Arrow Season 2, Episode 18 review

So it's almost time for the final run for Arrow's second season, so let's get caught up with my thoughts on the episode 2 weeks ago.

Pull up your big boy pants, kid. This is gonna be a rough final stretch.

March of the Ponies: Fan Works (Doctor Whooves)

[NOTE: Links to other March of the Ponies stories will go here as they are published.Part 1 - Abridged MLP history, Part 2 - Review of Lauren Faust's prior works, Part 3 - MLP Comics (Twilight, RainbowDash, Rarity, Fluttershy, PinkiePie, Applejack, CMCs/Celestia,Spike/Luna; Nightmare Rarity arc (main series)), Part 4 - Equestria Girls review, Part 5 - Fan-made episodes (Dusk's Dawn, Double Rainboom, Snowdrop); Part 6 - Fan works (Music, Parody/Abridged Series, Fanfictions), Part 7 - Season Reviews: Season 1, Season 2, Season 3, Magical Mystery Cure, Season 4 (to date)]

Let's get one thing straight: I am not a Whovian.

I've never seen an episode from start to finish and at best only know the show and have seen occasional scenes thanks to Linkara using them in his comic reviews. ('There is... logic... in what he says.')

I am seriously looking up old episodes of the First Doctor BECAUSE of the multiple Doctor Whooves audio series I've listened to in the past couple weeks.

These could very well be the best consistent Brony subculture there is because I've yet to look into a Doctor Whooves audio series and be disappointed.

For those unfamiliar, Doctor Who is a 50-year-old BBC program about a Time Lord who can travel anywhere at any time in the universe using a British Police phone box-shaped machine known as a TARDIS.

Doctor Hooves is a background pony in MLP: FIM with an hourglass cutie mark. The fanbase thinks he looks like the pony version of the Tenth Doctor, and eventually Hasbro caved and made the name legitimate.

I've checked out four Doctor Whooves series and all of them have been solid to good. Here are some quick thoughts on each. (My audio only mentions the first three, so go below for the fourth.)

Doctor Whooves and Assistant

Account: PierceSmoulder
Full episodes to date: 8 (with a crossover with the 'Adventures' series)
Companion(s): Derpy/Ditzy Doo, Tick Tock (ginger unicorn introduced in Ep. 8)
Twists on the MLP canon universe: Ponies have pockets in their flanks
Things that make this show unique: There are occasional song numbers like in FIM, including a remix of "Winter Wrap-Up." The Doctor is played as very random and childlike, but can become very serious and willing to kill when danger is imminent.

The Doctor is known normally as 'Time Turner' when going about Ponyville, and seems to have helped the Princesses at some point, though he has no recollection as of yet. This Doctor didn't reincarnate as a pony, but instead crossed into the Pony-verse and changed upon landing near the Everfree Forest.

This is, in my view, the strongest of the series I've seen. I highly recommend it.

Doctor Whooves Adventures

Account: Squeak Anon
Full episodes to date: 6 (with a crossover with the 'Assistant' series; a 3-part spinoff is also present.)
Companion(s): Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie (occasionally), Spike (occasionally)
Twists on the MLP canon universe: The TARDIS crashed into Twilight's library while The Doctor was regenerating at some point in what I assume is Season 1.
Things that make this show unique: The Doctor is constantly vague (to the anger of Twilight), but maintains a business-like aura. He cringes at the pony puns that are twists on human counterpart phrases (on the other hoof, everypony). He also has an addiction to adventure and can't seem to relax.

This series is hilarious simply because of Twilight's reactions, but it's fun to see the general competence of both Twilight and The Doctor as episodes begin to get sorted out.

Honestly, I like the series, but the characters felt at their best when bouncing off 'Assistant' characters, so I have to say this one's in second place.

