CONvergence

Just got back from CONvergence in Minnesota. I had a great time at the convention. Met a bunch of new Gargoyles fans, signed comic books, dvds and posters and read "BLATHER" as the secret ingredient for their Iron Artist competition. FYI, "Blather" can be found at...

http://www.s8.org/gargoyles/askgreg/search.php?rid=469

Of course, I did a panel on Gargoyles, but I also had fun doing panels on writing characters, on writing subtext, on DC Comics characters in animation, on creating cartoons that aren't just for kids, on how fans can revive dead properties and even on Veronica Mars.

It's a great con. So check out their website at:

http://www.convergence-con.org/

I'd like to give particular thanks to Chris Jones, who brought me into the Convergence fold. Chris was the penciller on the Captain Atom/JLE/Gargoyles parody story ("The Flashback of Notre Dame") that I did for DC Comics all those years ago. It was great to finally meet him in person.

Special thanks also to Perrin Klumpp, their guest guru and to guest liason Mark Tempel, for putting up with me all weekend and to guest liason Lex Larson, who picked me up at the airport and hung out with Mark and I when she could.

I also had a great time with fellow guests Bridget Landry and Ken Hite and the rest.

Thanks also to Windy, Tim, Pat, Ishmael, Jeremy, Melissa, Melissa, Mandy, Anton, Jenni, Amanda, Eryn and everyone else who made it such a great experience.

WOW! Two great cons in a row. I'll be at the San Diego ComicCon in a couple weeks, but there's almost no way that monstrosity could ever be as much fun as the Gathering and Convergence combined.

Finally, I'm now in love with Jucy Lucy. And Soylent Theater is People.

Chapter  LXI : "The Reckoning"

Time to ramble...

[Disclaimer: I watched this episode back in January of 2006. So it's been half a year since I've seen it. At the time, I did take a few notes of things I wanted to include in the ramble. So this is what you're getting now. A somewhat abbreviated ramble, as the ep isn't as fresh in my mind as I might like.]

Chapter  LXI : "The Reckoning"
Story Editors: Brynne Chandler-Reaves and Gary Sperling
Story: Lydia C. Marano
Teleplay: Gary Sperling
Director: Dennis Woodyard

The title, I believe, is one of my one-word numbers.

But what strikes me the most in this episode is the number of great (and well-delivered) one-liners. Some of the best are related below. (All quotations approximate.)

DEMONA
We open with a very Batman/very proactive stakeout. Note Goliath's ongoing concern for Angela vis-a-vis Demona. I believe he sees that Angela's vulnerable to emotional pain from that source.

Demona: "Oh, but it's a very clever tin can."

Once Demona's caught, we establish that banishment was a typical garg punishment back in the day. But it's obviously not too effective in the modern world. And so we head down to...

THE LABYRINTH
We reestablish the mutates, the homeless and begin our prison scheme. Angela takes the first watch and has her first real conversation with Demona ("I'm told there's a resemblance.")

FANG
Fang is fun in this one. Some great deliveries...
"You chicks are better than soap."
"Kinky." (And yes, I'm also stunned, particularly in hindsight, that we got this word on the air.)
"How many Gargoyles does it take to screw in a lightbulb?"
"Some of my best friends are half-gargoyle, half-human babes with bad attitudes."

SEVARIUS
But Fang's got a run for his money when Sevarius is also in the episode.
"The prodigal bug returns."
"You don't want to end up with another you."

THAILOG
This last said to the true villain of this piece (amazing, when it already includes Demona, Fang and Sevarius), i.e. THAILOG. Of course, Keith has some great lines as Thailog too...

"My clan can beat your clan any day of the week."
"It would seem that the love has gone out of our relationship."
"Obedient and lovely."

ANGELA & DEMONA
Angela lays the big "I hate you." on Demona, which effects the latter much more than I believe she would have thought. It's one of the things that make Demona so wonderfully complex. She cares. She cares about everything. Even things that she tells herself she doesn't care about.

Of course, the "I hate you" is later a source of guilt for Angela, but that will be short-lived (tapestry-wise). Demona will be back in Hunter's Moon. And her plot is grandly genocidal enough to wash away any particular thoughts of three little words. For now. But in the comic, Demona and Angela will eventually return to this point... if we survive to have enough issues.

One thing to keep in mind was that we thought for a while that this was going to be the last episode of the season. (With Hunter's Moon coming out as a direct to video.) Later when, Hunter's Moon became the last three episodes of the season, we did a quick reshuffling to put "Possession" in between this and "Hunter's Moon" so that we could wonder about Demona for a little longer before seeing her again. And let Angela wonder too.

Many people have asked me why or how Angela and Goliath didn't know that Demona would survive, given what happened in "Sanctuary". But I think it's important to realize that knowledge and confidence are two different things.

CLONES
"They kinda give me the creeps." And they need to learn to "use verbs." But I kinda like them. We'll be seeing more of them in the comics, eventually.

LAST WORD
Hudson: "You'll have to do better than that." (There were some lines that we just kept using over and over again. It's a bit embarrassing, and yet episodically they just seemed to fit.)

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

GATHERING 2006 - Con Journal - Monday

GATHERING 2006 - Con Journal

My usual caveats... I meet so many people at the Gathering that I can't possibly remember all the names. I apologise. I try, believe me. Please, do not be offended if you've slipped my mind.

Monday, June 26
8:30am - Wake up.

9:15am - Staff Breakfast. Good food. OJ, Eggs Benedict, Potatos, strawberries. I sat with Cindy, Sammy, Seth, Carol, Adam and Greg.

10am - "Time Travel in the Gargoyles Universe" This was a fun panel. I discussed BACK TO THE FUTURE and SPEED III: THE LAKE HOUSE first. Discussed my made-up chestnut about the Gettysburgh Address and the classic Kill-your-own-Grandfather chestnut. We talked about Griff and the Archmage, and I even snuck in two fun anecdotes to illustrate how Free Will works.

11am - I went back to my room to begin checking out. Went to the Art Room to collect my kids' unsold pieces. Went back to my room. Checked out. Dropped stuff in my cars. Around here the Goodbyes began.

Noon - My Mug-A-Guest with Tigris, Ed, David, Cynthia, Adriana, Jonathon, Kristen and Cathie. (And I saw Liz hanging out too.)

1pm - Hosting a Gathering with Jen, GXB and Nikki. Looks like we've got serious interest from Chicago in 2008.

2pm - Closing Ceremonies. Art Show awards included a "ZOMG! Improved" ribbon for Benny. Kyt, I believe, took home Best in Show.

4pm - TGIF for an early dinner. Another huge crowd. I sat with Andrea, Tony and Greg. But there were 19 other people there.

6pm - Dead Dog Party with the ConStaff. We watched a big chunk of the G2004 raw footage that the documentary crew shot in Montreal.

8:30pm - Headed home.

Another Great Gathering. I had a total blast, as I am wont to do at these things. For those who came, I hope you had a great time too. And for those who didn't, start planning ahead now for G2007 in Pigeon Forge. Check out the website at www.gatheringofthegargoyles.com.

AND PLEASE POST YOUR CONJOURNALS HERE AT ASK GREG!!!

(Plus responses to the 1st issue of the comic!!)

GATHERING 2006 - Con Journal - Sunday

GATHERING 2006 - Con Journal

My usual caveats... I meet so many people at the Gathering that I can't possibly remember all the names. I apologise. I try, believe me. Please, do not be offended if you've slipped my mind.

Sunday, June 25
8:30am - Wake up.

9:15am - Staff breakfast. I was getting a little later everyday, but heck I showed up, so that's something, right? I didn't eat much. Just some O.J. and a couple of croissants. In general, I honestly think I ate less at this Gathering than at any previous Gathering. Not sure why. But I feel like my ConJournals of the past have basically been food diaries. And it doesn't feel that way this time.

10am - First panel of a very busy day was "Gargoyles: the Comic Book" with Dan Vado (of SLG), David Hedgecock (pencil artist), Stephanie Lostimolo (cover color artist) and Marty Lund (of CreatureComics.com). We had a bit of an adventure with the "airwalls" as the two ballrooms weren't properly set up in advance. That forced us to interrupt a church service nearby. A very pleasant guy came over during the hustle and bustle and asked what we were up to. I told him, and he said something like: "Well, we're just over here saving souls."

Moving on...

11:30am - We held a signing for the comic. Signed a bunch of DVDs too. (For a few years there it was starting to look like I had already signed every piece of Gargoyles memorabilia in existance, so it was nice to have some new product, huh?)

12pm - Next up: "Gargoyles: the Voice Acting Process" with Brigitte (Angela) Bako, Elisa (Obsidiana) Gabrielli, Morgan (Petros/Odin) Sheppard, Keith (Goliath) David and Thom (Lexington) Adcox. I meant to bill myself as Commando #2, but I think I forgot. It was a great group. I didn't have to say much unsurprisingly.

