Dec. 15 – Beavis and Butt-Head Do Christmas

Today we continue our lookback at the best holiday specials ever sent to television and today’s subject is everyone’s favorite pair of Gen X deadbeats Beavis and Butt-Head. Beavis and Butt-Head were created by Mike Judge and the pair got its start on MTV’s Liquid Television in 1992. There they were a cruel, destructive, pair that delighted in smashing innocent frogs with baseball bats. They would evolve into being just plain stupid with Butt-Head taking on a more sociopathic personality and Beavis that of a subservient pyromaniac. The two were also victims of their environment as there were never any parental figures in their life, most of their teachers treated them with open hostility or just failed to listen to them, and they were basically forced to fend for themselves without ever receiving any training on how to do so. As a result, they spend most of their time watching television, eating junk, masturbating, and trying to find ways to “score” which will likely never happen because who could ever love Beavis and Butt-Head?

Millions of adolescents at home, that’s who! When Beavis and Butt-Head got their own show in 1993 they were an instant hit. Who could forget that classic animated block airing weeknights on MTV of Beavis and Butt-Head at 7 PM followed by Speed Racer at 7:30? Yeah, that happened, though maybe my memory is mixing up the order in which they aired. Then some kid set his home on fire and the outcry over Beavis and Butt-Head being responsible forced MTV to move the show to late nights which made it harder for a kid like myself to watch, but not impossible. And for the record, it was found that kid had never even seen the show or was aware of its existence, but like that has ever stopped a media crusade against a television show, movie, or video game?

The show is quite stupid, but intentionally so. It’s satire, and when it’s on the show is quite funny. There is an odd juxtaposition at work though as the structure of the show was to take a roughly 5-7 minute cartoon and extend it with segments of the characters watching music videos on their own TV. During these segments, the two became much smarter and more clever than they were in their cartoons and that’s mostly because these segments were just Mike Judge (who voiced the pair) riffing on what he was seeing. It’s the type of thing many a Gen Xer or millennial would do throughout the 90s just watching television, be it MTV or something else. We hung out with our friends, watched whatever was on, and made fun of it to amuse ourselves. For the show, it was a genius way to fill time on the cheap as MTV had the rights to air those videos basically however they wanted and the little animation needed to go along with those videos could be recycled often. And it was amusing how these characters were presented as morons that no one would want to hang out with during the cartoons, but suddenly seemed cool while watching the videos. I’d watch videos with them, and if they liked an artist or song I was likely to enjoy it as well. Though it was far more entertaining when they watched something they didn’t like.

In 1993, the show had its first Christmas special. “A Very Special Christmas with Beavis and Butt-Head” was an episode of the show that was just the two watching television. A whole bunch of Christmas videos were shown and the pair riffed on it. I think there were also some segments of the two just watching a burning Yule log as well. I say “I think” because that special hasn’t been made available on home media. You see, filling episodes with videos may have been cheap and easy to do at the time, but for home video it made the show a nightmare. MTV could air those videos as often as it wanted and whenever it wanted, but it couldn’t put them on a tape or DVD and sell them. That’s why most episodes of Beavis and Butt-Head released on home video are just the cartoons and it’s a shame because they don’t work nearly as well on their own as they did as part of a larger package. Even Paramount has found it hard to get all of the old episodes onto its streaming service. Despite telling consumers they were coming, the network has failed to deliver. Sure, there’s some on there, but it’s patchy at best, so if anyone is sitting on a VCR recording of the first Christmas episode how about hooking up your favorite Christmas blogger?

