Customer Reviews

Gargoyles: The Complete First Season

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First aired in 1994, Gargoyles represented a major shift in the style of Disney's fledgling "Disney Afternoon" block of syndicated TV shows. While originally envisioned as a slightly darker take on The Gummi Bears (itself an excellent Disney TV series), Gargoyles evolved into a harder action cartoon. However, in true Disney fashion, the show followed the footsteps of some of the finest American action cartoons of the preceding decade and a half: Batman: The Animated Series, G.I. Joe, Dungeons & Dragons, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Blackstar, and Thundarr the Barbarian. Those shows were of a smarter breed, and Gargoyles went even further, going so far as to integrate Arthurian legends and even Shakespeare over the course of its 65 episodes.

This DVD set collects the first 13 episodes of Gargoyles, from the 5-part opening miniseries, "Awakening", to "Reawakening". The episodes are uncut, and unlike recent cable showings, the famous anti-gun episode, "Deadly Force", has not been excised. While there has been no remastering of the series, this isn't necessary, as the transfer here is nothing short of impeccable. The special features, while not as jam-packed as some animation DVDs, are of great quaity, as they include commentaries for the "Awakening" 5-parter (which is heavily laden with spoilers, so be warned if you aren't familiar with the series, or can't recall future events), the original series pitch, and a feature on the show's fanbase.

If you've enjoyed any of the cartoons I've alluded to, or are just interested in a good, smart show, by all means buy this set. And if you're already familiar with Gargoyles, it's safe to say that you know you want it, because it's just that good.

In 1994, the folks at Disney and creators of the groundbreaking Batman the Animated Series gave American television audiences something they never could have expected: a Disney animated series for both adults AND kids. Drawing inspiration from Disney's wonderful "Adventures of the Gummi Bears" combined with what they learned from the enormously successful "Batman the Animated Series," Gargoyles took the already advancing U.S. animation standard and kicked the whole thing up a few more notches! Disney's "Gargoyles" proved to be the most impressive and widely enjoyable animated series ever to air on U.S. television before and since, full of thought-provoking drama, realistic situations, well-developed characters, and beautiful visuals that lived up to the Disney name.

The story of "Gargoyles" revolves around 6 modern day survivors of an ancient clan of gargoyles from 10th century Scotland. These powerful and intimidating winged creatures live and do battle against evil by night, and sleep by day in the form of defenseless stone statues. Their leader, the imposing and noble Goliath, is plagued with worries brought upon him by the ambiguous nature of the 20th century and the people and gargoyles that repeatedly weave in and out of his circle of trust. The one true ally of the gargoyles is Manhattan Police Detective Elisa Maza, who does her best to protect and guide the creatures as they discover the realities and dangers of modern-day, big-city life. They are threatened by new and old enemies on an almost daily basis, the worst of which is Goliath's former mate, a vengeful female named Demona. The greatest difficulty the gargoyles face, however, aside from keeping their existence somewhat secret, is knowing who to trust, and the most curious person of all is the billionaire businessman who awoke them, the mysterious and powerful David Xanatos. No matter what new plot unfolds around the Gargoyles, the twists and turns most often reveal the manipulative and power-hungry Xanatos to be pulling the strings.

