Lock Up Your Ritalin!

Seems there's a serious rat problem, and just in time for Ratcatcher’s Day! I think Jake qualifies for this holiday, because after all squirrels are allegedly just rats with fluffy tails.

If he does another combination trip for releasing a squirrel into the wild and going go-kart driving, he should invite Tom to come along. It's National Thomas Day, and that would be an excellent way to celebrate! Just don't tell Tommy Sherman, though. He ruins everything.

While everyone else deals with rats and squirrels and go-karts, Daria will just stay home and quietly celebrate World Brain Day by, well...being one. If you have a brain (or even half of one!) then have a great holiday.

Fandom News!

• R.I.P., Bob Newhart.

Or As Jane Calls Him, "Young Thomas"

If Tom chooses to celebrate National Thomas Day by stuffing his face with junk food, then who am I to stop him? I just hope he made sure that the gummi bears weren't already reserved for an art project. As for Tommy Sherman, well, he can get his own holiday. Preferably one about massive head injuries.

Travis, meanwhile, will be pleased to know that it's also National Day of the Cowboy. Of course, wearing a cowboy hat and playing a guitar does not a cowboy make, so I'll reserve judgment until I see him ride. And by "ride" I mean dive out of the way of crazed homicidal teenage drivers.

Speaking of Daria, today is World Brain Day and I hope she celebrates by...I don't know, thinking or something. At the very least I hope she's able to keep a safe distance between herself and any non-brains, for everyone's sake.

Fanfic Update!

• Daria: Cynic the Superheroine, by Meester_Lee (part 2): "She got home in a couple of hours and let herself in after thanking Joe for the ride and giving him some bills to help with gas money."


• Daria's Lifeline, by Faith64 (COMPLETE!): "Daria held the phone in her hand, hovering one finger over the keypad. She knew the number well enough, having called it in more than one moment of emotional crisis."


• Friend of a Friend, by Doggodoaattack (part 6): "The next day after school, Daria found herself pacing back and forth in her room. Her ‘not a date’ with Charlie had been the only thing on her mind all day."


• Grant Writer's Block, by welltemperedclavier (parts 7 - 9): "Daria had always been the stoic Morgendorffer. Even more so than mom, she’d stay calm in the wildest situation." (Part 8) (Part 9)

"You like convertibles?"

Today is the anniversary of either a major fandom high point or a major fandom low point, depending on your perspective. On August 18, 1999, Tom Sloane made his first appearance in the episode "Jane's Addition." Some fans love him, some fans hate him, and some fall somewhere in between. You can't deny, however, that the boy was controversial. And I refuse to even mention The Kiss. (Oh, wait, I just did. Dammit!)

This is also Bad Poetry Day, and never has this little gem been more appropriate to post:

The greasy fry,
It cannot lie;
Its truth is written
On your thighs.

Breathtaking.

Fandom News!

• Daria recently made an appearance on the website Racked.com!


• Introducing a new Nick's Corner thread: The Completely Random Political Humor Thread!


• Kara Wild expresses her concerns about MTV showing Daria art on Facebook.


• Lord Yellowtail needs advice on vintage motorcycles for Burnout.


• How would you do a Iron Daria ... Man fanfic crossover?


• The Angst Guy wants to know what Shaggy's real name is.


• Three new Iron Chefs posted in Creative Writing: cfardell_Brenorenz29's Camp Grizzly Backgrounders background Tales, Vukodlak's Daria on glitterberries, and custos sophiae's Ponzi Scheme.

"Roses are red / Tom Sloane is poo..."

"Jane's Addition" turns eleven today. The final episode of Daria's third season on MTV, "Jane's Addition" introduced us to Tom Sloane, our favorite well-beaten dead horse, and it marked the end of the Daria/Trent thing, which saved Trent from incarceration.

Today is also National Bad Poetry Day in the USA, and if there's one thing we know, it's how to write bad poetry. In honor of this day, and in honor of "Jane's Addition," you are urged to write a Really Bad Poem about Tom Sloane. When I say bad, I mean it has to suck the reader right out of the chair and into the monitor. Put your contribution in the Comments section for everyone to read and enjoy (or not).

