Daria

Back in the 1990s MTV used to be a driving force in world wide subculture. This show is a timeless container for the spirit of grunge, early internet, high school-horror and teenage angst. The characters are so well-crafted, it is actually shoking and surprising throughout the whole series. Many cartoons tried character development, more mature narratives and reoccuring themes but in Daria it feels unforced and fits so well. I would not even describe the cartoon with a "serious tone", its simply not a quirky kids show. The relationship between Daria and Jane, which has its ups and downs, is beautifully displayed and closer to real human experience than I have seen in almost anything. Daria is the cynical teenage proto-hipster that might have inspired many after her (when College Humor made a fake real-action-trailer Aubrey Plaza was an unsurprising casting) but has moments that make her more vivid, self-reflecting and plastic than most of the Simpsons. Even the stereotypes like Quinn show depth at times that catches you by surprise and make you forget you're watching a teenage cartoon.

Entertaining, serious, poetic, rewatchable, funny, cool - Daria has it all.

I've read the user comments for "Daria" and I noticed one thing. All the bad reviews are written by elitist goth kids who disliked that an "alternative" show like it was aired on a "mainstream" TV channel like MTV. Don't let yourself fooled by these comments.

Sure, this show aired on MTV. Doesn't it seem a bit weird that it bashes everything MTV is all about? Sure, it is trendy to be different and artsy to some extent. Didn't MTV just want to take advantage of this? Personally, I think that Daria is one of the best and funniest shows that I've ever seen.

This show might seem like it's about teen angst. It might seem like Daria is your typical high school outcast with her artistic friend who are proud of being "different" yet aren't that much different after all. But this is not at all what it's like.

First, this show isn't particularly aired at teenagers. It's aired at any young people, I'd say anyone from 12 to 35 but people in their late teens and 20's can enjoy it more since they've gone through high school or are still in high school. Daria criticizes high school life. Aside from the "be yourself and screw what others think" moral, the goal of the show is to make it's watchers laugh. Daria lives in an exagerated version of reality where teenagers and adults are completely brainwashed by society and often act in ridiculous ways. This is what is so funny. Even though the show is so realistic, the fact that it's exagerated reminds us that it doesn't take itself too seriously and that the goal isn't to be preachy but to be humorous.

As I said earlier, Daria is not your typical rebellious teenager. Daria and her friend Jane are spectators in the show and their only roles are to let us see the world through their eyes. However, Jane and Daria are two completely different characters. Jane is a lot less negative than Daria about a lot of things, by example. This only makes the show more interesting because they aren't just two goth teenagers whining about the world around them. Daria is a realistic character while not being a stereotype. Many people view her as a person who's unconfident but I think she's more confident than most characters in the show. She just views things as they are, with a tint of bitterness, without falling into the "gothic" category, yet she still treats her surroundings with respect.

If you disliked the superficial world that is high school, I suggest this show for a lot of laughs.

I'm 34 years old as of this writing, so why do I like this spin-off of Beavis and Butt-head? The sarcasm of Tracy Grandstaff will sting you with laughter, not to mention Miss Morgendorffer's refusal to go along with the "conform-or-die" mentality that's forced upon teenagers, whether it's from her elders, the popular creeps, or the various counter-cultures. Imagine a girl like her in previous decades of teen-dom. Her attitude toward peer pressure is close to the one I had when I was in high school (..and now feel even stronger about), as is her Dad's seething resentment toward the people who robbed him of the "joy of youth."

Long live Daria. If the show doesn't last, may it's legacy do so.

Network: MTV; Genre: Animated Comedy; Average Content Rating: TV-PG; Classification: contemporary (star range: 1 - 4);

Season Reviewed: Completed series

'Daria' was a show that I didn't like for a long time. At some point during that time it attached to my unsuspecting self and grew on me like a leech. I found that it is a show that is unable to fully articulate itself in isolated episodes. Instead, 'Daria' is more about it's tone and an attitude that works more than any story it can come up with. It throws together a small world of conflicting characters and lets the sparks fly. As all their adventures begin to pile up the show's real vision comes together. I wonder if even MTV got it. 'Daria' mocked fads & shallow teenagers (and the culture that feeds off them), regularly taking aim at the heart of everything the network makes a living on.

The world around Daria Morgendorffer is filled with ditsy cheerleaders, brain-dead jocks, zit-faced nerds, miserable artists, touchy-feely teachers, favorite siblings, condescending or aloof parents and teenage garage bands trying to hit it big. If your willing to buy that Daria and the show share the same vision (not a big leap at all) you're one step closer to getting the show's great, subversive running gag: that the show is depicting what it believes are real teenagers, and that teenagers have been influenced and conditioned by the culture into acting out the stereotypes that come with their position in the high school caste system. It's art imitating life imitating art.

And in the middle of it all is Daria - our central axis to call everybody out. She knows her place in the world and stands outside it all. Daria herself is as daring a lead as TV gets. So (intentionally) abjectly dull that she sucks the air out of every room she enters. She rarely changes the bland expression on her face or raises the pitch of that monotone voice. It's not entirely clear if she has a low self-esteem or thinks she is above everybody. Even the most exciting weekend adventures are a nuisance to Daria. Everything just gets in her way and keeps her from lying around on the couch watching 'Sick Sad World' (a show within the show apparently based on the idea that there is an entire untapped niche of Daria Morgendorffers around the world).

The best and most admirable thing about this show is its unflinching guts to let Daria be Daria - in all her faceless, bland, monotone, personality devoid glory. It is also the only show in my memory (apart from occasionally 'Seinfeld') that was content to reduce it's leads to taking the role of spectators to the story. They never grew, they never learned a lesson, they never swoop in and save the day, they rarely even impacted the world around them. The show was not worried with contriving phony problems and solutions. Whether it was being dragged to camp or dragged to the mall with her sister Quinn, Daria and Jane where content to spend entire episodes hanging on the sidelines watching everyone else makes fools of themselves.

Picking up the slack where our heroine can't was a well constructed cast of supporting characters. Jane's deadbeat brother Trent, would-be Casanova Charles Ruttheimer the 3rd & Daria's rage-filled father Jake (who longs for his hippie days) all walk off with the biggest laughs.

'Daria' was a sharp, sardonic, timely, funny and substantive series that dared to bite the hand of it's own demographic on a network that is to dumb to know the difference. It had a learning curve, but if you can get over that hump it can be rather addicting. A contemporary classic that ranks with 'The Sifl and Olly Show' as one of the few really great MTV offerings.

* * * ½ / 4

I started watching Daria when I was in college and absolutely fell in love with the show. Daria and Jane's friendship is probably the best aspect of the show, and anyone who has had a close friendship like that will probably agree with me. As a matter of fact, I still hang out with my Daria (I'm definitely more the Jane) to this day. And I totally have the memories of High School and my Brittany and Kevin - like schoolmates as well. Most people didn't like the whole Jane/Tom/Daria love triangle, but I think it was one of the things that made Daria's character more vulnerable and more human. And I really loved how the series ended with Daria realizing that shutting everyone out in her life was not the answer. I only wish I had made such a realization at that age! All in all, I say that Daria is a wonderful coming-of-age show that should be enjoyed for generations to come.