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My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic Season 4 |OT| Twilight Princess Returns

UberTag

Member
Preview clips are now up for 'Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3' from writer Amy Keating Rogers (who brought us two of Season 4's big musical efforts in Pinkie Pride and Filli Vanilli)...

Clip #1
Clip #2 (I LOVE this clip - more airtime from Twi than we've seen thus far and Fluttershy playing peacemaker)
Clip #3 (rapping Pinkie Pie - this is almost worth not spoiling until you see the actual ep)
 

DrForester

Kills Photobucket
It's pretty clear by now these "shorts" are clips from the actual movie and not something extra they made.

Except for Meghan calling them shorts and not clips....

85CXpZN.png
 

DrForester

Kills Photobucket
Give me a break...

Twilight's Kingdom - Part 1
05/10/2014
Princess Celestia chooses Discord over Princess Twilight to help track down a villain.

Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2
05/10/2014
The other princesses transfer all of their magical power to Twilight in hopes of saving Equestria.

Remember when they did that one finale/premier episode that wasn't about Twilight saving the day.

And that Comics can do things with Celestia other than have her just be there Meghan, get it through your head!
 

brian577

Banned
Give me a break...



Remember when they did that one finale/premier episode that wasn't about Twilight saving the day.

And that Comics can do things with Celestia other than have her just be there Meghan, get it through your head!

So screw her friends, screw Celestia and Screw Luna. Princess Twilight will save us all! I guess getting rid of the elements was just the crews way of further centering the show around Twilight
 

UberTag

Member
Can't wait to see all of the rainbow doodads in action.

Hope Season 4 ends on a cliffhanger where Twilight FAILS to save Equestria. And her & her friends get imprisoned.
Twilight gives a meaningless speech at the end a la Rick Grimes in The Walking Dead that comes off as empty seeing how her and her friends are all locked up.

Season 5 premiere should focus on the rainbow doodad gift givers teaming up to save the Mane 6.
Spitfire stops being a jerk.
Rainbow doodads get super-charged.
Twilight then saves the day.
Ponies break out into a YES YES YES chant a la Daniel Bryan.

The rest of Season 5 is a slice-of-life show starring Celestia to make DrForester happy.
Other ponies show up occasionally sporting their new rainbow looks so Hasbro can sell toys.
 

DrForester

Kills Photobucket
Can't wait to see all of the rainbow doodads in action.

Hope Season 4 ends on a cliffhanger where Twilight FAILS to save Equestria. And her & her friends get imprisoned.
Twilight gives a meaningless speech at the end a la Rick Grimes in The Walking Dead that comes off as empty seeing how her and her friends are all locked up.

Season 5 premiere should focus on the rainbow doodad gift givers teaming up to save the Mane 6.
Spitfire stops being a jerk.
Rainbow doodads get super-charged.
Twilight then saves the day.
Ponies break out into a YES YES YES chant a la Daniel Bryan.

The rest of Season 5 is a slice-of-life show starring Celestia to make DrForester happy.
Other ponies show up occasionally sporting their new rainbow looks so Hasbro can sell toys.

I know that Celestia is not the main character. But after a season that saw an episode about Cadance and yet another episode with Luna, it would be nice for Celestia to get at least one prominent episode after the show has been on for 4 seasons. Said it before, but I am convinced Meghan doesn't care for the character and doesn't want any stories on her. When Lauren was in charge Celestia showed up occasionally throughout S1 and S2.
 

UberTag

Member
You could always tweet Meghan and ask her directly.
Celestia is at least getting season finale & premiere love consistently... even if she's not getting lesson letters on a regular basis.
I'm sure Spike's grateful.
 

DrForester

Kills Photobucket
You could always tweet Meghan and ask her directly.
Celestia is at least getting season finale & premiere love consistently... even if she's not getting lesson letters on a regular basis.
I'm sure Spike's grateful.

I have sent a tweet before, but Meghan doesn't respond to many tweets and more just advertises the show.
 

UberTag

Member
Season 4 has been great better than season 3 and up to par with season 2, it's just when Meghan writes she tends to focus on how awesome Twilight is.
Gotta Mary Sue her up as much as possible. And, to be fair, Twilight's been practically an afterthought in episodes for most of this season. Pretty much window dressing apart from the Cadence/Discord ep. Even the CMC ep where the kids were fangirling over her, Twi wasn't doing much apart from that awesome burger shop scene.
 

