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VELATIONS 2013-03 (Mar)

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Taylor in Missouri writes...

After reading through some of the old answers you've given concerning M'gann, I'm curious as to her family dynamic and to general Martian culture. I'm asking these under the impression that we won't see any development on this front in the current season, because invasions are rather messy and time consuming.

1a. Because there is no hiding who they are, how did the general Martian population react to M'gann's parents? I assume they were generally socially rejected, but was there ever violence?
1b. How common are families like M'gann's--would she have met other people who have a similar background to hers?
2a. How did M'gann get the "Hello, Megan!" tv series? 2b. Is Earth culture, like television and films, commonly explored on Mars? I'd hate to have the Martians watching shows like "Jersey Shore" and thinking that was what all humans are like.
3. Was there a triggering event that led to M'gann coming to Earth, or did she just see an opportunity and take it?

Thank you in advance, and I'm sorry for the ridiculous amount of questions for one ask. I look forward to more wonderful YJ work from you and the team.

Greg responds...

1a. Nothing's monolithic, but, yes, generally, there was a lot of social rejection. However, I'm not going to tell stories in this format.

1b. On occasion. But they're not common.

2a. Via broadcasts that J'onn J'onzz sent to Mars.

2b. What J'onn sends is selected by him. He can't send everything, so he sends what he thinks is of the most interest, or is instructive (in some way or another).

3. More the latter, unless you count her entire life and identity as a triggering event.

Response recorded on March 13, 2013

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Blizzard Sprite writes...

Hello, Mr. Weisman.

These questions are an extension of the previous question I submitted.

6. Before Nielsen ratings were released for animated programs, what size audience had to be attracted in order to keep a show alive on a network? Since you worked on a number of projects over the years, it would make sense that you'd have a pretty good grasp on the matter.

7. How important are Nielsen ratings for animé dubbed into English and subsequently aired on the channels? Ratings for these shows almost never appear on ratings outlets, like Zap2It (http://www.zap2it.com/) and TV Series finale (http://tvseriesfinale.com/).

Thank you for your time.

Greg responds...

6. Nielsen ratings pre-dates my professional career - by a lot. (How old do you think I am exactly?) Anyway, ratings mean different things in different times. Before People Meters, kids ratings in general were way higher than after People Meters became standard. There isn't some fixed number that says this is good. Below this is bad. Everything's relative.

7. As important as for anything. Bigger numbers are better than smaller. But a show that's cheaper to produce can get away with lower numbers and skate by. But ultimately, if a program is dragging a network down, it's toast.

Response recorded on March 13, 2013

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Blizzard Sprite writes...

Hello, Mr. Weisman.

I had a few questions that pertain to the Nielsen's ratings system.

1. Why isn't there any public information about Nielsen's ratings for most of the animated series that have been on television? Classic cartoons and many of the modern ones have virtually no ratings tied to them. In the past few years, the figures have been released for programs that have performed well for cartoons, such as the animated series that currently air on Fox, Avatar: The Legend of Korra on Nickelodeon, Adventure Time on Cartoon Network not to mention Young Justice, as well as a few other programs on or were on the air.

2. Are networks allowed to request that the ratings for a show be withheld or simply not released to the public? In addition, why are the ratings released for some episodes of animated television programs, such as Young Justice or Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated, while not being provided for others?

3. As someone who has worked on a variety of animated projects over the years, were you given the exact ratings of a program to work with? By that, I mean were the exact ratings made available to you, and if so, who provided them? Or was that information not provided? And did these particular ratings have any leverage on what would go in the animated universe?

4. What were the ratings like for your original animated series, Gargoyles? A search on Google turns up an article, http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-15899915.html, which requires a subscription to read in full, reads:

"Walt Disney Television Animation's Gargoyles new animated show delivered a strong 2.8 Nielsen metered-market rating and an 8 share average over a special stripped debut Oct. 24-28. That was up 33% in share from its,"

5. Are you even allowed to discuss the ratings of an animated program, or is there a contractual obligation that prevents you (and others) from doing so?

Thank you for your time.

