For those of us who remember an MTV that played music videos with the occasional show (and not the other way around), phrases like "I wanna dip my balls in it" and "I'm outta heeeeeere" hold very special resonance. The origin of these phrases was, of course, The State, one of the greatest sketch comedy shows ever broadcast. Although for some, The State was nothing more than yet another attempt at sketch comedy in the wake of Kids in the Hall's success (a trend that spawned forgettable shows like Small Doses and The Vacant Lot), closer examination reveals that the show was not only ahead of its time, but deserving of a place in the canon of sketch shows, right there next to Flying Circus, Kids in the Hall, and the glory days of SNL.

So what set The State apart from the other myriad sketch-based shows of the early/mid nineties? First of all, The State was consistently funny, which is something that shows like The Vacant Lot, although it had its moments, could not boast. Second, being an MTV show, The State had great music. Is there anyone from my generation that can hear The Breeders' "Cannonball" and NOT immediately think, "pants, eh?"

Third, and probably most importantly, each member of The State was funny in his own right, the one common trait that runs through all successful sketch comedy shows. The State was a true ensemble show, and no one member outshined the others. Even the sideline members like David Wain and Michael Patrick Jann (whose duties were mostly editing and directing, respectively) were given the opportunities to play hilarious side characters on a regular basis.

Sketch shows, no matter how funny the actors, usually fail due to poor sketch concepts. Sketch writing is very hard, and for a group like The State to have SO MANY memorable sketches is truly a rarity. The funny thing is, that the sketches everyone remembers (Louie, Barry & Levon, Doug, etc) aren't even the best of the crop.

Part of the reason for this is that few sketch groups ever reached The State's level of sheer weirdness. Not content to just come up with clever concepts and funny characters, The State pushed the boundaries of just how strange a sketch could be. In the Slinky sketch, Michael Showalter and Kerri Kenney demonstrate the fun one can have with a Slinky, mispronouncing un-mispronounceable words like "out" and "your" for no apparent reason. It's not the crux of the sketch, but the addition of this level of strangeness adds to the overall comedy. One of the more well-known sketches (due to its appearance on The State's VHS "Skits and Stickers"), the Taco Mailman sketch, is sheer weird from beginning to end, and uproariously funny. At the end of the sketch, Michael Ian Black's mailbox walks away of its own accord, and is met only by the utterance of, "goodbye, mailbox." This accepance of "weird" is what made the show so legendary.

Every so often, a perfect sketch is written. Not often, mind you, but sometimes. Monty Python set the standard with The Parrot Sketch, and ever since then sketch comedy has been trying to catch up. Kids in the Hall had "Screw You, Taxpayer," Mr. Show had "The Lie Detector," and The State had "Blueberry Johnson."

"Blueberry Johnson" involved the titular character, a blue-haired, squeaky-voiced children's programming producer, and his fight with his network higher-ups when he says that he wants to be the host of his next project. Now, Michael Showalter in a blue onesy with oversized gloves on his hands and a blue fright wig is funny enough on its own, but the real genius of this sketch is the fact that Blueberry, obviously a living cartoon, exists not only in the real world, but in the real world of television production. His attempts to convince the clueless execs that he's perfect for children's television are met with smarmy ambivalence, culminating in threats of violence. In the end, Richard Dreyfuss is chosen to host the show.

The reason that the sketch works so well is that the character of Blueberry Johnson is written as an almost believable (albeit eccentric) person, so when Blueberry gets frustrated and says, "I'm a freak of nature, Bruce! I can not honestly believe you're being this much of a moron!", we're suddenly reminded that we're watching the equivalent of a shouting match between Jim Henson and Big Bird over airtime.

Unfortunately, no clip of the sketch can be found on YouTube, so it's up to you, intrepid readers, to track it down. I highly suggest you do. It's The State's perfect sketch.

Since the show's closing after three wonderful seasons, all the members have gone on to wonderful projects including the short-lived but brilliant "Viva Variety," the even-more-bizzare-than-The-State "Stella," and perennial favorite, "Reno 911." Recently, the group reunited at the Upright Citizens Brigade's venue in LA for a reunion show, though it was more of an improv set than true State material.

In the decade-plus since the show closed down, the group has been mired in a legal battle with MTV and CBS to relinquish control of the rights so that a proper DVD set could be released. Last year, iTunes began selling episodes from the first season, but much to the fanbase's dismay, all the original music had been taken out due to licensing issues. It doesn't ruin the show by any stretch of the word, but those of us who remember the original run will certainly be disappointed.

Not as disappointed, however, as this announcement on The State's official website (www.the-state.com):

"(March 23, 2008): We are sorry to report The State DVD is STILL has no release date. We worked closely with MTV last year to make a wonderful DVD set with lots of extras, and the DVDs are completed, but they have chosen not to release the set at this time. We don't know why. "

Boo, MTV. Boo.