S05:E09 - Slice of Life

[IJoinedForPonies 126]

I'll copy this over from my DA journal:

 

I just got done watching it and it was OK, but some bits did bother me. The dubstep was horrible, but it was to be expected coming from Vinyl Scratch; But they didn't get a voice actor for Vinyl, which was really disappointing. And the secret agent Bonbon was really lame to be honest, and Lyra didn't do anything with her lyre in this episode. It also seems that this is as close as Lyra and Bonbon being lesbian lovers as Hasbro will allow here. And, I was actually surprised they went with that Dr. Whooves and Derpy skit, I didn't think they would do that either. That Changeling at the end though, that had me scratching my head, I really wish they had an explanation to that. There is a few nitpicks present as well, but i'll leave that out. It was a decent episode overall.

[APegLegPirate 168]

Right, I'm no longer going to watch MLP because now I've just seen the best possible episode. I don't think I can watch another without being disappointed. I was just expecting your average episode that I'll watch and never look at again. I was smiling all the way through, which I have not done with any episode in the past. I love doctor who and seeing "Dr. Whooves" this episode just made it the best thing. This almost makes me wanna be full brony.

[Misty Rose 3,216]

All I can say is that as soon as Derpy and those muffins showed up, I knew I was gonna be in for a wild ride And then Doctor Whooves showed up, and The Dude, and Vinyl and Octavia.....*faints*

 

I literally had multiple fangasms while watching, but I can already feel that this was more of a one time experience. I enjoyed the fan service the first time around, but I think that if I watch it again, I'll see how truly overpacked it was and not enjoy as much So this is one I won't rewatch too much so as not to ruin my enjoyment

 

All I can say is...THE FANSERVICE WAS OVER 9000!!!!!!

[Lambdadelta 1,462]

Gather all the fanboys as many as possible, search and capture all the haters who bashed this episode before it even air. We will not tolerate the heresy   *OK ok im just kidding, dont kill me* 

This episode is wierd but funny as hell. Im not a fan of Dr who series so i dont get Doctor Whooves's parts , Bonbon is an agent? Wierd... Alligator's philosophy...  Shark Plushie... and CHANGELING AMONG US !?   BURN THEM!!! WE NEED QUARANTINE CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE!!! ALLOW TO SHOOT ANY SUSPECTS 

 

 Anyway, I give it 8/10.... Nah forget it, I think this episode doesnt need SCORES. whether we love it that matters...

 

[Ninja(Pinkie)Midget 180]

Personally, I loved this episode.  It was great seeing Steven Magnet again as well as The Big Legbowski guys...talking!  My favorite episode of the season so far.  I loved the little quip that sweetie bell had about maybe it would be a friendship problem and be resolved in half an hour (like all episodes).  I'm sure there's a lot of Dr Hooves that goes right over my head because I have never watched Dr Who.  All in all, a good solid episode.

 

[Persona22 205]

 

 

Do you realize what this means... LYRA is the NORMAL one of the two.

[ManaMinori 4,145]

I'll copy this over from my DA journal:

 

I just got done watching it and it was OK, but some bits did bother me. The dubstep was horrible, but it was to be expected coming from Vinyl Scratch; But they didn't get a voice actor for Vinyl, which was really disappointing. And the secret agent Bonbon was really lame to be honest, and Lyra didn't do anything with her lyre in this episode. It also seems that this is as close as Lyra and Bonbon being lesbian lovers as Hasbro will allow here. And, I was actually surprised they went with that Dr. Whooves and Derpy skit, I didn't think they would do that either. That Changeling at the end though, that had me scratching my head, I really wish they had an explanation to that. There is a few nitpicks present as well, but i'll leave that out. It was a decent episode overall.

since when does Lyra have a lyre (that isn't her CM)? How do we know that her CM isn't purely symbolic, like Cherilee's is?

