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Gargoyles: Awakening Part 1

Reviewed: 07/06/2013

The Death And Rebirth Of Kick Ass Animation...


Welcome to the very next Disney Television Animation show for me to rant. In fact; this is the very first show I have done that has it's own section since the original 1985-1992 series that were already on display. Time to set the Wayback Machine to 1994 and an experiment that was so awesome and yet so much an allegory of Disney's last stand before the fall into the One Saturday Morning era. The show that was the peak of Disney in general by so many fans. A show that showed blood on screen and on screen deaths like nothing before. One character even said hell on screen! One character shot off human heads even (okay; not quite, but close enough). And it was dramatic action with some of the best flight sequences since TaleSpin. Welcome to the rant shack Gargoyles. They LIVE again! In my heart and in my soul; this is the second best DTVA show in history, no doubt about it.

Normally; I would go into detail on this series; but this show is too special to reveal plot details so we'll go into the back story on it's creation as stated in Wikipedia: Series creator Weisman, a former English teacher, has often cited his goal of ideally incorporating every myth and legend into the series eventually. However, although Weisman created Gargoyles, the series' first season was almost entirely written by husband-and-wife team of Michael Reaves and Brynne Chandler Reaves. They wrote 12 of the 13 episodes, with the one remaining episode being written by Steve Perry. Weisman himself did not have any writing credits on the show until the third season—a season which, ironically, Weisman has since disowned. The second season consisted of 52 episodes, and featured a much larger writing staff, including Reaves, Chandler Reaves and Perry, as well as newcomers Lydia Marano, Cary Bates, Gary Sperling, Adam Gilad, Diane Duane and Peter Morwood, amongst others. For the third season (consisting of 13 episodes), most of the writing staff was new to the show, although returning writers included Marano, Gilad and Bates. Many Shakespearean characters and stories found their way into the show's storylines, particularly Macbeth and A Midsummer Night's Dream.[5] The series was also influenced by medieval Scottish history. Weisman also cited the influences of Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears and Hill Street Blues on the series.[6] 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.[7][8] The former was an influence on the original comedy development of the show, which was subsequently made darker and more serious before production.[9] 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.[10] New York artist Joe Tomasini brought a suit against Disney, claiming that his copyrighted screen play and character designs had been copied during the development and production of Gargoyles.[11] The case was ultimately thrown out, after it was proven that Disney did not have access to Joe Tomasini's creations.[12]

Lovely how a Bonkers' angle was done much better in this show than in Bonkers. Ironically; Miranda/Bonkers was a much better combination than Lucky/Bonkers ever was and that was their best angle. Here; it's just part of the show. This would be the first series in DTVA history to be in the serial format; although it's not the first cartoon in North America made with such a format (The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin back in 1986 was serial in nature). This show's following by it's fanbase is downright amazing and unlike the Rescue Rangers fanbase; Gargoyles fan have creditability, ratings and a strong will to bring back the brand which has had limited success. The show debuted in October of 1994 and ran for two and a half years ending in February of 1997. While the show was a huge hit; it had one really big problem: It wasn't considered a success from Disney itself because Disney felt Gargoyles would be their answer to Batman: The Animated Series and Gargoyles was built in a manner that would be similar to Batman; only more serial than the episodic nature of Batman (although it was written in such a way like TaleSpin was that the continuity was solid as a rock and any breaks could easily be explained away). It also didn't help when Disney decided to hire Nelvana to animate Goliath Chronicles which is the much hated third season. The funny thing about this and it's going to be taboo for me to say this but: As bad as that series was; the elements were there for a kick ass season. The anti-gargoyle cult was a great angle; but the execution of the season was beyond terrible and most of the original creators have disowned it. I wonder if it's disowned because it was really awful; or the creators believed that Eisner intentionally derailed it? Who knows. That's why for all of the respect this show garnered; it didn't dent the fanbase of Warner Brother's beast de force simply because it was seen as reactionary against Batman; instead of leading the way. TaleSpin on the other hand was being what Disney was when Walt was still alive; and it was considered filler. No one expected TaleSpin to get huge ratings since Disney thought it was just there to fill a block and Disney tried to get the block over instead of the show over as a beast. Many TaleSpin fans I know are big Gargoyles fan and respect what Gregory was trying to do and think it was a much more refreshing take on Disney BS&P when they shut up. However; we also know that Disney execs wanted Batman ratings and the show didn't deliver; compared to TaleSpin which they didn't care about and was neck and neck with Tiny Toons and was leading against TMNT which was fading at this point. As for my point of view; this show is awesome and that's all you need to know. Better than TaleSpin? No. Better than all of DTVA? Yes.

One final note: Joe Tomasini's lawsuit wasn't much and not all that unusual considering the rumors I heard about TaleSpin being sued for using a real life story of a person without someone's permission. These things happen in the legal world and 99% of them are thrown out for no merit or legal standing. That's the consequence of exercising your right; weither it's good or bad is another story, but it's absolutely true. So I have the first two Gargoyles DVD sets and I'm going to do all 40 episodes of this lineup for the summer and fall ranting season. It should be a hell of a show to watch again and I'm looking forward to Deadly Force most of all because THAT one features one of those moments that I hoped would happen in a cartoon; but I personally wished TaleSpin did it first because then it would have even MORE impact than it did when Gargoyles did it. But I'll explain that when we get there. So all epic cartoons have a beginning and Awakening is the five part pilot of this series which explains how the Gargoyles went from helping the humans in 994 AD Scotland to being defenders of a tower in New York City in 1994. Come on! That's a winner right there. The question now is; how awesome is the pilot? Can it succeed where so many DTVA pilots have failed: Crush Plunder and Lightning to dust? Well; let's rant on shall we....?!

This episode is done by Eric Luke & Michael Reaves. The teleplay and story is edited by Michael Reaves. Animation is done by Walt Disney Animation Japan. Backgrounds are done by Studio Fuga. Additional services were provided by the following: Nakamura Productions, Studio Robin, Light Foot, Studio Cats and Takahashi Productions. One note: Most of the storyboards, layouts and backgrounds were done directly in Japan; as opposed to being done in America and then shipped overseas. Which makes sense now since most Japanese animators usually throw out most of the stuff Disney gives them and redoes everything. Sunwoo did the same thing with the storyboard Robert Lamb showed us with Molly Coddled. Eric Luke started as a director/writer for Dark Ages in 1977, then did special effects for Slapstick Of Another Kind in 1982 and Strange Invaders in 1983. He also had a cameo role in Explorers, did production assistance for UFOria, Xyber 9: New Dawn, and direction for Not Quite Human 2 and Still Not Quite Human (yeah; the sequel released before the original). He proceeded to write episodes for Tales From The Crypt Keeper, and TMNT 2003 edition. Michael Reaves has been writing cartoons since 1975 and was producer for Guardians of Luna (his most recent credit), Star Trek: New Voyages and Invasion America. Isis was his debut in 1975. Gargoyles was his DTVA debut and his only appearance. He has 62 writing credits, 11 other credits, five producer credits, and did piano playing for Heat & Dust.


