What you may have forgotten after all these years, or never even realized if you were 14 when it first aired, is that the scripts were as witty as they come, but worked without pretension because they were verbalized by two relatable slacker heroes. And the jokes were just as often smart enough to be dumb, ranging from subtly keen observations to giddily juvenile sex gags. Take the outset of "Manners Suck," when Butt-Head, while watching some miserable network programming, opines, "I bet they put all the stuff that sucks on in the morning just to, like, get us to go to school," to which Beavis thoughtfully replies, "Um, I think it's working"; and then the expertly titled "Mr. Anderson's Balls," when the two find themselves traversing a golf course, stumble on some muddy Titlus' and Butt-head deadpans, "Beavis, your balls are filthy," as Beavis feverishly—and in rather phallic fashion—rams the ball washer up and down.

Not there's any reason to over-intellectualize "Beavis and Butt-Head." After all, that's counterintuitive to what made it click with a nation of twisted teenagers and infuriate uptight adults more than a decade ago.

There's a hearty 40 episodes packed into the first two discs (the third is entirely bonus material), and they blow by as quickly as chapters in a full-length movie release, edited together seamlessly without the intermittent music videos (see Extras) and, of course, those pesky commercials. Recommended installments include the seminal "No Laughing," as well as "Washing the Dog," "Most Wanted" and "1-900-BEAVIS" from Disc 1; and "Teen Talk," "Tainted Meat" "Held Back" and the classic "The Great Cornholio" from Disc 2. A slew of these episodes are asterisked as director's cuts, and while only the most obsessive fans would spot the previously censored bits, it's not hard to presume what they might have been, particularly in a barnburner like "Tainted Meat."

The DVD

Video:
Obviously, the episodes are still presented in full-screen format, as they were in their original TV presentation. But as long as the grainy lines of a worn-out VHS aren't cascading across your screen, there's little reason to complain, since the intentionally amatuerish animation was part of its charm to begin with.

Sound: The sound, however, is exceptional, and my speakers had to be turned down to half the volume of the normal film I take in, thanks to a mix that's crystal clear and quite potent.

Extras: Yes, there's a history-of-the-show doc that clocks in at about a half-hour (though a Part 2 is promised in the next set), and yes, it is cool to see footage of focus groups from before the show aired and hear Mike Judge and Co.'s testimonials. But you won't watch it more than once, and no one buys a multi-disc set for the making-of. The key bonus here is the long-belated inclusion of many of the music videos that aired on the show, complete with their original commentary. And in a way, their overdubbed, "Mystery Science Theater"-for-morons mockery weirdly predates the usual director/crew commentary that can be found on DVDs. Now, not all are included, but there are great clips from Monster Magnet, Wilco and Matthew Sweet, among others, and the boys' back-and-forth during Pantera's "This Love" is worth the price of admission alone.

Two of the boys' MTV Video Music Awards appearances are also included, but are more amusing for the time-capsule glimpse into celeb fashion of the time, and getting a glimpse into pop stars of our recent past. Beavis and Butt-Head's shtick for the broadcasts, if anything, represented the point at which they became a bit too overexposed, and were nearly self-parodying. Ditto for their Thanksgiving Special with Kurt Loder.

However, the unexpected hits on Disc 3 are the Greatest Hits and Terms of Endearment, rapid-fire pastiches of them taunting, smacking and insulting each other that both satirically play on the usual gooey Hollywood "tribute" montage and give a succinct and hilarious summation of why these two idiots were so goddamn funny.

Final Thoughts:
If you didn't love them then, you won't love them now. But like it or not, this is where everything from "South Park" to "Jackass" began, and it still holds up as often funnier and more entertaining than either. Not to mention its repeat-viewing value is automatic and off the charts.

Ed Note: There have been many report that Mike Judge has done some pretty hefty editing to some of the cartoons. Some of these cartoons had been available in an exclusive release from Time Life in a fuller cut.

Examples of the cuts:
* 1-900-BEAVIS - On the Time Life disc, when the boys first make the phone call, they laugh and Butthead says "She said something" and they continue to laugh. On the Paramount disc, this line is omitted.

During the call the lady asks if they're there, and on the Time Life disc Butthead says "I think I just innoculated" (which is kinda funny actually). This line is removed in the Director's Cut.

Then at the end, the last line in the Time Life version is "Hey, maybe we'll hear some butt wind." This is removed from the Director's Cut.

* Late Night with Butthead - The new Director's Cut removes the first minute and a half of this episode, starting instead where B&B pitch the idea for their talk show. It removes Letterman's cameo voice appearance. Later, the director's cut removes B&B celebrating with some air guitar after successfully pitching their show.

* Figure Drawing - The DC removes a line where their teacher says he's about to teach a class on Aroma Therapy. Three or four lines are then cut after B&B rearrange the letters on the sign. Several other dialogue cuts throughout. No additions.

* Held Back - The DC removes the lines "This desk is giving me a stiffy" and "I don't even have room for a stiffy".

* Tainted Meat - The DC removes a bit from the middle of a news broadcast talking about "a fierce new parasite" in regards to Beavis making everyone sick at Burger World.

Thanks to Chuck Dowling for the list