Today is April 14, 2007, and we mark the 10th anniversary of the initial airing of “The Lab Brat,” a Season One episode of Daria. It is probably one of the funnier episodes of the series, and has no greater goal than to be a funny episode. We don’t learn much that is new about the characters in Daria, but their strengths and weaknesses are played to their best effect in a very funny script.

Peggy Nicoll would go on to write several Daria episodes. Her previous television experience was writing an episode for Sweet Valley High and several episodes of Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers.

She would write 10 episodes in all, co-write both Daria movies, and write The Daria Database, the companion book to Anne Bernstein’s The Daria Diaries. Unfortunately, aside from the “movie” Bratz: Rock Angelz, Ms. Nicoll seems not to have worked since then.

As it would also turn out, “The Lab Brat” would be the last new Daria episode until June 1997. Daria fans would have to wait almost two months to see the final part of Season One.

The story starts with the introduction of the science teacher at Lawndale High, Mrs. Barch, whose husband left the household after 22 years and left her with a lot of anger to express — most of it against the male students at Lawndale.

Mrs. Barch asks for the definition of the psychological concept of reinforcement. Daria goes on one of her funnier extended riffs with a hilarious example. It appears that Daria has become very comfortable now, when asked a question, to fill the empty space of those moments when the rest of the class won’t come up with an answer.

Something impresses Mrs. Barch — either Daria’s willingness to answer or the twisted nature of that answer. As a result, Barch pairs Daria with Kevin for a lab project to illustrate the nature of reinforcement. Brittany protests, as Kevin and Brittany have been lab partners for a long time. The singleton Brittany is therefore paired with Upchuck, who looks forward to having the attention of Lawndale’s chesty cheerleader.

At the local pizza place, Daria complains to Jane about having to work with Kevin. Jane thinks having Kevin as a partner is great — “Next best thing to working alone” — but Kevin likes mazes. Daria undoubtedly fears that Kevin will add unwanted input. But after Kevin asks for the project to be done at the Morgendorffers’, as his cable is out, Daria has an idea that should keep Kevin at arm’s length.

In the Morgendorffer household, Helen feigns interest in the school projects of Daria and Quinn. Daria quickly dopes out that Helen doesn’t care, but Helen’s interest is piqued when she finds out that Daria and Kevin have been paired. Helen hopes that Kevin will come to invite Daria into his circle of popularity — and now Quinn’s interest is piqued!

Just at that moment, Kevin arrives. Daria distracts Kevin — perhaps permanently — by showing Kevin that “The Pigskin Channel” is available. As Kevin settles down to watch his gridiron heroes — leaving Daria alone to get some work done — Quinn tries to attract Kevin by paying him lots of attention. But when Quinn tries to get Kevin to reciprocate — when she tries to manipulate him the same way she manipulates her other dates — Kevin is clueless.

Quinn: Kevin, if you want a soda or anything, there’s some
in the fridge. I know I’m kind of thirsty.
Kevin: Thanks, babe. Could you, like, put some ice in it?

Meanwhile, at Casa Ruttheimer, Brittany arrives in her finest “Spy vs. Spy” wear, lest anyone recognize her. Upchuck enjoys being partnered with Brittany — and then hands her woodworking tools, telling her that she’ll be doing her share of the work. If she doesn’t, he’ll tell all of LHS that they’re dating.

When Brittany scoffs at such blackmail, Upchuck pulls out bigger guns — a picture of Brittany and a bare-chested young man sitting in the back of a convertible. He’s Sam Stack, the quarterback of Oakwood, Lawndale’s rival school. (Brittany had broken up with Kevin the week that she went out with Sam.) In order to keep Upchuck from showing Kevin the photo, Brittany will have to be Upchuck’s “slave” and serve as his go-fer and maid-of-all-service (well, not all service).

