Line #319 Characters/ThirdRockFromTheSun


1	[[foldercontrol]]
2
3	!Core Regulars
4	[[folder: Dr. Dick Solomon]]
5	[[quoteright:270:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Dick_Solomon_4747.png]]
6	-> Portrayed by Creator/JohnLithgow
7
8	High Commander of the aliens and as such patriarch of the family, he teaches physics at the local university. He somehow manages to be a condescending genius while also being an idiotic manchild, and has an on-off relationship with his co-worker Mary.
9
10	----
11	* TheAce: Played with. To the outsider, he is amazing at sports, can play piano perfectly, has a good singing voice, is a physics genius, knows dozens of languages and is FunPersonified. It's just when people get to know him that they see his flaws.
12	* AfraidOfDoctors: In the HalloweenEpisode.
13	* AmbiguouslyJewish: An odd case, in which the Solomons had no (Earthly) ethnicity, but it became apparent that they ''should'' have some sort of cultural background. A passing comment leads them to realize that they behave more or less Jewish - and their last name is fitting as well.
14	* BerserkButton: He makes it no secret that he openly hates Mary's parents due to the way they've treated her like crap her entire life. He views Mary's dad as LesserOfTwoEvils, but expresses nothing but disgust and horror regarding Mary's mother.
15	* BrutalHonesty:
16	** Most of the time except when he's denying his existence as an alien. The concept of lying was just as foreign to the aliens as emotions and gender were.
17	** One of the first season episodes focused on Dick discussing the concept of "ass kissing" to the other aliens in regards to a {{Jerkass}} professor who is having a party thrown in his honor, and fails to understand why people continue to suck up to him face-to-face yet badmouth him behind his back. Dick's blatant and carefree honesty towards the professor actually causes him to like Dick, so much so that he considers him a friend. When the professor dies at the party, Dick is shocked to learn afterwards that he's expected to deliver the eulogy at the funeral because the professor figured he was the only person who wouldn't lie.
18	* BunnyEarsLawyer: Dick's bizarre, childish behaviour is tolerated at the university because his advanced alien knowledge of physics makes him one of the best in his field (though he's actually really bad as a teacher. Tommy's pointed out that he's had the same students in his class for six years).
19	* CharacterCatchphrase:
20	** "Family meeting! FAMILY MEETING!" and, less frequently, "You're not family, GET OUT!"
21	** He also had variations on "Oh, my GOD! I'm GORGEOUS!"
22	** Also a frustrated shout of "DAMN!"
23	** As well as a rather self-assured, "Well, I am the high commander."
24	* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Doesn't understand sarcasm or lying very well. An example would be when Mary compared his family to Series/TheAddamsFamily. Dick assumed she meant second president UsefulNotes/JohnAdams. When she states that wasn't what she meant, Dick thinks she meant UsefulNotes/JohnQuincyAdams and becomes enraged that she would compare his family to "that freakshow".
25	* DatingWhatDaddyHates: [[spoiler:The Big Giant Head is Dick's father and he makes clear he hates Mary, but he still reluctantly gives them his blessing.]]
26	* ADickInName: Episode titles lampoon it mercilessly.
27	* DidIJustSayThatOutLoud: Once blurted out to his class that Earth would be destroyed by a meteor in 2015.
28	* DitzyGenius: On earth, Dick is considered brilliant and he considers himself much smarter than Einstein. He's also an idiotic pompous ManChild who can't even teach a young girl to play hopscotch without turning it into an argument.
29	* DoggedNiceGuy: To Mary.
30	* EasilyForgiven: Mary usually tends to forgive Dick after, at worst, several episodes, even after he's embarrassed her, unintentionally insulted her, and cheated on her. Somewhat makes sense considering not only is Dick very well-meaning under all the ego and bumbling, but also since Mary is a bit of a BrokenBird.
31	* EthicalSlut: He has an active sex life with Mary, and is very open to chat about it, but he won't turn down an offer from someone else if the opportunity arises.
32	* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Choleric with a dash of Sanguine.
33	* GagPenis: Dick poses for a nude painting class in one episode. Apparently, he ''really'' lives up to his name.
34	-->'''Harry''': I'm gonna need more pink.
35	* ICantBelieveItsNotHeroin: Got addicted to collecting stuffed animals called "Fuzzy Buddies". His friends and family staged an intervention when it reached the point that he had so many he was keeping them in the fridge.
36	* InnocentlyInsensitive: While he ''is'' a jerk (well, a dick), many times he tends to be accidentally obnoxious and/or tactless towards other people.
37	* InsufferableGenius: Absolutely this. It's only undone when his lack of understanding of Earth culture becomes apparent.
38	* ItsAllAboutMe: He's extremely selfish and narcissistic.
39	* JerkassHasAPoint: On more than one occasion, he makes a valid point in spite of being a jerk.
40	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold:
41	** He's selfish, arrogant, condescending, and a complete DramaQueen, but he truly does love Mary and comes to care for the other aliens as family members rather than just crewmates. Worth noting that for better or worse, it's uncertain how much of this is due to his inexperience coping with human emotions.
42	** This is especially exemplified in the episode where [[spoiler: he protects his family by telling Creator/KathyBates' character that he is the only alien in the group and comes very close to having his head cut open as a result]], which is perhaps the first moment when he doesn't consider himself to be the most important thing in life, despite his frequent declarations to that effect.
43	* LargeHam: He has three voices -- shouting, talking at normal volume but being overly emotional, and [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs shouting while being overly emotional]].
44	* LikeBrotherAndSister: With Sally.
45	* LiteralMinded: In one episode, Dick is trying to figure out what happens "when the spit hits the fan" by spewing sips of water into a desk fan.
46	* ManChild: How someone ''this'' immature is High Commander is dumbfounding.
47	* MeaningfulName:
48	** Dick is both a self-absorbed asshole and very... well-endowed. Fits both definitions of "dick" pretty well, no?
