"The State" (1993)TV series 1993-1995

Directors:

Mark Gentile
Michael Patrick Jann

Writers:

Kevin Allison (writer)
Michael Ian Black (writer)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | unknown

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Each episode contains 30 minutes of extremely bizarre and funny sketch comedy performed by THE STATE, an 11 member sketch comedy troupe who wrote and starred in various sketches seen throughout the program.

Plot Keywords:

Sketch Comedy | Actor Playing Multiple Roles

Cast

Kevin Allison	...	Various (5 episodes, 1994-1995)
Michael Ian Black	...	Various (5 episodes, 1994-1995)
Robert Ben Garant	...	Various (5 episodes, 1994-1995)
Todd Holoubek	...	Various (5 episodes, 1994-1995)
Michael Patrick Jann	...	Various (5 episodes, 1994-1995)
Kerri Kenney	...	Various (5 episodes, 1994-1995)
Thomas Lennon	...	Various (5 episodes, 1994-1995)
Joe Lo Truglio	...	Various (5 episodes, 1994-1995)
Ken Marino	...	Various (5 episodes, 1994-1995)
Michael Showalter	...	Various (5 episodes, 1994-1995)
David Wain	...	Various (5 episodes, 1994-1995)

Also Known As:

The State: Full Frontal Comedy (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Trivia:

The cast was extremely reluctant to write material for recurring characters, but pressure from the network forced them to do so. When the character of Doug and his catch phrase "I'm outta heeeere..." began to catch on, Michael Showalter, who played and created Doug, conceptualized the second season sketch in which Doug gets annoyed by everyone finding his rebellious slogan charming.

Quotes:

Kevin: [singing] It's a marvelous day at the porcupine racetrack; we'll watch them little porkies run! The sun, the track and porcupines!
Kerri: [singing] A recipe for fun!
Ben: Racing form, Mr. Johnson?
Kevin: Why, thank you, Jimmy! Here, get yourself a licorice whip!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Ten (2007)

Soundtrack:

Boys and Girls - Action!

skit comedies don't often come like this

despite glaring pythonisms, the state was the best Post-python era sketch comedy show ever. Founded back in the "golden" age of MTV when Jon Stewart and 'alternative' music reigned the airwaves, the state came out of nowhere as a smart, funny, innovative, and inventive masterwork. At times delightfully dirty, the show was mistaken by many for being low-brow. But like all great things comedic, the base humor came from somewhere sincerely genius. Witness the brilliance of a man delivering tacos rather than mail, or the incredibly popular gay student, or 20 year old pet sea monkeys. This often overlooked gem in television history could really benefit from some sort of re-release by MTV, who has to date released one short compilation video. Their lovely art spoke wonders to many of us growing up in the 90's in a way that no other television show has. It gave us a reason to watch television, which is scarce in this day and age.