Thoughts on the way the show's going

[Zygen 6,066]

Your post confused me at first along with the title, but I think I've got that sorted out..

 

Anyways while I haven't been a brony for more then about 4 monthish now, I have to say I find nothing wrong with the fandom. There is going to be good, there is going to be bad. Its not like everyone is going to make super amazing content, Plus your really being much to negative in my opinion.

 

I don't try to focus to much on the negatives, because in the overall picture this fandom, this community is truly amazing. There is plenty of wonderful people here, they're is plenty of accepting people to, they have the wonderful art, fanfics, roleplays, music, videos, and more! Yes there is the bad of all of these, but there is not anywhere that you can find where everything is perfect. Why you ask? Oh its quite simple, we are human, and guess what humans aren't perfect. So I dunno about you but I like to think of the many positive things around.

 

After having watched the series 3 times now. I can say that yes the show has changed, no rejecting that, however I think it has been for the better. From S1 to S3 things feel like to me are improving, there has been many wonderful songs, and wonderful episodes, with only a select few who where not overall liked by alot of people.

 

The thing is really everything I say about the show is all an opinion, but guess what? So is yours. I enjoy the show, And I love the fandom and this forum community. I have no intentions of stopping watching the show because I still love it. I don't see a problem with the show, the makers of this show are very clever and are starting to cater to their whole audience. I don't notice fan service episodes for 22 minutes. I notice small little things, but that was present in S2 aswell!

 

I personally liked S3. And I even liked the 2 Parter. (I know it wasn't the most amazing thing ever, but I still loved it.) And I loved episode 3 and Especially 4 . Until hasbro decides to start literally screaming fan service throughout the whole episode, I don't see a reason to complain. I love seeing little running jokes and easter eggs thrown about, just as long as they don't distract from the show. To be honest none of the fan service thus far has been screaming in your face so loud to me that I can't watch the episode.

 

 

So in the end I guess its your opinion, however I do not appriciate you insulting people just because you think the show is going in a bad direction. Its ok to have an opinion, you have yours and I have mine. While we don't agree thats ok. Because even if you don't like the show or the fandom then I'm fine with that i'll continue watching the show and enjoying the fandom, because I enjoy it.

 

But don't insult people please. Theres no need for outright insulting people. Especially like Urdnot Pinkie Pie where your insulting her for something thats just kinda dumb in my opinion, let her color her text if she wants.

 

Sorry for the long read, hopefully you understand that not everyone is going to agree with you, if you like the show and fandom, watch the show and enjoy in the fandom. I personally do. However if you don't then don't watch the show and don't enjoy the work of the fandom. Its your choice.

[Dusty Soul 2,611]

I'm honestly ok with a little fan-service as it is a good way for the developers to interact with the fans. Also, one must relize it's not all fan-service. In my opinion I liked every episode. Though I'm sure others might beg to differ. Sure (Popular opinion) there have been some "bad" episodes, but there are plenty of good ones as well.

[Arcanel 3,041]

Well....I must say that I wasn't expecting someone saying that the show was going downhill on just FOUR episodes of Season 3, but then again, I'm not surprised. What one considers bad episodes can be good in the eye of others, so there's that. Most of people have said the season has been going well, so unless the majority started dissing on it...yeah, the show might as well be doomed if that were to actually happen.

 

Afterwards, the drama...really? >While I haven't participated on drama myself, I'm smart enough to know that there WILL be drama, ESPECIALLY in a fandom like ours. Not because we're bad, but because...too much happens, for lack of a better word. But look...unless the drama was so friggin much that you just couldn't go ANYWHERE wwithout finding it...then it really shouldn't matter yet. We haven't had any ground breaking drama that didn't solve itself, either inmediately or later. There's a thread of mine that I did called "Thoughts on bronydom death", that talks about what I think what the bronies should really worry about instead of the "death" of us. And if you wanted reasons, Dylan's thread is GREAT material to read too.

