Alternative 3 is a 1977 British television mockumentary, directed by Christopher Miles and written by David Ambrose, originally intended as an April Fool's Day hoax for Anglia Television’s Science Report series but aired on June 20 due to labor disputes.
Presented as a serious investigation into the UK's "brain drain," it unravels a fictional conspiracy claiming that, due to impending climate catastrophe, global elites were secretly colonizing Mars and the Moon, abducting scientists to build these colonies.
Featuring real newsreader Tim Brinton and actors like Shane Rimmer and Richard Marner, the film used authentic-looking footage, including faked Mars landings and NASA recordings, to blur the line between fact and fiction, sparking widespread panic and conspiracy theories despite its end credits revealing the hoax.
The chilling narrative, enhanced by Brian Eno's haunting score, drew comparisons to Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds and continues to inspire cult fascination and skepticism about official narratives.