49	** Together with the rest of the family, they are "every Tom, Dick, and Harry", fitting with their names just being aliases they've taken while staying on Earth ("Sally" can be subtituted for "Harry" in some usages). This is lampshaded when Don refers to the three by name in that order and realizes they fit the idiom, thinking it's an amusing coincidence.
50	%%* MoodSwinger
51	* MundaneMadeAwesome: With Physics.
52	* ParentalFavoritism: When it's revealed [[spoiler: the Big Giant Head is Dick's father]] Sally believes Dick got high commander because "Daddy was playing favorites."
53	* ProfessionalButtKisser: Admits he became High Commander by doing this.
54	* SadistTeacher: There's a reason he's teaching the same students for a majority of the series. While handing out a test to his class, he openly told them that none of them would be able to solve question four, which made up half the test. In one particular moment of frustration, he ordered them to write letters to their parents apologizing for wasting their money, which they had to bring to class with envelopes and stamps. This actually prompted a hearing by the university, and Dick still learns nothing from the incident (if anything, he doubles down).
55	* SitcomArchNemesis: Had three, the only frequent one being Vincent Strudwick. The other two were fellow alien Liam Neeson, and grumpy lunch lady Lucy.
56	* SmallNameBigEgo: "Oh my GOD! I'M ''GORGEOUS!''"
57	* StrongGirlSmartGuy: Smart Guy to Sally's Strong Girl. Dick is a Physics Professor, while Security Officer Sally is the strongest member of the cast, despite being in a female body.
58	* TechnoBabble: Coupled with the above to intimidate a criminal into confessing a crime. Said babble had nothing to do with the criminal, and was just done to freak the guy out.
59	* UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist: Though as is often the case, he becomes more sympathetic as the show goes on. It's very hard not to feel bad for him in situations where his true identity thwarts his relationship with Mary (such as in the beginning of the third season when [[spoiler: his engagement to Mary is destroyed because the Big Giant Head assigns him a 'wife']]), which shows there is some real sympathy for him from the audience.
60	* WhatDoesSheSeeInHim: The other aliens hate Mary and don't understand what Dick's obsession with her is. As the series progressed their opinion of her as a person softened, but they still hated the idea of the two of them together.
61	[[/folder]]
62
63	[[folder: Sally Solomon]]
64	[[quoteright:303:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Sally3_8132.png]]
65	->Portrayed by Creator/KristenJohnston
66
67	Security Officer and Dick's "sister", she comes to realize that by Earth standards, she's gorgeous, and learns to use her looks to get what she wants and use men as she pleases. However, she's still Security Officer and is easily the most badass member of the family when required.
68
69	----
70	* ActionGirl: Although in reality the alien in Sally isn't a ''girl'' as much as a shivering purple tube, even in Sally's female body that tube is the strongest and most brazen member of the cast.
71	* AfraidOfBlood: Ironically
72	* AllWomenLoveShoes: Sally loves shoes and was once addicted to buying shoes. Tommy commented that she had more shoes "than Italy". It reached a point that she was sleeping on shoe boxes. Funnily enough, her real alien form doesn't even have feet, so she becomes distressed every time she remembers she can't wear shoes ever again once the mission is over.
73	* AlliterativeName: Two S's.
74	* AmazinglyEmbarrassingParents: While Dick, Sally, and Harry manage to humiliate Tommy on countless occasions, Sally's overbearing manner makes her the worst offender.
75	* AxCrazy: Borders on this at times, such as when her role as the security officer would require having to kill someone deemed a threat to the mission. Her solution to stop an auditor from discovering they're aliens was to snap his neck, and then the necks of everyone they encounter on the way home.
76	* BrutalHonesty: She has little tact and says what is on her mind whether it is rude or blunt or not.
77	* DudeMagnet: Men tends to fall for her quite often.
78	* EveryoneLovesBlondes: She is considered a blonde bombshell on earth.
79	* FemmeFatale: She's able to use her looks to manipulate men.
80	* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Melancholic with a dash of Choleric.
81	* GenderBender: Sally Solomon wasn't female before coming to Earth (whether the aliens have genders, and what they're like is not elaborated on), and initially wasn't pleased at the change.
82	* GirlinessUpgrade: Originally rather tomboyish and hated her femininity. By the later episodes, she became a more feminine (but not girly) character, letting out her softer side.
83	* HotBlooded: By far the most hot-tempered of the aliens.
84	* ICallHimMisterHappy: According to the finale she named her breasts "Veronique" and "Cindy".
85	* ICanChangeMyBeloved:
86	** In the last two episodes she turns Don into an effective police officer and gives him a backbone before leaving Earth, because she couldn't stand the thought of him spending the rest of his life as a muffin making coward.
87	** A weirdly unintentional case was when she met and attempted to convert a gay man. Sally had no idea what was going on.
88	* ICantDance: Demonstrated by Sally in "Dick Like Me."
89	* IHaveBoobsYouMustObey: Gradually learns how to use this.
90	** Although even in the very first episode...
91	--->'''Sally''': ''[demonstrating squeezing her breasts together]'' They seem to have greater power when they collide. I'm not wrong am I?
92	* TheLadette: Justified, she's masculine because she's not a female at all, but an alien put into a female body.
93	* TheLancer: Not only is she officially the second in command, she's consistently the first to challenge Dick on his decisions and on how best to solve a problem that arises.
94	* LegFocus: Her extremely long legs are often mentioned as one of her most attractive features. After an incident where she acts crazy at the police station, Don defends his choice to date her to his colleagues by pointing out that "she's got legs up to her ''face''".
95	* LethalChef: Despite her supposed role as TokenFemale on earth, she's terrible at cooking.
96	* LikeBrotherAndSister: With Dick.
97	* MamaBear:
98	** Sally occasionally treats Tommy this way, despite: A) being younger than him, technically; and B) his embarrassment.
99	** Also she is shown to take this to extreme degrees when put in charge of Ms. Dubcek's grandson. To the point where the others are not only jealous of the attention she gives him but are worried she may actually attempt to keep the child. Best exemplified when they accuse her of going soft and she retorts that she's still a warrior but now she's a defender rather than an attacker.