Because it could be released on video, the more popular Christmas special featuring the duo is “Beavis and Butt-Head Do Christmas.” This special is primarily composed of two cartoons with some segments of Butt-Head reading viewer mail. I don’t think the original broadcast featured any videos and I’m curious if that was by design so that MTV could release it on VHS since Christmas specials usually do pretty well on home video. Either way, it’s the subject of today’s post and it’s a special I enjoy a lot even if it commits my least favorite sin against the holiday as it adapts not one, but both of A Christmas Carol and It’s a Wonderful Life. That’s a Nostalgia Spot no-no when it comes to Christmas specials, but thankfully this isn’t a special that’s going to adapt them straight. It also isn’t super creative as it does what you would probably expect of Beavis and Butt-Head in that it takes the story and delivers the opposite conclusion. Or in the case of “It’s a Miserable Life,” presents the opposite premise. It manages to be entertaining, and since the segments aren’t that long, it manages to make it work.

Part One of “Do Christmas” is titled “Huh-Huh-Humbug” and it’s obviously going to be our A Christmas Carol parody. It begins with an instrumental of “Jingle Bells” on a black screen with snow filling the air. Then a dead rat falls through the screen to shatter our idyllic, Christmas, imagery. It lands with a splat on the flat-top grill at Burger World, Beavis and Butt-Head’s place of employment. Beavis is applying a cleaning agent to the dead rodent which is what the snow-like substance was as it fries on the grill while Butt-Head is asleep at the register. Beavis starts pressing down on the carcass with his spatula while uttering “Not a creature was stirring.” He’s more clever than we tend to give him credit for.

Beavis is interrupted by his manager (Judge) who rightly asks what he’s doing. Beavis, who possesses limited skills but one is apparently talking himself out of trouble, says he’s just trying to clean the grill like his boss asked of him. This sets off a lecture from the manager who accuses Beavis of screwing around. He points to himself as a success story and I think we’re supposed to laugh at him because his life’s ambition was to be an assistant manager at a fast food restaurant, but hey, if this guy has a home and is able to provide for his family then who are we to judge? As he lays into Beavis, he does do the asshole boss thing of pointing out that he gets to go home and spend Christmas with his family (I assume this is Christmas Eve) while these two stay and work, but little of his lecture gets through because Beavis has fallen asleep while standing. We then hear the sound of slapping as the manager wakes Butt-Head up on his way out as the screen dissolves to take us into the mind of Beavis.

We’re still at Burger World, but now Beavis is in charge and it’s his principal, McVicker (Judge), who is manning the grill as his underling. Beavis is just laying into him for screwing around, much like his manager was, only McVicker wasn’t. Beavis concedes this, but doesn’t care and accuses him of doing nothing instead which won’t pay the bills. McVicker, in his shaky, pathetic, voice, asks Beavis if he can go home to see his family on account of business being slow and it’s Christmas Eve. Butt-Head, who hasn’t changed roles in Beavis’s dream, asks if he can see his family too, but Beavis calls him a “bum-hug” and reminds him he doesn’t have a family to which Butt-Head responds, “Oh yeah.” Beavis then lays into McVicker about how they would all like to go home. Hell, he’d like to go home and spank his monkey, which Beavis notes is a good idea and decides to do just that because he’s the manager and he can do whatever he wants. He puts Butt-Head in charge who orders McVicker to clean the grill. He does as he’s told while moaning like he’s in tremendous pain as Beavis puts on his coat and hat and heads out to go “unwrap his wiener.”

When Beavis arrives home it’s basically exactly like his home in the real world. He discards his coat and hat and takes his usual spot on the couch to watch a porno: Ebenezer Screw. He’s pretty jazzed up about it and even declares this film a Christmas classic. As the video begins we get to see some of the cast which Beavis reads aloud for us: Tiny Johnson and Bob Scratchit. Scratchit kind of looks like a Ron Jeremy parody which would make sense for a 90s TV show. As Beavis demands the video get to the chicks, the screen goes dark and reads “And introducing Butt-Head.” A black and white version of Butt-Head draped in chains floats out of the television. Attached to the ends of the chains are video tapes. As he stands before Beavis he explains, “In life I was your partner, but now I’m some dead guy with cool chains.”

