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Red episode names indicate favorites.
| 101 - Esteemsters |
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| 102 - The Invitation |
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| 103 - College Bored |
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| 104 - Cafe Disaffecto |
I'd have ranked this #2 were it not for the strange, unconvincing results of Daria's essay. Daria takes the role of some sort of master manipulator -- a theme that appears in the B&W pilot episode, here, and almost nowhere subsequent (except when she is extorting money from Helen or pulling some minor trickery on Quinn). Still a great episode. Just... weird.
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| 105 - Malled |
Well-paced and alot of fun, as much for the group's journey as for the mall scenes themselves. An improbable plot with nothing too deep going on -- it's the characters that carry this one. One of the episodes that first got me hooked. Nothing but fond memories here.
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| 106 - This Year's Model |
I hate to have to put this at the bottom of any grouping because it was actually pretty good. But the groping and mercenary scenes were both over-the-top silly.
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| 107 - The Lab Brat |
Kevin and Brittaney are best taken in small doses. And I was never crazy about Barch (except when she is played against Upchuck). Still funny and clever though.
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| 108 - Pinch Sitter |
Like A.J. says, all the members of Jane's family were distinct and interesting enough to make me forget about the plot convenience. And it's a good Trent-Daria episode besides (though not quite as good as "Ill" or "Road Worrier").
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| 109 - Too Cute |
Just didn't grab me for some reason. I don't remember disliking it. Seemed to be trying to make fun of people's obsession with looks by, um, obsessing over the characters' looks. Maybe it would fair better on a second viewing.
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| 110 - The Big House |
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| 111 - Road Worrier |
It's all been said. And every comment ever made (good or bad) is true.
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| 112 - The Teachings of Don Jake |
I don't
remember much about Jane & Trent's relatives here, so I guess they didn't
leave as much of an impression as the siblings in "Lane Miserables". The
psychedelic goings on were just plain fun and brought back some fond memories
of... er, never mind that. Good episode, but it faces some fierce competition in
this grouping.
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| 113 - The Misery Chick |
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| 201 - Arts 'N Crass" |
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| 202 - The Daria Hunter |
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| 203 - Quinn the Brain |
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| 204 - I Don't |
The long series of humiliations make Daria seem particularly worth rooting for. Finding a "kindred spirit" in Aunt Amy is a fitting reward for her.
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| 205 - That was Then, This is Dumb |
The sour note here was Jesse's vacuousness. I'd liked to have seen something a bit more creative done with this character than just the catch-phrase "cool". This guy makes Beavis look suave. Otherwise, a decent episode.
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| 206 - Monster |
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| 207 - The New Kid |
Shrill voice acting and a dumb virual reality scene, and the budding relationship is broken up in a highly convenient and unbelievable way. Too bad, because there was alot to like here as far as Daria's ethics and her reaction to Ted are concerned.
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| 208 - Gifted |
The 'B' plot is great, plus Jodie gets some of her best lines ever. Not much to dislike except for the element of predictability. The gifted school's students turn out pretty much like you imagine they have to in order for the episode to resolve itself.
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| 209 - Ill |
I thought the "social hell" dream sequence was one of the most memorable scenes ever, and it pushes an otherwise great episode to the top of my list.
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| 210 - Fair Enough |
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| 211 - See Jane Run |
The fact that the two friends are outsiders together doesn't prevent them from having thier own personalities and agendas, and neither does the tension prevent this episode from being even funnier than some of the very good S4 episodes employing a similar wedge.
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| 212 - Pierce Me |
Jane's mischief-making around Daria and Trent was
one of the subtlest and best running gags on the show, and watching her snoop in
the background during the phone scene busted me up as much as anything in the
entire series. I thought Trent and Daria behaved slightly off-character (with
Daria a little too susceptible and Trent too cajoling), so the conclusion seemed
a bit forced. Still a great episode.<
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| 213 - Write Where It Hurts |
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| 301 - Through A Lens Darkly |
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| 302 - The Old And The Beautiful |
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| 303 - Depth Takes A Holiday |
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| 304 - Daria Dance Party |
Much better than the title suggests. Even so, I can't remember this one too clearly (except for the Ruttheimer kids) which suggests it didn't really grab me.
