Harry Solomon

Infobox character
name = Harry Solomon


caption = French Stewart as Harry Solomon
first = "Brains and Eggs"
last = ""
cause = End of the series
species = Extraterrestrial
gender = Male (in human form)
occupation = Transmitter/various short-lived jobs
title = Harry (later Harold)
portrayer = French Stewart
creator = Bonnie and Terry Turner
imdb_id = 0022412

Harry S. Solomon is a character in "3rd Rock from the Sun", played by French Stewart. He is the brother of Dick Solomon and Sally Solomon, and the uncle of Tommy Solomon. His middle initial is mentioned in the episode "Dick the Vote." French Stewart said in a 1998 interview, "The way the character was originally described to me was he would be an idiot on any planet. So he's got to be the biggest idiot in the universe!" [James Endrst. "Clueless, hapless Harry is 'Rock' solid sensation". "The Commercial Appeal". 1998-01-02.]

Mission

In the early episodes, Harry, unlike the rest of the "family", didn't seem to have any definable role in the expedition. During the opening credits of the first season, James Earl Jones, acting as narrator, states that "well-- they had an extra seat" in reference to him.

After the discovery that he has a "transmitter" implanted in his brain (which, apparently, takes up half the space in his head) for the purposes of communication with the home planet, he takes the title of "Communications Officer" which the others agree to so he doesn't feel left out.cite episode |title=Father Knows Dick |episodelink=List of 3rd Rock from the Sun episodes#Season 1: 1996 |series=3rd Rock from the Sun |serieslink=3rd Rock from the Sun|network=NBC |airdate=1996-05-07 |season=1 |number=18]

According to an interview with French Stewart on the "3rd Rock from the Sun" First Season DVD, Harry was related to/knew an important alien back on the homeworld, and that his position was a sinecure.

Communication was usually initiated without warning, either from the "Big Giant Head" him/itself, or his/its office. Upon contact, Harry is "taken over" entirely. The first signs are always physical - he immediately shudders violently, garbles incoherently, then adopts a stance with bent knees and upraised arms, palms forward. The message itself is always preceded with "Incoming message from the Big Giant Head....", followed by the message body, in a voice unlike his usual one.

When the message is completed, the exit statement is always "Resume normal functions in three ... two ... one ...", or later "transmission ending in three ... two ... one ...", after which he shudders, performs a dance-like movement, or sneezes. Returning to normal (or whatever passes for "normal" with Harry) he usually enquires "So what did it say?...", indicating that he doesn't know what he had said.

Love Life

In contrast to what would be expected of someone as weird and apparently unsophisticated as Harry, he seems a very adept lover and often has interludes with those that might be considered "out of his league" though this did not stop him from maintaining a haphazard relationship with Mrs. Dubcek's daughter Vicki. Their relationship was often interrupted; examples include Vicky's commitment to physical and spiritual purity to the point that she becomes celibate;cite episode |title=Dick on a Roll |episodelink=List of 3rd Rock from the Sun episodes#Season 3: 1997 - 1998 |series=3rd Rock from the Sun |serieslink=3rd Rock from the Sun|network=NBC |airdate=1998-01-07 |season=3 |number=12] and her pregnancy with the Big Giant Head's child.cite episode |title=Episode 1: The Baby Menace |episodelink=List of 3rd Rock from the Sun episodes#Season 5: 1999 - 2000 |series=3rd Rock from the Sun |serieslink=3rd Rock from the Sun|network=NBC |airdate=1999-09-21 |season=5 |number=1]

At one point Harry arranges a date with a clerk, Sam, then sees her again as hostess at a restaurant and makes a date with her again, as "Samantha", which she feels more appropriate for the atmosphere. Harry, not realizing that this is the same person using her legal name, thinks he has made dates with twins.cite episode |title=The Thing That Wouldn't Die - Part I |episodelink=List of 3rd Rock from the Sun episodes#Season 6: 2000 - 2001 |series=3rd Rock from the Sun |serieslink=3rd Rock from the Sun|network=NBC |airdate=2001-05-22 |season=6 |number=19]

Other affairs have included a well-toned policewoman,cite episode |title=This Little Dick Went To Market |episodelink=List of 3rd Rock from the Sun episodes#Season 5: 1999 - 2000 |series=3rd Rock from the Sun |serieslink=3rd Rock from the Sun|network=NBC |airdate=2000-03-14 |season=5 |number=14] a woman at the laundromat,cite episode |title=Gwen, Larry, Dick and Mary |episodelink=List of 3rd Rock from the Sun episodes#Season 5: 1999 - 2000 |series=3rd Rock from the Sun |serieslink=3rd Rock from the Sun|network=NBC |airdate=2000-01-25 |season=5 |number=10] and Dick's office assistant Nina Campbell.cite episode |title=The Tooth Harry |episodelink=List of 3rd Rock from the Sun episodes#Season 3: 1997 - 1998 |series=3rd Rock from the Sun |serieslink=3rd Rock from the Sun|network=NBC |airdate=1998-05-20 |season=3 |number=26] In the series finale, Harry revealed that he had a long-lasting secret relationship with Mrs. Dubcek.cite episode |title=The Thing That Wouldn't Die - Part II |episodelink=List of 3rd Rock from the Sun episodes#Season 6: 2000 - 2001 |series=3rd Rock from the Sun |serieslink=3rd Rock from the Sun|network=NBC |airdate=2001-05-22 |season=6 |number=20]

