Did anybody watch those Best Gift Ever shorts? · 11:26pm Dec 12th, 2018
What the heck? Is Best Gift Ever like, season 8.5 or something? <.< First a special, now completely unrelated shorts that nevertheless bear its name? What is going on with this cockamamie show? :| Spoilers below.
So like... Am I alone in thinking these were all dumb and boring in different ways? <.< It's like the EQG shorts all over again.
The one about triple-pony dares was Fall-Weather Friends, again, and worse. Pointless.
The one about the escape room? What is with escape rooms? Did show staff just discover them two years ago or something? Anyway, this was two minutes of watching Pinkie Pie be gleefully ignorant of her friends' distinct lack of fun-having, which is aggravating on numerous levels. At least Rarity said "poo".
And then "Mysterious Voice", which was just garbage. Why does Applejack have to suddenly be able to do voices now? Does Ashleigh Ball not get enough money? Too much? It was about the school and I didn't care and also it wasn't called 'Dirtville'. >:|
Mluh.
Wait, what?
...
Ah. I suppose this explains some of the stuff I've been seeing on Derpibooru. Any links? I can only find one of them.
4980232
Which one?
4980238
Triple Pony Dare Ya
4980240
Well, someone made a playlist with the other two:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe4ygBPrADOQ2rNqaxcMjlhx284GflWyV
To each their own, I suppose. I watched them and thought they were pretty good.
Everypony was in character, friendship was always a part of the message and they were insightful and funny.
Just my thoughts. But I like ponies.
Hey, the eqd shorts were fun, and I thought these too.
I thought they were reasonably entertaining. Then again, I'm a simple mind with simple pleasures.
"I love this show," he said, balling and unballing his fists, "I mean, I'm not enjoying it now, but as an abstract principle," he added through his clenched jaw and grit teeth.
Cool. I had no idea there were shorts with this.
4980279
This, but unironically.
Because of this I learned there were shorts. They were cute. Winter poners are cute and 100% more snuggly then normal poners.
4980279
I don't love this show.
I loved this show.
This show now festers under the weight of corporatized mediocrity, possessing no value beyond entertainment for the easily amused.
And I do not like this.
4980318
Then...
Stop watching.
4980323
Only if you do as well. Because it is a shame to see taste sink so low.
4980318
The thing is, it was always like that. Just took a bit of time for the polish to wear off the turd.
4980332
Nah. It had love and care behind it back when Faust was around to force people not to fuck it up. She wanted a show for little girls that their parents would want to watch with them, like Avatar was for boys. Then she left and the remaining people have not had the drive, passion, ability, fucks, or any combination thereof to keep it good.
PPI haven't watched these yet, but what then was the last special I thought you reviewed? I am so lost D: This is what I get for not suffering through the last half of S8.
4980342
There's The Best Gift Ever. It's the Christmas special that aired after season 8.
Then there's these things, which are 3-minute shorts using the "Best Gift Ever" supertitle but having nothing whatsoever to do with it. <.<
4980352
Remember baby ponies... G 3.5 or something?
Ah... Bad times.
4980352
They all happen during Christmas. At least, one thing they are related to.
Triple Pony Dare: Did... they forget the premise/terms at the end? Pinkie didn't actually complete a dare.
Voice: As you say, pointless garbage. Also there are various points this talent or hobby or whatever should have shown itself before now if it existed. Reminds me of how the show just forgot at some point that diagetic-Pinkie is actually a bad-to-maybe-okay singer.
Escape room: At least it's not another vision board... and Pinkie roping people into bullshit they didn't agree to (at least on the terms she basically added after the fact) is in character. And forgetting important things. And generally being terrible. Though why was everyone willing to humor her here?
4980432
What does that mean?
4980318
Pretty much sums it up. I loved S1 horseshow. Current products are little like that.
4980432
It is too much to expect the current writers to keep continuity or characterization for a full three minutes.
4980462
They're in a barn. They can just leave. Even if they forget that Twilight can teleport them out, it's an Apple family barn, and can be easily destroyed like it was probably going to be in a week anyway. (Okay, joking on that last part.) Or they can just break the lock and replace it. There's no reason they need to go through Pinkie's whole thing unless they want to, and well before the end it really doesn't seem like anyone else wants to.
The shorts were pretty nonsensical, but I at least chuckled when I learned that Applejack was the one acting like a retard on the radio.
It's become something of a corporate fad to send your employees into these things to improve team building and have the staff do stuff outside of the workplace, and that's probably why the writers like including them. I've visited one with my colleagues, and it was quite fun actually. But again, no clue why the M6 acts like retards when they did it correctly in All Bottle Up.
4980469
Well, if they just left, the short would have ended there. That would mean "no escape room". But they decided to go ahead and play Pinkie's game.
They insist to go through the entire game to see how difficult it is. And even if they were basically growing nervous, they completed it.
