#My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (TV Program)

[the-haunted-office]

13. Who are five of your favorite characters? (In the rp community or otherwise)

I'll go with characters from media rather than in the rp community! And since it'll be hard to narrow it down to like my top five favorites of all time, I'll just name five of my favorites that I'm thinking of right now. :3

1.) Wheatley from Portal 2. I just love him. And I also relate to him a lot. He was programmed to be a certain way by the scientists, and then mistreated by them for it and shunned by the other robots in the facility. He makes a lot of mistakes and then makes them worse by trying to fix them. And yeah, he's just a silly guy!

2.) Pinkie Pie from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. She's a lot of fun, and she's another character I deeply relate to. She loves her friends and will go to the ends of the earth for them. But it's so easy for her to be hurt and to feel forgotten and left out. I struggle with that so much myself and I totally get her for that. Other than that she's so adorable and funny.

3.) Gideon Nav from The Locked Tomb series. I love her attitude and sense of courage. She'll just charge right into a situation with her sword and really cares for people - well, the ones who deserve it. She's such a badass and I wish I had a friend like her.

4.) Saul Goodman from Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. He's hilarious but he's such a piece of shit but he's also sad and I want to hug him but then I want to punch him but he's a dirty lawyer but the world did him wrong and and and and- I love how complex his character is. In my opinion, there's very little wrong with Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. I have lost count of how many times I've watched Breaking Bad. Both shows are just phenomenal for so many reasons, and Saul is one of my all-time favorite characters. He's so much fun to watch.

5.) Brienne of Tarth from A Song of Ice and Fire. She's a badass! I want her in my corner! I would trust her with my life! I still have the most recent book in the series to read, and I haven't watched the TV series, but this lady deserves all the things and I'll be SO upset if she dies and I will bring wrath down upon anyone who harms her.

[onenettvchannel]

BALITANG TEKNOLOHIYA: Popular British Pre-School Channel 'Tiny Pop' transitions to Online-Only Broadcasting, embracing the Digital Era for young viewers in the UK

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM -- A popular British pre-school free-to-air channel 'Tiny Pop' announced its decision at the end of January 2024 by transitioning into online-only broadcasting. The said channel, known for its vibrant array of kids content, including exclusive premieres of beloved series from America and around the globe, such as "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" and "My Little Pony: Pony Life", will cease its terrestrial TV broadcasts on Wednesday, effectively by March 20th, 2024, along with a global paid LIVE streaming simulcast partner via FilmOn.

Your favorite pre-school channel of 'Tiny Pop' will soon go from terrestrial free TV into both digital and online, resulting for the ever-changing media world and people's shifting preferences in how they watch shows around the U.K. Nowadays, more and more viewers are opting for on-demand and digital platforms to satisfy their entertainment needs for pre-schoolers. This strategic move by Tiny Pop aligns with the overall trend in the industry, where streaming services have taken over traditional TV channels.

Tiny Pop, the leading children's entertainment provider on Freeview, Sky, and Virgin platforms, will now exclusively deliver its content via online streaming channels to POP Player. This action seeks to meet the growing demand for flexibility and accessibility among its young audience, allowing them to watch their favorite shows anytime, anywhere.

The Brony fans of a popular franchises such as "My Little Pony" are especially excited about the channel's recent decision. Tiny Pop has gained a reputation for airing leaked episodes of new seasons before anyone else in America like Discovery Family, which has brought immense joy to enthusiasts. Despite the fact that the channel is shifting to online-only broadcasting in the United Kingdom, viewers can still accessing exclusive content via digital platforms on smartphones and tablets.

Over the previous years until today, Tiny Pop has garnered a loyal following for its diverse lineup of programming, featuring both classic and contemporary animated series. From timeless favorites to exciting new releases, the said pre-school channel has remained committed to delivering quality entertainment tailored to young viewers.

With the transition to solely online broadcasting, which marked the end of its free TV, it also opened the doors for new innovations and discoveries in the digital online world. By fully embracing the digital world, the channel for pre-schoolers can easily adjust to the ever-changing preferences of its British audience and discover innovative ways to connect with them, before and after the school that you'll feel like watching cartoons before and after the school in elementary and middle school years.

At the time of our writing, Tiny Pop will now be saying goodbye to its terrestrial Free TV next month in mid-March 2024. But this is not the end by watching kids TV for the upcoming final broadcast, as it is starting a new chapter in its journey before growing up. The channel is committed to continuing to offer entertaining and educational content for children all over the world. By transitioning to online-only broadcasting via POP Player, the said pre-school channel is opening up a world of exclusive premieres and a wide range of beloved shows in the future. This exciting change promises a bright future for Tiny Pop and its loyal viewers in Britain.

LOGO COURTESY: Google Images

SOURCE: *https://rxtvinfo.com/2024/popular-freeview-kids-channel-switches-to-online-only/ [Referenced News Article via Reception TV Info] *https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/25606174/tiny-pop-channel-closing-down-sky-virgin-digital-only/ [Referenced News Article via The Sun U.K.] *https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_programmes_broadcast_by_Pop_and_sister_children%27s_television_channels#Tiny_Pop *https://www.equestriadaily.com/2021/03/my-little-pony-pony-life-season-2-to.html [Referenced Classic Mini News Article #1 via Equestria Daily] *https://www.equestriadaily.com/2016/09/where-apple-lies-airing-early-in-uk.html [Referenced Classic Mini News Article #2f via Equestria Daily] *https://www.atvtoday.co.uk/169231-pop/ [Referenced News Article via ATV Today News Bureau] *https://derpibooru.org/1741043 [Referenced Amateur PHOTO via Blissful690 for Derpibooru] *https://derpibooru.org/1266031 [Referenced Classic Screengrab Image via FilmOn for Derpibooru] and *https://derpibooru.org/2443039 [Referenced Classic Screengrab Image via Kuco for Derpibooru]

-- OneNETnews Team

[vergess]

Oh, sure. So, okay, first off the "female gaze" "doesn't exist" in the sense that visual media are universally dominated by (white, wealthy, etc) men. To some arguable extent, it isn't possible for another "gaze" to emerge in a society where film, TV, etc are owned by and cater to a presumed male audience. I'm willing to concede that.

The "male gaze" refers to a specific style of film making where women/girls/female/other characters are objectified or dehumanized. It can range from the obvious, like "fridging your girlfriend," to the more impressively subtle, like using the "rule of thirds" to frame men's faces with focal points on the eyes and mouth, but women's entire upper bodies, with focal points on the eyes and breasts.

Image 1: A screenshots from marvel movie Shang Chi, overlaid with Rule of Thirds and Golden Ratio marks. As expected, the male character's face is framed with focus on eyes and mouth.

Another marked screenshot, of a female character about 1 minute later. The female character's eyes and cleavage are framed. Her breasts are further highlighted by literal highlighting: her exposed skin is well lit compared to the rest of the dark scene.

All of these things combine to create women who are less emotionally resonant to the audience because a thick layer of sexual objectification exists between them and the viewer. Even powerful women like the one in image 2, who have spent the whole movie written as imposing and threatening figures, are still visually presented as sexual objects for the presumed male viewer to ogle without risk.

