In lieu of this week's episode... · 1:51pm Apr 12th, 2014
Spoiler: Don't expect to watch ponies this morning, you will be watching pets instead. :B
I rewatched Testing, Testing and have a few more things to say about it, as usual:
-The phrases "stink eye", "handy (dandy)" and "horsing around" have been canonised. The second one is useful because we no longer have to use "hoofy", which never sounded right. (The first one I mention just because I use it a lot.)
-This episode has a lot in common with Ticket Master, not the least of which is being slightly boring. But the middle section, where everyone's trying to help Rainbow and they all end up arguing, reminded me a lot of that episode, and it turns out that when I'm not being thoroughly baffled by everything, that part is actually highly entertaining.
-I couldn't shake the question, "Why doesn't Rainbow Dash already know this?" I mean, we know that she knows everything about the current Wonderbolts, and at least their predecessors. Why wouldn't she at least know something about their history? (I could see not knowing all the little details, but sweet fuck, she should at least know who started them if not why.)
-My problem with the rap is that we already have a rap song about the Wonderbolts, and it's waaaay better:
-I guess Firefly isn't Rainbow Dash's mom. :( At least she exists in canon now.
-What the hell was the pegasus at the end dressed as Fairy Flight smoking?
-The main issue with this episode is dead air. Four separate scenes involve Twilight and Rainbow flying and talking, and they get less interesting as the episode progresses. I can't think of a better way to convey what needed to be conveyed, though, so it's just something we have to deal with.
-Oddly, despite being a very "soft", slice of life episode, this is still packed full of world-building and now we should all know the history of the Wonderbolts as well as Rainbow. (Maybe the educationality is why it feels boring?)
-I like it better the second time around, but it's still really light on... everything, pretty much. It will likely be the season's most forgettable episode. (Or second-most, since I just remembered that Castle Mania is way more forgettable.)
As we head into the home stretch of season 4, I feel like this is a good time to stop and take stock of my appreciation of the show. Like a lot of people who've been posting journals lately, I can feel it slipping. Season 4 is leaps and bounds better than season 3, though it makes the same missteps and, at its worst, just feels like an extension thereof, but it still can't match the highs of season 2, no matter how hard it tries. Is it possible that season 5 will improve things even more? Totally. But right now, I have to face facts:
1) I no longer trust or respect the show's writers
Even AKR, whose name would be the first to pop into my head when asked "Who do you think is the best show writer?"
Over the course of the last three seasons, I've only come to expect them to screw things up. This means it's nice when they don't, but as my standards plummet, so does my enjoyment of the show. Half the time, it feels like they have no idea what they're doing, and this is for the established writers. Yes, Dave Polsky has really improved and written a lot of great episodes this season, but look at the path he had to take to get there. I don't know what the problem is, so I can hardly offer a solution, and the fact is, it irritates me.
2) The comics are way better
Hands-down. They're meant for an audience closer to my age. Katie Cook can write circles around anyone on the show staff. They don't have Hasbro breathing down their necks, inserting toy commercials everywhere. Yes, the comics have had major missteps, but by and large, they're where I go to watch the characters I love doing amazing things.
3) The fandom is way better
See the above YouTube video for example #1.
We have better writers. We have better storytellers. We have better musicians. (I'm giving the writers a lot of shit in this post, but the fact is, Ingram's music has been sliding since season 3 and really hasn't recovered since Equestria Girls.) Every time I watch an episode that doesn't immediately wow me, I'm reminded of a fanfic I read that took a similar premise and explored it far better.
Could we write episodes? Probably not. Any claim like the one I'm making brings to mind the horror that was Double Rainboom (may it rust in peaches), because our animators apparently don't like talking to our writers, and our writers are generally fiction writers, television writing being something of a separate skill.
But this is why I was so non-plussed by Flutterbat. She had already existed in the fandom for quite a few months prior, thanks to "bat all the ponies" posts that were mostly encouraged by EQD. We're capable of exploring the world and the medium it's in far quicker and from far more different angles than the show staff. The fact is, we're leaving them in the dust, and despite our own missteps, we always have been. It's getting to the point where watching Saturday's episode is just an interruption in my constant stream of pony music and stories. It's a very odd position to be in, and I'm not sure what to make of it.
Now get out there and write me some Wonderbolts historical fics.
What, you don't use the phrase 'hoofy doofy?'
