Saturday, January 13, 2007

Mini-DVD Review: Beavis and Butt-Head: The Mike Judge Collection

Welcome to another edition of mini-DVD reviews! Today we take a look at MTV/Paramount's Complete Collection of Beavis and Butt-Head. Beavis and Butt-Head of course was the popular MTV animated series which featured the crazy duo. Music videos were also seen on the show. See skees53's mini-DVD review of Beavis and Butt-Head: The Mike Judge Collection:

Beavis and Butt-Head: The Mike Judge Collection (MTV, $124.90) contains 122 of the "best" episodes (keep in mind that each episode is only about 5 minutes, although there are a few that are longer) of the former MTV animation hit, along with several bonus features and the motion picture film, "Beavis and Butt-Head Do America." The set itself is actually comprised of three smaller DVD sets and the movie, all of which had previously been released and are also available separately.

Beavis and Butt-Head: Volume 1 (MTV, $39.98) contains 40 episodes, primarily from the earlier years of the series In this set, we get to see who Beavis and Butt-Head are before they become REALLY stupid. The boys help Mr. Anderson prune a tree (and accidentally cause his whole house to fall down in the process), become friends with an escaped serial killer (and reforms the killer, or "Kyler" as they call him, by getting him to put a tattoo of a butt that has a tattoo of a butt, on their butt), discover the joys of a 1-900 number, get sent back a grade, again and again, until they end up in kindergarten, and try to find oil in the backyard after watching "The Beverly Hillbillies." In Volume 1, the special features include 11 music videos from artists such as Pantera, Korn, Beastie Boys, and a bunch of other artists that are, well, not so well-known. Additionally, this set contains original series promos, appearances from the MTV Video Music Awards, appearances with Kurt Loder on an MTV Thanksgiving special, and Taint of Greatness Part 1, which is the first of a three part series (one part on each volume) that is just interviews with those involved with creating the show.

Beavis and Butt-Head: Volume 2 (MTV, $39.98) contains 40 more episodes, beginning with "Plastic Surgin'" (Beavis and Butt-Head discover that women can get their breasts enlarged, and decide they too want a body part enlarged--I'll let you guess what part) and contains many other great adventures such as the boys getting struck by lightning (after imitating Benjamin Franklin), changing the oil in the fryer at Burger World (with motor oil), creating a video for a video dating service, trying to set up a whiplash scam, taking a field
trip where they can't stop misbehaving on the bus (and nearly kill their teacher because of that), trying to buy a prostitute for less than a dollar, and making a series of prank phone calls. Music videos from Beastie Boys, Pantera, Madonna, Rush, and Radiohead are included on this set. It also includes Part 2 of the Taint of Greatness featurette, appearances from the Butt-Bowl, clips from the MTV 20th Anniversary Special, Calvin Klein ad parodies, Moron-A-Thon (an MTV marathon of the show from several years ago) featuring Snoop Dogg, an unaired segment from VH-1's "I Love the 90's," and original series promos.

Beavis and Butt-Head: Volume 3 (MTV, $39.98) contains the remaining 42 of the "best" episodes. In this set, they save a baby bird, get head lice, visit a lingerie store, pierce their own ears, try to get hurt while playing in a shopping cart (to make money), discover impotence,
get drunk from drinking non-alcoholic beer, and imagine themselves as stars of the show "Leave it to Beaver" in the short titled "Leave it to Beavis." This set also contains the Christmas episodes about the boys, and contains the full-length (22 minute) final episode, "Beavis and Butt-Head Are Dead." It includes music videos from Salt N Pepper, Poison, Sonic Youth, Soundgarden, Alice Cooper, and more. Special Features include Part 3 of the Taint of Greatness featurette, the original uncut "Frog Baseball" episode (this was the pilot), Yule Log clips, letters to Santa Butt-Head, Beavis and Butt-Head interview with Chris Connelly, clips from the 2005 Video Music Awards, and original series promos.

Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (Paramount, $14.99) is the original motion picture about the boys, where they go on a journey across America to find a stolen television. It includes some behind the scenes footage and commentary. It isn't really a great movie, but it is a nice thing to have in this set.

In general, these sets are well-done, and I have to admit, I like having the episodes without the music videos intact. That is not how they originally aired, but I remember recording and fast-forwarding through those videos when the series originally aired. My only complaint is that they didn't include the rest of the episodes (there are roughly 80 more). Apparently, Mike Judge feels that the remaining episodes were "poor quality" and for that reason, they shouldn't be seen. Why not put them out and let us decide if we want to buy them?
Among those 80 episodes, there are definitely some in there that, in my opinion, were better than ones included in these volumes. It is also worth noting that, along the same lines of Mike Judge deciding for us what is a "poor quality" episode, he decided to edit out small scenes on episodes in Volume 1 (due to slight animation errors that the average person would probably never notice) and had the audacity to advertise this a "Director's Cut," as if we were getting more footage! Fortunately this practice didn't take place on Volumes 2 and 3.

This set is definitely worth buying, but if the price tag on the entire series doesn't appeal to you, you may want to consider buying it in smaller chunks, maybe a volume at a time. Actually, if you look on Amazon.com, it is cheaper to buy each volume individually than it is to buy the complete collection! The gold box that is included in the complete collection is somewhat nice, but seriously, does anybody really need that? In any event, you'll want to get this somehow, but don't try anything they would do while trying to get it.
-- Reviewed by skees53
(4.5/5 stars)

To purchase the Complete Collection DVD, click below and help support SitcomsOnline.com:
Amazon.com
Or you can buy in Volumes:
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
Beavis and Butt-Head Do America


Related links:
SitcomsOnline.com Full DVD Reviews Page
Beavis and Butt-Head TV.com Page


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Monday, March 31

The Neighborhood - "Welcome to the Signature Service Loyalty Rewards Program" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Malcom receives an unexpected call from USC’s athletic director about a baseball head coach vacancy. Meanwhile, Calvin and Marty start a new signature loyalty rewards program at The Fuse Box.