Beavis is impressed, more so that Butt-Head managed to get into a porno and not for being a ghost (even though we just saw him alive a moment ago, but this is Beavis’s screwed up dream). Butt-Head takes his usual spot on the couch as if he’s about to do what he always does, but then remembers he has a task. He stands up and announces that Beavis will be visited by three ghosts, or something. He then returns to the TV with a “Later, dude,” and his visage is soon replaced by the porno. Scratchit is about to get down with an actress, but just before she can remove her top the face of Tom Anderson (Judge) steps in front of her.

This enrages Beavis who just wants to watch a porno, but Anderson comes out of the TV dressed like an angel with a goofy hat. He’s here to show Beavis his past and he does so by sitting on the couch beside him and changing the channel. He shows Beavis he and Butt-Head on Christmas day when they were five. It’s just the two of them seated on the couch as usual. As Anderson changes it to show the two age up, they just remain in the same spot. Beavis thinks his past is pretty cool, but Anderson tells him he’s wasted his life which just leads to Beavis responding with “Yeah, well at least I’m not some old fat guy.” He’s very hostile towards Anderson and tells him to get the hell out. As Anderson fades away he remarks, “You can’t lead a jackass to water and make him drink.”

With Anderson gone, Beavis can now resume his porno, but we all know what’s coming and I think, deep down, he does too. The girl is back on the screen, but she is soon replaced with an image of Mr. VanDriessen, Beavis’s hippy teacher. Beavis immediately gets annoyed as VanDriessen floats out of the TV in a meditative position wearing a Father Christmas robe and wreath on his head. He tells Beavis, who is furiously fighting with the remote to bring back his porno, that he can’t be tuned out. He then announces himself as the Ghost of Christmas Present, but Beavis shouts back, “No way, you’re Mr. VanDriessen and you’re pissing me off!” Beavis then realizes he said “present” and asks if he brought some Christmas presents. VanDriessen tries to explain his role here, but it’s in one ear and out the other with Beavis who instead asks more questions like can he sneak him into the girl’s locker room since he’s a ghost and all. VanDriessen does his best to ignore him and instead takes the remote to show him how Christmas is today, but Beavis just asks if they’re going to watch some bare ass.

We’re then shown the home of the McVickers. The family is huddled inside at the kitchen table anxiously awaiting the return of their patriarch with Christmas dinner. All of them look the same as if McVicker married a cousin, or sister, or worse, and they all shiver and moan like McVicker. There’s six kids, and one of them is just hoping for some fries while the smallest, and most sickly of the lot, hopes their dad comes home with a big bag from the dumpster! The mom cautions them not to get too carried away and urges them to keep praying. I guess their prayers are answered as Mr. McVicker does show up and in his hands is a Burger World Merry Meal. It’s basically a Happy Meal which means the family has a single cheeseburger and order of fries to share amongst themselves. It also contains their Christmas present: stick-on tattoos. The little one thinks they’re pretty great as the scene ends.

On the couch, VanDriessen tries to show Beavis how a family who has nothing, like the McVickers, still have each other. Beavis doesn’t see things that way and just sees an employee stealing food. VanDriessen tries explaining that it’s the only food they’ll have this Christmas and tries to reason with Beavis by telling him that if he doesn’t give McVicker a raise his kids may not see another Christmas. Beavis is unmoved and instead vows to fire him. VanDriessen concedes that he can’t force Beavis to think a certain way and he floats off into the sky. Beavis calls him a butthole, then grabs the remote to resume his porno.

Only he doesn’t even get teased by a woman this time. Instead, it’s Coach Buzzcut (Judge) as the Ghost of Christmas Future who comes screaming out of the television to show Beavis how things will end up if he doesn’t change his ways. Beavis is quite annoyed at this latest intrusion, but Buzzcut isn’t taking any crap from him. Despite being a ghost, he’s able to grab Beavis by the ear and yank him towards him and threatens him with sodomy by Christmas tree. Beavis actually smiles at this threat and notes “That would hurt,” before Buzzcut tosses him back onto the couch and grabs the remote.

