A couple of weeks ago it was announced that Mike Judge would be bringing Beavis and Butt-Head back to the big screen with a new movie for Paramount+. That’s big news for a 90’s kid like me so I will definitely have to add Paramount+ to growing list of our streaming subscriptions. Here was the announcement if you missed it.
Beavis and Butt-Head originally came out when I was in 7th grade back in 1993. The first episode debuted on MTV on March 8th, 1993 and I was already watching a lot of shows on MTV at that time so of course I was going to check out this new animated show. 1993 was also the year that I got into Metallica so to see Beavis rockin’ the shirt resonated with me. It aired at the 7pm time slot which meant right after dinner for our household. My mom would be washing dishes in the kitchen, my dad would be off to their bedroom to watch TV and I would be watching Beavis and Butt-Head in the living room. My hand on the remote ready to change the channel if my parents were nearby because Beavis and Butt-Head were labeled as a bad influence in the media. So not only did I have the media telling my parents that rap music was bad for my ears, but now they were telling them that Beavis and Butt-Head would turn me into a total loser. Comical!
Beavis and Butt-Head turned me onto a lot of heavy metal music I didn’t know about and that’s the main reason I liked the show so much. I would have never known about Pantera if it weren’t for Beavis and Butt-Head. Vulgar Display of Power remains one of my favorite albums if I need to get amped up for something. And at the age of 41, my dreams of becoming a major leaguer are probably gone but if I had the chance to be a closer, “Walk” would for sure be the song I walked to the mound to. RIP to Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell who was shot and killed while on stage back in 2004 while performing with his band Damageplan. Such a tragedy.
But Beavis and Butt-Head weren’t only commentating on heavy metal videos. They ventured all over into different genres and would always have something hilarious to say. And their voices, both handled by show creator Mike Judge, would crack me up by themselves. I would spend countless hours trying to imitate Beavis & Butt-Head’s voices. I think my Beavis is pretty good still today but I’m my own judge so of course I’m going to give myself props. If you’ve read any stories on my site, you know I’m a big rap guy. And Beavis & Butt-Head were into rap too which was rad. They covered Snoop, De La, Cypress Hill, Digital Underground and many more videos on the show.
In between their music video commentary you had their hilarious skits. Before the show’s debut in March of 1993, the pilot episodes were seen through Spike & Mike’s Sick & Twisted Festival of Animation and on MTV’s animation showcase, Liquid Television back in the early 90’s. Below you’ll find one of their pilots, “Frog Baseball” which aired in 1992.
For my junior high school years, my friends and I were all into Beavis and Butt-Head. There wouldn’t be a day that went by that you didn’t hear “Fire Fire!” or something about Cornholio. We were also all hitting puberty at that time so had a lot in common with these teenage delinquents. We all wanted to score with chicks just like our animated homies from Highland.
While we all watched and loved the show, we were able to separate the content from our own lives just like we did with rap music. But some in middle America were offended by Beavis and Butt-Head and pushed for it to be pulled off the air. The show was also starting to get blamed for kids acting up just like rap music was around the same time. Eventually the show got pulled from its 7pm time slot and moved back to 11pm. For a while they were also not allowed to say the word “fire” in the show or have any themes relating to fire.
Beavis and Butt-Head have had several returns to TV over the years and each time I’m tuned in. Last year it was announced that Comedy Central would be picking up the show for 2 seasons beginning sometime in 2021. So now we have both the show and a movie on the horizon which makes me a happy camper. I’m curious to see how the show will be different on Comedy Central but it’s safe to assume that our favorite losers will be up to their usual antics.
While we wait for new shows from the boys, I suggest you follow Sean Beard on Instagram as he has probably the best collection of Beavis & Butt-Head memorabilia. And in preparation for this blog, I asked the cart artist Lunchmade to create something cool from an old Beavis and Butt-Head j-card I bought off of eBay. Lunchmade whipped up a pretty sick piece here that any fan of the show would love to have. Question is, will he actually let it go??
To celebrate the March 8th anniversary of their debut airing on MTV, I wanted to include my top Beavis and Butt-Head skits of all time. Some good ole classic nostalgia vibes here!
“Date Bait”