A Station Eight Fan Web Site

Gargoyles

The Phoenix Gate

Ask Greg Archives

ANSWERVINGS 2011-05 (May)

Archive Index


: « First : « 25 : Displaying #51 - #75 of 111 records. : 25 » : Last » :


Posts Per Page: 1 : 10 : 25 : 50 : 100 : All :


Bookmark Link

Greg Bishansky writes...

Downtime
This is a hard episode for me to review. I've always been much more of a Marvel guy than a DC guy; and as far as Marvel goes, Prince Namor has always been a character who hasn't interested me one iota. So, while I'm pretty ignorant of DC, I'm especially ignorant of Aquaman's corner of the DC Universe. I felt like I'd be having major geekgasms if I knew who any of these people were. But, with that out of the way, I did enjoy the episode quite a bit.

I loved the cold opening with Clayface. The design made him look positively terrifying, made worse by the shot of the entire team unconscious at his feet. Of course, Batman shows up and quickly puts an end to that. I've always loved Batman, and while we don't see him in action often in this show, when we do, it's always sweet.

I loved Aqualad's story in this episode, but I felt like there should have been a little more build up to him being unfocused, with his head in Atlantis. Because in just about every prior episode where he took charge, he was nothing but focused. Yes, I understood that the team's defeat at the hands of Clayface, who they should be able to defeat on a good day was that build up. But I feel like just a little something in the previous episode or two, before it leads to this defeat would have been nice.

That all said, this episode finally gave Aqualad the fleshing out he needed, and revealed many more facets of the character beyond being the straight man on the team. I enjoyed his friendship with Garth and Tula. I always enjoy his relationship with his king... and I enjoyed seeing him battle Black Manta.

Speaking of Black Manta, I thought he was really cool. I loved his look, he came off as a real threat. And I loved his... "fatherly" concern over Aqualad. Although, I kind of wish Greg and Brandon didn't reveal at various conventions that he is Aqualad's father. On the other hand, it's cool being in on a secret that no one else knows. Given that connection, I am sure we'll see Black Manta again. I had also previously theorized that Black Manta was a member of the Light, and I was proven wrong, he works for them like Sportsmaster does. And he was answering to, as Weisman revealed in his credits, the mysterious L-5.

On that note, I think L-5 may be the first member of the Light we've seen in the flesh. He does share a voice actor with Prince Orm, who I am told in the comics was Ocean Master. And now that Queen Mera is with child, hmm... shades of Uncle Scar, anyone? I hope we start seeing more members in the flesh pretty soon.

I have a feeling I should know what that giant starfish thing is, but I don't. Aw well, I know that the Light wants it, and that's an intriguing enough hook.

Artemis looks like she's finally been confirmed as Artemis Crock. But in a series that is all about secrets and lies, and with all the trouble the creators have gone to to keep her identity a secret, I think that might be as true as her being Green Arrow's niece. Batman going through all the trouble of getting her into a fancy prep school tells me he wants to keep an eye on her. And I'm sure there is a reason her mother is in a wheelchair... considering how well Cheshire seems to know her, maybe her mother was involved with the League of Shadows.

The Superboy and Miss Martian scene came off as pretty creepy. I mean, why was he just sitting there staring at snow on television? And then it almost seems like he's in a trance after that, and what happens when he gets covered in food, he sits back down and continues watching. Something is up here, I don't think this was just an innocent little scene. He was seeing something on TV that non-Kryptonians can't.

Speaking of TV, did someone say "Hello Megan" on TV at Artemis' apartment? Looks like an explanation for Miss Martian's really annoying catch-phrase. I'll admit it, I'm one of the people who can't stand it, but if she learned all about interacting with humans from watching sitcoms, I guess I can buy how she would come to think that's normal behavior on Earth to emulate.

And finally, I loved Dick's moment with Bruce playing Basketball. Nice to see that despite being Robin's general, Bruce Wayne is still, for all intents and purposes, Dick Grayson's father.

Good episode. Looking forward to the next one.

Greg responds...

And hopefully the one after that...