He brings up the McVicker house, only now the kids are gone and it’s just Mr. McVicker and his wife. Beavis asks what happened to the kids and Buzzcut points out that this is the future and they didn’t have enough food to feed them. Beavis concludes that they must have ate them, but Buzzcut corrects him. He doesn’t actually say they’re dead, so maybe the state just took them. At any rate, Beavis disagrees with this view of the future and we’re shown a dream within a dream (Beavis and Butt-Head did it before Inception!) as we’re whisked to another version of the future. This one is more like Star Trek, but we’re in Burger World again. Butt-Head, now sporting bad teenaged facial hair, is telling a customer that he’s going to pay for his fries whether he likes it or not. When the customer demands to see the manager, Beavis comes bursting in. He basically looks like a Terminator carrying a goofy laser rifle. He lays waste to all of the customers and the building itself and then announces “I’m back. Heh, heh, this is cool.” Butt-Head thanks him for taking care of the customers, but Beavis tells him to shut up and shoots him in the dick.

We’re back in the living room where Beavis has concluded that the future is pretty cool. Buzzcut just grabs him by the shirt with both hands to scream at him that that is not what the future is going to look like. He reasons he’ll have to take him out of the house to show him in order to drive his point home so some mist enters through the window and a bolt of lightning shoots through the sky. We’re now in a cemetery and Beavis declares that the future kicks ass! Buzzcut just points out a nearby open grave with a headstone that reads “Here lies Beavis. He never scored.” Beavis struggles to read it, but eventually gets through it, and at first just thinks this is some loser with the same name as him. Buzzcut backhands him into the open grave and makes it clear to Beavis that this is his grave. He never left the house, just sat on the couch and watched pornography his whole life and thus never scored. Beavis sits up in the grave and finally realizes that this sucks. He’s struggling though to find a conclusion, and before he can get it out we’re back in Burger World.

Butt-Head has been shaking Beavis trying to wake him up because it’s midnight. This is setting up some Christmas realization, but when Beavis asks “So?” Butt-Head informs him it’s his turn to sleep. Beavis then tells Butt-Head he just had a dream about the future and now his conclusion is “It’s gonna be okay.” He becomes Butt-Head’s boss, has a VCR and some porn – what more could a kid want? Butt-Head concludes that this is pretty cool and Beavis declares that working on Christmas is cool too. An instrumental of “Joy to the World” accompanied by the incessant laughter of our two protagonists takes us out. As the camera pans out we see the Burger World sign which reads “Open 24 hours Xmas Day.” What an awful place to work.

Our next segment is Letters to Santa Butt-Head. In this one, Butt-Head (dressed as Santa, naturally) reads viewer mail and responds to questions while Beavis stands around dressed like a reindeer for Butt-Head to whip. The genius here is that Beavis is restrained and even has this uncomfortable harness in his mouth and we’re going to laugh at his misery. The first letter is from a kid who doesn’t like Christmas. He prefers Thanksgiving because he can eat all he wants and then go burp and poop. The duo have a giggle at the mention of poop and Santa Butt-Head promises to take a dump under his tree. The next letter is from a girl who wants a man. He should be young, blonde, and into Metallica. Butt-Head thinks he sounds like a wuss, but Beavis realizes he fits that description, but Butt-Head won’t give him the letter and whips him instead. The next one is from another girl who makes it clear she wants Beavis, but Butt-Head won’t deliver and whips Beavis some more. The next girl also plainly states she wants Beavis and will basically treat him like a pet. This leads to another disagreement, and Santa Butt-Head is a little frustrated at all of this Beavis love. Our final letter is more in his wheelhouse as it’s from some guy who just wants him to kick “the bejesus out of Beavis.” Santa Butt-Head is happy to oblige.