It's Anti-'Shipper Day! Hooray!

Martin J. Pollard, webmaster of the renown Outpost Daria, invented the term "anti-'shipper" in an essay for this fandom eleven years ago this very day. Thus, today is and forever will be Anti-'Shipper Day. He created the term in honor of Kara Wild's story, "'Shipped Out," which he credits as being the first anti-'shipper tale in Daria fandom. Ms. Wild's tale was written in June 1999.

How does one celebrate Anti-'Shipper Day, you ask, and well you should. The day may best be appreciated by pausing to reflect on the elements working against any romantic pairing displayed either on Daria itself or in Daria fanfiction. Daria/Trent? She's too young, Trent's a bum, and Daria is too obnoxious anyway. Daria/Tom? Tom's a bit too conceited, and Daria is too obnoxious anyway. Daria/Anyone? Daria is too etc., etc. What about Jane/Anyone? Daria will sabotage the relationship to have Jane for herself. You get the idea: always blame Daria, because she deserves it.

Today is also the anniversary of a famous alter-ego birthday, and it is International Friendship Day. For more information on the latter, here is a refreshingly cynical essay describing it. Winnie the Pooh is the holiday's mascot. He is shown at left in a candid moment.

More shortly. Not awake yet.

GnuZ!

• Less than two weeks to go until Midwest Dariacon 2010!
• Tiffany: does she suffer from narcissistic disorder? Does a wild bear use Charmin in the woods?
• NEW! A year ago here, I had a sort of mini-contest for artistic fans to find creative things to do with an old MTV screen background I discovered using the WayBack Machine. Anyone up for trying this again? Can you turn it into a neat-o wallpaper for Daria fandom computers?
  

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• Daria/Dorian 6: Christmas Chaos, by LadieT (Part 5): "I called your house. Your dad said that your aunts brought you and Janey here. He told me about her ankle. Is she okay?" "Yeah, she's doing okay. She is going to be glad to see you. She's really missed you." "I missed her, too. Do you know what store she's in? I really need to talk to her." "Is everything alright?" "No."
• NEWER! Jane Lane: Ace Attorney—Turnabout Teacher's Pet, by LSauchelli (Part 8): Jane carried on: “Did you see the way she talked to me? Like I was just one of the little idiots we used to make fun of in High School!” She spared a moment to look at Charles, “No offense. But how dares she do that?! What the hell is her problem! I mean, I expect that kind of treatment from Sandi, I’d be retarded not to, but Daria?! Daria?! This is the girl I survived high school with!” “You do realize you’re starting to sound a lot like that old witch at the gym?” said Charles.
• NEWER! MST version of TAG's "Daria 2007: The Girl from Hope" by Charles RB (Part 1 of 9,000 parts): [Won't spoil it for you!]
  
• Pulp Fiction: A Cup of Tea, by Chris Tucker (COMPLETE!): It had been two months since the subway bombing, and James had been, as he put it, "busy". His contacts with Daria and Jane had been minimal, the odd phone call, a quick coffee 'date', and so on. So, it was with some surprise when Daria heard her name called across a noisy Downtown Crossing intersection in a very familiar voice. A quick embrace between friends. "So, what brings you 'round here?" "I got a Border's gift card from my sister for Christmas, and I've finally got some time to use it. I also wanted to get some bagels, too." "Care for an escort, dear lady?" "Why, thank you, kind sir!"
• Raft College: The First Year, by rglovejoy (Part 21): Daria's Thursday afternoon section with Professor Daniels went well enough. The professor asked her to read her story to the class; Daria did so as best as she could. The worst part was the passage where the protagonist, a disgraced Soviet railroad engineer and deserter, and the beautiful NKVD officer (who she named Zhanna Lanski) shared a steamy encounter in a bombed-out Stalingrad railway station. Daria's face turned crimson several times; she cursed herself for not recognizing that she was not the only one who would be reading the story.
• Regifted 2: I Put Away Joyless Things, by Ajar (Part 10): “Hey, David. No, don't turn around.” “But isn't eye contact generally—” “Keep it down, we're still in class. Don't worry about it, I just want to know if you've seen Daria today.” “Maybe.” “What do you mean, maybe?”
• Sleepwalker, by Jim North (continued): The first bus was easy to get into since the door had been left open. Once Daria stepped inside, she could see why. A small hatch just inside the door had been broken into, various tools sat just within. She felt certain that if she checked, she'd find that those tools did not include a tire iron. Once she was inside the vehicle, she quickly scanned the interior. She didn't see anyone, but as it was one of the rental buses and not a school bus, there were dividers under each seat, blocking her view. There could be anyone hiding behind one of the rows of seats, waiting for her to let down her guard.
• The Vision of the Burning Cities, by jtranser (continued): "So how did it go? New semester with the usual pack of eager smiling faces anxious to learn all about Dream Psychology and how to use it for personal discovery, psychological engineering and sexual exploitation?" "No, Jane, that was last night's class. Today it was all about Introductory Psychotronics." "Mind Control, eh? Did they ask you what The Frequency was?"
  

