Chapter LVIII: "The Gathering, Part Two"

Time to ramble...

Chapter  LVIII : "The Gathering, Part Two"
Story Editor: Brynne Chandler Reaves and Gary Sperling
Story: Lydia Marano
Teleplay: Lydia Marano and Gary Sperling
Director: Bob Kline

ARE WE GATHERING OR AREN'T WE?
My initial reluctance toward calling this two-parter "The Gathering" revolved around the fact that we weren't actually showing much of the Gathering on Avalon. Basically one extended scene at the beginning of Part One. And then nothing. Nothing in part two at all.

But ultimately, I came to view "gathering" as a more metaphorical concept. Certainly, a lot of folk gather in this puppy even after we leave Avalon. Xanatos, Alex, Fox, Petros, Titania, Oberon, Puck/Owen, Renard, Vogel, Fortress-Two, Cybots, Iron Clan Robots, Goliath, Hudson, Angela, Brooklyn, Broadway, Lexington... etc. We're "all in" here.

The Gargoyle clan regathers. The extended (more extended than we knew) Xanatos family gathers. They form the start of a real alliance, laying the seeds for Hunter's Moon.

And, hey, if we hadn't called the eps "The Gathering", what would we call our annual convention now?

PARENTING
Goliath has clearly learned the lesson Diane Maza sought to teach him in "Mark of the Panther". He not only has no qualms about viewing Angela as his daughter, he
also has come to regard the bond between parent and child as sacred.

David has also learned a lesson or two. Not that he EVER would have let Oberon just take something (anything) that belonged to him, but you get the sense that in discovering in "Eye of the Beholder" that he really did LOVE Fox, he learned that he could love. And that his defense of his son here isn't just defending his property but, as Petros puts it, standing up for his family. That's what Petros is responding to here when he praises his son.

(And you got to admit that for a normal fisherman, Petros handles a lot of weird crap with surprising equanimity.)

Renard has likewise remembered what matters most to him. Not repairing his body or his company, but his family. He may not approve of his daughter and son-in-law, but he sure isn't going to let anyone take his grandson from them. He's a bit defeatist at the end. Maybe a tad self-involved, but being terminal, he may not want his final legacy to be failure. I thought it was nice to see Vogel buck him up some. (Though it was also fun to hear Vogel's flat sycophantic "You're a genius, sir." earlier.)

IRON
I liked the Iron Clan Robots. I wish it was clearer that they were scaled larger than the old Steel Clan. There supposed to be about 20 feet tall. But I'm not sure we ever see them beside anything that defines their height.

Benny suggested that they put the baby in an iron ball. The idea is so simple and brilliant, that I'm embarrassed that I never thought of it. But then, ahem, neither Owen nor David thought of it either, right? So why blame the writing staff, huh?

In general, I feel like we played a little too fast and loose with iron here. Presumably, Petros' harpoon was made of iron. If Oberon can be disabled by the ringing of an iron bell, you'd think an iron harpoon through the chest would have killed him. I guess he's just THAT powerful. It hurt bad, drained him horribly. But ultimately someone would have had to finish him in some way. NOW where is that bell?

Actually, there are moments of weak animation here that almost had me thinking of a whole 'nother way to defeat giant Obie. Moments that seemed cartoony enough so that the solution seemed to be for one of the gargs to fly into Oberon's ear, so that we could see him through the windows of Oberon's open eyes breaking stuff in there.

THE RULES ACCORDING TO OBERON
Oberon: "My decrees are mine to interpret."
Oberon: "Oberon does not compromise. Oberon commands!"

Eh, six of one, half dozen of the other.

He's promised that he won't use magic against Goliath's clan. But he interprets that loosely. He won't turn them into glass statues or zap 'em with a magic bolt. But he feels free to attack them physically with his hair. Or sic magically animated statues on 'em. (Liked those industrial age "gargs", btw.)

Of course those Industrial gargs wind up destroying themselves. Brooklyn says, "It's incredible how often that move works." Which is him covering for us the writers knowledge that we kept falling back on that same solution over and over.

And, hey, what's the deal inside Oberon's cape? Actually, I really like that. It's a nice weird, spooky cool moment to remind us how other-worldly Oberon really is.

XANATOS
You'll notice at the beginning of the episode that Xanatos still feels the need to come up with a cynical excuse for saving Broadway's life. He can't yet simply view him as an ally (let alone friend or fellow), but still as a resource that shouldn't be wasted. I love Jonathan's reading there. The cynicism rings so hollow. He's already going through changes.

By the end of the episode, he'll truly regard the Goliath and the clan in a new light.

"HERE'S PUCK!"
So... honestly? How many of you were surprised? If not by the revelation itself, then by the details, as he tells his history to Oberon. (With "visual aids," no less.)

What we tried to do was let all thoughts of Owen AND Puck fall from your head by this time. There are a couple clues to their dual identity in episodes like "City of Stone, Part One" and "The Mirror", and I felt like there were a TON of hints in "The Gathering, Part One". But in Part Two, we tried to keep even the mention of the two characters to a minimum. So that the audience wouldn't be focused on THAT mystery and we stood a chance of at least catching everyone off guard.

I love X's line: "Owen has all sorts of hidden talents."

I also love Puck's, "I'm on a roll." This is delivered into camera. I always wanted Puck to be the one character in our series who could and would break the fourth wall. But I always met resistance from Frank and Dennis. But this ep was directed by Bob Kline, who tossed me a bone, I guess.

Puck had never played the roll of straight man. I loved that idea. That he would out Vogel Vogel. Of course, when Vogel was first introduced, many fans, as expected, were highly critical of the character. Saying he was just an Owen rip-off. It was great to turn the tables. It made us all feel so clever, as Owen is in fact a Vogel rip-off.

Puck has a bunch of great lines, some of which are probably only great because Brent delivers them so brilliantly...

"Sweet kids, but boring."

