Alternative 3 is a television programme, broadcast in the UK in 1977. Purporting to be an investigation into Britain's contemporary 'brain drain', it uncovered a plan to make the moon and Mars habitable in the event of a terminal environmental catastrophe on Earth. Two earlier "alternatives" (Alternative 1 and 2) were reportedly scrapped as impractical, and only certain "elite" persons were to be relocated to the Moon or Mars. A brain drain or human capital flight is an emigration of trained and talented individuals (human capital) to other nations or jurisdictions, due to conflicts, lack of opportunity, or health hazards where they are living. ... Apparent magnitude: up to -12. ... Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the solar system, named after the Roman god of war (the counterpart of the Greek Ares), on account of its blood red color as viewed in the night sky. ...

The environmental catastrophe in question was overpopulation and the three alternatives in question were: "One: Cut population; Two: Cut consumption; Three: Get the Hell off the planet." The Rev. ...

Alternative 3 began as a fictional hoax, an heir to Orson Welles' radio production of The War of the Worlds. The original programme was supposed to be broadcast on April Fools Day, 1977, but was delayed to June by industrial action (notably, the credits explicitly copyright the film on April 1st). Alternative 3 provided credits for the actors and interviewed a non-existent astronaut. However, some conspiracy theory supporters have argued Alternative 3 is at least partly true. Fiction (from the Latin fingere, to form, create) is storytelling of imagined events and stands in contrast to non-fiction, which makes factual claims that can be substantiated with evidence. ... A hoax is an attempt to trick an audience into believing that something false is real. ... This article contains a trivia section. ... The War of the Worlds was an episode of the American radio drama anthology series Mercury Theatre on the Air. ... — Mark Twain April Fools Day or All Fools Day is a notable day, though not of its own right a holiday, celebrated in many countries on April 1. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... A conspiracy theory attempts to attribute the ultimate cause of an event or chain of events (usually political, social, or historical events), or the concealment of such causes from public knowledge, to a secret, and often deceptive plot by a covert alliance of powerful or influential people or organizations. ...

Overview

In the late 1970s the UK's Anglia Television ran a weekly science series, Science Report. The final episode, Alternative 3, retained the series' format and presenter, and was written by Chris Miles and David Ambrose. Music was by Brian Eno, a portion of his score being released on the 1978 album Music for Films. The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Part of a scientific laboratory at the University of Cologne. ... Brian Eno (pronounced ) (born Brian Peter George St. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... Music for Films (1978) is one of Brian Enos ambient albums. ...

The episode began by detailing the so-called "brain drain": a number of supposedly mysterious disappearances and deaths of physicists, engineers, astronomers and others in related fields. Among the strange deaths reported was that of one "Professor Ballantine" of Jodrell Bank. Before his death, Ballantine delivers a videotape to an academic friend, but when viewed on an ordinary videotape machine the only result is radio static. Articles with similar titles include physician, a person who practices medicine. ... The 76m Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank Observatory. ...

According to the research presented in the episode, it was hypothesized that the missing scientists were involved in a secret American/Soviet plan in outer space, and further suggested that space travel had been possible for much longer than was commonly accepted. The episode featured an Apollo astronaut - the fictional "Bob Grodin" - who claims to have stumbled on a mysterious lunar base during his moonwalk. Layers of Atmosphere - not to scale (NOAA)[1] Outer space, sometimes simply called space, refers to the relatively empty regions of the universe outside the atmospheres of celestial bodies. ... Project Apollo was a series of human spaceflight missions undertaken by the United States of America (NASA) using the Apollo spacecraft and Saturn launch vehicle, conducted during the years 1961 – 1975. ...

It was claimed that scientists had determined that the Earth's surface would be unable to support life for much longer, due to pollution leading to catastrophic climate change. It was proposed that there were three alternatives to this problem: the first involved the detonation of nuclear bombs in the stratosphere in order to allow the pollution to escape. The second alternative was the construction of an elaborate underground city, a solution reminiscent of the finale of Dr Strangelove. The third alternative, the so-called "Alternative 3", was to populate Mars via a waystation on the Moon. Adjectives: Terrestrial, Terran, Telluric, Tellurian, Earthly Atmosphere Surface pressure: 101. ... It has been suggested that Pollutant be merged into this article or section. ... Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400,000 years For current global climate change, see Global warming. ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945 lifted nuclear fallout some 18 km (60,000 feet) above the epicenter. ... Atmosphere diagram showing stratosphere. ... For the hit 1987 single by Depeche Mode, see the album Music for the Masses Film poster for Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is a 1964 satirical film directed by Stanley Kubrick. ... Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the solar system, named after the Roman god of war (the counterpart of the Greek Ares), on account of its blood red color as viewed in the night sky. ...

