DR. BELCH
05-22-2001, 03:54 PM
It's not often that a truly intelligent and well-written show comes along...because it seems cerebral writing and characters that actually grow and develop is the kiss of death in television. My own brother broke my heart when he said Daria was "stupid and boring" and wondered why they cancelled Beavis and Butt-Head.
Daria is one of those few shows that gives both dynamic characters and good writing--and even when a script is a tad lackluster it's still better than most shows that inexplicably do well in the ratings despite lowered script quality (cf. The Simpsons...and that's a painful thing for a Simpsophile from the Ullman days to say, believe me.) Sadly the series will end after its fifth season...though that could be a blessing in disguise, because at least Jake Morgendorffer won't have a chance to become MTV's answer to Homer.
In "One J" we see that Quinn, normally the first to insult, criticize, or gripe at Daria for her style and behavior, seems almost jealous of her big sister. Daria has a steady boyfriend while Quinn feels unfulfilled flitting from guy to guy. So she tries settling down--first, meticulously charting potential lovers anging from height to hair color to car type, then by dating her three most ardent suitors, Joey and Jeffy and Jamie, one at a time. The thing is, they learn that the pursual is a lot more fun that the capture...Quinn is such a needy, self-serving brat that she alienates all her paramors...and Daria doesn't help matters any by feeding her head with all sorts of pie-in-the-sky expectations about love and committment.
Daria's own quandry is that Helen and Jake want to invite Tom over to dinner and Daria's afraid Jake will act up around him--he's on a kick about a trash can-knocking squirrel. The ending wasn't exactly man-friendly--Jake, Tom, and...eh...what's-his-face up and go off hooting together after catching the squirrel, leaving their ladies in the lurch. The whole thing felt a bit, for lack of a better word, like a "chick script"--hard not to do, though, when the main characters are women. Still, it made me think. I should find a woman http://cwm.ragesofsanity.com/otn/funny/gorgeous.gif to explain the subtleties in the script I might have, as a man, overlooked. http://cwm.ragesofsanity.com/otn/funny/ladys-man.gif
Quinn shows some growth in reaching out to Daria for advice, but she's not the most cerebral girl in the world, taking her jokes about constant togetherness and adjoining burial plots seriously. In her defense, she never said any of it to be mean--but who knew Quinn would show the reasoning power of a three-year-old?
Quinn's biggest problem is that she can't comprehend why her relationships fail-- she's childlike and selfish, and can't find a lover with common interests/background/goals (though how many men actually know the difference between hot pink and a pale pastel pink?) She's the type of girl who (once she stops thinking sex is icky) will grow up to think the physical angle is all there is in a relationship. Trust me--I used to date a Quinn...for about five months. http://cwm.ragesofsanity.com/otn/shocked/redface.gif Still, there's the desire to better herself...that's more than I can hope for most of the Quinns out there.
Daria is one of those few shows that gives both dynamic characters and good writing--and even when a script is a tad lackluster it's still better than most shows that inexplicably do well in the ratings despite lowered script quality (cf. The Simpsons...and that's a painful thing for a Simpsophile from the Ullman days to say, believe me.) Sadly the series will end after its fifth season...though that could be a blessing in disguise, because at least Jake Morgendorffer won't have a chance to become MTV's answer to Homer.
In "One J" we see that Quinn, normally the first to insult, criticize, or gripe at Daria for her style and behavior, seems almost jealous of her big sister. Daria has a steady boyfriend while Quinn feels unfulfilled flitting from guy to guy. So she tries settling down--first, meticulously charting potential lovers anging from height to hair color to car type, then by dating her three most ardent suitors, Joey and Jeffy and Jamie, one at a time. The thing is, they learn that the pursual is a lot more fun that the capture...Quinn is such a needy, self-serving brat that she alienates all her paramors...and Daria doesn't help matters any by feeding her head with all sorts of pie-in-the-sky expectations about love and committment.
Daria's own quandry is that Helen and Jake want to invite Tom over to dinner and Daria's afraid Jake will act up around him--he's on a kick about a trash can-knocking squirrel. The ending wasn't exactly man-friendly--Jake, Tom, and...eh...what's-his-face up and go off hooting together after catching the squirrel, leaving their ladies in the lurch. The whole thing felt a bit, for lack of a better word, like a "chick script"--hard not to do, though, when the main characters are women. Still, it made me think. I should find a woman http://cwm.ragesofsanity.com/otn/funny/gorgeous.gif to explain the subtleties in the script I might have, as a man, overlooked. http://cwm.ragesofsanity.com/otn/funny/ladys-man.gif
Quinn shows some growth in reaching out to Daria for advice, but she's not the most cerebral girl in the world, taking her jokes about constant togetherness and adjoining burial plots seriously. In her defense, she never said any of it to be mean--but who knew Quinn would show the reasoning power of a three-year-old?
Quinn's biggest problem is that she can't comprehend why her relationships fail-- she's childlike and selfish, and can't find a lover with common interests/background/goals (though how many men actually know the difference between hot pink and a pale pastel pink?) She's the type of girl who (once she stops thinking sex is icky) will grow up to think the physical angle is all there is in a relationship. Trust me--I used to date a Quinn...for about five months. http://cwm.ragesofsanity.com/otn/shocked/redface.gif Still, there's the desire to better herself...that's more than I can hope for most of the Quinns out there.