S01:E18 - The Show Stoppers

[Meushell 52]

I’m not a fan of “character embarrasses themselves” plot, but I enjoyed the episode otherwise. I like that they got an award for their sake, though that kind of sucks for little ponies that were actually going for humor. 

[bigbertha 410]

This is one of the most boring episodes of the show. The entire episode is just the CMC fumbling around not being funny for 22 minutes. 

The only reason this isn't one of the worst episodes of the show is because the song at the end was really funny. I really like cringe comedy and I think it was done pretty well there.

Score: 2/10

[Dabmanz 2,128]

The episode where we get the Cmc theme song. Also the map of ponyville in the club house. I wownder how accurate it is to ponyvilles layout.

[bigbertha 410]

I like this episode. The CMC come off as a lot more endearing rather than annoying and the entire thing is very charming. What pushes the episode into good territory is the song. I love the contrast between the really good backing track compared to the CMC's terrible performance.

Score: 7/10

[kazamacat 63]

Pretty dull, but the end is funny. I think I'll rank it as okay.

[Rushing cash 824]

Actually I kind of like this episode, its cringy at times but I found it pretty entertaining. 7\10, I'm a bit surprised how disliked this episode is among fans

[Lucky Bolt 34,914]

This was a cute episode, portraying the CMCs talents a bit more. I loved their song too. 7/10

[Justin_Case001 4,855]

Ah yes, one of the first dedicated CMC spotlights.  Back in the day, my reaction to every CMC spotlight used to be the Michael Scott NO GOD NO.  My how the times they did a changelinged.    Who'da thunk that the CMC's series arc would end up being some of the most mature and amazing writing on the show?

I haven't seen The Show Stoppers in a long time, and I only saw it once.  Perhaps my opinion would be different now, but at the time I found it to be nothing but a complete cringefest.  I'll give it another chance when I give the series a second go-around.

Edited April 9, 2020 by Justin_Case001

[Props Valroa 25,971]

It was alright. I wanted to see them actually do a really good show. Should have spent an episode on them making the new clubhouse their own, and stuff.

[JMTV99 1,348]

This episode was pretty good. The jokes are very memorable like Scootaloo's TLC joke. It has it's cute moments like Sweetie Belle singing the CMC song. The montage song was very catchy and iconic. Interestingly enough that Twilight called the CMCs "My Little Ponies" instead of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. 

Plus, this is the first episode that was hinted at on what the CMCs' talents are like Apple Bloom's karate techniques(and possibly used it for bucking apples), Sweetie Belle's singing, and Scootaloo doing stunts with her scooter. While, I'm glad that the CMCs finally got their cutie marks in Season 5, but it would've been nice if they expand their initial talents a little bit more.

As for the CMC song? I remember cringing at it, but looking back on it, at least it was made to be intentionally bad, so I'm not gonna fault them for that.

[Astralshy 23,450]

I have postponed writing my opinion about this one for weeks now.

I know most people don't like this one but I really like this episode.

This episode shows the CMC  getting their base of operation and try to finding their marks within a talent show.

The plot of this one shows the strength of the CMC and then how they mix everything up and apparently failing at the talent show. After seeing this episode the second time one could really say that their destiny is starring the audience right in the eyes without telling it. In my opinion this episode works even better in a rewatches.

We have a great musical montage here which  is well done. I really like it.

Regarding the song: Yes, the song is definitely not a masterpiece. I could write here, that this is just the way it was intended and point out that the VA of Scoots for example doesn't even try to sing her lines and is just more speaking than singing. But I'd like to tell you what made me really uncomfortable in this show:

• Spike trying but failing to sing the cloudsdale anthem in season 4 (I almost skipped this while watching my second time ...)
• RD in 2,4,6 Great in season 9
• The romance scenes between Big Mac and Cheerlie in season 2

But this song did not do it at al. Yes, it loud and the singing is not good, but it didn't make me feel uncomfortable.

[Reality Check 627]

Ok, so... I have opinions on this.

I like this episode for the foreshadowing. I think the best instance was when Applejack saw the CMC dancing, the speechlessness and her expression says everything we need to know. Another is the moral of showing a person's interest versus what they're truly good at, or 'Talent vs Interest' to put it shortly. Just because someone is good at something doesn't mean that they enjoy it all the time. In fact, I'd say a future episode addressed this moral a bit better, 'Marks and recreation' to be precise.

What I don't like about the episode is how the other moral was presented. The CMC pointed out that trying too hard can lead to disastrous results. Unfortunately, I don't think it's presented very well. It's ok to make the best or go all out on something, but overdoing it can lead to some unwanted consequences. It's like making a doll, you can make it as realistic as you like, but overdo it and you'd just get the uncanny valley. I also noticed an animation error when watching the episode, when the CMC were supposedly climbing a mountain and reached the top. You can briefly see that their eye colors are the same.

The episode isn't bad, nor is it good, but it does look like it could've been done better. Maybe the conflicting ideals trope could be done without the wanting to do-their-own-thing and the oddly specific awards added in. Also, I can't help but feel like there was a bit of toy marketing added in there.

[Evil Pink One 12,953]

this episode is so weird.

the episode shows that they should stick to what they're good at.

sweetie belle at singing , scoots at dancing, and apple bloom at arts.

they botched it of course. and what lesson did they learn? nothing. they got a comedy award and just took it as a win....

will this topic be opened up again about their hidden talents?.....

nope...in some way.

only sweetie belle singing got transported into her cutiemark..... what's worse is her singing got worse and practically lost that talent...... cutiemarks are weird...... maybe it symbolizes that she is loud.....

scootaloo.... and her dancing.... nope never danced again.... she did do some cheerleading.... and her cutiemark?..... a lightning mark? I forgot

although apple bloom never learned and tried to dance again.... that failed again aswell...

and she got potions for her mark...... after that she barely uses potions.....

very weird episode.

I give it a meh/ mehhhh?

 

[Cash In 21,489]

First thing. It's a bit weird how there are two CMC episodes in a row. I never noticed that until I was re watching all this episode. Anyways, on to the review!

This is another episode that I've warmed up to over time. I think it's a good foundation for the CMC episodes later on, but I'll admit that it definitely isn't perfect. It basically is 20 minutes of Applebloom, Scoots and Sweetie Belle messing around and not really achieving anything, but I thought it was cute and fun. I think this episode started to get the dynamic and relationship between those three right. Once again, not perfect, but I could see the good parts of it starting to shine.

I know people complain about them failing at their song and performance at the end, but it really wasn't that bad. The whole point was that they were working completely out of their own range of skills, so of course it was gonna end badly. My only real complaint is that the episode is a bit dull in the sense that it's quite slow. I don't mind slow episodes if they're written with that in mind, but I didn't really feel that here.

Okay episode. I've grown more fond of it over the years, but it's easily one of the weakest from the first season.

Edited February 26 by Cash In
Updated thoughts

[Props Valroa 25,971]

I liked this one, but I wouldn't say it is a favorite part of mine. It is cute and fun, though. Them failing the performance makes sense thematically, as not every character has to succeed at everything they do. I am more fond of it than the last time I watched it over 2 years ago. 

[Hadrien 937]

I despise this episode with every fibre of my being, or that's what I would've said if I ever remembered what this episode was about. *reads the scripts* The CMCs enter a talent showw to get their cutie mark, but mess everything up in the most cringe way, only to be rewarded with something else ? Pass. I like the CMCs, but this episode is def not for me.

2/10, worst episode of S1