Gargoyles!!!

www.comettv.com

Hello, my lovelies!  It's been a while I know and I'll try to be consistent from now on but no promises though.  By now you've heard that Disney's streaming service, Disney+ is out and most of their shows including classic movies such as Cinderella and Snow White.  There were even cartoon shows such as TaleSpin and Darkwing Duck on there, including X-Men.  I'll talk about the X-Men soon!  The one show, I'm happy that Disney is showing on its website is Gargoyles! I was like, amen and Hallelujer!!!  One of my favorite cartoon series is back!  Gargoyles is a Disney animated series that was aired from 1994 to 1997 with three seasons. It features six gargoyles led by Goliath, a large and hunky purple gargoyle and as the series progressed, more gargoyles and their human counterparts were added.  Betrayed by humans in ancient Scotland, the gargoyles were put to sleep by a spell, only to be awakened again in New York City in the 90s!  Stone by day, warriors by night, the gargoyles decided to protect their new home with the help of their human friend Elisa Maza while trying to find their place in it, all the while, enduring the centuries-long hate from the humans.  Not to mention they have to deal with their nemeses,  David Xanatos, an amoral and a wealthy man and a vengeful female gargoyle named Demona. Spoilers ahead!

I saw some of the episodes while in Trinidad and I was very intrigued!  I didn't get to see all of the episodes, unfortunately, especially when there were chores around.  I had to admit, a show about gargoyles in New York City was rather strange to me.  However, the combination of New York City's charm and ancient mythology (and really great writing), the show was a success.  I didn't even know that it was part of Disney.  Disney is known for promoting happy endings or in the case of cartoons, a happy go lucky mentality.  It was really surprising that Disney decided to create a dark and more mature cartoon which mentions the ills of society, especially racism and discrimination.  The show was created by Greg Weisman and it includes the writers Michael Reaves, Brynne Chandler Reaves among others in the series.  The Gargoyles series were supposed to be created in a similar vein of cartoons such as Darkwing Duck with a comedic flair but Greg and his crew decided to go to a darker route instead.   

David Xanatos and Goliath (www.gargwiki.net)

The first season was basically an introduction to the main characters in the series.  It was also about the gargoyles adaptation to their new world.  Even the names of the gargoyles, Hudson the elder (beige), Brooklyn, the second in command (red), Broadway, the overeater (light green), Lexington the tech genius (green) and Bronx, the dog-like gargoyle (dark blue), symbolizes this adaptation and even create their own identity.   It's rather interesting that Goliath was the only gargoyle named, while his friends remained nameless in the past.  Maybe it has to do with his size or his leadership ability.  David Xanathos was introduced as a villain immediately in the series and he was fun to watch.  He wanted the gargoyles to work under him but he showed his true colors once they realized he was not to be trusted. Plus thanks to Elisa Maza, a detective, who did some background check on Xanatos so she wasn't falling for the BS either.  The female gargoyle Demona was also introduced or reintroduced to the clan including Goliath who all believed that she died in the massacre long ago.  I forgot to mention earlier that the majority of the gargoyles were massacred by the Vikings and sadly, Demona had a hand in it.  Macbeth, no not that Macbeth, was also introduced in the season but we'll see more of him in season 2. 

Goliath and Demona (www.pinterest.com)

Goliath and Elisa Masa (www.blacknerdproblems.com)

Season 2 really showed the growth and depth of the characters, especially Goliath and Elisa.  We get to see the reason for Demona's hatred for humans.  After all, they hated the sight of gargoyles and they often take for granted the loyalty and protection the gargoyles offered the humans.  In the past, Goliath and Demona were lovers but they often have different views in dealing with humans.  Goliath wants to take a pragmatic and holistic approach while Demona wants to get rid of the humans so she and the other gargoyles can live in peace.  She almost had the chance when she and the human captain of the guard planned to have the Vikings attack Castle Wyvern and drive the humans away.  Unfortunately, however, the Vikings realizing that the gargoyles are vulnerable once they turned into stone, destroyed them.  Only a few survived, including Demona who couldn't believe what she had done.  Instead of taking some of the blame, she decided to take her anger out on the humans and have done so over the centuries, plotting and planning to get her revenge one way or another.  She and Macbeth, both tragic individuals were also connected.  Demona and Macbeth made a bargain with the Wierd Sisters, giving both Demona and Macbeth immortality.  However, Macbeth has to give up his youth, while Demona regained her strength and youthful appearance.  They worked together for a while, maintaining peace between humans and gargoyles alike.  Eventually, Demona betrayed Macbeth, believing he was about to betray her and her kind, left him to fend his enemies by himself.  Also, we get to meet other gargoyles from around the world including Goliath's and Demona's daughter Angela, one of many young gargoyles saved from the massacre. 


Season 3 I didn't watch because the season didn't even show in Trinidad so I didn't have an idea.  I'll have to watch the show on Disney plus to find out.  It was a great series and too bad it only lasted three seasons.  Nonetheless, it had a cult following and hopefully, there will be a season 4.  Maybe?  The complexities of the characters are worth watching, even the villains, Demona especially. There's even a budding romance between Goliath and Elisa, well bacchanal start :)!  It's also cool that some of the voice actors, Marina Sirtis (Demona) and Jonathan Frakes (Xanatos) came from Star Trek: The Next Generation. How cool is that?!   Also, Salli Richardson did an excellent job voicing Elisa Maza and Keith David as Goliath, (Lord, that's a deep and sexy voice).  

Gargoyles was ahead of its time and it dealt with a lot of serious issues in society, including discrimination/racism, gun violence and even gun smuggling! It also showed teamwork, love and empathy for both gargoyles and humans and also tragic consequences of trying to get revenge.  All this heavy stuff in a kids' show! Anyway, if you never see the show please go watch it, it's worth it and quite frankly a classic.  So please check it out and it's on Disney +, although right now it has many issues at the moment.