PaulloDEC

Member
I've actually kinda missed Twi this season, feels like we haven't seen much of her (not sure if that's actually at all true). Synopsis sounds neat.

It felt more like Tenacious D than Scott Pilgrim to me.

...maybe not, but that's the only movie I can think of that involves super powered rock battles.

I've not seen much of Tenacious D's stuff, but that guitar battle was pretty much a direct lift from the Scott Pilgrim movie. Not to criticise, just sayin'.
 

$200

Banned
S4E25: Twilight's Kingdom - Part 1
Air Date: May 10th
Synopsis:
Princess Celestia chooses Discord over Princess Twilight to help track down a villain.

S4E26: Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2
Air Date: May 10th
Synopsis:
The other princesses transfer all of their magical power to Twilight in hopes of saving Equestria.
 

draetenth

Member
I find it really weird that I never had a problem with DBZ and Sailor Moon having heroes that were only ones who could save the day, yet I can't bring myself to accept/like Princess Twilight.

Twilight's Kingdom Part 1 does sound interesting, but I'm not sure I like Part 2 at this moment. I have a little more faith in this finale since S4 > S3, but I'm still worried about it.
 
Yeah, Part 2 bothers me.
Why Twilight Sparkle and not Celestia and Luna, who are, you know, more experienced at this sort of thing?
 

DrForester

Kills Photobucket
Rainbow Dash episode best episode of the season?

Rainbow Dash Episode was best episode of the season! Even with that horrible rap, everything else was excellent.
 

draetenth

Member
Rainbow Dash episode best episode of the season?

Rainbow Dash Episode was best episode of the season! Even with that horrible rap, everything else was excellent.

Yeah, I really liked this episode. I thought RD and Twilight had some great interactions.

Yeah the rap was bad (
but still better than the song last week :p
).
 

Tenumi

Banned
I really enjoyed this week's episode, felt it was probably one of the best of the season. I don't know, for some reason main character conflict really worked this episode.
 

UberTag

Member
Excellent episode today. I'd be hard-pressed to think of a Rainbow Dash-focused episode I've enjoyed more... although Season 2's May the Best Pet Win still boasts the best song.
 

PaulloDEC

Member
Wow, one of the biggest surprises of the season for sure! Between the leaked Pinkie Rap stuff and the synopsis putting the emphasis on the Wonderbolts for the umpteenth time, I didn't have high hopes for this story at all.

What a pleasant surprise it turned out to be! And an episode about learning in a kid's show that wasn't dreadfully preachy and on-the-nose? It's good to have Amy Keating-Rogers back, that's for sure.

Lots of non-redundant Twilight?
An episode for Dash that doesn't retread old ground?
Pinkie being Pinkie without being random for its own sake?
Celestia as portrayed by both Angel and Fluttershy?
Dash's hilarious chair-dance?

God-damned excellent episode.

A good Rainbow Dash episode! And the part where the made fun of Twilight's height made me lol irl.

Ha, I hadn't thought of that as an Alicorn joke. I like it even more now!

Rainbow Dash episode best episode of the season?

Rainbow Dash Episode was best episode of the season! Even with that horrible rap, everything else was excellent.

I actually kinda liked the rap (even if I couldn't make out a lot of the lyrics). If they'd tried to make it an up-to-date bit it would've been the stuff of nightmares, but having it be a throwback to the late 80s/early 90s worked well IMO.
 

Village

Member
Wow, one of the biggest surprises of the season for sure! Between the leaked Pinkie Rap stuff and the synopsis putting the emphasis on the Wonderbolts for the umpteenth time, I didn't have high hopes for this story at all.

What a pleasant surprise it turned out to be! And an episode about learning in a kid's show that wasn't dreadfully preachy and on-the-nose? It's good to have Amy Keating-Rogers back, that's for sure.

Lots of non-redundant Twilight?
An episode for Dash that doesn't retread old ground?
Pinkie being Pinkie without being random for its own sake?
Celestia as portrayed by both Angel and Fluttershy?
Dash's hilarious chair-dance?

God-damned excellent episode.



Ha, I hadn't thought of that as an Alicorn joke. I like it even more now!



