The Voice Of Daria Speaks, Takes Questions

In an interview with Can I Get A Man With That, Tracy Grandstaff, who voiced Daria, addresses some lingering issues surrounding our favorite Misery Chick, and answers questions from Diablo Cody, Tavi Gevinson, and Jane Pratt in that dulcet monotone.

Grandstaff can’t offer much insight into the thinking behind some of the series’ biggest controversies since she wasn’t a writer, but she speculates that Daria stole Jane’s boyfriend, “Because life is messy? and complicated? and layered?” and says it took Daria five years to reference a condom as a “neon birth control device” because, “They say ‘write what you know’ – It took the writers five years to acknowledge their own sexuality.”

However, Grandstaff nails the sarcastic tone when responding to fans questions in the voice of Daria. Tavi asks for Daria’s thoughts on Comme des Garcons. (“Do they make a decent army jacket?”) Diablo Cody wonders if a guy like Trent could ever commit. (“Try not to mistake infatuation for chemistry and look for a Tom Sloane with a streak of Slash.”) Liz Lee of MTV’s My Life As Liz tells Daria, “You kept me sane,” which seems a bit unlikely, since Liz was in elementary school when the show aired. Perhaps she obtained a bootleg DVD as a teen?

As for former Jane magazine editor Jane Pratt, it seems she’s still steamed about the viscous Val send-up in the episode “The Lost Girls.” She asks, “Would you parody someone now in order to make a social statement? I’m curious, as I used to make fun of people like New Kids On The Block back in the Sassy days.”

It’s unclear what NKOTB has to do with anything, but Grandstaff replies, “Who wouldn’t Daria parody in order to make a social statement today? … Any magazine or show or form of media claiming to be gospel to a generation of girls trying to figure themselves out is fair target for parody.” Maybe Pratt thought the last decade would have warmed Daria’s cynical heart, but if she’s looking for an apology, it doesn’t sound like she’s going to get it.