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| "And grown-ups don't even need to breathe!" |
Monday, 30 September 2019
Episode review: S9E22: "Growing Up is Hard to Do"
Sunday, 29 September 2019
Worcester Shires ponymeets: friendship's still magic
I'm going to indulge myself here today with something that's very important to me but won't be relevant to most of my readers...
As some of you reading this will know, I'm a regular attendee and occasional organiser of the Worcester Shires, an informal ponymeet which usually runs on two Saturday afternoons each month in (surprisingly enough) Worcester. The English one, not the one in Massachusetts! We had a meet yesterday and as usual it was a perfectly pleasant afternoon with personable people and plenty of pastel plush (and otherwise) ponies.
There was, however, one notable aspect to this meet, as it will be the last one we ever have while Friendship is Magic is still a live series. The next time we meet to talk about ponies, drink caffeinated beverages and eat cake, FiM will be in the past. The meet has been running since 2013, and indeed I was at the very first such gathering, though we only adopted the Worcester Shires name much more recently.
One thing all of us agree on is that we intend to continue with these meets. Why wouldn't we? The fandom isn't going to disappear after the final episodes of FiM air on Discovery Family on 12th October. Nor is My Little Pony, and several of us are at least to some degree interested in other generations past or future. We seem to get on with each other and besides, the café where we hold our meetups treats us very well.
Of course, we can't know where things will go from here. But as with the fandom as a whole, I'm optimistic. After all, we've had new attendees join us even in 2019, six years after these meets began and nine years after FiM itself got under way. Several of us who intend to be there at UK PonyCon in a fortnight are regulars or semi-regulars in Worcester, and doubtless there'll be a little measure of "Worcester meet on tour" in Nottingham.
I think a good deal of our success has been down to Pigasus, our extremely popular meet leader. I also think people have enjoyed the atmosphere, which is deliberately kept laid-back but work-safe, and which unlike some other meetup groups is still very much a Pony meet. Yes, we talk about other things too sometimes, though we keep real-world politics out of it as much as possible, but we're something of an outpost of Equestria.
It struck me today, when we were discussing our future meet calendar, that everybody simply took it as read that we'd still be holding these meets not merely for the rest of this year but much further into the future. Indeed, we spent a little time talking about our intention to hold a G5 movie meet at a local cinema if there is indeed a UK cinematic release for the assumed prequel feature film for the new generation. And that isn't likely to happen until 2021. I look forward to it!
That's enough rambling – so I'll end simply by saying that the next Worcester Shires meet (or "bronyponyneigh") is likely to be on Saturday, 19th October. We certainly welcome newcomers – see the link above (in the second paragraph) for details of location, times and so on. Yes, it will be strange not to have a new episode of FiM to look forward to... but I'm pretty sure the meet itself will feel much as it does now. And that's a good thing. :)
As some of you reading this will know, I'm a regular attendee and occasional organiser of the Worcester Shires, an informal ponymeet which usually runs on two Saturday afternoons each month in (surprisingly enough) Worcester. The English one, not the one in Massachusetts! We had a meet yesterday and as usual it was a perfectly pleasant afternoon with personable people and plenty of pastel plush (and otherwise) ponies.
There was, however, one notable aspect to this meet, as it will be the last one we ever have while Friendship is Magic is still a live series. The next time we meet to talk about ponies, drink caffeinated beverages and eat cake, FiM will be in the past. The meet has been running since 2013, and indeed I was at the very first such gathering, though we only adopted the Worcester Shires name much more recently.
One thing all of us agree on is that we intend to continue with these meets. Why wouldn't we? The fandom isn't going to disappear after the final episodes of FiM air on Discovery Family on 12th October. Nor is My Little Pony, and several of us are at least to some degree interested in other generations past or future. We seem to get on with each other and besides, the café where we hold our meetups treats us very well.
