Is Space Cadets the show that is finally going to halt the seemingly inexorable rise of reality television? Maybe reality television is the wrong phrase for a show which seems to have no bearing whatsoever on reality: a bunch of wannabees thinking they are going to be space travellers while holed up in a shed in Suffolk. But, for want of a better phrase, reality TV it is, following in the sublime to ridiculous footsteps of the Big Brothers, the Farms, the Celebritys et al.
Today the Sun carries a quote from the Channel 4 show's technical expert, Dr Chris Welch: "I feel guilty for having taken part because it's about lying."
For those who don't know, the show has two selling points: the contestants really think they are going to space but we the viewers know they are not; and three of the contestants are planted "actors", in on the joke.
Thus it is, at face value, a one gag show lasting two weeks. And if the viewers stick with it long enough there will be the "priceless" moment when the contestants realise they have been had. Or not. There are conspiracy theories aplenty. One is that, actually, they really are going into space and it is the viewers who are being had.
Another is that all of the contestants are actors and again it is the viewer who is being set up. The Sun has already uncovered two contestants who are not as Ordinary Joe as they were originally portrayed: one had been in a Gordon Ramsay advert and another had 'starred' in a Trouble TV reality show called Cruel Summer 2.
Plus of course there is the enormous expense of it all (from flight simulators to endless marketing). The ratings are pretty average (to be kind). If the conspiracies come true then is this an actual case of TV eating itself? And will reality TV survive the implosion?
