I’ve been spending the last couple days pouring over The State DVD with Christmas Morning-like enthusiasm, half-satisfied that the thing finally frickin’ exists and half in disbelief that the thing finally frickin’ exists. Rather than straight-up say “Everyone buy this, obviously”, I’ve attempted to collect my thoughts into something resembling an actual post, which I’ve broken down into the three main general reactions I experienced while watching this DVD:
1) The rush of nostalgia. Almost every sketch that begins, I immediately feel a wave of vague, happy remembrance, and just wonder what I could’ve possibly thought the first time I viewed these episodes (other than just automatically liking anything at that age that wasn’t Full House. Also, I liked Full House)
2) I can’t believe that this aired on MTV in the early 90s. Both content-wise (the “hormones” sketch with a teen couple having sex on a couch that ends with Kerri Kenney masturbating was in the first episode) and even more so absurdity-wise, The State hearkens back to a time when MTV was actually somewhat subversive; I don’t mean that in a bitter “con sarnit, these kids nowadays…” kind of way, but it’s just hard to imagine Monty Python-caliber occasional nonsense and deliberate audience-alienating bits fitting in amongst The Hills and — what else is on the channel now? — Hills spinoffs.
Even Human Giant (which I also love) seems more direct and audience-palatable; The State often just goes for it and doesn’t give a sh*t if you’re not on board. Obviously, Mr. Show was the same way in the late-90s and equally awesome, but Bob and David operated on HBO in a midnight timeslot — hardly the same as repeating “I wanna dip my BALLS in it!!!!” seventeen times in three minutes during basic cable primetime.
3) Objective Awesomeness. All nostalgia, analysis, remembering-stuff, line-quoting, whatever else aside, the sketches are still just really, really funny. The premises are brilliant and well-executed, the characters are memorable, and the running threads throughout the episodes and callback jokes make the DVDs an extremely fulfilling experience, especially for compulsive, completist nerds like myself.
After the jump, my favorite sketch from Season One, which sums up the entire 90s decade in two perfect, jumpcutty minutes:
Kevin Allison in MTV Sports: Golf -