Of course, we can't know where things will go from here. But as with the fandom as a whole, I'm optimistic. After all, we've had new attendees join us even in 2019, six years after these meets began and nine years after FiM itself got under way. Several of us who intend to be there at UK PonyCon in a fortnight are regulars or semi-regulars in Worcester, and doubtless there'll be a little measure of "Worcester meet on tour" in Nottingham.
I think a good deal of our success has been down to Pigasus, our extremely popular meet leader. I also think people have enjoyed the atmosphere, which is deliberately kept laid-back but work-safe, and which unlike some other meetup groups is still very much a Pony meet. Yes, we talk about other things too sometimes, though we keep real-world politics out of it as much as possible, but we're something of an outpost of Equestria.
It struck me today, when we were discussing our future meet calendar, that everybody simply took it as read that we'd still be holding these meets not merely for the rest of this year but much further into the future. Indeed, we spent a little time talking about our intention to hold a G5 movie meet at a local cinema if there is indeed a UK cinematic release for the assumed prequel feature film for the new generation. And that isn't likely to happen until 2021. I look forward to it!
That's enough rambling – so I'll end simply by saying that the next Worcester Shires meet (or "bronyponyneigh") is likely to be on Saturday, 19th October. We certainly welcome newcomers – see the link above (in the second paragraph) for details of location, times and so on. Yes, it will be strange not to have a new episode of FiM to look forward to... but I'm pretty sure the meet itself will feel much as it does now. And that's a good thing. :)
Friday, 27 September 2019
Text Review Roundup: "Daring Doubt"
Okey-dokey-lokey, let's get back to actual ponies on this blog, rather than just photos of trains with a pony stuck in the corner. (Though I don't promise never to post such pics here again!) I'll keep doing this up to episode 23, but though I will do TRR for the final three episodes it'll be a little bit delayed because of UK PonyCon. Given they're all being shown on the same day on DF, I'll also have to think about how to handle that. Right then, back to "Daring Doubt", and...
...once again there was quite a wide spread of views among the written-word reviewers. This time, however, the balance of opinion was tilted heavily towards the negative. The writing and continuity were widely criticised, as was the reformation of Caballeron and Ahuizotl, which a number of reviewers saw as forced. Fluttershy was mostly popular, but even here there were dissenting voices. My own verdict was middling, though part of my frustration was personal, in that I'd wanted a FS/RD adventure for years but didn't really get it.
Cuddlepug – quite positive (graded B-; "surprised me in all the right ways [...] One could argue that the episode is wrapped up a little too neatly by the end, but I think the solution of listening to both sides of the story during conflict is a valuable one")
Dark Qiviut – generally very positive ("During the entire expedition, [Fluttershy] stayed true to her embodied Element of Harmony [and] Daring Doubt is a shining example of giving Dash negative traits without making her out of character or miserable [but] Daring Doubt doesn't adequately explain why Ahuizotl acted so violent this whole time. [Even so,] rough edges aside, it's nicely done.")
DrakeyC – negative ("this episode was meh right up until the third act, when it got insultingly STUPID. [...] At least past Daring Do eps were watchable. This one is just a shitty redemption fic, how apt given its premise.")
Dramamaster829 – mildly positive ("This episode was about the search for truth. [... Fluttershy] made the effort to reach out to [Caballeron's party], offering a hoof in kindness [...] True fans are tired of the whole redemption shtick, that eventually there's going to be a chance to uncover two sides of a story only to realize that one half is truly that bad [though] I still consider it a fun episode.")
JDPrime22 – mostly positive (rated 8/10; "This was a fun episode. Not my favorite Daring Do adventure [...] but an enjoyable sendoff for Daring and her crew. ")
Louder Yay – slightly negative (rated 2/5; "an immensely frustrating episode, not short on fun little moments and nice visual design, but faring less well when it came to coherence and continuity [...] the first act was really rather fun [and] I enjoyed the way [Fluttershy] behaved on the expedition [but I disliked the] episode's cavalier disregard for continuity and, frankly, common sense in the resolution.")
