The WORST episodes of Daria
Every episode of Daria ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Daria!
The people of Lawndale just don't get Daria Morgendorffer. She's cool with that. See, Daria was born alienated, and now she's just trying to make it through high school with as little human contact as possible. Popularity, friends, activities... whatever. Daria lacks enthusiasm, but she makes up for it with sarcasm. Daria is the spin-off of MTV's most sucessful cartoon, Beavis and Butt-Head.
#1 - This Year's Model
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 4/7/1997
Talent scouts from the Amazon Modeling Agency come to Lawndale High to teach a class on modeling, promising a modeling scholarship to one lucky student. Many of the girls in school are more than eager to get that scholarship. Daria is not one of those girls.
#2 - The Teachings of Don Jake
Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 7/14/1997
Jake and Helen take the kids on a camping trip, which doesn't go well after Jake starts obsessing over his rocky relationship with his late father. Then it goes straight to hell when Jake, Helen and Quinn eat psychotropic berries and go insane. Meanwhile, Jane and Trent attend their dysfunctional family reunion.
#3 - Art Burn
Season 5 - Episode 7 - Aired 4/2/2001
A gazebo at the Lane residence collapses, and Jane and Trent decide to have it rebuilt because of its sentimental value to their brother, Wind. Jane tries to sell her paintings at an art fair to pay for the repairs, and winds up getting hired to re-create famous paintings for a gallery. Though this becomes financially lucrative for Jane, she gets no creative stimulation from it and contemplates quitting. Meanwhile, Trent hires three slackers to fix the gazebo, and is unsuccessful in getting them to actually do any work. At the art fair, the Fashion Club let a caricaturist draw them, and are so insulted by the drawing that they plan to sue him, a mission that they are persistent at despite Helen's advice against it. Ironically, when Jane and Trent's parents come home, they say that they plan to get rid of the gazebo; and Stacy keeps the caricature drawing because, unbeknownst to anyone else, she liked the way it turned out.
#4 - The Old and the Beautiful
Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 3/3/1999
Ms. Li asks (read: orders) everyone to volunteer during Volunteer Week. Daria, Brittany and Kevin volunteer to read for senior citizens, but the seniors only like the perky Brittany and Kevin and are put off by Daria's unenthusiastic voice. The Fashion Club, meanwhile, volunteer to donate clothes for the homeless, but accomplishes nothing by being too picky about what to donate.
#5 - Camp Fear
Season 5 - Episode 4 - Aired 3/12/2001
Daria and Quinn attend a reunion at Camp Grizzly, the summer camp that is the source of nothing but bad memories for Daria. There, Quinn finds that the crowd she hung out with is a little too much like the Fashion Club, and Daria finds that she's too antisocial for her own good--especially after she starts pushing away a fellow misfit, Amelia, who really looks up to her. However, by refusing to follow a crowd, Daria inspires Amelia to stand up to Skip, the obnoxious "big guy at camp" whose self-imposed authority everyone is afraid to question. Trent starts getting fed up with Mystik Spiral, and Jane suggests that he give Daria and Quinn a ride to camp, then stay in the woods for a while to think things through. Trent and Jane meet an elderly storekeeper and his wife, whom Trent first thinks are full of country wisdom, but who turn out to be lamebrained purveyors of inedible snack foods. The experience is not a total loss, though, as it provides Trent with inspiration for a new song.
#6 - I Loathe a Parade
Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired 4/7/2000
Daria goes to the drugstore to buy toilet paper, not knowing that the Lawndale High Homecoming Parade is going on that day. By the time she gets out of the store, the street is crowded and she has a hard time getting home. She runs into Tad Gupty (the boy she babysat in Pinch Sitter), who has lost his parents. Reluctantly, she decides to help Tad out, and while they search for his parents, they run into Tom, who has been waiting for Jane at the wrong drugstore. Daria still resents Tom for all the time Jane has been spending with him, but she heads with him to the other drugstore to find Jane. During the course of the day, as Daria and Tom spend some time together, they find that they actually sort of like each other.
#7 - Jake of Hearts
Season 3 - Episode 9 - Aired 7/21/1999
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.
#8 - The Story of D
Season 5 - Episode 5 - Aired 3/19/2001
Daria writes a story that she plans to submit to publication, but is reluctant to let anyone read it. She gives it to Jane and Tom to read--Jane thinks it needs a little work, but Tom likes it and encourages her to submit it. She submits it to a magazine, but it gets rejected. This discourages her, but she decides to give it another go after learning Jake went through a similar situation with a song he wrote when he was her age. The Fashion Club seeks to win a humanitarian award by donating a mirror for the school bathroom, but they first have to get the money to buy the mirror. They decide to start a newsletter and sell it, but get discouraged when all of the fashion predictions they publish turn out wrong. Meanwhile, after learning of the reasons behind her niece Erin's failed marriage, Helen starts to keep a close eye on Daria, making sure she isn't rushing into sex with Tom.
#9 - Legends of the Mall
Season 4 - Episode 10 - Aired 7/12/2000
When Jake's car doesn't start when he's supposed to pick up Quinn and the Fashion Club from the mall, the girls reluctantly take the bus, winding up in a creepy neighborhood and having to walk the rest of the way. Meanwhile, a worried Jake has Trent pick him up in his barely-operating vehicle, and they (along with Daria and Jane) search for Quinn and her friends. This storyline frames three ghost stories set during different decades, with the cast playing roles accordingly. "The Rattling Girl of Lawndale", told by Stacy, is about a girl in the 1960s (Sandi) that, in an attempt to become the most popular girl at Lawndale High by getting rid of the fat in her eyelids, became anorexic. At the school dance, she showed up so bony that when she danced, she made an annoying rattling sound and everyone laughed at her. Humiliated, she ran off, disappeared, and took her revenge by making the eyelids of all the girls at school puffy, causing the girls to become unpopular.