La La La La La, My Darling

"Dye! Dye! My Darling" appeared on the air for the first time 10 years ago today. By far the most controversial episode ever aired in the Daria series (even more so than "Daria!" or "Depth Takes a Holiday"), DDMD has never lost its ability to drive the fandom nuts.

A year ago this day I uploaded a bunch of links through the WayBack Machine to old MTV website pages of Daria goodness. There's the link to them. Go and have fun.

Happy August Long Weekend to everyone in Canada. Enjoy the day!

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• Grove Hell 2: All the Lawndale People, by Charles RB (Part 5): Daria and Jane walked up to the Morgendorffer house, deep in philosophical discussion. “No, you’ve not thought this through. Alien bleeds acid blood, Species is just a woman who can’t remember how to put clothes on. She’d never survive. Alien all the way.” “Ah, but if she borrows Predator’s blasters, she’s got long-range!” “Touche. It’s not like he’ll want them after the Krites have eaten them.” Daria opened the door, took a brief listen, and winced. “You better take a hike. My mom’s talking to my Aunt Rita. This isn’t gonna be pretty.” (FF.net)
  
• Inner Universe, by Malakite (Part 6): "I've said it before, I'll say it again: you have the coolest room." This comment rose above the somewhat muted sound of twangy guitar and piano accompaniment coming from Jane's television. As she painted (the palette for today was heavy on greys with a touch of green) and intermittently sketched she decided, "It's got pros and cons. You can't hurt yourself in here, but you can't hurt anybody else in here, either." Jane smiled at this as she rapped her hand lightly against the nearest wall. "I wish there'd been a schizophrenic shut-in living in our house before we moved in. Of course, we've got Trent there now. That's almost the same thing."
  
• The Lane That Wasn't, by LadieT (Part 12): Jane continued to look at the screen in front of her. The old man studied her expressions. He noticed how a look of pain came over Jane when she watched the scene the where she had told Daria about moving. He saw jealousy flash in her eyes when she saw the drawing Daria did of Melody Powers. She tried to stay expressionless but couldn't. She turned to him. His eyes had changed colors again. This time they were matching Daria's dark brown eyes. She looked down at the road that stretched ahead of her. She looked at him with a curious face. "I have a question," Jane stated. "Ask away." The old man shifted his gaze to the sky.
• Raft College: The First Year, by rglovejoy (Part 20): Daria left Professor Federova's office feeling a bit shell-shocked. It was clear that she had made a lot of mistakes in writing her first paper, to impress her teacher with her thoroughness. It was pretty easy to snow someone like DeMartino or O'Neill, simply because they were not used to any sort of academic rigor from their students. DeMartino would have been happy if someone merely knew that Robert E. Lee's wife was not Sara Lee.
  
• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Real Esteem), by Kristen Bealer (COMPLETE!): "Students with low self-esteem will be exterminated!" (Daria/Doctor Who)

Bad Tom! Bad Tom!

Exactly ten years have gone by since "Mart of Darkness" premiered on MTV. We remember poor Tom eating Jane's art supplies and poor Jane was forced to strangle him. He deserved it.

