Starring John Lithgow, Jane Curtin, French Stewart, Kristen Johnston, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Written By: Bonnie Turner, Terry Turner
Directed By: Robert Berlinger, James Burrows
Studio: Anchor Bay
Buy on Amazon.com link

For some reason, I totally forgot this show existed haha. I remember the first two seasons being hilarious and then it just got, less funny to me. Now the first season is on DVD, so if you can’t stay up for the syndicated show, then buying the DVD is your best bet.

3rd Rock is about a bunch of aliens living in human bodies and going amongst us for studies or some mission. There’s the High Commander/Dr. Dick Solomon (John Lithgow), his Lieutenant-trapped-in-a-woman’s body Sally Solomon (Kristen Johnston), senior officer who’s in a horny teenager body Tommy Solomon (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), the squinty eyed Harry Solomon (French Stewart) and Dick’s love interest Dr. Albright (Jane Curtin) who he works with at the University. Each episode deals with the alien foursome dealing with typical human situations and it really makes for some funny television.

I think this show was what it was because of John Lithgow and the supporting cast. John Lithgow was perfect as Dick Solomon and won a bunch of awards for the role as well. It’s probably the best thing he’s done I think. The stuff he does or says to people is just outrageously hysterical! Yelling to everyone at a wedding that he’s going to have sex tonight and smacks Dr. Albright’s ass. It’s stuff like that makes me laugh out loud. The rest of the cast is great too. The voluptuous Kristen Johnson is good as the alien guy trapped in a woman’s body (because he lost), Joesph Gordan-Levitt is funny as the hormonal teen. I never knew why French Stewart acted with his eyes squinted. It gets annoying to me, like OPEN YOUR FUCKING EYES! But I guess if I was an alien with sun protected eyes or something, and then went into human form; I’d probably squint too. He does have some funny moments though. One thing that I found really funny, is the name of the episode titles. Almost every title has Dick in it and it’s amusing. But what makes the show funny is the typical human lifestyle and just having the characters deal with that. I think the premise eventually got old, but that’s why I think the first season is the best. The initial laugh value of seeing them doing non-human things in human places was funny. I don’t think I watched all the way to the end because I guess I just lost interest. But after seeing these episodes again, it makes me want to watch the other seasons now.

There’s a good amount of extras on the box set and I like that. I like to see companies take the time to include some things for the fans. There’s a funny insert of the guide to living on planet Earth. In the insert, there’s how to pleasure a human, the real seven wonders of the world, games and other humanly things. It’s a good bathroom read. Other extras include lots of interviews from the past, where the actors talk about their characters, the show and answer other questions. There’s a behind the scenes featurette, some bloopers & deleted scenes, and a season one highlight that shows a lot of funny moments of the first season. The extras were above average.

I forgot how funny this show was, and it makes me want to watch the other seasons now. I don’t know when they air on syndication so I guess I’ll just wait for the second season to come out, which is supposed to be soon from what I gathered. If you are a fan of the series, this is a definitely buy-worthy.

Features:
Blooper Reel
3rd Rock: Behind the Scenes
Interviews:
– John Lithgow
– Kirsten Johnston
– French Stewart
– Joseph Gordon-Levitt
– Jane Curtin
– Simbi Khali
– Elmarie Wendel
– Wayne Knight
Season One Highlights
TV Spots
16 page Collectible Booklet
DVD-ROM: Teleplays

Audio:
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital Stereo CC

Video:
Standard 1.33:1 Color

Subtitles:

Favorite Scenes: Post Nasal Dick, Dick is from Mars Sally is from Venus, The art of Dick, Angry Dick
Rating: NR
Running Time: 442 minutes
Extras Rating:
Overall Rating: