Verdragon writes...

What's the hardest casting choice you've had to make in your showrunner career?

Jurgan writes...

On the Voices from the Eyrie podcast, you talked about how Xanatos isn't petty, and something funny occurred to me. You know who can be extremely petty? Goliath. For starters, he does have a thirst for revenge. I remember a discussion once in the CR about the characters' vices, and we decided Demona and Goliath have the same one, that being vengence. The difference is that Goliath usually keeps it under wraps, probably because he's able to admit when he's in the wrong and de-escalate.

However, G's pettiness shows up in other ways, too. In Deadly Force, he looks very smug about blowing up Xanatos's fancy guns. He gets jealous and overly protective of both Elisa and Angela at times. But my favorite is in The Edge, where he shouts at Xanatos for a while and then runs off, but not before smashing his street lamp. I don't know if that moments was intended to be funny, but it makes me bust out laughing every time. What did you think you were accomplishing, Goliath? Just venting, I guess. And then it even gets a follow-up in The Cage where Derek knocks Xanatos's desk lamp over. He can also be quite petty, or maybe it was just his cat DNA compelling him to push things off of tables.

Anyway, just a bit of disjointed praise/analysis. Summary: You can make characters more compelling by giving the heroes some villainous traits and the villains some heroic traits. This show is still teaching me stuff a quarter century later.

Todd Jensen writes...

This is more a thought than an all-out question.

In Season One, we see Goliath reading in the libraries at both Castle Wyvern (after the gargoyles' re-awakening) and the public library adjoining the clock tower. We know, also, that he'd been reading the classics (Shakespeare and Dostoyevsky, specifically).

In the archives, you offered a list of a few major "classics" writers: Shakespeare, Homer, Cervantes, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Thomas Hardy, William Faulkner, and Ernest Hemingway. As I looked over that list, I noticed that all of those writers, except Homer, lived after the Wyvern Massacre, meaning that Goliath first had the opportunity to read them after he re-awakened. (Furthermore, I've read that Homer's writings were unavailable in western Europe during medieval times - even Dante, when mentioning him as one of the great poets of classical antiquity in the "Inferno", knew him only by reputation - so Goliath most likely wouldn't have had the opportunity to read the Iliad and the Odyssey before the thousand-year sleep.) It gives a strong sense of just how much of world literature he'd be encountering for the first time. (Not to mention, as I remarked once, that the size of those libraries in both the castle and adjoining the clock tower must have seemed miraculous by tenth century standards, thanks to the printing press.)

I've also reflected that some of those classics must have presented worlds as initially foreign to Goliath as modern-day Manhattan. Homer and Shakespeare's writings would have probably presented a reasonably familiar environment, but the more relatively recent authors would have been another matter (the world depicted in Jane Austen's works would have seemed, indeed, very different from Manhattan as well as from tenth century Scotland)

For that matter, since you included Thomas Hardy on the list, I wonder what Goliath would have made of the cameo of an architectural gargoyle in "Far From the Madding Crowd", if he'd read that one....

NoOneSpecial writes...

Hi Greg. Decided to watch Gargoyles now that it was on Disney+(or at least it was on at the time of posting this). Really enjoyed seeing again and I’m happy it’s now on a service that may give it more attention again in the future. Always hoping for more content someday.

I have a few episodes I really love (and some I really like and some I kinda don’t care much for. Can’t all be winners). One of my favorites is Future Tense. What I enjoy most is how you can re-watch, after knowing the reveal by the end and pick up so, so many details that make it so much more enjoyable, or at least for me.

Unlike the typical World Tour adventure, which usually open with us already inside the new local the group will be visiting, this one opens with the group sailing through the fog, Goliath lamenting how homesick he feels and wishing the journey will be over soon for them.

You wonder if Puck chose this moment to strike when Goliath was being particularly vulnerable emotionally or if he just got lucky. That also got me thinking, how exactly does Puck circumventing Oberon’s law to pull off his dream trick? The dream itself I can get since it’s ‘only a dream’ and not real interference. But that lightning bolt seemed pretty direct.

We arrive at the Future Tense Manhattan and there’s moment where you wonder if this is real or not. I can’t remember if kid me knew that this was all fake, but then again I was particularly genre savvy at that age. Normally when you see these kinds of horrible futures, there’s gonna be a reveal that it’s a dream or illusion.

I think one of the most underlying disturbing things about the Future Tense world is how well Puck seems to know Goliath (and the rest of the cast) to play out this dark fantasy. Subtle hints are everywhere

When they arrive, they are attacked so no time to ask questions. Both Elisa and Angela are captured. Now Elisa’s capture is important as she is always a good way to motivate Goliath into action, but Angela’s departure is crucial, because Puck doesn’t know anything about her. He can’t guess her character well enough to know how she would react. I could see Angela suddenly breaking down and begging Goliath to the Phoenix Gate to save them, except that is not the Angela we know. Like Goliath, she would rather take on problems in the present and not the past.

Next, we see Bluestone and Claw. A weird paring to say the least. I wonder what the significance of those two (if any) there was to Puck’s story? Claw can’t talk so I guess he’s an easy character to mimic, and Bluestone is an ally, but also not someone Goliath is emotionally attached to, so he works as good way of easing Goliath into the horrors to come.

Next, we meet the Manhattan Clan. Hudson is gone and we know this hits Goliath hard. I think a part of him has always still seen Hudson as the leader of the clan. Someone Goliath could always relay on for guidance and now he is gone.

Brooklyn is a harden and bitter leader, hating Goliath for putting him in his position. This also makes me wonder, how aware Goliath was of the fact Brooklyn was leading the clan in his absence. Maybe it did cross his mind, but I kinda like the idea that Golaiath didn’t fully realized that Brooklyn must have taken charge in his absence. And of course he is now with Demona, someone he once hated, which tells Goliath that Brooklyn must have gone through pretty messed up stuff to be with her.

Then we have Broadway, the heart and soul of the clan. Puck doesn’t kill him, but cripple him by making him blind, yet despite his suffering he didn’t lose hope that Goliath would come back.

Lexington is a cyborg and the real villain of the piece. He always was a favorite of mine, mostly because I just liked how he had the most distinct design out of the Manhattan clan. And again, we see Puck’s understanding everyone’s character come into play. Lexington has more of an ambitious streak than the rest, a sense of drive. This fits well his intelligence, his thirst for knowledge. He doesn’t just want to protect; he wants to achieve. He wants to learn because he wants to do something with the knowledge he gains.

Brooklyn name drops Talon, Maggie and Coldstone as being dead, again to further disturb Goliath as much as possible. He doesn’t mention Thaliog, likely because Goliath wouldn’t be that upset over him.

Another character that is never mentioned in this story is Macbeth, which I can’t help but find to be odd. I always wondered why he is left out? I could see him becoming some kind of evil general serving Xanatos. But then again, how could you spin that to be Goliath’s fault specifically?

Fox is also absent. Maybe she gone to help further the idea of Xanatos’s apparent newfound loss of humanity. Owen is not around either. Puck obviously won’t screw with his magnum opus.
“I knew Xanatos was evil, but killing his own son”

Maybe I’m reaching a little here, but I think it was at this moment that Puck realized he had made mistake with his portrayal of Xanatos and decided to make Lex the villain. In this story, he had built Xanatos (or the Xanatos Program) to be this big ultimate evil. But Goliath, both here and later, is able to unknowingly see through this ruse, because he knows Xanatos well enough to know that he isn’t this petty or destructive or power mad. This cannot be the real Xanatos, because the real one wouldn’t do these things, meaning it’s some kind of imposter, which of course it is, in more ways than one. Lies within lies.

And again, this is just an interpretation, but maybe Puck was underestimating Goliath’s opinion of Xanatos. Maybe he thought Goliath was readily and even happily believe Xanatos became this absolute monster? Maybe he thinks this fits Goliath’s sometimes strict black and white sense of morality. In the past I think it would, but Goliath has seen that the world isn’t that simple, and neither are people. Much like with the ad-libbed line about Thailog, I think maybe Puck re-worked the story a little to make Lexington the villain, since that is more plausible than what he was doing with Xanatos. But again, maybe that is just me reaching.