Opening Moment #1: There is NO opening moment in this episode as we head to the action right away. However; you'll see why there is none soon enough...

We begin the series with a black background and a blue Gargoyles logo like font called Awakening; which is a play out of TaleSpin's book (A Bad Reflection On You). Nice. And we finally start with a shot of a close up of a building with stone gargoyles looking on lifelessly. Then we pan west to a tall tower with lots of black clouds and what appears to be thunderclaps; but are in fact explosions. And the humans notice it right away and then debris falls in the form of rocks and building beams which crush a yellow taxi which was dumb enough to ride in the same street. I'm dead certain the driver bailed here because even BS&P has to step in once and a while in a cartoon that is supposed to have very little BS&P involvement. So we get sirens and the police have arrived and they even have a red police car handy for these situations. The doors open and out comes the detective which the spot would be lifted for Mighty Ducks; and then buried because in Mighty Ducks; Klegghorn was a white angry male who was overweight and dumb. Not this detective. First of all; this detective is a she, has black hair (which is colored purple for some reason), is of Latino blood wearing a red sweater and she is actually a rational, smart cookie. So she sees a repeat shot of the explosions (which is fine because it's expected) and then runs over to a male police officer and flashes her badge addressing herself as Maza from the 23rd district; which means that she is Elisa Maza. Now Disney Television had Gadget Hackwrench and Rebecca Cunningham as females who weren't just eye candy and in Rebecca's case; she was in a position of power. However; Rebecca did have an attitude of being a jerk sometimes (although Baloo was basically daring her to be as such) and she was in private enterprise. Here we have a female character who if you switched genders to male; you couldn't tell the difference between the two character wise. In other words; a character who stands on her own merits regardless of her gender. And she isn't pinkifed either (although her hair is purpleified). Plus; Elisa can not only take bumps like a man; as you will see, she can take a shot like one too. And she's not even white either; which is a huge bonus. And a "real" human being instead of an anthro (although I argue that it's harder to get an anthro female over that way than a human being; still...) too! Welcome to Gargoyles folks; get use to it.

Elisa Maza is voiced by Salli Richardson and according to Wikipedia (DANGER! DANGER!): Richardson's acting credits include: A Low Down Dirty Shame, Posse, and Antwone Fisher. She has guest-starred in numerous television shows, such as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Silk Stalkings, New York Undercover, The Pretender and Secret Agent Man. Richardson had a recurring role as "Kim" on the show Mercy Point and as "Nancy Adams" on Rude Awakening. She played "Viveca Foster" on the television drama Family Law. She is best known by animation fans as the voice of Elisa Maza on the animated series Gargoyles.[1] She also has been cast as Department of Defense agent (and later head of Global Dynamics) Allison Blake in the television series Eureka, which aired on the SyFy Channel. Her second pregnancy was written into the storyline of the series. She appeared in the 2007 film I Am Legend alongside actor Will Smith. Whitfield has appeared along with her husband Dondre Whitfield in a late night infomercial as part of an advertising campaign to promote the Time Life Zestify Midnight Soul collection.[2] She began her career as Denise in Up Against The Wall in 1991. Gargoyles is her DTVA debut and her only appearance. Playing For Love as Talisa McCoy is her most recent credit. She has 55 acting credits, 7 self credits, two production credits (Grace and Pastor Brown), two direction credits (Eureka) and one writing credit to her resume. Did I mention that the officer she is talking to is an African American? Yeah; and more debris falls and Elisa is forced to scatter. She notices that the rabble rousers are still here and orders them to get out of there and they finally sell and leave. BS&P alert: Or you'll end up as street pizza. I mention this because despite all the creative freedom Gargoyles got; BS&P still toned it down somewhat. Which is silly since you can say "kill" and "die" and "murder" in a Disney Television Animation cartoon. Elisa then notices claw marks on one of the debris which indicates that this is more than just mere explosions. Then more debris falls from another repeat shot (the same ground to air shot) and Elisa bails as the debris destroys a fire hydrant and we spray a pillar of water as it rains on the humans. Elisa wonders what could make claw marks in solid stone. Ummm; diamonds can cut through anything. See; rational answer deduction. Sadly; I'm wrong here as you will see as we fade to black and get the Gargoyles logo behind a black background. Okay.

So we finally head to Scotland in 994 AD BEFORE HAPPY HOUR (sunset) as a castle is crumbling and we are at war BABEE! With lots of knights firing arrows. Gummi Bears? Ummm; no, something far more nastier. So we get an epic battle as the catapults from the ground are doing a lot of damage to the castle walls. We go to a gray haired man with a white mustache and a spiked mace as he threatens the whining soldiers who don't want rocks in their teeth because the Captain Of The Guard wants them to stand their ground. Captain is voiced by the late Edmund Gilbert who is the voice of TaleSpin's Baloo Von Bruinwald XIII. Oh yeah! Probably one of his final appearances in DTVA too. So he wants them to stand their ground because HAPPY HOUR is almost upon them. So you're hoping that the alcohol will take effect eh? And then a huge boulder rocks the top of the rampart and nearly kills at least four soldiers in the process. Captain is not pleased as we head back to ground level as a couple of soldiers call storming the castle before sundown crazy. Ummm, no. Kit Cloudkicker nearly taking a bullet in the head (the one even syndies had to cut) and the blond haired viking agrees with me. We discover that his name is Hakon who is voiced by Clancy Brown in a dramatic role. Yeap; Mr. Krabs is the first Spongebob Squarepants voice in this show; although this show is more for Star Trek voice actors coming together in a cartoon (it's 1994; it makes perfect sense.). Hakon (I'm being looser with the character sketches because I'm doing a "less talk, more rock" format and I would like to reduce spoilers a bit. And the fact that it's faster to get these rants released) proclaims that the Gargoyles are only chiseled stone and that the plunder is worth the risk anyway. So he doesn't believe in the Gargoyles and he doesn't care if they exist. That's a weird bit of word salad there. So we storm the castle and bring out the flaming arrows (before there was guns; flaming arrows were the compensation for your manhood.) as they use the grappling hooks to scale the castle walls. This is not smart because if the Gargoyle statues are living; then scaling the castle walls is the dumbest thing you can do in this situation.

