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Facts About 3rd Rock from the Sun

Larrylambert
3 min readJul 22, 2023

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John Lithgow was fantastic.

Creative Commons: Alan Light

“3rd Rock from the Sun” was an interesting amalgamation of off cheap, suggestive jokes and downright witty writing. Couple those facts with a great cast and you have a show that generates a lot of laughs. The show even garnered some critical support.

Of course, Lithgow’s character was named “Dick Solomon.” The fact the character’s name was “Dick,” and not “Richard” gives you an idea of one type of humor employed.

I’ll take this time to give a shout out to William Shatner for his performance as, the “Big Giant Head.” I found the joy he found kicking butt hilarious. He was like a galactic Red Foreman. Now, on to some facts about 3rd Rock.

1: French Stewart came up with his character’s distinctive squint.

Somehow Harry Solomon’s squint isn’t as menacing as Clint Eastwood’s.

2: The show had some unusual writing help.

To help Dick with his physics jargon in class scenes, Ivy League physics and math professor, Brian Greene was solicited to help. I don’t believe he wrote any of the jokes associated with Dick Solomon’s name.

3: 3rd Rock was hard to keep up.

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Larrylambert
Larrylambert

Written by Larrylambert

You probably don't know my name, but have likely seen my work. I've written for numerous syndicated cartoon strips and my gags have appeared in national pubs.

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