History Series / ThirdRockFromTheSun

** Also, Tommy's shortened hair.

* SeriousBusiness: Fuzzy Buddies.

'''Harry:''' Dick, [[EarthShatteringKaboom can I blow up the earth?]]\\

%%* AliensInCardiff

* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: The source of a few aside jokes. For example, in the "See Dick Continue To Run" two-parter, Sally, Tommy and Harry happen to run into Dennis Rodman (AsHimself), who turns out to be a fellow alien, and they all have a laugh about how ''no one's'' figured it out yet. Then they grill him about celebrities he's interacted with:

* BookEnds: It starts with the four aliens in a rambler after they arrive on earth and it ends with them in a rambler leaving earth.

%%* CompulsorySchoolAge: Tommy Solomon
%%* ConfessionCam: Utilized in "The Loud Solomon Family: A Dickumentary."

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* {{Irony}}: In "Dick and the Other Guy," Dick managed to save the earth from Dr. Neesam, who claimed he spared his kind because of how impressed he was with Dick's intelligence, despite that Dick's an alien.

* RomanticRain: Sally and her would-be policeman boyfriend go for what he really hopes will be a romantic walk in the rain. Subverted, because she just finds it boring, tedious, wet and uncomfortable, and gets annoyed with him.

** The aliens don't like jello: they think it's a vicious alien they encountered on another planet. Whenever they see it, they go into a screaming fit and either cower in fear or try to destroy it.

* SuspiciouslyCleanCriminalRecord: When Harry runs for mayor in one episode, his shady political opponent tries to dig up dirt on him and hires Don to investigate. Of course they find nothing since he's an alien that's only been on earth a couple years. As Don puts it: "It's like he just fell out of the sky."

* TheUnreveal: We never find out what [[ThisWasHisTrueForm the aliens' real forms]] look like. Something about a purple tube. Any further descriptions only make it weirder. Further confused by the time Dick mentions they came to Earth in a spaceship that could fit in his pants-pocket.

** Not only that, but just why are they so afraid of Jell-O?
*** Or snow?
*** Jello looks like some sort of alien monster that tried to eat them and snow looks like brain eating parasites. They mentioned it in "Selfish Dick" and "Frozen Dick", respectively.
---->'''Harry:''' They're here! They're here! Albino brain chiggers! COVER YOUR EARS!

The local Earthlings include Dick's insecure office mate and love interest Dr. Mary Albright (Creator/JaneCurtin), her SassySecretary Nina Campbell (Creator/SimbiKhali), Sally's cop boyfriend Officer Don Orville (Creator/WayneKnight), and the Solomons' eccentric landlady Mrs. Dubcek (Creator/ElmarieWendel). The more the Solomons view HumansThroughAlienEyes, the more they realize that HumansAreSpecial. Some people think the show stuck with the FishOutOfWater notion far too long -- unlike others, such as ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', where main character Fry eventually got used to his new surroundings -- the main gag of this series remained the same, but can be justified as RuleOfFunny. [[note]]Though, to be fair, it would take years and years for anyone to adjust to a world completely unlike their own. So, if anything, ''Futurama'' is at fault here.[[/note]] As an added bonus, the series can easily be watched out of order, if you avoid the [[CliffHanger first and last episodes]] of a given season.

The local Earthlings include Dick's insecure office mate and love interest Dr. Mary Albright (Creator/JaneCurtin), her SassySecretary Nina Campbell (Creator/SimbiKhali), Sally's cop boyfriend Officer Don Orville (Creator/WayneKnight), and the Solomons' eccentric landlady Mrs. Dubcek (Elmarie Wendel). The more the Solomons view HumansThroughAlienEyes, the more they realize that HumansAreSpecial. Some people think the show stuck with the FishOutOfWater notion far too long -- unlike others, such as ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', where main character Fry eventually got used to his new surroundings -- the main gag of this series remained the same, but can be justified as RuleOfFunny. [[note]]Though, to be fair, it would take years and years for anyone to adjust to a world completely unlike their own. So, if anything, ''Futurama'' is at fault here.[[/note]] As an added bonus, the series can easily be watched out of order, if you avoid the [[CliffHanger first and last episodes]] of a given season.