"One wish from the Puck or a lifetime of service from Owen"

"He chose Owen". Brent's reading there almost breaks your heart. As Oberon says, it's clear that Puck was impressed by X's choice. In fact, he's clearly touched by Xanatos' choice, by his loyalty. He extends a loyalty back to X that he's never, I think, felt before. As with Titania, it's Oberon's punishment backfiring on him. He sent the Children out into the world to learn humility. To learn to be ... "humane". Oberon himself did NOT learn. But many of his subjects did, and the results don't always please Lord O. Puck is loyal to Oberon because he has to be. But he's loyal to David because he wants to be. Guess which loyalty ultimately wins out?

"You hurt him with that one. Do it again." (LOVE THAT.)

"I've got a sunny disposition, and I'm always kind to animals."

It's also nice to see Puck's demeanor and Owen's side by side. Puck is horrified by his permanent banishment from Avalon. (An elegantly appropriate punishment if I do say so myself.) But Owen takes it in stride, as Owen takes everything in stride, right down to and including a stone fist. (Which is another vindication thing for me. Many people seemed willing to crucify us after "The Price" for the cavalier way that the writing staff and Xanatos allowed Owen to get that fist. But now that they knew that Owen is Puck, and that Xanatos (and the writing staff) knew it all the time, it all makes a bit more sense.)

ODDS & ENDINGS
Talk about elegant though, how about Titania's manipulations... assuming you believe her when she takes credit for everything. Do you believe her?

And no, I'm not going to tell you what she whispered to Fox. At this point, I'm quite convinced that the answer would be anti-climactic. Better left to your own imagination.

Oberon gives us the "Midsummer Night's Dream" reference. I like that.

I also like the last exchange between Xanatos and Goliath, starting with:
X: "Wait!"
G: "What?!"
So suspicious our G, huh?

And I like Goliath's line, "The future is not written yet." And it isn't. Not from their point of view. There's still free will. But certainly, Goliath hasn't forgotten the recent vision that was "Future Tense".

Is it here that Broadway calls Angela "Angie" for the first and last time?

Chapter LVII: "The Gathering, Part One"

Time to ramble...

Chapter  LVI : "The Gathering, Part One"
Story Editor: Brynne Chandler Reaves
Writers: Lydia Marano
Director: Bob Kline

CAVEAT
This episode is/was so jam-packed with stuff that I literally couldn't take notes fast enough. I'm bound to have missed a ton of stuff that I might have wished to comment on. So this ramble is going to be far from comprehensive. Also, all quotes are approximate.

ORIGINS
My original title for the episode was "Reunions". Finally, I think we all agreed that it should become "The Gathering". Originally, believe it or not, this was going to be a one-parter, with "The Reckoning" (then called "Endgame") as a two-parter. We realized that the Gathering was too jam-packed to fit in one part, and made the switch.

WATCHING WITH MY FAMILY
I think generally you'll see fewer comments from my family in the next few rambles. Having become too aware that I was writing down their responses, they started to play to THAT. And thus their responses have become, I think, less authentic and more designed to make good copy. Ah, well...

I will say that wife and kids have taken to calling out "And we live again!" along with Keith over the opening titles. They find it very amusing. :P

THE GATHERING
Sometimes you do just wish there were more hours in the day. Time to figure out who besides the usual suspects (Grandmother, Raven, Anansi, Coyote, Odin, Anubis, etc.) should have been there. Instead, we get some random designs. (Perhaps even some reuse from New Olympians where I had a similar problem?) Still it did give us Nought. So I guess I shouldn't complain too much.

I hate seeing Anubis laughing.

Note that Titania's mirror was broken in "The Mirror" but that Oberon clearly has his own mirror. A matching set. A wedding gift perhaps?

Love the Weird Sisters as Oberon's storm troopers.

Wish we had done more with Puck's flute. Oh, well. Someday.

Love Oberon's treatment of Banshee. "Anything to say?" he asks when she's frozen. And he won't take the magic-gag off until he can hear her be humble. Guy is tough to please.

MEET THE NEW KID
Alexander is born and intro'd to all his eclectic genre-spanning grandfolk. Here's where I thought we were perhaps being too obvious about Owen's secret. But I do love Vogel's reaction to being "accused" of being related to Owen. And I like Owen's reaction to the news of Anastasia's remarriage.

"Alexander Fox Xanatos". A little bit of mom. A little bit of dad. A little bit of world conqueror. A chilling reminder in middle name and hair color of the events of "Future Tense". We expect great things from this kid...

OBERON'S HUNT
The Jogger does our now standard bit where he blames something recently ingested to explain the "hallucinations".

Oberon obviously saw Star Wars. Maybe he thought "Obi Wan" was some kind of tribute to "Oberon".

Like seeing the Eyrie Nightwatchman again. Haven't seen him since "Awakening", I think.

I love the exchange between Oberon and Titania. Mortal jealousy over something as "mild" as an "illegitimate child" is beyond these two. Oberon is amused that Fox is Titania's daughter. (Of course, for S&P reasons, we had to make it very clear that Oberon and Titania were divorced and that Fox was born when Anastasia was married to Renard.) Some good lines here too:

O: "What is exactly is going on?"

T: "I'm gathering even now."

O: "Titania, what have you been up to?"

I like Anastasia's de-glamouring into Titania. It's as if Oberon's magic gives her a physical/sexual thrill. This plays into her relative descriptions of her two husbands. Halcyon proved to rigid for her tastes. Only Oberon can hold her interest. For an immortal, the one thing that she absolutely needs is variety. Only Oberon possesses that kind of infinite variety. He may not be perfect, but for Titania no one else compares.

Oberon's rationale for leaving Fox alone (as she's turned out human), but taking Alex away (as he has the potential to be one of the Children) makes perfect sense to me. Especially when you consider that he's interpreting his own laws.

I also love Oberon's version of not being heartless. "Hey, kids, come on. I'll give you one whole hour with your new born son before taking him away forever, 'kay?" (I told you all quotes were approximate.)

REUNIONS
I dig Travis Marshall, who never resists an opportunity to point out who Xanatos and Fox really are.

Note BWay's response to seeing Elisa again. Note also the Trio's response to Angela. Broadway calls her "Angie" here. And the stuff with the chocolates is classic, I think.

I also love Hudson's line: "We're not the last. We're not alone." That, more than anything else was the main point of the World Tour. It isn't hopeless for the Gargoyles species.

