:''This article is about the animated series. For the stone statues, see
Gargoyle.''
'''Gargoyles''' is an acclaimed
American animated series created by
Greg Weisman, produced by Greg Weisman and
Frank Paur and aired from
October 24,
1994 to
February 15,
1997. It was at the time hailed as one of the most ambitious
Disney animated series in history, targeting an older
demographic and taking a darker edge.
The series was known for its complex
story arcs and drama, a prime example being the controversial first-season episode "
Deadly Force," which addressed the consequences of
gun violence, including a graphic depiction of the wounds of a gunshot victim. The show was also notable for its complex characters, and
character arcs were heavily employed throughout the series. As the series progressed, it became deeply meshed with medieval history, particularly kings and princes from medieval
Scottish history, and other European mythologies such as the
King Arthur mythos and
Norse Mythology among others, as well as the works of
William Shakespeare, most notably ''
A Midsummer Night's Dream'' and ''
Macbeth''.
During the second season, a voice-over by series star
Keith David was heard over the opening sequence:
:''One thousand years ago, superstition and the sword ruled. It was a time of darkness. It was a world of fear. It was the age of gargoyles. Stone by day, warriors by night, we were betrayed by the humans we had sworn to protect, frozen in stone by a magic spell for a thousand years. Now, here in Manhattan, the spell is broken, and we live again! We are defenders of the night. We are Gargoyles!''
A loyal
fanbase kept the property alive following its cancellation, prompting Disney to reinvest in the franchise. The entire first season and part of season two are available on DVD. The ''Gargoyles'' storyline currently continues in a comic book also titled ''
Gargoyles'' written by Weisman and produced by
Slave Labor Graphics. The show continues to air in the form of
reruns on the
Toon Disney network in the United States as part of the
JETIX lineup.
Plot
The series features a clan of warrior creatures known as Gargoyles that turn to stone during the day. Led by their leader Goliath in the year
994 A.D., they protect Castle Wyvern and its resident humans on the coast of
Scotland until betrayal causes a
massacre of the clan and a magic spell forces the six survivors into stone sleep, until the castle rises over the clouds. In
1994, a billionaire named
David Xanatos purchases the castle and moves it to the top of his
New York City skyscraper, breaking the spell. Awakening in modern day
Manhattan, the gargoyles must adapt to this new world as they vow to protect the citizens of
New York.
Cast
Main articles: List of Gargoyles characters,
List of Gargoyles voice actors
A myriad of gargoyles, humans and creatures from mythology and superstition feature prominently throughout the series. Although series creators considered the series an ensemble piece, storylines revolve primarily around
Goliath and his clan.
Episodes
:
Main articles: List of Gargoyles episodes
A total of 78 half-hour episodes were produced. The first two seasons aired in the
Disney Afternoon programming block. The controversial third and final season aired on
Disney's One Saturday Morning format on
ABC as ''Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles''. Except for the first episode of the season, "
The Journey," these episodes were produced without the involvement of series creator Greg Weisman, and are largely not considered
canonical by fans and the later comic series.
In
1995, Disney released a
direct-to-video feature film entitled '', which was in fact the series's five pilot episodes edited together into one feature. It should also be noted that, originally, the 'City Of Stone' 4-parter, as well as the 'Hunter's Moon' 3-parter were in talks to be Direct To Video before they were ultimately aired on Television instead.
Comics
Marvel
In
1995 Marvel released a ''Gargoyles''
comic book series. The books did not directly follow the continuity of the series, but they did reference specific events that took place within it. Greg Weisman, television series co-creator, did not have any direct involvement in the story development of the comic series, but was consulted on some plot points to be sure it stayed within certain boundaries. The series ran for 11 issues. Weisman was hired to write for the comic after a couple of issues, but Marvel cut ties with Disney before his run could be produced. Weisman still has his unpublished script for the comic which he will use for issue 6 on the current series
[1]. The Marvel series was tonally darker than the television series, dealing largely with Xanatos' experiments to create creatures and machines to defeat the Gargoyles. Also to note, Beth Maza (who appeared in a photo in ''Deadly Force'') and
Petros Xanatos appeared in the comics before their full debut on the show.
