Know why I'm not fond of posting my expectations for new seasons? Watch S1E14 "Suited for Success" again. Remember how they all were not happy with the dresses Rarity designed, so she changed them to make them exactly what they wanted, even though they aren't dressmaking or fashion experts and she is? We all know how that turned out. So I say leave it to the professionals; I'm sure I'll like anything they come up with a lot better than what I had in mind. **Sorry to post my opinion twice, but I just watched that episode again and I thought it was a perfect example of what I was talking about.
As i was reveiw'n the show, I thought that we could see other Areas of ponyviel and/or farther towns,( That princes Celestia clames to be visiting ) Also I would WANT to see more neboring animals in futher shows> seaponies, serphants, camel, dragons, snakes, and so on. i guess most of this would lead in to season 5.
NNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! If that happens, I'm done. I found Trixie extremely annoying in Boast Busters, and I loathe her ever since Magic Duel. If she becomes a member of the mane six, I'm done. If they replace anypony in the mane six with somepony new, I can't promise I'll stick around. That is one of the very few things I will not accept.
Oh i'm not suggesting she become part of the mane six, just comes in as a mane-stay to balance out the cast if Twilights Alicornification is permanent, we can't have Rarity being the only Unicorn. Plus as I see it Magic Duel was made solely so they could bring her back as a character trying to basically as Twilight in season 1 learn how to be a friend to others, only in a different way of course. No reason Trixie can't comeback and attempt to genuinely become a better person, after all isn't that what the show at least in part is about, the never ending lessons life brings, us constantly learning & growing both as a group and individuals. Also gotta say good thing not a whole lot of Bronies are comic fans out side of maybe the MLP comic, they'd be whining like cats at the end of every story arc, OH NO THINGS ARE CHANGING! NOOO!!! XD But I digress. But again my main thing is I wanna see more positive development for Dash, with all her new Responsibilities *her pet Tank, her "Little Sister" Scootaloo, and her milltary Style Wonderbolts training sessions* I expect to see more positive growth for her character in the future. I mean seriously so much potential character growth there! But I digress. And again would be nice to be able to see Babs Mane-Hatten CMC branch eventually.
The only reason I ever complain about the show is BECAUSE they've been catering to fans instead of sticking to the original formula for the show. It's like they're drifting farther and farther away from the show I originally fell in love with.
See I get really tired of people saying this, they ARE NOT Catering to fans, outside of Magic Duel, not a single episode can be called catering/pandering to fans. The only thing the writers pander to are themselves & Hasbro! Anyone who thinks otherwise is as they say in pony speak.. A FOAL!!! *No offense* Only thing that can be considered pandering to the fanbase overall would be sneaking Derpy into every episode in season 2... but yeah thats really about it. Again they primarily focus on just making a fun cartoon, something they would enjoy sitting down and wathcing with there kids. I think some people just mistake that for pandering. Seriously people, its not that far fetched to think they might have some of the same interests/ideas as the fans at times.
You honestly don't see how much the formula for the show has changed from season 1, becoming more action packed (case in point: changeling battle), throwing in tons of pop culture references the bronies will get but the original demographic wouldn't (ie: chocolate rain and the ponies in the bowling alley), and bringing back characters the fans have been begging for (Trixie, Discord)? Also, as much as I love the episode, can you honestly say Sleepless in Ponyville wasn't pure fanservice? First of all, there's the obvious fanservice in Rainbow taking Scootaloo under her wing, and there's the way they brought Luna into the story. Every season has more and more fanservice that shows up more and more as they get later into the season.