PREPPING FOR WAR
Owen's abandonment is fascinating to me. There was still a piece of me here that felt like we had given his identity away earlier. But if not, this scene is so amazingly confounding. For the first time, Owen seems more in control of the situation than Xanatos. But also for the first time, Owen actually seems frightened. Then he abandons his post in David's greatest time of need. I am curious how many of you figured out either here or earlier that Owen was Puck. And if not, what did you think of this scene.

ELISA & GOLIATH
Elisa: "There's no place like home." And there's no place I won't stick a Wizard of Oz reference when given the chance.

G's basically making (or ready to make) his declaration of love right here on Elisa's terrace. But she stops him. She still views their love as impossible (the species thing). Watching it now, I'm reminded of "Tears in the Rain" that beautiful BLADE RUNNER moment. But I can't remember if we were consciously inspired by that or not.

REVELATION
Given all that gets revealed in this ep, this may seem minor, but it was very important to me. Avalon did not RELEASE the foursome from their quest. Avalon brought them where they needed to be, i.e. Manhattan because of this Alex conflict. After that, in essence, you have to assume that Goliath, et al, abandoned Avalon's quest. Not the other way around.

CLIFFHANGER
Some fun stuff with Morgan here. But I love the notion of Oberon putting the city to sleep. Summons back a bit of CITY OF STONE of course. But how can you do Oberon and not at some point give everyone a midsummer night's dream? Especially Brendan & Margot. (Who are making a comeback soon, trust me.)

Elisa and Travis are fun to see too.

And finally, KING KONG OBERON. Hey, Peter Jackson's not the only one who found early inspiration with the big ape.

Anyway, that's my ramble. Where's yours?

BACK IN BUSINESS... briefly

Happy New Year!

Gorebash, Todd and I are briefly opening the submit function here at ASK GREG. I plan on posting some ramblings soon on "The Gathering, Part One" and "The Gathering, Part Two" and "Vendettas". And I'd love to get your rambles on those episodes as well.

More than that, I'd like to get your response to the new DVD that came out last month.

I also don't mind getting a few legit new questions, but PLEASE... be reasonable. As of now, I'm still nearly two years behind in answering questions. Gore is planning a major retrofit of the site, but until then, it doesn't help to flood ASK GREG with questions that have already been answered or that could be answered much more rapidly in the comment room.

We'll be closing the submit function down at the end of January, 2006. (I don't want to get too much further behind.)

Thanks and looking forward to hearing from you about that DVD,

Greg

BUFFYVERSE STATS - Year Five

BUFFYVERSE STATS - Year Five

TOP 40 CHARACTER LIST:

Once AGAIN, I'm wasting my semi-valuable time (and hopefully yours) to bring you the latest update in my attempt to catalogue the most significant characters in the BUFFYVERSE. Previous CUMULATIVE updates covered the first, second and third years of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. After that, the task became more complicated as Buffy's fourth season aired simultaneously (day and date, literally) with the first season of Angel. So the Year Four update included Buffy S4 & Angel S1. This update covers year five, i.e. Buffy S5 & Angel S2.

As you may recall, I've tried to inform this subjective task with an objective formula. I tried, as much as possible, not to allow my knowledge of future events to influence the current standings. Still, I won't deny that subjectives have played a role. It's hard not to take extra notice of a character you know is going to be important later. And ties were broken based entirely on subjective criteria.

The idea behind a cumulative tally is to mimic the original experience of following the Buffyverse. It's a horse race. Some of the winners and losers are decidedly predictable. Others are a bit surprising - surprising enough that it's become absolutely clear that my system must be flawed. I've since dreamed up a new system, but it's too late to implement it. Someday, LONG after I've finished this first survey (but ONLY if I prove truly insane), I might just start over and see what the results are with OBJECTIVE SYSTEM 2.0. But for now - assuming you haven't nodded off - you're stuck with System One.

I have a list of ALL the characters that have appeared in both series up to this point. It's so long (including everything from leads to ridiculously minor characters) that I haven't even bothered to count how many there are. But my list of MOST significant currently tops out at 166 characters.

But I think listing the top 40 is both pleasantly traditional… and plenty. Or largely. I just want to note a few characters introduced (or revisited) in this set of episodes, who haven't yet or never will make the top 40, but whom I believe are memorable enough to merit honorable mention.

Starting with…

#159, 160 - Nikki the Subway Slayer, The Chinese Slayer. The two Slayers that Spike killed.

#142 - Aggie. An aura-reader friend of Lorne's, played by the same actress, who played a character named Aura in episode #1. The oddness of this struck me.

#140 - The Valet a.k.a. Jeeves. A gatekeeper, who nearly gave Darla a third chance at life. He interested me.

#129 - Olaf the Troll. Anya's ex-boyfriend. His hammer was almost more important than he was. But I liked him.

#127 - Gypsy Man. The guy who cursed Angelus into Angel. Appeared in two separate flashback episodes.

#126 - Monk. The guy who turned the Key into Dawn. He had a lovely death scene.

#125 - Dracula. Want to make the point that Anton Martin, who played Dracula, used to be on the soap All My Children. He and Sarah Michelle Gellar played lovers on that show. (Michelle Trachtenberg is also an AMC alum.)

#122 - The Primitive, i.e. the First Slayer.

#115, 116, 151 - Francine Sharpe, Stephanie Sharp and The Skilosh Demon. Mother and daughter and the Demon that killed them after Angel Investigations cured young Stephanie of her third eye. Appeared in multiple episodes.

#112 - Bethany. A telekinetic that Angel saved from Wolfram & Heart and her abusive father.

#102 - Sandy. Sandy first appeared when the Vamp-Willow came to our universe. She was a victim that Vamp-Willow bit. Then two seasons later, she resurfaces as a vampire, whom Riley allows to feed on him. Riley then stakes her. Again, I love that they used someone with continuity for Riley.

#98 - Judy Kovacs. The woman in the fifties at the hotel that appealed to Angel for help and then sacrificed him to the mob and then wound up feeding a demon for fifty years.

#92 - Major Ellis. Riley's new C.O., who takes him away from Buffy.

