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Aris Katsaris writes...

Thanks for the comments on Theseus - I do have to wonder how he'd fit in the Gargoyles universe, especially since it seems that in it much of the minotaur story seems to have been human propaganda... :-)

Another fascinating character connected to Theseus is to me Minos - for different reasons. He has no specific 'heroic deed' attributed to him: on the other hand he has had a long rule of benevolent and just rule, holding a kingdom "of many nations and tongues" together (and yeah, I go by Plutarch's and Plato's belief that the tale of him sacrificing men and women to the minotaur was just a case of Athenean propaganda :-) Such a rule may not have the sparkling heroism of such deeds as those of Theseus and Heracles - yet I wonder if that task was in the end even more beneficient and difficult than the ones of most monster-slayers we hear about...

I really appreciate the suggestion of Mary Renault books - I've definitely put them in my "To Read" list... thanks.

Greg responds...

You're welcome. Let me know what you think.

Response recorded on March 18, 2000

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Michael Norton writes...

Why didn't the gargoyles on New Olympus reveal themselves to
Goliath and Angela? The rare discovery of other clans was my favorite part of the series so I would have loved to see them.

Greg responds...

Good question. And I'm honestly not sure I have a good answer, other than the truth that there wasn't time in the episode to cover THAT too.

Eventually, I'd have had to come up with an answer. Were they present at Elisa's trial? Do they live "in town"? Is they're leader unprepared to make contact with three gargoyles who are making a LOUD point to defend a human being? I haven't decided yet. But now you've got me thinking.

Response recorded on March 17, 2000

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Aris Katsaris writes...

How large do you envision New Olympus's population to be? Counted in a few hundreds? Thousands? Tens of thousands?

And for that matter how large would New Olympus itself be? And where is it located? (I doubt it's in the Mediterannean because it would have most probably been discovered by humans before they managed to discover the cloaking device...

Greg responds...

I'm guessing Atlantic or Pacific. It's fairly big, but not huge. And populated in the thousands.

Response recorded on March 11, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

You mentioned in your post on Sleipnir this evening (January 12) that it's possible that New Olympus might be filled with all manner of "bizarre beasts" that were the offspring of Oberon's Children by animals. Would these include, not only the half-human/half-animal beings that we actually saw in that episode (such as minotaurs and centaurs) but also the fully-animal creatures of Greek mythology (e.g., Cerberus, the Chimera, the Hydra, the Nemean Lion, etc.)? I'd been wondering for some time now about their role in the Gargoyles Universe.

Greg responds...

I won't be specific about any of these, but yes, the idea is possible.

Response recorded on March 09, 2000

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niner writes...

Oops, sorry that last one was me.

As long as I'm here I might as well ask those New Olympian questions.

1) What was Spynx's occupation before she became an ambassador to the outside world?

2) When Taurus said Proteus wasn't like other Olympians did he mean that Proteus was the only criminal on New Olympus or that he was the only one that was an insane murderer?

3) On a scale of one to ten, with ten being a sentient android like Data from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and one being a Steel Clan robot, how inteligent is Talos?

4) Do the Illuminati know about the existence of New Olympus? If not, how would they react when the New Olympians revealed themselves to the human world?

5) If The New Olympians were to become a cartoon show how much of the series would take place in New York and how much of it would take place in New Olympus?

Thank you very much.

Greg responds...

1. Student.

2. Generally, the latter.

3. I hate quantifying things. I'm not a numbers guy. He's smart, o.k.?

4a. No.

4b. Quickly and with determination.

5. Again, don't ask me for percentages. A good amount in both, but I also saw the series as international in scope.

Response recorded on March 03, 2000

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Todd Jensen writes...

You said once that the different varieties of New Olympians have various different life-spans ranging from 13 years to 250 years. Just out of curiosity:

1) Which sub-species of New Olympian (centaur, minotaur, sphinx, winged humanoid a la Boreas, snake-person a la Ekidne, shape-shifter, etc.) do you see as having the 13 year life-span?

2) Which sub-species do you see as having the 250 year life-span?

Greg responds...

I won't be held to this, but it seems to me that any New Olympian who has the blood of a species with a short life span would tend to water down the fay blood and lifespan more.

Response recorded on February 01, 2000

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Siren writes...

Resubmission:
If the show continued, would you might have introduced other mythology characters, such as Pegasus, unicorns, dragons (besides the stone one), etc. If so, would they be considered New Olympians or Fay? And would they speak?

Greg responds...

Everything we did would be decided on a case-by-case basis. There's no way to answer this blanketly.

Response recorded on January 31, 2000

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Aris Katsaris writes...

