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S4E21: "Testing Testing 1, 2, 3"
Written by Amy Keating Rogers
5 Apr 2014
My original rating: 9/10 (=★★★★★)
IMDb score: 8.5
Thoughts: I loved this episode the first time around, and I still love it now. Amy Keating Rogers comes up with another of her specials here, and it's wonderful. It looks fantastic, the dialogue is in another league from "Leap of Faith", it's funny, it's emotional, there's a very solid moral for both principal characters and we even get some backstory. Oh, and Fluttershy is an alicorn. Ish. If you want to quibble a bit, the early exposition about the Wonderbolts Reserves is slightly wordy, but aside from that there's almost nothing to take away from the sheer enjoyment I had while rewatching it. As with "The Cutie Mark Chronicles" way back in S1, this ep fills 22 minutes to the absolute brim without it feeling hurried – all the Mane Six, the CMC and the pets get something to do here. There's time for some side set pieces (the Rainbow/Twi argument and Fluttershy's intervention) and of course there's Pinkie's rap. I can't remember whether that was controversial at the time, but I adore it now at any rate. (The nod to an ancient anti-piracy ad was amusing, too.) On top of all that? This is an episode which could only really be set in S4, because it needs Twilight to be an alicorn but for her not to be a perfect flyer. I'll stop gushing about this episode now. But yeah, it's keeping its five stars.
Choice quote: Rainbow Dash: "Aah! Pinkie, you're real!"
New rating: ★★★★★
Next up is "Trade Ya!", which I remember liking rather a lot, perhaps slightly more than the fandom as a whole does. I hope it stays that way.
The nice thing I've found about Season 4 is that it has the fewest amount of episodes that I wouldn't give at least at least a passing grade to (just the one, "Daring Don't" - let's hope it stays that way!). Even fewer than Seasons 1 & 2, which are better on the whole - they do actually have a few duds. The tradeoff is that, as I've worked my way through it, the opposite has also proven true - there are very few stellar episodes this season either. Almost everything is either decent, good or really good, possibly great.
ReplyDeleteThat is all a roundabout way of leading up to the fact that "Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3" is one such stellar episode. The writing is so stress-free that it just breathes freely in the way of the best S1/2 episodes, and never feels overlaboured in a way that drags the proceedings down. You barely even notice that some of the Wonderbolts' lore is a little sketchy (um, an aerial group with an admiral? It's not a navy…).
Recapping this episode runs the danger of turning into a laundry lists of all the great moments, lines and gags, which is plain to read, so let me instead divert attention to how wonderful a pairing Twilight and Rainbow Dash are (no, not that way…). They just have great comic chemistry and are both in top form throughout - Dash's stress is relatable and real in a way that allows us to forgive her lax attitude for most of the episode. But Twilight is the real star, as this is really her episode - that's another way this put me in mind of a Season 1 episode, where she's brought into the proceedings ahead of the 'lead' pony, and given the lesson - except here it's done organically, and she is the one who's learning. Plus, seeing her do something as simple as teaching, and geeking out, and so on, it's easily the best flash of old more-fun-to-watch unicorn Twilight this season by a wide margin (weakened marginally by her distracting alicorn body proportions, but I won't dwell there, it's old news after all. Also by her teleporting itch, but it keeps the lengthy dialogue sections visually lively, so fair is fair).
The study attempts of all the other ponies are pure gold, and seeing the beautiful camaraderie of Ponyville in action at the end truly warms this ghost's spectral heart. The pacing of this episode is magnificent, echoing "The Cutie Mark Chronicles" in cramming a lot in but never feeling rushed. For that we have Amy Keating Rogers to take, easily the FiM writer with the best sense of pacing on the page - as mentioned in the Production Notes, she keeps her scripts on the shorter side, instinctively knowing how much will fit and how long or short scenes should be - it's much easier to manage an episode's pacing when it requires fewer cuts.
Anything negative? The moral comes across a little cartoony by giving Rainbow 100% (should have just been a gold star, as it was in the script), making it seems like she retains everything in long-term memory like a computer. Other than some sketchy Wonderbolts' lore, the rest is just minor personal quibbles. I don't even mind the concept of the Wonderbolts Reserves coming out of nowhere - unlike the sibling retcons of Shining Armor or Maud, this is plausible as something that wouldn't have been mentioned before (plus, doesn't some pony say it's a new addition anyway?).
This episode isn't the absolute top tier, but it's a worthwhile addition to the next tier down, and one that's just plain fun and delightful to watch from beginning to end. For Friendship Is Magic, sometimes, there can be no greater goal.
"her distracting alicorn body proportions"
DeleteAnd even that the episode managed to make a joke out of!
