His seminal work, On the Road, was described at the time, by The New York Times, as "the most beautifully executed, the clearest and the most important utterance yet made by the generation Kerouac himself named years ago as 'beat,' and whose principal avatar he is." The story evokes the individual pursuit of meaning and sense of belonging against a backdrop of a changing society and way of life.

In this episode of Third Rock from the Sun (aka 3rd Rock), Tommy and Harry set out to retrace Kerouac's steps, but don't seem to get very far. Not much soul-searching here either, but that wouldn't really be in keeping with 3rd Rock, where all-important questions of life and death are explored in a delightfully understated way. By the end however, Tommy does reach a decision as he finds himself at a certain crossroad in his life.