SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers for Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head Season 3, Episode 1, “Braces/Heart Attack” and Season 3, Episode 2, “Plumber’s Helpers/A.I.”

Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head Season 3 starts with an episode that feels straight out of the original MTV series. Both “Braces” and “Heart Attack” are reminiscent of classic Beavis and Butt-Head, with just enough that’s new to remind viewers it’s a different season, and that’s what makes them so hilarious.

The first story, “Braces,” is similar in ways to the classic episode “Nosebleed,” just with the roles reversed. When Butt-Head makes the mistake of stealing Beavis’ caramel apple, Beavis has to get it out of his mouth. Instead of Beavis’ condition getting worse thanks to Butt-Head’s ill-advised solutions, now the tables are turned. Then the writers add another level by showing what happens afterward, when Butt-Head’s braces have come off.

“Braces” features some excellent animation; half the fun is the visual gags caused by Butt-Head having an apple stuck in his mouth. It’s akin to the Bob’s Burgers episode “V for Valentine-detta,” in which Louise Belcher got her “nightmares” makeover, and audiences couldn’t stop laughing every time she appeared on screen. The same is true looking at Butt-Head here. Judge also deserves tons of credit for his vocal performance, which strikes the perfect balance—audiences can still make out every insult that Butt-Head slings at Beavis, yet they’re somehow funnier because they’re so muffled.

Middle-aged Beavis and Butt-Head return in “Heart Attack,” to establish that Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head Season 3 is going to keep utilizing the older versions of the characters. It’s a thematically similar story; Beavis has to help Butt-Head after a medical crisis. Anyone who remembers the classic episode “Choke” will know what to expect here, and it’s even more entertaining because of the new wrinkle in the plot. Everyone knows that Beavis will not actually get Butt-Head much help; he’s like an easily misguided Lassie. The surprise is where he ends up: at a pedatrician’s office. It’s perfect for Beavis and his childlike naivete.

Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head Season 3, Episode 2 features the stories “Plumber’s Helpers” and “A.I.,” with the former bringing back their frenemy Todd. “Plumber’s Helpers” is the weakest of the four stories, because it goes the way almost every Todd story goes—which is part of the joke. It does tie perfectly back into Beavis and Butt-Head history. But that doesn’t stop it from feeling less new and interesting than the other tales.

That’s contrasted with “A.I.,” which again gets its humor from something basic that Beavis and Butt-Head are unable to comprehend. The duo end up thinking that an ice machine outside the Maxi-Mart is some sort of A.I. supercomputer, and pick a fight with it. All the jokes come from how profoundly stupid they are, up to and including another ending that makes use of the show’s elastic continuity. “A.I.” has less laughs in it than either “Braces” or “Heart Attack,” but to be fair, the best A.I. jokes were already used in Beavis’ love affair with a phone from Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe.

“A.I.” also gets bonus points for having a genuinely heartwarming ending, involving Mr. Van Driessen and a kitten. Judge and company including that honestly sweet aside is the cherry on top of this season premiere. It’s not necessary, but it’s wonderful. Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head Season 3 honors the show’s history, both in the stories it tells and the way it tells them, but also proves that there are plenty of laughs left to be had with this dumb duo in the future.

Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head airs Wednesdays at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT on Comedy Central and streams on Paramount+. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Comedy Central.

Article content is (c)2020-2025 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.