how they're stealing rough jewels instead of finished jewelry. More easy to fence, I guess.

Opening credits: A little gratuitous to put the creator cameos in there? But I like it. Oh, we have venom costume too.. I missed that on my first viewing.

REALLY great backgrounds.

On Peter's design: He has a beauty mark near his eye... doesn't that mean many tears ahead in his life, or some junk? Poor Peter.

I *like* the eyes. I think they're expressive without going overboard. Excessive eye detail is too anime. On the streamlined design in general- it's not as excessively done as the Batman stuff of a couple of years ago. Just the right amount, I think.

Anna looks like the lady from Apartment 3-G.

Aw! Peter's sweet, pretending not to have heard.

Mr. Toombs looks like Robert Englund. Awesome.

Osborn has that hair curl thing going. Looks nice in this version.

Midtown Manhattan Magnet High School. ... Wait for it.

Gwen! *bliss.*

Don't criticize the World Tour, Harry. It was universe building.

It's like reverse Buffy, for a second there. The sidekicks weren't in town while the hero fought crime. Neat.

M cubed. Nice. I was thinking 3M. But this will work.

Pink-haired girl: The e-surance girl went to Spiderman's high school? Really?

Background music for cheerleader watching=awesome. Haha! Nice sound effect of the record scratching.

Interracial couples= yaye. Sally's Bay Ridge accent? Even better.
Seriously... it's a nice touch. (Possibly Bensonhurst- but in any case, she sounds like she's from Brooklyn.)

Flash: WAY to put ideas in Liz's head, there, buddy.

And we have episode title, albeit in blackboard form.

Peter looks kyoote with the glasses, but I'm glad those got dropped for his current design.

Yeah, I really like the different accents in the characters. The science teacher sounds vaguely British, but more in the schooled-in-Cambridge kinda way.

No no, Peter. He's a RUTHLESS scientist. Ruth-less. Lacking Ruth.

Harry calls his dad Sir? And there's characterization in a split second.

Poor Vulture- terrorism never works. Especially not on Ruthless mean men.

Great power and great responsibility mentioned but not drilled into my head? Thanks!

Webshooters! Thanks!

Martha's not a big fan of overworking. Hopefully there'll be more to her in the future. Pretty sure there will be.

Train and bus, Cheesewedge building again. Love the attention to detail.

JJJ > (is greater than) lots.

JJJ's assistant is so not intimidated by JJJ.

Spider senses tingling, same eye thing as the opening when he DOESN'T say it.

The crumbling gargoyle statute. So does that mean Spidey and Goliath are now even? (Since Goliath broke the flag pole in Awakenings and all.)

REALLY nice smooth animation for the fight scenes. Flag pole!

You can kill Norman, but he will NOT apologize. Ever.

Nice how Spiderman's buff but in proportion to other people he's fighting, still teenage tiny.

Also loving how the webs seem to CONNECT to actual buildings. Thanks!

Bedtime! Haha.

Mmm, pie.

And you still have amazing pie, Peter. You still have amazing pie.

/end ramble for episode 1.

Mich writes...

I got a few about demona...

1- even though demona has had a hard long run at life, will she ever measure up to her mistakes? i mean a thousand years of repeating them is enough...and its kinda sad that she lost everything she everloved because of it.
2- isnt it kind of hypocritical that she hates humans because they hurt her kind so much...when she kinda sprung that when she herself hurt a human who was innocent due to what happened at the castle back then...thus creating the hunter. Will she realize how stupid that is...i know its unlikely but some ppl are bound to find things out eventually.
3- its very irksome how she's running away from her problems and blaming humans for stuff she caused...its like saying how one person in one country hits another person in another country and the person who got hit assumes instantly that everyone in the other country is as bad as the one who hit them and goes on a killing spree on people who didn't do anything with it. With this concept in mind...doesnt that make demona the most human like gargoyle of all? she's turned into the very thing she hates....
4- will demona and macbeth ever be free from that binding spell?

Mich writes...

Hi, I especially enjoyed the series like many others here. I particularly like how the characters were portrayed and developed. Shari seems to be very interesting and I hope we get to know more about who she is later on. Also her relationship to Thailog, whom I never found to be evil. I mean, sure Thailog is a bit maniacal and not so nice, but he's never done anything heartless. I mean even though his body is fully developped, he's still kinda like immature right? Like a child still sorta...he's like someone who's never really been taught why doing wrong was wrong. Why else would he not have killed Goliath or Elisa when he had the chance. Sure he said that "suffering" is just a bonus...but is that kinda like a mask to hide something he always yearned for? Is Thailog truly evil? Will he ever learn to cherish anything?

John Pannozzi writes...

Who first originated the initial idea of Bonkers and (roughly)when?

Ricky writes...

Hey Greg,

This is something I've been wondering about for a while now..ever since Gargoyles #7 came out, and since we found out that #10 is called "The Gate." You've begun to incorporate plot points that were supposed to be from Pendragon and, with #10, Timedancer, into the main book.

