SBS is replaying Daria. If you don't know, it's a cartoon that came out … um … probably in the mid '90s? I dunno why I got into it back then—obviously I was far too old to be in the target demographic. I might have been living somewhere where I only got the ABC—I don't remember—shit, the mid '90s was 20 fucking years ago already—Jesus Christ.
Anyway, I remember it coming on the ABC in the afternoons, either one or two spots before the evening news. It's about the day-to-day life of an American high-school girl whose intelligence & insight have rendered her perpetually cynical and morose.
Unfortunately, these episodes seem a bit anemic compared to when they originally aired. See, apparently MTV never licensed any music specifically for their shows; instead, they just used whatever music they had licensed to play on their channel at the time. As those licenses have long since expired, the only music you get on the show now is the opening/closing theme and some very bland and very sparse incidental music. It may not sound like a big difference, but it's amazing how much something like that changes the atmosphere. It's a problem that affects the DVD version as well.
Another thing I've noticed on repeat viewing is that Daria's kind of a bitch. On top of her somewhat Machiavellian approach to life, she's often condescending, vindictive, and mean-spirited—which isn't necessarily a bad thing—not every protagonist needs to be a morally upright hero—but I can't help wondering if the show doesn't portray her as such a little bit more than it should.
If you've seen the show, let me know what you think; if not, you can check it out over at SBS On Demand. I don't know how many more episodes I'm going to watch, but it's definitely staying on the "record" list.
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