Tripping the Life Sarcastic

I understand that there's more than a little irony in getting nostalgic about sarcasm, but if ever there was a film or TV series that deserved some love, it's "Daria". In honor of the release of the complete series on DVD last month, here's a look back at one of the best cartoons from the past 20 years.

Sarcasm has a very special place in the world of American comedy, specifically television, and few recent shows aimed at teens put it to better use than this one. For those who don't recall, "Daria" ran on MTV from 1997-2001, lasting five seasons (13 episodes each) and two hour-long TV movies. The show centered on laid-back, pessimistic, realistic, detached Daria Morgendorfer, as she navigated high school, portrayed as a world of vapid classmates and condescending adults. If anything could sum up the series' protagonist, it was its tagline: Talks Slow, Thinks Fast. But while the show's protagonist could be contained in those four words, Daria Morgendorfer and the show around her was really so much more. Not only does it remain one of the best things to ever come out of MTV (which now spends its time making masterpieces like "Jersey Shore"), but it's a stand-out among animated series. It didn't play dumb, it didn't talk down to its audience, and it didn't go out of its way with gags involving stupidity or gross-out moments. And despite having a smaller following than "Beavis and Butthead" (of which it was a spin-off), it has an appeal that stretches from high school students to adults (I'll cite my parents as examples).

It's easy enough to see what made "Daria" such a treat for its fan base. At a time when pop-culture excess was really starting to blow-up among the high school set, "Daria" offered a refreshingly dry, witty, and often hilarious commentary on the dumbing-down of teenage life. And I mean hilarious. Though Daria delivers her lines in a monotone, she has the majority of the show's smartest, most cutting jokes, referencing everything from Dostoevsky to the Hanoi Hilton. And while the characters of Lawndale may be exaggerations (the thick-headed jock, the dumb blonde cheerleader, etc...), the shows use of the characters and their relation to Daria was never taken too far. Consider Brittany, the aforementioned dumb cheerleader. While she's dumb as rock and occasionally says things indicating her support of the stereotypical "caste system" of highschool, she is never cruel to Daria for being a "brain". Brittany is even given her own shining moment. After saying stupid, vapid things throughout the first season, Brittany suddenly shines as a skilled military tactician when the school goes on a field trip to play paint ball. Then there’s Quinn, Daria's fashion-obsessed younger sister who tells her friends that Daria is a distant cousin. Like Brittany, she’s mostly distant or at odds with Daria, yet she shows some growth in the fifth season when Daria briefly takes over her English class. Another notable character is Jodi Landon, who lacked Daria's sarcasm but made up for it in being both smart AND active in the school community (student council president, president of French Club, etc...). An episode where the two girls talk about the pros and cons of their respective personalities is easily one of the most insightful, humbling moments in the entire show. And yet even the characters who remained the same, like the elitist, hilariously-voiced Fashion Club never grew stale, because the show's writers new exactly how each member of the Daria-verse fit in to the puzzle.

But like many teen-oriented shows, "Daria" also took on issues, and once again it surpassed the competition. As was often the case in the 90s and even early 2000s, when teen shows wanted to address an issue, you could see it coming from a mile away. I can't keep track of the number of shows that ran ads like, "this week on a very special episode of _____". So while many shows presented ham-fisted scenarios to address topics, "Daria" did it seamlessly, even if it was presented in exaggeration (Principal Li selling out the school to a soda company for funding). In fact, "Daria" almost never felt like it was making a huge deal out of issues, even when Daria herself had a chance to monologue, because it was simply THERE. The writers were smart enough to know that the show's audience didn't need to be beat over the head with a message.

But perhaps the greatest single strength of "Daria," amid all of the laughs, was that it never canonized its protagonist. Though the first season never put Daria in the wrong, as the show progressed it wasn't afraid to occasionally make Daria do something that required her to make amends. This culminated late in season four wherein Daria more or less lures away her best friend's boyfriend. This brings us Jane Lane. Though I've already talked about the characters, I've saved Jane for last because she is one of the show's greatest strengths, and possibly even a better character than Daria herself. The fact that she actually has aspirations and is often shown working on pieces of art only add dimension to her, and keeps her from being Daria-lite. And while not as book smart as Daria, Jane is a more accessible, though often equally sarcastic, foil; she is the heart to Daria's brain.

So how does "Daria" hold up 13 years after it first premiered? Well, after plowing through all five seasons on DVD, pretty damn well, even if 99% of the soundtrack is missing due to licensing issues. In an age when pop-culture seems to be increasingly headed in the direction of an Idiocracy (I'm looking at you, Ke$ha), "Daria" serves as a reminder that to discerning audiences, being a "brain" can still be cool.

Grade: A