By the time we get to the final battle in Cyberspace all the rules seem to be getting broken and continuity goes out the door for once, which makes sense in this context. By now we know more or less that this isn’t real and something else is going on. It’s one of my favorite moments animated. There are admittedly some episodes with a little questionable animation, but this episode couldn’t have been done without such incredible sequences.

I imagine at the end, Goliath must be completely broken inside. He doesn’t have the will to go on anymore, which is saying something, because I only think of one other occasion this has happened to him, which would be after the Wyvern Massacre. But he quickly recovers once he sees through Puck’s ruse. Sure, it all ‘felt’ real as it happened, but that’s the way a dream can be. It feels so raw and powerful as it happens in the moment, but once you start to feel awake again, the effect wears off. It was after all, only a dream. In those brief moments when Goliaths struggles to accept the shock of what he is seeing, like the scene with Hudson’s statue, he must be telling himself that this has to some kind of nightmare.

Puck, of course, gets off scout free in this episode, which is why I help can’t but enjoy him getting some well-deserved comeuppance in the Gathering.

Anywho, that’s my ramble of one of favorite episodes. There are still many other episodes I love (Double Jeopardy, City of Stone, Awakening, the Mirror, Deadly Force, Kingdom), but Future Tense may be my absolute favorite for everything that it packs in, the striking animation and what I think makes it very scary in a real way; the future may actually be just as terrifying as you can imagine it to be.

Tim Mischka writes...

Hey Greg, I was wondering if you'd taken the time to watch the new DuckTales show Disney's been doing? I know you only worked on a little bit of the old one, but it's fun and it's stuffed with Disney references, including the revelation that Manny the Headless Man-Horse (it makes more sense when you watch it) is basically their equivalent to Goliath (complete with Keith David voice and Gargoyles theme playing). Were you amused by them doing that? It was certainly unexpected (given that it happened in the series finale, and they'd covered basically every other Disney show from the 80s and early-to-mid 90s).

Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "Hunter's Moon" yesterday (Sunday) on DVD - all three parts.

I've mentioned before spotting a lot of mentions of hunting, usually applied to humans going after gargoyles with hostile intent, and it struck me that this made it appropriate that the Hunters would be the gargoyles' adversaries in the finale. (Well, the Disney Afternoon finale/Season Two finale.)

And it struck me that the Hunters were the most dangerous opponents that the gargoyles faced in modern times, judging by results. They blew up the clock tower, destroying the gargoyles' home, and then exposed them to the public. The former was partly undone by the gargoyles getting their old home (the castle) back by the end of the episode, but not the latter - now the gargoyles are facing an alarmed public (even though they're safe at the end - for the moment). None of the gargoyles' other adversaries in modern times have been able to inflict that much damage on them. To top it, you'd have to go back to 994 and the Wyvern Massacre.

A few things that struck me this time around:

Goliath and Elisa are actually openly speaking to each other and even sharing a brief embrace on board the passenger train, just after foiling the robbery; fortunately, the passengers apparently didn't notice that.

Hudson greets the returning gargoyles as "lads" - then quickly adding in "And lassie, of course", for Angela. It reminded me of his use of just "lads" for the younger gargoyles in "Possession" that I mentioned in my post on it - apparently he's getting more adjusted now to Angela's presence in the clan.

The trio's clash with Demona in Part One seems the last "trio action" in the series; they're increasingly split up (or else acting with the rest of the clan present) after this.

Lexington and Brooklyn's shared uneasy glances when they return to the clock tower with Goliath near the end of Part Two seemed all the stronger when I realized "the audience knows that Robyn and Jon survived Goliath's fight with them, but Lex and Brooklyn don't - from their perspective, Goliath had apparently killed those two."

Jon Canmore's cry about the gargoyles when he's facing Jason at the end, "They killed dad!", struck me as a sign of how (even before shooting Jason) he was losing it; it was Demona who killed Charles Canmore, none of the Manhattan clan were even present at the event, and Jon was there so he knows it.

Broadway shows how much his attitude towards reading has changed since the start of "A Lighthouse in the Sea of Time" when he's talking to Angela about how great the castle library is (and we'll see them there together in "The Journey").

This story really does seem like a good conclusion for the series in so many ways - the gargoyles are back in the castle again, their war with Xanatos is (seemingly) over, they'd defeated Demona's big scheme to wipe out humanity, Elisa finally admitted her feelings for Goliath and even kissed him. Except there's a big loose end with the gargoyles' existence being made public, and most of the New Yorkers aren't too happy about it. (Brooklyn's "And so it begins" remark does also support the feeling that the story could continue past this spot.) But it certainly makes a good season finale.

Oh, and I counted the number of "claw-mark transitions" in the entire two seasons during this review - 28 in all.

Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "Future Tense" on DVD today. Things I noticed this time on it.

Bronx looks sad when Hudson's death is revealed; given the bond the two had showed throughout the series, I thought if both fitting and touching (even if it's not really Bronx).

Goliath tells Brooklyn "we thought our odyssey was fated". I thought "odyssey" an appropriate term, since Odysseus spent twenty years away from Ithaca, and Goliath supposedly spent forty years away from Manhattan - and since gargoyles age at half the speed of humans, twenty years for humans would translate to forty years for gargoyles. (I'll admit I'm reaching here - and it feels odd to be linking Goliath to Odysseus when I'd normally think of comparing a different "Gargoyles" character to Odysseus - a fellow Greek trickster....)

The Xanatos Program's intention of using the "World Wide Net" to download itself on every computer marks one of the extremely few occasions I can think of where the Internet was alluded to on "Gargoyles"; the only other example that comes to mind was Sevarius receiving his instructions for "kidnapping" Thailog via "electronic mail". (It also got mentioned in one of the Goliath Chronicles episodes, but that doesn't count.) The near-absence of the Internet from the series certainly makes it appear
technologically dated" from today's perspective.

Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "The New Olympians" on DVD today.

Continuing the "hunting" theme in "Gargoyles" that I've paid closer attention to this time around, I noticed that Ekidne described the New Olympians' ancestors as "hunted". (I also spotted a New Olympian extra who looked a lot like traditional depictions of Artemis/Diana, the goddess of the hunt - though I think I'm reading too much into that.)

Goliath's words to Angela about how they cannot wage war on an entire city remind me of his words to Demona in "Awakening Part Five" of how he cannot wage war upon an entire world.

Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "Mark of the Panther" on DVD today.

I've mentioned before how I've noticed a strong "hunting" motif running through "Gargoyles" during my reviewing it; this episode included more of that theme, though, for a change, it didn't involve humans going after gargoyles. Instead, it was the Panther Queen and, later, Fara Maku, hunting for Anansi, and then Tea and the poachers hunting panthers.

Elisa lists the body parts of panthers that poachers are after as skin, teeth, and claws. When Diane Maza tells the story of the Panther Queen shortly afterwards, her description of the Panther Queen stresses those same three attributes (well, fur rather than skin, but it's close enough), but now focusing on their beauty, rather than the monetary worth that motivated the poachers. (And when Anansi turns the Panther Queen into a human, the story stresses the Queen's loss of those same attributes.)

Goliath's explanation to Diane, when they're trapped in the pit, that he can only glide, not fly, echoed (for me) his explanation to Elisa on the ledge back in "Awakening Part Three". Like mother, like daughter....

Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "The Hound of Ulster" yesterday, but I didn't have any new thoughts on it, so I skipped it over - and "Walkabout" today.

Things that struck me about "Walkabout" this time around:

I'd noticed this before, but Bronx growls at a kangaroo near the beginning. I wonder what he dislikes about them. (I also spotted a koala up in a tree - that I *hadn't* seen in past viewings.)

