Apocrypha: n. 1: Writings or statements of dubious authenticity 2. a: books included in the Septuagint and Vulgate but excluded from the Jewish and Protestant canons of the Old Testament b: early Christian writings not included in the New Testament

from the Greek apokryphos=obscure, fr. apokryptein to hide away, fr. apo- + kryptein to hide. Adapted from Websters Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary

Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles debuted on September 7, 1996, appearing after a long summer's wait for new episodes. After the powerful, emotionally charged ending to the second season of Gargoyles, Hunter's Moon, expectations were high. Michael Reaves, the story editor of Gargoyles, by all accounts did not expect the series to continue beyond a 65th episode, and had already left the show after leaving his indelible mark. Greg Weisman, the show's creator, stayed on to write and consult only on the premiere of G:TGC, The Journey.

From the start, controversy has surrounded this new series, which serves as a third season to the original. Although several of the original writers stayed on (Cary Bates and Lydia C. Marano among them), some episodes of G:TGC emerged as a disappoinment in their plot/character development and animation level. When the series continued, Buena Vista "farmed out" the animation to Nelvana's animation studios, taking it away from WD Japan, which featured near anime-level visual quality.

Fans quickly dubbed the series "Gargoyles Lite."

In many ways, G:TGC is an apocrpyha to the original series. While on the one hand we can't just ignore it, pretending it doesn't exist, and episodes like The Dying Of The Light and Generations were worthwhile, the differences between this series and the original are pronounced enough to throw into question what place G:TGC has in the Gargoyles canon.

And here I am, a die-hard classic Gargoyles fan, building a whole page around G:TGC. Whether it lives up to the quality of the original or not, it is still a curiosity, a conversation piece on the newsgroup and the Station 8 comment board. It holds an odd fascination, but a fascination that might not be there if we didn't already know the quality of original syndicated series so intimately.

Note: Thanks to The Doctor, who often posts on the Station 8 comment board, for planting the idea in my head of dubbing G:TGC an "apocrpyha."

- Constance "Eilonwy" Cochran

More Thoughts On Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles

The polls have closed on G:TGC, but you can view the results and additional comments on the show gargoyles fans tried not to watch, but did anyway.

For a summary of the roller coaster ride G:TGC took our expectations on, check out The Five Stages of G:TGC Watching For Long-time Gargoyles Fans

In a recent letter posted on Station 8, Greg Weisman gave us some thoughts on why G:TGC failed, and what we can do to re-awaken original "Gargoyles."

Waaah! I miss the original Gargoyles! Take me back to The Aerie.

Last modified: June 10, 2000
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