So Hakon climbs up to the highest tower containing the meanest looking gargoyle statue and his hand almost slips. He looks up and the gargoyle statue crumbles in one of the most dramatic moments I have ever seen. Sadly; I wish they had waited until the sun fully set before starting the crumbling because that makes more sense for the gimmick. The gimmick is that in the daytime; the Gargoyles are hapless statues; but when darkness comes; they crumble into real Gargoyles and they can kick ass. Yeah; really good gimmick here fellas. So the gargoyle statue Hakon is facing is a gray gargoyle with black hair and shorts (I find this silly because a lot of anthros don't have pants; but whatever) and he slowly wakes up just to up the "impending doom on Hakon" factor. So the gargoyle finally wakes up with lime green eyes (special effects as his eyes are normal) and grabs Hakon's wrist and proclaims that Hakon is trespassing. Ummm; he is doing A LOT MORE than that sir. He wants to kill you and the humans in the castle. Now; a note about the Gargoyles: All the main character Gargoyles at this point, do not have any names and won't have any until Part Three. This was in fact a page out of Kit Cloudkicker's playbook in that it took him at least ten minutes before he produced his full name. And unlike Kit Cloudkicker; we don't know if Kit made up the name himself or not. Here; there is no doubt because they are never addressed by their names in the "Middle Ages" flashbacks at all. For the sake of clarity and since it takes FOREVER before they get names, I'm going to address them as their booking names as if I had watched Awakening Part Three and be done with. The gray gargoyle on top is addressed in the series as Goliath...

... and Goliath is voiced by Keith David and according to Wikipedia (DANGER! DANGER!): In 1980–81, David honed his craft touring the country with John Houseman's The Acting Company in productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream and Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot. Less than two years later, he went on to star as Childs, opposite Kurt Russell in John Carpenter's The Thing, and his lengthy on-screen career had begun. In the 1980s run of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, he portrayed Keith the Southwood Carpenter in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe segments. He also played Keith, the game coin collector in an episode where Rogers and a small child learn to play the arcade game Donkey Kong. He went on to appear in films such as Oliver Stone's Platoon, They Live (reuniting with The Thing director, John Carpenter), Men at Work, Marked for Death, and Stars and Bars. He played the character of Kirby, the one legged war veteran, in the acclaimed 1995 Hughes Brothers film Dead Presidents, and he appeared in the 1995 Spike Lee's film Clockers, and followed this up with roles in big films such as Volcano, Armageddon, There's Something About Mary, Pitch Black, Barbershop, Agent Cody Banks, The Chronicles of Riddick, Crash, ATL, Delta Farce and First Sunday. He also portrayed "Father" in the romantic comedy action film Mr. and Mrs. Smith. At the same time, he has appeared in numerous independent films including the critically acclaimed Requiem for a Dream, playing the role of Big Tim. He has also appeared extensively in television productions since the 1980s and as a regular character Lieutenant Williams on the short-lived television series The Job. He was a regular on another shoot made for ABC entitled The Big House in 2004. David played the male lead role in Deon Taylor's slasher flick Chain Letter.[5] Recently, he played Max Malini on the NBC-TV series The Cape.

On April 18, 2011, Keith appeared in the 21st episode of season one of Hawaii Five-0 as criminal tycoon Jimmy Cannon. In 2012, he appeared in the horror film Smiley and the science-fiction drama Cloud Atlas. In 2013, David appeared in the controversial drama Boiling Pot which is based on true events of racism. Although recognized for his roles in film and television, he remains in great demand for vocal work because of his deep, resonant voice. He is known most notably as the voice behind Goliath from Gargoyles and the title character in the Spawn animated series. In the English dub of Princess Mononoke, David played the narrator and Okkoto. He also played the small roll of Mama in the English dub of 3x3 Eyes. Additionally, he provided the voice for the character Decker in the role-playing video game Fallout and the voice for the character Vhailor in Planescape: Torment. David provided the voice of the Arbiter for the video game Halo 2, released in 2004; later, he reprised that role in the Xbox 360 follow-up Halo 3. He played the role of Captain David Anderson in BioWare's Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3. David also did voice work in the Xbox 360 title Saints Row playing gang leader Julius, who also appeared at the end of Saints Row 2. David can be heard on the intro of several Ice Cube projects, including Westside Connection's 2003 release Terrorist Threats, Cube's 2008 solo album Raw Footage, Cube's 2010 solo album I Am the West, and he narrated the documentary Beef II, which also featured Ice Cube. The two have worked together in live action films like Barbershop and First Sunday. He also portrayed the voice of Sergeant Foley in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. David also provides the voice for the UPS "What Can Brown Do for You" commercials. His voice can be heard in the Justice League cartoons. He has also done voice work for early "Adult Swim" commercials for "Inuyasha".[6]

He has worked with documentary filmmaker Ken Burns several times, narrating Burns' Jazz, Mark Twain, The War and Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson. David won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for his work in the latter two films. He performs the narration duties in the BBC documentary, World War II: Behind Closed Doors.[7] The 2004 PBS documentary Ancient Refuge in the Holy Land [8] and the 2005 History Channel documentary Crusades: Crescent & the Cross focusing on the medieval Crusades were both narrated by him. David parodied his documentary work by narrating the 2012 episode of the NBC sitcom Community "Pillows and Blankets", a mockumentary revolving around a pillow fight between rival blanket forts. David is popular in advertising, particularly in United States Navy recruitment commercials. He has done voice-over work for many other documentaries including several for National Geographic and the documentary Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked for the History Channel. He replaced Paul Winfield as narrator for the popular A&E show City Confidential, taking over after Winfield's death in 2004. He voiced the trailer for the movie Primeval, which was released in the United States on January 12, 2007. Additionally, David provided the voice of police detective Alex Cross for the audiobook versions of three novels by James Patterson: Cat and Mouse (1997), Pop Goes the Weasel (1999) and Roses are Red (2000). Other voice roles include Bebe Proud Clone from The Proud Family Movie, Atlas from the Teen Titans animated series, the lone renegade male gorilla "Tublat" in The Legend of Tarzan, and the Decepticon Barricade in Transformers: The Game, He recorded a public service announcement for Deejay Ra's "Hip-Hop Literacy" campaign. David has done voiceovers for promos on the Versus Network, particularly for college football.

He also recorded the narration for the opening of the World Wrestling Federation's (now Entertainment) WrestleMania 2000 pay-per-view. Recently, David did the voices of the Black Cat in Coraline, Sergeant Foley in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and Dr. Facilier in The Princess and the Frog. David voiced Tombstone for only one episode from The Spectacular Spider-Man, "Survival of the Fittest". On Sunday, May 25, 2008, David narrated Kansas City's Celebration at the Station, a Memorial Day service held annually at the World War I Memorial across from Union Station. During the ceremony, he announced the attendance of Frank W. Buckles, the last living veteran of World War I. He was also the voice of Frederick Douglass in the third episode of the PBS documentary "God in America: How Religious Liberty Shaped America" in 2010. On April 1, 2012, David performed the voiceover for the intro to WWE Wrestlemania XXVIII. It was announced that Keith David will return in the Saints Row series' upcoming title Saints Row IV, however unlike the past games, he will voice himself and not Julius. He is the narrator of the History Channel series The Bible which premiered on March 3, 2013.[9] He started his career in a cameo appearance in the movie Disco Godfather in 1979. Aladdin the series as Minos and King Zahbar are his DTVA debuts. He was also Mr. Pig in Timon & Pumbaa, Apollo in Hercules: The Series, cameo in House of Mouse, and Tublat in Legend of Tarzan. He has 218 acting credits, 58 self credits and one production credit to his resume. Rise of The Lonestar Ranger and The Magic City are his most recent credits. Yeah; there are a lot of new voice actors here; so there will be lots of paragraphs. Voice acting was becoming more and more like live action acting (thank you Ginny McSwain).