 

Then the fanservice thing...........................okay, seriously? I think you're reading into it WAY too much. For first, socks....yes I know that socks is one of the common "fetishes" around, but think of it in Rarity's point, and tell that's something she WOULDN'T create. I for one, thought she looked beautiful. Her hairstyle, dress and socks. It looks exactly like something Rarity would do. As for Pinkie Pie...oh come on, you can't criticize what she does! For Celestia's sake it's Pinkie! It's random, reference or not! And it's ALREADY known that the writers make tens of references to other things. Why? Because they were from that era, and actually wanted to "honor" them, so to speak. And also have a good laugh themselves. Is it really bad? As far as we saw, everything Pinkie did were things Pinkie could have EASILY done, and is not out of character. Plus, the writer was the same one who wrote Feeling Pinkie Keen and Over a Barrel, and as far as I know, Dave Polsky LOVES using Pinkie to her fullest. Besides, truth is, Lauren Faust had been a fan of the series since she was a child, and while not working in the team right now, I'm sure they would honor her with that little thing. As for Trixie, well, she's one of the antagonists that actually can perfectly be able to return, simply, because she wasn't...well...eliminated. For all we know, Gilda, the Flim Flam brothers, the parasprites, hell even Queen Chrysalis could return. In fact...any of the main villains could return (except maybe for King Sombra). Because...there is also the possibility of flashbacks, which is how I'm expecting Discord to return.

 

And besides....ALREADY A BRONY MADE IT TO THE TEAM. Mandopony was announced to work for William Anderson, one of the people responsable for the music in FIM, more commonly the background music. This DEFINITELY means that they look out brony material. Why? Because they are fascinated with it...and embrace it. But I for one haven't seen either of the writers go out of their way or do something horribly wrong to "cater to bronies" or even just reference. Derpy is a little easter egg that is really nice. And also, if they wre influnced....did you saw the essence of FIM destroyed? Has the ideas of bronies destroyed the show as we know it? I think not, and if the writers actually DO get inspiration...then that, is just more than awesome. Because the talent is THEIRS, and NOBODY can steal or influence that.

 

As for the VA's, Tara Strong is like the Rainbow Dash of the crew team. And like Rainbow Dash she has more than credit enough to showoff, you know? So what if she likes attention? To us, it's like we're meeting a goddess (and more or less, she is, considering her GINOURMOUS credits), and she knows it...and we know it too. And besides, she's actually nice to talk! I haven't met her, but as far as I know, she's one of the nicest people out there (and there has been more than enough proof of that). Tabitha for example is just as famous, but hey, maybe she's not that much of a people's person (although according to Everfree Northwest, she was kinda shy, but was really bubbly ).

 

And finally, you get what you look for. Maybe you just think a lot of the fanfictions aren't of your taste. Maybe there ARE really a lot of bad ones, but hey, I'm pretty damn sure there are good ones, and they are not quite in low quantity, but hey there are already a LOT of stuff...with this fandom's growth, that isn' really a surprise. And besides, it encourages people to write or do stuff, even if they get obliterated for it, but hey, they can at least say "Okay, I tried. maybe this isn't for me", and it could be the thing was good, maybe it just got the wrong viewers. And so on and so forth. Like Evilshy said, we're not the only ones out there...and I'm also sure that we're milder than others out there.

Edited November 27, 2012 by Arcanel

[duidamasterXD 9,627]

Season 3 has been ok so far. I didn't like the two parter as much as the ones in season 2 (To be fair, both of those were mind-blowingly awesome). Too Many Pinkie Pies was amazing, I was expecting loads of chaos and randomosity but it got surprisingly deep at times, and it provided a good contrast between Pinkie and how many people perceive Pinkie, and showed the strength of her character. I thought the last episode was decent enough, not my favorite but solid for a crusaders episode.

 

I'm not really sure how to feel about the future return of Trixie but I'll wait for the episode before passing judgment on it. I'm not thrilled about more of her but I'll see if she can make a better impression on me than she did in her previous episode.

 

The two episodes after the Trixie episode are the ones I'm really excited for though, as well as the season finale which I'm tentatively guessing will be the return of Discord.

 

 

As for deterioration of the fandom or fan works you're probably talking to the wrong guy. I haven't been here long. Still seems pretty good to me.

[Mephala 2,633]

I must admit, I haven't been impressed with the first few episodes, but perhaps it'll start getting better. I think I'm just actually losing my general interest in the show, besides a handful of characters I watch for, and they're shoved in the background. I mean, half the "Applejack episodes" don't even have much of her in them (Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 and The Last Roundup, anyone?) AND the main reason I watch the show (Rarity) is shoved in the background pretty much all the time.

 

However, I don't think it's all catering to the fans now. They haven't done that much. They throw us a bone every so often, yes, but that doesn't mean it's every single episode.

Edited November 27, 2012 by Petyr Baelish

[Galaxia 18]

 

Just kinda curious...thats a line used by people against gay marriage....which can be kinda offensive and had nothing at all to do with the post. I think you just stepped on that slippery slope...

 

Obsidian

 

Haha. Butt I love gay people.

