Christmas Special (Beavis and Butt-Head episode)
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The Beavis and Butt-head Christmas Special (aka "Beavis and Butt-head Do Christmas") first aired in December of 1995 on MTV, and is available on the DVD compilation, Beavis and Butt-head: The Mike Judge Collection. Beavis and Butt-head are each featured in a parody of a well-known Christmas story, with the end of each parody resulting in the featured character not learning his lesson.
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[edit] Segments
[edit] Part I: Huh Huh Humbug
The first segment entitled "Huh Huh Humbug", and was a parody of A Christmas Carol, featuring Beavis as Ebenezer Scrooge. The episode begins with Beavis and Butt-head causing trouble at Burger World on Christmas Eve. While receiving a tongue-lashing from his manager, Beavis falls asleep and begins dreaming about what life would be like if he were the manager.
As Beavis' dream begins, he and Butt-head are still at Burger World on Christmas Eve, only this time Beavis is the manager and Principal McVicker is working the grill. Beavis excuses himself from work with no regard for Butt-head, McVicker, or their families, leaving Butt-head in charge, and retreats to his house to watch a pornographic video. As Beavis starts the movie (which features Billy Bob going under a pseudonym in the opening credits), a ghostly Butt-head emerges from the screen to warn Beavis that he will be visited by more ghosts that evening. Each subsequent ghost causes Beavis to become increasingly irritated that he cannot enjoy his movie in peace.
The first ghost, the Ghost of Christmas Past, emerges in the form of Tom Anderson, and shows Beavis how he and Butt-head have done literally nothing but sit on their couch since they were small children, thus wasting their lives. The second, the Ghost of Christmas Present, then appears as Mr. Van Driessen, and shows Beavis how his mistreatment of Principal McVicker at Burger World has sunken McVicker and his large family in poverty. Immediately after the second ghost leaves, the final ghost (the Ghost of Christmas Future) bursts into the living room in the form of Coach Buzzcut. By this point Beavis is livid, but cannot defend himself against the ghost. Beavis is now shown the future: McVicker is alone with his wife after their six children have all died of starvation. When he continues to rebel, the ghost transports Beavis to a cemetery, where he is shown his own gravestone with the epitaph "He Never Scored" and told that this is how his life will end if he does not make changes.
At this point, Butt-head wakes Beavis up with the intention of going to sleep. Instead of learning his lesson from the dream, he informs Butt-head that he will eventually run Burger World, with a VCR and pornography as entertainment.
[edit] Part II: It's a Miserable Life
The second episode in the special was a send-up of It's a Wonderful Life, and featured Butt-head as the antithesis of George Bailey. As the episode opens, the citizens of Highland are praying for Beavis and Butt-head's demise. As God hears their prayers, He sends for the duo's guardian angel Charlie, and sends him down to earth to try to convince Butt-Head to kill himself for the good of all mankind.
Meanwhile, Beavis and Butt-head looking for something to do on Christmas, as there is nothing but Christmas programming on TV, and all the stores are closed. The two end up fighting on a bridge over a raging river, at which point Charlie appears and causes the weather to get cold and ice to form on the bridge. His intention is for both of them to fall into the river and drown; however, Charlie himself falls into the river instead. After making it out of the water, he then tries to convince the two to jump, but the boys are at least smart enough not to follow through.
At this point Charlie decides to show Butt-head what Highland would be like had he never been born, and transports him to an alternate universe where this is a fact. As the angel gives Butt-head a tour of the city, business is bustling downtown, and Burger World is packed with customers. Principal McVicker is sane and has all of his hair, and is out caroling with a group of Highland High students (including a cheerful Daria who apparently has a boyfriend). Finally, Butt-head is taken to a homeless shelter, where Beavis and Stewart are running the soup line. Stewart has self-esteem and assertively reprimands a greedy patron, while Beavis has no knowledge of the crude terms the two call each other in "real life".
At the end of the alternate universe scene, Butt-head is returned to the bridge, where Beavis is awaiting him; the two immediately engage in name-calling again, while Charlie again falls in the river.
[edit] Letters to Santa Butt-Head
The special also contained short segments where Butt-Head dressed as Santa Claus and read letters from viewers, while Beavis was dressed as a reindeer who Butt-Head occasionally struck with a bullwhip. The running joke during these segments was that in every letter written by a girl, she wanted Beavis, which made Butt-Head angrier and led him to hit Beavis even more with the whip.
All of the letters read by "Santa Butt-Head" were actually sent in by MTV viewers, as several months before the special aired, MTV had a commercial encouraging viewers to write letters to Santa Butt-Head, and provided an address to which they could be sent.
[edit] Music videos
True to the show's regular format, music videos were shown throughout the special, including:
- The Ramones - "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)"
- Hoodoo Gurus - "Little Drummer Boy"
- Buster Poindexter - "Zat You Santa Claus?"
- Nutcracker music (It first shows by firelogs)
- "Xmas in Hollis" Hollis Queens, Run-D.M.C.
