My Little Pony: Friendship is MAGIC!

[eSOANEM]

Spoiler:

I didn't much enjoy the Derpy Hooves bit at the start, but I can appreciate that it was a fan call-out and established the need for Applejack to procure some money.

Agreed. Personally I prefer BaldDumboRat's voice

[Iulus Cofield]

I very much enjoyed the episode. Derpy at the beginning was a little overdone, but it's important to remember that Jayson Thiessen has said they do stuff with Derpy not as fan shout-outs, but just because they like the idea of Derpy so much.

I'm also kind of surprised they call a character on a children's show "Derpy." I won't tell the press if you won't.

[The Scyphozoa]

Um... wow. Wooooooowwwwww. Pinkie to the extreme in that episode. It's a good thing she's my favorite or I'd probably hate it.

[ConMan]

So this week's episode had a call-out to the bronies (Derpy), but also to a much, much older sitcom:

Spoiler:

Is anyone else familiar with the chocolate factory scene from "I Love Lucy"?

[Game_boy]

So this week's episode had a call-out to the bronies (Derpy), but also to a much, much older sitcom:

Spoiler:

Is anyone else familiar with the chocolate factory scene from "I Love Lucy"?

Spoiler:

Was linked on EqD twice.

[Sartorius]

So this week's episode had a call-out to the bronies (Derpy), but also to a much, much older sitcom:

Spoiler:

Is anyone else familiar with the chocolate factory scene from "I Love Lucy"?

Spoiler:

When I saw the girls line up on the conveyor belt I was totally hoping for that reference. I definitely was not disappointed.

[ConMan]

So this week's episode had a call-out to the bronies (Derpy), but also to a much, much older sitcom:

Spoiler:

Is anyone else familiar with the chocolate factory scene from "I Love Lucy"?

Spoiler:

Was linked on EqD twice.

Spoiler:

I should have guessed. I only watched the ep last night so I haven't yet been on EqD or MLB.

[The Scyphozoa]

Well, I appreciate that at least that "shout-out" was a little more obscure, in that I did not know what show it was originally from, but oft-repeated gags like that tend to get on my nerves a bit. Take the chase scene in "A Bird in the Hoof". It even used rehashed Benny Hill MUSIC. How many scenes like that does the world really *need* in its cartoons?

[Iulus Cofield]

Infinite. It seems like nearly all successful works are chock full of cultural references.

[Triangle_Man]

Infinite. It seems like nearly all successful works are chock full of cultural references.

Or if you want a fancy liturature/english student term for it, allusions.

The Picture of Dorian Gray did this a lot, if I remember it right. It can be fun when done right.

And I got the feeling that "I need to get the heck out of Dodge" was a reference to something that I didnt' get. Can anyone confirm this?

Also, that entire chase scene was a thing of pure gold, in my view.

[ConMan]

Infinite. It seems like nearly all successful works are chock full of cultural references.

Or if you want a fancy liturature/english student term for it, allusions.

The Picture of Dorian Gray did this a lot, if I remember it right. It can be fun when done right.

And I got the feeling that "I need to get the heck out of Dodge" was a reference to something that I didnt' get. Can anyone confirm this?

Also, that entire chase scene was a thing of pure gold, in my view.

To "get [the hell] out of Dodge" is just a very Texan way of saying "get out of here". But it's a very Applejack thing to say, given her mannerisms.

[Vaniver]

To "get [the hell] out of Dodge" is just a very Texan way of saying "get out of here". But it's a very Applejack thing to say, given her mannerisms.

Er, Dodge is in Kansas; that is, it's a Western saying, which was also popularized by Gunsmoke, an American TV show that ran in the 50s-70s (and, actually was contemporary with I Love Lucy).

[Triangle_Man]

To "get [the hell] out of Dodge" is just a very Texan way of saying "get out of here". But it's a very Applejack thing to say, given her mannerisms.

Er, Dodge is in Kansas; that is, it's a Western saying, which was also popularized by Gunsmoke, an American TV show that ran in the 50s-70s (and, actually was contemporary with I Love Lucy).

Thanks for the free pop culture lesson! I thought it was a reference to something!

[ConMan]

To "get [the hell] out of Dodge" is just a very Texan way of saying "get out of here". But it's a very Applejack thing to say, given her mannerisms.

Er, Dodge is in Kansas; that is, it's a Western saying, which was also popularized by Gunsmoke, an American TV show that ran in the 50s-70s (and, actually was contemporary with I Love Lucy).

Much more informative than my 30 seconds of Google. Thank you for the correction!