The local Earthlings include Dick's insecure office mate and love interest Dr. Mary Albright (Creator/JaneCurtin), her SassySecretary Nina Campbell (Simbi Khali), Sally's cop boyfriend Officer Don Orville (Creator/WayneKnight), and the Solomons' eccentric landlady Mrs. Dubcek (Elmarie Wendel). The more the Solomons view HumansThroughAlienEyes, the more they realize that HumansAreSpecial. Some people think the show stuck with the FishOutOfWater notion far too long -- unlike others, such as ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', where main character Fry eventually got used to his new surroundings -- the main gag of this series remained the same, but can be justified as RuleOfFunny. [[note]]Though, to be fair, it would take years and years for anyone to adjust to a world completely unlike their own. So, if anything, ''Futurama'' is at fault here.[[/note]] As an added bonus, the series can easily be watched out of order, if you avoid the [[CliffHanger first and last episodes]] of a given season.

* GoodCopBadCop: Tommy and Sally do this respectively in order to find out who egged Mary's house on Halloween.

%%* OneSceneTwoMonologues

* StepfordSmiler: In one episode, the Solomons decide they need to be more "normal" and so they strive to become as average as possible. They end up being this trope, especially Sally.

'''Tommy:''' ''[looking nervous]'' [[ADatewithRosiePalms Why, was I in the bathroom too long?]]\\

** Dick is also mistaken for gay by one of Mary's former students. Dick misreads his innuendos and thinks that he's found a fellow alien.

As the Solomon family, the aliens infiltrate the UsefulNotes/{{Ohio}} college town of Rutherford where [[SmallTownBoredom mediocrity reigns]] despite it being a QuirkyTown. The commander of the aliens is Dick Solomon (Creator/JohnLithgow), a pompous ManChild with an ego the size of Jupiter playing the role of a [[SchoolTeachers professor of physics]] at nearby Pendleton University. His "sister" Sally (Kristen Johnston) is a [[UsefulNotes/TheModernDayRambo seasoned commando]] now "[[TheSmurfettePrinciple the]]" [[ActionGirl woman]], his "son" Tommy (Creator/JosephGordonLevitt) is a [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld crotchety]] [[EspionageTropes information officer]] going as a teenager, and "the brother" Harry (Creator/FrenchStewart) is a... well, technically he's the {{communications officer}}, but is really TheDitz with an [[BrainComputerInterface antenna in his head]]. Their [[OneGenderRace original species]] also doesn't have different genders, leading to [[RuleOfFunny much confusion]] and LampshadeHanging of human {{gender dynamics|Index}} in their [[GenderBender new forms]].

** Sally is pretty good at this herself, finding her ability to cloud men's minds an upside to being [[TheChick The Woman]]. Indeed, she later gets recruited by the above mentioned aliens, who mention she has potential, but is unrefined.

* HandPuppet: Dick uses two of them for therapy in "Sensitive Dick".

[[quoteright:316:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/3rdRock.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:316: Front seat from left to right: [[TheLadette Sally]] and [[ManChild Dick.]] Back seat from left to right: [[CloudCuckoolander Harry,]] [[BrokenBird Mary,]] and [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld Tommy.]]\\
\\
Not pictured: [[DirtyCoward Don,]] [[SassySecretary Nina,]] and [[LovableSexManiac Mrs. Dubcek.]]]]

* {{Slapstick}}: Occasionally features on the show, with one scene involving hitting Harry on the head with a pan half a dozen times.
* SlapstickKnowsNoGender: The women in this show aren't exempt from physical comedy. Sally gets the brunt of it, being punched, shoved over, thrown down the stairs, and much more, but Mary also gets her share.

'''Dick''': Apologize? Should the Venus de Milo apologize to the thug who broke its arms off? No! Should the sphinx apologize to the desert winds for eroding its nose? No! Should Creator/JimCarrey apologize to America for ''Film/TheCableGuy''?... Perhaps.

[[NamesTheSame Not to be confused with the song and album]] by Music/JoeDiffie, nor with fellow NBC sitcom ''Series/ThirtyRock''.

* NamesTheSame: InUniverse. In "See Dick Run," evil Dick re-names Harry, Sally, and Tommy to all being named Tommy.

* FanService: Sally whenever she [[SheCleansUpNicely dresses up]]. Harry spends all of "Indecent Dick" naked after deciding to become a nudist.