Hunter's Moon memo #2

In anticipation of my Ramble on "Hunter's Moon, Part One," here's the second relavent memo I have. One thing to keep in mind is that I don't have everything from those days. And I certainly don't have electronic copies of everything. So the record I'll present in this and following posts is WAY less than complete. This is just stuff off my computer that I sent to Michael Reaves, but doesn't reflect all the hard work that HE put into things.

Anyway, note the date. This memo was produced in March of 95, months after the one from my previous post. At this time we still thought it was going to be a direct-to-video movie.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

WEISMAN 3-8-95

Notes on "Hunter's Moon" Outline...
Michael, in the interest of getting these notes to you sooner rather than later (and yes, I realize that to a great extent that boat has already sailed) I'm just going to give you a number of broad notes to think about and incorporate into a second draft that may wind up being fairly different from your first draft. I'll toss in a few specifics along the way as they occur to me. Feel free to call me to discuss any aspect of these notes, after you've absorbed all this.

(Incidentally, I noticed that there were a few departures from our final approved premise that seemed to reflect earlier drafts of the premise. I just want to make sure we're working off the same document. Unfortunately, the final premise isn't dated, nor is the draft number listed, so there's no quick way of checking.)

GENERAL STUFF
GOLIATH vs. the HUNTERS
The story seems to be too much about the Hunters (and Elisa) and not enough about our lead GOLIATH. I know this is a particular concern of Gary Krisel's. We need to emphasize that this is Goliath's story, first and foremost. It's about his struggle with feelings of vengeance and how he overcomes those feelings.

We can help drive the story towards Goliath by keeping the Hunters more mysterious for more of the story. If we don't know who they are or why they hate gargoyles until much further along, then Goliath becomes more important.

THE LOVE TRIANGLE
This is another way to keep Goliath's emotions at the forefront of the story. We should really make more of this. Elisa is falling for this new guy Jason. Instead of treating it like she's an unattached female who now has a shot at a new romance, she should feel conflicted, because she's deeply in love with Goliath!! She might sublimate those feelings at times. Even deny them to herself. Because after all, she realizes that her relationship with Goliath is doomed to be platonic. She knows that a future or a family or anything normal is an impossible dream with Goliath, but that doesn't mean that her feelings for him aren't just as real. What does it mean to her when someone else starts to press those buttons? Does Jason remind her of Goliath in some ways? The quiet brooding intensity? The poetic heart? The tragic background that he doesn't like to talk about? His feelings about the importance of family? Or keeping his word? His sense of mission? Jason is in fact a human, but twisted version of Goliath. That realization may sneak up on her, or she may notice it immediately, but she should certainly be conflicted about her feelings for him.

And what of Goliath? Certainly, he'd be "happy" for her. But how does he really feel? Jealous? Frustrated? Lonely? Does his frustration over "losing" Elisa help to fuel his anger and thoughts of vengeance against the Hunters? Then when he thinks she's dead he goes berserk.

And if Jason discovers that Elisa has feelings for Goliath, what's his first response? Revulsion?

Even the other gargoyles would recognize it's a touchy subject. They're not blind to Goliath and Elisa's feelings for each other. Hudson in particular must see how Elisa has replaced Demona in Goliath's heart.

And the fourth side of the triangle: Demona? It's a minor point in this story and God knows we've done it to death in the series, but we shouldn't ignore the dynamics of Goliath and Demona's past relationship. Demona would love the revelation that Elisa's dating a Hunter. It would prove everything she ever believed about Elisa.

I honestly don't know how on the head we should be with it, but obviously, we shouldn't slide over this triangle. It's classic stuff.

DEMONA AND THE VIRUS
If Goliath is the heart of this drama, Demona is definitely the engine. And in general, I think we need more Demona driving this story. We don't have to spell out her plan right away, but we need to involve her more. She was largely absent in this draft and the story felt like it rambled a bit without her. Let's make her evil plot the throughline for the whole story. It should build slowly but steadily. Everything else can sattelite around that.

One problem we have with Demona is that there are two facts of her existence that we are stuck with but which can't be explained by gargoyle-business-as-usual. One is her immortality, which is central to the concept of her opponents the Hunters, and the second is the fact that she turns into a human during the day. We don't want to get into the whole City of Stone/Corsican Bros./Macbeth thing to explain her immortality, nor do we want to have to explain Puck/the Children of Oberon/Titania's Mirror to explain her transformations. And fortunately we don't have to. All we need to do is use the one word "Sorcery" to explain it all.

But "Sorcery" doesn't play a part in the story we have here, so even that one word explanation sticks out for me like a sore thumb, unless we use sorcery as part of her plan with the Virus. I'm reminded of the poison that the Archmage used on Prince Malcolm in "Long Way To Morning", which was "made virulent by a magical spell". I think we can use something along those lines here. If Demona's plan could combine modern science with ancient sorcery it could accomplish a number of goals. For one thing, it introduces sorcery as an element in this world, letting us skate past Demona's transformations and immortality smoothly in a line of dialogue. Secondly, it gives her a long-term plan. Something she could have been working on throughout the centuries as she dodges the Hunters.

For example, I think we should add a flashback in 15th century Florence, where Demona steels some magic spell or talisman and is pursued by a 15th century Hunter armed with da Vinci inspired technology (very high-tech for the time). It could give some scope to the whole project.

Then if we want, for the 1980 Paris Notre Dame scene it's not simply a fight between Demona and Jon Canmore, but Demona is there for a purpose, she's gathering the second ingredient she needs.

Thus by 1996, modern technology has finally caught up with black magic. Demona (in her human identity as Dominique Destin) has her own company, Brimstone Inc. (which she owns with Thailog, though we definitely don't need or want to bring him up here). She can be developing the virus herself. With every intention of using it on an unsuspecting humanity in combination with the magic she stole in the earlier flashbacks. Maybe she needs to wait for the Hunter's Moon to cast her viral spell.

