The Final Episode #41: 3rd Rock From the Sun (1996 - 2001)

 

Well it's back to letting Facebook choose which television show's final episode will be discussed and they overwhelmingly decided on this show with six votes! Yes I'm happy that it got six votes because my facebook group for this blog is just poeple I make read this so I'm glad anyone decided YES WE WANT TO SEE YOU TALK ABOUT THIS SHOW! Therefore I will grant them their wish because it's the only thing I know how to do, which is to talk about television shows and comic books. Anyway we come back to a sitcom after....two posts. I swear I had forgotten about California Dreams yet again. and I mistyped it again as California Games. I will never get away from California Dreams, blast my need to discuss different types of cartoons and different types of sitcoms. I needed to talk about at least one completely forgettable teenage sitcom. I swear it had been longer than that. I need to tape a note to my computer screen saying "YES YOU REVIEWED CALIFORNIA DREAMS DON'T FORGET ABOUT IT ASSHOLE"

3rd Rock from the Sun was a sitcom that ran for 5 years and 6 seasons between 1996 and 2001. It started mid season on January 9th, 1996. It replaced what I assume was another sitcom about Tony Danza and Aunt Becky from Full House as a married couple and Tony Danza was a wacky detective. That show was called Hudson Street. Even sad losers like me who watched TV all the time do not remember this show and I remember Ask Harriet in which Mr. Turner from Boy Meets World cross-dresses to become big in some office job. This is another reason why you shouldn't listen to me. I remember Ask Harriet.

3rd Rock from the Sun was yet another "gimmick" sitcom in which the shows comedy was based around a gimmick. Like in Bewitched where the comedy came from the lady being a witch, or Gilligan's Island was everyone stuck on a island and trying to get off. It's like more than just "Here's a family and their wild problems" like 5,000 sitcoms were done. I think gimmick sitcoms more than less are pretty great but the gimmick usually does get tired a bit more quickly than a sitcom whos situation comes from workplace or family situations. Most of these shows are really funny but really should not last longer than 5 seasons at the most. 

3rd Rock from the Sun was a show I remember my ENTIRE family watching for at least years. It was something I'd actually come out of my room at the back of the house where I'd spend most of my time watching what I wanted on my TV to watch this show with my family. It was something we all enjoyed. It was a thing we all did together and I remember the show fondly. I think we watched it together for at least three of the six seasons before I just felt like spending all of my time alone because of well reasons I don't want to get into on a silly fun blog where I talk about things like the Punisher becoming a black man. I do believe I continued watching for at least another season. This was also around the time where I'd go to Jumbo Video and rent like weird terrible movies that no one else could love except me. 

The Final Episode of 3rd Rock from the Sun came out on May 22, 2001. It's a two parter that involves stuff that happened in a two parter before hand. There's an alien named Liam Neeson and no he's not played by Liam Neeson. He's played by John Cleese. Honestly I think it would have been more amusing if he actually was Liam Neeson but I don't think the show had the money to get him in its last season. John Cleese just wants to turn everyone on earth into a monkey and turn earth into Planet Monkey World. Dick can't have this so he turns HIM into a monkey. Problem is that Mary has FINALLY seen what happened and is freaked the fuck out about it. Dick pretty much ends up telling her he's an alien at the end of this episode. Meanwhile Harry dates a woman who works at a fancy cafe and a gas station and dresses differently at both places and he ends up thinking she's two women. He sets up two dates with twins. Sally is saddened that Don has quit being a police officer after she finds him hiding in a freezer after a robbery. I guess the police where at the robbery too? I dunno. 

Anyway part 2 of this two parter has Sally making Don a man again instead of a wimp who wants to sell muffins. I should mention that Don is played by Wayne Knight who is very underrated and the fact we don't get all kinds of great Wayne Knight comedy in movies and TV shows today is proof perfect that the future is a piece of shit and I hate it. I also like Sally's actress Kristen Johnston, she works perfectly against Wayne Knight. These two were probably my favorite part of the show. Tommy comes back for the second part and they decide to have a party to say goodbye. Yes this was a long line of shows where a cast member left but this time they didn't recast him. I think it's honestly a better thing to not recast someone if you don't have too, 98% of recasting do not work and I'm including Dick Sargent replacing Dick York in Bewitched here too. I'm sorry boomers and people who watched the show on Nick at Nite but you are wrong the second Darrin sucked. Just let the truth wash over you.

Mary plans to come with them but while they are waiting in their car to be beamed up they start talking about things from Earth that they will miss which makes Mary decide not to go. Dick decides to make her forget using alien powers which just turns out to be smacking her in the back like a big goofball. I remember watching this episode once years after it had shown and I SWEAR she is freaking out to someone about not remembering 6 years of her life. I'm glad that my memory is wrong and you can easily write over this part when they bring back 3rd Rock from the Sun for one season that doesn't work as well as the original stuff because YES YOU KNOW THEY ARE GOING TO BRING IT BACK. It would have been weird to see her just freak out about not remembering and you can easily make it so that Dick just messed the fuck up like he usually did.

FINAL VERDICT: I loved this show when it was on and while I gave up after a while, I did think these two final episodes were pretty amusing. I really think the entire cast worked well together and were really amusing. It was also the only good thing French Stewart was good in, but I'm in a good mood and going to give him the benefit of the doubt. Other than this the man was in things like Inspector Gadget 2, not a single person is going to do good in a sequel to the live action version of Inspector Gadget. Not even if Gregory Peck came back to life.