Greg responds...

1. As far as I know, anyone can PAY to get Nielsen results. But if you don't feel like paying, then you're reliant on getting those results from entities that have paid. Those entities tend to be news organizations (that may not think enough of the general public has an interest in cartoon ratings) or networks (who are only going to display ratings that make them look good and/or suit their current strategy). But I'm no expert.

2. You've got it backwards. Nielsen is a COMPANY that charges for its services. It's not some public forum that networks have somehow forced to withhold info from you. If you really want the info, go pay for it.

3. Very inconsistently.

3a. For example, on YJ, we occasionally got ratings reports from CN via our bosses at WB.

3b. Often, we got no info.

3c. Absolutely not, because by the time ratings came in we were way past committed to whatever creative decisions had been made. Whether those numbers effected air dates, hiatuses (hiatusi?) or pickups is a your-guess-is-as-good-as-mine thing. I haven't seen enough of the raw numbers myself to make an evaluation.

4. As I recall, during our first season on Gargoyles, when we were weekly, our ratings were very strong. Our second season, when we were on five days a week, was during the peak of the Power Rangers craze, and although our ratings were solid, we were consistently beat by that show, coming in at number two for our time slot week after week after week.

5. There's no contractual obligation, but there are political considerations. Plus, as I said above, I'm not always informed. And I'm not fond of passing on rumors or making half-assed guesses.

Response recorded on March 13, 2013

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VERONICA MARS on Kickstarter

VERONICA MARS on Kickstarter

So I've always been fairly dubious about Kickstarter. I found the websites overwhelming and off-putting.

But my brother Jon just sent me the link below, and I actually found myself pledging $50, which is WAY out of character for me.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/559914737/the-veronica-mars-movie-project

In part, it's because my daughter Erin and I are both massive Veronica Mars fans. And in part, it's because if this works, it opens up a whole new realm of possibilities.

Gargoyles on Kickstarter? Spectacular Spider-Man on Kickstarter? Young Justice on Kickstarter? Today it seems just a little less nutty than it did yesterday.

So check out the link. If you love Veronica Mars like I do, pledge what you can - because, damn, I want to see that movie - but even if V is of no interest to you, check out the link anyway. It's definitely giving me... thoughts...


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Anonymous Writes writes...

What happed to Beast Boy's Dad?

Greg responds...

Who said anything happened to him?

Response recorded on March 12, 2013

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Robert writes...

Hi Greg,

I was just watching "Targets" again for probably the third or fourth time (and for the first time since before the show returned last September) when I noticed something interesting. In that episode, during the conversation between Red Arrow and Lex Luthor at the Peace Summit between North and South Rhelasia, Luthor tells Red something about Lexcorp being dedicated to peace. In response, Red Arrow says, "I've got intel linking Lexcorp shell companies to the sale of weapons in both Rhelasias. You're profiting off this war."

We learned in "Satisfaction" that the original Roy Harper had been abducted while investigating a Lexcorp shell company that he and Green Arrow suspected of smuggling weapons into North Rhelasia.

My questions...

1) Are these two events in fact the same? I mean, when Red Arrow was speaking with Luthor at the Peace Summit regarding his "intel", was he referring (unknowingly, of course) to the same event that led to the original Roy's capture (and, by consequence, his own creation)?
2) If the answer to the above is no, then feel free to ignore the rest of the paragraph. However, if the answer to the above question is yes, then I'm also curious: was Red Arrow's presence at the Rhelasian Peace Summit orchestrated by the Light in advance? I mean, obviously for Sportsmaster to extract information from him and issue new programming, Red had to be there, and he had to be alone. But if he hadn't been there at all, it seems likely that Cheshire would have actually killed Luthor - it just didn't seem to me like she knew what was really going on. But wouldn't it be too great a risk for the Light to knowingly put one of its own in jeopardy - unless they KNEW beforehand that someone (and a very specific someone, at that) would be there to "save the day"? Moreover, for this whole plan to succeed without Luthor being assassinated, both Cheshire and Sportsmaster had to have been explicitly told NOT to kill Red Arrow - which they could probably have done together very easily.

