Has My Little Pony Lost Its Special Something? (ft. The Super Mario Brony)

Okay, my next post was going to delve into my thoughts on FlashShimmer, and I will get to that soon enough, but right now, I'm struggling to justify translating my thoughts without angering some shipping purists. So yeah, that'll be on the backburner for a while yet, not helping that I'm soon going to be working on a class final, cleaning up my room, as well as planning a few video reviews. So right now, there's a collab editorial regarding the current state of MLP.

As with us humans, nothing even in any forms of entertainment media seems to be perfect. Movies, television, video games, music, etc. Of course, if everything was perfect, then planet Earth would be a really boring place to be. Then again though when it comes to television, Friendship Is Magic didn't have to lose this much potential.

And that brings us to the question of this post - what happened with My Little Pony that caused it to lose the charm it had when it first aired? To answer that question, we'll be discussing everything that went on from the series after both season four and Rainbow Rocks; from season five to Legend of Everfree. (But to make things clear, we'll be doing them all in reverse order.)

Legend of Everfree is nothing short of the culmination of everything that's currently wrong with My Little Pony. That film was so bad that we're almost tempted to avoid the three specials, which are coming out this summer, like the plague.

In that sense, because of this disaster, we're really having less hope for anything in the EG franchise than we are for season seven and the upcoming movie of the main series of this fourth generation of ponies. But if Hasbro can surprise us in some way, who knows?

But let's be frank; not a single moment of Everfree made sense. Why wait until an hour in to make Midnight Sparkle relevant to the story? Why the emphasis on camp activities that have nothing to do with anything? Timber Spruce knew that his sister was doing something stupid, but why does he constantly hit on a student he'll never see again rather than make Gloriosa Daisy see sense? Why do Sci-Twi and Gloriosa put up with him at all? He's a terrible brother who'd rather have his own dreams than live up to family traditions. What was the point of Flash and Sunset's subplot if they didn't directly interact in the three films previous, and are probably never going to interact again? Is it simply to appeal to the haters (a.k.a. people not worth giving a damn about)? How come Gloriosa got away scot-free with scaring the campers? And most importantly, why didn't she think of holding a fundraiser to begin with?!

Actually, you know what? I don't really care about answers, especially for the last one.

And since everything considerably fell apart in the spinoff series after Rainbow Rocks, the one and only silver lining we can look at in both Friendship Games (more on that later) and Everfree is Sunset and her performances as she was equally as salvageable in both sequels as Discord was in season six's disastrous finale, as well Spike in the bankrupt season six premiere. Whereas Spike got at least a decent amount of development during his particular moments in the episode (with or without Starlight) whilst Discord was being, shall we say, his usual comedic self where he thankfully didn't go all OOC as to going to far with his antics like teaching a certain character about a horrible feeling like jealousy in the wrong way possible (I'm looking at you, What About Discord?), Sunset gracefully got both of these traits with some (if not more) development and thankfully never acted like something she wasn't meant to be. But to say the very least, you can remove them all in those sorry excuses of installments, and the plots would all be the same.

There are so many things we just can't get over in this season, that we still have so many particular questions for Hasbro: What happened to the Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash we both knew and loved? Why didn't Starlight get the development she deserved? Why did they air the finale this soon? The list goes on and on!

Season six may have been Hasbro's way of changing the show for the better, and yet, in an ironic twist of fate, it became the season that pretty much ruined MLP's positive reputation. Or at least, it tainted an otherwise good show.

When it comes down to our first question about Dashie and Twilight, we still can't blame them precisely for being either innocently tortured (*cough* Newbie Dash *cough*) or straight up hypocritical (that means you two, No Second Prances and 28 Pranks Later). This means it primarily comes down to how they're written, so writing for them is essentially how they develop. And sadly, based on that statement, it's easier for us to name enough good portrayals/episodes from both Andrea Libman's characters minus P.P.O.V. (Pony Point of View) for Pinkie Pie (obviously) (since Fluttershy was literally the flawless one of the bunch) than it is for us to name enough good portrayals/episodes from Tara Strong's character throughout all of season six. Although to be fair, Ashleigh Ball's characters were more or less the case since Applejack was at least redeemed greatly by the end of the season with Where the Apple Lies whilst Rainbow Dash didn't do so well despite having Top Bolt to fall back on with Twilight. And Rarity (Tabitha St. Germain)? Well, let's just say she hasn't done herself quite enough justice either after P.P.O.V. (Pony Point of View) and especially The Cart Before the Ponies (with Applejack and, separately, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash).

And then there's Starlight Glimmer, who... we've moaned about enough already.

But when it comes to the topic of To Where and Back Again, the episode, actually, isn't too bad on it's own, but it's still one of the worst because Starlight's development leading up to it was sloppy at best. They could've easily spread her story arc over two or three seasons to expand on the following: her friendship with Trixie, Thorax's character being expanded upon, explanation to the Changelings' history, an episode or two Starlight and Discord, and above all else, give us justification to why they'd be working together when To Where and Back Again came around. It might still have problems, but if it aired later, then maybe we'd give it a pass, but as it stands, it feels like the reverse Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep? - more on that later.

So if season seven wants to be more conclusive of things like Starlight, an episode with her and Discord sounds like the best idea for her character arc (especially if it was Joanna Lewis and Kristine Songco writing for it), or to bring back the real Mane Six, especially Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity, give them the same good development they had before seasons five and six (sort of), and most of all, take our letter of avoiding terrible writing into account, Hasbro.

Okay, so where do we start with Friendship Games? The idea behind the film was to showcase school rivalries. Great idea, right? However, that wasn't to case as instead, guess who hogs the spotlight in her official debut?

Yep! The human counterpart of Twilight Sparkle, or more commonly nicknamed "Sci-Twi"...

She could've had that possible potential for this sequel after that brief glimpse of her and her dog Spike after the credits of Rainbow Rocks. And we don't exactly know what those at Hasbro were thinking (or should we specifically say the film's writer Josh Haber), but apparently with Haber's idea of writing for the film and its characters (except maybe for Sunset to an extent) instead of the chairwoman of the show's writers Meghan McCarthy (and the less said about her writing 28 Pranks Later's story the better) something unfortunately went wrong.

They could've given focus to the quintet known as the Shadowbolts, but instead, they came off as one-dimensional and forgettable. I recently watched this video by Brass Polish, "Flash Sentry Outshines Timber Spruce" where he comments that with the exception of Flash, every character introduced in the Equestria Girls universe - and this is excluding the background humans for a moment - had no counterpart in either the human world or Equestria. He also adds that whilst Sunset and the Dazzlings were seen as humans for the majority of the first two movies, we had acknowledgement that they had Equestrian origins, as a pony and a trio of sirens, respectively. With the Shadowbolts, Cinch, Gloriosa and Timber, we don't get pony counterparts for them, almost as if they wanted to keep Friendship is Magic and Equestria Girls separate.

Unfortunately, that's easier said than done as it feels like they're going against what they've established.

What other episodes do we have to blame for season five being the start of MLP losing what it once had? Well, to name the others besides that episode that season six's finale reverses; Bloom and Gloom, Scare Master, Slice of Life, Party Pooped, What About Discord?, and especially season five's finale that's practically good compared to To Where and Back Again known as The Cutie Re-Mark.

There's not a whole lot I can say about Bloom and Gloom, really. Sure, it's repetitive at best and downright disturbing at worst, but if you ignore that, the episode's just boring and forgettable. Kind of like most of the episodes we've mentioned, but mostly the latter.

With Scare Master, it's the prime example of why season six surprisingly did Fluttershy more than enough justice to get her back in the good character standards. I mean seriously, freaking out from candy?! Sure, her attempt to scare her friends in that maze was a lot more realistic than her attempt to scare them in her house, but derailing Fluttershy or just any other character who has loads of potential in store for themselves is never okay.

Then we come to Slice of Life - many fans wanted to see background ponies take the spotlight for once... Well, be careful what you wish for, am I right?

