Plop Plop Fizz Fizz

SPOILERS for # 501: Fizz Ed * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * It was sweet and tasty going down, but it was really more bloating than truly filling. Everything that happened was kind of predictable: you knew that the soda salesman was going to take advantage of Ms. Li's greed to sign her to some overly intrusive contract and make more and more outrageous demands on LHS; and you knew that Daria was going to be the one to point out the Emperor's nudity.

The characters were underutilized. Jane was there just to be someone for Daria to sound off to; she could have been replaced by a broomstick with a black wig and it wouldn't have made very much difference. Jodie performed pretty much as expected -- she thought the promotionals were stupid and sleazy, but didn't want to get involved actively opposing them. Tom piped up with a few Words of Wisdom that helped Daria decide to take action: nice to see him encouraging her.

I even saw the disaster with the football team coming. When Ms. Li told them to go drink (literally) scores of cans of soda, I was going "Um, Ms. Li -- they're a _football team_ -- they won't be able to _play_ if you have them guzzle soda before the big game --" The bathroom humor with Kevin was simply gratuitous. I did get a good chuckle when Brittany and her cheerleaders tried to do their routine wearing the giant soda cans and fell down.

It was fairly obvious that the Superintendant of Schools was going to show up -- Daria's charisma and intelligence worked on him, even though he didn't really want to come. Once Ms. Li went psycho and started the soda riot, I just _knew_ he was going to show up in the middle of it -- this was funny, but more a _Simpsons_ sort of humor than what we'd normally see on _Daria_.

The one thing that amused me was seeing Ms. Li brought low by her own greed -- you could tell towards the end that she was growing really sorry that she'd ever agreed to the deal, which is probably why she took a fire ax to the vending machines at the end.

All in all, I'd give this ep the same grade the football team was getting before they started drinking Ultra Cola.

BURRRPPPP!!!!!

That was the best part of the episode, by a mile. That could be a continuing theme: Tom's a very upbeat guy, in his quiet way, and won't feed Daria's negativity. Kind of an anti-Luhrman (I can't believe I said that. Must be the soda.)

Of course there will be episodes - next week, for example - focusing hard on the Daria-Tom relationship. But this is exactly the sort of thing I want to see in the non-relationship episodes - a minute or so, boyfriend and girlfriend, some meaningful conversation.

And he did get Daria to do something she wouldn't have done in previous seasons.

I'm glad you got a chuckle. Not me.

I kept thinking "Ms Li is going insane. This should be funny. But it isn't"

I kept waiting for this episode to have a point.

Speaking of the end - no closing theme? No alter-egos?

I thought I saw a bunch of new alter-egos during the Sarcastathon - I certainly don't remember Ashley-Amber as Lady Godiva before. I was waiting to see them all.

Yeah, I'd call it underwhelming. And next week's episode has the word "sappy" in the title.

I have a tummy ache :-(

"Jordan S. Bassior" wrote in message news:[email]...

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truly

the

some

LHS; and

nudity.

I'm really not fond of preachy episodes. Especially when they are *this* blatant about it.

Daria

wig

It was like the end of Season 4 and IIFY never happened (except for the Tom 'cameo'). That also goes for Quinn! She's back to her old self again. :-(

much as

didn't

That's our Jodie! Always the pragmatist...

Tom piped up with a few Words of

encouraging

them to

they're

soda

gratuitous. I

their

I thought the new cheerleading uniforms were just fall-off-the-couch funny (and I did).

<Brittany>

I can't feel my arms!

</Brittany>

The Lawndale Cheerleaders new 'Ultra Cheer' was definately one of the most hilarious part of the ep.

"drink Ultra Cola till your pants feel tight"

Especially when the cheerleaders all collapsed on the field....LOL!!

up

just

more

greed --

Yes! The Faustian bargain, and it's consequences!

she'd

This episode seemed rather rushed. Like they were trying to cram too much into 22 minutes...oh yeah, they did.

It ain't no classic...

Firah

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

show

didn't

I

but

I would hope for an interesting follow-up at some point: the superintendent decides to investigate why Lawndale High had budget problems to begin with and discovers all the questionable security purchases by Ms. Li. She then is suspended or fired. It would be interesting to see the reactions to a new principal.

