Esteemsters: Difference between revisions

'''"Esteemsters"''' was the firstpremiere episode of the first season of the ''Daria'' TV series (episode number 101). The episode first aired on MTV on March 3, 1997. It was written by [[Glenn Eichler]].

The Morgendorffers have just moved from [[Highland]] to [[Lawndale]] and it is the first day of school for teenage sisters [[Daria Morgendorffer|Daria]] and [[Quinn Morgendorffer]],. so theirTheir father, [[Jake Morgendorffer]], drives them to school. He stresses that they may have a period of adjustment to their new surroundings, especially for Daria. Arriving at [[Lawndale High School|Lawndale High]], Quinn is immediately noticed and greeted by some popular girls, including [[Sandi Griffin]] and [[Stacy Rowe]],. andQuinn is asked on a date by a young man (later identified as [[Corey]]), while Daria leavesgets out of the car and walks into the school without a look or comment from the other students. During the school tour by the principal, [[Angela Li]], Daria displays her cynical side, making sarcastic comments on Ms. Li's statements.

Both girls, as new arrivals, are subjected to a psychological test consisting of inventing a story based on a picture of two human silhouettes. Quinn immediately creates a nice typical teenage story. Daria, on the other hand, gives sarcastic answers to the questions ("A herd of beautiful wild ponies running free across the plains") to the annoyance of [[Margaret Manson|Mrs. Manson]], the school psychologist. After that, inIn history class, Daria is able to "concisely and unemotionally" sum up the doctrine of Manifest Destiny, a task given by her teacher, [[Anthony DeMartino]]. HerDaria's correct answer is in stark contrast to the answers of classmates [[Kevin Thompson|Kevin]] and [[Brittany Taylor|Brittany]], who say that Manifest Destiny fueled the Vietnam War, "Operation: Watergate", and/or the "Vietcong War", fueling Mr. DeMartino's wrath.

That evening, as the Morgendorffers are having dinner at home, both daughters talk about their day: Quinn is the new vice-president of [[the Fashion Club]] and has been invited to the pep squad, while Daria only makes cynical observations about her fellow students and teachers. The school calls [[Helen Morgendorffer|Helen]] regarding the psychpsychological test taken:the girls took, and Daria has to attend a [[Self-Esteem Class|self-esteem class]] after her sarcasm was mistaken for low self-esteem.

The following day, at self-esteem class presented by the English teacher [[Timothy O'Neill]], Daria is confused by the expressions used. When she asks Mr. O'Neill, he refuses to explain them. Another student sitting behind Daria, [[Jane Lane]], tells Daria that Mr. O'Neill doesn't even know their meaning and advices her to relax, furthertelling informingDaria that she has already taken the class six times. After school, Daria and Jane befriend each other as they walk home and talk calmly about self-esteem class and other topics. Arriving Home, Daria is surprised her mother, [[Helen Morgendorffer|Helen]] is there, having taken the day off to be with her daughter, and they end up going shopping, mainly for Helen's wardrobe.

The next day, prompted by O'Neill's advice during self-esteem, Daria convinces her family to go to [[Pizza Forest]], a kid's restaurant where singers, dressed as animals, try to join families in singing: Quinn is bored, and Jake and Helen are uneasy, but Daria seems contentto withbe the situation (it is implied that her contentment stems fromenjoying her family's discomfort).

[[Image:Quinn's shame.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Quinn being singled out by Daria as payback]]

Some days later, as Daria is at Jane's, they agree to use Jane's knowledgememorization of the self-esteem exam questions to pass the exam earlierthree thanweeks usual,early. andThey do so during the following class, answering O'Neill's questions with upbeat and, stock answers. TheMr. teacherO'Neill is so impressed with the girls graduation three weeks ahead of schedule that he decides to announce it inat ana school assembly. At the assembly, while on podium, Jane fakes sudden embarrassment and runs off stage amidst laughter from students. Daria, on the other hand, gives a small speech about self-esteem, concluding with a big thanks for ''her sister Quinn'', in front of all their colleagues (taking revenge on earlier Quinn's statementsearlier stating that she is an only child). Quinn is furious that Daria has addressed her in front of the whole school and, that evening, at home, she raves and dramatically declares she will lock herself in her room for the rest of the life, in typical teenage fashion. This decision, however, lasts only until she takes a call from another male student, [[Matthew]], which immediately lifts her spirits.

Having graduated early from self-esteem class, Daria is able to convince her parents to spend even more time together: this time, they attend the UFO convention being held at Lawndale. While Daria is much at easyease and Helen and Jake go along, Quinn refuses to enter the geeky space, until being contacted by [[Artie]]...at which point she runs to be with her family.

* O'Neill was intended to be a "fresh scrubbed young teacher" and he has a lot more guff he himself doesn't understand in his opening scene ("finding the centre of your you-ness"). When Daria says Helen's look "stands proudly and proclaims "I am"" in the finished episode, she's quoting O'Neill from here. Daria's "something that will really make them suffer" line is originally a punchline to her first saying her idle daydream is to make her family suffering "for what tehythey've done me", while O'Neill first thinks is a funny joke and later, when he learns it's not, asks if it's "been that bad?" before giving up.

The calendercalendar in the Morgendorffer house is at [[May 12]]. This would mean the school year is already well into its run, that Daria spent most of her sophomore year at [[Highland High]], and that "[[Road Worrier]]" can take place during August as "[[The Daria Diaries]]" says it should. This, however, clashes with parts of "The Daria Diaries" which includes an assignment from March, Fashion Club entries from February & March, and diary entries from the autumn. "[[Depth Takes a Holiday]]" has to happen ''before'' October 31st, and we can't easily cram every episode between "Worrier" and "Depth" into two months...

Mr. O'NeilNeill mistakenly calls Jane Daria after she runs off the podium. However, this is likely due to Mr. O'Neill's inability to remember names (he didn't even recognize Jane despite her having taken the self-esteem course six times).

* The first and only major appearance of school psychologist Margaret Manson, who would go have a much more diversified history in fanfiction than she ever had in canon. However, she would later be seen as a background extra in two episodes from the fifth season, and was seen in The Daria Database. This was also the character's only speaking appearance.

Brittany and stacyStacy's voices are noticeably different. Brittany doesn't have her trademark high-pitched, squeaky voice.