Opening Lines

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John Yorke unpacks the themes behind the stories in Radio 4's weekend afternoon dramas.

Producer and writer John Yorke unpacks the themes and impact behind the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in Radio 4's weekend afternoon dramas.

Producer and writer John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact behind the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in Radio 4's weekend afternoon dramas.

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Opening Lines: The Man Who Fell to Earth

The Man Who Fell to Earth

BBC Radio 4 - Opening Lines, The Man Who Fell to Earth

John Yorke explores Walter Tevis’s 1963 novel The Man Who Fell to Earth.

The series that explores how books and stories work. John Yorke looks at what makes Walter Tevis’ The Man Who Fell to Earth stand out from other science fiction of its time.

The Man Who Fell to Earth by American writer Walter Tevis was published in 1963. Unlike most sci-fi of its time, it’s not about space, far-off galaxies or a distant future, but set only a decade or so from the time of writing. 

When an inhabitant of the planet Anthea comes to Earth in search of the resources to save his world, he uses his knowledge of advanced technology to amass the fortune he needs to save his people from extinction. As Thomas Jerome Newton’s secret project takes shape at a site in rural Kentucky, this extra-terrestrial visitor becomes an all-too-human and troubled figure.

John looks at how deeply the story is lodged in Walter Tevis’ own experience and that of post-war America. He also asks what it is about Tevis’ writing that has made this book, along with his others including The Hustler, The Color of Money and The Queen’s Gambit, so appealing to the film and television industry. 

John Yorke has worked in television and radio for 30 years, and he shares his experience with Radio 4 listeners as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatized in BBC Radio 4’s Sunday/Saturday Drama series. From EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless, he has been obsessed with telling big popular stories. He has spent years analysing not just how stories work but why they resonate with audiences around the globe and has brought together his experience in his bestselling book Into the Woods. As former Head of Channel Four Drama, Controller of BBC Drama Production and MD of Company Pictures, John has tested his theories during an extensive production career working on some of the world’s most lucrative, widely viewed and critically acclaimed TV drama. As founder of the hugely successful BBC Writers Academy, John has trained a generation of screenwriters.


Contributor:
Professor Farah Mendlesohn is the author of several books about science fiction and fantasy literature, including Rhetorics of Fantasy (2008), Children’s Fantasy Literature (co-authored, 2016)  and The Pleasant Profession of Robert A Heinlein (2019). She has been nominated six times for the Hugo Award for Best Related Work, which she won in 2005 with The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction (edited with Edward James)


Walter Tevis audio from an interview with Don Swaim, Ohio University, 1984

Readings by Riley Neldam from The Man Who Fell to Earth (Gollancz 1963)

Producers: Tolly Robinson and Sara Davies
Executive Producer: Caroline Raphael
Sound: Sean Kerwin
Researcher: Nina Semple
Production Manager: Sarah Wright

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Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

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