The thing is, the story arc of the first episode is never really continued. A continuing main storyline would have been nice for this show, but I guess one can only hope. Regardless, this DVD does not follow the order that the episodes aired on TV anyway. In fact, this DVD picks around from Seasons 1 and 2 rather randomly. I do give it credit for actually keeping the two parts of the first episode on the same DVD, but still, this all just smacks of a scheme to make fans spend more money to buy DVDs with duplicate episodes, just to collect all the episodes from a season or two. It probably won't matter to the very young fans of the show, but Hasbro really should know by now about the Brony demographic.
This is a nice selection of episodes, at least. The theme of the DVD is implied to be trains, though only two episodes in the collection really deal with trains at all. "Over a Barrel" is a bit of a Wild West tale where buffalo stand in for Native Americans. The other episode that slightly relates to the theme is "The Last Roundup" where Applejack leaves behind her life in the apple orchards to live in a town far away from Ponyville (it's accessible by train). "Hearth's Warming Eve" is about a play that explains the origins of Equestria, the world where all the ponies live. It doesn't stick with the theme, but it's a great episode all by itself since it builds the lore of the world for fans.
If you arrived here researching "Bronys" then let me shed some light on this. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is actually a pretty well-written, high quality production that doesn't talk down to its target audience. The characters are well-rounded, with episodes often built around one character's strengths or weaknesses. But the great thing about this show is how it has a little bit of fan service for fans of any one character. If the focus is on Applejack in one episode, you'll likely still get plenty of Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Spike love. Even minor characters that only make brief appearances are interesting and fun, like the classic Old West saloon owner pony (the saloon serves salt licks) with a rather dapper hairstyle. The show just generally keeps itself out of the cheesy, utterly boring rut that many kid's cartoons seem comfortable traveling in. It doesn't take itself too seriously, yet the characters are real enough to take interest in. And there is a nod to people who grew up with the original toys and cartoons in the 80's. I think you can feel this in the fact that the world is this fun place where ponies talk and magic is real, yet it's grounded in this world with limitations (ponies still have to cart around apples, make goods and clothing, get around transportation problems, etc.) that are just a little bit difficult to overcome. I can't explain the Internet movement much beyond that (and I may be overthinking things), but suffice to say that when you become a fan, you'll instantly become a part of a huge community of friends.
Is there singing? Is there girly, sparkly stuff? Yes, but it's not Barbie by a longshot. The first singing number of the show is accompanied by Twilight Sparkle dreadfully saying "Tell me she's not..." before Pinkie Pie blissfully bursts out in song anyway. So while there are a few songs, the show does keep itself out of the cavity zone of sweetness, and even pokes a bit of fun at itself. And the girly sparkly stuff is mostly limited to the show's diva, Rarity. Even she's respectable to the most tomboyish among us. She's not stuck up about it, she just cares about looking good.
This DVD also includes some coloring sheets that you can print out from a computer, as well as a sing-along song (kind of an extended cut of the show's "My Little Pony" theme), and the first episode of the new Pound Puppies show. The "Meet the Ponies" feature is also nice, with small bios on most of the main characters like Celestia and Twilight Sparkle. These extra features are fairly nice, but not in the context of the way the episodes were just randomly thrown together on this DVD. I don't know what the plans are for future DVDs, but there seems to be no rhyme or reason to the ones that are out now. The only other DVD that is available has two episodes on it, also randomly chosen from the airing order. The only thing I can say is that it is at least an improvement to have 5 episodes on one DVD. Hopefully there will be a more orderly release of Seasons 1 and 2 in the future but, Bronys, we're going to have to make do with this for now.