Response recorded on May 17, 2011

Bookmark Link

Jack-Pumpkinhead writes...

Dear Greg,
Down time was one of my top favorite episiodes. I mean, you manged to make every single Atlantean awesome, even Lagoon Boy was cool for his 5 seconds on screen. I loved the way you handled Garth, Kaldur, and Tula, very cool. I hope we see more Garth in the future. And that member of the Light Black Manta was talking to intrigues me; his head almost looks like he's wearing a crown. Please send my appreciation to the cast and crew!

Greg responds...

I will. Thanks.

Response recorded on May 16, 2011

Bookmark Link

W.C.Reaf writes...

Hey Greg

I just wanted to say that I loved the subtle little change to the voice credits in "Downtime" with almost the entire cast listed with their real names instead of codenames. I thought it was great and added to the theme of the episode showing the team's time off.

Are you planning on doing more stuff like that?

Greg responds...

We've been doing it from day one. The credits will always reflect the episode. (Thanks for noticing, by the way.)

Response recorded on May 16, 2011

Bookmark Link

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"?

Greg responds...

He didn't pick a specific time or place, hoping that would prevent the Gate from landing anywhere and keeping it out of nefarious hands for eternity.

Response recorded on May 16, 2011

Bookmark Link

Anonymous writes...

Can the members of the Light be discerned by their voice actors? Especially if one known character has the same voice actor as one of the members?

Without getting into too many details, can you say anything about the selection of characters to be part of the Light? Were you looking for a broad overview of the different corners of the DC universe?

Thank you for the entertaining show!

Greg responds...

1. Depends if said actor is playing multiple characters for us.

2. "SPOILER REQUEST. NO COMMENT."

Response recorded on May 16, 2011

Bookmark Link

Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

Silly little question- Do you ever feel the urge, (or give into the urge), to slip something into a script purely because you know something about the actor? Like writing a song into a scene because you know the actor sings, (but maybe not telling them that they're going to be doing Sondheim or Gilbert & Sullivan till after they agree to sing 'some ditty'), or make them speak a foreign language because someone is fluent (but perhaps has a horrid accent)? Someone has a great cackle? Find a reason to have it come up. Someone is afraid of canaries? Put on on the character's shoulder for the whole episode. etc The only example I can think of now would be to have M'gan spout a long series of made up equations to see if Danica McKellar's head explodes in the face of nonsensical math. (Or replace of a series of made up equations with her own theorem at the last moment and wait for her to notice.)

Or does "Jalapeno!" qualify as such evil?

Greg responds...

Jalapena definitely qualifies.

Thailog qualifies in general. (How can I write for Keith David and never give him the chance to laugh?!)

I would have loved to do musical episodes of Gargoyles and/or Spectacular Spider-Man, but in the former I couldn't think of a smart way to make it work (pre-Joss Whedon's "Once More With Feeling") and in the latter, we didn't get enough episodes...

But it was fun doing the two musical episodes of W.I.T.C.H.

Response recorded on May 16, 2011

Bookmark Link

Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

Oops- one other comment on Downtime- The "Hello Megan" was not annoying in this one. It seems to have shifted from a conscious verbal tic to an unconscious one.

Greg responds...

Uh... cool?

Response recorded on May 16, 2011

Bookmark Link

Anonymous writes...

Why does it seem that Aqualad is the only Atlantean with gills?

Greg responds...

He's not. The episode was set in the city of Poseidonis, where most of the population doesn't have visible gills. In Kaldur's hometown, most folk have visible gills.

Response recorded on May 16, 2011

Bookmark Link

Becky writes...

Will we be seeing any more of that hit tv show series "Hello Meg-" in YJ?

Greg responds...

"SPOILER REQUEST. NO COMMENT."

Response recorded on May 16, 2011

Bookmark Link

Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

{Apologies if this is a double post}
Downtime: reactions/questions:
I enjoyed the recent episode. I can't say it was one of my favorites so far, but by definintion not every ep can be...