However, it is not the sex that is a problem, it's the inequal treatment of male and female characters.

Thus, it you want to think about alternative gazes, you need to frame them around that inequality, not around sex. Otherwise you just get """""movies for women""""" where all the men look like this:

Image 3: Three indistinguishable male leads from Hallmark movies. They literally have the same haircut. 2 out of the 3 have the same clothes for fuck's sakes.

You could call this "the male gaze for women" and I usually do. In fact, these types of film literally still dehumanize and sexualize female characters too, just to prove how Worthy and Good the female protagonist is.

So, we need to identify a genre of visual media where men/boys/male/other characters are dehumanized in similar degrees, not similar ways. And where female characters are all allowed to be complex and full of depth.

And handily, we DO have such media!

It's film for girls, made by women. This does not mean men cannot be involved, but rather, to say the production is led by women, with an assumed target audience of girls.

It's girl's cartoons.

Because of various ageism and sexism and what-have-you-isms, western* media for girls-under-12 by women is often completely free of romantic and sexual storylines, whether between girls and girls or girls and boys. This avoidance of romance (and sex) entirely, leaves a lot of space to focus on female friendship/family (eg barbie), female hobbies/work (eg american girl), or just plain old Adventuring For Girls (eg my little pony).

Compare this to girls' media made by deferring to men or with an expectation of a large male audience, wherein the obsession with women as love interest habitually spills over onto young girls who become boy obsessed in age-unlikely ways. Or, where there is a "main girl" surrounded by a cast of mostly or all boys, such as is the case in many girl-centered educational programs, like Dora la Exploradora.

A fun (fun?) case study is that of My Little Pony friendship Is Magic, Season 1, when the show was made primarily as a passion project by women for girls, and subsequent seasons when the male audience was more desirable.

S1 could be said to represent a "female gaze."

There is one* recurring male character, Spike the Dragon: a young boy with many feminine interests who mostly exists to be a prop for them main, female cast. The main cast and major political characters are all single women. Men populate the world in the background, but for the viewer? There just are not men. They are set dressing and not much else.

Doesn't that sound familiar?

But it goes further: the adventures these women go on are solved by women; they have traditionally feminine jobs (nursing, fashion, librarian) and hobbies (cooking, event hosting), etc. Their traditionally masculine traits (sport, farming, being a stubborn jackass) are never used to imply they are "manly."

Even their villains are women, natural forces, or just the main women's own mistakes coming back to bite them.

Men aren't even an afterthought. They're not a thought at all.

The season ends on these female friends bonding at an after party for a diplomatic gala.

Season 2 introduces multiple male villains, recurring male characters, and even romantic storylines.

It literally ends on a two episode long royal wedding processional to a male character we'd never met who is suddenly a HUGE part of the ongoing world, to the extent that his presence retcons the first season permanently.

Image 4: Twilight Sparkle, the main character of My Little Pony friendship is Magic, surrounded by her female friends (and Spike) on the cover of the Season 1 DVD.

Image 5: Twilight singing a sad love song about her brother, whose ghostly image is presented as larger, stronger, and more imposing than Twilight, who again, is the main character and a literal god in training.

That's a pretty abrupt change, but one that you might not even notice if you're not looking for it. It's a shift from a girl-centered "gaze" that ignores or dismisses male characters, to a more "neutral" one that reduces the prominence of women as it progresses. And as time progresses.

It's little shock to find out that the high level production crew (especially writers) went from mostly women to mostly men in this time, nor will it come as a shock to learn that the "feminst influenced" "girly doesn't mean stupid" female showrunner for S1 was replaced with a more.... mainstream woman who unironically espouses "every girl wants to be a princess" for subsequent seasons.

By later seasons, where the audience was presumed to be adult men, in addition to young girls, these issues are ever more exagerrated.

Personally, and I know this is going to piss off some people but hopefully they're bored of reading this by now:

Seasons 8 and 9 (the final seasons) were made with the male gaze.

There are many male characters by S9. These male characters often dominate episodes they are in. Male friendships are explored without women involved. Whole plotlines reduce women to love interests (big mac's wedding, Rarity's sudden feelings for Spike), racist stereotypes (the yaks), sexist stereotypes (the seaponies), or involve women only as particularly shallow villains (the changelings). Female character development from preceding seasons is literally undone so that male characters can save the day (mostly Spike but plenty of his male friends too).

It's a slow boil if you go linearly. But if you watch Season 1 then Season 9, the contrast is almost staggering. Side by side, they seem nothing alike.

It goes from a show for girls, about women, aimed at meeting young girls where they are at mentally/emotionally and helping them model healthy relationships... to this absurd preachy nonsense that condescends to the girls in the audience, lectures them, and comes with a heavy heaping of compulsory heterosexuality.

The show goes from treating its young female audience with respect as a group that must be courted for their favour, to treating them as captives to talk down to, because the "real money" comes from the adult men watching.

So yeah, the female gaze can exist, but only in very limited capacities because of the overwhelming social pressure of patriarchy and capitalism in media production.

But "catering to a weird amorphous concept of what women think is hot" is not the female gaze. It's just the male gaze for women.

Footnotes:

1) Girl x girl content is common in girls' cartoons in Japan; however we are excluding it here because of the absurdly sexist stereotype that lesbianism is a phase that all women go through as practice for becoming loving wives to their male husbands. This stereotype is not as common in the west, but is the literal defining reason why FxF content is so popular in girls' media in Japan.

2) Applejack's brother is not a "character" in season one; he literally says ONE WORD.

"The female gaze doesn't exist"

No, you just find women and girls so distressing that media made by and for them which dehumanizes and ignores boys and men is invisible to you.

>> NOTE: The female gaze is not "when men are sexy on camera for women" that is literally STILL THE MALE GAZE

[don-lichterman]

Intro Sequence - My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic - Season 4

Intro Sequence – My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic – Season 4

The new introduction sequence for season 4. —————————————————— Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PinkiePieYoutube —————————————————— Deviantart: http://ikillyou121.deviantart.com/ —————————————————— Livestream: http://www.livestream.com/pinkiesyoutube2 source

[interstellar-superdrive]

On Cringe Culture, Kids' Shows, and Elitism

i'M nOt rEaDiNg aLl tHaT" Ok, scroll down for the TL:DR. (Also on SpaceHey and Blogspot)

The now ex-CEO of Disney, Bob Chapek, has stated the animation is only for children. Never mind that this is the same company that owns The Simpsons, and was founded by a guy who said, and I quote "You're dead if you aim only for kids. Adults are only kids grown up, anyway."

Naturally, this has caused universal backlash within the animation community, with many people defending animation as a medium for everyone, not just kids. However, the animation community was also mocked by outsiders for using kids' shows, such as Gravity Falls, to prove that animation is for everyone. In fact, the animation community (more specifically the western animation community) has always been cruelly harassed by outsiders for watching cartoons, especially ones aimed at children.

