Wes's Guide to Gargoyles: Thrill of the Hunt
Welcome back to Gargoyles. Last time, we finally drew the show’s five-part origin story to a close. Demona had revealed her betrayal to the Gargoyles and ended up seemingly falling to her death. Xanatos was arrested for receiving stolen property thanks to Detective Elisa Maza and The Gargoyles have once again claimed Castle Wyvern as their home.
We open with Elisa being shown by Xanatos’ assistant, Owen Burnett, to the top of the Castle where The Gargoyles will soon awaken. Elisa is surprised to have been invited back since she was the one who arrested Xanatos, but Owen assures Elisa that Xanatos has never been the type to hold grudges. I actually believe that, grudges are a distraction and Xanatos seems like an “Eyes on the Prize” kind of guy, especially when that prize is your own castle and private army of Laser Robot Gargoyles. As the sun goes down, the Gargoyles emerge from their stone sleep and, as is the legal requirement, their awakening is accompanied by a kick ass musical score. The Gargoyles are overjoyed to see their friend, but, aside from Goliath, they all seem to be in a hurry to get somewhere. It seems the Gargoyles have discovered this wonderful new 20th century invention known as Television and are extremely excited to catch the latest episode of their favorite show, more on that later. It would also seem that Goliath’s medieval mentality has led him to believe that since they’ve defeated Xanatos in battle, the castle is rightfull theirs once again. And yeah, that have be how it worked one thousand years ago, but in 1994, the castle is still legal property of Xanatos and the only thing keeping him from walking straight up there and hitting the Gargoyles with an eviction notice and/or grenade launcher is the fact that he’s currently serving a six-month prison sentence, and Elisa’s convinced that his lawyers are likely to cut that time in half. And besides, this is Xanatos we’re talking about, he probably had all the guards and inmates calling him “Sir” within the first three days, this is not a man who would be easily broken by the prison system. In any case, Elisa thinks that as long as Xanatos owns the Castle, the Gargoyles are not safe there and suggests that they look for a new home. Goliath is violently opposed to the idea, likely seeing this Castle as the only thing they have left of their old life.
Later, Brooklyn, Lexington and Broadway are seen tuning in to their new favorite show, The Pack, a children’s action adventure show in the same vein as Power Rangers, G.I. Joe or Exo-Squad. The trio are drawn to the show, seeing The Pack as Warriors like them who fight with honor, though Hudson is clearly annoyed at having to watch the show every night. The Pack consists of Fox, the leader, Wolf, the muscle, Jackal and his sister Hyena, the nimble assassin types and Dingo, the weapons specialist. During the show, an advertisement for a live stunt show that night at Madison Square Garden is shown. I find it odd that they’d play the add given that the show is that night and tickets have probably sold out weeks ago by this point, but hey, this is before Ticket Master was a thing so what do I know? Besides, you don’t need a ticket when you’re a winged creature of myth so the trio decides to check out the show.
We’re properly introduced to the Pack at their TV studio and we quickly learn that they’re more than just actors. They’re actually a bunch of ex-mercenaries, combat specialists and adrenaline junkies brought together by the promise of fame and fortune, and by the way they talk, they probably aren’t nearly as honorable as they’re on-screen personas would have you believe. The Pack are happy about the money and fame, but they’re all chomping at the bit for a chance to put their skills to the test. As Wolf puts it “Birds gotta fly, fish gotta swim, wolves gotta hunt.” Fortunately for them, it seems Fox may have found just the thing as the Pack were anonymously sent pictures of Goliath, Wolf immediately foaming at the mouth at the idea of hunting such a beast.
