My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic - "The Ticket Master" - Talkback [10/29]

[Bryan]

Episode #3 - The Ticket Master
Original Airdate - Friday, October 29, 2010 at 2 p.m. ET

Twilight Sparkle receives two tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala and all her friends want to go.


Comments?

[Silverstar]

Ah, the time-honored "1 extra ticket, but more than 1 extra friend" scenario. It's a premise that's been done before, but that doesn't mean it won't be good. This premise produced one of my favorite Rocko's Modern Life shorts, "With Friends Like These"; so sometimes it's not what you have, but what you do with it that matters.

As always, I'll wait until I've seen the episode before delivering commentary.

EDIT: Just seen it now, and thankfully this show still has yet to disappoint. The plot was predictable, but the execution and characters made it entertaining. Who would have ever expected a Benny Hill reference in a My Little Pony story? This one reminded me of Foster's, and in a good way. It's also worth mentioning that there was no villain in this episode; again, I like it. It's good to see that this show can run on purely comedic stories and not have to rely on the whole 'good VS evil' narrative every time. It gives the show more variety.

I'm really liking what I've been seeing so far. I hope Ms. Faust and team can keep up the good work.

[One Radical Dude]

This was a well-written episode. I thought it was good that Twilight Sparkle decided not to go to the Grand Galloping Gala. At the end, it worked out for everyone. Even if the "one extra ticket, more than one friend" had been done before, it worked for "The Ticket Master", and I liked it a lot.

[zoombie]

Benny Hill reference did not see that coming. Good episode, hopefully they keep up the good work.

[Toonatic]

Thought it was a good episode too.

[Mandouga]

I certainly noticed a Jimmy Hart Version of the theme song (Yakety Sax by Boots Randolph) playing...

[The Huntsman]

That was a step up from the last episode. As has been said, it was a common plot, but I believe it was executed well enough. It’s nice that all of the ponies got a decent amount of screen time, as it looks like the next episode will primarily be about Applejack. This episode’s “lesson” on friendship was also less blatant, which as I’ve said, is a good thing.

[TheGunheart]

Yeah, this show is much better at being hilarious than it is at being dramatic. It also as the plus, due to it's nature, of not going out of it's way to make the characters jerks, which is a problem that's all too common for comedy cartoons.

I loved how Pinkie Pie's song was so...blatant, and she was even called out on it.

[The Huntsman]

I loved how Pinkie Pie's song was so...blatant, and she was even called out on it.

I skipped the song. As I will continue to do in the future. Hopefully it doesn't become a recurring thing.

[Mesousa]

It was okay, I guess. I was sort of hoping it'd be a bit more weird. Then the last 10 minutes came.

[Mixiboi]

I'll come back to the show when they are done with the character development and they are moving towards a storyarc with an actual villain that they have to defeat with their powers..

I see it coming, as Twilight Sparkle powers are developing slowly, like when they were chasing her, she teleported to her house, an she and spike didn't even know how she did it. That is the second time she used it by accident in the show.

So its building, but like Anime, I don't like filter...

[The Huntsman]

I'll come back to the show when they are done with the character development and they are moving towards a storyarc with an actual villain that they have to defeat with their powers.

There is no story arc. I asked Lauren Faust on deviantART and she said that decision was made because networks don't tend to like serial episodes. She said there will be monsters that they have to defeat and so forth, but the series isn't going to be as deep as the two-parter may have implied. Here is her full quote. However, suffice to say that this isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Networks do not tend to like serialized stories because they do not get good ratings in repeats. So an over-arching plot, unfortunately, was out of the question.

There are certain aspects of the world that we had to unfold so people would understand how it works differently than our own, so the first several episodes will help illustrate that. However, all the rest of season 1 will feature self contained episodes. Each story focuses primarily on the relationships between the characters in an ensemble-cast-comedy sort of way, but the fantasy and magical elements of the world are always apparent. Also, there will be more baddies, and even monsters. I hope viewers will not be disappointed.

[Mixiboi]

That is disappointing, as that intro was interesting.


But if they can at lease have some growth and some movement with the world that represents time, I can live with that.

I can't live with them being the same 25 episodes in. Its why I skipped much of Ben 10.

If your going to have monsters and baddies, then having then return have more of a deeper meaning.

[Silverstar]

That is disappointing, as that intro was interesting.


But if they can at lease have some growth and some movement with the world that represents time, I can live with that.

I can't live with them being the same 25 episodes in. Its why I skipped much of Ben 10.

If your going to have monsters and baddies, then having then return have more of a deeper meaning.

I'll never understand why some people demand depth and hardcore action in fun cartoon shows like My Little Pony. People need to keep in mind that when all is said and done, it's still My Little Pony: a show built around a line of toys aimed at young girls. Anyone expecting MLP:FiM to be something along the lines of Avatar: The Last Airbender or Gundam Wing is naturally going to be disappointed, but they've clearly come into the show with the wrong expectations. Either accept the show for what it is or don't watch it at all.