By the way, Demona's threat to release the virus at the end is hardly empty just because Goliath knows she plans to do it anyway. What's to stop her from doing it right there and then? (This raises another question. Would the virus affect Gargoyles? If it did, would Demona care? Would it affect her? Is that why she needs to use magic with it so that she can control who it does or does not kill?)

BARN SCENE
I really think we need to open the whole video with the 994 flashback to Gillecomgain and Demona's initial confrontation in the Scottish barn. We should even exagerate the scene to emphasize the petty way the feud between Hunters and Gargoyles began. Demona doesn't even remember the incident, it was so insignificant. And the Hunters, I believe, should have no idea about the reason the feud began. We tip the audience off at the head. Demona was stealing dried fruit from a barn. A peasant boy tries to catch a thief. Demona lashes out and the boy is scarred for life. The pettiness is a comment on the fruitlessness of revenge and vendetta. Later, when Elisa asks Jason how it all got started, Jason will explain about the Hunter tradition and his father. (We get this Paris flashback out of his conversation with her. Not out of his conversation with his siblings which saves on them having to relate things to each other that all three already know. This also keeps the Hunters more mysterious, for longer.) But the Paris tragedy doesn't begin to answer Elisa's real question. She wants to know how the whole feud got started in the first place. And when Jason realizes that he cannot answer that question, it may be the slow beginning of his realization that life as a Hunter is not the right way to go. The irony will be that even though NONE of our players know how it all got started, the audience does. And it was an incredibly petty conflict to begin such a tragic course.

Another advantage to putting it at the head is that it introduces the idea of Demona. In the current version, Demona never even gets mentioned until she first appears as a human in scene 15.

GOLIATH AND THE HUNTERS
Goliath has no prior knowledge of the Hunters at all. Only Demona does. Remeber, Goliath never saw Macbeth in the Hunter's mask. By the time he arrived at the Macbeth/Demona fight at the end of "City of Stone Part IV", Macbeth had already removed the mask. So we don't need to mention Macbeth in this story at all. In fact we can treat the whole concept of the Hunter as if it is a brand new story element. By using the Gillecomgain barn scene and the Canmore last name, we've given the connection to viewers who've seen City of Stone. They can figure out for themselves how these new hunters fit our episodic mythology. But we don't have to go into that here.

And new viewers won't need any more complicated backstory than what we've presented in our three flashbacks. The barn scene acts as the catalyst for the feud. The Florence scene demonstrates that a Hunter has been hunting Demona throughout the ages. The Paris scene sets up the specific motivation for our three new Hunters. Anything else that regular viewers know about the origins of the hunters and/or Macbeth's use of the mask is just gravy for them, but would be distracting here.

AN OUTRAGEOUS REQUEST
Would you mind terribly if we named Jason's siblings Robyn and Jon and gave the name Charles to their father? This is silly, I know, but by coincidence you chose the names Robin for the sister and Jon for the father. My younger sister is named Robyn and my younger brother is named Jon. If we put a "Y" in Robin's name and we trade the Father and brother's names, then it would be a great kick for my siblings to have sibling Hunters named after them. I realize that seems to identify me with Jason. But think of it this way. You get to horribly paralyze me at the end.

SPEAKING OF JASON, ROBYN AND JON
We need to give Robin/Robyn and Jon/Chas some more screen time to add to the mystery and ultimately to get to know them better. We obviously won't reveal this right away, but when the three Canmore siblings arrive in NYC, each is given a mission. Jason is supposed to infiltrate the precinct where police reports on "gargoyles" have been filed and find out all he can there. (Please keep in mind however, that neither Elisa or Matt are going to admit that they believe the gargoyles exist. They're going to poo-poo it as tabloid stuff. They aren't going to say that gargoyles show up whenever there is trouble.)

I'd suggest that instead of Human Demona infiltrating Gen-U-Tech to get the Virus, we can have Robyn/Robin infiltrate Brimstone Inc. to try and get a bead on Demona and/or what she's up to.

And we need to find something for Jon/Chas to do as well.

Also we probably shouldn't reveal to Elisa early on that Jason has a brother and a sister. That absolutely gives away Jason's identity long before we're ready to be that definitive.

FINAL CONFLICT
We've compressed too much into this final battle. In the premise this was two separate sequences and I think it works much better that way. Jason and Elisa should fall to their deaths before the climactic battle. Goliath must believe that Elisa is dead. (This again heightens his emotional conflict. Makes him more the main character.) Robin/Robyn and Chas/Jon must also believe that Jason is dead. The audience must believe it too, for a while at least. We have some downtime where everyone mourns and swears further vengeance.

In between, after we've mourned the dead but before the final confrontation we might want to reveal the truth. Show Jason and Elisa at the hospital or something. Give us that last revealing Paris flashback. Plant the seeds of doubt. Get him in a wheelchair. Though he's in no condition to go anywhere, he leaves with Elisa pursuing. But is Jason leaving to kill the gargoyles or to reconcile with them?

We might also choose to divide this Elisa/Jason scene in half. Put part of it as a verbal confrontation that comes after Elisa figures out that Jason is the Hunter but before the action sequence where they physically "fall to their deaths". Elisa's asked Jason's some tough questions but he's not prepared to turn over a new leaf yet. Then he goes and gets paralyzed and he's blown his chance to "walk away" clean.

If we do that, we might be able to skip the Hospital scene entirely and thus Jason and Elisa's arrival at the climactic battle in the next paragraph can be a real surprise. (I know, I know, so many options....)

