Comedians (Beavis and Butt-Head): Difference between revisions

"**Comedians**"
"Comedians"
Beavis and Butt-Head episode
	Beavis and Butt-Head stand and watch the comedy club burning
Episode no.	Season 3; Episode 1
Directed by	Mike Judge; Mike DeSeve and Brian Mulroney (Animation)
Written by	Mike Judge
Original air date	September 6, 1993
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"Comedians" is the first episode of the third season of Beavis and Butt-Head and the 30th episode of the series overall. The episode sparked controversy after a 5-year-old boy burned down his trailer home in Ohio, killing his 2-year-old sister who was sleeping in the next room. It was suggested that the boy was inspired by the episode, in which Beavis and Butt-Head burn down a comedy club.^[1] This, however, has been disproven.

Plot

Beavis and Butt-Head are sitting, watching television when they see a commercial for a documentary about a stand-up comedian (Andrew Dice Clay) who lives an affluent lifestyle from his earnings. Although Beavis would rather go to Stewart's house and burn things, Butt-Head decides that they should go to the comedy club to become "stand-up chameleons".

They arrive at the club (named The Laff Hole), and Butt-Head goes on stage first, but only Beavis finds his jokes funny and he is eventually booed off stage. Beavis is next, and the audience exits quickly, leaving only Butt-Head to watch him. Inspired by an earlier act, Beavis attempts to juggle burning newspapers, but ends up burning the club down. The pair watch the fire spread from outside while they declare how funny and cool they both are.

Music videos

Controversy

On October 6, 1993 (exactly one month after the episode had aired), Austin Messenner, a 5-year-old boy from Moraine, Ohio, burned down his family's trailer with a cigarette lighter, killing his 2-year-old sister.^[2]^[3] The boy's mother claimed that he had been watching the show prior to the incident, a claim refuted by neighbors who stated the family did not have cable.^[4]^[5] Regardless, this episode in particular was blamed, due to the similarities between the plot and the incident.^[6] The following week, MTV decided to move the show to 10:30 PM instead of 7:00 PM and also decided to delete and omit fire references in future episodes. They extensively edited the episode before pulling it from broadcasting and locking it away in the MTV vault.^[7]

In 2008, Messner himself would confirm that his family did not have cable at the time since it was unaffordable due to his mother's drug addiction, and that he had never seen an episode of the show, nor planned to.^[8]

References

^ "Cartoon on MTV blamed for fire". The New York Times. October 10, 1993.
^ Quindlen, Anna (October 28, 1993). "Public & Private; TV Guide". The New York Times.
^ Ho, Raymond K.K. (December 26, 1994). "How Many Children Must We Bury?". Chicago Tribune.
^ "Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. March 24, 1994.
^ Sommerlad, Joe (March 7, 2018). "Beavis and Butt-Head at 25: How MTV's original dumbasses stormed America and changed comedy forever". The Independent. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
^ Garger, Kenneth (October 30, 2011). "As seen on TV". New York Post.
^ "11. "Comedians" (Beavis and Butthead)". Complex. September 2009.
^ "'Beavis and Butt-Head' Was Once Blamed for 2-Year-Old Girl's Death".

External links

"Comedians" at IMDb

[1] "Cartoon on MTV blamed for fire". The New York Times. October 10, 1993.

[2] Quindlen, Anna (October 28, 1993). "Public & Private; TV Guide". The New York Times.

[3] Ho, Raymond K.K. (December 26, 1994). "How Many Children Must We Bury?". Chicago Tribune.

[4] "Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. March 24, 1994.

[5] Sommerlad, Joe (March 7, 2018). "Beavis and Butt-Head at 25: How MTV's original dumbasses stormed America and changed comedy forever". The Independent. Retrieved June 1, 2021.

[6] Garger, Kenneth (October 30, 2011). "As seen on TV". New York Post.

[7] "11. "Comedians" (Beavis and Butthead)". Complex. September 2009.

[8] "'Beavis and Butt-Head' Was Once Blamed for 2-Year-Old Girl's Death".