[The Scyphozoa]

Lawful/chaotic girly/boyish alignment: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/63 ... ments.jpg/

[Princess Marzipan]

I very much enjoyed the episode. Derpy at the beginning was a little overdone, but it's important to remember that Jayson Thiessen has said they do stuff with Derpy not as fan shout-outs, but just because they like the idea of Derpy so much.

I'm also kind of surprised they call a character on a children's show "Derpy." I won't tell the press if you won't.

I'm hoping we eventually see a Derpy-centric episode where everypony learns that we all make mistakes.

[Weeks]

The fucking fandom aside, apparently Tabitha didn't know Derpy was female.

Still, Tabs () is best pony.

[Mr. Mack]

apparently Tabitha didn't know Derpy was female.

I didn't notice until it was mentioned on Equestria Daily. I went and rewatched the scene and now I can't unhear it! But I'm pretty sure that a young boy voice is close enough to a woman's voice that it still works. At least, close enough that I didn't notice.

Also, did anyone notice how anything that touched Derpy's hindquarters broke? First the column, then the roof collapsed -- not when she landed on it -- but when she sat down. It's like she has the unusually specific superpower of "destruction by rump bump."
And that's why we'll never see Derpy wearing pants.

Oh, and I like that ponies drive nails with their hooves. I love little stuff like that.

[The Scyphozoa]

Did she actually have Derpy pointed out to her in past episodes? I'd expect anyone working on the show to at least know somw basics of pony character design, like "eyelashes = female".

I would have included "round nose" also, but technically Snips and Snails are exceptions. But fuck those guys.

Anyway, I guess this is why Derpy is listed as "Androgyny" in the alignment chart I posted earlier.

[Game_boy]

Guess who was the first to complain to Hasbro about Derpy and force a response?

Anti-MLP trolls.

@The Scyphozoa

She didn't see any picture.

[Rumpelstiltskin]

I'm about to finish season 1 and I think this is one of the best pinky pie songs ever:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lyk_EIXk_k

[RebeccaRGB]

I'm about to finish season 1 and I think this is one of the best pinky pie songs ever:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lyk_EIXk_k

Hehe, I have a special place in my heart for that one as well. ^.^ Though I sometimes get the feeling we two are among the few who do.

[dhokarena56]

I discovered today that there exists an Explicit MLP Fanfic Archive.

Celestia help us.

[eeris]

Applejack is 2nd best letter writer.

[Vaniver]

The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 thoughts while watching:

Spoiler:

I'm getting the impression that the writers enjoy thwarting Rainbow Dash. (Fine by me, as it's fun to watch.)

Spike catching Rariswoon was classic.

Huddle time: *gasp* new Big Mac line? "Eeyup." Big Mac y u dash my hopes

(Though I got a "No Deal", and Big Mac in goggles later.)

Why oh why, if your goal is quality over quantity, would you let yourself get roped into a quantity contest instead of a quality contest?

Remember that time Twilight harvested all the apples at once? I think she could be more useful than swapping out barrels.

Applejack's letter was hilarious, especially with the music that kicked in.

[eeris]

Spoiler:

Why oh why, if your goal is quality over quantity, would you let yourself get roped into a quantity contest instead of a quality contest?

Remember that time Twilight harvested all the apples at once? I think she could be more useful than swapping out barrels.

Spoiler:

I think they wanted to prove that they could produce more cider without sacrificing their quality but it was definitely a bit silly to not put the quality part into the contest.

I'll definitely feel sorry for the Ponyvillians if cider season rolls round again and the rest of the mane 6 don't help out, causing another cider shortage.

[Iulus Cofield]

Spoiler:

Why would they lose Sweet Apple Acres if they only agreed to stop selling cider? Combined with letting Phlegm and Phlagm have a bunch of their apple (trees) for free, I suddenly have concerns with Applejack's ability as a businesspony.

[The Scyphozoa]

The Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 thoughts while watching:

Spoiler:

Why oh why, if your goal is quality over quantity, would you let yourself get roped into a quantity contest instead of a quality contest?

Spoiler:

Because Granny Smith is a hothead.

"Ahem. I DIDN'T LEARN ANYTHING!" Best letter ever.

[eSOANEM]

Spoiler:

Why would they lose Sweet Apple Acres if they only agreed to stop selling cider? Combined with letting Phlegm and Phlagm have a bunch of their apple (trees) for free, I suddenly have concerns with Applejack's ability as a businesspony.

Spoiler:

AJ said that they need the money from the cider to get through the winter.

[Iulus Cofield]

Spoiler:

Right, but that doesn't mean the Acres would go to the constallions. I mean, we don't even know if they have property taxes, so the Apple Family may well be able to live on the land even if they don't have the money to operate the orchards.

[Mr. Mack]

Spoiler:

Right, but that doesn't mean the Acres would go to the constallions. I mean, we don't even know if they have property taxes, so the Apple Family may well be able to live on the land even if they don't have the money to operate the orchards.