#91, 105 - Vardell, George. Gunn's boys. Both appear in a couple episodes. Then George gets killed, and Vardell gives Gunn guilt for leaving the hood behind to join Angel's team.

#88 - Danver. Bookstore owner. Two different actors played this character across fifty years and two different episodes. Played a major/minor role in Angel's redemption.

#83 - Merl. Angel's comic informant.

#82, 131, 135 - Warren Meers, Buffybot, April. Robot builder and his creations. Lots of fun. And who new Warren would turn out to be Warren?

#76, 101, 107, 108, 149 - Crazy #1, Orlando, Crazy #2, Crazy #3, Older Nightwatchman. Victims of Glory that appeared in multiple episodes. As always, I give extra credit whenever the series reuses characters instead of creating new ones. Orlando was a Knight of Byzantium.

#75, 128 - Nathan Reed, Gavin Park. New Wolfram&Heart lawyers. Nathan is a place holding upper management type, who takes over after Holland Manners dies. (The second place-holder after a one-shot appearance by Nicholas Surovy, another AMC alum.) Gavin will wind up being Lilah's new foil now that Lindsey has left town.

#74 - Dr. Kriegel. Joyce's doctor.

#65, 66, 106 - Dreg, Murk, Gronx. Multiple recurring scabby demon servants of Glory. Across the season, each of these minions become prominent for a few eps and then vanish to be replaced by another for no particular reason that I could see. Why they didn't pick one and stick with him or her is beyond me.

#53 - Anne Steel. Anne, played by the same actress, is clearly the same character who originally went by the name Chanterelle and later Lily on Buffy. She then took Buffy's (middle) name Anne and recreated herself as an advocate for teen runaways on Angel. They don't reference the Buffy stuff, but it's clear. Nice to see a character grow from being a dumb vampire wannabe to being a strong woman who helps others.

#50, 70, 71, 81, 86, 147, 148, 153, 154, 155 - Fred, Landoc, Head Priest Psyalas, Groosalugg, Lorne's Mother, Constable Narwak, Numfar, Priest #1/Barshan, the Rebel Leader, Rebel #1. Inhabitants of Pylea that appeared in the multiple Pylean episodes that ended Angel's sophomore season. Fred, of course, became Fred. It's fairly clear in hindsight that Joss and company had planned from her first appearance on making her a regular for Season Three. Landoc is Lorne's warrior cousin. Psyalas is the main baddie. Groo is Cordy's surprising love interest. Lorne's mom, played by a male actor is pretty funny. But Numfar, a cousin of Lorne's, is hilarious. The moreso because he is played by a dancing Joss Whedon.

#48 - Virginia Bryce. Wesley's girlfriend for a number of episodes.

#44 - Doc. Played by Joel Grey, he's the most direct cause of Buffy's death.

And before we start, a fond Top 40 farewell to Larry (#47), Principal Flutie (#46), Ethan Rayne (#45), Percy (#43), Parker (#42) and the Annointed One (#41).

AND NOW THE TOP 40
Abbreviations for previous rankings…
Y1 - Buffy Season 1.
Y2 - Buffy Season 2.
Y3 - Buffy Season 3.
Y4 - Buffy Season 4/Angel Season 5.
NR - Not Ranked that year.

#40 - Mr. Trick. Y4: 33. Y3: 18. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. The Mayor's #2 man drops 7 rankings, but just manages to stay in the top 40. Don't look for him to be here after Y6 ends.

#39 - Willy the Snitch. Y4: 30. Y3: 21. Y2: 24. Y1: NR. Willy falls another nine rankings, as his bar appears without him. At least he's mentioned.

#38 - Amy. Y4: 32. Y3: 27. Y2: 23. Y1: 17. I can't remember seeing the rat this season, though she does get mentioned. She only falls six rankings.

#37 - Jinx. Y4: NR. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. #37 with a bullet, Jinx is another of Glory's scabby minions, the one that appears in the most episodes. If they hadn't kept switching minions, i.e. if you added Jinx's appearances to those of Dreg, Murk and Gronx (or even just Dreg's), Jinx might easily have been in the top twenty.

#36 - Holland Manners. Y4: 61. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Holland leaps up 25 rankings to join the top 40. He continued to make a couple of appearances even after Darla ate him. But as the first and best of W&H's upper management types, he's pretty memorable.

#35 - Adam. Y4: 26. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Adam, last year's big bad, falls nine rankings.

#34 - The Master. Y4: 27. Y3: 16. Y2: 13. Y1: 8. Buffy's first Big Bad appeared in an Angel flashback that seemed to contradict the Master's nostalgia for Angel in the first season of Buffy. Nevertheless, this flashback allows him to fall only seven rankings, justly lifting him above Adam again.

#33 - Jonathan. Y4: 24. Y3: 17. Y2: 19. Y1: NR. Jonathan, who didn't appear at all this season, drops nine rankings, but he's poised for a comeback.

#32 - Forrest. Y4: 21. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Riley's ex-best buddy falls eleven rankings.

#31 - Lilah Morgan. Y4: 31. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Lilah maintains the exact same rank a year later.

#30 - Glory. Y4: NR. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Year Five's big bad is #30 with a bullet. I know Glory isn't anyone's favorite. But I thought she was fun.

#29 - The Mayor. Y4: 19. Y3: 14. Y2: 40. Y1: NR. The Mayor loses 10 rankings. Probably the best of the big bads - unless you count Angelus. But it's inevitable with two series to see even major players like him start to fade when they're not appearing over multiple seasons.

#28 - Graham. Y4: 22. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Riley Finn's second best friend falls only six rankings, thanks to a couple more appearances this season.

#27 - Maggie Walsh. Y4: 18. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Maggie falls nine rankings, and yet still seems WAY too high up to me. Her top thirty placement above Adam, Glory, the Master, and the Mayor is one of the things that points up a flaw in the system.

#26 - Ben. Y4: NR. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Year Five's big bad's alter ego is #26 with a bullet. And here again, a flaw is pointed up. Granted, Ben actually has more screen time than Glory, as he was ALSO part of the Joyce hospital subplot, but it's still stunning.

