Favourite Episode Writer?

[GoneForeverBye 184]

So I was checking out the episodes on the MLP Wiki in order to predict how the episodes in Season 3 would work out. I did this by looking at the writers of the episodes and seeing which ones were returning in Season 3. Then I decided to make this thread.

 

What I personally find that Cindy Morrow stands out for a good reason. Her episodes lack adventure, yet the characters are pulled off really well yet they stay realistic. My current favourite.

 

Meghan McCarthy seems to create the better... well, a more action-like stories, but sometimes she overexagerrates the character's attributes. Doesn't mean I dislike her episodes, though.

 

I also noticed that Dave Polsky did the episodes "Feeling Pinkie Keen" and "Over a Barrel", where in both racial and cultural differences opposed each other.

 

Now, I don't really see on terms with Amy Keating Rogers, though...

 

Well, post your thoughts below. Sorry if my thread is a fail for some reason.

Edited August 14, 2012 by OlegEqualzName

[pactor 29]

my favorites Megan McCarthy her episodes while kinda insane are hilarious and action packed. I also really likes the way she writes the main six.

[Radiance64 7,053]

Meghan McCarthy and Amy Keating Rogers are my favorites, I enjoyed all of their episodes. I also really enjoyed most of M. A. Larson and Merriwether Williams' episodes, save for one I didn't enjoy as much by each(It's About Time from Larson, Mare Do Well from Williams).

[FruitRiver 355]

Amy Keating Rogers! Her episodes are usually on my favorites!

 

Actually, I think like at least 3 that she made of my favorite episodes are from her.

Edited August 14, 2012 by Pinkie

[Stereopony454 18]

I'll be the brash one to say it.. I LIKE MERRIWEATHER WILLIAMS EPISODES!!!

 

Honestly I for one LOVE her episodes (sans Mare-Do-Well, which even it has some charm to it after afew watches.)

 

But yeah I think people are unfairly critical of her episodes just because she had a weak start, I mean again IMO aside from MMDW, the rest of her work, "Hearthwarmings Eve", "Putting Your Hoof Down", and "Dragon Quest" Have all been pretty enjoyable epsiodes, infact I would say their some of my favorites of season 2.

 

Anywho, getting on topic and ranting aside. What I like about MerriWeather Williams episodes are that they (IMO) Actually do feel simmilar to toons from the 90's early 00's. Some people comment on one of the reasons they like MLP is that it reminds them of some of the toons they watched in the 90's, I think Williams episodes have that feeling the most. I also like how she, like Larson isn't afraid to develop the characters & the world. Admitingly she may develop the characters by showing their more negative sides, traits, but thats not a bad thing, giving depth to a character (IMO) involves showing the best of their positive & negative sides.

 

As for the Episodes themselves

 

Mysterious Mare-Do-Well: Admitingly a weak episode, but it does have alot of nice visual moments, the Darkwing Duck, Batman:TAS & Spider-Man references are nice. And it was fun to see Rainowdash let her fame go to her head to the point she was desperate once it was gone. Yeah the way they attained the moral was flawed, her friends shouldn't have tricked her, or at least apologized to her after she did to them, but meh still a decent romp.

 

Hearthwarming's Eve: I really like this episode, not only do we learn how Equestria was founded, but the moral about how Hate is foolish and only leads to death & destruction and love can bring salvation really resonated with me, sure its abit cheesy, but its heartwarming dag nab it, and a heck of a better Holiday special then you see from most other media/shows these days, lol

 

Putting Your Hoof Down: This episodes is just fun, Iron Will is a fun character, and Fluttershy being assertive is just awesomely entertaining, sure she over does it and becomes a jerk, but c'mon its such a jarring 180, how can you not enjoy it!? And again the moral is solid, its important to learn to stand up for yourself in a civil manner.

 

Dragon Quest: Ok yeah I can see why people complain about this, it doesn't really answer any questions about Spike or Dragons, and the sparity pandering feels tacked on, but dag nab it, its still an enjoyable episode, I like the development we get for dragons & pheonix's, seeing how they live out in the badlands and what not, also the symbolism of Spike Riding the black sheep on his way to catch up with the great dragon migration was just great! And personally I don't mind the Spike/Rarity thing taking a 180 from usual in this episode, it was fun to see Rarity finally giving him the affection he wanted but Spike being to embarrassed/distressed to enjoy it.

