Richard (Dick) Solomon (John Lithgow), is the High Commander of a highly trained alien unit, on the late 90's NBC Third Rock From the Sun, sent to Earth by their leader The Big Giant Head. His crew is made up of Sally Solomon played by Kristen Johnston, Harry Solomon played by French Stewart, and Tommy Solomon played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. In the first episode, Brains and Eggs, Dick states that he has made a home of "A third rate planet, has a job at a third rate university, and now we are looking at a third floor apartment."

Work

Dick works at Pendelton State University as a professsor of physics, and shares an office with Dr. Mary Albright of the Anthropology Department. In the first episode the office is green with various pictures and certificates adorning the wall, after this however the office is antique white with tribal masks featured, assumedly from Albright's anthropological digs, later it is found that she simply "bought them at airports." Dick often uses his class, oddly enough the same throughout all six seasons, to gain a better understanding of humanity by assigning arbitrary essays on which their grade depends.

Love Life

Throughout the course of the series Dick maintains a tense love-hate relationship with Mary Albright, at times they are together, whilst at others mary quite clearly disfavors Dick. At one point, end of the second season, Dick and Mary are to be marrried as the other Solomon's (Sally, Harry, and Tommy) return to the home planet.

At one point Dick discovers the "freedom" of casual sex, he unknowingly had sex with one of his student's(Bug's) recently divorced mother, who is in on holiday. Dick realizes the identity of his partner when, as he frequently does, relates his sexual experience to his class. At the end of the episode Bug's father walks in to Dick's office in a fedora flanked by two brutes, one who is named Frankie, and one is to assume some connection to the mob.

In season four episode five, What's Love Got to Do, Got to Do with Dick, Dick is forced to share his office with a professor of Comparative Literature from Harvard, Dr. Jennifer Ravelli, for whom Dick coins the casutic term "Dr. McBitch." Dick enjoys the free hearted literary genius of his new office partner and develops a crush, however due to his lack of familiarity with relationships he assumes he is in love and seeks permission from Mary Albright to "see other people" and it is granted. The quirks that attracted Dick soon become a nussiance, among other things, her obsession, bring quick end to their relationship, but not before Dick attempts to use the new jealousy of Mary's to gain "quantity time as well as quality time."