Stella! STELLAAAA!!!

Tonight, Comedy Central will broadcast Stella for the first time. But for those of you who are big fans of The State, you've probably seen a video or two of Michael Showalter, David Wain and Michael Ian Black - the trio who comprise Stella - on the internet. We got our grubby hands on a promotional copy of the episode that will air this evening.

Full disclosure: We've been looking forward to this premiere for quite a while. When we were in junior high school, we loved to watch The State. We follow the careers of each member of said comedy troupe. We read State By State with The State, we tune in weekly for "Reno 911"...don't even get us started on "Wet Hot American Summer." (Because we could go on about it all day long.) Hell, we even watched Ken Marino in various shitty sitcoms (i.e. "What I Like About You").

Because we are cynical, we were prepared to be disapointed by this new, Comedy Central-branded "Stella."

Full review after the jump...

Stella, tonight @ 9:30PM CST on Comedy Central

However, we had a fun time watching tonight's episode for the following reasons:

1. The trio didn't tone it down for prime time television. It's just as absurdly funny as it always has been.

2. (Because we're dorks) we loved seeing Stella's regular guests, who weren't actually State members, pop up for lil' guest roles. AD Miles, Nina Hellman...and we believe we saw Zak Orth but we can't really confirm that.

3. With the absurdity comes a bit of social commentary, and makes fun of the pretentious people one comes across daily. Oh don't you see?! It's funny because it's true! ...Sorta.

The bottom line? If you were fans of Stella before "Stella," then you probably won't be disappointed. If you're new to this gang of comedians, then it might take some time, but these guys will slowly worm their way into your mind.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@austinist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Katie Spence in Other on June 28, 2005 2:42 PM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

keith

that was definitely zak orth at the end...........overall, it was funny, a little bit of a change to see them have to hold back by not using a single big black dildo, but still pretty good

katie spence

it's weird, because I'm fairly certain on the DVD of WHAS, they say that Showalter voiced the can of vegetables, and I believe it even shows him doing it. But I googled it and found a couple of sites that give credit to H. John Benjamin.

weird, huh.

Vonnegatt

Those kids are hilarious from way back. The State skit where Michael Patrick Jann plays Jesus ("Watch your back") was...there aren't enough words. Plus, Wet Hot American Summer! They get a million kudos for casting H. Jon Benjamin as a talking can of veggies.

Jackson West

Good to see some NYU kids make good!

trish

I am curious to see how long this show lasts. Hopefully more than one season, but a part of me really doubts it.

Jooley_Ann

I wanna dip my balls in it!

chaka kahn

While the tone remains the same (or similar), the content is not nearly as edgy as the live show or the past 'Stella' video sketches. On the plus side, some of the jokes are pushed further with higher productions values than the guys are used to. Personally, I hope the aburdism completely pisses of regular viewers who love their 'blue collar comedy' or the morons still quoting 'Chappelle's Show'