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

Wednesday, October 30

Abbott Elementary - "Costume Contest" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
It’s Halloween at Abbott Elementary! Janine and Gregory proudly show off their couple’s costume, but it fails to translate. Meanwhile, Barbara faces pushback from parents concerned about hygiene and her beloved apple-bobbing tradition.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - "Saved by the Spell" (Disney Channel, 8:00PM ET/PT)
On her first day of school, Billie uses magic to impress Roman's best friend; when a jealous Roman steals Billie's wand, he falls into the grasp of a wizard-hunting phantomus.

Wizards Beyond Waverly Place - "Something Wizard This Way Comes" (Disney Channel, 8:30PM ET/PT)
On Halloween, Billie tells Roman about Pumpkin Belly, a ghoul who eats anyone whose house isn't spookily decorated; Justin, Milo and Giada defend the home from pranksters.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of October 28)

Wednesday, October 30

  • Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary/Fam/Instant Mom/Moesha/It's a Living) - Watch Sheryl on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Salma Hayek Pinault (The Sinbad Show) - Salma appears on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Kieran Culkin (Solar Opposites/Go Fish) - Kieran is a guest on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Tom Hanks (Bosom Buddies) - Tom stops by Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Emily Osment (Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage/Young Sheldon/Young & Hungry/Hannah Montana), Tien Tran (How I Met Your Father) and Vinny Thomas (Platonic) - Emily, Tien and Vinny are guests on After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Ronny Chieng (Young Rock/Ronny Chieng: International Student) - Ronny hosts Comedy Central's The Daily Show at 11pm.
  • Adam Pally (Mr. Throwback/Indebted/Making History/The Mindy Project/Happy Endings) - Adam appears on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen at 3:30am on Bravo.
  • Keri Russell (Running Wilde/Daddy's Girls) - Keri talks about The Diplomat on ABC's Good Morning America some time between 7-9am and on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
  • Matty Matheson (The Bear) - Matty talks about improvising scenes on the hit show The Bear and how he started his career in restaurants on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Anna Kendrick (Love Life) - Anna is chatting with Drew about directing her first film Woman of the Hour, the crazy serial killer case the movie is based on, finding boundaries in her life, turning 40 and more on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Mayan Lopez (Lopez vs Lopez) - Mayan discusses her sitcom Lopez vs Lopez on The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
  • Blair Underwood (Fatherhood/The New Adventures of Old Christine) - Blair is a guest on PIX11 Morning News on WPIX in New York at 9:30am.
  • Marissa Jaret Winokur (What We Do in the Shadows/Retired at 35/Stacked) - Marissa appears on New York Living on WPIX in New York at 10:05am.
  • Melissa Peterman (Happy's Place/Young Sheldon/Baby Daddy/Working Class/Reba) - Melissa talks about NBC's Happy's Place on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.


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