Back in the day, the premise of a cartoon about a brainy, outcast, independent girl in high school seemed exciting and promising, I loved watching this show.
The show is refreshing in that it features an assertive, independent, intelligent protagonista who is in high school but doesn't do the lame, hackneyed "boo hoo, I'm so pathetic and desperate to be cool" shtick. Daria's dry sarcastic and blunt wit is a drink of cool water, and draws plenty of laughs and entertainment.
But as the show goes on, it slowly disappoints as you realize that when you get down to it, Daria is dull and a killjoy. They should have made the show about her fighting crime or solving mysteries, or something... anything! Instead the show dwells on the mundane. Daria is supposed to be clever, but we never see her do anything clever. For me the lowest point was when they had a whole episode about... brace yourself... her trying on contact lenses. The show wavers between mediocre satire, and taking itself way too seriously, and it does neither one very well. There are too many cringe-worthy after-school-special moments and preachy monologues.
When the show tries to be deep and coming-of-agey, it falls flat, and lacks basic insight. Daria lacks self-awareness, and inadverdently represents a young person in a sad state of arrested development, like that chick who goes around scowling and cranky, and when called on it claims "this is my natural resting face!". This point is driven home in later episodes, like the one where Daria remembers being a little kid and not getting along with the other kids at school. The show just frames it as "she just didn't like them, the end."
Then the show COMPLETELY jumps the shark with the Daria-gets-a- boyfriend-storyline. That plot arc is just like... what is this? I don't even... What in the world were the writers thinking? I am baffled as to how they managed to go through the whole process of putting that plot arc into the show, and no one along the way realized it was terrible. The show tries to be too many things at once. This is a cartoon, it should've have just stuck being a cartoon and not try to be a teen-drama soap opera.
Despite my harsh criticism, it is a good show to watch, it paves the way for similar shows in the future to someday do it right.
The show is refreshing in that it features an assertive, independent, intelligent protagonista who is in high school but doesn't do the lame, hackneyed "boo hoo, I'm so pathetic and desperate to be cool" shtick. Daria's dry sarcastic and blunt wit is a drink of cool water, and draws plenty of laughs and entertainment.
But as the show goes on, it slowly disappoints as you realize that when you get down to it, Daria is dull and a killjoy. They should have made the show about her fighting crime or solving mysteries, or something... anything! Instead the show dwells on the mundane. Daria is supposed to be clever, but we never see her do anything clever. For me the lowest point was when they had a whole episode about... brace yourself... her trying on contact lenses. The show wavers between mediocre satire, and taking itself way too seriously, and it does neither one very well. There are too many cringe-worthy after-school-special moments and preachy monologues.
When the show tries to be deep and coming-of-agey, it falls flat, and lacks basic insight. Daria lacks self-awareness, and inadverdently represents a young person in a sad state of arrested development, like that chick who goes around scowling and cranky, and when called on it claims "this is my natural resting face!". This point is driven home in later episodes, like the one where Daria remembers being a little kid and not getting along with the other kids at school. The show just frames it as "she just didn't like them, the end."
Then the show COMPLETELY jumps the shark with the Daria-gets-a- boyfriend-storyline. That plot arc is just like... what is this? I don't even... What in the world were the writers thinking? I am baffled as to how they managed to go through the whole process of putting that plot arc into the show, and no one along the way realized it was terrible. The show tries to be too many things at once. This is a cartoon, it should've have just stuck being a cartoon and not try to be a teen-drama soap opera.
Despite my harsh criticism, it is a good show to watch, it paves the way for similar shows in the future to someday do it right.