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Daria

animated television show created by Glenn Eichler and Susie Lewis Lynn and was a spin-off of Beavis and Butthead. Both shows were produced by MTV's now-defunct animation department. Daria has been bought by broadcasters in more than twenty countries - see .

Daria Morgendorffer

Daria's first incarnation was as an occasional character in Beavis and Butthead, where she formed a female, intelligent foil to the two dunderheads. In her eponymous series, Daria became more angsty; to some, she's the poster child for 'teen misfit.' Voiced by Tracy Grandstaff, Daria is a bespectacled, plain, highly intelligent, unfashionably dressed, and seemingly cynical teenage girl who is portrayed as an icon of sanity in an insane household, with her vacuous, fashion-obsessed sister Quinn and career-obsessed parents Helen and Jake. While much of the show is a vehicle for Daria's droll deadpan monotone one-liners, a recurring plot element in early seasons is Daria standing up to misused authority, leading some fans to conclude that her apparent cynicism is only skin deep.

Other Major Characters

• Helen Morgendorffer - (First Appearance: "Esteemsters") Daria's workaholic mother and the family's principal wage earner.
• Jake Morgendorffer - (First Appearance: "Esteemsters") Daria's father. He had a strict military father, "Mad Dog" who is later learned to have passed on, and tends to have mood swings and go off on rants about his childhood. His efforts to run a consulting business from home are not blessed with success. He is essentially clueless.
• Jane Lane - (First Appearance: "Esteemsters") Daria's artistic best friend and fellow outcast.
• Trent Lane - (First Appearance: "The Invitation") Jane's brother and the only other Lane still permanently residing in the Lane household. A laid-back slacker, he plays lead guitar in the band Mystic Spiral and, perhaps not surprisingly, bears a strong resemblance to Jakob Dylan of the Wallflowers. Also Daria's romantic interest for much of the series.
• Tom Sloane - (First Appearance: "Jane's Addiction") First appeared as Jane's boyfriend and later became Daria's boyfriend. He belongs to one of Lawndale's richest families, but this isn't apparent from his appearance. Tom and Daria ended their relationship in the serie's finale (and the second Daria movie) Is it College Yet?
• Andrea - (First Appearance: "Esteemsters") The Lawndale High Goth. Andrea's worldview could put Daria's to shame.
• Brittany Taylor - (First Appearance: "Esteemsters") Lawndale High's head cheerleader. A bubble-brained blonde, she is popular but is often seen with Daria and Jane.
• Kevin Thompson - (First Appearance: "Esteemsters") Lawndale High's football team's quarterback. Boyfriend to Brittany. To call him as dumb as a brick would be insultuing--to the brick.
• Jodie Landon - (First Appearance: "The Invitation") One of few black students at Lawndale High, Jodie is the quintessential overachiever, pushed by her ambitious parents.
• Michael "Mack" MacKenzie - (First Appearance: "The Invitation") Jodie's boyfriend and also another of the few black students at Lawndale High. He is more or less of comparable intelligence to Jodie and is the Lawndale High's football team's captain. Kevin calls him "Mack Daddy", which he hates more than anything.
• Charles "Upchuck" Ruttheimer III - (First Appearance: "The Invitation") Is the world's least desirable male, with the world's worst taste in come-ons.
• The Fashion Club:
  • Sandi Griffin - (First Appearance: "Esteemsters") The club president, or perhaps its monarch. She rules the fashion club with an iron fist. Sandi is a control freak.
  • Quinn Morgendorffer - (First Appearance: "Esteemsters") Daria's sister, a fashion victim? Not if she can help it! She's the club Vice-president and her main concerns are clothes, boys, and popularity. While she is intelligent, Quinn's mind is usually in the shallow end of the pool.
  • Anastasia "Stacey" Rowe - (First Appearance: "Esteemsters") Pigtailed Stacey is the secretary of the club and appears to have no personality of her own. She is skittish, extremely insecure, and a born follower.
  • Tiffany Blum-Deckler - (First Appearance: "The Invitation") The "yes man" of the club. She'll always side with either Sandi or Quinn depending on who's winning. She is generally presented as the least intelligent of the group. An Asian girl, she speaks veeery sloooowly with a valley-girl quality to her voice. She is also very self-centered (even more so than the other fashion club members.)
• Lawndale High Teachers:
  • Ms. Janet Barch - (First Appearance: "The Lab Brat") Science teacher. She is psychotically aggressive towards all males due to a rather messy and bitter divorce. She and Mr. O'Neil have had numerous "flings" together through out the series.
  • Mrs. Diane Bennett - (First Appearance: "Malled") Economics Teacher. For some obscure reason she is known primarily for her hatred of pennies. Her blackboard diagrams resemble football plays.
  • Ms. Claire Defoe - (First Appearance: "The Invitation") Art Teacher. Most down-to-earth of the faculty and patient to a fault. Probable hippie past.
  • Mr. Anthony DeMartino - (First Appearance: "Esteemsters") History Teacher. DeMartino is stressed to the point of being put in a strait jacket. He has the habit of shouting every fifth word or so causing one of his eyes to bulge out. This is possibly due to his fighting in Vietnam. Dimwits like Kevin and Brittany really upset him. He seems to be an amalgam of Christopher Walken (appearance) and Kirk Douglas (speech pattern).
  • Ms. Angela Li - (First Appearance: "Esteemsters") Principal of Lawndale High. She is obsessed with fund raising and the school's image. Many fans assume that the interest in fund raising is because she uses the regular budget on security measures for the school, such as drug dogs and closed circuit cameras. She will do anything to bring fame to Lawndale High.
  • Mr. Timothy O'Neil - (First Appearance: "Esteemsters") English Teacher. Sensitive "new age guy" always talking about feelings but doesn't have a very good grip on his own emotions. Cries easily. Acidic Ms. Barch and this creampuff seem an odd match.
  • Mrs. Margeret Manson- (First Appearance: "Esteemsters") School psychologist. She only has one speaking role, in episode 101 "Esteemsters", in which she declares Daria has self-esteem issues. She seems underqualified for her job, and she spews psychological jargon and buzzwords that few can decipher.
• Rita - (First Appearance: "I Don't") Helen's sister. Rita and Helen have an ongoing fight from childhood, and never get along.
• Amy - (First Appearance : "I Don't) Helen's other sister. Daria sees her as the "cool one." She stays out of Helen and Rita's fights, for the most part.

