After moving to a new town with her stressed-out parents and relentlessly popular little sister, Daria uses her acerbic wit and keen powers of observation to contend with the mind-numbingly ridiculous world of Lawndale High.
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Daria becomes upset by memories of an argument her parents had when she was a child, which may have been caused by one too many parent/teacher conferences over her refusal to socialize. She later learns that her problems as a kid were just something that comes with being smart.
The episode was rated 9.07 from 71 votes.
Daria is asked by Mr. O'Neill to write a story featuring people she knows as fictional characters. She develops a serious case of writer's block, and after several aborted story attempts (including takes on The Graduate and Sense and Sensibility), she starts to lose hope, until Helen gives her some advice. Daria winds up writing a great story about her family in the future.
The episode was rated 8.75 from 67 votes.
Tommy Sherman, former Lawndale High football star, visits the school when a goalpost is named after him. He turns out to be a complete jerk that insults or propositions everyone he meets, particularly Daria, whom he calls a "misery chick". Daria and Jane crack a few jokes about wishing he were dead, and seconds later he is killed when the goalpost falls on him. Suddenly everyone comes to Daria for advice on dealing with the traumatic incident, because they all think she's obsessed with death, and Jane starts avoiding her because she feels responsible.
The episode was rated 8.50 from 108 votes.
Jane plans to dye her hair to resemble tiger stripes, and to do it she enlists the help of Daria, who is reluctant for fear she will screw it up. While Daria is applying dye, Jane asks her why she has been spending so much time with Tom, a topic that Daria finds uncomfortable. Afterward, the dye job looks horrible, and Jane accuses Daria of deliberately screwing it up. With some prodding from Trent, Jane realizes she has been acting a bit paranoid, and after she dyes her hair back to normal she apologizes to Daria, who once again insists that she is not trying to steal Tom. Afterward, Tom and Daria have a talk where he says that the problems he and Jane are having are not caused by her, and she says she is not interested in him and doesn't want to stab Jane in the back. Then they passionately kiss. Racked with guilt, Daria confesses about it to Jane, who storms off angrily. Jane breaks up with Tom, though it becomes an amicable breakup as Jane realizes Tom and Daria make a better coupl
The episode was rated 8.37 from 59 votes.
As an assignment from her law firm to determine if she has the makings of a partner, Helen takes the family to a therapy spa. The psychologists there evaluate them, and it is revealed that Daria is the only one of the four who is truly well rounded, despite her use of sarcasm to push people away. Helen, meanwhile, finds that she is a ruthless, win-at-all-costs shark who puts her career before everything else, including her family. Naturally, this gets her the promotion. Jane sets up "Jane Cam", a website that broadcasts her fairly mundane activities in her room. This does not go over well with Tom, who unwittingly shakes his ass for the entire world to see.
The episode was rated 8.35 from 66 votes.
Quinn writes a paper in Mr. O'Neill's English class that the teacher really likes and recites to the class. Quinn becomes scared that she will now become an outcast because people think she's a "brain", but just the opposite happens: she becomes a popular brain, and starts to work with it. Daria, meanwhile, finds herself losing her own identity since Quinn is the school brain now.
The episode was rated 8.35 from 84 votes.
Mrs. Dafoe, the art instructor, asks the talented Jane to submit a poster about student life and submit it into a contest. Jane draws a pretty girl looking into a mirror, with Daria adding a very negative poem about bulimia. The poster does not go over well with the school principal, Ms. Li, who orders it changed and submitted against their will. Daria and Jane don't take this without a struggle.
The episode was rated 8.33 from 102 votes.
Principal Li forces the entire school to raise funds by going on a casino cruise, on a run-down toilet of a ship. There, Quinn gets stood up by her date; Mr. DeMartino deals with his gambling addiction; and Daria and Jane try in vain to get some sleep. Eventually the ship crashes into a garbage scow; many jabs at Titanic ensue.
The episode was rated 8.31 from 62 votes.
Daria and Quinn get jobs at the mall, neither of which goes over well for them. Daria works at a nut stand, where she gets salary deducted because she doesn't smile; what's worse, her co-worker, Kevin, is completely incompetent. Quinn works at the pet store, where she finds she has to work with "un-cute" animals as well as cute ones, and ends up causing havoc.
The episode was rated 8.30 from 61 votes.
Helen and Jake take Daria and Jodie to visit Grove Hills, a private school for A-students. Helen and Jake don't get along too well with Jodie's ultra-conservative black parents, while Daria and Jodie find out the students at Grove Hills are extremely stuck-up. Jodie tells them off, much to Daria's delight. Back in Lawndale, Quinn loses favor with all 3 Fashion Club members, and, afraid to be alone, comes to Jane's house and drives her nuts.
The episode was rated 8.27 from 70 votes.
Trent asks Daria to help him find a birthday present for Jane, and the enraptured Daria lets him talk her into getting her navel pierced, which she later regrets. Helen, meanwhile, agrees to accompany Quinn in the ill-fated mother-daughter fashion show.