I actually kinda liked the rap (even if I couldn't make out a lot of the lyrics). If they'd tried to make it an up-to-date bit it would've been the stuff of nightmares, but having it be a throwback to the late 80s/early 90s worked well IMO.

Why?

That shit would been hilarious. The mere concept is making me loose my shit as I type.
 

Silvawuff

Member
Everything about today's episode felt like a proper homage to the magic of the first season. It did everything right; it had several laugh-out-loud moments, fantastic characterization and use of characters, great pacing, and a nice chunk of lore to top it all off. There was literally nothing I didn't like about this episode. 10/10, will watch again.
 

PaulloDEC

Member
Why?

That shit would been hilarious. The mere concept is making me lose my shit as I type.

Ick. I can't really think of a time where movies or TV have tried to imitate hip-hop culture and it hasn't come off as hopelessly out-of-touch. It's like hearing your dad using present-day slang.
 

Village

Member
Ick. I can't really think of a time where movies or TV have tried to imitate hip-hop culture and it hasn't come off as hopelessly out-of-touch. It's like hearing your dad using present-day slang.

I can think of several, cartoons in fact too.
Hell regular show had tyler the creator on battle rapping the protagonists.

all you gotta do is try man.

Also it being dumb would kind of be the entire premise of the joke.

Edit: You wanna know whats hopelessly out of touch, making an 80's hip hop joke. " I don't under the rap hops, so lets do a flavor fav ". Not saying what was done was bad , just saying all things considered. Them having to resort to the 80's showed that they were more out of touch than if they would have attempted. In the day an age where Tyler the creater is on regular show, adventure time is having weird ass rap battles, and something like the lonley island can even exist be popular not only making funny rap songs but actually satirizing the tropes and processes of modern rap music . There are enough people out there that are listening can satirize rap, just you investigate look things up try, talk to people. " hey make this modern and funny. Not saying it was bad, I am just saying the more I think on the more lazy that whole entire thing seems.
 

PaulloDEC

Member
I can think of several, cartoons in fact too.
Hell regular show had tyler the creator on battle rapping the protagonists.

all you gotta do is try man.

Also it being dumb would kind of be the entire premise of the joke.

Fair enough. Not saying it can't be done well, just that I've seen it done poorly enough times to immediately dread it whenever it crops up.

Edit: You wanna know whats hopelessly out of touch, making an 80's hip hop joke. " I don't under the rap hops, so lets do a flavor fav ". Not saying what was done was bad , just saying all things considered. Them having to resort to the 80's showed that they were more out of touch than if they would have attempted. In the day an age where Tyler the creater is on regular show, adventure time is having weird ass rap battles, and something like the lonley island can even exist be popular not only making funny rap songs but actually satirizing the tropes and processes of modern rap music . There are enough people out there that are listening can satirize rap, just you investigate look things up try, talk to people. " hey make this modern and funny. Not saying it was bad, I am just saying the more I think on the more lazy that whole entire thing seems.

Being out-of-touch isn't the issue though; there's nothing inherently wrong with being out-of-touch. I'm already out-of-touch with what young people are into, and I'm only 26.

The trouble for me is when people who are out-of-touch try to act like they're not, as in many instances of youth culture references in film and TV. In that sense, choosing an already outdated era to evoke with Pinkie's rap was exactly the right thing to do. Being deliberately anachronistic becomes part of the joke and neatly sidesteps the chance of appearing try-hard to a savvy audience.

As a footnote, I think it's fair to say that the writing/producing staff behind shows like Adventure Time and Regular show are probably both younger and more in-touch with youth culture simply by virtue of those groups being closer to their target audience. Could be wrong, happy to be proven so.


Woah, now that's an obscure reference. Well played, DHX.
 

Village

Member
Fair enough. Not saying it can't be done well, just that I've seen it done poorly enough times to immediately dread it whenever it crops up.



Being out-of-touch isn't the issue though; there's nothing inherently wrong with being out-of-touch. I'm already out-of-touch with what young people are into, and I'm only 26.

