tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post7439179599375655821..comments2024-03-04T02:09:30.979-06:00Comments on One Man's Pony Ramblings: Episode Talk: S2E25-26, A Canterlot WeddingUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-69190801271813474442012-04-25T10:40:29.495-05:002012-04-25T10:40:29.495-05:00In my revised version:
And I can't believe th...In my revised version:<br /><br />And I can't believe that I've halfway convinced myself to actually write out a novelization of "A Canterlot Wedding" incorporating all the fixes I've come up with--<br /><br />But in my version, Cadance works at Canterlot General Hospital as a combination psycotherapist and Prozac, helping disturbed and depressed ponies by using either the "talking cure" or giving them a little shot of her magic to regulate their seratonin levels--getting them to love themselves, as it were, so they can start reaching out to love other ponies.<br /><br />Because it's all about the overthinking. :)<br /><br />MikeAugieDoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03335437708896110261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-35230208746101543422012-04-25T08:11:21.835-05:002012-04-25T08:11:21.835-05:00Yep, that's why I try to ignore fanon as a mat...Yep, that's why I try to ignore fanon as a matter of principal.InquisitorMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10209346997929773686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-49800540607428194882012-04-25T00:52:47.288-05:002012-04-25T00:52:47.288-05:00In reference to your Alicorn dilemma, look El Alic...In reference to your Alicorn dilemma, look El Alicornio. It's a legend of Cantabria which expanded elsewhere slowly, but was then superseded by the definition of it being the horn.<br /><br />As for the power of the sisters, don't you guys find scary the amount of doublethink involved in all of these, how we are trying to justify actions by assuming things of said actions and then acting as though they were facts? I have seen fanon in other fandom, but it's getting quite worrisome at this point...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-353243961469659582012-04-25T00:42:46.483-05:002012-04-25T00:42:46.483-05:00If you know your MLP, you would know there were pr...If you know your MLP, you would know there were princesses in the previous version, making me fear we have now reach the point of no return because the insistence that there were a group of ponies specifically known as Princesses was made as part of a move to make money out of toys showing these special ponies by showing them to be better than everyone else, and then ended with all the main characters turning into Princesses too.<br /><br />Draw your own conclusions based on the current line.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-59970458543082061392012-04-24T19:35:58.570-05:002012-04-24T19:35:58.570-05:00"A close brony friend of mine likes it becaus..."A close brony friend of mine likes it because he relates to Twilight's personality."<br /><br />Strangely, I'm pretty sure my distaste of Twilight in that episode is for the very same reason.Present Perfecthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16195959811544391904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-75108364882491436442012-04-24T18:42:52.835-05:002012-04-24T18:42:52.835-05:00When was that? Thus far, every comment from his ha...When was that? Thus far, every comment from his has been actively avoiding any mention of who he has voiced.InquisitorMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10209346997929773686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-41504078126778748222012-04-24T18:40:37.115-05:002012-04-24T18:40:37.115-05:00I really like Lesson Zero - it is in my top 5 for ...I really like Lesson Zero - it is in my top 5 for sure, and it is mainly because of Twilight's characterization. The "wacky shenanigans" are just a nice added bonus, but I can't really say that there is really anything too out there.<br /><br />The whole thing works in the way of confronting her less pleasant character traits, like her OCD-levels need for organization and protocol, her need for acceptance - consequences be damned, her tendency to over think situations and her certainty to always be right. You combine all these with the whole deadline issue, and you get a very believable character breakdown.<br /><br />All of the mane 6 have some kind of psychological issue that defines them - Rainbow is very insecure, and boasts as overcompensation, AJ wants to take all the world in her shoulders, Pinkie is very self-serving (even her need to make others smile comes from how happy it makes her), Rarity is a perfectionist and tends to over-blow situations, and Fluttershy is just a psychoanalyst nightmare. Many of the critiques of episodes seem to come more from dislike of these traits than the writing itself, but that is very unfair, you can't really say you like some character without accepting the bad with the good. Also, negative traits tend to help storytelling.Sogenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-49782185241492464722012-04-24T16:07:23.801-05:002012-04-24T16:07:23.801-05:00If you care more about wacky shenanigans than char...If you care more about wacky shenanigans than character consistency, I can see why.<br /><br />Well, that's not fair. A close brony friend of mine likes it because he relates to Twilight's personality. And yes, it's an example of the insanity portion of her personality. Since I don't like that part of her, the freakout doesn't work for me. <br /><br />And I have less issue with Fluttershy being a cauldron of anger than the way in which it was expressed. The episode just about killed her for me, since it's one thing to be angry; it's another thing to apparently think the things she thought about Pinkie and Rarity all along.Bobcathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13481038222952995945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-24670134051426544852012-04-24T09:20:29.354-05:002012-04-24T09:20:29.354-05:00I also wonder if there isn't going to be a new...