3rd Rock from the Sun
The Thing That Wouldn't Die (2)
TV Flash files “The Thing That Wouldn't Die (2)” as a desk essential hour — 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996–2001) on NBC, season 6, episode 20, aired 2001-05-22, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S06E20: listed hour 139 of 139 in the 3rd Rock from the Sun guide, last listed hour of season 6. It aired 2001-05-22 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “The Thing That Wouldn't Die (1)” (S06E19). No later hour is listed in this guide.
Essential hour: “The Thing That Wouldn't Die (2)”. The Thing That Wouldn't Die, part two: closer as B-movie title, Ohio family still refusing to stay scientific.
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
The Solomons struggle with the news the mission is cancelled and they must return to their home planet. They hold a party to say farewell to all their friends on Earth. Elvis Costello entertains at the Solomon's going away party.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Thing That Wouldn't Die (2) sit in the 3rd Rock from the Sun guide?
S06E20 is listed hour 139 of 139 — last listed hour of season 6, season 6 episode 20.
When did 3rd Rock from the Sun S06E20 air?
The Thing That Wouldn't Die (2) aired 2001-05-22 and is listed at 30 minutes.
What is the premise?
Aliens infiltrate Earth by posing as a human family and struggle with human emotions, customs, and Ohio bureaucracy.
In the series
Why this series still plays
An alien high commander and his unit pose as an Ohio family to study Earth — then get wrecked by emotions, bureaucracy, and Jane Curtin. John Lithgow goes fully operatic; Johnston, Stewart, and a young Joseph Gordon-Levitt match him. Bonnie and Terry Turner's high-concept farce with Olympic physical commitment. They came to observe; they stayed to flail.
The look is an Ohio family that does not know how to wear a human face. An alien high commander and his unit pose as Earth people to study the planet — then get wrecked by emotions, bureaucracy, and Jane Curtin's skeptical professor. Bonnie and Terry Turner's NBC farce premiered January 9, 1996 and let John Lithgow go fully operatic while Kristen Johnston, French Stewart, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt filled out the mission. Physical comedy met anthropological satire without losing multi-cam clarity. Six seasons…
Filed against
- John Lithgow as Dick Solomon
John Lithgow went fully operatic as Dick Solomon on 3rd Rock from the Sun — an alien high commander posing as an Ohio family man, then wrecked by emotions, bureaucracy, and Jane Curtin. Johnston, Stewart, and a young Joseph Gordon-Levitt…
- Jane Curtin as Mary Albright
Jane Curtin’s deadpan outlasted three decades of network weather — Saturday Night Live’s original-class frost, Kate & Allie’s Greenwich Village restart opposite Susan Saint James, and 3rd Rock from the Sun’s earthly straight woman to…
- Kristen Johnston as Sally Solomon
Kristen Johnston's Sally Solomon matched John Lithgow's operatic alien farce on 3rd Rock from the Sun — an Ohio family that is a high-command unit wrecked by emotions and Jane Curtin. High-concept sitcom with bruises. TV Flash marks her…
- French Stewart as Harry Solomon
French Stewart played Harry Solomon on 3rd Rock from the Sun — an alien unit posing as an Ohio family, John Lithgow going operatic, Bonnie and Terry Turner's high-concept farce wrecked by emotions and bureaucracy. TV Flash files him as…
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Tommy Solomon
Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Tommy Solomon made 3rd Rock from the Sun a teenager who was not — alien unit posing as an Ohio family, Lithgow fully operatic, Johnston and Stewart matching him, Bonnie and Terry Turner’s high-concept farce.…