Mike Cartoon Pony – slightly negative ("the cracks in its construction show far more then past Daring Do episodes [...] The action and adventuring [...] is decent, but merely competent when compared to examples of past episodes. [...] The more I unpack the episode’s plot, the more contrivances pop up [though] Fluttershy is balanced well [as is Rainbow. This] isn’t an abysmal episode, even if it’s the weakest Daring Do episode without much thought [and there's Dubuc's] awful habit of writing stories that don’t fit in with those before she joined the show")
MLEEP Reviews – generally negative (rated 5/10; "a half-assed rehash of Season 7's "Daring Done" [...] the same tired lesson of 'there are two sides to every story' [...] ended up ruining the continuity of two of the best villains that we ever had during the Daring Do adventures [...] extremely average")
Present Perfect – rather negative ("Fluttershy working her epic kindness abilities [...] Redemption was maybe not something I ever wanted for Caballeron, but it fits with the show’s themes. [But] not only is redemption for [Ahuizotl] not something I, personally, wanted, it’s a bad idea. Or at least, it was mishandled to an extreme degree here [...] This is not a redemption story: this is a retcon.")
SuperPinkBrony12 – negative ("a little too much of a stretch to be believable [...] I don't really recall anyone wanting [Caballeron or Ahuizotl] to reform, so why did Nicole Dubuc decide to do it? [...] Daring Do is definitely in top form [but] Fluttershy comes across as an idiot for trusting [the villains], and reforming both villains feels like a huge contrivance to make her right. ")
The Railfan Brony – extremely negative (rated Atrocious; "Seriously, what this episode is telling me is that Dr. Caballeron, one of Daring Do's greatest archenemies, is misunderstood? [...] They even double down on that godawful twist by calling Ahuizotl misunderstood [...] The continuity overall with past episodes is just a mess [...] when the only character that's actually well written is Fluttershy [...] then you really have a problem.")
TheDragonWarlock – very negative (rated 2.5/10; "a pity that despite such a concept that sounded so promising, this episode dropped the ball. [...] seriously no way at all Fluttershy should be this gullible [...] writing is subpar for the most part [...] the action is pretty decent [but] the villains are given terrible redemptions, the plot itself is filled with holes, and the moral itself is botched.")
...once again there was quite a wide spread of views among the written-word reviewers. This time, however, the balance of opinion was tilted heavily towards the negative. The writing and continuity were widely criticised, as was the reformation of Caballeron and Ahuizotl, which a number of reviewers saw as forced. Fluttershy was mostly popular, but even here there were dissenting voices. My own verdict was middling, though part of my frustration was personal, in that I'd wanted a FS/RD adventure for years but didn't really get it.
Cuddlepug – quite positive (graded B-; "surprised me in all the right ways [...] One could argue that the episode is wrapped up a little too neatly by the end, but I think the solution of listening to both sides of the story during conflict is a valuable one")
Dark Qiviut – generally very positive ("During the entire expedition, [Fluttershy] stayed true to her embodied Element of Harmony [and] Daring Doubt is a shining example of giving Dash negative traits without making her out of character or miserable [but] Daring Doubt doesn't adequately explain why Ahuizotl acted so violent this whole time. [Even so,] rough edges aside, it's nicely done.")
DrakeyC – negative ("this episode was meh right up until the third act, when it got insultingly STUPID. [...] At least past Daring Do eps were watchable. This one is just a shitty redemption fic, how apt given its premise.")
Dramamaster829 – mildly positive ("This episode was about the search for truth. [... Fluttershy] made the effort to reach out to [Caballeron's party], offering a hoof in kindness [...] True fans are tired of the whole redemption shtick, that eventually there's going to be a chance to uncover two sides of a story only to realize that one half is truly that bad [though] I still consider it a fun episode.")
JDPrime22 – mostly positive (rated 8/10; "This was a fun episode. Not my favorite Daring Do adventure [...] but an enjoyable sendoff for Daring and her crew. ")
Louder Yay – slightly negative (rated 2/5; "an immensely frustrating episode, not short on fun little moments and nice visual design, but faring less well when it came to coherence and continuity [...] the first act was really rather fun [and] I enjoyed the way [Fluttershy] behaved on the expedition [but I disliked the] episode's cavalier disregard for continuity and, frankly, common sense in the resolution.")
