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Gargoyles: Awakening Part 3
Reviewed: 07/13/2013
I Told The Bad Episode Police To Stay Away; but NOOO!!
That should give you an idea of what is to come in part III as Eliza Maza is on the case to solve the mystery of those explosions and debris falling; even though we already know what happened. And she meets the Gargoyles for real. That's all you really need to know right now. So; 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: Jade Animation and Tama Pro.
Opening Moment #1: Non-Goliath narration used here. And there is the usual recap that I don't care about.
We begin this one with a far shot of Castle Wyvern AFTER HAPPY HOUR (after dark) and then we head into the lobby which most of it looks like solid bronze as Owen (Think Shere Khan's "Yes-Man" if the "Yes-Man" had Shere Khan's mannerisms, minus clawing the chairs of course...) explains to Eliza that a generator exploded and that caused the explosions. Ah; Owen is one of those who believes in Occam's Razor and this is the simplest, most believable explanation available. We discover that Owen's last name is Burnett which is funny considering that Alan Burnett has been gone from Disney four years ago. Hmmmm; it's got to be a rib. Eliza points out that there was automatic weapons firing. Well; she's almost right. She forgot about the red laser Xanatos was firing. So Elisa plays bad cop on Owen offering to look the place on Owen's consent; or she gets a warrant with a lot more police officers. Owen can only smile in a "Well played madam" sort of way. So we go through the elevators into Xanatos office as she comments about the high heating bill. Then David Xanatos shows up in his CEO gear as he called the mayor to apologize for the incident; but Eliza wants him to provide a better explanation than Owen did. Xanatos claims that Owen is confused and what really happened was that a rival corporation was trying to steal something from him; which is absolutely true. Eliza blows it off claiming that he is a private citizen and not a country. Xanatos gleefully retorts that one for me and they walk out into the courtyard which has suffered more damage than in the last episode. Eliza asks about the permits on the weapons being fired and Xanatos assures her that they are nice and legal. Well; that should be easy; since Xanatos only had ONE red laser gun to fire. So we see Goliath and Hudson practicing the fine art of not being seen in the shadows while the remaining babyfaces are in the master kitchen staring in awe. Brooklyn shows how stupid he is by placing his hand on the gas stove and turning it on which should have set his hand on fire; but doesn't. He bumps into Lex and they go into the shelving wall as stuff falls on them and it looks so fake that it has to be animated by Jade/Tama Pro here.
Then Broadway opens up the walk in ice box of doom as there is some of the largest cuts of meat and fish in the history of mankind. I don't think today's CEO's would have stuff that large in size. So Broadway grabs some food from the back wall as Lex shuts the door on Broadway without even seeing the door; despite the fact that Brooklyn was right there to see it. Yeap; another Tummi-equse prank on Broadway again. So Broadway protests and it's clear that it sounds exactly like Patrick Star from Spongebob Squarepants. It's much harder to take Broadway seriously as a character in hindsight knowing that the voice who did this show went on to star the most moronic character in the history of "cartoons that got monster over". So they do the "You push, I pull" spot as Broadway charges at the door and it flings open and they all go flying taking decent bumps on the way out. And before we find out that they landed on the gas stove again (I was hoping for that); we head outside as Owen comes in and tells Xanatos that there are guests screwing around the kitchen; so David hopes that he answered the questions to her approval and then asks to be excused and walks out stage right. Owen offers to show her the way out as they turn around and Eliza notices Hudson on the bridge about 20 feet up. She swears that she saw something move and Owen states that he found the castle spooky more than once as they head for the elevator. Owen pushes the button to open it and Eliza goes in as they both say good night. The elevator door closes and Owen leaves. Eliza is in the elevator pondering things over. And then she pushes the green button for down and opens the elevator and walks out because this investigation is not over yet. So Eliza walks into a dark hallway and gets out her flashlight. She goes through the middle door (which has a deer's head on top) and she is wondering when Dracula will show up. So she is about to go up the stairs and thinks she hears something; but doesn't. She wants a good laugh now and walks up the stairs without further incident. I swear that on the western wall; there is a cross; but it looks like a crucifix of Jesus at 5:36 of the DVD!! We zoom in and there is Bronx for goodness knows what reason.