#25 - Jenny Calendar. Y4: 17. Y3: 13. Y2: 11. Y1: 15. Jenny falls eight rankings, as memory of her begins to fade…

#24 - Lorne, the Host. Y4: NR. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Lorne is #24 with a bullet. So much fun. It's amazing it'll take seasons more before he officially becomes a regular.

#23 - Harmony. Y4: 25. Y3: 20. Y2: 26. Y1: 18. Harmony keeps bouncing back and forth, climbing two rankings this year with multiple funny Buffy appearances and one funny Angel that reunited her with Cordelia.

#22 - Kate Lockley. Y4: 23. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Angel's cop friend loses her badge and basically exits the series after a redemptive suicide attempt, but at least she's up one ranking. But she'll peak at 22.

#21 - Lindsey McDonald. Y4: 29. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. On the strength of his relationship with Darla, Lindsey climbs eight ranks before hitting the road in his pick-up. He'll be back in Year Eight.

#20 - Francis Doyle. Y4: 15. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Doyle falls five ranks, but stays in the top twenty - as any regular should.

#19 - Darla. Y4: 28. Y3: 23. Y2: 23. Y1: 11. Darla shoots up nine rankings. Amazing what a couple of resurrections'll do for ya.

#18 - Principal Snyder. Y4: 12. Y3: 9. Y2: 10. Y1: 12. Snyder falls six ranks.

#17 - Faith. Y4: 13. Y3: 10. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Faith loses four rankings, with only a brief prison appearance in the first episode of Angel. After that, I guess Angel loses interest in her.

#16 - Drusilla. Y4: 16. Y3: 11. Y2: 8. Dru maintains the same rank, as she re-sires Darla.

#15 - Tara. Y4: 20. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Tara and Doyle switch places on the chart, as Tara rises five ranks. I'm a Tara fan.

#14 - Dawn Summers. Y4: NR. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Talk about bullets… Dawn "The Key" Summers enters the rankings at #14. Impressive.

#13 - Charles Gunn. Y4: 37. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Gunn climbs 24 ranks to land within the Baker's Dozen of top characters.

#12 - Riley Finn. Y4: 11. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Riley leaves the show halfway through the season, resulting in a slight drop off of one ranking. But it's qall downhill from here, pal.

#11 - Joyce. Y4: 9. Y3: 8. Y2: 7. Y1: 7. Joyce's powerful farewell season still has her falling two rankings and out of the top ten for the first time.

#10 - Anya. Y4: 14. Y3: 22. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Anya moves up four more ranks as she finally becomes a regular and joins the top ten.

#9 - Oz. Y4: 7. Y3: 7. Y2: 12. Y1: NR. Well, Oz finally starts to dip, falling two ranks.

#8 - Wesley. Y4: 10. Y3: 15. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Wesley continues his upward mobility, climbing two rungs.

#7 - Spike. Y4: 8. Y3: 12. Y2: 9. Y1: NR. Spike jumps 1 ranking. That may not seem like much but within the top ten, the competition is damn tough. Of course, the current distance between him and #6 is immense. So he may have peaked here.

#6 - Willow. Y4: 6. Y3: 4. Y2: 4. Y1: 4. Willow stays at #6. Again, her being this far below Xander absolutely demonstrates that the system is flawed.

#5 - Cordelia. Y4: 4. Y3: 5. Y2: 5. Y1: 5. Cordelia actually falls one ranking as her boss Angel moves up.

#4 - Angel. Y4: 5. Y3: 6. Y2: 6. Y1: 6. Angel's moving up… Giles better watch his back.

#3 - Giles. Y4: 3. Y3: 2. Y2: 2. Y1: 2. Giles maintains his #3 slot.

#2 - Xander. Y4: 2. Y3: 3. Y2: 3. Y1: 3. Xander maintains his #2 ranking.

#1 - Buffy. Y4: 1. Y3: 1. Y2: 1. Y1: 1. Duh.

TOMORROW!

December 6th, 2005 is a day that will live in famy!

VOLUME ONE of the SECOND SEASON of GARGOYLES is available on DVD. If you're buying a copy, particularly if you plan to buy from AMAZON.COM, tomorrow is a GREAT DAY to make your purchase! The more sales we can get on DAY ONE, the better. It's like free marketing!!!

And even if you don't have the money... PLEASE HELP SPREAD THE WORD!!!

This three disk set includes 26 uncut episodes...

LEADER OF THE PACK
METAMORPHOSIS
LEGION
A LIGHTHOUSE IN THE SEA OF TIME
THE MIRROR
SILVER FALCON
EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
VOWS
CITY OF STONE, PART ONE*
CITY OF STONE, PART TWO*
CITY OF STONE, PART THREE*
CITY OF STONE, PART FOUR*
HIGH NOON
OUTFOXED
REVELATIONS
DOUBLE JEOPARDY
UPGRADE
PROTECTION
THE CAGE
THE PRICE
AVALON, PART ONE
AVALON, PART TWO
AVALON, PART THREE
SHADOWS OF THE PAST
HERITAGE
KINGDOM

These episodes introduce Angela and the Avalon Clan, Thailog, Puck, Halcyon Renard, the Uprgraded Pack and the Illuminati. Depth and history are added to Xanatos, Fox, Demona and Macbeth. There's action, comedy, romance, history, Shakespeare and more...

The disks include a commentary track by myself, Frank Paur and Michael Reaves on all four parts of City of Stone. Plus a mini-documentary about making Season Two that includes myself, Frank, Michael, Thom "Lexington" Adcox, Jeff "Brooklyn" Bennett, Bill "Broadway" Faggerbakke, Brigitte "Angela" Bako and Edward "Hudson" Asner. AND I introduce every episode, hopefully without too much embarrassment!

So buy a set! Give it as a holiday gift to friends and loved ones! And SPREAD THE WORD!!!!

Thanks,

Greg Weisman

Fraternal Cross-Promotion!

