Mike's Delayed Reaction Review-#307 (3-27), "Daria!"

Mike's Delayed Reaction Review-#307 (3-27), "Daria!"

Spoilers Space for #307 (If you don't want to know, then don't scroll!)

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Mike's Delayed Reaction Review-" Daria!"

MDRR #307 (3-27) - Those production numbers are screwy! I guess this is my Delayed Reaction- it has been almost two days, for pete's sake!

Character Voices- Overall, the singing voices were well done. They were inconsistent at times, but that was expected since it is probably hard enough to maintain the regular speaking voices of some of the characters. Special recognition goes to Wendy Hoopes who did a great job maintaining speaking and singing voices for Jane, Helen and Quinn without any major difficulties. I can only imagine how difficult it may have been for one person to sing parts for two characters singing in chorus.

Memories- Despite what you may think about this episode, it did produce a lot of memorable lines and lyrics. Some of my favorites include Kevin's X-Files rant (which did grind the episode to a brief screeching halt, unfortunately), Jane's comment about living in a post apocalyptic town, Helen's "Doesn't anyone in this town wear pants," and Jake's confusion of the words daughter and sister. I'm sure there are many more, I just don't want to make this too long.

Sticking It To The Theme- The change of theme music during the opening credits and commercial bumpers was a nice touch. It'll be hard to tell whether this change will be constant for season three until next week, but it would be a vast improvement over some of the butchered versions of the Daria theme heard during season two.

Imitation Is The Highest Form of Flattery- A couple of not so subtle references were thrown into this episode. The first is a parody of the opening sequence of the Brady Bunch at the end of the first song, which didn't really fit at all. The second was a reference to Speed Racer during Jake's mad rush to get home, which was more appropriate but probably unnecessary. The references should be used sparingly (but not never used), or Daria could run the risk of becoming another cheap rip-off of The Simpson's.

Song List- Due to the odd nature of this episode, I decided to throw all of my loyal readers for a bit of a loop by going down each song and giving some more specific comments.

1)'In The Burbs'- Not a bad intro, but the hurricane (which supposedly was why everyone was singing) was barely even mentioned. 2)'Blew Away'- Some veiled reference to our present presidential scandal, probably not. But this song wasn't too interesting. 3)'Obsession'- Good showcase of the talents of Wendy Hoopes for singing as Helen and Quinn. This song dragged on a little bit too long. 4)'God God Damnit'- The highlight of all of the songs, IMO. Jake was CHARACTERIZED (didn't think I'd use that word, did you;) perfectly- "flying off the handle." 5)'They Must Be Worried'- Somber, but still managed to be irreverent (Quinn probably is thinking about shoes right now). 6)'Manly'- What was with that funny dancing during this song? The song itself made a lot of sense- Jake probably is fed up. BTW, I would have thought that Trent would be a better singer. 7)'Wet Rain Storm'- Wasn't bad, wasn't really good, either. I am glad that they didn't resort to the hurricane cliche of "wow, it's eerily calm, the storm is over- oh no, it's only the eye."

I would have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by this episode (I put my big red 'F' stamp away about five minutes into the show). To be brutally honest, I was expecting a complete suckfest. I have to give credit to the writers of this episode for being extremely original and for doing pretty much what they damned well pleased even if it ends up not working 100% (does anyone really think that this episode gets made if Daria was a major network program? I really doubt it). It is easier to be comfortable with Daria if it's creators and writers are willing and able to have some fun with the show once in a while. The episode did drag a bit at times and some of the songs were either boring or didn't make a whole lot of sense. However, "Daria!" was enjoyable. Another major problem with this episode is that, unless you really love one of the songs (and I mean REALLY love it), "Daria!" has little if any re-watch potential. I only say this because when I went back and viewed the tape of this episode, I got really bored, really fast.

The Bottom Line- Not too bad, better than expected, but will probably be painful to watch after the second or third viewing.

Grade: B

Daria as a Whole, Gratuitous Cussing- Someone really enjoys saying the word 'damnit,' since it was over used in this episode and has been used before on a couple occasions (especially 'Don Jake'). I don't really have a problem with it, but it just seems it was hard to maintain that TV-PG rating with all of the violent swearing.