Slave Labor Graphics
thumb
On
21 June 2006,
Slave Labor Graphics, in association with
CreatureComics.com, began producing a new ''Gargoyles'' comic written by series creator
Greg Weisman. The comic continues the storyline of the animated series, picking up after the second season finale, "
Hunter's Moon, Part III", with the first two issues adapting the first episode of The Goliath Chronicles. The comic diverged as of the third issue. The series had a promising debut with the first issue selling out, as did subsequent issues.
Home video releases
VHS and laserdisc
The five-episode pilot had been edited into movie format for and released on VHS and laserdisc in February, 1995. The following videos were later released containing the remaining first-season episodes:
★ ''The Hunted'' (October 1995), containing episodes "The Thrill Of The Hunt" and "Temptation"
★ ''The Force Of Macbeth'' (October 1995), containing episodes "Deadly Force" and "Enter Macbeth"
★ ''Deeds Of Deception'' (April 1996), containing episodes "The Edge" and "Long Way To Morning"
★ ''Brothers Betrayed'' (April 1996), containing episodes "Her Brother's Keeper" and "Reawakening"
Episodes 6-13 were left unaltered, except for the removals of the "Previously on Gargoyles..." segment from "Enter Macbeth."
DVD
In
2004, the tenth anniversary of its
premiere, the first season of the series was released on
DVD. The first half of the second season was released in December
2005.
As of
June 30,
2006, Weisman announced at the Gargoyles Gathering Convention in
Los Angeles, the release of Season 2, Volume 2 is in jeopardy. Weisman has stated simply, "Volume 1 did not sell enough copies." Disney currently has no plans to release the second volume.
[1]
The episodes themselves are uncensored, restoring scenes which were removed on Toon Disney and the VHS releases.
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date | Additional Information |
|---|
| Season 1 | 13 | December 7 2004 |
★ The Gathering of the Gargoyles
★ Original show pitch by Greg Weisman
★ Audio Commentary on episodes 1 - 5. |
| Season 2: Volume 1 | 26 | December 6 2005 |
★ Episode introductions with series creator Greg Wiseman
★ The Gathering of Cast and Crew Featurette
★ Audio commentary on the "City of Stone" episodes (parts 1-4) |
| Season 2: Volume 2 | 26 | TBA | |
| Season 3 | 13 | TBA | |
Influences
Series creator Weisman, a former English teacher, has often cited his goal of ideally incorporating every myth and legend into the series eventually, similar to that of the
Wold Newton family. Another possible source of influence is
Shakespeare's similar use of existing source material. Many Shakespearean characters and stories found their way into the show's storylines.
The biggest influence was perhaps
Bruce Timm and
Paul Dini's Emmy award winning '', which was also noted for its dark and serious subject matter.
Weisman has also noted, among many other influences, the impact that ''
Gummi Bears'' and ''
Hill Street Blues'' had on the series. The latter in particular inspired the ensemble format of the series and the 30-second "Previously, on Gargoyles..." recap found at the beginning of later episodes. The former was an influence on the original comedy development of the show, which was subsequently changed and made darker and more serious before being released.
Some aspects of the series ''
Bonkers'', which Weisman helped develop, also influenced the show to some degree. Most noticeably, the relationship of toon cop Bonkers and his human partner
Miranda Wright was used as a template for the relationship of gargoyle Goliath and
Elisa Maza, as was the then-recent movie ''
Beauty and the Beast''. (Which is actually directly referenced in the 2nd season episode, "Eye Of The Beholder", where Elisa dresses as Belle for Halloween and walks down the street, arm in arm with Goliath)
Video game
In 1995, a
video game based on the series was released for the
Sega Genesis. A
Super Nintendo version was planned as well however, it was never released.