-Ba dum tiss-

 

I believe some people were saying that Basbro or Studio-H have been hiring bronies? I suppose that could be playing a part in this. Maybe it's just my Stockholm syndrome from Russel T Davies on Doctor Who. Maybe that's why I think shows shouldn't cater to their "most loyal" fans.

It just seems like selling out to me.

I mean, if I was reading some web comic, and the author started making all these obscure jokes that only the people who've been reading for years get, I'd feel pretty upset.

Think about the children!

 

I mean, there's no way I'm wrong, it's totally opinion. And I'm glad at least a couple of you agree.

 

The rest of you are being fed the lies of the studios! They're playing on your loyalty to the brand! Hasbro is cashing out on good writing! Don't support the man! Only buy shitty fanmade customs! Quick! Put on your tinfoil hats

Uh...

I feel that may have lost integrity somewhere.

 

 

Well....I must say that I wasn't expecting someone saying that the show was going downhill on just FOUR episodes of Season 3, but then again, I'm not surprised. What one considers bad episodes can be good in the eye of others, so there's that. Most of people have said the season has been going well, so unless the majority started dissing on it...yeah, the show might as well be doomed if that were to actually happen.

 

Afterwards, the drama...really? >While I haven't participated on drama myself, I'm smart enough to know that there WILL be drama, ESPECIALLY in a fandom like ours. Not because we're bad, but because...too much happens, for lack of a better word. But look...unless the drama was so friggin much that you just couldn't go ANYWHERE wwithout finding it...then it really shouldn't matter yet. We haven't had any ground breaking drama that didn't solve itself, either inmediately or later. There's a thread of mine that I did called "Thoughts on bronydom death", that talks about what I think what the bronies should really worry about instead of the "death" of us. And if you wanted reasons, Dylan's thread is GREAT material to read too.

 

Then the fanservice thing...........................okay, seriously? I think you're reading into it WAY too much. For first, socks....yes I know that socks is one of the common "fetishes" around, but think of it in Rarity's point, and tell that's something she WOULDN'T create. I for one, thought she looked beautiful. Her hairstyle, dress and socks. It looks exactly like something Rarity would do. As for Pinkie Pie...oh come on, you can't criticize what she does! For Celestia's sake it's Pinkie! It's random, reference or not! And it's ALREADY known that the writers make tens of references to other things. Why? Because they were from that era, and actually wanted to "honor" them, so to speak. And also have a good laugh themselves. Is it really bad? As far as we saw, everything Pinkie did were things Pinkie could have EASILY done, and is not out of character. Plus, the writer was the same one who wrote Feeling Pinkie Keen and Over a Barrel, and as far as I know, Dave Polsky LOVES using Pinkie to her fullest. Besides, truth is, Lauren Faust had been a fan of the series since she was a child, and while not working in the team right now, I'm sure they would honor her with that little thing. As for Trixie, well, she's one of the antagonists that actually can perfectly be able to return, simply, because she wasn't...well...eliminated. For all we know, Gilda, the Flim Flam brothers, the parasprites, hell even Queen Chrysalis could return. In fact...any of the main villains could return (except maybe for King Sombra). Because...there is also the possibility of flashbacks, which is how I'm expecting Discord to return.

 

And besides....ALREADY A BRONY MADE IT TO THE TEAM. Mandopony was announced to work for William Anderson, one of the people responsable for the music in FIM, more commonly the background music. This DEFINITELY means that they look out brony material. Why? Because they are fascinated with it...and embrace it. But I for one haven't seen either of the writers go out of their way or do something horribly wrong to "cater to bronies" or even just reference. Derpy is a little easter egg that is really nice. And also, if they wre influnced....did you saw the essence of FIM destroyed? Has the ideas of bronies destroyed the show as we know it? I think not, and if the writers actually DO get inspiration...then that, is just more than awesome. Because the talent is THEIRS, and NOBODY can steal or influence that.

 

As for the VA's, Tara Strong is like the Rainbow Dash of the crew team. And like Rainbow Dash she has more than credit enough to showoff, you know? So what if she likes attention? To us, it's like we're meeting a goddess (and more or less, she is, considering her GINOURMOUS credits), and she knows it...and we know it too. And besides, she's actually nice to talk! I haven't met her, but as far as I know, she's one of the nicest people out there (and there has been more than enough proof of that). Tabitha for example is just as famous, but hey, maybe she's not that much of a people's person (although according to Everfree Northwest, she was kinda shy, but was really bubbly [img=http://mlpforums.com/public/style_emoticons/mlp/smile.png] ).