Anyway, in the climactic battle, largely because of Elisa and Jason's "deaths" things have escalated between Gargoyles and Hunters just in time for Demona's final push. At just the right moment, paralyzed Jason and Elisa show up. And Jason has finally learned his lesson. That's enough to calm down Goliath, the gargoyles and Robyn/Robin... but Demona and Chas/Jon are way too far gone. (This also helps explain how Chas/Jon could get so far gone. He had time to freak out about Jason's death. Jason's paralysis doesn't serve to calm him down.) All this at the final crisis point. Chas/Jon and Demona should maybe even "die" here. (An escapable death, but a good one.) We don't want to underestimate the cost of vendettas. Or we can send them both off still swearing vengeance on the other's respective race.

EPILOGUE
I don't know if we should send Jason and Robyn/Robin off at the end. Feels too tidy to me. Maybe events have put distance between Jason and Elisa. Maybe events have brought Goliath and Elisa closer. Or maybe there's still a chance for Jason and Elisa now that the secrets are out. Which leaves Goliath alone. Whichever way we choose to go, I think we should keep Jason around. His need to adjust to his chair and/or try to help/find the AWOL/"Dead" Chas/Jon are not mutually exclusive with him still being a factor in Elisa and the gargoyles' lives.

Also, do we want the gargoyles to plan on moving back to a rebuilt clock tower? Or do we want that era to have past?

A FEW MORE SPECIFICS...
ANGELA
I think you better include her. She'll have been a regular for months by the time this thing comes out.

BRONX
We keep leaving him out. I think we've discovered in the World Tour that he can be useful both in battle and in storytelling. I'm NOT saying we need to drag every gargoyle around in every scene (in fact we should probably find excuses to split them off into teams so that we are dealing with fewer at a time), but we shouldn't artificially disinclude Bronx either.

ELISA ON THE DAYSHIFT
There were some logistical problems caused by Elisa having to be on nightshift with Jason, and in the same night having to interact with the gargoyles. Same with Jason having to play Hunter on the same night he was working with Elisa. If Chavez insists on a temporary reassignment for Elisa, it might actually help us if that reassignment was to the day shift. I'm not mandating this, but it might make it easier.

VARIOUS CRIMES
The mugging is o.k. Since it's purpose is to show status quo. I am a bit concerned about the location and the complete lack of threat that these teams of Muggers provide. Perhaps we should set it somewhere with more gargoyle-access, someplace that doesn't force this woman to first escape on her own. And maybe we should give the muggers (or street gang) the Xanatos/Dracon Particle Beam Weapons to up the stakes a little.

But the other crimes began to feel too random and meandering. I think we should find a way to tie them into our story more directly. Maybe involve them in Demona's plans.

THE CLOCK TOWER
Blowing it up was Gary Krisel's idea, and I'd like to do it. But we've got a logic problem. Jason knows that it's the precinct house. And he knows that most gargoyles turn to stone during the day. If they can track them this easily, and know that they haven't left the tower, why not wait til they turn to stone rather than blow up the police station. If Robyn/Robin is in charge at that moment it might help. Or if they've discovered by this time that Demona doesn't turn to stone at night, they might feel they have no choice. (It's that incredible tracking ability that makes believing the decision tough. Maybe that's what we should get rid of.)

MATT'S FBI BUDDY
Rather not involve him, since for our regular audience he's compromised as a member of the Illuminati.

TRAVIS MARSHALL
Do we want him to get a "good shot" of Demona on video? Maybe, if we really want to blow things wide open. GARGOYLES -- FACT NOT LEGEND! Film at eleven! I don't know if we have room to deal with the ramifications in this story, but it does fit Gary Krisel's mandate to "shake things up." It appeals to me.

SEALAND AMUSEMENT PARK
Just a little nervous about making the climactic battle take place here, given the end location of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.

AND FINALLY, DEADLINES...
We're really under the gun here. The time I set aside to work on the outline was long past by the time it got turned in. Which means, obviously, that these notes are coming to you VERY LATE. (Sorry about that, I just got bogged down.) So we need another draft fast. I'm hoping that after the second draft, I'll be able to give you just a few cosmetic changes for a polish. And then we'll take that polished draft to Gary Krisel for his notes. And he always has notes. If we're lucky, he'll send us to script with those notes and we won't get too far behind. If we're not lucky, we may be going through a couple outline drafts with him. (And I'll emphasize that I believe it will have a lot more to do with luck than with any skill or talent or lack thereof on our part. Which is not to say he won't have good notes. His notes are generally right on the mark. It's just sometimes he trusts us to execute them. Sometimes he doesn't. And it'll just be luck (good or bad) as to whether we get him on a trustful day or not.)

In any case the first draft script is due before the end of this month on March 22nd. The final draft isn't due until mid-May, but we don't want to eat up April because we'll have to go through the same process on the script as we are on the outline. Only there'll be even more scrutiny because the script is the blue-print, not the plan for the blue-print.

So basically, I'm just urging you to make up for the time that both of us lost on the project. Obviously, you can only do your best, but I felt obligated to point out how far behind we already are.

Hunter's Moon Document #1

In anticipation of my Ramble on "Hunter's Moon, Part One," here's the first relavent memo I have. One thing to keep in mind is that I don't have everything from those days. And I certainly don't have electronic copies of everything. So the record I'll present in this and following posts is WAY less than complete. This is just stuff off my computer that I sent to Michael Reaves, but doesn't reflect all the hard work that HE put into things.

Anyway, note the date. This memo was produced in July of 94 (TWELVE YEARS AGO, YIKES!) before the series had even premiered. At the time we thought it was going to be a direct-to-video movie. My boss, Gary Krisel, had rejected CITY OF STONE as a direct to Video because he felt it focused too much on the villains and not enough on the heroes, i.e. Goliath and the Gargoyles. (He was fine with us doing City of Stone as episodes though, so we knew we'd be building off THAT.)

Greg Weisman 7-25-94

NOTES ON HUNTER STORY

Open in @1980.

Father and his three teen-age children: Boy, girl, boy.