And even that the episode managed to make a joke out of!
DeleteFunny thing is, I don't think that's how the joke was meant to be read! Straight from the script (except for reformatting for this comment:
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Twilight looks at the first page and it’s COMPLETELY highlighted. Twilight looks confused.
TWILIGHT: By highlighting everything, you don’t really separate the wheat...
She turns the page and it’s completely highlighted as well.
TWILIGHT (CONT’D): ...from the chaff...
Rainbow looks nervous as Twilight turns the next page. There is a drawing of Rainbow in an awesome flying pose.
TWILIGHT (CONT’D): Or the good...
She turns the page and it’s a drawing of Twilight looking “teacherly” standing extra tall with her mouth wide open.
TWILIGHT (CONT’D): From the bad.
Twilight looks offended and stands extra tall as she yells.
TWILIGHT (CONT’D): Hey! I am NOT THAT TALL!!!!
Rainbow’s eyes grow wide and she hides a smirk as looks at Twilight and then at her picture. The two are quite similar.
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So I think it was originally a joke about the contrast between Rainbow Dash drawn as flying awesome and Twilight being drawn as a nagging teacher - the action description of Twilight standing extra tall, and giving us a second glance at the similarity, supports this.
Because Twilight doesn't stand especially taller at all while remarking on the drawing (sometimes this happens, actions are revised due to not suiting the Flash models well), the original meaning of the joke was diluted. I don't know if the board artists, animators or director consciously intended it to be a jab at her elongated alicorn neck and legs, but I'm pretty sure almost every viewer has interpreted it that way!
Just some fun side info! This sort of thing, a joke or plot point getting tweaked slightly due to how its boarded, is so commonplace I rarely comment on it. Board artists are supposed to do that, after all - a script is a blueprint, and FiM scripts tend to be light on non-essential action description, so they can go to town (all instances of Twilight teleporting in this episode, for instance, weren't in the script). M.A. Larson once said in an interview (paraphrasing) that he'd never go as specific as specifying camera angles, like of Twilight gazing sadly into a pool of water, that it was from behind her, or anything like that (this is probably a jab at live-action writers that write an animation script like a live-action shooting script, to their colleagues' frustration). Only when a viewpoint is crucial to a moment should such a thing be specified.
“Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3” - Production Changes
ReplyDeletePREMISE
Back to simple territory here! Not only did Amy Keating Rogers write this from the start, it's quite detailed and super-accurate. Only two differences - Dash starts the episode out feeling the test is ridiculous, only for Twilight to argue as to why it's important before hitting on the study idea (this was moved to later in the episode). Episode also ends on the journal entry, rather then it narrating over Dash's test.
Amazingly, the Premise has many specific details already, like all the ponies' study methods, down to Applejack having nothing but picking up the History of Apples over the years.
OUTLINE
The Premise being as accurate as it was is unusual but not unheard of. However, no Outline has ever been this accurate right out of the gate. The differences can be counted on one hoof - the Highlighting study method comes after the History Lecture rather then before, and Twilight very much notices the stool squeaking from the start (the script likens Dash's squeaking being tunes vaguely like the theme from 'Bridge on the River Kwai'). Twilight also gets hit in the forehead by the spit was. Finally, Dash ends her thanks for her friends helping her later by asking if they can help with another round, and the final test scene ends on Dash doing it confidently, leaving the final result unconfirmed.
To confirm, given all the above are tiny, minuscule differences, it bears repeating how scarily accurate this is already. Amy Keating Rogers and Meghan McCarthy landed on this episode hard and fast, right from the start.
SCRIPT
The first script has far less different-but-functionally-identical dialogue that requires later changes then usual - this feels like a Locked Polish script already. As the first script is almost two pages longer than the rest, some bits were cut by the second draft.
Notable bits include, after the titles, Dash's nap on a pile of books interrupted by Twilight pulling out one book, tossing it aside ("The Abridged History, inaccurate, too much fluff", "Explains why it felt like pillow") before Twilight finds the large history book. The pet play went on a little longer, and Applejack's History of Apples mentioned that Pink Ladies were apple seeds originally found on Pinkie's family rock farm (two other bits survived to the final script). Twilight explaining her method to Rainbow included her referring to Dash foiling her sneak attempt in the opening. Finally, the CMC and Big Mac's part in helping Dash is said by the characters twice, for clarity.
It is super weird, to see this many little trims (and less consequential ones I didn't mention) between scripts. After "Pinkie Pride" kept its script to 28 pages to account for the forthcoming song adjustments, one thing is clear - Amy Keating Rogers is very good at judging timing on the page. That's not a skill one just picks up - her nearly two decades of animated writing earned her that.