As we've stated before, basically everything about it was rushed. So much so, that it could very well be the most overrated episode of series in general. And not only will we say it's rushed, it's also confusing, uninteresting, unfunny, and convoluted. And really, we've already discussed this in our countdown of MLP Characters That Lost Major Mojo, but if Hasbro's really going to give them some charm, they're going to have to develop them one at a time. Don't cram them all together with various sections of nearly each and every single one of them in one episode next time, writers. Try again! (Or better yet, maybe not!)

Speaking of poorly written characters, does anyone remember the yaks from Party Pooped? If your answer is "no", then perhaps we don't need to spell out their problem, but we will for those who've no idea what we're talking about - they're stereotypical jerks who whine over little things. Not even Garble in Dragon Quest was this despicable! Not only that, but Party Pooped suffered from an extremely confused plot and Pinkie's journey led to nothing. The less said about an episode banned in Canada, the better.

But for those of you who haven't seen any of these episodes we're now discussing, if you thought the yaks were straight up awful, you haven't seen just how terrible Discord was in his only unacceptably bad role known as What About Discord?. (And Twilight's friends were terrible as well, but at least they came to their senses and sympathized with her at the very end.) And don't get us wrong. It did have one of the best ideas of a plot of showing my personal overall favorite character getting along more with those he hasn't got along with much (since he's only really come close to Fluttershy), and was honestly supposed to increase my favorite character's likability. Instead however, What About Discord? was an episode that nearly destroyed my favorite character's likability! (The same can also be said for Twilight in No Second Prances, the Wonderbolts in Newbie Dash, and even Rainbow Dash in 28 Pranks Later, but I digress.)

It's bad enough that we get an episode with sluggish pacing, untold humor that's far more questionable than it is funny, and an atrocious moral delivered in the worst way possible, but derailing a favorable, redeemed character into something cruel is a whole different story. If they're really going to make this kind of plot a good one (the next time they attempt to), they better show Discord's actual bondage with whoever he hangs out with. (One specific suggestion of a character that would make for something greatly interesting as we said would be Starlight, but let's move on...)

Then there's The Cutie Re-Mark - there are many, many problems with the episode which I've already described, but let's make it brief.

The various timelines were untold and completely confusing, Starlight's motives for being evil were absolutely pathetic, and to add insult to injury, Part 2 gave us an equally atrocious song of just how terrible her redemption was randomly pulled off and executed.

Now, don't get either of us wrong - I do genuinely believe there were good intentions, but it's one of those things, you know? Something ambitious starts off with good intentions, but the execution is extremely sloppy.

And last but not least, as the main example of why Luna lost pretty much all of her mojo she could've had by now if Hasbro would've treated her more properly instead treating her like some plot device or bad guy who's literally innocent on both the outside and inside, and is by far the most overrated princess of Equestria's royalty, Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep? is one episode we could view as controversial based solely on its dangerous moral.

But you know the sad fact? It didn't have to be controversial!

Remember when I said that To Where and Back Again was the reverse of this episode? By the time Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep? came around, Sleepless in Ponyville and For Whom the Sweetie Belle Toils had already aired, the latter implying Luna had gotten over the Nightmare Moon incident. If Magic Sheep had aired during the second season, it still would've had problems back then, but if it led to her episodes with the Crusaders, showcasing how much she'd learned herself, that would've been fine, especially if Celestia had more involvement and if Luna didn't create the Tantabus!

But no. It came years too late and felt pointless that far into the show.

And both disasters are huge examples of why good episodes not only depend on how their plots are written and paced, but also when they're timed during one season or another during production. And these two were timed pretty badly. What else can we say?

Of course, final thoughts are going to be personal, and something tells me this will all be hugely controversial. For me, the major thing wrong with MLP at this point is that it feels like Hasbro has let the show's popularity get to their heads and cared more about selling toys and less about telling cohesive stories. Sure, the voice acting is good, the animation is almost flawless and the music tends to be spot on, but frankly, that's not good enough anymore. You can make bad episodes or films out of good scripts, but can you even make good episodes or films out of bad ones? It's very much like getting cats and dogs to breed - impossible, and downright ludicrous.

Then there's the fact that last October, Jim Miller shamed the older fanbase on Twitter, by saying it's for little girls and not them - well, that's funny since they dedicated Slice of Life to the older fans! (Calm down; this wasn't an insult to those who liked the episode, I just wanted to point out hypocrisy on Miller's part.) My guess is that he's more concerned with viewership and blindly thinks that everything's fine when, spoilers, it's not. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he had no concern for fan's criticisms at all.

And believe us when we say this is only the first topic we're discussing about the show's crisis. As next time we'll be discussing how 2017 can save not just the main series, but the whole franchise in general. On the other hand though, at the same time, we'll also be pointing out those things that could kill the series (and yes, even the smallest of consequences). So all I can say is I have the exact same thoughts, and above any writers who can't get either characters or plotlines in an episode right (or even both), I can also say that Hasbro's next move should be to fire Miller for his unreasonable insult on the fandom. Because really, if The Ren & Stimpy Show can do this with their creator for its controversial episode known as Man's Best Friend, then I think Friendship Is Magic can do the same with its creator (except this reason would be for how straight up rude he was to a fandom like us bronies instead of an episode that pushed itself too far, but that's beside the point).

Bottom line is, those at Hasbro need to get their act together and fast; if they can make a few changes that can bring back even one fan they drove away, then maybe faith in MLP will be restored.

Or at least, it'll be higher than it already is. This has been Zack Wanzer and Tyler Smith, and we'll see you next time!

Character Analysis: Timber Spruce

Alright, I made myself a promise that I wouldn't speak of Legend of Everfree again, but there are a couple of topics centering around that miserable excuse of a film that have been bothering me for the last three months, and since there's a lot of discussion on DeviantArt, I can't really vent out my frustrations there, so instead, I'm gonna be blowing off some steam here as to why they anger me so. The first on the chopping block is a character I ranked as the worst not only in MLP, but of all time. So let's find out why I feel that way about Timber Spruce, shall we?

Let's start with a question; what makes a bad character? No, I don't mean in terms of being an antagonist, but like, "bad" bad. Well, for me, what makes a truly bad character is if the character is an unlikable jerk without any redeeming quality whatsoever - Lucius Malfoy from Harry Potter, for example - or the character is poorly written, like Hugo the rail zeppelin.

For other people, they may dislike a character because they're annoying along with one or both of the reasons I mentioned. Starlight Glimmer is a prime example of this, which I've already explained, but long story short, she was a discount Sunset Shimmer without any idea to how the latter's story arc worked.

Within MLP, there are characters such as Quibble Pants, Zephyr Breeze, and (yes) Gabby that people find annoying, but I have no issue with them because there are at least reasons for why they act the way they do - Quibble Pants is stubborn and snarky, Zephyr Breeze is a smart-aleck, and Gabby is a bit of a child. On top of that, they actually have reasons to exist in their respective starring roles in season six.

Which brings me back to Timber Spruce. First thing I'm gonna say about him is that not only is he a jerk, he's annoying and poorly written, and you better believe I'm gonna explain why he's all three.

First off, his "role" in the movie. Apparently, he serves two purposes for Sci-Twi - a "love interest" and "security blanket", I'm gonna get to the former in a bit, but as for the latter? Any character could have taken that role! If you gave it someone like, let's say, Rainbow Dash or Pinkie Pie, then not only would the plot be the same, but you'd also give one or two members of the Human Five some development that they desperately needed. I mean, why would you create a new character just to fill that role?

And that brings me onto the "love interest" portion of his role, as well as to why he's an annoying jerk. Whilst doing that, I'm gonna compare his dynamic with Sci-Twi's to Flash and Princess Twilight's, and how the latter gets right what the former gets wrong. To start with, here's two questions - what does Timber do to prove he's worthy for Sci-Twi and what does he actually do to make us root for him?

The answer for both questions is "nothing".

