Season Analysis: As simple and as crude as it was originally, but somehow more sophisticated, Beavis and Butt-Head may just be the best example of a show returning after a long hiatus off the air following supposed cancellation.
“Tech Support”
When B & B stumble into a tech support call center while looking for the abandoned drive-in and then discover some computers, they naturally have only one goal: porn. But since they can’t find what they’re looking for right away, they fit in by acting like children, parroting the stock phrases of stereotypically Middle Eastern call center employee Hamid. Depending on one’s point of view, their constant refrain of “I understand your frustration” is either plain unhelpful and even infuriating or evidence that they are doing a great job. When their shenanigans ultimately lead to a power plant meltdown, it is a beautiful illustration of how they are savants at creating anarchy with little effort and zero focus.
Best Music Video Segment: “Cinema”
The video for Benny Benassi ft. Gary Go’s “Cinema” features a series of fantasies that could very well go along with self-pleasure. Most people are not absolutely consumed with such subject matter, so when they do talk about it, it is often overly crude or overly euphemistic. But since it is one of B & B’s favorite pastimes, they are veritable poets and cultural scholars when it comes to the topic of masturbation.
Best Reality Show Segment: 16 and Pregnant
What is particularly striking about the 16 and Pregnant clip in the episode “Daughter’s Hand” is not how much of a crisis teen pregnancy can be, but just how mundane and thoroughly unfulfilling the lives of these teen parents appear to be. As Beavis interprets the mom, “She’s not a bad actor, just a bad person.” Without its anarchic nature, Beavis and Butt-head would be just as depressing as this clip, and it is thoroughly fascinating that this seemingly hopeless picture of “reality” is what currently dominates MTV’s airwaves.