DVD Review: Beavis & Butt-head - The Mike Judge Collection, Vol. 3 - Page 2

I could go on and on about my favorite moments, but some things are better appreciated without any set-up. If there are episodes on this volume that you haven't seen (and some of them were not broadcast as frequently as others back in the day), you will enjoy discovering them. For those of us who were watching this show when it was new, these Mike Judge Collections have been real nostalgia trips. I think the social satire has aged very well. Beavis and Butt-head was always a much smarter show than its detractors gave it credit. Rather than promoting anti-social behavior, the show was an accurate reflection of the TV-obsessed youth culture that existed then (and now). One of the subtler running gags throughout the series was that the adults Beavis and Butt-head encountered were usually just as clueless as they were. Of course, the bottom line with this show has always been: it's just plain funny. I hope there is a new generation of fans discovering the show on DVD. But quite frankly I wonder if it all seems a bit quaint to newcomers, what with the edgier fare kids have been raised on (edgier fare whose way was paved, it should be noted, by Beavis and Butt-head).

Disc three houses the special features. The format is pretty much the same was with the previous two volumes. That's by no means a complaint, as these releases have done a nice job of rounding up old B&B tidbits, as well as adding some newly produced supplements to the mix. First up is a selection of music videos with B&B commentary. A real point of contention among many fans has been the omission of the music video segments from the episodes. The expense of music licensing for scores of artists was too much for MTV. While it would be great to have all that material in place (some of the boys' best moments came during those segments), it is understandable I guess. The compromise has been to include a handful of music videos on each volume, giving a nice representation of the wide-ranging topics B&B would discuss (sometimes they focused on the content of the video they were watching, sometimes their commentary would veer off to something entirely different). Volume Three has 15 music video segments, running a combined 27 minutes. The 'Play All' option is a welcome touch.

Next up on disc three is the original, uncut Frog Baseball - the cartoon that started it all. This was Beavis and Butt-head's first appearance. It is most valuable as a historical artifact. There really isn't much to it (it runs well under 3 minutes total). Everything about this short is crude and not all that representative of what the show would develop into. Actually, the meaner personas the boys exhibit here are pretty much in line with the very early episodes. But since Mike Judge has elected not to release many of those early cartoons, new fans are likely to be shocked by Frog Baseball — not necessarily by the animal cruelty depicted, but by how different the characters come across when compared to the late-era episodes collected on discs one and two.

Article Author: Sherry Lipp

Sherry writes mostly music and DVD reviews, and on occasion she gets to do an interview. She plays the guitar, loves to read, watch movies, and write. Sherry also is a gluten free food blogger, and enjoys coming up with grain and sugar free recipes.

Visit Sherry Lipp's author page — Sherry Lipp's Blog