100	* NeverASelfMadeWoman: She temporarily gets promoted to high commander by the Big Giant Head, but Sally becomes very disappointed when she realizes she only got the promotion because the Big Giant Head thinks she's hot.
101	* NumberTwo: She's Dick's official second-in-command.
102	* PsychoExGirlfriend: She's aggressive, domineering and obsessive, which drives a few men away before she meets Don. Her reaction to being jilted for the first time was to break down her beau's door--still clutching her phone receiver and [[KickingAssInAllHerFinery wearing last night's dress]]--and [[PreAssKickingOneLiner inquire about her date's phone service]] before breaking his arm.
103	* StatuesqueStunner: Kristen Johnston is 6' tall, and frequently plays this type of character. Much of the comedy in the early seasons comes from the conflict between her stunning Earth body and her alien identity as a warrior.
104	* TestosteronePoisoning: Which is odd when coming from a human ''female''.
105	* StrongGirlSmartGuy: Strong Girl to Dick's Smart Guy. Dick is a Physics Professor, while Security Officer Sally is the strongest member of the cast, despite being in a female body.
106	* TheirFirstTime: People are shocked to learn that someone of Sally's looks only recently lost her virginity to someone like Don.
107	* TomboyWithAGirlyStreak: She manages to be both TheLadette and a flirty FemmeFatale. Overall, she becomes slightly more feminine over the years.
108	* {{Tsundere}}: Type B towards Don.
109	* UglyGuyHotWife: With Don, but it's played with -- Sally considers Don sexy (though it may just be the uniform and authority), and in one episode where she comes to obsess over her flaws, she convinces herself she's ugly and that Don is too good for her.
110	* UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist: Not as much as Dick, but she still qualifies.
111	[[/folder]]
112
113	[[folder: Harry Solomon]]
114	[[quoteright:303:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Harry2_5760.png]]
115	->Portrayed by Creator/FrenchStewart
116
117	Dick's "brother", Harry is the "transmitter" with which they contact the Home Planet. Otherwise though, his role is deliberately ambiguous as even the narration in the early episodes states -- "they had an extra seat".
118
119	----
120	* AmazonChaser: With Janice, his weight-lifting policewoman girlfriend. Harry talks about how he'd love to climb her like a tree, saying "I'd be like a 5 year old at Disneyland." He also looks ''really'' forward to whenever she causes him bodily harm.
121	-->'''Janice''': Will you be my boyfriend?\
122	'''Harry''': If I say no, will you hurt me?\
123	'''Janice''': Maybe...\
124	'''Harry''': Well, in that case... ''no''.\
125	(''Janice wraps her legs around Harry, brings him down to the floor and between her knees. Harry purrs in delight.'')
126	* TheCasanova: He has had the most relationships with gorgeous women who could easily do better than him. His romantic interests have included Vicki Dubcek, Nina, Masha the Venusian (played by Cindy Crawford), a body builder policewoman named Janice, and in the last episode we find out that for the entire show he'd secretly been with [[spoiler: Mrs. Dubcek]].
127	* CharacterCatchphrase:
128	** "LET'S GO!" and "Incoming message from The Big Giant Head!"/"Transmission ending in three... two... one.. (sneezes)"
129	** Early on he also had "Prepare to be dazzled!"
130	* CharacterizationMarchesOn: When the series began, Harry was just as odd, only quiet and a little more deadpan. As the seasons went on he started becoming louder and more confident in his own skin, and subsequently, more like the LargeHam we know and love.
131	* ChickMagnet: Initially he's the only one in the family without a LoveInterest but over time Harry is shown to be extremely popular with women [[KavorkaMan for no apparent reason.]]
132	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: To the point where it actually hurts him to think too hard.
133	* ConsolationPrize: Harry was given a free tote bag along with the body he selected, implying that it's an unpopular model.
134	* TheDitz: All four the aliens tend to act like idiots, but he's always the most stupid and clueless of them all.
135	* DumbassHasAPoint: It's very rare but he does occasionally have moments of clarity. When Dick and Sally were obsessed with collecting [[Toys/BeanieBabies Fuzzy Buddies]], Harry was the one to point out that they were cutting into their ability to afford food and rent.
136	* EyesAlwaysShut: French Stewart, the actor who plays him, is naturally "squinty" and rarely has his eyes open more than slightly. This is particularly pronounced when he smiles, and he plays it up for comic effect.
137	* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Sanguine with a dash of Phlegmatic.
138	* GeniusDitz: He's not very bright in terms of book smarts, but he's the most artistically gifted and has surprisingly no trouble dating women way out of his league. He also cracked the bar code.
139	* HiddenDepths: Every once in a while, Harry will display that for his unassuming, odd demeanor, he can surprise even his family with a hidden talent. One episode showed that he was an excellent painter, to the point that even Dick was dumbfounded. Another episode saw Harry try his hand at magic tricks. For basic tricks, he was pretty good - he even escaped from a straitjacket on the first try!
140	* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: He told Vicki that she should stay with the Big Giant Head because he was sincerely trying to do right by her and Eric Travis, and he didn't want Dick to get punished for disobeying orders.
141	* KavorkaMan: He's easily the oddest of the aliens, but if he opens his eyes fully, he suddenly becomes a chick magnet.
142	* LargeHam: Moreso as the series progresses.
143	* LikesOlderWomen: Has been with [[spoiler: Mrs. Dubcek]].
144	* MadArtist: In the sense that he's an excellent painter but he's very weird, although that doesn't channel into his medium. He's literally just an artist who's kooky.
145	* NiceGuy: While his [[TheDitz stupidity]] sometimes leads to unintentional JerkAss moments, Harry is overall well-meaning and certainly the nicest of the aliens.
146	* RealLifeWritesThePlot: French Stewart was born with a nerve condition which causes him to appear half-asleep all of the time. He exaggerates the squinty look as Harry.
147	* ReallyGetsAround: He occasionally veers into anything that moves territory and has to be forcibly stopped from french kissing any female within reach.
