Algernon writes...

“Schooled” Review

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Yo Greg, sorry I’ve kinda fallen behind with these reviews but life sometimes gets in the way. Anyway, I enjoyed this ep a lot. I have to admit I did find Superboy’s anger issues a bit one not in “Welcome to Happy Harbor” even though I did understand why it was so. Lets face it, being raised in a tube by psychic goblins is probably going to leave you a little lacking in social skills. But this ep, (and to a certain extent “Drop-Zone”) has done a great job of letting us see other sides of his character, as well as exploring the underlying reasons for all that anger.

I particularly liked his exchange with Clark, poor kids practically giving Big Blue puppy dog eyes. Not that I don’t sympathise with Clark. Even with the best will in the world, dealing with your own clone/son has got to be a pretty daunting prospect. If I were brutally honest, I’d have to admit Clark is handling this way better then I would be. I know if I met a clone of myself, my first instinct would probably be to reach for a torch and pitch fork. Hardly the rational or ethical response I’ll readily admit, but luckily the Man of Steel is a lot more level headed then me.

Loved Peter MacNicol as Professor Ivo, he brought a great sense of humour and menace to the character without making him sound like a clone of Doc Ock. I just dig the idea tha this short skinny middle-aged nerd is able to strike terror into the hearts of the Justice League. I also noticed that his character design has a very similar colour scheme to AMAZO, red hair and green clothes. I loved this because it neatly explains AMAZO’s goofy silver design, Ivo designed the android to basically look like and idealised version of himself, brilliant! Hope we see the M.O.N.Q.I.s again. J

Black Canary was pretty cool, it’s good to hear Vanessa Marshall again. I’ve heard she’s your favourite DC character so I’m interested to see how you handle her.

All and all another great ep, I’ll try and get my “Infiltrator” review up sometime tomorrow.

Cal writes...

Will any Kim Possible voice actors be working on YJ? I only asked because you and Nicole Dubuc have written episodes for both shows.

Paul writes...

1) In Young Justice, what is the codename of Hawkman's partner in the Justice League: Hawkgirl or Hawkwoman?
2) Is her real name Shayera Hol or is it something else?
3) Is she romantically linked to Green Lantern (John Stewart) or Hawkman in Young Justice?
4) I asked you before about how much of Justice League/Justice League Unlimited and Teen Titans you had seen and was just wondering if you're thinking of resuming watching either of them? I ask this because they're both great shows and seeing them in their entirety would prevent you from accidentally using an idea that was done on one of those shows.
5) Did/would you ever consider recasting some of the voice actors from other DC cartoons in the same role on Young Justice? (To give an example, Tara Strong as Raven on Teen Titans.)

tomi writes...

I really enjoyed these first preview episodes of Young Justice. And perhaps even moreso than that i enjoyed to hear Crispin Freeman to return back to your services: i think he made fantastic work as both Speedy and Guardian, and eventhough you can still hear a bit that it is the same actor, he made it possible for those two characters to be divided and personified from one and another.

He was excellent as Electro, and i was fan of him before that(i came hooked sometimes around i first saw first few episodes of Wolf,s Rain).

From what i,ve been able to gather, he seems to be not only true professional, but also smart, intelligent guy with great thoughts, coupled with sharp and delightful sense of humor. I have seem him to appear in many of Gatherings(often paired with good old Thom Lexington Adcox), and i,ve heard that he was fan long before your paths crossed, often discussing with his fans about serie,s themes.

If it isnt too much trouble, could you give little bit of greenlight how you two met, and how your cooperation began?

Hopes for better to your work from fan from far-off-land Finland: maybe there arent too many Finnish Gargfans, but i am one of them.

Pidä lippu korkealla!/Keep your spirits high!

Stephanie writes...

I searched some of the archives and I don't think you've answered this, but what was your main inspiration for the creation Thailog's character? He was definitely one of my most favorite antagonists in the show, as well as Demona and Xanatos.

P.S.
Young Justice was amazing! :)

BonnieB21:-) writes...

Long time lurker, first time poster!

I've been trying to think of some questions I know no one else has thought of before. It's taken me a while, but I finally got them.

I've been a fan of Spiderman all my life and have watched EVERY cartoon version either in syndication, on cable, or when they originally aired. I was rewatching "Along Came Spidey" the origin of Spiderman from Spiderman And His Amazing Friends last night (a gorgeous episode, one of the best of the series and the BEST of his various origin stories (present company excluded)). But I believe this was the last time his full story was told. As in before Spiderman became a crime fighter, he was a "plain, old, SUPERSTAR!!!!!". I saw your Spectacular Spiderman origin and I had to ask you this:

I know you had to/wanted to keep towards Spiderman's live action movie origin which rushes through all the pre-crime fighting stuff. But if you could've, would you have explored Spidey's fame-whoring past? Cause I've always wondered why no one else in New York City, no other fans, or no one else remembers Spidey's pro-wrestling, personal appearance making, TV show guest starring past. If J. Jonah Jamision had a reason for hating Spiderman, I would think that would be it.

I used to watch '60s Spiderman every morning in syndication before going to school. But I hadn't seen it in a very long time until ABC Family/Disney reran a bunch of old Spidey episodes, but only one of '60s Spidey. The interesting thing about Peter Parker/Spiderman is that Peter talks in a mild mannered, soft spoken voice in his real life but once he dons the mask, his voice got deeper and more authoritative. That was the only series that had such a huge differnce between Peter and Spidey.

On Spectacular Spidey, there doesn't seem to be a huge difference between the way Peter sounds and the way Spidey sounds. Was there a reason for that? For the most part, Peter's and Spidey's lives don't connect too much (as in Spidey doesn't have to have long conversations with Peter's friends). But I would think at least of one person be it Aunt May, Gwen, or M.J. would be able to tell Peter's voice over a cell phone and Spiderman sound an awful lot alike.

Thanks for taking the time to answer fan questions!

Neal writes...

Questions regarding some of the actors you have worked with:

1. I know you have casted Xander Berkeley in some of your shows in the past, do you have any plans on casting his wife Sarah Clarke in any of your future projects?

2. Has Peter MacNicol told you about his time on Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie? To refresh your memory, he played that art curator David Langley who exists to have his life destroyed by Mr Bean. Very funny movie BTW.

Richard Jackson writes...

When Gargoyles first came on, I was in elementary school (4th grade), but I knew who the main actors on Gargoyles were and I knew a lot of them were in Star Trek. When I went to see Star Trek: First Contact in 5th grade, (that's how I "reckon time" as Titania would say) I noticed that Jonathan Frakes was the director and I knew he was one of the stars, along with Marina Sirtis. I don't think I knew at the time that Michael Dorn or Brent Spiner were Gargoyles/Star Trek actors, but let's move on.

Right about the time ST:FC came out, it was about the time The World Tour episodes were on TV and I noticed that Demona and Xanatos were in less episodes. I wondered then if Frakes and Sirtis' commitment to that film was one of the reasons for the World Tour episodes, since their availability might have decreased.

I know now from reading the archives that the in show reason was to open up the Gargoyles Universe, but my inner child still wants to know if his theory has any weight.

Alan writes...

For Young Justice, are you planning to get voice actors who were in your other projects (Gargoyles, TSSM) and did you worked with Jamie Thomason in your shows?

Con writes...

How did Crispin Freeman manage to find work in American cartoons? Before that he mostly works on anime.