I’m an unabashed fan of the original Beavis And Butthead, for reasons equally nostalgic and sincere. Watching it today, it seems like a perfect relic of the 90s in general, a twistedly stupid take on “the slacker generation,” involving two dimwits with interests that read like a dinoysian shopping list.
When I heard that MTV was bringing the show back, I was cautiously optimistic. It was probably not going to be as good as it was during its original run, but it also very likely would stand out as the best thing the intellectually bankrupt MTV had to offer.
It’s only been a few episodes, but so far, I feel vindicated.
The Beavis and Butthead of 2011 lack the co-existing stupidity and wit that their 90s counterparts had. There was something so gloriously brilliant in the sub-juvenile humor of the show. It was as if the dumber the lines were, the more bizarrely witty they seemed.
It takes talent to be so stupid and so funny.
The current take feels hollow in comparison, oftentimes becoming bogged down, slow and lazy. It’s still stupid, rest assured, but it feels like the stupidity falls flat on its face more times than not.
Instead of watching the seemingly endless cadre of videos both obscure and popular, B and B now mainly critique The novelty of having the duo watch cultural defecation like The Jersey Shore and 16 and Pregnant wears thin quickly.
It’s still early in the season, but Beavis and Butthead of today seems to have taken a Simpsonian dive in quality.
Beavis the rock critic might agree:
