Daria : The New Kid

Daria : The New Kid (1998)

Genres - Comedy  |   Sub-Genres - Sitcom [TV], Teen Movie  |   Run Time - 30 min.  |   Countries - United Kingdom, Korea, South, United States  |  
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Synopsis by Brian J. Dillard

Daria (voice of Tracy Grandstaff) refuses to admit the possibility of romance with a fellow traveler until it's too late in this episode of the animated MTV series Daria. Ted DeWitt-Clinton, the titular new kid and the object of Daria's denial, first encounters the sullen teen on the yearbook staff, which Daria has joined after being promised the purchase of website design software by her parents. The apparent victim of pop culture-phobic home-schooling, Ted charms Daria with his utter guilelessness and his arcane trivia about outmoded ways of living. Nonetheless wary of the boy, Daria gets involved with him in a controversy that pits them against the athletes and club members of Lawndale High. Ted innocently passes along some of Daria's grumblings to yearbook advisor Mr. DeMartino (voice of Marc Thompson), who slashes the extracurricular page count and thereby brands Ted a target of the popular crowd. Quinn tries everything she can to get Daria to intercede and restore the clubs and teams to their former level of coverage, but to no avail. (Eventually, it's irate science-club advisor Ms. Barch [voice of Ashley Albert] who browbeats Mr. DeMartino into relenting.) During the midst of all this conflict, Daria attempts to do some innocent hanging out with Ted, but his cluelessness about the ways of the world bothers her. Even worse, his parents view Daria as the fast-living enemy, solidifying her resolve to squelch the relationship before it progresses. In the end, though, the issue is moot, since Ted somehow wanders into friendship with the "in" crowd, thereby rendering himself socially invisible to Daria, and vice-versa. The only method Daria finds of venting her frustration is to attack Quinn, who has somehow managed to steal her website software -- one more galling defeat in a week full of disappointment.

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