WesternAnimation MY FAVORITE SHOW EVER
I’m so sad I never got to watch this in the 90’s with the original music since I wasn’t born until 2001, this is my favorite show ever my favorite characters are Quinn, Tiffany, and Sandi in no specific order. Unlike most people I love Tom, his depressed optimism goes great with Daria IMO, I wish they just got together to begin with to skip over the love triangle nonsense, also I do wish he was more fleshed out than just Daria’s rich boyfriend. Other than that this show is perfect, I’ve watched it like 5 times since I got Paramount+, and now it’s my favorite show ever!
WesternAnimation A very interesting and unique show
I remember HATING this show when I was younger (I was about 17-20 while it was on the air), mostly because of the voice acting. It never seemed that amusing, and seemed like a bad use of a "Beavis & Butt-Head" character, and I LOVED B&B at the time. I just found the show annoying.
Retrospectively, it's quite good, and excellent at times. It REALLY captures the bleakness and annoyance of High School, and it can be pretty clever with the "outsiders looking in" and the quips and stuff. The animation & character designs also aren't that bad. But OH MY GOD THE VOICE ACTING. This may have the record for the MOST annoying voices on a single show. People often point out Daria's voice specifically, but at least she comes across like a real actor is reading the lines. In almost every other case, it comes across very poorly. Certain characters sound like they specifically told the person to act as annoying as humanly possible- specifically Brittany (who sounds less weird early on).
I love the episodes where Daria's forced to accept how her personality rubs others the wrong way, and how she deliberately keeps others at arm's length (basically criticizing her permanent cynicism). Ones where she argues with Jane are pretty good as well, or when she has to make nice with Quinn temporarily. Most of her scenes with Helen are excellent, and Helen's family is way-underused.
Another flaw is many of the side-characters: this would have been a perfect opportunity to develop Brittany or Kevin, but instead they're just doddering imbeciles. Though oddly, they don't go the tiresome route of having them be horrible jerks (there's some inklings early on, though)- Quinn & her group are Alpha Bitches instead. The dad's over-the-top antics feel like they come from a different series, though, and Trent is also very one-note most of the time (though an effective example of what many teen girls go for). Most of the teachers & parents are just one-note jokes as well- it seems like only the Core Cast got any kind of development.
It's much like "King of the Hill" in that most gags come from the characters, and the show is rather realistic and non-slapsticky. I appreciate that. At it's best, the show is VERY good, but it can be a bit dreary and one-note with many of the characters.
WesternAnimation A Great Show, unfortunately ruined
"Daria" was a great animated show, with a very intelligent humor, in addition to being one of the rare portraits of an introverted personality, on television, and, judging by the unaired pilot "Sealed With a Kick", almost didn't make it. to the world as we know it. It would be interesting to know the story of how the producers arrived at Daria's peculiar personality. I see a lot of criticism of Daria as a character on the internet, calling her snobbish, hypocritical and rude, which I think are exaggerated. First, perfect characters who never make mistakes are rarely interesting. Second, it's somewhat unfair, as introverts, by and large, want to keep to themselves and be left alone, not impose themselves on others. But, it seems, we prefer sycophants, manipulators, bullies, or idiots. The series itself tried to adapt to these criticisms, making Daria increasingly insecure and fragile, but to no avail. Tom's own introduction seems to have followed this strategy and was a disaster. Yes, Tom ruined the show. His presence as Daria's boyfriend didn't make sense in the plot, because no boyfriend was supposed to be introduced to Daria. Someone as withdrawn as she wouldn't have a boyfriend, except maybe in adulthood. Tom and Daria never made a convincing pair, it was hard to see why one would be attracted to the other. His charm might work for Jane, but not for someone as detached from appearances as Daria. Their relationship felt forced, as if it was really just to meet social expectations, and it felt like a watered-down version of Jane Austen's novels, where the "mature" man treated the woman like a silly child in need of condescension. And the worst thing is, the producers apparently rooted for the relationship to be accepted and supported by the public. Glenn Eichler, in interviews, explained why Trent and Daria couldn't end up together, and why Jane and Tom wouldn't be together, but never said why Tom and Daria couldn't end up together. He just said how good Tom would be to Daria. But the production didn't realize the inconsistencies it introduced into the show and ruined it. When the romance with Tom ended, thanks to public rejection, it was already too late. At the realistic level the series intended, this relationship would not even have started. At worst, they would have walked away after the events of "It is Fall Yet?".