The episode was rated 8.26 from 85 votes.
Mrs. Bennett has the class get into pairs for a budgeting project. Daria, angry at Jane for spending so much time with Tom, pairs up with Jodie instead; meanwhile Jane pairs up with Brittany. Daria and Jodie try to start their own business, but have trouble getting a loan from a bank because of their age and possibly Jodie's race. Jodie gets mad at Daria when she is criticized for using her father's clout in order to succeed. Meanwhile, Jane and Brittany try to purchase a car, but the car salesman seems much more interested in getting a date with Brittany.
The episode was rated 8.22 from 73 votes.
Jake suffers a mild heart attack, which makes Daria aware of his mortality for the first time. She then has to deal with his judgmental mom coming to stay with them while he recuperates, and Jake confronts his mom about the way she views his military-freak father. Meanwhile, a pair of obnoxious radio DJs broadcast from Lawndale High for the entire week, and Daria finds that the only way to make them go away is to shame them into leaving.
The episode was rated 8.21 from 73 votes.
Helen suggests that Daria get contact lenses after a bad driving lesson, which Daria eventually agrees upon. However, Daria finds the contact lenses extremely uncomfortable and doesn't want to wear them anymore. But, not wanting to go back to the glasses, she winds up spending a day wearing neither one and bumping into people. Eventually, Brittany gives her some helpful advice about being herself.
The episode was rated 8.20 from 71 votes.
Quinn begins to take an interest in guardian angels, and after narrowly avoiding getting crushed by a chandelier; she becomes convinced that she has a guardian angel looking out for her. She then avoids the salad dressing that gives her friends food poisoning, thus deepening her belief. Daria looks at Quinn's behavior with skepticism and amusement. Jane, however, suspects that Daria's attitude toward it is fear that Quinn may be right, since everything seems to turn out okay for people like Quinn no matter how idiotic they behave. Brittany's father throws a huge party for his daughter for getting a C-minus average, and she invites everyone at school, even getting Mystik Spiral to perform. It is here that Quinn's good luck streak ends, after she spills juice on her new jeans and then shatters Brittany's gift (an expensive crystal bullhorn) by sitting on the mixing board controls, causing the amplifier feedback to go at full blast. Quinn feels depressed and disillusioned about her guardi
The episode was rated 8.15 from 54 votes.
When Principal Li fails to honor the raise promised in the teachers' contracts, the teachers go on strike. Substitutes are hired to take their place, including a spaced-out elderly woman to take over for Mr. DeMartino; and a sleazebag for Mr. O'Neill's class who is soon fired for hitting on Tiffany. That substitute's replacement is none other than Daria. Quinn starts to fear that the truth about her sibling relationship to Daria will come out, especially when she keeps having to defend Daria in front of her friends. Daria tries to teach the class Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet", and when she assigns a test, Quinn finds that she knows the play well enough to ace it. When Quinn gets a much better grade than the rest of the Fashion Club, Sandi brings up the question of Quinn's relationship to Daria. Quinn finally admits, with no shame, that she and Daria are sisters. While the strike is going on, the Lane siblings end up helping the teachers.
The episode was rated 8.14 from 58 votes.
The Lane house gets a little too crowded when Jane and Trent's siblings and dad all move back home, at the same time. Unable to handle it, Jane and Trent stay with Daria's house--which puts Daria at a quandary, as she has to deal with her crush.
The episode was rated 8.13 from 79 votes.
After Jake accidentally causes a kitchen fire, the family goes to stay in a hotel for a couple of weeks while the damaged areas are repainted. At the hotel, Helen and Jake find themselves relaxing to the point of being oblivious to what's around them. Quinn is courted by Bobby, a handsome bellhop who offers her various luxuries for free, claiming that his uncle owns the hotel. After he asks her out, Sandi (ever the eager backstabber) tries to convince Quinn that Bobby is a stalker. Quinn dismisses Sandi's suspicions as paranoia, but it is later revealed that Bobby lied about his uncle being the hotel manager. He had planned to pay for the luxuries by hacking into the hotel's computer and deleting the charges, and Quinn is horrified that she almost went out with a... "computer geek." Meanwhile, Daria goes to stay with Jane for the duration. While there, she and Tom start bonding over intellectual topics that go right over Jane's head, and Jane becomes jealous.
The episode was rated 8.12 from 57 votes.
Mr. O'Neill assigns his class to make short films. Daria and Jane decide to do theirs on a day in the life of Quinn, the purpose being to show everyone how shallow Quinn is. They get some great footage after Quinn freaks out over her pores, but Daria starts having second thoughts after noticing Quinn actually has some depth.
The episode was rated 8.10 from 88 votes.
Attending Trent's band's concert, Daria develops a mysterious rash, which comes and goes, and winds up in the hospital.
The episode was rated 8.08 from 83 votes.
Last updated: feb 04, 2023
