Daria Darling

Hi I'm kind of new to this newsgroup and I haven't quite figured whether you actually discuss Daria or not, but anyhow does anyone else think that Daria is basically a deadpan version of Clarissa Darling?

The characters are basically the same except that Clarissa delivers her endless stream of invective with a sugary sweetness that enabled the scriptwriters to get away with giving her lines a viciousness that Nickelodeon would otherwise have barfed over.

I first formed this theory a few months ago when I first saw Daria. What brought it back to mind was on Sunday I was watching Daria on Channel 5 and I spotted during the end credits that the script was by Neena Beber, who was also the main scriptwriter for Clarissa!

Incidentally I have a TV guide on my website which has just been revamped to give Daria the main billing. <URL:http://www.xerez.demon.co.uk/TVguide.html> (It only covers UK terrestrial, as that's all I get.)

-Shez.

Shez wrote in message ...

Not qualified to answer, Shez, since I don't know Clarissa Darling! I'm a newbie here on atd, but I gather that the discussion hots up when new episodes are given their first screening. Not that you or I will see the first screenings - like you, c5 is my only source for Daria. At least the house I live in is on top of a hill, and gets tolerable c5 reception. Before I moved it was just as you describe on your website: a great radio show with some fuzzy figures moving round. But even under those conditions, Daria was the only regular TV programme worth watching! (Hyberbole? Me? What?)

Duly visited and noted, Shez! I agree entirely with your assessment: Daria is "currently far and away the best show on TV..."

Martin.

There are some pics of her scattered around my website, most notably she's the testcard girl who's screaming about on-screen logos. She used to go out on BBC1: (Clarissa Explains It All), though the actress who did it now stars in Sabrina (and did a wonderful cover of an old Blondie song in this week's ep. on ITV).

Although the ghosting is terrible I do at least get NICAM stereo - some people have been saying their local C5 feed has gone mono. However the downside is that Quinn has a really piercing voice when heard through a decent stereo system, no wonder Daria hates her!

-Shez.

I personally see no link between Daria and Clarissa....Clarissa not funny-Daria utterly hilarious....Clarissa bubbly -Daria dry...

And besides, Clarissa is one of the most annoying characters in the world...Daria much more enlightening :o)

Magenta x Shez wrote in message ...

Jessyca of Internet Network Services Ltd writes:

Both have a hated show-off younger sibling who they consider to be a lower life form and like to think they're not really related to, and on whom they pour constant scorn and derision. Both like to follow their own path in life and hate the "normal" and cheerleader types. They have their own unconventional dress senses, albeit in differing directions.

A lot of the differences are largely cosmetic, with Clarissa being cute and Daria being dour, but you could swap the scripts for Daria and Clarissa and I bet people wouldn't notice. It's the dripping sarcasm in their lines and their hostility to normalcy that make both Daria and Clarissa worth watching, even though they deliver their stuff differently. Neena Beber seems to write basically the same type of stuff for both series (and also I suspect in all the shows she's done). The trouble with Clarissa was it was under-developed, also held back by Nickelodeon's prissyness, so only a few episodes really stand out as strongly advocating weirdness and unconventionality. Daria benefits from being on MTV where they're allowed to make more radical stuff than on Nickelodeon.

-Shez.

Shez wrote:

I always saw Clarissa's brother as being a bit likeUpchuck. I don't know why, that show's not something I've ever really watched.

Alli

On Tue, 24 Nov 1998 19:30:48 +0000, Shez wrote:

We did when there was Daria to discuss. But in the season of reruns, it somehow degenerated (evolved?) into this

Uh-oh, someone just put me in a position of responsibility! The day has suddenly turned sinister...

Shez wrote: <<...does anyone else think that Daria is basically a deadpan version of Clarissa Darling?>>

Pretty close. The environment is obviously different. And Clarissa "breaks the fourth wall" which gives her the opportunity to unload some of the sarcasm she could never deliver within the context of the plot action. Still, they're both shoots from the same root.

Peace Kevin