[2] The plot involved the Eye of
Odin attempting to destroy the world and Goliath (the player) must stop them. The game was a
side scrolling action game and had a poor reception.
Planned canonical spinoffs
Weisman and his development team, before the cancellation of ''Gargoyles'', planned several
spinoffs featuring tangential characters from the series, as well as continuing the story of the Manhattan Clan. Only one of the projects ever entered active development: the series ''Bad Guys'', for which a
leica reel was produced. ''Bad Guys'' will be getting a spin-off comic book soon.
★ ''Timedancer'' -- A story about Brooklyn being caught by the wayward
Phoenix Gate thrown into the time stream by Goliath. This spinoff details Brooklyn's 40-year (20 years biologically for a gargoyle) journey through time while trying to catch the gate and return home to Manhattan. During his travels, he ends up in
Xanadu,
China where he picks up the gargoyle beast
Fu-Dog, the future where he and Fu-Dog contribute to the fight against the Space-Spawn, and also to feudal Japan where he meets his future mate
Katana. They eventually return to Manhattan just five minutes after his departure along with their children
Nashville and
Tachi. The spinoff would have also featured the enhanced Archmage and Caliban of Shakespeare's ''
The Tempest'' as antagonists and shown how Brooklyn, Puck, Mary and Finella helped Xanatos and Demona form their eventual alliance that would free the gargoyles from their stone sleep.
★ ''Pendragon'' -- A spinoff series about King Arthur and the English gargoyle Griff as they search for Arthur's mentor
Merlin, the biological son of Oberon by a mortal woman. Along the way they clash with the
Illuminati and journey to such places as
Tintagel,
Stonehenge, and
Antarctica in their search for Merlin. Eventually they find the wizard and a fourth character,
Blanchefleur, the estranged wife of the
Fisher King. Eventually, Arthur would have also pursued the Holy Grail in the hands of Illuminati leadership and at the end of his travels would have founded the kingdom of New Camelot in Antarctica, which would also become the site of a gargoyle clan.
★ ''Dark Ages'' -- A prequel that would have dealt with the original Wyvern Clan. It would have covered the time period before the creation of Castle Wyvern and ended with the massacre. This spinoff concerned the development of Goliath, Demona, Hudson, Coldstone/Othello, Coldfire/Desdemona, Coldsteel/Iago, the Archmage, Prince Malcolm, the Captain of the Guard and also Hudson's mate and their daughter Hippolyta, both of whom would have been killed by the end of the series. Major events would have included the construction of Castle Wyvern, Malcolm and the gargoyles' part in the Scottish Civil War that would lead to Malcolm's brother
Kenneth becoming High King of Scotland, and how the alliance between Malcolm and the Archmage was formed.
★ ''Bad Guys'' -- A series featuring former enemies of the Gargoyles joined together by the Director, an American public servant. The team would have been led by Robyn Canmore, one of the Hunters, and would have included Dingo (formerly of the Pack), Matrix, Yama of the Ishimura Clan (exiled for what he did in Bushido) and Fang (one of the mutates). All of the team members would have been blackmailed into joining with Robyn and Dingo been wanted by law enforcement in America and Yama through the secret of his clan dwelling in Ishimura. The primary purpose of the team would have been to combat the Illuminati and would have also dealt with the various members redeeming themselves. There would have also been a romance between Dingo and Robyn whose descendants (the Monmouths) would be in conflict with the Castaways and the Quarrymen in the future. Of the spin-offs, this was the only one that was almost made before being canceled and a
leica reel that was made is shown each year during the Gathering. Bad Guys will be getting a spin-off comic from
SLG Publishing[3]
★ ''Gargoyles 2198'' -- A future spinoff to the gargoyles series, 2198 would have dealt with the Earth being invaded and occupied by the Space-Spawn, who have kidnapped the newly formed gargoyle clan of Queen Florence Island along with the human and gargoyle leaders there and stolen the Master Matrix (the computer processor for much of the world and the weather control center of New Camelot) located in
Antarctica. The primary characters were to be Samson, the descendant of Goliath through Angela and de facto leader of the Manhattan clan; Delilah, presumably a clone of the gargoyle created by Sevarius; and Zafiro, a descendant of the Mayan Clan of Guatemala. They would have also been joined by Owen, incapable of transforming into Puck due to the fact that Alexander (now the leader of the UN) has been kidnapped by the Space-Spawn; Demona who is apparently still unredeemed; Nick Maza, a descendant of the adopted child of Goliath and Elisa and of the
Natsilane family; a timedancing Brooklyn from the past accompanied by Fu-Dog; Nokkar of the N'Kai, who has failed in his task of stopping the Space-Spawn from taking Earth; and two robots resembling Lexington, which are without guidance after the Master Matrix was stolen. The team would have mainly dealt with the Space-Spawn and their proxies the Illuminati (who have decided to turn collaborator) and the Quarrymen (who blame the gargoyles for the invasion). The cast would have eventually be split with Nokkar, Demona, Nick Maza, Zafiro and one of the Lexington robots going into space to fight the Space-Spawn.