So Goliath is the fearless leader of the Gargoyles and since this show is serial; this means we have lots of character development. For the sake of speed; I'll leave that character development for later rants. The vikings are terrified although their selling is kind of stiff actually. Gargoyles is a dramatic series and was never intended to be cartoony at all. Which is one of the factors that TaleSpin has an advantage over (although TaleSpin as a serial would have been better over a show as an episodic series; but Disney didn't care about the show anyway) Gargoyles. More crumbling and none of the those Gargoyles are the main group for the series; so I won't mention them. So Haken grabs his sword and in one of those iconic moments that got cut on Disney Channel is Goliath grabbing the sword and against a red background; his hand bleeds. Now; I have seen this show many times before and I have seen this spot and I swear he bled purple blood; but here he's bleeding red blood. This proved to be a first for DTVA and maybe even Disney in general; but the shock value of the scene is gone now. It also doesn't help when you see wrestling which blading and drawing blood is on a regular basis (until the PG era of course). Back in 1994; this scene had impact because no one bleeds in a Disney show. To be fair; blood did exist a few times in DTVA like the blood stains in Rescue Rangers, or the bloody scene changers for Darkwing Duck. And Baloo did a fake blood scene in Your Baloo's In The Mail; so it's not like DTVA hasn't addressed that the characters can bleed; it just never happens on camera. Until now. And I'm going to sound like a fuddy duddy; but having lots of blood shed is as problematic as swearing or having people drop like flies (and speaking of Gargoyles..HAAAAAAAAAA!) because they overdo it and it doesn't have the shock value anymore. That's why a lot of people were repulsed by Family Guy despite liking it at first. Mainly because when Family Guy shocked you in early scenes; it was new and by god, the scenes had impact. Now they do this immature stuff ALL the time in later seasons and it comes off as contrived and forced. And they cross lines that repulse the very customers that enjoyed your show because the audience does a moral fiber in their souls (maybe not as much as the moral guardians want; but that's them after all...) and can sense when they have been betrayed.

So Hakon proclaims that they are not invincible and implores the men below to fight and the vikings have vigor and throw their spears which bounces off one of the Gargoyles. So Hakon pulls Goliath over the tower and they freefall; but Hakon swings on the rope. Problem is Goliath is a gargoyle and has wings so he can fly. So more Gargoyles use the flying formation and the vikings are basically helpless. So we get some in your face shots of the red Gargoyle going into "no pupil eyes" mode flying into the screen and then pan up to another tower with three Gargoyles looking on as the red Gargoyle with white hair is not thrilled of having their brothers and sisters at in all of the action. The red Gargoyle later on would be addressed as Brooklyn who is voiced by Jeff Bennett and this show was his Jim Cummings TaleSpin show as you will see later on. So Brooklyn swoops down as the short brown gargoyle taunts the fat green gargoyle into swooping down with him. The brown gargoyle is later known as Lexington (Lex for short because it's easier to spell) and Lexington is voiced by Thom Adcox Hernandez and he started his career with Our House as Jimmy in 1988 along with Lethal Persuit, I Saw What You Did, Liberace and The Absent Minded Professor 1988 edition. He was Brian in Falcon's Crest, Corky in Popcorn, Nazca as Jigami and was a demon in Hot Chicks. Gargoyles is his DTVA debut and he also appeared on 101 Dalmatians The Series as Dipstick, Pupert in The Buzz on Maggie and Sammy in WITCH. He has 41 acting credits to his resume and Young Justice as Klarion The Witch Boy (series and video game) is his most recent credit. Lovely.

Now the fat green gargoyle is Broadway and he's the Tummi of the group (Lex would be Cubbi, Brooklyn would be gusto and Goliath would be Zummi only without magic and has Gruffi's strength.). I give special mention for him because he will do something that no Disney character has ever done before (not even Kit F'N Cloudkicker has done it). No; it's not shooting a gun (Honker did that first); but the results of him using it that got Disney spooked for a long while. It made headlines, history and pretty much sealed the fate of dramatic cartoons forever in DTVA. I'll leave it as an exercise to the reader because it's in the first season of episodes anyway. Broadway is voiced by Bill Fagerbakke and according to Wikipedia: Fagerbakke has appeared on television in roles such as assistant coach "Dauber" Dybinski on Coach, in movies, including Funny Farm, and several on-and-off Broadway stage shows.[8][9] He had a role as the mentally disabled Tom Cullen in the 1994 mini-series Stephen King's The Stand. In 1999, he had a role in HBO's original series Oz as Officer Karl Metzger. He is the voice of Patrick Star on the Nicktoon, SpongeBob SquarePants.[10] His character on Coach was based on a former assistant coach at Idaho, a graduate assistant nicknamed "Tuna."[11] In 2007, he made a cameo appearance on the show Heroes as Steve Gustavson in the episodes "Run" and "Unexpected." Fagerbakke has received critical acclaim as a thespian by the Screen Actors Guild and Juilliard School of Performing Arts for his roles as Shylock in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, and Torvald in Ibsen's A Doll's House.[9] In 2009, he had a role in the film, Jennifer's Body. He also played the role of Marvin Eriksen, Sr. in the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother. In 2012, he had a cameo appearance in the TV show Weeds (TV Series). He started his career as Carl in the movie Perfect Strangers in 1984 and then in the movie Funny Farm as Lon Criterion. Gargoyles is his DTVA debut and was Cyclops in Hercules: The Animated Series, The Legend of Tarzan as Walter, Lloyd In Space as Kurt Blobberts, Myron in Kim Possible, Karl/Gulch in WITCH and Frosty The Snowman in Phineas & Ferb. He has 96 acting credits and has directed an episode of Coach to his resume; along with five self credits. We aren't even five minutes in; and I have just finished the 11th paragraph. This is like Kim Possible all over again.