148	* TooDumbToLive: One of the earliest episodes of the series involves him taste-testing various house hold liquids to find out which are toxic. Guess what, he finds out, and asks the family to call poison control because the left side of his body is numb.
149	[[/folder]]
150
151	[[folder: Tommy Solomon]]
152	[[quoteright:306:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Tommy4_9549.png]]
153	->Portrayed by Creator/JosephGordonLevitt
154
155	Information Officer and Dick's "son". He's actually the oldest and perhaps smartest of the crew, and much of his character comes from being frustrated with the conflicts between his literal age and his teenaged body, such as why he can't date a middle-aged woman and hanging out at a senior's home where he fits right in.
156
157	----
158
159	* BecomingTheMask: When forced to act as the school's mascot "Hootie" he gets so into character that he stops answering to his own name. He's removed from the job after the football team loses and he attacks the coach for not pushing them hard enough.
160	* ButtMonkey: He often finds himself in embarrassing situations at school. To an extent he tends to be this for his own family - see DudeWheresMyRespect below.
161	* CompulsorySchoolAge: Tommy is ReallySevenHundredYearsOld, but he got the teenage body, so he has to go to HighSchool. In fact, he was specifically put into a teenage body ''to'' go to High School. (He was awfully ticked about that, though.) In fact, in an early (perhaps the first) episode, he explicitly states that he's older than Dick and wonders why ''he'' has to be the adolescent.
162	* DeadpanSnarker: Tommy's so sharp he even does this without meaning to. In the final reflections on the roof at the end of most episodes, he tends to have the most cutting commentary.
163	-->'''Sally:''' While we're on the subject of bodies, why is mine so much higher maintenance than yours?\
164	'''Tommy:''' I think the economy depends on it.
165	* DirtyCoward: He tried to sacrifice Alissa to save himself when it appeared that there was some maniac brandishing a power tool in Alissa's backyard. It was Sally and Harry pulling some hare-brained scheme to push the two back together again, and needless to say, they had the opposite effect.
166	* DirtyOldMan: He's a perverted old man inside a teenage boy's body.
167	* DudeLooksLikeALady: He's told he looks like a girl a couple of times, mainly because of his long hair.
168	* DudeWheresMyRespect: He's a lot more competent in his role as information officer than the others are in their own roles, but his efforts are frequently overlooked.
169	* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Phlegmatic with a dash of Melancholic.
170	* GrumpyOldMan: Tommy's actually the oldest of the aliens, and quite pissed that he's in a young body subjected to raging hormones.
171	* ImportantHaircut: He finally gets his hair cut towards the end of Season 3 in "Just Your Average Dick". Subverted as this was done in an attempt to maintain a sense of normalcy at the new apartment the Solomons moved into, and Tommy regretted it afterwards. That said, he sticks to it for the remainder of the series.
172	* NotSoAboveItAll: Just because he's saner than everyone else doesn't mean he's exempt from acting like an idiot. In fact, while he's perhaps the most level-headed of the four, his teenage hormones constantly get him into trouble over the course of the series.
173	* OlderThanHeLooks: Tommy is the oldest alien, and acts AlterKocker when he decides to retire and give up on acting his human age for an episode.
174	* OnlySaneMan: Among a quartet made up of an egotistical ManChild, a gorgeous and aggressive [[TheLadette Lad-ette]], and a TooDumbToLive KavorkaMan.
175	* TheSmartGuy: The crew's Information Officer and perhaps smartest member.
176	* TheSnarkKnight: He could be considered a male SnarkKnight, although to a much lesser degree than his ex girlfriend August.
177	* TeenGenius: Subverted. He has been given the body of a teenager, but he's actually the oldest (and definitely the smartest) of the crew.
178	* TenMinuteRetirement: "Portrait Of Tommy As An Old Man." Tommy tries to retire from the mission, sick of feeling like the ButtMonkey, but he quickly gets tired of living at the local retirement home and returns by the episode's end. In the interim, we get the bizarre sight of teenage Tommy sharing the same mannerisms of the senior citizens around him.
179	* TooMuchInformation: Tommy wound up telling everyone at graduation in his valedictorian speech about how they made out on her parents bed.
180	[[/folder]]
181
182	[[folder: Dr. Mary Albright]]
183	->Portrayed by Creator/JaneCurtin
184
185	Dick's (initially reluctant) Earthling love interest and an anthropology professor at his college. As much as she finds Dick insufferable and his family bizarre, she does come to care for them. Her work in anthropology often makes her the perfect foil for Dick, who is befuddled by Earth customs and society.
186
187	----
188	* BrokenBird: Her parents dumped their emotional baggage on her when she was young. To a lesser extent, so did her brother Roy when he used her as TheScapegoat when their parents found his Playboys. Mary spent two years in therapy because she covered for him.
189	* ButtMonkey: Especially in later seasons.
190	* ChildHater:
191	-->'''Mary''': Dick, I can't have children.\
192	'''Dick''': Oh Mary, why not?\
193	'''Mary''': Because I hate them.
194	* DatingWhatDaddyHates: Averted. Her parents both think Dick is the one for Mary. Mary's not sure how to feel about that. On Dick's part, he loathes the two for how they treated Mary when she was little, although he seems to think her dad is the LesserOfTwoEvils while being simultaneously scared and disgusted of her mom.
195	* DudeWheresMyRespect: She found her thesis in the bottom of box labelled "Sugar Puffs."
196	* FormerlyFat: When she was a child.
197	* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Melancholic
198	* GoodBadGirl: In her younger days.
199	* HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood: Her parents were emotionally abusive, and this is played for laughs.
200	* IWasQuiteALooker: Twenty years ago. Dick gets ahold of her nude photos from back then and shows them to her.
201	-->'''Mary''': Boy, I ''was'' a hottie, wasn't I?
202	* LadyDrunk: Borders on this. She's known at the local supermarket as the "White Zinfandel Lady".