★ ''The New Olympians'' -- Would have dealt with the New Olympians introduced in the ''Gargoyles'' episode of the same name (a half-fae, half-mortal race) and their relations with humans after they make contact with the
United Nations. The main characters would have been Taurus (the minotaur security chief of New Olympus and the new ambassador to the human world),
Talos (a New Olympian robot who advises the New Olympians due to the fact that he was built thousands of years ago in ancient Greece by Daedalus),
Sphinx (a young New Olympian student) and Terry Chung (a human who stumbles upon New Olympus and precipitates the New Olympians into making contact with humanity). The New Olympians themselves would have been split into three factions made up of those who still fear humanity (Ekidna, Kiron, and one of Boreas' sons), those who want humanity to worship them again (Helios, Jove) and those who just want to co-exist (Taurus, Talos, Boreas). Like Gargoyles, New Olympians would also have had an inter-species romance between Sphinx and Terry along the vein of a Romeo and Juliet relationship.
★
★ The New Olympians were inspired from Marvel Comics
Inhumans,
The Eternals and DC Comics
New Gods.
There was initially intense speculation concerning the intentions of the producers had the series continued, but many have been since
debunked by Weisman in the "Ask Greg" forum. Weisman has, however, also revealed some of his own plans for the show, had it continued.
While no other series have entered production since the cancellation of ''Gargoyles'', there have been organized
fan fiction efforts to explore ''Pendragon'', ''Timedancer'', ''Bad Guys'' and ''Dark Ages''.
Greg Weisman currently plans to release ''Bad Guys'' as a bimonthly black and white six issue limited edition comic book around October 2007. Should the spinoff series prove successful he will continue with the remaining spinoffs, but if not will then try to incorporate some of their elements into the main comic series.
Fandom
Perhaps more than any other Disney production, the series has inspired an intense
fan following. Disney acknowledged this with their selection of ''Gargoyles'' as their first animated series released for
DVD retail in a season collection format.
Fan Fiction
Out of displeasure with the third season deviation from Weisman's plan, fans created a
virtual season fan fiction series,
''
The Gargoyles Saga,'' to continue the franchise expanding its stories and creating a series of spinoffs. Fan fiction has also attempted to realize the ''Timedancer'', ''Pendragon'', and ''Dark Ages'' series.
Convention
The Gathering of the Gargoyles is an annual convention begun in 1997. The Gathering features several special guests including series co-creator Greg Weisman,
Keith David (the voice of Goliath) and
Thom Adcox (the voice of Lexington). The Gathering has featured several recurring special events such as a radio play where Gathering attendees audition and take part, a masquerade ball where attendees dress up as their favorite character, an art show where the many talented artists within the fandom can display and auction off or sell their artwork, and several mug-a-guest panels where special guests sit around with fans and just talk about whatever comes to mind (sometimes going late into the night). Weisman is known to show the
leica reel of ''Bad Guys'' at Gatherings.