I agree with you that the pandering got pretty bad with all the fanon/brony refs and the fan wishlist episode plots. However, I wouldn't say that it is more action packed. Yea, there was a changeling battle in S2. But they battled Nightmare Moon in S1...as well as a manticore, a cockatrice, a hydra, some diamond dogs, an ursa minor, some buffalo... So I can't agree there. And there are PLENTY of references to shows that little kids would never get in S1 alone. Remember Scootaloo jumping the tree branch on her scooter? Matrix reference. The manticore with a thorn in its paw? That's from a well known fable called Androcles and the Lion. When Applejack says to Big Mac, "are you saying my mouth is writing checks my legs can't keep?" That's from Top Gun. Pinkie Sense? Spiderman. I doubt most kids would get any of that. Of course, most of those are pretty subtle, so it doesn't really impact the show too much. If you want a list, here's one: MLP - References There's prolly more than a hundred in S1 alone. Although I do agree the episodes which clearly have fanservice plots should be kept to a bare minimum. Although I thought magic duel was rather well done. And the brony specific references to fanon concepts needs to be few and far between as well, like Pinkie's breaking the fourth wall and stuff. I get a kick out of it when they give a nod to us fans, but I'd prefer it if it was subtle and uncommon, not every other episode. But now I think they got most of the fanservice quota filled, so S4 should put us back on track.
OH GOOD LORD PEOPLE. OK, yes the forumula has changed up. But do you honestly want the show to stagnate & be the same thing over & over thus becoming as boring and predictable as Spongebob Squarpants or Simpsons!? Part of what makes the show so great is the characters & story evolve & grow! Thats part of good story telling. Anyone who thinks they are going out of there way to pander to Bronies every episode is far too self entitled & delusional. But hey I guess good story telling is considered pandering these days. Probably why so many good shows get cancled so early on, cause they dare to pander with good writing and worlds & characters that grow over the course of the series, probably cancel MLP soon cause its pandering too much, yep we need less of that and more TV that doesn't pander like Annoying Orange! *sarcasm* And yeah, I know that sounds rude, but I really don't care. And remember people MLP is a show in a FANTASY setting, its going to have more adventurous episodes, but it still has more then its fair share of comedy and heart-warming/cute slice of life. But hey, if you guys wanna think they're pandering feel free, I can't change that, i'm just gonna enjoy a good cartoon thats willing to let its characters & world grow, but thats just me. So yeah... Edit: Also I find calling "Sleepless In Ponyville" fanservice both hillarious & insulting. Celestia forbid Corey Ann Powell just wanted to write a good episodes and give some development to Scootaloo, no that isn't something ANY writer would think of doing! *sigh*
Hey, I'm not saying it's a bad thing, I just want it to be something that happens occasionally, not every other episode. I'm not really even arguing with you on most of this stuff either, but you did include me in that little rant so let me make my points exceptionally clear, so you can exclude me from future rants or at least include me for the right reasons. I think episodes with extremely popular fanon plots such as RBD taking Scootaloo under her wing should be kept to a minimum. I don't have a problem with it, but it shouldn't be as often as it has been in S3. References to other shows and pop culture I have no problem with. The Looney Tunes references during the Running of the Leaves? Loved it. Brony shout outs should be kept to a minimum. We know that they know we exist. We get it, they get it. We don't need that much attention. References to fanon themes and memes should be used sparingly. It's funny and all, but I feel it dilutes the integrity of the show. But that's just me, I'm a purist. Keep your fanon out of my canon and such. Adventure episodes? Slice of life episodes? I'm ok with both. The show changing and evolving? I'm cool with that too. I just don't feel it's necessary for them to cram so much fan-requested material into the show. And if you don't think they're pandering at all, I will make a list and cite my sources of every brony/fanon reference there is in S3. There is clearly more than you seem to realize. If your little rant there wasn't aimed at me then no probs. But it seemed as if it was [in part] and that you misunderstood a lot of my opinions. Hence my reply.
