fter six years, 18 timeslots, 29 Emmy nominations and eight Emmy wins,
3rd Rock from the Sun drives off into the sunset with a special one-hour series finale that ends the wacky aliens' mission on Earth.
An upset Dick (Lithgow) tells Sally (Johnston) and Harry (Stewart) that in order to stop alien Liam from turning the Earth into Planet Monkeyworld, he used Liam's own weapon to turn him into a chimp. He may have saved the Earth, but his beloved girlfriend Mary (Curtin) saw Dick chimpify Liam, and now she knows he's not like all the other college professors. They decide that Dick should pretend nothing happened and just see if Mary buys it.
When Dick goes to see Mary, they both act as if everything's all right. But Mary knows what she saw and worries that Dick might be living a double life. In the meantime, Sally catches Don (Wayne Knight) hiding out after a robbery, and he confesses that he's a coward. He decides to quit the police force and make muffins. In the other meantime, Harry makes separate dates with "twins."
Back at the college, Dick confesses to Mary that he and his family are aliens and he's the High Commander of an exploratory mission to study mankind. Mary is shocked, but she quickly learns to like the idea that she's dating an alien.
Just then, the aliens get a message from the Big Giant Head that their mission is over and they have to come home. But will Dick be able to sneak Mary back with him as a "sample," will Sally be able to rebuild Don back into the cop she knows and loves before she has to leave, and will Harry and Tommy be able to throw a great goodbye party by maxing out their credit cards and skipping the galaxy before the bill comes?
Goodbye to the Big Giant Head
3rd Rock From The Sun's series finale, "The Thing That Wouldn't Die," is a fond farewell to the show that got little respect from NBC or from science-fiction fans, all the while racking up awards, surviving timeslot shifts and becoming a top performer in syndication.
"The Thing That Wouldn't Die" is classic 3rd Rock, with the same broad style of comedy that's out of favor these days. While the show certainly isn't as funny as it was in its heyday, when the series was only a couple years old, it still manages to offer laugh-out-loud moments. However, this episode also gives a satisfying ending to the series.
All shows have a natural lifespan, and this episode demonstrates why 3rd Rock has come to the end of its road. Despite the wonderfully outlandish performances by three-time Emmy-winner Lithgow and two-time Emmy-winner Johnston, despite the stunt guest stars, who included Dennis Rodman, William Shatner and John Cleese, and despite the fact that it still is funny, 3rd Rock never evolved past its original premise. The characters are still studying mankind, and the series hasn't changed much over the course of six seasons.
The longevity of 3rd Rock can only be attributed to the gifted cast and the solid writing. But all things must come to an end, and the series finale is a good example of why the show is just a bit too tired, too dated and too sentimental for another season. Regardless of its critics or its fans, 3rd Rock fades into the sunset as one of the very few science fiction shows that managed to survive on the top three networks. Staying alive for six years on NBC is an accomplishment for any
series.
