Death of the Misery Chick, Next on Sick Sad World!
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Quick Summary: Ever wonder what the cast of Daria might be like in real life? Sick Sad World goes in for an exclusive feature following the death of the star.
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Disclaimer: All characters were created by Glenn Eichler and Susie Lewis Lynn, and are copyrighted 2000 (and every year before that, too) by MTV and Viacom. But any new names give to them are of my own creation.
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Dedications, Thanks, Apologies: As with all others, my apologies to Glenn Eichler and Susie Lewis Lynn for the cruel rape and destruction of their works. Although some might call these really nice tributes. It's hard to say. And in this case, that's not what they'll say. Trust me.
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A black and white picture of Daria Morgendorffer, with her usual dour expression, is shown.
SUPER: DARIA JUDITH MORGENDORFFER (1977 - 2001)
ANNOUNCER
(off-screen, naturally)
Daria Morgendorffer was the star of a popular show on the MTV network, and a world-renowned celebrity. But did someone plot her untimely demise? Death of a misery chick, tonight on Sick Sad World!
CUT TO - JANE, SITTING IN A CHAIR FACING THE CAMERA
JANE
Daria was my best friend. I can't imagine anyone ever wanting to kill her.
CUT TO - QUINN, SITTING IN A CHAIR FACING THE CAMERA
QUINN
Daria was the sort of person I hated on sight. I could barely stand working with her.
CUT TO - JAKE, SITTING IN A CHAIR FACING THE CAMERA
JAKE
She was a complete bitch at the end. The only person she'd ever associate with on-set is that "friend"
(making the finger-quotation marks in the air)
of hers, Marvin. Except for all of the guys she'd screw.
CUT TO - TRENT, IN A CHAIR FACING THE CAMERA
TRENT
She was... the sort of girl I'd been looking for all of my life, and never been able to find. Until then. I was never happier. I just looked at her eyes, and I felt electrified. Like someone'd just recharged all of my batteries and given me a push. I was head over heels in love for this girl I'd just met.
CUT TO - DEMARTINO, IN A CHAIR FACING THE CAMERA
DEMARTINO
Morgendorffer was my kind of girl. Sure, she was rather nice, but also completely unafraid to speak her mind, and to do whatever the hell she wanted, whenever the hell she wanted. She didn't take [bleep] from anyone - she dished it out.
CUT TO - O'NEILL, SITTING NEXT TO HELEN ON A COUCH
O'NEILL
She was a very... troubled young woman that last season. It's sad when a person like her throws her life away like that. No one ever really knew why.
CUT TO - THE SICK SAD WORLD OPENING.
SUPER: TV-MA (in upper right corner)
SUPER: Hosted by Robyn Kylie
CUT TO - THE SSW "NEWSROOM." KYLIE SITS BEHIND THE NEWSDESK.
KYLIE
(Right at the camera)
Good evening, and welcome to Sick Sad World. I'm Robin Kylie. Tonight, we bring you a special episode dedicated to the life and death of television star Daria Morgendorffer. Stay tuned for a trip into the life of one of the most beloved stars of the twentieth century.
CUT TO - A SHOT OF LAWNDALE FROM THE AIR
KYLIE
(Narrating)
The show Daria first began airing in the mid-1990s, a spinoff of the popular MTV franchise Beavis and Butthead. At first, the cast was a fairly close-knit community, with the exception of two people - Daria and the woman who played her sister, Julia Michaelis.
CUT TO - A HOME VIDEO OF THE CAST GOOFING OFF BACKSTAGE.
Trent runs by the camera, making a funny face. Daria and Helen are having a discussion in the back central part of the screen, and they both laugh. In the front, Jane and Jake are speaking. Everyone looks happy and in a good mood, except for Quinn, who's glaring at Daria surreptitiously.
CUT TO - JAKE , SITTING IN A CHAIR FACING THE CAMERA.
SUPER: MAURICE WELLS (JAKE MORGENDORFFER)
MAURICE
In the early days, this was without a doubt the most fun I'd ever had doing television. Almost everyone got along great, excluding Daria and Julia. At least they weren't openly hostile. There was never any fighting on the set, during those first two seasons.