There is nothing wrong with watching children's shows AT ALL. Watching kids' shows doesn't make you immature, a pedophile, or whatever bullshit that outsiders want to spew. Remember the Walt Disney quote above; many kids' shows are designed to be appealing to multiple audiences, including adults. Kids' shows with adult appeal (or ones that don't annoy the living daylights out of parents, or are legitimately good for kids) are more likely to be praised and recommended by said parents than, say, Cocomelon.

However, because of the stigma attached to kids' shows, many animation fans feel the need to hate on/ignore slice-of-life or comedy cartoons, while only praising plot-driven or "dark" ones like Gravity Falls, The Owl House, and Avatar, and say that they are "not for kids." Again, there is NOTHING wrong with liking kids' shows (these shows do feel more YA-ish though, but that's another subject for another blog). All three of these shows are very high quality, and you don't need to justify your enjoyment of them to outsiders. The constant prioritization of dramatic cartoons over lighthearted ones in the cartoon fandom creates a sense of snobby elitism, and leads to...

...fans of lighthearted shows like Big City Greens and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic being bullied for liking said shows because they are "childish." Which, in turn, leads to fans of lighthearted kids' shows trying to make their shows seem dark in order to make the elitists like them. Back in the day, many bronies made dark fan works based on MLP such as "Cupcakes," "Smile HD," and "Rainbow Factory" and put them out in public with no age restriction, resulting in a bunch of traumatized children. The bronies also acted like they were the target audience and not children.

Apart from the bronies' fan works, MLP also suffered from exaggerated darkness on TV Tropes subpages. Speaking of TV Tropes, there was a very infamous incident regarding the kids' show "Ready Jet Go!" Aside from the stigma surrounding general kids' programs, you also have the stigma attached to preschool shows that they are dumb and for babies (never mind that babies/infants are too young to watch TV, and if they watch it before they turn 2, it would really hurt their brain. Look up the Baby Einstein controversy for more info), especially with GoAnimate users making it hip to hate on Dora and Barney. Not every preschool/elementary show is the same as Cocomelon. There are many high-quality programs for the little ones such as Arthur, Cyberchase, Sesame Street, Bluey, Mister Rogers, VeggieTales, Oswald, Blue's Clues, LazyTown, Bear in the Big Blue House, and WordGirl. Can you really blame fans for liking them when they’re just so good?

With all this in mind, someone once made a Nightmare Fuel page for Ready Jet Go on TV Tropes in order to make it more popular, because the user felt alone in liking the show and it was a big comfort for them. They also cited the snobbery of the cartoon community as a reason for their making the page on the Nightmare Fuel cleanup thread. The page was eventually deleted because it was mocked cruelly by 4chan. It didn't make the show more popular, it gave it a bad reputation.

The user shouldn't have to had made that stupid page with examples exaggerating the show's supposed scariness. If it weren't for the cartoon community being a bunch of elitists, as well as the kids/preschool show stigma, this wouldn't have happened. The sad part is, even though the page is long gone, the page STILL gets brought up by RJG haters to mock the show, its' fans, and TV Tropes for "pissing their pants over Ready Jet Go" which is beating a dead horse at this point. Seriously, make like Elsa and LET IT GO. Please stop bringing it up, and if you’re reading this blog, please don’t look it up. Please have sympathy for Ready Jet Go fans. We’re actually a very nice fandom.

The 4chan bullying also ties into cringe culture. On sites such as DeviantArt, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, and 4chan, many people are considered "cringe" and cyberbullied for "crimes" like making a colorful character or watching cartoons. The cyberbullies in question are just a bunch of pathetic lowlives who bully people for being happy, because they think that bullying happy people will make them feel better about their disgusting selves.

As noted here, cringe culture affects autistic people the most. Autistic people tend to get really passionate about their favorite things, or "special interests," and like to talk about them all the time and make their own characters. But according to some unwritten rule of society, your OCs have to be as deep as Shakespeare, and you're not allowed to like 'childish' things even a little bit. (I think it's worth mentioning that the Nightmare Fuel person was autistic themselves). Many proponents of cringe culture participate in concern trolling, acting like they don't want so-called "cringe" people to be bullied and want them to be good artists/writers. Cringe culture doesn't make people become better creators, it makes them become boring creators and repressing their true passions.

Every autistic person is different, which is why it's called the autism spectrum. However, it is true that a lot of autistic people enjoy children's media, likely because of how calming and simple they tend to be. For example, Thomas the Tank Engine is very popular with autistics because the engines' emotions are easy to tell, and the show has a chill atmosphere (by the way, the Thomas fandom is a frequent victim of cringe culture). Plus, it legitimately has Tolkien-level lore dating back to the 1940s. I'm not even kidding, look up "The Island of Sodor: Its People, History and Railways." It always pisses me off when outsiders act surprised that "tHOmAs tHe tRaIn hAs A fAnDoM?!?1!" It's based on a book series that's existed since 1945, of fucking course it has a fandom, dumbass.

TL;DR - 'Animation is for everyone' and 'it's okay to like kids' cartoons/lighthearted cartoons' are statements that can and should co-exist. Also, autistic people can like whatever they want and those who harass them are the scum of the earth.

[legok9]

A parody for every Doctor

First Doctor (Doctor Fotheringown, It's a Square World)

Second Doctor (Christmas Day at Doctor Who's, Dead Ringers)

Third Doctor (The Worzel Gummidge Doctor, The Two Ronnies)

Fourth Doctor (Doctor Whozonfirst, ALF)

Fifth Doctor (Ron Bain, A Kick Up the Eighties)

Sixth Doctor (Doctor Who and Crayola, Victoria Wood: As Seen on TV)

Seventh Doctor (The Amazing Lollipop Man, Doctors)

Eighth Doctor (The Stranger by Portia Da Costa)

War Doctor (Eight-and-a-half-or-something Doctor, The Doctor Games)

Ninth Doctor (Dr. Lazer Rage, The Sarah Silverman Program)

Tenth Doctor (Dr. Hooves, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic)

Eleventh Doctor (Archibald Asparagus, VeggieTales)

Twelfth Doctor (Jace Darkmatter, 2000 AD: Survival Geeks)

Thirteenth Doctor (Dr. Thirteenth, Mr. Men)

[321spongebolt]

“What if Operation was adapted into a TV show?”, well, you’re about to find out!

For starters, I would have the production of this show handled by the same people who worked on “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic”, “Littlest Pet Shop (2012)” and “Pound Puppies (2010)”. Distribution-wise, I would pick either Universal or Paramount, with worldwide distribution by WildBrain Studios. This also applies to the show’s DVD, Blu-Ray, and Ultra HD Blu-Ray releases by Shout! Factory.

RATING

While “Operation” will still be marketed as a kids’ show, the best thing to do would be to give the series a TV-PG rating. It’s not because it’s got swearing in it (it actually wouldn’t). It’s not because there’s family-unfriendly violence. It’s not because there’s smoking and drinking (Obviously those will send the wrong messages to kids, or cause a controversy.). It’s because in order to be faithful to the board game it’s based on, some scenes will have Cavity Sam torn up in a certain spot so the doctors and nurses working on Sam can extract the funatomy part of the episode out. While it’s still aimed for kids, a “Viewer Discretion is Advised” title card will be put up before every episode.

