Monday, June 16, 2008

"Too Cute" Turns Eleven


Eleven years ago today, the Daria episode "Too Cute" first aired on MTV. We were introduced to the evil Dr. Shar and to Quinn's complete gullibility in matters of beauty and fashion. Reviews of the episode are plentiful (e.g., Mike Quinn, Wraith, CINCGREEN). DariaWiki has an episode description but no review. The transcript is on Outpost Daria.

While not everyone's favorite episode, "Too Cute" did provide some memorable lines, including an infamous remark by Jane Lane ("Oh, Daria, don't be shy. Show me your boobs"). What did you think of "Too Cute"? I thought it was well above average and added a lot to the characterizations of Daria and Quinn, and to their relationship. Discuss in "Comments."

More later.

4 comments:

E. A. Smith said...

"Too Cute" is one of my favorites from the first season (my least-favorite season of Daria), if for no other reason that it is the first time you see a genuine sisterly moment between Daria and Quinn, when Daria assures her that she is in fact attractive. It is done in a backhanded way, of course, but it shows that underneath all of the sibling rivalry, Daria really does care about her sister.

Anonymous said...

Isn't this also the first episode that establishes the tensions between Quinn and Sandi in the fashion club? The episode isn't the best of Season One but the writer deserves credit for introducing one of the defining aspects of the series.

The Angst Guy said...

Quinn also states that Daria is honest, and she values her older sister's opinions (though she doesn't appear to listen to Daria later).

Greybird said...

Besides its deft building up of the dynamics (good and bad) between Daria and Quinn, this had some of the funniest lines in the entire series.

Guy: We've been here an hour. When's my girlfriend gonna get her new rack?

Brooke: Doctor Shar says the average female has enough fat in her butt to keep her lips luscious until she's, like, seventy.
Tiffany: God works in mysterious ways.

Quinn: Here, this is all I got, and it's for you from Upchuck.
Daria: Why?
Quinn: Deposit. He wants to rent that fake boob for the weekend.

Quinn: Well, we're like a built-in support group for each other.
Daria: A regular Khmer Rouge.
Quinn: Well, blush is more like it.

... ALL OF WHICH exchanges were removed, entirely or nearly so, from The N's bowdlerized version. Gah-gah-damn meddling prudes!