Broadway blows it off and HOLY CRAP. He even SOUNDS like Patrick Star from Spongebob Squarepants; right down to the voice mannerisms. Broadway sucks it in and the gut screws him over allowing Lex to poke at the belly explaining why people tremble at his presence. So they swoop down as well as it is AFTER HAPPY HOUR (after dark) and we get more fighting as a brown gargoyle approaches swiping vikings left and right. He appears to look like a Gargoyle version of the Captain which I thought WAS the Captain of the guard and was human at day and gargoyle at night. That would have been an awesome angle; but that is not the case here. He is the oldest Gargoyle and leader of this Gargoyle clan. Later on; he would be addressed as Hudson and...Hudson is voiced by Edward Asner and according to Wikipedia: Following his military service, Asner joined the Playwrights Theatre Company in Chicago, but left for New York City before members of that company regrouped as the Compass Players in the mid-1950s. He later made guest appearances with the successor to Compass, The Second City, and is considered part of The Second City extended family. In New York City, Asner played Jonathan Jeremiah Peachum in the Broadway revival of Threepenny Opera, and began to make inroads as a television actor. Before he landed his role with Mary Tyler Moore, Asner guest-starred in such television series as the syndicated crime drama Decoy, starring Beverly Garland, and the NBC western series The Outlaws. He was also cast on Jack Lord's ABC drama series Stoney Burke and in the series finale of CBS's The Reporter, starring Harry Guardino. He also appeared on Mr. Novak, Mission: Impossible,The Invaders. Asner also played a minor character in children's television show W.I.T.C.H. (Napoleon- Cornelia's younger sister's cat). Asner is best known for his character Lou Grant, who was first introduced on The Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1970.

In 1977, after the series, Asner's character was given his own show, Lou Grant (1977-82). In contrast to the Mary Tyler Moore show, a thirty-minute comedy, the Lou Grant show was an hour-long award-winning drama about journalism. (For his role as Grant, Asner is the only actor to win an Emmy Award for a sitcom and a drama for the same role.) Other television series starring Asner in regular roles include Thunder Alley, The Bronx Zoo, and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. He also portrayed art smuggler August March in an episode of the original Hawaii Five-O (1975) and reprised the role in the Hawaii Five-0 (2012) remake. Asner was acclaimed for his role in the ABC miniseries Roots, as Captain Davies, the morally conflicted captain of the Lord Ligonier, the slave ship that brought Kunta Kinte to America. That role earned Asner an Emmy Award, as did the similarly dark role of Axel Jordache in the mini-series Rich Man, Poor Man (1976). In contrast, he played a former Pontiff in the lead role of Papa Giovanni: Ioannes XXIII (Pope John XXIII 2002), an Italian miniseries for RAI. Asner has also had an extensive voice acting career. He provided the voices for Joshua on Joshua and the Battle of Jericho (1986) for Hanna-Barbera, J. Jonah Jameson on the 1990s animated television series Spider-Man (1994-98); Hoggish Greedily on Captain Planet and the Planeteers (1990-95); Hudson on Gargoyles (1994-96); Jabba the Hutt on the radio version of Star Wars; Master Vrook from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and its sequel; Roland Daggett on Batman: The Animated Series (1992-94); Cosgrove on Freakazoid!; Ed Wuncler on The Boondocks (2005-10); and Granny Goodness in various DC Comics animated series. Asner provided the voice of Carl Fredricksen in the Academy Award-winning Pixar film Up (2009).

He received great critical praise for the role, with one critic going so far as to suggest "They should create a new category for this year's Academy Award for Best Vocal Acting in an Animated Film and name Asner as the first recipient."[9] He has appeared in a recurring segment, on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, entitled "Does This Impress Ed Asner?" He was cast in a Country Music Television comedy pilot, Regular Joe.[10] In 2001, Asner was the recipient of the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.[11] Asner has won more Emmy Awards for performing than any other male actor (seven, including five for the role of Lou Grant). In 2003, he was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame.[12] In July 2010, Asner completed recording sessions for Shattered Hopes: The True Story of the Amityville Murders; which is a forthcoming documentary on the 1974 DeFeo murders in Amityville, New York. Asner serves as the narrator for the film, which covers a forensic analysis of the murders, the trial in which 23-year-old DeFeo son Ronald DeFeo Jr., was convicted of the killings, and the subsequent "haunting" story which is revealed to be a hoax.[13]Also in 2010, Asner played the title role in "FDR", a stage production about the life of Franklin Delano Roosevelt[14] he has subsequently continued to tour the play throughout the country. In January 2011, Asner took a supporting role on CMT's first original sitcom Working Class. He made an appearance in the independent comedy feature Not Another B Movie, and had a small but pivotal role as billionaire Warren Buffett in HBO's 2011 economy drama Too Big to Fail. Asner has also provided voice-over narration for many documentaries and films of social activism. Sadly; as I discovered; he is a 9/11 "Truther" which pisses me off for reasons I will not reveal at this time.

He started in 1957 with a few Studio One shows. Bonkers as Grumps is his DTVA debut and then from there he was on Recess, Hercules The Series as Mentor, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command as Fixer and Napoleon in WITCH. He has 306 acting credits, over 200 self credits, five producer credits, and four other credits to his resume. Production credits: The Bully, Payback and Eight Characters In Search Of A Sitcom among others. Wow; we really are getting to Recess levels here, but in a good way. Hakon comes up from behind with a wooden club (Oh COME ON BS&P! You wouldn't let him use the spiked mace?); but Goliath tackles him down anyway. So he grabs the arm and throws him over the staircase to his death off-screen. At least in theory. Goliath tells Hudson to watch his back and Hudson tells him to do the same. Then another viking gets thrown over the castle walls and dies off-screen I do believe. Goliath comes in to help Captain as Captain believes that the rogues are really after refugees that the castle took in last night as we pan to inside the castle as we see various humans in cloaks (except for a blond haired kid) standing close to a fire to keep warm. Broadway perches himself near the table where the food is and chomps on a chicken leg. The blond haired boy pulls on his mother to look at Broadway. I'm certain his name is Tom because he was voiced by JD Daniels and he sounds like a kid. The grandmother I'm certain is Mary (Kath Soucie) notices as a viking thug with black hair tries to get inside; but Broadway casually bonks the viking on the head with the drumstick and he is knocked out. Boy; that helmet is so flimsy. Tom is happy to see that as we get more flying as Hakon tries to practice the fine art of not being seen; but his panting is not helping him. He turns around and we get...wait for it...a Gargoyle who is a dog. I'M NOT MAKING THIS UP! In fact; later on in the series; you'll see that this wasn't the most absurd thing in the world. In New York; he would be addressed as Bronx (Frank Welker). So Bronx growls and pounces on Hakon; but Hakon dodges and Bronx manages to slash the side of the rock which indicates who did the claw marks at the beginning of the episode! Yeah.

