Daria/X Survey

OK. Survey time. Let's list our favorite episodes highlighting Daria's relationship with six other major characters on the show. I'm going to ask you to list your favorites involving Quinn, Helen, Jake, Jane, Trent and Tom.

Your favorite Daira/Quinn episode, for example, should illustrate the relationship between Daria and Quinn better than any other. It doesn't have to be completely about Daria and Quinn - I don't know of an episode completely focused on Daria and Helen, for example.

Please answer before looking at my own selections following the spoiler space.

YOUR FAVORITE:

Daria/Quinn episode

Daria/Jake episode

Daria/Helen episode

Daria/Jane episode

Daria/Trent episode

Daria/Tom episode

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My own selections to follow
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But choose your own first!
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Daria/Quinn

Quinn the Brain. I chose this over Speed-Trapped by a nose. The identity switch was classic.

Daria/Helen

Write Where It Hurts. Tough choice between this and Psycho- Therapy. I chose it because Daria's convinced Helen doesn't understand her at all, but finds out she does.

Daria/Jake

Jake of Hearts (over Of Human Bonding). This would have been my choice for a Quinn/Jake episode as well.

Daria/Jane

See Jane Run. I came up with at least half-a-dozen serious contenders for this one. I chose it mainly because it's the first real crisis in their friendship, which both of them had taken for granted before.

Daria/Trent

Pierce Me. I've never seen the infamous "Road Warrior", so this is my choice now.

Daria/Tom

I Loathe a Parade. Yes, better in this respect than DDMD. So sue me. And thank you for sharing the moment. :-)

"M Man" wrote in message news:966isp$9l0$[email]...

They did compliment each other very well. Like a teenage 'Simon and Simon' episode. It made you see that Daria and Quinn are simply two sides of the same coin.

I know they didn't interact as much as in other eps but that speech in the woods on 'life and it's many paths' between Daria and Jake was classic.

Especially when the psychotropic berries kicked in.

Although the 'hallway of doors' speech between Quinn and Helen came pretty damn close.

Too close. <shudder>

It seemed like this was going to be a mediocre episode of mother-reaching-out-to-daughter but the story at the end more than redeemed it.

This was a great Us vs Them Jane and Daria have always known that everyone eyes them with suspicion and a little fear Why? Because they are fiercely non-conformist. They are 'the other' in their midst. Why not take the next logical step and say they are not of this world. Besides, those 'Alien Love Goddess' outfits *did* look pretty good.

This ep was the first time Daria and Trent got to interact without any interference from Jane.

It made Daria a little more human than she had been. We got see beneath that cool exterior and look at an insecure teenage girl who has a crush on her best friends older brother.

It also had Daria doing something 'stupid' for a guy.

This was when the dynamic of the show started to change. Tom's attraction to Daria is getting stronger with each conversation. So is Daria's attraction to Tom, no matter how hard she tries to deny it. Jane also knows this and can only get angrier, because she can't stop it. With her own relationship with Tom deteriotating she is helpless to prevent the inevetible.

Those are my choices. They are also subject to change without notice...

Firah

In article , "Firah" wrote:

I'm

Jake,

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coin.

Although not my choice, one I could never argue with. And one of my favorite episodes generally

in the

classic.

pretty

An episode I've never seen (but I will in the Sarcastathon!)

redeemed

suspicion and

Wow! This wasn't even on my list, but it makes sense when you explain it.

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I am prejudiced but 'The Teachings Of John Jake' is one of my favorite episodes.

And not just because of the Morgandorffer's little adventure in the woods.

Trent and Jane going to their dysfunctional family reunion was a hoot!

Especially since they went under protest.

I liked this ep because, more than any other, it was so overt in the 'They (everyone) really are out to get Jane and Daria!"

I could have used 'Arts 'N Crass' as another example of a Us vs Them themed ep. Although it was an excellent ep, I liked 'The Lawndale File' a little bit more.

Over the years Daria has made a lot of little gems like these.

This is why I have loved the series for so long.

We can talk about the pivotal, eps (Road Worrier, See Jane, Run, Janes Addiction, Lane Misarable, DDMD, ILAP etc) but sometimes it's the eps that slip right under our radar that say so much.

Sometimes it's not the entire ep. Most of the time it is a scene here or a line there that can say more than an entire ep tried to convey, and failed.