I was amused by Elisa's description of Dingo as "not one of the good guys" - since that could so easily be tweaked to "one of the bad guys". I don't know if you'd come up with the name for that spin-off at the time, of course.

Goliath at one point says "Aye, for now" - probably the one occasion where he says "Aye" - he usually leaves those Scottish-toned words to Hudson.

During the battle with the Matrix in the Dreamtime-world, Goliath imprisons it briefly within a dome that looks a lot like the domes it was producing in the waking world, and conjures up a shield with a sun-design upon it - a strange emblem for a gargoyle to bear.

Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "M.I.A." today. One detail stood out to me this time; the human Londoners grouped in the background at the very end are the same ones we saw in Act I staring at the gargoyles in shock and alarm, when Leo and Una are confronting Goliath outside their shop. It made a pleasant touch, I thought, to see that those people have now recognized (judging from the way they were shown at the conclusion) that they didn't need to be scared of the gargoyles.

Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "Monsters" on DVD today. (Appropriate timing, I thought, since November 30 is St. Andrew's Day, dedicated to the patron saint of Scotland - and on that day, I was watching Scottish gargoyles encountering Scotland's most famous monster.) A few fresh thoughts on it.

When Elisa describes herself to the man at the souvenir stall as "not really the adventuring type", I found myself thinking of her statement in "High Noon", "I'm no hero; I just do my job". Certainly, whatever her incliations, she's had plenty of adventures.

I wondered whether Elisa's remark about theme parks doing "robot Nessie-type" stunts five times a day was Disney poking a bit of fun at itself - we'd see something similar in "Bushido".

And when Elisa says at the end how some legends need to stay that way, she looks in Goliath's direction as she speaks, making me wonder if it was just the Loch Ness Monster she was talking about. Certainly Elisa's been zealous about preserving the gargoyles' secrecy - maybe too zealous, in light of "Revelations" and "Mark of the Panther".

Todd Jensen writes...

A postscript thought I had on "Shadows of the Past". Both it and "Future Tense" - the first and last episodes in the Avalon World Tour respectively - have Goliath being beset by terrifying magical illusions, but at last realizing that they're not real and confronting the person or people behind the illusion. I don't know if this was intentional or not, but I think it gives a great element of symmetry to the World Tour.

Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched the "Avalon" triptych on DVD today. A few new observations.

The Magus's lyre in the "flashback on Avalon" scene looks a lot like Merlin's lyre in "A Lighthouse in the Sea of Time". Obviously not the same one, but evidently both wizards share a common taste in musical instruments.

Princess Katharine and the Magus's telling Elisa "Little is known of the Sleeping King" struck me as all the more appropriate since in 995, nearly all the major works on King Arthur had yet to be written (Geoffrey of Monmouth's "History of the Kings of Britain", the oldest extant start-to-finish account of Arthur's life, wouldn't be written for over a hundred years). There were one or two, like Nennius's "Historia Brittonum", but that was about it.

A detail that I hadn't spotted before: a couple of gargoyle-like sculptures were "guarding" the bridge leading to Arthur's resting-place within the Hollow Hill.

King Arthur and Goliath have both used a mace while fighting Macbeth (Goliath did so in "Enter Macbeth") - one of a few points in common they share (others are awakening in the modern world from a long enchanted sleep, and having scheming illegitimate sons).

The Archmage's boast that he could destroy Goliath with "just a word" struck me as apt, since all the "enhanced Archmage"'s spells were one-word ones ("Vessel", "Revert", "Ice", etc.).

It's difficult not to smile at Elisa's "Souvenirs" question after Season One of "Young Justice". Fortunately, she was asking it in a lighthearted tone.

Anonymous writes...

This is less a question than a comment, since I know you won't give out spoilers. :)

I've noticed that a lot of writers, especially in TV shows, either can't or don't want to write established relationships - either the courtship is dragged out until the final episode, or the couple gets together mid-series only to fall into an endless cycle of break ups and make ups. And while Gargoyles is one of the few TV series that I think had legitimately good reasons both for the long courtship and for the breakup in the comics, which both made sense with the characters and were compatible with them having a long-term healthy relationship... I also really hope that this won't become a recurring phenomenon, and that their relationship will continue to progress, however slowly. While I know that no relationship lasts forever, if nothing else because no one lives forever, I really really hope that Elisa and Goliath will have many long years ahead of them to function as a healthy couple, and that we the audience will get to see at least some of it. *crosses fingers for Gargoyles coming back in some form*

Tyler writes...

Why are Goliath and his took brothers so much bigger than the next generation of gargoyles

Todd Jensen writes...

My thoughts on rewatching "Outfoxed".

Not much new to say about it, but I spotted two things. First, just after Goliath heads off in pursuit of Fortress-Two, we get a shot of it flying towards the Twin Towers. From a hindsight perspective, an unsettling moment.

I noticed, also (continuing my examination of the "monster/beast/creature" terminology used by humans towards gargoyles during this rewatch) that both Renard and Vogel call Goliath "creature". Renard, of course, soon recognizes that Goliath's a sentient being, capable of understanding him when he speaks about the importance of taking responsibility for your actions. I'm not so sure whether Vogel came to the same realization, though.

Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "Vows" today. A few new things that came to me.

I was hesitant about mentioning this, in case it comes across as an idea, but - from the way Goliath addressed Demona as "my angel of the night" at Prince Malcolm's wedding, I wondered if this was the first time he'd called her that.

When Xanatos referred to his getting the old coin that was the foundation of his fortune as "ancient history", I thought, "well, medieval history, to be precise".

I wonder how Prince Malcolm and his court must have perceived the Norman Ambassador's departure - he rides off just before the wedding, not staying to see Princess Elena, whom he'd escorted to the castle, wedded (even though he'd presumably be the closest thing to a representative of her father there). At least it doesn't appear to have caused a diplomatic incident between Scotland and Normandy.

The Archmage addresses Demona as "you stupid beast", continuing the pattern of unfriendly humans using such terms for gargoyles, that I've been paying close attention to this time around.

Brooklyn is the one most vocal about going to Goliath's rescue at the end; I wonder if Demona's involvement and his feelings about her had a lot to do about that.

I still think it's a pity that the original ending got onto the DVD; I hope that the Disney + version uses the corrected ending. (That's the main thing I miss from my old "Gargoyles" tapes.)

Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched my DVD of "Eye of the Beholder" today. I didn't find as much new to notice with this one, unfortunately, though I was delighted to note the moment where Xanatos placed his hand on Goliath's shoulder while pleading for his help at the castle - meaning that he had an opportunity (which he used, obviously) to plant that tracking device on him. I'm glad that the episode played fair with that.

Brooklyn's eyepatch as part of his pirate costume seems all the more appropriate after the ending of "Clan-Building".

Goliath echoes "Re-Awakening" when he speaks of Manhattan as "my castle, my city".

Todd Jensen writes...

New thoughts on "Re-Awakening", after my rewatch.

I don't know whether this was intentional or not, but when Goliath and Elisa were having their conversation about the shopkeeper and why he doesn't leave the neighborhood, I found myself thinking of "Othello"'s suggestion, in the flashback, of abandoning the castle and letting the Vikings have it, and Hudson's response. I don't know if you intended those moments to be thematically connected, but they did feel that way to me this time.

It still strikes me that the fact that the gargoyles' resolution to protect the city and its inhabitants comes at the end of the first season says a lot about how different "Gargoyles" was from most super-hero series; the gargoyles are able to have plenty of adventures and experiences - thirteen episodes' worth of them - before making that vow. The series was rooted in their being gargoyles - ancient "mythical" beings with their own culture and world-view - re-awakened in the modern world, trying to make sense of it - and often making mistakes in the course of their attempts - rather than just crime-fighters.

Todd Jensen writes...

Rewatched "Enter Macbeth" today.

I can't help womdering what must be going through Hudson's head as he watches a Donald Duck cartoon, thoughtfully stroking his beard. The spectacle of a duck grown to human size, wearing clothes and speaking (kind of) could be an even bigger argument for not believing everything you see on television than the revelation of the Pack's true nature.

