Welcome to the herd

edited 7th Jul '11 12:11:52 PM by FallenLegend

That'd be Herd...

@ the conversation a page or two back about Big Mac; I mostly took it from the one-off joke about his 'fancy Math-e-matics', yeah. It may have just been a gag, but it does feel to me like there's the implication that he's the more intelligent of the pair. I'm just wont to take every little thing as absolute canon, I suppose.

Sorry my bad.

If there is one thing in this show that annoys me its that I am never quiet sure what things I'm supposed to take seriously or just dismiss as Rule of Funny.

Big Mac reminds me a bit of Forrest Gump from the novel when he aces the special relativity class but fails everything else.

I don't think he was a breakout college hoofball star though.

And no, Over the Barrel would not be my choice of first episodes. It does feature most everybody, and stands alone, but it's very different from the rest of the series, and mixes in some elements that may rub some people wrong. It's like watching a Very Special Episode.

Take EVERYTHING seriously. EVERYTHING.

edited 7th Jul '11 12:57:47 PM by blueharp

Awww, Over A Barrel was my first episode.

Saw "Sonic Rainboom".

I know why people love it so much now.

The stage manager lady cracked me up.

My first episode was "Feeling Pinkie Keen." I actually um, persuaded (yes, persuaded doesn't sound sound so bad, ) a friend of mine to watch it with me. He said it was funny but didn't seem interested in watching any more.

Big Mac's definitely the more logical of the 2 if nothing else.

For some reason I want to see an episode in season 2 where Big Mac goes on a rampage. It just feels like that polite easy-going calmness of his is hiding a pony who's really goddamn powerful.

edited 7th Jul '11 1:25:52 PM by gingerninja666

Shut_up_and_take_Spikes_Money.jpg

^^Well, given that Granny Smith was still ancient when Applejack was just a little filly, Mac must've run the Applebuck by himself (with help from their parents, too, I guess). And they do call him Big Macintosh for a reason...

Anyway, yeah. I don't really have much of an issue with "Over A Barrel", but like I said, it's not the episode I would pick to show people first, nor is "Feeling Pinkie Keen". I forget who the writer for those two episodes was, but others - like Charlotte Fullerton, who did "Suited For Success" and, I think, "A Bird In The Hoof" - are better, in my opinion.

on a Sidenote Jayday i wouldn't really call Gai Japan Troll Face look at Captian Marelous as he grabs the keep in the opener, or Kizarai well...here...◊

I don't consider myself a brony, but the show hooked my interest with the pilot episode. It was interesting, the whole Creation Myth and setting up a world where this big evil exists and a group of friends must journey to stop it. Elements of Harmony, etc but then it's all resolved incredibly quickly and a lot of it never comes up again. I think it was a mistake to do away with all that, and to have handled it in that way. Also, absurd and stupid Eigen Plot.

The writing of the show can also lead to an awful lot of strange implications.

However, I do find great interest in picking apart and trying to eke out potential messages about things greater than friendship this show might have. For example, does anybody here think that Winter Wrap-Up was an open and full-throated endorsement of socialism? Strong publicly organized work effort for the common good. All you need to do is effectively organize labor and you can do damn near anything!

-gets physical check up-

Yep not a brony. But as long as the HUB stays on my favorites on the service provider, I can probably rope myself in.

Nope, that would be reading too much.It was more along the lines of teamwork (which akways works regardless of the economic system) and finding your place.

Besides Equestria ihas a capitalist economy anyways...

The real stars are the pomie's personalities more than the sun/moon myth

edited 7th Jul '11 2:14:40 PM by FallenLegend

squeek

You are right. Money is shown as existing in this society, but there don't seem to be any poor or destitute to speak of so there must be a high level of income equality. And yet it has many of the same hedonistic trappings of the modern West, such as a lot of money thrown into the fashion business, probably the single most useless, exploitative and unworthy industry ever to exist.

Also, who is sponsoring the new colony/settlers seen in Over a Barrel? Is Equestria an imperialist power?

edited 7th Jul '11 2:17:56 PM by Gault

"Suited For Success" is bad choice for first episode. Not because of quality but because of it plot. First episodes to show for non brony can be choosed by their quality but by their lack of girly element.

Bad, bad, really bad idea trying to find such messiges in this show. Thats twist show premise in matter what Unfortunate Implications editors do to shows.

And no , WWU don't habe pro socialism mesage. (Says it guy from post socialist country).

edited 7th Jul '11 2:18:44 PM by DeathCloud

If I remember correctly, the producer actually wanted a more overarching plot like in the first few episodes, but it got shot down by the higher-ups because they wanted the episodes to be viewable in any order. They might be picking up on that 2nd season.

Also, yeah, the real focus of the show is the character interaction. I think that's where a lot of the show's fans get hooked; each of the ponies has a pretty strong fan base.

Also, I just watched the episodes in order on Youtube.

I think Applebuck Season might be a good starting point; it doesn't require a whole lot of familiarity with the characters to understand, and it has a good balance of dialogue humor and physical humor. Sonic Rainboom is another good one; probably has the best intro out of all the episodes.

EDIT: I think it can be fun to do extrapolations of stuff in the show, but there's no way the show is actually espousing politics like that. Like was said before, it's more of a "you get the most done when everybody works together" kind of thing. We can't take it too seriously.

edited 7th Jul '11 2:27:24 PM by JapaneseTeeth

Jugding from bronydom that decision was good idea. Many fans are sceptical about less Slice of Life plots in next season.

But even that general message is, in a broad sense, political. Cooperation serves society better than competition, and as the latter is so espoused to be the driving force behind Capitalism's constant self-improving nature it seems a bit like a kick in the teeth.

You're still overthinking it. Societal messages aren't inherently political. This is a show aimed at young girls; the primary message is essentially "it's better for everyone to get along". Yeah, that can be applied to any social area of life, politics included, but that almost certainly wasn't the intent here.

And now I'm going to stop talking about politics because it's one of my least favorite subjects of conversation anyway.

I don't know what you're talking about. I find it fascinating. But very well. I've got other things to talk about with regards to this show.

Cutie Marks for example. Now, completely skipping over the whole biological implications of these things, just how much of a role does one of these marks play in an average Pony's life? Are they what determines a Pony's role in life and what their job will be? What if a Pony doesn't like their mark, and the duty it assigns them? In my mind, this implies that there are certain roles that are simply fated for Ponies and that their futures are not their own to decide. I find this disturbing.

I thought that the message of WWU was that knowing your strengths is good, and that proper organization is a path to success.

hardly anti-capitalistic messages.

Nope, personal satisfaction seems to be part of it. It helps identify yourself, and it would take a gross amount of psychological disturbance to be unhappy with who you are. Admittedly, it might make for an interesting fic, but it'll never show up in the show, that's just too serious for it.

edited 7th Jul '11 2:49:16 PM by blueharp

^^^^^I know I am, somewhat.

I've always been ambivalent on the thought of this show having more overarching plots and adventure, maybe because most of the show isn't like that and I like it as it is.

edited 7th Jul '11 2:50:31 PM by AnonymousUser