CUT TO - QUINN, SITTING IN A CHAIR FACING THE CAMERA
SUPER: JULIA MICHAELIS (QUINN MORGENDORFFER)
JULIA
Daria was the sort of person I disliked on sight. If she hadn't been so nice, I would never have been able to stand working with her. She was so critical of my performance. Always telling me, 'Julia, don't chew gum while you're acting' or 'Julia, don't touch that camera.' But I never did try to fight with her. It would have been impossible even had I tried. She was just too damned... chipper all the time, in the beginning.
CUT TO - JANE, SITTING IN A CHAIR FACING THE CAMERA
SUPER: TORI WALKER (JANE LANE)
TORI
Julia was a bit of an unfortunate addition to the cast. She and Daria never really got along, and the rest of us were always amazed that Daria kept her on the cast. But, for some reason, she stuck by Julia. We never did figure out why they didn't seem to like each other. I don't know how you couldn't like Daria.
CUT TO - JULIA
JULIA
I mean, I know that Daria was always sticking her neck out on the line for me, back in those days, but I couldn't stand her constant nagging. Telling me how to say this line, or how to react to that line. If you want my opinion, she was a perfectionist.
CUT TO - AN INTERVIEW WITH DARIA MORGENDORFFER FROM LATE 1997
DARIA
(In the Interview)
Julia? Well, she and I don't see eye to eye on everything, but she's a great actress, and brings a lot of depth to the role of Quinn. I honestly can't see us doing the show with anyone else.
CUT TO - A SCENE FROM THE EPISODE "THE BIG HOUSE"
QUINN
What are you doing out so late?
DARIA
What are you doing out so late?
QUINN
What do you mean? I'm always out so late.
DARIA
Then you can tell me how to sneak in.
QUINN
Well for one thing stop tiptoeing around like a geek. Have a little dignity Daria.
DARIA
If I had any dignity do you think I'd be letting you teach me how to be cool?
QUINN
Whatever.
CUT TO - TORI
TORI
It's no secret that Julia and Daria didn't get along, but it never really affected anything else. Certainly, the rest of us got along great, and we had a lot of good times. Some of those memories are among the best in my career to date.
CUT TO - HELEN, SITTING ON A COUCH NEXT TO MR. O'NEILL
SUPER: JENNIFER BLACK (HELEN MORGENDORFFER)
JENNIFER
It was a relaxed atmosphere, helped out by the fact that Daria was so... outgoing, and pleasant to be around. She was the nicest person I'd met in show business. No trace of an ego at all. She could have been the daughter I'd never had.
CUT TO - MR. O'NEILL, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COUCH
SUPER: PAUL BLACK (MR. O'NEILL)
PAUL
She was... Well, Daria was special . The sort of person who always had a smile for everyone, and an encouraging word to say. So unlike the role she played. She was a brilliant actress, too, capable of a lot more range then you ever saw on the show. And she was always funny. Always.
CUT TO - A HOME VIDEO OF DARIA AND COMPANY CLOWNING AROUND SHAKESPEARE-STYLE
SUPER: 6/19/97 (in lower right corner)
Daria holds a prop skull in her hand, gazing up at it.
DARIA
Alas, poor Glenn. I knew him, Horatio. He was a man of infinite jest and large paychecks.
GLENN
(Off-screen)
I heard that.
DARIA
Oh, Glenn, Glenn, wherefore art thou Glenn?
(She turns to the camera, and begins speaking directly into it.)
To act, or not to act, that is the question. Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of popular opinion, or to take arms against a sea of hostility, and by acting, end it.
The sound of people laughing as Daria takes a bow.
CUT TO - MAURICE
MAURICE
Of course, you can't really talk about Daria without talking about her relationship with Bruce, either.
CUT TO - A CAST PICTURE EVIDENTLY TAKEN AT A CHRISTMAS PARTY. EVERYONE SMILES AT THE CAMERA, AND TRENT HAS HIS ARM AROUND THE RADIANT STAR OF THE SHOW.
MAURICE
(Voice Over, off screen)
It was one of those storybook romances, really. And to think that it probably wouldn't have happened if Tori hadn't been around to introduce the two of them.
CUT TO - TORI
TORI
It had to be a few weeks before the shooting started for "Esteemsters," the first episode. We were short an actor to play my brother, Trent. I then thought about this guy that I'd gone to high school with, name of Bruce. He was perfect - vaguely grungy looking, a little on the clueless side, and dedicated to acting. So I told Daria about him, and she said 'Bring him on in.' When the two of them met, it was like each had been struck by a bolt of lightning. Rather sweet, in a way. They were crazy about each other.