Whenever he interacts with Sci-Twi, rather than talk about her problems, Timber talks about himself, and it becomes grating. (Don't get me wrong, I'm sure Brian Doe's a nice guy, but after halfway through watching the film, I began wishing I'd rip his damn vocal chords out.) And it takes a few seconds to fall in love with her. A few seconds. Keep in mind that it took about a day or two for Flash to get a crush on Princess Twilight, as well as the fact that it was just that - a crush. Meanwhile, Timber just wants to go for it, because that's how you start relationships(!)

On a side note, I'd like to say that I hate characters who are self-centered for no reason whatsoever. With someone like, let's say, Diamond Tiara, at least there is a reason to why she behaved like a brat in the first four seasons; she's part of a wealthy family, and that's fairly reasonable, but it doesn't excuse her attitude. Timber constantly goes on about himself and never gives Sci-Twi a chance to give her opinion on him, and she agrees to a relationship after three days, because the ending demanded it.

Getting onto the Flash/Princess Twilight moments in the first movie, whilst both had interest in one another, they don't force it down your throats, and it genuinely shone when he saved her from being framed and asked her out. I liked that because Flash does care for Princess Twilight, even if she came from nowhere; he doesn't care if she isn't from his world. He wants to know her and doesn't want to draw much attention to himself. Oh, and even though the crush is plainly obvious, it doesn't overshadow the plot, and that's fine.

With Legend of Everfree, Timber's lust for Sci-Twi is forced so far down your throat to the point you'd probably puke it back out again, and you're like, "Okay, we get it; he's in love with her" instead of "Wow, he'd be a great boyfriend to her." The final nail in his coffin is that instead of thanking Sci-Twi for saving the camp, he calls himself the "hero" just for saving her from falling, which anybody could have done!

Which brings me onto how Timber did nothing to make us root for him. I know some of you are going to say, "but he tried to get Gloriosa Daisy to stop trying to save their camp; he wanted her to be okay, and it totally made him a hero!" But guess what? His constant flirting with Sci-Twi actually makes that worse! Why? Because he keeps doing so instead of actually caring about his sister's actions and made up a story to cover up what she was doing! And when they reveal that fifty minutes into the film (or however long it was, I don't give a damn about LoE), that was a point of no return for the movie, where it became unsalvageable (although, to be fair, it was at that point when Flash and Sunset first interacted in the film, but I'll get to that in the next post).

And I know I already mentioned that in my actual review for the movie, but Gloriosa was just as awful; not only does she come off as a cliched MLP/EG villain, but her motivations are completely stupid when you realize she should have held a fundraiser in the first place! (I know some will argue that if she did, then there wouldn't be a plot. But that's the point; if you know how the story is going to end before you even get there, you should scrap the story before reaching that point.)

For both characters, there are many unfortunate implications surrounding their actions. Who would ever want to go to a camp with incompetent counselors like them? Students just wouldn't feel safe! And on top of that, Gloriosa gets off scot-free with her actions because a happy ending demanded it, and it's almost like a police officer with a sibling who has a criminal background - would the officer let his family go because of bias? I certainly wouldn't! I'd have them arrested on the spot, regardless of their intentions!

Unlike Starlight Glimmer, who could actually be a great character with a few personality tweaks, Timber Spruce does not fixing whatsoever; it's not possible. Instead, they should've given his role to Flash, a character who is in desperate need of development. The film would still be bad, but at least Flash and Sci-Twi could've had a good chemistry with each other, and maybe you'd have a more heartfelt subplot with a point.

But no. They had to create a "new" character in response to some haters (a.k.a. people not worth giving a crap about whatsoever) and give that other character more flak, making poor Flash more sympathetic than the leading "characters" (I say it like that since they don't have any whatsoever). And when you couple that to the atrocious personality they gave Timber Spruce, I stand by my statement that he is the worst character in all of My Little Pony, and I hope to Celestia he never turns up again...

Thomas and Friends Season 20: Canada, Eh?

Thomas' twentieth season is ending much sooner than we all expected! It's amazing that Thomas lasted as long as it did, even though there are shows that ran with more seasons like The Simpsons, but... meh. And sure, whilst the episodes haven't aired in the UK or been released on a UK DVD yet, I don't feel it's worth holding them back until then. Let's get these guys outta the way so we can all look forward to Extraordinary Engines in a couple of weeks!

 The following post may contain spoilers. Reader discretion is advised.

Cautious Connor

Written by Andrew Brenner

An episode where a big engine has a confidence knock after a mishap? Now that sounds like an interesting premise, but does it play off? Personally, I'd say it did so greatly... if it weren't yet another example of Thomas being shoehorned where the role doesn't fit him at all! Seriously, that is getting very annoying, and when fans are saying something like "In Salty All at Sea, Edward could've taken his role" or a variant, then you should know something is wrong with the titular character; he's become so boring and generic it doesn't make him appealing as a character anymore.

This episode very much reaches the nadir with Thomas' interchangeable roles - it was the perfect opportunity to build on Connor and Caitlin's friendship, and it could've shown there was more to them than just racing. But no, it has to be Thomas because marketing reasons for children, blah blah blah, and that came from the same person who wrote Best Engine Ever!

Of course, that isn't to say the episode sucked. Connor and Stephen were great in the episode, the latter especially. I really liked when he makes a comment about Connor's youth, very much like old people commenting on younger peoples' actions being similar to theirs in their youths, but Stephen really shone through with his pep talk near the end. Who knew that Sodor's Rocket could be so badass like that at his age? And of course, Connor's situation is completely relatable; as I've said, an incident similar to what he had can really knock one's confidence down a peg.

Other tidbits are really nice like Millie's role, the POV shot of the bolt on Connor's siderod (I know it was said as coupling rod, but still), and this line of dialogue:

"It would've been quicker by camel!"

Ah, Grumpy Passenger... I love you so much.

Whilst the episode on whole is great for the most part, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to dock a couple of points due to Thomas' disposable appearance. Had it been Caitlin taking his place, Cautious Connor would've been Brenner's best effort for season 20 - at least, for an original story - which is shocking since this season also contains three more of Brenner's worst efforts - specifically, the Hugo two-parter and Three Steam Engines Gruff, which I'll get to soon enough.

Mucking About

Written by Davey Moore

For the first time in eight seasons, we finally get to see the Pack (or at least, five of its members) appear in the actual Thomas and Friends series. Is it grand fanfare all around?

Well... yes and no. The Pack members are generally portrayed how they usually are, Oliver (the excavator, of course) in particular. I like how, at this point, he appears to be the leader of the Pack vehicles, especially when he scolds Max and Monty. Jack and Alfie were... pretty good, and despite being younger vehicles, they get on with whatever job they're given. Sure, getting characters right is a standard for any episode, but I really like it when they're written correctly.

And yeah, I do include Thomas in that since it (arguably) takes place on his branchline, and whilst he likes to have fun, there are lines he won't cross, so to speak. Max and Monty mucking about on the railway tracks is so suicidal, that Thomas' reactions are priceless. Edward, however, felt a little out of place; maybe if they had their talk at a station (maybe Knapford?), it'd probably work better. And of course, his advice to Thomas felt... off. It's almost like something you'd be told when it comes to dealing with internet trolls, not people in real life.

There's also the problems storywise; how did nobody even notice there was rubbish on the track under the bridge? Heck, you could even see the tracks from Max and Monty's point of view, though, again, it's debatable. Also, where's Miss Jenny? Did Arc/Jam Filled not have a render for her ready? That said, the policeman was pretty good and the dialogue from him felt very natural.

I know this next bit is minor, but I'm gonna comment on it anyway; Judy and Jerome. I'm so happy that they haven't been neglected, and the fact that they're given a position on the North Western Railway makes me happier. However, since this episode aired in Canada before The Missing Breakdown Train had been released on DVD at the time, their presence does feel a bit awkward as kids would be wondering where they come from or who they are (in the case of the latter, if they haven't seen The Adventure Begins yet).