Jodie Landon going off, Daria Stylee, on an 'idiot' savant in 'Gifted', or Quinn's thinking-on-her-feet manipulations in 'The Big House'.

Or the one ep that made me realize I was watching something special.

There is a scene in 'The Daria Hunter' where, during a paintball excursion, Helen jumps out of the bushes and surprises Daria.

Daria immediately throws down her gun and surrenders.

Helen: Daria! You didn't even try!

Daria: I can't shoot my own mother...not with paint anyway.

<Now imagine a grown man genuflecting to the television set chanting over and over, "My life, for you. My life for you...>

Well there was Road Worrier too, when Jane goes for help.

The same is true of Road Worrier, and in a nicer sort of way. Daria spends most of the episode self-conscious and tongue-tied, but when finally alone with Trent she manages to say the right thing and they sort of click. Road Worrier is also very funny for all the mishaps that befall Daria during her desperate struggle to not look stupid.

Pierce Me is sort of a sequel to Road Worrier perhaps, as they tentatively move towards stage two of their non-relationship.

Whereas in Road Worrier, it's the peanut butter sandwich and the wasp and the door frame which conspire to make her look stupid.

My favourite bit of Pierce Me is when she's waiting for the phone to ring and has that psychedelic fantasy about Trent.

-Shez.

"Shez" wrote in message news:[email]...

But Jane contrived that too. She could have stayed behind and let Trent and Jesse go for help.

But that was back when everybody thought that Jesse and Jane might hit it off.

<That idea died a quiet death at the flea market in 'That Was Then, This is Dumb'>

girl

I know that 'The Road Worrier' was, as someone else on this ng put it, 'the definitive shipper episode'.

I also agree that 'Pierce Me' can be seen as a sequel to 'The Road Worrier'.

However, 'Pierce Me' touched me on a level that 'The Road Worrier' never did.

The Trent/Daria sub-plot in 'The Road Worrier' had to share equal billing with the other things that were going on like Alternapalooza, The Fashion Club, Kevin and Britany etc.

In 'Pierce Me' the spotlight was solely on Trent and Daria.

Jane's birthday gift was the thing that bound it all together.

Good point!

Yeah it was good. And it showed Daria at her most vulnerable, until DDMD and IIFY.

Firah

Shez said:

What I liked about that was that Trent and Jesse accepted Daria anyway. :)

On Sun, 11 Feb 2001 17:41:46 GMT, M Man wrote:

"Speedtrapped" - Chosen over "Quinn the Brain" by a nose because, unlike QTB, it showcases the evolving relationship between Daria and Quinn (from purely antagonistic to one where each develops some respect for the others' abilities, but with sibling rivalry always a part).

"Of Human Bonding" - Chosen over "Jake of Hearts" because we finally get a glimpse into each of the characters' heads regarding their views of each other, and their attempts to become closer.

"Write Where it Hurts" - The classic Daria/Helen episode, bar none. Daria's speed-rant at the kitchen table, and Helen's advice session, are classics, IMHO.

"See Jane Run" - Shows more than any other episode (even the DDMD and IIFY? combo) how their friendship "takes a licking and keeps on ticking."

"Road Worrier" - The classic shipper episode. Runners-up would be "Lane Miserables" (showing the beginning of the end of The Crush) and "Jane's Addition" (the final nail in The Crush's coffin). "Pierce Me" would have made it if it hadn't been such a blatant, plotless panderer to the lovestruck shipper crowd.

"I Loathe a Parade" - Edged out "Is It Fall Yet?" by a nose because it showed their slowly evolving relationship, from antagonistic (on Daria's part) to tolerant to, eventually, Something More.

Martin
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M Man wrote:

I'm going to have to make my current choices from the third and fourth season episodes, as I have never seen the first or second season episodes (though I will see some of them during the Sarcastithon). So, until I see the first and second-season episodes, here are my choices:

Daria/Quinn -- "Speedtrapped", with "Groped by an Angel" as the runner-up. If I see "Quinn the Brain" during the Sarcastithon, I might amend my opinions, otherwise, that's it. Daria and Quinn definitely worked well together in "Speedtrapped.

Daria/Jake -- "Of Human Bonding" -- unless I decide "The Teachings of Don Jake" is better. I liked seeing Daria and Jake spend time together in "Of Human Bonding".

