Ranking The Story Editors of FiM, From Worst to Best (Version 4)

Even though we didn't have a new story editor for Season 9, there were some changes and developments brought about by it in the story editing department. Plus, there have now been some details revealed about a couple of the story editors. So, what exactly (if anything) changed for a position that seems to have been more or less ceremonious in recent seasons due to the increased turnaround? Well, you're about to find out.

Here's the third version, from the end of Season 8. As always, this list is purely the result of my personal opinion so please respect it.

6. M. A. Larson (Editor for: Season 5: Episodes 5-12)
Why he moved down to the bottom: In an interview posted to Equestria Daily a few weeks back (maybe over a month ago) M. A. Larson stated that he really didn't enjoy being in the story editor position and he never wanted to come back to it (though he said that's not why he left the show). I'm not entirely sure why Larson was made the story editor for a stretch of episodes in Season 5, but most likely he was just the person who got drafted to it as a result of Meghan McCarthy getting bogged down with the movie.

5. Nicole Dubac (Editor for: Season 8 (Collab with Josh Haber), Season 9 (Collab with Josh Haber): Episodes 1-13)
Why she moved up: Nicole was a story editor alongside Haber in Season 8 and retained it though the first half of Season 9 before I noticed by the time of "2, 4, 6, Greaaat" that she was no longer credited. I'm not sure why she got booted off that position, because she was still writing episodes. I still don't know how much blame she should bare for how Season 8 turned out, though I would have to assume she got her position and got so many big writing roles because she was friends with Josh Haber and Michael Vogel. At least it seems that she didn't mind her time in that role, though it may have been simply that she didn't bother to edit much.

4. Joanna Lewis and Kristine Songco (Editors for: Season 7: Episodes 1-16, 19 (Solo), 17-18, 20-22 (Collab with Josh Haber))
Why they stayed the same: Lewis and Songco had it rough as story editors, Season 7 really struggled to find a consistent level of quality or even a direction with them at the helm. And I really don't think it was coincidence that Season 7 started to turn around after Josh Haber came onboard as story editor again. Perhaps because of how their time as story editors turned out, Lewis and Songco took a break from the show and ultimately only came back for one two parter to make up for likely being denied one in Season 7 (I still very much believe "Celestial Advice" was meant to be the big two part season premiere, and then Hasbro inexplicably didn't grant it).

3. Josh Haber (Editor for: Season 6, Season 7: Episodes 17-18, 20-22 (Collab with Joanna Lewis and Kristine Songco), 23-26 (solo), Season 8 (Collab with Nicole Dubac), Season 9: Episodes 1-13 (Collab with Nicole Dubac), 14-26 (Solo))
Why he stayed the same: There were a lot of animation mistakes in Season 9, lots of cases of the animators not being told what the writers intentions were, and part of the blame for that has to go to the story editor since he or she is in charge of making sure everyone knows what's expected of them and what is supposed to be and not be in an episode. I don't know how much blame Haber should bare for how Season 8 turned out, but there were things he should've caught in Season 9 but didn't even if he was writing a lot of very important episodes for the show. Supposedly the writers in Seasons 8 and 9 were primarily included because they were friends with Haber or Vogel, which is a bit of a problem since they say never to work with friends. Haber learned that lesson the hard way, because he seems to have been unwilling or unable to hold his friends accountable and not questioned anything even when he should've. And something tells me he didn't get picked to Megan McCarthy's successor just because he was friends with her (as far as I know Haber and McCarthy never crossed paths before this show).

2. Meghan McCarthy (Editor for: Season 3, Season 4, Season 5: Episodes 1-4, 14-26)
Why she stayed just below the top: Meghan was definitely a stronger story editor for the two half seasons that she was involved with instead of the whole season. Season 4, much like Season 9, had a lot of animation mistakes and a lot of stories that seem to suffer from first draft syndrome (even the best episodes of Season 4 feel like they're a first draft you can pick apart easily). I suspect it's because she was juggling writing for the show, writing for "Rainbow Rocks", and just beginning to tackle the movie that would go on to take up much of her time. But if that was the case she should've handed over the reigns to someone else much sooner. I do think she was kind of lucky in the second half of Season 5 to get episodes like "Rarity Investigates!", "Hearth Breakers", "The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows", "Brotherhooves Social", "The Hooffields and McColts", and especially "Crusaders of the Lost Mark" and "The Mane Attraction" dropped into her lap, but it's possible that the episodes wouldn't have turned out the way they did if Larson was still story editor then. I suspect that "Castle, Sweet Castle" was originally going to be the premiere for Season 5 before the long hiatus, and Meghan was unable to finish editing it in time because she was helping Larson and Scott Sonneborn write a new premiere instead. But she did still sometimes let things slip through the cracks even in the half seasons, "The Mane Attraction" was originally going to have Svengallop be fired but for whatever reason that didn't make it into the final product. And there was also a cut verse from Diamond Tiara in the reprise of "We'll Make Our Mark" (most likely it was due to time constraints, I myself can't really think of what would be cut or condensed to make room for it).

1. Rob Renzetti (Editor for: Season 1, Season 2)
Why he stayed on the top: Apparently, Rob quit the show because when Lauren Faust left he felt he could no longer be a story editor without her. So he really did try to keep the peace between Lauren Faust and Hasbro that could've torn the DHX staff apart. Ultimately, it appears he sided more with Hasbro than Lauren, which probably hurt Lauren a great deal. I do wonder what it would've been like if Rob had stuck around all the way to the end or even just through Season 3 or Season 4 when you could argue the show ended its classic years and underwent a transformation and changing of the guard. He wasn't perfect, but he was also interestingly the only story editor who wasn't also a writer, so that may have given him a unique perspective. Hence why he stays on the top.

And there you have it, come back tomorrow (or later in the day since it's after midnight in my time zone) when we'll update the rankings for all the writers of FiM. I'll be employing a time saving measure similar to one I've used for other big lists.

Comments

[superfun]

For me, it's Haber and Nicole at 1 and 2.