GENRE: SILLY OR SERIOUS?

Well, I would kind of have it be a bit of both. Sure, it can be silly. But at the same time, have Cavity Sam’s injuries be serious, this way, people who are generally scared of Sam’s nose lighting up feel sorry for Cavity Sam. If you want to, maybe have the first episode be an origin story about why Sam has that red nose on him that lights up and makes that buzzing sound every time he gets physically hurt.

ANIMATION

Like those other three Hasbro shows mentioned above, “Operation” can be done with 2D flash animation. It art direction can be somewhat identical to “Littlest Pet Shop” in a way. In fact, cameos of characters from past Hasbro programs can be shown in the background, but we’ll get to that later.

SETUP

I’m flexible with the series either having one episode taking up a full 30 minutes, or have the series consist of two 11-minute episodes. Either way, each episode focuses on the ailment bugging Sam like the frog in the throat, the Adam’s apple, the bread basket, the water on the knee, and anything else from the classic game itself. In terms of originality, some episodes can have original new funatomy parts created just for this show like brain storm, chicken fingers, twinkle toes.

The series would be about 2 seasons long at best, as the first season would focus solely on Cavity Sam. Season 2 on the other hand can focus on his dog, Rex-Ray, the mascot of 2020′s “Operation: Pet Scan”.

CAST

As I mentioned before in my previous post, I would personally choose Jack McBrayer as the voice of Cavity Sam because I felt his natural speaking voice fits the character perfectly. Other than him, I don’t really know anyone else who would work best. As far as the voices of the doctors, nurses, and other medically trained professionals, you can do what “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” did by allowing North American and Canadian voice talents.

CALL-BACKS

Some of Sam’s funatomy parts from “Operation Brain Surgery” can have episodes too.

Dr. Humerus from the 2008 PC game, “Operation Mania” can appear as either a cameo or supporting character. Who should voice him? I don’t know.

Some of the other doctors and nurses from past box art for the game and its spinoffs can appear too like the female surgeon from 2007′s “Operation Rescue Kit Game” and the male surgeon from 2008′s “Silly Skill Game” version.

CAMEOS

Blythe Baxter from “Littlest Pet Shop” can appear as a silent cameo in some episodes. If Ashleigh Ball ever wanted to reprise her role as Blythe, I’m more than welcome to allow her to.

Other cameos include plush toys and action figures of other Hasbro characters like the ones from “My Little Pony” and “Transformers”.

MUSIC

Daniel Ingram and Steffen Andrews can provide the score for the series, and songs too if you’d like. Though, if the show ever gets any musical numbers, then whatever song they use for the show should be available on CD and Digital with the just the music and pre-recorded voice acting alone.

I don’t know anything else to include, but this is all I can think of for right now.

[askaziraphaleandcrowley]

I know what kind of animal Aziraphale represents: A golden retriever! They're kind, loyal and so adorable ^^

(  Anonymous said: Aziraphale, we've never met before, but I think I love you (run away with me, let's travel the world together 

Anonymous said: Aziraphale, my friend recently got a snake and named it after you (shes called zira and shes a pastel ball python). Just thought you'd like to know! Shes an adorable baby 

Anonymous said: Aziraphale, if you watched My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic your favorite character would be Twilight Sparkle. She really likes books, once lived in a library that was a huge tree )

Aziraphale: Oh, hmmm, there are so many humans wanting to speak with me... I am starting to wonder if this blog was such a good idea. Anonymity was once such an important part of my role... 

Crowley: I think we lost anonymity when they made a TV show about Armageddon, angel.

Aziraphale: Oh, yes, well, that was probably worse, you’re right. Ahem, well dear readers, thank you for your compliments and suggestions. I am afraid I am not, um, available to run away with anybody at the moment, and while I do not watch that program, I do appreciate a character that likes books. I find those particular dogs to be a little too energetic for my liking, but I suppose I appreciate the compliments. And I find it quite amusing the snake was named after myself and not Crowley. I’ve not met an angelic snake before. Anyway, it is nice to be able to converse with all of you, even if the familiarity does make me a little nervous...

[whatsnewcartoons]

What’s New In 2019: The Cartoons.

PART 1:

Separated by network. All premiere dates are estimated until confirmed. Timings are in EST.

NICKELODEON:

- Los Casagrandes (2nd Quarter 2019): Los Casagrandes features Ronnie Anne and her brother Bobby Santiago as they adjust to their new life in Great Lakes City, where they now live with their big, loving and chaotic multi-generational family, the Casagrandes. In the series, Ronnie Anne makes new friends, build stronger bonds with her relatives and explores the endless possibilities of city life. Bobby helps Grandpa Hector run the family’s corner store, and becomes familiar with the neighborhood’s quirky characters.The Casagrande family was first introduced in the The Loud House special, The Loudest Mission: Relative Chaos. The special was just nominated for an Imagen Award, which recognizes positive portrayals of Latinos in entertainment media.

The Loud House is co-executive produced by Mike Rubiner (KaBlam!), who will also serve as co-executive producer on Los Casagrandes. Award-winning cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz (Coco) will serve as a cultural consultant and consulting producer for the five-episode arc of The Loud House featuring the Casagrandes. 

The first six episodes will premiere during the airing of Season 4 of its sister series The Loud House.

- Pony (4th Quarter 2019): Pony, an original 2D-animated buddy comedy that follows the life of an average girl, Annie, her (almost) average family and what happens when an excitable, unpredictable, loveable and talking pony comes to live with them in their city apartment. Pony is the first animated comedy series to be greenlit for the U.S. from Nickelodeon International. Created by Ant Blades, Pony is based off a short of the same name from Nickelodeon’s 2015 International Animated Shorts Program.Pony follows Annie’s everyday life as a 9-year-old, from working at her parent’s city farm, located on their apartment balcony, homework, school friends and, most importantly, her friendship with Pony. Pony is Annie’s biggest cheerleader and best friend, although sometimes his optimism and enthusiasm lands the pair in unusual situations.

The series will be starting with a 20-episode order and is set to premiere in the fourth quarter of 2019.

- Glitch Techs (TBA):  Glitch Techs (working title) is an adventure-comedy following two newly recruited kids as they battle video game monsters that come to life in the real world. The series comes from Eric Robles (Fanboy & Chum Chum, The X's, Ni Hao, Kai-Lan) and Dan Milano (Greg the Bunny, Warren the Ape), both hailing from Nickelodeon's Artist Collective, an internal artist-led development program, and is being produced at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio in Burbank, Calif. Nickelodeon has picked-up Glitch Techs for an initial 20-episode first season.

The series was announced to be in production since 2016 and was originally intended to premiere on Nickelodeon in 2018.

- Invader ZIm: Enter the Florpus (TBA): In Invader Zim: Enter The Florpus, Zim discovers his almighty leaders have no intention of coming to Earth, and he loses confidence in his own amazingness for the first time in his amazing life, which is the big break his human nemesis Dib has been waiting for. At some point, GIR rides a tiny donkey, and that’s all anyone should really care about. The 2D-animated TV movie is produced by Nickelodeon in Burbank.