Disc 1: Episodes 1-7

Episodes 1 thru 5 make up of the pilot for Gargoyles, entitled "Awakening"
These first five episodes introduce our heroes, Goliath the leader, wise, old Hudson, small and mechanically inclined Lexington, big and boisterous Broadway, the teenage-rebel-like Brooklyn, and their dog-like gargoyle, Bronx, and set up the stage for the core of the series. After an introduction to Elisa Maza in modern-day Manhattan, we are flashed back to 994 A.D. Scotland, where the gargoyles battle to defend a castle against Viking intruders, despite the lack of appreciation from the human inhabitants (including the GORGEOUS princess). Through an unfortunate turn of events, the gargoyles are betrayed by a friend, and soon all are dead but Goliath and the 5 others. Cast under a spell to keep them in their stone forms day AND night until "the castle rises above the clouds," Goliath and his friends are finally awakened in modern Manhattan by billionaire David Xanatos, who bought the castle and relocated it atop his towering sky-scraper home. Xanatos passes himself off as a friend to the gargoyles, but time reveals that he is anything but. Xanatos manipulates the gargoyles into stealing 3 computer discs for him, reintroduces Goliath to the bitter mate he thought he had lost a millennium ago, and, when he feels the creatures have outlived their usefulness, attempts to exterminate them. Goliath makes a friend in police detective Elisa Maza though, and together they manage to put Xanatos behind bars; for a while, anyway.

Episode 6: The Thrill of the Hunt
The three younger gargoyles have become obsessed with a TV series called "The Pack," starring 5 wild action heroes, but when Lexington manages to meet the stars, he learns that not everything you see on TV can be trusted.

Episode 7: Temptation
After a motorcycle incident puts Brooklyn in the wrong place at the wrong time, Demona does her best to persuade him to see things her way. It's all part of a plan to place Goliath under a magic spell.

Extras: Feature Commentary for episodes 1-5. Highly enjoyable and informative commentary with the creators and Keith David, the voice of Goliath.

Disc 2: Episodes 8-13

Episode 8: Deadly Force
After seeing his favorite cowboy movie one more time, Broadway stops off at Elisa's apartment for a bite to eat. But, while playing with her gun, it accidentally goes off, landing Elisa in the hospital and in grave danger.

Episode 9: Enter MacBeth
While Xanatos awaits his short jail sentence to be up, a stranger named MacBeth offers to help solve his gargoyle problem, but there's more to MacBeth than he is revealing! In the end, Goliath and the others decide the must relocate to a clock-tower above Elisa's police station for their own safety.

Episode 10: The Edge
The newly released Xanatos donates a jewel to a local museum, then uses one of his robot gargoyles to steal it. His plan is to bring the gargoyles into the public eye, and in a none-too-flattering light, if they won't agree to be at his disposal.

Episode 11: Long Way To Morning
Hudson dreams and reflects on his last adventure as leader of the gargoyle clan, while he and Goliath do their best to avoid extermination by a pursuing Demona.

Episode 12: Her Brother's Keeper
Xanatos offers a job to Elisa's brother Derek as a helicopter pilot and bodyguard, then uses Jackal and Hyena of "The Pack" to test him out. Meanwhile, Elisa visits Fox in prison in an attempt to gain information to convince her brother that Xanatos is untrustworthy. By day's end, Eisa discovers that Fox is infatuated with the seemingly infallible Xanatos, and Derek discovers the existence of the gargoyles.

Episode 13: Reawakening
In this season finale, Xanatos and Demona bring one of Goliath's old rookery brothers back to life in a Frankenstein-esque experiment and brainwash him to go after Goliath and his clan. By the time Goliath gets through to his old friend, it is too late. The season ends with Goliath declaring the island of Manhattan to be their new home that they are obligated to protect.

Extras:
The Gathering of the Gargoyles
This fascinating short piece takes us to a Gargoyles fan gathering in Canada, allowing us to see the impact the show has had on some of its biggest fans!

Original Show Pitch By Greg Weisman
This very entertaining bit of footage is the original show pitch to promote the series to networks, and includes some beautiful production art that I hope we'll see a gallery of in a future season DVD release!

Season One of Gargoyles on DVD is an animation fanatic's dream come true, especially a hardcore Disney-lover like myself! Full of amazing music and voice talent (including lots of names to make Star Trek fans giddy), the show is brilliantly thought-out and executed, loaded with surprises, and each new episode leaves you hungry for the next one! I truly hope Disney continues to release its excellent animated television series on DVD, from Duck Tales, Gummi Bears, and the Wuzzles, all the way through to Kim Possible (yes, I love those less "mature" shows too), and, of course, the rest of Gargoyles! If you loved this show when it first aired, you know why you have to get this DVD set! If you have never seen it before, you have GOT to check it out! You'll be pleasantly surprised at the very least!

