Beavis and ButtHead The Complete Collection: Dumbassery is Timeless [Review]

by | Feb 14, 2017

Beavis and Butt-Head: The Complete Collection is the ultimate set for any fan of the critically beloved series created by Mike Judge (Silicon Valley) and features all four volumes with handpicked episodes from Judge himself as well as the cult classic feature length film Beavis and Butt-head Do America. The 12-DVD set is available to own now as of February 14, 2017.

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America’s favorite culture critics are back in this comprehensive new collection to tell us all exactly what sucks.  Housing everything in one set for the first time ever, BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD: The Complete Collection includes all four volumes of the acclaimed television series—including the boys’ triumphant return in 2011—as well as the Special Collector’s Edition of the fan-favorite movie Beavis and Butt-Head Do America.  In addition, the 12-DVD set boasts a wealth of bonus material including “Taint of Greatness: The Journey of Beavis and Butt-Head” Parts 1-3, VMA appearances, a Thanksgiving Special with Kurt Loder, the 1994-1996 Butt-Bowls, MTV 20th Anniversary Special, the original, un-cut “Frog Baseball,” a 2011 Comic-Con panel featuring Mike Judge and moderator Johnny Knoxville, promos, montages, and much, much more.


Review

If you don’t own any of the four previously existing Beavis and Butt-Head volumes or the collector’s edition of the film – and you’re a fan (why else would you be reading this) – then you need to immediately go out and purchase this amazing complete collection today. It is by far one of the most impressive, stacked and comprehensive collectors sets ever assembled. Now, do you get every single episode that ever aired on MTV? No. You get Mike Judge’s personal picks – you get what was released before in their individual volumes. But that is by no means, a bad thing. This is the cream of the crop – this is the creme de la creme of Beavis and Butt-Head. Fun fact – volume 4 actually does consist of every single episode of the comeback season from 2011 when the series made a brief return on MTV so that the boys could make fun of Jersey Shore or 16 and Pregnant. My god – that final send-off season was spectacular.

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The first three volumes are so damn good too. The way they are packaged here are so you could watch all of the story episodes without any music video interruptions. If you’re like me however and your favorite parts were watching Beavis and Butt-head make fun or rock out to various music clips, then you may be somewhat disappointed to see that these segments are on their own disc and not intercut with the episodes themselves. I feel that these interludes worked best to break up the story – but the only way you get to watch them here is all-in-a-row on their own discs per volume.

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That is literally my only criticism of this amazing collection and because the episodes were handpicked by Judge (plus they legally couldn’t include every damn music video without spending a billion dollars), it wouldn’t make sense to insert what they could afford into the chosen episodes. What you do get though is the absolute best of the best when it comes to Beavis and Butt-head. My god – some of this shit is legendary. The classic ‘No Laughing’ episode, which kicks off this entire set (volume 1, episode 1) is a masterpiece. I laughed my ass off when the teacher starts screaming sex-ed terms at the boys when they were warned that their next outburst of laughter would lead to expulsion. Holy shit – you forget just how funny this show was and how it really does hold up all these years later.

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I used to record these episodes on VHS back in the day and watch them with my friends. I have fond memories of those times and going back to revisit all these classic episodes was a blast. If you were a 90’s kid (and probably a teenage boy) then you probably had at least one fond memory or two of Beavis and Butt-head. I know I did. The film still holds up (in fact after re-watching it again, I dare say it’s one of the best comedies to ever grace the big-screen). Mike Judge is a comedic mastermind and his voicework is among the best in the business – this series was a blast and it still is. It just goes to show you that dumbassery is timeless. Thank god.

Special Features

There are TONS of bonus features and they are all spread out over the 12 DVD’s included here but I’ll pick my favorites below:

Taint of Greatness: The Journey of Beavis and Butt-Head” Parts 1-3 – A three chapter series spread across volumes 1 through 3. This is a fascinating look into the creation of the show with a wealth of interview footage from everyone involved. I think it’s by far the most interesting on-going feature in this set, because it truly is the definitive documentary for the series.

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2011 Comic-Con panel featuring Mike Judge and moderator Johnny Knoxville – This was taken right around the time they announced Beavis and Butt-Head’s comeback season (aka Volume 4 in this set). It was pretty cool watching Knoxville and Judge drinking a couple beers and just reflecting on the series’ legacy. It’s not the full panel, because they seem to cut out right before a bunch of fan questions, but if you’ve ever been to a CON – then you know they cut out right in the nick of time.

Promos, commercials, you get damn well everything – every appearance that the dumbass animated teens ever did and it is glorious. I personally prefer my special features packaged together while the episodes are on their own discs, but I have to remember that this complete collection is just repackaging the four previously existing volumes, so I understand for cost reasoning to not shuffle everything around.

Rating: [star rating=”4.5″]