Next Week- Ready for takeoff. Contacts!

Copyright � 1999 Mike Quinn [All Rights Reserved]. "Daria" and all related characters are � 1999 MTV Networks, Inc.

Missed a review? Check Outpost Daria http://systech.simplenet.com/daria/

Mike Quinn I can be reached through e-mail at: [email]

Mike Quinn wrote in message ...

I didn't see it as a Brady Bunch reference at all. I just saw it as a directing technique to unify the singing characters on one screen despite the fact that they were seperated by "space."

No, no, no! ;^) You got it all wrong. They weren't singing because of the coming hurricane, they were singing because it was a MUSICAL, despite the "Sick, Sad, World" Intro that seemed to indicate otherwise.

Nobody ever said that the Sharks and the Jets were singing *because* they were at war in "West Side Story," it was because characters *sing* in a musical!

In fact, if you happen to catch it again... wait, read through until you get to the bottom. I'll explain it there ;^)

I think you're looking too hard for references ;^)

3)'Obsession'- Good

I found it to be perfect, one of the sequences that worked best.

It was a *musical* man, a *musical*! People do silly dances in musicals. As Quinn might say, "It's like a law or something!"

little

MTV showed it again today, and I found it at least as entertaining as the first time. I caught some subtle little touches I missed the first time around.

However, I'd like to add my two cents: They did a musical, and they did it right. There are a few things that make a musical a musical (and not just a collection of songs strung together). A recurring theme. Also, the concept of beginning and ending at the same point is pretty common.

A recurring theme, a constant reference to the beginning, which creates an anchor for the rest of the unfolding show.

It's morning, just another boring day. Helen wants to be the "perfect working wife and mother," and Jake wants to prove that he's strong. However, both concede that it'll just be another typical day...

Quinn is faced with another day of looking good. Daria is faced with another boring day. Some people may be picking up on this already.

So, what happens? Helen stays at work, risking life and limb. Perfect *working* wife. She puts that aside and tries to get her kids home, even taking in Trent when he's in danger. Perfect *mother*.

Jake indeed proves that he's strong and manly by braving the storm to save his daughter. It's *not* a typical day. In their own way, their worlds are turned upside down, and they find something neither of them thought they had...

Quinn leaves in the morning thinking she'll look good in anything. She goes shopping at the mall with the fashion club... *SURPRISE,* she finds something she looks bad in. She has to go home without the chance to find something that she looks good in. Earlier, she sings that she'd look good in "dirt." She doesn't look good in a hefty bag with a zipper, however. ;^)

Daria was expecting just another normal day, just another day of alienation and boredom. Instead, she very nearly dies. When she gets the message, the whole thing comes back full circle, she's glad that it'll just be another "moooooorninnnnggg in the burrrrrrrrrrrbs!"

It all ties together, and we find ourselves at the beginning again. Except that: Helen learned that she *is* a good working wife and mother, Jake found out that he is *indeed* strong and manly. Quinn discovered she doesn't look great in everything... and Daria discovered that she should be thankful for the boring days...

Hope that wasn't too analytical ;^)

Ah, Villanova, we're relatively local! ;^) I'm in Philadelphia myself.

In article , "Chris Seamans" wrote:

[snip]

I LOVE these points. The show was goofy for goofiness' sake yet still had a message.

My 2�: The SSW intro was also eery in a sense, almost an indirect explanation that this episode was going to be out of continuity. Plus no one in particular turned off the TV showing this part. "Spooooky."

This was understandably an episode you either loved or hated. I'm on the "loved" half.

The closed captioning was a little screwy in this, though. I can understand "Gah Gah Dammit", which Jake actually says (though I think it was actually supposed to sound like "Gah-Goddammit"), but during "Manly" the CC says "whack chromosome" instead of "Y-chromosome." That had me blinking for a while.

Highlights; Trent turns into his transvestite alter-ego from s2 during "Manly." Plus it just seemed more in character for him to pull out an electric guitar before singing (despite the fact that it came from nowhere). And according to the end credits, we're back to Plus One Animation Studios, which did the first season. Chances are we'll be going back and forth between that and Rough Draft.

