The State (TV series)

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The State
Image:TheStateTVlogo.gif
The State title card.
Genre Sketch comedy
Starring Kevin Allison
Michael Ian Black
Ben Garant
Todd Holoubek
Michael Patrick Jann
Kerri Kenney
Thomas Lennon
Joe Lo Truglio
Ken Marino
Michael Showalter
David Wain
Opening theme "Boys and Girls – Action" by Craig Wedren
Country of origin USA
Language(s) English
No. of seasons 3
No. of episodes 26 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive
producer(s)		 Jonathan K. Bendis
Steven Starr
Producer(s) Michael Patrick Jann
Mark Perez
Jim Sharp
David Wain
Running time approx. 30 minutes per episode
Broadcast
Original channel MTV
Picture format 4:3
Original run 1994 – 1995
Chronology
Related shows Viva Variety
Reno 911!
Stella
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

The State was a half-hour sketch-comedy television show, broadcast on MTV from 1993 to 1995. The show combined kooky characters and bizarre scenarios to present sketches that won the favor of its target twenty-something audience. The cast consisted of 11 twenty-something comedians who created, acted, wrote, directed, and edited the show. Several memorable characters were created for the show, and for a short time their catch-phrases entered into popular lingo (see below). Often, the cast would appear as themselves and address the audience to promote fake "contests" or to deliver mock public service announcements. Much like Monty Python, The State's sketches were sometimes "linked" to each other in some way. A punchline or image that ended one sketch often provided a lead-in to the next. As with many MTV shows, each episode featured clips of popular alternative music of the time, used as background music to various sketches.

Contents

[edit] About the show

Contrary to popular belief, the show was never canceled. For a variety of reasons, including network television politics, The State decided to pursue other interests and leave MTV. However, CBS optioned to buy the show after its second year on MTV. The show switched networks and CBS intended to test the water with The State's 43rd Annual All-Star Halloween Special and possibly increase a younger demographic. The special received generally good reviews (including some from critics that gave them harsh ones earlier), but due to little promotion, it received bad ratings. The show was not continued after that.

The 11 members of the cast from 1994.
The 11 members of the cast from 1994.

"The State" also refers to the comedy troupe that made up the cast of the show, as they have continued to successfully work together on film, television and in the world of journalism (in various groupings.) A book, State by State With the State (ISBN 0-7868-8213-1) was a best-seller. An album titled Comedy for Gracious Living was recorded for Warner Bros. but was shelved for unknown reasons. The show has been heavily promoted by devoted fans of the series for a DVD release, which The State's website has announced will be out in Fall 2007, but, according to a Nov. 1 note on their website, due to unexplained difficulties with MTV, there is no firm release date.[1]

[edit] The State Movie and DVD Release

The first season of The State was digitally re-mastered and a new musical score was recorded for the episodes (The State was produced during a period when MTV had deals with various record labels, where MTV could use freely any song that had a video aired on the network in their original programming without having to pay royalties to the labels; hence having to rescore the series, as The State heavily used popular music as the background music for countless sketches) and was made available on Apple’s iTunes store on September 26, 2006. Each of the five episodes was priced at the standard $1.99 with the entire season available for $9.95. Several episodes have recently been made available on Amazon Unbox as well as the Xbox Live Marketplace. The State themselves said that MTV will be watching sales closely and releasing further seasons if the demand warrants it, with a DVD set possible following the release of the third season.

On March 10, 2007, David Wain announced at a screening of The Ten at SXSW that a DVD of The State is currently in production. At a later Philadelphia screening, he claimed it would be available in the fall of 2007. On May 18, 2007, during the 24-hour Human Giant marathon on MTV, Michael Showalter announced that a DVD set containing the entire series would be released by MTV sometime this year. He stated the set would contain every episode (some re-scored), commentaries, extras, and some sketches that never made it to the air.

A new sketch was produced for promotion of the new release.

