Fire, sex jokes and nachos, oh my! From their controversies to behind the scenes factoids, here are 10 facts about Mike Judge's iconic pair of idiots.
#10: The music video riffs were improvised
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| Air guitars optional. |
Unlike the regular segments, the parts of the show where the duo watch and make fun of various music videos wasn't scripted. Instead, Mike judged just improvised Beavis and Butt-Head's dialog during those scenes.
#9: They started on Liquid Television
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| We all have to start somewhere. |
Much like The Simpsons, Beavis and Butt-Head started its life on another show. In this case Mike Judge submitted 2 episodes to the MTV's Liquid Television, these episodes being Frog Baseball and Love, Peace and Understanding.
#8: Some episodes were banned
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| Burn baby burn! |
Perhaps unsurprisingly, several episodes were banned from airing on TV for one reason or another. Some were banned because they were blamed for real world incidents like a mobile home fire in Ohio (Comedians) and a time where a teen dropped a bowling ball off of an overpass (Strike). Others were banned for controversial themes like animal abuse (Frog Baseball), drug references (Way Down Mexico Way), and students bring guns to school (Incognito).
#7: The duo was everywhere
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| I swear to God himself this was a real thing! |
Back in the 90s this show was everywhere. Not only did they get other media like video games, but they also appeared in a music video with Cher, showed up in both SNL (twice!) and The Tonight Show and even made appearances award shows like the 1997 Academy Awards.
#6: Mike Judge was really involved with the show
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| Somebody's a workaholic! |
Mike Judge provided the voices of the titular duo, Tom Anderson, Principal McVicker, Mr. Stevenson and Couch Buzzcut. Not only that, he also made the show's theme song himself.
#5: The duo was named after real people
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| Think about that for a moment. |
According to Mike Judge, the name Beavis was based on an athletic kid from his old college apartment named Bobby Beavis. Additionally, Butt-Head's name came from a child who called himself "Iron Butt" because he claimed anyone could kick him in the butt and it wouldn't hurt.
#4: The merch had legal trouble
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| Where's the logos? |
Beavis and Butt-Head wore AC/DC and Metallica shirts on the show, but their shirts in much of the merchandise were either blank or replaced with something else. This was because of copyright issues.
#3: There was almost a live action movie
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| I'm shocked too! |
For a while Mike Judge considered making a live-action movie about Beavis and Butt-Head. Allegedly, he mentioned that Johnny Depp wanted to play Beavis in this movie.
#2: The show took criticism in stride
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| Anderson isn't the only one who got the duo's names wrong! |
The show had a habit of poking fun at its controversies in its later years. In the episode Pool Toys Anderson calls the duo "Buffcoat and Beaver", just like senator Earnest Hollings did during a hearing about violence on TV. Additionally, the episode Lightning Strikes poked fun at moral guardians by having the duo be interviewed after a Ben Franklin inspired accident, which the interviewer claims came about from them watching music videos.
#1: They should've aged in the first reboot
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| That's one wrong that was eventually corrected! |
Mike Judge said in an interview that he regrets leaving the boys the same age instead of aging them up in the first reboot. This is probably why older versions of the duo show up in the second reboot.
When in doubt, set something on FIRE!!! (I'm kidding, please don't!). If you know of any more interesting factoids about this show, please let me know in the comments section. Thanks for watching and have a happy Memorial Day.
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