[Kivil 1,721]

I liked the episode overall, but what they did to Derpy (even going as far as to call her "muffins" in the voice credits) was tantamount to a crime against humanity.

Indeed it was friend.

Edited June 14, 2015 by ~Opportunistic Arty~

[rpc8169 238]

Just finished watching. Of course i was gone all day today ;/ Any way, it was definitely worth all the hype i gotta say...  The MLP staff just loves to call back to "It's About Time". S4 finale and now this episode. That attention to detail is just part of why the show has gotten this far. Overall, it's what I expected, but awesome nonetheless! 9/10

[The Awesome One 1,315]

This has been the best episode I have ever seen. 

 

I loved every single bit of it although BonBon being a secret agent from a monster hunting organization was very random.

[Scootaloo Is Best Filly 578]

I just saw this and WOW. That's all I have to say. From Sweetie Belle, to Steven Magnet, to Dr. Hooves, to Derpy to every pony in this. I just love it all. I wasn't expecting to much, and I was even expecting a 2 parter so it didn't seem rushed, and they managed to do it all in just one quick 30 minute episode. I am just so happy right now. Well done HASBRO, WELL done! 10/10

[MLPFanatic34 3,234]

OMG THAT WAS THE BEST EPISODE EVER, SEEING ALL THE BACKGROUND PONIES AND CHARACTERS AND SEEING DERPY, DOCTOR HOOVES, MATILDA, CRANKY, LYRA, BON BON, DJ PONI 3, OCTAVIA and the rest finally getting to be seen in this episode made it all worthwhile. I love seeing Luna, Celestia, Cadance, and Shining Armor too! I also love the references and the overall theme of the episode. A fantastic episode and it was nice to take a break and not always focus on the mane 6. 10/10!!

[Moved to Elsewhere 11,331]

Uh, what?

 

That was my first reaction to the episode. I came in with the knowledge of knowing that this would be about background ponies and probably be filled to the roof with fanservice. But despite all that, I still enjoyed it. But the issue is I can't properly rank this episode.

 

Much similar to my I.M. Weasel review, this episode is very hard for me to rank. If I were to, it would probably be around a 7 or 8, but i don't know. I think it's because it's more of an episode that's better on it's own separate from the rest of the series.

 

Again, it stars different characters, so they have to A. establish them and B. put them in a conflict. I am surprised on how well they managed to do that. Each background pony got enough time to shine and got enough character in the short run time. Though some of them come off as kind of, one note. We get it, Doctor Whooves is obsessed with science. We get it, Steven Magnet is weird. I did however, like what they did with Bon Bon. That was so unexpected, I couldn't help but laugh. So clever how since she has two names, she's a spy. Also, I see the troll face in Lyra and Bon Bon as they said "best friend." Damn it Larson, why you go and sink my ship? Oh, and the Vynl and Octavia scene was brilliant. I did especially get a snicker through the number of Doctor Who references in the episode. Trust me, there were a lot.

 

Any problems with the episode? Well, the story felt a bit unfocused with having to constantly switch between many characters, and some of them kind of fell flat. Like, the Steven Magnet scene, that to me was just kind of stupid. Also, I don't quite understand the whole Doctor bowling scene, but maybe that's because I've never seen The Big Labowski.

 

So I guess you could say that I mostly enjoy this episode. I'm not sure if it's amazing M.A. Larson was able to pull this off well or if it's just gonna be one of those guilty pleasure episodes. Needless to say, nice way of celebrating the brony fandom for the 100th episode.

 

PS: Nice moral at the end.

[Kivil 1,721]

OMG THAT WAS THE BEST EPISODE EVER, SEEING ALL THE BACKGROUND PONIES AND CHARACTERS AND SEEING DERPY, DOCTOR HOOVES, MATILDA, CRANKY, LYRA, BON BON, DJ PONI 3, OCTAVIA and the rest finally getting to be seen in this episode made it all worthwhile. I love seeing Luna, Celestia, Cadance, and Shining Armor too! I also love the references and the overall theme of the episode. A fantastic episode and it was nice to take a break and not always focus on the mane 6. 10/10!!