Trivia

• When the show began in 1997, Daria and her family just moved from Highland to the affluent town of Lawndale.
• The only television program Daria is shown to watch is Sick, Sad World, the Daria team's spoof of sensationalist oddity programs.
• Production of each half-hour episode took ten months to a year, from concept to post-production.
• European fansite ran a competition to find the Easter egg on . A fan calling himself John T won.

Episodes

Season 1

1. "Esteemsters"
2. "The Invitation"
3. "College Bored"
4. "Cafe Disaffecto"
5. "Malled"
6. "This Year's Model"
7. "The Lab Brat"
8. "Pinch Sitter"
9. "Too Cute"
10. "The Big House"
11. "Road Worrier"
12. "The Teachings of Don Jake"
13. "The Misery Chick"

Season 2

1. "Arts 'N Crass"
2. "The Daria Hunter"
3. "Quinn the Brain"
4. "I Don't"
5. "That Was Then, This Is Dumb"
6. "Monster"
7. "The New Kid"
8. "Gifted"
9. "Ill"
10. "Fair Enough"
11. "See Jane Run"
12. "Pierce Me"
13. "Write Where it Hurts"

Season 3

1. "Daria!"
2. "Through a Lens Darkly"
3. "The Old and the Beautiful"
4. "Depth Takes a Holiday"
5. "Daria Dance Party"
6. "The Lost Girls"
7. "It Happened One Nut"
8. "Lane Miserables"
9. "Jake of Hearts"
10. "Speedtrapped"
11. "The Lawndale File"
12. "Just Add Water"
13. "Jane's Addition"

Season 4

1. "Partner's Complaint"
2. "Antisocial Climbers"
3. "A Tree Grows in Lawndale"
4. "Murder, She Snored"
5. "The F Word"
6. "I Loathe a Parade"
7. "Of Human Bonding"
8. "Psycho Therapy"
9. "Mart of Darkness"
10. "Legends of the Mall"
11. "Groped by an Angel"
12. "Fire!"
13. "Dye! Dye! My Darling"

First movie

• Is It Fall Yet?

Season 5

1. "Fizz Ed"
2. "Sappy Anniversary"
3. "Fat Like Me"
4. "Camp Fear"
5. "The Story of D"
6. "Lucky Strike"
7. "Art Burn"
8. "One J at a Time"
9. "Life in the Past Lane"
10. "Aunt Nauseam"
11. "Prize Fighters"
12. "My Night at Daria's"
13. "Boxing Daria"

Second movie

• Is It College Yet?

Airing information

Daria first aired on MTV in the USA, and is now showing there as reruns on The N, the young teens timeblock on children's educational network Noggin. These reruns have been criticised by American Daria fans for being edited for content, occasionally rendering remaining portions of the show almost unintelligible, or wiping out subplots and subtext.

The rights to show Daria have been bought by a number of broadcasters outside the USA: lists airing information for more than 25 countries.

Tapes and DVDs

A number of VHS tapes have been issued, mostly in PAL format. Two DVDs are available, ostensibly coded for Region One (North America) but found by fans to be region-free. More information on . Fans are for a DVD release of every episode, uncut, and by September 2004 1,443 fans had voted for Daria at , bringing it to 33rd place in the list of most-wanted unreleased DVDs.

Fan community

Perhaps unsurprisingly for a show whose heroine shuns crowds, most of the interaction among fans tends to take place online. Discussions take place in Usenet group [news:alt.tv.daria alt.tv.daria] and in fansite message boards (listed below). A Daria chat room accessed from MTV's attracts mostly young fans, while those who does not enjoy the atmosphere of the MTV chat room gather for desultory conversation at [irc://cookie.sorcery.net/Daria+ #Daria+].

IRC channel

• [irc://cookie.sorcery.net/Daria+ #Daria+]

Usenet newsgroup

• [news:alt.tv.daria alt.tv.daria]