Judging from Sleipnir, as well as the brief appearance of a Pegasus-type animal in 'The Gathering I" and ofcourse from one's of various mythologies... is there a species of non-sentient "fay beasts"? Or is Sleipnir, Pegasus, Fenrir and so on all sentient fays which simply choose animal forms as their 'favourite' ones?

Greg responds...

There may be fauna on Avalon. And the magic of the place may have had some small effect on them. Like sorcerous radiation.

But fauna would not have attended the Gathering. So any seeming beast you saw there, like Anansi for example, is one of the Children in a form of his or her choosing. (If you see a polar bear walking around the palace, the odds are it's Odin.)

Now Slepnir is another story. If the legends are true, then Slepnir's mother was the trickster Loki, and his father was an actual horse. Making Slepnir half-horse and half-fey. (Which might serve to explain his modern transition from eight legs to four.) I haven't decided 100% if that's the route I'm taking in the Gargoyles universe, but the notion is appealing.

And it would suggest that New Olympus is filled with all sorts of bizarre beasts who are the descendents of various unions between the fey and so-called lower animals.

Response recorded on January 12, 2000

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Greg "Xanatos" Bishansky writes...

I recently saw the "Hercules" episode you wrote, "Grim Avenger"

I laughed my butt off during it. Great job. I particularly liked the bits where Theseus/Grim Avenger kept narrating outloud without realizing it.

I also liked the bits you wrote with Cassandra falling in love with Theseus. She's usually such a cynic, it was fun to see this other side of her.

On the whole, great job. You are great at everything you write.

Greg responds...

Thanks. I liked writing that one. I've always loved the Superman/Batman relationship. And Herakles/Theseus is the original. I just pointed it up a bit more.

Though I should say that the wordless stuff where Cass is running across the beach toward Theseus wasn't mine. I guess the board artist added it.

It was also fun to have Michael Dorn playing another Minotaur.

Response recorded on January 10, 2000

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Aris Katsaris writes...

Have the Avalon travellers mentioned New Olympus to the rest of the clan and other friends (Matt, Elisa's family, so on) or are they under a vow of silence or something?

Greg responds...

Elisa's not big on info-sharing, so I doubt she's told anyone.

My initial thought was that Hudson and the Trio would be filled in. But maybe not.

Certainly, no one else has been told.

Response recorded on January 10, 2000

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Aris Katsaris writes...

Did Goliath, Angela and Elisa understand that there are gargoyles in New Olympus?

Greg responds...

I don't think so.

Response recorded on January 10, 2000

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Greg "Xanatos" Bishansky writes...

At the first Gathering you had the BAD GUYS Leica reel, at 98 you had the NEW OLYMPIANS pitch, this year it was Dark Ages. What else can we expect for Gatherings in the future?

Greg responds...

That would be telling.

Response recorded on January 10, 2000

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Airwalker writes...

What year was New Olympus founded?

Greg responds...

Oh....

I'd have to research that. Can't tell you off the top of my head.

But I think it was founded long before it was isolated from the rest of the world.

Response recorded on December 30, 1999

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Greg "Xanatos" Bishansky writes...

5. What is Jove's rank (or job) in New Olympus society.

Greg responds...

Rank? Don't think that applies. He comes from a prominent family. Nobility, I guess.

Job? Haven't thought about it.

Response recorded on December 30, 1999

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Aris Katsaris writes...

A short question once again on the topic of the New Olympians... You said that they are the offspring of humans and members of the Third race - but the other such halflings we've seen (Fox, Alex and almost certainly Merlin) are human-looking. Am I correct in assuming that the appearance of each of the original non-human looking NOs was such because of their fay parent's appearance (at the time of the conception)?

Greg responds...

Yeah, either that, or you had some of the children mating with some non-sentients.

Hey, it happens...

Response recorded on August 24, 1999

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Aris Katsaris writes...

I was wondering about the New Olympians.

1) How would you explain that though almost all seem to have come from Ancient Greece, they all seemed to speak in English?

2) Can New Olympians have offsprings with humans or gargoyles? If they can with humans, does that mean that Sphinx and Terry have one less problem in their hands than Elisa and Goliath?

Greg responds...

1. Mostly, I cannot. As I've mentioned before, the use of other languages on the World Tour was something I was talked out of. I regret that now. I think we need to assume that the New Olympians had studied English via radio and television transmissions. And that they had the language programmed into some kind of translation devise.

2. It is possible for some New Olympians to successfully mate with humans. So yes, maybe Sphinx and Terry would hav one less problem way down the road. Maybe. But you're way ahead of me, partner. No guarantee that they'd get to that bridge.

