Tommy Solomon is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

created by

Bonnie and Terry Turner Bonnie and Terry Turner are an American husband-and-wife team of screenwriters and producers. They are best known for creating the sitcoms '' 3rd Rock from the Sun,'' ''That '70s Show,'' and its Netflix sequel '' That '90s Show''. From 1986 unt ...

from the American

sitcom A sitcom, a Portmanteau, portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troup ...

3rd Rock from the Sun ''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, t ...

''. He was portrayed by

Joseph Gordon-Levitt Joseph Leonard Gordon-Levitt (; born February 17, 1981) is an American actor. He has received various accolades, including nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his leading performances ...

Ironic age

When the Solomons originally arrived on

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

, Tommy, despite being the oldest of the aliens, was given the body of a

teenage Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the ...

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 show A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed bet ...

s and

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

left the series during the final season, so the storyline has his character Tommy away at college.

Alternate universe

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 ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

'', 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.

Running gags

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 Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

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. 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 Bronson Alcott Pinchot (; born May 20, 1959) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Balki Bartokomous on the ABC sitcom '' Perfect Strangers'' (1986–93). He also performed in films, such as '' Risky Business'' (1983), ''Beverly Hil ...

) performs on him when Dick introduces the family to Roy. 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 A beehive is an enclosed structure in which some honey bee species of the subgenus '' Apis'' live and raise their young. Though the word ''beehive'' is commonly used to describe the nest of any bee colony, scientific and professional literature ...

. 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 A quasar is an extremely luminous active galactic nucleus (AGN). It is pronounced , and sometimes known as a quasi-stellar object, abbreviated QSO. This emission from a galaxy nucleus is powered by a supermassive black hole with a mass rangi ...

. 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.

Romantic life

Tommy has had two main

girlfriend A girlfriend is a female friend, acquaintance or partner, usually a female companion with whom one is platonically, romantically, or sexually involved. In a romantic context, this normally signifies a committed relationship where the ...

s 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. Tommy has had other

love interest ''Gli Innamorati'' (, meaning "The Lovers") were stock characters within the theatre style known as commedia dell'arte, who appeared in 16th century Italy. In the plays, everything revolved around the Lovers in some regard. These dramatic and pos ...

s, 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 and her sexually experienced niece.

References

External links

TV.com's summary

TV Guide's summary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Solomon, Tommy 3rd Rock from the Sun characters Extraterrestrial characters in television Fictional characters from Ohio Television characters introduced in 1996 Fictional lieutenant commanders