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Use mdy dates|date=December 2013}}
-{{DISPLAYTITLE:Comedians (''Beavis and Butt-Head'')}}
 {{Infobox television episode
 | series = [[Beavis and Butt-Head]]
-| title = Comedians
 | image = Comedians (Beavis and Butt-head).png
-| image_size = 250px
+| image_size = 250
 | caption = [[Beavis]] and [[Butt-Head]] stand and watch the comedy club burning
 | episode = 1
@@ Line 12: / Line 10: @@
 | runtime =
 | writer = [[Mike Judge]]
-| director = [[Mike Judge]] <br> Mike DeSeve
+| director = [[Mike Judge]]<br />Mike DeSeve and Brian Mulroney <small>(Animation)</small>
 | next = Carwash
 | prev = Be All You Can Be
 | episode_list = List of Beavis and Butt-Head episodes
 }}
-"'''Comedians'''" is the first episode of the [[List of Beavis and Butt-Head episodes#Season 3 .281993.29|third season]] of ''[[Beavis and Butt-Head]]'' and the 28th episode of the series overall. This episode has received heavy controversy after a 5-year-old boy burned down his trailer home, killing his 2-year-old sister who was sleeping in the next room. It was suggested that the boy was inspired by this episode, when Beavis and Butt-Head burn down a comedy club.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/10/us/cartoon-on-mtv-blamed-for-fire.html | title = Cartoon on MTV blamed for fire | date = October 10, 1993 | publisher = [[New York Times]] }}</ref>
+"'''Comedians'''" is the first episode of the [[List of Beavis and Butt-Head episodes#Season 3 .281993.29|third season]] of ''[[Beavis and Butt-Head]]'' and the 30th episode of the series overall. The episode sparked controversy after a 5-year-old boy burned down his trailer home in Ohio, killing his 2-year-old sister who was sleeping in the next room. It was suggested that the boy was inspired by the episode, in which Beavis and Butt-Head burn down a [[comedy club]].<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/10/us/cartoon-on-mtv-blamed-for-fire.html | title = Cartoon on MTV blamed for fire | date = October 10, 1993 | work = [[The New York Times]] }}</ref> This, however, has been disproven.
 ==Plot==
-[[Beavis]] and [[Butt-Head]] are sitting, watching television when they see a commercial for a documentary about a [[stand-up comedian]] who lives an affluent lifestyle from his earnings. Although Beavis would rather go to [[List of Beavis and Butt-Head characters#Classmates|Stewart]]'s house and burn things, Butt-Head decides that they should go to the [[comedy club]] to become "stand-up [[chameleon]]s".
+[[Beavis]] and [[Butt-Head]] are sitting, watching television when they see a commercial for a documentary about a [[stand-up comedian]] ([[Andrew Dice Clay]]) who lives an affluent lifestyle from his earnings. Although Beavis would rather go to [[List of Beavis and Butt-Head characters#Classmates|Stewart]]'s house and burn things, Butt-Head decides that they should go to the [[comedy club]] to become "stand-up [[chameleon]]s".
 They arrive at the club (named The Laff Hole), and Butt-Head goes on stage first, but only Beavis finds his jokes funny and he is eventually booed off stage. Beavis is next, and the audience exits quickly, leaving only Butt-Head to watch him. Inspired by an earlier act, Beavis attempts to juggle burning newspapers, but ends up burning the club down. The pair watch the fire spread from outside while they declare how funny and cool they both are.
+==Music videos==
+*[[Primus (band)|Primus]] - "[[My Name is Mud]]"
+*[[Tiffany Darwish|Tiffany]] - "[[I Think We're Alone Now]]"
+*[[Vince Neil]] - "[[Sister of Pain]]"
+*[[Belly (band)|Belly]] - "[[Feed the Tree]]"
 ==Controversy==
-On October 6, 1993 (exactly one month after the episode had aired), Austin Messner, a 5-year-old boy from [[Moraine, Ohio]],<ref>{{cite web | title = As seen on TV | first = Kenneth | last = Garger | date = October 30, 2011 | publisher = [[New York Post]] | url = https://nypost.com/2011/10/30/as-seen-on-tv-2/ }}</ref> was watching this episode. That night, he snuck out of bed and attempted to copy the scene when Beavis juggles the [[newspaper]]s and [[Firelighting|lights the club on fire]]. As a result, Messner burned down his [[Trailer (vehicle)|trailer]], killing his 2-year-old sister.