Did season 6 drive a lot of people away?

[Will Guide 21,325]

2 minutes ago, SolarFlare13 said:

Okay, I will admit. That was a good episode and I do like Thorax A LOT 

You mean, "Times They Are a Changeling" Yeah, that episode really got my creative juices flowing.

And yes, I expected you to hate "Flutter Brutter". It's because of Zephyr Breeze's behavior, isn't it?. I'm probably in the minority who loves how Zephyr actually learns to start doing things for himself. Heck there's a fan made video "Pushing Rainbows" co-starring Rainbow Dash and a fan fiction "Never Made Much of Myself" co-starring Sunburst, which actually show Zephyr less of a jerk and more a guy who's gotten better like how a real person would improve himself for the better. Check them out, although I'd be pleasantly surprised if your opinion of him changes to positive.

[Goat-kun 2,500]

It's death by a thousand cuts I suppose. A silly" reason here, a "silly" reason there, and you get yourself a lot of disinterested people. Of all these reasons, only Twilicorn managed to give some semblance of peace offering to its detractors.

[Castle Bleck 19,167]

On 2017-12-20 at 10:19 PM, WiiGuy2014 said:

And yes, I expected you to hate "Flutter Brutter". It's because of Zephyr Breeze's behavior, isn't it?. I'm probably in the minority who loves how Zephyr actually learns to start doing things for himself. Heck there's a fan made video "Pushing Rainbows" co-starring Rainbow Dash and a fan fiction "Never Made Much of Myself" co-starring Sunburst, which actually show Zephyr less of a jerk and more a guy who's gotten better like how a real person would improve himself for the better. Check them out, although I'd be pleasantly surprised if your opinion of him changes to positive.

Didn't mind the insecure-slacker shtick; that part, I can relate to. Just didn't like the casually-destroys-others'-property shtick (E.g., remember the part with his father's cloud collection?).

And yes, I think I will check those out sometime.

 

Edited May 8, 2022 by Even Evil Has Standards

[Will Guide 21,325]

5 minutes ago, A.V. said:

 

Didn't mind the "insecure slacker" shtick (that part, I can relate to); just didn't like the "casually destroys others' property" shtick (E.g., remember the part with his father's prized cloud collection?).

 

And yes, I think I will check those out sometime; I'm always up for a negative-to-positive shift whenever possible.

Yeah, the "destroying the dad's cloud collection" scene is always uncomfortable to me. Luckily since it's the worst part and it's in the first third, the episode at least gets better rather than worse for me, which is more than I can say for a lot of other worse shows and episodes

[ShootingStar159 2,155]

32 minutes ago, Goat-kun said:

Of all these reasons, only Twilicorn managed to give some semblance of peace offering to its detractors.

How ridiculous, the whining of entitled fans had no influence on how Twilight was written after season three, and it won’t have an impact on any of the other dozen ‘problems’ people can’t stop complaining about either. The writers are far more interested in trying to tell the stories they want than in trying to placate every person who might dare to take offense at what they choose to write about. 

[Truffles 2,033]

I don't think a ratings decline can be pinned on a particular season's quality. There are far too many other variables to consider. Outside of external forces like changing viewership patterns, you could argue just as easily that folks were turned off by the forced promotion of Flurry Heart when S6 started, or how Starlight was redeemed and then elevated to Mane 6 status even though a lot of folks didn't like it and didn't think she deserved it. Those are factors not tied to the quality of individual episodes, even though such factors might bear an influence on the overall likeability of specific episodes.

For example, did the ratings drop precipitously after season 3? That season seems to get the most hate but I don't recall ever seeing fans leaving the show in droves over that particular aspect. If they left after season 3, it had more to do with Twilight's alicorn status than anything else I would think.

Anyway, call me skeptical when folks come to such conclusions based on how they personally felt about S6, which is how this thread reads to me.

Edited December 21, 2017 by Truffles

[Drunkfrank 1,125]

37 minutes ago, Truffles said:

I don't think a ratings decline can be pinned on a particular season's quality. There are far too many other variables to consider. Outside of external forces like changing viewership patterns, you could argue just as easily that folks were turned off by the forced promotion of Flurry Heart when S6 started, or how Starlight was redeemed and then elevated to Mane 6 status even though a lot of folks didn't like it and didn't think she deserved it. Those are factors not tied to the quality of individual episodes, even though such factors might bear an influence on the overall likeability of specific episodes.