So Bronx follow Eliza who is on the ramparts and looking off towards the city as then she hears growling and then hides behind a brick wall near the doorway she came out. She brings out her gun (and unlike Rebecca Cunningham; she does know how to use one properly) and points to to empty dark space and then is forced to back up as Bronx is growling at her. Goliath comes up from behind and steals her gun away and crumbles it which cannot be good for that injured hand of his. Eliza backs away and somehow goes to the edge of the ramparts and falls over; free falling to certain doom and we fade to black barely six and a quarter minutes into this thing. Even in this show; Michael Eisner needs to be turned on. I thought this show was beneath him. Anyhow; the music is slightly out of sync; but that's fine as we return with Eliza free falling. Goliath flies down and scoops up Eliza in his arms as some of the patrons seem to see this; but Goliath swoops to a ledge on the building near some windows and lands on the ledge. Eliza gets down and wants him to take it easy as Goliath wants to know why she was in her castle which shocks Eliza because they can talk. Oh come on Eliza; you saw a Gargoyle dog and a Gargoyle come to life already. Eliza wants to know who he is and Goliath points out that he is the only one who got a name out of this which I still think is dumb; but whatever. Eliza points out that they have to get down to the streets; or up to the castle, but Goliath points out that he cannot fly; but glide to the currents of the wind and in New York; he is screwed in that department. Eliza thinks she's stuck; so Goliath grabs her and tells her to hold on with a guff that screams "I cannot believe I'm doing this". So yes; Goliath claws up the building; causing damages to the sides as he goes much to Eliza's dismay. So this goes on for a long ass whomping time as Goliath finally makes it up on the rampart and Eliza climbs off Goliath's back. So Eliza pants and then panics because Bronx is stalking her again. So Eliza backs up; but Goliath insists that he won't do anything stupid. So Goliath asks again why she is at the castle and tells her to not fall over the ramparts again. Eliza can only smile in response.
So we get another cut to a sky shot of the other babyfaces going down the stairs as Hudson is blowing off the other babyfaces for acting like idiots. And then Brooklyn notices Goliath talking to a human woman on top of the rampart. So we head back to Goliath and Eliza exchanging notes about the past as Eliza gets rather uneasy getting sniffed out by Brooklyn. They ask who Eliza is and Goliath points out that she is a detective and his wording makes it that he is still trying to break in the word into his worldview. That is pretty impressive. Eliza flashes her badge as we discover that she is second class detective for the NYPD. Second class? Geez; white male entitlement is rampart; even in this cartoon. We also hear that it was Xanatos who brought them here as well. Hudson asks about her works and Eliza explains that when someone breaks the law; she finds facts and arrests them. Personally; the way I said it is much more becoming of her then the dialog she gives here. So we continue with Eliza explaining that they have a justice system where the people decide which doesn't exactly thrill Goliath; but it's almost dawn anyway. So Eliza wants to talk some more and owes them for saving her life. Goliath agrees; but it must be after dark on a separate building. Eliza isn't so sure about this as she turns around to leave as Goliath asks again why she is in the castle and Eliza proclaims that a detective doesn't trust and that means she and Goliath have something in common. Pretty good booking there as the babyface Gargoyles admit that Eliza is needed to help guide them into knowing thy enemy and how they rule in this world. So Eliza leaves and we head to a darken office as David is at his desk with a spotlight on him. Goliath comes down asking why he has summoned him here despite being almost daybreak. Xanatos claims that this won't be long as he wants Goliath to help him return the stolen briefcase from those thugs at Cyberbiotics. So I'm guessing that David was going to create a cyborg at some point. Why doesn't that surprise me? Goliath suggests hiring a detective which does give some amusement from David; but David is already trying to cover his ass over the explosion fire fight from part two. It's a trust thing see.
So we see David go to his television screen with built in VCR as he puts a VHS tape (which is what kids watched in Ancient Egypt) as we see a shot of the Statue of Liberty and some phillac symbol out to it's right. Goliath is more in awe of how this is a living tapestry. Which is an improvement over most people's reactions when television was introduced to the masses. David claims that Goliath's naivety is refreshing as we see that it's a tower which is the first location where the data is. Now why would Cyberbiotics put the data in the briefcase in three different locations. By the way; I forgot to mention that David shows Goliath a 3 1/2" floppy disk and calls it a hard drive which makes absolutely NO sense since it clearly is not a hard drive. David refers to them as talismans which contain hundred of magical spells. Well; when you have a magical way of thinking; explaining technology through help at least allows the magical thinker to accept the technology somewhat. The second location is in the subway somewhere and the third location is an air fortress (in 1994? FACKING BULLSHEET!) flying over the city. The guise of this is to hit all three areas at once without any of them calling for security to the other; since the data they stole is really important. Goliath asks why should they help David Xanatos and David insists that they could translate the spells and cause terrible things to happen to them. Goliath considers this different from protecting the castle and doesn't want to risk anything on his charges. David tells him to consider the deal since it could spell doom for both of them as Goliath leaves the office without an answer. Then we see a wall open near the desk on the right and we see in the shadows....Demona? But Demona was killed in part one! Or was she...?! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! Personally; I would leave the room she was in; in complete darkness with only her red eyes and save the surprise for later. David tell her that everything is going according to plan and he sounds like a subtle heel now. This ends the segment 12 minutes in. Very good thus far...