1:30pm - Another signing. This time I didn't have to sign much. But I was hardly the main attraction.

2pm - The BIG PANEL. "W.I.T.C.H." Carol and I had gathered a HUGE group of writers and voice actors, etc. for the panel. Elisa (Sarina) Gabrielli, Justin (Eric) Shenkarow, Susan (Cassidy) Chessler, Loren (Julian) Lester, Thom (Sammy) Adcox, Crispin (Sylla) Freeman, Andrew Robinson (writer), Tracy (Bess) Martin, Jon Weisman (writer), Nicole Dubuc (writer), Sam Bernstein (writer), Ginny McSwain (voice director), Candi (Irma) Milo, Liza (Hay Lin) Del Muno, Steve (Blunk) Blum, Marriane (Galgheita) Muellerleille and myself. I screened the third episode of our new season, "C is for Changes" (written by Nicole). A lively Q&A followed, and we even ran long.

3:40pm - Back into the foyer for yet another signing. By this time there really wasn't anything for me to sign. Said hello to the Ben Ten people as they were coming in for their panel.

4pm - Auction. I just peaked in. Gorebash bought my jacket, which pleased me. He's a pal, so I was glad to see it go to him. Over at the art show, Erin bid on and won a shirt from Jade, and Benny bid on and won a piece by Cindy.

6pm - Banquet. A tasty buffet. Sat with Beth, Erin, Benny, Caitie and her dad, Abbie and her dad and one more guy whose name escapes me at the moment.

7:30pm - The Banquet Q&A with myself, Crispin, Thom, Brynne, Michael, Wendy, Dennis Woodyard, Frank Paur, Patrick Archibald (storyboard artist), Sam and Bob Kline.

9pm - Masquerade. Quantity of costumes was lower than average, but the quality was VERY high. The judges were myself, Thom, Sam, Michael, Brynne and Wendy.

Awards:

KIDS CANON
1. Fox as Lex.
2. Abbie as Katharine.
3. Becca as Hyena.

KIDS ORIGINAL
1. Benny as the Garghoul.
2. Fusion Demon as Celestial Elf.
3. Erin as La Belle Morte.

ADULT CANON
1. Victoria as Puck.
2. Brenda as Goliath.

ADULT ORIGINAL
1. Doug as Onyx.
2. Pearl as Pearl.
3. Shara as Gene Simmons.

Cutest Couple went to Thom and Tony, who also won the Thom Adcox Memorial Award for squeezing himself into a kids Chernabog costume.

Revel & Spacie got 2nd place for Cutest couple for playing Brod & Salli.

The Gorelisa Award went to Jason as Ines. (VERY impressive.)

We gave a 1/2 award to Jade for coming as Inuyashi 1/2.

And finally BEST IN SHOW went to a very impressive SET costume and Lance.

Later, there was some dancing and singing, but a number of people wanted to continue the Blue Mug from the night before. So Thom & Michael and I sat down in a corner for that.

12:15am - We ended it, and I went back up to my room.

2am - Lights out.

TO BE CONCLUDED...

Tune in tomorrow for my further adventures in Valencia...

(AND POST THOSE CONJOURNALS!!!)

GATHERING 2006 - Con Journal - Saturday

GATHERING 2006 - Con Journal

My usual caveats... I meet so many people at the Gathering that I can't possibly remember all the names. I apologise. I try, believe me. Please, do not be offended if you've slipped my mind.

Saturday, June 24

8:30am - Wake up. I actually got 7.5 hours sleep that night, which is stellar for me.

9am or thereabouts - I made it downstairs for the Staff Breakfast of O.J., eggs, bacon & croissants.

Shortly thereafter, Beth, Benny and Erin arrived. So I got them checked in, before heading off to...

10am - Auditions. The final round.

11:30am - Casting. Once again, Jen, Thom and myself had an embarrassment of riches to choose from. We went up to my room, and went through the forms and our notes. Relatively small cast this time, so some great people got left out. Hope that doesn't discourage them from trying again.

12:15pm - After posting the cast lists both in front of Ballroom D and at the Reg Desk, I hurried over to the fan panel that most interested me: "Gargoyles Physiology, Psychology & Sociology." Christine and Jade were leading the panel. It was a fun discussion. I would have loved to have stayed longer, but I was just diving in between casting and my next pro panel, so I couldn't linger.

12:30pm - My first real pro panel of the con: "Gargoyles: the Development Process". I was joined by our original Art Director Bob Kline (inspirational designer of David Xanatos), our second Art Director Dave Schwartz (inspirational designer of Brooklyn, Lexington and Broadway), Gary Krisel (former president of Walt Disney Television Animation) and Michael Reaves (head writer and story editor). I played an earlier version of the pitch narrated by Jim Cummings. I ran through the basics of developing the show (with stray commentary from the other panelists here and there), and then we opened it up to questions from the audience. It was a lively discussion. Even I learned a few behind the scenes things from Gary about what was going on in upper management (very upper: Michael Eisner & Jeffry Katzenberg upper) that helped us keep Gargoyles alive despite two passes.

2pm - The first panel segued directly into the second. Michael and I stayed in our seats. We were joined by Brynne Chandler (story editor) and Jay Fukuto (former head of Current Programming at Disney). We talked about, well, writing the episodes. Duh. Once again, I ran through our basic process, and then we opened things up for another lively Q&A.

3:30pm - We gathered our cast together to rehearse the Radio Play. This is generally a closed rehearsal, but a number of people wanted to sit in (including my son Benny and Michael Reaves). I tried to discourage this, and I think I scared Richard Pini with my intentionally (and supposedly comedic) over the top banishment. Wendy Pini assured me that she explained the situation to her husband, so I hope he forgives me. The rehearsal didn't take long. So I gave the cast some time off.

5pm - The Radio Play performance. This year we were doing an adaptation of "The Mirror" (written by Lydia C. Marano and originally story edited by Brynne Chandler Reaves).

Ladies and Gentlemen, the 2006 Gathering Players...

Keith David as Goliath
Jennifer Anderson as Demona
Mallory Reaves as Puck
Abbie Sulik as Elisa
Crispin Freeman as Hudson
Thom Adcox as Lexington
Zach Baker as Brooklyn
Joshua Poole as Broadway
Eric Tribou as Bronx
Laurean Leigh as Burglar #1
Erin Weisman as Burglar #2
Susan Scoggins as Gargoyle #1
Stephanie Scoggins as Gargoyle #2
Fox Anderson as Gargoyle #3
Lanny Fields as the Security Guard

with myself as narrator and Adam Leigh and Jenny Baker understudying.

I think, if I do say so myself, that the performance went quite well.

After the show, Beth, Erin, Benny and myself drove out to Vic Cook's house for a small barbecue get-together. Dave Schwartz provided much of the food. His barbecue sauce was to die for. I'm sure I won't remember everyone who was there, but I'll try... Vic and his wife Sonia, Kevin Hopps, Kuni Bowen and her two daughters, Tad Stones and his daughter, Phil Weinstein and his family, Bob Kline, Carol Wagner, Wendy Pini, Crispin & Izzy and Gary Krisel. There was Tri-tip, ice cream cake, sushi, hot dogs, chips and dip, oatmeal cookies. I was stuffed.

9:30pm - Beth dropped me back off at the hotel, before heading home with the kids. I chilled for a bit in my room. Changing shirts to something more appropriate for what was to follow...

10pm - Time for the Blue Mug. I was joined by Thom, Crispin and Keith. The room was PACKED. There were blue moments, but it was neither the bluest nor the least blue mug we've ever had. Keith sang a bit. We all joked around. Answered some questions. I revealed that I was a robot. The usual. Then around 11pm, I told a story about working in Hollywood... demonstrating what I'd like to have done in the situation by standing up on a chair and mock screaming at invisible studio executives.

So of course, we were kicked out of the consuite for making too much noise.

Mugus Interruptus.

Whoops. My bad.

We tried going down to one of our banquet rooms, but it was locked, and the security guard wouldn't let us congregate in the foyer in front of that room. We dispersed, but a few of us went to the bar until THAT closed down at 12:15am.

So I headed back to my room.

3:15am - Lights out.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Tune in tomorrow for my further adventures in Valencia...

(AND POST THOSE CONJOURNALS!!!)

GATHERING 2006 - Con Journal - Friday

GATHERING 2006 - Con Journal

My usual caveats... I meet so many people at the Gathering that I can't possibly remember all the names. I apologise. I try, believe me. Please, do not be offended if you've slipped my mind.

Friday, June 23nd
7:30am - Woke up, giving me about 2.5 hours sleep for the night (after a number of bad night's sleeps earlier that week).

9am - I think I shocked the staff by arriving more or less on time to the staff breakfast. (Traditionally, I sleep through it.) I had potatos, Fresh OJ (which I love), french toast and bacon. But, man, I was tasting that breakfast for hours.

I do want to take time to praise the amazing staff of this year's con. Sort of an all-star team of past con chairs and staffers... or as Jen liked to call them, the Dream Team. I'll try to list them all here...