Anyway, unfortunately I didn't read much more so I have to settle for jokes. The reason for this is spoilers, of which I am avoiding because I have yet to watch the ponies yet.
Although it's sad that we can't trust the writers any longer. Have we gone over the hill yet? Is it time to quit yet?
EDIT:
Very annoyingly, that you don't read anything that isn't complete, because one of my (and my best) ongoing series actually is a complete recreation and reimagining of the entire history of Cloudsdale (and the wonderbolts) in a contemporary setting.
What'll it take to get you to read it, huh? And don't say complete it or I shall hit you.
what do you mean, don't watch pets?
Best mongoose and best gecko is on pets!
2003067
NO ONE SHOULD EVER USE THE PHRASE "HOOFY DOOFY"
Sadly, I've locked myself into a thing where I don't feel the need to quit the fandom, but by staying in it, I feel obligated to continue watching the show, lest I become one of those people who actively hates the thing they write for and does their best to ignore canon while continuing their own output. That's just kind of sad.
And complete it. :V
2003088
I suppose I should rephrase that...
2003176
What the... how did you know my modus operandi? >=|
Also no. Read it. Read it darn it.
Please?
Also if there was one short fic of yours that would benefit from being read incredibly straight by a wizard, which would it be?
Huh. You know, I have wholeheartedly believed in points 2 and 3 for years now, but I've always been reluctant to accept point 1.
I continue to enjoy new episodes too much to agree with point 1, but I do mostly agree regarding the other two. That said, I've listened to music from this season (primarily the Ponytones and the Cheese Sandwich episode songs) way too much to be able to agree that Ingram isn't doing as good of a job as he used to.
I disagree that the established writers have really messed things up. AKR has been with this since S1, and Testing is easily the best episode of the season, whereas most of the other S4 episodes have been alright, but nothing amazing.
There have obviously been some flukes along the way, but basically any writer who's name appeared in S1 is going to be providing a good episode.
2003182
..."Incredibly straight by a wizard"?
2003427
I honestly feel like season 3 had better music. I mean, we got Babs Seed and Raise This Barn at least, and those were both great. Nothing this season has really stuck with me, even though I liked stuff like Generosity and pretty much everything from Pinkie Pride. :/
2003465
That's the thing, though. As the seasons continue to not reach the same highs, it feels more and more like the old guard writers are running out of ideas. They should be producing consistently awesome episodes if they ever have (and Pinkie Pride at least shows that AKR still has it when she has it), but they're not. Something has changed.
Since calling people "Hasdrones" is kind of mean, I will instead coin a new word and call you a "Hasual" in retaliation. :V
2003520
Straight as in stage direction "Play straight" and by a wizard as in, by a wizard. Delivered deadpan by a magician. Read all too seriously by a warlock. You get the idea.
EDIT: I know I say a lot of things that constantly bewilder and confuse you, but... well, this isn't anything different. But it was a serious question.
2003427
Yeah, I agree with you on the music. I too was starting to feel like the music was going downhill after noticing that none of the songs really got stuck in my head like the S1/2 ones did. But then Cheese Sandwich and the Ponytones happened, and things were good again.
2003564
Ohh, definitely one of my trollfics. :B Like, I dunno, Snowdrop and Nyx or Things Rainbow Dash Doesn't Like.
2003717
Actually apparently General Firefly was a reference to Faust's "Fyre Flye" persona, rather than the G1 pony Firefly.
So sayth a tweet I can't be bothered to find.
I'm so glad that I disagree with you on everything.
(Good fan fiction is often better than the show it's based on, but there's also no official alternative that we're comparing it to, so it doesn't count.)
I don't know if we're better, but we respect the show more. The show's writers seem to have come down with "it's just a kids' show" syndrome. Lack of continuity? It's just a kids' show. Inconsistent tech levels or back-stories? It's just a kids' show. Clunking plot-driven improbabilities or idiot balls? It's just a kids' show.
Ingram can write, but his lyrics can't scan. He has no ear for prosody. Other than that, he's good when he's not phoning it in. A lot of forgettable pop, but it's just a kids' show.
Sad but true.
No; fimfiction only allows prose writers. Scripts are banned, remember? For our own good.