CUT TO - TRENT IN A CHAIR, SAME AS EVERYONE ELSE
SUPER: BRUCE DONALDSON (TRENT)
BRUCE
Everyone always says that there's no such thing as love at first sight. They're wrong. Daria and I just sort of... clicked, as soon as we met. She was... the sort of girl I'd been looking for all of my life, and never been able to find. Until then. I was never happier. I just looked at her eyes, and I felt electrified. Like someone'd just recharged all of my batteries and given me a push. I was head over heels in love for this girl I'd just met.
CUT TO - AN INTERVIEW WITH DARIA, DECEMBER 1997
DARIA
What can I say about Bruce? I love him. That's it.
CUT TO - A VIDEO OF THE COUPLE AT A CHRISTMAS PARTY, KISSING UNDER THE MISTLETOE
SUPER: 12/23/97
MAURICE
(Voice Over, off-screen)
Everyone was happy for the two of them. They made such a great couple, really. I mean, they were rather different from each other, but it was more of a complimental thing than a contrast. And they had this great chemistry on the show as a result.
CUT TO - A SCENE FROM "THE ROAD WORRIER"
Daria and Trent are sitting by the van at the side of the road, talking. No audio.
MAURICE
(Voice Over, off-screen)
Everyone remembers all of the romantic tensions in those early episodes. It's part of what gave Daria its charm, I've always thought. Here we have this really cool and emotionally distant girl who seems to melt whenever she sets on eyes on her best friend's older brother. That wouldn't have worked if Daria and Bruce hadn't been an item, I don't think.
CUT TO - TORI
TORI
That was the damned funniest thing I'd come across in a while, although I suppose it really shouldn't have surprised me that you'd see romantic elements between their characters. I just thought the whole idea of a girl like Daria's character being attracted to a slacker musician like Trent to be hysterical.
CUT TO - STACY, IN MUCH THE SAME POSITION AS EVERYONE ELSE
SUPER: KARIN SMYTH (STACY ROWE)
KARIN
I always hated that romantic sub-plot. It was blatantly unrealistic, and always detracted from the real focus of the show, which was Daria and Jane versus the morons in Lawndale High. On the other hand, I suppose it was inevitable. Romantic plots on shows like this are to be expected, sooner or later. But it never compared to the real thing. Daria and Bruce were... absolutely inseparable for years.
CUT TO - BRUCE
BRUCE
You know how it sometimes seems like you've found that person you were meant to be with? The one who understands the way you think, the way you feel, and all that sort of thing? That was Daria to me. I guess she was really the love of my life. I couldn't stand the thoughts of being without her. If that's not love, then nothing is.
CUT TO - A CLIP OF THE DARIA OPENING, WITHOUT AUDIO.
KYLIE
(Narrating, Off-screen)
The show took off, and MTV renewed it for a second season, much to the amazement and delight of the cast.
CUT TO - TORI
TORI
We were all amazed that we'd been picked up for a second season. I mean, we had decent ratings, but we were on MTV. A music channel. What are the odds of their continued interest in a program about a cynical high schooler, right? Especially one who's not particularly musical, and especially a show that doesn't have a whole lot to do with music?
CUT TO - AN INTERVIEW WITH DARIA, MARCH 1998
DARIA
It's really been great to be given a second season. There are so many things we want to do on the show. Of course, I can't really tell you what they are, because if I do then Glenn's going to come and steal my soul.
(Laughter from the interviewer)
But suffice it to say that you'll see the characters continuing to evolve, and maybe see a new development in the relationship between myself and Tori's character.
CUT TO - JULIA
JULIA
It was a good season for us all. We'd all felt invincible, like we couldn't be touched. That we'd managed to beat the odds and stay on past one season. And when the ratings continued to go up, we got more confident in the show. Those were some of our best episodes.
CUT TO - THE SSW NEWSDESK
KYLIE
(Staring at the camera)
When we return, the beginning of the end for Daria Morgendorffer.
CUT TO - BRUCE
BRUCE
It was like someone had ripped my heart from my chest and made me eat it. It hurt like nothing I'd ever been through before or since. I couldn't believe it. It was so unlike her to do this to me.
