Daria: The Complete Animated Series

On June 1st, 2011, the popular MTV series Daria was released on DVD in Australia, following the American DVD release from the previous year.

For those of you who are too young to remember the show, Daria was an animated series produced by MTV, the product of a spin-off from Beavis and Butt-head in which Daria appeared as a recurring character.

The TV show began its run in 1997 and ended in 2002. It centered on the main character, Daria Morgendorffer, a smart, sarcastic and cynical 16 year old girl who makes witty observations about the world around her. The show was a satirical look at high school and suburban life, which also included references to, and criticisms of, popular culture of the 1990s.

The release of the DVD was very much anticipated by die hard fans. The show was held off from being released as a complete series for nearly ten years, due mainly to legal issues and licensing fees, unable to obtain the rights to much of the music which was played throughout the show’s history. As stated by a note in the DVD’s packaging insert by series creator Glenn Eichler, “99% of the original songs have been changed because the cost of licensing the many music bites we used would have made it impossible to release the collection.”

Thus the music has been replaced by covers and “appropriate” generic music. Many fans were upset by this; to a lot of people, the music played an intrinsic part on the show, almost as if it were an actual character. Although I'm sure many would agree that the replacement of the music is a small sacrifice for finally having the show on DVD. Rest assured, one aspect of the music that has remained untouched is the theme song ‘You’re Standing On My Neck’ by the band Splendora.

Content and Features

Fans breathe easy, because all 65 episodes of Daria, plus the two movies, are included on the DVD as they originally aired – completely uncut. (Censoring was one of the major concerns from people over the years, as TV network ‘The N’ (now ‘Teen Nick’) aired the reruns of episodes with major cuts.)

Other special features include:

  • Pilot: Sealed With A Kick – The original ten minute pilot episode which aired in December 1996 and that had previously only been available on the first Daria VHS video release.
  • Mystik Spiral - ‘Freakin’ Friends’ video – The music video for ‘Freakin’ Friends’ by the fictional band Mystik Spiral, which was originally shown during the premiere broadcast of the first movie, Is It Fall Yet?.
  • ‘Daria Day’ Intros – The introductions to select episodes, originally aired on the Daria Day marathons.
  • Top Ten Video Countdown – The top ten countdown of animated videos, hosted by Daria and Jane Lane.
  • Mystik Spiral Spin-Off Script – A never before seen script for the spin-off show planned for Trent Lane’s band, Mystik Spiral.
  • Cast & Crew Interviews – A six minute interview with the cast and crew (including Tracy Grandstaff and Wendy Hoopes, the voices of Daria and Jane respectively), about the genesis of the show and their thoughts about the characters and stories. These interviews are played over concept art; a major gem for animation buffs.

Packaging

Now, a major complaint about the DVD has been the packaging. The Australian DVD has been mentioned as being extremely flimsy, and has DVDs stacked three deep in its slim-line packaging. Other reviewers have said that they feel as though they about to snap a disc when trying to pop it out of the casing. Some suggest an alternative to this: removing the discs from the packaging and placing them all into a separate CD case for safer storage and easier access.

In comparison, the American DVD packaging is much simpler. It comes as a larger box-set with each disc on its own individual page in the standard storybook packaging.

Overall Thoughts

The DVD’s negative qualities (replacement music) are vastly outweighed by its positive qualities (uncut episodes, interviews, more special features than originally expected). The sound and picture quality are both decent, the episodes are all there - what more could you ask for?

In my opinion, the real stand out feature would have to be the cast and crew interviews. It was very interesting to hear how the show came to be, and to see the vocal talents behind the characters; (fans of Trent Lane will be especially surprised to see the man behind the voice!) I think many hardcore fans will agree that Daria actually making it to DVD release in this lifetime is such a relief in itself that the minor issues are quite easily overlooked.

Anybody who never got the chance to see the series when it first aired should really give it a watch. If you have ever felt alienated from your peer group, felt like you didn’t belong, or generally believed that everyone around you is just plain crazy, then Daria is definitely the show for you.

My overall rating: 8.5/10.

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