Daria/Helen -- unfortunately, can't choose "Write Where It Hurts" because I haven't seen that episode (and unless it's on the Sarcastithon, I won't ever do so), so I'll choose "Psycho Therapy". Daria is able to console Helen very well in that episode. The runner-up is "Dye! Dye! My Darling", since that episode doesn't feature the Daria/Helen relationship as strongly as it features some other relationships -- namely the Daria/Jane and the Daria/Tom relationships.

Daria/Jane -- since I can't choose "See Jane Run" -- hmm, then, "Jane's Addition", since the introduction of Tom really strains Daria and Jane's relationship -- in more ways than one, it turns out.

Daria/Trent -- "Lane Miserables", since that's a turning point in Daria's relationship with Trent from an unqualified crush to a gradual awareness that Trent's not right for her (at least at this point), which ulimately culminates in "Jane's Addition". However, I have yet to see "Road Warrior", so this might change when I see RW.

Daria/Tom -- "I Loathe a Parade", because it's the turning point in Daria's relationship with Tom.

Belle Book

In article ,

No time now for explanations, maybe later, when I don't have to go to bed to get ready for work:

"Speedtrapped"

"Of Human Bonding"

"Write Where It Hurts"

"Jane's Addition"

"Lane Miserables"

"I Loathe A Parade"

A.J.

Quinn ... Quinn the Brain. This one's almost too easy. Helen ... Arts & Crass. I love the way that Helen finally clues into what's going on and immediately backs Miss Li down. Jane ... Also Arts & Crass. Show's how Daria and Jane's creative sides play off each other. Trent ... Pierce Me. Still the best example of not just how Daria feels about Trent, but why Trent likes Daria. Tom .... I Loathe a Parade. The interaction between Tom and Daria is very subtle, but all the more effective for that. Jake... Of Human Bonding, I guess.

In article , M Man wrote:

Daria actually "helped" her (finding the "Academic Imprisonment" essay in the garbage before turning it in).

only compassionate sounding board for all of Jake's childhood trauma, they still realize they are the only two in the house you can comfortably share silnce together.

parenting and for Daria (wisely) to call her on it, they both have a breakthough moment at the end as mother & daughter.

rankle each other but they manage to work it out.

big brotherly advice.

The tension didn't release even at the end of the episode and left everyone wondering.

"groped by an angel" or "iify". watching daria and quinn relate is always intriguing. i really like how their relationship's improved since season 1, and that it's now at the point where they don't just bitch at each other, but actually can share a conversation once in a blue moon. i'm looking forward to #503... i wanna see what daria thinks of the whole sordid affair.

i would say "jake of hearts", but i've only seen that once through, and i don't remember enough of it... so "of human bonding". part of me envies the relationship between daria and jake. it seems quite easy for daria to talk to her dad about something if she wants to, and if the timing is right. actually "sappy anniversary" was cool for the scene where daria attempts to help jake with the laptop, but that's not enough for the whole episode.

oooh. "dye! dye! my darling". it is so cool to be able to watch helen and daria communicate as well as they do. also "sappy anniversary" for the convo re: missed anniversaries, and helen thinking daria was dropping hints about taking the relationship with tom to the next level. hehe.

i have a feeling the best is yet to come, but i'll go with "dye! dye! my darling". the character/plot development from this ep could've probably been spread across 2 or 3 different episodes... (minirant: if some magic fairy tapped me with a wand and made me total dictator-for-life at mtvn, i would really love to do what gainax did with neon genesis evangelion and reedit some episodes of the show as a movie, adding extra footage and stuff. it's borrowing from mk-h's idea, yeah, sorry michelle ^_^;; but it would be so cool to see in a theatre. ah well.) "iify" was really good as well. i was glad to see daria go to visit jane at the artist's colony even though they still weren't on the absolute best of terms. hey, if it turns out that jane does find herself attracted to those without y chromosomes, any ideas how daria would react? and if this thread's been beat to death already, sorry i'm bringing it up again. i haven't been here in about 6 months.

"pierce me", because deep down inside i've got a teensy little bit of a daria/trent shipper left over from earlier years... my favorite part is the beginning of the ep when trent attempts to contact daria. this isn't on my top ten list of absolute favorite episodes, but it's still good. the thing that sorta bugs me about this is that the scene when daria actually gets pierced seems really... forced. that and watching daria show some crazy semblance of emotion *gasp!* is weird. oh well.

i honestly don't have a favorite, or even one i can point to and say "i really dug this one". tom's cool, but i haven't watched the eps with him enough to really judge.