U remember in your ramble on "Enter Macbeth", your daughter spotted what looked like the Mona Lisa in Macbeth's mansion. This time around, I noticed a portrait of a man apparently in 18th century attire, who reminded me of portraits I'd seen of Bonnie Prince Charlie.

The doors to Macbeth get it both coming and going; they first get broken down when Bronx escapes, and when he returns with Goliath, they demolish a second pair of doors. (Of course, it becomes academic after the whole mansion gets burned down.)

Lexington talks about getting the clock working again; I wonder if he ever succeeded before the Canmores blew the place up.

Todd Jensen writes...

I also rewatched "The Thrill of the Hunt" and "Temptation" today. Things I noted this time in "The Thrill of the Hunt".

1. Lexington, angered about the Pack's treachery, cries that they're like animals. I thought that appropriate, given the Pack's "animal names".

2. The Pack continue the "referring to the gargoyles as beasts" practice from "Awakening" and even speak of hunting them, such as Wolf's cry "Let the hunt begin!" - the talk about hunting them also made me think of the Hunters (though they wouldn't be introduced until Season Two, of course).

3. When Brooklyn and Broadway arrive at the end to tell Goliath and Lexington how they'd seen a report on the news about Fox and Wolf's arrest, they come gliding in from outside the castle - so apparently they weren't watching television with Hudson when they found out, but somewhere else. (I won't ask where, but this detail struck me for the first time.)

4. Dingo's cry of "Stone me!" upon seeing the photographs of Goliath felt like a particularly appropriate response to a gargoyle.

Todd Jensen writes...

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of "Gargoyles", I watched "Awakening" (all five episodes) on DVD yesterday, and thought I'd share a few things I hadn't noticed before (or hadn't noticed enough) that struck my fancy.

1. When Goliath sends the trio and Bronx to the rookery, Bronx looks ashamed of himself - in a way that reminds me of times when dogs I'd known looked guilty over something.

2. When Xanatos tells Owen "Make the offer now" at the ruins of Castle Wyvern, I suddenly wondered whom he bought Castle Wyvern from. I won't ask here - it's obviously a "No spoilers" answer - but I was struck by the fact that this was the first time I wondered that.

3. I spotted what looked like a "foliate head" (or "Green Man"-type head) carved over the archway the gargoyles are standing beneath when the Commandos showed up in the courtyard, and a couple of winged figures on one of the tapestries. (I'll have to check for other unusual and remarkable features of the castle in later episodes, as well.)

4. Many of the human characters repeatedly call the gargoyles "beasts", both in the medieval scenes and the modern (Princess Katharine's protest at allowing beasts in the dining hall, Mary calling the gargoyles beasts, Bruno asking "Where's the beast?" while pursuing Goliath and Elisa).

5. Goliath asks Elisa, when they first meet, "What were you doing in my castle?" Despite Xanatos having bought it, he clearly thinks of it as still his - as if laying pipe for the arc about the gargoyles having to leave the castle and Goliath resisting it.

Todd Jensen writes...

I also recently read the "Oral History of Gargoyles" online, and enjoyed it. My favorite part was when you mentioned how "Gargoyles" was initially inspired by "Adventures of the Gummi Bears", only instead of "cute, cuddly multi-colored bears" it would have "cute, cuddly multi-colored gargoyles". I know you were talking about the original comedy development take on the gargoyles, but I laughed aloud at the "cute, cuddly" part - they're definitely not the adjectives I'd use for describing Goliath. "Majestic", yes, "awe-inspiring", yes, but not "cute" or "cuddly".

Derek writes...

Am I missing anyone or adding someone incorrectly? So far Sevarius has the DNA of the following?

Goliath, Brooklyn, Angela, Broadway, Bronx, Lexington, Eliza, Hudson, Yama, Robyn Canmore, Dingo, Talon, Maggie, Fang, Claw, Wolf, Demona, Nessie, Deiliah (Mix)?

Rose writes...

Hi,

My last question was probably already ignored, but if not I apologize for it...after extensive digging through the archives I think it was answered.

But I’m pretty sure this was never addressed....You kind of seemed to suggest that Elisa fell for Goliath spiritually and physically earlier than he fell for her. How is it then that she never seemed to be jealous of Demona? At least she never showed herself to be. Like in vows...I know she didn’t know the details of what transpired there, but wasn’t she ever worried that Goliath May eventually succeed in bringing Demona to the light and reunite with his mate?

Or was her willful desire to avoid the topic of their romantic linking overpowering any other feelings of insecurity or jealousy she may have felt vis a vis Goliath? Or was her guarded nature so tight that these secret fears never showed on her?

I just wanted to also say thank you for bringing us a love story for the ages...I think Goliath and Elisa are the most heart wrenching couple to ever grace the world of fiction. Thinking about these two tears my heart up in the best way possible. Watching Elisa as a little girl made such a huge positive impact on the person I am today...I love her so much that I’m willing to relinquish the hold I wish I had on Goliath (if there’s a straight woman out there who wouldn’t melt all over this guy...I haven’t met her yet).

And I’m sure I’m not the only one. I think you may have saved hundreds, thousands of 90s young women from our lesser selves with this beautiful, positive role model. There hasn’t ever been another like her.

Rose writes...

Hi Greg,

I searched the archives a little and I did not see this answered specifically...(if I’m wrong please link me)

When in the tv series did Goliath realize he had feelings for Elisa? I know he was always gradually falling for her (unbeknownst to him for not) since he first met her...but what do you think?

I always imagined it was well before he realized the physical connection in the mirror...maybe by deadly force when he realized he might lose her and lost his mind about Dracon.

Thanks for this amazing show and for your answer!

Ricky writes...

1. So I get the qualities Thailog inherited from Goliath and Xanatos but what do you think he got from Sevarius? Sorry if this is obvious but I just don't see it, is that why he might hold Sevarius in less regard than he does his other "fathers"?
2. Do you think Thailog holds Brentwood in more regard because he joined him of his own free will? Will he grant him more responsibilities like Xanatos does with Owen or will he get someone else to fulfill that role?
3. What does Thailog think about immortality? On the one hand I could see him being like Xanatos on the other I could see him adopt Nightstone Unlimited as a pseudo clan and achieve immortality that way maybe both? Great villain by the way so much like Xanatos and Goliath and yet so different at the same time.

The_Jezio writes...

Hi Greg,

Thank you for your work and Gargoyles, it gave a mature 13-year old kid a great show to watch and escape with when his world around him was falling apart.

I wanted to ask you about Goliath and his character ARC. he's such a complex character who spends so much time in grief and, carrying burdens from his past balancing good and evil, broken hearts and forbidden romances, an evolution of "Clan" and family.

Season three opened all of these new possibilities with new clans popping up all over the world after Avalon, and so my Question is, What would it take for Goliath to get his happy ending? Was there ever a plan to really wrap up Gargoyles, because the universe really is so deep and expansive everyone could have gotten 10 episodes plus about their own struggles and triumphs.

I even got to read Brooklyn's Comic Arc from "Clan Building" by Greg Weisman, and had even more love for what could have been! Thank you for answering if you get the chance!

Selena writes...

Hi Greg. I just wanted to tell you that I loved your story on the Gargoyles, especially the story between Elisa and Goliah (I have always loved the story of Beauty and the Beast). Probably they are not the first nor the last to ask you this question, but I hope with all my heart that sooner or later the stories, even comic books, continue. You had so many ideas that I wanted to see them realized. I hope a day not far away will happen ...

Zerofighter writes...

Hi Greg big fan, especially of Demona
I remember reading she was basically a military adviser to Macbeth, in your own words Secretary of defense.
So here are my questions
1. Where does her combat skills rank? Example is she more skilled then Goliath, below him etc, or how would she compare to Young Justice Characters in combat training

2. She has taken on Goliath once in awhile. Is she as strong as him, or slightly below.

3. Same question but this time for speed. Is she just as fast or faster?

4. How powerful is the Particle Canon she uses? Like could it Destroy a tank?

Anyways, thanks for this Greg, cant wait to see what you have planned

EXALT writes...