My Favorite "Mart of Darkness" Quotes

• "Oops." (Tom)
• "Oh no! Oh, my God! Oh no, accessory emergency. Stacy, I have to go. No, Stacy, it's not you. It's not. It's not! Okay, fine! It is you! Bye!" (Quinn)
• "A vision of Christ in a half-eaten candy bar? Talk about 'My Sweet Lord!' The Immaculate Confection, next on Sick, Sad World."
• "I see where Kevin gets his charm." "Yeah, Mr. Thompson's funny." "Oh, shut up." "Okay." (Mrs. Barch and Jamie)
• "I just love laundry detergent boxes. They're so... happy!" (Brittany)
• "What do you think I am? Stupid?" (Brittany) (sorry)
• "Look, Tom's reasonable enough. Maybe if you just talked it out." "Hmm. Sounds sort of drastic." "Then, how about this? Serve him some frozen lasagna and tell him you're sorry you haven't been around much lately, but as soon as you get some time off, you're gonna do something fun together and really catch up on each other's lives." "You know, Helen ought to write a book." (Daria and Jane)
• "Well, you found me. Now you can make fun of the pathetic goth chick whose parents make her work at a crappy job in a stupid warehouse store. Go on, cut me up like you do everyone else." (Andrea)
• "Will whoever has their hand on my butt please remove it, this instant." (Sandi, to...?)

Today in Fanfiction Land...

• A strange post-apocalypse tale begins this day 11 years ago. Recall the title?
• An original character in Daria fanfiction died 147 years ago today, but not in every alternate Dariaverse. Who was he?
• A minor Daria who appeared only once had her wedding gown made this day 74 years ago. Who was she?
• Finally, a popular Daria website was last updated three years ago today. Which one is that?

Stay tooned. Oh, here's the fanfic list.

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• Daria & Son, by Brian Taylor and Erin Mills (COMPLETE!): "Mr. O'Neill?" "Please, Daria, you can call me "Timothy" or even "Tim" if you like. After all, we're going to be colleagues now." It's official. Lawndale High is the tenth ring of Hell.
• Finn Morgendorffer 52: With Extra Bitters, by HolyGrail2007 (Part 1): “Jake, you will be on your best behavior when we go to that mixer. No drinking. You know how you get when you’re drinking.” “It’s a mixer, Helen!” “And I recall when you drank during the paintball trip.” Helen countered. “In fact, make sure you only discuss business and pleasantries. Nothing else, be good.” “Aww, dammit Helen. I can behave if I want to!” Jake shouted. Helen sighed. Perhaps, the morning of this mixer, she’d need to spike his coffee with ipecac.
• Kabti-Ilani-Marduk, by Malakite (Part 4): Daria tried to shake the sensation that she'd become trapped in some lame TV soap opera as she held onto the sobbing form of Sandi Griffin. Sandi had shown up unannounced less than five minutes earlier,made some small chitchat about the WNBA (Daria herself didn't quite see the appeal), then broke down in tears and incoherence. Comforting people wasn't exactly her area of expertise, but she did her best, making what she hoped were comforting sounds as she hugged Sandi and patted her gently on the back.
  

Tom Kant. Kan You?

Eleven years ago today in Fanfic-land, Daria Morgendorffer won a college scholarship and became very depressed as a result. Why? Check out the answer here.

What book put Tom Sloane to sleep at Daria's house, in "My Night at Daria's"? It was Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason (slightly misspelled in the episode as Critique of Pure Reasoning). Kant, who actually could, was born this day 286 years ago.

In theory, this is also National Jelly Bean Day, but no one knows why. Only one Daria fanfic to my knowledge even mentions jelly beans, and it was written twelve years ago by Invisigoth Gypsy.

NEWS FLASH! This just in: HolyGrail2007 reliably informs us that "Finn Morgendorffer 39: That S-E-X Word" also contains a reference to jelly beans, making it the only Daria fanfic in the past twelve years, other than Invisigoth Gypsy's "Appearances Can Be Deceiving," to include that snack food. We will remain on the air as long as we can to report further developments. Stay tooned.

Time again for fanfic. Oh! Almost forgot! Today is EARTH DAY!

