Space Cadets
Channel 4 will tonight air the first of ten programmes that amount to one of the largest television hoaxes of all time. Participants in the Space Cadets programme are a group of would-be astronauts who believe they have been flown to Russia, and that they will soon become space tourists, all in the name of television.
They’re actually in a soundproofed hangar, on a disused US Airbase in Suffolk, and will be aboard the same movie set that was used in Space Cowboys and Armageddon, among other movies.
Various news reports have described how the nine participants have been incommunicado since (at least) mid-November – before the teaser trailers began to be broadcast. The poor things have actually been in quarantine since the very start of the month so their family and friends could be consulted, and where necessary give their consent to the hoax.
As well as two actors who will “pilot” the shuttle, the participants have also been infiltrated by actors since the earliest parts of the selection process, to help ensure the success of the hoax on all levels. For the show itself, three participants will be selected, and they will be accompanied by one of the actors for the mission – if they rumble the hoax, three more will get to go up. If the hoax is rumbled three times, Channel 4 will have to revert to broadcasting repeats of Friends, which they do for the rest of the time.
The possibility occurred to me that an elaborate double-bluff would be easier and more controllable than what has been described (because it could all be pre-recorded for perfection), and others have thought likewise. Either way, it should make great entertainment.
Space Cadets begins tonight at 9pm, on Channel 4.
Location
Photo of the exterior of Hush House, the soundproof hangar. Source.
