Rosewind

So Apple had nothing to do with it. Called it! It is nice to get some real, solid information! Anypony thought of emailing Nicole Angello about this and pawing around for more info? That would be the source to go to.

QFT You know, I wonder if Derpy would have had a better reception if Tabitha voiced her a bit more feminine and away from the tone she used? If anything this should be a solid example for Studio B to provide as much character detail to their creative/VA staff as possible, even for background ponies!

Oops, I edited my post to clarify my metaphor but you already read/replied. Oh well. We had a nice little debate though, eh? Have a cookie.

So by your logic, if someone buys a defective car and gets in an accident because of the defect, they should be upset with the dealer that sold the vehicle? I know that metaphor has been done to death, but that's what I'm seeing from your side of the fence. Does that mean it's the dealer's responsibility to fix the defect, or should the manufacturer do so? I suppose they could say "We won't sell your car until you fix the defect." Why would Apple waste time, resources, and money to alter another company's content? Back to the Derpy situation, maybe that is the logic at play here. Maybe some people won't take responsibility for their own tolerance and need for political correctness, so they hold that standard to other entities besides themselves. For my other theory, I was suggesting that Hasbro has only adjusted content you have to pay for outright. The website and on-demand services don't cost the consumer anything (they pay by watching advertisements), so I think Hasbro might treat that crowd differently than the paying one that has a right to gripe or question the content since they actually made a monetary purchase from the company. By this logic, I'm most certainly not underestimating Hasbro, nor do I disagree that I should discount Apple -- I just think people are giving them too much credit in this situation. As for your opinion about all this, and whether or not Apple was a player in the change of Derpy, I think we're going to have to agree to disagree on this, Swirly!

I don't know any business that will sweep a product under the carpet in the way you're describing. Large businesses tend to make a lot of money, but only because they make money in smaller amounts. Cost control is paramount to this business strategy, and storing away a warehouse of DVDs, never to be sold, because of a minor change to one episode on the disc, is not good business by any degree, even to save face or whatever have you -- unless the product was, of course, defective or dangerous to the consumer. You make some interesting arguments about how Hasbro's infrastructure works. Do you have any evidence to support this information that you're putting forth? You're saying a lot that does make sense, but I can't see how any of it can really be confirmed. Again, it's speculation, and it's going to continue to be speculation until some real information is provided from a viable source. I'm afraid I'll have to disagree with what you are saying because I don't think there is a way to confirm how Hasbro's business infrastructure works, especially with episode distribution.

Oh oops, I totally missed the context there!

I think our dear Weesh is referring to the events that took place in Stare Master. Also bonus points for liking Magic. I don't play anymore, but I have a killer squirrel deck!

Why would people complain to Apple about the content of an episode? Blame the producer of said episode if you want anything done about it. As we saw with WeLoveFine, our factual resources and empirical evidence point to the fact that Hasbro contacted them and asked for the removal of Derpy products. Instead, they renamed them, then later the names were allowed back, through some sort of agreement. By that logic, it's not far off to assume that Hasbro, the copyright holder of the product, would contact a distributor in order to halt the sale of a material that belongs to them. Think of it like an intellectual recall. They might have fixed the product in-house, and -- since iTunes is a digital distribution vector -- we were able to see this change first. The DVD was probably not touched because it was already made, and the expense of adjusting it would not justify the gain and Hasbro might have decided to let it slide. Hasbro is a many-headed hydra, I wouldn't be surprised if they "missed" some spots during all this backpeddling, the ondemand resources and the site, specifically. Those two features do not actually collect money for viewership; the iTunes download does. Maybe that's the factor we're missing here. We'll know for certain in due time when Last Roundup airs again on the Hub, or we hear some real news from the source.

We don't really understand how episode distribution is set up for Hub//iTunes (though if Hearts and Hooves was any indication, iTunes is probably the more hamfisted of the two companies). Applying speculation to this issue instead of facts isn't going to get us any closer to a real answer.

I doubt Apple has any real motive, justification, or means for having the episode changed, I think people are giving them way too much credit. They're just a distributor.

I'm kind of getting tired of the whole Derpy thing. It's been discussed and done to death, and until (and if) we get any more information about why this change took place, anyone's guess is as good as speculation. I will say that Derpy is not our only influence on the creative talent in the show. There are many other background characters we have given life and popularity to, and all of them can be used by Studio B in future episodes to "shout out" to us in a positive -- and probably less controversial -- way. If anything, this situation is a solemn reminder that not everyone can or will appreciate what the creators of FiM do for us, even little things like giving a bigger role and voice to a background character that we helped design. It's also a reminder that Hasbro must be very cautious with their decisions about what content to include in FiM in the future. It's a precious property to them, and out of respect for their intended audience and their parents, I think they have to make the unpopular choice when it comes to making big decisions that could displease thousands. The best thing we can do now is continue to support the show, and show some understanding into why this happened, instead of pointing blame at one party or another. Maybe some information will come to light in the near future, and this whole debacle can be buried for good.

