Sick, Sad World is a fictional, in-universe TV show in Daria. It was watched mostly by Daria and Jane. The show was never fully watched; only the leading teaser was shown. The teasers are a running gag throughout the series that offer one note visual gags and not much else to the series as a whole, the exceptions being the episodes Just Add Water and The Lawndale File. They were likely added as filler to increase episode run time for some episodes that were considered too short for broadcast otherwise.
Overview[]
Sick, Sad World bombastic continuity announcer is played by MTV Animation producer John Lynn. It is hosted by a blonde woman who is never named. The show's announcer typically asks an outrageous question, or gives a statement about the program in question before announcing the title during each teaser.
For the most part, the show is seen only through its opening teasers. The sole exception was in The Lawndale File where bits and pieces of the show were shown throughout, revealing that the show conducts interviews with people about these strange occurrences and even creates reenactments based on what the interviewed person has said.
The show features such questionable news stories such as the uncovering of Thomas Jefferson's pornographic "tell-all" sex journals ("The Declaration of In My Pants! Next on Sick Sad World") and "exposing" the habitual defecation of fish into the ocean ("Are fish using our oceans as their own private toilets??!!").
A number of the stories have a quite surreal or paranormal bent to them, such as stories about bats disguising themselves as squirrels to infiltrate neighborhoods ("Rabid Rodent Rip-offs!"), mountaineers scaling a mountain of seagull droppings ("Guano see some gutsy climbing?"), or zombies causing traffic accidents ("Brought back from the grave by black magic, but no one taught them to cross at the green! The Jaywalking Dead!"). It's unknown if any of these stories have any bearing on fact.
Sick, Sad World is popular enough to have a competitor: Poor, Pathetic Planet. (The Daria Diaries)
The Daria Database shows the letter they send to wannabe-writers, cheerfully making it clear that they're uninterested in being accurate and that they'll steal any story you pitch to them ("we have a large staff of full-time lawyers").
Artie has appeared as a guest at least twice, in Esteemsters and The Lawndale File. In the latter, he accused Daria and Jane of being "alien love goddesses" who stole his skin and made him lose his job (again).
In Just Add Water, Daria and Jane watched a very long marathon of the show all night and spend the next day trying to sleep it off.
In the game Daria's Inferno, the game play hints are presented as SSW clips.
Appearances & Descriptions[]
Season 1[]
Esteemsters[]
SSW Announcer: And now, back to Sick, Sad World.
[The SSW logo is replaced by the image of a woman and a very elderly man, each seated in high-backed leather chairs in a fancy-looking study.]
SSW Reporter: This is just astounding! Here you are, blind, deaf, and barely able to walk, yet you conducted simultaneous affairs with three members of the Royal Family! The question on all of America's mind is: how did you do it?
Old Man: (leans forward) What?
The Lab Brat - The Phone Sex EMS Dispatcher - "It's 9-1-1 in the morning and 1-900 in the evening."
Pinch Sitter - G-string Grandmas - "They bake cookies by day, but they really heat up at night."
The Big House - The Classified Government Polaroids - "What do those Supreme Court judges wear under their robes?"
Road Worrier - Chimpanzee Chat Rooms - "Can monkeys surf the web, and corrupt our kids?"
The Misery Chick - Monaco's Mopeyest Millionaires
Season 2[]
Arts 'N Crass - Neonatal Skinheads
The Daria Hunter - “Are fish using our oceans as their own private toilets?”
I Don't - The Polygamist Hippopotamus - “One three-ton hubby is not enough for this red-hot mammal.”
That Was Then, This Is Dumb - “The nightmare story of an enchanted kiss gone horribly wrong.”
Monster - Tanked In A Tutu - “When these ballerinas work out at the bar, they work out at the bar.”
The New Kid - Hoax or Vision - “Some people in Florida claim they’ve seen the face of Jesus…on a penny!”
Ill - Homicidal Houseplants - “Death wore velvety green.”
See Jane Run - H2-Ugh! - “Are microbes having sex in your drinking water?”
Pierce Me - Transplants and Romance - “He gave her his kidney, she gave him her heart.”
Season 3[]
Daria! - The Inappropriate Alto - "They broke into her bedroom. She burst into song."
Through a Lens Darkly - The Severed Pianist - “When he turned up his nose at accordion lessons, they cut off his inheritance molto allegro.”
The Old and the Beautiful - Sniffing For Love - “What does your foot odor say about your sexual prowess?”
Depth Takes a Holiday - The Savior Went Down To Georgia
SSW Reporter: “The world’s largest nativity scene…in August? Atlanta mall manager Gifford Jones.”
Gifford Jones: “Nativities mean Christmas, and Christmas means revenue. Don’t have to be a wise man to figure that out.”
