The State News

Ellen Alliena s BPitch Control issued their early EPs and two playful albums of pop-tinged grimey tech grooves, 2005a s Hello Mom! and 2007a s Happy Birthday! . Fans and collaborators include Thom Yorke, TTC and Paul St.

The State was a sketch comedy group whose highly influential self-titled show aired on MTV from 1993 to 1995.

Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter now will star in their own Comedy Central show.

Family Matters TV comedies, by their very definition, aren't taken very seriously - family sitcoms least of all.

Some people live life with the belief that "what goes without saying" too often goes unsaid.

Two months after he broke the news of his Comedy Central show "Reno 911!" coming to an end, series star/co-creator Thomas Lennon is headlining a new comedy project at NBC.

Two months after he broke the news of his Comedy Central show "Reno 911!" coming to an end, series star/co-creator Thomas Lennon is headlining a new comedy project at NBC.

A familiar face to cable TV audiences paid a visit to our area this week. Michael Ian Black stars in the Comedy Central series "Michael and Michael Have Issues," along with fellow comedian Michael Showalter.

Tags: Chuck Klosterman , Comedy Central , Michael Ian Black , Michael Showalter , MTV , program board Program Board has booked two high-profile speaking events for the month of November.

It took a long time for Michael Ian Black to figure out that he was funny, which is strange considering his part in founding one of the more recognizable sketch comedy groups in recent memory, "The State." Though he originally anticipated a career as a traditional theater actor, he was moved far beyond the stage once MTV gave the group its own ...

After more than 20 years of comedic collaborations, Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter finally get to star in their own show together.

After years of making do with grainy YouTube videos of racing porcupines, taco-delivering mailmen, and fervent instructions for properly storing cheese, fans of the cult MTV sketch comedy show The State finally received the show and all of its three seasons on DVD in July.

While it has taken a few years, I think it is safe to say that today, THE STATE , the short lived MTV sketch comedy show from the early 90's, is one of the most influential.

Here are the DVDs and Blu-Rays releasing this week, Tuesday September 15, 2009. DVD OF THE WEEK - The second season of one of the funniest shows on TV.

Filmed at The Wilbur Theatre in Boston, the DVD captures the ensemble's signature mix of smart and silly, with the aid of a few slide shows, musical numbers and a brand-new Stella short entitled "Birthday." Black, Showalter and Wain created Stella back in 1997 and have captured a loyal following over the years.

I was about 13 or so when The State premiered on MTV and I caught it off and on for the next four years, never really making an appointment to watch it, but, if it was on, it was entertaining enough for me not to change the channel and keep it on in the background while reading comics and not getting laid.

A scene from 'The Haunting in Connecticut' The Haunting in Connecticut Lionsgate, $29.95/$34.98; Blu-ray, $39.99 "The Haunting in Connecticut" features strong performances from a top-notch cast that includes Virginia Madsen, Elias Koteas, Martin Donovan and Kyle Gallner, but then director Peter Cornwell strands those actors in a hallucinatory ...

A scene from 'The Haunting in Connecticut' The Haunting in Connecticut Lionsgate, $29.95/$34.98; Blu-ray, $39.99 "The Haunting in Connecticut" features strong performances from a top-notch cast that includes Virginia Madsen, Elias Koteas, Martin Donovan and Kyle Gallner, but then director Peter Cornwell strands those actors in a hallucinatory ...

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.

A lot of time when you've waited anxiously for something for a long period of time, when that special something finally arrives in your greedy little paws, it turns out to be a bit of a disappointment.