The Good

This show always managed to keep things interesting.

The Bad

The extras seemed a bit skimpy.

3rd Rock from the Sun: Season 6 sees this interesting and subtlety social show come to an end. We see the Solomon family engage in all manner of behavior over the final 20 episodes of this show. Whether Dick is buying a timeshare, Dr. Liam Neesam is causing trouble, Sally is becoming a weather girl, Harry is toying with the Amish, or Tommy is heading off to college, we really get to see this family through the eyes of Aliens. Interestingly, in doing so see things about ourselves as a society which is essentially the whole point of this show. With episode titles like "Les Liaisons Dickgereuses," "Red, White & Dick," and "Dick Soup for the Soul," this show never made any attempts to hide the things that it was skewering.

While it is always sort of sad of wrapping up a TV on DVD series (it's almost like the show is going off the air for a second time), 3rd Rock from the Sun: Season 6 manages to go out in the classy, satirical, and ahead of the curve way that it came in.

Features

3rd Rock: Six Seasons of Memories

I love when shows do this. I think that not only does it show an appreciation of the fans, but it also shows new viewers like myself what this show was like when I was wasn't watching it. A retrospective look back at 3rd Rock from the Sun, we get to see and hear about many of the outrageous moments both on and off screen. Also, like any show where the cast works this closely together for so long, there are also those emotional moments that really give heart to a piece like this.

Final Episode Alternate Ending

Alternate Show Ending Introduction Parts 1 & 2

Considering that the final episodes of the show are "The Thing That Wouldn't Die" Parts 1 & 2, I think it makes almost karmic sense that there would be two alternate show ending introductions here. Also, when you consider the sense of humor and other sensibilities behind this show, it also makes sense that they would offer something like this on a swan song of a DVD. I purposely left out what the Alternate Ending was, mainly because I don't want to spoil things for the fans. However, these Alternate Show Ending Introductions are certainly in keeping with 3rd Rock from the Sun.

Video

Full Screen - One might expect a show about aliens to employ a great deal of special effects. While this show did do that at times (very minimally), it also went out of it's way to really examine reality. Due to this subject matter decision, 3rd Rock from the Sun: Season 6 didn't employ many moments that might have played as hokey. Everything is pretty much classically presented on this show, with simple camera moves and spot on blocking. The 20 episodes in this set also look like they have been bumped up a tad in the compression process.

Audio

Dolby Digital Stereo. The audio on this set was pretty much what I have come to expect from a sitcom. The dialogue came at a quick pace and everything seems to have been leveled for maximum understanding. Once I set everything on my TV, I didn't have to adjust much in the way of the audio. When you take into account that there is 462 minutes of content, I think the audio being as solid as it is is a feather in Anchor Bay's cap.

Package

The main cast is presented here on this front cover as they sit on the rooftop of their home. Looking at how some of the characters are dressed, it's almost hard to believe that this show ended in 2001. The back cover features a description of this show, some pictures from the episodes contained therein, a special features listing, and system specs. All four discs are nicely housed inside this slipcase packaging, which contains more artwork from the show, as well as episode listings and descriptions.

Final Word

I always found this show to be very interesting when it was originally airing, mainly because I didn't follow it and when I would catch a glimpse, I could never pinpoint what 3rd Rock from the Sun was about. Yet, watching it now, in a weird way I sort of felt transported back to that time even though I didn't experience the show when it aired from 1996-2001. I guess this probably accounts for a lot of the popularity of TV on DVD shows like 3rd Rock from the Sun. When we're getting into these shows, we may not realize how much of an effect they are having on us (Diff'rent Strokes anyone?), but when we look back on them they really can have a profound impact on who we are.

While I don't necessarily see 3rd Rock from the Sun having this kind of impact, I think that this 6th Season will mark something very special for those that followed the show.

3rd Rock from the Sun was released .