Jennifer L. Anderson - Con Chair
Patrick Toman - Vice Con Chair

Greg Bishansky - Assistant to promotions
Karine Charlebois - Volunteer Coordinator
Seth Jackson - Promotional Coordinator
Cindy Kinnard - Art Show & Masquerade Coordinator
Kythera - Official Lackey
Laurean Leigh - Program & Website Coordinator
Stephanie Lostimolo - Graphics Designer
Christine Morgan - Anthology, Contest & Fan Panel Coordinator
Tim Morgan - Dealer's Room & Auction Coordinator
Scott Sakai - A/V Coordinator
Carol Wagner - Guest Coordinator

And Rob, M.I.A. for the con itself, but otherwise a year-long staffer who kept us on "TOPIC" at our on-line meetings.

Plus a number of great volunteers, people who just pitched in. I felt that this was one of the smoothest run cons I'd ever been to.

APPLAUSE FOR THEM ALL!!!!

After breakfast, I helped carry stuff down to registration.

10am - Went to the Art Room to put Erin & Benny's art panel up. Browsed the other art that was there...

Finally got my first look at "Gargoyles #1: Nightwatch" the new comic. Dan Vado of SLG, who, with Joe Nakamura, was setting up his table in the dealers' room gave me a copy. It was great to finally have it in my hand. Real. Solid. I was thrilled. I realize it isn't perfect, and I know the hardcore fans are probably impatient to get to issue #3, when we enter into a new arc of stories, but I'm still ridiculously proud of the thing. I think David Hedgecock's work is passionate and dramatic, and getting better all the time. I love how Will Terrell's work enhances David's. And the cover by Greg Guler and Steph Lostimolo is just stunning. Thanks to all of them and to Dan and Joe and Jen de Guzman (our editor) and Marty Lund of creaturecomics.com. I do hope all the fans buy a copy or two, but more than that I'd love it if they SPREAD THE WORD about the comic. Don't assume that people know the thing is out there (same with the DVDs and the Gathering too for that matter).

I'm not just talking about word of mouth, though that's great. But I'd love to see each hard core fan take responsibility for finding a way to reach a thousand people. (And I'm only half-kidding.) No, not all of those people will be buying our product, but that's the numbers we need to reach in order to get the numbers we need. Go to conventions. Go on the net to places we haven't thought of. Check out complimentary fandoms and let them know. Nearly everyone I meet at the con has a story about wearing a garg t-shirt or something and having someone say, "Hey, I really liked that show." But they don't know about the comic, DVD or conventions. Those are the people we need to reach. And sure, it would be great if Disney spent some advertising dollars, but it's really not going to happen. So if as fans, you want to see more comics and another DVD release, SPREAD THE WORD.

Specifically, at this con, I heard a LOT of anecdotal stories about the comic already being sold out at individual comic book stores. Which is great, of course. BUT.... The two questions I always wonder about are (1) how many copies were ordered in the first place and (2) now that it's sold out are they ordering more? A lot of stores low-ball their orders (because they've been burned before) and when they sell out, they feel pleased that they guessed right about how many copies to order. They don't necessarily think to order more once they sell out, and if the comic isn't on the shelf, then most people won't know to buy it. So talking to retailers is another VERY helpful tack.

But enough of the sales pitch... back to the ramble...

I spent some time talking to Dand and Joe of SLG, but Si needed a ride to Kinkos to print out some missing Mug-A-Guest sign up sheets. So we hopped in the P.T. Cruiser and took off. When we got back, I popped into a few panels, making a cameo at the Con Virgin Panel and then catching the tail end of Thom & Crispin's Voice Acting Workshop, which was very cool and hi-tech.

3pm - Next up were our first round of Auditions. It was me, Jennifer Anderson and Thom Adcox (i.e. the usual suspects), though a bored Michael Reaves sat in and observed for a while. We had some amazing people this year, but unfortunately one of the smallest casts to cast that we've had in a while, made the smaller because we had Thom, Keith David and Crispin Freeman already slotted for three of the fifteen roles.

5pm - Opening Ceremonies. Always fun. Very good energy in the room this year. Which was necessary, because the thing -- to me at least -- seemed kinda endless. Not that I'm complaining. We did have a lot of new people, for whom everything I have to show is new -- and I gave everyone else the chance to bolt when my turn came. But most stuck around. I guess it's tradition. And I do feel like I had more energy than in the last couple of years. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Mai Li (I hope I'm spelling that right) got the Fan Guest of Honor Award, which she thoroughly deserves. Mai was conchair of the very first Gathering in Manhattan in 1997. Not just the conchair, really but the only staff member too. She basically all but did it all herself. (Burned her out so bad, we haven't been able to get her back to a Gathering again until this year.) Without Mai, there'd be no Gathering. And I wouldn't be a part of this fandom. I have always credited Chris Rogers, Eric "Gorebash" Tribou and Mai Li as the three people who introduced me to the fans. We've been feeding off each other ever since. ;)

Nikki "Y2Hecate" Owens got up to pimp G2007 in Pigeon Forge, Tenessee. Nikki, the new conchair, is already way ahead of the game. They've got a date (JUNE 22-25) and a low cost/high quality hotel. So let me do a little pimping too here. Register NOW!!! The cost is pretty darn cheap in these early months, and the more money that comes in early the better the con will be. Walk-ins are great. I'm not knocking them, but walk-ins don't pay for guests and activities, because that's money that the con can't count on. Small money sooner is worth more than Large money later. Just a fact. Of course, to be intentionally repetitive the main thing you can do is SPREAD THE WORD!!!!!!

Anyway, the staff was introduced, and then we watched a bunch of music videos. They were all pretty cool. Of course, since everyone's working independently, they have no way of knowing that they're all going to duplicate a bunch of footage. But I still enjoyed seeing them. An ironic "Can you feel the love" featuring Demona and Macbeth pounding on each other was a highlight. The "Beauty and the Beast" one for Elisa and Goliath was like shooting fish in a barrel, but I was a sucker for it. And Jen's video "Wake Me Up" I think it was called, which opened Opening Ceremonies was VERY cool and eventually one first place in the Music Video contest.

Then it was my turn. I talked about the comic, G2007 and the DVDs. At this time, Buena Vista Home Entertainment has not scheduled Gargoyles Season Two, Volume Two for release. The short and simple truth is that Volume 1 did not sell enough copies. The ONLY remedy is to find a way to sell more. As always, I'd love it if the fans bought copies, but I'd NEVER ask anyone to spend money they don't have or need for things like food/shelter/education/etc. Frankly, as I've said many times, if every single hardcore fan bought ten copies our sales would still be mediocre. What I need from the hardcore fan is for each and everyone to find creative ways to SPREAD THE WORD!!! (Sense a theme, yet?) We did a more effective job of this on the Season One set. Now Season Two costs more, I know. But that only means we need to reach out to even MORE people, to compensate for those who bought Season One, but can't afford S2V1. Only a percentage of those who know about the DVD will buy it. But the more people who know, the greater the chance that we'll reach the sales threshold that Disney feels we need to convince them to release S2V2. Now... a lot of people have asked why Disney isn't promoting the DVD. But ultimately the answer doesn't matter too much. They aren't. That's not money they're prepared to spend. So we need to do it. We need to SPREAD THE WORD!!!

Next up, I showed all the old standards. The original pitch, the promo, the preview, the New Olympians and Dark Ages pitches, the Bad Guys Leica Reel and finally "The Last" -- a never-produced episode of Team Atlantis featuring Marina Sirtis as Demona, Cree Summer as Kida, Frank Welker as Obie and Sheena Easton as Fiona Canmore. The fans have taken the original voice tape and the tiny bit of storyboarding that was completed and are trying to make the episode themselves. We have a little more picture every year. If you're interested in helping out, contact Vashkoda in the Station Eight Gargoyles Comment Room.

Opening Ceremonies finally came to a close, and I went to dinner with Wendy Pini, Michael Reaves, Brynne Chandler, Crispin, Izobel, Thom, Jamie, Lexy, Marty and Kiffin. Unfortunately, the restaurant couldn't seat us all together, and Marty, Lexy and Kiffin were semi-abandoned at another table. (Sorry, guys, really.) The Japanese food was good (California Roll, Miso Soup, salad, rice, shrimp and vegetable tempura, beef teriaki). More importantly, I got a chance to talk to Wendy Pini. Wendy, the creator of Elfquest, as it turns out, is a big Gargoyles fan. And I've been a fan of hers for longer than either of us cared to admit. She was extremely charming, and we really hit it off. Yeah, yeah, mutual admiration society. <YAWN> I know. But it does raise an interesting point. Gargoyles. Elfquest. If you like one, you might like the other. (After all, I like both and so does Wendy.) And yet before Wendy contacted the constaff a few days before the con, it never occured to any of us to try to win Elfquest fans over to Gargoyles or vice versa. So what other FANDOMS are there out there that we're not reaching out to. I don't know. But I need all of you to start thinking about it and SPREAD THE WORD!!!