Poppa's House - "Say Wha?!" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Junior’s fundraising effort for his film takes a dramatic turn when he discovers Poppa’s flea market purchase is worth a fortune. Vivica A. Fox guest stars as “Judge SayWha.”

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 31)

Monday, March 31

  • Jennifer Coolidge (2 Broke Girls/Joey) - Watch Jennifer on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Britt Lower (Ghosted/Man Seeking Woman/Big Lake) - Britt appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Nathan Lane (Mid-Century Modern/Only Murders in the Building/Modern Family/Charlie Lawrence/Encore! Encore!/One of the Boys) - Nathan stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Maria Bamford (Lady Dynamite/Benched) - Maria is a guest on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Jay Ellis (Running Point/Insecure/The Game) - Jay talks about Running Point and Freaky Tales on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am and on CBS Mornings Plus in the 9am hour.
  • Sara Gilbert (The Conners/Bad Teacher/The Big Bang Theory/The Class/Roseanne) - Sara chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT. She also talks about The Conners on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
  • Michelle Buteau (Survival of the Thickest/Bless the Harts/Enlisted) - Michelle talks about Survival of the Thickest on NBC's Today in the 10am hour and on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
  • Michael Angarano (Laid/I'm Dying Up Here/Will & Grace) - Michael talks about Sacramento on ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
  • Olivia Munn (Perfect Couples) - Olivia guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Eva Longoria (Only Murders in the Building/Telenovela) - Eva talks about Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Road Trip on Sherri, so check your local listings.
  • Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Café Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Valerie is joining Drew and Ross to hit the headlines in an all-new Drew's News on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two

11/05 - I Love Lucy - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
11/12 - The King of Queens - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (2024 Release)
11/19 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fourteenth Season
11/26 - Looney Tunes Collector's Choice - Volume 4 (Blu-ray)
12/03 - Angel (1960-1961) - The Complete Series, Volume 1
12/17 - Seinfeld - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (4K UHD)
01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

03/31 - Prime Video's Dance-World Comedy Étoile; Netflix's Tom Segura Dark Comedy Bad Thoughts
03/30 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 31, 2025)
03/29 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Netflix Gives Pilot Order to A Different World Sequel; Malcolm in the Middle Reboot Recasts Role of Dewey
03/28 - Pat Sajak's Final Spin on Wheel and Return of Jeopardy! Masters; Remembering George Foreman and Wings Hauser
03/27 - IFC Renews SisterS for Season 2; Netflix Orders Live-Action Scooby-Doo Series
03/26 - Hulu Spring 2025 Slate; The Making of The Americas Special Narrated by Tom Hanks on NBC
03/25 - Deli Boys Now Streaming All Episodes on Hulu; Heartland Season 18 on UP Faith & Family
03/24 - Peacock April Highlights Include Three's Company; Antenna TV's 50 Years on the Beat Barney Miller Anniversary Marathon
03/23 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 24, 2025)
03/22 - SitcomsOnline Digest: The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* Coming to DVD; American Dad! Moving Back to Fox
03/21 - Big Mouth Final Season; The Four Seasons Premieres in May on Netflix
03/20 - HBO's Brett Goldstein Comedy Special; Disney+ Adds The Simpsons 24/7 Stream
03/19 - Solar Opposites Final Season This Fall; NBC to Move Grosse Pointe Garden Society to Fridays
03/18 - Game Show Network New Shows Launch April 14; NBC Picks Up 3rd Comedy Pilot, While Bobby Moynihan Joins Tracy Morgan Pilot
03/17 - It's True! Ted Lasso Renewed for Season 4; Jane Goodall Returns for Jane Season 3
03/16 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 17, 2025)
03/15 - SitcomsOnline Digest: The Neighborhood Renewed for Eighth and Final Season; NBC Picks Up New Cheerleading Comedy
03/14 - NBC Comedy Pilots Wheeling & Dealing; Hulu's Got to Get Out
03/13 - Prime Video Comedy Series Overcompensating Premiere Date; Eric Stonestreet Joins Dexter: Resurrection
03/12 - Hacks Season 4 Premieres April 10; Nickelodeon Orders Wylde Pak
03/11 - The Neighborhood Renewed for Final Season; Max's The Official Big Bang Theory Podcast
03/10 - Netflix Renews Running Point for Season 2; Apple TV+ Trailer for The Studio
03/09 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 10, 2025)
03/08 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Tracy Morgan to Star in NBC Pilot from Tina Fey and Robert Carlock; Nobody Wants This Returning for Second Season
03/07 - Trailer for Apple TV+ Comedy Government Cheese; Remembering Saved by the Bell and TV Producer Peter Engel
03/06 - The CW Spring Premiere Dates; Henry Winkler Heads to HISTORY Channel
03/05 - Hacks Brings Out the Stars in Season 4; NBC Orders Pilot with Tracy Morgan
03/04 - Apple TV+ Side Quest Launches March 26; Krysten Ritter Joins Dexter: Resurrection
03/03 - HBO's The Rehearsal Returns April 20; Sharon Horgan Signs Deal for HBO Comedy Series
03/02 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of March 3, 2025)
03/01 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Premiere Date for Mid-Century Modern Set; Roseanne Remastered in High Definition