Just Add Water

"Just Add Water" was the twelfth episode of the third season of the Daria.

Summary
Lawndale High is holding a mandatory-attendance fundraiser harbor cruise with the theme of "Casino Night", on a run-down toilet of a ship called the Princess Fairy. Daria and Jane's attention, however, is on a far more important matter: a Sick, Sad World mega-marathon.



Quinn gets a mega-makeover for the cruise and dumps her date to attend with Marco, a talcum powder model she meets at Jozu's beauty salon. Jake and Helen also decide to attend in order for Jake to butter up the ship's owner for a consulting contract. However, when he tries to suck up to the owner at the cruise, the owner's too concerned about the ship's drunken captain to listen and instead Jake gets hit on non-stop by the owner's overly amorous wife, DeeDee; meanwhile, Helen gets into a poker game with Ms. Li and the gambling-addicted Mr. DeMartino, whose luck has definitely seen better days; Marco is a no-sho and Sandi makes Quinn's life hell over it by spreading the news all over the ship; Kevin and Brittany adjourn to the lifeboat to make out, which falls into the water and drifts away from the ship; and Daria and Jane just want to catch up on the sleep they missed during the marathon. Eventually, Jake escapes DeeDee's clutches; DeeDee goes on to pursue Mr. O'Neill, and gets tossed overboard by Ms. Barch; Helen loses big to Ms. Li; and Daria and Jane don't get any sleep at all as they're drawn into Quinn's drama. Daria reluctantly advises her sister and, when the Fashion Club turn up, lies that Marco called to cancel to shut down Sandi.

Disaster strikes when the captain leaves to go to bed, and when Jake tries to stop him he gets distracted by a massive argument with Helen; Daria and Jane, realising sleep is lost to them, are the first people to sniff out that the now-pilotless ship is going to crash into a garbage scow. The Princess Fairy sinks in shallow water and as everyone jumps overboard, the tables get turned on Sandi when her date Brent (who is attracted to Quinn) publicly dumps her.

As Helen and Jake argue on the ride home, they unwittingly pass Marco -- who did turn up but at the wrong time and place -- who is being accosted by DeeDee. Back on the water, Kevin and Brittany float alone, forgotten, and unmourned...

Music
In the original broadcast:


 * The intro of the song "Pure Morning" by Placebo is heard when garbage ship is first spotted with the cruise ship CBDR (Constant Bearing, Decreasing Range).


 * The intro of the song "What's my age again?" by Blink 182 is heard when cruise ship is abandoned.

Trivia

 * Design supervisor Olivia Ward told the Daria Behind The Scenes Special that the Fashion Club's silent dates are modelled after teen heartthrobs Dawson (off the Creek), Scott Folely, and Nicholas Brendon.


 * The guests are able to stand up after the ship is abandoned and walk away, making the water about waist high - even though the ship has just sunk and would probably have had a keel height (very bottom of the hull) much greater than about 2-3 feet.


 * While Brent is flirting with Quinn, Sandi is right there - glaring daggers at him and being ignored. Tiffany is glaring as well, while Stacy just looks sad.


 * The backgrounders are wearing the same formal wear they had in "Daria Dance Party".

"Just Add Water" and Essays
Mike Quinn wrote a disparaging essay after it aired, "Fair Enough is Enough", accusing this of being a repeat of the eponymous S2 ep.

"Just Add Water" and Fanfic
In an art iron chef at the PPMB Wouter Jaegers depicted the backseat scene from this episode using the original 1995 concept drawings of Daria, Jane and Quinn.