For example, did the ratings drop precipitously after season 3? That season seems to get the most hate but I don't recall ever seeing fans leaving the show in droves over that particular aspect. If they left after season 3, it had more to do with Twilight's alicorn status than anything else I would think.

Anyway, call me skeptical when folks come to such conclusions based on how they personally felt about S6, which is how this thread reads to me.

But I liked season 6, I even said that, but I didn't only use ratings as a factor, I said across the board it seems like overall viewership in the season has gone down. I was trying to figure out why and given the reputation of season 6, I considered that a pretty plausible factor.

Maybe no though, maybe the show hasn't dropped at all and less people are using sites like that, it can be anything.

[Truffles 2,033]

50 minutes ago, Ryanmahaffe said:

But I liked season 6, I even said that, but I didn't only use ratings as a factor, I said across the board it seems like overall viewership in the season has gone down. I was trying to figure out why and given the reputation of season 6, I considered that a pretty plausible factor.

Maybe no though, maybe the show hasn't dropped at all and less people are using sites like that, it can be anything.

Sorry about sounding a bit gruff there - I think various recent news events have me on edge. =P

One other possibility is issues with DFC itself - while they do an okay job with promoting the show at times, other times it's downright pitiful. It seems like they could do more to help the show's ratings but for whatever reason choose not to.

[Drunkfrank 1,125]

10 minutes ago, Truffles said:

Sorry about sounding a bit gruff there - I think various recent news events have me on edge. =P

One other possibility is issues with DFC itself - while they do an okay job with promoting the show at times, other times it's downright pitiful. It seems like they could do more to help the show's ratings but for whatever reason choose not to.

Yeah, I would say the lack of marketing is a big one, I also think it could be played at a better time, noon or later. The network itself is just dead in general, MLP new episodes getting 100-250k is like, amazing for DFC

[Goat-kun 2,500]

8 hours ago, ShootingStar159 said:

How ridiculous, the whining of entitled fans had no influence on how Twilight was written after season three, and it won’t have an impact on any of the other dozen ‘problems’ people can’t stop complaining about either. The writers are far more interested in trying to tell the stories they want than in trying to placate every person who might dare to take offense at what they choose to write about. 

Interesting. You reacted in the exact way I imagined someone like you would. You also managed to completely misinterpret what I've written. Influence or no influence, Twilight's wings paid off.

 

I would reconsider my position if I were you. As it stands you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.

 

 P.S. Only fanfic writers have the luxury not to care.

[Drunkfrank 1,125]

6 hours ago, Goat-kun said:

Interesting. You reacted in the exact way I imagined someone like you would. You also managed to completely misinterpret what I've written. Influence or no influence, Twilight's wings paid off.

 

 

 

I would reconsider my position if I were you. As it stands you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.

 

 

 

 P.S. Only fanfic writers have the luxury not to care.

Not sure what you mean as I didn't catch your earlier post, but if you are implying Twilight's wings were really damaging, idk, season 4 was the biggest season to date and the 2015 bronycon was the biggest as well.

[Goat-kun 2,500]

2 hours ago, Ryanmahaffe said:

Not sure what you mean as I didn't catch your earlier post, but if you are implying Twilight's wings were really damaging, idk, season 4 was the biggest season to date and the 2015 bronycon was the biggest as well.

You already answered your own question. Twilight got wings, some people got mad, but her character wasn't ruined and we were treated to a Super Saiyan battle with a classic MLP villain. So while Twilicorn might have hurt some fans' butts it also applied the lotion. Lots of lotion. Big changes demand big yields.

[SaburoDaimando 1,196]

Another thing that should be pointed out is that All 7 Seasons of My Little Pony are available on Netflix.  Even more so, more people have access to Netflix than Discovery Family.  

[Will Guide 21,325]

2 minutes ago, SaburoDaimando said:

Another thing that should be pointed out is that All 7 Seasons of My Little Pony are available on Netflix.  Even more so, more people have access to Netflix than Discovery Family.  

