The Trouble With Cast Parties
by Jill Palmer
jill@mail.one.net
------
Jane doesn't like cast parties, even when she gets a "sketch artist" gig out of the deal. Of course, being the night's official artist, she gets to observe everyone else in action...
DISCLAIMER: Me are not owning Daria. That's Empty-V's job, unfortunately. On the other hand, I *do* own this particular interpretation of the characters... As usual, you can post this on your site if you so desire, just tell me it's there.
------
There's a finality to cast parties that I've grown to love hating. We've had one after every season and the first movie, true, but this one's especially depressing. Maybe it's because we all know it's the last one we'll have as a group.
It's bigger than any of its predecessors. We invited everybody who'd been on the show, even those holiday guys. Well, everybody except Tommy Sherman. Daria and Brittany kept him off the guest list, but I wouldn't be surprised if he crashes. He died so quickly on that episode because he split right after his "misery chick" monologue. Believe me, no one minded...
Some of the holidays showed up - the ones that started the band. X (short for Xmas, remember?) is currently trying his hand at "Dead Skunk". He's not doing too bad, either. I'm not going to have time to get in much beyond rough sketches for them - they have to leave as soon as we're done partying - so it's out with the Polaroid before I take the official picture. Filming that episode was an absolute trip.
Stacy and Chuck are off to one side. He's showing her how to do a magic trick. They've been together since we started filming the show as a whole, and knew each other well before that. He's really a great guy, assuming you don't talk to him on-camera. And if there was an off-the-set Fashion Club, Stacy would be the president, not Sandi. The writers thought her submissive act made for better plotlines than her backbone.
Jodie, Brittany, and Tiffany are carrying on a highly involved intellectual discussion. I suppose there's no harm in it if they can keep up with each other. It's well over my head, that's for sure.
Despite not being much of a singer, Jodie had the idea for trying a musical episode. I think that's the only one she actually *wanted* a minor part in. It was a lot of fun to film, and everyone liked the idea.
Tiffany had some serious problems with her contact lenses itching her eyes when we first started. I don't know why the writers decided to pull a plot for the show from that, but I think it was one of their better stories. She also took a while to get the voice down. Early on, you'd think typical valley girl. But then you look at the nut-stand episode, and you're at the six-words-a-minute reading speed she's famous for. That girl can do an amazingly good vacant voice.
Brittany had to wear a wig for the shooting. She's a redhead naturally, her hair was too short for her to just dye it blonde and work with that in the first season, and after that she thought it was easier to stick with the wig. She had to dye it black for one episode, and it dripped all over the place. Good thing I wore my old boots that night.
Quinn's passed out in a corner. I still can't believe they cast a slacker-narcoleptic as a bubbly popular girl, but they did. And she somehow stayed awake long enough to play the part.
Jamie just went out in the hall to join Kevin and the other two J's in an attempt at playing football. The J's are somewhat more intelligent than their characters, but otherwise spot-on. Kevin... well... he's the QB. Not much that can be done for him.
Mystik Spiral's taken over the music. They're on "Ow, My Nose" at the moment, and seem to be going through songs chronologically by appearance on the show. Sounds millions of times better than it ever did for an episode. They'll get to "Freakin' Friends" any century now.
The adults found a room far, far away from our loud grouping. I think they're all playing poker. Courtney, Adrian, and the siblings Gupty are in Penny's more than capable hands. I'll be staying well out of their way.
Mack and Evan are talking basketball with Halloween and that Erin chick. It's amazing how easily the writers confused sports in Mack's case. They cast a basketball player as captain of the football team, and then arranged for him to take over as quarterback for part of an episode. All would've been well if they hadn't felt the need to film a "game".
According to Daria, Erin said the wedding episode was good practice for the real thing, but she's not going to hire a minister once she gets there.
Now *here's* a meeting of the brains: Sandi, Monique, Guy Fawkes Day, and Nathan discussing the merits of various types of fashion. The Dark Color Schemes side of the Force is winning, obvoiusly. I half expect Monique will get her hands on somebody's guitar before the night is through. Maybe we could talk the holidays into an encore performance one the Spiral's done.
All truth be told, Nathan's not really that zealous of a retro collector. He said he just exaggerated the problems some of his friends found with dabblers for the part. The car with the tail fins was his, though.
The Quinn/Sandi dynamic was very much blown out of proportion. They joked about it whenever they both weren't on camera and Quinn stayed awake long enough. The writers picked up on it very quickly. Gave the fans something to talk about, they said.
Andrea and Alison are talking - I can't hear what about. Whether she was even slotted for an appearance or not, Andrea was there every day we filmed something. She got in most of her lines that way. From what I've heard, she's picked up quite the fan following over the years.
"Having fun yet?"
"Oh, hey, Luhrman. Where were you?"
"I thought I'd see if the adults were any more bored than we are." Somehow his voice is even more neutral than Daria's.
Picturing the ready potential for carnage, I shudder and say, "I doubt it. Have they killed each other yet?"
"No, but I think one of them is on the verge of a nervous breakdown."
"Probably just Mr. O'Neill. That's nothing to worry about. He's *always* on the verge of a nervous breakdown."
"Then there's nothing of note from the poker room." He nods toward the Spiral. "I see they're on to their big hit now."
"So they are. Speaking of freakin' friends, have you seen Daria around? I don't think I've got a picture of her yet."
Luhrman points toward the back of the room. "She's back there, I think. If you'll excuse me, I have to go provide color commentary for the football game in the hallway."
"See you around, then." I don't see Daria, but her jacket's draped over a chair. Her glasses are on the jacket. Tom must be up there too.
Daria met Tom just after we'd finished filming the musical. I've never seen her more comfortable around a guy. We both thought he'd make a great addition to the cast. The writers agreed, but made a fatal mistake when they cast him as *my* romantic interest. I could've told them not to do that.
They wound up with a star who refused to do major parts, and when she was on, she was mostly bitching about the setup as best she could while in character. Why do you think there's so much of Kevin and Brittany in early season 4? Glenn wisely tired of it very quickly, promised Daria an out, and arranged for what the fans (some lovingly, some not) referred to as "The Tom Thing."
All wasn't *quite* right within the Universe, but it was a lot closer.
When the couple breaks for air, I get their attention and snap a picture. Daria's smirking, but my experienced eye picks out a deep sadness in hers. She doesn't want the night to end any more than I do.
END
This idea hit me in the middle of the night. As usual, when I told Miranda to sleep on it, she kept me up half the night thinking on plot. ^_^ Yes, the characters are acting weird, but the emphasis is on the phrase "cast party." Have you ever heard of a perfrmance art thing where the entire cast acted *exactly* like their characters? 'Sides, it was fun writing. Always is when you can play with people's expectations.
