It’s March 10, 2007 and today is the tenth anniversary of the first airing of the Season One Daria episode “The Invitation” on MTV. I’m surprised there isn’t more celebration — “The Invitation” was a sign of the strong episodes to come in the first season, undoubtedly the most popular season of Daria. “The Invitation” was a real treat. It was, in essence, an “invitation” to the potential of both the series and the characters, even the potential of weak characters if used right.

This episode was the first episode written by Anne D. Bernstein, who would end up writing eight episodes of Daria. She also wrote The Daria Diaries, which was the first written supplement to the series, giving Bernstein an authoritative position in the interpretation of the characters.

One suspects — but cannot prove — that Bernstein was not told when her episode would be aired, which meant that she thought her episode would either be the very first episode or among the very first. This is a common practice in the television industry, where six writers are told that they might be writing the “pilot” episode to a series, and as a result, those six episodes are where characters are best defined and the writing is most compelling. In the future episodes of a continuing series, it is assumed that the viewer knows who everyone is and that there is no further need for original plotting!

Ostensibly, “The Invitation” is about a party thrown by Brittany Taylor, the head cheerleader at Lawndale High School. Daria is given an invitation to Brittany’s party. However, Daria, who would never be caught dead at such a place, attends only because Jane encourages her and because it gives Daria a chance to embarrass her popularity-obsessed sister, Quinn.

So, for one night, Brittany Taylor’s house becomes the focal point of the Lawndale High School universe, forcing all the student characters together and compelling them to be at their best (or worst). It’s the “Joe Goes to a Party” episode, which is a staple of sitcom writing.

However, the casual viewer — who might have been a bit disappointed after “Esteemsters” — quickly learns that the episode is not about a party, or about Brittany, or even about Daria. Rather, “The Invitation” is about an ugly truth of high school life, that high school life is based on the feudal Japanese concept of giri, or reciprocal obligation.

There are people alive who will tell you, with all honesty, that their high school years were the best years of their lives. (Most of these people, however, do not watch Daria.) The conceit is that high school is supposed to be “the great equalizer,” where kids can have a somewhat equal relationship with their peers before they have to join the working world and social relationships are reorganized along the lines of foreman/worker and executive/assistant. These years are supposed to be “free” years for kids. “Thank God you lazy kids don’t have jobs! I wish I was back in high school!"

Some survivors of high school would tell a different story. High school is a stratified society with a pecking order that would make Byzantine court life a model of honesty and forthrightness. The joke of the episode is that very few people end up at Brittany’s party because of a meaningful connection with Brittany. Rather, their status obligates them to be there, or they are there to seek popularity, or they are there simply for Brittany to pay off her karmic debts.

The chain starts with Daria. Brittany is struggling with the concept of one-point perspective in Ms. Defoe’s art class, and Daria, in a moment of weakness, helps Brittany master the concept. This leaves Brittany in the “one-down” position — Brittany must somehow reciprocate and she decides on an act of kindness of her own. Daria gets an invitation to Brittany’s party. Brittany is quick to qualify her act of kindness with a “just this once,” as if to settle any confusion that this might be a genuine offer of real friendship.

Daria is “especially flattered” when she is told by Brittany that Brittany had told the cheerleaders that she wouldn’t invite any more “really attractive girls.” Daria quickly learns her place in the Lawndale High pecking order — she is unpopular, but not “so unpopular” that her appearance at Brittany’s party would cause a loss of status for Brittany.

Meanwhile, the Three Js — in their first appearance — are learning that as football players, they belong to a special protected class which is automatically invited to any party thrown by a cheerleader. The Three Js immediately begin “negotiation” with Quinn as to who will win the right to be her date. Quinn, however, compares dating one of the Js to eating the first pancake off the stove — “You have to feed one to the dog!” For the Js, it’s going to be five seasons of blue balls for the most part.

Daria discusses her windfall — so to speak — with Jane. Jane feels that going to the party would be a hoot, and she could get some good sketches there. Daria, however, has no interest, and now it is Jane’s turn to offer the argument that a party would be a great place to draw sketches. (I personally suspect that Jane wants to go — Jane can draw Lawndale High School kids from life five days a week — but Jane needs a “rational” excuse to best appeal to Daria.)

When Daria claims disinterest, Jane imitates Daria by borrowing Daria’s glasses and imitating Daria’s famous monotone. “‘Hi. I’m Daria. Go to hell.’” It seems that after only one episode, Jane has summed up Daria with particular accuracy.

(Jane later makes a sarcastic remark to Tom in “Dye! Dye! My Darling” that “[Daria] loves to have fun,” suggesting that Jane has spent many a night watching TV with Daria despite Jane’s inclination to the contrary.)

However, Quinn learns that Daria will be at the party, which could lead to a disastrous weakening of Quinn’s popularity. Rather than resorting to bribing Daria at the beginning of negotiations, she takes a hard line with Daria and tries to call in the wrath of Helen and Jake as a hole card.

Daria gains the brief satisfaction of watching Quinn’s attempts fail, but that satisfaction disappears when Daria is offered the choice of either going to the party to keep a watchful eye on Quinn or being saddled with both Quinn and a babysitter.

