Road Worrier

“Road Worrier” was the eleventh episode of the first season of Daria. It first aired on MTV on July 7, 1997. The episode is often incorrectly referred to as "The Road Worrier," because of the title of the film from which the episode title was derived.

"Road Worrier" was written by Anne D. Bernstein.

Summary
This episode largely concerns efforts made by Daria, Jane, Trent Lane, and Jesse Moreno to get to the outdoor rock festival Alternapalooza, in a van known as The Tank. (Other characters are also seeking to get there, in a separate vehicle, as a subplot.) Along the way, Daria is put through various humiliating misadventures (one involves a bee, another involves her glasses, several involve Jane's use of a high-powered glue gun, and one involves an "antique" sandwich long forgotten on the floor of The Tank, and that's not the half of it), "and all in front of Trent" (pointed out by Jane). (Daria's crush on Trent was, by this point, obvious.)

Trivia
Several fanfics attempt to hook up Jane and Jesse, largely on the basis of a frame in this episode wherein they are both asleep, leaning on one another.

This episode also set the tone for the Daria-Trent sexual tension. The idea, as explained once by one of the writers, was that Daria was so outspoken much of the time, but was rendered nearly speechless around Trent.

It is in this episode that we hear the Mystik Spiral song Icebox Woman.

The title of this episode is derived from the film, The Road Warrior.

As is noted in alternate universes and off-canon canon, this episode is not shown in chronological sequence with other first-season episodes. According to The Daria Diaries, Alternapalooza takes place in August, while school is not in session. All other first-season episodes (except perhaps "The Teachings of Don Jake", which also seems to occur during summer) take place during the school year.

This episode marks the first (and only) appearance of Curtis Stalano, a classmate of Trent and Jesse's who works in a tollbooth.

“Road Worrier” and Fanfic
This episode set the tone for much fanfic writing, with its close look at Daria Morgendorffer's crush on Trent Lane, and marked the first time ever that the two of them got to talk in private.

Events from the episodes "Road Worrier" and "The Teachings of Don Jake" were used in the John Lane story, "Lessons of Spring."