"Jeg7777" wrote in message news:96st0f$sp2$[email]...

riot,

superintendent

is

I think Ms Li is going to be principle of Lawndale High until Daria graduates.

THEN she'll get busted on malfeasance charges!

Okay, she's just a school principal, but technically she does hold a public office.

It would be a nice graduation present to Daria in the Season Finale.

Firah

Amen.

Unfortunately, it seems so. She displayed quite a bit of growth in the movie, and I was hoping it would reflect in the new season.

Judging from the first episode, it doesn't seem like that growth will be remembered.

I personally thought the episode was a bit too...generic, really. You could tell what was going to happen a mile away. The whole soda plot felt too damn preachy to be respected. It might have made an interesting sub-plot, but SHOULD NOT have been the focus of the story.

Also, I enjoyed Tom's reaction to Daria's whining. I hope to see more of that (them interacting and changing each other) in the future. More Jane would've been nice, too. She really did serve no relevant purpose whatsoever. And I'm holding out hope that Quinn's growth from the movie WILL reach the new season....

Alexander Harris _______________ The new, official home of Robotech: http://www.robotech.com It looks like it might kick a little bit of arse.

please check subject line for spoiler . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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The worst part was that it was JUST preachy. I watched the tape again today, hoping it might look better at a second viewing, and Daria didn't say anything memorably sarcastic, sardonic, or witty.

In the past, even the worst episodes had memorable one-liners.

More Daria would have been nice, too. She had little more than a bit part, really. How much difference did it make that she talked to the superintendant? With Ms Li setting off fire alarms and wielding a hatchet, the super would have heard about it within 15 minutes anyway.

This was a Ms Li episode, and Ms Li just can't carry an episode by herself. They tried to make it funny by having her go "over-the-top", but she already is "over-the-top".

Hear, hear!

"MMan37x" wrote in message news:[email]...

today,

anything

Daria didn't. But the LHS Pep Squad did!

I still have visions of cheerleaders-in-soda-cans stumbling in my head.

At work, during lunch, I couldn't help but recite the LHS Ultra Cheer to myself.

Imagine a grown man in a company breakroom giggling like a fiend!

A couple of coworkers listened to me recite it and they burst out laughing too..and they have never HEARD of Daria!

Those soda-can-clad pepsters were the best part of the episode!

And the only part that really stuck out.

I'll repeat: It ain't no classic...

Firah

Possibly not. Didn't you think there was something a bit frantic in Quinn's babbling about Stacy's Super Bowl party-wear? Almost like she was desperately trying to hang on to her old personality and not quite making it?

Nahh...the Quinn we saw in the season premiere seemed like the Quinn of old to me. Though you could probably get some cool episodes from what you described, though (her desperately holding on to her old personality and friends even though she's changed, etc.)

Alexander Harris _______________ The new, official home of Robotech: http://www.robotech.com It looks like it might kick a little bit of arse.

Is it 20 or 40 lines for spoiler space? I forget. 2 3 4 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

In article ,

IMO, the kind of growth and change Quinn experienced in IIFY takes time to really "set in." Even people who really, actively *want* to change slip back into old habits and routines in times of weariness or stress. Give her time -- the seed has been planted, and we know there must eventually be a reckoning from her uncharacteristically assertive and intelligent comments in DeMartino's class at the end of IIFY. Sandi ain't gonna let that slide. :)

-Ashley

Yes. Which was why I thought it was a good sign in disguise.

Maybe we'll see the start of this in #503 "Fat Like Me", since it's to focus on the Fashion Club.

Alexander Harris said:

SPOILERS for 501: Fizz Ed
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I think that we didn't see enough of Quinn in 501 to tell _anything_ about her current personality, except that she's still into fashion. But this tells us nothing -- if Quinn became an outright intellectual, she'd probably _study_ or _design_ clothes.

Jordan S. Bassior wrote:

Which means we'll probably have to wait until Episode 503 (which I hear is called "Fat Like Me") to see what Quinn's current personality is really like -- if she's reverted to her old shallow ways or if the change has sunk in enough. I hope it has.