203	* LastNameBasis: Dick initially calls her "Dr. Albright", but [[FirstNameBasis permanently switches to "Mary"]] after they hook up. The other aliens refer to her as just "Albright". Nina and Vicki call her "Dr. Albright" while the other professors call her "Mary".
204	* MsExposition: Often gets the job of explaining social conventions to Dick.
205	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Had this moment when she realized she had sex with Dick while locked in the school library, under intoxication. This was during one of their "break up" periods.
206	* NoSell: Drinking so much rendered her immune to the drugged wine given to her by Charlotte from "Alien Hunter". Of course, it didn't help when she knocked Mary out with the gnome.
207	* NotThatKindOfDoctor: Not matter how many times Mary has to explain it, Vicki never gets that Mary's an anthropology professor.
208	* OnlySaneWoman: Initially, until she was developed as pretty quirky herself.
209	* ReallyGetsAround: During one of her drunk moments, she admits to have slept with at LEAST 50 different men throughout her life.
210	* SmallNameBigEgo: Once compared herself to Abraham Lincoln in a speech to her colleagues. And, in Nina's words, "He did not come out favorably."
211	* WeirdnessMagnet: Managed to have not one, but two relationships with two different alien beings.
212	* WhatDoesSheSeeInHim: Her relationship with Dick.
213	* WhiteSheep: Mary's the only decent individual in her entire family. Her mom and dad are both inconsiderate cheats, the mom especially is a domineering drunken racist, her brother Roy's a pathetic loser who lies about being abducted by aliens to get women to sleep with him, and her sister Renata's a pompous bitch with a phony accent and a pathological need to destroy Mary's happiness any chance she gets. As a result, the Albrights tended to use Mary as their scapegoat for their emotional baggage. Mary spent years in therapy as a kid because she took the blame for Roy's collection of Playboys, and her parents justify the fact they stayed together all these years and made her life a living hell so they could "give her a happy home."
214	[[/folder]]
215
216	!Later Additions
217	[[folder: Nina Campbell]]
218	->Portrayed by Creator/SimbiKhali
219
220	Dick and Mary's secretary, she's friends with Mary and often snarks at Dick's ignorance about humanity.
221
222	----
223	* DeadpanSnarker: Usually at Dick's expense, though sometimes Mary's as well.
224	* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Choleric
225	* NotSoAboveItAll: While Nina is generally snarky about the oddities of the people around her, she has moments of giddiness herself, be it squeeing over getting Dick's Mister Potato Head, or gleefully participating in [[ItMakesSenseInContext Dick's in-apartment rendition of Stomp]].
226	* OnlySaneMan: Whenever dealing with Mary and Dick.
227	* PetTheDog: Nina normally seems to hold Dick in contempt (not entirely without reason, it must be said), but there are some moments when she makes it clear that she doesn't actually hate him.
228	* PromotionToOpeningTitles: In season 3.
229	* ShipperOnDeck: Sometimes she's portrayed as supporting the Dick/Mary ship, but [[DependingOnTheWriter other times]] she has a WhatDoesSheSeeInHim attitude about their relationship.
230	* SassyBlackWoman: Combine this with SassySecretary, and Nina is the result.
231	* SassySecretary: Very prone to sassy remarks towards Dick, often with good reasons.
232	* SexySecretary: One episode involved Dick having romantic fantasies about Nina.
233	* SurroundedByIdiots: Most of the time you see Nina, she's 100% done with everyone.
234	[[/folder]]
235
236	[[folder: Officer Don Orville]]
237	->Portrayed by Creator/WayneKnight
238
239	A portly, dim-witted cop with an overblown image of himself as an enforcer of justice. He's Sally's boyfriend and will do anything to please her, including playing up said overblown image to turn her on.
240
241	----
242	* AmazonChaser: To Sally. He adores how forceful she is and doesn't mind that she's taller and more athletic than he is.
243	* BadCopIncompetentCop: Don's not ''really'' much of a cop, when you get right down to it.
244	-->'''Don:''' ''(after watching TV with the Solomons)'' Well, better get back down to the station.\
245	'''Tommy:''' Time to go on duty?\
246	'''Don:''' No, I'm on duty; it's time to clock out.
247	* ChivalrousPervert: Told people that he and Sally had sex tons of times before they actually did. Don took offense when Sally asked if he told anyone after they did, at which he replied "of course not! What kind of heel do you think I am?"
248	* DelayedReaction: In "Feelin' Albright", it takes him a few seconds before he realizes that his ex-girlfriends are gathered in one room.
249	* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Phlegmatic
250	* ICantBelieveAGuyLikeYouWouldNoticeMe: Don doesn't understand why a woman looking like Sally would want to be with him, but he ain't complaining. For her part, Sally isn't aware that Don is considered unattractive in Earth terms.
251	* KavorkaMan: With Sally it's understandable, as she's an alien with no knowledge of local standards of beauty (she's actually just attracted to the fact that he's a cop). However, it's played straight as Don has several good-looking ex-girlfriends as well as quite a few karaoke fangirls.
252	* LargeHam: This show borders on WorldOfHam.
253	* LovableCoward: He puts up a tough front, but deep down he's this.
254	* MistakenForGay: In "A Friend in Dick", his friend Ernie believes that Dick's emotional outburst meant that Don was in relationship with a man.
255	* OnlyFriend: The only person who considers Dick a friend, as Dick finds out in one episode.
256	* OnlySaneMan: Don often plays the part, especially in conversations with Sally where she takes up some ludicrous position about their relationship. He doesn't tell her she's wrong when it plays to his advantage.
257	* PantyThief: Played with. In "Portrait Of Tommy As An Old Man," Don picks Sally's panties out of the laundry basket when she's out of the room, then [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere panics and bolts with them before she gets back.]] When Sally finds out, however, [[spoiler: she's so flattered she gives him the matching bra!]]
258	* PromotionToOpeningTitles: In season 3.
259	* UglyGuyHotWife: With Sally.