I am pleased to announce the release of "The Best of Dodger Thoughts," a
325-page book featuring the top selections from my brother's Dodger Thoughts website (www.dodgerthoughts.com). Since 2002, Dodger Thoughts has been the leading independent source online for information and insights on the Los Angeles
Dodgers. Now, the best pieces have been compiled in print, with sections on:

--The 2002-2005 seasons
--Dodger history
--Key Dodger players
--Dodger atmosphere: the stadium, the fans, the broadcasters
--Coaching and managing
--Ownership
--The GM's Office
--Baseball and writing
--Plus, a foreword by longtime Dodger broadcaster Ross Porter

Besides providing immediate enjoyment this offseason, "The Best of
Dodger Thoughts" will have long-term worth as a historical resource: a
you-are-there record of an important chapter in Dodger history, as well as
the first printed compendium of blog coverage of the Dodgers. For longtime
readers of the website as well as those who have never seen it, "The Best of
Dodger Thoughts" will be well worth owning. 

"The Best of Dodger Thoughts" can be ordered though this link at Lulu.com -
http://www.lulu.com/content/164688 - or by visiting the Dodger Thoughts
website.

Thanks ...

SERENITY

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

Let's end the suspense right away...

I LOVED THIS MOVIE! I THOUGHT IT WAS GREAT.

But it made me sad, and not just for the obvious reasons that two great characters died... although their deaths are certainly major contributors to the overall cause of my sadness.

But I'm sad because in order to make this film an event -- a motion picture -- in its own right and not just a glorified episode of the series... Joss had to blow a big chunk of the Firefly wad. Yes, the tale was great, but wouldn't it have been even greater spread out across anywhere from 7 to 29 more episodes of the series?

Joss, who's next project is the WONDER WOMAN feature, seems to have graduated to movies. And my overall response is... keeping in mind I'm a huge worshipful fan... what a WASTE!!! This is a guy BORN for series television. For taking characters and building them through nuance and familiarity and suprise. For taking universes and creating them, populating them with myth and incident and humanity. For taking stories and weaving them into intricate, surprising and satisfying tapestries.

In movies -- at least in good ones -- you can get a taste of this. But just a taste. In series television, all this stuff is JOB ONE.

So where's my next FIREFLY/SERENITY fix to come from?

And please don't try to tell me there weren't more stories to tell with Book or Wash. And how will those stories come to light now?

It was a great movie. But... I am left with overwhelming sadness over what an even GREATER series it was and would have been.

Quibbles:

The rescue of River doesn't seem to match up with the version we had been told before. I thought others freed River and deposited her with Simon. I didn't think he was a one-man rescue squad.

I found Simon's deactivation word to be a bit hard to buy. If he knew that word, why wouldn't he have used it in "Objects in Space" when she was waving that gun around? It's not like he knew he'd have to save it for a real massacre.

Some of the extra production values in the film got on my nerves a bit. I'd have rather had MORE old west and less extra goop. But that's just me being a curmdudgeon, I suppose.

If you're the Operative, and you know Serenity's "havens" do you really scorch the Earth... leaving them with no place to go that you're aware of? Or do you use that manpower to stake out these locations... and THEN attack? At this point, he had to know that taking this action would only piss Mal off more.

And what was the point of the Operative killing off River's "doctor" at the beginning. Sure, the dude slipped up. But he posed no threat. And one has to assume that his mind -- pride aside -- presented a valuable resource. So what exactly are we punishing him for? Frankly, the real reason to kill him is to (a) establish the Operative and his own sin of pride and (b) to set up Mal's non-death at the end.

The movie was called Serenity, but she felt like way less of a character in this then in nearly ANY episode of the series. (Although I never liked the title FIREFLY for the series. Too obscure.)

I had hoped to see a bit more of the wonderful population of the series. At the VERY least the guys with the blue gloves. But I guess they all had to make way for what was there.

When Book died, I was totally bummed. I kept thinking, why didn't he go with them to Inara. Then he could have returned to Haven to find the massacre and survived it. I felt like there was so much more to get from his character. I hated to see him go.

When Wash died, I was stunned. I hadn't necessarily expected either of these characters to die. I had done a fairly good job at NOT spoiling things for myself. But the death of Book seemed to qualify as the sacrificial lamb. Like the death of the Magus in "Avalon". So I was really caught off guard by Wash's death.

Now don't get me wrong. They were both good deaths for the characters. Heroic and with strength. Not cheap in any way. And structurally right and sound.

But ... well... see above...

So how exactly did those blast doors open? The Reavers were not supposed to be able to open them from their side. I'm perfectly willing to buy the idea that River is smart enough to over-ride whatever Kaylee had done and open them herself. But when they open, she's standing there in her super-hero bleeding-axe pose - not even standing next to the control panel. So who opened those doors?

Was there always a co-pilot's seat? I don't remember ever seeing that before the moment we see River sitting there.

So do we think that Zoe is pregnant?

Also saw Wallace & Grommit this weekend. Did anyone else notice the bit of song from Wathership Down?

Hamilton Camp, R.I.P.

I read today that Hamilton Camp passed away.

I first met Mr. Camp, when I story edited the last five episodes of DuckTales. Hamilton was the voice of GizmoDuck.

We worked together again on Starship Troopers, where he played the "Old Ranger".

More recently, I'd seen him live on stage in a number of productions with Glendale's "A NOISE WITHIN" Theater company. He played Sir Andrew Aguecheek in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, and he was hilarious.

And it doesn't seem that long ago, that I ran into him in Larchmont Village and introduced him to my two kids. We didn't know each other well, but he was always gracious, professional... and FUNNY as hell.

Godspeed, Hamilton.

BUFFYVERSE STATS

BUFFYVERSE STATS

TOP 40 CHARACTER LIST:

Once AGAIN, I'm wasting my semi-valuable time (and hopefully yours) to bring you the latest update in my attempt to catalogue the most significant characters in the BUFFYVERSE. The first three previous CUMULATIVE updates covered the first, second and third seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. After that, the task became more complicated as Buffy's fourth season aired simultaneously (day for day, literally) with the first season of Angel. Since a normal season of Buffy (the first excepted) consists of 22 episodes, the fourth of Buffy added to the first of Angel totaled 44 episodes, and that seemed too long to wait for an update. So the fourth update took 11 eps from each series. Now, this - our fifth update - completes the tally for Buffy S4 & Angel S1. (I think from now on, I'm only going to do an update at the end of each season, so this one'll have to hold you all over for awhile. And you won't see that mid-season update reflected in the rankings below. Just made life too complicated.)