Otherwise, the second draft adjust a couple of visuals descriptions and alters the few lines that didn't match the final episode. Standard stuff! The Polish script adds Dash's ribbing that Twilight can barely get off the ground with her experience, with no other edits, while the Locked Polish has no edits at all. This is possibly the least edited script.
[continued below]
[continued from above]
DeleteANIMATIC & OTHER CHANGES
Even though the final script was only 31.25 pages, the episode is dialogue heavy and formed of many quick-fire short lines (all those question-and-answer sessions!) that take up less time than is apparent on the page. So, very, very few cuts were required. The cuts and visual adjustments of note are as follows - and I was scraping the bottom of the barrel to even document these:
* Rainbow Dash says Twilight is the Queen of the Freak Out when Twilight denies getting “all freaked out about tests”.
* Dash’s whoopee cushion gag was originally her discovering the floorboard where she landed after Twilight took her stool was squeaky.
* Spike introduced Fluttershy’s play verbally.
* Pinkie originally rapped in person, gaining her rap attire from flipping around and it appearing from nowhere - the grainy music video was a storyboard conceit.
* Applejack lists two facts from the History of Apples (“Like how the Gala Apples originated at the first Grand Galloping Gala. And the biggest apples ever seen were in Manehattan”).
* When Rainbow Dash lands and thanks her friends, Twilight says she learns subliminally, to which Dash says she just had a ton of history shoves into her head, and can Twilight please use easy words.
* Twilight’s narrated journal entry originally went over all of the last scene of Rainbow’s test - the speech was shortened to allow for a visual moment of tension at Dash’s result (also, the Gold Star was not specified to say 100% either, and the examiner was a mare).
* All group teleports by Twilight were added in storyboard, likely to prevent lengthy static talking, a death toll in animation. Scenes were also often switched up as to whether then were inside or outside the library. And several other neat visual additions throughout.
Animatic feedback wasn’t short as you might expect - mostly it centred around wanting explanations for visual gags or gestures that DHX assured Hasbro will play more obviously when animated and with music and sound effects. Though a few visual adjustments were correct ones from Hasbro’s end. There was some concern on Hasbro’s end that the repeated use of “Rainbow” sounded weird, and though DHX said they’d look into it, clearly nothing was done there (for the record, it does sound weird, but I did get used to it on the rewatch). Hilariously, the board artist tried to squeeze in a Top Gun reference (Twilight floating a volleyball in the background) - DHX didn’t get it but left it in to see if anyone else would without prompt. They axed it after Hasbro’s confusion. Finally, Standard and Practises cautioned that the helicopter pony should always have a seatbelt on.
For the first time, feedback notes specifically from Meghan McCarthy are present - the only noteworthy thing here is swapping a whopper cushion for a rubber airhorn/trumpet thing.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
From "Leap of Faith" being one of the most overhauled episodes, here we have a top candidate for the least edited this season, with the Premise and Outline being 95+% accurate, and the first script being much lighter on different-but-functionally-identical dialogue then usual. Were it not for Rogers shortening her script by two pages for pacing herself, rather then leaving it to DHX, we'd have precious little to talk about. It's truly worthy of praise, how smoothly and efficiently Rogers and McCarthy nailed this one out of the gate.
Spike's one line getting cut again does irk me (thanks to the episode credits, we know Cathy Wesluck did record still). But what else is new? Many an overlong Season 4 script has cut most or all of his material for time (not to look forward too much… but "Trade Ya!" is an especially guilty party here).
I remember when this episode came out, I thought it was extremely boring on account of the two (two!) long sequences that are just two characters flying at the camera and talking, or not talking, about what's going on. Just like with the world-building episodes of season 2, something is lost here amidst all the interesting details.
ReplyDeleteI've since warmed on it, appreciating the setup and moral for what they are, but five stars? I wouldn't give this more than a high 3.
I think the bigger problem is that Rainbow's kind of bad in this. She's passive. Everything's done to or for her. Even though she's the focus of the episode, Twilight does most of the work.
DeleteAnd Rainbow comes off as too unsympathetic early on in her smug misbehaving stage, especially when she finally clocks on that this is a big and immediately starts blaming Twilight for her own bad behavior.
High three is about right, though. Everything else's great in this, especially Twilight.
I was pretty sure before the rewatch that I'd be downgrading this to a four. But no, I adored it. Yes, even Rainbow being a bit of a jerk. I couldn't really tell you why I give her a pass for that here but not in some other episodes, but that's how it is.
DeleteFor me? This is a five. Really.
