Is It Fall Yet?

Is It Fall Yet? is the first Daria TV movie. It was first aired on August 27, 2000.

Is It Fall Yet? was written by Glenn Eichler and Peggy Nicoll. It is often abbreviation on message boards as IIFY?

The movie covers events during the summer between Daria Morgendorffer's junior and senior years of high school, after the episode "Dye! Dye! My Darling" and before "Fizz Ed."

Note: when shown later in the United States on the network known as The N, it appeared in an edited form. Much of the plot involving Alison was removed, including two full scenes and most of a third scene. It's debatable whether this plot was removed due to its lesbian context; however, given the adult themes of those scenes, including underage drinking, it's likely that similar scenes with a male suitor would also have been excised. Other edits include removing a number of potentially offensive words (including damn and suck) and lines (such as the announcement of voluntary urine testing).

Summary
This episode, roughly equivalent to 3 "normal" episodes, represents a major test of Daria's and Jane's friendship. This follows Tom Sloane's pulling the "friend switch," having been Jane's boyfriend before going out with Daria.

The episode finds Jane going to Ashfield, an artists' colony with college students, where both her commitment to her ideals and her perception of herself are tested.

Daria, by contrast, is forced to volunteer at the Okay To Cry Corral, a camp for troubled youth, run by Timothy O'Neill, with the less-than-able assistance of the also-troubled "Uncle" Anthony DeMartino. There she meets Link, an anti-social child who Daria attempts to help. At the same time, she begins her relationship with Tom and has difficulty dealing with his family and affluent lifestyle.

Quinn, upset with her performance on a standardized test, takes the shocking step of trying to improve her test scores by hiring a tutor, David Sorenson. At first, she blows off David's efforts, but when he threatens to leave, she starts to take it seriously. However, as Quinn improves in her studies, she has a stunning epiphany regarding herself and her tutor.

Other sub-plots include Mack working in an Ice Cream Truck and trying to find time to be with Jodie, Kevin and Brittany working as lifeguards, and Jake attempting (and often failing) to determine the difference between a joke and a serious statement.

Daria's Reading Material
During the lanyards session, Daria starts reading Fifth Business by Robertson Davies (misspelt "Roberson" in the animation).

Daria tells Link that as a child, she was a fan of George Orwell. (This turns up again in "Camp Fear")

Daria references Henry James novels when talking about how awkward she felt around the Sloane's.

To cover up being in Daria's room, Quinn pretends she's borrowing Daria's copy of A Journal of the Plague Year.

Trivia
After the premiere, "Daria", "Jane", "Quinn", "Tom", and "Trent" answered fans questions in an MTV online chat (see External Links). According to Jane, she and Daria weren't invited to the film's premiere party.

The cast uses three celebrities: Carson Daly (David), Bif Naked (Alison), and Dave Grohl (Daniel Dotson).

A large number of cuts were made when this episode was aired on Noggin / The N, removing both bad language and almost the entire Jane/Alison subplot. The latter left the film damaged, as it was now missing Jane's part of the story: the thing that helps lead her to forgive Daria.

DeMartino chucking the sink through the camp's window so he can escape is a tip of the hat to One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, where Chief Bromden does the same thing with a water fountain.

Daria and Quinn are both stated (by Helen and Daria respectively) to hide their real selves behind masks for fear of what would happen if their real selves were shown. While this concept had been raised in both "Quinn the Brain" (Quinn) and "Psycho Therapy" (both, with Daria casually admitting to it), this is the first time it was made explicit that both of them are using the same tactic.

The question DeMartino poses to Quinn at the end of the episode "What is Manifest Destiny?" is the same question he asked of Daria on their first day at Lawndale in Esteemsters.

Alison is the sole character to be confirmed as non-heterosexual in Daria's entire run, and unfortunately follows the "predatory lesbian/bisexual" stereotype: we're probably not likely to see IIFY? (and thus late-S4 or S5) repeated on Logo...

The original end credits song - "I May Hate You Sometimes" by The Posies - was not included on the videos or DVDs due to cost reasons. However, a different licensed song - "Sixteen and Confused" by Parade of Losers - was used, instead of a new generic track or the Daria theme.

On the DVD set
On the Daria DVD set Daria: The Complete Animated Series, Is It Fall Yet? is not placed chronologically with the episodes. If you wish to watch everything in order, then after Dye! Dye! My Darling, go to the Final Disc in the set, "Extras", and you will find the movie there under "Extras", and then "Movies". After watching it, you can return to the disc you were on and watch Fizz Ed.

On Is It Fall Yet?

 * Summary of Is It Fall Yet? at Outpost Daria
 * Transcript of Is It Fall Yet? at Outpost Daria (includes sections removed in later showings)
 * Is It Fall Yet? on Wikipedia
 * Post-Movie Chat Transcript

Fanfiction Related to Is It Fall Yet?

 * "Daria's Addition" by TAG (toward the story's end)
 * "Is It Doom Yet?" by Richard Lobinske
 * "The Van Ride," by Medea42