The State

The state has been off the air for even years now, but even still i manage to quote it on almost a day to day basis even by accident. to say that the state was the funniest television show ever created is a gross understatement.. may blueberry johnson, mean ass sal & frankie the pig, figgy, emmet & lyle, berry & levon and everyone's favorate's "the jew, the italian and the red head gay" rest in peace, for they will always live on in our hearts.

one episode they redid this running gag skit of theirs only they did it as japanese kabuki theatre, complete with giant wooden shoes stomping around, kabuki mannerisms, painted faces, and japanese kabuki music. they did it well too. that's the kind of show this was. totally cool. another time they had people send in postcards their names, then they did a whole skit using their names. amazing.

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!

Forget about the Kids in the Hall. Ground the Flying circus. Fill up the vacant lot. Kill Mr. Show. and remember that SNL SUCKS. This sketch comedy show is the greatest of its kind. It had the most original premises for the its sketches and all the people involved were quite talented. I cannot put into words how much I loved this show. I was fortunate enough to have taped the episodes when they came on and am still able to watch them. Unfortunately, others are not so lucky. This show had some wonderful bits that many will never get to see. Bits like Barry Toink, The hand Signals, Grape Soda, even Please kill Tim. Many may have the mistaken impression that because of the spin off of viva variety was so bad, that its base material the Laupan variety hour and by extension the state itself was as flat and stale. Nothing could be further from the truth. This series is the greatest. Even though MTV made them have reoccurring characters, that is the main down fall of most sketch comedy shows, the state transcended this obstacle and made the funniest character in recent history. And even though he was out of here, Doug is an archetype for our times. Louie while being extraordinarily cheesy knew how to play it, and Barry and Levon gave cool a whole new groove. Mere words fail me when I try to describe my affection for this show, but I must tell you, not a week goes by that I do not tell someone new about how funny this show was.

Just remember, never watch the CBS special, and that blue muppets have the most meat on them.

Not only is The State the most amazing show ever, but it featured some of my longest laughs ever, such as "Love and War" where Timmy and his father race home. The skits are so weird that they're perfect. A skit about origami suddenly ends on 8 members of the cast running in their underwear. If only it was back on TV, and it's so sad that shows like Saturday Night Live are even aired when there should be a show like this. My favorites are "Staring Contest" "Love and War" "Taco Man" "Prom Photos" and "Tammy Wilkins: Notebook Artist". Check em out.