Tommy Solomon | |
---|---|
First appearance | "Brains and Eggs" |
Last appearance | "The Thing That Wouldn't Die (Part 2)" |
Created by | Bonnie and Terry Turner |
Portrayed by | Joseph Gordon-Levitt |
In-universe information | |
Species | Extraterrestrial |
Gender | Male (in human form) |
Title | Information Officer |
Occupation | Information officer Student |
Tommy Solomon is a fictional character created by Bonnie and Terry Turner from the American sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun . He was portrayed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
When the Solomons originally arrived on Earth, Tommy, despite being the oldest of the aliens, was given the body of a teenage boy. Despite having to act like a kid all the time, Tommy's real age shines through, particularly when he plays the role of mentor to High Commander Dick, ostensibly Tommy's father while on Earth. During one episode, Tommy announces he has retired from the mission, and starts behaving like a stereotypical old man, even hanging out at the old folks' home (where he poses as one of the resident's nephews). As Information Officer, Tommy is the smartest and most Earth-savvy of the Solomons, and he is charged with gathering information about humans, mainly from television shows and films. Joseph Gordon-Levitt left the series during the final season, so the storyline has his character Tommy away at college. [1]
In the episode "Dick'll Take Manhattan", in which Dick, Harry and Sally enter into an alternate universe, Tommy is the star of Saturday Night Live , but later gets fired by Harry (who in the alternate reality, is employed as the President of NBC) for being too conceited and demanding a large salary. [2]
The major running gag of Tommy is that he is the "least" sexy of the alien colleagues, for Dick has charm, Sally has looks and Harry has an exotic sexual behavior. For example, in one episode, at the bar where Harry works later in the series, there was a machine that tests how sexy you are. Whenever Tommy tries it out, he gets the lowest score ("cold fish"), while Harry constantly gets the highest. [3]
During the first three seasons, Tommy is often referenced to resembling a girl in part due to the shoulder-length hair he had during the first half of the series; the phrase "cut your hair, you look like a girl" would sometimes be said to him after he offended a person with a particular remark, mainly by characters specifically appearing in that episode. The first such instance occurs in the episode "Ab-dick-ted", after Tommy sarcastically remarks on a "coin-behind-the-ear" magic trick Mary's brother Roy Albright (Bronson Pinchot) performs on him when Dick introduces the family to Roy. [4]
The episode "Will Work for Dick" plays off this gag as Sally (who spends her time during the episode recapturing the childhood she never had), has Tommy's hair styled (in two different instances) in braided pigtails and a beehive. [5] Dick's dream at the beginning of the season three episode "Fun With Dick and Janet" in which he dreams that a banged-up Tommy, Harry and Sally arrive at his wedding to Mary Albright to confront Dick about his decision to stay on Earth while the rest of the unit left for the home planet, also plays off the gag with Tommy showing Dick that he developed breasts after the three accidentally came too close to a quasar. [6] This gag concluded in season three's "Just Your Average Dick", when Tommy gets a haircut, as part of the Solomon family's attempts to become "normal" after his then-girlfriend August Leffler said that she thought the family acted strange. [7]
Tommy has had two main girlfriends over the course of the show: August Leffler and Alissa Strudwick. He has a lot of difficulty maintaining a relationship with any girl, as he is often forced to come up with plausible explanations for his family's bizarre behavior. Therefore, much of his relationships seem to involve him begging his girlfriend to not leave him. [8]
Tommy has had other love interests, although typically ones that only last a single episode. Among the most notable were his glee club teacher, a goth student and even, on one occasion, Dr. Mary Albright [9] and her sexually experienced niece. [10]
3rd Rock from the Sun is an American television sitcom created by Bonnie and Terry Turner, which originally aired from January 9, 1996, to May 22, 2001, on NBC. The show is about four extraterrestrials who are on an expedition to Earth, the third planet from the Sun, which they consider to be a very insignificant planet. The extraterrestrials pose as a human family to observe the behavior of human beings.
Peter Gunn is an American private eye television series, starring Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn with Lola Albright as his girlfriend, Edie Hart. The series was broadcast by NBC from September 22, 1958, to 1960 and by ABC in 1960–1961. The series was created by Blake Edwards, who, on occasion, was also writer and director.
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Sally Solomon is a fictional character from the television sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun.
Mary Margaret Albright is a fictional character who was played by former Saturday Night Live cast member Jane Curtin in the American situation comedy 3rd Rock from the Sun. She serves as a straight foil and love interest for the eccentric Dick Solomon.
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"Brains and Eggs" is the pilot episode of the American sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun. The episode, which originally aired on NBC on January 9, 1996, depicts an extraterrestrial research expedition coming to Earth in the guise of what they think is a typical human family.
The Big Giant Head, a fictional character from the American sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun, is the Solomons' mission leader and king of the universe.
Officer Donald Leslie "Don" Orville is a fictional character in the NBC sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun. He is portrayed by Wayne Knight and works as a Police Sergeant in the fictional town of Rutherford, Ohio, though he is consistently referred to as "Officer" throughout the series.
The first season of 3rd Rock from the Sun, an American television sitcom, began on January 9, 1996, and ended on May 21, 1996. It aired on NBC. The region 1 DVD was released on July 26, 2005.
The second season of 3rd Rock from the Sun, an American television sitcom, began on September 22, 1996, and ended on March 9, 1997. It aired on NBC. The region 1 DVD was released on October 25, 2005.
The third season of 3rd Rock from the Sun, an American television series, began September 24, 1997, and ended on May 20, 1998. It aired on NBC. The region 1 DVD was released on February 21, 2006.
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The fifth season of 3rd Rock from the Sun, an American television series, began September 21, 1999, and ended on May 23, 2000. It aired on NBC. The region 1 DVD was released on August 15, 2006.
The sixth and final season of 3rd Rock from the Sun, an American television series, began October 24, 2000, and ended on May 22, 2001. It aired on NBC. The region 1 DVD was released on November 14, 2006.
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