So Hakon runs into the tower and in the shadow comes out what would prove to be the most awesome heel female in the history of DTVA: a gargoyle with red hair wearing a white tank top and having red whites in her eyes and wants blood and dares Hakon to face her. AWESOME! Later on; she would be addressed as Demona and she's babyface here. However; she would do one of the most awesome heel turns in the history of Disney and in the eyes of many; turned into an Road Warrior style heel that everyone in the audience was rooting for. And her life is almost as complex as Kit Cloudkicker would have been if Disney gave a crap about it. So; Demona is voiced by Marina Sirtis and according to Wikipedia: While filming Star Trek: The Next Generation, Sirtis returned to the UK during the hiatus between seasons three and four in 1990 to film a drama special entitled One Last Chance for the BBC. In 1992 she appeared in an episode of the short lived series The Fifth Corner and had a cameo in the horror/fantasy movie Waxwork II: Lost in Time. After the end of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1994, Sirtis continued to work regularly. Her first role was a departure from previous work, an abused wife in the series Heaven Help Us. She provided the voice of Demona in the Disney animated television series Gargoyles for two seasons starting in 1994. Her Next Generation co-stars, Frakes (as the voice of David Xanatos), Spiner and Dorn, also lent their voices to the show. She voiced the character again for an episode of the unmade animated series Team Atlantis. In 1996 Sirtis starred as a police detective in the British made-for-television movie Gadgetman. She guest-starred as a race track owner under investigation following the death of a driver in Diagnosis: Murder in 1998. The independent movie Paradise Lost, with Sirtis in a starring role, was released in 1999. Beginning in 1999, Sirtis returned to science fiction television in a number of roles starting with The Outer Limits. The same year she appeared in Earth: Final Conflict, originally created by Gene Roddenberry. In 2000 she played a Russian scientist in Stargate SG-1. Sirtis was interviewed in the October 2000 issue of SFX magazine in the UK; the cover stated "Marina Sirtis is Everywhere", also referring to her reprisal of her character Deanna Troi on Star Trek: Voyager. In 2001 Sirtis made a highly publicised appearance on the long-running British hospital drama Casualty. She played a politician with controversial views on the NHS. When she meets with a man she is having an affair with at a hotel, she is caught in an explosion.

Sirtis appeared in the made-for-television movies Terminal Error in 2002 and Net Games in 2003. Also in 2003 she guest-starred in the series Threat Matrix playing a biological-weapons scientist from Iraq. Sirtis starred in the movie Spectres in 2004, and at ShockerFest International Film Festival she won the best actress award.[14] Sirtis had a minor role in the Academy Award-winning ensemble film Crash as the wife of the Persian shopkeeper. Following this she played another Middle Eastern role on the series The Closer in 2005. In 2006 she had a three-episode recurring role as a love match-maker on Girlfriends and she guest-starred in Without a Trace. In 2007 Sirtis starred in the SyFy channel production of Grendel, where she played the Queen. Independent movies Trade Routes, The Deep Below and Lesser of Three Evils were released. She provided the voice for Matriarch Benezia in the critically acclaimed video game Mass Effect on XBox 360, Playstation 3 and PC. On British television in 2008, she made a guest appearance in an episode of Casualty's spin-off show, Holby City. The same year the sci-fi/drama movie Inalienable, written by Star Trek alumnus Walter Koenig, was released. Sirtis said of her role, "I actually play the Deputy Attorney General of the United States so I’m a bad guy, a mean lawyer, which was fantastic."[15] The direct-to-DVD sequels Green Street 2 and The Grudge 3, featuring Sirtis, were released in 2009. She co-starred in the British movie 31 North 62 East as the Prime Minister's top aide; it had a limited theatrical release in the UK. Sirtis guest-starred in the first episode of the short-lived hospital drama Three Rivers. She returned to SyFy in December 2009 in the disaster movie Annihilation Earth. 2010 saw Sirtis guest-star as a Swiss doctor in two episodes of ABC Family's Make It or Break It. In May 2010, Sirtis announced that she would be providing the voice for comic book villainess Queen Bee in Young Justice animated series.[16]

She provided her voice for a number of episodes from 2011 until its cancellation in 2013. In March 2011, Sirtis guest-starred on an episode of Grey's Anatomy. She played an Iranian mother who was at the hospital to participate in a medical trial for Alzheimer's disease.[17] In September 2011, fans started a group to get Marina to appear on Doctor Who. A few weeks later, she acknowledged the group and her desire to be on the show at the Montreal Comiccon.[18] In 2012, the vampire movie Speed Demons that co-starred Sirtis was released to pay-per-view services. The same year she played a fortune teller in the Castlevania fan-made series posted on YouTube. Sirtis has taken a recurring role as Director of Mossad on the CBS police procedural drama series NCIS.[19] Her character, Orli Elbaz, succeeds Eli David (portrayed by Michael Nouri) and is introduced in the Season 10 episode "Berlin." She started her career with Raffles and Who Pays The Ferryman in 1977. Gargoyles is her DTVA debut and only appearance. A Dark Reflection as Maggie Jasper is her most recent credit. She has 73 acting credits, 32 self credit and two production credits (Spectres and The Deep Below) to her resume. There is one more voice actor left from the main cast for a long while; but, that isn't in this episode. So Demona chases out Hakon who is blocked by Bronx and they boxed in by Goliath. Goliath grabs Hakon and demands him to take the rest of his men (a cue to indicate that indeed; many of his men had perished in this fight) and throws him into the wagon of hay and Hakon takes a bump off of it and flips about five times. So a couple of Gargoyle throw out some vikings into the mud and only do two flips top and the rest all run away and show their speed and quickness as not one arrow hits them in the back or even the legs. The Gargoyles appear together looking on from the castle top as the Captain thanks them to protecting them and Goliath returns the favor. Now remember TaleSpin pretty much explained the premise in it's opening and then went beyond that in a span of five minutes? Picture that and then literally turning everything on it's head once the betrayal scene kicks in.

So we head inside the castle with music and noblemen exchanging notes. We have the great fest as the dogs are having their food and eating it too. We have a white haired guy in white robes drinking from a goblet. It's WE KNOW IT'S ALCOHOL, BUT WE AREN'T TELLING ANYONE of course. There is a purple robed female princess wearing a golden ring around her brown hair smacked in the middle of the back wall at her own separate table with a SWANK Scottish cloth with X's stitched in for effect. Now that I really think about it; the princess looks similar to Elisa Maza in fact. So some of the soldiers eating are exchanging and ribbing Captain of the guard claiming that he's the leader of the Gargoyles. HA! They have a good point there since the Captain looks like Hudson. So Captain ignores it and sits down beside them as the princess addresses the Captain and thanks him for the victory. Captain gives the credit to the Gargoyles much to the disdain of the white haired mage. Huh? Okay; I thought Goliath NEVER had a name and yet Captain just blurts it out for no reason. I find that a little stupid. The princess is not happy about the monster's name in her presence. Princess Calla she is not; more like Princess Marie. Her name is Princess Katherine by the way as the door slams open and the white haired mage drops his purple wine filled goblet and in comes Goliath and Demona as Goliath clearly heard Katherine because he doesn't look amused. That ends the segment nine minutes in. Really great start to this pilot do you not think?

