Day 02: A Show You Wish More People Were Watching
Most of the shows I watch and enjoy aren’t on TV anymore. Either that or they’re on TV at a time when I can’t watch so I end up watching the DVDs or on the web. There is one show I love that I think that many people would really enjoy if they took a moment to watch it. That show is perhaps one of the best, and definitely the smartest show to ever come out of Disney. That show is Gargoyles.
I have watched Gargoyles pretty consistently since about age 9. It used to come on TV after school and I’d watch it whenever I could. I was fascinated by the gargoyles and their story and wanted to emulate Elisa Maza and for a while daydreamed of being a police detective. I think the best part of the show was the writers’ ability to weave myth, legend, and literature into a modern story–a cartoon, no less! The characters were three-dimensional with the good guys and the villains each able to really stand on their own. It’s really a shame the show only ran for 3 seasons (a short first and third and a really long second). Even with all of the excellent stories told, there are still stories of greater depth yet to be told.
In the mid 90’s when the show ran originally, Marvel Comics picked it up and did a short series of comics with the characters. In 2008, Slave Labor Graphics picked it up and told brand new stories with show creator Greg Weisman at the helm. I have several of both series of comic books and am impressed with the way they were done. The Marvel version did an interesting job of making the stories a little more “grown-up” and serious than the show, which was already fairly dark and serious for a cartoon. The newer issues put out a couple years ago were very interesting, too, but as it’s been a few years since I’ve read them, I can’t remember much of the new storyline. I need to go back and pick those up again.
Also, if you are a fan of the Star Trek franchise, half of the cast was on Gargoyles, too, including Nichelle Nichols, the original Uhura. Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes, Marina Sirtis, and Brent Spiner of Star Trek: The Next Generation all make appearances in the show as well. Aside from all the Star Trek crossover, other series notable regulars are Keith David (recently of Disney’s The Princess and the Frog, Neil Gaiman’s Coraline) as Goliath, Salli Richardson-Whitfield (Eureka) as Elisa Maza, John Rhys-Davies (The Lord of the Rings) as the villain Macbeth, and the great Ed Asner (Up) as Hudson. Those knowledgeable of animation will also recognize voice-over buffs, Jeff Bennett, Kathie Soucie, and the amazing Frank Welker, who I’m fairly certain has been in nearly any cartoon you could name.
Overall, it’s a great series that I think many people would enjoy and find interesting. If you can’t get a hold of the DVDs, set your DVR to record it on Disney XD. It’s excellent, and well worth your time. 🙂 This series gets Two Thumbs Up from me,
The Nerdy Blogger
The Nerdy Blogger 
I think Robin Hood would top that list for me. It’s really a shame that it never got the same kind of exposure in the US as Merlin (to take another BBC show) because Merlin was picked up by a network and RH got stuck on BBC America. There are so many people who only heard about it by accident.
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