Speaking of animation, drawing the backgrounds in the same flat colors as the characters finally pays off. With the BG in "animation style" art, you never see a change in camera angle coming, such as the Fax machine scene in "I Can't Leave Yet" and Daria's solo in "They Must Be Worried."

I think it's safe to say that this is my favorite of season three so far. :)

--- John Berry

In article ,

Yeah, this leads me to a question. For discussion purposes sake, did this episode "really" take place, or are we to consider it a spoof, like the Simpsons' Halloween Specials?

In article , [email] wrote: 8< brilliant analysis of #307 snipped to remove spoilers 8<

Unless otherwise noted, I think it's best to leave this one as a stand-alone. It would be a mind-bending task to shoehorn this episode in next to "Write Where It Hurts" and "See Jane Run."

Chris Majors Keeper of the alt.tv.daria FAQ: http://www.auburn.net/~cwmajors/dariafaq.htm

On Sat, 20 Feb 1999 18:09:41 GMT, [email] wrote:

Admittedly, the format with which it was written makes it difficult to fit it in, but, taking out the song and dance, the sillyness, etc... is it truely that hard to imagine? An ordinary morning, a hurricane warning, the game get's cancelled, Daria and Jane get trapped on the roof with Kevin and Britanny during the storm, Helen, Jake, Quinn, and Treant go crazy with worry, causing Jake and Treant to insist on doing something rather than just sitting there and doing nothing, and end up getting into a car accident instead, Kevin bashes his way out of the shack before it collapses, and the storm ends just then. From this episode, we see that the various familes really DO care about one another, and that Treant was just as worried about Daria as he was about Jane. What's so hard to fit in?

Well...I wouldn't go that far yet, anyway. Trent did rush past Daria to hug Jane (check out Daria's less than overjoyed look here), and he never made an outright reference to being worried about Daria (which I'm sure he was, since he does at least like her, if nothing more). There's still a good chance that Daria is just "Janey's friend" and a cool high-schooler to him.

Yeah. Hehe, what about his exact words. "And Daria! You're okay too. Cool."

-Ben

On Sun, 21 Feb 1999 01:51:27 GMT, [email] wrote:

I think there must've been something. People don't normally throw their arms spontaniously around someone who's just standing there placidly, or at least I don't. Had Daria been slightly histarical, and welcoming both her father and Treant into her arms easily, due to the excitement of the situation (am I communicating what I'm trying to say correctly?), I'd say you're right. But she just... stood there. It looked akward. There had to be something, even if it's no more than just the seeming merging of families, and he's thinking of her as his other little sister.

merging of families, and he's thinking of her as his other little sister. << Tarvok

I think that at a minimum Trent feels protective towards Daria. Maybe a bit more, but definitely protective.

Sincerely Yours, Jordan

In article ,

I completely agree- this could have been a viable episode without the music. In all likelyhood, if this episode were made without music and a title like "Hurricane Daria" it may have very well found itself in the D-range.

Mike Quinn I can be reached through e-mail at: [email]

It was a "suspension-of-disbelief" episode, much like the episode of "Seinfeld" that played out in backwards chronological order: although it can be assumed that the events in the episode did take place, we are to understand that they didn't happen quite that way.

-Ben

[email] wrote:

I haven't seen it, obviously, but from what I've heard, I'd say consider it a spoof.

episode "really" take place, or are we to consider it a spoof, like the Simpsons' Halloween Specials? << Rustnt

I don't see any reason to assume it didn't take place. It's not like anything too silly or improbable happened. The singing was just a different style of presentation ... everyone otherwise remained in perfect character.