I've recently rewatched Awakening, and the scene where Goliath tells Demona that she can't kill an enemy unless it is "in the heat of battle" sparked a question in me: as of Phoenix, which members of the Manhattan Clan have actually killed someone?

Juan writes...

In "Vows" When Goliath told to the young Demona about doing nothing to prevent The Wyvern Castle Massacre.To not let the petty jealousies that prey upon her heart.To fortify herself with love.Was he really hoping to prevent the future and was it his last attempt to reason her?

Matthew writes...

I had a random question based on a question I saw about the Goliath/Demona/Angela parentage issue in "Sanctuary."
I just thought of this theory that maybe part of the reason why Goliath was resistant to telling Angela about Demona was because he was hurt over the end of his relationship with her, and having seen how she changed. So, he may, at least somewhere in his mind, have wanted to forget about her.
Do you think that may have been the case, not just his "Gargoyle Way" position?

Todd Jensen writes...

I remember your mentioning that in the proposed "Weird Macbeth" story, you'd cast Goliath as Macduff. It recently occurred to me that that would fit the "none of woman born" element (as with Demona earlier) - if in a different manner than the Macduff of the original play.

I don't know if that was one of the reasons you'd cast Goliath for that role, but I thought I'd mention it.

Zeke writes...

Since Goliath and Demona are the same age roughly in 994 what would happen when Goliath became to old to lead the clan and stepped down? Wouldn't Demona also be too old?

Charisma82 writes...

Hi, Greg! It's been several years since I've posted, but these questions came to me while I was getting ready for work this morning and I wasn't sure if you'd ever commented on them before. In Eye of the Beholder, Goliath says that he has no love for Fox. Does this feeling change at all upon him learning that Fox is Halcyon Rendard's daughter? I'm not saying that I think this would make Goliath start liking her more, but I would think there might be a change of feeling/heart since Goliath regards Renard as a close friend (so instead of seeing Fox as someone he doesn't care about at all, he might see her in a different light due to Renard being her father). So this leads me to the following two questions:

1) If there was a change of feeling, what was that change? (How does he feel about her once he learns she is Rendard's daughter?)

2) If his new feelings were more positive towards Fox (if his feelings did change), then did those positive feelings have anything to do with Goliath's decision to stay at the Eyrie Building? Of course when Xanatos offered Goliath and his clan a ride back to the Eyrie Building to get away from the police, he took the ride to save the clan. But when they got to the Eyrie Building he had to make the decision of whether to stay there or not. I'm sure there were several reasons for them to stay, but was Fox having Renard as her father one of those reasons?

Thank you for your answer and your time, I know it's precious.

-Charisma82

safminako writes...

Do you think Keith David could voice any other of your characters? If so, which ones?

P.S
I am still a fan of the show and totally used jump off of an ironing board trying to fly when I watched Gargoyles as a kid.

Phill writes...

Hi Greg!
I suppose this is a bit of a nitpick about 20 years too late, but while rewatching the pilot of Gargoyles for the millionth time, I couldn't help but question how Goliath managed to carry all of the Gargoyles from the battle to Castle Wyvern.

Paul writes...

What was Xanatos' contingency plan in case Goliath threw him off the edge of the Eyrie Building at the end of "Awakening, Part Five"?

Coby writes...

How do you feel about the next DEATH BATTLE episode with X-Men's Beast and Goliath? Who do you think would win?

Allen Tomsovic writes...

1a) Would The Eye of Odin have eventually killed Goliath? (It appeared to have been killing Fox.)

1b) (It seems that Avatars to Death Gods tend to die, like The Emir.) Would Jackal have eventually died as a result of being an Avatar?

Jamey Dean writes...

Hey, did you take note that in a recent episode of Once Upon A Time, the Chernabog appeared, and actually looked quite a bit like Goliath?

Todd Jensen writes...

I've read the synopsis of the radio play crossover you made for "Gargoyles", "The Spectacular Spider-Man", and "Young Justice" (it'd be neat if you could put up the script for it at "Ask Greg" as you did for "Religious Studies 101", and noted that, near the end, you had Batman asking Goliath to join the Justice League. Now, the obvious reason why you had Batman be the one approaching Goliath was for the joke about Xanatos trying to get both Batman and Iron Man to join his club for rich guys with fancy equipment. But I remember how, back when you were making "Gargoyles", you were concerned that people might see it as a rip-off of "Batman: TAS" (to the point where you even drew up a list of differences between the two series); did you choose Batman for that role as a sort of callback to that?

Paul writes...

In "Revelations," Martin Hacker told Matt "Your job was to get him (Goliath) there (to the Hotel Cabal). It's not your fault if old Mace couldn't hold him." In fact, since Matt gave Goliath the key and physically stopped Mace from shooting Goliath, it was indeed Matt's fault that old Mace couldn't hold him.

Was Martin unaware of Matt's involvement in Goliath's breakout, or was he deliberately lying to Matt?

Tyler Reznik writes...

Hello, Mr. Weisman. Back again.

Something that bugged me a little when I was watching "High Noon" and "The Price"; in both episodes, Goliath wonders how Macbeth could have escaped from the Weird Sisters (of course, Macbeth didn't actually escape, but that's neither here nor there with regards to my point).

Anyway, my question is this: did it never occur to Goliath that the Weird Sisters might have just let Macbeth go? After all, he doesn't really know anything about the Sisters at this point; they're almost entirely an unknown quantity. Did he think that they'd keep Macbeth and Demona prisoner indefinitely (that isn't rhetorical; I really do want to know)?

Thank you for your time, sir. Have a nice day.

Heelmondragon writes...

Hello Greg, Big fan of your work. Met you at last week's Long Beach Comic Con. I have all the Gargoyles dvds and I still have a question about Demona. Hopefully you havent already answered this question.

But what is it specifically that causes Demona to betray her clan? Did Xanatos already influence that decision prior to her being revealed to the clan or was it the fact that Goliath didnt wish to kill anyone on Reinard's ship during their mission together? It would seem that Demona was taken back by Goliath's change in behavior. He wasnt the same gargoyle she knew in 994. Thank you for your time.

Greg Bishansky writes...

There has been a lot of talk over the years about why Demona told Goliath about the Praying Gargoyle during her gloating in "Hunter's Moon Part Three".

1. The gloating was exactly that, gloating. Like most villains, she had to have a "my brilliant plan" speech.

2. Subconsciously, she wants to be defeated because without humanity around, she'll lose her scapegoat and because she subconsciously knows she needs to be stopped, so she subconsciously handed Goliath the tools to stop her master plan.

3. And this is my interpretation, she actually believed Goliath would let her. After what happened on board the Hunter's airship in "Hunter's Moon Part Two", saying Goliath is thinking like a true gargoyle as he openly demands vengeance, seemingly killing two Hunters with Goliath, and Goliath himself not disagreeing when she says that perhaps they're not so different; she believed he was finally, finally seeing the light, finally coming over to her way of thinking, and... well, since gargoyles mate for life, thinking she might finally have her man back and a human free Earth.

Or maybe it was all of the above or none of the above.

Greg Bishansky writes...

This a question about the Weird Sisters. In "City of Stone", they appeared differently to whomever was looking at them. Macbeth saw three crones, Demona saw three gargoyles, Goliath saw three children, Xanatos saw three fashion models, etc...

Was this the case in later episodes. Come "Avalon" and "Ill Met By Moonlight", was Goliath still seeing three children even if we in the audience were not?

J writes...

Hello Greg,

I have a question about the Avalon Clan and their biological relationships to the Manhattan Clan. I am going to use the "placeholder names" for those Gargs that don't have given names in cannon.

Can we assume that Hudson does not have any biological children there because Hyppolyta, Broadway, and True are his only three offspring?