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• Finn Morgendorffer 43: A Tale of Three Schrecters, by HolyGrail2007 (Part 5): “You don’t need to ask.” Elizabeth remarked. “Your mother doesn’t even need to know. She won’t call, she’ll be in court. You’ll get home before she will. I’ll make sure of that.” Elizabeth remarked as she put her arm around Finn’s shoulder.
• NEW! Gender Bender, by Minx (COMPLETE!): “Just because you spell your name with an ‘i’ instead of a ‘y’ and you dress in girls clothes doesn’t make you female,” Sam said as he sidestepped Sandi’s attack. “Just get out of here you little brat!” Sandi screamed, his voice wavered and came dangerously close to cracking.
  
• The Heather/Damsel Chronicles 1:13: Monkey See, Monkey Do, by NightGoblyn (preview): Daria looked up from her second cup of Irish coffee when the kitchen door swung open, her daughter striding confidently into the room and over to the 'fridge. The steady thumping of the girl's boots across the hardwood floor was the only sound in the room at first, but it was then followed by the gentle clinks and clanks of things being shifted around and examined for their potential use as breakfast.
• Unnamed story (Iron Chef: Pact With The Devil), by NoName999 (COMPLETE!): Daria awoke to find herself in Hell. Apparently she had forgotten that pride was one of the deadly sins. And she learned that the hard way. "If I had known that the third time's the charm, I would have never crossed the street during rush hour just to throttle Jane," she said. "If only I were Moses."

The Curious Case of Tom Sloane

I was watching "Jane's Addition" a couple of weeks ago (too). It’s interesting to see how much Tom changed between his first appearance in "Jane's Addition" and the following episode "Partner's Complaint."

When I look at Tom's character design in "Jane's Addition" (right), I don’t think of a 17 year old. He looks…old. His hair was disaster, his ears were too big, his expressions made him look ancient – that line next to his nose that adds about 30 years on him.

At the risk of sounding like Quinn, let me just say that the worst part of Tom's early character design were his clothes. He was supposed to look casual preppy not old-fashioned! Sweater – awful, trousers – terrible, shoes – that buckle makes him look like a gangster, belt – horrendous. His outfit would have made more sense if Jane had met Tom at Studio 54 in 1977 than at The Zon in 1999.

Young Thomas was a complete trainwreck.

Fortunately, the art department took notice of this – and fast. By "Partner's Complaint" (left), Tom had mutated into his usual self. His hair looked much better than Disco Tom's hair, and his clothes looked like they belonged to a 17 year old. New (longer) sweater – OK, baggy trousers – OK, sport shoes – nice, no belt – phew! And, his face looks fresh.

We have a teenager now.

Jane's Secret Magical Powers REVEALED!

While watching "Jane's Addition" a while ago, I noticed an unusual event that proves Jane Lane has magical powers! The image at left shows Jane in a disheveled state, talking with Daria the morning after Jane and Tom Sloane first meet and Jane goes off with her new bf. Jane's eyes are big because (image on right) Tom has just appeared behind Daria. When we next see Jane, PRESTO! She has nicely combed hair again! (See image at bottom left.)

Jane's secret power is obvious. She can make herself look good for any guy in mere seconds without a comb, brush, or anything else. Can the Fashion Club do this? NOT! Jane Lane is her own Fashion Club!

What secrets are left to learn about this amazing town of Lawndale and its inhabitants? Stay tuned and we will see! (P.S. Click on any image here to get a larger view.)

And here are more stories, as long as we're here. Over 153,000 hits! And a warm cheery welcome to all the new Followers of this blog!