The next segment is the two just watching an electronic Yule log while “Dance of the Sugar Plum” fairy plays in the background. They’re just critiquing Santa’s laugh and doing their own version while all we see is the fake log. This segment is brief and then goes into “It’s a Miserable Life” which stars Butt-Head. This one opens on an aerial shot of Highland and we hear the prayers of some of its citizens. There’s Stewart’s mom (Tracy Grandstaff), Principal McVicker, Tom Anderson, and Mr. VanDriessen, among others. They’re all asking for God to make Beavis and Butt-Head go away with McVicker explicitly asking that the lord kill the pair. I like how VanDriessen raises the possibility the pair could breed as if it’s justification for dealing with them now, even though we know the two will never score. The prayers seemingly worked though as we pan to the heavens and see two constellations, essentially, having a conversation about answering prayers. One tells the other to summon an individual named Charlie.

We then find Beavis and Butt-Head doing what they’re most often doing: watching television. They catch a bit of It’s a Wonderful Life, which is amusing because they’re parodying it as we speak. They stay on the channel just long enough for the Jimmy Stewart (Kristofor Brown) character to remark that a bunch of people gave him money so he wouldn’t kill himself! The two find this stupid and change the channel, but every channel has some “dumb Christmas thing” on including a RoboCop Christmas that might have been pretty cool. This realization forces the pair to conclude that it must be Christmas.

Back in the sky, the godly beings resume their discussion now that Charlie (Chris Phillips), their guardian angel, has shown up. Charlie tries to tell them he’s tried many times to reach Beavis and Butt-Head, but they’re simply unreachable. He demonstrates by going into their television where he appears on screen and talks directly to them. The two still don’t respond and Butt-Head turns the TV off in disgust. Beavis lasts about two seconds before he starts freaking out about no TV and Butt-Head has to slap him. He tells him no, this is Christmas, so lets go out and find some chicks. Beavis perks up at the suggestion and the two leave. In the heavens, Charlie is told there is no redeeming these two and he must take from them their very lives. Charlie doesn’t seem to like the suggestion, but also doesn’t exactly put forth much of a protest either. Beavis and Butt-Head must die!

We next catch-up with the pair as they stand in a cinema parking lot in the pouring rain. The two don’t understand why no one is around, so they head to their favorite spot, the Maxi-Mart. When they arrive, the manager (Judge) is closing up for the night and tells the two to get lost. It’s Christmas Eve! Beavis notices there’s a new issue of Wet Hooters inside while Butt-Head laments that everything he needs for the rest of his life is behind these locked doors. Beavis kicks at them in frustration, then says “Life sucks, and then you…” and he can’t remember the rest. Butt-Head finishes the proverb for him, “and then you die, bunghole!” and the two walk off.

The two end up on a rather rickety looking bridge. Below, the torrential rain has caused the river to run wildly so they do the smart thing and start wrestling with each other on the narrow bridge. Charlie shows up and uses “angel powers” to make the water on the bridge freeze, but rather than slip and fall, the two complain that they’re cold and stop fighting. This frustrates Charlie who calls out to them to get their attention, but he slips and falls into the river below. Beavis and Butt-Head enjoy watching him flail around and if you thought they were going to render aid then you’re watching the wrong holiday special. When Charlie eventually makes his way back onto the bridge the two just ask if he’s going to jump again. When he informs them that he will not, they get bored and decide to leave.

Charlie chases after them and is shocked to see that they have zero interest in him. When he asks the two if they’re even curious about how he knows their names, Butt-Head just responds matter-of-factly, “No.” He tries explaining the whole guardian angel thing, and then informs the two he’s actually there to relieve them of their lives. He apparently has no spine for this sort of task, so he politely suggests they go voluntarily. Butt-Head surprisingly realizes that Charlie is suggesting they jump off the bridge and refuses since they’d likely die. Beavis then theorizes that this guy might pay them to jump, and Butt-Head is the only one of the two smart enough to know that money is no good when you’re dead.

Charlie then gets the “bright” idea to show Butt-Head what the world would be like if he were never born. He raises his hands and calls forth a bright light which stops the bad weather, restores the bridge to something more secure, and makes Beavis vanish. Butt-Head seems to think this is cool and Charlie leads him back into town. There they find the place has come alive with the sights and sounds of Christmas. Butt-Head is confused, but Charlie tells him this is all because he was never born. The two walk past Anderson’s house and Butt-Head notes that his lawn isn’t in disrepair and Charlie, once again, explains it’s because he wasn’t there to wreck it. Anderson is standing at the end of his walkway ringing a bell and wishing everyone who walks by a merry Christmas, but as Butt-Head and Charlie walk off Butt-Head’s foot gets caught in one of the wires for his Christmas decorations which sets off a chain reaction destroying his whole display. Anderson can only slam the bell on the ground and cry out “God damnit!”

Charlie leads Butt-Head to the Burger World parking lot which is hopping since the duo of Beavis and Butt-Head haven’t ruined the restaurant’s reputation. Next, they walk past the school where Butt-Head is shocked to find McVicker leading a group of students in song. McVicker has hair and Daria is there with her boyfriend because Butt-Head wasn’t around to destroy her faith in men. Butt-Head is disgusted by what he’s seeing and demands to know where Beavis is since Beavis owes him a dollar. Charlie cautions Butt-Head that he won’t like it when he finds out. He then reveals that Beavis is with Stewart (Adam Welsh) at a homeless shelter. Butt-Head assumes Beavis is homeless and finds this cool, but we know better.

The two head to the homeless shelter where they immediately find Stewart ladling out soup to the homeless. He chastises a guy for going for seconds before everyone else has had a chance at firsts and kicks him out of line. Butt-Head is surprised to see Stewart acting this way, but Charlie reminds him that he wasn’t there to crush Stewart’s self-esteem. Stewart then calls out to Beavis because he needs more soup and Beavis humbly emerges from the kitchen with a fresh pot. He’s sporting a hair net and wearing a black Winger t-shirt, the same we’d usually see on Stewart (he’s wearing a blue Poison shirt), but is otherwise still Beavis, just more cheerful. Butt-Head then demands to know what Beavis is doing hanging out with Stewart and calls him a bunghole. Beavis, having never met Butt-Head before, is confused and asks, “What’s a bunghole?” Butt-Head retorts with, “You’re a bunghole – bunghole!” and Stewart jumps into the conversation to tell him you can’t define a word with itself.

Butt-Head has had enough and demands that Beavis leave with him. He grabs Beavis by the arm who naturally resists. He starts to freak out in his usual Beavis way while Butt-Head insists he come with him on account of owing him that dollar. Eventually, a bunch of guys come to Beavis’s aid calling him a good kid and they tell Butt-Head to leave him alone. The drag him out offscreen and tell him to never come back as we hear the sound of Butt-Head getting punched. Stewart asks Beavis if he’s all right and he responds that he is while noting that they get “a lot of crazies in here.” He then repeats the word “bunghole” to himself. Remarking that he kind of likes it, he just starts saying it over and over as we fade out.

Butt-Head is back on the bridge, and after finding that the world sucks without him, asks Charlie to undo what he has done. The weather starts to turn and the bridge turns to shit as Charlie and Beavis appear in a flash of light. Butt-Head is amazed and Beavis is wondering what he’s doing, calling him a bunghole in the process. When Butt-Head acknowledges that Beavis knows what a bunghole is, Beavis replies with “You’re a bunghole – bunghole!” With everything seemingly back to the way it was, the two walk off forcing Charlie to chase after them. As he cries out about making the world a better place, he slips and falls back into the river only this time the current takes him away presumably to his death. Beavis and Butt-Head laugh and Butt-Head shares what he’s learned today: the world sucks, but it would suck a lot more without them in it. The familiar Beavis and Butt-Head outro theme kicks in and the two head off to find some chicks.

We’re not done though! We return to the Yule log and “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” as the two comment on how they like the song. Beavis decides it sounds like Ozzy and the two start imitating the notes of the song, but as low guitar tones. Eventually, this turns into the two doing their “Iron Man” routine before the scene fades out and is replaced with another segment of Letters to Santa Butt-Head. Butt-Head is going to read more letters and the first is from some kid named Boner. He wants Santa Butt-Head to get his dad off the crapper and to come spend Christmas with the family, but Butt-Head, having concluded this father figure must be pretty cool if he named his son Boner, tells the kid to let his dad take a crap.