By the way, since I’ve promised to give credit to the amazing voice cast of this show, let’s meet the people behind The Pack. We’ll start with Fox who’s voiced by Laura San Giacomo, best known for her role as Maya Gallo on the sitcom Just Shoot Me. Next up is Wolf, voiced by the always awesome Clancy Brown, not only known for such classic films as Highlander and Starship Troopers but also for many noteworthy voice roles including Mr. Krabs from Spongebob Squarepants, Lex Luthor from the DC Animated Universe and our old pal Hakon from Awakening. In fact, in a much later episode, we learn that Wolf is actually one of Hakon’s descendants. Jackal is voiced by actor Matt Frewer, best known for playing the iconic character, Max Headroom. Hyena is voiced by veteran voice actress Cree Summer, known for such iconic roles as Penny from Inspector Gadget, Elmira Duff from Tiny Toon Adventures, Numbah Five from Codename: Kids Next Door and Susie Carmichael from Rugrats. Summer is one of those actresses who, while not lacking in range, has a certain quality to her voice to where you can always spot when it’s her if you’re listening closely. As such, hearing a voice I associate with such iconic and innocent characters coming out of the mouth of a murderous, amoral psychopath like Hyena was jarring for the old inner child to say the least. Last but most assuredly not least, there’s Dingo, my personal favorite member of The Pack. And yes, Dingo is Australian. This show is awesome, but this is still Disney in the early 90’s, stereotypes are unfortunate but inevitable. Anywho, Dingo is voiced by voice acting legend and all-around awesome person, Jim Cummings. We’d be here all day if I listed all of Jim’s iconic roles but know that they range from Winnie the Pooh to Dr. Robotnik to Thor and everything in between. However, for my money, no Jim Cummings character is more iconic than my personal favorite, The Terror that Flaps in the Night himself, DARKWING DUCK! It seems we’ve not only assembled a crack team of ass kickers, but also a crack team of acting talent to portray them.
At the MSG show, the trio watches from the rafters as the Pack fights off their fictional enemies, “The Evil Ninjas.” Maybe it’s just me, but there’s something hilarious about how equal parts cheesy and generic a villain the “Evil Ninjas” are. It’s like the script writer for the show skipped work that day to go to the track and had to come up with something in five seconds during the pitch meeting and, miraculously, they went with it. Over the course of the show, Lexington in particular seems enamored with The Pack, seeing them as potential allies. As Brooklyn and Broadway leave, Lex hangs behind to introduce himself to The Pack, not fully grasping the concept of fiction quite yet. Lex reveals himself as The Pack are walking backstage and The Pack lay their act on thick with Lexington, Fox even venturing into borderline bad touch territory, in order to get him to “introduce” them to Goliath. Charmed by the act, Lexington agrees.
Later, back at the Castle, Goliath is more than a little annoyed that Lexington revealed himself to these strangers, but Lexington doesn’t see it as any different than Goliath revealing himself to Elisa. I know it probably wasn’t meant to be funny, but I couldn’t help but laugh my ass off when Lex and Goliath turned to Stone mid-argument only to pick up where they left off the next night. Anyway, while it’s definitely a risk, Lexington is insistent that The Pack could be great allies to the Gargoyles and some of the others back the play.
"We Can’t Hide from the Whole World up Here. There are Kindred Spirits out there for us, but we’ve Gotta Look for them and we’ve Gotta give them a Chance, or Else, We’ll Always be Alone.”
Reluctantly, Goliath agrees, on the condition that only Goliath and Lexington go to meet The Pack. If The Pack are on the up and up, he’ll see about introducing them to the rest, but for now, they have to make sure it’s safe.
Goliath and Lex arrive at The Pack’s TV studio, only to walk directly into a trap. After being jumped from behind by Hyena, who’s creepy laugh echoes down the dark corridor, The Gargoyles are led into the place where The Pack film their perilous stunts, the hazards having been beefed up for the Gargoyles courtesy of Fox. Goliath has had just about enough and tears through the steel wall before escaping to the roof. As the Gargoyles escape into the city, Wolf remarks that “The Hunt” has begun.
