Daria: Difference between revisions

{{quote|''[[Brutal Honesty|I've got to be direct]]<br />

''[[The Cassandra|If I'm wrong,]] [[Sarcasm Mode|please correct]]<br />

''You're standing on my neck''|'''Splendora'''|"You're Standing on My Neck", opening theme}}

<!-- [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwXzO7xiSXk link breaks quote markup -->

Most of the humor is derived from Daria and her friend Jane's conflicts with the collection of twisted teenage archetypes (and often the adults) around them. The last two seasons departed from the [[Reset Button]] to create a powerful [[Story Arc]] of Daria and her friends coming of age. The show's strong use of [[Character Development]] became a major draw on [[MTV|a network loaded with more superficial programming]]. A major part of it is Daria eventually falling for a [[Tall, Dark and Snarky]] boy, Tom Sloane, who is worthy of her and struggling to deal with romantic activities she previously rejected.

Approximately eight years after the series ended, the show ''finally'' [http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Daria-The-Complete-Series/13322 got an official DVD release on May 11th, 2010].

* [[Adults Are Useless]]: Played with. Most adults in the show, besides the principal, seem to have good intentions to say the least. But a lot of the times they are simple too out of the loop to be much use, or Daria is too cynical to initially take what they say seriously.

* [[Adult Child]]: When stressed, Jake generally does one of two things: reverts to a helpless childlike state, or rages against his strict, distant, and since-deceased father. The outbursts are frequently interjected into conversations that had nothing to do with his childhood, and appear to also function as a defense against criticism.

* [[The Alleged Car]]: The Tank, Mystik Spiral's main mode of transportation. Also, Trent's car, and probably every other vehicle owned by a Lane. Also Tom's car. He explains that it's not a convertible, but the roof ''is'' rusting through.

* [[Allergic to Love]]: Daria in "{{smallcaps|ill}}", who seems to suddenly get a horrible rash on her entire body when in contact with Trent.

** Sandi: "As ''President'' of the ''Fashion Club,'' I..."

* [[Characterization Marches On]]: One episode had Brittany invite Daria to her party for simply helping her in art class and in spite of not being "cool" (not to mention Upchuck getting an invite for helping her dissect a frog). Later episodes make it hard to imagine that she'd be aware of social divisions present in high school, even though it's still an issue. Britney's voice was also ''MUCH'' lower-pitched in episode two.

*** Given a [[Continuity Nod]] in the first episode, where she is sent to a self-esteem class.

** Don't forget Tiffany - in the first season, she actually ''doesn't'' sound like she's huffing her make-up material.

* [[Continuity Nod]]:

** A red stain that is seen and mentioned in the Lanes' freezer in "Lane Miserables" later pops up again in the episode "Speedtrapped."

** Also in the second season episode "Gifted." Jodie, while traveling with Daria and Daria's parents is asked by Helen if she knows Kevin, and mentions that "He and Daria did a science project together." A nod to the previous season's seventh episode, "The Lab Brat."

** "Talking toilet?"

* [[Crapsack World]]: Lawndale, in a comically [[Lighter and Softer]] variant.

* [[Creative Closing Credits]]: The end credits have a montage of the show characters as different people and things, including:

** Jake as a flamenco dancer, a sushi meal, a DJ, a police composite sketch of the Unabomber, a man in a [[Bankruptcy Barrel]], and [[The Terminator]].

** Helen as [[Elton John]], Carmen Miranda, Medusa, a samurai, a hobo, Lady Godiva, and a Vegas showgirl.

** Ms. Barch as Monica Lewinsky, [[Xena]], and a cabaret dancer.

** Tiffany as a fat jogger, a leprechaun, a mountain climber, and a marionette.

** Sandi as a garbage man, a French maid, a go-go dancer reminiscent of [[Rose McGowan]]'s Cherry Darling from ''[[Planet Terror]]'', and The Devil).

** In ''Is It Fall Yet'', the montage shows stills of [[Hilarious Outtakes]] from the film and in ''Is It College Yet'', the montage is a joke [[Where Are They Now? Epilogue]], showing what could have happened to each character [[After the End]]. Most of the "alter egos" shown on the regular credits can be found here: [http://www.outpost-daria.com/art_alter-egos.html\].

* [[The Cutie]]: Can you say "Fashion Club"?. Also mildly subverted by Daria in "Quinn The Brain", in which Daria is shown to actually be rather attractive when she wants to be.