Yes, everything that happened in my mind went into your words!!!!

[Arylett Charnoa 4,919]

It went about as far as I expected I to go, to be honest. In terms of absolutely blatant and overly indulgent fan service. Really, that about sums up this episode. It feels like it was written by someone on Youtube, except run through a filter to remove the most explicit and excess parts. (Such as the Doctor being Doctor Who as a pony and Lyra/Bonbon being lesbians.) I was a bit surprised at how far they went with the Doctor though, considering copyright and was caught off-guard by the whole secret agent bit with Bon-Bon and Lyra (which was entirely random, stupid, and pointless to me. It was probably a reference to some fan thing I don't know about though), but that's about it, really. I was hoping for a moment that they might show a little more restraint than this, but nope. They just went on full force. The entire episode was made to be a big fat meme, with moments like Octavia and Vinyl Scratch riding around on the giant speaker system made to be a gif on Tumblr.

 

My feelings on this are mixed. Although the episode was complete nonsense, it was still more entertaining than most episodes. Seeing some new characters get the focus for once was nice. I would've preferred if I wasn't such heavy-handed fan pandering and had more of a plot, but I'll take what I can get. The episode would've benefitted from focusing on less characters to make a more concise delivery. Also, I don't think that this fangasm was appropriate to be the 100th episode. Something focusing on the main characters would have made more sense. Perhaps a slightly more serious episode that goes more in-depth with their characters and friendships. But then again, this show wouldn't have gotten to 100 episodes and likely would not have lasted past Season 2 if it wasn't for the bronies, so I can understand a celebration of the fandom. In both cases though, I think it should've been a two-parter. If they were going to have an overly indulgent fangasm, then the should have at least gone all the way, dammit!

 

Overall, it was okay, I guess. Even if it kind of makes me a bit sad how far out of hand the show's steady decline has gone, but I already was resigned to this fact by the end of Season 3, so it isn't a big deal to me. I mostly just find the way that people are eating up all of this overly fudgy cake to be amusing.

[Steve Piranha 29,424]

You can still refer to your partner as friend, can you not? But we are told that the two are best friends with one another. Whether that means just a friendship or couple relationship is highly dependent on your interpretation of that term and the context. If anything though, I'm thinking of all ships LyraXBonbon is the most likely canon-wise; couple relationship between them isn't definitely canon but it's not debunked either and I think MLPFIM staff intended to leave it open like that.

Yeap, they saved some fandom rage if they blathantly jossed it, and the moral guardians's if they've made it canon. It was a pretty smart move  :comeatus:

 

Watched it again and liked it more the 2nd time, some cool concepts explored, but I don't think it's quite the greatest thing ever.

I feared it was just throwing fan pandering at random and no coherency in the episode. Aside from the fandom nods, it would have been a good slice of life episode. Though, it made me appreciate more these background ponies way more than before, and thus Equestria as a whole too 

[Gearbox10mm 794]

I see that Tara Strong is the only one that didn't get to voice any background characters. I guess she just doesn't have the range that the other three do.

 

Also it bugs me a little that Derpy was listed as Muffins in the credits.

[Foliha 395]

What is the deal with the "strangely obsessed w/ tubs of jelly" pony?  I think he has to be on of the people on the staff.  His face...  Sort of blew me away that those three made it in.

and of course "too young" and "too flashy." 

[ManaMinori 4,145]

-sigh- I don't think it lived up to its hype, frankly. It feels like the staff pandered more to the Brony fandom with the fandom's headcanons, instead of taking the 100th episode and fleshing out the characters in their own interpretation of them. So it feels less like "this is what we, the artists think, watch as we make de MAGIKS!", and less artist creativity, and more like "have your fandom headcanons. Enjoy."