1) Are there any other titles you can reveal, GargWiki has Gargoyles #11 as "Tyrant" and Bad Guys #4 as "Louse." Have you figured the titles out anywhere past those?

2) Is incorporating these elements into the main book a contingency plan, in case the spin-offs don't end up getting their own series, so that elements from them can still be used? Or is this to provide a jumping off point for the spin-offs to pick up from once they're being made?

3) Is there any word on how successful Bad Guys has been?

I know it's only been one issue for Bad Guys and ridiculously too soon to ask, but I'm also curious as to your thoughts about how likely Pendragon and Timedancer are at this point.

Last question:
Are the release dates set for Gargoyles #8 and Bad Guys #2? I know you're busy, and by the time you get to respond to this, they might both be out, if that turns out to be the case, you can disregard the question. ;)

Thanks a lot!

Grant writes...

You are so the man. I was afraid the new Spider-Man series might just be a rehashing of old stories for the youngins but I'm having a ball with it. How does it feel to write a script and know it's gold? :D I had some solid laughs, and that line about "...Harry losing his dad..." was chilling. The voice acting is quality (some familiar ones in there too, I don't know all the names like some of the hardcores here I do remember them ;)). I've only seen the first episode yet and I love how it wasn't just linear with one villain, one small fight where Spider-Man gets beat down, and one big fight Spider-Man eventually wins. Multiple arcs, both high school and super hero life, and multiple villains building in the same episode is where it is at. I didn't actually realize you were so involved in this project but I am so glad you are. The powers that be chose wisely! No pun intended. Every since it went off the air I've urned for Gargoyles to make reappearance on the small screen or, be I so bold as to say it, the big screen! I guess in some way your legacy will live on vicariously through this series, not that Spider-Man should fit in a Gargoyle's mold, but you get my drift. Keep it real pisano.

kyle tonarella writes...

dear greg weiman i love watching garoyles as a kid i thought it was a bad ass show and watched the first 2 episodes of The Spectacular Spider-Man and say this show is going to be pure bad ass i love the vulture robert englund was ment to play him and thank go you made a marvel comics cartoon sticking to the comics unlike prevoius series and now my question will Shocker in the episode "Market Forces" have charatcer development and will be one of the mebers of this shows version of the sinster six

Antiyonder writes...

I'm going to work on a review for The Spectacular Spider-Man episodes 1 and 2 later today. I'll probably review them in the same style I review the comics, but I have been working on some paragraph styled reviews on tv.com. So I thought I'd present some for some episodes of Gargoyles and the Kim Possible episode Big Bother and see what you think of how I do:

1. This is for the Gargoyles Series as a whole:

"A show worth watching, and owning. The current comics from Slave Labor Graphics is equally worth buying.

I probably couldn't do the series justice in my review, but I'll certainly try.

Like many, I enjoy the show for it's appealing characters and interesting stories. The show demonstrates originality in coming up with rarely used ideas or putting a spin on established cliches.

An example would be the episode "Future Tense". The episode at surface appears to be a copout as the events were a dream. When infact it serves to foreshadow future episode/comic story elements.

The show is also well balanced. While I do have a share of favorite adult cartoons, Gargoyles manages to be adult/mature without relying on adult content nonstop. It's serious without being depressing.

Here's hoping the comic will continue for a long time."

2. Possessions (This review of course predated #6 being released):
"Didn't expect to see an immediate follow up on Puck teaching Alexander the use of his powers. It was also fun to see the return of Coldstone and crew. Coldstone's appearance in the Himalayas will be explained in #6 of the Gargoyles comic series.

What helped to make the soul transfer interesting was the choice to keep Broadway, Angela and Brooklyn's voice the same. That decision payed off even more since Brooklyn's behavior was puzzling.

As far as the forshadowing goes, I'm embarassed to admit I didn't see the pairing between Broadway and Angela coming. I thought she would end up with Brooklyn."

3. The Journey:
The episode could have done without the opening monologue as it can't hold a candle to the "Previously On Gargoyles" segment.

It's easy to see the differences between this and the rest of the season. One being that this is the only episode to deal with Xanatos' amoral nature (that he can't be trusted completely). This episode also brought up more of the Gargoyles continuity than the remaining episodes.

Seeing Vinnie make peace with Goliath was a nice little twist. Still where the episode fails, the comic improves.

4. Kim Possible - Big Bother:
"I saw it on Disney Channel.com, and made sure to record it during it's premiere. Recently my stepsister had a baby last summer, she's really adorable. So, I can really understand the Stoppable's feelings towards Hana. Right up there with Alexander Xanatos, as one of the best animated babies introduced.

Favorite moments include Ron's attempt at taking care of a sack of flour and sugar, Ron breaking the news to Yori concerning him and Kim and of course the end of the episode."

So, are my paragraph reviews ok, good or needs more work?