After the commercial break; we head to a sunrise shot of New York's harbor and then pan west to the gargoyle statue doing their scary poses; which aren't scary. Then we have a shot of Goliath on top of the castle pondering like a statue. Then a shot of the Statue of Liberty as we go to BEFORE HAPPY HOUR (sunset) and then into HAPPY HOUR (darkness starts) as we pan up to the top of the castle and Goliath's statue crumbles and Goliath is now a Gargoyle again. Not as epic as the previous ones; but whatever. All the rest of them wake up as well from their stone slumber as Brooklyn, Lex and Broadway try to leave; but Goliath notices it and asks where they are going. Brooklyn wants to explore the city because they cannot live for the rest of their lives in the castle. Lex agrees since they need to know thy enemy's devices and of course Broadway wants to know their food because he's Tummi Gummi in Gargoyles form with Patrick Star's voice. Goliath grumbles; but agrees to it as long as they stay out of sight and near the building. Considering where they are; that doesn't give much wiggle room for the gargoyles doesn't it. Bronx watched on whimpering as it's clear he got jobbed in his deal while the three goofballs of doom fly away. So we head to the top of that building opposite to the castle as Eliza goes through out the door and is looking around and Goliath appears from behind a wall facing her within three seconds. Goliath was hiding to make sure she was alone which amuses Eliza as she looks around and Hudson shows up which Goliath is not amused (because it was made to look like Goliath betrayed Eliza's trust - good booking there) to see as Hudson explains that he was trying to prevent an ambush. Eliza thinks that they are paranoid; even for New York. Well; of course. Captain betrayed them despite the fact that Captain was trying to protect them from the humans. Anyhow; we exchange notes on the tour as Eliza asks for Hudson's name; and Hudson feels that names are limiting which is ironic considering that the sky does have a name. Memo to Hudson: The name for "sky" is sky. Got it? He points to the river and Eliza points out that this is the Hudson river. Goliath has a smirk that sezs "I was named; get over yourself...Hudson."
Hudson grumbles and accepts his name as Hudson as Eliza asks about keeping these two under wraps from the "humans". Goliath points out that he flies from the rooftops as Eliza asks about her; so Goliath grabs her as if she is a princess and that offends Hudson and makes Goliath blush. Hudson decides to leave to guard the castle again flying from the building. So Eliza asks what he wants Goliath to see first and Goliath's response to that is the dangers of her own kind. Eliza tells him to lighten up because it's dragging her down as a cop. So we see Goliath flying around the city with various Spiderman 1960's shots; only a lot better animated and artistry. Okay; I get that these scenes are charming and everything; but we have seen this before...in the 1960's. We get some scatter shots of the humans walking around the streets of New York which looks like animated stock footage you see from live action television if filmed in New York City. Anyhow; I just realized that Gregory took a page out of the Plunder and Lightning playbook when Baloo showed Kit Cape Suzette for the first time which was more memorable to me because Cape Suzette was a fictional city that needed such a sweep (and it was the pilot episode). Plus; the pilot episode was written so that first time fans watching the pilot would be seeing Cape Suzette for the first time, thus making it memorable, and did it within the first 15 minutes of the pilot episode. Most kids would notice New York City right away because New York City is one of the most prolific cities in the world and Hollywood makes it the biggest city in the Eastern part of the USA. It's seen a million times in other shows; so the whole notion of the sweep is pointless other than to kill time. Plus; we saw NYC right from the first minute of this pilot. It's fine otherwise. Anyhow; we end with Goliath landing on the building where they met as Eliza is set on her feet and she asks Goliath what he thinks thus far. Goliath is amazed by the city's evolution throughout the ages and asks how they protect from invaders. Eliza points out that it's not the evil from outside; it's from within which Goliath states is the second thing they have in common. I love real comments that aren't supposed to be real comments.
