"Beavis and Butthead" back after extended hiatus

More than 18 years since its debut on MTV and after a 14-year hiatus, Mike Judge's "Beavis and Butthead" returns to television screens for a new generation. Many Eckerd students may be too young to fully appreciate the show; having barely been in elementary school the last time new episodes were aired. Now that the controversial cartoon has made its triumphant return to MTV, kids who were not allowed to watch the show during its original run will have the chance to witness the origin of characters from Daria and King of the Hill, two more Mike Judge creations.

"Beavis and Butthead" follows two teens as they journey through high school, complete with skipping class, stealing beer and general teenage shenanigans. The creators break up the cartoon action by depicting the two adolescents watching and critiquing music videos. Apart from a strong dislike for any band from England, the duo seems to share a special affinity for Metallica and GWAR. Other music video reviews seem to fall into the category of "cool" or "sucks."  For two teens who are portrayed as below average students, their critiques of the music videos are often shown as one area in which the boys are extremely proficient. Their knowledge of music is shown to be quite extensive, save for a few funny moments when the duo confuses Marilyn Manson and Dave Grohl with Cher and "that dude from Nirvana." For the new season, the teens have also begun to criticize clips from MTV programming like Jersey Shore and True Life.

The undereducated metal heads coast through life with seemingly no adult supervision, causing trouble for teachers, other students and their neighbor Tom Anderson, who is the basic mold for the King of the Hill lead character of Hank Hill. Controversy arose from the original seasons when critics and parents decried that the antics of the two teens was causing real teenagers to act out in similar ways in real life.  The cartoon's creators responded to these criticisms by adding the famous disclaimer:

"Beavis and Butt-head are not role models. They're not even human; they're cartoons. Some of the things they do could cause a person to get hurt, expelled, arrested, possibly deported. To put it another way: Don't try this at home."

Even before "South Park," "Beavis and Butthead" were the undisputed champions of crude humor. The sex-crazed, class-skipping, cigarette-smoking teens often find sexual innuendo in the most innocent of statements. A popular recurring theme of episodes, and one of the main themes of the full-length movie "Beavis and Butthead Do America," is that of the quest to have sex. The boys often go to great lengths in a misguided attempt to find a girl who will have sex with either one of them, which inevitably leads to trouble.

Originally airing in a time when controversial cartoons were few and far between, "Beavis and Butthead" was a show that became an icon of the genre.  "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone cite "Beavis and Butthead" as an influence on their own brand of comedy. Now, after 14 years of being off the air, "Beavis and Butthead" returns to a time when rude, childish humor is prevalent and thriving and jumps right back into where it left off. The show feels the same as the original episodes, with a few obvious updates in the music videos and pop culture references. For those who were too young to enjoy the first few seasons of the show, and may not have ever played the video game or seen the movie, "Beavis and Butthead" makes a hilariously vulgar return that is certainly worth a watch. The show airs on Thursdays at 10 p.m. on MTV.