When we got back to the hotel, a few of us headed up to the con suite to hang. (Thom stopped off at his room and promised to meet us up there.) But when we got to the consuite, they were on the verge of closing down. So everyone else booked, and I waited in the suite for Thom (who never showed up). Still, I got to have a real nice talk with Mai, Karine, Patrick and one other person, whose name is just escaping me at the moment. (Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!)

Midnight... Karine headed to her room, and Patrick was ready to crash, so I left for my room.

1am - fortunately, I was actually tired. And turned off the lights, and pretty much went right to sleep.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Tune in tomorrow for my further adventures in Valencia... and to find out how many more times Greg can write "SPREAD THE WORD" into his ramblings...

(AND POST THOSE CONJOURNALS!!!)

GATHERING 2006 - Con Journal

GATHERING 2006 - Con Journal

Well, the con is over, and as usual, I just had an incredible time. It was so gratifying how much all the fans love the show. So here's my con journal. I hope ALL of you who attended take a few minutes to write up and post your con journals/diaries/memories/etc. here at ASK GREG. Cut and paste, my friends.

My usual caveats... I meet so many people at the Gathering that I can't possibly remember all the names. I apologise. I try, believe me. Please, do not be offended if you've slipped my mind.

Thursday, June 22nd
3pm - I didn't even bother going to the office. I packed, puttered. Watched some ALL MY CHILDREN. Said goodbye to Erin, Benny and Beth when they got home from Camp, Camp and school (respectively) and then hit the road. Listened to an unabridged book on CD version of "Pride and Prejudice" on the way to Valencia.

4pm - Arrived at the hotel and was checking in when the vast majority of the con staff approached. My room was very nice. I dropped my stuff off quickly (I had a lot of stuff) and then helped the constaff carry some boxes and bags in.

Ran some constaff errands next with Jennifer, Karine, Kyt, Seth, Cindy, Steph and Patrick all stuffed into Jen's SUV. Ate a Three Musketeers bar, which was all I had eaten that day.

7pm - Planning ahead, we made a reservation at BJs (across the street from the hotel) for 21 people. But on our way there, we found we were 25. There was some delay in setting up our tables, and the longer the delay, the more our party grew. 21, no 25, no 32, no 35. Finally, we were all seated at three tables of 12.

My table included myself, Taylor, Liz, Sean, Ckaote, Spacie, Revel, Sylvia, Kristin, Kyt, GXB and Laurean. But the group also included Lynati, Aaron, Mara, Jen, Susan, Steph, Syndey, Tim, Arno, Norcumi, Quindar, Christine, Karine, Steph L., Becca, Cindy, Nikki, Jade, Seth, Patrick and Fox. (At least.) I had a great dinner (French Dip, baked potato) and Siryn and I shared an apple crisp with ice cream for dessert.

After that, it was up to the consuite to fold t-shirts and stuff envelopes w/Nikki, Steph, Cindy, Jen, Patrick, Seth, Greg, Tim, Christine, Karine, Kyt, Patrick, Laurean and Carol.

I don't think I've ever seen the constaff so organized as they were this year.

11:50pm - I retired to my room.

3am - Lights out.

5am - Still AWAKE! Arrggghh!!!

TO BE CONTINUED...

Tune in tomorrow for my further adventures in Valencia...

(AND POST THOSE CONJOURNALS!!!)

DUCKS IN A ROW

ASK GREG will be open up again today (Thursday, June 22) so that questions and especially G2006 CON JOURNALS can be posted. We'll stay open at least until the end of July.

In addition, Gorebash has been working on the site to allow Todd to answer some frequently asked questions for me by searching the archives. We haven't totally got the new system up and running, but the long awaited upgrade to ASK GREG is on the verge of reality here. REJOICE!!!

This should help us get through the queue MUCH faster.

But another thing that would help is still a bit of common sense on the part of posters. Try to search the FAQ or the ARCHIVES first. Ask your question here in the comment room. (And, gang, be nice to the newbies, ignorant or not.) Keep the queue as clean of garbage as possible.

And POST THOSE CON JOURNALS. Cut and paste them! It's important!!!!!

Also, post comments and questions about the new comic book that hit stores YESTERDAY (Thursday, June 21)!!! Copies of the first issue ("Nightwatch") WILL be available at the Gathering this weekend, but as Marty said, anything that can be done to encourage sales at local stores is essential.

[I realize from VERY recent personal experience that this can be frustrating. A drone at MY local comic shop was very insistent yesterday that the comic wasn't out yet. Do NOT let them tell you that. It IS out! Be persistent, insistent, but unfailingly POLITE, as it won't help the cause to alienate the guy who orders books for the store.]

This isn't simply about you guys buying a bunch of copies yourself. If EVERYONE who normally checks out ASK GREG bought ten copies, our sales would still, frankly, suck. Yes, I hope you guys support the book with cold hard cash (though as always I'd never ask you to spend money you don't have and/or need for food, shelter, education, etc.), but what I'm really COUNTING on you guys to do is spread the word. EVERYWHERE. We need to bring in a much larger crowd than simply the hard core fans. Word of mouth to individuals is great, but try to brainstorm ways to reach a lot of people on the net, at conventions, etc. Look at other rabid fandoms that might like Gargoyles, and LET. THEM. KNOW what they're missing! (Let them know.) BRAINSTORM NEW WAYS. NEW. NEW WAYS.

DO NOT TAKE FOR GRANTED that the book will just be an ongoing thing. If sales on the first couple issues suck then don't assume that there will be an issue #3. (That's how we got into the dilemma we're facing with the DVDs.)

WORD MUST BE SPREAD!!!!!

Finally, for those of you attending the Gathering this weekend in Valencia: please come up to me and say hello. Many of you know me already. Some of you have met me briefly. Some of you are strangers. I'll admit in advance that though I am fearless when I'm "On Stage," ironically I get very shy trying to conduct small talk. So be patient with me. It usually takes me two cons to remember names and three to really get to know a person. But keep trying. I have made so many great friends at these conventions, and you could be one of them. I really do want to know you all.

It's a very exciting con this year. We've got so many great guests and events planned. Panels with the creators of Kim Possible, Talespin, Darkwing Duck, Ben Ten. Jim Cummings, the voice of Dingo, Don Karnage, Darkwing Duck, Pete, Winnie-The-Pooh, Tigger, Bonkers, etc., etc., etc. will be there. Voice directors, background artists, character designers, film editors, music editors, sound effects editors, storyboard artists, and tons of VOICE ACTORS. Nearly the entire writing staff and Voice cast of WITCH will be there. (And I hope you've been watching the episodes of WITCH that I produced which have been airing on Toon Disney and ABC Family's Jetix blocks.) Frank Paur will talk about Spawn, Iron Man and Dr. Strange. Tad Stones will talk about Hellboy. Keith David, Thom Adcox and Crispin Freeman will all BE IN THIS YEAR'S RADIO PLAY!!! Brigitte Bako, the voice of Angela, is attending her first convention EVER!! (So be extra nice to her.) I'm even doing a seminar on time travel.

So stop by, have fun, enjoy... and SPREAD THE WORD. (Have I mentioned that yet? SPREAD THE WORD!!!!)

Gargoyles is BACK!!!!

Thanks,
Greg Weisman

W.I.T.C.H. Season Two Premiere

Hey gang,

Season Two of W.I.T.C.H. (i.e. the season that I story edited and produced) is currently slated to premiere with an episode I wrote ("A is for Anonymous") on Monday, June 5th, 2006 on Toon Disney (with a rerun airing on June 10th on ABC Family's Jetix block).

I'm very proud of this season of W.I.T.C.H. It's one of the best things I've worked on since Gargoyles and Roughnecks. I had a great writing staff and an incredible cast, including some familiar-to-Garg-fans voices (Kath Soucie, Thom Adcox, Ed Asner, Bill Faggerbakke, Elisa Gabrielli, Rocky Carroll, C.C.H. Pounder, among others).

If you've read the comic books or seen the solid W.I.T.C.H. first season, I think you'll truly love Season Two. If I do say so myself... IT KICKS ASS!! And if you've never seen W.I.T.C.H. before but are any kind of a fan of my work, please check us out. I promise you won't regret it.

Incidentally, we're having a LARGE W.I.T.C.H. Cast and Crew reunion at the Gathering 2006 in Valencia on Sunday, June 25th. So check that out too.