As you may recall, I've tried to inform this subjective task with an objective formula. I tried, as much as possible, not to allow my knowledge of future events to influence the current standings. Still, I won't deny that subjectives have played a role. It's hard not to take extra notice of a character you know is going to be important later. And ties were broken based entirely on subjective criteria - i.e. my personal preference.

The idea behind a cumulative tally is to mimic the original experience of following the Buffyverse. It's a horse race. Some of the winners and losers are decidedly predictable. Others are a bit surprising - in fact in one specific instance, surprising enough that it's become absolutely clear that my system must be flawed. I've since dreamt up a new system, but it's too late to implement it. Someday, LONG after I've finished this first survey (but ONLY if I prove truly insane), I might just start over and see what the results are with OBJECTIVE SYSTEM 2.0. But for now - assuming you haven't nodded off - you're stuck with system one.

I have a list of ALL the characters that have appeared in both series up to this point. It's so long (including everything from leads to ridiculously minor characters) that I haven't even bothered to count how many there are. But my list of MOST significant currently tops out at 112 characters.

But I think listing the top 40 is both pleasantly traditional… and plenty. Or largely. I just want to note a few characters introduced (or revisited) in this set of episodes, who haven't yet or never will make the top 40, but whom I believe are memorable enough to merit honorable mention.

Starting with…

#111 & 112 - Ilsa & Inga. The Swedish twins that Jonathan is bedding in "Superstar". Sex objects? Sure. But it's a great visual joke.

#110 - Vanessa Brewer Weeks. The Blind Assasin from Angel. She was pretty cool. A Daredevil rip-off, but a cool twist on it.

#106 - Scientist #1. Just giving credit for continuity, in that they used the same actor to play a generic Initiative scientist in multiple episodes.

#105 - Roy. Same deal. You need a college student, why not use Roy, who we've met before?

#103 - Mr. Ward. The Washington Bigwig who shuts down the Initiative.

#102 - Mason. You need a college student, why not use Mason, whom we've met before?

#101 - Colonel George Haviland. The first guy to take charge of the Initiative after Maggie Walsh dies. He's mysteriously replaced in a later episode with a new actor playing a new Colonel serving the exact same function… but I can't resist including him here because he was played by John Saint Ryan, who voiced King Arthur in GARGOYLES.

#97 - Miss Kitty Fantastico. Willow & Tara's kitten. Whatever happened to her?

#91 - Angel's Dad. Seminal, even in death.

#86 - Alanna Gunn. Seminal for Gunn.

#83 - Adam's Follower. A vampire who basically got forgotten.

#82 - Reporter. Again, just some points for consistently using the same person.

#81 - Weatherby. Part of the Watcher Hit Squad that was chasing Faith and crossed over from Buffy to Angel.

#80 - Smith. Ditto.

#78 - Ryan. Little kid with no soul, who was more dangerous than the demon who possessed him. A chilling idea.

#76 - Jeera. Other-dimensional freedom fighter and potential love interest for Angel. I remember thinking she'd reappear some day. But nope.

#71 - Detective Clark - Recurring Buffy Police Detective (second in a series) who made a bit of an impression. Again, I thought we'd see more of this guy, but the idea of the cops of Sunnydale beginning to catch on just never, well, caught on… perhaps because that WAS a semi-important part of the Angel series.

#61 - Holland. Not one of the Senior Partners at Wolfram & Heart, but as close as we get. He'll become more important next season.

#54 - Collins. Head of the Watcher Hit Squad chasing Faith.

#53- David Navitt. Nerdy billionaire on Angel.

#52 - Angleman. The #2 Initiative scientist who gets zombified by Adam.

#49 - Colonel McNamara. The Initiative Colonel who stuck… until he bought the farm.

And before we start, a fond Top 40 farewell to Scott Hope, Deputy Mayor Finch, Whistler, Kendra and Devon.

AND NOW THE TOP 40
Abbreviations for previous rankings…
Y1 - Buffy Season 1.
Y2 - Buffy Season 2.
Y3 - Buffy Season 3.
NR - Not Ranked that year.

#40 - Principal Flutie. Y3: 24. Y2: 16. Y1: 9. The original Principal of Sunnydale High is still just hanging on.

#39 - Larry. Y3: 25. Y2: 35. Y1: NR. A former bully, he became one of the White Hats and was killed by the Mayor. Still dead, so he basically peaked last year (while we was still alive), falling 14 slots to 39.

#38 - Ethan Rayne. Y3: 29. Y2: 22. Y1: NR. Giles former friend still looms larger in my memory than his ranking suggests. But he's fallen nine to 38.

#37 - Charles Gunn. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Gunn is #37 with a bullet. Making a big, fast impression in just a few key episodes at the end of the last season of Angel. I'm assuming that they knew they wanted to make him a regular in Season Two, but him getting all the way into the top 40 this quickly came as a surprise.

#36 - Percy. Y3: 26. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Percy, an obnoxious basketball player from Sunnydale High, drops 10 rankings in a year, but is still hanging on to the top 40 thanks to the fact that he humiliated Willow at a Sunnydale U Frat Party. He's still not even vaguely interesting as a character. But he keeps showing up.

#35 - Parker Abrams. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. The second guy that Buffy ever slept with. A real jerk. But he was pretty important this one season.

#34 - The Annointed One. Y3: 19. Y2: 14. Y1: 10. The Master's mini-me drops 15 rankings this season. Odds are after next one, he'll be a mini-memory.

#33 - Mr. Trick. Y3: 18. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. The Mayor's #2 man also drops 15 rankings. Not a good season for early season second bananas.

#32 - Amy. Y3: 27. Y2: 23. Y1: 17. Her continuing appearances as a Rat - including one brief but hilarious transformation back to human, are keeping her in the top 40, but she still falls 15 rankings.

#31 - Lilah Morgan. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. #31 with a bullet for this Wolfram & Hart attorney. She's a comer.