CUT TO - COMMERCIAL
Commercial hell. Generic advertisements, including the usual ones advocating fame, fortune, and fornication.
CUT TO - SSW LOGO
CUT TO - SSW NEWSDESK
KYLIE
Daria Morgendorffer's life and career were going great. She had a boyfriend, a well-received television series with steadily increasing ratings, and a contract for two more seasons. But, starting in early 1999, things started to go wrong.
CUT TO - JENNIFER
JENNIFER
I think the first time I really noticed anything was wrong was about the time we were filming "It Happened One Nut." Daria had grown somewhat
(bt)
distant, I think, is the term I want. She wasn't quite as happy, or as outgoing, but I couldn't get her to talk about it. Neither could anyone else. Not even Tori, who was as close to her as her own sister.
CUT TO - TORI
TORI
It was getting to me. My best friend in the world is gradually beginning to distance herself from all of this. A warning sign of things to come, maybe. I talked to her several times about it, but she always demurred, and eventually I gave up.
CUT TO - BRUCE
BRUCE
She'd started closing herself off from us all. She never even told me why, at least not at the time. And we started to fight. Small things, at first. Where to go for dinner. Whose place to go to tonight. That sort of thing. It was hurting me, and I tried to make things better, but they kept getting worse. She wouldn't talk to me anymore. But one day, I found out.
CUT TO - TORI
TORI
The day she broke up with Bruce was a dark day for the show. Not just personally, but publically, as well. We started taking all sorts of flak from the tabloids, and all sorts of nasty rumors had started to be spread around. At least, most of them were rumors.
CUT TO - IMAGE OF THE NATIONAL ENQUIRER
The headline reads "Morgendorffer and Davidson call it quits. 'She cheated on me!' he says."
CUT TO - BRUCE
BRUCE
I felt like someone had ripped my heart from my chest and made me eat it. It hurt like nothing I'd ever been through before or since. I couldn't believe it. It was so unlike her to do this to me. I remember thinking that it was some sort of dream, as I caught her in bed with that bastard. I remember thinking, 'Why me?' And then I don't remember anything for days. I came to in a motel in central Maryland of all places, screaming her name and hurling empty bottles of Jack Daniels at the TV, which was showing one of our episodes.
CUT TO - MAURICE
MAURICE
No one would believe it, at first. Not Daria. Not to Bruce. But we were all shocked when it became public. And, naturally, she managed to make it worse. The guy she'd cheated with was coming in at the end of the season as a love interest for Tori's character.
CUT TO - TOM, SAME SITUATION AS THE REST OF THEM
SUPER: MARVIN DRAKE (TOM SLOANE)
MARVIN
What possible defense can I have? She was attractive, and I was lonely, and it just sort of... happened.
CUT TO - FOOTAGE FROM "JANE'S ADDITION" WITHOUT AUDIO
TORI
It was a trying time for us all when Marvin came in. The fact that we managed to keep the show together at all is astounding. We all hated his guts, Bruce most of all. It was hard for me, and for him, to pretend to like this guy. To pretend to have any sort of attraction at all to him. I wanted to rip his [bleep]ing guts out every other time I looked at him.
CUT TO - BRUCE
BRUCE
Every time I saw this guy, I had to keep myself from beating the [bleep] out of him. This is the man who's ruined my life, and then come on to the show that I've been on for three years. Almost as if he wanted to taunt me. I hated him. I couldn't stand him. And Daria never once told me why she did it to me. Not once. This was the ultimate humiliation. But I just couldn't stay mad at her forever.
CUT TO - JULIA
JULIA
I [bleep]ing hated her for that. Any pretense of civility between us was gone from that point on. She had just managed to alienate and betray her boyfriend's trust, and then had the gall to allow him to stay on the show. As for Marvin, I really wish someone had killed him instead. That asshole deserves it.
CUT TO - MARVIN
MARVIN
I don't see any reason to defend my career choice to stay with the show. It was drawing in consistently high ratings, the paycheck was good, and there were a few added perks. Am I an asshole? Maybe, but I'm honest about it. I know everyone else hates me, but what the hell do I care?
KYLIE
(Voice Over, off-screen)
Marvin Drake died of a cocaine overdose before we had a chance to further interview him for this special.