<i>I also wonder if there isn't going to be a new showrunner every season because the old one burns out.</i><br /><br />There might be:<br /><br />Something to this. Poking around for Ms. McCarthy's "curiculum vitae" above, I found that Rob Renzetti, the man no one ever talks about when it comes to MLP but whose name appears at the beginning of every episode as "story editor," resigned last year shortly after Lauren Faust left--this is according to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Renzetti" rel="nofollow">his Wikipedia page</a>.<br /><br />So it looks like the two main story people quit the show after giving preliminary approval to the season 2 scripts, which would've left no one as "head writer" during the bulk of the actual production process...<br /><br />Mike AgainAugieDoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03335437708896110261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-51552982525697209922012-04-24T08:06:40.739-05:002012-04-24T08:06:40.739-05:00Not in my book. Even then it's the manipulati...Not in my book. Even then it's the manipulation of emotions that I object to. In the grand scheme of things, it's no better than any sort of mind control, because it's someone else controlling them. <br /><br />Honestly going in, I wasn't expecting much from this episode myself (although I refused to lower my standards while watching), but this was below even that.Bugs the Curmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12995195569022345933noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-18430469354274603072012-04-24T07:56:57.825-05:002012-04-24T07:56:57.825-05:00And she wrote A Canterlot Wedding. Personally, I t...And she wrote A Canterlot Wedding. Personally, I think her hits have outweighed her misses (the latter having come only in season 2), and for the reasons listed above (having a writer helm the show instead of an art director), I'm taking this as a positive note.<br /><br />I also wonder if there isn't going to be a new showrunner every season because the old one burns out. :/Present Perfecthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16195959811544391904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-80440181031673359032012-04-24T07:54:44.197-05:002012-04-24T07:54:44.197-05:00I don't know if you can really say the bear th...I don't know if you can really say the bear thing was a shoutout. Well, you pretty much can't say what was or wasn't in at least the first half of the season without asking someone on the team.<br /><br />That said, Party of One was great because it expanded on a character in a humorous manner. Putting Your Hoof Down I enjoyed because I believe that beneath Fluttershy's calm surface is a raging torrent of anger waiting to be released, but I can understand that not everyone believes that, which is why it seems to be unpopular.<br /><br />Then there's Lesson Zero, which I rank as the second worst episode in the season. Twilight had better freakouts in season 1 (I always go back to her scale model of Ponyville freak in Swarm of the Century), so it wasn't adding anything to her character. If anything, it took away from her character by virtue of destroying her faith in Celestia and showing that she's willing to <i>make things worse</i> just to get her way. Not to mention it started the season's "we're your friends but we're going to discount everything that you say until shit hits the fan" trend that was carried through to the finale. And yet most fans count LZ among their favorite episodes; that I do not understand.Present Perfecthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16195959811544391904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-46511572231132856872012-04-24T05:51:21.875-05:002012-04-24T05:51:21.875-05:00"They liked Party of One! More insanity! MORE..."They liked Party of One! More insanity! MORE!"<br /><br />"So we get my personal season 2 jumping the shark moment, the Fluttershy/Bear fight. That wasn't for the kids at home. That was for the bronies."<br /><br />Wasn't it mentioned that most of S2 was done before the brony phenomenon? If so, I doubt that Studio B would have the desire, permission or resources to shoehorn an entirely new episode into S2, just for the sake of "pandering".kesssandrrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04881159590807147700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-44235665128226738432012-04-24T01:55:30.853-05:002012-04-24T01:55:30.853-05:00She wrote Lesson Zero (effectively tied for my lea...She wrote Lesson Zero (effectively tied for my least favorite) and Hearts and Hooves Day (my current favorite). I have no idea how I expect her to perform as showrunner.Bobcathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13481038222952995945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-47792568954866197132012-04-24T01:49:03.944-05:002012-04-24T01:49:03.944-05:00She first worked with:
Lauren Faust on the series...She first worked with:<br /><br />Lauren Faust on the series "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends," but more importantly for this discussion, she wrote "Dragonshy," "Call of the Cutie," "Green Isn't Your Color," "Party of One," "Lesson Zero," "Sweet and Elite," and "Hearts and Hooves Day." This information comes from <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2436273/" rel="nofollow">her page at IMDB.com</a><br /><br />As for references to her as "showrunner," I'll send you to <a href="http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/04/los-angeles-times-festival-of-books.html" rel="nofollow">this item</a> from EqD which quotes the schedule for last weekend's L.A. Times Festival of Books as well as <a href="http://www.equestriadaily.com/2012/04/la-times-book-festival-tara-strong-and.html" rel="nofollow">this item</a> which has video of that presentation.