Hello!

[StarSwirl05]

Even if she agrees, how will we access the things we want to change "behind the curtain" so to speak?

[bobdude]

Good question, for now, I'll send her a messaging along the lines of if she'd be willing for form members to put the word out on sites like Twitter or Tumblr in an attempt to gatherup some fresh blood as it were for the herd. Truth be told, stuff like the background layout I think are fine, unless you can think of other stuff that could be changed, Star.

[StarSwirl05]

Maybe the forum title at the top could be changed to "The Schoolhouse: A My Little Pony Tales Forum"?

[bobdude]

Seems like a reasonable request. I'll see what I can do.

[Bob Dude]

Talked to Notes about us getting the word out. She's alright with it but warned me about the more rabid parts of the brony fandom taking over the form. So we'll just have to be cautious.

[yoshi89]

Yeah, I can see why. Some Bronies can't tolerate anything non-FiM.

[acehoneycomb]

They actually can't, even mocking the previous generations in 'A Brony Tale' (though they never give the show a chance to stand on its own terms instead of comparing it to FiM and being angry that it's different, therefore criticizing it). It's a shame, though, FiM has really gone downhill recently.

[StarSwirl05]

Even the Brony Documentary mocked G3 but one thing G4 doesn't teach is how to start a friendship. G3.5 made that very clear.

[yoshi89]

Nov 11, 2015 2:44:57 GMT -5 acehoneycomb said:

It's a shame, though, FiM has really gone downhill recently.

Like all other seasons, I've found the fifth to be hit and miss. You've had great moments like the Cutie Mark Crusaders finally getting their cutie marks balanced with cringe-worthy episodes like Rainbow Dash trying to stop winter. However, Season 5 feels like a completely different show compared to the first four, particularly the characters' flanderizations and the political humor that has somehow crept in.

[acehoneycomb]

Does Season 5 really have political humour?

[StarSwirl05]

I don't think so.

[yoshi89]

If you look at "The Cutie Map" in a political aspect, in many ways, it's 45 minutes of denouncing communism while promoting freedom of expression. "Crusaders of the Lost Mark" tried to preach that money can't buy office, as if to say, "We're looking at you, Donald Trump."

[StarSwirl05]

I suppose you're right. The episode wasn't really that good IMO so I guess I'd forgotten about it, though I do have MLP Yu-Gi-Oh cards planned from those episodes.

[bobdude]

I both agree and disagree yoshi89. I agree in as much as season five has had it's fair share of hit (aka when the show is on fire, it is on FIRE) and misses (wasn't crazy about the Troubleshoes episode personally), although that can be said of any season of any show period. No series ever bats a 100 (save for MAYBE G3 MLP and that;s more because the specials had the same writer's coming back again and again, which lead to a much more consistent tone) and even season one and two of FIM had some clunkers plot wise. As for flanderization, eh. Your mileage will vary.

As for political references, I thought that the Season 5 opener (aside from being a very refreshing change of pace villain/threat wise) was more a reference to Kurt Vonnegut's Harrison Bergeron en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrison_Bergeron then anything specifically political like communism (which itself is often very misinterpreted by American society as is and probably doesn't even fit in the case of the Cutie Map).

And really, StarSwirl, the mane six being threaten by way of crushing brainwashing was 'boring'? Seriously? Or was it just something else altogther? Granted, its been a while since I've watched the episode myself, so maybe it is as boring as you say it is.

And yoshi89, in regarding " "Crusaders of the Lost Mark" tried to preach that money can't buy office, as if to say, "We're looking at you, Donald Trump." 1. The election plotline took up such a small amount of the episode, as to basically be a hook for the overall major plot (DT standing up to her mother and starting the journey to becoming a better pony, and the CMC finally getting their marks in CMCdom, which is very What Ever Happened to the Caped Crusader now that I think about it... 2. "while promoting freedom of expression." ... AND? I fail to see how a theme such as the idea that money can't buy elections is a bad thing, given the idealistic nature of FIM and Pony as a rule. Is it realistic? Course it's not. But considering the first episode opened with the sun and moon needing to be raised and lowered, realism has never been one of FIM's strengths, I'd say. As for promoting freedom of expression? HOW is that a bad thing? Because MLP has pretty much ALWAYS had 'universal' themes like that (which are not to be confused with themes such as the works of Robert Heilened and Ayn Ran)

Heck, you could argue that messages are a very part of FIM's DNA considering the lessons that are tacked on at the end of each episode.

But enough about FIM arguing, I've put a post up on Tumblr with the location of the forum for anyone who wants to reblog it. bob-dude.tumblr.com/post/133174032405/attention-my-little-pony-tales-fandom

[acehoneycomb]

I guess Season 5 is in my opinion somewhat more hit-and-miss than the previous seasons. You have really good episodes like Amending Fences and Made in Manehattan (and let's not forget the crazy and awesome stunt that was the 100th episode) and really bad episodes like Tanks for the Memories and Princess Spike. Agreed with Bobdude on the Troubleshoes episode, personally I thought it was meh.
The Tales show was originally paired with the G1 show in its initial airings on the Disney Channel, where one episode of the G1 show would air alongside the two Tales episodes of the week. The episodes had to be 11 minutes in length due to the time slot they were placed in. And besides, I personally think the show works better with that format. Can you imagine 'Just for Kicks' stretched out to 22 minutes, as an example? (I would personally imagine there being a subplot where Bright Eyes attempts to educate Bon Bon on the nature of the metabolism, it would be some great screen time for Bright Eyes to give her some more focus, and I can only imagine Bon Bon's reaction to learning about her digestive system).