Response recorded on August 22, 1999

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Todd Jensen writes...

A few more questions I forgot to ask last time.

1. Some months ago, I saw a television documentary on gargoyles (the real-world architectural kind) and it said that there were more gargoyles per square foot in New York City than anywhere else in the United States (or something along those lines). Was this a factor in choosing New York as the main setting for the series, or just a coincidence? (I do know that I sat up and took notice at that particular comment when I heard it!)

2. Most of the mythological beings in "Gargoyles" were portrayed as being "Oberon's Children", i.e., members of the Third Race. However, the beings from Greek mythology were portrayed as being from a separate race, if of partly faerie origins: the New Olympians? Just out of curiosity, why did the production team take a different angle for the Greek mythology beings than the ones from Norse, Egyptian, Native American, etc. myth and legend?

3. I read somewhere that Eric Lewald was on the production team for the "X-Men" series on FOX before he worked on "The Goliath Chronicles". Do you think that this could have been a factor in why The Goliath Chronicles took a different angle on gargoyle-human relations (as in, it being taken for granted that the humans would know that the gargoyles were sentient beings); that is, that Eric was seeing "Gargoyles" in an "X-Men"-related light?

4. You've told us a bit about gargoyle religious beliefs; do the Third Race have any form of religion?

Greg responds...

1. I was aware that NYC had a ton of gargoyles. (I lived there for two plus years in my DC Comics days.) But I didn't have the stats. So I guess the answer is both.

2. We did and didn't, just for starters. What was revealed was not comprehensive, as I think I've mentioned. But the main behind-the-scenes reason was that we had this ready-made show NEW OLYMPIANS that I wanted to try and get on the air via a "back-door pilot" on Gargoyles. Didn't happen, but I'm glad we tried, and I felt the concept fit rather nicely into the Gargs Universe.

3. I haven't seen Eric in years, but he and his wife Julia Roberts Lewald are good people, who I like a lot. (I attended their wedding.) They're good writers too. And no, that doesn't mean I like what was done on Goliath Chronicles, but I don't think I COULD have liked anything that anyone else did. Anyway, any further speculation on my part is, I believe, inappropriate.

4. Plenty.


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Lexy:) writes...

*squeels like a school girl* really??? Someday your really gonna answer the "Whos Lex's mate" Question??? *jumps up and down* YES!!! *grins* one day hey? I'll wait for that!

Ok here are my Q's *smiles*

1.) You said that Gargoyles have a weak sense of smell so that there may be a possibility that Hudson knows that Broadway is his biological son. My question is then, did Goliath ever have the same feeling when he encountered Angela for the first Time?

2.) When Goliath and co. were touring the world we met a lot of differnt cultures. Since we never heard any other langauges spoken or subtitled (VERY understandable) does that mean that we happened to meet up with ppl who all spoke english?

(part 2 of 2)
Or does this have to do with the Phoenix Gate ie. some ability to make all ppl's appear to be speaking Goliath's and Co's langauge?

(part 3 of 2)

If you could have made the call, would you have prefered to have subtitles?

(part 4 of 2)

If you had been able to do the Time Dancer Spin off, which I know wasn't considered, this is just an if..
Then how would you have explained the langauge barriors? Would it have been Brooklyn having to physically learn Japanese or other langauges? Or again does this have to do with the Phoenix Gate and its abilities?

3.) (another TD Q) When Brooklyn returns post TD does he remember fairly clearly the events of the past 40 years? Or is it hazy?

4.)Lots of ppl have asked about the Gargoyles Original origins. Some have guessed things such as dragons or dinosaures. You said in response to this, "mabey". There have also been thoughts that they were created by an independant being. But that is another deal. My question is for the first theory. How Do you explain the fact that some gargs possess facial and other bodily hairs? (Isn't hair only found on mammals)

5.) Some time ago someone asked you about the praying Gargoyle statue. They asked that if Demona would have succeeded would the Olympians Or Oberon's Children survive as well. I think you said something about not being sure about Orberon's children but no to the New Olympians minus the Gargoyles Living there. The Gargoyles living there are probably not full gargoyles. I say so since the island seems to be made up of meny crossbreeds. Does that mean that any creature with some amount of Gargoyle blood in them would survive?

6.) Is the name Cast-away a pun? (<---- illustrates the point) I'm sure im reading WAY to deep into this here..but i was just wondering if the name was there to show any kind of abandonment John may feel or have created. *nods* ya ya i know..

7.) Can you give us any information about David's mother?

8.) In "Highnoon" 'Coldstone' asks Demona and Macbeth, "Why does nobody see us?", to which they respond that it dosn't matter and to leave it be. How is it that Elisa walks right up to them with no problem? Is it part of a spell?

