Did TV influence your collecting?

[Elisto]

Yes and yes. I collect all G1s I can reasonably get, but I've always wanted my favorites from the show most, and I'm more picky about upgrading those ones to a better condition. Alternatively, some of the ponies I care about the least are the ones from the show I liked the least.

[DoctorMowinckel]

I got into ponies when a friend who's been into it for about a decade told me to check out FiM. I dig the show, of course, but now it's turned into a toys first, show second ordeal. While I wouldn't have gotten into ponies were it not for FiM, for me its more of a collecting thing. If the show were to cease existing, I'd still enjoy the toys just as much.

So, somewhere between A and B, but I'll go with option A as it seems more appropriate for how I got into collecting.

[banditpony]

My local video store had some MLP tapes... I really don't remember being fond of them. ... In fact, I think I kind of hated it. It might of been because I didn't want to accept the characters depicted on the show-- I had my developed my own.

[SourdoughStomper]

I didn't watch the show, and still haven't seen very many episodes to this date. I just loved colorful ponies and wanted 'em.

[SheRa-dude]

It most certainly influenced me. There was something about seeing the toy characters move and behave in a certain way that made them more real, and made me want then in my life as a kid even more. I think that's where the strength of toy commercials and toy tv shows lies: they bring the toy to life, so to speak...

[ValeofSpring]

Answer:  YES!  I didn't even know about MLPs until I saw the original TV special in fall 1984.  And the rest is history!  I still love that special (now known as Rescue from Midnight Castle).

Commercials definitely had an influence.  The movie and the show not as much--I still loved MLPs then but I was not into Year 4 like I was into Year 2.

[Sora]

They did - It was actually a video I had from when I was very young that sparked my interest. Sweet Stuff and the Treasure Hunt! She remains my favorite G1 to this day

[emera_lazzaly]

Mine is a completely different answer I watched the tv show and would have loved the ponies from it but I wasn't ever able to find them! Until now! I don't remember which I did first, buy a pony or watch the show but I loved them!

[ApertureScience]

I went away from My Little Pony until Friendship is Magic; that renewed my interest in the whole series.  Also, thanks to Lauren Faust, I also found myself liking the older generations more than I used too.  When she said that the FiM characters got their personalities from the personalities she gave her dolls when she was little, it made me realize that the ponies don't always have to be all rainbows and candy like their backcards suggest.

[okiegurl1981]

Nope, can't say I was influenced by the shows.  I had ponies when they first came out.  I was born in 1981, and I have pics of me when I was like two or three with my Cotton Candy.  I never watched any of the tv shows when I was little, but I do remember watching the movie.

[DazzleKitty]

I got into G1s before I really got into the MLP cartoon. To be honest, even when I was a kid I didn't like the original MLP series but loved MLP Tales. I just liked the figures. But it is charming to see them animated with their own personalities.

However, FiM amplified my love of G4s. I adore the show and the toys. Pure awesomeness!

[Koudoawaia]

I believe joining here actually started my collecting though it was because of FiM that I looked for pony boards since none of the ones I was on was a place I could talk about how awesome it was and ended up here.

I have to say this!
I watched FiM, but I really wasn't into collecting. I just had a few ponies (by few I mean 2). Once I joined here I started collecting more and more ponies.

You and I have the same story pretty much. When I joined here I only had 3 ponies. I even remember telling my mom last year that I just wanted to replace the Baby Celebrations I lost and that was it. Silly me. I've gotten a lot more ponies since I replaced Baby Celebrations.

[tehrin]

I'm a mix between A and B tbh!

Growing up, the cartoons didn't really influence my collecting. Namely, I got what my parents could afford to get me, since I was still very young at the time.  I'd see a pony on the shelf and want it because of its color, not so much because I wanted the character from the show. I didn't always get to see all the pony episodes because my mom disliked having cartoons on TV, and limited my watching to a few hours. I guess it was good in one way, but not so good in others... cause she preferred soap operas and court shows, as well as horror movies! XP  So my MLP time was really me playing in my bedroom or outside.

The current show did have an effect on my collecting. Because I really love it, I got back into collecting childhood favorites. Rewatching the old episodes convinced me to buy Masquerade and Wind Whistler to name a few because of their personalities. Now that I'm an adult with spare money to spend, I can buy ponies for reasons like that.   Likewise, I buy up G4 toys because of the show. I'm also leaning toward obtaining more merchandise of my favorite characters because of it.

But that said, it doesn't entirely influence my collecting. Sometimes I will buy a pony because I like their design or colors. Sometimes just to fit into a set, or because I just felt like it and the price was right!

[GazeboMouse]

I didn't even know there was a MLP cartoon until I became an adult collector several years ago! It wasn't shown on the BBC, we only watched BBC in our house when growing up. My love of ponies was from the MLP Panini sticker album, and playing at my friend's house, who had lots of ponies and the comics. Ponies were expensive to buy round here, so I only had 3.

[scarletjul]

I did not start collecting because there was a tv show (I had a couple of ponies as a child and that plus a gift from my best friend sparked my interest) and I don't generally fall in love with a pony just because s/he was on the show.  However, I have started to want certain ponies because I especially liked their characters in the 80's series or the movie, such as Fizzy, Tex and Shady.  And there's definitely a pony or two I would've passed by from the g4 line if not for FiM (Twilight, Rarity) though I have not bought all of the mane 6 nor the CMC.

So, I guess I'm between A and B.