Overall, whilst the episode felt awkward and disjointed at times, it was overall okay. It's nice to see the Pack officially a part of the TV series once more and I'd love to see them more often, but hopefully, they'll work on storytelling for them in the future.

All in Vain

Written by Helen Farrall

I was rather nervous about this episode before it aired. I didn't like Pouty James at all because of the red engine's narcissism being taken up to twelve, and that the humor felt like it was trying too hard to be funny. If you wish to be funny, then my advice is that you don't force it down our throats - there's a difference between humor that is genuine, and humor that comes off as annoying and repetitive.

As for the episode itself? This took Pouty James' basic elements and improved on them by... a lot! Not only is James' character more genuine, he actually shows there's more to him than thinking about how important he is. Plus, he's been given an important job, and he really wants to make a good impression for the mayor. When he gets dirty, rather than freak out like you'd expect, James does what he can to take those mishaps on the chin and when Edward offers to help, the red engine politely declines as he wants to please the Fat Controller by doing all of his jobs himself.

Speaking of which, Edward was great here. We haven't seen him and James star together for years, and to expand on their relationship after Old Iron was great. It was even funny to see Edward imitate James when he picked up the mayor and the Fat Controller. On the whole, it's a great episode with funny moments, and it managed to salvage James' character by a bit. I really do think Helen Farrall would be better as head writer than Andrew Brenner; she really does understand every character she writes for.

#HelenFarrall4HeadWriter!

Buckled Tracks and Bumpy Trucks

Written by Lee Pressman

This one's a little more... well, weird. For one thing, based on the initial description, I'd thought Whiff was gonna have a major role, and I was so disappointed that it wasn't the case. He only shows up for, like, ten seconds, and that was it. The only thing he contributed was that one of the glass bottles from one of his trucks falls off and sets fire to a field, making Whiff feel a bit like a plot device.

There's also a subplot about the Fat Controller, which, to be honest, is actually kind of funny, even if it takes his butt monkey status up to eleven. Of course, there's funny moments like the Magic Railroad reference, doing his best Oddjob impression in the car and failing, and then there's the goat. Just... the goat. I don't think words need to be said about how funny the goat is. And then there's this:

The Fat Controller: "Oh, the indignity!"Gordon: "That's my line!"

Amidst the humor, there's the scientific aspect of the episode - white reflects heat, and black absorbs it. Though if that were the case, why is the Fat Controller still wearing his black jacket? Did Dowager not think of telling him to take it off? And despite what many would think, rails being painted white, actually, does happen on the railways. Check out this article for reference.

The other characters were really good in the roles they have; I certainly like how Belle reminds Flynn that there's a fire nearby, and it took priority over her derailment. Toby was great at the end too. It's nice to see a more cheeky side to him as opposed to the coward he was in Three Steam Engines Gruff, and his snarky side is something I feel Toby should display more often - see Dirty Objects for context.

On the whole, whilst slightly disjointed at points, Buckled Tracks and Bumpy Trucks is a good watch, but it could use some tweaking.

Tit for Tat, Mike's Whistle, and Useful Railway

Originally written by The Rev. W. Awdry

Adapted by Andrew Brenner

So why am I reviewing all three together? Well, it should be obvious! All come from the same book, Small Railway Engines, which I reviewed a couple of years back. My views are very much the same as they were back then. And regarding the story Ballast, no, I'm not put off by the fact that they didn't adapt it. Well, they sort of did in Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure, and the original story is very dialogue heavy.

Anyway, the episodes themselves! Instead of talking about each individually, I'm gonna be talking about their general similarities. First off, there's Thomas' presence. In Tit for Tat, it makes a lot of sense since it occurs on his branchline, and the jibes against him for Toby actually felt very funny. In Mike's Whistle, at first it bothered me that he was taking ballast for his branchline himself, but now that I think about, Thomas is actually well written and cheeky like he's meant to be. Maybe if it had been Donald and/or Douglas, it may not have been as comedic as it is. But as for Useful Railway? Thomas felt useless there. It could've been Duck, and the intro would be the same.

(On a side note, I really liked Duck's role in Mike's Whistle; he does feel embarrassed about his mishap, and at the end, he does sympathize with Mike, but probably couldn't resist a small chuckle himself.)

Okay, getting that outta the way, let's talk about the Arlesdale trio themselves. In Lost Treasure, we got small glimpses of their personalities, but in the trilogy? They're there for all to see - Bert is rather sensitive and tends to get things mixed up like moving pictures and wool traffic; Mike is hot-tempered, tends to act before he thinks, and dislikes passenger trains; Rex is cheeky, occasionally over-confident, and even comes up with a few rhymes of his own. They shine through in their respective episodes and it makes for great humor.

Speaking of which, the humor is seriously nailed there and it feels very natural. Whether they be little things like the old guy losing his false teeth, the cow licking Mike's face, the "toy engines" remarks, the teasings being given to Duck and (later) Mike, whatever, there are laughs all around. Probably the best of them is in Tit for Tat at the end where Bert references not only the Railway Series, but the TV series itself as well! Mike and Rex laugh it off, thinking it's never gonna happen, but the real icing on the cake comes from the narrator when he tells the audience...

"But it did happen, didn't it?"

...followed by Bert winking at us. That was presently perfectly. Perhaps now, I should bring this up.

YES.

THEY MADE THE THIN AND FAT CLERGYMEN IN CGI.

In all seriousness, it's a damn good thing they did, and they're voiced brilliantly too by Rob Rackstraw and Tom Stourton, respectively. Before the episodes aired, many were worried that they would be replaced - I don't know why they'd be substituted, really - but thankfully, that was not the case, and now Awdry and Boston have a place in Thomas' CGI world.

As long as I'm discussing the human characters, the drivers, happily, also got a great role, and it's something we need more of. Probably my favorite moment was when Bert's driver cleans up his engine's face, and goes into parent mode trying to get Bert to cheer up. That was very sweet and funny at the same time. The passengers also get a mention in Mike's Whistle, and their roles were done down to a tee.

But, for me, the best human character was Mr. Fergus Duncan, a.k.a. The Small Controller. I love how they mention his real name, something never done in the books, and his personality is spot-on. I swear, his strictness really puts the Fat Controller to shame; he should take notes from the Small one about how to deal with his own engines!

I know many of you would kill me if I didn't mention this, so I'm going to; Rex's accident is probably one of the most dramatic the show has ever had, right up there with James' from The Adventure Begins. The slow motion works in the episode and you really get to see all the detail put into making it look good. And the end result comes off looking serious in the end with his derailment. Visualizing an accident yourself is tricky, but to see the actual thing? That could put one's imagination to shame!

So yeah, overall, they are among season 20's best and they're an absolute joy to sit through from start to finish. There's not much else I can say, really, though I do think Brenner is simply better off adapting RWS stories as his originals, as of late, have been very hit or miss. And on that bombshell, I'll just leave you with this...

Thomas and Friends Season 20 Scorecard

1. Sidney Sings: 8

2. Toby's New Friend: 8

3. Henry Gets the Express: 10

4. Diesel and the Ducklings: 9

5. Bradford the Brake Van: 9
6. Saving Time: 3
7. Ryan and Daisy: 10
8. Pouty James: 1
9. Blown Away: 10
10. The Way She Does It: 8
11. Letters to Santa: 9
12. Love Me Tender: 10
13: The Railcar and the Coaches: 10
The Christmas Coffeepot: 8
Over the Hill: 10
Cautious Connor: 7
Mucking About: 6
All in Vain: 9
Buckled Tracks and Bumpy Trucks: 7
Tit for Tat: 10
Mike's Whistle: 10
Useful Railway: 10

Season Rating So Far: 182/220

Rosie's New Look

Happy New Year for 2017! Well, it would be happy if we didn't have the idiot known as Donald Trump for American president, but pfft... whatever. Anyhow, for my first post of the year on the Railfan Brony Blog, we've got a topic that just spawned on Twitter! Rosie the (formerly) lavender tank engine has a new look!