Daria Dance Party - Toilet Seat Terror - “What deadly new diseases can you pick up by sitting down?”
The Lost Girls - The Jaywalking Dead - “Brought back from the grave by black magic, but no one taught them to cross at the green.”
It Happened One Nut - Extra-Terrestrial Restaurant Restrooms - “When aliens eat out, where do they relieve themselves?”
Lane Miserables - Cold Breeze On The Interstate - “Is your toll collector wearing pants, a skirt, or nothing but a smile?”
Jake of Hearts - Rabid Rodent Rip-offs - "Are bats sneaking into your neighborhood disguised as cute flying squirrels?"
Speedtrapped - Orca In The Court - “Meet the killer whale with a license to practice law.”
The Lawndale File - Aliens Walk Among Us! - “From outer space to in our face!”
Just Add Water - The One-Legged Lothario - “Her amputee boyfriend was cheating, so she stole his prosthesis. But he kept right on hopping into strange beds.”
- “Meet the cannibal with a heart…quick, before he eats it!”
Jane's Addition - Freeloading Familial Phantoms - “Could a family of ghosts be living in your house rent-free?”
Season 4[]
Partner's Complaint - Ghost Hookers In The Sky - “Would you moan my name if I boinked you in Heaven?”
Antisocial Climbers - Babes In Thailand - “Why are so many Siamese twins being born in this Bangkok hospital?”
A Tree Grows in Lawndale - Diary Of A Mad Steak Knife - “Is your cutlery holding an edge…or going over one?”
Murder, She Snored - Uh, What’s That, Doc? - “Can too many carrots make your head grow leaves?”
The F Word - Animal Secretions That Make Us Say “Yum!” - “What’s that you’re really stirring in your tea, honey or bee vomit?”
I Loathe a Parade - Canine Call Girls - “Can you teach an old dog to turn tricks? Ruff!”
Of Human Bonding - Sunday Brunch In The Loony Bin - “Fish got to swim, and birds gotta fly, but not when you bake them both in a pie.”
Psycho Therapy - Got A Dog Dish Full Of Love - “Could a steady diet of pet food bring out the animal in you?”
Mart of Darkness - The Immaculate Confection - “A vision of Christ in a half-eaten candy bar? Talk about my sweet Lord!”
Legends of the Mall - Little Cross-Dressers and The Women Who Love Them - “It’s legal and tender, but someone’s getting shortchanged.”
Groped by an Angel - Undead Deadbeat Dads - “Back from beyond the grave, and he still won’t pay child support.”
Fire! - Get On Board The “Sole” Train - Is there really a secret underwater railroad smuggling flounder to freedom?
Dye! Dye! My Darling - The Declaration Of In-My-Pants - “Thomas Jefferson: Philosopher, Inventor, President, and keeper of one saucy journal.”
Film[]
Is It Fall Yet? - Rats on Ritalin - "Are drug-crazed rodents raiding your child's medicine cabinet?"
Is It College Yet? - Flame Wars, The Next Generation - “Everyone hates a message board miscreant, but now you can do something about it.”
Season 5[]
Fizz Ed - Shih Tzu? I Hardly Know You! - “All he wanted just once was to eat at the table, but she had a hankering to howl.”
Sappy Anniversary - Delinquent Quintuplets - “How shoddy fertility drugs are creating a new breed of gang and wreaking havoc with police lineups.
Fat Like Me - There's Something About Hitler - "Meet the psychic Nazi hunter who says the Fuhrer's been reincarnated...as a madcap leggy blonde!"
Camp Fear - The Peek-A-Boo ICU - “What kind of sicko voyeur would set up a hidden camera in an intensive care unit?”
The Story of D - Lipo For Leo - “This king of the jungle was once a tubby tabby, ‘til the animal plastic surgeon came to call.”
Lucky Strike - www.gettysbare - “It’s quite a web sight when Civil War buffs get in the buff.”
Art Burn - The Squeezably Soft Counterfeiter - “What’s more heartless than pilfering a roll of toilet paper? Transforming it into a roll of 20s.”
One J at a Time - A Liver Runs Through It - “Meet the fly-fishing pathologist who uses human organs as bait.”
Life in the Past Lane - Underage Road Rage - “Troubled travels…by trike!”
Aunt Nauseam - Lap-Dancing Lapdogs - “In this canine go-go bar, the specialty of the house is-hot dog.”
Prize Fighters - Mime and Punishment - “Criminals beware. This detective won’t talk, but you will.”
My Night at Daria's - The Apes of Wrath - “Can anger management training really help gorillas avoid extinction? Maybe, but it’s not doing much for the psychiatrists.”
Boxing Daria - Retirement By Rocket - “They gave her a goodbye party at 65…miles per second!”