Here’s how 3rd Rock From the Sun paid tribute to Rod Serling’s iconic series The Twilight Zone. Airing on NBC for six seasons, 3rd Rock From the Sun is one of those odd cases of a long-running sitcom that never quite became a huge ratings hit. The series only broke the top 25 shows on television once, during season 1, and was ranking in the low 80s by season 6. What 3rd Rock did have, however, was a loyal fanbase that may well have kept its audience levels consistent, had NBC not constantly been moving the show around the broadcast schedule.
While 3rd Rock From the Sun‘s ensemble cast quickly gelled, and usually all had opportunities to shine in each episode, Dick Solomon (John Lithgow) was the lead, and watching him work it became no wonder why. While also a terrific dramatic actor—as seen when he played Arthur Mitchell (aka The Trinity Killer) on Dexter—Lithgow may never have been better as a comedian than when playing Dick. As the leader of a group of aliens posing as an Earth family, Dick was the ultimate fish out of water, and Lithgow perfectly played up his lack of understanding when it came to human social customs.
As a sci-fi/comedy blend, it makes sense that 3rd Rock From the Sun eventually paid homage to The Twilight Zone, the granddaddy of TV sci-fi. Making that even easier though was the presence of Lithgow, who was one of the stars of 1983’s Twilight Zone: The Movie. While that would’ve been enough for a sly reference, when sci-fi icon William Shatner came aboard to guest star as the human form of the Solomons’ alien boss The Big Giant Head, 3rd Rock From The Sun‘s writers saw the perfect opportunity to make two generations of Twilight Zone watchers laugh.
In 3rd Rock From the Sun‘s two-part season 4 finale, entitled “Dick’s Big Giant Headache,” Shatner’s Big Giant Head arrives onscreen after his first plane ride. Sally Solomon asks him how the trip was, and Shatner responds that it was horrifying, due to his seeing something on the wing of the plane. Lithgow’s Dick Solomon then exclaims that the same thing happened to him. It’s a quick exchange, and the story then moves on, but for Twilight Zone fans, it’s sure to earn at least an amused grin. For reference, one of Shatner’s earliest major roles came in The Twilight Zone episode “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,” in which he played a man whose routine flight turned into a nightmare due to a monster on the wing of the plane that seemingly no one else could see.
Shatner even delivers his 3rd Rock From the Sun line in a similar manner to how he spoke of the creature on The Twilight Zone. That could be a funny reference on its own, but the joke is made even better by Dick’s reaction, as Lithgow played the equivalent of Shatner’s character in Twilight Zone: The Movie‘s remake of “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet.” Best of all is that it’s actually a triple reference, since Dick mentioned seeing something on the wing after his first flight back in season 1. It’s perhaps 3rd Rock From the Sun‘s best joke ever, and that’s saying something, considering how hilarious the show could be.