#30 - Willy the Snitch. Y3: 21. Y2: 24. Y1: NR. I thought that maybe Willy was gone for good, but he made one more appearance in a nice Buffy/Riley/Willy scene. He still falls, but only nine rankings. Less precipitous than some.

#29 - Lindsey McDonald. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. #29 with a bullet for this Wolfram & Hart attorney. Another comer. Is it a coincidence that both Lindsey and Lilah have the initials LM?

#28 - Darla. Y3: 23. Y2: 23. Y1: 11. Hard not to slip a bit (5 rankings) when you're a vampire who's been staked. But Darla's poised for a bit of a comeback, as flashbacks and the last Season 1 episode of Angel indicated.

#27 - The Master. Y3: 16. Y2: 13. Y1: 8. Buffy's first Big Bad appeared in a shortened first season, so has fallen (11 rankings) out of the top twenty.

#26 - Adam. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Buffy's latest Big Bad zips past the Master, but not (thankfully) past the Mayor.

#25 - Harmony. Y3: 20. Y2: 26. Y1: 18. Harmony keeps bouncing back and forth. She's dropped five rankings, but she's still up there.

#24 - Jonathan. Y3: 17. Y2: 19. Y1: NR. Jonathan drops seven rankings, but his single appearance this season in "Superstar" was darn memorable.

#23 - Kate Lockley. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Angel's cop friend started out as a potential love interest, but has become something closer to an enemy.

#22 - Graham. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Riley Finn's second best friend climbed this ladder on the basis of screen time, I guess.

#21 - Forrest. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Riley's best buddy at the Initiative and the Fraternity at least has the virtue of being cyber-demonized into a Second Banana.

#20 - Tara. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Tara appropriately climbs halfway up the top 40 in her first season.

#19 - The Mayor. Y3: 14. Y2: 40. Y1: NR. The Mayor loses 5 rankings. Probably the best of the big bads - unless you count Angelus. But it's inevitable with two series to see even major players like him start to fade when they're not appearing over multiple seasons.

#18 - Maggie Walsh. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. But this is just wrong. One of the things that points up a flaw in the system. It's one thing for her to be ahead of Adam. He didn't even show up until WAY into the season. But how does she jump ahead of the Mayor. You figure Maggie & Adam together might equal the Mayor. But no…

#17 - Jenny Calendar. Y3: 13. Y2: 11. Y1: 15. Still maintaining a good number. Made a deep impression.

#16 - Drusilla. Y3: 11. Y2: 8. Dru has fallen five ranks, but she's still way up there.

#15 - Doyle. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. With his midseason death, Doyle's got nowhere to go but down. But I loved this character. He was a blast. And his death really did catch me off guard. His ranking was really helped by Angel having such a small regular cast initially. It gave him a lot of screen time and story points.

#14 - Anya. Y3: 22. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Anya's admirably fills the Cordelia role, but even by the end of Season 3, she's still not a regular. But she's moved up eight rankings over last season.

#13 - Faith. Y3: 10. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Faith loses three rankings due to coma.

#12 - Principal Snyder. Y3: 9. Y2: 10. Y1: 12. Snyder falls three ranks, to equal his season one score. Pretty good for a dead guy, but he was helped by a dream appearance right out of Apocalypse Now.

#11 - Riley Finn. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Riley just misses entering the top ten. A new regular (hopscotching over Anya).

#10 - Wesley. Y3: 15. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Wesley's midseason reappearance, joining Angel's small cast allows him to rise 5 rankings.

#9 - Joyce. Y3: 8. Y2: 7. Y1: 7. Joyce has barely appeared this season, but she was so high up that she only lost one rank.

#8 - Spike. Y3: 12. Y2: 9. Y1: NR. Spike jumps 4 ranks, as he becomes a regular.

#7 - Oz. Y3: 7. Y2: 12. Y1: NR. Well, Oz is done, but he's high enough to maintain his ranking. It's all downhill from here. Still, I'm sure he'll remain in the top 40 forever.

#6 - Willow. Y3: 4. Y2: 4. Y1: 4. Maggie was a small hint, but Willow's #6 ranking absolutely DEMONSTRATES that the system is flawed. Of course, we expect Angel, now the lead of his own show, to pass Willow. And I get how Cordelia's position as Angel's Gal Friday on Angel gave her a ton of screen and story time. And Cordy was close enough to Willow, to allow her to pass our young Wicca. But how did Willow fall so far behind in the first place? How is it that she's so far behind Giles and Xander that she's vulnerable to fall two ranks?

#5 - Angel. Y3: 6. Y2: 6. Y1: 6. I'm mildly surprised that even as the Lead of his own show, Angel's still behind Cordelia, his second banana.

#4 - Cordelia. Y3: 5. Y2: 5. Y1: 5. See above. She's #2 in a tiny regular cast.

#3 - Giles. Y3: 2. Y2: 2. Y1: 2. Giles falls one rank. Still the number 3 guy, which is tops, but his Season Four fears that he has no roll in Buffy's life may have a basis in reality.

#2 - Xander. Y3: 3. Y2: 3. Y1: 3. Xander moves past Giles into the #2 spot. This doesn't surprise me… except again as it relates to Willow. How did he pass Giles and Willow doesn't? It's just counter-intuitive.

#1 - Buffy. Y3: 1. Y2: 1. Y1: 1. Duh.

Greg Guler Responds...

Hey gang...

The other day, I got the following question here...

Audra writes...

Hi Greg,
I was just wondering, how tall is Elisa? I am an 18 year old female and I am pretty tall myself. I am 5'7. And Elisa seems like a tall woman to me. I was wondering if she is as tall as me or taller. Thank you Greg!

I responded...

I don't know. It would be a good question for my CreatureComics.com partner, art director, Greg Guler. I'll ask him.

Here's Greg Guler's response:

Hey guys. Although it's never been figured out in feet
and inches, I figure she has to be at least that tall
in order for her be as tall as she is with Goliath,
and make decent eye contact.
Greg G.

So there you go. You asked Greg, and a Greg answered. All part of the service here and at CreatureComics.com.