#10 - Mart of Darkness
Season 4 - Episode 9 - Aired 7/5/2000
A labyrinthine discount-bulk-warehouse superstore serves as the destination for several characters. Jane goes there to buy Gummi Bears (for art supply purposes) after Tom ate hers. Daria accompanies her to buy new shoelaces, because Quinn stole the ones from her boot to repair a bag. Trent and Jesse go there to buy a headlamp and scented candles, respectively, and Tom accompanies them so he can find Jane and make up with her after their argument. (Walking with the two musicians, their half-brained purchase ideas drive him nearly up the wall.) The Fashion Club goes to the warehouse store to buy sunscreen and various other beauty needs, and, of course, their incredibly high standards prevent them from making any actual purchases. The free-sample cheese logs at the store become quite popular-an obsession, in fact, for hungry Mr. DeMartino, whose food budget is incredibly tight, and for Mrs. Johansen (a 300-pound hypoglycemic woman who is a recurring character). Kevin's dad, Doug, is holdi
#11 - Of Human Bonding
Season 4 - Episode 7 - Aired 4/14/2000
Daria accompanies Jake to a businessmen's convention, while Quinn invites the Fashion Club for a sleepover party. At the convention, Daria and Jake have trouble finding much common ground, and Jake tries to suck up to an egotistical restaurant tycoon who wants to take him ballooning--something that, given Jake's fear of heights, could prove very dangerous. At the sleepover party, the girls give Helen a makeover while she asks them advice about dealing with Jake. During the course of the night, Quinn and Sandi can barely hide the intense dislike they feel towards each other.
#12 - It Happened One Nut
Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 7/7/1999
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.
#13 - The Lost Girls
Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 3/24/1999
Val, the editor of a self-titled teen magazine along the lines of "seventeen", comes to Lawndale High to hang out with Daria, after reading Daria's paper that Mr. O'Neill submitted. Val turns out to be an egomaniacal thirty something airhead who's trying way too hard to look and act like a teenager. How long before Daria tells her off?
#14 - Through a Lens Darkly
Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 2/24/1999
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.
#15 - Lane Miserables
Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 7/14/1999
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.
#16 - The 'F' Word
Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 3/31/2000
Mr. O'Neill has his students each try something they are sure to fail at, so that they can achieve personal growth. Daria attempts to have her parents ground Quinn so that she can't attend a fashion expo; Jane tries to dress fashionably conformist in an attempt to fit in; Kevin tries to be a bad athlete; Brittany tries to be unpopular by constantly talking about social issues; Jodie tries to talk her parents into letting her kick back during the summer; and Mack tries to teach Kevin about the 3 branches of government. Though Daria, Jodie and Mack fail in their tasks (and therefore succeed in the assignment), the other three unexpectedly succeed in their attempts. Kevin gets kicked off the football team after losing a game, and Brittany alienates the cheerleading squad, who try to replace her with Jane. Since nobody's life changed for the better thanks to their attempts, Mr. O'Neill feels he has failed as a teacher--until Daria and Jane convince him that by doing so, he has succeeded in
#17 - Daria Dance Party
Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 3/17/1999
The Fashion Club president, Sandi, talks Quinn into organizing the school dance, but Quinn doesn't do a very good job at it, since Sandi turns the entire Fashion Club against her. Quinn unloads the job on Jane, who turns the dance into a tribute to Jackson Pollock that becomes a huge success. At the dance, Quinn gets most of the credit for what Jane did, and Daria and Jane meet 2 guys whom they hit it off with--until the subject of who they're related to comes up.
#18 - Arts 'N Crass
Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 2/16/1998
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.
#19 - Pierce Me
Season 2 - Episode 12 - Aired 7/27/1998
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.
#20 - Lucky Strike
Season 5 - Episode 6 - Aired 3/26/2001
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.
#21 - Esteemsters
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/3/1997
On their first day at Lawndale High, Daria and Quinn have to take a mandatory psychological exam, where perky, popular Quinn passes with flying colors, while sarcastic loner Daria is forced to enroll in a self-esteem course, where she meets the equally sarcastic Jane. Meanwhile, Quinn goes to great lengths to prevent people from knowing she's related to Daria, since she thinks that it will ruin her popularity.
#22 - The New Kid
Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 3/30/1998
Daria joins the yearbook staff and takes a liking to the photo editor, Ted, a strange kid who's led a sheltered life under control-freak parents.
#23 - A Tree Grows in Lawndale
Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 3/10/2000
Kevin crashes his new motorcycle, injuring his knee. Temporarily unable to play football for the team (thereby also having to break up with Brittany), he can do nothing but feel sorry for himself, and the team goes on a massive losing streak that destroys the reputation of the school and the town. Taking a cue from Tom, Daria suggests that Kevin lecture to children about the dangers of motorcycles--which helps rebuild Kevin's self esteem, but does nothing for the team (whose replacement quarterback is a dangerous psycho). Kevin must make a decision: continue lecturing, or help the team out.
#24 - Psycho Therapy
Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 6/28/2000
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.
#25 - Groped by an Angel
Season 4 - Episode 11 - Aired 7/19/2000
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