After the commercial break; we see Goliath and Demona walk in as Goliath's hand is bandaged up. Knowing how careful WD-Japan is; I'm certain it's the injured hand that is taped up. We get a near glorified shot of Demona's legs which would have been full blown glorified if they panned the camera up about another four inches or so. So Captain walks to the princess and wants Katherine to recognize them for their courage. Princess Katherine blows it off completely and her white haired mage agrees with her calling them un-natural. Geez; I wonder why the Gargoyles distrust humans now? Hmmmmm... So Goliath walks down to the table where the Princess is and she is taken so aback by this, and then Goliath kneels down and folds his wings into his body out of a show of respect. Katherine is surprised by this as Captain relates that the name is from the Philistine giant David fought in the bible. Yeah; and Goliath lost that battle by getting hit in the eye by a rock. Katherine then points out that the biblical Goliath was a bully and a savage. That seems to piss off Demona who is hissing now. Goliath manages to block her before she tries anything stupid and wants to be excused. Both gargoyles leave as Katherine (Kath Soucie) orders Captain to make the reports to the magus (he's the white haired mage by the way) and not directly to her. Magus (Jeff Bennett) seems pleased about this as Captain turns around in a huff and walks out. So we head into the hallway with a closeup shot of a candlestick and then a hallway shot as Captain apologizes profusely to Goliath and Demona. Goliath shrugs it off because Katherine's opinion doesn't change who they are. Demona is angry over this because we discover that the gargoyles owned the cliff before the castle was built and the humans should bow to Goliath and not the other way around. Even the Captain agrees with it; but Goliath doesn't care. He believes that this is the humans being...well...human. Which is funny considering Demona's attitude and actions much later on in this series. Demona calms down and implies that she is Goliath's future beloved; she is astounded by Goliath's patience. That won't last long.

So we head to Magus' room as we pan through the mages' personal experimentation room to him opening a book. The Great Book of Gummi? No. But close enough as he flips through the pages and that ends the scene. So we head to the castle in the morning as we discover that it's on a cliff facing the ocean. As per the gimmick; the gargoyles are now stone statues although Goliath's bandage is still on the left hand and it's still on the correct hand as we overlook from the statue's perspective as a horse is riding off from the castle and a shadow of a human in a white cloak like robe is riding it. Geez; I wonder who it could be. So we see it head to a camp near the mountain as we see the vikings patching themselves up and looking defeated. We then go to a tent as the white cloaked faceless human manages to find Hakon and informs him that he could strike a deal with him on overtaking Castle Wyvern as Hakon seems to be all ears. Now if this guy is who I think he is; then this cannot lead to anything good for the white robed guy because I have seen Sir Gyro De Gearloose and Les Dread turned on Moorloon for the same deal. Funny how Gargoyle fans claim how original this show is; and yet they have already introduced elements from Gummi Bears and Ducktales; with a heaping dash of TaleSpin characterization. Sure; we saw someone bleed and the show is epic. But groundbreaking? Hardly; in spite of the serial nature. So we head to the castle AFTER HAPPY HOUR as we see a closeup of Goliath's healed hand as he takes the bandage off on his right hand. Oh well; even this show can have breaks in logic. Captain proclaims that they should get the gargoyles out of here and for all before they storm the castle at daybreak. Demona is with the Captain on this one; but Goliath doesn't want to leave the castle open to attack. Captain reminds him that Hakon swore heavenly revenge on the gargoyles (in roundabout terms); so Goliath decides to chase off the humans on his own as Demona pleads for Goliath to join him. Goliath no sells and wants her to be in command of the force at the castle. They actually tease a kiss; but don't do one as Goliath proclaims that they are one, now and forever.

Goliath turns around and walks away as Demona and Captain can only watch him. So we get fire in the foreground and head to Broadway being Tummi Gummi. Geez; this show is so groundbreaking isn't it? Don't worry; it will gain it's legendary status soon enough. Brooklyn and Lex are teasing Bronx with some catch with a piece of meat as Bronx cannot even make contact with the meat. We go to shadows as Demona watches on with her wings folded into her chest which is pointless since she's wearing a white tank top. It cannot be the Gruffi pose because the Gargoyles have arms. Except for Bronx of course. So Tom wonders away from Mary as he is enthralled by the gargoyles playing along without a care in the world. So Bronx finally gets the meat as the gargoyles notice Tom and we get a closeup of Demona watching and not liking where this is going. So Tom asks for names and Lex admits that only Goliath has a name. I wish that they didn't give Goliath's name right away because it dulls the spot where they announce the names later on and it seems a little too much like what Kit did in Plunder and Lightning. So Tom asks how they can tell each other apart and they point out that their color of their skin is their ID. That sounds awfully racist. Tom asks who they would call each other and Brooklyn responds with friend. Then Mary comes in with a club and threatens the Gargoyles and orders Tom to stay away. Geez; I wonder why Demona would hate humans so much later on? Brooklyn tries to reason with her and Mary blows him off and throws the wooden club right into his face and it makes contact on screen with his face. OUCH! A good shot too! Reminds me of Trading Faces with Gregor punching Sir Victor in the face, only with an international object. That pisses Demona off as she jumps down and growls in their face. Demona calls Mary a beast and then Brooklyn gets in between her along with Lex as they tease trying to be friends; and then decide to be beast and their eyes glow white. Oh sure guys; that will sure work. NOT! So the humans gather up with Mary and that ends the segment 14 and a half minutes in. Brooklyn and Lex are not that smart.

After the commercial break; we see Lex, Brooklyn and Bronx coming in stalking the humans and they all run away and then Hudson and Goliath show up out of nowhere just after Broadway is in the corner stealing human food. Goliath is not amused and he orders them into the rookery until he returns. So we get a long sequence of Lex slowly opening a door which apparently leads to the rookery which is a slum for prostitutes. Oh man; that is COLD of you Goliath. Okay; I can see Brooklyn, Lex and Bronx going in since they scared off the humans which was the whole point of the punishment; but what exactly was Broadway's cr...Oh wait; he was stealing food from the humans. Which is probably MORE harmful than scaring them off. Brooklyn claims that they meant no harm; but Goliath isn't buying it. The male babyfaces go in as Demona blames the humans for starting it; but Goliath doesn't care because the absolute last thing he needs is a rift between the humans of Castle Wyvern and the gargoyles of Castle Wyvern. Goliath then states that he'll make it up to them; which is a subtle implication that he thinks DEMONA started it. Well of course she did since she seems to hate humans and waited for an excuse to attack. Goliath and Hudson fly away as Demona cannot even get a word in edge wise anymore. Geez; I wonder why Demona turned on Goliath in this series? Hmmmm... Speaking of logic; Goliath claimed that he was going to scare off the vikings on his own in a previous and now he is with Hudson for no reason whatsoever. This makes no sense. So Goliath notices something and swoops down in front of a forest and notices footprints which seem way too light for horses carrying armored men as Hudson noted. Goliath and Hudson run in like dogs walking. So we head to a cave containing a lot of green spotted eggs as the male gargoyles are all inside. Lex calls being in the rookery embarrassing as Broadway goes to the wall and eats the slime off of it. EWWWWWWWW! And people accuse Fanboy and Chum Chum of this crap? Lex is repulsed and paranoid that he might eat them before this is all over.

