3rd Rock from the Sun

Name: 3rd Rock from the Sun
Genre: Comedy, Science Fiction
Released: January 9, 1996
Rating: 53
Cast: Kristen Johnston, Wayne Knight, John Lithgow, French Stewart, Joseph Gordon-Levitt

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 4 Ratings

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8.3

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8.3	User Score Universal acclaim based on 4 Ratings

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3rd Rock From The Sun

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Series Details & Credits

NBC | Release Date: January 9, 1996

Starring: Kristen Johnston, Wayne Knight, John Lithgow, French Stewart, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Simbi Khali, Elmarie Wendel, Jane Curtin

Summary: "As many intelligent people know, aliens are all around us. This is a story of a band of four such explorers. In order to blend in, they have assumed human form. This is the High Commander [Dick]. He has assembled an elite team of experts: A decorated military officer [Sally], a seasoned intelligence specialist [Tommy] and [Harry], well,"As many intelligent people know, aliens are all around us. This is a story of a band of four such explorers. In order to blend in, they have assumed human form. This is the High Commander [Dick]. He has assembled an elite team of experts: A decorated military officer [Sally], a seasoned intelligence specialist [Tommy] and [Harry], well, they had an extra seat."3RD ROCK FROM THE SUN is an inspired half-hour comedy series farcically dealing with the human condition set in the fictional city of Rutherford, Ohio. This gentle-hearted series stars John Lithgow as the High Commander of an investigative team sent to Earth on a mission to learn everything about humans and their so-called advanced civilization. Described by its producers as "Carl Sagan meets the Marx Brothers," 3RD ROCK has a clever, distinct point of view seen through the extraterrestrial team who has no other worldly powers except absolute truthfulness. Dick (John Lithgow, Don Quixote), Harry (French Stewart, Love Stinks), Sally (Kristen Johnston, Austin Powers) And Tommy (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 10 thing I Hate About You), arrive in our world completely innocent, while equipped with superior intelligence to analyze every experience. This bizarre vantage point of an innocent seeing everything for the first time is the comic framework from which to satire the human condition and American society, to look at all of the injustices and absurdities and humorously point them out to us. 3RD ROCK cuts through our taboos and traditions with a childlike inquisitive logic and an impeccably paced humorous twist. We the viewers see ourselves in 3RD ROCK, and we see ourselves as the aliens.The humor of 3RD ROCK is always twisting the viewpoint to show the angle of an outsider looking in. 3RD ROCK which we know as Earth is the way travellers would look at the world - an insignificant blue speck that is The 3rd Rock from the Sun.Reruns were last seen on ABC Family on April 15, 2005 at 9:00am ET with the episode "The Big Giant Head Returns Again, Part 1" and may return at some other time. Check listings.Ratings:
#22 in the 1995-1996 Season
#27 in the 1996-1997 Season… Expand

Genre(s): Comedy, Science Fiction

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Recent Episodes

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S6:E20. The Thing That Wouldn't Die, Part 2
Air Date: May 22, 2001
tbd
S6:E19. The Thing That Wouldn't Die (1)
Air Date: May 22, 2001
tbd
S6:E18. Mary Loves Scoochie (2)
Air Date: May 15, 2001

See all Seasons and Episodes

Metascore

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Critic Reviews

Terry Kelleher

Jun 26, 2013

Season 3 Review: High-pitched farce is 3rd Rock's stock-in-trade, and sometimes it just wears us out. But we marvel at how skillfully the writers and directors keep the balls in the air as they juggle as many as three situations per episode. Read full review

Lon Grahnke

Jun 19, 2013

Season 1 Review: Goofy and good-hearted, '3rd Rock' winks at the human condition. [8 Jan 1996]

Gail Pennington

Jun 19, 2013

Season 1 Review: Relax and go with the goofiness and you could have a good time. [9 Jan 1996]

Caryn James

Jun 19, 2013

Season 1 Review: Erratic but promising ... So far the series lacks the sharp writing to match its actors' unflappable delivery and deft physical comedy. [9 Jan 1996]

Todd Everett

Jun 19, 2013

Season 1 Review: [The] cast generally rises above the material, with Lithgow a sort of cross between Steve Martin and Matt Frewer, and tall, raspy-voiced Johnston a real find. Curtin is fine, but somewhat wasted as an uptight professor. [9 Jan 1996]

Marvin Kitman

Jun 19, 2013

Season 1 Review: While not the most stupid thing on the air, it borders on stupidity. [8 Jan 1996]

Chris Kaltenbach

Jun 19, 2013

Season 1 Review: It's hard to figure where the makers of "Third Rock" believe they went right. The humor never rises above high-school-lunchroom level, and even then it's not over-the-top enough to make it very appealing. The actors are talented enough -- Lithgow and Curtin certainly have nothing left to prove, and Gordon-Levitt seems to be that rarest of finds, a young actor who knows about timing. What they're doing in this mess is one of those questions for the ages. [9 Jan 1996]

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Seasons & Episodes

53

Series Overview
Season 6

tbd
- Season 6 Overview
  Air Date: October 24, 2000
- tbd
  S6:E20. The Thing That Wouldn't Die, Part 2
  Air Date: May 22, 2001
- tbd
  S6:E19. The Thing That Wouldn't Die (1)
  Air Date: May 22, 2001
- tbd
  S6:E18. Mary Loves Scoochie (2)
  Air Date: May 15, 2001
- tbd
  S6:E17. Mary Loves Scoochie (1)
  Air Date: May 8, 2001
- tbd
  S6:E16. Dick Soup for the Soul
  Air Date: May 1, 2001
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  S6:E15. Glengarry Glen Dick
  Air Date: April 17, 2001
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  S6:E14. My Mother, My Dick
  Air Date: February 20, 2001
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  S6:E13. You Don't Know Dick
  Air Date: February 13, 2001
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  S6:E12. Dick's Ark
  Air Date: February 6, 2001
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  S6:E11. A Dick Replacement
  Air Date: January 30, 2001
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  S6:E10. There Is No Business Like Dick Business
  Air Date: January 16, 2001
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  S6:E9. Dick Digs
  Air Date: January 9, 2001
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  S6:E8. Red, White & Dick
  Air Date: December 19, 2000
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  S6:E7. B.D.O.C.
  Air Date: December 12, 2000
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  S6:E6. Why Dickie Can't Teach
  Air Date: December 5, 2000
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  S6:E5. Dick'll Take Manhattan (2)
  Air Date: November 28, 2000
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  S6:E4. Dick'll Take Manhattan (1)
  Air Date: November 21, 2000
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  S6:E3. Indickscretion
  Air Date: November 14, 2000
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  S6:E2. Fear and Loathing in Rutherford
  Air Date: October 31, 2000
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  S6:E1. Les Liaisons Dickgereuses
  Air Date: October 24, 2000
Season 5

tbd
- Season 5 Overview
  Air Date: September 21, 1999
Season 4

tbd
- Season 4 Overview
  Air Date: September 23, 1998
Season 3

tbd
- Season 3 Overview
  Air Date: September 24, 1997
Season 2

tbd
- Season 2 Overview
  Air Date: September 22, 1996
Season 1

52
- Season 1 Overview
  Air Date: January 9, 1996