He's after "The demon" that his ancestors have been hunting for a thousand years.

His own grandfather died fighting the demon.

His own father spent his whole life searching for the demon.

Now he's found her: Demona.

Oldest son is very gung-ho.
Middle Daughter is more neutral.
Youngest son doesn't like the idea.

Father puts on Hunter's mask and battles Demona. He gets Killed.

All three children now swear vengeance. Oldest son is still the leader.

In present, these three hunters still pursue Demona.

When they stumble upon Goliath and Co. they make no distinction between good and bad gargoyles.

One (or more) of gargoyles is very badly injured. (Though healed during daytime hibernation.)

Goliath swears revenge.

We need to involve Elisa in someway.

Oldest boy is eventually paralized from waist down by Demona.

He and his sister eventually come around to theme that the Price of Revenge is too high. Goliath also gets this message.

Demona and youngest son don't learn.

Probably want to show the original Hunter (Gillecomgain) in a brief flashback or two. Don't contradict anything that's in City of Stone, but don't reveal any details about his fate or who the second or third Hunter's were.

And that's all I've got....

Chapter  LXII : "Possession"

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. As with "The Reckoning" ramble, most of what I took down were fun dialogue lines that leapt out at me... (All quotations approximate.)]

Chapter  LXII : "Possession"
Story Editor: Cary Bates
Writer: Cary Bates
Director: Dennis Woodyard

Another one word title, i.e. another one of mine.

FAMILY XANATOS
Xanatos' appearance in this one is brief, but he's still got some great lines...
"Someday you'll thank me for that."
"Wiggle your nose or something." [A BEWITCHED reference.]
"Chin up." (This spoken to Coldstone's detached head.)

Fox has recovered nicely after her pregnancy. She looks great. Have fun, she's told.
Fox: "We always do."

As always I watched the episode with my kids. Erin liked Alex's plush teddy-gargoyle.

GOLIATH THE MAGE
Obviously, Goliath's acting a bit out of character. Did he even sound like himself? And what's with that powder he nails Bronx and Lex with? Plus another clue is that the spell he uses is a rhyming spell rather than Latin. Mortal sorcerers use ancient languages. Only the Children of Oberon use rhymes.

But the key idea is one of volunteering for "Soul Transference 101". Puck-as-Goliath needs Broadway, Angela AND Brooklyn to volunteer -- even if Brooklyn thinks his offer is rejected. Puck is of course teaching Alex-as-Hudson a lesson here. Later, Alex-in-Lex needs Othello, Desdemona and Iago to likewise volunteer. Can't do the soul transference without it.

There's a lot of body-hopping. Illusions. Transference. Possession. Spells. But I think we played pretty fair with the audience. All the clues were there. But kudos to our voice actors, who had to play all sorts of different characters within the framework of their usual voices. It seemed to me if they could keep it straight, then it would help the audience do the same.

COLDSTEEL & ... GOLDFIRE?
As you saw in the memo I posted yesterday, Coldfire's original name was Goldfire. That name and Coldsteel were both mine. Goldfire because she was gold I guess. Cary's first draft of the script kept the Goldfire name too. But at some point it occured to me that Coldfire was much, MUCH cooler.

But WHO designed those robot bodies, huh?! They're dead ringers for Desdemona and Iago. How did Xanatos manage that? There are of course a number of possible explanations. After all, Puck is in the House, right? But perhaps it's no more complicated than the fact that Xanatos saw them both with Othello back in "Vows".

Note that throughout the series, Desdemona is always more honorable than Othello. He seems more compromised in general.

I should acknowledge the debt we owe to Star Trek here. Not "Next Generation", which provided us with voice actors Dorn and Spiner and Frakes. But rather to a specific episode of the Original Series. The Broadway/Angela/Brooklyn possession dynamic was a direct homage to the Kirk/Diana Muldar/Spock dynamic of an episode who's title I'm afraid escapes me at the moment.

Gave us an excuse to give Broadway and Angela a bit of a head start relationship wise too. A kiss...

ALEX
Alex learns his lesson plan. But it was fun watching him-in-Lex dump the real Goliath and Hudson on their heads.

And I liked how Puck/Owen cannot fulfill Xanatos' wishes. But after teaching Alex how, he maneuvers things so that the son gives the father exactly what he wants.

MORE FUN LINES
"Slow but astute."
"My date is coming to."
"By the Dragon, you're me."
"It is a handsome automaton."
"Is that the choice you were leaning toward?"
"Try not to miss me too much."
"I thought you would never grow a conscience"
"I live for subterfuge."

FINALLY...
We wanted that giant pocket watch (or whatever) that Puck pulls out at the end to be a MICKEY MOUSE WATCH... but Disney would just not allow it. They were afraid it would come off as product placement in a kid's show or something. <SIGH>

Anyway, that's my ramble...

Where's yours?

Possession Outline Notes

In preparation for my Ramble on "Posession", reprinted here is the 1995 memo I sent to Cary Bates about the outline...

Note that Coldfire's original name was actually "Goldfire". Yuck.

WEISMAN 7-4-95

Notes on Outline formerly known as "Tricksters"...
For starters we need a new title and a new number: 4319-067. "Tricksters" (4319-066) will join "Puck's Macbeth" (4319-052, I believe) in limbo until or unless we get a third season. (I haven't given up on either story.)

This is basically a Coldstone story with Puck as catylist. It's the next step in Coldstone's evolution after "Reawakening", "Legion" and "High Noon". Maybe call it "Possession" or "Possesions". Or "Cross. Double Cross." Or "Triple Cross" or some title-esque thing. I'm not sure.

