I recently saw the sequel to the Beavis and Butt-Head film and quite enjoyed it. It definitely felt like much of the old good stuff without sacrificing quality for a more modern audience, something is often lacking in reboots and sequels that seem to be appearing in the last decade. Mike Judge definitely has a ton of talent and its evident in the few but very successful works he has created over the years; some of my favourite works are under his name, and I was actually really happy to see that the reboot of these two characters was being done with caution. Shortly after the sequel film was released, I saw that the show itself was to be given another chance, of which has constantly been on and off throughout the decades. Though, while I had somewhat high expectations, I have to admit: so far it is somewhat disappointing. And that is due to one particular reason: a modern audience. In the past the series had its two characters comment over music videos from MTV. These days, well, you can somewhat expect what has replaced it.
Though I feel I should mention that the rest of the show really is not that bad so far. Before I'll continue with the weakness, I do want to mention that the show thus far has been quite simple, displaying the two characters Beavis and Butt-Head getting into their typical idiocies and not really displaying much intelligence. The episodes are quite short -- especially with the large amount of filler between them -- but I feel this helps keep the general idea quite simple, avoiding the potential of getting stale and running out of ideas if they were to pursue the more modern full length runtime for an episode of 24 minutes. It still remains entertaining, and the few episodes released so far each feel pretty much like the good old stuff.
The bad stuff, however. This is where the show really falls flat for me, which is interesting given it appears more modern audiences seem to be quite happy with it: in the middle of the episodes our characters take to their couch and watch the television, seeing some type of trendy modern TikTok, YouTube, or general music video to run their commentary over. Voicing their dumb thoughts, but also giving the trendy flavour-of-the-month video a bit of screentime. I can't stand it, truthfully. It pulls us out of the comedic duo of Beavis and Butt-Head and throws us into the modern world we're all so desperate to escape, pushing us back into the endless social media cycle that plagues every other minute of our time during the day. This segment, of which there are two per episode, really do not offer anything to the audience. They feel desperate, forced, and an excuse to just shorten the animation budget a bit by, well, removing the need for minutes of animation.
The old series did have a similar segment, but it felt more fitting. More cultural, and more connected to Beavis and Butt-Head as characters, as they'd speak over subjects that seem to have some type of connection to their characters. Though I should also mention that these segments were forced in by MTV during the height of its existence, and still could have just not been present. The problem, however, is the need to connect the show to this modern audience, the one that can't stay away from their phones for more than fifteen minutes. The ones that live on social media and consume reaction videos as if they ever had anything meaningful to offer (they don't).
I can't help but feel that this was very much enforced by Paramount in order to accept the reboot and have the franchise appear on Paramount+, testing the waters and ensuring there are actually people out there that are still interested and want to check the show out. But it just is not necessary. It removes so much of the episode and what makes the characters feel so fun to watch. And the fact that a streaming service is just turning this franchise into a reaction video series when people are already paying a subscription to access the content is pretty disgusting. It makes me curious as to the future of these streaming services, where the money spent each month means less and less in terms of viewing experience and more just another direction towards tradition cable media. Which we all know did not move well into the modern era. So why do this?
What is more strange to me, is that it seems everyone is okay with it. I checked the review scores and some audience reviews and people barely mention it. They seem welcoming. Perhaps due to the show's older format, where something similar was still in place, but for me I find it crazy. Am I just out of touch now? Am I getting too old for this stuff? It shouldn't seem so since I believe the audience for Beavis and Butt-Head originally would be older than I am. Perhaps, for me, it just doesn't fit. If anyone reading this has actually seen the reboot of Beavis and Butt-Head: what do you think of this segment? Do you feel like it fits? Does it feel forced? I think I'll continue the show, but also continue to just skip these segments. Even by doing so, you do not even miss out on anything. It has no actual impact on the episode's short narrative.