260	[[/folder]]
261
262	[[folder: Mrs. Mamie Dubcek]]
263	->Portrayed by Creator/ElmarieWendel
264
265	The Solomons' eccentric landlady. [[CharacterCatchphrase Lovely woman, very]] ''[[CharacterCatchphrase nice]]''.
266
267	----
268	* CharacterCatchphrase: "Lovely (insert word), very ''nice''..."
269	* DropInLandlord: Well, she is their landlady, and she drops in frequently, usually to flirt with somebody or completely ignore the craziness going on around her.
270	* EthicalSlut: She's a self-proclaimed nymphomaniac and proud of it. As is her daughter Vicki. No one has any problem with this except they're sick of her stories.
271	* FagHag: when Dick visits a gay bar (thinking it is an alien bar) he finds her there, declaring "These boys just love me"
272	* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Sanguine
273	* LovableSexManiac: A female version, and her daughter seems like this as well.
274	* MrsRobinson: Has been with [[spoiler: Harry Solomon.]]
275	* NoodleIncident: Her love life. In one episode she mentions being tricked into attending an intervention on two separate occasions.
276	* NotSoAboveItAll: Inverted. We've seen that she's kooky and very promiscuous, but she's still the Solomons' landlady and doesn't appreciate it when they're late paying rent.
277	* PromotionToOpeningTitles: In season 3.
278	* ReallyGetsAround: Has had multiple husbands and boyfriends, has at least two daughters, and a few illegitimate grandkids.
279	* TheStoner: Implied. TheStinger for one episode reveals her smoking Tommy's oregano by accident, then mentions it "Beats the hell out of basil."
280	* VerbalTic: She always puts extra emphasis on the word "nice" when using her catchphrase.
281	[[/folder]]
282
283	!Supporting Cast
284	[[folder: Dr. Judith Draper]]
285	->Portrayed by Creator/IleenGetz
286
287	A fellow professor known for her monotone and sarcasm.
288
289	----
290	* AmbiguouslyBi: In Judith's very first episode, Mary is MistakenForGay and Judith responds by sending her a lovely bouquet of flowers with a card Mary refuses to read. Of course, when she gets drunk with Don at a Superbowl party, she initially rebuffs his advances before making out with him.
291	* ConspiracyTheorist: One-time occurrence. Once thought the ladies room had a hidden camera and dismantled the ceiling tiles looking for it. ''Dick'', of all people, was weirded out by this.
292	* DeadpanSnarker: When she's not TheComicallySerious. Half of Judith's characterization is that she almost never smiles.
293	* ImaginaryFriend: Mary believes her boyfriend Trent is imaginary.
294	* NoodleIncident: Entered Mary's office, and the respective episode, finishing a conversation with Mary that ended with her saying "and when they found him, he was completely devoured by woodland creatures."
295	* TheStoic: She showed emotions but in a very monotone way.
296	* VitriolicBestBuds: With Mary. With Dick it depends on the episode.
297	[[/folder]]
298
299	[[folder: Dr. Vincent Strudwick]]
300	->Portrayed by Creator/RonWest
301
302	A doctor that antagonizes Dick later on in the show.
303
304	----
305	* AscendedExtra: His initial appearances are fairly minor during faculty events. He becomes more prominent after Tommy starts dating Alissa.
306	* BeardOfEvil
307	* SitcomArchNemesis: To Dick.
308	* TookALevelInJerkass: He doesn't become Dick's enemy until some time in the 4th season.
309	* VitriolicBestBuds: With Mary.
310	[[/folder]]
311
312	[[folder: August Leffler]]
313	->Potrayed by Creator/ShayAstar
314
315	Tommy's first girlfriend. Originally introduced as an intelligent, feminist-oriented nonconformist, she became increasingly elitist and hypocritical as the show went along.
316	----
317	* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: In the third season finale she becomes extremely attracted to Tommy when he starts acting like an AngryChef and belittles her for asking for the recipe. She throws herself at him, but he kicks her out for suggesting they leave a souffle to burn so they can make out.
318	* AmicableExes: For a while after their break up she still hung out with Tommy at his house, where it appeared they stayed friends. Once Alissa entered the picture the two of them seemed to have a mutual loathing for each other, where Tommy got the last laugh by convincing everyone their break-up left August a nervous wreck.
319	%%* DeadpanSnarker
320	* DomesticAbuse: She's rather possessive and demanding of Tommy when she's not mocking him.
321	* {{Hypocrite}}: She breaks up with Tommy due to his "immaturity", after being caught cheating on him and lying about it to his face.
322	* FreudianExcuse: Subverted. In one early episode, Tommy considered dumping August for ditzy cheerleader Cheryl, which earned him some shit from both August ''and'' Sally. The subversion comes in that August quickly proved she was even more shallow than Tommy when she wasn't making him jump through hoops to prove his love.
323	* {{Jerkass}}: August is generally portrayed as an icy and disdainful female. She tends to play games with Tommy, making sure he would come at her beck and call.
324	* LaserGuidedKarma: When Tommy became editor of the school newspaper, he kept telling everyone that ''he'' broke up with August instead of the other way around. Whenever August tried to clarify what really happened, Tommy would instantly convince everyone she just couldn't handle being dumped and it left her a mess.
325	* ManipulativeBitch: She frequently plays mind games with Tommy to make him prove how much he loves her.
326	* PetTheDog: Wrote a rather scathing review of Alissa's performance in the high school play, but told Tommy (the editor of the school paper at the time) that she would understand if he didn't print it since Alissa was his girlfriend.[[note]]Reference to Jedediah Leland's scathing review of Susan Alexander in ''Film/CitizenKane'', which this plotline was a WholePlotReference to.[[/note]]
327	* TheSnarkKnight: August started off as this trope, but went through character decay, becoming rather hypocritical and just liking to look down at everyone.