I don't really think the comics better. They seem to be aimed at a teenager market, and go for the kind of teenager oriented jokes and action that I find distracting and not really enjoyable. It seems like they are improving in the last ones, but I still consider the pony comics to be fairly less entertaining than the episodes. On the other hoof, if IDW was to release a Pony series aimed at the same age group as their Ghostbusters series, I would be immediately subscribing
As for the fandom being better, I partially agree. While much of what is created by the fandom is subpar, there are a few buried gems that are exceedingly better than anything Hasbro has done. But the fandom is unable to do one essential thing: provide a coherent direction. It's not exclusive to MLP, of course; the day a large fandom becomes able to pool the skills and resources of it's members to create something coherent the face of entertainment might change forever.
(I don't really agree with the music quality falling, BTW. Apples to the Core, Hearts Strong as Horses, Generosity, A Glass of Water, most of what is in Pinkie Pride and Filli Vanilli... while previous seasons have some fantastic music, and EQG was a dud in my opinion as far as music is concerned, I do think season 4 is holding well.)
I normally agree with you; but so far however, Season # 4 is the strongest season. About the music:
In Equestrian Girls, some songs were hit and some misses. One should expect this. It is hard to write only hits. 3 of the songs stood out of the rest:
* The Remix Of The Theme-Song
* Helping Twilight Sparkle To Win The Crown
* A friend For Life
The music of Season # 4 is also hit and miss. We should expect this. The music in S04E12 Pinkie Pride is great.
2003760
Given that they're pronounced the same, I think the point is moot, but I had thought about this. You could perhaps make a case for a difference in fic, if you wished.
2003779
There's a big difference between a scriptfic and an actual script. The latter should, of course, be acted and filmed. :B
2003797
I'm not sure what such a toyline would entail. :O As for the songs, I was trying to think of others I liked, and I could not come up with a single one. That sort of encapsulates my problem with S4 music.
2003842
I'm going to disagree with you there. We should expect things to be at least as good as they were once upon a time. A gradual decrease in quality should not also be coupled with a lowering of standards. This show used to mean something, but I'm afraid that might not be true anymore.
The music has always been hit and miss. One cannot write over an 100 songs for 5 to 10 TV-Series annually and make every song an hit. My point is that quality is stable. Indeed, because the number of songs per season, with the exception of Season # 3 which only had half of the number of episode because of the shift of resources to Equestrian Girls, we have more good songs in later seasons than earlier seasons because later seasons have more songs (Hasbro and DHX realize that the audience loves songs, so gives us more songs to love).
One could count the worst songs and notice this pattern:
Season # 1:
5 Bad Songs.
Season # 2:
8 Bad Songs
Season # 4:
13 Bad Songs
Then, one can erroneously conclude that quality drops.
One can look at only the best songs and see this pattern:
Season # 1:
5 Good Songs.
Season # 2:
8 Good Songs
Season # 3:
13 good songs
One could erroneously conclude that quality goes through the roof.
If one looks at the average quality it is stable. Given that one need not relisten to songs one does not like, one has more songs to add to the playlist in later seasons than earlier seasons.
By the way, ¿can anypony recognize the numerical sequence I used?
2004927
Fibonacci.
I don't have anything to really add, except that I love this season's songs.
2005340
¡Correct!
As a reward, I give to you an approximation of Phi written in Balanced Ternary:
Φ ≈ 1T.T0TT01TT0T10TT11T0011T10011. …
The songs of the seasons seem to vary in tone.
Season 1 songs were okay. They were simple, catchy, with a couple much more grand songs. Their biggest charm is nostalgia, since they originate from the first ever season of FIM.
Season 2 songs were much grander and were epic for the most part. {This goes to show that Season 2 was the best...but season 4 is coming in as competition.}
Season 3 seemed to have tried to mix the two and, in my opinion, pulled it off.
Season 4, however, seems to be the most adventurous of the season in it's songs. It seems to be trying out several different varieties and they actually work well in my opinion.
{Pinkie's rap was funny, even though I don't like rap in general.}
WHOA! Let's not get hasty here. Every series has episodes that are hit and miss and run into problems. Of course, I have gotten out of series's because of said problems. {Like Supernatural...How many times are the brothers going to be killed and come back and several other things.}
Yet, I haven't seen any real degradation of the show. Seasons 1 and 2 had episodes that were hit and miss {season 2 more so, since it seemed the more adventurous of the first 3 seasons...Season 4 is beating it in that regard.} If anything, season 4, while having a couple misses, is showing that the staff are learning from their mistakes....Yes, they're making new ones, but they'll learn to overcome them. {I have no doubts that season 5 is going to be epic}
I will give you a rundown of the seasons in my perspective.
