Aug
2nd
2018
Random thought... · 5:38pm Aug 2nd, 2018
Why do fans of kids shows insist on rigid continuity and timelines for everything... and yet, they're perfectly fine with the main characters not aging in primetime animated series like The Simpsons, Family Guy, or Bob's Burgers?
Has it never occurred to anyone that FiM and Equestria Girls is operating on those same rules? The characters just don't age and time doesn't move forward unless the story dictates they should?
Yes, I know I have timelines elsewhere on this blog, but I don't expect it to hold for much longer as Equestria Girls continues. I fully expect it to be completely unworkable by this time next year.
Because nothing progresses in sitcoms. The only reason live-action ones acknowledge the flow of time is because the actors visibly age. The pendulum of the status quo inevitably returns to its rest position.
Meanwhile, events often have lasting impacts in MLP, which in turn drives people to figure out the chronology at work. Also, the problem with high school settings is that they have a built-in time limit, and Equestria Girls is starting to push that.
And, to paraphrase Pinkie, sometimes it's really fun to overthink things!
Where's the fun in everything making sense?
4912760
I did have an epiphany that could fix a lot of the timeline issues with EQG: What if CHS is a combined middle/high school covering say, grades 7-12? It explains why the CMC are there, it gives Sunset time to build her queen bee reputation, and it even aids those who insist the three photos of Sunset are all from there Fall Formals.
It's like you said about the Pink Panther movies: animated sitcoms like the Simpsons and Family Guy play fast and loose with continuity so it doesn't really matter (although American Dad is better about continuity and is a much better show than Family Guy is right now writing-wise).
4912791
It sounds like that's probably the case.
4912760
That's basically it. Shows like Simpsons, Family Guy, South Park? They're designed so that their rules can change at any time. Even if you have references to past events, it's in a way that allows for the fast-and-loose rule structure.
MLP G4, on the other hand, had already established a proper timeline in Season 1: The Grand Galloping Gala Arc. When you begin stating that time is progressing, you have a responsibility to hold to it and not play fast-and-loose with the rules. That's why there are episodes where it feels like characters are going backwards in development instead of forwards.
Now there are benefits and drawbacks to both formats. Both have their own luxuries and limitations. And the fandom has most assuredly had its problems regarding this issue. But that's for another post.
4912791
That's what I had in mind when I first saw the Movie Club in CHS. It's just a combined system. Probably because the city/suburb its located in doesn't have the budget for three basic education buildings.
Because those show's use negative continuity, even the things that should stick like deaths are undone next episode.
FiM and EG do not work on this principle, they have established a level of continuity that precludes that. It hasn't been long enough to say otherwise, and so much of the in-universe timeline is left vague that it's flexible enough that nothing has outright broken anything. Most of the "breaking" were based on assumptions like their being seniors that were proven just assumptions.