@Frost: My rant was aimed at the fanbase in general. And again I know they know we exsist, but people seem to ignore the fact they ARE NOT ALLOWED TO READ FANFICS! They may have some vauge concept of what fans like from the ridiculous amount of art we make *Derpy, Trixie, Doctor Whooves, etc* But I doubt they go out of their way to please us to the extant many say they do. Again is it that hard to believe they may have some of the same ideas as Bronies. Considering how often fan-art fan-fics & fan-comics are pumped out your gonna run into similarities more & more often, its near impossible not to now. I do agree ACTUAL forms of pandering like putting Derpy, Time Turner or Lyra & Bon Bon hanging out in the background every episode aren't necessities, but those are minor things overall. Again things you see in the show described as "Brony shout-outs" may not always be so. The writers can and will have some of the same ideas as the fanbase, or a lot of the same ideas, again considering the rabid amount of fan content made per a month/week/day XD. As for being a purist, meh i'd say thats just an excuse to try to validate nit-picking, the show is still "pure" in the sense its doing its best to tell a good story. But I do agree with you that Pinkie's 4th wall-breaking should only be used sparingly. Also again I would disagree saying stories like Sleepless In Ponyville should be kept to a minimum, I don't want quality restricted because of pointless speculation & nit-picking, I want my characters to grow, and bonds to form, break, evolve, etc. Thats what the show is about, its about the crazy lives of these colorful cartoon equine. Saying character development of a certain type should be restricted because its "Pandering" is just wrong! But hey, thats just my opinion, to each their own. But again I would ask those here to take a good long look at their view of the show, it seems far to many are either too narrow minded about the subject, or deluded by Fannon, thinking just because writers do similar things means they are using fannon ideas, which in all honesty, most of the time ARE NOT THAT CREATIVE! If some random fan can come up with an idea, odds are a writer for the show can or already has, not that far-fetched a concept people. But again, thats just my take on the situation. You guys can complain all you want, but I wanna see my characters grow in as many ways as possible, I wanna see Dash & Scoots bond more, I wanna see the Mane-Hatten CMC, I wanna see Twilight take on new challenges as an Alicorn, I wanna see more world building, more character growth & development, I wanna see more fun zany, crazy, creative, adventurous, entertaining, heartwarming pony adventures, but if thats pandering to bronies, so be it, I say let em pander away!
I'm very particular about Fan Service. Fan Service as a concept doesn't bother me persay... If the creators choose to pander a bit to the fan base, because they thought the fans genuinely came up with a good idea, that is perfectly okay with me. But if the creators buckle to the fandom, they might even create something awesome out of buckling! But there's a principal of artistic integrity, no? Does anybody remember this particular exchange between The Comic Book Guy and Bart on the simpsons? Comic Book Guy: Last night's Itchy & Scratchy was, without a doubt, the worst episode ever. Rest assured that I was on internet within minutes registering my disgust throughout the world. Bart Simpson: Hey, I know it wasn't great, but what right do you have to complain? Comic Book Guy: As a loyal viewer, I feel they owe me. Bart Simpson: What? They've given you thousands of hours of entertainment for free. What could they possibly owe you? I mean, if anything, you owe them. Comic Book Guy: Worst episode ever. A LOT of people get jump at me for this one, but allow me to clarify here. The creators don't HAVE to pander to us. If they do it, its because they want to, and nothing more. And if they choose not to pander to fans, and move the show in a different direction that someone would prefer, its not some sort of treachery or abandonment with their fan base. The common rebuttal I get to this is "The Fan Base is what keeps the show running" orrrr "I shouldn't have to be grateful if the quality declines!" As for the idea of the fan base keeping the show running, I mean sure, shows need ratings to keep running. Honestly... This show makes me feel something on an emotional level, I experience major feels when I watch it. But that does not give me the rate to basically try and bully the creators into creating for me. As for the "Quality Decline", well first understand that quality is a subjective term. Your right, you no longer have to watch the show if you don't want to. You don't have to be grateful for something you didn't enjoy. What you aren't allowed to do is impose your idea of "Quality" onto everybody involved in MLP. That includes the fandom, the creators, the writers, the animators, etc.