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| 305 - The Lost Girls |
Yes, Val is an excessively shrill and irritating charicature. Almost like Brittany but without any of the redeeming naivette. A little subtlety would have made this episode loads better. Still OK.
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306 - It Happened One Nut |
Great scene where Trent perceptively walks away without his peanut fix because he knows Daria finds the job humiliating. Jane's frantic attempt to keep him from finding out is hilarious. Great episode.
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| 307 - Daria! |
Maybe I like this one so much because I haven't actually seen alot of the musical (and other gimmicky) episodes offered up by other shows, so the idea actually seemed fresh to me. And the lyrics and some of the accompanying visuals (like Quinn's reflection singing back to her) had me laughing many, many times.
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| 308 - Lane Miserables |
Like A.J. says, all the members of Jane's family were distinct and interesting enough to make me forget about the plot convenience. And it's a good Trent-Daria episode besides (though not quite as good as "Ill" or "Road Worrier").
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| 309 - Jake of Hearts |
I like this better than alot of people seemed to. Maybe Helen, Daria and Jane all end up reacting towards characters that are excessively superficial and grating. Still, plenty of humor and sarcasm survive in the regular characters' lines.
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| 310 - Speedtrapped |
Just a well-paced collection of smart gags and far ranging situations that bring out the best in the characters. Very good.
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| 311 - The Lawndale File |
This is the only Daria episode I didn't bother watching all the way through. It tried too hard; went too far over the top; and started falling, falling... I think it might have cratered itself somewhere in Springfield. Then again I loved the similarly slapstick "Murder She Snored", so go figure.
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| 312 - Just Add Water |
I have a high tolerance for improbable
plots ("Daria Hunter", "Malled", ect). But this one didn't work even for me.
Quinn's charade is by far the best thing going on here. DeMartino has his
moments as well. Nothing else really rises above the silliness of the
premise.
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| 313 - Jane's Addition |
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| 401 - Partner's Complaint |
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| 402 - Antisocial Climbers |
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| 403 - A Tree Grows In Lawndale |
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| 404 - Murder, She Snored |
Yeah, I know. But I laughed almost as hard through this one as any other single episode I can name. No message, no meaning, just a great series of tightly scripted gags.
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| 405 - The 'F' Word |
Among other things it was great fun to watch Jane paying homage to her unconventionality by trying to fail at fitting in. The wrap-up with O'Neil seems trite, but not a big deal. Here we have another goofy premise that redeems itself by setting up some good situational comedy.
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| 406 - I Loathe A Parade |
Gupty kid = best use of an old character. The problem he presents is well-handled by Daria. O'neil's deusche-baggery is more harmless than usual, and funnier for it.
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| 407 - Of Human Bonding |
I think you get as much father-daughter bonding here as you can expect given Daria's reserve and Jake's cluelessness. It's as much about what they can't communicate as it is about what they can. Plus Quinn's sleepover scenes were hysterical. I might rank this #1 except that the Barlow character was as flat as Arno was colorful.
Kevin and Brittaney are best taken in small doses. And I was never crazy about Barch (except when she is played against Upchuck). Still funny and clever though.
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| 408 - Psycho Therapy |
Good episode all the way around, but the two standout scenes which put it at the top of my list are Quinn's "past life regression" and Daria's capsule analysis of the entire family (including herself).
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| 409 - Mart Of Darkness |
I seemed to remember this one being summed up in TV Guide as "Daria searches for new boot laces". Yep. That's pretty much what you get here. The fat woman is crudely stereotypical even next to Kevin and Brittaney. The picnic scenes left no impression on me. Still better than a sharp stick in the eye.