[Luffyiscool 397]

Overall, it was okay, I guess. Even if it kind of makes me a bit sad how far out of hand the show's steady decline has gone, but I already was resigned to this fact by the end of Season 3, so it isn't a big deal to me. I mostly just find the way that people are eating up all of this overly fudgy cake to be amusing.

Decline? Pfft. It's still going as strong as ever IMO.

You seem like one of the people who just doesn't agree with the slight shift in tone after Twilight became a princess?

 

And what you call overly fudgy cake, we call a funtastic celebration of the fandom and the show's longevity. 

 

-----

 

To quote Zebasiz Shadowbane:

"Honestly, if people call 'pandering' on THIS episode... Dear lord, people, you need to re-check your standards here.

I can understand your argument when it's a regular episode and they like, throw in a meme or reference or something like that.

But on a celebratory episode? Y'know, the 100th episode special? I think they're kind of excused for that, because it's a special celebratory episode.

Lots of shows do that. 

[Jonny Music 3,410]

That was hooves down, one of the BEST episodes of the series yet! The hiatus was well worth the wait.

And my mom was with me watching this together (which was nerve-wracking at first, but I dealt with it onward), so that was a first (she kindly persisted me to let her watch it with me, so I let her).

[LHfunk 422]

This is by far my favorite episode. I will try to attempt to sum up why I loved it. Here is a list of reasons:

1. Derpy's solution was muffins!

2. The Doctor was awesome! (I don't watch Doctor Who BTW)

3. Lyra and "Bon Bon" (wink) are canon! (Ish)

4. Agent Sweetie Drops (totally not Bon Bon) was awesome! (When she was doing agent stuff, not as Bon Bon)

5. Octavia and Vinyl's house was hilarious!

6. Octavia and Vinyl were awesome!

7. Vinyl's speaker car thing was awesome!

8. Twilicane!

9. Philosopher Gummy!

10. Steven Magnet was awesome and hilarious!

11. All of the little Bug Bear comments by the characters were hilarious!

12. Stupid coincidences of everyone and everything getting to the wedding at the same time!

13. Shining Armor crying at the wedding!

14. Celestia and Luna's bickering! (Reminds me of that end credits scene at the end of Northwest Mansion)

15. Changeling!

16. Love fireworks!

I definitely missed some things (I had to rewatch the episode to remember things to put on the list). I also would like to mention that I know something about Doctor Who where there's something about the Doctor and Rose? And Doctor Hooves grabs Roseluck when he's shouting about love fireworks. Yeah. Did I mention this episode was the best? Because it is. It's my kind of thing: completely random and makes no sense whatsoever. I don't get why people complain that it's "just for the fans" and "not an actual episode" and stuff like that. This entire episode was for the fans! On a scale of 1 to 10? 87. (Please someone know what that's from). Anyway, as I mentioned before, best episode yet!

Edited June 14, 2015 by Real Lightning Flash

[Luffyiscool 397]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5e8vafP8rc

 

This week's PMV may be blocked in the US, sorry 'bout that.

[GlowingFlask 2,356]

This episode cranked it to 11/10

 

[Arylett Charnoa 4,919]

Decline? Pfft. It's still going as strong as ever IMO.

You seem like one of the people who just doesn't agree with the slight shift in tone after Twilight became a princess?

 

And what you call overly fudgy cake, we call a funtastic celebration of the fandom and the show's longevity.

No, I didn't really care about Twilight being a princess. My wording was slightly confusing, so I will correct that:

 

I was resigned to the fact that the show was never going to go back to how good it was before (in my opinion, of course). However, I saw my first glimpse of its decline in the beginning of Season 3. It's just by the time the Season ended, I knew it wasn't going to be to my tastes anymore. 

 

But it's fine if you enjoy your cake. As I said, it amuses me. I still was entertained by the episode, and that's the only reason I watch the show anyway.