Beavis And Butt-head was MTV's controversial but incredibly popular cartoon show. It presented the adventures of two teenage losers trying to get sex , booze and generally getting into trouble. Beavis was the blonde "yes" man to the dark haired, mouth full of braces Butt-head. They both also had this stuttering laugh that was annoying yet somehow infectious at the same time.

   The adventures of these two were idiotic but intelligently written. That may sound contradictory. It's the difference between seeing bad stories about dumb guys and really clever stories about dumb guys. Beavis and Butt-head had just enough brains to be dangerous.

   Various stories included the duo becoming so pee shy that both of them lost the ability to urinate. They had to seek psychiatric help and ended up flooding the doctors office when they finally let loose. In another episode, Beavis ate tons of sugar and candy for breakfast and went into a sugar fit. He pulled the collar of his shirt up over the top of his head threw his hands in the air and began marching around proclaiming in an odd accent, "I am the great Cornholio! I need tee pee for my bunghole! Are you threatening me?!?" It was just nuts and his Cornholio persona became a recurring bit.

   My personal favorite was a particularly brutal episode where Butt-head began to choke on a chicken nugget. He gasped desperately for Beavis to call 911, to get help. He gasped that he was choking on chicken and Beavis oblivious to his friend's imminent death laughed about Butt-head choking his chicken. Even while turning blue Butt-head laughed too. Beavis wandered away to get help and immediately forgot he was supposed to be getting help. For the rest of the cartoon Butt-head was left to gasp and edge closer to death. Eventually Beavis returned, stepped on Butt-head's stomach and accidentally Heimliched the nugget free. Beavis promptly picked up the nasty nugget, tried to eat it and started choking himself.

   Doesn't sound funny? Well, it's both an acquired taste and a "ya hadda be there" thing. Others didn't find the duo funny either. Parents found the two bad influence on kids. Several fires set by kids were blamed on those kids taking ideas from Beavis and Butt-head. I say bull. Even if they got their ideas from Beavis and Butt-head, which I doubt, there was clearly something wrong with them before they sat down to watch the show. And if I was a teen in deep crap for setting fires, you bet I'd point my finger at anyone else I could think to blame. To calm the nation, MTV agreed to air the show only after 10pm.

   One of the pair's friends/targets/classmates... was Daria. Daria was your typical semi depressed, low key, intelligent, disenfranchised teenage girl (disinwha? Huhuhuhuhhu...). With black hair and a big pair of glasses, Daria would watch Beavis and Butt-head's antics with a sort of detached disgust and fascination - really depended what they were up to.

   In 1996 after a successful run and a feature film, Beavis And Butt-head were put out to pasture. There were plenty of episodes for MTV to repeat and the show had more or less run its course. But Daria lived on.

   MTV spun Daria off into a new show with a whole different target audience. Instead of teenage boys and former teenage boys who had been Beavis and Butt-heads themselves at some point or knew people like them, Daria targeted teenage girls and former teenage girls who had been Daria at some point or knew someone like her. Daria found her family moving to a new town. She had to deal with her popularity obsessed sisters, her oblivious parents and the general high school crowd who seemed to walk blithely through life without any realization of how shallow or idiotic they were.

   I must say I'm impressed. Daria actually became a hit on its own. Astounding. I mean it wasn't just a cartoon spin off. It was one with a totally different attitude and audience than the show that spawned it. The shows were so different there was very little potential for Beavis And Butt-head fans to also be Daria fans. And that is part of the point of a spin off - to bring a built in audience to a new show. And yet the damn thing took off. Okay it was no media sensation like B&B but it did succeed.

Other Beavis And Butthead Crossover Links
Beavis And Butthead and The Head
Beavis And Butthead and Liquid Television

Click here to return to main Crossover List

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