Doctor Whooves: Tales of Time and Space

Account: Alex Denby
Full episodes to date: 3
Companion(s): Fluttershy, Angel (Ep. 3 only)
Twists on the MLP canon universe: It's unclear when in the series this is happening, so I can't say much. This IS the only series I've seen where The Doctor has always been a pony. Oh, and Star-swirl the Bearded was alive as of 1200 years before the FIM pilot.
Things that make the series unique: This is the most straightforward I've seen the Pony Doctor. He has some secrets, but is pretty much open with Fluttershy. Additionally, while Fluttershy has her uses, she is most useful as a moral anchor for The Doctor, who selected her as a companion for that reason.

This is also the only Doctor I've seen who sought out his companion directly through knowledge of their past deeds. It's also the only Doctor I know of with a past female incarnation.

This one had some audio issues in the first episode, but it's beginning to pick up steam with the introduction of the Daleks in episode 2 and I'm beginning to get excited to see the direction it heads in.

Doctor Whooves the Great

Account: DoctorWhoovesTG
Full episodes to date: 2 (including a 50th anniversary special)
Companion(s): (The Great and Powerful) Trixie, that one guy from Appleoosa (kind of)
Twists on the MLP canon universe: Trixie moved to Appleoosa after 'Magic Duel.'
Things that make the series unique: This Doctor is unsure how he wound up in the Pony-verse and is actually more nervous and anxious than any other series' Doctor. He's also been somewhat forgetful, which causes him to overlook things like explaining what is happening to his companion.

The TARDIS at some point in the future is going to be dangerously altered, as seen by the second TARDIS in the story, but it's unclear how.

There's not much I can say here, as the series is fairly new, but it's not bad. Trixie is actually really funny in this story and bounces off this Doctor well. I'll keep appraised of the series.

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March of the Ponies: Fan works (Music)

[NOTE: Links to other March of the Ponies stories will go here as they are published.Part 1 - Abridged MLP history, Part 2 - Review of Lauren Faust's prior works, Part 3 - MLP Comics (Twilight, RainbowDash, Rarity, Fluttershy, PinkiePie, Applejack, CMCs/Celestia,Spike/Luna; Nightmare Rarity arc (main series)), Part 4 - Equestria Girls review, Part 5 - Fan-made episodes (Dusk's Dawn, Double Rainboom, Snowdrop); Part 6 - Fan works (Doctor Whooves, Parody/Abridged Series, Fanfictions), Part 7 - Season Reviews: Season 1, Season 2, Season 3, Magical Mystery Cure, Season 4 (to date)]

Ok, so this won't be much of a blog post since music is not exactly my 'A' game, but I thought I'd give recommendations for some MLP fan-made songs that I found that were pretty good.

There won't be much in the way of commentary, so just give some of these a listen and enjoy the playlist I've created.

First up, a taste of the BASS CANNON!

Then, some Octavia:

Next, let's check out two famous Fluttershy mixes.

And the epic combination of both. Easily my favorite fan-made pony song.

Next, a remix of a canon song:

And then we have FIM songs. Here's the first set to really good CGI animation.

And a second, which is genuinely weird, but is really catchy and funny when put into the context of the episode.

Lastly, here is the song from fan-made episode Dusk's Dawn.

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Comic Book Reviews: Batman Eternal #1 and Samurai Jack #7

Batman's new weekly series is out and I decided to check it out. And quite honestly, I'm torn.

Not because of its quality, mind you. It's great and I'd actually give it a 9.3/10, but I'm torn because it's too good. Now I have to decide whether I want to invest $3/week in this series for the next year.

Anyway, for those who are curious, this story sets the grand stage, putting Batman against Professor Pyg while introducing Jason Bard, and reveals what will probably be the main storyline for the beginning stages. If you saw spoilers, it might not hit, but as someone who hadn't looked and doesn't read the Action 52 page, it was a stunner.

The art was Jason Fabok's trademark awesomeness and I definitely feel like this was a John Layman-dominant issue. Unsurprisingly, this story was the usual strong Layman-Fabok fare because of it.

Its weak points were more in the fact that so much story is left to tell and it doesn't strike me as an issue that'll hold as strong on repeat reads, especially as more story comes in.

