Series Description

The 3rd Rock from the Sun TV show was a 30 minute sci-fi comedy series on NBC about a group of aliens who came to Earth in order to study our way of life. They took human form so they could observe us unnoticed. Their lack of understanding of human emotions always got them in trouble though and often came very close to revealing their alien origins. As time went by, they actually start developing human-like emotions but they never really mastered them.

3rd Rock From The Sun Cast

John Lithgow .... Dick Solomon
Jane Curtin .... Mary Albright
Kristen Johnson .... Sally Solomon
Joseph Gordon-Levitt .... Tommy Solomon
French Stewart .... Harry Solomon
Simbi Khali .... Nina Campbell
Elmarie Wendel .... Mrs. Mamie Dubcek
Wayne Knight .... Officer Don

3rd Rock From The Sun Trivia

In the first episode of 3rd Rock from the Sun where William Shatner appeared as the "Big Giant Head", he and John Lithgo (as Dick Solomon) both stated that they once had a frightening experience on an airplane. They were referring to the fact that both actors appeared in a Twilight Zone segment titled, "Nightmare At 20,000 Feet" where their characters saw a monster ripping apart their airplane. When they tried to show other passengers or the crew, the monster would hide. Eventually, they were carried off the plane to the mental ward! The ironic part is that Shatner appeared in the role on the original Twilight Zone TV show and Lithgow was in the 1983 Twilight Zone movie segment that was a nearly identical remake of Shatner's episode.

Some writer was showing off their sense of humor when they named the three top male characters' on 3rd Rock from the Sun: "Tom, Dick, and Harry"!

Did you notice that, occasionally, Dick Solomon would stop his crazy banter and start speaking very technically once in a while? In order to make it more believable that John Lithgow's character was actually from a more advanced alien civilization, Physicist Brian Greene wrote some scientifically authentic lines for Lithgow.

On one episode, the rest of the Solomons get upset with Dick when he allows Mary to "spend the night" too often. At one point, Sally said, "Last night she forced us to watch an A&E Biography on Susan Saint James!" That was a reference to the fact that Jane Curtain starred on the series, "Kate and Allie" with Susan Saint James!

Ian Lithgow played the role of "Leon" who was one of Dick Solomon's students. Ian is John Lithgow's real-life son!

NBC just couldn't leave 3rd Rock From The Sun's time-slot alone! They moved it one dozen times during its time on the air!

3rd Rock From The Sun Opening Narrative

(Episodes 2-9; Narrator: James Earl Jones)

"As many intelligent people know, aliens are all around us. This is the story of a band of four such explorers. In order to blend in, they have assumed human form. (Dick Solomon Appears) This is the High Commander. He has assembled an elite team of experts. (Sally Solomon Appears) A decorated military officer. (Tommy Solomon Appears) A seasoned intelligence specialist. (Harry Solomon Appears) And... well, they had an extra seat. They say the Earth started with just two humans, now there are 5 billion of them ... someone needs to turn a hose on them.

(Note: Episodes 2-9 then continued with a quip that changed each week:)

Episode #2: "The earth is a primitive place, notable for its pollution, squandered resources, and violent upheavals. But man, you should taste the doughnuts!"

Episode #3: "The earth revolves around the sun. But ask most humans, they'll say it revolves around them."

Episode #4: "The people of earth sometimes divide against each other based on national origin or skin color. Of course, no one else in the galaxy can tell them apart."

Episode #5: "The earth is actually two-thirds water...about the equivalent of scotch at a cheap wedding."

Episode #6: "They say earth started with just two humans. Now there are five billion of them. Someone needs to turn a hose on them."

Episode #7: "The earth is populated by millions of beautiful women. And those who aren't beautiful have great personalities."

Episode #8: "The earth is covered with a deep, hard crust ... although it does have a wonderful chewy center."

Episode #9: "Earth is a place where backing down causes ego problems, and backing up causes severe tire damage."

(Note: Thereafter, the entire opening narrative was changed to this short version:)

"As many intelligent people know, aliens are all around us. This is the story of four such explorers."

(Note: Later, in syndication, the shortened version was used for all episodes!)