Idleness and The State

The early 90s were an exciting time, with me being a young teenager. I learned about things like Pogs, Pearl Jam, and one of the great shows being broadcast by MTV, The State.

At the time, options for sketch comedy were few. Saturday Night Live was the standard, but I wasn't a huge fan yet. Feature films like Kentucky Fried Movie and Amazon Women on the Moon were out there, but I hadn't discovered them yet. Nickelodeon had offered You Can't Say That On Television, and I had loved that.

But having grown to be something slightly more than a kid, I was getting into things more subversive, like Beavis And Butthead. The State was just what I was looking for. The performers were energetic and appealing, and the comedy fit into no formulas or conventional wisdom. In a few short years, the show came up with no end of enduring characters and catch-phrases.

The show was over a long time before it was due to run out of steam. Years later I learned of the creators' aspirations go go up against SNL on ABC. It's unfortunate that those hopes did not come to fruition. Mad TV came later, but never has caught on with me personally (with the exception of a few memorable sketches). It wouldn't be until Mr. Show that a sketch show came along that was anything like The State.

Since the end of the State, I've followed the efforts of those performers. There was Viva Variety, which was fun, but didn't last long. Also there has been Stella, perhaps even shorter-lived. Most successfull from members of that original group have been the film Wet Hot American Summer and the series Reno: 911. Apparently now there has been a string of reunion shows with the entire original cast of The State. It might even amount to something more, such as a film. Anyway, the activity was a nice excuse to remember one of the best shows of my earlier youth.