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Once
again I've been lucky enough
to be granted an interview with
David Michel. This time
the questions focus on the upcoming
third season and some of the
things we can look forward.
So let's get on with the
interview!
someguy959: Thanks for agreeing to this second interview David.
I suppose the first question I have for you is what
month will Season 3 episodes start showing in the USA,
Canada, and Europe?
David Michel: The
series will start showing in
europe this fall. Canada should
follow this winter. As for the
U.S, we don't have any specific
information as for when or how
this new episodes will be programmed.
sg959: As
best as you can recall, please
talk about the different characters
that will be returning in season
3. Both villains and other
characters that were introduced
in past episodes. I've
been asked quite a bit to find
out about past characters returning
for season 3.
DM: We
have several bad guys returning
this season. In addition to
this, there is a very cool episode
titled "Escape From WOOHP
Island" where the girls
are confronted to the worst
villains they met in the previous
seasons. Obviously, Mandy
is still around. Britney will
make a much-anticipated comeback
in a very special episode.
sg959: It's
been mentioned that David doesn't
return in the 3rd season. Why
was this decision made and also
how did the idea of dropping
David come about? How
is his disapperance explained
in the show?
DM: David
never was a recurring character.
He was present in a few season
II episodes so we didn't have
to justify his not being in
our stories any more. But
we have realized how important
he is to the fans, and decided
to have him back in season 4,
which we're working on right
now.
sg959: On
a related question, are there
any new regular supporting characters
that will be introduced in season
3 (someone who replaces David?,
adversaries, family, spies,
etc.)? Could you give
a quick listing of all the characters
you can remember and a short
description of them as well?
DM: I
don't want to spoil too many
surprises but as far as bad
guys are concerned, we have
for instance an evil barristas,
evil circuses, an evil head
shrinker ... The one new main
character that may interest
you is named G.L.A.D.I.S : she
is jerry's new personal assistant
and...she's a robot with a SERIOUS
attitude.
sg959: As
far as the "look"
of the show goes, have there
been any significant changes
to the art for season 3? There
were some noticeable changes
between season 1 and season
2 and I really liked the improved
look of the season 2 episodes.
The Martin Mystery series
has a slightly different look
than Totally Spies and I'm wondering
if you will be borrowing more
from MM to use on TS. The
chibi moments on Totally Spies
are great and a lot of fans
are hoping to see more of them
in the future.
DM: Obviously,
we have kept using the funny
anime poses that the fans and
the team here love- The animation
quality has improved a step
further over the last season.
sg959: Staying
with questions about the look
of the show, have any changes
been made to the main characters
themselves (Jerry, Alex, Sam,
Clover)? Specifically,
I'm wondering about their clothing/uniforms,
hairstyles, and other major
visual cues.
DM: The
premise of this season is that
WHOOP has evolved. Jerry's office
is now completely different,
and the spies are provided with
new gear and new gadgets. We
have kept the girly/spy twist,
but took it into a cooler, more
high teck direction. For instance,
they have a new compowder named
"X-Powder" that allows
them to change their clothing
instantly (very convenient for
undercover missions) thanks
to a holographic function.
sg959: There
are still some bits of missing
information in the show after
two seasons. The spies
have no last names. We
still don't know how old they
are or what grade they are in.
We've seen their mothers
but not their fathers. Mandy's
two friends still have no names
even though they've been given
speaking roles in the show.
WOOHP's loyalties are
still unclear (are they an American
agency or a British agency or
something else?). There
has still been nothing revealed
about how they became WOOHP
agents. Are any of these
questions addressed in the upcoming
third season?
DM: A
lot is disclosed about WOOHP
and Jerry's background in this
season. We are currently
working on a feature project
that would reveal how the spies
became spies, their backstories
etc... But you'll have to wait
for a few extra months to see
it...
sg959: In
the upcoming third season, is
there any larger storyline that
spans the entire season or are
they all self contained stories.
DM: Most
stories are self contained.
sg959: For
the third season, will you still
be keeping the same starting
and ending credits sequence
or will you be creating an all
new video and theme song? Are
there any plans to improve the
ending credits so that all the
voice credits will be listed
for every episode instead of
just the 4 main characters?
DM: There
is a brand new opening title
that uses 3D and a different
version of the title music.
As for the credits, yes we're
working on improving them, but
we are constrained by the time
that our broadcasters allow
us for it.
sg959: Is
Mandy a spy for only one episode
or does she become a permanent
spy for the rest of the season?
DM: Just
one
sg959: I
recently found out that the
voice actor for Alex, Katie
Leigh, was replaced with Katie
Griffin. Have there been any casting changes made for the main
characters in season 3?
DM: Yes,
Alex and Jerry have changed
(for season 3). Both have
been replaced by very similar
voices. (SG - the
voice of Jerry was taken over
by Adrian Truss)
sg959: I'm
sure a lot of fans are wondering
what are the favourite season
3 episodes among the creative
team at Marathon (you, Vincent
Chalvon Demersay, Stephane Berry,
Michelle and Robert Lamoreaux)?
DM: My
favorites are - Evil airline
much ?, Super nerd much ?, (where
arnold gets new superpowers),
Dental? More like mental? (Evil
dentist)
sg959: In
my last interview, I asked you
about any inside jokes that
were put into the show and you
mentioned how David was partly
based off of you :) Now
I'm wondering again about what
type of inside joke(s) made
it into the third season. Are
there any episodes that have
an interesting behind-the-scenes
story behind them? What
can we look forward to?
DM: There
is an episode that features
a French pool boy, Guillaume,
that the spies fall for. Only
he can't speak a word of english!
He was actually created by Bob
& Michelle after our development
exec here, who's name is Guillaume.
sg959: This
last question is unrelated to
season 3 but I hope you'll answer
this too. What kind of
merchandise can we expect to
see in the next year or two
(video games, clothing, more
DVD's, comics, toys, etc.)?
DM: DVDs
are coming out right now, you
can find them on amazon, at
wallmart etc... 2 are out already,
and we'll launch more in the
coming months. Clothing,
shoes, accessories will be coming
out in a couple of months. We
are putting together an online
shopping site that will make
them available to everyone.
sg959: I'd
like to take this time to once
again thank you for giving up
some of your busy time to participate
in this interview. Would
you like to say some final words
to the Totally Spies fans?
DM: We
are very much aware that this
series' success owes a lot to
fans and we can't thank you
enough for that. We are all
having tremendous fun working
on this series, and the fact
that you are sharing this with
us is the most rewarding thing
we could think of. So thank
you again, on behalf of the
whole team.
Go to the first
David Michel interview (Oct.
22, 2003)
For more information about
Marathon and it's different
programs, visit their website.
Marathon's website can
be found at www.marathon.fr
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