Mike's Delayed Reaction Review-#108 (1-08), "Pinch Sitter"

Mike's Delayed Reaction Review-#108 (1-08), "Pinch Sitter"

MDRR #108 (1-08)

Conference Call - Do they still have party lines in Lawndale still? Of course, I'm kidding; but did all those people have to be on the line. Mr. or Mrs. Gupty alone would have been good enough. I can also buy Quinn wanting to listen in to make sure Daria didn't say anything too abrasive and diffuse the situation if she did. The extra fee was more than fair but I would have asked for $20 for more than five minutes with the Cupey's, I mean Gupty's.

Little Angels - The Gupty kids made a lot of progress and it all started when they were asked: "What if two adults tell you the exact opposite things?" Tad and Tricia became those little devils that their father was talking about. The best parts of the transformation were the "do we look stupid" line and the very end of the episode. The mind deprogramming worked to a tee and I don't know where what Daria and Jane did would be considered illegal (maybe just unethical).

Scattered Priorities - Quinn can be overly honest at times, her priorities in this episode (the ones she told Deena Decker) are an example of this that describe her perfectly ('dating, shopping, bouncy hair, school'). Her honesty rubbed off on Helen a little bit. Hey, Jake seems like a good guy, I guess he isn't 'spicy' enough any more.

Still Stumbling - Brittany probably has fallen into interesting conclusions "with a complete lack of insight" more than most people. Cheerleading is exactly like a cult when you think of it in the way Mr. DeMartino described it (use of peer pressure, chanting, social isolation). People are so weird.

This is a great episode that introduced the much talked about "Pinch Sitter" mode, which has been talked about a lot on this group. Pinch Sitter definitely has had the best ending of any episode yet ('I am cool and that is it and everyone else is full of... full of...). Daria handled the baby-sitting job well and made a potentially negative situation into a positive experience.

Grade: A

Daria as a Whole #1 - Is there a Sick Sad World network in Lawndale? Everytime Daria or Jane turns on a TV it is on. Do we always look into their lives at the same time of the day? C'mon.

Daria as a Whole #2 - Without Trent even appearing, Daria's crush-on-an-older-guy shows. This happened when 'grandma' (Jane) gets to the Gupty's, and Daria has 'pippy longstocking' hair. Of course, Jane wants to show this new and unusual hair style to Trent and Daria shuts the door real quick to avoid it. Someone doesn't want to be embarrassed in front of someone she 'appreciates.'