Yep, that's what she'll look like for season 21 onward.

But before I delve further into my thoughts on Rosie's new appearance, I'm gonna briefly summarize what she was like during the past ten seasons at the time of writing: in her debut in season ten, she was a stereotypical fangirl in an equally stereotypical livery. Then in the following season, she was... there, whereas in the season after that, she had a starring role alongside a stronger female character (Emily, in terms of personality). But then during the Nitrogen era, she became a cameo engine to the point that in the previous three seasons, she did literally nothing worth talking about, and so far in season 20, Rosie hasn't turned up at all.

And there may be a good reason for that, which I'll get to later.

Now, how do I feel about Rosie's new appearance? I'm gonna cut to the chase and say that it is a vast improvement. Most would've thought that she'd be better off in black, gray, green, or (a possible nod to The Extended Railway Series) blue, but red? That was so out there, and yet... I think it fits Rosie much better than that stupid pink livery she wore during seasons 10-19 (again, we don't know if she'll be in season 20, but chances are very thin).

What I find interesting about that red livery is that it feels rather close to what steam engines wore on the London, Midland and Scottish Railway - which is odd since Rosie is of Southern design, but I digress - but I find it a bit disappointing that her wheels weren't repainted black to match.

Another intriguing aspect about her redesign is that they used the initials for North Western Railway on her side tanks. That's kind of odd when you consider that from day one, no other steam engine had those initials on their tanks or tenders and so Rosie sticks out like a dented buffer. Even though we can't see her cab sides, perhaps the animators are giving Rosie a number as well? Maybe.

As for why Rosie is getting a repaint? Well, I'm thinking that there will be an episode based upon that where Rosie goes for a repaint (perhaps to James' chagrin?) or they'll simply give an explanation as to why she's in a different color.

But that brings me onto my biggest concern - the merchandise. Since 2007, Rosie had been depicted as being painted pink (or lavender, if you prefer) and for nearly a decade, many young Thomas fans will know that is her livery. Since Rosie will end up becoming red on TV, this could, at best, lead to confusion among the young fans. Unless they know their Thomas faces, some would think this was a different engine altogether! And then there's the matter of changing her livery for the toys, which creates its own list of problems.

Now, it's fair to say that since 2014, whilst the show got better, the toys have gotten worse. Actually, that sounds rather unfair. Sure, they're not as timely as the older models, but some of them, actually, don't look too bad. (I'm thinking of getting a few Adventures models myself *gets shot by angry purists*) But for Rosie's toys, they're going to need a repaint, and paint costs money. The fact that you may end up replacing the pink/lavender Rosie might not help matters a bit. Some of you may even be tempted to repaint your own toys to save money!

That begs the question; why didn't they paint Rosie red from the get-go? Red appears to be a likable color for girls, plus it's more inclusive than pink (not that the color is bad, of course) and much less stereotypical. So... why are they doing it know when they could've done so eleven years ago?

Regardless, I like this new look for Rosie (maybe except for the red wheels; they should be black), and the fact that she'll actually be getting character development makes the situation better. Considering Daisy's roles in season 20, Rosie may end up getting a similar treatment in season 21, and quite possibly get the love she's been begging for in the last decade. Is it not too late for her?

Top 10 MLP Characters That Lost Their Mojo (ft. The Super Mario Brony)

As my final post of 2016, I've done a collaboration with the Super Mario Brony Blog. We've already done one on his blog about how to avoid bad writing, but this time, on my blog, we've done one about ten MLP characters (or character groups, in a few cases) that lost their mojo over the past six seasons.

I'd like to start off with a question; you've got a character you've loved since you were younger, but what does it take to make you lose interest in them? A general lack of interest? A couple of bad starring roles? Or maybe the writers have done something so bad it makes you dislike them?

In that sense, this is a post dedicated to those that apparently just slipped overtime. Those that we feel have slowly lost their charm, potential, or special something at this current point onward. The Top Ten MLP:FIM Characters That Have Lost Their Mojo.

A couple things to point out:

1. Characters from Friendship is Magic and Equestria Girls only. So characters that were featured in the comics won't be considered.
2. We're basing them primarily on mix mashup of the all good character traits that made them a lot more successful with true potential, awesome, and interestingly more popular than they are at this current point.

So what puts Discord on our list? Three words - What About Discord.

We can't really blame him for being the unlikable jerk he was in that atrocious Twilight torture porn rehash of Three's A Crowd though, as we primarily have Neal Dusedau to blame for that. (Since it's obvious that fictional characters are who they either still are, or become depending on how specific writers write for them.)

And as for why he's so, so low? Season six managed to fix him up and make him a highlight in the otherwise disastrous finale. Too bad that a number of other characters got screwed over in season six. Speaking of which...

At the very start of season six, Rarity gave great performances as to being her true character in episodes like The Gift of the Maud Pie and Spice Up Your Life (both of those of which were collab episodes of both her and Pinkie, but anyway). But for some unfortunate reason, (alongside both of Ashleigh Ball's characters) she suddenly went in the opposite direction after the first half of season six.

Case in point, The Cart Before the Ponies; she, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash (more on her later) are supposed to act like adults, not the children they were in that episode! It's also rather telling that the Crusaders, who are actually children, behaved more sensibly and maturely than they did.

Rarity ranked slightly higher than Discord because she's a major character, but again, she's lower as other characters have had worse portrayals in recent episodes.

And believe us, Applejack would've made our countdown (as to only starting it off with Discord and Rarity) as well if not for Where the Apple Lies. Too bad Rarity didn't have a redeeming installment unlike AJ after the sloppy P.P.O.V. (Pony Point of View).

No, Shining Armor and Cadance don't count; just everypony else

Oh, this isn't gonna be a fun one, I can tell you that much...

And we have three simple words for this one as well: Slice of Life. Yes, it's an obvious fact that they're just in the background as to not playing major roles in pretty much every other episode, but how they could've worked as if they were each done one at a time (basically one episode per pony; like Octavia and Vinyl Scratch together, or Bon Bon/Sweetie Drops and Lyra Heartstrings together... not to mention others like Dr. Hooves). Cause even minor characters really deserve a lot of development instead of just being crammed into one so-called "100th special" as to getting only 1/10 of it.

That was a big problem with Legend of Everfree (more on five of its "stars" later) - too many subplots that resulted in a confusing mess. The only difference is that Slice of Life is practically harmless enough for children whereas Legend of Everfree sends out some dangerous messages.

Getting back to the background ponies, are they all bad? Not really; some have a bit of potential for storytelling based on the established traits they have - see Amending Fences for context - and they could do with an episode or two... just as long as you don't cram it all into a single episode where it becomes a convoluted mess, but I digress.

We've both rambled on about this Sunset wannabe countless times before, so for a real explanation on why, read here for her current character nowadays, and here (under the section "DON'T Overuse Certain Characters") for just what Hasbro can do to give her at least some decency. Moving on to...

You might disagree, but during season six, Rainbow Dash somehow became 20 percent less cooler. It started off with her being bullied in Newbie Dash, and then there was the aforementioned Cart Before the Ponies and 28 Pranks Later.

Luckily though, the airings of Stranger Than Fan Fiction and Top Bolt gave her some credibility as to having at least some reputation she had back in previous seasons with other installments before Season 6 like Season 2's Read It and Weep and Season 3's Wonderbolts Academy.

We're halfway through the list, but there's one other Mane Six member that got off worse than Rainbow Dash...

That's right. Even Friendship is Magic's main protagonist lost her charm. And with reason, we feel Twilight is slightly higher than the Mane Six character we feel got the worst treatment above any other element of the six in season six.

Where do we start? Well, let's take a look at The Crystalling, shall we?

