Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2003 | 1:17 PM

If Mr. Show is The Velvet Underground of Comedy, then The State is The Stooges, and Stella (Michael Ian Black, Michael Showalter, and David Wain of The State) is Richard Hell and The Voidoids.

Whereas Mr. Show, like the Velvets, tells stories that splay humanity naked and vulnerable, The State creates crude amusing first person vignettes that are electrified by a certain rebellious slipshod energy, e.g. Iggy Pop at his most ferociously apathetic. And Stella, The State all growed up, revels in existential nihilism appreciated by those who own a dog eared copy of Being and Nothingness, but also secretly really dig Faces of Death. Blank Generation, indeed.

We all know that I think Mr. Show wins this contest, so let's move on from there.

The State is in dire need of an editor. They are far too indulgent of themselves, and although part of the charm is watching them fuck around and have fun, their sketches are never quite as lean or satirical as the group's obvious intelligence and off beat sensibility suggest. The point of view is one of vague goofiness and the lack of specificity softens the work. And though The State reaches moments of unadulterated hilarity, I am left with this lingering feeling that it�s just not as funny as it could be. Quite frankly, none of the cast is the actor that Cross or Odenkirk is, and thus most of the characterizations are lacking in nuance. Also (and this is probably the fault of MTV, I would think) The State often panders to the dumbest person in the room. They do something Mr. Show never does, which is explain the joke to you.

Of course, Stella which isn�t on any network, doesn�t bother to delineate its own humor and in this way it�s an improvement over The State. Stella takes a little longer to �get�. I can�t decide at this point whether I love Stella or hate it. Again, those guys are in serious need of an editor. Every sketch is twice as long as it needs to be. And there�s a certain tunelessness to the writing and performances. Each skit is like a big steady barrage of guitar feedback. It is also the most misanthropic comedy I have ever seen. There is nothing remotely redeeming about any of the characters in Stella. And, it�s gross. I mean totally fucking disgusting. Which isn�t necessarily bad. I found myself laughing despite being horrified, and if the goal is to get people into a state of hysterical discomfort, they�ve done a wonderful job. There is one particularly surreal moment which ranks up there with the most brilliant things I have seen in recent comedy. Three guys go over to someone�s house for a caroling party which somehow turns into a cannibalistic orgy. The blood bath becomes more and more frenzied until Michael Ian Black, his mouth dripping with guts and gore, stops attacking his victim and screams, Everyone stop! Don�t you see this is what they want? Guys, this isn�t what Christmas is all about!

There are several moments in Stella that work on that level, marrying absurdity and satire and the blood lust of a raging collective post modern id into one crystallized joke. But it doesn�t happen often enough. There�s too much shitting and fucking. Stella is obsessed with fucking. It�s very strange. And watching it is like watching a car wreck. It�s weird, flawed, compelling stuff. But at least it takes risks, which is more than I can say for most of what passes for comedy these days. And for that, it gets my vote of confidence.

Mr Show seasons 1-3 are on DVD. The State and Stella are not so look to do some tape trading if you�re interested, and see Wet Hot American Summer which was written by the boys from Stella and has one hell of an awesome cast.