From: "Todd" <merlyn.>
Date: Fri Oct 1, 1999 12:58 pm
Subject: Re: MAIN CYCLE BREAKDOWNS - Primer

My comments on Stephen's Primer.

>
>****
>
>"THAILOG'S REVENGE" - A major arc where Thailog
>returns as the main villian.

Could we use a different word than "Revenge" here, actually? I like
the notion of Thailog back as a major antagonist, but "Revenge" doesn't
fit him, really. After all, the guy was trained in villainy by Xanatos, who has
rejected revenge as impractical and a sucker's game; it stands to
reason that Thailog wouldn't really be interested in revenge, either - he'd
be after the good guys more to keep them from interfering in his current
and future schemes than because they'd foiled him before.

>
>"GARGOYLES: RISK OR HARMLESS?" - This arc would build
>on the summons Matt Bluestone got during "Seeds of
>Change", to go to Washington D.C. to a grand jury
>hearing. This could be tied into the Margot Yale group
>idea (she could be a "witness" against the gargoyles),
>with the Illuminati working behind the scenes.
>
>The prime result would be that somewhere along the
>line, a government group would be formed to either to
>contact the gargoyles to either set up talks between
>humans and them, or to capture them to either have
>them locked away or sent somewhere to study. The later
>would result in the clan having to hide once more,
>while possibly taking a bigger risk going out to
>protect the people of manhattan every night.

Warning here: As I said before, we should tread a careful line on how
the gargoyles are perceived by the people. I certainly don't want them
gaining "Super-hero" status in the eyes of the public (as I've mentioned),
but at the same time, having them forced into hiding, only able to protect
Manhattan at considerable risk of being seen, would make things
increasingly difficult for *us* to get proper stories done. Most of you weren't
here when we were starting up TGS, but a big question that we had to face
when we were beginning our first season was - with the general city on the
alert about the gargoyles, how can Goliath and his clan patrol Manhattan
any more? (Remember in "The Journey" how everybody was telling Goliath that it
wasn't safe to go out from the castle?) If we have the gargoyles stuck in the
castle and unable to leave, it will make it harder to do any further
episodes.

>- The Gargoyles World Council (Surely, living as long
>as she has, she must have had contact with other
>clans, or they must have some knowledge of her
>actions. How will this affect things if she shows up?)

I've always assumed that Demona believed for most of her wandering
time that she was the only gargoyle left (except for her brief contact with the
Parisian gargoyles in "From the Heart", and they got massacred just
after she met them) - except for her former clan members in their stone
sleep atop Castle Wyvern, of course. Of course, she knows about the London,
Ishimura, and Guatemalan clans by now from developments in the series, so
that's a moot point.

I think that Demona would be a very disturbing presence for the other
clans at the Gargoyle World Council. Given her rap sheet, she would be very
difficult for them to trust (even if she did save the world from
domination by the Unseelie Court); furthermore, I think that what would really
alarm them about her is what impact it would have on human-gargoyle
relations if the general public finds out about her. If the public knows about
Demona's constant war on humanity and genocidal attempts, think what it could
do to how they perceive gargoyles. Her career would be the perfect fodder
for fresh anti-gargoyle demagoguery!
>
>"GARGOYLES WORLD COUNCIL" - Goliath and Co. have begun
>arranging for other clans to come to Japan to meet and
>solidify their common bonds so that they as a race
>will never be vulnerable again. Some of the points to
>address here:
>
>- Ultimate goal? (First Contact with Humans? Working
>to better protect their kind? ???)

Not to mention this question: what to do about their way of life.
Will they continue to follow the Gargoyle Way or will they have to start
accepting and adopting human customs in order to be tolerated? (Kind of like the
case with human minority groups in the real world wondering whether they
should preserve their traditional customs or adopt those of the majority).

>SIDE NOTE: A scene must be done, introducing the
>various clan leaders, especially Kylie of the
>Caladonian Clan (real emotional moment there).

Particularly since she's dying; we gave her a respite in "On
Holiday", but the end has to come for her, as surely as it came for Renard.

Todd Jensen