When it comes to surprise sleeper hits, 3rd Rock from the Sun remains one of the biggest of all time. No one expected this sitcom about four aliens coming to Earth to become a mega-hit. But it absolutely did, thanks to excellent comedy and superb casting. And in this era of reboots, sequels, and new seasons of old series, now might be the time to bring the aliens back to Earth to take a look at how things have changed since they left town.
3rd Rock From the Sun made its debut on NBC in 1996. It focused on a group of four extraterrestrials in disguise as humans. Their mission was to observe the behavior of humans, then report back to their leader, the Big Giant Head. They were only supposed to be on Earth for a short period of time, but ended up staying for six years after becoming enamored with humanity and all of its idiosyncrasies.
In truth, the main reason they stayed was that mission leader Dick Solomon fell in love with a woman named Mary Albright. But it was all for naught. The Big Giant Head called Dick and the rest of his crew home. Mary briefly thought about going with them, but changed her mind before leaving everything behind. The finale ended the way the first episode started, with the four aliens in their Rambler. It was the last time they were on Earth.
The 3rd Rock from the Sun finale aired on May 22, 2001, more than 20 years ago at this point. It almost goes without saying that the world is a much different place than the one that group of intrepid explorers left behind. The last few years in particular have been quite eventful. As such, it would be incredibly interesting to watch them come back to Earth for a few episodes and try to understand the modern world.
This series' comedy was derived directly from the aliens' constant misunderstanding of humanity. Admittedly, this got a little stale by the time Season 6 rolled around, as they never seemed to learn from their mistakes. In many ways, they were as naïve in the finale as they were in the pilot. Given how intelligent three out of the four aliens actually were, this didn't add up at times.
Regardless of that, thanks to a solid cast that featured French Stewart, a young Joseph-Gordon Levitt, Kristen Johnston, and the legendary John Lithgow, the series was still hilarious. The cast recently reunited to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the show, which has only fueled speculation that some kind of revival is on the way. And that would actually work in this case.
Not every TV show needs a revival. But it makes sense for 3rd Rock From the Sun. Not only would continuing their mission on Earth be interesting and overflowing with comedic potential, but it would also be amazing to watch the aliens reconnect with the humans they suddenly left behind 20 years ago. Very few people they encountered knew the truth about them. Watching them try to talk their way out of that absence would be hilarious.