From 1993 – 1995 The State was the premiere sketch comedy show on MTV, if not of all of cable. In the fall of ’95 they crossed over to network television into the pantheon of classic variety shows with the well received if little-seen one-off “The State’s 43rd Annual All-Star Halloween Special.” They then followed up their assault on television with the release of their somewhat legendary, thoroughly inaccurate and mildly successful travel guide State by State with The State.
And then, like that, they were gone.
Sure, members of the troupe would soon pop up in things like Ed, Men Behaving Badly, and Game Boy commercials. And then, of course, they all basically found various degrees of success with other efforts, such as Stella, Reno 911, Party Down, and, in the case of Joe Lo Truglio, playing the creepy guy in Judd Apatowian films, and now they have wallets made out of money. But, with the exception of a somewhat recent appearance at Sketchfest, there have been no projects featuring the whole team, just our grainy VHS tapes, our oft-removed YouTube clips, our creased paperbacks, and, after what seemed like an interminable wait, our glorious DVDs to sate our appetetite. But, even with the DVDs, and their extensive special features and informative commentaries, there remained a void, a void created by a long-rumored, never been heard State comedy album.
Well, that myth is now a reality. Fourteen years later Comedy for Gracious Living will finally see the light of day.
Sketch comedy, variety shows, travel literature and now, after many years, The State officially enters the hallowed ground of comedy albums. What’s next? Who knows? But if I were you, Broadway, I’d watch out.
To celebrate, let’s go to the zoo and watch the monkeys do it.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Jumped The Snark 