Sincerely Yours, Jordan

In article , [email] wrote:

I would try not get too hung up on continuity one way or the other for any episode. It tends to make some people scrutinize every detail and others criticize those people for going overboard. It should probably only be brought up if, say, Daria suddenly has a twin brother with no explaination or something similarly bizarre. As for "Daria!," it should count towards continuity, if you care. After all, those songs were all a "spur of the moment" type thing that could happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time :)

Mike Quinn I can be reached through e-mail at: [email]

(no spoiler alert necessary, as I'm not giving away any plot points)

On Sat, 20 Feb 1999 14:59:36 GMT, John Berry wrote:

I doubt that, if the quality of Plus One's work in the rest of season three matches that of "Daria!". Their work here is leagues ahead of the animation in the first two seasons, period. (Michelle's noticed the same thing about their work on "King of the Hill" this season.) I suspect they've been leeching much of the good talent away from Rough Draft. :-)

Martin (to send e-mail, remove the "nospam" from my e-mail address) ---- "Don't worry. Today it's brains, tomorrow pierced tongues, then the next day, pierced brains." - Jane Lane ---- Outpost Daria: Your Online Database for All Things Daria! http://systech.simplenet.com/daria/

I love those points! It was exactly what I was thinking. I like how the writers wrote "Daria!" as a spoof as a muscial but at the same time made it like a real muscial you would watch like "Oklahoma."

Oliver

--- "Sometimes I wish I could be you, just so I can be friends with me!" -Angelica Pickles

[email] (MrGolden13) wrote:

Yes, I agree-- great points made there... you aren't perchance a Lit Geek, are you? If so, quick! Find the Christ figure! <g>

Of course, this all begs the question-- which HS will be the first to try to stage their own performance of "Daria!" ?

rich.

Daria: "I always knew that I would die in Nowheresville"

Jane: "But I didn't think I'd die there quite so soon."

paperpusher wrote in message ...

Nah, I'm not a Lit Geek, at least not one who'd be qualified to find a Christ figure ;^)

I am a big fan of musicals, and I'm glad they did it right. My father, who's a huge fan of musicals as well, was unable to stay up to watch it. He does want me to tape it.

I think that's what shows a good parody, something that COULD be watched seriously as part of the genre. Like I think "Young Frankenstein" did that really well, since it really at times could be watched as an interpretation of the Frankenstein story, "Daria!" CAN be watched as a "serious" musical.

Dagny misery chick, cynic, general loony

Visit the Parsley Firefly http://members.aol.com/Eccles9697

"One must have chaos in one, to give birth to a dancing star. I tell you: you still have chaos in you." Friedrich Nietzsche

Also, there were some fun moments that spoofed the musical form as well: for instance, when Jake sang the trite lyric "I've got a big wheel rollin' in my heart," the type of metaphorical lyric you might hear in any musical, Helen responds, "I really don't know what that's supposed to mean."

-Ben

Before I begin, I would like to say that I am surprised at the number of responses I've seen for this review since I haven't checked back here since i posted it. "You like me, you really like me..."

In article , "Chris Seamans" wrote:

That was just the first thing that popped into my head during that scene.,

This is just "another lame attempt at humor(TM)." You'll get used to them after a while.

Maybe I should rephrase this remark: "Daria!" has little if any re-watch potential for me. That should make everyone happy :)

I would have to agree here, they did do it right- I still don't have to give it an A ;)

No, it wasn't bad compared to some of the analyses seen here.

That's at least three Philadephia-area people here now. We are a growing minority!

Mike Quinn I can be reached through e-mail at: [email]

Mike Quinn wrote in message ...

That's interesting. Who's the 3rd?

That would be me (unless there's someone else I don't know about).

Jeg7777 wrote in message ...

Nifty. Good deal.

What I want to know is on "I Just Can't Leave Yet"(Helen and Quinn), how did she sing both voices at the same time at the end of the song? That's kinda erie.

Oliver

--- "Sometimes I wish I could be you, just so I can be friends with me!" -Angelica Pickles

She did them at separate times obviously, singing along with her previous track to keep her voice in sync. She probably does that a lot with speaking parts as well, esp. the ones when both are on at once or cut-offs, etc.

I agree. I just got finished re-watching it and I ended up fast-forwarding through most of it. Great show on the initial run, but after that, there's not much fun in it.

-D'mico

Not me. I watched my tape three times. I thought it was hilarious. I liked "God Goddammit" the best. That was so funny. "God Goddammit" "Oh me oh my" "God Goddammit" "We hope you die." ROTFLMAO. I also like "I Can't Leave Yet," and "They Must Be Worried." This was my favorite episode so far.

I assume this change was for this episode only.

Again, I think this was a one-time occurrence.