I'm pretty sure the dialogue makes it clear that the Apple family will lose the farm if they can't sell cider outside of apple season. I presume the implication is that the Apple family would go bankrupt and have to sell the farm and the brothers would buy it up.

Also, I love the ending. I like that they avoided the obvious ending and went in a different direction.

Spoiler:

Although I may be biased seeing as to how I'm a guy that prefers microbrewed beer over the mass-produced stuff any day.

Also, I don't think I've heard a song with "suck" being chanted since Nine Inch Nails.

Also also also, I love the animation during the song scene. The way the background ponies bend their knees during the song reminds me of this video for Dr. Steel's "Back and Forth." I especially like that the ponies are not all perfectly in sync.

(Also)⁴, even though the show doesn't clarify and there isn't enough time, I like to assume they're referring to hard cider, hence the high demand.

[The Scyphozoa]

Spoiler:

Although I may be biased seeing as to how I'm a guy that prefers microbrewed beer over the mass-produced stuff any day.

Spoiler:

Especially if the mass-produced stuff has trees in it.

[Vaniver]

Iulus:

Spoiler:

Why would they lose Sweet Apple Acres if they only agreed to stop selling cider? Combined with letting Phlegm and Phlagm have a bunch of their apple (trees) for free, I suddenly have concerns with Applejack's ability as a businesspony.

As mentioned, the cider sales are a critical part of their annual revenue, and it's likely that Flim and Flam would buy up the property (though they wouldn't need to pack up and leave right then).

That said, I am really not happy with "pride" (and/or stubbornness) as the Apple Family Vice, because it is essentially the anti-Honesty. "I'm 100% confident that we'll win!" and "we need to get lucky" should not go together!

[Weeks]

CIDER CIDER CIDER CIDER

[Sartorius]

(Also)⁴, even though the show doesn't clarify and there isn't enough time, I like to assume they're referring to hard cider, hence the high demand.

Man, cider's awesome, even without alcohol. I do think it'd be funny if it were alcoholic though.

[Weeks]

Let's toast!

[Princess Marzipan]

Let's toast!

I thought you'd quit ponies. FOREEEVEEER.

Spoiler:

This was awesome. The selfish and ugly parts of capitalism make an appearance (profit over the quality of the product and regardless of deleterious side effects on the community), and the town discovers that working together and helping each other yields better results.

You DO gotta share/care.

[Weeks]

I will never quit ponies. I promise!

Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!

Spoiler:

This was awesome. The selfish and ugly parts of capitalism make an appearance (profit over the quality of the product and regardless of deleterious side effects on the community), and the town discovers that working together and helping each other yields better results.

You DO gotta share/care.

On another forum:

Spoiler:

I've seen a couple dumbos on EqD say that this episode teaches terrible stuff about the economy... I lol'd :v:

Was it because they saw the episode as a Luddite message about the superiority of the "old ways"? I don't think that's fair, seeing as the brothers skipped town to avoid the backlash from putting out a shitty and possibly dangerous product, the quality of which was compromized because their awesome technology couldn't keep up when the apples doubled their workforce. The SSCS 6000 would ease the workload for the Apple family for sure, but it's one of a kind and the brothers were asking a high price for it, while they could easily hire extra help during cider season to increase supply and profits for a lot less than what Flim and Flam were asking for. The fact that they apparently haven't thought of doing this means the Apples are not very good at running a business, but I don't think the episode as such is teaching kids terrible lessons about economics. Au contraire, comparative advantage through factor endowments and responsible business practice are good lessons from any introductory textbook on economics.

TL;DR PONY TEACHES THE ECONOMICS

[Princess Marzipan]

Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!

Well SHIT, that settles that.

And if it doesn't...

I'll Cupcakes ye.

[Wodashin]

Spoiler:

Anyone gathering "capitalism bad" from this episode is REALLY grasping at straws. Incorporeal straws.

The product they had was, at first, very good. Granny Smith drank some during the song and obviously liked it.

The moral is to not be an arrogant asshole, and to not turn to cheating to win. This episode showed that Applejack learned her lesson from Applebuck Season. If she hadn't learned that lesson in season 1, she wouldn't have accepted her friends' help, and would have lost. Flim and Flam were arrogant and allowed their opponent to get the better of them, forcing them to turn to cheating to win.

This episode has absolutely nothing to do with business at all. It has to do with sportsmanship. Somewhat closely related to Fall Weather Friends. That one also included cheating and lowering yourself, but was aimed more at competing with friends and not letting rivalries get the better of you. This one focused more on the cheating and the morality of cheating itself, and the arrogance. Karmic and all that. You'll get your comeuppance.