I just stumbled across a synopsis I wrote over a decade ago of a fantasy Beavis and Butt-Head parody of “Hamlet” (“Butt-Let: Dude of Highland”) and it got me thinking about that series and how great it was.
I know you can get the Time-Life and Mike Judge compilation DVDs but none of these have have the music video segments (or at least not all of them), which were the best part of the show. I don’t suppose anyone knows of any (legal) way to find the episodes in their original formats? I have an old VHS that I taped off of MTV’s “Beavis and Butt-Head Moronathon” that I treasure. I’m afraid to watch it more than once a year or so for fear of wearing out the tape.
My very favorite moment of all, which I doubt can be found on any DVD: B&B are watching a video, which features a long-haired guy (paraphrasing from memory):
Beavis: Is that Jesus?
Beavis: Is that our Lord Jesus Christ?
Beavis: Is it…? Er… (disappointed) Oh…oooooh it’s Rush.
Get MTV2 - they show B&B on occasion, most recently on Saturday early afternoon.
Get volumes 1 and 2 of the Beavis and Butthead Mike Judge Collection. It has bunches of the shows, videos, and a documentary/interview thing with Mike Judge, which is possibly the most entertaining thing on there. (his normal voice sounds like Butthead, only articulate!)
After I posted the OP, I pulled out my “moronathon” tape, and alas, most of it is unwatchable. After the first hour, it starts skipping every few seconds. I’m really sad about this.
I’m going to rent the Mike Judge collections to see if they’re worth it, but I realized while trying to watch the tape that the video commentaries are really the only reason to watch the show.
Also, I got the quote wrong:
Episode: Plastic Surgin’
(beginning of video shows a guy sitting in a chair, arms outstretched)
Beavis: Whoa. Is that Jesus? Heh. Is that Our Lord Jesus Christ?
Butt-Head: No, I think it’s Lenny Kravitz.
Beavis: Um, no I think it’s…(disappointed) no, it’s Rush. Oh, God.
Also there’s some good Pantera related dialogue in this episode, but I couldn’t catch it.
one more:
Episode: In Top of the Mountain
(video is, I think, Ministry’s “Just One Fix”)
Beavis: Is this White Zombie?
Butt-Head: Might as well be.
Beavis: Marcus Welby?
I hate whatever “rights issues” keeps these episodes from being available in their broadcast form on DVD.
I think you can find places that will transfer tapes to DVD.
I’ve found that YouTube has a lot of episode clips. They have some of the videos, too. It helps.
Butthead: Attention. We are looking for the chick with big thingies.
Beavis: We are ready to do you now.
House of Reps: Huh ehe heheh…hehehe
Beavis: This dam, is it a god dam?
Butthead: Dammit, Beavis, put that away. You’re not supposed to have your penis out when you’re cooking.
The best episode EVER was the Halloween one. “Trick or treat, son of a bitch!”
One cool thing about “King of the Hill” is the character of Stewart Dooley-he sounds just like Butthead. And Hank is merely another version of Tom Anderson.
Is that the one where they claim that the Pantera singer has “daddy issues”?
MTV2 is good for episodes, with one major caveat. It seems they have a limited license, and there are frequent reruns. I rarely see “new” ones whenever it’s on.
I think so…the one where Beavis is pretending to yell at the lead singer: “Goddammit, Pantera! Don’t talk to your mother that way!” Something like that.
Sadly, I don’t have cable or DVR/TiVo. So rebroadcasts don’t do me much good.
Okay, here’s what I can’t understand. I’ve seen all manner of ridiculous, screwy, obnoxious, and purposely offensive TV in my day. No problem with that; it takes all kinds. But of all of them why is Beavis and Butthead the only one that’s seemingly missed by a huge number of viewers? I’ve never heard any kind of call for a return of The PJs. Or Ren and Stimpy. Or Duckman (which baffles me to this day, as I thought this show was in a class by itself). Heck, Married With Children had a fanatical following, and just about anyone will tell you that it had its day and had to end sometime.
That said, any kind of revival would probably be the worst possible thing to happen to this show. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Everything went right for it. It was introduced at a time when the Political Correctness movement was raging, Howard Stern was becoming an unlikely radio megastar, and a vicious, ugly looking show starring two repulsive losers was exactly what a lot of us needed. It tweaked the predictable reactionary morons perfectly and got exactly the right response, embarrasingly half-baked arguments a ten-year-old could’ve torn to pieces (and effectively drowning out any and all valid criticism about the actual quality of the show). The magazines and other news outlets were straitjacketed into the pre-set terms of the debate, vehemently proclaiming the “it’s not warping our kids” line over and over while never actually asking the question of its, y’know, entertainment value. (I’m willing to accept that there were valid reasons for liking it, but I NEVER saw this debated anywhere.) And it ended just when the concept was getting played out and before it got completely old hat.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime super jackpot on the order of buying up Microsoft stock just before Windows became a standard or signing a 15-year NFL contract. What in blazes does Mike Judge, MTV, or anyone at all involved in the motion picture industry have to gain by additional exposure? It’s a different America now. There’s an ugly, bloody war going on. Presidential incompetence isn’t the least bit funny anymore. PC has been thorougly mocked and forgotten. If B&B makes any kind of comeback, rest assured that the questions this time will focus on how funny a couple of jerks acting like jerks really is, especially when it’s not the least bit new or shocking at this point.
Beavis and Butthead had an absolutely perfect run. Everything good, nothing bad. Why even think of messing with that?
One of my favorite B&B moments is when the “Over the Hills and Far Away” video comes on. Butthead has heard it before, but Beavis hasn’t.
Beavis is getting real pissed during the acoustic intro (“this song SUCKS”) but Butthead keeps telling him “don’t worry”.
When it kicks in Beavis gets all pumped, and by the end he’s going, “I like the part that goes, ‘Da-NAH Da-NAH’” and he just keeps singing it.
Now, it’s like trying to listen to “Jammin’” by Bob Marley without singing it like Chief Wiggum.
Shakespeare could do a million words on the lameness of Warrant and never capture it as perfectly as Mike Judge did by putting Stu in one of their T-Shirts.
I agree, B&B watching the video’s were the best part of the show. Thank’s, thelurkinghorror, I just about cried laughing at that Pantera video (here at work).
The first couple of episodes of Daria were excellent. A series that for once had a character I could relate to. But then, alas. During the show she went from being an arrogant, confident, geeky girl, to being just another loser.
I don’t know who is, but I’m not. That I miss it doesn’t mean in the least that I want it to be “revived” (a la “Family Guy”). That would be stupid; it was utterly of its time.
What upsets me is that the original episodes (in their unedited, broadcast form) are not available on DVD, and apprently never will be. That’s all.
**
Trunk**, it was Winger. Stewart is defined by his Winger shirt as much as Butt-head is by AC/DC. If Stewart wore anything else, it was brief and temporary. But your original post still applies!
BTW, I’ve never spent that much time on YouTube before. This thread led me to figure out how to use the “favorites” and “playlist” features to bookmark some of those clips. Thanks, Dopers!
Dammit, Pantera, I told you to get out there and mow that lawn!***