BEAT SHEET
ACT ONE
1. The Himalayas. Middle of a blizzard. Some mountain climbers or locals are frightened off by a fur covered monster that they mistake for the Yeti or Abominable Snowman. They run off, but suddenly the monster is attacked by Xanatos in his battle armor alongside the Steel Clan Robots, all painted in snow-camouflage white. The monster puts up a fight, and in fact seems to be one heavily-armed Yeti. But he is eventually knocked out and defeated, revealing that he is Coldstone (wearing furs). DISSOLVE TO:

2. Eyrie Building some days later. Xanatos (dressed in a tuxedo) and Owen have Coldstone back in the lab where he was first created. They have deactivated him from the neck down. (Here's a weird thought: maybe they've literally removed his head from off his body.) Coldstone/Othello can hear them, see them and talk to them, but he cannot move or activate his weapons. (But for some reason his sense of smell has been magically enhanced -- no, just kidding.) Owen and Xanatos are talking about solving the Coldstone "problem". (The solution to which seems to involve two sheeted figures, lying semi-prone on tables at the back of the lab. These figures are the "COLDSTEEL" and "GOLDFIRE" robots. More on them later.) Unfortunately for Xanatos, they have not figured out how to accomplish his mysterious goal. The main problem is that Coldstone's creation involved magic, which Xanatos has no access to. Unless, he hints, Owen were to morph into Puck and wiggle his nose or something. But Owen reminds Xanatos that he is forbidden from using his magic except to train Xanatos' son Alexander. Well, Xanatos isn't too upset. He'll figure something out, and in the meantime Coldstone isn't going anywhere. Fox (dressed in an evening gown) appears on a video-intercom. Coldstone may not be going anywhere but they are. And they're going to be late. WIPE TO:

3. Alexander's room. Xanatos and Owen join Fox and Alexander. The new parents have tickets to see Verdi's opera "OTELLO" at the MET. Fox hands the baby over to Owen, giving him babysitter instructions, and Mom and Dad leave for their first night out since Alexander was born. DISSOLVE TO:

4. Eyrie Lab. Goliath and Hudson sneak in, and prepare to reactivate Coldstone. (Note: throughout this scene and the next, Hudson does not speak. Try to make this as unnoticeable as possible.) Confusion as to how Goliath found him is secondary to Coldstone's immediate concern for Goliath and Hudson's safety. Within Coldstone's cyber-mind, the battle continues. (Maybe we dissolve into the cyperscape to get a glimpse of that battle.) Coldstone's love (Desdemona) is trapped in an eternal conflict against Coldstone and Goliath's enemy (Iago). If the evil one should triumph, Goliath would be in grave danger. But that's exactly why Goliath has come. He's been worried about his brother and has studied magical scrolls to find a solution. If Coldstone will return to the clock tower with Goliath, Goliath feels he can end the conflict. Coldstone agrees and Goliath activates him. (Or reattaches his head.) They sneak out.

5. The clocktower. Bronx, Angela and the trio are there watching t.v. or something. They are suprised when Goliath and Hudson arrive. They just left on patrol a half-hour ago. But obviously, when Coldstone steps out of the shadows, everyone's even more surprised to see him. (Maybe Angela realizes that Coldstone is Gabriel's father.) Bronx approaches Goliath and Coldstone, growling low (but who exactly he is growling at is ambiguous). Goliath quickly kneels beside Bronx and calms him. (Only the audience notices the slight sparkle of magic and the glazed way Bronx treads off into a corner and immediately goes to sleep.)

Everyone's got tons of questions, but Goliath doesn't have time for explanations. Iago must be removed from Coldstone's body. The only way to do that is to temporarily empty out all of Coldstone's personalities. Then Othello and Desdemona can be safely returned without Iago. But where will Othello and Desdemona go while this takes place? Goliath reveals they will each have to enter one of us. Angela volunteers. And Broadway does too, before Brooklyn and Lex have a chance. Lex pulls Goliath aside: where'd he learn to do magic? Goliath answers "soothingly" that he studied magic while Avalon sent them around the world. Lex's suspicions magically melt away. Suddenly, he's more impressed by Goliath's new abilities than suspicious of them.

Goliath casts the rhyming (non-latin) spell. Desdemona is transferred into Angela. Othello goes into Broadway. Iago, theoretically, is released into the ether. And the empty Coldstone falls comatose to the floor. Brooklyn seems particularly startled by these events, but he seems to recover quickly. (The reason "Brooklyn" is shocked is because he's really been possessed by Iago. No one else realizes this, and Iago's smart enough to keep his mouth shut.) Othello and Desdemona are pleased that the spell worked. Lex asks if Broadway and Angela are still in there own bodies. Yes, but they will remain dormant until Othello and Des are transferred back into Coldstone. They are ready for that transfer now, but Goliath is tired from his magical exertion. He needs to go off and rest. He asks "Hudson" to go with him, Hudson nods and they depart.

6. We follow Goliath and Hudson. They lands on top of a nearby building (or some cooler location). Goliath morphs into Puck and then transforms Hudson into baby Alex. (That's who it was the whole time. The real Goliath and Hudson ARE out on patrol.) Puck announces that Alex's first magic lesson has officially begun. Welcome to SOUL TRANSFERENCE 101.

ACT TWO
7. Cut to Clock Tower. Without thinking about it, Othello/Broadway and Desdemona/Angela are holding hands as they wait for "Goliath's" return. Iago/Brooklyn notices this and approaches them. He suggests that while Goliath is off recovering, they can take their new bodies out for a spin. Lex (still hazy from Puck/Goliath's magical tampering) isn't sure about this, but "Brooklyn" thinks it will be all right. Soon Othello and Des will be reconfined back in the cyber-prison of the Coldstone body. They might as well enjoy this last chance at flesh-and-blood freedom. Besides, what's the harm? Oth/Bway and Des/Ang have to admit they wouldn't mind feeling the wind against their faces one last time. They take off for one last flight. As Iago/Brooklyn moves to follow them, Lex stops him. Neither notice that behind them, a flash of magic (Puck) enters the prone body of Coldstone. Lex feels they should wait for Goliath. So "Brooklyn" instructs Lex to stay behind and do just that. "Brooklyn" will follow the "love-birds" -- to make sure they stay out of trouble. He leaves. Lex watches him go. And suddenly, behind Lex, Coldstone looms threateningly.

