Space Cadets (TV series)
A reality TV hoax about a fake space mission.
Space Cadets is a British television programme produced by Zeppotron for Channel 4, presented by Johnny Vaughan and aired over ten consecutive nights in December 2005. The series was notable for being a hoax: contestants believed they were training as cosmonauts for a space mission, but the entire production was staged in the UK.
Quick Facts
- Runtime
- 60 minutes
- Creator
- Zeppotron
- Starring
- Johnny Vaughan; Numerous actors and contestants
- Channel
- Channel 4
- First aired
- 7 December 2005
- Last aired
- 16 December 2005
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Episodes
- 10
Facts from the source article.
Premise
The series billed itself as the most elaborate hoax in television history. Twelve contestants answered an advertisement for 'thrill seekers' and were told they would appear in a programme called Thrill Seekers, selected to become the first British televised space tourists. They believed they would train at the 'Space Tourist Agency of Russia' (STAR) military base and that four of them would embark on a five-day space mission in low Earth orbit. The show incorporated reality TV elements such as hidden cameras, soundproofed video diary rooms, and group dormitories. In reality, the entire production was a practical joke, described by commissioning editor Angela Jain as 'Candid Camera live in space'. The contestants were not in Russia but at Bentwaters Parks in Suffolk, staffed by costumed actors. The 'space trip' was fake, using a wooden shuttle and actor pilots. The production crew replaced light switches and electrical outlets with Russian standards, stocked the site with Russian-branded goods, and employed people to remove British-branded litter. Three of the cadets were actors planted to misdirect suspicious contestants. Channel 4 had contingency plans if the hoax was discovered; Johnny Vaughan suggested they would play reruns of Jamie's School Dinners, and unchosen cadets would have been used as a backup crew. The idea was inspired by the film Capricorn One, and the production originally planned to fake a Moon landing before settling on an Earth orbit.
Participants
The nine contestants on Space Cadets were Andrew Carter, Sarah-Jane Cass, Cheryl Dearie, Paul French, Keri Hassett, Billy Jackson, Ryan McBride, Louise Nisbet, and Astrid Roberts. French, Hassett, and Jackson were selected for the simulated spaceflight. Three actors played fellow cadets: Charlie Skelton, Ranie Daw, and Steve Hester, who left on day three due to gastroenteritis and a toenail injury from Skelton. Skelton, a comedy writer, joined the flight. Pilots Alex Humes and Drew Leavy, both improvisational actors, stayed in character throughout. The cast also included writer-host Johnny Vaughan, Mission Commander Richard Campbell, writer Giles Boden, Dr. Vladimir Negovetic played by Michael Klesic, and physical instructor Valera Riazanov. The spin-off Space Cadets: The Satellite Show featured Vaughan, host Alex Zane, and guests Jeremy Edwards, Myleene Klass, and Campbell. To make the hoax believable, producers consulted psychologists to pick "susceptible people" who were intelligent, creative, enjoyed practical jokes, and would go along with it. All nine contestants received a genuine trip to Russia, including Star City and a 25-second parabolic weightlessness flight, plus £5,000 each. The three who "went to space" each won £25,000.
Comedic elements
The show included bizarre and surreal elements similar to other Zeppotron productions. Cadet lectures were about 80% true, with the rest being ludicrous rubbish, such as memory tests of the planets. Stereotyped characters appeared, like a slow-talking RAF Squadron Leader with a handlebar moustache. Training exercises were deliberately stupid, including communications drills about monkeys rampaging through the spacecraft and Rambo giving The Fonz a high five. Nonsense Russian was used: cadets saluted a 'Russian Poem' that was actually a recipe for toad in the hole, and the Russian pilot wore makeup and plastic spoons in his hair while insisting the cadets act out Alice in Wonderland. Space experiments included making balloon animals. The STAR motto 'Это не ракетостроение' was claimed to mean 'We, the adventurers', but actually means 'It's not rocket science'. Cadets were told Russia's first cosmonaut was a monkey named Minsky, after whom Minsk is supposedly named. One pilot mentioned a back-up landing site at Woodbridge, UK, an in-joke referencing the nearby twin airbase. Mission Control acronyms included made-up ones like DIDO, NACAS, and MUMI, alongside genuine ones CAPCOM and FIDO.
Location
The cadets were initially assembled at Biggin Hill airfield, then flown to Lydd on a convoluted four-hour flight plan over the North Sea, though the normal flight would take 15 minutes. Upon landing at Lydd, they were told they had reached Volgograd. Their watches had been removed to hide the time difference. They were then helicoptered to RAF Bentwaters in Suffolk, which they believed was the STAR facility in Krymsk. The barracks and academy building were in the wooded dispersal area on the southwest of the airbase. The shuttle simulator was assembled in a soundproofed hangar built within RAF Bentwaters around 1991. The shuttle, named Earth Orbiter 1, was a wooden replica built by Wonderworks Inc. for the film Deep Impact, later used in Armageddon, Rocket's Red Glare, Space Cowboys, Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome, and commercials. The simulator featured surround sound, pneumatic cushions, and a custom projector screen for CGI Earth graphics. The hangar, called Hush House, had insulated stainless steel walls and an exhaust facility for testing jet engines like the F-16. It was located south of the runway near the eastern edge of the site.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who stars in Space Cadets (TV series)?
Space Cadets stars Johnny Vaughan and Numerous actors and contestants.
When did Space Cadets (TV series) first air?
Space Cadets first aired on 7 December 2005.
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