Blather

So in a tryce came the documentary depicting many a Chinese doll and also the three wise men (who may or may not have been kings) that needed sixty-two dollars between them to redeem the coupon, which offered up solace and not a little irony to anyone who hadn't yet seen the crew chewing on leaves that weren't tobacco, but might have been sage and still left horrible stains in the dirt floor of the lean-to where I left my ski poles after the overnight with the cranes that were kept on the lake domestically for the purpose of tourism but who could also speak Latin on occasion when prompted by offers of cheese or jerky -- though not just any jerky, it had to be salmon jerky -- which isn't always easy to come by when you've agreed to leave before closing on summer days in the springtime of your life, which has been known to last longer in people who aren't concerned about under-inebriation or over-intoxication or both: it's the balance which is everything when nothing else will do and no one else will participate in the extravaganza that's been created by the giant invisible flying monkey brain that is modern life in the Twenty-First Century, counting since the (approximate) birth of Christ -- as long as the lack of the number zero doesn't disturb your math sensibilities as, frankly, it does mine, though I like to think I've made peace with that and with the Skrull too, since I haven't picked up an issue of that book in about nine years, which wasn't an intentional or explicit act of cold turkey so much as a sliding away followed by a none-too-impressive epiphany -- far from the best epiphany I've ever had, say, compared to Tintagel or Lego, not to mention the birth of certain children, which couldn't get more personal than the zany antics of the semi-erotic flea circus, which used to travel the stars waiting for an invitation to land at your door, since you are the personal target of the extra-lunar probe that counted all the seahorses that Aquaman used to make the giant seahorse that he could actually ride, though no faster than he could swim himself on his own power -- and no, we're not talking Super Friends here, but something older, more primal, something that was born back when the Ptero-whatever streaked across the sky leaving behind contrails made not of smoke but of pure and unadulterated grace, a commodity in which we are sorely shy as a planet, and yet which we find in the most unlikley of places, including but not limited to contracts which dictate how we will interact with each other but do it in such a way that no normal human being could possibly wrap their heads around the language and internalize the meaning, which we declare to be progress or civilization and which is not meant as a criticism so much as a detachment of troopers marching on a hill that you wouldn't pay five ducats -- FIVE! -- to buy yourself, or so I told myself and Hamlet night after night, but now Hamlet is a Thief on FX and I haven't seen him face to face in over twenty years, which sometimes seems quite normal but sometimes blows me away, not that I want to move backwards at all, though I'm not sure that I'm truly moving forward and I'm convinced I'm not moving sideways, though the metaphor of the sidewinder is appealing, not in the cliché sense of something sinister and left-handed, though I do throw with my left hand, I can bowl just as badly with either hand, and even though I'm 42, I quite prefer to have bumpers instead of gutters, where the rain gets backed up and sometimes flows over the lip and creates leaks in the roof and drips, drips, drips down into the shiny metal bowl that's usually used for something much more pleasant like mixing cookie dough to create chewy wonderful ... well.. cookies (I mean "duh") that taste a little bit like home even when you are home and it is raining, or maybe ESPECIALLY when you are home and it is raining and the water overflows and the ocean fills and the giant seahorse peaks out and winks at the cranes, which is exactly what the documentary crew was hoping to capture when they first took out their cameras and shot the whole thing from three different angles across six different days and still never saw the giant invisible flying monkey brain, because it was, to put it mildly, invisible.

Buffyverse Stats - Year Six

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. 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. Year Five covered Buffy S5 & Angel S2. This update, Year Six, covers Buffy S6 & Angel S3.

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 202 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…

[SPOILERS]

#197 - The Prima Ballerina. Summer Glau, later of FIREFLY & SERENITY, plays a dancer trapped performing the same ballet forever until Angel and Co. save her.

#196 - The Girl in the White Room. At Wolfram & Hart. A creepy, vicious little god-girl.

#191 - Lady with a Baby, a.k.a. Mother #2. Same actress played a mom with a kid on Buffy and then later played a mom with a kid on Angel - who's secretly working for Wolfram & Hart. No guarantee that these two roles on two separate shows are actually intended to be the same character. But I like to think so.

#175 - Arney. Lorne's Demon contractor, who betrays the Angel gang to Holtz.

#167, #168, #169 - Fury #1, Fury #2, Fury #3. Very funny trio, who defy their names by being REALLY into their former sex partner Angel.

#166 - Sunny. Connor's first friend - a junkie who doesn't survive long - after he arrives back on Earth.

#165 - Doctor. In Buffy's vision of being in an asylum, this was the Psychiatrist, who tried to convince her that her entire life in Sunnydale was psychosis.

#163, #164 - Josh and Sara Harris. Xander and Anya's two kids in the false vision of the future presented to Xander at the couple's aborted wedding.

#160, #161 - Mr. & Mrs. Burkle. Fred's parents.

#154, #155 - Caroline & Sarah Holtz - Victims of Angelus & Darla that send Holtz on his centuries long quest for vengeance.

#144 - Sweet. The tap-dancing Demon that brought us BUFFY: THE MUSICAL! "Once More With Feeling…"

#130 - Doris Kroeger. The woman from Child Services, who tried to take Dawn away from Buffy.

#118 - Cave Demon. The guy who gave back Spike's soul.

#117 - Billy Blim, a.k.a. Young Man. The guy that Angel saved from a burning hell to protect Cordelia's visions from killing her. He returns later as a guy who can bring out "primal misogyny" in men. Lilah kills him.

#113, #192 - Razor and Mag. Biker Demons who appear in the opening two-parters where Buffy comes back to life.

#108, #174 - Lorraine Ross & Gina. Buffy's boss and fellow employee at the Double Meat Palace, who each appear in a couple episode.

#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.

#99, #131, #162 - Tony, Rory & Jessica Harris. Xander's Dad, Uncle & Mom, i.e. the horrible family that convinced Xander - more than the misleading vision, that he wasn't ready for marriage with Anya. Personally, I never bought this.

#75 - Clem, a.k.a. Clemmet, a.k.a. Loose-Skinned Demon. With Merl dead over on Angel, we meet a newer, sweeter sympathetic Demon. Gotta love Clem.

#70 - Rack. Willow's magic pusher.

#69 - Skip. Originally Billy Blim's hell-guard. Later Cordelia's spirit guide. I really liked Skip and have to admit I was pretty bummed when in Season Four of Angel he turns out to have been a villain all along.

#55 - Halfrek… and Cecily Addams? Halfrek is Anya's best friend, a fellow vengeance demon. But the same actress also played Spike's first love Cecily. And when Halfrek first spots Spike, she recognizes him, so…

#45, 46 - Justine Cooper and Sahjahn. The demon who brought Holtz to the present, and the obsessed woman who fell in love with Holtz because he gave her purpose.

#41 - Connor/Steven. Angel's son. He'll crack the top 40 next season.

And before we start, a fond Top 40 farewell to Willy the Snitch (now at #51), Mr. Trick (#49), Jinx (#47), Holland Manners (#44), Amy (#43) and Adam (#42).

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 1.
Y5 - Buffy Season 5/Angel Season 2.
NR - Not Ranked that year.

#40 - The Master. Y5: 34. Y4: 27. Y3: 16. Y2: 13. Y1: 8. Buffy's first Big Bad from an abbreviated first season just barely holds on to the Top 40, falling 6 rankings. And it's not at all a given that he'll hold on after next season. After all, Adam has already fallen OUT of the top 40. Adam may not have been the best of Buffy's Big Bads, but I'm still stunned that he fell out of the Top 40. (Particularly given some of the less interesting characters that ARE holding on.)

#39 - The Groosalugg. Y5: 81. Y4: NR. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Groo, the half-demon from Lorne's dimension, who fell hard for Cordelia, jumps up 42 rankings, as he joins the Angel team for half a season… before gallantly riding off into the sunset so that Cordelia and Angel can (not) hook up.

#38 - Gavin Park. Y5: 128. Y4: NR. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Gavin, in his second season as Lilah's post-Lindsey foil at Wolfram & Hart, leaps up a WHOPPING 90 positions. I really liked Gavin, but in hindsight I really should give credit for that to Daniel Dae Kim (now playing a totally different character on LOST), because other than functioning as a FOIL, he never really has any juice of his own. But he sure appears a lot.

#37 - Andrew Wells. Y5: NR. Y4: NR. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Andrew, the definite third wheel of the Season's Evil Trio (no, not Brooklyn, Lexikngton & Broadway) is #37 with a bullet, entering the Top 40 in his first season. He's very funny… and he becomes a near regular next season, so he's only just getting started.

#36 - Warren Meers. Y5: 82. Y4: NR. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Warren, who emerges as the only non-banality of evil member of the Evil Trio, jumps 46 rankings. Murderer of Katrina and Tara. Creator of Dark Willow. He winds up skinned.

#35 - Forrest Gates. Y5: 32. Y4: 21. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Riley's ex-best buddy falls three rankings. Still twice-dead, he's one of the characters that I can't believe is still holding onto a Top 40 spot. I mean Adam's fallen off, but this guy holds on… based on having a lot of screen time.

#34 - Glory. Y5: 30. Y4: NR. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Year Five's big bad drops 4 rankings. Any big bad deserves the Top 40 in my opinion. Hope she holds on.

#33 - Mayor Richard Wilkins III. Y5: 29. Y4: 19. Y3: 14. Y2: 40. Y1: NR. The Mayor also loses 4 rankings. This guy damn well better hold on.