Quinn keeps plying her charms, but Kevin has the Pigskin Channel and doesn’t even notice her. When Brittany comes by for a visit — drenched, as Upchuck had her cleaning his fish tank — Quinn tells Brittany that Kevin is deep at work with Daria and cuts the conversation short, closing the door on Brittany. Clearly, with Brittany around, Quinn has no chance of making Kevin a “K” to match her other Three Js.

Kevin visits Daria’s progress in the garage. Daria hates the interruption, Quinn comes by with a cake to tempt Kevin, and then Brittany arrives! Kevin claims that he’s been hard at work, but Brittany doesn’t buy it, and when Kevin can’t explain this project at which he’s been so hard at work to Brittany, Brittany comes to the conclusion that both Daria and Quinn are conspiring to take Kevin away from her!

At the pizza place, Brittany confronts Daria, telling her she’s ready to fight for Kevin. When Kevin is more interested in his science project than in Brittany — he looks forward to his Pigskin Channel viewings — Brittany is supremely frustrated. Her frustration increases as the Three Js come on to first Daria (because maybe Kevin knows something they don’t), then Quinn (because Quinn is Quinn) while Brittany can’t get their attention.

Brittany is convinced that she is competing against two girls for Kevin’s love. When Jodie jokingly suggests that Brittany’s little brother would have to wear a skirt for Brittany to compete, Brittany comes up with a devious solution to her plan.

Telling Quinn the lie that Kevin wanted Brittany to bring something to the garage, Brittany gains access to Daria’s maze-navigating mouse. Stealing the mouse, she puts it in the “care” of her evil little brother.

Daria tells Kevin that the two of them are in danger of failing the lab project, now that the mouse is gone. Daria has found evidence of what might have happened — a bear-shaped jar of honey that Brittany swapped for the mouse. (Upchuck will only eat honey from bear-shaped jars, as Brittany learned to her chagrin.) Brittany then arrives at the garage, and Daria comes to the obvious conclusion about the mouse’s fate.

She tells Brittany that without the mouse, Kevin and Daria will have to do a make-up project ... a very long make-up project that will be sure to keep Kevin at Daria’s house for a long time. Brittany is then forced to admit to Daria and Kevin that she was the one that stole the mouse. Daria offers Brittany a deal — the mouse in exchange for Kevin. (Each believes they got the better of the deal.)

Brittany returns the mouse, but it’s obvious that the mouse has been traumatized by Brittany’s brother. It refuses to run the maze, curling up in a fetal position. To Quinn’s chagrin, Brittany manages to get Kevin away from the Morgendorffers. As the Taylor residence now has the Pigskin Channel, Kevin is just as happy to be with Brittany as anyone else with cable.

In Mrs. Barch’s class, Charles and Brittany present their maze. However, Upchuck forgot to teach Brittany anything about the project, and when Barch’s queries to Brittany yield unsatisfactory answers, both Upchuck and Brittany get a failing grade.

Daria changes the focus of her project from the tale of a mouse taught to run a maze to what happens when a mouse receives fear as his only reinforcement. Drawing an example that parallels Barch’s hatred of all men, Daria gets an “A” — and Kevin gets a “D.”

To Kevin, the project has been a success! He tells Daria that he’s having a big party with a lot of cool people. As Daria’s face presents hopeful optimism, he asks Daria ... if Quinn can make it to the party.

Part of the reason this episode works so well is that Daria is at her creative and sarcastic best. It’s one of the first episodes of the Daria of “Daria Triumphant,” the Daria for which no obstacle remains an obstacle for long.

Daria is not only comfortable answering questions in class, but can quickly come with answers that serve her overall goals — usually the goal of leaving others uncomfortable. Daria manages to build her maze without (much) interference from Kevin, manages to figure out what happened to her missing mouse, and even with the project seemingly ruined, Daria saves it with a presentation that subtly appeals to Mrs. Barch’s misandry.

Daria is at the top of her game here, and even though she’s still an outcast at Lawndale, she’s much more in control of events than vice versa.

