"Derek Janssen" <djanss@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:41425c39$0$6925$61fed72c@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> Sorry AFDG, but the mainstream's view was the show was too *obnoxiously*
> overwritten to appeal to casual watchers tuning in the middle or
mid-series.
> Don't get me wrong, personally thought the writers' self-indulgent
> College-Lit showoffs worked for the "Team Atlantis" pilot, but most of
> us simple, respectable post-"X-Men" and/or post-"Batman:TAS" casual
> humorless-super-action fans simply did *not* want King Arthur, Macbeth,
> and half the cast of Freshman Medieval Lit 101 showing up for reasons we
> still couldn't completely fathom without a few stiff drinks.
<rolls eyes> It's called, "continuity". Each character was introduced
properly, sometimes over several episodes. King Arthur wakes up in the
"Avalon" arc, and shows up during the skiff series. MacBeth first shows
up
as a bounty hunter, and only later (in "City of Stone") do you find out
this
is the thane of Cawdor.
Some of us happen to like continuity. I appreciated it when "The Pack"
became recurring villains, I enjoyed finding out that Owen was Puck was
Owen, and finally understanding why Kate Mulgrew was voicing both Titania
and Anastasia Renard was a treat!
You seem to have missed a lot of episodes, as well. Xanatos' armored suit
first shows up in Season One, "Coldstone". Demona's shapechange during
the
day dates to "Titania's Mirror", while the Weird Sisters first show up in
"City of Stone". The only episodes where Demona and the Weird Sisters
appear together are "City of Stone", "The Phoenix Gate", and the "Avalon"
series of eps. Only the first has Xanatos in his armored suit, but he
doesn't battle Oberon until "The Gathering".
(Before, you ask, I don't buy graphic novels, and my "geekdom" is
seriously
in question. I just happened to watch all the episodes.)
"Gargoyles" was sold on the strength of its visuals and plotting, and held
on as long as it did thanks to stunning continuity; Elisa's gunshot wound
that took more than one episode to heal, Angela discovering she's the
daughter of Goliath and Demona, Puck figuring out ways around the
restrictions placed on him by Oberon... these were good continuity, and
well-handled.
Were there missteps? Yes. The toy line was badly mismanaged, with
figures
that didn't look like the characters and metric tonnes of equipment that
never showed up in the series. (Elisa's Hang Glider, anyone?) No
playsets
(despite a perfect op****tunity to re-use the 'castle' mold) and a lack of
villain figures likewise cut into the marketability. (No Pack, no CYOTI,
no
Oberon, no Weird Sisters [collect all three], no Banshee, no
Demona/Dominique Destine two-figure set, no Anansi, no Anubis, no Upgrade
Pack, no Fox, no Were-Fox, no Quarrymen [sorry, had to mention GC at least
once], no Hunters... not even a Tony Dracon, Gl***** or Mace Malone
figure!
What were these people thinking!?)
It didn't help that there was never a Princess Catherine or Magus figure,
nor (as I recall) an Owen figure. (Nor a Talon, Maggie, Fang or Claw
figure, nor a Derek figure, a Doctor Sevarius figure, a Haakon figure...)
Possible playsets would have been Castle Wyvern (medieval and modern
furniture packs sold seperately), Avalon, and, heck, the CyberBiotics air
fortress! The opening arc alone could have made an amazing video game,
and
Halloween costumes for more than just the gargs themselves would have been
nice. Throw in toy ops like the Phoenix Gate, the Eye of Odin, Demona's
gun
("Awakenings"), Viking swords, particle beam Laser Tag (you remember
those,
folks), and remote-control Steel Clan robots (toy does not actually fly),
and you've got a franchise from Heaven!
But noooooo, they couldn't be bothered.:/
Yours with a sigh for lost franchises,
The garg-loving,
Wanderer
wanderer@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
"Where am I going? I don't quite know.
What does it matter *where* people go?
Down to the woods where the bluebells grow!
Anywhere! Anywhere! *I* don't know!"
-- a. a. milne
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