The State are "reuniting for a movie about American history" for Comedy Central, but the movie has been delayed "because of the writers' strike", so a release date is not yet available.[2] The State's official website reported in November that the DVD set was completed, but that their distributor, MTV, has "chosen not to release the set at this time. We don't know why."[1] As of January 29, 2008, Michael Showalter has confirmed that MTV is still delaying the release and that the State's members, "don't know why they're waiting."[2]

On March 15th, 2008, most of the cast reunited for special reunion sketch show at Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in Los Angeles.

[edit] Cast list

[edit] Theme song

The opening sequence was set to "Boys and Girls – Action" by Craig Wedren of Shudder To Think and Eli Janney of Girls Against Boys. The song is built around a sample of the Nation of Ulysses song "The Kingdom of Heaven Must Be Taken By Storm".

[edit] Recurring characters and memorable sketches

The cast (most notably David Wain) have repeatedly said that they were not really interested in creating recurring characters, but were repeatedly pressured by the network to emulate Saturday Night Live in this manner. Ironically, these characters are probably what their fans remember most.

  • Louie, played by Ken Marino, was one of the more ironic characters on the show, parodying sketch comedy characters who rely on stupid catchphrases for cheap laughs. Louie was a genial fellow with a strong desire to dip his "balls" (actual golf balls, not testicles, although the innuendo was certainly intentional) in various things. His catchphrase, naturally, is a very enthusiastic "I wanna dip my balls in it!" One of the more memorable Louie sketches placed him at The Last Supper. In this sketch, Louie and his catchphrase distract the Twelve Apostles from Jesus's speech concerning his fate. It ends with them hoisting Louie onto their shoulders and carrying him away triumphantly. As they exit, two Roman soldiers enter and proclaim that they have a warrant for the arrest of Jesus of Nazareth to which Jesus (Thomas Lennon) replies "He just went that way, he's wearing a short-sleeved shirt and a tie, and he's yelling about his balls."
  • Doug, a wannabe rebel and his usually pointless struggles against surprisingly permissive and understanding authority figures, played by Michael Showalter. Doug's catchphrase is a wan "I'm outta heeeerrre." A memorable sketch has Doug's father (Thomas Lennon) questioning him on his drug use. Doug replies "Drugs?! Hey man I'm Doug, not Bob Dylan." His father asks him if he even knows who Bob Dylan is. Doug replies "No...but I know he died of drugs." Doug's father then tells him Bob Dylan is alive and well, and that he in fact produced several of his recent albums, to which Doug replies, "Oh, you mean Uncle Robert?"
  • The Jew, the Italian and the Redhead Gay, good-naturedly broad stereotypes (first roommates, later Charlie's Angels-styled crime fighters), played by David Wain, Ken Marino and Kevin Allison, respectively.
  • Barry and Levon, suave swingers of ambiguous sexual orientation, played by Thomas Lennon and Michael Ian Black, respectively. Their most notable moment was a sketch in which they had purchased and prepared $240 worth of pudding, which sat in a pile that they proceeded to sweet-talk and dance with. This is another sketch which fell victim to a compromised soundtrack when released on iTunes. It was originally accompanied with "Sexual Healing" by Marvin Gaye. It would also appear that the music was played on camera, as the dialogue between Barry and Levon is clearly overdubbed, most noticeably with Thomas Lennon's character.
  • Capt. Monterey Jack, a nonsense-spewing motivational speaker (a parody of similar anti-drug or alcohol abuse spots aired on MTV at the time) played by Michael Ian Black. "And remember, bbbbring, bbbring... Hello, cheese? NO! Cheese can't dial a phone."
  • James Dixon, a conniving, hard-driving ex-Hollywood agent who lands himself very unlikely careers (high school guidance counselor, Catholic priest, Jedi talent agent) and applies his showbiz tactics to his new positions (Thomas Lennon). "You can't bargain with God. But you can bargain with me, and I can bargain with God."
  • Old-Fashioned Guy, a country man (Thomas Lennon) who clings to antiquated, sometimes primitive beliefs, which seem absurd in modern society. "Call me old fashioned ... but I think we should worship the sun and moon as powerful gods, and fear them."
  • Blueberry Johnson, a behind-the-scenes veteran in the Television industry (Showalter) who happens to have a high squeaky voice a large blue afro, and is shaped like a blueberry. He pitches his new show called "Blueberry Muffins in the Morning with Blueberry Johnson" to his producers but they unanimously decide that somebody else is perfect for the job... Richard Dreyfus! "I'M A FREAK OF NATURE BRUCE! I can not honestly believe that you're being this much of a moron. I have a decade of experience in children's television, I'm a tireless worker, kids love me, and to top it all off, I LOOK LIKE A F***ING BLUEBERRY! Whoa! whoa! whoa!"