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• Legion of Lawndale Heroes Special: No One Is to Blame, by Brother Grimace (teaser): “Yeah, we’ve had the chance to travel all over the world,” Jeffrey Brace said, holding Stacy Rowe’s attention with every word. “Ever been to Easter Island? It’s really cool.” Stacy moved closer to Jeffrey, totally lost in his story as Tiffany Blum-Deckler simply rolled her eyes.
• Unnamed story (Scenes That Should Be: Breakfast of Zombie Champions), by LSauchelli (scene): "Well, is there anyone alive? Tell me my dad is—" "Your parents are dead." Jane said without mellowing it up. "Quinn too." (Daria/Captain Planet)
  

Never to Be

"Partner's Complaint" first aired ten years ago today, kicking off the fourth season of Daria. In retrospect this episode was a sad one. It became clear that things between Daria and Jane would never be the same, but that was unavoidable, too. They had to grow up and find other people sometime. It was sad for me, too, that Daria and Jodie were clearly never going to connect as real friends. Jodie was a hard-core go-getter, the distillation of type-A Helen Morgendorffer, and Daria was a depressed slacker with brains but no drive, and no desire to get any drive. Daria did not come off looking well at all. I'm not sure anyone came out looking good. Life is like that, I guess.

Funny, I was thinking that seeing Daria and Jodie try to work together reminded me a lot of Daria interacting with her mother. A lot of the same dynamics, the Irresistable Force and the Immovable Object.

Your opinions? What are your thoughts about "Partner's Complaint"? Ignoring Tom, that is.

Armchair Psychology in Action!

Why Is Tom So Sad?

(answers go in Comments)

(I decided to take a day off. Have fun.)

Tom by the Numbers

(A reprint of an old article I've never sent out)

Do not read if you lack a sense of humor, or think people need to get a life/hobby/inflatable doll instead of thinking about these things. This was assembled by an amateur, professionals would never go near stuff like this with a 12.2 foot noodle. Void where prohibited by good taste. Individual results may vary. If rash, irritation or bleeding occur, see your doctor, but this had nothing to do with it.

A considerable amount of hot air has been generated on the topic of Tom Sloane and how the character influenced the show.

Here’s a quick analysis of how much the character did appear over the twenty-nine stories from Jane’s Addition to Is It College Yet?

Now you can have solid numbers when you argue how much time was or was not spent (wasted, idolized, whatever) on the character

Production number, title and brief description of Tom’s actions.

313: Jane's Addition: Tom asks Jane out, first overtures to Daria (Farmer joke)

401: Partner's Complaint: Daria and Jane at odds over Tom, he briefly appears to offer ride.
402: Antisocial Climbers: Tom not present, Daria tells Jane she’s sorry about her comments
403: A Tree Grows in Lawndale: Tom makes suggestion to help Kevin
404: Murder, She Snored: Tom not present
405: The F Word: Tom looks in surprise at ‘conventional’ Jane.
406: I Loathe a Parade: Makes effort to be nice to Daria, first evidence of attraction
407: Of Human Bonding: Tom not present, Jane says he’s bowling with friends.
408: Psycho Therapy: Tom has brief appearance on ‘JaneCam.’
409: Mart of Darkness: Aftermath of fight with Jane, Tom goes with Trent and Jesse to store
410: Legends of the Mall: Tom not present
411: Groped by an Angel: Tom not present
412: Fire!: Tom has conversation with Daria.
413: Dye! Dye! My Darling: The kiss.

Is it Fall Yet? First dates with Tom, temporary breakup. Tom says Daria may be scared of opening up.

501: Fizz Ed: Tom encourages Daria to see superintendent.
502: Sappy Anniversary: Tom + Daria forget anniversary. He considers romantic efforts corny
503: Fat Like Me: Tom not present.
504: Camp Fear: Tom not present
505: The Story of D: Tom encourages Daria to send in story, clod when it is rejected.
506: Lucky Strike: A few comments about trick question when Daria making test
507: Art Burn: A few comments about Jane’s art.
508: One J at a Time: Says he wants parents to like him, runs off with Jake and Jeffy
509: Life in the Past Lane: He and Daria have doubts about Nathan, Daria asks if they are in a rut.
510: Aunt Nauseam: Daria tells Tom to keep his distance when he tries to help.
511: Prize Fighters: Tom tells Daria about sleazy Wizard CEO
512: My Night at Daria's: Condom in wallet bad idea. About only attempt at romance.
513: Boxing Daria: Daria ditches going to the cove after accident to see Jane.

Is it College Yet? Effects of Tom’s wealthy background become more noticeable, Daria and Tom are clearly drifting apart. Daria breaks up.

