when “beavis and butt head‘”The Simpsons,” which premiered in the spring of 1993, is not only what many consider to be the best season right now, but it’s also arguably the of Best ever. Beloved by critics and comedy geeks hermerge vs monorail(by Conan O’Brien), which recently earned him a #2 spot on Rolling Stone magazine. List of 100 best shows. in history. “Beavis and Butt-Head” was rejected.
Still, if you were talking to me at the time, the critically ignored “Beavis and Butt-Head”, a crudely drawn cartoon about two idiots giggling in a music video, was more evident. Excellent, I would have said with a smile of teenage confidence. This was not a provocation, it was deliberate, and I have no regrets.Beavis wearing her t-her shirt over her plump blonde hair and herself Great Cornholio Made me laugh out loud more than anything Bart Simpson ever did? No, but it’s true. Sometimes life (and comedy) is stupid.
Mike Judge, who directed cult films such as Idiocracy and Office Space, as well as created cartoons, is a master of moronics. So Paramount+ has invested heavily in his dormant animation work, bringing the old seasons online while the solid new film Beavis and Butt-Head Does the Universe fully captures the madness of the original even better. Deployed reboot series. A spirit that makes you want to imitate old catchphrases. (“Are you threatening me?” “Fire! Fire!”)
It’s part of a broader corporate strategy based on the nostalgic impulses of those of us who grew up on a constant diet of MTV and VH1. There’s a reunion of her two original cast of “The Real World” (the point: time heals most wounds) and a revival of “Behind the Music.” The reality and music documentary genre has grown enough that these shows seem unnecessary, but “Beavis and Butt-Head” remains idiosyncratic. It also includes several episodes depicting them in middle age and hits Comic Notes with a Mosei rhythm not found elsewhere.
“Beavis and Butt-Head” is always much smarter than its characters, but it resonated with young people because it pulled it off without trying to appeal to its parents. Animation attempts this trick of layering one generation’s jokes with another generation’s references. It works well, but it comes at a price. Because if you’re talking over your head, kids can tell. Never, his plot was decidedly indifferent. Coincidentally, he created him one of the most memorable acerbic girls of the era. Dahliastarted with “Beavis and Butt-Head” before getting her own show.
It was childish yet familiar when Butt-Head tickled a vaguely sexual-sounding word (“He said ‘hanging'”). So was the perspective of identifying some cool things (explosions, lizards, destructive things), identifying others (university, words, alternative rock) and nothing in between. When the kids on TV were still talking on Ginger, these guys defiantly didn’t speak up. But their stutters had catchy music (Butt-Head’s way of saying “Hey baby” haunted me) and demonstrated an undeniable love for the sounds of words.
Judge’s dialogue was most famous for its steady, moaning bassline. This seemed stylized. In the real world, there is far more laughter than entertainment, and most of it is not a reaction to a joke. “Beavis and Butt-Head” was the only show to reflect this.
This series belonged to the past decade when ridiculing television and the people who watch it was a respectable prejudice. It’s tempting to say the show started before the culture wars politicized everything, but “Beavis and Butt-Head” was actually a magnet for criticism and moralization. It was very interesting, but it seemed silly to the fans.Who wants to be like Beavis? Or his alpha companion in braces?
Judge satirized liberal teachers and hypocritical authority figures, but his main source of ridicule was the characters in the title. . And while it wasn’t the first pop culture production to regularly portray characters analyzing other pop culture productions (“Mystery Science Theater 3000” had previously premiered), it’s especially for budding critics. Much of the humor in “Beavis and Butt-Head” was, like me, essentially watching a critical performance.
The boys could be withering, like when Butt-Head asked about Amy Grant’s video, “Is this a Clearasil commercial?” And just like when they beat the Bee Gees, they could surprise you. Be silly and make a face, is all you need in a TV comedy. Music videos are less important today, but certain themes of the show are more relevant. In jokes from the beginning of the series, nothing seemed real or important to these guys unless they were on screen.
Reboot, now “Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Headexplores this point and updates the content they critique to include TikTok videos, YouTube how-tos, and ASMR footage.
The new show’s look is Dani’s slicker, and comic situations are better set up and executed, including episode 1 where Beavis and Butt-Head mistake the bathroom in the escape room for where they need to escape. I stare at , then stick my finger in the air and say: You know justifiable stupidity is kept. It’s also a nice surprise to see the new show realize there’s more laughs than clever jokes with Beavis repeating the words “manslaughter.”
But writers can’t help but be ambitious. Butt-Head takes antidepressants (his new mild laugh is disconcerting) and imagines an alternate universe in which Beavis and Butt-Head are wiser. See. Watching what happens to these middle-aged delinquents is probably inevitably dark, and Beavis in Pants (Fear) sounds like a MAGA fan, but he’s too ignorant to vote. Shoehorning Beavis and Butt-Head into the “Angry Men of Man” satire is an interesting premise, but it feels like what “The Simpsons” does.
One of the most memorable moments in the original show was when Butt-Head found a guy in the video and asked him out.is that christian slater guy?” Beavis attempted a pun. Later, dude. Butt-Head replied scornfully: It never works. ”
For Butt-Head, there is nothing worse than a challenge. A philosophy of teenage love and a certain wit overlaps in this regard. Mike Judge understood that comedy is hard work, but hard work isn’t fun. I guess.