Daria: Disenfranchised

Daria Morgendorffer is unquestionably the drollest character currently living in TV-land. The fact that she's an animated character appearing on MTV doesn't alter my opinion. Although only a teenager, she consistently achieves a precocious level of sarcasm and shows a zen master's degree of indifference. Disenfranchised includes four episodes of Daria ("Cafe Disaffecto," "Malled," "This Year's Model" and "The Lab Brat") that will plunge the viewer into the nightmare that is Daria's world--her parents, her lame-o teachers and classmates, and a pathetic assortment of jocks, ditz-brained cheerleaders, and aspiring sex maniacs, along with the occasional normal person. Daria navigates this scene with circumspection, trying to avoid being sucked into anything that might identify her as a participant, but she cannot escape. Who can? Daria is a witty, shrewd and jaded close encounter with the nonsensical, bizarre world of teenagers. Coping with her career mom, her out-of-the-loop dad and her clique-animal younger sister tests Daria's cool; high school is a zoo; and her life is basically waiting to have a life. Too real. Highly recommended. Aud: P. (P. Van Vleck)