I'm not trying to put forth my own ideas here or anything. I just want to know, in light of the events and revelations of "Satisfaction", if I'm reading this whole scenario correctly. Or... am I just reading too much into all this?

Thank you for your time, sir!

Greg responds...

1. More or less.

2. Cheshire did not know ALL the details, but as you saw in "Auld Acquaintance", she clearly knew some of the details.

3. You're not reading too much into anything, as far as I can see.

Response recorded on March 12, 2013

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Rob In Chicago writes...

Hey Greg,

Once again, you and your team are incredible. Each new episode of YJ is better than the last. I'm sure that you are bummed about the unscheduled hiatus, but I (and I'm sure everybody else who has followed you since Gargoyles) will be there Jan 5th, feeling like it is Christmas morning. Perhaps absence will make the heart grow fonder. But enough of the propers, as I've had a question that I've been wanting to ask you for months.

1) Have you seen Looper? If not I STRONGLY suggest that you do. I would imagine it is right up your ally.

2) If so, I wanted to hear your take on the time travel aspects. How does its interpretation of multi-verse/multiple timelines mesh with your working theory on Gargoyles. You have talked at length about working vs non-working paradoxes. As the movie suggests, "I don't want to talk about time travel because if we start talking about it then we're going to be here all day talking about it, making diagrams with straws." So, let's face it, it isn't an exact science.

2)Obviously, it doesn't hold true to your interpretation, based on the ending (I'm not going to spoil it for anyone here), but do you think that it implies a working or non working paradox? If you see it and are like "WTF?", there is a great piece online, where they actually lay it out with straws that I would suggest.

Just wanted to see if you had checked it out and get your spin.

Thanks once more to you and your team (and The Team) for Young Justice. I have a feeling that it is going to come back to serious fanfare and you'll be answering questions about Bibbo's blood type for years to come. At least I hope so.

Happy New Year! I know this next one will be a big one for you!

P.S. You teased something about Gargoyles a few weeks ago... anything? Just a tiny taste? A morsal for a long time fan?

Greg responds...

1. I have not.

2. (You had two question twos.) But since I haven't seen the movie, I can't respond to either.

P.S. I did? I seriously don't recall. What did I say?

Response recorded on March 12, 2013

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EXALT writes...

1)Why did you choose Matth Hagen for the YJ version of Clayface?
2)What's the Parasite's true identity? Raymond Jensen (since, during Performance, he used the alias of Ray)?

Greg responds...

1. He was the Clayface we were doing. The others were very different Clayfaces. Or am I not understanding the question?

2. Yes.

Response recorded on March 12, 2013

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Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

Regarding Stargate: The Hunted.
I would have watched it. (I think I tried the first ep of the cartoon that did get made. Whatever it was, it wasn't Stargate.)

You said "Besides, night looks cooler om action animation than day does." That reminded me how day shots in Gargoyles used to jump out due to their rarity. Though I must add that one of the best tv action sequences anywhere is Elisa evading and taking out the goon squad while running through Central Park in the morning. (I also thought of B:TAS, but who doesn't think of Dark Deco when they hear nighttime and animation?)

One thing intrigued me; you made the large alien (name escapes me at the moment) only 12- a member of a long lived, quick growing species, but still a child. I would think living thousands of years would lead to an extended childhood, not quick growth. What made you choose that? (If you don't recall, what are your current thoughts on it?)

Greg responds...

I'm a little lost. Are you referring to Ohnu? If so, I think the idea was to keep the cast young and inexperienced. And I liked the idea of a man-child.

Response recorded on March 12, 2013

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Laura 'ad astra' Sack writes...

Regarding the two additional guests to Rocket's shower- clearly their identity is a spoiler. When they finally do show up in one form or another, will you let us know it was them?

Greg responds...

In an interview posted today on World's Finest, I've basically outed them. They were Donna Troy and Mary Bromfield.

http://www.worldsfinestonline.com/WF/youngjustice/backstage/interview12.php

Response recorded on March 12, 2013


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