Brainy ‘Beavis’ Pal ‘Daria’ Spins Off

It’s hard to imagine Beavis and Butt-head siring anything that wouldn’t be immediately consigned to a laboratory for study by a team of geneticists.

Nevertheless, here comes the “Beavis and Butt-head” spinoff “Daria,” MTV’s first full-length animated sitcom starring their 16-year-old female friend who, aficionados may recall, is as brainy as they are vacuous.

“Daria” is certainly watchable and delivers an amusing moment now and then, but hardly any of the bent charm of B&B; themselves--perhaps because their creator, Mike Judge, is not involved with the 13-episode spinoff.

Its premise finds Daria Morgendorffer, her parents and her more popular and outgoing younger sister, Quinn, moving to a new town, Lawndale, where the high school swiftly places Daria in a special class for students with low self-esteem.

“Daria” may be the kind of series that grows on you. Its finest moment tonight comes when our dour heroine’s new history teacher is unable to get anyone in class to name the war in which the U.S. fought Mexicans. Now there’s something Beavis and Butt-head could relate to.

* “Spy Game” premieres at 8 tonight on ABC (Channels 7 and 3). “Daria” premieres at 10:30 tonight on MTV.