Nightmare on Dick Street, Part 1

A Hilarious Sci-Fi Comedy!
When a group of four extraterrestrial aliens assumed human form in order to study humanity, the results were hilarious on NBC's 1996-2001 sitcom "3rd Rock from the Sun". The unrelated traveling extraterrestrial foursome takes up residence in the fictional midwestern college town of Rutherford, Ohio. The "High Commander" (John Lithgow) takes on the identity of a father and college physics professor named Dick Solomon. The "Security Officer" (Kristen Johnston) takes on the female identity of Dick's sister Sally. The "Information Officer" (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) takes on the identity of Dick's son Tommy. The fourth alien (French Stewart) takes on the identity of Dick's brother Harry. Having never experienced life as human beings, the alien foursome quickly find that dealing with strange human feelings and senses can be very challenging. This was especially true for Sally, who, as a woman, experiences a greater array of emotions. Then, there's the human woman that inadvertently captures...

Great season, but a couple of things 3rd Rock fans need to know...
When "3rd Rock From The Sun" arrived in the spring of 1996, it was like a breath of fresh air amist the plethora of Seinfeld-clone sitcoms which littered the tv landscape. Led by the wonderful John Lithgow, "3rd Rock" achieved a kind of brilliant lunacy.

While the first season had it's share of hit 'n miss episodes, the second season was solid and funnier with the cast more comfortible in their zany roles. From the opening two-parter ("See Dick Run"...you'll notice that almost ALL the episodes have "Dick" in the title) that set the tone for rest of the season through such glorious highlights as "Big Angry Virgin From Outer Space", "World's Greatest Dick" has John Lithgow go completely nuts over the football team (just wonderful) & the introduction of the great Jan Hooks in "Gobble, Gobble, Dick, Dick", this is a season not to be missed for the devoted 3rd Rock fan.

However, there are a couple of things I need to warn you about, the first concerns the...

You'll Laugh Yourself Silly
Not to repeat all the wonderful points made by other reviewers, this second season of 3rd Rock is even funnier than the first. With topflight writing, and a brilliant ensemble cast performing before a live audience, this season contains some of the highlights of the entire series. Just some of the things to look out for:

In "Much Ado About Dick", the penultimate cocktail party at the Dean's house is a veritable hoot culminating in Dick singing "Night and Day" at the piano with Sally, Tommy and Harry backing him up in full harmony;

In "Dick and the Single Girl", the great Christine Baransky sings the wonderful and sultry "You've Awakened My Passion, Dick Solomon" (and her reference to Nikolai Lobachevsky is a wry nod to Tom Lehrer and his song "Lobachevsky");

And in the wonderful two-part season finale, "Nightmare on Dick Street", the dream sequences are utterly delicious: Dick's nightmare sequence-- where his captors and he run into the...

Click to Editorial Reviews