You've mentioned before that Angela is the only biological child of Goliath's, and she is no longer there, so none for him either.

Brooklyn had at least one brother, Brooksbro...was he and older or younger brother? If older, then there is a potential for him to have a biological sibling on Avelon...is that the case?

Does Lexington have a younger biological sibling on Avelon?

Does Bronx?

EXALT writes...

Have you already chosen dates for the following events in the Gargoyles Universe (and of course, if the answer is yes, I'm not asking you to reveal them)?
1)Goliath's death.
2)Elisa's death.
3)Demona's epiphany.

Arlo writes...

Titania has clearly gone out of her way to help Goliath and his clan on more than one occasion (i.e. helping him in Ill Met By Moonlight, and then getting his clan reinstated to their home in The Gathering). The only reason she has given so far is to repay a favor rendered, that is, to repay Goliath for his assistance in stopping the Matrix in Walkabout. But this seems a bit much to do to repay a favor. But it seems to me that her motivation is a bit more.

1. Would you say Titania likes Goliath/has a lot of respect for him?

2. If yes, would you say the reason is more because of what she has witnessed of his character firsthand, or because of what Fox has told her about him?

3. Is Titania trying to make up for some of the things Fox and David have done to Goliath and his clan?

4. Would you say Titania's motivations for reinstating Goliath's clan to their ancestral home are more to repay a favor, more because she genuinely likes/respects Goliath, more to make up for what Fox and David have done to his clan, more to establish a good protector for Fox and Alexander, or some combination of the above?

5. You've said that you don't plan to reveal what Titania whispered to Fox because the fan community has built it up so much, that what you had planned would be, in your words, anticlimatic. But wouldn't the fact that you have no plans to use it be a reason to reveal it, since you have no use for it in future stories anyway? I kind of get the impression that the reason you're so steadfast in not revealing it is because you still have plans to use it in some way. Care to give any input?

Thanks for your time.

Anonymous writes...

my question must have gotten deleted last time i asked this, because i cant find it anywhere. it was part of a post with a bunch of questions, but this one is the only one i really want to know about, so i hope this one wasnt the one that made it not go through

after his journey through time, does Brooklyn still consider himself a rookery brother to Lexington and Broadway?
also, since he is a generation older than Goliath, does he still consider himself his rookery son?
would he now technically be a rookery uncle to any or all three of them, and Angela?
if so, how does he view his relationship to Hudson, since they cant technically be rookery brothers? (like cousins mabey?)

EXALT writes...

I rewatched "Sanctuary" recently, and I have a little doubt. When Goliath sees Thailog, he doesn't seem really surprised (I mean, he is suprised to see him there, but he doesn't seem suprised to see him alive): did Xanatos alert him, somewhere between "Double Jeopardy" and "Avalon Part 1", that their "child" was probably still alive?

Chris writes...

After the Wyvern massacre, Goliath sees the remains of a gargoyle on the place where Demona usually perched and thinks its hers. Did another gargoyle take the place she usually took?

Charisma82 writes...

Greg Weisman: "I'd like to see a music video from Goliath's POV -- but featuring Elisa -- of "Amazing".

As per request:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6roY5udD8c&feature=c4-overview&list=UURD-80g-99JdhBskN6OXGGg

I hope it's the right "Amazing." Thank you for your time and the suggestion.

FireBlade writes...

Hi Greg!

I am a long time Gargoyles fan. I grew up with it actually. I've always loved it's depth, characters, story, and emotions. Honestly? Cartoons now-a-days don't even compare.

Anyway, I digress;
I was re-watching the show the other day and a question struck me... Can Goliath and Elisa have kids? I mean, Goliath is humanoid right? So, is it possible?

I hope it is because Goliath has gone through too much tragedy in his life to not be able to have a family with his soul mate I think.

That said, I haven't read the comic but I heard someone say that they break up in it... Is this true?? If it is, I just might cry....

Anyway, even though the series is long over, I still want to compliment you on such a fantastic masterpiece. It is a classic that will endure for a loooonnnggg time. :)

Thanks for your time! I know you are very busy.

Mac Ewing writes...

You have said before that humans and gargoyles are incapable of reproducing together, which I must add is a nice touch. Many xeno-based series throw biology to the wind.
But despite the fact that they couldn't be fertile, do you think that Goliath and Elisa ever got together, just for the heck of it?

Arlo writes...

Hi Greg. Thanks for giving us this great series, and for all you do to help keep it alive. Here's my question:

I've always felt that "Hunter's Moon" was a much darker storyline than any of the other Gargoyles episodes we've seen. I don't know if it's the way all three episodes open with a flashback that involves someone seeking vengeance, or the fact that this is the first time we actually see Goliath wanting to commit premeditated murder (not just "murder in the heat of battle" like before), or the fact that we almost lose two regular cast members (Angela and then Elisa), or the theme of hatred being passed on from parent to child for a thousand years. Maybe it's just that there's hardly any comic relief in these episodes, as almost every scene seems to involve one of our regular cast members going through emotional turmoil in some way.

Anyway, I was just wondering if you were deliberately trying to set a darker tone for these episodes, or if this is just how I perceived them myself. And if it was deliberate on your part, just wondering what your motivation was for that, because these episodes really do stand out to me as the darkest episodes in the series. And if it wasn't deliberate, then is there anything which in hindsight might have contributed to these stories coming out this way?

Also, why is it that you chose for the series finale to be so dark? I'm not criticizing, because I love these episodes and I love Gargoyles, but it just seems unusual (not in a bad way) that in a show where you've said yourself that you wanted Goliath's basic optimism to shine through, the way you chose to write the finale was by telling a story where we see his most vengeful side coming out. Just interested in understanding what your motivation for that was, story-wise.

Thanks for taking the time to read this question, and for all you do.

K. W. writes...

Hi Greg,

I had a quick question. The gargoyles in your gargoyles universe go to sleep during the day and have no control over it. I've learned that Elisa and Goliath become an official couple, but I am curious about the couple seeing much of each other.
If Goliath is "forced" to sleep during the day and Elisa works most nights. When does the couple get to spend time when they are not on duty protecting the world? Wouldn't this put a strain on the relationship emotionally?

I didn't see this question anywhere. Forgive me if it has been asked.

Battle Beast writes...

I was having a religeous debate at work today with a staunch Christian. Long story short, she got to "Remember David Versus Goliath?" and I said to her, "Hold it. I know full well about them but the only Goliath I care about is eight feet tall and lavender."

And then it hit me: David V. Golaith. I never, ever thought of that connection before... so I check the Archive and sure enough I was right. It was intention, you said.

I get their relationship now on a different level... Very clever! :)

Anonymous writes...

1 - Were Angela and Broadway still virgins by the time of "Phoenix?"
2 - Goliath and Demona became mates during "Vows", did they lose their virginity that night?

Sarah Anderson writes...

Hi Greg, thanks for taking the time to answer questions! :-)

In your gargs timeline, who dies first, Goliath or Elisa? And are they still a couple until then? Lastly, will you give a clue about what you had in mind for their deaths?

(Sounds macabre, but I was curious... ;-P)

Thanks!

Big Jon writes...

Would you be offended if I gave a tattoo of Goliath to a client of mine as long as I post the tat when its done

Fe writes...

Mr. Weismen, I want to first thank you for creating quality programming that I grew up with and for creating Elisa, a strong female figure that matched my own background in terms of race.

1.Would you say that Aqualad is a younger non gargoyle version of Goliath in terms of personality?

2.You revealed Flash’s, Batman’s and Superman’s ages, would it be okay to ask how old is Aquaman and Mera?

Thank you for looking over my questions and I wish you all the luck with current and future projects.

Sam.i.am writes...