Season: number of episodes (production number) percent of season or percent of total

Tom was not present in episode:
S4: 5 (402, 404, 407, 410, 411) – 38.5%
S5: 2 (503, 504) - 15.4%
Total: 7 – 24.1%

Tom’s role was minor:
S4: 3 (403, 405, 408) – 23.1%
S5: 4 (506, 507, 510, 511) – 30.8%
Total: 7 – 24.1 %

Tom had a short, but important role:
4: 3 (401, 409, 412) – 15.4%
IIFY?
5: 3 (501, 502, 505) - 23.1%
Total: 7 – 24.1%

Tom had a central role:
3: 1 (313) – 7.7%
4: 2 (406, 413) – 23.1%
5: 5 (501, 502, 508, 509, 512) – 38.5%
IICY?
Total: 8 – 27.6%

Daria asked for advice from, or had an ‘important’ conversation with Tom
4: 2 (403, 413) – 15.4%
IIFY?
5: 5 (501, 505, 506, 508, 512) – 38.5%
IICY?
Total: 9 – 31.0%

Aftershocks

It is today the 101st anniversary of the moment when Émile Cohl released the first-ever animated movie: Fantasmagorie, which debuted in Paris. (More of the Daria-French Connection!) To this little silent cartoon does Daria and all other animation we know and love today owe their very existence. Merci!

This is also the 10th (MINUS ONE DAY!) anniversary of the release of "Jane's Addition," the episode in which we first meet Tom Sloane. The shockwaves are still being felt to this day. The amusing "outtake" image of the participants in The Triangle, goofing off between filming, comes to us from Is It Fall Yet? Yes, it's just a cartoon, but you know how cranky fans get.

Stay tooned.

P.S. Late Add: Sorry, but Tuesday is the 10th anniversary of "Jane's Addition." I blame drugs for the error.

One J at a Time, On Time?

A few days ago I somehow got the idea that the anniversary of "The Story of D" had just come and gone. Except that I was two months off. That happened on March 19th, not May 19th. Sorry.

"One J at a Time" (and I have checked this twice now) was broadcast eight years ago tonight. Must be the flu and the frustration of trying to post on PPMB getting me all screwed up.

More shortly. Interesting that Tom bought Daria a rare book from the Internet. Interesting if after Daria and Tom broke up, she got something else from him that he ordered off the Internet, either before or after the breakup. Very interesting.

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• Don't Bet on It, Episode V: The Final Chapter. Srsly. by Lawndale Lurker (COMPLETE!): “Jane, be reasonable. I know a little about your financial situation, remember. Your mortgage is due. Your cupboard is bare. The wolf is at the door. The owl is on the roof. You're about one heavy knock on the door away from sleeping under the railroad overpass with the winos. Or becoming your mortgageholder's kept woman. You can't afford to keep going double or nothing like this."

Tom and Tolkien

Today being the birthday of J. R. R. Tolkien, I decided to present an alter ego of Tom Sloane as one of the great and terrifying Trolls of Mordor, from The Lord of the Rings. Trolls were feared for their enormous height and great strength, and if you rubbed their colorful hair you could make a wish but nothing would happen except the Troll would eat you. Note that this is also the only alter ego of Tom in which he is completely naked. Now I can understand why Daria wasn't exactly thrilled to sleep with him in season five.

As pointed out earlier, the list of 2008 Daria Written Fanworks is complete. Check it for errors, then nominate for the big one!

Helen Morgendorffer has been accused of many things, but this one has to be the strangest accusation of them all! Thanks, ninetwelve.


FF.net

• Daria One Half, by Batlurker, a.k.a. Lorenzo Sauchelli (Parts 1 and 2): This Daria/Ranma 1/2 tale starts off with a little surprise for the Morgendorffer girls from dad Jake.

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• Arrival, by Legendeld (Part 7): Jane Lane found herself trying to figure out where her life went wrong as she scrapped herself off the floor of the bar. Her head was ringing and she was pretty sure it wasn’t sweat running down her chin.
• Fundamental Daria: I'm With Stupid, by Disco316 (COMPLETE!): Oh, Jodie Landon, you sneaky little devil you.
• John Lane 38: Yeah, It's Summer, by Richard Lobinske (Part 4): Daria, John, and Alison have a threesome in the woods, while Quinn hooks up with an underage male named Link.
  
