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The Dad Who Fell To Earth is a new Radio 4 drama written by and starring comedian Toby Hadoke as Tom, a man whose father, Russell (the wonderful Ronald Pickup, below-right with Toby), recently passed away, and he just can’t get his father out of his head as one might expect.
I can relate to this myself, as my own father died six months ago and it’s still very sore. And so will anyone who has ever lost a loved one which, as we grow up, will sadly happen to us more and more. Toby sums this up perfectly early on as he refers to him as “My Dad, who left without saying goodbye”.
Also commenting on how Russell was technophobic – as a lot of parents and grandparents can be, Tom remembers happier times with him, but also some heartbreaking moments, recounting pained memories where events didn’t go to plan as his father wasn’t there for him. He also regrets deeply how he didn’t call him back, or even see him on the last day he could’ve done so, which chimes with one line in Baz Luhrmann's Sunscreen song-cum-design-for-life, “Get to know your parents. You never know when they’ll be gone”, and when such moments happen, it makes you stop and realise that you can’t turn the clock back.
However, after getting hold of the key to the shed, since he ever knew what his father got up to in there, as well as a telescope, he discovers secret recordings by his father where he claims to be an alien. Thinking of him as some sort of “galactic David Attenborough”, is it some sort of roleplay or actually real??
I like how he said that in addition to people chasing after him, how whoever he was seemingly speaking to should be wary of those who state they are ‘traffic wardens’ 🙂
I listened to this while I was out and about and it brought up a number of tears, making me feel like, if anyone had asked, I would’ve had to try and explain it away as hayfever, since us men aren’t allowed to cry in public, you see. Even when writing this review, I had to stop on occasion as I remembered certain scenes. There’s also many humourous moments including a few laugh-out-loud ones.
There’s also great support from the rest of the cast – Cherylee Houston as his girlfriend Jan, Alexandra Mathie as Wendy, Lee Fenwick as mortician Pete and the mysterious Steven, and Zoe Iqbal as waitress Chelsea.
Overall, with wonderful sound FX and an awesome Flash Gordon reference (as well as the obvious reference to David Bowie’s movie, The Man Who Fell To Earth), The Dad Who Fell To Earth is an absolulte joy. It’s perfectly timed and judged, and it doesn’t pull on the heartstrings unnecessarily. In fact, its effect will be different depending on whether or not you have lost a parent. In my case, I lost my father back in January, but in listening to this drama, Toby Hadoke consummately balances the humour and heartbreak.
The Dad Who Fell To Earth is available on the BBC Iplayer until August 8th, and you can also check out some clips on the BBC website here. Click on the images in this review for the larger versions.
For more information about the show, check out Toby Hadoke’s website.
Score: 10/10
Director: Charlotte Riches
Writer: Toby Hadoke
Tom: Toby Hadoke
Russell: Ronald Pickup
Jan: Cherylee Houston
Wendy: Alexandra Mathie
Steven/Pete: Lee Fenwick
Chelsea: Zoe Iqbal
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.