Hi Greg,
I'm from Ireland, huge fan..
Just want to say, thanks for a large part of my childhood in the form of Gargoyles.
I have a picture of Goliath tatooed on my arm with 3 crows over his shoulder representing myself, my dad and younger brother as we used to watch it togeather, everyday after school..Thanks alot. And just out of interest, any idea where I could get Season 2 part 2 on dvd, video, anything..??
Kind regards,
Sam

lou-bert vs. q-bert writes...

Hi Greg, thank you for connecting to everyone. Fifteen years later, I'm sure questions about "The Kiss" never end, so who am I to part with tradition?

>It is my understanding that, for soap operas and/or ongoing series, actors do get sprung some story-surprises in their scripts. Although it was likely 1 to 2 pages of script, was "The Kiss" that kind of surprise for Salli Richardson and Keith David?

>Did they record their dialogue together? because it was extraordinarily acted.

Alma writes...

Love this series, it was the best Cartoon show of my childhood and now, almost 30 I am revisiting the series and am finding ALOT of adult humor, situations and no little amount of (sexual) tension between carachters.
I could babble on but I honestly don't have the time to do it now, so I shall ask away...
At what point in Awakening do Goliath and Demona "break-up".
Yes I understand that he figured her dead for 1000 years but once he saw her, wouldn't he feel the same about her?

Look forward to hearing from you, and again, thanks for bestowing the awesomeness that is Gargolyes into our lives!!!!

Skylar writes...

Why does Goliath have a mullet? It's the least coolest haircut in the world. If you had to do it over again, would you pick a better haircut?

MacLeod writes...

Hey Greg,

I always thought that in "Future Tense" Goliath sent the Phoenix Gate to the distant past, thus closing the loop and the gate restarting its journey from scratch. Of course this was not the case, otherwise the "Timedancer" events couldn't/wouldn't have taken place. But can you at least give a hint of when did Goliath send the gate to at the end of "Future Tense"?

Ryan Eden writes...

who is your favorite character on Gargoyles mine is a tie between Goliath and Hudson and i didn't know you was working on Young Justice no wonder why it's already awesome and it only has 4 episodes so far

Jurgan writes...

Thirty minutes left until the reairing of the Young Justice premiere, so I thought I'd pass the time asking a completely unrelated question.

I saw your recent response about zombies, and how you like the old-fashioned "voodoo zombies" but not the modern, post-Romero zombies. I at least partly disagree, as I feel the best zombie movies can be good vehicles for social commentary (for instance, I thought the recent Land of the Dead was a brilliant metaphor for war profiteering- on the other hand, Dawn of the Dead was probably pretty clever at the time, but criticism of shopping malls now seems hopelessly dated). But that's just a difference of opinion. I was more interested in seeing how zombies might show up in your work.

1. Did you think of Goliath in "Temptation" as a zombie? Was that intentional on your part?

2. Do you think zombies may make a more formal appearance in Gargoyles, or have you covered that ground in "Temptation?"

Thanks for reading. I'll probably write up a ramble on YJ sometime this weekend, once I've seen it.

Billybob writes...

Soo... did the group dynamics of young justice resemble gargoyles by accident like maybe you didn't realize you were writing them that way. I mean robin is cleary the lexington of the group the smallest and the smartest, and aqualad has goliaths role as the mature leader. And the boys reaction to seeing miss martian for the first time was pretty much the same as the trios to meeting Angela. (who was also new to the city the same way miss martian is new to the planet.)

Anonymous writes...

Hello Mr. Weisman,

I have a question regarding the relationship between Elisa and Goliath:

1. Did you always have in mind for them to be a couple or is this something that just came up as you kept writing?

2. Did you find it strange for a 7 ft mythological creature to fall in love with a human?

3. What does Goliath think of Elisa?

4. What does Elisa think of Goliath?

Justin writes...

Dear Greg,

Recently watched "Long Way Til Morning"

And this is hopefully the first question that leads to what I hope to complete soon as a long essay on how fascinating Demona is as a character as well as her impact on her estranged clan "family".

In this we see three characters. All with relatively strong familial bonds. First we have the Father, Hudson. Then of course the rookery children Goliath and Demona.

My actual question is this:

What had to be going through Hudson's mind during all of this? I know he acknowledged the two as a mated pair, but in essence he had to save his son from his daughter. That could not have made him all too plussed.

Secondly, the dialogue in this last scene really shows how even now, they still have latent feelings of being family...

Hudson: "Give it up girl, you can't win.." Which even as a boy, first watching this I always received as a Father being parental in some way to his daughter.

Then there is Demona, who is as bananas as it gets. She, even in her tirade tips her hand. She, through raw, volatile emotion expresses she still has love for Hudson.

"I would have ended this quickly! Your pride will cost you your life!" Even though I know at this point in her life she is past redemption, I still feel that the way she exclaims these sentiments is a tell she doesn't want to HAVE to say them. She loves her rookery father. And in a way, still NEEDS him. As all grown children do once we reach adulthood. But nothing can stand in the way of her vengeance. The vengeance for her murdered family. Not even surviving FAMILY.

All too fascinating Greg, and thank you!

Justin

Charisma82 writes...

Did Hudson influence Goliath’s decision at all as to who should’ve been Goliath’s second in command?

If something had happened to Goliath before he had chosen a second in command, I would assume that Hudson would’ve become leader at first, but then would choose someone else to lead since he’s older and believes that a younger leader would be best (which is indicated in the episode Upgrade). If this was the case, who would Hudson have considered becoming the new leader of the clan? Would he have based his decision along the same lines as Goliath, or would he have looked for other qualifications?

Thank you for your time and all that you do,

-Charisma82

Charisma82 writes...

In Outfoxed, who was Mr. Vogel going to blame for sabotaging the robots on the ship before Goliath showed up?

Thank you for your time and all that you do,

-Charisma82

Greg Bishansky writes...

This discussion has been had in Station Eight a few times, and I thought I would bring it up here. It seems to me like one could make a case that Demona is the lead character in the greater story of the GARGOYLES UNIVERSE.

If one looks at "Dark Ages," "Gargoyles," and "Gargoyles 2198" as a three act story, Demona's story is the one story arc that really plays out through the entire timeline. She is there for all three acts.

Yes, Goliath is the lead in "Gargoyles" and Samson is the lead in "Gargoyles 2198." I think Hudson is the lead in "Dark Ages," but I might be wrong. And they all play huge roles, crucial roles. But Goliath and Hudson are not in Act Three, and Samson is not in the first two acts.

Demona, without being the lead in any of the acts, is the constant presence. Sure, she may not appear in "Pendragon," "New Olympians," Heroes of Ulster," and may only have a small role in "TimeDancer" and "Bad Guys." But if "Gargoyles" is the center of the universe here, and "Dark Ages" and "2198" are both acts in that story, it almost makes me wonder if this is really her story. You've got her youth, her fall from grace, her time as the main antagonist (or one of them), and then her eventual redemption.

Not to take anything away from Goliath, because I definitely agree that "Gargoyles" is his story and that he is the most pivotal character in that series. But is his story a large piece of her story?

I'm not saying it's all about her, because it's not. I don't think that or feel that, because this is all one huge ensemble piece made up of many stories, but like I said, she seems to be the most constant character out of all of them in the Big Picture. And all without ever being THE LEAD in any of the "three acts."

I miss the Blue Mug a Guests writes...

At the Gathering in Chicago, during the Blue Mug a Guest, you and Keith David were asked if Goliath and Demona had sex during Awakening 4. After the scene where they reunited in the Great Hall it fades to black. Then we see them on the turret with the rest of the gargoyles.

When you both got asked at the Gathering about this, Keith said something like "what couple in their right mind would meet again after a thousand years and go see the kids first?"

I don't remember if you answered. So, did they?

Greg Bishansky writes...

And now I have a question on Goliath and religion.

In the VHS version of "Awakening" as the trio glide off to steal the disc, Goliath says "godspeed lads. They'd better not be harmed." In the TV version he just says "They'd better not be harmed."

Since you edited the VHS release, I have to ask. Would Goliath say "godspeed?" Considering what you have since revealed about gargoyle religious beliefs, I was wondering. In your mind, did he say it?

