TMC
02-28-2023, 06:14 AM
https://jacksonupperco.com/2023/02/28/the-ten-best-3rd-rock-from-the-sun-episodes-of-season-six/
3rd Rock has long lost its “novelty of premise” by the time it reaches Season Six — with too many stories not only ignoring the alien logline (so it’s invoked neither explicitly nor implicitly), but also undermining the series’ entire “situation” by offering gimmicks that aren’t predicated on anything established about the characters, like episodic locales and circumstances that have little to do with the regulars or their relationships. It’s a dilution of identity, and that’s a problem for the year overall, with the minimized use of Tommy — as Joseph Gordon-Levitt went off to college, forcing his character to do the same — physically disrupting the “status quo” of the ensemble and further restricting premise-based opportunities for story. Meanwhile, the bizarre downplaying of Dick and Mary’s relationship only exacerbates this decline.
3rd Rock has long lost its “novelty of premise” by the time it reaches Season Six — with too many stories not only ignoring the alien logline (so it’s invoked neither explicitly nor implicitly), but also undermining the series’ entire “situation” by offering gimmicks that aren’t predicated on anything established about the characters, like episodic locales and circumstances that have little to do with the regulars or their relationships. It’s a dilution of identity, and that’s a problem for the year overall, with the minimized use of Tommy — as Joseph Gordon-Levitt went off to college, forcing his character to do the same — physically disrupting the “status quo” of the ensemble and further restricting premise-based opportunities for story. Meanwhile, the bizarre downplaying of Dick and Mary’s relationship only exacerbates this decline.