Our next letter comes from Jeff Boogers who wants to know what happens to the reindeer turds when the reindeer take a dump in mid-air. “Well Jeff, they hit the ground and go ‘plop.'” The next letter is from a guy wanting to know if he kicks the ass of some guy after his chick if he’ll still get presents. Santa Butt-Head informs the gent to go ahead and kick this guy’s ass, then send his girl to Santa Butt-Head. The next letter is from a guy named Ethan who just wants to shout out his friends. Santa Butt-Head keeps telling the voice over to shut up as the shout outs ring out. Santa Butt-Head is forced to confess to Ethan that he doesn’t give a rat’s ass about any of these people.

The last letter is from a woman named Karen Kleavage. She has big “thingies” and just dumped her boyfriend so she can wait naked under the tree for Beavis and Butt-Head. The two are entranced as the letter is read and shaking with excitement. Butt-Head then returns the letter to his sack while Beavis reminds him that she wants both of them. Surprisingly, Santa Butt-Head doesn’t crack the whip and instead takes this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Yuletide or something and then announces that they’re gonna score!

And thus “Beavis and Butt-Head Do Christmas” is concluded. Did they score? Probably not. I think we can consider those segments non-canon, if anyone cares about what is and is not canon in the world of Beavis and Butt-Head. The special is a delightfully subversive take on the Christmas special format and the two works it is lampooning. In some ways, it shouldn’t work since as I noted in the intro these two stories have been adapted, parodied, and what-not to death at this point, but the show makes them work. It’s not a special that has a lot of observations to make about the holiday or society, it just wants to present Christmas through the lens of Beavis and Butt-Head.

And that’s enough. A lot of the jokes are easy and delivered in a rather blunt manner. There are lines in this one that make me laugh out loud, but just reading them doesn’t do them justice. At this stage in the show’s production, Mike Judge has basically mastered the two and knows how to deliver his lines. He does the heavy lifting too as he’s just one of three regular voice actors. A bunch are credited as additional voices and I assume they’re the ones doing the voice overs for the Letters to Santa Butt-Head segments. I swear one of the angelic bodies sounds like Toby Huss, but he’s not credited so I guess I’m wrong. The sound design as a whole is fairly basic with jolly Christmas songs ushering in the shorts and sprinkled throughout. The no videos thing is kind of strange, but we get the Yule log segments instead. They’re nothing special, but I appreciate the effort to find a music video substitute.

The two cartoons are the meat of “Do Christmas” and they’re both pretty entertaining. I think I prefer the first segment more as the visual of Beavis pressing a rat on the grill and his frustrations about not getting to enjoy his porno do it for me. “It’s a Miserable Life” is funny as well, but is almost a little too obvious with its jokes. I wish there was one genuine surprise in the alternate timeline for Butt-Head to experience, but I don’t think that’s really the show’s style. The animation is pretty standard for an episode of the show so there’s no extra layers or anything present and that’s fine. The show is actually animated fairly well, but its style is intentionally ugly as that’s what suits it. Imagine if they had altered the style in Butt-Head’s alternate timeline? That could have been pretty fun.

“Beavis and Butt-Head Do Christmas” is a classic in my book because its subversive nature makes it unique. Well, it did in 1995, but since then we’ve had a lot of such specials arrive. I’m not saying this one was the first or anything, but it was one of the first I personally encountered. And I like the show and it makes me laugh. I enjoy every holiday season watching Mickey, Garfield, and the Grinch with my kids, but I also enjoy putting this one on after I’ve sent them to bed. If you would like to do the same this year, “Beavis and Butt-Head Do Christmas” was released on DVD many moons ago alongside “Butt-O-Ween” and can still be found for a reasonable sum. It’s also streaming on Paramount+ where it’s listed among the Mike Judge Collection of episodes. I think it lacks the log and letters segments, but does contain both cartoons.