Beavis and Butt-Head

Did You Know?

• Beavis's voice was based on a kid in Mike Judge's high school calculus class who snickered at their attractive female teacher.
• The characters' age is never specified, but Mike Judge said they are 'probably' 15.
• TV Guide ranked the duo's distinct laughing at #66 on their list of the 100 Greatest TV Quotes and Catchphrases in 2005.

Production

In September 1992, MTV flew Judge to New York to commission a full series, initially approving 35 episodes with a seven-figure budget. The original series aired from 1993 to 1997. Four staff writers developed treatments that Judge revised to capture his artistic voice; early writer David Felton described writing the characters from a primitive state of mind. Music video commentary was largely improvised by Judge, recorded with an engineer in Austin. Judge tried having the duo comment on other MTV programs but found it confusing. After writing, episodes were storyboarded, laid out, transferred to cels, and photographed, taking five months to a year to air. Animators used a stock selection of movements to save time. Earlier seasons were produced at MTV's midtown Manhattan campus, but Judge preferred working from his Austin home via fax, FedEx, and video conferencing; animation was partially handled by studios in South Korea. The first season was animated by J. J. Sedelmaier Productions, with later seasons handled by an in-house MTV unit. Judge insisted on a deliberately off-kilter style, likening it to drawings by a 15-year-old. Elizabeth Kolbert of The New York Times described the motions as having a jerky, seasick quality.

Reception

During its original run, Beavis and Butt-Head was MTV's highest rated show and one of the most popular series at its 1993 premiere. Rolling Stone called it the biggest phenomenon on MTV since Michael Jackson's heyday. Time's Kurt Andersen wrote it may be the bravest show ever run on national television. Judge said in 1997 that the show was his reaction to fringe aspects of the political correctness movement. The series drew both positive and negative reactions for its lewd humor and implied social criticism. Critics such as Michael Medved condemned it, while David Letterman and the National Review defended it as subversive social commentary. It is often considered a classic of 1990s youth culture and Generation X. Trey Parker and Matt Stone of South Park cited it as an influence, comparing it to the blues. Dan Tobin of The Boston Phoenix wrote that it transformed stupidity into a crusade. Ted Drozdowski of the same paper said the show had reduced to self-parody by 1997. David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun described it as intelligent social satire speaking to teenage boys, calling the duo postmodern descendants of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn.

Controversies

Beavis and Butt-Head became a lightning rod for controversy over its content. In 1993, the show was blamed for the death of two-year-old Jessica Matthews in Moraine, Ohio, after her five-year-old brother set fire to their mobile home. The mother claimed her son watched an episode where characters said fire was fun. Rolling Stone noted the family lived in abject poverty and likely could not afford cable. In 2008, Austin Messner revealed his family did not have cable due to his mother's drug problem and that he had never seen the show. As a result, all references to fire were removed from subsequent airings and the show moved to a later time slot. The creators found a loophole, having Beavis scream similar words like 'Fryer! Fryer!' or almost saying the forbidden word. MTV eventually removed the offending episode entirely. Other episodes not rerun included 'Stewart's House' and 'Way Down Mexico Way'. Early uncensored copies are rare, typically from home VHS recordings. Judge expressed uncertainty whether some earlier episodes still exist uncensored. When the series returned in 2011, MTV allowed Beavis to use the word 'fire' again; in the first new episode, he said it seven times in 28 seconds.

Related media

Episodes of Beavis and Butt-Head were released on VHS by MTV Video in the United States throughout the 1990s, with most music video segments excised due to copyright. The releases were later issued on LaserDisc in 1995 and on DVD through Time Life in 2002. The VHS titles include There Goes the Neighborhood (February 7, 1995), Work Sucks (February 7, 1995), Chicks N' Stuff (December 1995), The Final Judgement (1995), Beavis and Butt-Head Do Christmas (1996), Feel Our Pain (1996), Law-Abiding Citizens (1997), Innocence Lost (1997), Troubled Youth (1998), Hard Cash (1998), and Butt-O-Ween (1999). Each tape is themed; for example, There Goes the Neighborhood contains episodes such as 'Home Improvement', 'Lawn and Garden', and 'Mr. Anderson's Balls'. Hard Cash includes music videos by Rancid, Faith No More, MC 900 Ft. Jesus, and Beastie Boys.