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| 410 - Legends Of The Mall |
The House of Bad Grades and the running joke about Trent's car keep this one afloat (or is it adrift)? The sketch about the (particularly) psychotic shop teacher has it's moments as well. Rattling Girl provides one of the few painfully dumb, "crickets-chirping" type moments in the series. Fun episode in it's way, but not great.
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| 411 - Groped By An Angel |
The sisterly interaction overcomes some of the inherent weakness of an episode based around Quinn's self-centered worldview. One great thing about the show is that even when a character walks around with as big a bull's eye painted on them as Quinn does, the humor at thier expense is never brutal. In the end, Quinn is still marginally likable even in Daria's eyes.
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| 412 - Fire! |
This one
just had a tight combination of humor and insight. Trent gets to display the
cool, laid back sagacity that lies hidden behind that torpor. And we get a few
surprise moments from Daria (so at ease around Tom that she actually laughs, so
confused by her situation that she fails to offer Helen a wisecrack). I did have
a hard time believing that Tom was hitting it off THIS well with Daria -- never
before or since have we seen them this caught up in each others' interests and
views.
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413 - Dye! Dye! My Darling |
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| MOVIE - Is it Fall Yet? |
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| 501 - Fizz Ed |
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| 502 - Sappy Anniversary |
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| 503 - Fat Like Me |
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| 504 - Camp Fear |
This might have seemed better in an earlier season. By this time, the sub-text of Daria alienating a friend had been done often enough to take the edge off this episode. Daria also comes off a bit too sour and unwitty.
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| 505 - The Story of D |
No meaningful resolution to a conflict between Daria and Tom that seemed artificial to begin with. All the conflict necessary could have been supplied by the tension between Daria's inward hopes and dreams vs. the outward apathy and resignation. Instead this episode seemed an awkward excuse to make Tom look like Captain Nice.
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| 506 - Lucky Strike |
Anne Burnstein wrote some of the show's funniest episodes, and this may be her best. Rapid-fire funny but without going for the most obvious laughs.
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| 507 - Art Burn |
The resolution of the gazeebo story line (and most of the jokes along the way) could be seen coming miles away. But as usual, Jane's character is "like something from a cooler universe". Good episode, but not stellar.
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| 508 - One J at a Time |
Another episode I hate to put at the bottom of any list. Maybe the first episode to make Tom into a truely likable character (though "I Loathe a Parade" came fleetingly close). Only problems: The squirrel hunt as some kind of bonding adventure between Jake and Tom is a bit much, and the J's are inherently not very interesting.
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| 509 - Life in the Past Lane |
The 'A' plot didn't do much for me except to reinforce Jane's generally admirable quality of doing what she pleases without worrying about what her class-mates think. Upchuck runs away with this episode. Maybe the second funniest of S5.
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| 510 - Aunt Nauseam |
Just a well-paced collection of smart gags and far ranging situations that bring out the best in the characters. Very good.
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| 511 - Prize Fighters |
This one had a good premise, but reminded me of Fizz Ed in it's heavy-handedness. Its easy to tell an audience that a situation is bogus. Making us laugh about it is a trick, and many episodes have pulled it off better than this one. Still, it was interesting to watch the characters' differing approaches to the same goal.
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| 512 - My Night at Daria's |
I was expecting the
worst, but what a surprise. There's no pretense that teen sex doesn't happen,
and no preaching. But the episode ends up resting on the wisdom of waiting for
the moment to be mutually right regardless of whatever expectations the other
person (or society) might have. If anything, it takes Daria uncharacteristically
long to see this. Also, the condom scene was slightly puzzling (maybe somebody
felt they had to wedge the safe sex message in there somehow, even if the
characters aren't going to need it yet). Overall, this rose way above both the
exploitative retardation that pervades the media regarding teen sex and the
stilted moralism often offered up in response to it.
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| 513 - Boxing Daria |
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| MOVIE - Is it College Yet? |
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Created on ... December 15, 2001