#32 - Graham Miller. Y5: 28. Y4: 22. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Riley Finn's second best friend falls four rankings. Like Forrest, another one that I can't imagine why he's still in the Top 40.

#31 - Maggie Walsh. Y5: 27. Y4: 18. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. And Maggie, the holding place for Adam (who actually had more screen time) falls four rankings herself. Still feels like she's too high up to me, but at least I buy her being in the Top 40. But her placement above Adam, Glory, the Master, and the Mayor is one of the things that points up a flaw in the current system.

#30 - Ben. Y5: 26. Y4: NR. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Year Five's big bad's alter ego for Glory also drops four places. And here again, a flaw is pointed up. Ben ahead of Glory? And still in the Top 30? Really? Like Maggie ahead of Adam, it's about screen time, not actual character significance or OOMPH.

#29 - Jenny Calendar. Y5: 25. Y4: 17. Y3: 13. Y2: 11. Y1: 15. Jenny also falls four rankings. (Who are the four guys who pushed everyone back, huh?) Says something about Jenny's original significance that a non-regular like her is holding on for so long.

#28 - Harmony Kendall. Y5: 23. Y4: 25. Y3: 20. Y2: 26. Y1: 18. Harmony keeps bouncing back and forth, falling five (not four) rankings this year to her lowest ranking yet. Of course, this is the first year that Harmony doesn't actually appear at all.

#27 - Kate Lockley. Y5: 22. Y4: 23. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Angel's cop friend doesn't appear this season at all… and I hate to say isn't particularly missed. She falls five rankings. (Five being the new four.)

#26 - Lindsey McDonald. Y5: 21. Y4: 29. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Lindsey has hit the road, and having also been absent all season, falls five rankings too.

#25 - Daniel Holtz. Y5: NR. Y4: NR. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Captain Holtz, Angel's Big Bad for the Season (or surrogate, if you're counting Connor as the finale's final big bad) is #25 with a bullet. He's deadly and great and played by my buddy Keith Szaribajka (who played Psycho for me on MAX STEEL).

#24 - Jonathan Levinson. Y5: 33. Y4: 24. Y3: 17. Y2: 19. Y1: NR. Jonathan, the LEAST evil of the EVIL Trio, picks up the same nine rankings he lost in Year Five (when he had zero appearances). He's always welcome.

#23 - Francis Doyle. Y5: 20. Y4: 15. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Doyle falls three ranks (three, really?) and out of the top twenty.

#22 - Lilah Morgan. Y5: 31. Y4: 31. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Lilah climbs nine positions. She has some really great moments this season - and really seems to come into her own with Wesley at Season's end. But the promise of the previous season, that she would be IN CHARGE doesn't materialize as she gets a new boss.

#21 - Principal Snyder. Y5: 18. Y4: 12. Y3: 9. Y2: 10. Y1: 12. Snyder falls three ranks, dropping out of the Top 20.

#20 - Faith. Y5: 17. Y4: 13. Y3: 10. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Faith loses three rankings and doesn't appear all season. Though she holds on to the Top 20.

#19 - Drusilla. Y5: 16. Y4: 16. Y3: 11. Y2: 8. Dru doesn't appear this season and falls three rankings her own self.

#18 - Darla. Y5: 19. Y4: 28. Y3: 23. Y2: 23. Y1: 11. Darla jumps up only one ranking for her half-season on Angel. She has one of the best death scenes EVER. EVER.

#17 - Lorne, the Host. Y5: 24. Y4: NR. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Lorne becomes a de facto Angel regular and jumps up seven rankings to enter the Top 20.

#16 - Winifred "Fred" Burkle. Y5: 50. Y4: NR. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Fred leaps up 34 positions to reach the Top 20. Being a new regular gives you a boost, huh?

#15 - Riley Finn. Y5: 12. Y4: 11. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Riley makes his last appearance (as a married man no less) but still falls three rankings.

#14 - Joyce Summers. Y5: 11. Y4: 9. Y3: 8. Y2: 7. Y1: 7. Joyce appears in Buffy's Madhouse Vision, but misses out on the rest of the season, falling three slots.

THIS IS WHERE I LEFT OFF, DUDE.

#13 - Tara Maclay. Y5: 15. Y4: 20. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Tara moves up two rankings, but she'll probably peek at unlucky #13. I can't belive that I haven't seen Amber Benson in a hundred things since Buffy. She is so missed.

#12 - Daniel "Oz" Osbourne. Y5: 9. Y4: 7. Y3: 7. Y2: 12. Y1: NR. Well, Oz falls three rankings, dropping out of the Top Ten. Two years of non-appearance'll do that to ya.

#11 - Dawn Summers. Y5: 14. Y4: NR. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Dawn, on the other hand, moves up three rankings, trading places with mom Joyce.

#10 - Charles Gunn. Y5: 13. Y4: 37. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Gunn climbs 3 ranks to crack the Top 10.

#9 - Anya Kristina Emanuella Jenkins. Y5: 10. Y4: 14. Y3: 22. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Anya continues her steady climb. Only one ranking this year, but within the Top 10, that's still impressive.

#8 - Wesley Wyndam-Price. Y5: 8. Y4: 10. Y3: 15. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Wesley stalls at a still impressive #8, as he begins his turn toward the darker Wesley.

#7 - Spike. Y5: 7. Y4: 8. Y3: 12. Y2: 9. Y1: NR. And Spike likewise stalls, maintaining at #7. And there's a HUGE gap between him and #6.

#6 - Willow Rosenberg. Y5: 6. 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, particularly when this was Willow's turn to be the Big Bad. It just doesn't make sense.

#5 - Rupert Giles. Y5: 3. Y4: 3. Y3: 2. Y2: 2. Y1: 2. Giles falls two rankings, but manages to just barely hold onto the Top 5, despite missing much of the season. Willow's hot on his trail though, which seems right.

#4 - Cordelia Chase. Y5: 5. Y4: 4. Y3: 5. Y2: 5. Y1: 5. Cordelia moves back up one ranking into the #4 slot by passing Giles.

#3 - Angel. Y5: 4. Y4: 5. Y3: 6. Y2: 6. Y1: 6. Angel moves up one ranking also by passing Giles. Is Xander next?

#2 - Xander Harris. Y5: 2. Y4: 2. Y3: 3. Y2: 3. Y1: 3. Xander maintains his #2 ranking for now. Since he just saved the world from Dark Willow, maybe he's earned it.

#1 - Buffy Anne Summers. Y5: 1. Y4: 1. Y3: 1. Y2: 1. Y1: 1. Duh.

Tough Love

I've been informed that the Season Two Volume One Gargoyles DVD has not sold as many units as the Season One Gargoyles DVD did. That's not particularly surprising, since it has a higher price point. But let's be honest, the lower sales are putting the release of Season Two Volume Two at risk.

To be clear, I'm not asking anyone to spend money they don't have and/or need for things like food, shelter, education, etc. But if you've just been lazy and have been putting off buying the darn thing... well, pal, help us all out by ponying up sooner than later.

And ALL OF YOU -- PLEASE DO WHATEVER YOU CAN TO SPREAD THE WORD!!!!

It is NOT a given that Season Two Volume Two will come out!

Chapter  LX : "Turf"

Time to ramble...

Chapter  LX : "Turf"
Story Editor: Gary Sperling
Writers: Marty Isenberg & Robert N. Skir
Director: Dennis Woodyard

ANGIE
The one word title is, as usual, one of mine, referring of course to the Turf War over Manhattan between Brod & Dracon, and the "Turf War" over "Angie" between Brooklyn, Lexington & Broadway.

We were careful NOT to have Broadway call her Angie here. He used it first, in a previous episode, but by now has already grokked that she doesn't like it.

There's some fun stuff with the Trio acting like goofballs here. Brooklyn is particularly transparent.

Lex: "He's doing it again..."

There's also some awkward audio moments. Reused dialogue. (Brooklyn's "Heys") Arguments between the three of them that don't quite have the right snap. Oh, well...

But I think the ending is nice. Her "Slow down" is kinda lovely. The kisses are corny, but I think they work. And I love the reaction to her having "Fifteen Rookery Sisters back on Avalon"... (most of which she must know are spoken for by her many rookery brothers)... Brooklyn: "When do we get our world tour?"

ALL THE BUMS
In a way, this was fun for us, allowing us to gather many of our gangster characters together in one episode: Dracon and Brod of course, but also Glasses, Danforth and Pal Joey.

I do enjoy Brod. He has some great lines...

--"That was my favorite restaurant." In the middle of a turf war, and he's bummed about the food.

--And after Glasses speech tips Brod off to his NEW goal, i.e. breaking INTO jail... I love how Clancy reads, "Time to cut off the head!" (By the way, I always liked the audacity of Brod. Most people try to break OUT of jail. He breaks in.)