Parody/Reference
JLA Showcase #1
In
1999 Greg Weisman wrote a story for
DC Comics JLA Showcase #1 80-Page, cover dated
February 2000. The one shot consists of various Justice League stories; Weisman's was set during the time of the
Justice League Europe and titled "Flashback Of Notre Dame". Roster included:
Captain Atom,
Flash,
Kilowog,
Metamorpho and
Blue Jay. The story has Captain Atom, The JLE and Bette Sans Souci/
Plastique meeting a group of Gargoyles at Notre Dame Cathedral. After the usual misunderstanding/battle, the JLE help The Gargoyles return to their home island
Brigadoon.
The story, while being a parody is a homage to Gargoyles. This version of the clan are more batlike than the characters they parodied and have names based from Paris, France. The story's full of injokes (such as The Gargoyles home island Brigadoon, being a reference to Avalon). The names of the clan (and Gargoyle they are based on) are:
★
Behemoth/Goliath (Clan Leader)
★
Diabloique/Demona (Behemoth's Ex-Wife)
★
Seine/Hudson (Behemoth's Mentor)
★
Angelique/Angela (Daughter of Behemoth and Diabloique)
★
Montparnasse/Broadway (Boyfriend to Angelique)
★
Montmartre/Brooklyn (Behemoth's Lieutenant)
★
Champs-Élysées/Lexington (Monmartres' Brother)
★
Left Bank/Bronx (Clan's Dog)
★ Thomeheb/Thailog (Behemoth's Brother)
★
Cyrano/Othello (one of Behemoth's rookery siblings)
★ Christian/Iago (another of Behemoth's rookery siblings)
★ Roxanne/Desdemona (yet another of Behemoth's rookery siblings)
★
★
Live Journal - Gargoyles/JLE/Captain Atom Parody
===''
Freakazoid''
''The Lawn Gnomes'' mini segment was a rather obvious parody of Gargoyles.
The episode "Freakazoid is History" featured Freakazoid listening to a Gargoyle who bears a slight resemblance to Goliath.
3×3===
According to Greg Weisman, who did one of the English dubs of ''
3×3'', there is a scene with a homeless man humming the ''Gargoyles'' theme song.
===''
The Big O''
In episode 14 (the first episode of the second season) of the anime Big O, stone gargoyles that bear a striking resemblance to Brooklyn and Broadway can be seen on a rooftop as Roger Smith wanders through a memory of New York City.
''===
In episode 45 "No Good Deed" during the staged "heroics" montage,
Avalanche knocks a stone Gargoyle statue, which bears a resemblance to Broadway, off a building in order for
Blob to catch, preventing it from smashing into a crowd of people below. (One episode of Gargoyles, ''The Price'', similarly featured Elisa being forced to catch Broadway to prevent him from being smashed after he turns to stone in mid-air.)
===''
W.I.T.C.H.''===
Episode 21 of Season 2, 'U Is For Undivided' has parts of the city transformed into a medieval type setting. A couple shown in the middle of it are Brenda and Marco. Respectively based off the Gargoyles
yuppie couple Margot and Brendan.
Pat Fraley voiced both Brenda and Marco.
===''
The Batman''===
Ellen Yin, a Gotham detective in the first two seasons of the series, is designed with a color scheme and outfit very similar to that of ''Gargoyles'' detective
Elisa Maza. It is unclear whether this is a coincidence.
Refrences
1. http://www.tfaw.com/Comics/Profile/Gargoyles-6___270813
2. Examination of the Consumers Distributing video game catalogs in 1994-1995 show promotional artwork of the Super Nintendo version, it featured cover art with Goliath about to jump off a building and take flight except, he is stone. The artwork had the ESRB Rating Pending symbol on it.
3. http://www.tfaw.com/Comics/Profile/Gargoyles-Bad-Guys-1-1___284603
External links
★
The Gargoyles Fans Website Complete episode guide with reviews, fan fiction, essays, and more.
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