The trouble for me is when people who are out-of-touch try to act like they're not, as in many instances of youth culture references in film and TV. In that sense, choosing an already outdated era to evoke with Pinkie's rap was exactly the right thing to do. Being deliberately anachronistic becomes part of the joke and neatly sidesteps the chance of appearing try-hard to a savvy audience.
I woudn't call it right. I would call it rather safe and lazy . I don't know I would appreciate some one trying a thing, that resorting to that tired joke. Its like cartoons referencing donkey kong/Street fighter 2/ insert other old game here . A lot of your target audience has no idea what this is or have never played OG DK , and the person you expect to get this is tired of this joke because everyone makes that joke.

As a footnote, I think it's fair to say that the writing/producing staff behind shows like Adventure Time and Regular show are probably both younger and more in-touch with youth culture simply by virtue of those groups being closer to their target audience. Could be wrong, happy to be proven so..
Isn't the primary target for this show , youth?
And as far as the production staff goes, you know what you could always do. Investigate and try to find someone who could write a good version of a satirical non 80's rap sketch.

Also what is the MLP writing staff looking like anyway?

Usually if a joke failed I would just leave it be. This one is just disappointing.
 

PaulloDEC

Member
I woudn't call it right. I would call it rather safe and lazy . I don't know I would appreciate some one trying a thing, that resorting to that tired joke. Its like cartoons referencing donkey kong/Street fighter 2/ insert other old game here . A lot of your target audience has no idea what this is or have never played OG DK , and the person you expect to get this is tired of this joke because everyone makes that joke.

I see that as writers working within their sphere of knowledge. I'd prefer they do that than to overreach in an attempt to be more contemporary, but that's just me.

Isn't the primary target for this show , youth?
And as far as the production staff goes, you know what you could always do. Investigate and try to find someone who could write a good version of a satirical non 80's rap sketch.

I'd say the primary audience of MLP is significantly younger than that of Adventure Time or Regular Show. And sure, they could go looking for someone to help with a more contemporary hip-hop reference, but all that effort for a fairly small portion of the episode? Might not be worth the trouble if you're working to a deadline.

Also what is the MLP writing staff looking like anyway?

Usually if a joke failed I would just leave it be. This one is just disappointing.

I get the impression the writing team on MLP are probably a little older than that of more teen-oriented shows like Adventure Time or Regular Show. I can't cite any particular source on that, just the impression I've gotten from things I've seen and read.

I think we can agree to disagree on this, anyway. I do understand your point-of-view.
 
This episode was just so good. Out of all the episodes of MLP, this is the one I can relate to the most. Having grown up surrounded by people that all became MDs, PHDs, lawyers and successful business people, I have always felt...well...a little dumb. While going to school with these people, they never seemed to study and everything just seemed to come easy to them and passed every lesson with flying colors. Meanwhile I would have my nose buried in text books and nothing seemed to ever stick. My brain seemed to always be off inventing stories, writing, coming up with board games and indulging myself in other creative endeavors. Unfortunately, the scholastic world doesn't exactly smile on this kind of thinking and I was left just getting by in school. Many of my friends (and parents for that matter) fell right into Twilight's role this episode: using tried and true methods that simply just didn't work with me. And, like Twilight, they became frustrated with me. Growing up surrounded by people who just seem to know everything and never had to study left me wondering what was wrong with me. Am I dumb? Why can't I do algebra and chemistry the same as my brother or cousins? I actually delayed going to college for years because I just didn't think I had it in me to handle the learning.

I did eventually go to Arizona State, after a lot of internal struggle. As it turned out, it was one of the best decisions I made. Because I was able to choose my major and the courses I took, I wasn't mired in classes that just didn't hold any interest for me. Every class I took was fascinating, and I was able to, for the first time, actually enjoy going to class. But the most important thing I learned while I was there was how to study for myself. I learned what worked, and what didn't. My study methods still frustrated friends. I had one friend who is an engineer major practically have kittens because he just didn't understand why I had to study so much for an exam instead of going to his Halloween party. But it didn't matter. Learning how to study for myself gave me a huge confidence boost and, not to brag, I ended up graduating with a 3.8 gpa. I may not be a engineer or a lawyer, but graduating with a high gpa is such an accomplishment for me, I never would have dreamed it possible years before.

So yeah, I totally can relate to Rainbow in this episode. I know what it is like to feel outclassed by everyone. But I also know what it is like to discover how to learn and what works for you. And, most importantly, that just because you learn differently than everyone else, does not mean you are dumb. So, up until this point Rarity Takes Manehatten and Sleepless in Ponyville were my favorite episodes of MLP, but this one really takes the cake. I am so glad to have Amy Keating Rogers back.