<br /><br />MikeAugieDoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03335437708896110261noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-89910515805593193502012-04-23T22:59:59.453-05:002012-04-23T22:59:59.453-05:00Can someone please direct me to more information a...Can someone please direct me to more information about Meghan McCarthy? According to a comment above she's going to be "the showrunner" for season three, but I can't find any information on that. Also, according to Wikipedia she wrote these episodes, and I'm honestly worried for the future if she was directly responsible for the Swiss-cheese plot, Twilight being the only Mane-6 who mattered, and RD's effortless Sonic Rainboom.Derpmindhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02069973881130714355noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-28638884519749469462012-04-23T21:21:28.501-05:002012-04-23T21:21:28.501-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Bobcathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13481038222952995945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-2225280750946335442012-04-23T21:16:31.454-05:002012-04-23T21:16:31.454-05:00Well, then that's almost worse. They went bac...Well, then that's almost worse. They went back to the insanity well too many times without that excuse. And I'm not saying that there was no insanity before those episodes, though you're right to correct me on the timing. It just felt like the characterization suffered a lot this season, and I do strongly suspect that bear scene wasn't meant for the 4-8 crowd.Bobcathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13481038222952995945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-53120720511621794592012-04-23T21:12:38.645-05:002012-04-23T21:12:38.645-05:00I think that is just your bias speaking. There are...I think that is just your bias speaking. There are plenty of examples of Twilight going insane in season 1 - her first reaction to the whole Nightmare Moon thing for instance. It is a character trait that can't be ignored. <br /><br />Also, the development cycle itself proves you wrong. Lesson Zero must have been written well before Party of One even aired. It is an animated show, so short of small shout-outs or scenes that don't really affect the story, we couldn't have seen anything like that in season 2. Yes, if they start pandering to the older audience explicitly in season 3 it could get a little bit strange. But this is not what is happening in season 2 at all.<br /><br />I feel that many bronies are simply tired of the show after the first season, and are viewing it with undeserving nostalgia.Sogenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-78051395929411371822012-04-23T20:19:34.428-05:002012-04-23T20:19:34.428-05:00I'm referring to plot elements like, say, the ...I'm referring to plot elements like, say, the characters repeatedly going insane this season. Even beyond what we saw in Season 1. <br /><br />"They liked Party of One! More insanity! MORE!" <br /><br />So we get my personal season 2 jumping the shark moment, the Fluttershy/Bear fight. That wasn't for the kids at home. That was for the bronies. <br /><br />(I should note that Party of One and Putting Your Hoof Down were my least favorite episodes of the season).Bobcathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13481038222952995945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-26186785986157557132012-04-23T19:28:16.697-05:002012-04-23T19:28:16.697-05:00I don't feel like there's been too much pa...I don't feel like there's been too much pandering. I mean, we got the Derpy scene (for all that was worth); it was a thank-you shoutout, and as far as I'm concerned, absolutely all that was necessary. :) Of course, not everyone is going to feel that way. :|<br /><br />But things like having Vinyl show up to fill a role: that's not pandering at all, since it's both unobtrusive and serves a purpose. That kind of thing I wouldn't mind seeing more of, if only because it keeps things consistent in-world.Present Perfecthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16195959811544391904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-59110671276447023522012-04-23T16:45:26.169-05:002012-04-23T16:45:26.169-05:00It's a fair point. I mean, there is plenty the...It's a fair point. I mean, there is plenty they can do for us, but I agree that it should always be secondary to a good story. That's what made season 1 fun, after all.InquisitorMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10209346997929773686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-66392829321399998272012-04-23T12:39:30.868-05:002012-04-23T12:39:30.868-05:00For my money, they just need to ignore the bronies...For my money, they just need to ignore the bronies and focus on the core audience again. That's where they had their best moments. This isn't our show, it's the kids' show that happens to have elements we can enjoy. Pandering to us cheapens it for everyone.Bobcathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13481038222952995945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-1444361675228408942012-04-23T12:19:14.190-05:002012-04-23T12:19:14.190-05:00Yeah, I can totally get behind that. Even if Celes...Yeah, I can totally get behind that. Even if Celestia and Luna do have a greater amount of power (equivalent to at the magical ability of at least half the pre-Equestrian unicorn population), there's nothing that really says "able to raise sun and moon" is the same as "cannot be defeated by anything, ever". Celestia's powerful, yes, but most of her power is directed at one very specific thing: raising the sun.Present Perfecthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16195959811544391904noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8184562969471581744.post-5117284004166933782012-04-23T09:39:55.229-05:002012-04-23T09:39:55.229-05:00I agree, and I think that's why it frustrates ...I agree, and I think that's why it frustrates me, because the stories seem sloppy rather than just bad. I won't pretend I liked all of season 1, but it just seem so much more prevalent in the post-Faust era.InquisitorMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10209346997929773686noreply@blogger.com