 

So yeah MerriWeather's style may be a bit more brash and cynical then a few other writers, but I for one think far to many fans are overly negative towards the poor gal merely because she had a weak start, she's been in the business for a long time, she knows how to write a toon, don't believe me just go look at her work on Angry Beavers, Adventure Time, Spongebob, etc.

 

And I personally consider her one of my favorite writers to work on the show along with M.A. Larson, Megan Mcarthy & Cindy Morrow!

 

I also LOVE M.A. Larson & Megan McCarthy! I look forward to seeing more of Larson's & MerriWeather's work in season 3, but sad Megan left, she wrote some pretty good eps.

 

You know what, ALL the writers on the show are AMAZING in their own right, and all deserve a big thumbs up, high five & a hug!

[Spring Storm 276]

My personal favorite is Meghan McCarthy. I was introduced to MLP through an episode she wrote, and dear sweet Celestia, I love it when ponies go crazy! Crazy pony episodes are always my favorites. She also wrote Sweet and Elite, another favorite of mine

[brian577 120]

M.A Larson, he has a great handle on the universe. Used to be Amy Keating Rogers until she managed to completely screw the characters personalities up all for the sake of funny in MMMMMMystery on the Friendship Express. At least all Williams did was exaggerate their personalites instead of outright contradict them.

Edited August 23, 2012 by brian577

[Twi Rubix 726]

M.A Larson has some of my favorite episodes. He had the ones that I personally enjoyed the most, but not every episode I like is by Larson. There are others.

[Rarietty 632]

Meghan McCarthy writes the best "ponies go insane" episodes and also is good at writing epic stuff like Canterlot Wedding. So essentially, she's good at writing somewhat darker stuff (in the My Little Pony meaning of "dark").

 

M.A. Larson is best at writing episodes that are funny, or have unusual story elements or prompts. I guess compared to the other writers besides Meghan he's good at writing somewhat "darker" stuff too, and he particularly demonstrates that in Luna Eclipsed and Return of Harmony, and both him and Meghan are good at writing in new characters as well.

 

Both Cindy Morrow and Charlotte Fullerton write awesome "slice-of-life" episodes, but I have to give Cindy Morrow credit for writing Hurricane Fluttershy.

 

Amy Keating Rogers is also very funny, and some of her episodes are my favorites. Plus she wrote in Derpy twice, once in her version of the Smile song that had a part in the middle that was cut.

 

Can't I choose them all?

Edited August 23, 2012 by Rarietty

[XUNUSEDXXX 3,459]

Definitely Meghan McCarthy and Amy Keating Rodgers. Their episodes have never failed to satisfy me..

[Dusty Soul 2,611]

Merriweather Williams for the episode Hearths Warming Eve, Or Meghan McCarthy. I love both of their writing styles.

[agigantorllama 258]

Meghan McCarthy and M.A. Larson are my favorites.

Meghan wrote some great episodes like Dragonshy and the Canterlot Wedding.

I loved the Return of Harmony, too, putting M.A. Larson at my second.

 

But writers are what make the show. To me it shouldn't be a competition for the best writer just how the show turns out as a team.

[TrueBrony 13]

My favorite writer would definitely be Meghan McCarthy, followed by M.A. Larson as a close second. I think Sonic Rainboom is a bit overrated, however its still a tremendously enjoyable episode. Amy Keating Rogers and Cindy Morrow are also really good writers as well. The others (Chris Savino, Charlotte Fullerton, Merriwether Williams, Dave Polsky) haven't written enough episodes, so I can't really place them higher.

Edited August 24, 2012 by TrueBrony

[Noah 27]

To be honest all I know is that I love Ponies and I love mlp,

so i love all the artists <3 kinda a broad answer but i didnt really hate any episodes more than the

others, we need more luna though haha :b

 

Season two as a whole besides the season finale and the cider episode was boring for me ><

Edited August 24, 2012 by Shpigie

[Acoustic Cloud 2,202]

I'm going to have to agree with the people that think it is Megan McCarthy. There is something about intense plot, or crazed ponies that make the episode work

[GoneForeverBye 184]

Guys! Guys! Why do you wait for a week with posting and make me feel miserable by making me think this was a bad topic idea? D:

 

In all seriousness though, I personally have a preference towards Cindy, like said before, but I think it's because... I don't know, I have this preference towards slice-of-life episodes, where character development plays a huge role. I suppose I prefer those kind of episodes over action-paced ones... :I

 

I think I give Cindy too much praise, only because of Sisterhooves Social, which by now is one of my favourite episodes... :/ Plus she's the only writer (aside from Meghan) who didn't disappoint me yet with the episodes...