The voice cast also features returning Zim alums Andy Berman as Dib Membrane and Melissa Fahn as Gaz Membrane. Additional voice actors reprising their original series roles include: Rodger Bumpass as Professor Membrane, Dib and Gaz’s father; Olivia d’Abo as Tak, Zim’s Irken nemesis; and Paul Greenberg as Poonchy, one of Zim and Dib’s human classmates.

CARTOON NETWORK:

- Infinity Train (TBA): Infinity Train tells the story of Tulip (originally voiced by Ashley Johnson), an analytical teenager with a fondness for order and solving complex puzzles. While it’s never exactly explained how she got there in the short, Infinity Train follows as Tulip makes her way through the titular locomotive and its seemingly infinite cars, each of which contains entire worlds that, for some reason, are in desperate need of her help.

Despite being joined by her sophisticated, bifurcated robot friend One-One (voiced by Jeremy Crutchley and Owen Dennis), the only information Tulip has about her predicament comes in the form of an ever-changing, glowing number etched into her hand that’s trying to give her directions she doesn’t understand.

The official premiere date of the series has yet to be announced.

- Victor and Valentino (TBA):  Created by Diego Molano, this supernatural adventure comedy follows two half-brothers who spend a summer with their grandma in Monte Macabre, a small and mysterious town, where the myths and legends of Latin American folklore come to life.

The series first appeared on Cartoon Network in October 2016 with its pilot episode and is set to premiere early 2019.

- ThunderCats Roar (TBA): Staying true to the premise of the original series, Lion-O and the ThunderCats -- Tygra, Panthro, Cheetara, Wilykat and Wilykit -- barely escape the sudden destruction of their home world, Thundera, only to crash land on the mysterious and exotic planet of Third Earth. Lion-O, the newly appointed Lord of the ThunderCats, attempts to lead the team as they make this planet their new home. A bizarre host of creatures and villains stand in their way, including the evil Mumm-Ra, Third Earth’s wicked ruler who will let nothing, including the ThunderCats, stop his tyrannical reign over the planet.

ThunderCats Roar features a talented voice cast with Max Mittelman (Justice League Action) as Lion-O and Wilykat, Erica Lindbeck (DC Super Hero Girls) as Cheetara and Wilykit, Patrick Seitz (Justice League Action) as Tygra and Mumm-Ra, and Chris Jai Alex (Star Wars: Battlefront II) as Panthro. Victor Courtright (Pickle and Peanut) and Marly Halpern-Graser (Right Now Kapow) serve as producers, with Sam Register (Teen Titans Go!) as executive producer.

The series is set to be released late 2019.

- DC Super Hero Girls (1st quarter 2019):  The DC Super Hero Girls universe is expanding on Cartoon Network and into more graphic novels. From executive producer Lauren Faust (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic), the new DC Super Hero Girls cartoon will feature fresh redesigns of popular characters like Wonder Woman, Batgirl and Supergirl as they navigate high school and superhero life.

The series has been previewed with online shorts since 2015 and a short clip of an episode titled “The Late Batsby” was shown at San Diego Comic Con in Summer 2018.

For the upcoming shows from Disney and Netflix, go check out Part 2.

[recentanimenews]

My Little Pony's Twilight Sparkle Added in Kotobukiya's BISHOUJO Statue Line

    Kotobukiya has listed a 1/7 scale pre-painted figure inspired by Twilight Sparkle from the My Little Pony:

Friendship Is Magic TV animation series. She is the second item added in the company's "BISHOUJO Statue"

line from the anime series, following Pinkie Pie to be released in May 2019. Fluttershy is planned to be

added as its third entry in near future.

  The Bishoujo Statue is a series of figures based on Shunya Yamashita's illustrations of various movie, game,

and comic characters in the Japanese bishoujo style. The previously released figures include: Cammy (Street

fighter), Freddy Crueger (Freddy vs. Jason), Nina Williams (Tekken), Batwoman (Batman), Chucky (Child's

Play: Bride of Chucky), Ash Williams (Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn), and many more.

  The price for the 215 mm-tall Twilight Sparkle bishoujo figure in Japan is 11,880 yen (about 107 US dollars),

and its scheduled shipping date is August 2019.

        "BISHOUJO Pinky Pie" (May 2019 release)

  AboutHasbro, Inc. Hasbro(NASDAQ: HAS) is a global company committed to Creating the World's

Best PlayExperiences, by leveraging its beloved brands, including LITTLEST PET SHOP,MAGIC: THE

GATHERING, MONOPOLY, MY LITTLE PONY, NERF, PLAY-DOH and TRANSFORMERS, and premier

partner brands. From toys and games, television programming, motion pictures, digital gaming

and lifestyle licensing, Hasbro fulfills the fundamental need for play and connection with children

and families around the world. The Company's Hasbro Studios and its film label,ALLSPARK PICTURES,

create entertainment brand-driven storytelling across mediums, including television, film, digital and

more. Through the company's commitment to corporate social responsibility, including philanthropy,

Hasbro is helping to build a safe and sustainable world and to positively impact the lives of millions

of children and families. Learn more at www.hasbro.com, and follow us on Twitter (@Hasbro &

@HasbroNews) and Instagram (@Hasbro).

    Source: Kotobukiya press release

  MY LITTLE PONY and all related characters are trademarks of Hasbro and are used with permission.

© 2018 Hasbro. All Rights Reserved. Licensed by Hasbro.

  By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[don-lichterman]

My Little Pony Friendship is Magic: "Pinkie's Pride" Featuring Weird Al Yankovic! CLIP #1

My Little Pony Friendship is Magic: "Pinkie's Pride" Featuring Weird Al Yankovic! CLIP #1

“Pinkie’s Pride” Preview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09m1LBX0Jc0 “Pinkie’s Pride” Clip #2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfIrTE_fY-E “Pinkie Pride” — An elated Pinkie Pie is planning the biggest and best “birth-iversary” party ever for Rainbow Dash, but when another party planning pony named Cheese Sandwich rides into town, plans change. Soon, everypony is so excited about Cheese…

[starfleetimagines]

I got tagged by @make-me-imagine - thanks!

Last...

Drink: Water

Phone call: My mom

Text message: My best friend

Song listened to: Mirrors by Niall Horan

Time you cried: I don’t remember. Sometime in December.

Ever...

Dated someone twice: Never dated, so no

Kissed someone and regretted it: Also never kissed anyone, so no again

Been cheated on: No

Lost someone special: Yes

Been depressed: I have clinical depression, soooo 

Gotten drunk and thrown up: No

Favourite...

Colours: Any shade of purple, soft pinks, and aqua

In the last year have you...

Made new friends: A few internet friends, and one irl friend

Fallen out of love: With a band

Laughed until you cried: Yes

Found out someone was talking about you: Yeah

Met someone who changed you: Yes

Found out who your true friends are: I think so, but who knows

Kissed someone on your Facebook friends list: No

General...

