Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Favorite Episodes: 3rd Rock from the Sun


So, although I kinda stopped doing the series on my favorite episodes from various shows a while ago, I finally finished watching 3rd Rock from the Son, so I'm able to post that one. Similarly, I'm going to do an Arrested Development favorites post sometime in the near future, as I have just three episodes remaining on that one. And maybe there will be more in the future... I did just start watching Two and a Half Men a short while ago, hehe!

3rd Rock from the Sun had a great concept - aliens who have no idea what Earth's customs are, so they're constantly learning things for the first time. The ensemble was really great too, leading to some excellent comedic moments throughout the series... especially for John Lithgow, who won numerous awards for his portrayal of Dick Solomon. I think that the first and fifth seasons are the funniest... the first because there are so many basics that the family just "doesn't get," and the fifth because there's a lot of character build-up at that point so there are some hilarious and over-the-top hijinks.  

Season 1: "Frozen Dick" (S01E12): Dick and Mary win teaching awards, and they need to go to Chicago to accept them. But, Dick freaks out on the plane, so they have to drive (which makes Mary angry). But, when it starts snowing, Dick thinks the worst is upon them, and promptly crashes the car in the middle of nowhere. It's pretty funny. And, as a side story, Harry is working at a video store, and re-arranges all of the videos according to his own personal preferences, haha.

Season 2: "Gobble, Gobble, Dick, Dick" (S02E10): The Solomons don't know what Thanksgiving is, so the fact that everyone is buying food at the grocery store and the town is emptying out makes them think that it's the end of the world. Sally buys a turkey for each person, LoL. They find out the truth and invite over Mary, Mrs. Dubcek, and her visiting daughter, Vicki. Tommy and Dick get into a fight about how he's supposed to rebel and stuff, and Tommy ends up making a bunch of guys call their own dads. And, Harry and Vicki have sex.

Season 3: "Scaredy Dick" (S03E05): It's Halloween, and Mary has plans. Since her house gets egged when she doesn't give out treats, she has Sally and Tommy give out candy for her. But they turn out not to do exactly what they're told, hehe. Dick needs to get a physical, but keeps chickening out and running away. Meanwhile, Harry thinks that there's a ghost in the apartment.

Season 4: "Dick and Taxes" (S04E12): Harry's working at the bar now, and realizes that taxes are being taken from his paycheck. Before long, the Solomons realize that they've never filed their taxes before, and have incurred a large bill. Then, they figure out that they might try to do something "new" by lying on their return. Dick redoes the numbers and comes up with a way that the government owes them a LOT of money. But, now they're getting an audit, and Dick freaks out, thinking that their alien identities will be revealed. But, the best part is that Sally decides to fake a home business - a hair salon... but when people actually show up, she, Harry, and Tommy really do start washing and cutting hair - in the kitchen! hahaha.

Season 5: "Dick for Tat" (S05E02): Mary admits to Dick that she once had an affair with Strudwick (Dick's rival in the physics department, and also Tommy's girlfriend's father), which makes Dick think that he needs to sleep with Strudwick's wife to even the odds. It's hilarious the way he goes over to Strudwick's house and tries to seduce his wife! Meanwhile, Don is now a cop on a motorcycle, so he's a new object of obsession for Sally... until he crashes and winds up in a full body cast (though that idea doesn't really carry over to other episodes, LoL)!

Season 6: "Dick'll Take Manhattan" (S06E04 & S06E05): There are many two-parters in this series, but my favorite is this one, where the Solomons visit a parallel universe where they live in NYC. Dick is an important attorney, Salley is a sex columnist, Harry is the President of NBC, and Tommy is on SNL. Mary is a lounge singer who no longer believes in love, while Don is the Mayor, married but seeing Sally on the side. It's great.
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