Belle Book

Jordan S. Bassior wrote:

I liked the episode well enough, but it's very likely it'll only go down well once. It is very predictable, and toward the end, very wacky.

Unfortunately, Jane wasn't very well utilized indeed. Tom was better utilized, in the sense that he was able to get Daria to take some direct action (and thereby played a role in the development of the episode), but he only appeared just once in the episode. Daria was better utilized than either of them, however, and I believe she pretty much stayed in character from what we've seen of her, as did Jodie (although Daria might not have taken this kind of action in past seasons).

And yes, Ms. Li's being brought down by her own greed was both amusing and accurate. It's about time she was brought down by her own greed, I suspect.

It would probably get a C, at best. What most people would call a "filler" episode.

Belle Book

"Jordan S. Bassior" wrote in message news:[email]...

truly

the

some

LHS; and

nudity.

i dunno, there seems to be a pattern with this show that the first episode of the season is kinda blah.

three really plot-irrelevant things caught my attention the most....

1. what is up with the hoodies? Jane looked okay, but that gray number Daria had on just looked strange.

2. any episode that contains a snippet of a Queens of the Stone Age song can't be all bad.

3. what was the deal with Kevin's little green-tinted psychedelic soliloquy about the "soothing" soda machines? is Ultra Cola made out of carbonated absinthe or something?

it'll get better. it's like the writers don't get their mojo workin' until a few eps into the season, although there are always exceptions. oh well. i hope the next one is good.

Raindog said:

SPOILERS for # 501 Fizz Ed
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I assume the weather was cold. Actually, I'm glad that they're having the characters sometimes dress differently. It bespeaks a larger animation budget, and creates greater visual variety.

Soft drinks are mildly addictive, and the sugar in non-diet and the caffeine in almost all sodas are mildly mood-altering. Normally you don't notice this, because you don't drink enough to make a difference. Kevin had (a) drunk a lot of soda, and (b) was pretty goofy to begin with.

Yes.

I didn't think the "gray number" looked so strange, really.

One of the things I liked about "Road Worrier" (which I saw for the first time in the recent Sarcastasthon) was the change of outfit for Daria.

Jordan wrote:

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But what they're putting into animation, they're taking out of music licensing. "c." wrote:

And that was the total extent of memorable music for the episode. A snippet. A *tiny* snippet.

When I saw the episode during its airing, I was vaguely aware that something just wasn't right. On rewatching it, it was obvious: There's an almost complete lack of background music. And a complete lack of *topical* background music. Susie Lewis-Lynn is quite obviously missed.

Peace Kevin

Raindog wrote:

Well, perhaps in the case of the first episode of the third and fourth seasons, (which are "Daria!" and "Partner's Complaint", respectively), but I think the first episodes of the first and second seasons -- "Esteemsters" and "Arts N Crass" respectively" -- aren't kinda blah.

Incidentally, with the third season episodes, "Daria!" is actually episode #307in the production numbering, but it was shown first, so I'm calling it the first episode of the third season.

1. It was January, as the reference to the Super Bowl indicates. You'd wear hooded jackets in January -- I should know. And actually, I didn't think Daria's jacket was bad.

Have no comment to make on #2, since I'm kind of out of the musical loop.

• Kevin probably drank too much soda, and he's goofy anyway.

It'll probabaly get better, you're right about that. Let's hope "Sappy Anniversary" is better (that's the next one).

Belle Book

"c." wrote in message news:96vhvu$3sd$[email]...

to

Daria

It was Super Bowl Sunday when the proposal was discussed by that huge crowd. :-) It must have been quite chilly.

"Jeg7777" wrote in message news:971ujb$a9u$[email]...

news:96vhvu$3sd$[email]...

crowd.

okay, so if the hoodies were explicable because it's cold, then what's with Jane wearing shorts and Daria still wearing a knee-length skirt? i'd think they'd be smarter'n that.

oh well. i wasn't being totally serious anyway. except for the QOTSA thing. that was pretty serious.

-c.