<ref>{{cite web | title = Public & Private; TV Guide | date = October 28, 1993 | first = Anna | last = Quindlen | publisher = [[New York Times]] | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/28/opinion/public-private-tv-guide.html }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title = How Many Children Must We Bury? | first = Raymond K.K. | last = Ho | date = December 26, 1994 | newspaper = [[Chicago Tribune]] | url = http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1994-12-26/news/9412260033_1_video-violence-mtv-walt-disney-studios }}</ref> One week after the incident, [[MTV]] decided to move the episodes to 10:30 PM instead of 7:00 PM and also decided to [[Deleted scene|delete]] any [[fire]] references on their network show. They had to [[Deleted scene|heavily edit]] the episode before they finally took it off the air.<ref>{{cite web | title = 11. "Comedians" (Beavis and Butthead) | date = September 2009 | publisher = [[Complex (magazine)|Complex]]| url = http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2013/09/most-controversial-tv-show-episodes/comedians }}</ref>
+On October 6, 1993 (exactly one month after the episode had aired), Austin Messenner, a 5-year-old boy from [[Moraine, Ohio]], burned down his family's [[Mobile home|trailer]] with a cigarette lighter, killing his 2-year-old sister.<ref>{{cite web | title = Public & Private; TV Guide | date = October 28, 1993 | first = Anna | last = Quindlen | work = The New York Times | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/28/opinion/public-private-tv-guide.html }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title = How Many Children Must We Bury? | first = Raymond K.K. | last = Ho | date = December 26, 1994 | newspaper = [[Chicago Tribune]] | url = https://www.chicagotribune.com/1994/12/26/how-many-children-must-we-bury/ }}</ref> The boy's mother claimed that he had been watching the show prior to the incident, a claim refuted by neighbors who stated the family did not have cable.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Rolling Stone|date=March 24, 1994|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Sommerlad |first=Joe |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/beavis-and-butt-head-25th-anniversary-mike-judge-mtv-tv-comedy-animation-offence-a8243906.html |title=Beavis and Butt-Head at 25: How MTV's original dumbasses stormed America and changed comedy forever |work=The Independent |date=March 7, 2018 |accessdate=June 1, 2021}}</ref> Regardless, this episode in particular was blamed, due to the similarities between the plot and the incident.<ref>{{cite web | title = As seen on TV | first = Kenneth | last = Garger | date = October 30, 2011 | publisher = [[New York Post]] | url = https://nypost.com/2011/10/30/as-seen-on-tv-2/ }}</ref> The following week, [[MTV]] decided to move the show to 10:30 PM instead of 7:00 PM and also decided to delete and omit fire references in future episodes. They extensively edited the episode before pulling it from broadcasting and locking it away in the MTV vault.<ref>{{cite web | title = 11. "Comedians" (Beavis and Butthead) | date = September 2009 | publisher = [[Complex (magazine)|Complex]]| url = http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2013/09/most-controversial-tv-show-episodes/comedians }}</ref>
+In 2008, Messner himself would confirm that his family did not have cable at the time since it was unaffordable due to his mother's drug addiction, and that he had never seen an episode of the show, nor planned to.<ref>{{cite web | title = 'Beavis and Butt-Head' Was Once Blamed for 2-Year-Old Girl's Death | url = https://popculture.com/tv-shows/news/beavis-and-butt-head-blamed-2-year-old-girl-death/ }}</ref>
 ==References==
@@ Line 31: / Line 37: @@
 ==External links==
-* {{Imdb episode|0823565}}
+* {{IMDb episode|0823565}}
-* {{Tv.com episode|beavis-and-butthead/comedians-57912}}
 {{Beavis and Butt-Head}}
@@ Line 38: / Line 43: @@
 [[Category:Beavis and Butt-Head episodes]]
 [[Category:1993 American television episodes]]
+[[Category:Animation controversies in television]]
+[[Category:Stand-up comedy]]
 [[Category:Television episodes pulled from general rotation]]
-[[Category:Cartoon controversies]]
 [[Category:Television controversies in the United States]]

v t e Beavis and Butt-Head
Characters	Beavis Butt-Head Daria Morgendorffer
Episodes	"Comedians" "Werewolves of Highland" "Crying" "Daughter's Hand" "Tech Support" "Drones" "Holy Cornholio" "Supersize Me" "Bathroom Break" "The Rat" "Escape Room" "The Special One" "Boxed In"
Films	Beavis and Butt-Head Do America (1996) Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe (2022)
Media	The Beavis and Butt-Head Experience "I Got You Babe" Beavis and Butt-Head: The Mike Judge Collection
Video games	Beavis and Butt-Head Virtual Stupidity Bunghole in One Do U.
Other	Liquid Television Frog Baseball Daria Airheads Jackass 3D Celebrity Deathmatch King of the Hill