The programme ends with some detective work; acting on information from Grodin, the reporters determine that Ballantine's videotape requires a special decoding device. After locating such a device, the resulting video turns out to depict a landing on the Martian surface - in 1962! As Russian and American voices excitedly celebrate their achievement, something stirs beneath the Martian soil... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ...

(Some expanded accounts, including Milton William Cooper's are similar to fanon, and state that one of the rejected alternatives was the "elimination" of vast segments of the populace, presumably by some form of biowarfare - in the minds of some conspiracists, this equates to AIDS or some other unknown plague.) Milton William Cooper (May 6, 1943 - November 5, 2001) was an American writer, shortwave broadcaster, militia supporter and conspiracy theorist. ... Fanon is a fact or ongoing situation related to a television program, book, movie, or video game that has been used so much by fan writers or among the fandom that it has been more or less established as having happened in the fictional world, but it has not actually... Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of any organism (bacteria, virus or other disease_causing organism) or toxin found in nature, as a weapon of war. ... Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS or Aids) is a collection of symptoms and infections resulting from the specific damage to the immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). ...

It was further claimed that Mars had abundant water "locked up in its soil" and that this water could be utilized. Critics of Alternative 3's actuality note that Mars' atmospheric pressure is so low that liquid water at Mars' surface would boil away within minutes. Supporters argue that the water being "locked up in the soil" might be deposited water protected from such effects. Impact from a water drop causes an upward rebound jet surrounded by circular capillary waves. ...

Response

As with Welles' earlier radio production, and the subsequent BBC drama Ghostwatch, Alternative 3 provoked controversy, with many viewers unprepared for its convincing presentation and deadpan tone. The BFI DVD release cover Ghostwatch was a controversial British horror-mockumentary television programme which was produced by the BBC and aired on BBC One on October 31 (Halloween), 1992. ...

The programme's environmental catastrophism comprised a mixture of global warming and then-popular warnings of an impending ice age, both of which were high in the public consciousness at the time[1]. The dark conspiracy theory appealed to an increasingly sceptical generation which was starting to take the Apollo moon landing hoax accusations more seriously. Global mean surface temperatures 1850 to 2006 Mean surface temperature anomalies during the period 1995 to 2004 with respect to the average temperatures from 1940 to 1980 Global warming is the observed increase in the average temperature of the Earths atmosphere and oceans in recent decades and the projected... Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 400 000 years For the animated movie, see Ice Age (movie). ... A conspiracy theory attempts to attribute the ultimate cause of an event or chain of events (usually political, social, or historical events), or the concealment of such causes from public knowledge, to a secret, and often deceptive plot by a covert alliance of powerful or influential people or organizations. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Independent evidence for Apollo Moon landings. ...

Shortly after Alternative 3 was broadcast, Anglia Television issued a statement that the Alternative 3 episode was a hoax. Conspiracy theorists suggested that the British government forced Anglia Television to issue this statement. A hoax is an attempt to trick an audience into believing that something false is real. ...

Books

In 1978, Leslie Watkins wrote a book, Alternative 3, based on the screenplay for the television episode. Watkins had previously written a few moderately successful "suspense thriller" novels, and his Alternative 3 novelization detailed many of the claims presented in the episode. It was published by Sphere Books Ltd, of Grays's Inn Road, London. 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... Thriller films are movies that primarily use action and suspense to engage the audience. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

Jim Keith's Casebook on Alternative 3: Ufo's, Secret Societies and World Control argues that some elements of the 1977 broadcast were in fact true. Jim Keith, born 1949, co-author of the non-fiction book The Octopus: Secret Government and the Death of Danny Casolaro, about a writer who died mysteriously while investigating an international conspiracy, died himself under suspicious circumstances in 1999. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ...

Hoax

Perhaps the most persuasive evidence that Alternative 3 was an utter fiction comes from Nick Austin, who was editorial director of Sphere Books when Watkins' adaptation was commissioned and published. Austin writes that the book was the "best chance I’d ever be likely to get to participate in a hoax of truly Guy Grand proportions - the best thing of its kind since Orson Welles' 'War of the Worlds' radio broadcast." Guy Grand is the main character in Terry Southerns novel The Magic Christian. ... This article contains a trivia section. ...

