The State

"The State" was a brilliantly funny sketch comedy show that ran on MTV in the mid-90's. By far the best and smartest show that has ever graced MTV. Each cast member was extremely talented (especially Thomas Lennon) and every skit was about a million times funnier then anything that has been on "Saturday Night Live" in the past 10 years. There is a VHS tape that is available with about an hour and a half of "The State" skits on it. But this tape does not even come close to representing the best of what ran on the show. I hope that one of these days MTV will get their act together and either re-run all of "The State" episodes or put them out on tape. Or, an even better scenario would be for "The State" to get back together and have a TV show again. By far one of the best shows EVER on TV.

All of their projects ("Viva Variety," "Wet Hot American Summer," "Reno 911!") are brilliantly bizarre (the "Trainspotting" bit in WHAS is classic). The State is where it all began so where's the DVD? MTV needs to give me what's needed so I can show my friends why I quote "I'm Doug, and I'm outta heeeeere" and "It ain't no sofa, it ain't no couch. It's a LOVE SEAT, aw yeah!". Better, run them on Comedy Central with "Just Say Julie," the other great, lost MTV skit show.

And remember the commercials MTV ran for it? The station rolled with the negative reviews the show received ("Significantly less than sporadically funny," Entertainment Weekly), quoting them while showing the cast, despondent. When the commercials for the show are just as memorable as the show itself, one wonders why the suits at MTV are just sitting on this. Surely at least one executive there loved this show when it aired.

The State is an hysterically funny sketch comedy show that is most known for its shows on MTV. They have since gone off the air but MTV put together a collection of some of their skits.

This collection of skits from The State is absolutely beautiful. When the show went off the air I would often sit on my couch and cry. But then one day a friend bought me this tape. Since then my days have been filled with only joy and laughter. I have watched this tape well over 100 times, and have shared the beauty with countless others.

If you miss them like I do, find this tape and watch it. If you like Kids in the Hall, The Upright Citizens Brigade, Monty Python, or just enjoy laughing, find this tape and watch it. If you enjoy jokes about pudding or beards in space, find this tape and watch it. If you do not have a strange sense of humor or you don't enjoy laughing, then maybe you should just take a nap instead.

This show was so hilarious. "I wanna dip my balls in it"! Come on! Or "Two hundred and forty dollars worth of puddin'." One of the funniest skits was where a lady and her husband were meeting someone at a restaurant and the lady had PMS and kept changing into all of these different moods, but the funny part was that all of the cast played her. It was too funny. Or the one where the guy had bologna sandwich feet and his soccer coach said, "They call him Bologna For Feet or Sandwich Feet or...Penis Face." Or the one where a guy was getting made fun of for eating his Grandma's potato chowder and then he admits to having sex with her. ("But when you eat the soup, do you stick your whole face in the bowl?") I could go on forever. Those of you who watched the show as much as I did will know what I am talking about. MTV needs to put this show back on the air for sure. It got me through my freshman year of high school.

I don't know why none of my current friends have never seen this show, but when I was in high school I watched it religiously. By far, the funniest, gut wrenchingest stuff ever. Someone mentioned the Sea Monkeys!! Blueberry "...I'm a frickin' blueberry!!!" There are so many things. The difference between The State and the current skit comedies is that The State was not taped in front of a live audience. Some of the ways they transferred from skit to skit are amazingly flowing... something welcome when you don't want to stop laughing.

The last thing I remember the cast of The State doing together was a live show for one of the Spring Break outings that MTV had. A straightlaced shakespearean play scene, with one exception... the ever increasing sizes of the phalluses in their tights. I think Shakespeare would have loved it!