--When Brod says "Easy as shooting fish in barrel." I wanted the line to be "Easy as shooting Moose and Squirrel". But I was overruled. No one appreciates a good Boris Badinov reference.

--It was fun to see Brod & Dracon trying to classify the Gargs. "Bats." "Reptiles." They can't even agree on what they're fighting. Notice, no one said "Gargates".

I also like Jack Danforth a lot. Ed's great in that role. I loved Danforth in "Revelations". So I brought him back here and gave him to Brod to try to balance the character scale a bit. We tried to give Jack the word "Bum" to say as often as possible, e.g. "The Bum's in Cell Block D".

And it was fun to see the Guards punish Brod & Dracon by making them share a cell. Fun to see all dem bums jailed there.

SALLI
We used animation conventions here to try to fool the audience or at least to keep them off-balance. Because often the same actor plays multiple rolls, the mere fact that Salli Richardson was voicing Salli didn't guarantee that Salli and Elisa were the same person. (After all, Coldstone and Taurus aren't the same person. They're not even related. I PROMISE.) Plus models of humans can often be very similar. So the blonde Salli might or might not be Elisa as well. I figured some percentage of our audience would know. Some would miss it completely. Most would just be unsure... and that feeling of uncertainty was what I was counting on. Erin recognized Salli's voice as being the same as Elisa's. But neither her nor Benny were sure if it was really her or not until she took off the wig. When we had her sneak up to the Tower, they were pretty confident... and yet, and yet... I did like the garg's reactions after the fact. All sure. (To be fair, they were looking at a stranger from a distance.)

And by the way, I also liked that Salli's name is (coincidentally) nearly an acronym for Elisa. Maybe we should have spelled it "Salie".

Of course, Elisa looks damn good as a blonde. As always, it's nice to see her in different costumes.

Salli nearly gets the blame for the raid at the chop shop. She saves herself, probably literally, by mock accusing herself. Humor. Everyone's weapon of last resort.

It was also nice to see Elisa in the big sister (or young step-mother) role to Angela. I almost wish we had the time to play that more here.

Now, the question has been raised how Elisa got back on the force again, without getting in trouble after the World Tour. Here's a good part of the answer. She was needed. It's not that Chavez wasn't pissed about the disappearance. But the fact was that Chavez needed an unfamiliar face to infiltrate Brod's organization. Elisa's protracted absense wound up being useful. So Elisa gets in on a major undercover assignment that results in multiple high-profile arrests... and she's back in the fold.

It was also kind of fun to put Elisa in the uncomfortable position of having to protect Dracon.

AH, THE NINETIES...
Payphones. Salli looks wistfully at a payphone. Not that a cellphone would have helped her all that much with Brod watching her every move. But still...

Also, it seems that back in the 90s, a particle-beam weapon could shoot through the metal ceiling of a train... but NOT through seats on the same train. My wife gleefully pointed this out to me.

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

TURF OUTLINE NOTES

In preparation for my next ramble, here are my notes on the outline for Turf... written after story editor Gary Sperling turned in the episode's outline but before work began on the script itself.

You'll notice that I didn't finish my beat outline. Didn't have time. But I got the ball rolling, and Gary was so good, he didn't need me to do the rest...

WEISMAN 5-16-95

Notes on "Turf" Outline...

ANGELA
She can't be a cypher. Nor can she be naive of the Trio's attentions for very long. She can miss it for a beat, then be flattered at first. Then annoyed at their presumptions. We can play the whole range, except non-responsiveness. Also, we'd like to make her fun in her own right. New York (and even the modern world) are still very new to her. Situational excitement can distract her from the Trio's antics. But lets try and get a sense of who she is outside of the context of her parentage.

Also, I feel that we need to know who Angela will wind up with in the long run (assuming there ever is a long run). Gary Sperling and I discussed it, and came to a semi-consensus that Angela and Broadway would make a nice couple. This should NOT be objectively reflected in this episode, and Broadway can make just as big an idiot of himself as Lex and Brooklyn, but if we keep it subtle, I wouldn't mind if viewers were able to look back to this episode and say, "you know, it really started here."

BROADWAY
Independent of his romantic prospects, his appetite seemed overwhelming here. No arguments that he likes to eat. And I have no problems depicting him eating, but I don't want his appetite to ever overwhelm his common sense. No hunting for jalapeños when he's on a covert mission. Food does not become a priority when Elisa or the gargoyles' lives are at stake. And per Gary Krisel, we don't even want him to be talking self-consciously about food. It's a background element to his personality, not a defining element. He's imaginative. He likes to roll play. To have a good time. He likes pop culture. He's a fierce warrior. He's sensitive. Kind to animals. Protective. And, yes, he likes to eat.

CORRUPTION
I'd love at some point (that's that elusive long run mentioned above) to do a story about corruption. But I don't want to depict casual corruption in a story that doesn't have room to deal with it. Xanatos was in prison in "Thrill of the Hunt" and "Enter Macbeth" and got no massive privileges, except maybe a private cell. He ate prison food in the common room, etc. And he was in for a considerably lesser charge and has considerably more wealth at his disposal than Tony. So I don't want to see Dracon bribing guards or living the high life. Again, if our story was about that I wouldn't hesitate. But it's not. So prison is tough and cold and unpleasant. Dracon can have a private cell, a privilege he loses in the epilogue, and he is still running things via communication with Glasses. But he ain't having fun.

ELISA/SALLI
When the story opens, she's already in with Brod. In fact from her point of view, the first scene was designed to be the end of her undercover operation. She leads Brod to hit one of Dracon's illegal operations and the cops bust both sides. The plan is screwed up when she is knocked out before the cops arrive. She comes to later and has to improvise from that point on.

BROD
Brod's not a secret. This is an open turf war between two gangsters. Everyone, Dracon, Glasses, the cops, etc., know who the combatants are. The dilemma for the cops is that they cannot afford to let either side win. The winner would become too powerful. Putting Dracon away is embarrassing evidence of that. His operation is still in place. Elisa and the cops want to take the opportunity that the turf war presents to decimate the operations of both sides.

BEAT SHEET
ACT ONE
1. Some Dracon operation is raided by rival gangsters led by Brod. Brod's second-in-command is a woman (Elisa/Salli). Brod's men have the drop on Glasses and company, but "Salli" is knocked unconscious in the first early struggle. Suddenly, the raid is raided by the cops led by Chavez and Bluestone. (Morgan can be there too, but Elisa is conspicuously absent.) The cops nail henchmen on both sides, but Glasses and Joey escape (probably via some escape route that was in place for just this kind of police raid). Brod also escapes with the unconscious Salli, maybe to some extent because the cops don't want to fire on "Salli". (Though obviously, we don't want to reveal that here.)

2. In the hovercraft, Salli comes to. What happened? Brod explains that her plan to get the drop on Dracon's lieutenants worked -- until the cops showed up. Brod is generally suspicious, though not paranoid. The cops may have stumbled onto this thing on their own. Or one of Dracon's men might have betrayed the operation, and the Brod raid was just a case of bad timing, an unlucky coincidence. But Brod does not like coincidences. It's very possible that one of his people snitched. He still basically trusts Salli. (The fact that she got knocked out probably doesn't hurt her credibility.) But he doesn't trust anyone 100%. So for the time being, he's not letting anyone out of his sight.

3. Glasses visits Dracon in prison. Dracon orders a counterstrike against one of Brod's new operations.

4.

Chapter LIX: "Vendettas"

Time to ramble...

Chapter  LIX : "Vendettas"
Story Editor: Cary Bates
Writer: Cary Bates
Director: Bob Kline
Voice Director: Greg Weisman

I don't usually list the voice director for each episode, because it's ALWAYS the same name: i.e. the incomparable Jamie Thomason. Out of 78 Gargoyles and Goliath Chronicles episodes, Jamie directed 77 -- and did a damn fine job on each and every one. This is the only episode I directed. I'd been sitting on Jamie's left hand (not literally, you sickos) throughout the first 58 episodes, and I wanted to take a shot at directing myself. I had done a few pick-up sessions here and there, mostly long distance phone patches with Keith David (who was starring in SEVEN GUITARS on Broadway). But I had never directed an entire episode. So I chose one with a small cast of people I knew very well and who knew me and would cut me some slack... FINDING an episode of Gargoyles with a small cast was no easy task, by the way. I tend toward casts of thousands. (I really drove the WITCH folks crazy this past year.) But Vendettas was perfect. Only five actors: Keith David (as Goliath), Edward Asner (as Hudson), Jeff Bennett (as Vinnie), Clancy Brown (as Wolf & Hakon) and Jim Cummings (as Mr. Acme & the Construction Worker). They were a great group, who made popping my voice directing cherry a pleasure.

In any case, I have a particular fondness for "Vendettas" for this reason. I don't think we got the animation to support the comedy. We didn't get the snappy timing. It's all pretty turgid. But I still think it's a fun story... with a great little cast.