328	* StrawFeminist:
329	-->'''Tommy''': Nina, I need a woman's point of view for something. Um, my girlfriend's not speaking to me because I didn't ask her to a dance.\
330	'''Nina''': Mmm. Send her flowers.\
331	'''Tommy''': She once told me that flowers reminded her of the morbid stench of death.\
332	'''Nina''': Okay... well, how about a gift? Maybe a nice makeup kit?\
333	'''Tommy''': She sees makeup as a way for the arrogant misogynists to decorate the women they own and turn them into, you know, like vacuous playthings.\
334	'''Nina''': Oh, I bet you two have a lot of fun.
335	** August mocks Cheryl (who was [[Series/TheTorkelsons Ruth Ann Torkelson]] in another screen life) as a slutty airhead who stuffs her bra to make boys think she's got big tits. That is... not how feminism works.
336	* TookALevelInJerkass: Her initial apperance portrayed her as a more well-adjusted and pleasant person. As the show went on she gradually became more stuck-up and hypocritical, until she finally broke up with Tommy after she admitted that she was cheating on him.
337	[[/folder]]
338
339	[[folder: Alissa Strudwick]]
340	->Portrayed by Creator/LarisaOleynik
341
342	Tommy's second girlfriend.
343
344	----
345	* ButtMonkey: As a result of the aliens' antics spilling over into her relationship with Tommy. In her very last appearance, Tommy tried to use her as a human shield when they thought there was a maniac in her backyard (there wasn't, it was Harry and Sally).
346	%%* Ditz: Portrayed as such but not all the time
347	* GirlNextDoor: She's more sweet and approachable than Tommy's previous girlfriend August.
348	* OnlySaneWoman: Half of her time on the show is spent wondering why her boyfriend is so clueless, buffoonish, and/or excessive. Also fulfills this role for the other Solomons on occasion.
349	* PoorCommunicationKills: Tommy tries to apologize to her for Sally breaking them up, but since he tried passing a message down a line of people, the message became muddled and it made it sounded like he was threatening to sic Sally on her if she came near him.
350	* StarCrossedLovers: She's the daughter of Vincent Strudwick.
351	[[/folder]]
352
353	!Recurring Characters
354	[[folder: Vicki Dubcek]]
355	->Portrayed by Creator/JanHooks
356
357	The skanky white-trash daughter of Mrs. Dubcek and Harry's on-off girlfriend. She repeatedly fails to understand that Mary is NotThatKindOfDoctor and has a Southern accent for some reason[[note]]This is Jan Hooks' natural accent and she hardly ever plays a character without it.[[/note]]. Ultimately, she ended up being Queen of the Universe. Don't ask.
358
359	----
360	* ChewingTheScenery: Her conversations with Harry will usually begin to sound like they're in a porno. Their first sexual encounter happened on Thanksgiving, on Mrs. Dubcek's kitchen counter and involved Harry wearing a turkey carcass on his head.
361	* ClingyJealousGirl: She becomes one for Harry in the fifth season finale. Even though she's married to the Big Giant Head, she still harbors feelings for Harry. When she's informed that he has a new girlfriend, she becomes angry and tries to [[MurderTheHypotenuse vaporize her]] out of jealousy. This behavior vanishes when Harry tells her that if she really loves him, she'd want him to be happy with Janice, which she does allow.
362	* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Despite being a human, she occasionally acts just as nutty as the aliens.
363	* DoubleEntendre: ''Loves'' these.
364	* FreudianExcuse: Her psychotic behavior in "The Big Giant Head Returns Again" stems from how unhappy her marriage is, due to the fact she is unable to have sexual relations with her husband in his true form. The fact that Harry rebuffed her because he's now with Janice only pushed her over the edge.
365	* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Started as Face, then became Heel after marrying the Big Giant Head, then Face again after Harry gives her a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech.
366	* KnightOfCerebus: Yeah, she's a LargeHam and a LovableSexManiac... and then she not only tries to kill Harry's girlfriend but is prepared to murder Sally as well when she tries to stop her.
367	-->'''Vicki''': I am your queen, and you will BOW to me!
368	* LargeHam: After she becomes the Big Giant Head's wife, but even then she had plenty of moments.
369	* LovableSexManiac: Most of her personality, really.
370	* PsychoExGirlfriend: Becomes one as a CompressedVice in "The Big Giant Head Returns Again". She seems to [[CharacterDevelopment get over Harry at the end of the episode]], but it was her last appearance on the show anyway. It's generally implied that Vicki's psychotic behavior stemmed entirely from gigantic frustrations she was having with her husband that had been going on ever since her last appearance.
371	* ReallyGetAround: She definitely inherited her mother's promiscuous nature.
372	* WeirdnessMagnet: Much like Mary, two different aliens have professed their love for her.
373	[[/folder]]
374
375	[[folder: The Big Giant Head]]
376	->Portrayed by Creator/WilliamShatner
377
378	The aliens' EvilOverlord. TheGhost for most of the series, but he eventually showed up as an AdamWesting Shatner. On Earth, he goes by the alias "[[CharacterNameAlias Stone Phillips]]", the name of an Creator/{{NBC}} reporter at the time of the show's run.
379
380	----
381	* BadBoss: Briefly promoted Sally to high commander solely because she was good-looking. And that's just one example.
382	* BrutalHonesty: Not much for tact.
383	* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: His title as Big Giant Head isn't just because he's the "head" of all the aliens, it's implied that he really ''is'' a gigantic head.
384	* IdiotBall: His whole purpose of coming to Earth is because the crew has done a subpar job. In one drunken night, he almost pushes his crew to mutiny and causes a PR disaster by exposing Earth to an alien baby.
385	* {{Jerkass}}: Unlike his four predecessors, "Stone" doesn't even bother making the effort to adjust to humanity's common courtesies.
386	* LukeIAmYourFather: The Big Giant Head reveals that he is [[spoiler:Dick]]'s father. Tommy later likens this to Luke Skywalker finding out about Darth Vader, but Dick brushes him off, saying [[ThisIsReality this is real life]].
387	* MarsNeedsWomen: Offers to marry Vicki and make her, in her own words, "Queen of the frickin' universe".
388	* MeaningfulName: Once on Earth, the Big Giant Head proves himself to be staggeringly self-centered.
