College Bored is the third episode of Season 1 of Daria and the third episode of the series overall. It originally aired on MTV on March 17, 1997.
Synopsis[]
After visiting their friends who are preparing their daughter, Ramona, for the SATs, Helen and Jake enroll Daria and Quinn in an SAT prep class, much to their dismay. Meanwhile, Jake and Helen reminisce about their old college days.
Plot[]
The Morgendorffers visit some friends who are preparing their daughter Ramona for the SAT tests (despite their daughter being a toddler) to ensure she'll attend the right college. After the visit, Helen and Jake decide to enroll Daria and Quinn in a college prep course, to the annoyance of both girls.
The prep course is held at Lawndale High and includes several freshmen and sophomore students. The instructor coaches them on how to take exams and invites them to consider what they want out of college. The students daydream about their college future life: Kevin imagines himself as a successful quarterback; Brittany imagines receiving her diploma while walking on a model runway; Jane imagines herself a successful artist, having ditched college; Quinn imagines herself being the roommate/object of desire for three good-looking male students; Daria imagines being invited to go to grad school while still a freshman (however, even in her fantasy, the rationale for the invitation disappoints her).
All students have to visit a college as part of the course, so Jake and Helen enthusiastically decide to take their daughters to their alma mater, Middleton College. When they visit the campus a few days later, they are greeted by Heather, their tour guide. The four quickly separate as Helen and Jake want to check his old dorm room and Quinn wants to check the fraternities and sororities.
Helen and Jake reminisce in his old room, whose student occupants seem only to hang out, listen to loud music, surf the web, and pay no attention whatsoever to the visitors. Suddenly remembering the sexual mores of college students, Helen rushes out in a panic, searching for Quinn, asking students of her daughter's whereabouts, and posting notices. Helen's searches are fruitless, and she succeeds only in being harassed by male students who are pledging fraternities. Meanwhile, Jake visits the loan office, where he is informed of the high of college fees and offered information on possible student loans from, of all places, a candy store.
Daria and Heather end up in Heather's room, where Daria can see college student life firsthand: watching Sick, Sad World and according to Heather, working a stupid job and asking the parents for money. When Heather receives her term paper by mail, full of mistakes, Daria turns it into an opportunity to make fast money, as she offers to rewrite or correct papers for the ignorant and/or lazy college students.
Quinn, out on her own from the rest of her family, is mistaken for a sorority pledge and later ends up at a party. She teaches some frat boys a drinking game and ends up later being hailed as "Keg Queen." It is while she is being hailed as such that the rest of her family, along with the police, finally find her. The relief of finding her is brief, as they are all thrown off campus by the police for allowing a minor to attend a frat party.
Later, back at the prep course in Lawndale, the students relate their experiences: Kevin tells of a hazing he was subjected to (to his delight); Brittany relates a poetry reading she attended and participated in; Mack mentions the "first-string exemption," which allows top athletes to never have to take exams (to his disgust); Daria and Quinn argue about how they had been thrown out of Middleton, to the chagrin of the instructor.
Back at home, the Morgendorffers celebrate the invitation Quinn has received for Manatee College in Florida until Daria points out the college provides no classes, only accommodation for an expensive tuition. The conversation is interrupted by a college Middleton student who has come to provide payment for some of Daria's papers: this quickly leads Helen in confiscating the money and ending her money-making scheme, as Daria laments later over pizza with Jane.
Characters[]
- Daria Morgendorffer
- Quinn Morgendorffer
- Jake Morgendorffer
- Helen Morgendorffer
- Jane Lane
- Susan
- Doug
- Ramona
- SAT Prep Instructor
- Bib Overalls
- Jason
- Rob
- Headset Guy
- V-Neck
- Jodie Landon
- Kevin Thompson
- Brittany Taylor
- Scarlett
- Jennifer (black girl)
- Green Cap Dude
- Dawn
- Corey
- Adam
- Heather
- Heather's Friends
- Middleton College Assistant Bursar
- Geek
- Middleton College Police Officer
- Mack Mackenzie
- Hot Shades
Trivia[]
General[]
- This episode features one of the only scenes in the entire series that didn't have its original song replaced on the Complete Series DVD. Like in Legends of the Mall, it's because a character is singing along with it.
- The song in this episode is "The Female of the Species" by Space.
Errors[]
- There is a coloring mistake in the classroom scene that shows Jodie Landon with white arms and legs.
- When Daria and Jane are walking home from the second class, there is a shot where Jane's eyes are colored in black instead of blue.