Main story-
1-I applaud the use of an Atlantian language, but Kal and Aquaman's speach seemed oddly stiff, almost robotic. Was this intentional to show the formalities of royalty?
2-The switch to English was nearly seemless. I didn't even notice it at first and then almost thought it was that Atlantian was used for formal situations like talking to royalty and spells. I jumped back and caught the flash in the pot switch over. (Added little meta moment of her asking if it worked and how would she know.)
3-I also liked the reverse of expectation that it seems the king's brother is loyal.
4-I did feel That Black Manta reporting to The Light was anticlimactic. All his taunting to Kal about it being lesser to serve seems hypocritical, and it wastes having a voice with the acting chops to pull a "If I can't have it no one can!" scream without sounding like a petulant child. Ironically I could have happily accepted all this as a great reversal of expectation, but after The Light being in just about every episode as the big bad behind the curtain I've got a little fatigue on them. I need to see the cast dealing with unrelated crimes too.

The rest of the story-
5-the animation continues to impress, I'd almost say it is a clear gemlike quality to it. Very expressive, very detailed (for animation) and still very clean. The interaction between Conner and Megan especially showcase it. {And also brings up a few questions; Did they kiss? How much does Red Toranado get? (I'd wager more than they'd guess if his wife and daughter come over from the print version) Why does Conner watch static? etc.}
6-Bruce continues to seem very intuned to people, including the ones closest to him. It takes me a while to get used to that, but I'm liking it. When it came to the basketball game, complete with smile, a thought had occured to me- is this an intentional reference to early Batman? I have not read the early Teen Titan stories, but I know the increasingly strained relationship beteen Dick and Bruce was an issue. But I also (again largely without reading) know that in the days before dark 'realism' took hold in comics they had a much easier relationship. Given how young Dick is in this series, it this an intentional connection to that stage of the relationship in the orignal form? And if so, (probably heading into No Comment territory), is the breakdown of that relationship the future in store?
7-Flash family was a hoot. I love seeing functional families getting equal playtime in fiction, and it reinforces they sense that we are in a fully functioning universe with history.
8-Artimas and her mom was intriging as well- Everytime you see a parent aware of that sort of extra-caricular activity you get curious, but the love is clear. Add to that that we know she has a past with the League of Assasins - seeing her actually having a home with a parent and a school life caught me by surprise.

Looking fwd to the next installment!

Greg responds...

1. Neither.

2. Thanks. We were definitely shooting for seamless.

3. Me too.

4. <shrug> "WE LIKE OUR SHOW."

5a. No.

5b. More than most - but he doesn't have a wife or daughter.

5c. I don't think he was WATCHING static. I think he was thinking, and he didn't mind the white noise as a background. (My fourteen-year-old son goes to sleep to white noise every night. I fear for his eventual college roommate, really I do.)

6. I never bought into the comics I read (in my teens and early twenties) that depicted Batman and Robin (i.e. Dick, pre-Nightwing) having this incredibly strained relationship. It always seemed forced to me. Like Batman was suddenly made to act like a jerk to predicate Robin asserting his independence. It seemed unnecessary. Robin/Dick can grow and evolve and become independent without Bruce suddenly acting like a prick. (I mean, my dad is a great guy. And yet, somehow I managed to grow up without him suddenly acting like a jerk.) Just my opinion, of course, but the YJ crew tended to agree with me, so we went a way that felt more natural to us.

7. Thanks. We had fun showing that scene. (I'm personally a big fan of Jay and Joan.)

8. No comment.

Response recorded on May 16, 2011

Bookmark Link

Matthew writes...

I just watched Downtime. I take it that the scene with subtitles was to show that the Atlanteans do not speak English and the English dialoge was "translated."

1) How did you create the Atlantean dialoge?

2) When Aqualad and Garth stole the uniforms of Black Manta's men, what did they do with the men themselves? Did they take them someplace with air or did they just let them drown?

Greg responds...

1. "ASKED AND ANSWERED."

2. I'll leave that to every viewer's interpretation.

Response recorded on May 16, 2011

Bookmark Link

Pumpkin Bomb writes...

