Product Description
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The State was simply one of the sharpest, funniest, and
most under-rated shows of the 1990’s. Originally created as MTV’s
first foray into the sketch comedy genre, The State was a comedic
gem that rocked Generation X with slapstick, smarts and witty
sarcasm. The dynamic cast features 11 multi-talented actors that
have continued to collaborate on such projects such as Reno 911!,
Stella, Viva Variety and Wet Hot American Summer. MTV’s timeless
sketch comedy show, The State, is finally here.
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What Louis Armstrong once said of jazz--"If you have to
ask what it is, you'll never know"--also applies to The State,
MTV’s first sketch series that ran for three seasons in the
1990s. I couldn't begin to tell you why a word-for-word,
cackle-for-cackle recreation of The Cannonball Run's blooper
credits is bat-guano brilliant. But it is. The seamless ensemble
is 11-strong; Some you will recognize (Thomas Lennon, Kerri
Kenney-Silver and Robert Ben Garant of Reno 911, and Michael Ian
Black and Michael Showalter from Stella and Michael and Michael
Have Issues), but The State is of much more than
before-they-were-famous interest. It is a breakneck-paced,
ceaselessly inventive show that holds up 14 years later. As did
Your Show of Shows, sketches mostly steer clear of topical
references that would date the series. How to characterize The
State? Like Monty Python's Flying Circus, punch lines are
optional. Unlike Saturday Night Live, the troupe was less
interested in creating marketable recurring characters than they
were in goofing on a concept (witness Ken Marino's Louie, "the
guy who comes in and says his catchphrase over and over again").
Insipid television is an irresistible satirical target. There is
a cereal commercial that gives new meaning to the phrase "idiot
box,” and a faux-promo for an Abraham Lincoln bio that plays more
like an E! Channel True Hollywood Story. Funny enough, but Ernie
Kovacs was goofing on TV 40 years earlier. What The State brings
to the party is inspired absurdity. In one sketch, a wner
confronts his postman who delivers tacos instead of the mail. In
another, two singers perform a Barry White-style ode to "240
pounds of pudding." Arguably the high point of the series is a
show-stopping musical production number, "Porcupine Racetrack."
The State has long been revered by hipper comedy aficionados, but
not so much by the mainstream press. Included among this set’s
generous extra features is one of the show’s original promos that
highlights the scathing reviews the show had received (negative
two stars from The New York Post!). Other extras include ensemble
commentaries, the pilot episode, unaired sketches, and some
hilarious appearances on other MTV shows, including The Jon
Stewart Show and the spring break special, Shut Up and Laugh,
Panama City in which the leotarded troupe performs a, shall we
say, extended Shakespearean scene. The loss of the show’s
original soundtrack of popular rock songs due to prohibitively
expensive music rights could make devotees of this series red and
blue. But it shouldn't be a deal breaker. There is little else
about The State that is generic. --Donald Liebenson