Twilight believes here that friendship is easy as "following a list" when it's actually more complex than that. However, I'd forgive that since she's getting used to be Starlight's teacher, but in the next episode Glim-Glam (yes, even I am not immune to using fandom nicknames) appeared in, Twilight... she was just as bad a teacher as she was in said premiere, coming off as a biased hypocrite. Not only that, but No Second Prances was also completely regressive for Friendship is Magic itself, going against everything the show is supposed to teach. And because of that, FiM has become a show with potential to be great, but it can only be seen as good at best.

We both still have serious respect for the character who was at her finest in masterpieces like Amending Fences and of course Twilight's Kingdom... and she still has given us great performances like with Rainbow Dash in Top Bolt. But please, Hasbro; bring back the Twilight we both knew and loved back then from the first four seasons (with some of season five also but still).

Two months have passed, and we still can't get over how rushed the Changelings' turn-around was. Where do we even start with them?

Thorax is already a character we're both neutral towards, and every other changeling of Queen Chrysalis herself was good (with A Canterlot Wedding being the prime example of this factor, whilst in the painful The Cutie Re-Mark she and her minions were just highlights), but then the most recent season finale (or as we both like to call it; the worst episode of the show to this day) happened.

And then there's the designs... sweet mother of Celestia, what is up with them?! If you thought Twilight becoming an Alicorn was bad, the new Changelings' designs take that up to eleven... thousand.

While Twilight randomly receiving new wings may not have been the best idea (since we were all used to her original unicorn form at first), she still has been written greatly throughout seasons four and five. Compared to the newer Changeling designs though, which were all completely unoriginal (mostly like "Final Fantasy villains" unoriginal), it practically was the best idea of the show despite that it technically wasn't.

Yeah, good idea done in one of the worst ways possible. Three more entries to go, and we may have controversy...

Speaking of Legend of Everfree, these five human counterparts of all of Twilight's friends have unfortunately lost their mojo even beforehand with Friendship Games.

Personally, I'm thinking of doing a post about the Human Five. Sure, they were pretty good in the first film, but perhaps one of Rainbow Rocks' most significant issues is how they regressed to being whiny, petty teenage girl stereotypes once more when it came to being a rock band. In fact, I can't believe even I missed out on that in my review!

Ah well, no one's perfect, I suppose, but never mind.

And don't get us wrong, we still love Rainbow Rocks as it's undoubtedly the best in the spinoff series, but another reason we felt they've been bruised badly is the fact they've also been overshadowed by the whiny Kim Kardashian of MLP characters (except that she doesn't take countless saucy selfies) known as Twilight's real human counterpart Sci-Twi, which is really just as bad as how Starlight overshadowed everyone in you-all-know-what.

The Human Five are possibly the most frustrating characters on the list, but we're basing them on how much they lost their mojo, so keep that in mind. So... who's number two?

Now this is where crap's really hitting the fan...!

Even despite her highlight of a role in Top Bolt (as both Twilight and Rainbow Dash obviously had), we just can't deny that this leader of the Wonderbolts still hasn't gotten any better over season six. I mean, this is the Pegasus who stood out and shined in breaths of fresh air like Wonderbolts Academy and Rarity Investigates!, but then, along with the other Wonderbolts, she went completely out of character in the cartoon abomination known as Newbie Dash.

You know, it kinda feels like the writers don't know what to do with her; is she really that jerkish or does she actually have a heart? C'mon, writers, make up your minds about her, will ya? If you're not interested in telling a story, then at least try to get the characters right! Is it that hard to do?

But then, of course, there's the number one contender for someone who'd totally lost her mojo...

You all know why we feel she's lost more mojo than any other MLP character in general, right?

Six words: Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?

I know it's a rhetorical question, but my answer for that would be "no" if the princess in question is committing self-harm, therefore endangering her subjects in modern Equestria, and potentially coming off as a bad leader to said subjects. That's Luna in a nutshell.

Pinkie slandering about her in Luna Eclipsed is bad enough, not to mention she's often treated like Starlight when it comes to turning characters into nothing but pointless plot devices, but the fact that Magic Sheep completely wrecked her true character is honestly proof enough that even die-hard Luna fans really need to look more clearly at her personality, and not just (and only) the things that she's capable of doing. (Because really, we obviously blame Scott Sonneborn for ruining her).

Yeah, we're also looking right at you, Maleficent! But, again, I digress.

We'll see you all in the new year, and this is Zack Wanzer and Tyler Smith singing out.

Thomas and Friends: Season 20 Winter Episodes

It's almost Christmas time, and to celebrate, here's the remaining three winter episodes out of season 20!

Episode 11: Letters to Santa

Written by Helen Farrall

The last time we saw Percy and Harold share an episode together was way back during season six with A Bad Day for Harold. So, to see them star together for the first time in fourteen years with this episode really makes them more special. Don't get me wrong; I like the Thomas and Bertie episodes (except for The Other Side of the Mountain), but do they need to turn up every season? Once in a while is fine, but once a year, and it becomes rather predictable. With Harold, he can go just about anywhere, whether he's close to the ground, near the water, or in the air.

For the flashback, yes, it's based on the Railway Series and not the TV series, but do I care. No, as long as they're keeping true to the shows' roots, that's all good in my books. Much like several episodes of this season, what I loved about Letters to Santa are the technicals in terms of railway operations like mail services being run by someone other than Percy, and the usage of Jeremy was really good (even if it was a toy promo, but still... maybe he could return in season 21?)

I believe I may have said it before, but I'll do so here anyway; Helen Farrall is my favorite Thomas writer. I love how she can mix it up with the slice of life stories and the action-packed, suspenseful adventures, and in both, she's able to provide funny character moments. If anything, I feel she should be head writer for the show - not that Andrew Brenner is a bad writer, but his writing has hit quality rot during season 19 and The Great Race, so maybe he's better off as script editor and letting the rest of the team handle it. He's not the worst of the new team, but he is by far the least good so far; the others just manage to write better scripts.

One issue is the ending - or at least, near it - where Harold stayed on the mainland all night and no one was able to help him before Percy did. Why? However, the story does hold up enough to make you overlook that, and it helps provide a very good moral about helping others in need.

Episode 12: Love Me Tender

Written by Davey Moore

Another fan-favorite out of season 20 alone. Does it hold up? Yes, it does. It's basically Twin Trouble from season six with elements of Percy the Snowman, only this has a longer run time and the basic elements are improved upon. Donald and Douglas are at their best here, and I really love how much they care for each other, even after a petty squabble. I don't mind that they're referred to as "brothers" rather than "twins" - they're still related either way. And yes, I'm gonna bring up Rob Rackstraw now voicing Donald. Getting used to it, I believe that was done to give Donald and Douglas (the latter still voiced by Joe Mills) their own distinct personalities - I mean, compare that to Bill and Ben, who essentially have the same personality and voice.

To be honest, there's very little I can say about Love Me Tender that hasn't been said. Pretty much everyone's made my job reviewing this episode much easier, so give it a watch and you'll see why it's so brilliant.

Episode 13: The Railcar and the Coaches

Written by Davey Moore

I'm gonna say this right now; along with Ryan and Daisy, this is my favorite episode of season 20. Not only that, they pretty much knock Thomas and Bertie to fourth position on my favorite episodes list (if I actually updated it!) with season 19's Best Engine Ever still in the #1 slot.

This may also prove to be the funniest episode of the entire show, and it's down to the interactions between Daisy, Annie and Clarabel. Now, I know what some of you may be thinking - is Daisy out of character? Frankly, the answer is no. Daisy hadn't been in the TV series for twenty years (barring a cameo in Calling All Engines which, frankly, led to nothing anyway) although arguably, you could add an extra nine years if you consider Bulls Eyes a season four afterthought. So in that timeframe, kids may not even know what Daisy's persona is like.

So, come season 20, Daisy has so far shown a few different shades of her character - her laziness (Ryan and Daisy), her stubbornness (The Way She Does It), and her pride (this episode). I love that they're giving Daisy far more love than she got in the classic era, and she's instantly shot straight up to my Top 10 favorites (again, if I updated it). It's also far more effective than James' characterization where he feels very one-note.