Hi Greg,

Loved "Downtime." One thing I've noticed about other episodes is how dark they are visually, as in some cases it's pretty hard for me to make out some of the actions of characters in whatever warehouse or jungle they're fighting in. But there were lots of great undersea colors that made this episode gorgeous to look at.

Had a quick question about the Atlantian language used in the episode--we get that segment of Aquaman greeting Kaldur in it, but then it's pretty much all English after, albeit in that very formal tone. I know the practical side is that doing an entire episode in a made up language with subtitles would be just plain weird, but to your mind were all characters speaking Atlantian to each other during the underwater sequences? Or is English somehow a fallback language, that friends use with each other after formal greetings?

Greg responds...

They were all speaking Atlantean throughout the Atlantean sequences in the episode - except for Manta, his men, Superman and the Justice League Computer - but thanks to Lori's translation spell, all we heard was English.

Response recorded on May 16, 2011

Bookmark Link

The Spectacular Spider-Man Season 3 writes...

Can't you just talk to Sony, so that they would let you supervise the Spectacular Spider-Man, Season 3? So that they could change their mind to let Marvel use Spider-Man for the Super Hero Squad Show season 2 finale, Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes season 1 finale, and main character for season 2 of Avengers and season 3 of Super Hero Squad, i'm tired of him being in just comics and video games, please bring back The Spectacular Spider-Man!

Greg responds...

There's no one left at Sony for me to talk to. They closed the entire television animation division there.

You'll just have to talk to Marvel about all of the above. I've got ZERO pull, believe me.

(I mean, really, if I did, don't you think I would have done a third season of SpecSpidey?)

Response recorded on May 16, 2011

Bookmark Link

Javier writes...

Hi Greg, im greatly enjoying Young Justice. The character design departament surprise me every episode, Black Manta never looked more menacing and bad ass. Atlantis looked beautiful and the magic spells looked great, but im really dissapointed becouse compared to other characters like Mera and Aqualad, the king Aquaman seems to be a little weak if he only has his classic powers. Is Aquaman capable of using magic like the other Atlanteans ? thanks a lot for a such a great series, keep it up

Greg responds...

Aquaman has no magic, though he does have a version of his classic fish-telepathy and he's WAY stronger than most other Atlanteans.

Also, keep in mind, we were focusing on Mera and a few of her TOP pupils at the Conservatory. Most Atlanteans have no magic powers, as I'm sure you noticed.

Response recorded on May 16, 2011

Bookmark Link

Matheus A. Maskalenka writes...

Hey there Greg.

Just watched the episode "Downtime" and I think that episode just redeemed an awful lpt of Aquaman's famous (Albeit unfair) uselesness.

What I have to ask is, is the team's name Young Justice, in the show? I looked into quite a lot of responses and didn't see a question like this so I thought I'd ask.

Greg responds...

No. Young Justice is the title of the series, NOT the name of the Team, which is simply called "The Team." As it's not a public team, there's no need for a fancy name. Besides, we figured all those folks who are still mad at us because we're not doing the comic book Young Justice might appreciate that we weren't compounding the mistake by referring to the Team by this "unearned" name. Though they probably won't appreciate it.

Response recorded on May 16, 2011

Bookmark Link

Mike H writes...

Hi Greg,
In the episode "Downtime", I noticed the initial couple shots of Gotham were very similar to some shots in Brandon's movie "Under the Red Hood". I was wondering if art was reused to lower costs or whether the art was developed separately but shared some common inspiration.

Greg responds...

The former... less to lower costs than because when it came time to edit the episode, we just felt we wanted an establishing shot of Gotham that we didn't have. So...

Good catch. (Damn you!)

Response recorded on May 16, 2011

Bookmark Link

Josh writes...

I don't quite understand the Gathering; was it a family reunion meant to last a few centuries before letting all the Children go back to the real world, a chance for everyone to worship their Lord, or did everyone have to go back to Avalon and stay forever?

Greg responds...

Initially, it was a return for a reassessment. The result of that is yet to come.

Response recorded on May 16, 2011

Bookmark Link

Kenny writes...

What are some of the things you can do in yj with a pg rating rather than one that is rated y7-fv?