Mike Cartoon Pony – slightly negative ("the cracks in its construction show far more then past Daring Do episodes [...] The action and adventuring [...] is decent, but merely competent when compared to examples of past episodes. [...] The more I unpack the episode’s plot, the more contrivances pop up [though] Fluttershy is balanced well [as is Rainbow. This] isn’t an abysmal episode, even if it’s the weakest Daring Do episode without much thought [and there's Dubuc's] awful habit of writing stories that don’t fit in with those before she joined the show")
MLEEP Reviews – generally negative (rated 5/10; "a half-assed rehash of Season 7's "Daring Done" [...] the same tired lesson of 'there are two sides to every story' [...] ended up ruining the continuity of two of the best villains that we ever had during the Daring Do adventures [...] extremely average")
Present Perfect – rather negative ("Fluttershy working her epic kindness abilities [...] Redemption was maybe not something I ever wanted for Caballeron, but it fits with the show’s themes. [But] not only is redemption for [Ahuizotl] not something I, personally, wanted, it’s a bad idea. Or at least, it was mishandled to an extreme degree here [...] This is not a redemption story: this is a retcon.")
SuperPinkBrony12 – negative ("a little too much of a stretch to be believable [...] I don't really recall anyone wanting [Caballeron or Ahuizotl] to reform, so why did Nicole Dubuc decide to do it? [...] Daring Do is definitely in top form [but] Fluttershy comes across as an idiot for trusting [the villains], and reforming both villains feels like a huge contrivance to make her right. ")
The Railfan Brony – extremely negative (rated Atrocious; "Seriously, what this episode is telling me is that Dr. Caballeron, one of Daring Do's greatest archenemies, is misunderstood? [...] They even double down on that godawful twist by calling Ahuizotl misunderstood [...] The continuity overall with past episodes is just a mess [...] when the only character that's actually well written is Fluttershy [...] then you really have a problem.")
TheDragonWarlock – very negative (rated 2.5/10; "a pity that despite such a concept that sounded so promising, this episode dropped the ball. [...] seriously no way at all Fluttershy should be this gullible [...] writing is subpar for the most part [...] the action is pretty decent [but] the villains are given terrible redemptions, the plot itself is filled with holes, and the moral itself is botched.")
Thursday, 26 September 2019
Interlude
The Text Review Roundup for "Daring Doubt" should be with you tomorrow, so here's a filler post in the meantime. As I mentioned the other day, I went off for a day of steam trains at the weekend, with a couple of friends from the Pony fandom. The weather was spectacular for the second half of September, and sunburn was more of a worry than rain. 'Twas a good day. Anyway, here are a couple of photos, one with a (slight) pony theme – which lets me get away without using the "non-pony" tag! – and one without.
Wednesday, 25 September 2019
Ponyfic Roundup 266
Read it Later story count: 238 (+2)
After a couple of weeks of feghoots, it's back to normal today with a small selection of stories culled from my Read it Later list. Though as you can see if your eyes have strayed to the line in bold above, I've also added a few fics to the queue and ended up with more there than I began with. Such are the trials of the ponyfic enthusiast. Just three reviews this time, and they're of:
Behind the Scenes by Bad Horse
Those Who Live Forever by Moose Mage
Moonstruck by Sharkrags
★: 1 | ★★: 1 | ★★★: 1 | ★★★★: 0 | ★★★★★: 0
After a couple of weeks of feghoots, it's back to normal today with a small selection of stories culled from my Read it Later list. Though as you can see if your eyes have strayed to the line in bold above, I've also added a few fics to the queue and ended up with more there than I began with. Such are the trials of the ponyfic enthusiast. Just three reviews this time, and they're of:
Behind the Scenes by Bad Horse
Those Who Live Forever by Moose Mage
Moonstruck by Sharkrags
★: 1 | ★★: 1 | ★★★: 1 | ★★★★: 0 | ★★★★★: 0
Monday, 23 September 2019
Episode review: S9E21: "Daring Doubt"
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| "The red one? Accounts. Now you know why I only have the one cloak" |
Friday, 20 September 2019
Text Review Roundup: "A Horse Shoe-In"
I'm off to look at (and ride on) steam trains again tomorrow, but before I go I'll let you have the TRR for last Saturday's episode. As happened last week, the text-based reviewers had a wide spread of opinions, although there were more in favour than against. Much of it seemed to depend on what each reviewer thought of StarTrix as a team. I was perhaps very slightly above average in my assessment.