Edited August 24, 2012 by OlegEqualzName

[BetaWolf 97]

My three favorites are Meghan McCarthy, Amy Keating Rogers, and Dave Polsky.

 

Meghan McCarthy has the highest quality:quantity ratio, that's for sure. She's written 9 episodes, and about all of them have been winners. It's more difficult to pick out an episode of hers I don't like than one I like, to be honest. Green Isn't Your Color is one of my top 3 episodes, of course.

 

Amy Keating Rogers has written fewer episodes, and about half of them have been of stellar quality. Her episodes that are below stellar are still pretty decent, however. Her quality goes on a scale of The Cutie Pox to The Last Roundup, with The Cutie Pox being a "meh" episode. Of course, The Last Roundup is another of my top 3.

 

David Polsky has done great work for the show, despite having only written two episodes. While Feeling Pinkie Keen is an above average episode, Over A Barrel is spectacular. It contains two of the best jokes in the whole show, has a great lesson, and perfect characterization. I'm really glad Polsky is returning for Season 3.

[Akemi Homura 7,680]

 

Pro-tip: You should make a poll for this kind of question!

 

My favorite writer would have to be M.A. Larson. He has a great feel for the characters, the universe, and blends in comedic lines almost flawlessly in every episode he's written, not to mention he incorporates pop culture references occasionally - like Ponyville Confidential where Diamond Tiara was reminiscent of J. Jonah Jameson from Marvel's Spider Man comic book series, as she was demanding, proud of her position, and really wanted to spice things up that episode, sometimes to the dismay of the CMC - much like how Peter Parker's job was frustrating because of his boss, Mr. Jameson.

 

Meghan McCarthy is a very close second. Like Larson, she has a great feel for the characters but touches upon their flaws a bit better than Larson can, and provides the audience some funny jokes here and there. That said, the only episode that held her back was Hearts and Hooves Day - that episode just wasn't impacting enough because while the concept of "funny romance" was promising, it unfortunately wasn't executed well enough for me to laugh a whole lot or have any real "d'aww" moments - instead, it was rather awkward in some phases of the episode which sets the whole thing back. Thankfully, she managed to write an incredible season finale - A Canterlot Wedding. Who knew you could incorporate underground prisons, an evil queen that infiltrated the royal ranks of ponykind, have your entire race storm the capital city of Equestria, and present a villain extremely well into a show that's thought to be for little girls?

 

Meanwhile, I'm on the fence about Merriweather Williams - not that I don't like her or anything, nor is she one of my favorites - she does a great job in portraying the characters to be flawed, but not so much that they're completely OOC - rather, she makes her episodes a bit more realistic in nature compared to the others as she touches upon a dark and more convincing atmosphere, with humanity (yeah, humanity - ponies have human traits) being the point of emphasis. Like in Dragon Quest where Spike was rampant about finding out who he really was on the inside, his dragon self and his "pony self" conflicting many times during the episode. She presents her episodes usually with the premise of the characters going through some harsh emotional turmoil and setting forth their resolve, which in all retrospect is found to be quite effective when it's all said and done. Dragon Quest is one example, and Putting Your Hoof Down is another - not to mention Mysterious Mare Do Well, where Rainbow Dash became arrogant and caught in the hype of being a superstar, but like Spike, she had to learn things the hard way in order for her to snap out of it. Needless to say, if you're going to watch Merriweather Williams episodes, you'd better be prepared to expect some "dark scenes" because it may change your thoughts on any of the Mane 6 a bit, as they're really thought of more as humans with human nature here.

 

@, @@Kyronea

[pinkieshyrose 58]

I like all mlp writers because they make awesome shows even the episodes that are out of character are really funny and entertaning and through some episodes are cultrually diffrent i still agree on them also i havent found anywhere where you can see which writer wrote each episode will have to keep searching the only episode that i felt was weaker than the rest would be suited for sucess so whoever didnt write that would be my fav writers