Beavis & Butt-Head

Here’s the bad news about Beavis & Butt-Head: they’ve aged terribly. The recent “Mike Judge Collection” was a major letdown, with glaring omissions (no “Fire! Fire!” episodes, and the few music videos they were allowed to use had neutered commentaries). Nonetheless, we must acknowledge the massive impact that B&B had on pop culture. Quite simply, they ruled MTV in the early ‘90s, and some have even suggested that they in fact saved MTV. In some instances, the careers of bands were made and broken by their cutting comments. That’s right, the opinions of two of the most socially retarded characters you’re ever likely to find actually held weight as a barometer of good taste; such was the hero worship that surrounded the B&B phenomenon. One other overlooked contribution that Beavis and Butt-Head made to pop culture was the spinoff show “Daria,” which was far wittier than its ancestor (and therefore widely ignored). Watching them now may not be as much fun as it once was, but we concede that Beavis & Butt-Head have a certain Zen-like simplicity that cannot be denied. ~David Medsker