@Present Perfect It's funny you mention being stone bored by the two scenes of Twilight and Rainbow flying and talking, because that second flying scene, with all the painful small talk (no joke, the script uses that exact phrase), was a point of contention for Hasbro. Rather than summarise what was said, as I usually do, I'll just show the primary source.
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HASBRO: We're on TS & RD just flying through clouds for quite a while. Any way we could vary up the staging/environment without giving away the reveal that they've been teaching her the whole time (maybe using some up angles could help)? Might be that RD just needs some more nuance to her performance. Like at 18:10 when she's talking about the different jobs she could take.
DIRECTOR: Once we move in to layout, we’ll add some more acting poses to go with the dialogue and adjust these backgrounds so they aren’t all simply shots of sky and clouds. We’ll have them flying over treetops in some shots, and roofs of Ponyville visible in the distance. I think you’ll be pleased once you see the final result.
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In the eye of the beholder as to whether that alleviated the issue, of course. Clearly it didn't for you, though it sounds like your issue was more with the writing than the visual staging. Me, I'll admit it is the one part of the episode that is wading through to get back to the good stuff (trimming it a bit and putting back in Applejack's two examples on The History of Apples would have been swell), but there's little way it can progress without it or something similar.
@Logan I'm probably mildly less infatuated than yourself, this episode would be a high four for me. My initial comment was ever-so-slightly overdone. But I still stand by my points there - I do honestly find this to be a wonderful episode. Or, as Pinkie Pie might say:
"The Testing episode's the real cream of the crop
For with its wicked writing this one soared to the top!"
Visuals were definitely also an issue. If there could have been any way to avoid having both take place in essentially the same stretch of sky, it might have been less tedious.
DeleteI never though this one was more than middling, but not because it's average from start to finish, more because it has pretty extreme high and low points that balance out.
ReplyDeleteI loved Rarity's hate-filled stare that you've made the cover art. I like the overall theme that different people learn in different ways, and just because one doesn't work for you, that doesn't mean something's wrong with you. I liked the way a lot of the learning methods felt very appropriate to the ponies espousing them. I loved the EUP/Eeyup joke.
On the bad side... Dash being a jerk can be okay in some cases, but I agree with PP here that as soon as she realizes her cockiness isn't getting her anywhere, she starts blaming everyone. Pinkie's also the standout in a learning method that doesn't fit. Sure, music can work, but inasmuch as it's a musical show, they all sing, so that's not unique to her. Unless it being an unusual music style for the show fits that the writers think slapping "lolrandom" on screen counts as characterization for her. Also agreed with anon that the entire episode is passive with regard to the focus character. It got repetitive that each pony's attempt to teach mostly covered the same information. Plus after the first couple of them, it became obvious that it would just cycle through them all, meaning half the show was spent just waiting for it to go through its paces.
It's got enough variety to keep it interesting, which makes it one to stand up on rewatch relatively well, but it feels barely above average to me.
That Rarity stare is one of my favourite single shots in the entire show. I knew it was coming, of course, and it still cracked me up so much I had to pause the video.
DeleteOverall, I think this may be an episode I simply watch for sheer enjoyment, without bothering too much about construction. I think Mike is the only commenter here who even approaches my love for this episode, but so be it.
Plus after the first couple of them, it became obvious that it would just cycle through them all
The same was true of "The Cutie Mark Chronicles", the episode I said this reminded me of in some ways. I gave that a five, too. I just don't think I mind that type of predictability in itself.
At least with "Cutie Mark Chronicles," you'd still get a different story with each of them that you wouldn't have necessarily expected beforehand. Here, it's only new insofar as the educational method is new, but you see that right up front, and the the rest of their segment is just rehashing more Wonderbolts lore.
DeleteIf it helps any, you and Mike aren't alone, I've always thought highly of this episode. I have no episode rating system of my own, but I'd probably give it a 4/5.
ReplyDeleteIt's only just a five for me. I'd certainly put it below "Hurricane Fluttershy" (surprised? :P ) and the like. I thought about a high four, but I just liked it too much in the end!
DeleteI'll have to re-watch this one to see how it feels to me. Just remembering the beats makes it a 3/5 for me, but how it's done can really make a difference. I do remember being annoyed at how RD constantly complained and refused to cooperate with everything her friends were trying to do for her, though.
ReplyDeleteI can't really give a sensible explanation for why Rainbow being a bit of a pain here doesn't bother me, since her doing that quite often does. But then I'm not sensible anyway, so that fits! :D
DeleteSensible is boring!
DeleteI just re-watched this on, and I'm going to have to up my rating to 4/5. Yeah, RD isn't as annoying as I remembered, and there are so many wonderful animation bits.
Twilight is still awkward with her flying, and even has trouble standing on a cloud without sinking in!
*one*
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