Cuddlepug – positive (graded B; "another strong episode [and when Starlight tells Trixie the truth the] exchange is one of the most heated in the history of the show and makes you feel genuinely bad for Trixie .")
Dark Qiviut – very positive ("SG has (once again) a fantastic appearance [...] does a fantastic job reintroducing the Vice Headmare occupation without contradicting continuity [...] Ariel Shepherd-Oppenhein did a splendid job in her Pony debut and executed a very solid, very good episode")
DrakeyC – positive ("kind of a repeat of "What About Discord" with a dash of "All Bottled Up" [...] The final result is kinda obvious in hindsight, but only because it really is a perfect resolution to the story arcs of Starlight and her friends [...] dependant on how much tolerance you have for Trixie being Trixie. And I have a very high tolerance for that so I found this hilarious and fun.")
Dramamaster829 – positive ("While I did admit that going in I wasn't so sure how this episode would turn out, especially with a new writer on board, I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome we received. I'd say this would be considered a guilty pleasure episode for me especially for folks who can relate to the situation Starlight and Trixie are involved in.")
JDPrime22 – positive (rated 9/10; "This was fun. Starlight was insanely adorable. Trixie was obnoxious for a bit, but she came around after Starlight yelled at her. I really do love how we're getting some closing episodes before the grand finale.")
Louder Yay – positive (rated 4/5; "quite frankly [Ariel Shepherd-Oppenheim] did better than one or two much more experienced FiM writers have managed this season [...] Starlight certainly learned a friendship lesson – but this one was also a leadership lesson [and though] I simply couldn't believe that Trixie would be capable of the spell she cast to bring part of [Froggy Bottom Bogg] into the classroom [this was still] an entertaining and interesting episode")
Mike Cartoon Pony – positive ("one’s surface-level enjoyment for this episode is likely to be somewhat inversely proportional to how irritating they find Trixie here [...] Sheperd-Oppenhelm gets the universe of FiM really well, better then most current writers [...] a really well-thought out ending [...] Trixie being an irritable butt throughout is only a minor problem.")
MLEEP Reviews – mixed (rated 6.5/10; "great that the show staff are using as many of the classic and fan favorite characters [but] basically a lazy rehash of one of the sequences from Season 8's "A Matter Of Principals" [though] definitely a little better than 'Student Counsel'")
Present Perfect – positive ("The Terrible and Incompetent Trixie is 257% amazing and can carry any episode she’s in all by herself. [...] this was maybe not an all-time, top-tier, 100% amazing classic episode, but it was really fun [though] we’re getting our first actual hints of “This is the Starlight and Friends Twenty-Two Minute Drama Hour now”, which much of the fandom has been afraid of since season six")
SuperPinkBrony12 – very negative ("basically a rehash of "All Bottled Up" and "A Matter of Principals", a bad mix that sees Trixie sink to a new low she is unlikely to recover from! [...] if this is the last we ever see of the school until then, it's not a good end note at all!")
The Railfan Brony – extremely negative (rated Terrible; "a huge problem with Starlight/Trixie episodes [is that b]oth ponies bring out the worst in each other post-redemption. [...] I almost feel like there was no thought was put into [the ending] whatsoever [...] Rehashed story elements, fanservice for the sake of fanservice, and apathy towards potentially toxic implications down the road.")
