The animated teen-age star of her own show, "Daria," on MTV (airing Mondays at 10 p.m.) is to snide what Tony Soprano is to tough. She is the anti-cheerleader, the un-social climber, the jaundiced eye in a cartoon world of too much makeup and superficial crayon colors. In her oversized glasses, drab green blazer and clunky combat boots, she may look like a misfit, but the catch is that Daria's the only character on the show who "gets it." It's everyone else who's a misfit. (OK, Daria's best friend, Jane Lane, gets it, too, but she's more vulnerable than Daria; and try as she might, her tongue is nowhere near as acidic.)

It's hard to believe that Daria came to us originally from Mike Judge's "Beavis and Butt-Head," whose gross-out antics were funny for about a millisecond. (Daria began as a minor side character in those B&B episodes.) On her own, under the evolution of Glen Eichler and Susie Lewis Lynn, "Daria" became the first full-length animated sitcom on MTV. It's been the "music" network's most clever series ever since.