Keywords: Beavis and Butthead, Mike Judge, MTV

Keyword Density: Beavis and Butthead 2.5

Beavis and Butthead: The Little Weiners Make Us Laugh

By Bruna Costa

Beavis and Butthead: A Little Context for you Gen X/Y-ers

Alright, kids. Gather round. I’m gonna let you in on a little secret. Beavis and Butthead, are about to make a comeback.

If you grew up in the 90’s, chances are you at some point a) got home from school and TV-coma-ed yourself to Daria and/or b) played puppy eyes your parents to let you stay up late to watch South Park. I’ve got news for you. Beavis and Butthead practically made those shows.

Daria (you know, the title character from Daria) started out as a sour face in the back of the titular character’s classroom in Beavis and Butthead until she got her own spinoff show. And South Park Creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone were sneaking beers and laughing their butts off to Beavis and Butthead before South Park was a glimmer in their eyes.

Beavis and Butthead’s Whole Deal

Basically, Beavis and Butthead was the creepy, stupid humour is good humour, product of Mike Judge, an MTV guy who decided that stupid teenage dudes were frickin’ hilarious (yeah, there’s probably something wrong with him. Forget about that and read on).

Beavis and Butthead are two Texas high school students who some idiot has let live together –if,uh , hehe, you call that living. Yes, because that is what they are known for – communication and lexicon that involves “ Shut up” and “ he he’ Without any shame, scruples, and barely any education, they light stuff on fire, make jokes about poop and laugh themselves red. And everyone around them just must watch and laugh at their stupid stunned mouths.

Beavis and Butthead runs for about 11 minutes, which is long enough to eat a Dominos pizza but not long enough that you need to pause the show. It’s perfect. There’s also only one story going on in each Beavis and Butthead episode, which means that if you happen to be a little drunk, or a little ‘sleepy,’ you’re gonna have no trouble keeping up. This really works for the intended audience, which really works for the writers, which let’s face it, really works for everyone.

Beavis and Butthead also provides for the tiny whiny insomniac inside you who just wants to watch late-night music videos on MTV, but all you get in 2014 is reruns of 16 and Pregnant. Beavis and Butthead shows the characters watching vintage music videos and making stupid comments. It’s like Science Theatre 3000 for the uninitiated. It’s like friends in a box...very, very stupid friends.

The commentary in Beavis and Butthead is totally ad-libbed by Mike Judge. It’s very zany.

Butthead: A chick in the rain.

Beavis: Yeah. And a dog.

Butthead: Yeah. I guess that’s pretty cool

Beavis: Yeah. Water! Water! Water! . . . That chick needs a raincoat.

Butthead: Yeah. Hey Beavis, do you like, have a raincoat?

Beavis: Yeah.

Butthead: When was the last time you used it?

Beavis: Last night . . . on your mom.

That, people, is a ‘Your mom’ joke from 1994. You can send your thank you letters to Mike Judge.

Beavis and Butthead are the Ultimate Teenager Buttheads

Apart from helping your 10-year-old cousins insult you with ‘your mom’ jokes, Beavis and Butthead is also the show that lets you laugh at poop and farts again. It’s okay. It’s retro television. Beavis and Butthead is the new Monty Python.

You’ve probably been in some sort of class or job where someone’s made a fart noise with their chair and you’ve laughed. Farts are funny. End of story.

Even though the fun vampires want it to be all silence and lavender and smooth crotch areas, it’s never gonna be a thing. Farts and poops are funny! Boners are fun! This is why Beavis and Butthead are so good: they’re like our real thoughts have been given a conduit to our mouth that bypasses the shame gland.

Can’t take your eyes off some chick’s butt at the pool? Beavis and Butthead have been there. Asked people if they wanna see your bunghole? Been there. Deliberately misheard ‘spectacles’ as ‘testicles?’ You get the idea. And, frankly, if you haven’t wondered what would happen if you farted in a glass and lit it on fire, you’re doing life wrong (but don’t light your farts directly. You will literally burn your butt when the flame goes up your bunghole. I mean. I imagine that’s what would happen.).

Beavis and Butthead did so many cool stunts that eventually they had to include disclaimers at the beginning of each episode warning stupid kids not to copy them. One of the best parts about Beavis and Butthead is that you get to laugh at all the stupid crap they do without any twinges of guilt about whether the owner of that freshly-burnt-down house had insurance. It’s a free pass to taboo town. Laugh, it’s okay. I won’t tell your grandma.