I'm beginning to understand why they moved "Daria!" up to start the new season -- the scheduled line-up doesn't have much to recommend itself. Humor's a subjective thing so your experience may vary, but I didn't laugh once in #302. It's as though we've seen it all before -- the premise, the themes, even the little details. They especially borrowed from "Cafe Dissaffecto." Examples: Premise: Daria is coerced into "volunteering" for extracurriculars (Though this was also used in #201, 210, etc. as well. At what point is this device overused? Ans: never. As a character who does next to nothing willingly, in order to produce "new" Daria scripts they must continually force her into new situations. So the coercion will continue. . .) Plot: So she goes, and her reading produces violent reactions Details: Hypo-glycemic lady is back and hasn't forgotten the candy bars. --We hear another female-Bond "Melody Powers" story --Quinn appears to be actually interested in service for no selfish reason
And other subplots/detail jokes are old too. --"Daria, let me help you be perky like me" "Thank Gah, you can't" "I'm not sure that's something you can teach." #102 --Jane, corrupting the youth, again. #108 --Quinn insults Helen's clothes (various) --The leaf-dropping potted rubber plant, as seen in #213
And recurring characters like Mr. DiMartino and Ms. Li, who were always caricatures, are more exaggerated than ever -- which just makes them more grotesque.
All this might have been irrelevant, though, if the humor had worked, if there had been some sharp one-liners, maybe. But repeated use dulls the blade, or so they say. So we're left with the final scene of Daria reading to the deaf woman. Call it touching, insulting or just ironic, it's what #302 has to offer. One could say the rest of the story was scraped together to provide us a set-up for that one moment. The intentions were probably good, but you want more than that to justify a half-hour.
(Stealing a little spoilerspace, hope you don't mind...) (long post, as usual.)
She wasn't? I watched it twice, and I'm still not sure. She was wearing hearing aids, and nodded when Daria asked if she was deaf.
Hm. Well, if she wasn't deaf, then somebody didn't do a very good job of making it a little clearer, because after the second viewing, I was even more confused than the first.
I'll agree with that if she isn't deaf.
If she was deaf, though, (which is the impression I thought I was to be left with), then it shows a deeper, even-more-mature-than-ever Daria, and I think it makes the ending much stronger than if she just likes to hang out with someone who likes her. The woman is desperate for company (hence the line, "You have such a beautiful voice"-- even after she acknowledges being deaf-- you can see the hearing aids, BTW, if you look carefully-- because she doesn't want Daria to leave. She's lonely, and wants a connection with someone from the Outside, IYW. And I think she used the exact same line with Brittany-- she just wanted the company.) Daria shows her compassionate side by going to visit her again to read her "Melody Powers" story, even though none of the other residents want her there, she won't get any extra credit or attention for it, and the woman can't even hear her story. Daria just understands the value of also just being with another person because you want to be with her/him-- not because you feel obligated to be with her/him. That's a kind of emotional leap that many people much older than Daria still can't make.
Daria realizes that all of this worrying about her voice and how she's perceived is immaterial-- the point of volunteering was to make a connection with someone who could use a little help.
Of course, I could be wrong. If the woman isn't deaf, then maybe the above doesn't apply as strongly. I wish *someone* (hint, hint) could clear this up. ;-)
Yeah, I'll agree with that. I wish they'd've taken a little more care with this one, considering that Rachelle Romberg had already produced a real gem in "See Jane Run." If it didn't have that self-referential and hurried feel to it, it could've been up there with the greats. But it didn't.
I don't know whether to give it a B- or a C+. I'll have to rewatch it a few more times before I'm sure of anything. If she *was* deaf, then I might even give it a B... I tend to think that time is the best decider of all in these things.
As for the issue of episode quality, if you check out the survey I've left running now for a few months, you'll notice that there are generally two spikes at the beginning and ending of each season, with some bumps and a couple of potholes in the middle. (TNK and FE still with 0 votes, as of the last time I checked, and 94 votes cast...) So this sort of ep is to be expected until August, I guess, when all of the big eps hit, if form holds and the most popular eps are in the higher-numbered ones. *sigh*
Of course, that said, I'll watch a "bad" Daria ep over just about anything else on TV, because of the care put into making it a damn fine show. And also because I miss so much network TV due to my Aikido classes, there's no point in trying to keep up anymore. <g> Besides, I prefer contact with humans in the evenings to contact with the Idiot Box, even if it does mean I get thrown around a little. <vbg>
BTW, for those of you interested, there are chats on #Daria+ on Tues/Fri. nights on DALnet at 10PM EST-1AM EST, as well as on #DariaFan on DALnet on Thurs. Nights 10-1 EST, and Sun. Afternoons, 2-5PM EST. Some of us have also taken to jumping on to #Daria+ during/after the eps air at 10 EST on Wednesdays to sort of gauge the initial reactions. Most participants use the webzone.ok.us.dal.net server. It's in the drop-down list of servers in pIRCH 98. It may take you a few tries to connect, but it's very much worth it as far as lag-time goes.
IMHO, I think you've nailed it perfectly. I was so-so on the episode until the very end, which hit quite an emotional chord with me and saved the episode. And of course, the woman could well have been reading lips, and enjoying the story without regard to Daria's or Brittany's voice.
And I had forgotten that the lady made the same comment to Brittany! When I heard that line, I thought it was a throwaway gag, but it's meaning is much clearer now...
On Thu, 04 Mar 1999 09:30:32 -0800, [email] (Michelle Klein-Hass) wrote:
I was confused about this. Was she deaf (she did nod "yes" to the question) or wasn't she? I think, now, that she wasn't deaf, just not all there. (I've seen the very elderly do some WIERD things.) She nodded yes to every question Daria asked, but probably didn't even understand the question. She did understand enough to comment on Daria's voice.
"new" Daria scripts they must continually force her into new situations. << B. B. England
Yes. Reading new books, writing stories, hanging out with Jane, and mooning over Trent may be fascinating to Daria, but *watching* her do nothing but these things wouldn't be fascinating to the audience. Don't blame Daria ... she's not aware that the most intimate details of her life are being watched nationwide (though it might not surprise her).
<<
Well, at least she wants the FC to do their assignment competently. She's more honest than Sandi.