CUT TO - JENNIFER
JENNIFER
If that's all he'd done, I probably could have forgiven him. And her. But things got worse.
CUT TO - A PICTURE OF DARIA TAKEN AT A PREMIERE, WITH SUNKEN CHEEKS AND A TRULY PALE COMPLEXION.
CUT TO - KARIN
KARIN
Drugs. By the time we started shooting the fourth season premiere, she was up to a $500 a day cocaine habit. It was pathetic.
CUT TO - TORI
TORI
He'd gotten her hooked on the [bleep] in the off-season. We always had to stop long enough for her to run off the bathroom and run a line. And anyone who tried to get her into rehab? Christ, if you had the balls to do that, you would have been braver then us.
CUT TO - DEMARTINO, SITTING IN A CHAIR FACING THE CAMERA
SUPER: ANTHONY THOMPSON (ANTHONY DEMARTINO)
ANTHONY
Morgendorffer was my kind of girl. Sure, she was rather nice, but also completely unafraid to speak her mind, and to do whatever the hell she wanted, whenever the hell she wanted. She didn't take [bleep] from anyone - she dished it out. But after she started snorting that [bleep], she changed.
CUT TO - PAUL
PAUL
She was a very... troubled young woman that last season. It's sad when a person like her throws her life away like that. No one ever really knew why we she turned to the crack, except that Marvin had gotten her hooked. We didn't know why she'd take the drugs, and anyone who ever stood up to her about it was insulted, or worse.
CUT TO - A HOME VIDEO
SUPER: 2/18/2000 (in the lower right-hand corner)
Daria is sitting alone on a couch, evidently in need of "the fix." She looks up, and sees the camera.
DARIA
What the [bleep] are you doing filming me? Get that [bleep]ing camera out of my face, Donaldson.
BRUCE
(Off-screen)
What's the matter, Daria? Don't want anyone taking pictures of the new you? What's with you and the crack, anyway?
DARIA
Want to have a [bleep]ing job tomorrow, Donaldson? Go [bleep] off, you [bleep]sucker.
CUT TO - BRUCE
BRUCE
It hurt a lot to get insulted just for giving a [bleep] about her well-being. But by then she'd changed. It wasn't even just the drugs, anymore. It was the men, too.
CUT TO - TORI
TORI
By the middle of the fourth season, Daria had gone from that lovely, nice girl that we were all proud to know to a slutty, junkie prima donna that no one really wanted to be around. Still, though, she was my friend, and I was worried.
CUT TO - PAUL AND JENNIFER
PAUL
It was getting ridiculous by this point. She was snorting and injecting all sorts of stuff, anything she could find.
JENNIFER
It was cocaine. It was morphine. It was heroin. What it really was was hell on us all.
PAUL
And then there were the men on the set at all hours.
JENNIFER
She'd turned into a crack whore, to put it bluntly. She'd screw anything that had two legs and a dick, if you'll pardon my expression. And she'd snort anything that [bleep]ed with her mind.
CUT TO - MAURICE
MAURICE
She was a good girl. But towards the end she went power mad. She was abusing her power, throwing these awful tantrums if everything wasn't up to her express standards. And she'd be with these guys all over the sets, mostly in her trailer. We'd had enough, but we never had the chance to intervene until after the filming of the movie..
CUT TO - A HOME VIDEO TAKEN DURING THE FILMING OF "IS IT FALL YET?"
SUPER: 6/18/00
We see the trailer rocking slightly, and hear moans coming from inside.
BRUCE
(Voice Over, off-screen)
Daria'd pretty much lost all semblance of the girl we'd all known and loved by now. Here she was, [bleep]ing guys at all hours of the day and night. When she wasn't doing drugs, that is. I guess the thing that really surprised us all was that she never got knocked up or infected with AIDS. This was a miracle about on par with the Immaculate Conception, I'd say.
DARIA
(Voice Over, on tape)
Oh... oh... ooh... yes... yes... yes... yes... yes... yes...
BRUCE
(Voice Over, off-screen)
It was unpleasant to be trying to block out a scene and hear her damned moans coming from the trailer, to say the least. One day, Tony'd had enough, and went to stop her. It was the last time he'd ever be on set, but fortunately he'd already completed filming.