I've also really enjoyed Annie and Clarabel in recent years (even if in some cases, the engine who pulls them feels forced, but here, Thomas doesn't since it takes place on his branchline) and this episode is no exception. I mean, did anyone expect them to be as cheeky as they were here? I didn't, and I liked how it expands on their character - they might be stern when Thomas gets ahead of himself, but even they appreciate a good joke once in a while, and seeing Daisy's reaction to their teasing was priceless. Plus, have you ever imagined coaches being punished for misbehaving? That I'd like to see more of - maybe with some new coaches from the mainland?

And that brings me onto the ending; yes, I actually did find it funny. Of course, not everybody will agree, and I get that. Some will say that their punishment was far too extreme as all Annie and Clarabel did was play a trick on Daisy. Somebody compared that to Arthur's Big Hit where the avenger is punished instead of the instigator. I've not watched Arthur in years, so I can't really make the comparison.

For me, it was handled better than Buffer Bashing because Annie and Clarabel actually did something to deserve their scolding, whereas Douglas had brake trouble and the accident was out of his control completely. I know it's been said before, but it's also why the joke at the end of Duck and the Slip Coaches falls flat - had James been the one left without a space at Tidmouth Sheds and not Emily (who didn't really serve any purpose other than a stupid bit of fan-pandering, but I digress), then it might have worked better.

Some will say Daisy didn't get a punishment - actually, yes. Imagine in your workplace that you're forced to work with somebody whose guts you despise, regardless if you say it to their face or not. That's a relatable situation they worked into this episode - even if you don't want to work with the people you hate or openly mocked to their face, you can't go against the boss' orders. In this case, Daisy had no choice but to work with the coaches they made fun of.

Another aspect about the ending is how it goes against the typical "apology ending" we've come to expect. They actually did this in Millie and the Volcano, but I ultimately disfavor that episode (it's still not bad though, don't get me wrong) because Millie's (and the groundskeeper's) actions to get back at Samson could've resulted in a bigger fire, potentially ruining the Earl's dinosaur park. Not helping is that it came from a writer who should know better than that, especially since Brenner wrote for Fireman Sam (in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if Volcano was the point where his writing began to hit quality rot, but, again, I digress).

Other than that, there's not much else to say about The Railcar and the Coaches, really. For me, it's fun to watch from start to finish (Diesel's portrayal in recent years also makes me like him more) and even though this aired third, it was a terrific comeback for Daisy.

Thomas and Friends Season 20 Scorecard

1. Sidney Sings: 8

2. Toby's New Friend: 8

3. Henry Gets the Express: 10

4. Diesel and the Ducklings: 9

5. Bradford the Brake Van: 9
6. Saving Time: 3
7. Ryan and Daisy: 10
8. Pouty James: 1
9. Blown Away: 10
10. The Way She Does It: 8
11. Letters to Santa: 9
12. Love Me Tender: 10
13: The Railcar and the Coaches: 10
The Christmas Coffeepot: 8
Over the Hill: 10

Season Rating So Far: 123/150

Thomas and Friends Season 20: The Christmas Coffeepot, Over the Hill

After a three-week hiatus, we are back with more Thomas and Friends reviews! My next one was meant to be a retrospective on Duck and the Slip Coaches, but I'm having a hard time trying to put my thoughts down on paper (or Word document, in this case!), so that may be on the backburner for a while yet. I don't know whether or not it'll actually be completed at this stage, but right now, let's talk about season 20's winter episodes, starting off with the Glynn duology.

Note: This post contains minor spoilers for The Missing Breakdown Train.

When Glynn made a small appearance at the end of The Adventure Begins, I was left disappointed. Considering that all he had was a rubbish, incorrectly proportioned Trackmaster model, I expected way more than a mere twenty second appearance - even Bertram contributed more to his sole appearance on TV, and he didn't say a word! As a result, I wrote off Glynn as pointless, but then these two episodes came around and overrode my initial thoughts entirely.

Now, I'm gonna discuss the two episodes individually; first we'll talk about The Christmas Coffeepot, and then Over the Hill.

Part 1 - The Christmas Coffeepot

First off, there's Marion. I really like her character as a whole. Out of the Brenner characters, she feels the most well-developed. She's rather scatterbrained at times, but whenever Bill and Ben cause trouble, she's motherly but stern with them, and that was great especially in season 18. Marion's role here does make sense; a talking tree (or at least, you think it's one) is not something you see every day the same way miniature engines or dinosaurs are uncommon in your life.

That being said, her subplot didn't really lead to much and was dropped without finality much like hers in Sodor's Legend of the Lost Treasure with the Arlesdale trio. I guess there were plans to make them two episodes - one about Marion and her "talking tree", and the other about Glynn's restoration - but there wasn't enough material for both without coming off as filler so they were strung together as one whole episode a la famous Paul McCartney songs like "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" and "Band on the Run".

(Yep, there's your obligatory Beatles analogy in one of my reviews!)

Anyway, the episode on whole felt like Hero of the Rails, but whilst similar, it happens a lot more quickly (as in, you could cut so much material from the 2009 special and nothing would change) but it still feels cliched in terms of story. I mean, why would Thomas and Percy worry about Glynn being scrapped when they could've simply presented him to Sir Topham Hatt before he was sent to the Steamworks? At least try something new once in a while to freshen it up!

There's also a couple of minor problems; Thomas' reaction to seeing Glynn for the first time in years didn't feel emotional or compelling (I mean, he had a bigger reaction to seeing Hiro and they interacted regularly!) and felt disappointing. The other is a plot hole within the series; do humans age in the Thomas universe? Thomas the Babysitter implied that babies can be born, and Happy Birthday Sir showed that humans could actually age. Is this the railway equivalent to The Simpsons or something? Come on, work with me here.

Of course, it doesn't mean the ending was bad; it had a very good lead in to Over the Hill when Stephen's jealousy is hinted at.

Part 2 - Over the Hill

For both episodes, there's the mention of a railway museum. I love this idea a lot, and I wonder how it can be expanded upon in season 20 as well as 21. And with the possibility of Hugo being involved, anything could happen. We'll see in a couple of months.

Possibly the strongest aspect of Over the Hill is Glynn and Stephen's dynamic. I really love its development over the episode; at first, Stephen shows jealously and vulnerability when Glynn gets the Earl's attention (at least it ain't Thomas this time!) and when he tries to bring the coffee pot down to size, Glynn fires back without overreacting. That was brilliant, funny, and brilliantly funny all at once.

And then there's their race. Oh, my God, is it hilarious or what?! There's that "Eye of a Tiger"-esque music building up to what could be an epic race but then it turns into a pair old engines simply puffing along the mainline grumbling about the younger generation barely going at, what, five miles per hour? And then Gordon and James shout at them and Glynn and Stephen get their own back by babying them!

*several seconds of laughter later*

...oh dear...

One issue I have with the UK dub is that it changes "glass of milk" to "cup of tea" - why? The "glass of milk" bit was funny because Glynn was treating Gordon like a baby, but when he says "cup of tea", it feels more like "want some ice with that burn?" which is greatly disappointing and doesn't feel funny. It doesn't hurt the episode, but it's something I wanted to point out.

There is a lot to love about Over the Hill, even the small things like the opening flashback about Glynn and Millie's interactions with the old farts. Forget about The Great Race - Stephen and Glynn's is a great race in itself!

Final Thoughts

Out of season 20's episodes thus far, The Christmas Coffeepot and Over the Hill were the last episodes I was expecting, and I was pleasantly surprised by both. They finally gave a character like Glynn a chance to shine and they did him justice for the series. In fact, thinking about that gives me appreciation that the loose ends of The Adventure Begins are finally tied up, and it also helps that Judy and Jerome got their own screentime and a place of their own at Arlesburgh in The Missing Breakdown Train, which I'll cover in the new year.

As for my ratings, The Christmas Coffeepot gets an 8/10 because of the overuse the cliched "saved from scrap" tropes that have been played to death, but it doesn't make it a bad episode, though. Over the Hill, however, gets a full 10/10 for being fun to watch throughout. They're a great way to bring Glynn into the fray and I hope we see more of him in the future.