Gargoyles and Exo Squad are by far the two best animated series to come from America, and amnong the three best ever produced in the world. Why? Because they didn't insult the intelligence of their viewers. They treated kids as capable of dealing with the grit of reality. The good guys weren't perfect and the bad guys weren't pure evil. This was high-quality, high-intensity drama for the Saturday morning crowd, and to be honest, most adults would find it enthralling too. Disney spared no expense when making this series; they got numerous Star Trek alumni to lend their voices, including Jonathan Frakes (Riker/Xanatos), Marina Sirtis (Troi/Demona), Michael Dorn (Worf/Coldstone), Brent Spiner (Data/Puck), Kate Mulgrew (Janeway/Titania), and so on. And let me tell you, Star Trek actors make AWESOME bad guys (don't believe me? Check out Patrick Stewart in Masterminds).

I've set my TIVO to record reruns of the show on Jetix and I've downloaded probably at least half of all the episodes from Kazaa. Ever since DVD boxsets became popular, I've been waiting for the first season to be put on DVD. Years later, my dream has come true.

Nearly ten years have passed since Gargoyles first aired. It had a short run, two years, maybe three, quickly thrown aside to make room for "Power Rangers." You may think that the series is forgotten, and that any hope of bringing it back has been lost, but you could not be more wrong. There are thousands of fans all over the globe, people of all ages and backgrounds, all of whom praise this series for the reality intertwined with fantasy and myth, coupled with excellent characters that almost seemed real, in such a way that the love for the series still blooms and the hope of it returning in some way, shape or form has not been lost. It holds a special place in people's hearts, and new fans are falling in love with the series through reruns on Toon Disney and ABC Family.

What is it about the show that is still bringing in new fans even though it's been cancelled for EIGHT YEARS? Well, the story is about creatures who are "stone by day, warriors by night." A thousand years ago, they protected their castle at night, while the humans protected them while they slept. The humans treated the gargoyles with nothing but disrespect, and the gargoyles were betrayed, shattered in their stone sleep, and the surviving gargoyles (Goliath, Hudson, Brooklyn, Broadway, Lexington, and Bronx) were cursed to sleep in stone until "the castle rose above the clouds." A thousand years passed. Billionaire David Xanatos learned of the gargoyles, and had the castle moved, stone by stone, to the top of his skyscraper. The gargoyles awakened in a strange new world and had to learn to adapt if they wanted to survive.

The series deals with subjects such as the consequences of using guns irresponsibly in the episode Deadly Force (the episode that was banned from Toon Disney for a long, long time), revenge, betrayal, death; things you won't find in your average Disney cartoon. The series itself looks like it was written as a whole; every single episode is part of the continuity and each and every character is important. The series is not all about drama; there is some comedy here and there, as well as love, understanding, tolerance, and hope.

You may also find yourself recognizing some of the characters' voices, such as: Keith David (Goliath), Ed Asner (Hudson), Bill Faggerbake (Broadway), Thom-Adcox Hernandez (Lexington), Salli Richardson (Elisa), Jonathan Frakes (Xanatos), Marina Sirtis (Demona, Margot Yale), among many others. The series is so full of talent and you can tell that a lot of love went into this series.

There's a lot more I haven't mentioned here, but there's just too much! This series truly has everything. If you've seen this series before, then re-experience the phenomenon that is Gargoyles through DVD. If you've never seen this series before, I highly recommend the DVD. It may change your life. If you're still not convinced, then think of this: if enough people buy this DVD, then we'll get Season 2 and 3, and maybe even new episodes, which is every fan's dream. Still not convinced? Well, Disney may consider releasing other animated series (such as Darkwing Duck and TaleSpin) on DVD, as they're "testing the waters." If you're not doing it for Gargoyles, then at least do it for those other shows that you grew up with.