If you've ever read the tweets from the VA's, writers, directors and storyboard artists, I think they're pretty familiar with the fanon and are in touch with the fanbase. The fans liked it when Derpy's eyes were screwy so they made it a permanent change only 2-3 episodes later. That was in the beginning of S1. I'd say by now they are prolly pretty well tuned in to the fanbase. Could some of it have been original concepts and not the writers appealing to fans? Yes, it's possible. But in this Season alone we've seen Trixie's return, Discord's return, Rainbow Dash taking Scootaloo under her wing (when they've barely even talked to each other before Sleepless in Ponyville), and many other long requested and well formed fanon concepts make their way onto the show. Not to mention the fact that people were whining about AJ never getting episodes or a song, and in this season not only did she get a song, but she's had more screen time than practically any other pony. I don't think it's coincidence. And these examples are only the ones I remember, and honestly I don't all that many details from S3, but I'm sure I could find a whole lot more if I went back and watched them again. Which I will, as soon as I finish rewatching S1 and S2 first. You say that me being a purist is an excuse for nitpicking, but I say your argument of having the show grow and evolve is an excuse to enjoy your own personal fanon expectations of the show. This...is why I don't share my hopes/expectations for new seasons, mostly because I don't have expectations. I want them to show me what they want to show, not what I want to see. The show doesn't need our hopes and wants to help it grow, the writers can do that just fine on their own. I don't want them to feel obligated to show us what we want to see. If they stick stuff like that in every now and again, well that's just dandy. But in S3 they crammed so much of it in that it's impossible to ignore, so much so that it seems like they're trying to stick a square peg into a round hole just to make us happy. I'm not saying it's bad or even that I'm against it, all I'm saying is that they need to take it down a notch. Which I'm sure will happen in S4, now that they got all of that out in S3.
@Geo: I agree whole heartedly. But again my main argument is that fans mistake far too much for "Pandering" and/or "Fan-Service" And yes quality like anything else is subjective, sadly it can never be factual even though so called "Professionals" have established ways of grading it. But yeah again it bothers me that people accuse them of pandering & fan-service so willy nilly, when at the end of the day they are just doing their job by trying to tell an entertaining and heart-warming story all in 22 minutes, and thats not an easy task.
I know this is not my argument, but I would have to throw my chips in with Frost. I don't see Frost as nitpicking.. Especially if you see what a lot of pandering can do to a fan base. Attitudes are contagious, and Entitlement can spread like wildfire. She's right, nobody is saying that some pandering to fans ever hurt anybody. But if creators do it to much, you almost begin to wonder WHY their doing it. Do they see taking fan-based ideas as a good direction for the show, or are they simply sacrificing their initial ideas for the sake of fan service? No way to know really. But a Fandom shooting what they love in the foot can happen. Honestly? I'm afraid it might have happened with Bioware and the Mass Effect series. I honestly believe that Bioware is trembling due to such a fan negative reaction to the ME3 ending. I didn't personally like it either, but its not my place to tell them what direction they should take their storyline in.
@Geo: Again I can see where you and frost, and others, are coming from, But again I just don't think the writers are shooting themselves in the foot or sacrificing their intial ideas *and if they do it would be by Hasbro's hand, NOt the fans* Again its important to remember fan-cotnent multiplies, like well... Parasprites... by the time the writers have finished a season, odds are the fans will have written at least a couple dozen fan fics with the same ideas. Again I agree with you and frost overall concerns, I just find that the show-runners really arn't doing that and its insulting to them for the fanbase to accuse them of such as often as they do.
Things I'd like to see from S4 are: 1:If Twilicorn is permenant, then I'd like to see the writers pull some funny and intreasting ideas with it. 2:CMC's getting the same charector development that the mane 6 do, thus leading to more intreasting CMC episodes and less "Let's get our cutie marks!". 3:A episode focusing on Twilight and RD. Come on, those two need to interact more often, and their both the best ponys. All kinds of funny stuff could happen. 4: More episodes focusing on diffrent duo's that we don't get to see together more often {Like Pinkie and Fluttershy, Rarity and RD, AJ and Fluttershy, etc}. 5: Cadence getting more intreasting and fun qualitys rather then just being bland {Though for all we know the next episode might provide that}. Same for Shinning Armor too. 6: Derpy getting regular appearences again. I know that the whole Derpy drama happend, but think about this: It only happend because she talked. Before that no one complained about her appearences, and she still kept appearing even after that untill S3 came around. I don't see what's wrong with bringing her back for non-speaking Cameo Appearences like in Season 2.
Again the Fanbase creates a dozen fan-fics before a writer for the actual episode can put down his/her pen. Its near impossible at this point to not write something a fan-fic hasn't touched on at least once or twice.
