If you hear nasally snickering from your TV sets on March 8 — or even from your fellow TV fans — it might be because Beavis and Butt-Head is turning 30 years old that day. And in some episodes of the Paramount+ revival, the titular duo really look their age!
Beavis and Butt-head premiered on MTV on March 8, 1993, and just five months later, Rolling Stone was calling the characters “the voice of a generation,” adding that the “two thunderously stupid and excruciatingly ugly pubescent males” had “become the most acute commentators on TV.”
Of course, the teens’ puerile humor and mischief-making won them just as many critics as fans. And amid controversy over the show’s storylines, MTV added a disclaimer to the start of every episode: “Beavis and Butt-Head are not real. They are stupid cartoon people completely made up by this Texas guy whom we hardly even know. Beavis and Butt-Head are dumb, crude, thoughtless, ugly, sexist, self-destructive fools. But for some reason, the little wienerheads make us laugh.”
That “Texas guy,” for the record, is Mike Judge, who would go on to co-create King of the Hill and Silicon Valley. He also brought Beavis and Butt-Head back for a ninth season on Paramount+ last year.
Below, take a look at the best of Beavis and Butt-Head’s MTV episodes and the show’s double-length Paramount+ episodes, as rated by IMDb voters.
10. Season 6, Episode 13: “Prank Call”
After getting a new phone book, Beavis and Butt-Head find a listing for one Harry Sachz and harangue the guy with so many prank calls that eventually Harry vows vengeance. “Fans of the series should definitely check this one out,” an IMDb user said.
9. Season 2, Episode 12: “No Laughing”
Principal McVicker threatens to expel Beavis and Butt-Head from school if they laugh about sexual innuendo one more time. As one fan noted, however, the laughing ban coincided with Coach Buzzcut’s sex-ed unit in that episode, so the duo were “were fit to explode.”
8. Season 7, Episode 41: “Beavis and Butt-Head Are Dead”
In the last episode of the original MTV run, teacher David Van Driessen waxes nostalgic about his times with Beavis and Butt-Head when he believes the duo to be dead. “Compilation shows like this are usually rubbish and annoying … but this one is well worth watching, and it makes a great finale,” an IMDB user observed.
7. Season 4, Episode 31: “The Great Cornholio”
Beavis binges on candy for breakfast, and then at school, he transforms into the alter-ego of the episode’s title. But his behavior puzzles Van Driessen, who reads studies showing that sugar shouldn’t cause Cornholio’s level of hyperactivity.
6. Season 9, Episode 11: “Refuse Service”/”Downward Dumbass”
In the first episode of this two-parter, Beavis and Butt-Head learn about — and soon abuse — the right to refuse service to Burger World customers. In the second, Beavis squeezes into a pair of yoga pants only to become trapped in the tight fabric.
5. Season 9, Episode 5: “Nice Butt-Head”/”Home Aide”
Butt-Head undergoes a massive personality shift after starting a regimen of anti-aggression medication. The second half of the episode, meanwhile, sees Beavis finally getting a job as a home aide, with his first client none other than Butt-Head.
4. Season 9, Episode 6: “Virtual Stupidity”/”Locked Out”
Beavis and Butt-Head are amazed by virtual-reality goggles they don’t realize are actually just sunglasses, and later, they rope hapless neighbor Tom Anderson into a hare-brained plot to break into their own house. “My cheeks literally hurt right now after watching these new episodes,” an IMDb user wrote. “Mike Judge is a comedy god!”
3. Season 9, Episode 9: “Weird Girl”/”Time Travelers”
In part one, Beavis deals with the unreciprocated admiration of a classmate who gives new meaning to “burning love.” And in part two, he and Butt-Head think they’ve traveled through time when they cross into another time zone.
2. Season 9, Episode 8: “Two Stupid Men”/”Freaky Friday”
Beavis and Butt-Head report to jury duty but arrive at ridiculous verdicts during the trial. And in the second part, the friends think that they’ve switched bodies after mistaking each other’s image for their own reflections.
1. Season 9, Episode 12: “The Most Dangerous Game”/”Bone Hunters”
In the only episode to get a 9.0 score on IMDb, both Beavis and Butt-Head try to stay awake so that they won’t be made to pee their pants in their sleep, and they construct a “Bonersaurus” dinosaur in a scheme to open a museum.
Beavis and Butt-Head, Streaming now, Paramount+
