Alternative 3
| Alternative 3 | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Science Report: Alternative 3 |
| Genre | Drama |
| Written by | David Ambrose |
| Directed by | Christopher Miles |
| Starring |
Tim Brinton Gregory Munroe Carol Hazell Shane Rimmer Richard Marner |
| Composer(s) | Brian Eno |
| Country of origin | UK |
| Original language(s) | English |
| Production | |
| Running time | 52 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Anglia Television |
| Release | |
| Original release | 20 June 1977 |
Alternative 3 is a television programme, broadcast once only in the United Kingdom in 1977, and later broadcast in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, as a fictional hoax, an heir to Orson Welles' radio production of The War of the Worlds. Purporting to be an investigation into the UK's contemporary "brain drain", Alternative 3 uncovered a plan to make the Moon and Mars habitable in the event of climate change and a terminal environmental catastrophe on Earth.
The programme was originally meant to be broadcast on April Fools Day, 1977. While its broadcast was delayed until June 20, the credits explicitly date the film to April 1.Alternative 3 ended with credits for the actors involved in the production and featured interviews with a fictitious American astronaut.
The programme was presented as an edition of an Anglia TV series called Science Report. The intended transmission date was April 1, but it seems that Anglia was unable to obtain an ITV network slot for the programme on that date due to strike action/labour disputes. The script was written by Chris Miles and David Ambrose. Music was supplied by Brian Eno, a portion of his score being released on the album Music for Films (1978). Apart from the presenter Tim Brinton, all the characters in the programme were played by actors who were explicitly credited at the end.
The episode began by detailing the so-called "brain drain:" a number of 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 upon playback the tape appears to contain only static.
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