Rocks and Religion

Dick Solomon is a god. An alien god.

I really mean John Lithgow, not Dick Solomon. And by god I really mean comic genius, which after a week of official couch potato-dom I am fully equipped to attest to. 3^rd Rock from the Sun has prevented me from going crazy in my flu-ridden state. For years I had basically forgotten this gem existed, until channel-surfing last week I stumbled upon the Sci-Fi station. Just two minutes into one of the first ever episodes I was reminded why John Lithgow fully deserved his three Emmy’s. It’s one of the few examples of when overacting has worked; exaggeration is the name of the game for these four aliens who’ve been sent to earth in human form to study human behaviour.

Of course, they themselves end up becoming humanised, forming relationships and attachments to their new planet. They make some shrewd observations along the way about the human need to bond, to feel important and to find a purpose.

Alright, so pretending 3^rd Rock is deep is a bit of a stretch, but this lazy, hazy week has taught me one thing about myself – I love being a goofy westerner. I love that we make these silly shows for no other reason than pure entertainment. Check out this clip of Dick’s brain malfunction: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHjaHlex5ZY

On my television travels this week I’ve also unearthed a largely unwatched treat called Carnivale, starring Nick Stahl (of Terminator 3 fame). I’ve only seen the first two episodes so far and already I’m mystified, hooked… and slightly put out. Just once I’d like to see religious people not portrayed by Hollywood as paranoid and psychotic. As though every person with a cross around their neck is pursued in dreams by Satan’s minions, just one psychotic religious experience away from trying to cleanse the great unwashed masses with a healthy dose of a) exorcism, b) a forced underwater-minute as a faux-baptism, or c) plague. (We’re due a good plague, right? First stop: the Playboy mansion.) Just once I’d like to see a normal-amount of religious conviction displayed in Hollywood, (but not more of the sickly sweet 7^th Heaven).