So we head into the castle hallways as Hudson and Bronx are whining about how strange this new world is; because Hudson is the elder of the clan and he's an old fart who couldn't get anyone off his lawn to save his life. So Hudson and Bronx head into a living room like area which has a remote control on the table. Oh; this ought to be fun to mock. I do like it when they use a lot of TaleSpin's shading and shadow effects, very nice. So Hudson looks at the red reclining chair and tries to sit in it; but gets whiplash backwards. HAHA! Yeap; too fun to mock. Hudson then realizes that this is perfectly acceptable and enjoys himself. So Bronx sniffs the air as Hudson uses the remote and apparently; he has no problems turning the thing on despite the fact that this is his first time watching television in this world. This does not make any sense as there is this loud rock music star with a green tank top; jeans, pearls like a headband on his brown curly hair (If only Oscar had such foresight to do that; just for a laugh); and rocking with a red guitar which knocks Hudson backwards over the seat and Bronx runs away screaming. HAHA! Hudson runs away as well and slams the door shut and we fade to black for a second. Trust me; this is as close as we get to actual humor that works in this show. The comedy goes downhill from here by the way. So we head through the streets as there is a car that stalls in the wrong part of town. What a shocker? So we have a blond haired woman blowing off a brown haired man for thinking that there is a bistro behind a dumpster. The blond haired woman is Margot by the way (voiced by Marina Sirtis) as he puts the key in; but the car won't start. Margot blows off the brown haired man (I'm assuming it's Brendan voiced by Pat Fraley) for paying $40,000 for the car. That's kind of expensive to me in 1994. So (Brendan) has a wired phone in the car and tries to call; but there is nothing but static. So he get out and opens the front hood as Margot blows him off because his repair skills suck so much he cannot plug in the coffee maker. This would have been much funnier if he couldn't open the front hood of the car.
And here comes the 1994 edition of Cryme Time; only there are three of them and one of them his white with glasses on and has a lead pipe. They will find parts fast and fix cars quick; and they want to do a JBL limo job on the poor victims' face. Margot panics and locks the car from the inside; which means that she has divorced him as she orders Brendan to hand over the wallet now and he sells as he gives the wallet claiming that there isn't much. The thugs from the hood get out their chains and stuff because apparently that car and Brendan have violate the New York state law on cars. Apparently; it doesn't have a well ventilated windshield. So Goliath swoops in and hides in an alleyway as Eliza comes out claiming that they should be to the 4H-Club meeting. The thugs turn around and think this is better as they are sexist pigs; as I expected. Eliza flashes the badge and the thugs don't care as they back Eliza up; so Eliza runs into the alleyway and the thugs run after her which is the stupidest move you can make with a cop as Brendan looks from the alleyway and is horrified as the thugs panic when they see Goliath go into ABYSS MODE and grabs the white guy who wants to act all brave; and throws him into the dumpster. The other two thugs get mauled off-screen as Brendan and Margot are in horror and they run away stage south. Eliza rejoins Goliath as he asks about human gratitude and Eliza can only guess as she proclaims that this is the best thing this city has gotten in a long time. That sounds much more like a backhanded compliment in hindsight; considering what happened at 9/11. So we scene change to the goofballs of doom watching from a building which has three gargoyle look-a-like on their right. HA! Lex then notices someone on a motorcycle and wants to see how it works; so he swoops down like a child on Christmas morning much to the dismay of Brooklyn. So Lex pokes on the rider's shoulder and the rider panics and loses control as he bumps into the tree and falls off the motorcycle. The rider bails as Brooklyn and Broadway follow and blow off Lex because they blew their cover. Lex apologizes for it because he just wanted to look at the machine.
