Although it will take some time to see how the ratings hold up and what the court of public opinion ultimately thinks, the reviews are now in on the resurrection of Beavis and Butthead.
From what I can gather, the duo was able to pick up right where they left off, which for some isn’t the greatest news in the world. Then again, the whole idea was no matter how much the outside world has changed, Beavis and Butthead still remain the same.
According to the LA Times, the show “began in part as an ironic, idiotic but not inaccurate commentary on the network’s original bread and butter – the music video,” but “what’s odd is how nearly the resemble of their new targets,” meaning shows that celebrate modern stupidity like Jersey Shore.
“Handmade and homely, slow and awkward, [Beavis and Butthead] evokes the awesome inertia of the bored teenager for whom life seems not endless promising, but merely endless.”
Zap2it wished the show showed Beavis and Butthead 14 years older, “still spending their mid-30s loafing around in dirty t-shirts scoffing at an MTV that has moved on without them.”
Meanwhile, HitFix felt B + B’s “brand of blunt but unexpectedly wise snark translates just as well to trashy reality shows as it did to trashy hair metal videos back in the day.” And although the New York Times characterized the show’s debut as “tepid and distant,” AOLTV wrote, “there’s still something winning and relevant about their particular blend of cluelessness and surprisingly sharp commentary.”
The Hollywood Reporter also went to Twitter to try and gauge fan reaction to B + B’s return, and some of the comments included the following:
”The ONLY good thing MTV has done in the last 10 years is bring back Beavis and Butthead,” “As much as pop is eating itself into boring recycled oblivion, I’m pretty thrilled Beavis and Butthead are coming back,” and “Apparently that time machine I was working on finally worked!”
