Jeopardy (BBC TV series)

Did You Know?

• The series made extensive use of 'found' footage, ostensibly recorded by the characters themselves on camcorders.
• The group of eight secondary-school students and their teacher are from Falkirk, Scotland.
• The series also aired on ABC in Australia.

Cast and characters

Samantha Bowie played Lucy Jeffers, a tomboyish and level-headed member of the group who is physically fit and later begins a relationship with Harry. Kari Corbett portrayed Sarah Fitzwilliam, an environmentally-conscious teenager who is the first to witness what she believes is alien contact; after the first series, Corbett appeared only in flashes in the second series and at the start of the third. Gordon McCorkell played David Hedges, a science and UFO enthusiast with extensive knowledge of flora and fauna and a strong sense of direction; he becomes agitated by his insistence that aliens are responsible for their situation, and after the first series, McCorkell was seen only in flashes in the second series and at the start of the third. Craig Moncur played Harry Hastings, a natural leader who takes charge after their teacher goes missing; he has epilepsy and chooses not to take his medication, having had no attacks in two years, and later begins a relationship with Lucy. Shelley O'Neill played Shona Campbell, the quietest and most caring member of the group, who can be easily upset and whose strict parents would not have allowed her to go on a UFO-related trip, so she pretended it was part of her geography course. James Pearson played Simon Tudor, the school's football captain who is athletic and arrogant, prone to bad decisions under pressure that lead him to betray the group; he starts a rocky relationship with Chrissie, and later experiences with an Aboriginal tour guide named Vic change his perspective.

Series overview

The group travels to the Australian outback to investigate an increase in reported extraterrestrial activity. Eight teenagers, their teacher, and a park ranger named Melissa Williams camp with monitoring equipment. On the first night, Sarah sees strange lights and believes they were visited by aliens, though not everyone believes her. Their teacher Gerry goes missing after falling over a waterfall, leaving the teenagers alone. The group sees strange lights and experiences radio interference. Simon and Chrissie attempt to save themselves by sacrificing Melissa to the aliens. The group later finds Gerry and Melissa and discovers the alien activity was faked by smugglers who captured Melissa for ransom. With the smugglers under guard, the teenagers and Gerry await rescue helicopters but are abducted by the aliens they came to find. They later wake up on the ridge and are taken to a military complex. David and Sarah are missing, and Gerry rants about an abduction while the others remember nothing. Escaping the facility, they realise they have lost a day and are pursued by an agent named Helen Stanich. They buy a Kombi van to travel the country, guided by visions of David and Sarah.