389	* PointyHairedBoss
390	[[/folder]]
391
392	[[folder: Dr. Liam Neesam]]
393	->Portrayed by Creator/JohnCleese
394
395	An evil alien [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter who's constantly wiser and more talented than Dick]]. He briefly worked at Dick's college as a biology professor.
396
397	----
398	* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Superior at Physics to Dick despite being a Biology professor, better at sports, a fantastic chef, even seduces Mary at one point (and is better at sex)... the only thing Dick is better at is not being evil
399	* ArsonMurderAndAdmiration: Dick calls him pompous, judgmental and completely self-absorbed... and immediately asks to be his friend. It doesn't last though as he ends up on the receiving end of it later on.
400	* TheBadGuyWins: While he doesn't blow up the earth or turn everyone into primates, he does file a complaint that gets the Solomons' mission canceled.
401	* BerserkButton: He can't stand Céline Dion.
402	-->'''Liam''': Somebody tell her to stop, [[Film/Titanic1997 the boat sank]], let it go!
403	* BrutalHonesty: Similar to Dick, his clueless veneer belies an utterly blunt and ruthless individual. Upon being told of Sally's availability, he quickly deduces the only reason someone as attractive as Sally would be single is because she's got a severe personality disorder.
404	* DickDastardlyStopsToCheat: Cheats at golf by distracting Dick with blow-horns despite clearly being a vastly superior golfer.
405	* EvenEvilHasStandards:
406	** For as obnoxious as he is, even he can't stand Music/CelineDion.
407	--->'''Liam''': Somebody tell her to stop already, [[Film/Titanic1997 the boat sank]], let it go!
408	** His reaction to learning Dick's "secret."
409	--->'''Dick''': I'm, uh... [[BlatantLies Canadian]].\
410	'''Liam''': ...I'm so sorry.
411	* EvilCounterpart: He is basically exactly like Dick, except smarter, more successful, and much more sociopathic.
412	* EvilIsPetty: Was originally sent to blow up Earth. Why? We're blocking his home planet's view.
413	* HateSink: The more he appeared the more it became clear the audience is ''not'' supposed to side with him. Never mind his plans to either blow up the Earth or turn every human into a monkey, but he has zero compassion and lacks the capability to think about the needs of others. Even his decision to spare the Earth in his first appearance isn't very admirable, as he condescendingly describes Dick impressing him the way a parent would gush over something their two year old did. Not to mention he planned to melt half of Dick's brain to keep his secret.
414	* {{Jerkass}}: Insults or sexually harasses almost the entire cast within minutes of meeting them, claims that in a plane crash his floatation device will be "the person next to me", openly superior and condescending, and that is all ''before'' you learn he is an evil alien bent on destroying the Earth- in other words, he is more of a dick than ''Dick''.
415	* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Hits on Nina within seconds of meeting her despite being a professor, asks Albright to get him coffee despite her ''also'' being a professor, sexually assaults her more than once (once by removing her bra against her will), then later tells Sally that if a woman as beautiful as her doesn't have a boyfriend [[StealthInsult she must have a personality disorder]].
416	* SillySimian: In his second appearance, he came back to Earth with plans to turn everyone into monkeys in order to turn it into an amusement park, "Planet Monkey World". Dick winds up turning Liam into a chimpanzee in order to stop him. Unfortunately, Mary saw the whole thing, and this leads to Dick admitting he's an alien.
417	* {{Troll}}: During a game of golf with Dick, he repeatedly used an airhorn every time Dick tried to swing.
418	[[/folder]]
419
420	[[folder: Bug Pollone, Leon, Caryn and Aubrey Pittman]]
421	Dick's four main students portrayed by Creator/DavidDeLuise, Creator/IanLithgow, Creator/DanielleNicolet and Creator/ChrisHogan.
422	----
423	* ButtMonkey: All four of them (especially Leon) suffer a lot of abuse from Dick and fail to graduate from college throughout the show's six-year run because Dick's extremely difficult class is a required course.
424	* TheDogBitesBack: In one episode, they get Dick brought before the disciplinary board for insensitivity. In another, Bug and Pittman delightfully mock Dick while he's working at a fast-food job.
425	* GlorifiedSpermDonor: Once Sally asks Leon to conceive a child with her while believing they're the only people left alive while experiencing her first snowstorm. Leon doesn't exactly try to dissuade her, but to his dismay, Sally quickly realizes that everyone outside the house is alive after all, and he doesn't need to impregnate her.
426	* HiddenDepths: Leon is the worst student in Dick's class, but is also the only one who wants to pursue a physics career.
427	* IBangedYourMom: In one episode, Dick has sex with Bug's mother and then brags about it to the class.
428	* LastNameBasis: Pittman goes by his last name rather than [[GenderBlenderName Aubrey.]]
429	* PhraseCatcher: Dick eventually starts cutting off Caryn's rants with "Oh, shut up, Caryn".
430	* RightForTheWrongReasons: Once, when Leon receives a message claiming that Dick's birthday party has been canceled, he shows up anyway due to feeling that Dick isn't the kind of person to call off a party for himself and just wants an excuse to yell at his students for not coming. Actually, the party was canceled by an alien hunter who wants some privacy to kidnap the Solomons.
431	* SmarterThanYouLook: They are consistently struggling in Dick's class (much to his irritation and mockery), but it's demonstrated in "Dick and the Other Guy" that the deck is actually stacked against them. Dr. Neesam determines that Dick is including five unnecessary terms in an equation on the board; once it's appropriately simplified, all of the students (even Leon, much to his own surprise) fully understand it.
432	* TwoferTokenMinority: Caryn is the only African-American and the only girl among Dick's core group of students.
433	* WomenAreWiser: Caryn is generally more practical and hard-working than her three male friends.
434	* YouWillBeSpared: After Dick was replaced by his evil counterpart, Evil Dick assessed Leon with "You will be spared and made to carry heavy things."
435	[[/folder]]
436

Context Characters / ThirdRockFromTheSun