How realistic is it for MLPFiM to have a good series finale before seasonal rot?

[GuillermoGage 246]

I wonder if it is economically possible for Hasbro to end the show once they feel that it will lose it's integrity instead of running it into the ground.

 

Has this ever been done with a property as easily commercialized as My Little Pony?

 

Well, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic experienced a miracle in the form of it being really good, perhaps it can maintain it and the series can wrap up character development and story lore arcs for everyone and end the show on it's own terms?

 

I was also wondering if we can avoid unmarked spoilers in here, including premises for upcoming episodes.

 

For example, if the Cutie Mark Crusaders get their cutie marks, I'd like it to be an utter surprise that I have no idea about even based on the synopsis or title of any episode, something that I only see when I see it happen in the show as I am watching it,  not something that gets announced or leaked or anything.

Edited April 14, 2015 by GuillermoGage

[BastementSparkle 20,310]

Entirely possible. People are so obsessed with this idea of seasonal rot like it's a thing that absolutely has to happen in long-running shows. Even if it's a common thing that doesn't mean it's unavoidable. You can have a long running show still be good, and you can have an easily commercialized show end before it start's to "Rot".

 

 Who knows? Maybe MLP will end with season 6-7 and be great. Maybe season 6 will suck so bad it's cancelled. Maybe season 15 will be the ultimate fan favorite. Maybe the show will rot and then be resurrected from the dead better than ever...Only time will tell.

[GenderIsAnIllusion 2,177]

Im pretty sure the series will end well before seasonal rot.....

[Pastel 7,627]

Personally I'm afraid that it's the opposite that will actually happen: the show will end while it still has a lot of potential. :/

I don't think we're far from the series finale (but I may be wrong), in any case I'm certain it will end before it gets (really) bad.

[GuillermoGage 246]

Personally I'm afraid that it's the opposite that will actually happen: the show will end while it still has a lot of potential. :/

I don't think we're far from the series finale (but I may be wrong), in any case I'm certain it will end before it gets (really) bad.

Another worse combination is that both will happen: We'll be subjected to a lot of crap episodes and only after we've loyally watched two full seasons of crap, we finally get rewarded with the Cutie Mark Crusaders getting their cutie marks, and then the show will continue with a barrage of crap, and then end without following up on any more interesting potential. And I don't mean fan-inspired potential, I refer to the show hinting at new ideas that the audience hasn't even considered, and then the whole show suddenly not following up on that in the form of not getting renewed for any new seasons ever.

[RarityFan01 2,444]

Forgive my overgeneralization, but it seems like a lot of bronies WANT the show to end. I'm worried that the show will end when it's still really good, like Blobulle said. 

[AlbaTross 1,581]

Man, there seems to be a lot of pessimism around here. Given that season 6 was announced just before the start of season 5 aired, it's clear that the show still had enough momentum to keep going for the foreseeable future. Movies also don't necessarily mark the end of a series, nor do they necessarily ruin them.

 

On the other hand, all the ideas presented so far in this thread are a very real possibility. I can easily see the show carrying on and on past its prime like The Simpsons, or Star Wars just because it has so many fans who support it. It's also possible that even if the show were to end, the comics would continue on and possibly even the novels. FiM is a multi-headed beast like a hydra, so only time will tell if and when it will end entirely. Or course, fans go and see the latest Star Wars film or watch The Simpsons, despite groaning about how they're past their prime, and I would be lying if I said I didn't envision the possibility of such a future for FiM fans.

 

I do however, firmly believe that all things must come to an end. Shows that have been on the air forever have ended in the past decade and a half, and I don't think The Simpsons is far behind. Star Wars will probably carry on for quite a while yet, but I hope it ends too at some point. In any case, I'm going to add my own pessimism to this thread and say that no matter when FiM ends, I doubt the series finale will tie up all plot points. On the plus side, that will open the door for discussion to carry on years later, and even more fan works to fill in the gaps. I guess I'm ok with that since FiM hasn't exactly been known to fill in every gap as it is which is why fans are constantly debating and overanalyzing various aspects of it. It is possible that FiM will end before fans are ready for it to, but then again, I'm sure some fans will never be ready for it to end.

[chirox the pony 1,334]

Personally I'm afraid that it's the opposite that will actually happen: the show will end while it still has a lot of potential. :/

I don't think we're far from the series finale (but I may be wrong), in any case I'm certain it will end before it gets (really) bad.

Oh I'm pretty sure we're far from the series finale, not only have we got that movie in 2017 but G4 is planned to go into 2018 (and possibly beyond). On a more on-topic note I don't think it's possible to pinpoint exactly when the series is gonna go downhill, I think it will happen when either the writing staff are replaced by less talented ones (which may happen) or Hasbro execs take full control of the show. I think the writing staff being replaced is a possibility considering the fact in recent seasons they've brought over some writers from CN and Nick and their episodes have been terrible to mediocre. And I think if Hasbro execs were gonna take over they would have done so by now. All I care about in regards to the end of the series is that the CMC get their cutie marks.

[BastementSparkle 20,310]

I've got two words: Doctor Who. The original series ran from 1963 to 1989, it had a movie in 1996, and the revival has been going strong since 2005.

 

 Everybody always wants to point all those long running shows that go downhill, all those shows that have lost their way. But Doctor Who in my opinion has mostly only ever gotten stronger. It's a show built on change, in every possible way. Even if it had some low points, and even if it's gone off-air for a while it's still here, and for the most part, it's been pretty good. That's my opinion, but the point is...Something going on for a long time isn't necessarily a bad thing.