Some memorable one-off sketches include:

  • The Bearded Men of Space Station 11, in which the titular men attempt to convince their commanding officer that men can grow beards in space, and that they are thus not aliens.
  • Porcupine Racetrack, a short musical in which the slowest porcupine in town attempts to win a race and thereby save an orphanage. During the introduction, the cast claims that MTV specifically asked them not to perform this sketch.
  • Monkey Torture (aka "The Barry Lutz Show"), in which scientist Thomas Lennon describes his experiments involving the (mostly psychological) torture of monkeys to interviewer Michael Ian Black, saying that he has proven that "They hate it."
  • Kabuki Doug, an adaptation of Chikamatsu Monzaemon’s The Love Suicides at Sonezaki (Sonezaki Shinjū 曾根崎心中) for many of the show’s recurring characters; including Barry & Levon, as well as Louie, performed entirely in Japanese with English subtitles.
  • Mean Ass Sal and Frankie the Pig, a pair of old ex-gangsters who like to sit by the freeway and watch cars drive by, but they sit too close to the highway.
  • Barry Toink and Gil Noonan, a young high-school jock on a quest to find the word for "one who loves books" and his dysfunctional guidance counselor. "Have you tried Bibliophile?"
  • Grandma's Potato Chowder, after their friend mentions he enjoys his grandmother's potato chowder three friends make constant sexual innuendo. Their jokes are halted when their friend freely admits to sleeping with his grandmother, however after a beat they ignore this revelation and continue to make giggling insinuations.
  • Sid and Nancy on $20,000 Pyramid , Ben Garant and Kerri Kenney portray Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen. The notorious punk couple participate in a game show (hosted by Thomas Lennon). However, they cannot wrap their minds around the concept and fail miserably. Memorably Nancy recalls a dream in which the couple owns a puppy that they "loved so much, that they ate it." Later, Sid cannot remember lyrics to Sex Pistols songs and they lose.
  • Pants, Michael Ian Black plays a man unlucky with love until Ben Garant lets him in on a little secret. He will have a better chance meeting women if he were to try wearing pants, a concept Black has previously not heard of. Upon visiting a clothing store, the salesclerk (Kerri Kenney) introduces him to life with pants. Notably, this sketch was accompanied by the song "Cannonball" by The Breeders. It was one of the several sketches who's soundtrack was compromised when MTV did not secure the rights to the original music.
  • Mouse Problem, Kerri Kenney and Michael Showalter portray housewives who are tormented by Slash, at the time most famous as the guitar player for Guns N' Roses. They chase him throughout the house, eventually capturing him by placing a bottle of Jack Daniels in a giant mouse trap. Again, the original soundtrack has been removed from the iTunes as the sketch climaxed with the end solo of Guns N' Roses' "November Rain." An undisclosed amount of time later, Kenney's character discloses to Showalter that Slash is finally gone but now they have Fleas, which of course turns out to be Michael "Flea" Balzary, the bassist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

[edit] Other shows featuring the cast

  • Viva Variety (Kenney, Lennon, Black)
  • Reno 911! (Kenney, Lennon, Garant, Jann)
  • Random Play (Black, Showalter, Wain)
  • Stella (Black, Showalter, Wain)
  • Ed (Black)
  • Reaper (Black, Marino)

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b home page. The State (2007-11-01).
  2. ^ a b Sean O'Neal. "Michael Showalter", The Onion A.V. Club, 2008-01-29. 

[edit] External links