ORIGINS
The title is mine. Originally, back when "Hunter's Moon" was scheduled to be a separate Direct to Video and NOT part of our 52 episode second season order, the ideas in Vendettas were part of two separate springboards. The Wolf/Hakon villain team-up was going to be story edited by Cary Bates. The Vinnie/Pie stuff was going to be story edited by Brynne Chandler Reaves. When Hunter's Moon became our ending three parter, we had to lose three episodes that we were planning to do. One way NOT to lose anything was to combine these two thematically similar stories. Allow the comedy and action to play as counterpoint to each other. It was a great theory. But as I said above, I don't think we had the animation to support the slapstick, and so the comedy falls flat and just winds up undercutting the drama... making this arguably one of our weaker eps. Which doesn't mean I don't still like it a lot. A LOT. Cuz I do. (So depending on your point of view, Brynne either was out of luck or dodged a bullet when I pulled her Vinnie story away from her and combined it with Cary's Hakon/Wolf story. [Brynne was busy on the Gathering two-parter and on Reckoning, so she had plenty to do even without this.])

I think Jeff's performance as Vinnie -- another inspiration for the episode -- is hilarious. And the interaction between Clancy as Wolf and Clancy as Hakon is also terrific. (There's very little difference in the characters voices... just in the performance. Clancy's previous performances in these roles was, of course, another inspiration for the story idea. It came to me one day that Wolf was Hakon's descendant BECAUSE of the voice actor connection. But also because it just felt right.) Plus the normally stellar work of Ed & Keith. I'm not focusing on the voice actors because I directed them, but probably in spite of that fact. They were so great, that even my tyro effort couldn't make them bad.

AXE VS. MACE
Of course, it bothers me to no end that one of the biggest blunders in the series is right here in this ep. The whole haunted battle-axe idea is great. Except that it should absolutely have been a HAUNTED MACE. It should be the Mace that Hakon used to massacre Gargoyles back in "AWAKENING, PART ONE". We should have reestablished that in "SHADOWS OF THE PAST" and used the mace here. Instead we use an axe, which has no resonance for the series. It still drives me nuts. Though it does give us one good line of dialogue: "Tonight is battle-axe night!" I don't know why I like that line so much. Again, I'm sure it's mostly Clancy's reading. But it's still fun.

MR. CARTER & MR. ACME
Of course, the name Carter was chosen (and we had Jim say "Carter" clearly as Acme so that we were legally protected) specifically because it would sound, with Vinnie's dialect, like he was saying "Mr. Kotter". This of course, because Vinnie sounded like Vinnie Barbarino (a.k.a. John Travolta) from the ancient sitcom "Welcome Back, Kotter". Mr. Acme's name is of course a tribute to all the wacko-gadgets that the ol' Warner Bros. Coyote got from the Acme company. Vinnie in this episode is our Coyote. (Wile E. as opposed to the Trickster or the robot or Xanatos... although when you think about it, who's to say that the spirit of the trickster isn't present in all of the above.)

Of course (and yes, I realize, I'm saying of course a lot... all of this stuff seems kinda obvious to me... which does beg the question "Why are you writing about it then?" but I guess the answer is, cuz maybe it's not THAT obvious), the idea behind Mr. C. was that the audience would view Vinnie as a comic but real threat. You were supposed to think the gun was a gun. Vinnie threatens Mr. Acme with it. Threatens to "cream" him. But I tend to doubt on your first viewing that "cream" tipped you off to the nature of his ammunition.

There's some nice parallelism with Vinnie talking to Mr. C and Wolf talking to his axe. Of course, Wolf's axe is possessed, and Vinnie's just kooky. But we liked it.

SLUGFEST
Sometimes it's fun just to have an old-fashioned slugfest. Let Goliath and Hudson duke it out with Wolf/Hakon. Not every story has to have three hundred twists and turns. If they did, even that would get old. Sometimes you just want (as a creator, at least) a little satisfying ultra-violence. Even the characters agree sometimes. After the first skirmish, Hudson says: "I enjoyed that." Goliath not so much: "I'm glad SOMEBODY did."

There's a semi-funny double beat that can be hard to catch where Goliath cocks his fist to hit Wolf and accidentally smacks Hudson in the face. Later he NEARLY does it again. I really like that stuff. But I'm not sure the animation pulled it off.

BEING VINNIE
The idea behind Vinnie as he developed over time to this point, was the idea of the shmoe. The guy who just keeps getting nailed by life. Life, in this case, being the gargoyles. They aren't aware of his existence, but they keep trashing him. Vinnie's narration is a riot to me. I love the shock in his voice after Lex takes his bike: "Can you believe it? He didn't know the first thing about motorcycles!"

"Can you believe it?" became Vinnie's catchphrase. Also "Uh oh."

In order to make Vinnie play, we actually had to visually "recast" the guy with the big nose from "Awakening, Part Four". I mean that guy had a REALLY big nose. He looked like Mr. Darling from 101 Dalmations. But I did like the contrast between the two versions of that scene. In Awakening, when Goliath grabs "Vinnie" he pulls him off screen and we hear an off screen BANG. And then "Vinnie" collapses unconscious. The implication being that Goliath knocked "Vinnie" out. Now in Vendettas, it's not off screen. And we see that Goliath BANGED his fist against the bulkhead, and Vinnie... fainted. Yet in his narration, Vinnie is always the hero.

Vinnie's true origins of course are in joke voices that Jeff did off the microphone. But when we had a security guard in "CAGES" that needed to be a bit dim, we had Jeff use the Barbarino voice. Then we ret-conned Vinnie back into the guy with the motorcycle and Big-Nose. There's also a scene with Vinnie that wound up being cut from the script for time from "Hunter's Moon". Remember when Goliath pulls the metal hatch off the Hunters' airship, so that he and Brooklyn and Lex can infiltrate. There was a follow-up scene where Vinnie's walking down the street and the metal hatch comes crashing down -- and nearly brains him. This was just going to be another example of Vinnie's "luck".

And it's just perfect here when after taking the pie, Goliath is asked by Hudson who Vinnie is, and Goliath answers, "I haven't the slightest idea." The gargoyles have no idea how they are changing life in Manhattan... not just by the big battles they win (ala Wolf/Hakon) but in many small ways. Most of these things are good. (Look at Mr. Jaffe, for example.) But they can't all be good. And the gargs can't possibly be aware of all the connections they are making. (BUT I TRIED TO BE.)

Of course, I later used Vinnie in "The Journey" (my one episode of Goliath Chronicles, my farewell episode). Vinnie at the end becomes something of a stand in for me, myself. At that point I knew I was moving to DreamWorks just as Vinnie was moving to Japan. But I also couldn't resist giving Vinnie the opportunity to grow and even be mildly heroic. We tried on Gargoyles to let all our characters grow, even someone as goofy as Vinnie. And seriously, anyone who would chose revenge by pie can't be all bad, right? Or even all stupid. There's something sophisticated in creating a gun that looks threatening... to the idea that you are letting your enemy know that you could have killed him. But instead you chose to hit him with a pie. I'm not recommending this in real life. But it's a bit more advanced than straight out revenge OR straight out pie-throwing.

MISC.
"Since when do Werewolves fly?" It was fun to give a Hakon-possessed Wolf some ghost powers. This may not have been as effective as "Shadows..." but I think we had some play with it.

Hudson gets his "Jalapeña" here.

Wolf to Hakon: "Dream on, Casper!"

Hudson to Hakon: "Hakon Clan-Slaughterer!" I wish we had made more of this. (And again, I think the mace would have helped.) The idea is there, but I would have liked to push it more. Hudson was one of the clan's rookery fathers and grandfathers. He lost a lot -- A LOT -- of gargs he cared about. To Hudson, Hakon is the ultimate evil. I do like his line: "Get an afterlife!" But I do wish we had played this more. The idea was to comment on the foolishness of vendettas, vengeance, revenge, which is -- as a certain DX once said -- a sucker's game. And yet, I would have liked to see Hudson actually taking revenge here. Not just defeat an enemy, but take revenge. Although it seems contradictory, I think it would have helped to illustrate the point. Hakon sought revenge and wound up a victim of it. The cycle continues. This is all mostly there, but I would have liked to play the drama more.

PIE
"And now it's time to take my sweet revenge." And boom, the goofball whom we have been trashing for an entire episode gets the clean kill shot that neither Hakon nor Wolf could achieve. Only he doesn't fire a bullet (or cannon shot or whatever). Rather he fires a pie. The idea of the pie was Brynne's. I seem to recall that she got that off a Superman story she saw or read once. The choice of BANANA CREAM was mine.

That choice was a direct result of a pie memo I wrote to the original staff of Bonkers (including Duane Capizzi and Ralph Sanchez) on what makes a funny pie. We decided on that show (for a character named Gloomy the Clown) that cream pies were funnier than fruit pies (something Gloomy had trouble grokking). And we decided that the funniest possible pie was Banana Cream. So that had to be Vinnie's choice.

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

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.