Greg responds...

I have no idea. We just do what we do. On very rare occasions, we get a note from S&P, and we adjust.

Response recorded on May 16, 2011

Bookmark Link

Richard Jackson writes...

Mera said she was "with child" in Downtime. Was that just writing a character who speaks in a refined way or is there an S&P ban on using the word "pregnant" for cartoons? I remember that Owen used the word "expecting" to refer to Fox's pregnancy.

Greg responds...

Just writing in character. If there's a ban on "pregnant", I'm not aware of it. (Doesn't feel like a controversial word at all.)

Response recorded on May 16, 2011

Bookmark Link

Sara writes...

Hello, again. I actually have questions this time, most of them pertaining to the latest episode, 'Downtime' (which, by the way, I loved: again, the romantic in me was excited to see Garth and Tula's relationship animated at last, even if they had very brief and subtle moments -- and I actually liked the triangle with Kaldur there, too).

1. Immediately following the beginning credits, we see a red-eyed, green-skinned, humanoid-fish creature chanting and practising magic. Is that Lagoon Boy making a cameo, or just a nameless guy based off of his appearance?

2. How old is Garth?

3. How old is Tula?

4. Are either Garth or Tula more skilled in wielding magic than the other, or are they equal?

5. This question NOT pertaining to 'Downtime': How old is Roy Harper?

Greg responds...

1. Lagoon Boy at age twelve.

2. Sixteen.

3. Sixteen.

4. Garth is the top of his class, able to access the "Power of the Tempest". But Tula is very good, able to do everything that Kaldur can do - but without the water-bearers.

5. Eighteen.

Response recorded on May 16, 2011

Bookmark Link

Nate Binker writes...

Hey Greg, I wanted to ask about Superman/Superboy; since the premiere, Superboy's been wanting Superman in his life as he is a clone, while Superman doesn't seem to want anything to do with him, and even snaps at those like Batman when it is brought up or even him being referred to as a "father" or Superboy as his "son". I think I could understand: out of nowhere, someone cloned him and he feels violated. But Superman acting this way is very un-Superman-like; even if he was cloned and even if he doesn't want to be a father, he could be a brother or simply a friend, because in the end Superboy is there, he IS him at a young age, and wants to be like him. So he should be in the boy's life because if he isn't, he could go the wrong path and something might happen and Superman would HAVE TO accept guilt for it, which seems to be the current situation judging by each one of their attitudes toward one another and the situation, regardless of the rest of the heroes. I like this character next to Batman, but even I want to slap the Man of Steel for acting this way. With that said, here's what I want to ask:

1) When will this Superman/Superboy situation change?
2) If what I suggested is wrong, then why is Superman acting this way?
And 3) to you Greg and the team; what led to this decision to have Superman act this way on the show (or at first on the show)?

Thank you and keep up the good work.

Greg responds...

I should probably just write "ASKED AND ANSWERED" to this entire post, but...

Let me start by REITERATING that I just flat out don't agree that Superman's response here is somehow UN-Superman-like. That, admittedly, is an interpretation many fans share, but I'm ALSO a fan, and I just don't agree. Especially since we haven't SEEN Superman's complete response (only the results of it), as the series is told from the POV of the teens (in this case, Superboy).

What Superman SHOULD do is debatable. I get you wanting to "slap" him, but I think you're being incredibly insensitive to Superman's POV on this. He's rationalized that the kid is better off without him. He's wrong, I agree. But it's understandable given his current feelings of violation. How useful could he be to Superboy, emotionally or otherwise, until he gets his own head on straight?

And Bruce, well meaning though he might have been, didn't do either Clark or Superboy any favors by positioning the issue in father/son terms. I think THAT little speech said more about Bruce Wayne's father issues than anything else.

As for your questions:

1. "SPOILER REQUEST. NO COMMENT."

2. I'm NOT saying you're wrong. Just that myself and pretty much every person working on the series disagrees with you. But it's all just opinion. You're entitled to yours. I just wish people would stop viewing the issue in such black and white terms. To me, the drama is in the greys. And it is very, very grey.

