Daria

The Lawndale teachers go on strike and Ms. Li has to find someone to teach the children...sounds like a plotline we've seen before, doesn't it? Even "The Simpsons" had the teacher strike episode in their first couple seasons. However the writers of "Daria" managed to keep this episode fun and original by adding the twist that Daria takes over teaching Quinn's English class. Meanwhile, Trent gets coerced by Mr. O'Neil to help them write a "stirring song" to help band the teachers together to have their demands met by Ms. Li so they could return to work. Part of the fun of this episode is building on the characters that we already know and love by putting them in new situations: Quinn, her fan club and the Fashion club dealing with Daria (aka: Miss Darlene) as their substitute, Kevin constantly being thwarted by an elderly woman, Mr. DeMartino trying desperately to negotiate a new teaching contract with Ms. Li, Trent collaborating on strike songs with Mr. O'Neil, and Jane painting strike posters with Ms. DeFoe. In the end Quinn proudly admits that Daria is her sister and realizes that she's much smarter than she thought she was, Kevin loses the battle with his substitute, Mr. DeMartino manages to get the new contract signed and the strike is over. There's a ton of great dialogue between Daria and her new students, including their discussions on Shakespeare and her enlightening the class on the meaning of "woe" ("It's like the feeling you'd get if the Superbowl were preempted by "Antiques Roadshow.") All in all, another great installment from a great series.