Season 1: The writers played it safe. It wasn't really adventurous or out there. It kept to the basics had a more consistent quality because of this, but it really didn't meet any high scores, in my observations.
season 2: This was the season that the writers were starting to throw their ideas into the air with lack of abandonment. They tried out new styles, situations, and characters. Because of this, out of all the seasons, this one had the most hit and misses. Which isn't a bad thing, this was the second season and that often happens when the writers start to experiment.
season 3: Seemed to be a compilations of leftover ideas from season 2. It wasn't bad, but it didn't have enough episodes to make up for the weaker ones, so it suffers.
Season 4: Seems to be season 2, cranked up to the max! With new art styles, characters, and everything, it is shaping up to be the best season so far. {You've got to admit, it has a lot few flunks then season 2.}
Of course the comics are better. As you said, they have much more room to move about and explore. {Also, I love the references that they get to add.}
But you know what else? They get to put other characters into the spotlight. The show has only a small array of characters it can follow {CMC, Mane six, Spike} Those are the only characters the show will tackle as main characters, or at least important side characters.
While the comic can focus on a much bigger variety and really develop some of the shows more neglected or unused characters.
And they give Celestia some respect and better treatment...Seriously, the show always brushes her aside and never wants to give her any real depth or long scenes. This has hurt her standing in the fandom, especially after the season 2 finale.
{While in the comic, she got to fight a horde of giant cockatrices and such....That's just awesome.}
Not to mention a ton of interesting side characters.
Not that the show doesn't have them; Coco, Lightning Dust, Maude (just to name a few).
So while the comics do much better, the show still is as awesome as it has always been.
Also, they gave Sunset Shimmer, arguably one of my fav characters in the show, her own comic and time to shine. The movie didn't really give us any insight into her past and character, as that was more or less glossed over. I always felt that if they had added another 15-30, they could have easily fixed all the problems with the movie. {I still liked it though.}
As long as I stay away from bashers and haters {you can tell which is which when you read a fic. Look at how they treat the characters} I'm fine. There are quite a few things that I readily enjoy, but I wouldn't go so far as to say we're better. If anything, I believe the fandom is similar to the comics, in that they're both epic, silly, and crammed with references.
...I can't really say much about music though. I've lost touch with most of the fandom's music and the show is still pumping out awesome songs. {Season 4 has some of my top favs. Love them
.}
Could we make an awesome movie, series, shorts? We have and we will continue to do so. Will they be better then the show? It will vary, and I still hold some of the show's shining gems in high regard, more so then most fanwork.
Which is alright. I'm a writer myself {A different Sunset' is my pride and joy} But I know my limitations.
2005657
Flutterbat happened due to "bat all the things". Flutterhulk has been around longer, since Best Night Ever. Echoing fanon does them no good.
Are you sure it's the show that's changed and not your perception? That The earlier seasons were better because it was all fresh and new, and may still seem better due to nostalgia? I mean, somewhat agree with your assessments, but I myself am not entirely sure of the cause.
2014727
I really think it's the show, and entirely because of Faust leaving. This is why season 2 is better than 3, but still shaky (I think 4 feels like 3 while still being better because McCarthy's been at the helm twice now and is getting more suited to the role). With the visionary gone, the show's open to corporate meddling from Hasbro for the sake of selling toys; not that it's never been about that, but that the toy-selling always took a backseat to the story-telling until the finale of season 2. Bending stories around including things like the Crystal Empire or whatever's going on with Twilight this season means the stories aren't going to feel as fluid or dynamic. New talent means lots more people trying to figure out how the world and characters work, and coming up with plots that don't "sell" their moral. This show having strong morals is important to me, because it started that way, and I'd rather it have no morals at all than poor ones.
Meanwhile, the animation has only improved in quality, so it's not like everything is terrible.
Also, this is not to suggest that I haven't changed either, because I have. Coming into the show with no expectations and having them built up across seasons 1 and 2 means that my standards are a lot higher now than before. But I still think that the show today can't hold a candle to the show of yesterday, to the point where they're almost separate entities. Which means I'm turning into one of Those People. :(
2015421
I see. By the way, have you seen any of that Wander Over Yonder business? I've been wanting to, but Disney is pretty hard to catch without cable.
2015958
I'm vaguely interested in maybe one day seeing it. :B