 

And finally, you get what you look for. Maybe you just think a lot of the fanfictions aren't of your taste. Maybe there ARE really a lot of bad ones, but hey, I'm pretty damn sure there are good ones, and they are not quite in low quantity, but hey there are already a LOT of stuff...with this fandom's growth, that isn' really a surprise. And besides, it encourages people to write or do stuff, even if they get obliterated for it, but hey, they can at least say "Okay, I tried. maybe this isn't for me", and it could be the thing was good, maybe it just got the wrong viewers. And so on and so forth. Like Evilshy said, we're not the only ones out there...and I'm also sure that we're milder than others out there.

I feel like this one requires special examination. Holy shit, this is like an essay.

 

1). Four episodes is almost 1/3 of the season.

2). On the topic of drama. It's cool it exists, and it's fine in small doses. But when we give the furry fandom a run for their money then we know we've hit rock bottom. But hey, atleast we don't want to fuck anima- oh.. Right..

3). Besides the fact that pinkie embodies everything I hate about bronies, it's not the main plot that's fan service see previous examples

4) Trixie is fan adored. Totally fan service. Don't even bother arguing that, you're wrong.

5) no. Nobody can show off. Even if they talked in lots of funny voices once. That's why Rainbow Dash is so irritating. Modesty is a virtue, arrogance is a sin.

[Evilshy 5,090]

4) Trixie is fan adored. Totally fan service. Don't even bother arguing that, you're wrong.

 

So, what, any time a character people like is brought back it's 100% fanservice? Even if, due to the circumstances of them leaving and their personality, they have plenty of motivation to do so?

 

Yeah, it's fanservice, but that doesn't mean it's bad. It totally works (Anyone as vain as Trixie would want to get revenge somehow on the person who took them down), and they don't need to pull out some stupid deus ex machina to have her come back, just a relatively simple story for what she's been doing through season 2. It's not like she was dead or locked away in a dungeon somewhere at the end of Boats Busters, she just fled. We don't even know where she went.

 

Of course, we can all pass better judgement once the episode actually drops.

[Spring Storm 276]

I don't really think anypony can honestly know if fanservice has a huge impact on the show. We don't know what the show would be like if we bronies didn't exist - maybe the episodes would be pretty much the same. The writers could have planned for Trixie to return all along for all we know. Maybe Too Many Pinkie Pies would have still been an episode - the only difference being the lack of hoof fingers and a gen 3 face. Honestly, our shout-outs are usually Derpy and Doctor Hooves - two background characters. They don't affect the story at all. Even in the case of The Last Roundup, anypony could have replaced Derpy in the beginning of the episode and the story would have remained the same (not to mention, Faust had already planned on having a character named Ditzy Doo in the show, so it's likely that we would have still seen a clumsy pony in the beginning of the episode).

[Blackcat 205]

This whole thread reminds me of my good friend who we will call....Raven, cause that rhymes with her name. 

Now my friend Raven looooves to explore the murky grime of fandoms, and she get's seriously involved with almost none. She's done essays on fetishes before which have led her to explore the VEERY weird sides of sonic and furry fandoms. 

 

All of that has made her very good at finding all of the bad in a fandom. Being the fellow who helped her find some weird things in fandoms for her essays, It felt only natural to point her at bronies. I expected that she would find the R34 stuff right off the bat, but what I didn't expect was all the venom spouting, tasteless drama she found. 

 

She chronicled vast tumblr wars, raging battles over who's crappy fanfiction was stolen or not, and fans trying to sue...hasbro for not....giving them handouts? (or something like that)

 

Then you have jolly ol me over here. Completely blind to all of this. Sure I read my little dashie and thought it was meh, And I too roll my eyes at alicorn OC's with fire manes who fart rainbows, but so far, my experience with bronies has been pretty much clear skies and warm weather.

 

All that basically brings me to this. I think it's all perspective really. They say ignorance is bliss, and boy howdy is this true in an internet fandom, and you know what? I don't really think that's a bad thing. Maybe I do subconciously get the heck out of dodge at the first sign of drama, and don't get too deep into the fandom beyond ponies, but shoot, That hasn't hindered me in any way.

Being ignorant of what is bad about the fandom isn't the same as being ignorant about something like...the holocaust.

 

As far as the show's direction involving fan service. Yes, I can see some. too many Pinkie Pies was full of it, but at the same time, if there ever was a place for them to do it, it was with Pinkie Pie. Immediately afterwards in episode 4 we're back with a standard slice of life episode with....an A-team reference I believe as the biggest 'shout out' to older fans. Unless you count Sweetie Belles father being outside of his own house as fan service. I'd also like to point out the fan panic over the supposed lack of Derpy.