TLDR; great episode, Pinkie's rap was freaking fantastic.
 
An important thing for me is that I'm a visual learner. Show, don't tell, otherwise the explanation gets confusing because I have no idea what you're actually talking about.
 

$200

Banned
An important thing for me is that I'm a visual learner. Show, don't tell, otherwise the explanation gets confusing because I have no idea what you're actually talking about.

I feel that everyone can relate to Dash one way or another this episode given all the different "learning methods" that were forced on her.

And it looks like there will be a break next week :(
 

Jawmuncher

Member
Oh man the newest episode was great. Was simple yet so much fun.
Loved the Rap and there were so many great reaction shots as well.
 

wildfire

Banned
I'd say the primary audience of MLP is significantly younger than that of Adventure Time or Regular Show. And sure, they could go looking for someone to help with a more contemporary hip-hop reference, but all that effort for a fairly small portion of the episode? Might not be worth the trouble if you're working to a deadline.

Yet the staff of the Simpson's did this and their schedule was even more brutal since they have a much longer season than MLP.

Anyway the episode was really good but I was put off at how much effort was required to educate Dash. On the one hand it offers a great subtle lesson that society has to work hard to elevate individual members. On the other hand it's subtlety was too good and it probably won't get kids to ask the right questions to explore this point.
 

Jawmuncher

Member
This episode was just so good. Out of all the episodes of MLP, this is the one I can relate to the most. Having grown up surrounded by people that all became MDs, PHDs, lawyers and successful business people, I have always felt...well...a little dumb. While going to school with these people, they never seemed to study and everything just seemed to come easy to them and passed every lesson with flying colors. Meanwhile I would have my nose buried in text books and nothing seemed to ever stick. My brain seemed to always be off inventing stories, writing, coming up with board games and indulging myself in other creative endeavors. Unfortunately, the scholastic world doesn't exactly smile on this kind of thinking and I was left just getting by in school. Many of my friends (and parents for that matter) fell right into Twilight's role this episode: using tried and true methods that simply just didn't work with me. And, like Twilight, they became frustrated with me. Growing up surrounded by people who just seem to know everything and never had to study left me wondering what was wrong with me. Am I dumb? Why can't I do algebra and chemistry the same as my brother or cousins? I actually delayed going to college for years because I just didn't think I had it in me to handle the learning.

I did eventually go to Arizona State, after a lot of internal struggle. As it turned out, it was one of the best decisions I made. Because I was able to choose my major and the courses I took, I wasn't mired in classes that just didn't hold any interest for me. Every class I took was fascinating, and I was able to, for the first time, actually enjoy going to class. But the most important thing I learned while I was there was how to study for myself. I learned what worked, and what didn't. My study methods still frustrated friends. I had one friend who is an engineer major practically have kittens because he just didn't understand why I had to study so much for an exam instead of going to his Halloween party. But it didn't matter. Learning how to study for myself gave me a huge confidence boost and, not to brag, I ended up graduating with a 3.8 gpa. I may not be a engineer or a lawyer, but graduating with a high gpa is such an accomplishment for me, I never would have dreamed it possible years before.

So yeah, I totally can relate to Rainbow in this episode. I know what it is like to feel outclassed by everyone. But I also know what it is like to discover how to learn and what works for you. And, most importantly, that just because you learn differently than everyone else, does not mean you are dumb. So, up until this point Rarity Takes Manehatten and Sleepless in Ponyville were my favorite episodes of MLP, but this one really takes the cake. I am so glad to have Amy Keating Rogers back.

TLDR; great episode, Pinkie's rap was freaking fantastic.

That's a great story and I appreciate you sharing it.
This episode is really going to stick with a lot of people it seems.
 

Silvawuff

Member
Well said, Wookie! Thank you for sharing such a personal story; I'm really glad this episode resonated with you. I think that's part of what makes an episode a "good" episode to someone -- it hits home somewhere, somehow with its message
 
Like everyone has said, this was a solid episode with a strong lesson. Also dat foreshadowing in the intro. 5 more episodes and S4 will be wrapped.
 
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