I'm personally fine with no story arcs, as I'm not big on serial shows and sagas, and to be frank, I get tired of the constant rhetoric that I keep hearing from hardcore action/anime fans that self-contained stories and stand-alone episodes are some kind of disease which needs to be eradicated. And I don't care if nothing changes on the show, as long as the show remains good.

As far as I'm concerned, this show has already superseded the 80's cartoons by great leaps and bounds in just 3 installments. I'm a 41-year-old grown arse man and I'm really digging this show so far. For once we're getting a My Little Pony show that people other than little girls won't be embarrassed to watch and will actually find entertaining. That's good enough for me.

I like Anime, but I don't like filter...

That's a generalization. Not all anime contain ongoing story arcs; there are plenty that don't. Lupin the Third says hi. And that's not a bad thing. Just another way of storytelling.

By the by, the term is "filler", not "filter".

[The Huntsman]

I'll never understand why some people demand depth and hardcore action in fun cartoon shows like My Little Pony. People need to keep in mind that when all is said and done, it's still My Little Pony: a show built around a line of toys aimed at young girls. Anyone expecting MLP:FiM to be something along the lines of Avatar: The Last Airbender or Gundam Wing is naturally going to be disappointed, but they've clearly come into the show with the wrong expectations. Either accept the show for what it is or don't watch it at all.

Sometimes its for the best to breath new life into a franchise and take it in an unexpected direction. Case in point Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated. I feel that saying it's "built around a line of toys aimed at young girls" is a somewhat cheap answer. I wasn't expecting it to be too deep or action packed - a "Pony Sailor Moon" - as some far reaches of the internet called it after the first episode, but I was hoping it would have a degree of substance to its episodes. Whether or not that substance can still be found remains to be seen.

[Silverstar]

Sometimes its for the best to breath new life into a franchise and take it in an unexpected direction. Case in point Scooby Doo: Mystery Incorporated. I feel that saying it's "built around a line of toys aimed at young girls" is a somewhat cheap answer. I wasn't expecting it to be too deep or action packed - a "Pony Sailor Moon" - as some far reaches of the internet called it after the first episode, but I was hoping it would have a degree of substance to its episodes. Whether or not that substance can still be found remains to be seen.

I wasn't trying to cheapen the enterprise with that statement, but let's face it: My Little Pony is a toy based product whose main target is girls. The show is great, but that's what it's spawned from. It is what it is. Two of the show's principle characters are named Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, fer crying out loud. If that doesn't scream 'girly', then I'll eat a hat.

The substance (or lack thereof) of the show really isn't an issue to me, nor is the presence of villains; "The Ticket Master" had no villains in it whatsoever and I thought it was great, simplistic plot, "Yakkety Sax" and all.

Maybe it's because I'm getting older, or perhaps I'm just cut from differenrt cloth than most people, but stuff like villains and deep meaningful insight aren't really big concerns for me when it comes to cartoons. The bottom line for me is if I'm entertained, and the 3 episodes of MLP:FiM that I've seen so far have entertained me. So I'd say the show is doing its' job, and doing it well.

[aegisrawks]

While I do agree that standalone episodes arent bad and all that, saying "Its a Little Girls Show" is demeaning to said Little Girls. They CAN handle continuity. But Hasbro wants to make sure new viewers can sit down and watch any episode they want regardless of order. Its not like Continuity WILL HURT their brains.

[Silverstar]

While I do agree that standalone episodes arent bad and all that, saying "Its a Little Girls Show" is demeaning to said Little Girls. They CAN handle continuity. But Hasbro wants to make sure new viewers can sit down and watch any episode they want regardless of order. Its not like Continuity WILL HURT their brains.

Please don't put words in my mouth. I never said that little girls can't handle continuity, and I'm not trying to insult young girls or the My Little Pony franchise. The points I was trying to make were:

1. As good as this series is, and even though it's great that we've finally gotten a girl-centric show that's not going to make guys and adults cringe by watching it, let's not delude ourselves into thinking that My Little Pony is somehow no longer a girls' toy franchise, 'cause we all know that it is; regardless of how much we enjoy the show, that hasn't changed, and

2. The fact the network doesn't want continuing story arcs for the show isn't a bad thing, and we shouldn't be treating it like it's a strike against the show. As you said in the previous post, the idea behind it is so that the audience can watch the episodes in any given order and not be lost; this is why many networks eschew serialized stories. I personally don't have a problem with that, and I don't think people should suddenly turn their noses up at the series because of that. If the end product is good, then it shouldn't matter whether there are story arcs or not.

[EHH123]

One thing I like about the show is that they give little reminders of their equine nature. The clomping they make when they walk, they eat plants that humans would not often eat (I was a little surprised when Twilight Sparkle ate those flower pedals) and references to "hind legs" and "hooves".

[Mixiboi]

I wouldn't expect anything less from someone who worked on The Powerpuff Girls and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends.


Which is why I'm kinda disappointed that Hasbro wants to make this a show that has now slow. What we see now is what we get in season 2, 3, ect.

They won't change till Hasbro feels they want new toys.

But, hey it's their brand and channel, and they can do whatever they want, Just kinda limiting the potential of a show back by such creative animators


Same with Pound Puppies.