I have a confession. Even though I am an adult and parent of a teen, I watched all the Daria TV shows and movies when they first aired. Apparently, this show aimed at teens is something I could still enjoy--even though I am an old fuddy-duddy! Recently I bought copies of the two Daria movies. I would have bought the entire show, but so far they have not been released! How MTV could do that or allow the shows to have been rebroadcast a few years ago on Noggin (chopped up in many cases as well as only showing about half the episodes) is beyond me.
Towards the end of the series, MTV released two made for TV movies. The first, IS IT FALL YET? was probably the funniest of the two, while IS IT COLLEGE YET? was much more angst-filled due to the characters on the show's pending graduation. Even the usually self-assured Daria is worried about life after high school--which is ironic, as she hated almost every minute spent at Lawndale High! I also think I liked this movie less because it meant an end to the wonderful series--a show that was far better than the Luke-warm reception it received. I think a lot of this was because Daria was on MTV and because the network moved the show around a lot on the lineup. The reason being on MTV probably hurt the show was because by the late 1990s, MTV was no longer a music video channel, but began producing near-pornographic "reality" shows that frankly were stupid and vacuous--appealing to audiences that probably wouldn't appreciate DARIA (since there was no sex or naked teens "hot tubbing"). People liking Daria were in most cases the type people who would have hated the rest of the MTV lineup.
When you watch IS IT COLLEGE YET? there are a few things you should first know. First, don't watch it for the quality of the animation, since it's terrible. Instead, the show excelled because of the brilliant and insightful writing. Second, unless you have watched the TV show, much of what occurs in this movie probably won't make much sense. Still, if you are a fan, then this is a must-see.
