Sappy Anniversary

"Sappy Anniversary" was the second episode of the fifth season of the Daria TV series (episode number 502). It first aired on MTV on February 26, 2001.

"Sappy Anniversary" was written by Anne D. Bernstein.

Summary
This episode concerns Daria's concern that Tom Sloane has forgotten an anniversary of theirs. Though Daria was "reminded" of the occasion by Quinn, rather than remembering it on her own, it never-the-less triggers a concern in her that Tom is taking her for granted.

In the meanwhile, Jake gets involved in a questionable company called Buzzdome.com.

Timeline headaches
At the beginning of the episode, Quinn is holding the wall calendar open at May 12 when she says that it is Daria and Tom's six-month anniversary. That would mean that this episode takes place sometime in November. The previous episode, however, takes place over the Super Bowl, which is traditionally held in January or February.

This episode satired the dot-com bubble of 1995-2000, though by the time the episode would have been written (after summer 2000) the bubble was starting to end - unfortunately, by the time it aired the bubble was rapidly deflating and the companies Buzzdome.com parodies were going under. In fanfiction, this is part of the reason why some fans assume Daria graduated in 2000, which puts this episode in 1999; the previous episode fits that theory. And then "Is It College Yet?" had a sign placing the story during or after 2001...

Trivia
Helen first misses Jake, then later will explicitly say she's glad she married "kind, decent, intelligent man I fell in love with all those years ago". After this episode, aside from a spat in "Camp Fear", we stop seeing the recurring subplot that Helen and Jake's marriage is unsatisfying and in dire straights.

This episode introduced Sameer and Zhengdong at Buzzdome.com, but it was another five years before it was confirmed (in an interview with Bernstein) how their names were spelt.

"Sappy Anniversary" and Fanfic
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On “Sappy Anniversary” the Episode

 * "Sappy Anniversary" Summary in Outpost-Daria.
 * "Sappy Anniversary" Transcript in Outpost-Daria.

Alternate-Universe Versions of “Sappy Anniversary”
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Alternate Canon Versions of “Sappy Anniversary”
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