Currently, watching Gen 1 MLP & loving it! I started w/ the first two "movies" (well they were sort of movies). Anyways, the poniverse was rich with talent from the get go. The voice actors had already done loads of work prior to MLP, like Sandy Duncan, and others like Nancy Cartwright would go on to bigger things (Simpsons) while others were doing their best work while doing MLP - Peter Cullen otherwise known as Optimus Fricking Prime!
The feel is very 80's w/ Gen 1 . . . almost too much so. Anyone who has ever watched Dungeons & Dragons the series sees a ton of it in Gen 1 MLP. Even voice actress Katie Leigh was in both. The original story (for & from Hasbro mind you) is very true to the heart of the original my little pony concept. A girl who likes and rides real ponies (Megan) is whisked away from this world via a flying horse over the rainbow to a magical land to be part of the adventure. Pretty much most 5-9 year old girl's fantasy during the 20th century. Now every girl in America could have their very own little pony for only 9.95 or whatever they were fetching back in 85.
So yeah any Gen Xer who likes G.I. Joe, Smurfs (lots of pre-pony in that), Transformers, Etc. Etc. could like Gen 1 if only he/she would open up his/her to equine possibilities. If you like Friendship is Magic you never would have had it if it was not for the cootie-filled lameness that was Gen 1. Seriously, most of the original concepts, and to some extent characters, were set back then. So all hail the original Toy Makers for giving us MLP!
BTW. First Post