Space Cadets (TV series)
Space Cadets is a British television programme made by Zeppotron for Channel 4. Presented by Johnny Vaughan, it was aired across ten consecutive nights beginning on 7 December 2005, with the final episode aired on the evening of 16 December 2005.
The series was a hoax at the expense of its contestants, who were told they were being trained as cosmonauts at a Russian military base before undergoing a five-day trip into low Earth orbit. In reality, the entire series was filmed in Dore, and the contestants did not leave Earth. The series was accompanied by a behind-the-scenes sister show Space Cadets: The Satellite Show, with interviews and phone-ins.
Premise
The series described itself as the most elaborate hoax perpetrated in television history. The title is a reference to the slang phrase space cadet, meaning a person out of touch with reality. Participants had been told that they would be appearing in a programme titled Thrill Seekers, although a whiteboard in the 'barracks' had "Space Cadettes" written on it during one of the parties organised in the facility.A group of twelve contestants were selected to become the first British televised space tourists, including going to Russia to train as cosmonauts at the "Space Tourist Agency of Russia" military base, with the series culminating in a group of four embarking on a five-day space mission in low Earth orbit. The show and space mission contained aspects of reality TV, including hidden cameras, soundproofed 'video diary' rooms and group dormitories.
However, the show was in fact an elaborate practical joke, described by Commissioning Editor Angela Jain as "Candid Camera live in space" and claimed by Channel 4 to have cost roughly £5 million. Unknown to the "space cadets", they were not in Russia at all, but at Bentwaters Parks in Suffolk staffed by costumed actors, and the "space trip" was entirely fake, complete with a wooden "shuttle" and actor "pilots". The production crew went so far as to replace light switches and electrical outlets in the barracks with Russian standard, stock Bentwaters with Russian-branded foods and toiletries for contestants to use, give smokers amongst the production crew Russian cigarettes to smoke in case any of the cadets discovered the butts, and employing people to clear the site of any British-branded litter. In addition, three of the Cadets were actors, included to misdirect any suspicious Cadets and to help reinforce the illusion.
Channel 4 had contingency plans if the contestants realised the hoax; Johnny Vaughan repeatedly suggested they would have to play old rerun episodes of Jamie's School Dinners, and after the "launch" some unchosen Cadets would have been used as a backup crew.
The show was originated by comedy writers Ben Caudell and Richard Osman. According to Caudell, the idea of the programme was inspired by one of his favourite childhood films, Capricorn One, which centres on a fake space mission to Mars. The production team originally planned to fake a Moon landing for the contestants, before settling on the aim of orbiting the Earth.
Participants
- Andrew Carter, 19, a student from London.
- Sarah-Jane Cass, 19, a media studies student from Kent.
- Cheryl Dearie, 23, a housing association assistant from Glasgow.
- Paul French, 26, a plasterer from Bristol.
- Keri Hassett, 25, a college administrator from Birmingham.
- Billy Jackson, 25, a recruitment consultant from Kent.
- Ryan McBride, 28, an electrician living in London.
- Louise Nisbet, 23, a teacher from Whitstable.
- Astrid Roberts, 19, a call centre worker from Glamorgan.
Actors
The three actor Cadets were Charlie Skelton, Ranie Daw and Steve Hester. Hester dropped out on day three after a bout of gastroenteritis, after not completing the Cumbria outdoor auditions and after Skelton accidentally kicked his toenail off. Skelton, also a comedy writer, was chosen to take part in the flight.The two pilots were improvisational actors, Alex Humes and Drew Leavy, who stayed in character the entire flight, even when alone. Humes, portraying a Russian pilot, became noted for his bizarre and cryptic statements due to his method acting.
;Other cast
- Johnny Vaughan – writer, host
- Richard Campbell – Mission Commander
- Giles Boden – writer
- Michael Klesic – Dr. Vladimir Negovetic
- Valera Riazanov – physical instructor
- Johnny Vaughan – writer
- Alex Zane – host
- Jeremy Edwards
- Myleene Klass
- Richard Campbell
Audition process
A strict set of criteria was therefore applied to filter out inappropriate applicants:
- Eliminating anyone who had ever served in the armed forces, or who already had a significant interest in space travel or science fiction.
- Psychological tests used to single out the highly suggestible and those who would conform to groupthink
- Physiological tests to determine claustrophobia, including being in restraining jackets and trapped in a full lift
- Being asked to dance blindfolded, without music, and with others watching, to gauge inhibition levels
- Asking the candidates to nominate a friend or relative they trusted implicitly, to make a vital and important decision for them. These friends or relatives were contacted, and fully let in on the hoax, and given the final say of whether or not the Cadet should be included.
Prize
All nine contestants won a genuine trip to Russia, including a trip to Star City ; and a ride on a parabolic flight to experience weightlessness for around 25 seconds. In addition, each Cadet won a cash prize of £5,000. The three Cadets who went into 'space' won a cash prize of £25,000 each.Comedic elements
The show contained moderate amounts of bizarre, surreal, or subversive show elements, in a manner similar to other Zeppotron-related productions Examples include:- Cadet lectures that were "about 80% true", the rest being ludicrous rubbish; many of these lectures were of little practical use to cosmonauts
- Stereotyped characters, including a slow-talking Royal Air Force Squadron Leader with a luxuriant handlebar moustache
- Stupid training exercises
- Nonsense Russian
- Nonsensical space experiments, including tests to make balloon animals
- The motto of the establishment S.T.A.R. is 'Это не ракетостроение'. The mission commander claimed this means 'We, the adventurers', but it actually means 'It's not rocket science', a phrase meaning that something is very easy, here taking on a double meaning.
- During the training lectures, the cadets were told that Russia's first cosmonaut to successfully orbit and return to earth was a monkey called Minsky, and that the city of Minsk is named in her honour.
- According to one of the "pilots", if the shuttle was unable to land at the S.T.A.R. base in Russia, one of the back-up sites was at Woodbridge, UK. This is an in-joke as, unknown to the cadets, RAF Woodbridge was the 'twin' airbase to RAF Bentwaters. Woodbridge is also the nearest town to the actual Space Cadets production site in Suffolk.
- The cadets were also told the segments of Mission Control, referred to by acronyms, some of which are made up – CAPCOM, FlDO, LIDO, DIDO, NACAS and MUMI.
Resolution
Viewer reaction
Initial viewing figures were 2.6 million, dropping to 2 million; although Channel 4 was reported as being 'not disappointed' and the figures were in line with that time slot, and 42% of the viewers were the crucial 16- to 34-year-old segment.Early viewer reaction to the show contained disbelief that such an apparently outlandish joke could be pulled off.
Particularly questioned was how weightlessness, which would be present in a real space flight, would be handled on a ground-based set. The Cadets were told that they would be in "near space", causing only a 30% loss of gravity, which was compensated by "gravity generators" built into the ship; this highly erroneous explanation was believed.