3. It felt honest.

(Somewhat incidentally, it also seemed to match up with Superman's less than stellar history in the comic books as a mentor: "Hi, I'm your cousin Kara from Krypton." "Great, cuz. Let me stick you in an orphanage." But that was a secondary bonus. The main answer is still: "It felt honest.")

Response recorded on May 16, 2011

Bookmark Link

AJC writes...

Just watched Downtime and it was a great episode! I'm impressed by the amount of detail in the choreography and backgrounds, and the number of voice actors you had in the episode. While I thought cutting from scene to scene of each YJ member during their downtime would be a bit choppy, it was actually very insightful, and it made it very realistic to see each of their lives.

How do companies decide what kind of budget to give to cartoon shows? Some older cartoon shows (ie from the 90s) had worse animation as the series progressed. I noticed the even the batman's animation wasn't as good as its earlier days(although still never went that bad).

Have you or brandon watched avatar the last airbender? I feel your show is taking some cues from the show (ie, the water sorcery, the diverse locations the team travels to each ep).

I have a question about aqualad. He obviously does not live at mount justice so would he not return to atlantis when he's not crime fighting? So wouldn't that mean he sees tula and garth still? Or is he that busy?

Greg responds...

Let's answer these in reverse order.

As I've MENTIONED BEFORE, Aqualad DOES go home to Atlantis (the continent/country) between missions. He just doesn't live in the city of Poseidonis, so that, yes, a couple months had passed since he had last seen his friends. He was surprised that it had been that long. But time flies, you know...

I don't know about Brandon, but I've begun watching Avatar with my son Benny. We're near the beginning of Season Two. I like it. I don't know how much of an influence there's been, since we started YJ before I started watching Avatar.

The way companies decide on budgets is an arcane science beyond my pay grade. But guys like Brandon and myself make it our mission to squeeze as much onto the screen from whatever budget we have.

Response recorded on May 12, 2011

Bookmark Link

Ziyad B writes...

I was wondering if you can tell us about what led you and the others in your team to create the new aqualad to use instead of garth.
I mean no disrespect since i am a fan of the new aqualad.
I'm just curious.

Greg responds...

Well, there were many inspirations. Cal Durham, obviously, but also the Arion series which demonstrated that not all Atlanteans are Caucasian. There was the need for further diversity in the series. And the fact that Garth was dead in the comics (at least for now) and had, in any case, left the name "Aqualad" behind to become "Tempest". So it felt like the name "Aqualad" was up for grabs. We liked the parallel universe notion of the Road Not Taken for the two characters, leading to an Aqualad/Tempest team-up. It all just seemed... right.

Response recorded on May 12, 2011

Bookmark Link

YJ Update

Seems like a good day for an update on production...

Episodes 101-109 have aired.

Episodes 110-111 are in the can, ready to air in June.

Episode 112 is in post-production. We do the Sound Mix tomorrow.

Episode 113 is in post-production. We should be locking the edit later today.

Episodes 114-119 are in Korea being animated.

Episodes 120-124 are in Korea in layout, while final models are being completed here.

Episode 125's storyboard is in checking and track. It's slightly too long. Brandon and I will be cutting slivers out of it before it ships.

Episode 126's storyboard is in revision.

Episode 201 is in script.

Episode 202's outline is waiting for notes that should come in today.

Episode 203's outline is being edited by me this week.

Episodes 204-210 are in outline.

By the way, in case it isn't obvious: NO, WE HAVE NOT DONE OVER TWO HUNDRED EPISODES. The first digit refers to the season. The second two digits refer to the episode number for that season. So, for example: episode 111 is the eleventh episode of the first season and episode 203 is the third episode of the second season.


Bookmark Link

Harlequinn writes...

Lemme just say, I love where YJ is going. The story build-up and everything is WONDERFULLY done. The animation is great. This is gonna end up being my fav.

Greg responds...

THANKS!

Response recorded on May 05, 2011


: « First : « 25 : Displaying #51 - #75 of 111 records. : 25 » : Last » :