* [[A Day At the Bizarro]]: There are fans who refuse to consider "Depth Takes A Holiday" as a canon episode. You should see how the fans treat that episode in [[Fanfic]]... "Daria!" may also count.

** "Murder, She Snored" and "The Lawndale File" also count as borderline examples, though one is [[All Just a Dream]] and the other is just the town's collective idiocy biting it in the back door.

* [[Fractured Fairy Tale]]: Daria and Jane use a series of them as bedtime stories for the kids they're sitting in "Pinch Sitter."

** In "The Teachings of Don Jake," Jake, Helen, Quinn and Daria both try to tell scary fairy tales around the campfire. Jake's was a [[Mundane Ghost Story]] about his father getting drunk during a camping trip in Jake's childhood, Helen's was a racy vampire romance that she had to clean up at the last minute, Quinn's story was more about how badly-dressed Cinderella was, and Daria's [[Team Rocket Wins|version]] of "Hansel and Gretel" made everyone else sick (but was probably the best one out of the four).

* [[Funny Aneurysm Moment]]: In-universe: in "The Misery Chick," returning alumnus Tommy Sherman manages to piss off just about everyone in the school. Daria speaks of her resentment at the reverence he'll receive for the rest of his life, which Jane follows up remarking he may not live that long. A second later, a goalpost collapses and kills him offscreen.

* [[Fur Bikini]]: Jane wears one in a picture during the credits. Daria makes a joke about wearing one in the show proper.

* [[Generation Xerox]]: Daria's Aunt Amy has the same color hair as she does, wore similar glasses to Daria (before contacts), and more importantly, developed a sarcastic and cynical attitude in order to deal with the pressures of her family and life.

* [[Genius Ditz]]:

** According to "A Tree Grows in Lawndale" Kevin is apparently the only talented quarterback in the school.

* [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]]: Pierce Me has the following gem.

''(DeMartino starts gulping down like there's no tomorrow)'' }}

** Then there was the time Jake chugged a whole Martini pitcher when Aunt Rita came through the door.

* [[It Runs in The Family]]: The musical episode shows how Quinn and Helen are actually much more similar than they appear at first. Whether with fashion or with work, they both share a fiery unhealthy obsession with being the best.

* [[Jerkass]]: [[Alpha Bitch|Sandi]], especially [[With Friends Like These...|towards Quinn]]. [[Jerk Jock|Tommy Sherman]] and [[Sadist Teacher|Ms. Barch]] also qualify.

{{quote| ''99 percent of the music has been changed, because the cost of licensing the many music bites we used would have made it impossible to release the collection (and for many years did).'' [...] ''To put it bluntly, replacing the music had to be done.''}}

::Both the stand-alone DVD release of "Is It College Yet?" and the version on the full series set is cut and censored. The original master had music that wasn't licensed for DVD, and MTV lost the audio edit points that would allow re-integration of the clipped material into a releasable product. The extra material was included in re-airings of the movie on The N in exchange for censored content; The N had the rights to the original music.

* [[Lame Comeback]]: Kevin and Brittany get into one of their weekly arguments; before stalking off, Britney snaps at him.

{{quote| '''Britney:''' "Don't you fraternize me!"<br />

* [[Lampshade Hanging]]: Jodie feels pressure, being the perfect role model for all the black kids in school - and she then points out that there aren't any black kids except for her and Mack. (There are a few black students as background characters.) In "Life in the Past Lane" when Jane's new boyfriend means a new retro style, she says "This was so much easier when I only had one outfit."

* [[The Lancer]]: Jane Lane.

* [[Let Me Get This Straight...]]: Helen Morgendorffer practically says this verbatim to Ms. Li in "Arts 'n' Crass."

* [[Limited Wardrobe]]: Even ''the Fashion Club!'' There's a clever [[Lampshade Hanging]] in "The Teaching of Don Jake." While Daria and Jane are having a conversation, Jane is idly packing a suitcase to head off to a family reunion. EVERY shirt she puts in the suitcase is the exact same as the one she's wearing.

* [[Only Friend]]: Daria and Jane, to each other, in earlier seasons.

* [[Only Sane Woman]]: Daria and Jodie. Brittany in "Through a Lens Darkly".

* [[Painful Rhyme]]: In-series example, its a staple of almost every Mystik Spiral song ever.

