The Kevin Bacon Game used to be the ultimate litmus test to gauge your level of connectedness in Hollywood. You just tried to link up your name to King Bacon and if you were three links or more, you couldn't even get a Melrose Avenue street bum to spit on you for a quarter.

That game has officially been replaced by something much narrower and definitely much cooler. It also puts me a link away to the Hollywood machine, which bumps me up to not having to pay that bum to spit on me.

I recently got an advance copy of MTV's long awaited DVD box set of all four seasons of The State and found this personal connection in a sketch from the third season called "Fan Names."

TV bloggers get a lot of free DVDs to review. They range from the dull and drab to titles that some people would run over someone on the way to the movie store to get.

It's very rare, however, for anyone to get their grubby little hands on a title powerful enough to reverse the polarity of the universe and restore order to chaos. I managed to score that very thing a week before anyone could and I didn't have to sell my soul, my first-born child or any of my bodily objects to get it.

Get ready to utter the biggest "At last!" since NBC put the Knight Rider remake out of its long and winding misery.

TV Shows on DVD reported MTV's official announcement earlier this morning that the entire sketch comedy series will hit store shelves on July 14th. That was followed by a trailer release of the DVD on The State's official site. It's going to have full commentary from the cast, four interview features on the troupe's origins and the show's many catchphrases, some unaired sketches and outtakes. It sounds like this five disc set will be chocked full of Stately goodness. You'll want to do a lot more than just dip your balls in it. Please keep those things to yourself.

Founding State member, writer and Role Models director David Wain was nice enough to give us his first interview (via IM, no less). He talked about the work that went in to getting things to this stage, why the announcement first appeared on cast member Joe Lo Truglio's site and what he and the rest of his crew hope to accomplish with their DVD.

There seems to be some mixed messages on the status of The State DVD. Those of you who are sitting on the edge of your computer chair, chewing your fingernails down to the marrow know this isn't really new news.

This time, however, there seems to be disagreement within the ranks of the comedy troupe.

We reported earlier this month about State member and recent Reno 911! addition Joe Lo Truglio announcing a release date for the long beleaguered DVD of the complete series. The following week, the group's official site, run by writer, director and cast member David Wain according to their FAQ, denied that any date for the DVD's release has been set.

Nothing has frustrated TV fans more than the never-ending release of The State DVD from MTV. It has become the Duke Nukem Forever of the television universe.

One minute, it's on and the next minute, it's off. Then it's back on again, then the whole thing gets called off. Then it rises from the ashes like a flaming phoenix into the never-ending sky only to get doused with a fire extinguisher by an MTV Home Entertainment executive.

Now it appears that ill-fated collection of magic discs is coming soon to a DVD store near you until MTV decides it's time to destroy your dreams and tell your children there is no Santa Claus again.