Beavis and Butt-Head is one of the signature shows of the 1990s, whether you enjoyed the show or not. For better or worse, it was the target of both praise and criticism throughout its first run that ended in 1997.

The show returned this year, with the first new season ending last week. Upon its revival, it instantly became MTV’s best show…again.

How is it the best show on MTV? Well, the competition isn’t too fierce. “Teen Mom,” “True Life,” “I want to be a…” and “Jersey Shore” all have one thing in common: they’re reality shows. I joked for a long time that MTV should just rename itself RTV for reality TV, but I digress.

When you look back at the antics of Beavis and Butt-Head back in the 90’s, they’re pretty tame by today’s standards. A typical episode of Jersey Shore will have so many words bleeped out that it’s difficult to discern what they’re actually saying, while Beavis and Butt-Head never swear at all.

The reason that I never liked the reality shows that are on nowadays is because I don’t want to watch people being stupid and/or offensive…at least I don’t want to see real people being stupid. Don’t get me wrong, Beavis and Butt-Head are stupid. The things they talk about are stupid, their actions are stupid, and both of them are stupid individuals. The difference is…they’re fake. They’re supposed to be stupid. And I love it.

Possibly the most brilliant thing the show has done is give free rein to make fun of shows that currently run on MTV. A clip from Jersey Shore was on the show recently, and the duo literally fell asleep watching it because “no one is doing it or fighting.” The boys also watch music videos (like before) along with YouTube clips and UFC fights.

Really, the show itself is good because of how naïve the boys are. It’s almost endearing that they really just want to meet women and be popular, but are so woefully naïve that they don’t realize when they’re being taken advantage of. Through all of their stupidity, they remain friends, and still work together to accomplish their only goal: scoring.

Combine that with some physical humor (somehow it’s still funny when Butt-Head slaps Beavis multiple times) and some crude, dumb jokes, and you’ve got a show that’s still better than reality TV…or Two and a Half Men.

(Or maybe I’m just shocked that I’m watching MTV again…I thought I was past that part of my life.)