8. We follow Des/Ang and Oth/Bway on a romantic flight through the city. It's glorious. Othello and Des are almost literally drunk with the sensation of being alive again in Broadway and Angela's bodies. They land on the Chrysler building (or wherever). Oth/Bway marvels at the simplest pleasures. The touch of Des/Ang's flesh and blood hand. The softness of her hair. Until now he had not realized how Coldstone's cyborg sensors and reanimated stone skin has dulled his senses. Des/Ang also appreciates the reality of true sensation over the electric illusion of life on the cyberscape. Brooklyn steps out of the shadows. And like a devil in their ears, subtly reemphasizes to them that the prospect of returning to Coldstone is a fairly grim notion. Too bad, he sympathizes, that there's no way they could keep the bodies they're in. Oth/Bway and Des/Ang exchange a guilty look. But the wheels are turning.

9. Back at the clock tower, the real Goliath and Hudson return home. Coldstone is there, very glad to see them. (No immediate sign of Lex or Bronx.) Goliath is glad to see his brother but both gargoyles are naturally cautious. They can't be sure which personality is in control. Almost on cue, Bronx comes treading out of the darkness, and behaves in a friendly manner toward Coldstone. That's good enough for Goliath and Hudson: Bronx has a sixth sense about this kind of stuff. If he trusts Coldstone, then the right personality must be in control. (What neither Goliath or Hudson notice is that when Bronx's "work" is done, he trudges blankly back into the shadows and plops down to sleep next to a bound and gagged Lexington. Bronx is still under Puck's spell.) "Coldstone" tells the gargoyles that Xanatos is plotting against them again. He's created new monsters that must be destroyed before they can be used against them. Goliath expresses disappointment but not surprise. Xanatos had called a truce between them, saying that he owed Goliath and the clan for helping to save Alexander. Obviously, Xanatos' version of debt is a little different than Goliath's. Golaith, Hudson and "Coldstone" depart for the Eyrie Building.

10. Oth/Bway, Des/Ang and "Brooklyn" return to the clock tower and find Lex tied up tight with steel cables. What happened? Coldstone jumped him. Obviously, Goliath's spell didn't succeed in forcing Iago out of the Coldstone body. He's got control and he's tricked Goliath and Hudson into launching an attack against Xanatos, destroying their truce. At first, "Brooklyn" protests that this is impossible. But when everyone turns to ask him why, he fumfers and covers quickly. Whatever has happened, Brooklyn says, the choice is clear. They have to destroy the Coldstone body. It's the only way to protect the world from Iago's evil. Lex is horrified -- moral qualms aside -- what would happen to Othello and Desdemona? What would happen to Broadway and Angela? Oth/Bway speaks up. Brooklyn is right. They have a chance to destroy Iago once and for all. Nothing else matters. Oth/Bway, Des/Ang and "Brooklyn" take off after Coldstone. Lex follows reluctantly.

11. Eyrie lab. "Coldstone" leads Goliath and Hudson. He pulls the sheets off the two covered figures to reveal two new robots: COLDSTEEL and GOLDFIRE. (Coldsteel is made of blue steel and modeled after Iago -- very powerful and dangerous, a fitting opponent for Coldstone. Goldfire is gold in appearance and modeled after Desdemona -- beautiful in a cold, art decco fashion, she is a fitting companion for Coldstone. Both have the usual built-in weapons. Plus Goldfire has built-in flame-throwers.) The resemblence to Coldstone's lover and foe are not lost on Goliath, and while he and Hudson question the situation, they do not notice "Coldstone" picking up a remote control devise and hooking it directly into his cyborg body. He uses the device to activate the two automatons and then uses them to take down Goliath and Hudson. (There's no other action in this act, so make this a big battle sequence ending in the defeat of our two heroes.)

ACT THREE
12. Oth/Bway, Des/Ang, Iago/Brook and a very confused Lex are about to come in for a landing at the seemingly quiet castle. Oth/Bway suggests splitting up to look for their enemy. Brooklyn agrees. Othello and Des can check the Great Hall, Lex and Brook will check the lab. As Oth/Bway and Des/Ang head off in one direction, we follow Lex and Brooklyn to the lab.

13. No one is in the lab, but there are clear signs of a struggle. Lex is pretty upset. He feels like he's coming out of a haze. A whole bunch of stuff makes no sense. Why wouldn't Goliath mention he had studied magic before now? Why were he and Hudson surprised to see Coldstone when they returned to the clocktower? And how can they even think about destroying Coldstone's body while Othello and Desdemona are still possessing Bway and Angela? Brooklyn thinks he has an answer. He slams Lex hard.

14. Othello/Bway and Des/Angela search the Great Hall. Des/Ang questions what they are going to do. Oth/Bway tries to make it sound like they have no choice. Iago must be destroyed, and the only way to do that is to destroy Coldstone. But, she protests, if they destroy Coldstone, they'll be trapped in Bway and Angela's bodies forever. Would that be so bad? he asks. After all they've been through, don't they deserve a real flesh and blood existence again? Des/Ang isn't saying yes. But she isn't saying no either.