Maybe the Mane 6 like difficult escape rooms, but that one was more than difficult, it was "Pinkie-Difficult", a good reason to understand why they will probably not want to be in another escape room made by Pinkie.
4980318
Oh wah.
4980355
Don't bring those up ._.;
4980470
Of course it would be a corporate thing. <.< I can't say I don't know people who've done them, because I do, but I just don't see the appeal myself.
4980495
Soon we'll have the Mane 6 as babies rolling everywhere on screen like demented beanie babies. Get your Raribean! Twibean for sale!
Okay. I'll go be weird elsewhere now. I need coffee.
Hehe. Demented beanie babies.
4980342
Uhhh. You realize Faust was only there for a season and a half or so. If you say the rest of the show doesn't have value beyond that... it wasn't like Faust was the only writer who cared. I consider Season 4 one of the best seasons before it started spinning downhill by new writers. Each to their own, but the first season wasn't the greatest, and I love season 2.
4980318
After not watching the show for a while because I get easily distracted, I decided to binge everything to get up to date during Christmas (I was like halfway into season 6 or so), to see if the show was as bad as certain people said.
I'm currently starting season 8, and I genuinely have no idea what you're talking about here. Maybe I just lack the needed cynicism to see a flaw in everything or what, but like, even the episodes that were kind of bad were at worst slightly boring, and still had fun character moments. The majority of episodes, though, were absolutely good, and the great ones were great. The dialogue is extremely crisp and the animation quality is amazing when you compare it to the earlier seasons. I enjoyed season 7 immensely, and pretty much consider it the peak of the show so far, even if I never really had any problem with other seasons.
I don't see where there's any corporate meddling mediocrity, really. The morals have changed but they're fun, and the show is going interesting places. The structure of some episodes is really cool from a narrative point of view! I enjoy it a lot when I start a show and I can't tell where it's going immediately from narrative beat to narrative beat alone, and pony is really good at telling stories in a weird way.
I guess in the end it's a matter of taste? But 'for the easily entertained' to me more seems like you're just... not the intended target audience anymore? I genuinely have fun watching the show. If you don't, great, but just implying that whoever likes it nowadays is a moron, at least to me, seems kind of... silly?
I don't know, I've just started season 8 and so far I like it. Maybe in s8e3 all the characters just look at the camera and yell MCDONALDS. MCDONALDS. MCDONALDS in the viewer's direction for 20 minutes and that's the rest of the season, in which case, I unno, I'll stand corrected I guess?
4980571
I compare 8 to 4 or 6, seasons I really didn't enjoy. The main difference, as far as I can tell, is that I still cared about what happened, while in S8, I just didn't. There are still at least 2 episodes in that season that I really enjoyed, but the full number that I liked is no higher than 4 out of 26.
I'm just upset that far too many people are willing to tell me that I'm the one who's changed when my standards were established by the first season of the show and have never shifted. :/ No one's willing or able to recognize or admit that the show is way different now. Maybe I'm just the only who think it's different-bad. It's not a fun place to be, I never wanted this. So maybe forgive me for reacting poorly to the neverending stream of "you're not a True Fan if you don't like the show anymore".
4980578
I haven't seen season 8 yet, so I'll get back to you in like two or three days, when I have. I replied in part because I thought the general complaint was about s7 too, which is what weirded me out -- I cared a lot there!
I do think the show has changed, but so far I don't think it's different-bad at all, to be absolutely honest? Like, there are bits that have sloppy writing, I'll absolutely say that. They do make me roll my eyes, but if the rest of the episode is well-written, I also focus on that? More or less that's how I roll with these things.
I don't think different is inherently bad, at least. I liked that season seven sorta sold us that the ponies are kind of just. The best at their thing? They've sorta 'mastered' friendship, kinda. I mean, not ABSOLUTELY, nobody's perfect -- but they're at the point where they could teach others and solve external problems. You could see that they just got along and worked well as a team, and they were aware. I thought that was pretty heartwarming, because yeah, let's see how far we've come and so on. So s8 moves to the logical next step, which is them teaching this shit?
So like, yeah, absolutely, it's not the same as in s1. The focus has changed. But I just accepted that and so far I'm focusing on the execution of the idea, rather than the idea itself? So far I'm enjoying it, and I don't see any mediocrity, is what I mean.
As I said, I'm gonna wait till I've seen s8 completely to like jump in this argument, because I literally have no idea what we're talking about, honestly. That said, I have no idea what those standards are -- on a purely technical and writing level, at least to me, the show has really only improved so far? The only thing I didn't give a shit about were the s6 songs, but tbh I breezed through that so fast I didn't, like, care to relisten to any of them. So, unno.
4980580
Yeah, S6 did not have great songs. With a few exceptions here and there, the songs have been pretty lacking since probably S5.