They do that in Broadway musicals a lot, I've heard...based on the song I'd say it was a Grease/West Side Story style of dancing.

Hated this song.

But that's what really happens in hurricanes! Although if the eye passes to the north or south of you, all you get is the stormy part. Judging from the incredible lack of damage and the fact that the water tank shack (why does a school have a water tank, and why does the tank need its own shack?) didn't blow away, either the eye of the storm passed a good distance from the town, or it was a pretty lame hurricane.

I completely agree.

As I post this, I'm watching it for the SIXTH time.

In article ,

Wendy deserves an award for this one. The talent required to give both Quinn and Jane credible singing voices is incalculable.

We'll see, but I doubt the change was permanent. It was a nice touch, though.

There was at least one reference that you missed that was immediately apparent to me... I'll mention it here in a second. And I'm glad this one wasn't the reference-fest that "The Daria Hunter" was. Lesson learned, I guess.

Actually, this was the well-worn musical device of "A Day In The Life." Of Lawndale, in this case. The hurricane is just what makes this day different.

The "funny dancing" was that previously-mentioned reference that you missed. This whole song was in the style of "West Side Story." Compare "Manly!" to "When You're A Jet" for choreography and musical style.

Hm. After my own second or third viewing, this one still works for me. But I'll agree with your grade on this one. Not a classic, but a keeper.

And it even started before the episode. Daria called Jane a bitch for stepping on her line in the intro. I hope it's not a trend.

Chris Majors Keeper of the alt.tv.daria FAQ: http://www.auburn.net/~cwmajors/dariafaq.htm

On Fri, 19 Feb 1999 13:41:30 GMT, Mike Quinn wrote:

That was wierd. I'm not sure I liked it as a beginning song, but between scenes, it worked ok.

So far as I know, the only thing that attributed the singing to the hurricane was the commercials. In the show itself, I saw no causal relationship. It's just how the show was done.

I don't think I caught the reference. Just a comparison between the respective opinions on this subject (the town blowing away) of Daria and Jane, and their classmates. I thought this was one of the songs that kept it an episode of "Daria".

In my opinion, the purpose of this song was to show just how simelar mother and daughter, and all too common, and frequently unfortunate, occurance. A great deal of this episode seemed to demonstrate ties between the family members, as well as how much bonding between the two familes (Lane and Morgandorffer) has occured, which was strengthened by the natural threat.

Nothing new here, as far as I can see. Just Jake and his usual road rage (in musical form).

Once again, like Blew away, this song managed to keep the whole episode from turning into a mush-fest.

We've heard him sing before, right? He's no better than I expected; he's more of a guitar player. If Mystic Spiral ever got a real vocalist, they could probably go far.

One thing to note from this song is that this is yeat again another example of bonding between Jake and Treant, between the replacement to an absent father and the son he never had. C.E. Forman apparently hit it right on the mark with "Daria vs. the IRS." I expect this will continue until Daria, like most girls, finds something wrong with the guy she previously had a crush on, but is now too close to her father. That's usually the way it happens .

If that had been the eye, Lawndale would indeed have blown away.

I take it you're not a musician, or at least not an ear musician, or a poet, or whatever. I found a great deal of meaning in each and every song. I think that if you are too biased against the musical format (I myself found myself cringing at certain parts), you shut down your ears and just "prepare to endure it", as I did when I was younger and my mom was watching "The Sound of Music." (that was when I didn't just leave the room). You really have to let yourself get into it in order to get it.

I think on the second of third viewing, I might find more stuff, and maybe cringe less (like at Daria's speaking solo at the end of the episode). Like every episode, it requires more than one watching to get the little details, though I _would_ recommend waiting a bit before the next viewing.

I concur.

Another example? What were the first ones? When did Jake and Trent ever bond?

On Sun, 21 Feb 1999 19:49:35 -0500, Jeg7777 wrote:

Ungh?

Hmm...

Damn. I hope I wasn't crossing Forman's fics over into the actual Daria. Still, that just shows how good his fics are, if I forget that they're just fics.

In article ,

Correct, I tend not to use those avenues of expression.

Like I said, I was expecting this one to suck and, fortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations.

Mike Quinn I can be reached through e-mail at: [email]