• Once Upon a Time in Lawndale, by Disco316 (Part 2): Amanda Lane looked down the sight of her shotgun. Her targets were in sight, so she pulled the trigger.
• Order and Chaos, by Legendeld (Part 18): Quinn jumped above the flying metal before flipping in mid air to land behind Darth Bane. Her double bladed attack was blocked as he spun and snarled at her.
• Scenes No Daria Fanfic Should Have-Who's Holding Daria Now? Some interesting ficlets here, all worth reading.

When I Saw You Standing There

"Jane, have you considered homeopathy?"

"I'm going to stick with guys for now, but thanks for asking."


Nine years ago there was "Jane's Addition," the end of the third season. The title probably didn't make much sense until five minutes into the story, and there he was.

I never saw this episode until way, way later. Funny to think now of all the different ways it could have gone.

Tom Sloane wasn't that bad a guy, really. Worse was done by others on the series. I pretend not to like him, but the truth is . . . he's kind of lukewarm, so-so, eh. If there hadn't been a triangle, what would have happened then? Wish he could have been more. Wish it could have been different.

Anyway, Tom's first appearance is nine years old today. Cheers, and happy Monday.

Oh, right: MMan brought up an interesting topic on PPMB. It came up in a fanfic once, but there's a lot more to be said about it. What if Daria were aired today? How would the show be different? More opinions are needed.

Dead to the World

Alfred Hitchcock, famed English film director who has some of the most incredible quotes you ever heard in your life, was born 109 years ago today. Tom Sloane was a big fan and tried to get Daria to go see Rope in Is It College Yet? Wonder what he really had in mind. . . .

In Mr. Hitchcock's memory, I started a DariaWiki page on zombiefic, but haven't gotten very far into it. Feel free to chip in.

More soon, just got home.



LATER: Never mind, pooped out. More tomorrow.

When MTV Poked Fun at the Fans

Does the image at right look familiar? It's found in one of the little side corners of the current MTV Daria website: "Guy vs. Guy: The Trent/Tom Debate." This is the opening page to two others in sequence, in which two imaginary Daria fans debate which was Daria's true soulmate, Trent or Tom. It is reminiscent of the infamous rant by William Shatner on Saturday Night Live in which he said Star Trek fans should get a life. I think that's what MTV was doing here, too, giving us an unsubtle hint to get over it. In a funny way, I could see Daria doing that. It would be like her.

The two pages of "debate" do indeed skewer some of the long-ago screaming and shouting that went on in the fandom over T 'n T. Given some of the discussion that went on between fans on this issue (based on what I've seen of the rubble left over), perhaps this tongue-in-cheek debate is closer to the mark than some of us would like to recall. But hey, it was fun, wasn't it? It meant we really liked the show. It hit a chord with us, and it hit it hard enough that years after the show is over and gone, we're still hanging around waiting for it to come back. That's not especially pathetic, since that very tactic worked to bring back some shows like Family Guy. And Star Trek. We can always hope.

Ah, what the hell. If Daria doesn't come back, it doesn't come back. It was a hell of a show, though, wasn't it? A show about smart people who don't fit in, who don't go along with the rest of the herd. That couldn't possibly be the situation with any of the fans, now, could it? If MTV wants to make fun of us, it can do its worst. It had its bright and shining moment, and we saw it, recognized it for what it was, and cherished it when it was gone. We weren't the ones who let it die.

And, I have to say, Tom and Trent both completely sucked as soulmates to Daria. She should forget about getting married and just get some cats. It's a better move for her in the long run. 'Nuff said.

Stretching Things a Bit

Fortress CINCGREEN has once again loosed upon the world an examination of the storytelling engine of Daria, and this time it covers...

TOM!

Quote from the essay: When "Dye! Dye! My Darling!" came out and everything went to hell. . . . 8)

The Tom-Jane-Daria triangle was a bit of a stretch, but that's over and done with. No sense in holding a grudge now. Forgive and forget. Live and let live.

Say, how is that "Tom dies" thread doing? Just kidding.