...or should it be in the past?

Average Rating: 9/10

After the Fact: Starlight Glimmer

It's been a whole year since The Cutie Re-Mark aired, and since then, there's been a big topic that has completely taken the fandom by storm - Starlight Glimmer herself. I was amongst those who sounded off against her redemption, but today, let's see how much my views on her have changed, shall we?

Oh, and before I begin, I'd like to say that I'll be splitting this post in two parts; one focusing on Starlight's roles since her debut, and the other comparing her to the other major villains (as in, threats to the good guys, and yes, that includes the EG villains).

Let's start off with this question; why is Starlight Glimmer given constant hate, even by the time of the season six finale? I've explained why in the past, but since that somehow isn't enough for some, perhaps I can summarize it like this; character development vs. lackluster writing.

First off, there's The Cutie Map. At the time of its release, it was highly praised for being different compared to the previous season premieres. It wasn't as "actiony" compared to, let's say, The Crystal Empire or Princess Twilight Sparkle, but it still understood how to tell a story, and it presented, at the time, one of the show's strongest morals.

Another reason the episode got praise was Starlight herself. Sure, she didn't have the most original of names, but what made her a unique villain was that instead of relying on brute strength or an army of her own, she relied on her intelligence. That, I feel, is something villains could use more often; who need muscle when you got a big brain?

Unfortunately, she crashed and burned as a character with The Cutie Re-Mark. Rather than repeat what I said in my After the Fact, I'll just link you to said review. To make a long story short, it was the point where My Little Pony began to lose some of its charm. At first, I figured, "oh, it's just a brief slump. I'm sure they'll get back on their hooves soon enough."

Except that it wasn't the case.

Instead of getting themselves out of the hole, they dug themselves deeper. Now, at this point, I'll only be focusing on the Starlight-centric episodes (or at least, feature her as a major/supporting player) in season six's story arc, so A Hearth's Warming Tail will not be considered.

The Crystalling was a very poor start to Starlight's character arc. They had this nice idea of reuniting her with Sunburst, as well as one for Flurry Heart, but they both suffer by being two episodes sloppily mashed into one, and the premiere as a whole suffered through sluggish pacing and a storyline that was creatively bankrupt from beginning to end.

It got worse with No Second Prances; again, Starlight making friends with a pony who went through similar problems is a good idea, but it's completely destroyed by Twilight's double standards to the point she's no longer in my Top 10 favorites. Not helping is that it's a blatant retelling of What About Discord, but then, that episode should never have been brought into production to start with.

For The Times They Are a Changeling - I think I may have missed this, but I could be wrong - Starlight doesn't openly welcome Thorax until Spike sings a "song" that not all Changelings were bad. Considering that she also went through similar problems the way Thorax did, why didn't Spike even think of introducing Starlight to him? Maybe then, she would've had a purpose.

Every Little Thing She Does was very much a dead on arrival retreading of Lesson Zero. Up to that point, the only pony Starlight has spent much of her time with was Twilight, and not the rest of the Mane Six, with (if he's counted as a member) the exception of Spike. However, if they did want Starlight to spend time with each Mane Six member, why cram it all into one episode when you could spread it out to five?

And then there's To Where and Back Again, which... I've moaned about enough already.

The point is, every time Starlight gets some degree of character development, there is a "but" immediately after, and because of that, fans may end up getting more frustrated than sympathetic with her. Every positive development for Starlight gets cancelled out by huge missteps in the writing; maybe if there weren't so many writers in one season or that there was quality control, perhaps fans like myself wouldn't be so annoyed by her presence.

Not only that, but Starlight's story arc was spread too thinly. Yes, we get that the Mane Six are the leading characters, and if you wanted to make Starlight a recurring character, fine, but there were better ways to get her to the point she's at! To Where and Back Again is supposed to be her big moment, but there were only four episodes (three if you consider The Crystalling as one episode) that actually connected to it, all of the aforementioned season six episodes barring Every Little Thing She Does.

In the season six overview, Dark Qiviut (that's his user name) commented that there should've been more focus on Starlight so we know she's part of the cast. Much as the thought sickens me to an extent, I can see his point; Trixie and Thorax had one episode each before the finale, but we don't see any onscreen development for either, making their presence feel forced at best. The same could apply to Discord, who's had no interaction with Starlight beforehand!

To Where and Back Again might've worked better if A) it was held back and aired much later in the show, or B) (the better one for Starlight in season six) there was more development for her character, as well as her interactions with Trixie and Thorax, and maybe an episode with her and Discord. Some fans would've still complained about Starlight, but at least there would've been development that wasn't out of the blue.

And that brings me onto the other major villains.

You've heard me say it before, but what the heck - Sunset Shimmer has gone strength to strength as a character. Sure, she might not be as "edgy" as she was in the first film, but she can still be badass whenever she wants to be, but nine times out of ten, Sunset's presence on screen almost brings a warm feeling in my heart, and she knows that she can't just brood over her mistakes constantly for seventy minutes (*coughcough*Sci-Twi*cough*)

Discord is regarded as one of the best reformed baddies of the show, and it's easy to see why; his wacky sense of humor, the voice provided by John de Lancie, and most of all, bags of charisma and personality. Because of that, it attracts you to him and makes him hard to dislike... well, possibly except for What About Discord, but let's move on.

As a surprising twist of fate in the season two finale, Queen Chrysalis is by far the most well-loved baddie who still (thankfully) hasn't been redeemed, especially since her heart is so black, she's one baddie you'd love to hate. Josh Haber and Michael Vogel both understood her and Discord (somewhat) in the season six finale, making them highlights to what's otherwise the worst episode of the show.

You might not agree, but King Sombra, when introduced, was pretty damn terrifying. He didn't speak much, but why did he need to? His presence alone or the mention of his name is enough to scare you!

The same could apply to Lord Tirek. He captured three princesses, manipulated Discord into working for him, and he blew up a library designed like a tree! No one's rooting for that, and that alone makes Tirek a badass you do not want to mess with.

The Dazzlings were great in Rainbow Rocks, and the songs they sing alone are why along with their seductive tones - you cling on to every lyric they perform, especially if they're performed by Adagio Dazzle.

The only uninteresting antagonist prior to Starlight was Nightmare Moon; she was so dull a villain in the premiere that she was barely in a quarter the episode she starred in.

As for Principal Cinch? Well, to be honest, she was probably the only new character out of Friendship Games with a certain degree of merit. She did have a reputation to uphold at Crystal Prep, and you know to hate her when she blackmails Sci-Twi (making the latter worse than she already is), but otherwise, Cinch is a bit... well, dull. That being said, at least she had more character than the Shadowbolts.

So compare all of them Starlight, and maybe you'll understand why people hate her. Most of the aforementioned baddies had motivation that's at least halfway-meritful (in Discord's case, he probably didn't need a motivation, as his primary objective was chaos), but Starlight's motivations were not so good, and I've explained why constantly.

I believe I read somewhere that Starlight's reasons for behaving the way she did in season five were a lot darker than what we got in the final product. Neglectful parents? Sunburst separated from her by a (supposedly) tragic accident? Anything would've sufficed! And maybe then, you'd have a reason to make us sympathize with her, and it would've left a less sour taste in our mouths.

That said, the only major villain worse than Starlight is Gloriosa Daisy, for reasons which I've explained in my Legend of Everfree review.

Overall, I do honestly believe there was potential for Starlight to be a great character, but sadly, her development has so far been let down by poor writing choices which leaves fans frustrated. If you still like her even after all the issues I pointed out, fine by me. Just don't go round throwing hissy fits because someone says something like "She's a Sunset clone, and so she sucks!" or something to that extent, and same applies to the reverse. Having differing viewpoints is fine as it makes us who we are, so why get into a petty fight over an opposing opinion? It's better to discuss opinions than to deride them.