If I have convinced you, then great! I know you'll enjoy "Gargoyles." If not, then you're truly missing out on one of the greatest series of all time. Five stars!

Gargoyles is far and away THE best animated series that I have ever seen. The animation quality was excellent. The voice acting was incredible; the characters really came alive thanks to an incredibly talented cast of actors and actresses.

The writing was superb and smart. The stories were steeped in mythology from around the globe. No doubt Joseph Campbell would have liked the series. References to Shakespeare and other classic stories abound.

The stories were character-driven and had arcs over many many episodes; life in the Gargoyles universe didn't simply "reset" at the start of the next episode. And no matter what happened, everything was consistent within the universe that had been defined for Gargoyles.

The show dealt with mature themes like gun violence, environmental disaster, and grief over loss of a loved one, but it was always presented in a way that was appealing to both parent and child. Believe me, if the show's writers had beaten its audience over the head with the Morality Bat or otherwise dumbed down the stories, Gargoyles would never have become as popular as it did.

Clearly, if there was ever an animated series (I hate to label this a mere 'cartoon') that had EVERYTHING, Gargoyles was it. And not Disney, nor any other studio, has managed to duplicate this feat since then.

Ten years ago, "Gargoyles" aired on television for the first time, and it forever changed my life. Finally an animated series with as much depth as any classic novel, great characters who were believable on every level, breathtaking animation, terrific acting. "Gargoyles" had it all, whether you were a fantasy enthusiast, a sci-fi fan, whether you loved noir or Shakespeare, and even figures from ancient mythologies.

Lending their voices to the series were veteran actors such as Keith David, Salli Richardson, Jonathan Frakes, Marina Sirtis, John Rhys-Davies, Ed Asner, Jeff Bennett, Thom Adcox, Bill Faggerbake, Paul Winfield, Tim Curry, David Warner, Sheena Easton, and many, many others. Behind the scenes had the most dedicated crew you could ever find. Series Creator Greg Weisman who's passion for the series is still alive and well ten years later and has been a real presence in the fan community, Frank Paur, Michael Reaves, Brynne Chandler, Lydia Marano, Greg Guler. The care put into the series rivals and exceeds that of most movies.

But most of all, the series inspired a strong fandom that is going strong today, meeting annually at the fan conventions. Next year they will all be getting together in Las Vegas to celebrate THE NINTH ANNUAL GATHERING OF THE GARGOYLES.

So, buy this DVD and re-experience (or experience for the first time) the first season of this now classic series. There has never been a series like it before, and will likely never be a series like it again. Ten years later, the magic is still there. So, buy it now. I guarantee you will love it.

This Tenth Anniversary Disney DVD is slated to have all of the first season's thirteen episodes, uncut, on two discs. The episodes are: Awakening 1-5, The Thrill of the Hunt, Temptation, Deadly Force, Enter MacBeth, The Edge, Long Way to Morning, Her Brother's Keeper, and Reawakening. Special features are supposed to include

- audio commentary for the 5-part pilot "Awakening" by series creator/producer Greg Weisman, producer/director Frank Paur, and the voice of Goliath, Keith David
- Greg Weisman's "Original Show Pitch"
- a documentary on the 2004 Gargoyles convention
- possible hidden bonuses, etc.

I've been waiting for this DVD since they started putting TV shows on DVD - it's that good. This is the only show that actually encouraged me to read (and has had other positive influences). If you want to know what made this show so great look at what other people have written (they've said it better than I could). The basic story is that in 994, a clan of gargoyles are frozen in stone and are awakened a thousand years later in modern-day Manhattan.