Back with our heroes, Lexington is incensed that he was so easily deceived by The Pack and vows never to be so quick to trust ever again. However, the two aren’t able to rest for very long as they're ambushed by Dingo. They manage to escape the Australian, only to run into Jackal who severs a powerline with a well-placed throwing knife, electrocuting the Gargoyles and sending them falling to the ground. The Pack close in on the helpless Gargoyles but are distracted by small children who are apparently fans of their show. Fox’s frustrated reaction at being met by their “adoring public” is actually pretty funny. Fortunately, this distraction allows the Gargoyles to come to, the other humans assuming that this is all special effects for an episode of the show. The Gargoyles climb to the top of a nearby rooftop and the Pack gives chase. Fortunately, this rooftop is full of Gargoyles of the non-coming to life at night variety, allowing our heroes to hide in the shadows and pick The Pack off one by one until only Fox and Wolf remain. They try to run for it, only to be cut off by Goliath who tackles both through a wall, crashing into… the set for what I assume is either a sunscreen commercial or a porno given the scantily clad ladies on display. Fox holds one of the frightened girls hostage at gunpoint and backs out the door slowly. Lexington swoops in and tackles Fox allowing the girl to escape while Goliath squares off with Wolf. Wolf is certainly a formidable fighter, but he’s definitely more muscle than brains if he believes for a second that he can take down Goliath, who not fifteen minutes ago tore through a solid steel wall with his bare hands mind you, in a straight up fist fight. Goliath makes quick work of Wolf and both he and Fox are arrested as Lex and Goliath leave the scene.
Back at the castle, Lexington is kicking himself for trusting The Pack, but Goliath assures him that his instincts were right. Sure, The Pack proved to be untrustworthy, but Goliath realizes that the clan must live in this new world and not just hide from it. There are allies and kindred spirits out there for them, and sometimes it’s necessary to take chances in order to find them, otherwise they truly will remain forever alone.
The sun rises and The Gargoyles return to their stone sleep, but questions still remain. What kind of a person would gather together a group of mercenaries, ass-kickers and psychopaths and give them their own children’s TV show? Who sent the pictures of Goliath, bringing The Pack and the Gargoyles into conflict with each other? Well, if you know what show you’re watching, the answer to both questions should be obvious. That’s right, it’s our good friend David Xanatos. It’s never outright stated, but I always got the sense that The Pack was Xanatos’ backup plan for the Cyberbiotics heist if the fulfilling of an ancient prophecy by translocating a thousand year old Scottish Castle to the top of a skyscraper and awakening a cursed clan of Gargoyles didn’t end up working out. That’s right, only David Xanatos would gather together a squad of mercenaries, killers and thugs, give them their own TV show complete with their own personal TV Studio, pay them millions of dollars per episode (if an offhand comment from Wolf is to be believed) in the hopes of eventually grooming them into your own personal Ocean’s Eleven style heist squad and have that be Plan B! Anywho, as he meets with Owen in Prison, Xanatos reveals that he was indeed behind the creation of The Pack, though The Pack themselves are unaware that he’s their secret benefactor, and even went so far as to rig the cable in the castle so that the only channel the Gargoyles got was the one that aired their TV show, thus planting the idea The Pack as potential allies in their heads. He was also behind sending the pictures of Goliath to Fox, knowing that The Pack would react to it as they did. All of this was a way of testing the strength of both The Pack and The Gargoyles, ending the episode by smiling and saying that the test proved most informative. That’s Xanatos for you, his plans are so intricate that even when he loses he still manages to find a way to win. By the way, Jonanthan Frakes, take a shot!
Thrill of the Hunt is a great episode and introduces us to a set of really cool recurring villains in The Pack, who will make frequent appearances throughout the rest of the show. What’s more, I really like how the show doesn’t opt for the safe, black and white message of “Don’t Trust Strangers” which it easily could have, but rather goes for the more grey message of “Some people are good, some people are bad, and while you must remain cautious, sometimes it’s necessary to take risks in order to find out who’s who.” It’s a good message and showcases the more mature storytelling of the show. Next time, we finally get the return of Demona as we look at “Temptation.”