The Man Who Fell to Earth (1500-1699)

An alien, who adopts the name Virdi, arrives on Earth and quickly sets about creating enough wealth to allow him to return to his own world. His home world is portrayed as a vast arid land where water is at a premium. With the help of patent lawyer Louis Ramp - who later becomes the CEO of Virdi's holding company, Purple Haze, Inc. - he has a number of original patents that make him very rich. Along the way he meets a number of interesting characters, including Cheeky Chicky, who falls in love with him and Lenny Bond, who works for him. The question of course is whether Virdi will ever get to return home.