ANTHONY
(On the tape)
Morgendorffer! Stop this now! We're trying to work!
DARIA
(Voice Over, on tape)
Don't... stop... Yes Yes Yes YESYESYESYESYESYESYES!
Anthony pounds on the door repeatedly. Daria grumbles and opens the door, conveniently covered up by two black bars. No glasses.
DARIA
What the [bleep] do you want, Thompson?
ANTHONY
I've had enough of this. Get your [bleep] act together before you pull all of us down with you. All you ever do is bitch and [bleep] around. No more.
DARIA
I will personally see to it that you never work on television again, Thompson. Get the [bleep] out of my face.
CUT TO - MAURICE
MAURICE
Amazingly, Glenn actually fired him. That was pretty much the last straw between her and us. She quit associating with any of us, except during the scenes. Didn't even practice with us anymore. She was a complete bitch at the end. The only person she'd ever associate with on-set is that "friend"
(making the finger-quotation marks in the air)
of hers, Marvin. Except for all of the guys she'd screw.
CUT TO - BRUCE
BRUCE
Alcohol. Cocaine. Sex. It got to the point that no one could control her anymore. And following Tony's dismissal, we'd had enough.
CUT TO - JENNIFER
JENNIFER
It's hard to believe that anyone could fall so far, so fast. But Daria did. She bottomed out on the last day of shooting, and we couldn't take it anymore. So, we called Betty Ford.
CUT TO - BRUCE
BRUCE
Jennifer and Paul probably kept her from dying right then and there, by getting her into the Betty Ford Center. They never talked about how they did it, and no one really wanted to find out. It had to be unpleasant. But the important thing was that it was done, and that she had a chance of recovery. Maybe, just maybe, we could have gotten the old Daria back.
CUT TO - THE SSW NEWSDESK
KYLIE
Alas, that was not to be. When we get back - the death of Daria Morgendorffer, and possible motives for her murder.
CUT TO - MAURICE
MAURICE
I can't believe someone could have killed her. No one hated her that much. No one could. It was just something about her... you could get mad, but you couldn't help but forgive her in the end. Even Tony.
CUT TO - COMMERCIALS
The usual crap. Shampoo. Models. Movies.
CUT TO - SSW LOGO
CUT TO - SSW NEWSDESK
KYLIE
(Facing the camera)
Daria's personal life was a shambles. Following her betrayal of boyfriend Bruce Donaldson with new actor Marvin Drake, she'd gone on to develop a King Kong-sized monkey. Following the shooting of the film, the cast intervened and sent Daria to the Betty Ford Center. Things were finally beginning to look up for our star.
CUT TO - BRUCE
BRUCE
We kept in close contact with her when she was rehabilitating. It was a tough time for us all, especially for Daria.
CUT TO - TORI
TORI
She was a trooper, plain and simple. She managed to survive. She managed to get clean, get off the crack and the smack and clean her life up. But there were some times that it looked bad. Like standing in front of a hundred-foot tidal wave, watching it come down on you.
CUT TO - A PICTURE OF DARIA TAKEN NOT LONG AFTER HER DISCHARGE FROM REHAB, BEING LED TO A CAR BY TORI.
TORI
(Voice Over, off-screen, in an occasionally broken voice)
I went down there everyday, to keep a close eye on her. Make sure she was doing okay. Making sure she was still alive. You think you know what hell is? Hell is watching your best friend scream in agony, writhing as the withdrawal continues, and the only thing the doctors can do to really ease her pain is to make sure she doesn't die. That's hell.
CUT TO - AN INTERVIEW WITH DARIA, EVIDENTLY CONDUCTED IN EARLY 2001
DARIA
Withdrawal is the worst thing that can happen to anyone, right after getting addicted in the first place. I can't think of any better reason to avoid doing drugs than that. All it did was [bleep] my life up, almost beyond the point of redemption. I'm thankful for the chance to make things right with a clean bill of health, and for the chance to apologize to all of my friends and loved ones for what I've put them through.
CUT TO - AN IMAGE OF DARIA'S HOUSE, WITH POLICE CARS IN FRONT OF IT, WRAPPED IN YELLOW CRIME SCENE TAPE. AUDIO OF A GUNSHOT.
KYLIE
Daria's new lease on life wouldn't last very long, however. On the evening of March 3, 2001, Daria Morgendorffer died of a gunshot wound to the left eye. There were no signs of a struggle, and the police presumed it to be suicide.