As for S7, it was all right. I was mostly over my hate-boner for Starlight at that point, so it was easier to get back to enjoying the show. Which is something I like doing. Unlike most people, who seem to think I enjoy hating on it. :|
4980578
I think one of the issues I've had lately is that there's not as much of an intersection of focus and interest (on the writers' side) as there used to be. Think of it this way: the end of S7 introduced in a pretty good episode this big thing that could shake things up and offer a chance to develop both the existing characters and the existing world. Then they (and a ton of other relevant things) are ignored in the movie and barely make a ripple in S8. The school is introduced at the start of the season (in a confusing mishmash of an episode where stakes are destroyed because motivations are short and plot progression arbitrary)--and then is spread pretty thin throughout the rest of the season (and continues to not make motivational or logistical sense), and even in the episodes it does get, doesn't tend to develop the new supporting cast very much until much later on in the season (see: episode that's just about AJ and RD being overcompetitive jerks to each other, with students in the background basically as props, not really participants in their own right; Starswirl is taking knockoff classes in Las Pegasus for some reason).
4980504
Actually, I think the natural progression of things takes us to Beanis.
4980318
While I think the show is less consistent and the first half of season 8 might even be worse than the first half of season 1 (probably my least favourite half season of the entire series), I wouldn't say the only value is entertainment for those who are easily amused. The second half was very good, and I'd call episodes 19-26 an amazing stretch with maybe only 1 or 2 duds. And, this might just be me, but I think how good a finale is is a pretty big factor in how good a season is, because they're usually among the most memorable episodes, have the big conflicts, and are the note you leave the season off, and since I absolutely love the season 8 finale, my feelings towards the season as a whole are pretty positive. Cozy just carried that episode SO well. She's probably the hammiest villain in the whole series. And there are still episodes with great themes scattered throughout the season. Like episode 7, 10, 15, 21, 23, maybe 12, 20, and 22. Also, even if entertainment was the only thing going for the show at this point, I don't know if that'd be a big problem. That's the basic reason any of us watch a show.
4980571
If you look at things like Rainbow Power, the Friendship School, and the insane amount of irrelevant celebrities just for the movie, and don't see corporate meddling mediocrity, I really don't know what else to tell you.
4980810
Just gonna throw this out there: appealing to the quality of the finale PP wrote this about probably ain't gonna prove very convincing.
4980580
There is little well written about the last four seasons. The animators and VAs are doing a better standard of work than most in the kids show business, but the writing starts at wretched and maybe rises to boring but tolerable.
4981095
I disagree! Super hard, too. I think the dialogue only got more crisp as it went on, and seasons 5-to-7 really shine with the timing of the jokes and the way stories are told. The scripts have a lot of style if you ask me, and the jokes in particular shine to the point where I'm legitimately impressed lately whenever a joke lands well.
Like, it's just really well-structured! I especially appreciate small asides, which happen often. The episode where Thorax and Ember visit Ponyville in particular comes to mind as a really good one ("What? What are you talking about?" Pause. "Oooh. Spike. Heh. I got there."/"ALL I'M SAYING IS, YOU'RE BOTH PURPLE PONIES WITH SPARKLY CUTIE MARKS" "Um, actually, mine is more like a glimmer?") and just character interaction in general is amazing.
Structure-wise, there are some duds -- the episode where the CMC wanted to build karts was too repetitive for my tastes, even if I see what they were going for -- but like, when the show shines? A Royal Problem fires on all cylinders and it's just like, legitimately impressive how much it does with so little.
So yeah! I think the writing's great. Honestly, I have a feeling some people just dislike some things on principle ("Oh, Starlight Glimmer sucks, anything including her is TERRIBLE") and then just don't care about execution or something, which is why stuff like 'this is terribly written' is said about a script that, honestly, I think is polished to an enormous degree most of the time? Or maybe people have vastly different standads, I don't know.
Dialogue-wise and structure-wise, I think the writing of the show has only gotten better. To me that absolutely counts a being well-written; I suppose here is where opinions vary, dunno.
4981099
The plot structure is a tire fire, and the characterization of the main cast actively regresses over the course of the seasons.
4980893
...I'm not completely sure what you're saying? Are you saying that I should read it even though it won't be that convincing? Are you saying people won't listen to me because of that? Or what?
4981360
I'm saying that you're making an argument based at least in part on a very high opinion of the finale. Such an argument is unlikely to sway someone who said, regarding the same finale:
Editing to say I'm not sure why FimFic gave me an empty double-post. :\
4981466
-Unless their opinion on the season 8 finale was swayed. That will be my life's mission from now on. Trying to get people to like the season 8 finale.
4981481
Well, good luck <.<
4981481
Echoing 4981516.
Count me among those who think that the second half of Season 8 was very good. Yes, there are occasional plot holes, and some annoying moments where the obvious conflict takes longer to resolve than I'd like. But the dialogue is often very clever and well written, the twists are often fun, the characters have grown since earlier seasons, and many of the episodes were just really enjoyable. Both to me and to my daughters.
4981572
I feel like a brony in real life who finally found another fan.