I hope Hasbro is aware and keeping track of how many people are watching it on Netflix in addition to Discovery Family

[SaburoDaimando 1,196]

Just now, WiiGuy2014 said:

I hope Hasbro is aware and keeping track of how many people are watching it on Netflix in addition to Discovery Family

They might have, considering that the 4th Equestria Girls movie was ported to Netflix first before Discovery Family.

[Thrond 3,257]

21 hours ago, A.V. said:

 

Didn't mind the "insecure slacker" shtick (that part, I can relate to); just didn't like the "casually destroys others' property" shtick (E.g., remember the part with his father's cloud collection?).

 

And yes, I think I will check those out sometime.

Yeah, with that episode I'm always stuck between "I find his bad behaviour very funny" and "this behaviour makes him hard to sympathize with." 

[Jeric 46,835]

2 hours ago, WiiGuy2014 said:

I hope Hasbro is aware and keeping track of how many people are watching it on Netflix in addition to Discovery Family

Yep they are. Netflix discloses this information to the rights holder. This is how one side has an edge when they go to renew the contract. Netflix will occasionally post stuff on their Twitter about how many people watch stuff. Sometimes with some biting humor. 

[Standard User 2,127]

Dunno. Give me, like, three months to catch up on the last ~three seasons of content, plus the movie(s?) and I'll get back to ya'.

I think people are just growing up, and there's only so many times some cute concept or lesson can be enjoyable. Eventually, the friends are made, the fanfics and PMVs are read and watched, and new interests enter the fray.

[Drunkfrank 1,125]

@Truffles So I recalled us talking about DFC and MLP here, and I went and checked for the entire past week and it just shows how much DF leans on FIM

Littlest Pet shop, Cake Boss, and Rescue Bots were all tied for 20 timeslots, that is second place, where as MLP had 70. It's a shame they really don't have any other reason for a large amount of people to watch the network. The show would likely do much better.

I still feel like the general audience did shrink after season 6, but I would like to think good word of mouth from season 7 helped regrow that audience.

[MAIKUN 262]

Yes, S6 DID drove me away from the fandom because of the CMC and their Cutie Marks....they should've just disband instead or give up on their Cutie Marks instead.

[Drunkfrank 1,125]

9 hours ago, MAIKUN said:

Yes, S6 DID drove me away from the fandom because of the CMC and their Cutie Marks....they should've just disband instead or give up on their Cutie Marks instead.

If your ideas happened the show would be worse off, they make no sense at all for the story

[bwrosas 252]

Honestly, it may have been the fact that (as some fans have put it), Starlight and her redemption arc was pushed to the forefront too quickly, and wasn't allowed time to truly develop.  But that just my guess.

[HeavenlySun 35]

It probably did drive way a lot of people, just like season 3 did, but that's their loss. If it can be called a "loss"

In my eyes, season 6 was not a strong season. It had some of the best and worst episodes, but nothing in-between, most were boring, and there were too many forced memes. I can still say that I enjoyed season 6, but it doesn't measure up to the others.

Edited December 27, 2017 by HeavenlySun

[MAIKUN 262]

6 hours ago, Ryanmahaffe said:

If your ideas happened the show would be worse off, they make no sense at all for the story

But it’s true....I hated the CMC cutie marks so much! It’s better off if they DISBAND for good.

[Drunkfrank 1,125]

8 hours ago, bwrosas said:

Honestly, it may have been the fact that (as some fans have put it), Starlight and her redemption arc was pushed to the forefront too quickly, and wasn't allowed time to truly develop.  But that just my guess.

I think that complaint really only holds merit for the premiere and finale though. Besides Hearths Warming Tail, Starlight only had 2 mid season episodes. She had much more in season 7 and it has been received greatly. I think the core problem was season 6 played it very safe, 28 pranks later, PPOV, Cart Before Ponies, Applejacks Day Off and Newbie Dash were all considered pretty bad by the majority of us or at the very least just eh. The great episodes were few and far between. So overall it still was a good season, but I think a lackluster premiere, coupled with some of the worst mid season episodes drove people away. If it was Starlight, I would find it to be an overreaction considering how little she was really involved.

2 hours ago, MAIKUN said:

But it’s true....I hated the CMC cutie marks so much! It’s better off if they DISBAND for good.

It makes literally no sense from a narrative of character growth standpoint.