Prime Time Animation Celebration: MTV's Daria

 

Welcome to Prime Time Animation Celebration! As previously announced, I will be spending the foreseeable future at the blog on examining forgotten, obscure, or just not-talked-about prime time animation aimed at an adult audience. I'll be shying away from mega-successful series like The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Family Guy etc., as they are still in the public eye. I think focusing on the forgotten ones is more fun!

This week, I'm starting with the series that inspired this feature, MTV's Daria. I know this isn't exactly forgotten or obscure, but it finished its run a long time ago and deserves greater conversion than it gets today.

Daria, a spin-off of the very successful Beavis and Butthead, debuted on March 3, 1997 and ended its run on January 21, 2002. Although a spin-off of B and B, that show's creator, Mike Judge, did not have involvement in the development or production of the series. In this spin-off, Daria's family moves to a new town, and we are introduced to Daria's family, her one friend Jane, and a variety of oddball high school students and teachers, all of whom become victim to Daria's biting cynicism and sarcasm.

I was a huge fan of Beavis and Butthead, but I missed out on Daria during its run on MTV; I didn't watch it until I discovered it as an offering on streamer Paramount+ in the winter and early spring of 2024. I enjoyed it quite a bit, even if I found Daria herself a bit TOO cynical and biting at times. She may have been surrounded by lunkheads, but she wasn't exactly perfect herself! At least she starts to realize that towards the end of the series. I also enjoyed several of the other characters, notably Jane and even Quinn, the popularity-chasing younger sister. She was smarter than she let on, and towards the end of the show, she started to realize that being popular was not as important as supporting her family and valuing herself as a person.

I'm glad I finally got around to seeing the show, and I wished I had given it a try during its initial run. I didn't avoid it on purpose; I just had a lot going on at the time. Better late than never.

Here is a collection of Daria's greatest lines, as well as an "interview" with CBS This Morning host Jane Clayson from 2002. Enjoy! Let me know what you thought of the series in the comments.

I'll see you next week with another animated find. Thanks!

Coming Soon: Prime Time Animation Celebration!

 

Happy New Year, and Welcome Back!

I hope you had a safe, fun, and rewarding holiday season. Now it's "back to life, back to reality" time, but that doesn't mean we can't still have fun. And I plan to have fun at the blog in animated style!

This month, and throughout the next few weeks (months?), I will be hosting what I call Prime Time Animation Celebration! This will be an examination of several prime time animated series that proliferated in the wake of the massive success of series such as The Simpsons, King of the Hill, and other similar series. I will focus more on the obscure, forgotten series that appeared briefly in the 1990s and 2000s to make it more fun. And there are quite a few series to showcase!

I was inspired to do this a year ago, when I started binging the MTV series Daria for the first time. It reminded me of quite a few animated series that had a go of it on various services, and I thought looking at them would be great blog material, especially during "dry" times such as after the holidays. It will keep my blogging muse focused and provide plenty of material to keep me going.

I hope to have the first installment next week, then focus on one series each week after. This article is a placeholder to pique your interest (and provide me more time to write). I hope you're looking forward to this.

Thanks!

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, December 31st, 1965

 

Hey everyone! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! Now let's have a wonderful New Year!

Today I present a full episode of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson from New Year's Eve, 1965. Even the commercials are included! Back then, the show aired live from New York City rather than taped in Los Angeles, so they check into Times Square live as the ball drops. It's a window into a familiar show but in a possibly unfamiliar format. I love pop culture time capsules like this (even if I have misgiving about Carson after learning some things about his treatment of staffers).

Enjoy embedded below or directly on YouTube here. 

Before I go, I want to reiterate that I have a feature starting in January that I'm looking forward to presenting. I think you'll really enjoy it. If I do it right, it will be running on the blog for a few good weeks!

Thanks, and...

,,,HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Merry Christmas 2025!

 

Here we are, we made it! We got Christmas exactly when we needed it!

Although we've reached the Big Night, the Countdown will still roll on for a little bit longer. I have a couple of New Year's items for you next week I hope you enjoy. Then, starting in January, I launch a new, ongoing feature that I think you'll appreciate. There's a good bit of material to cover for it, so it will fuel the blog for several weeks. I'm looking forward to it!

Until then...

...MERRY CHRISTMAS!

PBS American Playhouse, "Hallelujah" (1993)

 

We're almost there! Christmas is just three days away! Here's a heartfelt film to watch while you wrap your gifts.

"Hallelujah" is an episode of the PBS drama anthology American Playhouse. First aired in 1993, this film follows a young Black preacher (Charles S. Dutton) and his family who arrive at their new church in Washington, D.C. The church board is standoffish with the preacher and only give him two days to win the congregation over before they move on to someone else. Through hard work, determination, and faith, the preacher vows to tackle the neighborhood's problems and give the area's unwanted and unloved a home for Christmas.

This is heavy material for this blog, but I think it's important to throw in some sobering programming here and there to remind you that Christmas isn't just about gifts, food, and merriment. Now more than ever, we need reminders to take care of one another.

In addition to Dutton, the stellar cast includes Phylicia Rashad, Dennis Haysbert, Keith David, and the late James Earl Jones (who was excellent in everything he was in!). Please enjoy embedded below or directly on YouTube here.

Thank you!

Mork & Mindy, Season 1, Episode 13, "Mork's First Christmas," December 14, 1978

 

Today's offering is a fun one: it's the first (only?) Christmas episode of Mork & Mindy.

When Mork learns about Christmas and the tradition of giving gifts, he makes his own gifts to give to people with...underwhelming results. After accidentally learning of his friends' disappointment, he finds another gift to give to everyone with a much better outcome.

Sadly, the uploader of this YouTube video doesn't allow embedding to other Web sites (boo), but here is the link to watch it directly on YouTube: Mork & Mindy, "Mork's First Christmas."

Enjoy! Nah noo nah noo!

Dancin' On Air, Christmas Day 1985, WPHL-TV, Channel 17, Philadelphia

 

There must have some magic in that ol' Christmas Day 1985, because I have another pop music-focused program that aired the same Christmas Day as the MTV programming block I shared with you last week.

I've discussed before the 80s-era local Philly TV dance show Dancin' On Air, an 80s successor to American Bandstand. The show went national years later on the USA cable network under the name Dance Party USA. Think hair spray, neon, local TV production values, early hip hop, and synth-heavy dance music. If that's your thing, this is for you!

Here is the episode that aired on Christmas Day in 1985. And for you commercial freaks out there, this hour-long episode contains all of the commercials as well. Please watch below or directly on YouTube here.

Enjoy!