15. Back in the lab with Lex and "Brooklyn". Lex is just regaining consciousness and he's pretty upset about being jumped and trussed up twice in one night. "Brooklyn" has Lex on the "table" where Coldstone was created. He's attaching electrodes to Lex (or some other high-tech deathtrap, that "Brooklyn" would never be blamed for). As he does this, he reveals to Lex and our audience that he is Iago. He likes Brooklyn's body and has no intention of surrendering it. Not to go back to the hellish Coldstone cyberscape, and certainly not to be bannished into nothingness. He doesn't know how Coldstone woke up again, but it's a marvelous opportunity. He and the gargoyles will destroy the Coldstone body and if by some "accident" Othello/Bway is also destroyed during the battle, then "Brooklyn" will have no choice but to console a grieving Desdemona/Angela. Eventually, he will use his position as Goliath's right hand to destroy Goliath as well and rule the clan. He thinks it's a pretty good plan, activates the deathtrap and leaves. Lex is in considerable pain, but just when it looks like curtains, a magical sparkle enters Lex via his mouth. Suddenly, Lex stops screaming, smiles and magically breaks free.

16. Oth/Bway and Des/Ang have found their way down to the Atrium beneath the castle. There they find Goliath and Hudson, trussed up. They go to help, but it's a trap. Coldstone attacks and he's winning. Iago/Brooklyn shows up and the tide starts to turn against Coldstone, but then Iago/Brook does something that allows Coldstone to get the drop on Oth/Bway. It's looking like Iago's plan is going to work, when Coldstone cybernetically summons Coldsteel and Goldfire, and uses them to trash Iago/Brook and Des/Ang respectively. Coldstone now has the upper hand and explains (while fighting) that Xanatos created these robots as a gift to Goliath. In payment for saving his son Alexander, Xanatos wanted to find a cure for Goliath's brother's multiple personality disorder. What no one counted on is that Coldstone had developed a personality of its own. Now Coldstone will use the robots to destroy all three of the former Coldstone personas so that they can't return to take the Coldstone body back. "Brooklyn" protests that he's not one of them, but Coldstone skoffs. Coldstone can sense that Brooklyn's body is possessed by Iago, and Coldstone is determined to destroy Iago. It looks like curtains for Iago, Othello, Desdemona (and thus Brooklyn, Broadway and Angela as well), when Lex swoops in and slams Coldstone back. While Coldstone is recovering, Lex (who never says a word) frees Hudson and Goliath. Now all our gargoyles (including Iago/Brooklyn) battle Coldstone and the robots. The good guys win.

After the smoke clears, Goliath and Hudson turn to face Iago/Brooklyn. (Lex is still strangely silent. And Oth/Bway and Des/Ang are too ashamed of their own desires to be too self-righteous towards Iago/Brook.) They want Iago to abandon Brooklyn's body. Iago/Brooklyn says fat chance. He's never returning to cyberspace, and he sure isn't going to voluntarily banish himself to nothingness. He does express some regret and wishes outloud that Xanatos' plan had worked out. The powerful Coldsteel robot body is clearly superior to the gargoyle teen-ager he now inhabits. Hearing this, Coldstone asks Iago/Brook if that is really what Iago wants? Why, yes. Can Coldstone transfer him? Coldstone says he can't, but Lexington can. Lexington steps forward. With a little prompting help from Coldstone (Puck) he recites the magical rhyme from Act One (the only words he's spoken in this scene) and transfers Iago out of Brooklyn and into Coldsteel. Brooklyn, the real Brooklyn, stands there very confused. But Coldsteel/Iago laughs at the fools who would give him such power. Goliath, Hudson and Coldstone move toward him, and clearly outnumbered, Iago/Coldsteel flees to fight another day.

Once Iago/Coldsteel is gone. Puck magically removes himself from the Coldstone body, leaving it empty and comatoast. Goliath wasn't expecting Puck, but in retrospect is hardly surprised. "Why all the subterfuge?" he asks. Well, in the first place, Puck lives for subterfuge. And in the second place it was necessary. Puck explains that what he had told them about Xanatos wanting to repay his debt to Goliath was true, though obviously the bit about Coldstone developing its own personality was a little elaboration, creatively added to convince Iago to voluntarily enter the Coldsteel robot. Magical soul transfers are tricky business and generally require the cooperation of the subject. Now if they're ready Othello and Des can be transferred as well. There's a moment of hesitation on their part. Will they trade flesh & blood lives for stone & metal casings. But they know they cannot steal Broadway and Angela's bodies permanently. Othello and Des share one last embrace. Lex again casts his spell (this time with more confidence) and after the transfer is completed, Broadway and Angela regain consciousness in mid-grope. There's a nice awkward moment that should help set up any future romance for these two. Coldstone/Othello and Goldfire/Des thank Bway and Ang for the use of their bodies. Goliath invites them back to the clock tower, but they feel they must pursue Coldsteel. He's still a threat and he's still their responsibility. But when that threat is ended, they will return. They depart. Our gargoyles turn to thank Puck for the magic he wrought and ask why he has been working through Lexington? Puck replies that although he set the ball rolling, this last magic wasn't his, and that this Lexington is not exactly who he appears to be. Magical sparks fly out of Lex's mouth and coalesce in Puck's arms to reveal baby Alex. Puck praises Alex for being a good student, and himself for being a good teacher. Alex smiles, yawns and falls asleep. Lex awakens to himself almost as confused as Brooklyn, Broadway and Angela. Goliath promises to explain and the group heads for home.

Suddenly, Puck pulls a giant watch from a very small pocket. "Look at the time," he cries. And vanishes.

17. Alex's room. Puck and Alex materialize. Puck puts Alex in his crib and transforms back into Owen just as Xanatos and Fox return home from the opera. Was Alex any problem, Fox asks. No, Owen replies. He's a very well-behaved and intelligent child. Owen turns to Xanatos and tells him that the Coldstone problem has been solved. A bit surprised, Xanatos thanks Owen. Owen demurs. "Don't thank me, sir. Thank your son." A bit confused, Xanatos looks into the crib where his son sleeps and smiles.