Furthermore, Austin writes that he was both delighted and disturbed by the Alternative 3 controversy, and adds that the reasons "a clever hoax, openly admitted to be such by its creators, should continue to exercise the fascination it so obviously does the best part of a generation after its first appearance is beyond my feeble powers of analysis and explanation." [2]

An article by Loy Lawhon reports that "everyone involved with the Alternative 3 documentary admits that it was fiction(.)" [3]

One unsourced account reports that the producers of Alternative 3 "announced that the entire thing had been a joke." [4]

A more detailed explanation of the hoax is featured in a study of conspiracy theory subculture and literature, Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America (2003), wherein Michael Barkun devotes a few pages to Alternative 3. A conspiracy theory attempts to attribute the ultimate cause of an event or chain of events (usually political, social, or historical events), or the concealment of such causes from public knowledge, to a secret, and often deceptive plot by a covert alliance of powerful or influential people or organizations. ... In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a set of people with distinct sets of behavior and beliefs that differentiate them from a larger culture of which they are a part. ...

Barkun writes that "Alternative 3 was clearly a hoax--and not only because it was intended for broadcast on April Fools Day. The interviews with supposed scientists, astronauts, and others were far too dramatically polished to have been spontaneous, and in any case, the episode's closing credits named the actors who took the roles of interviewees and correspondents. Though artfully produced, the show's counterfeit documentary style could scarcely have been expected to fool many. As an Anglia TV spokeseman put it, 'We felt viewers would be fairly sophisticated about it.'" A hoax is an attempt to trick an audience into believing that something false is real. ... — Mark Twain April Fools Day or All Fools Day is a notable day, though not of its own right a holiday, celebrated in many countries on April 1. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see Astronaut (disambiguation). ... Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to document reality. ...

Bakun notes that television and newspapers were "swamped" with inquiries about Alternative 3 and that Anglia Television's sale of the book rights to Leslie Watkins caused the tale to spread far beyond the United Kingdom.

A letter reportedly written by Watkins, however, states that "So, summing up, the book is FICTION BASED ON FACT. But I now feel that I inadvertently got VERY CLOSE TO A SECRET TRUTH." [5]

Influence

Bakun notes that Alternative 3 and the intermittent availability of Watkins' book "lent itself to conspiracist interpretations," and though Alternative 3 did not mention UFOs or extraterrestrials, many of the plans mentioned in Alternative 3 have been featured in later assorted conspiracy theories. Bakun argues that Alternative 3 was important in that its "role in the growth of conspiracy theory lay in a later permutation" related to UFOs and the UFO conspiracy theory. Milton William Cooper, for one, featured similar tales in some of his writings. UFO redirects here. ... Extraterrestrial life refers to forms of life that may exist and originate outside of the planet Earth. ... A conspiracy theory attempts to attribute the ultimate cause of an event or chain of events (usually political, social, or historical events), or the concealment of such causes from public knowledge, to a secret, and often deceptive plot by a covert alliance of powerful or influential people or organizations. ... UFO redirects here. ... A UFO conspiracy theory is any one of many often overlapping conspiracy theories which argue that evidence of the reality of unidentified flying objects is being suppressed. ... Milton William Cooper (May 6, 1943 - November 5, 2001) was an American writer, shortwave broadcaster, militia supporter and conspiracy theorist. ...

An episode of Dimension X featured a plot very similar to the later Alternative 3: On the 14 July 1950 episode "The Man In the Moon", an employee of the fictional United States "Bureau of Missing Persons" overhears a radio broadcast from a man who claims to be held prisoner on the moon. The employee investigates, and uncovers the kidnapping of many persons, including scientists and engineers, who are then forced to toil on the moon by German overseers, who had colonized the moon in the late 1930s, and who are preparing an invasion and takeover of the earth. Dimension X was an old-time radio program broadcast April 1950 to September 1951 on NBC. Dimension X was the first notable adult science fiction series on radio, preceded only by the short-lived Two Thousand Plus, scattered episodes of anthology dramas, and juvenile fare, such as Flash Gordon. ... July 14 is the 195th day (196th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 170 days remaining. ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... Apparent magnitude: up to -12. ... The 1930s (years from 1930–1939) were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression, also known in Europe as the World Depression. ...

Liverpool doom metal band Anathema's 1998 album Alternative 4 was also named after the programme. Liverpool skyline. ... Doom metal is a form of heavy metal that emerged as a recognized genre of metal in the early/mid-1980s. ... Anathema are an English band from the city of Liverpool, who - together with Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride - helped develop the doom death genre. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean [1]. // Coated in ice, power and telephone lines sag and often break, resulting in power outages. ... Alternative 4 is an album by the British rock band Anathema. ...

External links

• Museum of Hoaxes: Alternative 3.
• Alternative 3 by Nick Austin, et al.
• Watch the original show.
• Better quality video.
• Alternative 3 on Google Video
• IMDB page of Alternative 3
• [6] - a documentary

Sources

• Barkun, Michael. Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America. ISBN 0-520-23805-2.