 

 Even if a show isn't as good as it was before, that doesn't mean it's all hopeless either. I'm sure if you asked a big fan of the Simpsons or SpongeBob or whatever if there were any good episodes after they went downhill, they could point out at least a few. Even a show that's lost it's way can still find it again, or produce some good episodes here and there.

 

 Everyone's so obsessed with the show ending, or dropping in quality. But that might not happen. What if it only get's better? Season 4 was my favorite season so far, and season 5 for me has started off really strong, the show from my point of view is only going up, who's to say it won't keep going up?

[Ms.Chaos 8]

I don't think the show will ever end as long as Hasbro is making a profit off of it. Even if they do decide to end the show they may make a spin-off series. G3 had a spin-off making it known as G3.5. Of corse G4.5 would have to have different story line and everything to be a spin-off series.

[Steel Accord 6,658]

Well there are ways that one can avert end of commercialization while still having a satisfactory conclusion.

 

Imagine if there is a "new generation" and by that I don't mean G5 I mean a sequel series to FiM that takes place further down the timeline a la Legend of Korra. Hasbro still gets to make it's profit (more power to them, I say) but DHX gets to finish the story they started and try something new.

[GuillermoGage 246]

Well there are ways that one can avert end of commercialization while still having a satisfactory conclusion.

 

Imagine if there is a "new generation" and by that I don't mean G5 I mean a sequel series to FiM that takes place further down the timeline a la Legend of Korra. Hasbro still gets to make it's profit (more power to them, I say) but DHX gets to finish the story they started and try something new.

I made a thread about that:

 http://mlpforums.com/topic/126219-should-the-my-little-pony-show-just-continuously-timeskip-instead-of-reboot/

I've got two words: Doctor Who. The original series ran from 1963 to 1989, it had a movie in 1996, and the revival has been going strong since 2005.

As little as I know about Doctor Who, I do know those facts. I also know that they replace the Doctor every few years.

 

When compared to The Simpsons, MLP:FiM is a show with character development. This is pretty much not the case with the Simpson family. Their personalities don't really change like true character development, they just tweak and react according to their surroundings of Springfield and the Simpson-universe's satirical version of America and the world.

 

So it doesn't matter if they constantly get retconned into being stupid and fail. The entire premise of FiM however is about doing the right thing, and Equestria doesn't really change much.

 

Largely , I'm afraid of them suddenly introducing previously-non-established elements of the characters rather poorly, such as in "Simple Ways". The episode "Maud Pie" did a good job of introducing a new character or thing, that was connected to a major character.

 

I actually do believe that Season 4 had some fantastic episodes also. But it also had "Simple Ways" and "Somepony to Watch Over Me". I'd rather they have more "pointless dumb adventure" episodes such as Castle-Mania and Power Ponies instead of more those types.

[Wind Chaser 4,767]

No one knows for sure what Hasbro's long-term plan is, and they're definitely in a spot here. Likewise, the writers can't plan for anything since there is a distance between them and the corporate parents that bankroll the franchise.

 

The only thing resembling a long-term plan was when Hasbro declared to investors a year or two ago that they wanted to go for 5 more years, which would take G4 to the end of the decade consistent with Hasbro's strategy of rebooting the franchise every decade. However, that was before certain variables, namely Hasbro giving up on the Hub and turning over promotional duties to Discovery, came into the equation.

 

I think the writers may have written "Magical Mystery Cure" with the possibility of being a series finale in mind, given that Season 4 was not confirmed when production launched a year prior to the episode's airing. This shows how much of the show's fate depends on last-minute decisions.

 

All there is now is rumors. Possibly the movie could be the end of it, maybe it'll end at 6 or 7 seasons, or it could go on even longer than that.

 

On the possibility of the show ending on top of its game, while that could go either way critically, commercially that would be definite suicide with a winning formula like MLP. With the show running the way it is right now, I'd say it could run a season or two more before we can definitely start talking about it ending in the near future.

 

For MLP running long, one thing for sure, do not compare it to a show like The Simpsons or SpongeBob. Both shows are straight-up comedies which stagnated due to the combination of staff changes and reliance on the status quo. MLP has always been more about the substance and has ways of changing things up when the time arises, so rest assured there will always be something attempting to keep MLP fresh and have faith in the writers to keep the show good.

 

Right now, it's still too early to tell because of the last-minute, short-term nature of these decisions and the fact that Season 6 has already been ordered. It doesn't hurt to wonder where this show will go next, but it's best to take these things as they come.

[simba86 1,541]

it is not possible to tell, if the future seasons are good and keep people interested then it will continue as long as hasbro makes money, if it starts to be bad and boring then hasbro will can it when they stop making enough money

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,151]

It's difficult to say at this point, and to try and garner anything solid from that won't lead to much else. What is it that we do know?

 

Season 6, Equestria Girl 3, and the FiM movie are all confirmed, so we have plenty of pony on the way, and as it stands I think it is a bit early to be judging the end of the series as such. Anything is possible, but with how FiM is still a good financial success for Hasbro (and hopefully Discovery) I just don't see an end at this point.

[Adorkable 2,737]

So possible, I'm sure we could confirm it now. Just think of what all will have happened since then, there's still the other Equestria Girls movies, then the spin off series, along with like 4 more seasons of pony. Who knows? They may have already began working on it some time ago, just to be sure they can take all the time they need to make it perfect. Either way, we'll all be balling like babies, that's how I see it.