The episode also marks the first appearance of Janet Barch. It’s a pity that they matched up Barch with Mr. O’Neill, a character who never has been funny and probably never will be. Before the “I-hate-all-men-everywhere” shtick became tiresome, Barch is actually very funny in this episode, not so over the top as she is in future episodes.

(Question: Is this the only funny episode in which Barch has added to the humor instead of subtracted from it?)

Oddly enough, Jane is not just a second banana, but a third banana in this episode. Aside from some framing scenes, Jane is little used in “The Lab Brat,” basically to react to whatever Daria says and to occasionally add a provocative comment of her own.

As Jane was later developed into an intriguing character of her own — I think Jane could have supported a series — it is very difficult to see her in the role of Daria’s coat-holder. I don’t know if this is a failure, as Daria and Jane don’t need to be linked together in every episode — indeed, Jane isn’t even in Mrs. Barch’s class, and therefore couldn’t be Daria’s lab partner. It is very odd to see, however, given the closeness of Daria and Jane’s relationship as explored in later episodes.

But this episode wasn’t going to be used to explore the deepest hidden desires of characters, or the strength of relationships, or to make a point. Its only point was to be funny, and Peggy Nicoll hit the ball out of the park with her first attempt. The next episode — “Pinch Sitter” — would be a similar fan favorite ... but Daria fans would have to learn that patience was a virtue.

Random thoughts:

• It looks like Quinn has a talent we’ve forgotten to recognize — skill as a cook! Somehow, Quinn is able to whip up a steak for Kevin. The cake that Kevin was presented might have been store-bought, but there’s no way to fake a steak. And if Quinn can make a steak, is a cake really out of her range? (Then again, she might have learned from careful observation of her father.)

• My wife asked a question: Is Kevin onto Quinn? She suggested that Kevin’s cluelessness might be a psychological mechanism. He knows what Quinn’s asking of him, but he doesn’t want to turned into one of Quinn’s gift-bearing admirers, so he plays clueless. Then again, I think that’s giving Kevin too much credit.

• Where did this rumor come from that Kevin was dating Daria and Quinn? Brittany confronts Kevin with the news that the rumor exists during a scene near the lockers. It could have come from any number of sources, most likely from Brittany sharing a confidence with a friend, who then told ten friends, etc. Or Daria could have shared the rumor to set up getting rid of Brittany. Or Quinn could have told Sandi about Brittany’s wrong conclusion, and Sandi spread it all over the school. It just goes to show — rumor travels fast in any high school.

• Daria looks seriously hopeful that Kevin will invite her to his party at the end of the episode. Her eyes become wide, her head tilts, and a hint of anticipation comes into her voice, only for her to be cruelly shot down. I suspect that Daria would have turned down the invite, politely, but would have been secretly thrilled. At least it would have shown that Kevin would have appreciated the hard work Daria did. A pity that didn’t happen.

• Favorite quotes:

Helen: Daria, please tell me about the project.
Daria: It’s about how behavior is affected by positive or negative
reinforcement.
Helen: Sounds super.
Daria: Like ... say, you have a friend who responds to everything
you say with, “That’s great!” This insincere reply is the same
whether you saved a life or killed a bug, and thus becomes
“negative reinforcement,” causing you to withdraw from that
person or persons.
Helen: Wow. That’s fantastic!

Brittany: So, like, what have you been doing all night?
Kevin: Um ... working.
Brittany: Wow, this really looks complicated. Kevin ... you’re so smart. Explain it to me.
Kevin: Uh ... well, see, there’s this path. Wait ... hey. Oh,
there’s two paths. Cool!

Brittany: Ooh! Can you believe Daria’s trying to take Kevin
away from me?
Jodie: I can’t believe anyone would try to take Kevin away
from you.

Kevin: Babe!
Daria: This is all very touching. Brittany, a deal. The mouse
for Kevin.
Brittany: Deal.
(Both shake hands and think: “Sucker.”)
Kevin: Daria, I can still come over and watch the Pigskin
Channel, right?
(Both girls think: “Jerk!”)

Labels: Essays, Nicoll, The Lab Brat