@Ace: Fluttershy does not like being lolwutted.

@Ed: The lolwut pear is a brilliantly absurd reply to the incomprehensible.

D'aaaaaaaaw :3

Gobble up, big tasty stew, etc

edited 30th Sep '12 8:26:55 AM by AceOfScarabs

Yeah, it needed way way more then just that one line, sure it would have helpped, but it still wouldn't have fixed how fast RD went full on egomaniac, and how overall OOC the setting itself was.

Gummy is a master of DANCE

@seraphem: I actually never had much of a problem with the setting it self. I'm more willing to let Equestria change to fit the needs of the plot then most people. Though indeed the characters weren't all that great either.

I had fun with the episode, which is enough to get it a passing grade in the quality department from me. That's what we watch shows for, right? It wasn't perfect or great in comparison to the other episodes at all, but it wasn't bad. If it was bad, I wouldn't have enjoyed it.

edited 30th Sep '12 8:44:53 AM by PerpetualLurker

Your puny missile batteries are pathetic in the face of the Orbital Friendship Cannon

@Lurker: Well obviously not everyone enjoyed it. Including myself. I admit that if I had enjoyed it I probably wouldn't have given much thought to any of it's potential flaws. That was kind of my position on Dragon Quest.

I'm not saying that everyone has to enjoy it, but no one ever seems to talk about raw fun-factor when discussing whether or not they enjoyed something. It's always just cold, hard analysis. Even though the characterizations were off, I found MMDW to be fun and action packed, not to mention the references to superhero cartoons both visually and musically.

I just get the feeling that I'm the only one who watches things that way.

edited 30th Sep '12 9:01:23 AM by PerpetualLurker

It wasn't bad bad, in and of itself, just bad compared to all the other episodes, it really showed that while Williams is a good writer, she's not used to writing for a show like MLP:FIM, all the other shows she's worked on were ones where there was no continuity between episodes at all, and things were able to be altered at will to meet the story. Plus the fact she admitted she likes to add touches of cynicism into her works, which really really doesn't work with MLP.

I disagree on the cynicism. IMO, everything needs at least a grounding touch of realism at the very least to contrast development and progress to. It's part of the reason I rate Putting Your Hoof Down so highly.

edited 30th Sep '12 9:07:02 AM by PerpetualLurker

@Lurker: I'm sure that's how most people watch the show. It's just that if they do say something online it probably isn't as frequent or wordy as the more analytically inclined people.

And as I said i feel roughly the same about Dragon Quest which is often deride as generic and wasted potential, but I enjoyed mostly because. . .well, Dragons.

I wouldn't call the situation in PYHD particularly realistic. Sure it happens in real life, but it is not something that you would normally expect to happen (at least I don't).

edited 30th Sep '12 9:10:40 AM by Mio

You didn't know about the Equestrian holiday, Act Like a Jerk Day?

What do they call that when a shitload of missiles are launched like that? Some kind of circus?

yes SOME cynicism is needed to prevent Sugar Bowl and Tastes Like Diabetes, but Williams takes it to far adding way way more then there really shold be. Basicly way i see it, the setting itself isn't cynical at all, the world, the overall feel of the show, yes some of the ponies have some rather cynical streaks and moments, but when Williams is writing she makes Equestria as a whole feel dark, more cynical and nastier then anyone else, it, just doesn't mesh with the way the rest o the writers portray it.

i'd just like to see her write an episode without having to have somepony act like a total jerk, just because she thinks everything needs jerks, plotholes, cynicism, and all the crap.

edited 30th Sep '12 9:25:01 AM by Seraphem

@Veni: It's called an Itano Circus. Originated in Macross.

Thread Hop

What are we discussing now?

You missed a controversy fest last night.

Also, I did a sweet Dave impression.

We're discussion PYHD and MMDW.

Merriweather and missiles.

sorta ninja'd

edited 30th Sep '12 9:41:11 AM by Mio

Ah, I see.

@Perpetual: I can definitely see where you're coming from with the "as long as I enjoyed it, it was a successful episode" thing; that's basically how I feel about It's About Time; it had quite a few technical flaws, but I still think it was enjoyable.

However, even then I think that MMDW still had problems, though. The thing is, one of the reasons I enjoy MLP more than a lot of children's programming today is because it makes an effort to keep the setting consistent. Even though there isn't much inter-episode continuity in terms of plot, the setting and characters are kept more or less the same. MMDW fudged that more, and in a more noticeable fashion, than any other episode. I'm not saying that it wasn't enjoyable at all (at absolute worst, I'd call it below average for the show, and maybe average for animated tv in general), but that the way the setting was portrayed did make the episode a bit less enjoyable. I did love all the superhero references, but I think most of those could have been made perfectly well without exaggerating things as much as the episode did.

That said, I only have two main issues with it, and I think both of them could have bumped the episode up a few spots fairly easily.

1. Make it clear that the episode takes place over an extended period of time; it makes RD's big head more understandable (months of praise will do that) and explain the number of disasters.

2. Tweak the rest of the cast's behavior a little. First, show them trying to talk RD down before doing the whole "Mare do Well" thing, and second, change their motivation from "trying to teach RD a lesson" to "making sure that nopony gets hurt because of her showboating".

@ Eo H destroying missiles.

I sincerely believe that they could do that. Followed by an magical emp like blast that disables all the weaponry.

Was the Mayor in on it? She seemed accept Mare Do Well pretty damn quickly and practically gave her a back story while doing it.

Is there any crossover fanart where the Mayor Mare meets the Mayor of Can Town?

The issue I have with the Mare Do Well concept is that except for meta superhero references the costumed hero really make sense, unless you assume the worst of the Mane Five. From a teach Dash perspective, why would she emulate and learn from a complete stranger then her friends. From a save ponies concept, why would they need to hide their identity to do that.

edited 30th Sep '12 10:00:41 AM by Mio