 

4 episodes is pretty far in to a season of only 13 episodes but if I can be selfish here for a minute...I enjoyed them all except for the end of the two parter. So....if you didn't like them....well...that sucks, and I hope that you are able to find enjoyment in the upcoming episodes. In my personal opinion, quality of writing and direction has not slumped yet, and as such, my jimmies are not that rustled. Will that change in the future? eh, probably, but for now I am perfectly content.

[Magpie 623]

I respect your opinion OP, but have to disagree. While I don't know anything about the not-yet-premiered episodes, or Trixie, who I don't really like anyway, fan service hasn't seemed that big a deal to me. I never knew ponies in socks was in an episode yet, so it mustn't have been a huge thing. I'll admit, King Sombra was a weak villain.(A door, really?)  But I haven't seen much of a change in the attitude of the show,  it seems to have a similar sense of humor and conflict, and is just as fun as ever. As for the VA thing, that doesn't really affect the show, the VA's can act however they want, and the fan base can receive them similarly(When not recording, anyway.)

 

Sincerely,

Brosparkles

[Arcanel 3,041]

I feel like this one requires special examination. Holy shit, this is like an essay. 1). Four episodes is almost 1/3 of the season. 2). On the topic of drama. It's cool it exists, and it's fine in small doses. But when we give the furry fandom a run for their money then we know we've hit rock bottom. But hey, atleast we don't want to fuck anima- oh.. Right.. 3). Besides the fact that pinkie embodies everything I hate about bronies, it's not the main plot that's fan service see previous examples 4) Trixie is fan adored. Totally fan service. Don't even bother arguing that, you're wrong. 5) no. Nobody can show off. Even if they talked in lots of funny voices once. That's why Rainbow Dash is so irritating. Modesty is a virtue, arrogance is a sin.

 

I tend to make things this long when subjects like this come up...sorry about that.   Oh well, it's shorter this time XD.

 

One thing though. I totally respect your opinion (if it seemed like I didn't, I apologize for that. Wasn't really my intention), however, it being an opinion DOESN'T make it unable to be wrong. There's a reason opinions can change after all.

 

While it's true that 4 episodes is already a third of the season, it is also true that so far, all 4 episodes have been quite different within each other. And if the synopsis from the chapters we already know about are any indication, this is going to be like that for the rest of the season. So I'd say to wait a little bit more passing any judgement, aside from saying if you liked what you saw from the season or not.

 

I don't KNOW, what you were going to finish saying there, to be honest. I get all this tales about the furry fandom, that frankly, it's starting to get tiring. Can't we be our own friggin community and be done with it, instead of going to compare it to some other fandoms? Drama or not drama, it's going to be there, on any fandom. That much, I know. We haven't hit rock bottom as far as I know. I'm pretty damn sure that we would KNOW if we had.

 

And yes, I know. There have been things even I think that the writers went to look in the internet while going around. I admit I got a little defensive on that subject, but it doesn't mean that those "fanserviced" things have been bad...or even noticeable. This being the G3 face or the hand thing, for example. That's it. I don't think anything else could be called fanservice aside form that. And it all makes sense with Pinkie, as she's the best to use it. But, just a question. Do you think the fanservice is making the show bad or something?

 

Is Trixie adored by many? Yes. But you're forgetting that there are characters with BIGGER fan clubs than her. Example, Vinyl Scratch and Octavia, or even Doctor Whooves, and you haven't seen them around a lot. What's the difference? The difference lies in that they weren't ponies you could use much. Doctor Whooves casually has a sand clock for a cutie mark, so, he was perfect for the job of taking time back in Super Speedy Cider Squeezy episode. But Trixie is an antagonist. And one that just escaped to who knows where. Why wouldn't they be able to bring her back. For all we know, the writers back in Season 1 made that on purpose so as to be able to bring her back some time after. And like I said before, this could happen with almost any character. I'd like to believe that they didn't just per back because of fanservice. They had plenty of choices to bring her back, IMO.

 

And I might have misworded what I said with the VA's, however, Tara is not quite arrogant, now is she? She loves her job, hence why she does all those voices, and she knows they make people laugh. I mean, it's not like she's going overboard like Rainbow in The Mysterious Mare Do Well episode. That and the fact she's probably confident as hell. I think she's proud, but not arrogant. Plus, Rainbow is not irritating to me, that's an entirely subjective opinion.

 

Now, all this things, might as well be wrong, just as yours might be wrong as well. Let's just agree we disagree and be done with it, shall we? Because I think our trains of thoughts are quite different from the other, to the point we might as well engage in endless discussion.

Edited November 28, 2012 by Arcanel