9.) Is there an age at which female Gargoyles become fertile and infertile?

10.) Gargoyle eggs are in a rookery for 10 years before hatching..is that in human years or garg?

11.) We know that on Avalon there is a time difference. Every Hour there equals a day here. Is there such a time change on Olympus?

12.) When you said a character from N. Olympian's was going too meet up with some character We know of did you mean a major character?

13.) Going along with question 12..feel like telling us about that Romeo Juliet thing? *grins*

14.) We all know that Lexington was at least going to suffer some emotional trama as it were. I don't really see him as going compleatly off his rocker...mabey minor betral or perhaps becoming introvered and crabby..but nothing as we saw in "Future Tense". How severe did you see Lexington's reacion would have been? (ie, just a teen faze thing..or something worse)

15.) I'm Very sorry in advance if you never said this. But I seem to remember you saying something about Brooklyn's Children as being twins..something rare in the Gargoyles Universe. When Brooklyn and them arrive home they are biologically 13 and 3. So where they hatched separatly? In two different seasons. Or where they birthed on the same night but due to some timedancing are separated by age?

16.) U said that post TD Brooklyn avoids the Phoenix Gate like the plauge..dose that mean we would have seen more of it?

17.) And for my last Q. just cuz..im really annoying, Do you feel like telling us about lex's girl NOW???? *grins*

*looks over her list of other q's* hmm thats enough for today..;)

Thanks! *wings out*

Greg responds...

UGH, another marathon question. Yes, I know, it was posted before my request for fewer questions per post. But still....

1. I said they have a weak sense of smell? And I tied that into Hudson knowing about Broadway, how? I'm sorry. I don't think I understand the question.

2. Uh, largely.

2a. No. It really has more to do with the creative/production decision to wimp out and not deal with the problem.

2b. Probably, here and there. I sort of did make the call after getting input from numerous people about the difficulties involved. Then Frank and I changed our minds on Bushido, but we were told it was too late.

2c. I think I might have had some fun with the language barriers up to a point.

3. Clear as anyone's memories of a 40 year span.

4. Gargoyles clearly have some mammalian qualities, or perhaps a better way to think about it is that mammals have some Gargoylian qualities.

5. You're making assumptions not in evidence.

6. It's not a pun, per se. But yes, he (and we) chose the name for a reason.

7. Can I? Yes.

8. Yup.

9. Puberty and menopause.

10. Human.

11. No.

12. Xanatos at least.

13. Well, Lexy, you've seen the pitch now. What else do you want to know?

14. Huh?

15. I never said they were twins. NEVER.

16. Don't know. But I'm guessing we all will have had our fill of the thing by then.

17. No.

7-9-99


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Karen writes...

Hiya! First of all i'd like to say that you have made an excellent series, congrats on the great work. Ok...I'm a first-timer but I have read the archives so I'll be careful not to ask anything that I can remember already being asked.
1) Why is it that it took Goliath so long to finally except Angela as his daughter but it didn't take Demona very long at all? infact, it seemed as though she had completely excepted Angela as hers, not even asking about the other members of the rookery. Any reason for this?

2) If you had to pick one, which would you say is the most truly Evil villain on the show? (The one who is bad merely to see people suffer or something)

3) Since what biologic ages would you say that Goliath and Demona were a couple?

Well.. although I've been itchin' to do this for so long but wasn't able to because it had been down, I can't remember any of the questions I had lined up... oh well.. I'll save them for another day i suppose.

Greg responds...

Now to answer my first question of ASK GREG - The Next Generation.

Hi Karen,

1. Goliath was very concerned about playing favorites. Angela, to his mind, was way too concerned about him as her BIOLOGICAL father. To his upbringing, that showed bad taste. Of course, she was raised differently. Once Diane Maza pointed out to Goliath that Angela was the only daughter in the vicinity, Goliath lept at the chance to be her dad. It's not that he didn't love her, but he was a novice father and he didn't want to screw up.

Demona's motivations, as usual, were more complicated. Assuming Sevarius filled her in about Angela sometime between "Sanctuary" and "The Reckoning", Demona had time to plan an "attack" on her daughter, or at least on her daughter's loyalties. As usual, Demona is her own worst enemy. She initially saw Angela as an opportunity, not a child. By the time she realized how important Angela truly was to her, it was all but too late.

2. Gee... Did we have any of those? I guess Hyena, Jackal and Wolf sorta qualify. Proteus was pretty nasty. Yeah. Maybe Proteus.

3. Don't have my timeline here with me, so I can't pin it down exactly. But by 971 they were already falling for each other, so that should give you an idea...



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