Later in the episode, Daria is straightforward about the social dynamic between her and her parents:

Quinn: You want to call Mom and Dad?
Daria: And shift the balance of power? We walk.

When Daria and Jane finally arrive at the party, one low point of the night is meeting someone even lower on the social scale than either of them: the odious Charles “Upchuck” Ruttheimer, a sleaze who compulsively comes on to any girl in distance, even coming on to the unpopular Daria and Jane.

Daria, putting the pieces together, boldly inquires how on earth someone like Upchuck could get invited to Brittany’s party. Upchuck, however, is painfully aware of the truth. “I dissected her frog."

(There has to be a fanfic in that somewhere, with Brittany arguing with herself whether giri is so powerful that Upchuck must be offered an invitation to balance the scales and to prevent Upchuck from suggesting some amorous form of payback.)

Indeed, Brittany knows that it is not affection or camaraderie that makes a good party. It’s the most popular people with the best-looking hair. That’s what makes a great party.

The mysterious character, called “Tori Jericho” by Daria fans everywhere, sums it up.

Blonde Girl: Now, she’s really popular, but not as popular as she is. He’s medium popular, and he just bought a great car, so soon he’ll be getting more popular. That guy was just popular enough to be invited, but now he needs to hook up with a girl who’s more popular than he is. ... Now, she used to be very popular, but then there was that unfortunate nose job. That one behind the tiger? She was new and cute so she became, like, popular overnight. (points at Daria, Jane, and Upchuck) Those three aren’t popular at all. I don’t know what they’re doing here. Maybe some kind of exchange program.

Even Tori Jericho knows there are exceptions to any rule. Anyone can be invited to any party if giri is powerful enough.

If the episode were a mere commentary on the high school pecking order and the power of giri, it would be a good episode, and certainly worthy of Season One. What makes “The Invitation” a great episode, however, is a comedic technique I prefer to call “economy of scale."

For a simple explanation, I’ll look at part of the episode: the part where Daria and Jane arrive at the gate of the gated community and Jane is challenged by the guard to prove that her name is on the party list. (Remember, Jane is coming without an invitation.) The joke is that Jane passes herself off as “Tiffany,” figuring there has to be at least one girl named Tiffany at the party — but is caught, as there are several Tiffanys at Brittany’s party and Jane agrees with a phony last name suggested by the suspicious guard.

Most writers would have wrapped up the scene right there. The scene was funny, it was a good joke, and it need not be retold again. However, Bernstein comes back to the gate and its too-confident guard not once, but multiple times!

1. Daria and Jane initially encounter the guard, but pass through when the guard is distracted by Jane’s nude sketches.
2. The guard, entranced by the nude sketches in Jane’s book, leaves the gate to find Jane at the party.
3. Without the guard, party crashers evade the gate and Brittany’s party becomes more raucous.
4. An unhappy resident curses the missing guard at the gate.
5. Daria and Jane take advantage of the absence of the guard and pull “gate duty” on unsuspecting Crewe Neck residents, challenging them to name Greek gods and to name particular tunes in less than seven notes in order to gain re-entry.
6. The guard is finally smoked out of the party by the Lawndale police, acting on the voice complaint.

There is economy of scale. A viewer is rewarded by paying close attention at the first scene at the gate, and the joke pays off further and further, cascading from the initial setup. Situations, once introduced, are used over and over again. (The ceramic tiger, Brittany’s concern about her non-functional jacuzzi, and the make-out room are all examples.)

Combined with the commentary of the nature of popularity, Daria’s summing up at the end of the episode is quite apt:

Daria: Well, I didn’t talk to a whole bunch of new people, I made Quinn want to throw herself down a well, and I’m going home with a bonus sock. All in all, a great night.

And in each of those assessments is a tale worth telling from a great episode.

Some minor observations:

• The first appearance of Tiffany outside the show intro (Stacy-Tiffany at the volleyball court). Anyone familiar with more than one episode of the series will note that Tiffany is voiced differently here than in any other episode. Tiffany sounds like your typical high school kid in “The Invitation,” but by the time we see her again in “Malled,” her voice is verrrrry slowwww with a California drawl. Fans have come up with every explanation for this abrupt change in Tiffany’s vocal tone and speed, everything from brain damage to heavy drug use.

The simplest explanation is that Ashley Albert, probably an intern at MTV at the time, was asked to voice some unknown teen attendee of Brittany’s party. Later, in “Malled,” Albert was asked to voice a new named friend of Quinn — “Tiffany” — and was probably given some instructions as to how Tiffany was supposed to sound. Most likely, Albert had no idea she was voicing the same character.

• Also the first appearances of: the Three Js (all of whom are named), Mack, Jodie, and Upchuck, as well as Jane’s brother, Trent.

• Sandi (first seen in “Esteemsters") makes a catty remark about Brittany’s non-functioning jacuzzi, which gives some hint to Sandi’s future “mean girl” personality in her role as President of the Fashion Club.

• Jane notices that Daria is somewhat tongue-tied about Trent, setting up the “Daria wuvs Trent” running story that would last until “Jane’s Addition."

Labels: Bernstein, Essays, The Invitation