How many of your FB friends do you know irl: All except two

Have any pets: A beagle, a gerbil, a hamster, a beta fish, and two rats

Want to change your name: Nope

What did you do for your last birthday: Went out to dinner with my family

What time did you wake up today: 11:30

What were you doing last night at midnight: Watching Youtube and thinking about Chris Pine

What is something you can’t wait for: Starting a new college program in the fall and moving away for it

What are you listening to right now: My dad doing the dishes with the radio playing

Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: Yes

Something that’s getting on your nerves: Nothing at the moment

Most visited website: Probably tumblr and youtube

Hair color: Coppery-brown

Long or short hair: Short

Do you have a crush on someone: Only celebrities and fictional characters (I’m keeping her answer bc same)

What do you like about yourself: Hm. I’m trying to love myself more, so let’s see: my eyes, my hair, my boobs, my ass, my writing skills, my love for all animals, my artistic skills, my nails, and my caring nature

Want any piercings: No, I’m cool with only having one hole in each ear

Blood type: I think O

Nickname: Jenn/Jenna

Relationship status: Single

Zodiac sign: Taurus

Pronouns: She/her

Favorite TV show: The 100, Shadowhunters, Star Trek Voyager, Star Trek DS9, How I Met Your Mother, Bones, The Mentalist, and My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic (don’t judge me lmao)

Tattoos: None at the moment, but I want one that symbolizes my dog

Right or left hand: Right

Ever had surgery: No

Piercings: One in each ear

Sport: Hahahahaha no

Vacation: Banff or New Zealand

Trainers: Does this mean shoes? Um, I don’t really have a particular brand, but I like boots or sneakers

Eating: Nothing

Drinking: Water

I’m about to watch: Animated Star Trek

Waiting for: My parents to go away next week so my friend can stay over

Want: To work on my story later tonight

Get married: Maybe

Career: Author and maybe editor

Which is better...

Hugs or kisses: I’ve never been kissed, so I guess hugs

Lips or eyes: Eyes

Shorter or taller: Taller

Older or younger: Older

Nice arms or stomach: Stomach

Hook up or relationship: Relationship

Trouble maker or hesitant: Hesitant

Have you ever...

Kissed a stranger: No

Drank hard liquor: Yes

Lost glasses: No, but I’ve broken some

Turned someone down: Lol I’ve never been asked out, so no

Had sex on a first date: No

Broken someones heart: I don’t think so

Had your heart broken: Yep

Been arrested: No

Cried when someone died: Yes

Fallen for a friend: No

Do you believe in...

Yourself: Somewhat

Miracles: Kind of

Love at first sight: Nope, it isn’t real

Santa clause: No 

Kiss on a first date: No, my demi-ass can’t do that unless I’m close with the person

Angels: No

Other...

Best friends name: Avery

Eye color: Blue

Favorite movie: The new Star Trek movies

Favorite actor: Bob Morley, Chris Pine, and Kit Harrington

[tfwiki]

Hasbro Expands All-Star Lineup for First-Ever HASCON with Flo Rida, Maddie Ziegler, Isabela Moner, David Ortiz, Jackie Bradley Jr., Eh Bee Family and the cast of ‘Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters’

Just Announced: Performance by Flo Rida and Meet and Greets with Maddie Ziegler, Isabela Moner, Eh Bee Family, David Ortiz, James White, Jackie Bradley Jr., Susan Blu, Len Cabral and the voice cast of Hasbro’s Netflix Original Series for Kids ‘Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters’

  Pawtucket, R.I. – August 8, 2017 – Today Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS), a global play and entertainment company, unveiled additional entertainment programming details for the first ever HASCON FANmily event. Happening September 8 – 10, 2017 at the Rhode Island Convention Center and Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island, HASCON will bring Hasbro’s most iconic brands to life.

Joining the previously announced all-star lineup is a performance by GRAMMY®-nominated rapper and singer-songwriter Flo Rida (“My House,” “Whistle”), who will perform a full set to HASCON guests the evening of Saturday, September 9, and a meet and greet with actress, dance icon and NYT bestselling author, Maddie Ziegler (as featured in “Sia: Chandelier,” “Leap!”), Isabela Moner (Transformers: The Last Knight), and family-friendly internet personalities, the Eh Bee Family. Also joining HASCON is veteran voice actress Susan Blu (“The Transformers: The Movie,” “Jem”), MLB-retired designated hitter David “Big Papi” Ortiz, current center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. (of the Boston Red Sox), New England Patriots running back and Super Bowl™ 51 Hero James White (of the New England Patriots) and internationally acclaimed and award-winning storyteller Len Cabral.

HASCON will also feature a panel and autograph session with talent and creators from Hasbro’s upcoming Netflix original series for kids Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters.  Ogie Banks (“Ultimate Spider-Man”), Walter Koenig (“Star Trek,” “Babylon 5”), Scott Menville (“Teen Titans Go!,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”), series executive producer/writer Kevin Burke (“Ultimate Spider-Man,” “Avengers Assemble”), series executive producer/writer Chris “Doc” Wyatt (“Ultimate Spider-Man,” “Napoleon Dynamite”) and series supervising director Vic Cook (“The Spectacular Spider-man,” “Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated”) will be featured on the panel and at the autograph session on Sunday, September 10. 

Previously announced programming includes a performance and meet and greet with Multi-Platinum GRAMMY® Award-Winning singer-songwriter Daya, panel discussions with Stan Lee (Marvel Comics Legend), James Gunn (writer and director, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 1 and 2), Lorenzo di Bonaventura (Producer of all the TRANSFORMERS films, as well as G.I. JOE: The Rise of Cobra and G.I. JOE Retaliation), Dude Perfect and many more.

This unique event will bring Hasbro’s most iconic brands to life like never before, including TRANSFORMERS, MY LITTLE PONY, NERF, MAGIC: THE GATHERING, PLAY-DOH, MONOPOLY and G.I. JOE and exceptional partner brands such as BEYBLADE, DREAMWORKS TROLLS and SESAME STREET. Fans will get a peek behind the Hasbro curtain during the three days filled with exciting first-look previews and panels from Hasbro’s biggest television and movie series, including Hasbro’s TRANSFORMERS: RESCUE BOTS, LITTLEST PET SHOP and MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC as seen on Hasbro’s joint-venture television network Discovery Family.

In addition, there will be activities inspired by several iconic Disney properties, including Disney Princess, Frozen, Elena of Avalor, Moana and Descendants 2, as well as Star Wars and Marvel’s Avengers, Spider-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy. From movie props and costumes on display, to hands-on fun through art tutorials and more, these areas will be can’t-miss destinations during the show.

To purchase General Admission and VIP tickets, view complete package details and stay up to date on all the latest information on HASCON 2017, please visit http://hascon.hasbro.com

The inaugural HASCON FANmily™ event is presented in part by IDW Publishing, Ultra PRO, Discovery Family and Norwegian Airlines. 

STAR WARS and related properties are trademarks and/or copyrights, in the United States and other countries, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its affiliates. © & TM Lucasfilm Ltd.

© Hiro Morita, BBBProject, TV TOKYO. © 2017 Sesame Workshop. All Rights Reserved.