If you ever enjoyed this show, or if you like the animated fantasy/scifi/drama genre, please BUY THESE DVDs. If you're reading this before the December 7 release date, make sure to buy this set on December 7th to have the most impact. Buying this set is the best way to show Disney that people still care about this excellent show and, with enough sales, can lead to a Season 2 DVD and possibly even a resurrection of the series...

Without a doubt, the best animated series Disney/Buena Vista TV has created-and one of the best series of all time - period! Unleashed to TV in 1994, Gargoyles was a departure from most of the comedy/action series that Disney had created before or since. Although darker, with much more depth in character and story than your average animated series - it will touch you in a way you likely never thought an animated show could ever do before. Stone gargoyles come to life at night, with an instinct to protect those in need of help - but feared for their appearance. The mix of mythology, magic, technology, ties with literature, history, drama, action and even romance and weaving it all together into an incredible continuing story of 6 gargoyles and their struggle to find acceptance. Besides the incredible stories Gargoyles offers - the voices that bring the characters to live are an all star cast of actors including Keith David, Ed Asner, John Rhys-Davies, Bill Fagerbakke, Salli Richardson, Tom Wilson, Matt Frewer & Cree Summer. If you're a Star Trek Fan, the first season includes voices done by Jonathan Frakes, Marina Sirtis, Nichelle Nichols & Michael Dorn (The show's second season brings more voices from the first 4 Trek series into the fold as well).
"Stone By Day, Warriors By Night" - not only do the Gargoyles come to life, the characters themselves in this series feel very real. A show which covers life lessons, family values, environmental issues and more without doing it in a preachy, heavy handed way. An amazing show for kids and equally, if not more entertaining for adults as well. As a 38 year old animation fan, I can't say enough about this series. Buy it, you wont be disappointed. Let's hope season 2 isn't far behind.

There were three great action-adventure series during the 1990s, in my opinion, each with different strengths. Batman: The Animated Series had the striking visual style, the mood, and great self-contained stories that redefined the character. Beast Wars: Transformers was an entertaining, amazing character-driven series. This one, Gargoyles, is the third one, and finally getting a chance to shine on DVD.

Like Batman, it has a stirringm usical score and a distinctive dark style. Like Beast Wars, it is populated with memorable characters. Unlike those two shows, however, it has lots of classical and mythological references - this is a show that does not talk down to the viewer, unlike so many shows today ("The Batman", anyone?)

It is a testament to the show's fanbase and popularity that of Disney's television shows, this is really the first one to get a season set on DVD. DuckTales doesn't have it yet, Darkwing Duck doesn't have it yet, Power Rangers (yes, Disney owns it now) doesn't have it. It'll start the ball rolling not only for this but for other shows, and this is why it's a must-purchase.

Wow... How should I start? I remember when I first heard about this new animated TV Show. I thought it would be something that I wouldn't like, made for little boys, like Power Rangers. Boy was I wrong. (I'm a 19 year old girl!) Believe me, this is not a show made just for kids, actually, I think most Gargoyles fans are teens and college students! I remember turning on the Disney Afternoon, and Gargoyles was on. I started watching it, and I was amazed. I was watching how these Gargoyles moved, it amazed me, so animal like, yet very human. I really got hooked to this show. A dramatic series, that seemed real. All the characters seemed very real to me. I remember when I was younger, I was actually sad that these beautiful noble creatures were not real. Lol. Also now that I am older, I really appreciate this show more. I love the mythology. The writing on this show was excellent. Wonderful voice acting, and beautiful animation. (For most of the episodes) I really do miss this show... My dream someday is to have it back on the air, with new episodes. Of course, Greg Weisman has to come back and work on the series. I really do think, that because of him, the series was so good. He's a great story teller. Gargoyles is my favorite TV Show, and to tell you the truth, I don't think any TV show will replace it, ever.

Thank you Disney for releasing this DVD! Buy this DVD on December 7 everyone! We must show Disney how many people really do love this show! And if you never seen this show, buy the DVD anyways! Believe me, you will not be disappointed! The Gargoyles will awaken again...