Life as a Human

Harry in general serves as the slapstick comic foil for the show, even having an entire section of the clip show episode "7 Deadly Clips" dedicated to clips of him hurting himself or being hit. The typical "funny points" involve a great deal of running into things or being hit. However there are points when his apparent stupidity gives way to absurdity, such as when Harry declares it is his mission to "bring electricity to the people of Earth," Tommy informs him that humans have electricity, so Harry concludes that "my work here is done."

In contrast to the frequent exhibition of a total lack of intelligence, Harry at one point speaks fluent French to Dick,cite episode |title=The Big Giant Head Returns |episodelink=List of 3rd Rock from the Sun episodes#Season 5: 1999 - 2000 |series=3rd Rock from the Sun |serieslink=3rd Rock from the Sun|network=NBC |airdate=2000-02-22 |season=5 |number=12] and has a natural talent for the arts.cite episode |title=The Art Of Dick |episodelink=List of 3rd Rock from the Sun episodes#Season 1: 1996 |series=3rd Rock from the Sun |serieslink=3rd Rock from the Sun|network=NBC |airdate=1996-03-19 |season=1 |number=11] Despite his aptitude with the physical aspects of the opposite sex, Harry seems incapable of fully functioning in a common social situation. Often he will run off on a mission to right some irrelevant wrong and not realize the "offender" is conceding and will then proceed to take physical and occasionally violent action. Harry held several positions in the "working world." Among them, he served as a representative for Orca Cosmetics for Men,cite episode |title=Lonely Dick |episodelink=List of 3rd Rock from the Sun episodes#Season 1: 1996 |series=3rd Rock from the Sun |serieslink=3rd Rock from the Sun|network=NBC |airdate=1996-02-20 |season=1 |number=7] worked in a movie rental store,cite episode |title=Frozen Dick |episodelink=List of 3rd Rock from the Sun episodes#Season 1: 1996 |series=3rd Rock from the Sun |serieslink=3rd Rock from the Sun|network=NBC |airdate=1996-03-26 |season=1 |number=12] and as a bartender.cite episode |title=The Physics of being Dick |episodelink=List of 3rd Rock from the Sun episodes#Season 3: 1997 - 1998 |series=3rd Rock from the Sun |serieslink=3rd Rock from the Sun|network=NBC |airdate=1998-04-15 |season=3 |number=21]

Behind the scenes

Harry's distinctive squint was invented by French Stewart as he auditioned for the role. The look soon became Harry's signature. "It's sort of the equivalent of your mother telling you not to make faces because they might stick that way forever. Well, I've now got a face that's stuck," said Stewart in an interview. "But it's worth it. People respond to Harry, and the squint is probably a big part of his appeal. So, I'm just riding it for all it's worth." [Ian Spelling. "All eyes are on the star of `Rock'". "The Washington Times". 1997-01-12.]

Harry Solomon also became the focus of "3rd Rock from the Sun"'s physical comedy. "If someone is going to fall, walk funny or get hit, it's going to be Harry," writes journalist T.D. Mobley-Martinez.T.D. Mobley-Martinez. "At 3rd Rock with a native son". "The Albuquerque Tribune". 1997-03-28] In a 1997 interview, Stewart remarked, "What I try to do is to make these things seem like Warner Brothers cartoons -- make the impossible seem possible. But sometimes you pay for it the next day. I do bits sometimes, and I wake up with bruises and huge rug burns all over my legs."

According to Stewart, one of his most difficult stunts was contorting his body to play as the communincator for the Big Head Giant Head. "I wasn't sure that I had nailed that until I realized how much pain I was in doing it. Now I'm just afraid that 20 years from now, I'm going to be going to sci-fi conventions and they're going to ask me to do the Big Giant Head bit and I'll wind up a cripple," he said. [Alan Sepinwall. "French Twist: '3rd Rock' has Stewart on a roll". "The Star-Ledger". 1997-11-19]

Notes

External links

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* [http://www.tv.com/3rd-rock-from-the-sun/fun-with-dick-and-janet-1/episode/11020/summary.html TV.com's summary]

* [http://www.tvguide.com/detail/tv-show.aspx?tvobjectid=100004&more=ucepisodelist&episodeid=1000350 TV Guide's summary]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0502618/ IMDB's summary]