Pendelton State University
| 3rd Rock from the Sun | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre |
Sitcom Science fiction |
| Created by | Bonnie Turner and Terry Turner |
| Starring |
John Lithgow Kristen Johnston French Stewart Joseph Gordon-Levitt Jane Curtin Simbi Khali Elmarie Wendel Wayne Knight |
| Theme music composer |
Ben Vaughn (seasons 1–3) Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (seasons 4-5) Ben Vaughn & Jeff Sudakin (season 6) |
| Composer(s) |
Quincy Jones III (seasons 1-3) Jonathan Wolff (seasons 4-5) Paul Buckley (seasons 4-5) Jeff Sudakin (season 6) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 139 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | John Lithgow Bonnie Turner Terry Turner Marcy Carsey Tom Werner Caryn Mandabach Linwood Boomer (season 1) Bill Martin Mike Schiff (seasons 4–5) David Sacks (seasons 4–5) Bob Kushell Christine Zander (seasons 5–6) David Goetsch Jason Venokur (season 6) |
| Producer(s) | Patrick Kienlen David Goetsch Jason Venokur David M. Israel Jim O'Doherty Andrew Orenstein Michael Glouberman Gregg Mettler Tim Ryder Aron Abrams Gregory Thompson (co-producer) |
| Camera setup | Film; Multi-camera |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production company(s) | You're a Jackass! Productions Bonter Productions The Carsey-Warner Company |
| Distributor |
Carsey-Werner Distribution The Program Exchange |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | January 9, 1996 – May 22, 2001 |
| External links | |
| Website | www |
3rd Rock from the Sun (sometimes referred to as simply 3rd Rock) is an American sitcom that aired from 1996 to 2001 on NBC. The show is about four extraterrestrials who are on an expedition to Earth, which they consider to be a very insignificant planet. The extraterrestrials pose as a human family to observe the behavior of human beings.
The premise of the show revolves around an extraterrestrial research expedition attempting to live as a normal human family in the fictional city of Rutherford, Ohio, said to be 52 mi (84 km) outside of Cleveland, where they live in an attic apartment. Humor was principally derived from the aliens' attempts to study human society and, because of their living as humans themselves while on Earth, to understand the human condition. This show reflects human life from the perspective of aliens and many sources of humor are from the learning experiences the alien characters have. Most of the episodes are named after the protagonist "Dick". In later episodes, they are more accustomed to Earth and often are more interested in their human lives than in their mission.
The show also takes humor from its mirroring of all human anthropological expeditions and their assumptions of superiority to the "natives", as well as their inability to distinguish themselves from the natives. Dr. Mary Albright (Jane Curtin) is a professor of anthropology at (fictional) Pendelton State University, and many of the issues with which the four aliens struggle appear in her conversation and work. Furthermore, these four alien researchers end up looking more or less like joyriders as they get drawn further and further into human life.
Dick Solomon (John Lithgow), the High Commander and leader of the expedition, is the family provider as a physics professor at Pendelton (with Ian Lithgow, John Lithgow's oldest son, playing one of his less successful students). Information officer and oldest member of the crew Tommy (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) has been given the body of a teenager and is forced to enroll in high school (later college), leaving security officer Sally (Kristen Johnston) and "the one with the transmitter in his head", Harry (French Stewart) to spend their lives as 20-somethings hanging out at home and bouncing through short-term jobs. The show also involves their relationships with humans, mostly their love interests.
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Wikipedia