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #418

Top Ten TV Shows of the Decade

And so it continues! My belated look back at the ten-year tenure that was the 2010s. This time I’m turning my apathetic eye towards the telly box.

(Sidenote: “My Apathetic Eye” would have been a great name for a mid-nineties grunge band)

For the last decade, a lot was written about how it was “Peak TV”. This was off the back of some truly classic shows which redefined the medium; by which I mean, critics started taking it a bit more seriously, various factors contributed to programmes looking a bit more cinematic, TVs got bigger so it all looked a bit prettier, and proper movie stars started acting in shows without fear of being blacklisted by Hollywood. I’d argue this all started more like twenty years ago with the likes of The West Wing and The Sopranos, but really it came of age as the DVD Box Set Revolution gave way to the Age of Streaming, and everybody wouldn’t shut up about Mad Men, Breaking Bad, or – eventually – Game of Thrones.

So, yeah, lots to talk about. As usual I’m being entirely arbitrary and saying that to qualify for this list a show has to have started its run in the 2010s; this rules out both Mad Men and Breaking Bad, right from the get-go. And – of course – there’s tons I’ve not seen, as per usual. I was a little bit concerned about filling the list with cartoons and kids’ programmes, but – hey – I worked almost exclusively in kids’ TV for about 14 years, and I have two kids of my own, and the whole “Best TV Ever” thing does really extend to children’s programming too. So I stand by all of this, with the usual caveats that it’s all my uneducated opinion.

So with no further ado, here is my Top Ten TeeVee Shows of the Twenty Tens.

The Good Place (2016-2020): hilarious, romantic, bittersweet, tragic, philosophical, fiercely intelligent, dystopian, utopian… it does take a couple of episodes to get going, but by the end, it’s literally paradise.

Hey Duggee! (2014-current): peak preschool, a colourful and educational little show for nippers that’s really funny for parents, filled with movie references and phenomenal folk tunes. Stick, stick, stick, stick, sticky-sticky-stick-stick!

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013-current): arch, witty, intelligent, surreal, progressive, with great characters, set-pieces, and a delightful absurdist streak. Arguably the funniest show of the decade. Cool, cool, cool, cool, cool.

American Crime Story (2016-current): two (so far) really excellent series exploring true crimes of recent history, both very different but both very good; full of career-best turns, tension, procedure, and a smidgeon of horror.

Adventure Time (2010-2018): true, it’s another kids’ cartoon; but AT was a harbinger of the intelligent, serial-style of kids’ cartoons of this decade (Steven Universe, She-Ra, etc). Excellent art style, a rich mythology, bangin’ choons… and some true moments of deep, deep sadness, relatively rare in kids’ TV. Opened the door, it did.

Game of Thrones (2011-2019): whilst it can revel in misery and succumb to a goofiness reminiscent of an earlier age, the seriousness with which it treated its fantastical setting, combined with great characters, intricate plotting, and some stonking set-pieces.

Detectorists (2014-2017): what could be seen as a gentle comedy unravels over the course of the series into a delicate and delightful character study. Anchored by two beautiful performances, it’s a rich, melancholy, understated show that’s also bloody funny.

Stranger Things (2016-current): a Greatest Hits package of 80s nostalgia wrapped up in a piece of pure horror, Stranger Things might be a touch derivative, but at its best it’s a frantic, tense, visceral delight, full of great performances and the right amount of humour.

Teen Titans Go! (2013-current): yep, back on the kids’ channels. But taking a beloved series and turning it inside-out, TTG is a risky venture. It succeeds with oodles of DC fan service (how many kids’ shows feature Watchmen cameos?) and by just being flat-out hilarious most of the time.

Sherlock (2010-2017): its star waned slightly as the decade war on (and as its stars became, well, starrier), but at its peak Sherlock was the epitome of must-see TV. Full of visual trickery and inventive plotting, it was elevated beyond its gimmicky premise, and benefited from two superb actors cast at the perfect moment in their careers.

So that’s ten programmes. Hurrah! Sad that I could quite find room for My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, which is a phenomenal show and really quite important, especially for young girls. There are a few that I’ve either not seen or not seen enough of (Fleabag, Black Mirror), so I didn’t feel quite justified in including them. Weirdly when I think of TV over the last decade though, the things I seemed to watch the most – arguably enjoyed the most – are shows that I definitely don’t think are as good as these; stuff like Agents of SHIELD, Maniac, Star Trek: Discovery, Great News… then there are the fact-ent programmes, which for some reason just didn’t bubble to the top for me when compiling this list. But really, as I am weird, the shows that I’ve most loved this decade are either from an earlier time (Doctor Who most of all) or are just, well, really old. Anyone fancy watching The Next Generation again?

[laresearchette]

Tuesday, August 08, 2017 Canadian TV Listings (Times Eastern)

WHERE CAN I FIND THOSE PREMIERES?: LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH (A&E CANADA) 9:00pm LAST CHANCE HIGH (VICELAND CANADA) 10:00pm THE THERAPIST (VICELAND CANADA) 10:30pm

NEW TO CRAVE/NETFLIX CANADA: MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC (SEASON 7) (NETFLIX CANADA)

ROGERS CUP (SN/SN1) 11:00am: Women - Round 2 (SN) 12:30pm: Men - Round 2 (SN) 6:30pm: Men - Round 2 (SN) 7:00pm: Women - Round 2

MLB BASEBALL (SN) 7:00pm: Yankees at Jays

CANADA SUMMER GAMES (TSN/TSN3/TSN4/TSN5) 8:00pm: Men’s Soccer

AMAZING RACE CANADA (CTV) 8:00pm: The teams head home to Ottawa where a citizenship test has some racers struggling.

STILL STANDING (CBC) 8:00pm: A lot program may give the town of Reston the luck it needs to turn things around after natural disasters and economic troubles.

BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW (CBC) 9:00pm: There is a wrong way to leave a party; advice for when one is too hungry at a restaurant; a bank presents its pride float.

DATE MY DAD (W NETWORK) 9:00pm: At Elisa's graduation, Ricky comforts Elisa in her sadness at her mother's absence and first big step into womanhood as she starts her period; Kim counsel's Gigi in her concern about eventually having to decide between her career and having children.

[trotcon]

Huge Roundup of News! Guests! Merchants! Musicians! A Freakin' War! Wait, what?!

Finally managed to punch a hole through those scramblers. Nice try mates, but you can’t stop the signal! So let’s get a run down of what’s going on with those crazy pones setting up that TrotCon thing next month!

First off, another VIP guest announcement. Where do they find them?

Announcing an oldie but a goodie: Heather Breckel is back at TrotCon!

Breckel is of course best known on our end as the colorist for the IDW Publishing comic series for My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic that’s been a perfect complement to the TV show through its existence. You read one of the comics? Chances are you laid your eyes on some of her work. And loved it. Duh.

Beyond that, Breckel (a Columbus, Ohio native too! Imagine that!) has worked in similar capacities across other titles, including IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series and Godzilla: Half Century War, Image Comics’ Peter Panzerfaust, Dark Horse Comics’ Number 13, plus some of her personal projects, like Angie Ruins Fire Emblem.