Studio B is really outdoing itself with every episode. Now that we're getting late into Season 2, it's very easy to see how much it's improved -- and it can only get better! However with Flash anything, a static screenshot will never do it any justice. It's poetry in motion!

Hay there, welcome to our herd!

Yup, being funky for me too! Also the server seems pretty laggy to me -- even moreso since the switch.

Targeted and intended are not the same. Targeted has a very specific audience in its design. An intended audience implies it might apply to one group, but it isn't pigeonholed into keeping with one theme or extreme. You'll note that FiM has a variety of episodes to it -- adventure, slice of life, social mechanics, whatever have you -- and nearly all of them can apply to adults as well as children. If it was targeted to little girls specifically, the relevance and meaning would obviously be just to them. It isn't, and never has been. I'm not sure how fatal injuries are coming into play in this discussion. If you look at Philomena, she "ashed" after being sick for a time. There was nothing violent about her "death," and it was temporary -- but only after the story hammered home that the bird was gone. This is just one example that I'm surprised hasn't been brought to this discussion more. I totally agree with you that there's nothing wrong with being a girl. I'm a female myself. I'm just bringing some different angles to what you're saying. I should point out that -- again, by design -- the Mane 6 tackle their problems in different ways. The biggest example I can give is the contrast between Twilight and Rainbow Dash. Twilight uses her brain, RD prefers to use prowess to hammer her way through a problem. Both examples prove that females are capable of handling problems in different ways, too, and it doesn't always have to be through lovey dovey social interactions that so many cartoons targeted for girls have spat out. I can understand why you dislike the negativity around the series and others' desires for darker and more serious material to be a part of it. I agree we will never see that side of FiM because that's not what it is. There's no argument there. But that doesn't discount the fact that death or other serious issues shouldn't be included on the basis of what they are, as FiM has proven that it can go about teaching a lesson in a fun, interesting way that makes sense for what it is, without going overboard. Once again Ginger, you bring a very interesting point to the table of the discussion. I very much agree with you!

I started a new thread before finding this one, oops! The last Mane6 livestream had a Fluttershy teaser.

It's a show targeted for little girls, but I think it's safe to say it has transcended its intentions. FiM was also designed for parents -- and by extension and good design -- everyone else to enjoy as well. It was designed to challenge the concepts that cartoons for girls should be overly feminine, and only deserving of certain quality expectations, which -- up until a little over a year ago -- were remarkably poor. Something doesn't have to be upbeat and positive to teach a good lesson. I think some of the darker-toned episodes have something important to teach and share to all of us, not just the target audience. Why should violence and death only be a feature of cartoons designed for boys? Why shouldn't a series be designed for boys without these things, too? Why can't a girls' cartoon explore death? Last time I checked, girls are just as mortal as boys. It's an important lesson everyone will have to learn in their lifetime, preferably as early as they can grasp what death is. To say that a certain element or lesson doesn't belong to a series because it doesn't fit its supposed mantra -- especially a cartoon that has challenged and broken so many rules -- isn't doing any favors for the series and community. I think it's for this reason that the expectation is there for heavier subject material to make an eventual appearance. Will it happen? Who knows. FiM still manages to surprise me every week, and only time will truly tell. I should add that if an episode was featured where something died, it would probably be done in a very clever way that would steer away from the grimdark. There's a lot of creative ways to do this while staying loyal to the focus of the cartoon.

Hi hi hi hi! One season in one sitting? That's like 12-something hours!

Hi Crimson! Welcome to Canterlot. You'll find this is a fun little pony community.

That is a cute avatar. Nice to have you with us, Wuff!

It can't be unseen. Thanks, Weesh!

All of those reactions you just described means it was a healthy brony conversion. Nicely done! Liking RD as best pony off the bat, hatred of Rarity....check and check! Of all the "hooks" I see, people watching it for the first time tend to watch it, get really quiet, and become really absorbed in it. FiM just has this amazing draw to it. For those of you trying to get your loved ones and friends into pony, remember subtlety is the way to go. They'll naturally get hooked on their own if you give them line of sight to pony content.

I think you're giving this too much thought and effort, Ash. If she's not interested, she's not interested. FiM is pretty infectious though, I bet you she'll get hooked without your influence, or at least give it a chance eventually. Then you can be like "See? I told you so!"

Ohmicelestia! That Pinkie plushie! Where in the hay would you keep her? It wouldn't be called My Little Pony if all the ponies were huge. Just sayin'.

That voice injury happened in November of last year. Ashleigh confirmed at Bronycon that her voice was healed and fine. This redub was made recently, which means it probably happened after both of these events. I really doubt Apple messed with the episode. We've seen how hamfisted they are with iTunes content (Hearts and Hooves leak); this was the work of Hasbro. The big question is, was this a decision made by one executive high on the chain, or do you think Hasbro actually had a meeting and debate process about how to handle this issue? I do like Derpy's voice a bit better, but the name removing and un-derping wasn't necessary. Again, we're left with a few frightening actions and no real information to understand them.