Beavis and Butt-Head, Volume 1: The Mike Judge Collection

While nowhere near as comedically sly and creative as The Simpsons, this animated MTV series from the early 1990s is very much in the same vein of social satire: so perfectly capturing the lazy, lowbrow, anti-intellectualism rampant in our society that even those it savagely mocks (namely nitwit teenage proto-stoners personified by the title characters) think its funny without realizing they're in the show's crosshairs. The simplicity of its animation, the repetitiveness of its one-note humor (Beavis and Butt-Head break things, burn things, swoon "cool" over bad heavy metal bands, and chortle moronically at unintentional double-entendres), and even its short-attention-span five-minute plots, are the very point that makes Beavis and Butt-Head amusing. Unfortunately, that repetitiveness does make this DVD collection (of 40 episodes chosen as favorites by creator Mike Judge) hard to sit through in more than bite-sized chunks. In fact, three hours straight of "huh-huh huh-huh, hehehe-hehe, huh-huh, huh-huh" wouldn't hold the attention of even Beavis and Butt-Head themselves. On the other hand, the third disc of bonus goodies is tops, loaded with backstory, character origins, disapproving notes from MTV's standards department (imagine that!), and even footage of focus groups' reactions to the first episodes of the show (women of all ages hated it, except for teenage girls from the Jersey 'burbs). A strong optional purchase. (R. Blackwelder)