CUT TO - MAURICE
MAURICE
They didn't know Daria. She could never have killed herself. Especially not after all she'd been through. But... I can't believe someone could have killed her. No one hated her that much. No one could. It was just something about her... you could get mad, but you couldn't help but forgive her in the end. Even Tony did.
CUT TO - ANTHONY
ANTHONY
It's hard to stay mad at someone you love like a daughter for too long. I can't believe someone would have killed her, but I also don't believe that Daria could have killed herself.
CUT TO - KARIN
KARIN
It was murder. Plain and simple. She couldn't have killed herself if she wanted to, not after getting out of Betty Ford alive and back on track. She was dedicated to saving the show, and saving her own relationships with the cast and crew.
CUT TO - TORI, LOOKING SOMEWHAT SHAKEN UP
TORI
She called me, a few hours before the police say she died. Talking about her plans for the next season, and how she wanted to try and bring the show back around to a slightly more humorous style, from the more dramatic aspects we'd been stressing in the plot. The girl who spends two hours talking with a friend about her plans for the next few months is not the girl who turns around and blows her brains out with a .45. Especially since she had just gotten her life back on track, and... and...
(Trails off, continues with a tear in her eye)
I'm sorry. I can't talk about this anymore.
CUT TO - JULIA
JULIA
I don't really know what to think about her death. I mean, I don't think she was the sort of person who could have killed herself, but...
CUT TO - THE FUNERAL, WHERE WE SEE THE CAST AND CREW (AND THOUSANDS OF ONLOOKERS) SAYING GOODBYE IN THE CHURCH.
JULIA
(Voice Over, off-screen)
She'd changed in the last year. The Daria I knew from the beginning of the show could never have committed suicide. But this wasn't the same Daria, not anymore. Maybe she just didn't want to keep on living with the shame that she'd brought down on herself. Maybe she couldn't shake the demons that started hounding her.
CUT TO - PAUL
PAUL
She'd created a lot of skeletons in her closet in the last year of her life. Maybe she just couldn't exorcise them. I don't think she could have killed herself, but I find it a lot more believable then the alternative.
CUT TO - THE FUNERAL PROCESSION, AS THE PALLBEARERS CARRY HER COFFIN DOWN THE STAIRS OF THE CHURCH.
KYLIE
(Narrating)
Daria Morgendorffer was laid to rest on March 13, 2001, in the graveyard of Our Lady of Perpetual Mercy, in northern Los Angeles.
TORI
(Voice Over)
It was a lovely ceremony. Just the way she would have wanted it to be. The sun shining, the birds singing, and not a cloud in the sky.
CUT TO - THE HOME VIDEO FROM THE BEGINNING, SHOWING THE CAST CLOWNING AROUND. IT CONTINUES ON LONGER THIS TIME, UNTIL THE FINAL FADE OUT TO THE CREDITS.
TORI
(Voice Over)
There are days, still, where I think I'll wake up and find out that it was all some bad dream. That Daria's not really dead, and that things are still going the way they were in the halcyon days. It's just so hard to believe that she's gone.
BRUCE
(Voice Over)
Without Daria around, there's this empty feeling in the pit of your stomach. She was the sort of girl who could light up your entire day just by being there, by saying a few words or smiling at you.
MAURICE
(Voice Over)
There was something magic about her, even when she was at her worst. The world is that much poorer for having lost her.
JULIA
(Voice Over)
I never liked her much, but I do miss her.
KARIN
(Voice Over)
She was good. What else can you say but that? Despite all that she'd done, she was still good. Underneath it all, she had an underlying decency of nature that most people could never even hope to have.
JENNIFER
(Voice Over)
Losing Daria was like losing my daughter. It's the sort of thing I'll never be able to really get over.
On the tape, Daria laughs while facing the camera.
KYLIE
(Narrating)
Daria Morgendorffer left behind adoring fans, grieving friends, and a legacy of unanswered questions regarding her death. The events of that March night may never really be known, but the debates regarding her death will rage on. I'm Robin Kylie for Sick Sad World. Good night.
ZOOM IN ON DARIA'S SMILING FACE ON THE TAPE, AND FADE TO BLACK. ROLL CREDITS. END.