She’ll be back for panels this year as well as spending time in our vendor hall.

Wait, vendor hall. We gotta announce who’s in that still, right?

OK, let’s.

We’ve got 56 tables of TrotCon-y goodness this year, same pony place, same pony time. Both the vendor listing AND map is now available on our website, with further additions and subtractions possible depending on… eh, y’know, the usual.

Point is, chances are about 95 percent of this is going to stay exactly the same by the time TrotCon rolls around this July.

In addition to Heather Breckel and a few of our community guests (along with some fellow conventions! Hi, fellow conventions!), you’ll find many of the awesome vendors that usually adorn TrotCon’s vendor hall (some of whom have been around since we started up in 2012), along with new faces.

Go on. Check it out. Figure out what you’re gonna buy this year. You know you wanna.

Dig. It.

Next up, this signal has been looping endlessly for weeks:

Announcing: the Battle for Bottlecap Canyon!

The truck driver pressed his hoof down on the gas pedal sending more nuclear power to the wheels. “I’ve gotta get all these caps to the bottling plant” he said to himself “If they can’t meet the quota for the new Peanut Bucker Cola release, my head will roll.”

As the truck approached the bridge spanning a canyon, a bright light flashed in the distance, growing brighter than the sun within a millisecond! The driver covered his eyes as he was blinded by the mushrooming explosion, causing the truck to swerve over the bridge railing and fall into the canyon. “AAAAAAAAAAH, Buck me!” the driver exclaimed.

Had anyone been around, onlookers would have observed a smaller explosion in the base of the canyon… as the truck full of bottle caps burns in its own nuclear fire, sending the cargo all over the canyon floor.

Countless years later, tales about a canyon of riches came out of the wasteland, from the dying words of an old scavenger. No one has ever found it…Until now!

Three factions descend upon the canyon, all aiming to claim the hoard of caps. So grab your Nerf blaster, pony up with your team, and fight for the glory of Bottlecap Canyon!

That’s right everypony! It’s a Nerf war!

Scavenge the wasteland for bottle caps to support your faction, but watch out, the other factions will try to stop you and claim the caps for themselves. Each team will have a base to keep their caps at, and the wasteland between bases will have containers hiding precious caps and more Nerf ammo.

The event has a $5 entry fee, but if you bring your own blaster, there is a discount! Ammunition is provided (standard darts only; no rival, disc, mega, or missile are available).

The event runs several times during the convention, including a sponsors only “free session” on Friday! That’s right, if you are a sponsor, you get in for free!

Did we mention that ALL sponsor tiers also get a Nerf Blaster with their loot box? Well, they do: The higher the tier, the better the blaster! What better way to try out your new Nerf blaster than hunting the wasteland for bottle caps? Sponsor badges help the convention and come with all kinds of goodies, registration for sponsors ends on June the 14th, so you better hurry up!

Sounds like a great stash of free caps. And you know what they say, trade will save the wastes. Or something like that. If any of you listening plan on staking a claim, be careful out there. You’re certainly not the only one.

And finally, this broadcast just came through:

Each year, TrotCon is chock full of some killer community guests who are doing some really cool things in the fandom, and 2017 is no different.

After all, we’ve already announced our share of special guests who you’ll be able to meet at TrotCon 2017, including Harmony Studios, ChocoPony, TheBronyCritic, TJ Carson, and the folks of Pony 411. Business as usual, ya know?

Y’all ready to double that list, though?

Cool, because that’s exactly what’s about to happen.

With our final major community guest announcement push for 2017, we’d like to announce the following:

–Fire Team Harmony! Y’all’ve seen them around TrotCon for a bit now as well as other pony conventions across the country, and this year we’re vaulting them up a notch to VIP status. Righteous, yeah? Check out these fandom-beloved cosplayers around the convention, say hi, even check ’em out at their own panels!

–DaThings1! We’ve had Luke/DaThing1, purveyor of some of the best YouTube Poops this side of the Mississippi (or west of it… just anywhere, really). Well, he’s back again, and this time he’s got the third installment of the “Wow! It’s Made” series to show off, along with how-tos and other demonstrations. Get ready to laugh.

–Joe Dyer! Ya boy is known as volrathxp on FIMfiction, where he wrote the popular fic ‘Fallout Equestria: Starlight’ (and since our theme is post-apocalyptic… well, ya know), among others. He’ll be on hand to discuss fan fiction, side fiction, and much more. Writers, you’re gonna want to get in on his stuff.

–Hobbes Maxwell! A longtime member of our vendor hall (where he’ll be again this year, naturally), Hobbes is on hand (hoof? Ugh, this horse pun stuff gets tiring after six years, y’all) for multiple panels and events, including some of our after-dark content in the wee hours of the morning. C’mon, ingest a Red Bull or two and stay up late. Worth. It.

–WeimTime! A last-minute addition to our panel programming last year (so late, he wasn’t even in the conbook or online schedule), we’ve got WeimTime back this year and part of our community guest roster this time around. Learn from the owner of the highly successful YouTube channel and business of the same name, which is known for its animation as well as the Synthesia and WeimTime Plays online series, and take a trip down memory line with his Nostalgia Time panel.

–Robin from My Little Robin! You know the dude from the My Little Robin: Reviewing Is Magic series? Yeah, we got the heck outta him for TrotCon 2017. He’ll be doing a live episode of the show as well as throwing a bit of a party commemorating four years of reviewing ponies on the internet. Aspiring reviewer? Good guy to check out.

We’re also excited to welcome back the Traveling Pony Museum, who’s been at every TrotCon since the beginning. Catch ’em in the vendor hall or in their own room with an assortment of awesome pony-related wares from the beginning of the fandom’s lifetime to now!

Whole lotta exclamation points up there. Hope y’all got that.

We’re also officially announcing our musician lineup for 2017! How about that?

If you follow us on Twitter, you’ve already seen this, but for those of you who don’t (ya should! @TrotCon), let’s get ya a list:

We’ve got Chang31ing and Goggles for the fifth (FIFTH!) year! MogulDash for a fourth! They’re all alongside multiple other performers who’ve been with us in the past, including PonyFireStone, IvoryBrony, end_of_file, R3CTIFIER and JESUSKIDZ. And then we’ve got our rookies: Luck Rock, Versal, DJ Rod, Fennec Faux, and Iggy the Kidd.

13 musicians, folks. How can we contain ’em all? Oh, that’s right: by expanding to TWO NIGHTS of performances this year! We’ll be hosting a short, later-hours set on Friday to get you warmed up for the big event Saturday.

And then, y’know, the musician panel on Sunday, like usual. We are nothing if not creatures of habit.

Let’s see. One last thing.

Oh, right: our pre-registration for 2017 closes soon! In fact, sponsor badges for 2017 are over and done with on June 14, followed by weekend badges on June 20. After that point, you won’t be able to purchase a badge for 2017 until the con itself, at the door and for a larger price.

You really aren’t gonna want to miss out. This is important.

That’s right folks. Today is your LAST DAY to get a sponsor badge. And they come with sweet perks. Like your own Nerf gun. Something no wasteland wanderer can live without. So act soon, time is running out!