Brought back from the grave by black magic, but no one taught them to cross at the green. The Jaywalking Dead, next on Sick, Sad World.

Mr. O'Neill finds Daria after class, very excited and just as secretive. He drags Daria off to make an important phone call to, drum roll please, Val, editor of some teenybopper magazine that Mr. O'Neill had submitted one of Daria's stories to. It ended up winning the "Spend a Day With Val" contest. Daria is underwhelmed, and Mr. O'Neill tries to get her to keep it a secret, and fails.
Jane thinks Daria can weasel a trip to New York out of it, as the magazine is published there, but Val is coming to Lawndale. Ms. Lie gets very excited about the opportunity this affords Lawndale High.
Jake cooks a special meal for Val's arrival (Chili con cheese-puffs, recipe from Val magazine), Helen sets the dining room table, and Quinn spends even more time getting ready than usual. Quinn, of course, is trying to bring the Fashion Club in to the national spotlight.
Val shows up, and she's what Helen would be if she were trying to be Quinn. Val is constantly trying to use slang and rarely speaks an entire sentence without name-dropping. Daria's contribution to the dinner conversation not only derails it but rips up the tracks.
Val follows Daria to school the next day, and gets hit up by one of the local news stations, which was invited there by Val's office. Val is distressed to find out that it's school colors day and she doesn't have the right outfit.
Brittany and Kevin pretend to be friends with Daria so they can meet Val. They needn't have bothered, as Val takes over Mr. O'Neill's class to talk to the kids.
After the class, Quinn and the Fashion Club meet Val. When they insult her wardrobe, she ditches the school colors. She's back in time to have lunch with Daria and Jane, however, where Jane continues pushing her "day in New York" idea.
During lunch, Ms. Li calls Daria (and Val, naturally) to her office, so she can make sure Val is having a good time, and is going to mention Lawndale High in her magazine. They get interrupted when Val gets a call about her boyfriend going out with another woman.
Val attempts to get on with things like usual, but Daria finally gets sick of her inane chatter and tells her off. Val ends up publishing a story that calls "D" the anti-teen.

Mr. O'Neill: Sorry Jane, but I'm sworn to secrecy! (Drags Daria off)
Jane: I'm sorry... your name again?

"Hello. Yes. No. It just isn't. I guess I can't stop you. See you then. Bye." -- Daria ("The Lost Girls")

"School color day? Are you trying to give the public eyeball conjunctivitis?" -- Daria ("The Lost Girls")

Quinn: Before that... that grunge, Seattle was just another city in our nation's capital.
Daria: Wrong Washington.
Quinn: Yes, grunge was wrong, but you can't blame the whole state.

"As far as I can make out, edgy occurs when middlebrow, middle-aged profiteers are looking to suck the energy, not to mention spending money, out of the quote/unquote youth culture. So they come up with this fake concept of seeming to be dangerous when every move they make is the result of market research and a corporate master plan." -- Daria ("The Lost Girls")

Quinn: Was she a little old for that outfit?
Daria: She's a little old for that brain.

Val: You should have told me. I want to fit in while I'm here.
Daria: Therein lies the difference between us.

"It's my own fault for getting lured into conversation." -- Daria ("The Lost Girls")

"Give me a V, give me an A, give me an L. Gosh, that's short." -- Brittany ("The Lost Girls")

Ms. Li: It's going very well, wouldn't you say?
Daria: We haven't actually come to blows yet.

Val: Are you getting this, Dar? Why don't you read me back your notes.
Daria: Okay. What am I doing here? How am I going to get through this? Dear god, help me.
Val: Wow, you are so existential. But, didn't you write down anything I said?

Wraith's Ramblings:
We're finally getting some of the old Daria's style back, and she tears into Val when it's needed. She's got a lot more patience than she used to, however. Pretty good episode, with some nice scenes with Ms. Li in a role other than iron-fisted tyrant and a couple minor scenes with Jodie.
Also see my Rambling of 11-1-00.