TV REVIEW : ‘Beavis, Butt-head’ Return to MTV Without Ambition

In the comedic de-evolution that runs from Abbott & Costello through Bill & Ted, the closest modern ancestors of Paleolithic man may have been found in the form of “Beavis and Butt-head,” the animated stoners who rule the MTV kingdom with pithy yet awesomely ignorant grunts. These two metal-loving morons make the “Wayne’s World” lads look like Rhodes scholars.

The show (which returns to MTV at 7 and 11 tonight after a layoff following its premiere earlier this year) consists partially of brief, crudely animated sketches in which Beavis and Butt-head find ways to avoid school and/or work, along the way confounding anyone they run into whose IQ is bigger than their shoe size. Each half-hour is filled out by excerpts from real MTV rock videos with voice-over commentary by the two teen dunderheads--sort of like “Mystery Science 3000” narrated by the terminal detention set.

Ambitious it ain’t, either in script or drawing form. Amusing it sometimes is, even in spite of (or maybe even because of) the characters’ tendency to snicker at length at their own meager punch lines. In tonight’s episode, Beavis and Butt-head even have their new pet parrot--bought at the mall with a stolen credit card, naturally--muttering “ Heh - heh - heh “ at random. They have slightly more articulate mantras as well, the most frequent being “College music sucks” (which Sunday Calendar readers will remember as a comment from the duo’s recent stint as celebrity guest PopMeter panelists).

A little bit of imbecile humor goes a long way. Still, even those who know better may find it worth tuning in just for those moments when Beavis and Butt-head prove to have wisdom beyond themselves--as when Beavis is prompted to say “I love the Red Hot Chili Peppers” in the course of watching a Faith No More video, or “For a big muscular dude, he sure sings like a wuss” during a Danzig clip. Out of the mouths of babes, etc.