B + B = classic….
It would appear now that King of the Hill has been cancelled (Damnit, Bobby!) that Mike Judge has had time to bring Beavis & Butt-Head back to television, which debuted tonight on its same ol’ home – MTV.
Of course, these days MTV apparently can’t be PAID to show a music video anymore, so besides the cartoon part of B&B, what will the boys watch on TV? Well, they still found some music videos from somewhere – and you guessed it – the videos still suck, and thankfully now B&B are back to point this out as obnoxiously as possible.
Also, Herr Judge has taken a new tack – he’s made them critique all the even stupider reality shows (which replaced music videos) on MTV, starting with one of the least intelligent of all – Jersey Shore. You have to love ‘JWoww’ talking about how she’s going to grandkids about making pizza in Italy (somehow that poor country allowed the NJ crew to visit, must have been a full-court diplomatic press by the Obama Administration) and then Beavis asking if she was really going to call her granddaughter ‘bitch’? Too funny.
It’s interesting to compare B&B to the (now) fairly moribund Simpsons (which started several years earlier than B&B and hasn’t stopped yet, although it might by the time they reach 25(!) years on the air), South Park (also now having been on for over a decade, arguably taking over as the ‘rude kid series’ when B&B went off the air in 1997) and the completely wacked out Family Guy (which takes psycho humor and violence to a new level and makes The Simpsons look like The Honeymooners by comparison). For me,
I like the fact that to B&B, nothing is sacred and everything deserves potshots, especially taken from the perspective of a high-school burnout. It’s not even clear if B&B have a computer or cell phone or know what either one is? Maybe that will evolve this time around.
The early Simpsons took largely the same tack, mostly through more clever writing and more characters to work with in the first place – but has long since become hostage to the unending mediocrity that is Al Jean – Matt G., you need to FIRE that guy!
South Park has always been kind of hit or miss with me, mostly miss – but the movie was pretty funny (as was the long-awaited Simpsons movie, surprisingly) and it still has its moments, although now sadly without Chef, one of the best characters (Isaac Hayes, RIP).
While I have watched Family Guy a few times – I am amazed it is on the air every time I watch it – I guess it could be funny, but it is so over-the-top shocking first and foremost that it almost PREVENTS laughter? South Park has its violence here and there but mostly tries to skewer public figures, society and when in doubt, there’s always Terence and Philip – Family Guy really pushes the envelope by comparison, and to me, not really in a good way at all.
But maybe B&B will take them on too? Too early to say….you can apparently catch the new episodes on MTV.com if you no longer have cable. I haven’t seen the ‘old man’ neighbor Tom Anderson yet (the original voice of Hank Hill) but the peace-loving english teacher and B&B’s long-suffering toadie, Stuart (probably the only guy in the 21st century still wearing or even OWNING a Winger t-shirt) are both back. Sadly no Daria though – maybe she’ll make a guest appearance?
At any rate, welcome back, boys – an entire generation of TV has been long overdue for your attention and it’s time to take them down as many notches as you can. 🙂
candybowl