The Other Side of the Remote

An essay by DJ Shoemaker

Humble Beginnings

            Having been born in 1990, I was fairly young when "Daria" first appeared on MTV.  Since I was only seven years old, I was busy running amok and watching Loony Toons like so many other seven year olds at the time.  Because of this, watching MTV wasn't exactly at the top of my list of things to do.  To this day I thank God for that.  Who knows how screwed up I would be if I was raised on MTV.  However, I missed out on watching "Daria" in its full unedited glory.  Sure, I did catch an episode from time to time.  I still have faint memories of watching "Daria!" the musical episode.  The one part I remember is arguably the greatest song ever performed in an animated TV show, "Gah, Gah, Damn it!"  But, other than that, I can't recall anything from "Daria's" run on MTV.

            Years passed, and the summer of 2005 rolled along.  Late one night, through the magic of satellite TV, I discovered a show on The N called "Daria."  Recognizing the name, I decided to watch it.  That night, after watching "Legends of the Mall," I instantly had a new favorite show.  I stayed up until 3:00 AM every night just to watch it (and for that matter, tape every episode The N aired).  However, I later found out that I wasn't receiving the full "Daria" experience.  While looking at the episode guide on outpostdaria.com, I realized that The N wasn't showing all of the episodes.  And, the episodes that they did show were hacked to pieces by the monster that is censorship.  The reasoning behind this unnecessary editing I have yet to figure out.  If The N shows the "Degrassi" series unedited during daylight hours, why did they censor a much less intense show that was only aired at 3:00 (and later 1:00) in the morning?  My theory:  they needed the time to play the music videos they placed in between shows.  That or the network bigwigs didn't have anything more that hot air between their ears.  They say that The N is focused at my general age group.  If this is true, it gives me even less respect for my generation that I had already (if any at all).  But, I can't hold a grudge against The N.  For, if it wasn't for them, I along with many others wouldn't even know what "Daria" is.

Poor Timing

            Becoming part of the fan community so late creates other problems as well.  I missed out on the original releases of the "Daria" VHS', DVD's, books, and the pc game.  Now, they are almost no where to be found.  The only thing I have found (outside of eBay and amazon.com) is the "Is it College Yet" DVD.  Though, I am glad that I found it, those who own the IICY DVD will agree that MTV didn't let the DVD reach its full potential.  I'm not sure if this lack of availability is the same everywhere.  But, if it is, it would explain why MTV doesn't seem to think there is a market for "Daria" products.  I mentioned this same exact thing when writing my comments to MTV while signing the DVDaria petition.  Hopefully, it will get through to them that there is a market out there.  It's supply and demand.  We are doing our part on the demand end of things.  MTV just needs to keep up on its responsibility for supply.

            I take my leave by saying that through this essay, I hope to speak for all the other fans that came on board the "Daria" fan train a little behind schedule.

End    7/4/06