GENERAL NOTES FOR THE ABOVE:
Keep the talky scenes as brief as possible. Just get the point across. Give the most space to action sequences: the act one Coldstone vs. Xanatos fight in the Himalayas; the act two Goliath & Hudson vs. Coldsteel & Goldfire fight at the castle; the act three mega-battle in the Atrium.

Also, milk the transformation scenes. Particularly the act one scene where Puck/Goliath transfers the souls of Othello and Desdemona into the bodies of Broadway and Angela. And the act three scenes where Lex/Alex transfers Iago, Othello and Des into Coldsteel, Coldstone and Goldfire.

Don't forget that the names Othello, Desdemona and Iago are for our designation only. They should not appear in spoken dialogue at all.

Any script dealing with Coldstone, Puck and magical possession is bound to be confusing. Lots of people in other people's bodies. And a few illusions from Puck as well. Let's go out of our way to make it clear in the script both whose body we are seeing visually (and thus whose voice we are hearing), and who's mind is actually controlling that body (and voice). Remember, we're not trying to keep any secrets from the storyboard artists. However, we are trying to keep secrets from the audience, so don't hesitate to spell things out in description and then explicitly state that the audience shouldn't be able to figure this out yet.

Consistency is key. I think in order to best describe who's who, the best designation for dialogue headings and description may be to put the body's name first, followed by the possessor's name in parenthesis. As follows:

COLDSTONE (OTHELLO) - Coldstone with Othello's personality in control.
GOLIATH (PUCK) - Puck magically disguised as Goliath.
HUDSON (ALEXANDER) - Alexander magically disguised as Hudson.
BROADWAY (OTHELLO) - Othello in possession of Broadway's body.
ANGELA (DESDEMONA) - Desdemona in possesion of Angela's body.
BROOKLYN (IAGO) - Iago in possession of Brooklyn's body.
COLDSTONE (PUCK) - Puck in possesion of Coldstone's body.
LEXINGTON (ALEXANDER) - Alexander in possession of Lex's body.
COLDSTEEL (IAGO) - Iago in control of the Coldsteel robot.
GOLDFIRE (DESDEMONA) - Desdemona in control of the Goldfire robot.

THE THEME here is HONOR. Xanatos is trying to honor a debt he owes Goliath. Coldstone and Desdemona are torn between their desires and the honorable thing to do, the honorable sacrifice to make. Iago demonstrates no honor and is a negative example, but even Puck shows honor. He is trying to serve his master Xanatos without breaking any rules. He's very true to that code. Emphasize the theme as much as possible.

NOTES ON MOTIVATIONS:
XANATOS -- He's barely in this story, but his initial plan starts the whole ball rolling. Though he's in no particular hurry, he is -- in his own way -- actually trying to do a good deed for a change. He feels he owes Goliath for saving his son in "Gathering Part 2". He wants to return the favor by reuniting Goliath with his brother Coldstone. And he wants to help Coldstone out by creating new bodies for the Iago and Desdemona personalities, thus freeing Othello from his pseudo-schizoid condition. When we open, he's already had the Coldsteel and Goldfire robot bodies built. The inner workings are basic Steel Clan, but the robots have no artificial intelligence programming, which would allow the Iago and Desdemona personalities full control if Xanatos could figure out how to make the soul transfer.

PUCK/OWEN - He'd like to help Xanatos out, but is forbidden from using his magic that directly. So he's set up this elaborate "trick" in order to accomplish two things. One is getting Iago, Desdemona and Othello to voluntarily enter Coldsteel, Goldfire and Coldstone respectively. Two is training the infant Alexander in the art of "Soul Transfer and Exchanges". Both are necessary conditions to accomplishing his goal. So Puck demonstrates how Soul Transfers are done in Act One, but leaves it for Alex to do the magic in Act Three that would actually satisfy Xanatos' intentions.

IAGO - Initially, Iago wants to keep the Brooklyn body, if possible, without revealing that he's taken it. When Puck possesses Coldstone, Iago sees it as an opportunity. He's planted the seeds of dissatisfaction in Othello and Desdemona. He feels if they destroy Coldstone, they'd get to keep these new young bodies. And he's seducing them with both carrot and stick to make that choice. If he can kill Othello and/or Goliath in the process, all the better. He still lusts after Desdemona and wouldn't mind fooling her into "Brooklyn's" arms after Othello was out of the way.

It's important, however, to see Iago's goals change during the final battle. We need to demonstrate that he is frustrated by how much less powerful the Brooklyn body is when compared to the Coldsteel robot. We need to believe that he would willingly give up Brooklyn to live in a robot. (You might even try to hint that vanity played a part in his decision, at least subconsciously. After all, Coldsteel has been designed to look like Iago. That may impress him almost as much as the robot's power.)

OTHELLO & DESDEMONA - Are almost literally drunk with the sensation of being alive again in Broadway and Angela's bodies. Otherwise, they'd never consider what they in fact do briefly consider here, which is keeping bodies that don't belong to them. Ultimately, they realize how wrong that is and willingly give the gargoyle bodies up. Othello returns to Coldstone. Desdemona takes possession of Goldfire.

GOOD NEWS!

As many of you already know, the first issue of the new GARGOYLES comic book sold out its print run. There WILL be a second printing... and all the fans who bought copies and/or SPREAD THE WORD deserve a round of applause...

<CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP>

But please, let's not use this as an excuse to be complacent. We now need to sell out this second printing and encourage pre-orders on issue #2. Not to mention the two DVD sets.

This is NOT me asking people who've already bought the book to buy additional copies. This IS me asking people to continue to spread the word. (I can't tell you how many garg fans I just met in Minnesota, who had no idea that the comic was even out.) Contact the ELFQUEST fandom, the STAR TREK fandom the FILL-IN-THE-BLANK fandom. Contact local comic shops. Contact local conventions. Contact any community that might be interested.

Keep the good news rolling in...

SPREAD THE WORD!!!!

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!!!)