And while I'm here, what's the canon status of the VHS version of "Awakening?" There is some material in it that wasn't in the TV and later DVD version?

Night Angel writes...

Hi Greg I'm sure you've heard this plenty of times but I am a huge fan of the gargoyles!! One day I'm hoping to become a film editor in the future, maybe even own my own movie set! So if your ever looking for an editor sometime in the future look me up, I would love to work with you! Also I been searching and I wasn't able to find this question so I hope you haven't been asked this yet. But I've always wondered I know it obvious that Elisa and Goliath will end up being together some how, but how does Angela feel about Elisa as possibly becoming a future step mom? Would she see her in that way?

Celestialien86 writes...

I am very curious about this one: According to GargWiki, it is said that Goliath died between 2008-2188, and I was wondering if it's true that he had died. If so, what year did he died and what was the cause of hid death?

Daniel writes...

Hi Greg, new fan here. Before I ask my questions, I want to thank you very much for what you've done with the Gargoyles franchise. The stories are amazing and continue to captivate me. I will do my best to help by spreading the word and supporting the franchise.

1. Does Goliath's experience in Future Tense effect how he sees and trusts Lexington, especially considering recent predictions being so close to what’s been happening? Even though he never really saw Lex’s costume, would other things such as Brooklyn’s Timedancer costume being very similar and the police station blowing up cause Goliath to be more wary of Lex?

2. Also, is there some kind of inside joke or reason behind knocking Lexington unconscious so much? It might be just me and I understand that he’s not the best fighter, but it seems to happen a lot.

Derek writes...

We've seen biological relations for all the members of the cast(Brooklyn(Brooksbro), Lexington(Kermit), Hudson and Broadway(True), Bronx(Chomp and Chaw)) except Demona and Goliath among the Wyvern Clan, is there a reason for this.

TZ writes...

Another question...
When Elisa told (or admitted, however you want to look at it) Angela that it was true that Demona was her mother at the end of Sanctuary, was Goliath angry with her? Did they discuss it at all later or did he just let it go? Was he actually relieved to not have to be the one to tell Angela?

TZ writes...

Greg
I was wondering about the backstory of Iago's deception to Othello. Could you elaborate on it? (i.e. what circumstance did he make Othello believe Goliath and Desdemona were betraying him, like did he show them kissing or something--I know gargs don't kiss, just a for instance...) Also, how did the situation get reconciled, I mean how did Goliath and Desdemona prove themselves or disprove Iago to Othello? I just wanted to know the story (or as much of it as you'd tell ;)).
Pretty Pretty Pretty Please?
With a cherry on top?

Random Fan writes...

I know that you wont answer questions that are suggetions for the future or if they try to pry the future out of you so I'm trying very hard to make this neither.
Has Goliath told anyone the entire story behind future tense or has he kept the details to himself? Would the rest of the Manhatan clan know about it?

M. writes...

I'm curious if Goliath ever told the others in the clan besides Elisa and Angela about what happened in "Future Tense", considering that Brooklyn returned wearing EXACTLY the same armor. This was one of the most interesting revelatins from CBII. Throughly enjoyed everything you've done and looking very forward to more.

TZ writes...

I was wondering something, and I know you don't like hypotheticals, but I wondered if you gave this any thought: Had Goliath and Demona stayed together in the 20th century, would he have still fallen in love with Elisa? Or would his love for Demona overshadow anything he could have felt for Elisa? I ask this because I wonder if Goliath and Elisa are a meant-to-be kind of thing (in your Gargs universe), and their love was inevitible, or was it only relative to Goliath not having someone (i.e. Demona)? Here's another way of looking at it as well: would he have fallen in love with someone else had he not met Elisa and things still went bad between him and Demona? Thanks for your time, and can't wait to hear your thoughts on the matter...I'm kinda hoping for a rant! :D But I totally understand if this is too hypothetical...I guess I just wondered if you ever thought about it. Thanks a lot!

taylor writes...

Is golaith and ilsisa ever goig to be together.

Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

One last question before bed....

From what little we've seen, it seems that Brooklyn and Katana are parents, not just rookery parents. (All those years with just each other would make it seem inevitable. There are no rookery siblings or other parents.) You wrote that Broadway and Angela ~choose~ to raise their children in the gargoyle style. So...

1. Are there currently any clans who have adopted human parenting, like they adopted human naming? Will there be by the future series?

2. Even those choosing to raise children collectively, are their strong human influences to that thought? (For instance, noting a rookery child looks like you.)

3. Am I correct in my assumption that Brooklyn and Katana are more like human parents in that respect?

4. It has been strongly implied that Elisa and Goliath will in some way adopt. Should they raise a child, would it be as individual or collective parents?

More later, (when I can hopefully decipher my handwriting).

Aeschylus writes...

Greg,

I always enjoyed the relationship of MacBeth and Demona on the show for its intensity and sorrow, as well as Xanatos and Fox with their unique understanding of companionship and love. And it makes me think...

With all the love triangles, the magical bonds, the promises, oaths, or senses of duty to consider, which relationship between any set characters of the series were you most passionate about writing and why? What do you think drove that relationship? And do you think it is the simplicity or the strife of that Character Relationship that makes it more appealing to you as a writer and does that opinion change as a viewer?

TK writes...

Dear Mr. Weisman,

After Goliath falls in love with Elisa, would her menstrual cycles have any biological effect on him? Yes, I know...that's a very ODD question, to say the least. Thank you, regardless.

Antiyonder writes...

These couple of questions I'm asking pertain to Goliath's reaction to why Avalon sent them to Manhattan:

1. As of the end of Golem, was it Goliath's intention to stay in Manhattan whether Avalon released them from their journey or not?

2. When Goliath states that Avalon sent them to Manhatten because of the present danger, was that scene suppose to give the audience the impression that Goliath, Angela, Elisa and Bronx would resume their travel?

Battle Beast writes...

Hello!

Greg,

Since we now call them "Beasts," if you could, would you change the line in "Awakening 1" from "I see you've met our Watch-dog..." to something like "I see you've met our Beast..." ?

Gargoyle Fan writes...

in Goliath and Elisa's relationship can Hummans mate with Gargoyles.has it done so in the past?

Masterdramon writes...

Gargoyles and Politics

I know that you generally like to keep politics out of this site, which is why I hope that this question isn't too out-of-line. All the same, I'm very interested in the role that politics plays in the "Gargoyles" universe.

What, generally, are Elisa's political views? Does she belong to a particular political party? And does she discuss politics with the Manhattan Clan at all?

For that matter, how politically literate are the various members of the Manhattan Clan, particularly Goliath and Lexington? Do they read any political texts? For that matter, does Hudson ever catch "60 Minutes" or any similar shows on television? How much do Elisa's political views (assuming that she shares them with the Clan at all) color their political viewpoints?

I'd also be greatly interested in any information you would be willing to share regarding the politics of other human characters in the series, most particularly Xanatos, Fox, Matt, Renard, and especially Macbeth. For that matter, what does Demona think of human politics (I expect that I can guess the answer to this one, but still)? :)

If you can't tell, this is coming from a prospective Politics major who to some degree or another views all things through a political lens. If you wish to leave these things up to the viewer then I would completely understand, but any information at all would be tremendously appreciated.

Thank you very much for your time, and I eagerly await the widespread release of the two remaining Trade Paperbacks. I've been trying to spread word of them (and of the DVDs) in the Comments section of Gargoyles-related YouTube videos; every little bit helps, I hope.

Anonymous writes...

You stated that, when in response to Elisa and Goliath having kids, "Elisa could never be pregnant with Goliath's child without assistance from science or magic. I've already stated that I don't see them going that way."

I was wondering, what makes you think Elisa wouldn't want to use magic or science to carry Goliath's child?

Elisa seemed happy and esily adjusted to her as a gargoyle during "The Mirror". She even hinted this at the ending of the very episode, thus you can see my confusion.