So Lex uprights the motorcycle and gets on as Broadway tells him to be careful. Broadway; you sound like Patrick Star. I cannot take any warning you say seriously. That warning sucked! Lex insists that it looks easy enough and then Lex starts the engine and pops a wheelie like an idiot and hangs on for dear life; before letting go and the motorcycles takes the big bump into the barricade and explodes into flames. This is probably the best animated sequence I have ever seen on television and it's still limited animation. The orange flame special effects help it a lot as Brooklyn thinks that they shouldn't tell Goliath about it. YOU THINK?! So we head to central park as Goliath and Eliza are walking in as Eliza gets off the comment about being the only "couple" in the park to not worry about muggers. Except for Locke Cole. I had to say that; it must be said. Goliath proclaims that this time is just as savage as the previous era. Wow; Goliath is underestimating here do you not think? Eliza proclaims that this is the kind of judgment humans used to judge his kind and that it is far more than just that alone. She refers to a story on how her mother sings to her every night when she was a kid which is so Rebecca like..Oh wait; it's not because Home Is Where The Heart Is doesn't exist in Disney canon. Despite the fact that we have the Disney Channel footage right on Youtube and right on film. Then we hear bushes shaking and someone fires a dart gun and the dart nails Goliath into the right arm and he growls lightly. And sadly; there is no blood present as Eliza gets out her gun and it's the BAD EPISODE POLICE...ERRR...I mean the SWAT team. I didn't call them to come in Goliath, honest! There's nothing bad about this episode; it's just the booking of some of it is a time waster at best (albeit; most of it is fine and some of it was fun. Hudson's whiplash was hilarious.). So Eliza gets the gun kicked out of her hand and she gets grabs by SWAT team guy #2 as Goliath is pissed off and goes into scary red eyes mode and shoves some heels and then gets gang tackled by the SWAT team while wearing the dart on his arm the entire time. That would be painful; if I didn't have that done to me when I got IV for the infamous "Soda Cellar" incident.
So Eliza struggles and Goliath struggles; but the dart stuff finally takes it's effect and Goliath slumps to the ground knocked out. The SWAT Commander (who is wearing a red uniform by the way) comes in with his gun which is the exact same one Eliza had; so I'm guessing that he is amusing that he is going to shoot Goliath dead and then pin the blame on Eliza murdering him because it was her gun. Ummm; that seems to be a dumb idea, but whatever. So SWAT Commander proclaims that he is just tying up some loose ends and points the gun at Goliath and that ends part three at 20:30 approx. The SWAT Commander is Jeff Bennett by the way. Anyhow; this was very good; but it felt like a time wasting episode just to make us laugh which is NOT this show's strong point; although Hudson's misadventure with the red recliner was hilarious. It looked like they were going through the motions to get to Goliath getting the dart. Nothing in this episode was bad; it was just bizzarro booking that proves that five part episodes take way too long and that four parters are much better for stuff like this. So no; Plunder and Lightning did not get crushed and this pilot won't do it either. However; the episode is still very good and some of it was fun; so call it **** (80%). Thankfully; part four and five should be epic though as we finally meet Demona for real; although they could have done a better job concealing her considering that they gave her away 12 minutes into this episode!
THE REVIEW LINE
So; we get through the slowdown portion of this pilot which was basically similar to Time Is Money Part Three; only animated better and funner than that. Look; I can respect Gregory for doing the mythical sweep of New York City like they did with Cape Suzette; but Cape Suzette was better because it was a fictional city and needed such a sweep. This was put there to kill time. In fact; most of the stuff they did here from the 12 minute mark onward was time filler. None of it was bad; in fact, most of it was either fine and seeing Hudson trying to relax in the Comfy Chair was hilarious although I would have done without Hudson having no trouble with the remote control. Lex with the motorcycle was fine; and the kitchen spot was fine. However; most of this episode was just random like the previous one and they could have edited out a good portion of this and did a four parter instead which would have been more epic and more of a sense of urgency which I didn't see here. I mean; Xanatos is asking Goliath to find data in three locations and Goliath doesn't bother to answer and could have gotten straight to the finish. Xanatos said nothing about Goliath's lack of response either. Also; I wish they concealed Demona a lot better because her shadow clearly gave her away at the end of the first segment of this. Just a ton of stuff that was good; but not memorable and it dragged on for too long until the real story started picking up again. Yeah; I realize that they have to do this stuff in order to get them over as newcomers in a new time; and most of it was perfectly acceptable, but there are better ways to introduce the angles without dragging the storyline on. You can cut most of the filler out; make Awakening a four parter and use the fifth episode as a epilogue to introduce those angles in and it would look much more interesting and give the main story a better sense of focus which this show needs right now. Thankfully; part four and five will provide it as we introduce Demona for real and Goliath finally agrees to do David Xanatos' dirty work. I'm guessing part five is where Demona and Xanatos all turn on Goliath although Demona's turn is certainly well known. David's on the other hand... So....
Thumbs up for this episode and I'll see you all next time.