TheDragonWarlock – fairly positive (rated 7.5/10; "for Starlight's final episode of the series, it's certainly a pretty good way to send her off. Starlight is handled well, the minor characters are fun, and brings some closure to Starlight as she begins her new career [though] Trixie ultimately is living proof of one thing; with friends like you, who needs enemies?")
Cuddlepug – positive (graded B; "another strong episode [and when Starlight tells Trixie the truth the] exchange is one of the most heated in the history of the show and makes you feel genuinely bad for Trixie .")
Dark Qiviut – very positive ("SG has (once again) a fantastic appearance [...] does a fantastic job reintroducing the Vice Headmare occupation without contradicting continuity [...] Ariel Shepherd-Oppenhein did a splendid job in her Pony debut and executed a very solid, very good episode")
DrakeyC – positive ("kind of a repeat of "What About Discord" with a dash of "All Bottled Up" [...] The final result is kinda obvious in hindsight, but only because it really is a perfect resolution to the story arcs of Starlight and her friends [...] dependant on how much tolerance you have for Trixie being Trixie. And I have a very high tolerance for that so I found this hilarious and fun.")
Dramamaster829 – positive ("While I did admit that going in I wasn't so sure how this episode would turn out, especially with a new writer on board, I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome we received. I'd say this would be considered a guilty pleasure episode for me especially for folks who can relate to the situation Starlight and Trixie are involved in.")
JDPrime22 – positive (rated 9/10; "This was fun. Starlight was insanely adorable. Trixie was obnoxious for a bit, but she came around after Starlight yelled at her. I really do love how we're getting some closing episodes before the grand finale.")
Louder Yay – positive (rated 4/5; "quite frankly [Ariel Shepherd-Oppenheim] did better than one or two much more experienced FiM writers have managed this season [...] Starlight certainly learned a friendship lesson – but this one was also a leadership lesson [and though] I simply couldn't believe that Trixie would be capable of the spell she cast to bring part of [Froggy Bottom Bogg] into the classroom [this was still] an entertaining and interesting episode")
Mike Cartoon Pony – positive ("one’s surface-level enjoyment for this episode is likely to be somewhat inversely proportional to how irritating they find Trixie here [...] Sheperd-Oppenhelm gets the universe of FiM really well, better then most current writers [...] a really well-thought out ending [...] Trixie being an irritable butt throughout is only a minor problem.")
MLEEP Reviews – mixed (rated 6.5/10; "great that the show staff are using as many of the classic and fan favorite characters [but] basically a lazy rehash of one of the sequences from Season 8's "A Matter Of Principals" [though] definitely a little better than 'Student Counsel'")
Present Perfect – positive ("The Terrible and Incompetent Trixie is 257% amazing and can carry any episode she’s in all by herself. [...] this was maybe not an all-time, top-tier, 100% amazing classic episode, but it was really fun [though] we’re getting our first actual hints of “This is the Starlight and Friends Twenty-Two Minute Drama Hour now”, which much of the fandom has been afraid of since season six")
SuperPinkBrony12 – very negative ("basically a rehash of "All Bottled Up" and "A Matter of Principals", a bad mix that sees Trixie sink to a new low she is unlikely to recover from! [...] if this is the last we ever see of the school until then, it's not a good end note at all!")
The Railfan Brony – extremely negative (rated Terrible; "a huge problem with Starlight/Trixie episodes [is that b]oth ponies bring out the worst in each other post-redemption. [...] I almost feel like there was no thought was put into [the ending] whatsoever [...] Rehashed story elements, fanservice for the sake of fanservice, and apathy towards potentially toxic implications down the road.")
TheDragonWarlock – fairly positive (rated 7.5/10; "for Starlight's final episode of the series, it's certainly a pretty good way to send her off. Starlight is handled well, the minor characters are fun, and brings some closure to Starlight as she begins her new career [though] Trixie ultimately is living proof of one thing; with friends like you, who needs enemies?")
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