** Also Quinn's poem in ''Quinn the Brain''. "The greasy fry, it cannot lie, it's truth is written on my thigh."

'''Daria''': I can't shoot my own mother. Not with ''paint'', anyway. }}

* [[Parental Substitute]]: Helen treated Trent like her own son while he was staying with the Morgandorfers.

* [[Party Scheduling Gambit]]: [[Alpha Bitch|Sandi]] ropes Quinn into volunteering for the Dance Committee, only to leave her hanging when she rejects her ideas. In response, Quinn passes off the responsbilities to Daria and Jane while Sandi [[Start My Own|attempts a party of her own]].

* [[Perky Goth]]: Brittany Taylor in the episode: ''Ill''. Jane Lane mentions about Brittany the next day to Daria.

* [[Ragtag Bunch of Misfits]]: ''Daria'' fandom, as a [[Real Life]] example.

* [[Really Gets Around]]: Brittany and Kevin.

* [[Running Gag]]:

** Quinn denying that she and Daria are sisters. {{spoiler|When she finally cops to them being sisters in the final season, her friends in the Fashion Club admit they already knew that but just kept quiet to keep her happy.}}

* [[Satellite Character]]: Due to the writers never really finding a voice actor they liked, Mack isn't particularly fleshed out, and is mostly there to react to Kevin and Jodie.

* [[Scenery Porn]]: "Antisocial Climbers" seems to have been made mostly just to show off the kind of scenery that the show's new CG animation could do.

* [[See You in Hell]]: "Merry Christmas, Dad...in ''Hell!''"

* [[Sensitive Guy and Manly Man]]: Timothy O'Neill and Anthony DeMartino respectively. Mr. O'Neill does have a backbone, and Mr. DeMartino does have a sensitive side, they just hide them really well - it seems almost like an [[Out-of-Character Moment]] when they ''do'' show them.

* [[She Cleans Up Nicely]]: In "Quinn the Brain", Daria makes herself look pretty - not for a date, but to make a point to Quinn - and essentially makes it clear that she looks the way she does out of principle. There was also the end of one episode where Daria fantasizes about a beautiful future with Trent, where they both look elegant and stylish.

** Subverted in "I Don't". Daria's bridesmaid dress is a very nice style and ''should'' have looked great on her, but the seamstress put zero effort into fitting it to Daria, blaming her "lack of hips" as the reason, and she spends the rest of the episode enduring complaints on why she didn't get the same style as the other bridesmaids while wearing it.

* [[Shout-Out]]: In one episode, Kevin asks [[Office Space|a kid named Milton if he can borrow his stapler]]. [[The Blair Witch Project|There's also O'Neill's videotaping in 'Antisocial Climbers']], and [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer|Brittany's impromptu demonstration of]] [[She Fu]] in 'The Daria Hunter' - not to mention [[Apocalypse Now|the way DeMartino and Jake act]], or [[Platoon|the way Sandi is left behind at day's end, and how Quinn looks back...]]

* [[Show Within a Show]]: Sick Sad World

* [[Shrinking Violet]]: Stacy from The Fashion Club.

* [[The Snark Knight]]: Daria was such a striking examples of the trope, she was its original [[Trope Namer]]. She despises the world she aches to mend, but is in no position to act. The frustration and anger behind that still expression flows out endlessly in her quips. She devotes considerable intelligence and energy to her snarky retorts that all too often fail to find purchase -- her target just does not have the depth. She is quite aware of her own nature: in the final regular episode, where she has a personal crisis after finding a refrigerator box in the backyard, Daria fears that she unfairly burdened her parents by being that way due to all the teachers telling Helen and Jake about Daria being antisocial. Her parents firmly reassure her that they consider her personality worth the price for such an intelligent and principled daughter.

* [[Snowed In]]: "Antisocial Climbers".

* [[Some Anvils Need to Be Dropped]]: In-universe, it's shown in ''Arts and Crass'' that Ms. Defoe believes this.

* [[Spoiled Sweet]]: Her dad may be a snob, her stepmom might be a gold digger, and her brother is a <s>spoiled brat</s> budding serial killer, but Brittany is filled to the brim with good intentions and happy thoughts. Unless of course she thinks someone is making a move on Kevin.

* [[Start My Own]]: Sandi's party, hosted in retaliation to Quinn rejecting her ideas for the school dance.