But as far as a debut issue goes, this is great stuff.

However, it pales in comparison to the Samurai Jack issue. This is the conclusion of the Jack & The Scotsman arc, as the two (now gender swapped) face a rock giant to appease the leprechauns.

No. I won't be providing context for that. If you want context, read the last review.

I really thought this would be a three-issue arc, but they managed to round it out in two without feeling badly paced. The only weak point was the time skip they use after Jack and The Scotsman return to their proper genders.

Jim Zub's art is great as usual, and the writing managed a nice plot twist while also being funny, witty and creative with the world at hand. It was a complete story that make this and Issue #6 must-owns.

Overall, I have to give this a 9.7/10. It's the best issue of the series so far and is a leading candidate for the book of April.

Comic Book Reviews: Detective Comics #30 and Green Hornet #11

A new creative team took on Detective Comics and Green Hornet moved into its penultimate issue. How'd they do? Check out the audio!

Comic Book Reviews: Action Comics #30 and Green Arrow #30

I apologize for the delays, but I do have the Action Comics and Green Arrow reviews here!



Thanks to WrestleMania weekend, I have a few blogs on the wrestling section that I will have to do, so I'll have to just go with the audio for these next couple comic reviews.

March of the Ponies: Fan Episodes (Snowdrop)

[NOTE: Links to other March of the Ponies stories will go here as they are published.Part 1 - Abridged MLP history, Part 2 - Review of Lauren Faust's prior works, Part 3 - MLP Comics (Twilight, RainbowDash, Rarity, Fluttershy, PinkiePie, Applejack, CMCs/Celestia,Spike/Luna; Nightmare Rarity arc (main series)), Part 4 - Equestria Girls review, Part 5 - Fan-made episodes (Dusk's Dawn, Double Rainboom), Part 6 - Fan works (Music, Doctor Whooves, Parody/Abridged Series, Fanfictions), Part 7 - Season Reviews: Season 1, Season 2, Season 3, Magical Mystery Cure, Season 4 (to date)]

Technically, I shouldn't count this as a true fan-made episode because it doesn't reach the 20-minute mark, which even then would make this the shortest MLP episode. But it's close enough that a proper framing device could make it work (heck, Friendship is Witchcraft proved this episode works well when framed around another plot), so I'll talk about it.

Snowdrop is an episode produced by Silly Filly Studios about the blind pegasus who created the first true snowflakes.

To touch on the animation briefly, it's once again surprisingly close to show quality. It's definitely not on Double Rainboom's level, but I'd say it's more than halfway to DR from Dusk's Dawn.

It's clear the animators worked hard to give this world an atmosphere, so I'd say the backgrounds in this are stronger than DR, but the actual pony motions don't flow as smoothly.

Still, given the limited budget constrictions, I will say I'm impressed.

One of the best scenes in the story.

The writing gets really good in the second half of this story. I like that Snowdrop's inspiration for the snowflake comes from childhood love of the sound of stars twinkling, and the theme that being overlooked doesn't make something less valid is a great message to show with this character. The fact that Princess Luna is the one who connects with that message most is also a nice touch.

Where I feel the story wasn't at its best was the beginning where all the ponies, specifically the teacher and mother, are irresponsible with how they take care of this filly. The bullies were also unrealistically cruel.

These traits could have been downplayed a little more and Snowdrop could have shown more optimism in the face of this tough world and the message would have still hit it mark. I feel like Snowdrop's character in the first half had her personality sacrificed to make her a martyr, and that kind of ethos doesn't sit well with a lot of viewers.

That said, I know it works for some people and I'm sure this group is counted in that. It's just that I'd have preferred the character be more like Toph and see what could be a weakness as a strength.

Overall, I'd say this hit the highest notes of any of the fan-made episodes, though it was not as consistent as DR. With a proper framing device, I'd like to see the series try to incorporate this into the mythos. It's a cool look into the winter origins.

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