If you were in middle school in the mid-'90s and had basic cable, you may have fond memories of a sketch comedy show on MTV called The State. They were savvy enough to have recurring characters silly enough to appeal to, well, middle school kids. I still have fond memories from my stunted adolescence of creations like “The Inbred Brothers” and “Louie,” whose catch phrase was “I wanna dip my balls in it!” They were also weird and risky enough to go out on a limb and do stuff that maybe makes less sense now than it did then, such as this bizarrely straightforward turn-of-the-century musical revue, “Porcupine Racetrack.”
That’s right, kids: this is what you would’ve seen on MTV fifteen-odd years ago. Also they showed music videos! Seriously! Anyway, the various members of The State have gone on to do a number of things, alone or in tandem (notably the long-running, funnier than it has any right to be COPS parody Reno 911). Far and away, my favorite of these post-State projects is Stella [1].
Stella began as a live nightclub act put on by State alums Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter and David Wain (who are not British, nor in a band, if you were wondering. I honestly can’t remember why I thought this theme week was a good idea; I did come up with the idea when I had the flu but that can’t excuse the whole thing). Eventually they started making short films to be shown during their performances, and eventually these short films were put online, and eventually I became convinced that the future of humor was three grown men in suits dicking around and filming it.
These shorts eventually led to Comedy Central developing Stella as a television show. It was a bit more, uh, subtle than that clip up there (more awkward situational humor, less fart jokes). I can’t find any decent clips of the TV show on YouTube, so I guess you’re going to have to go out and buy the DVDs.
Michael Ian Black is probably the most recognizable of the three (among other things, he was a big mover and shaker on those VH1 “I Remember Pop Culture Things From The Past” countdowns), but David Wain and Michael Showalter keep busy as well. Wain directed Wet Hot American Summer, The Ten and Role Models, and may someday direct a film that doesn’t star Paul Rudd. Showalter released an album of stand-up comedy called “Sandwiches and Cats” a couple of years ago, forever ruining my chances of being the first person to release a CD called “Sandwiches and Cats.” He also hosts a web series called The Michael Showalter Showalter (get it?), which has seen him conduct uncomfortable interviews David Cross, Michael Cera, Zach Galifianakis. Here’s how he handles 30 Rock’s Jack McBrayer:
There are plenty of Stella shorts on YouTube. If you’ve got an afternoon to waste (and come on, I know you do), I highly recommend diving right in. What do you have to lose, besides possibly your shitty desk job?
Links:
[1] http://www.stellacomedy.com