We also discover that the eggs are actually Gargoyle eggs and that's how the Gargoyles are born. Born like chickens! That sounds about right all things considered. And there's no Demona; so I'm assuming she wasn't punished which makes no sense since she started it. Okay; it was actually Mary defending Tom; but whatever. Demona tried to symbolically throw gasoline on the fire so to speak. So we head to the weapons room as the shading here is absolutely awesome as I cannot tell who is preparing a bow which is a closeup on the hard camera. It has to be the white robed guy because that makes more sense than anything. So we head back inside the forest with Goliath and Hudson flying around as Hudson comments about it being daybreak soon as they notice a round of horses and vikings on foot. The gargoyles swoop down and scar them off as the vikings all scatter in various directions and do not counter attack at all. And then it just dawned on Goliath that they were used to play decoy to leave the castle unprotected. Now this is pointless because even if they stayed; all Hakon would have to do is wait until sunrise and THEN attack the castle. It's obvious that the gargoyles turn to stone at sunrise since they revert to gargoyles at night; so you just wait and you win. Easy. So why did the white robed figure strike a deal with Hakon? Hmmmmm... So Goliath and Hudson try to fly out of the forest which is stupid because if they succeed in returning to the castle; then they would turn to stone and be at the mercy of Hakon ANYWAY. Thankfully for them (despite Goliath trying to paint it like this is bad. Yes; it's bad; but you getting back to the castle at daybreak is WORSE!) they turn to stone on the cliff facing the castle. Hakon doesn't suspect that as he is at the castle and let the bloodbath commence. Well; a Disney version of a bloodbath anyway. As in no bloodshed despite the fact that they allowed Goliath to bleed earlier. So the bowman's bows break because they use cheap rope from the middle ages version of the Dollar Store...

...allegedly.

Someone then opens the castle drawbridge and the vikings come in as the Wyvern soldiers try to fend off the vikings; but they get beat down. We get a shot of Princess Katherine running down the stairs and I knew that she was going to be kidnapped; but I thought it would be Magus doing his heel turn since he went to Hakon on horseback during the morning to strike a deal with him. Well; someone did turn heel, but the one who grabs her is....Captain? There is our first SWEVERE of the episode and it won't be the last one either. Katherine is in shock as we head to the half damaged castle BEFORE HAPPY HOUR (sunset) as the refugees and both Katherine and MAGUS in handcuffs walk out of the castle. So Captain was the white robed man? Wow; they actually fooled me. If there is one thing Gargoyles did well; it's doing twists in the plot and surpassing even TaleSpin in that department. So we head to the ramparts of the castle as Hakon asks why he betrayed his own kind and Captain claims that they are not his kind. So Hakon brings out the mace as he has it set to Gargoyle Slaughter Mode and Captain grabs it? Yeap; this is the second SWEVERE of the episode as Captain doesn't want him to destroy the statues. Hakon calls Captain insane. No Hakon; Captain betrayed KATHERINE; but he didn't betray the Gargoyles. Sadly; this was a massive miscalculation on his part as Hakon shoves Captain into the wall and asks him if he wants to discuss the matter further. Captain decides to give in right there as Hakon proclaims that he didn't live this long to make foolish mistakes and then takes the club and smashes the gargoyle statue off-screen which is stupid as you'll see in another major story arc later on. Captain is appalled right on cue as we scene change to AFTER HAPPY HOUR as we see Hudson and Goliath flying in front of the full moon as they fly to the castle and realize that they are way too late as the castle is on fire and there are no dead human bodies; but it's not needed because the gargoyle statues are shown all smashed up. This is exactly why showing Hakon smash up a gargoyle off-screen was pointless. Goliath perches in front of a gargoyle statue and grabs the rock as Keith David's acting is AWESOME here. Goliath basically calls it the angel of the night; which implies that Hakon MURDERED Demona legit since Demona is supposed to be his beloved. Wow; just wow. He lets out a sob and then extends his body and roars into the sky loudly as we zoom out and end part one at 20:36. Wow; what an epic start to this; minor mistakes aside. This show is trying to wipe away TaleSpin legacy and it might just succeed. Might. Call it **** 1/2 (90%).

Final Notes: We fade to black with a blue lettered "To be Continued..." and then show footage for the next episode! Which includes Lexington tackling a female SWAT team guard! Lovely! And for those of you who wondered when they would do the opening....Well; they finally showed it in full profile; only it's not the official one since Goliath doesn't narrate it here. It's an awesome opening with mostly footage from the show; but it looks random without Keith David's epic narration which makes this one of the best openings in DTVA history. I think it's the best one over "Spin It!" because "Spin It!" opening is on the strength of the original footage mixed in with awesome stuff; but the song is so annoying that it gets stuck in your head. I mean; the song itself was very good, but it annoys you after a while. This opening doesn't do that.


THE REVIEW LINE

Well; the first episode of the "Darkest DTVA Show" ever is in the books and it still hold up very well. The animation is awesome, there were few animation mistakes, and the last three or four minutes of this episode really hooked me to watch this series until the end. The difference between this show hooking me and TaleSpin hooking me is that Gargoyles is dramatic; but the emotion is kept more in check. The pathos are there; but they aren't the main event, they are mid card, but there is no comedy. The action and the story twists gave the finish an "18 *" finish as Bryan & Vinny would say. I seriously thought at first it was Magus behind this; but then they fooled us as it was the Captain...and then we discover his real motive had nothing to do with betraying the Gargoyles; but to betray Katherine for dissing Goliath! That is wonderful booking that makes sense. That is the kind of "Surprise" that made Kit Cloudkicker stealing the stone from Don Karnage in Plunder and Lightning so amazing and kudos to Gregory for noticing that and applying it here. Broadway is Tummi Gummi; but comedy relief is not so good in this show so he's going to need something to get him over that is not food spots. Thankfully; he will get it, although Disney would really hate it in the long run. The rest of the Gargoyles are fine; but can you smell the slow heel turn coming from Demona? I sure could and you know it's going to be epic when it happens. These elements are what got this show the legendary status among fans; not Goliath bleeding from the hand, but the surprises and twists that make sense. Now I'm pumped to see if Goliath goes into ABYSS MODE and kill Captain because we know what Captain's motives were and Goliath has to be unstable since he implied that Hakon killed Demona in cold blood. Overall; this is a wonderful start and hopefully this pilot won't make too many mistakes (revealing Goliath's name too early being one) and surpass Plunder and Lightning in awesomeness. However; this is a mighty fine start for them. So....

Thumbs up for this episode and I'll see you all next time.

 

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