I saw a trailer for the movie "Welcome to the Dollhouse" (1995) on cable on the Independent Film Channel, where it will be shown next week -- see schedule below. It will also be shown tomorrow on the Bravo Channel, but they censor the films.
The descriptions in the IMDB entry almost read like a prequel to the Daria series:
<LI><a href="http://us.imdb.com/Title?0114906">Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995)</a>
Seventh-grade is no fun. Especially for Dawn Weiner when every- one at school calls you 'Dog-Face' or 'Wiener-Dog.' Not to mention if your older brother is 'King of the Nerds' and your younger sister is a cutesy ballerina who gets you in trouble but is your parents' favorite. And that's just the beginning-- her life seems to be falling apart when she faces rejection from the older guy in her brother's band that she has a crush on, her parents want to tear down her 'Special People's Club' clubhouse, and her sister is abducted....
The pain of puberty has never been portrayed so unflinchingly; smart-but-ordinary Dawn has to deal with her incredibly un- nurturing suburban family (which dotes on her ``adorable'' younger sister), and worse, the pranks and sexual threats of virtually her entire junior high school. Amid this dire lack of support and warmth is a heroine of enormous pluck and cunning. While viewer may wince as numerous unpleasant situations play out, there is also terrific satire (and guffaws) as life in the Seventh-Grade-From-Hell is depicted with dead-on clarity. Strong performances; sharply scripted by the director.
Roger Ebert gives it 4 stars out of 4, but his review makes it clear that Dawn gets put through a lot more suffering than Daria. However, the film is supposed to be funny, too.
I would have watched it first before mentioning it here, but then half the showings would have been gone. So all I can say is, give it a look if it sounds interesting. Here are the air times in the Pacific time zone; check your local schedule:
Mon 07/12/99 6:00pm IFC 9:00pm IFC
Sat 07/17/99 7:00pm IFC 10:15pm IFC
Here are the times (PDT) on Bravo:
Fri 07/09/99 5:00pm BRAV 10:30pm BRAV