Mack Mackenzie: Difference between revisions

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==General Notes on the Character==

Mack is the only recurring male character of Daria and Jane's age at Lawndale High who acts with intelligence and integrity and as such enjoys their respect. Ironically, in interviews with [[Kara Wild]], two of the driving forces behind the show stated that this was because Mack was never developed fully, as the show's staff never cast him to their satisfaction. Because Mack wasn't fully developed, he wasn't given flaws.

Mack is quite popular at [[Lawndale High]]. Aside from being the football team captain, he has been elected several times running as the Homecoming King for the school's homecoming parade, with [[Jodie]] always as the Homecoming Queen ("[[I Loathe a Parade]]"). When serving as a football game announcer, Upchuck calls Mack "Mad Mack" (a play on Mad Max of ''The Road Warrior''), which might be his team nickname ("[[A Tree Grows in Lawndale]]"). Though Jodie says everyone at school calls him "Mack" ("[[Gifted]]"), he signs his class papers as "Michael Mackenzie" ("[[Murder, She Snored]]").

The one exception to his popular standing is Ms. Barch, the misanthropic science teacher. For reasons unknown, Janet Barch appears to have marked Mack as her favorite whipping boy. References to this decidedly ugly conflict abound: "[[The Lab Brat]]," "[[Gifted]]," "[[Fair Enough]]," ''The Daria Database'' ("I will not show Ms. Barch fear, no matter what she does to me," and being made to write "I am male, therefore I suck" repeatedly on the blackboard during study hall). Mack's level of self-control is astounding, given episodes like these and his list of frustrations as the football team captain (''[[The Daria Diaries]]'').

We know little about Mack's family, though in "[[The Misery Chick]]" he reveals his name was originally "Michael James Mackenzie, but Dad went to a Bulls playoff game when I was twelve and then he changed it." Jodie in "[[Partner's Complaint]]" describes him as being "bad with money," still owing his father his overdrawn allowance from third grade. (Mack finally pays his father back during ''[[Is It Fall Yet?]]'', and also has enough money from his summer job to take Jodie to [[Chez Pierre]] "once.") He participated in the betting pool on [[Mr. DeMartino]]'s upcoming roller-hockey battle in "[[The Big House]]", but so did everyone else, so gambling is not likely one of his few vices.