June 16, 2026
Mars bar panic attack
'Wow, it really worked ': 70s TV show causing worldwide panic today
A fake 70s TV scare is haunting the internet again — and commenters are split between eye-rolls and paranoia
TLDR: A fake 1977 TV documentary about scientists vanishing into a secret Mars project is back in the spotlight after new online panic and even government interest. Commenters mostly swung between mocking gullible believers, questioning sensational news coverage, and joking that it sounds like sci-fi for conspiracy fans.
A 1977 British TV drama about missing scientists and a secret Mars escape plan is having an absolutely wild second life online, and the real spectacle is the reaction. The original show, Alternative 3, was a mock documentary — basically a fake news special — but it aired on the wrong date and fooled plenty of viewers. Fast-forward to today, and a fresh round of panic over dead or missing scientists has pulled the same spooky plot back into public conversation, even as basic fact-checking says the pattern falls apart.
Commenters were not united. One camp responded with pure disbelief: "never heard of it" energy, eye-rolls, and a big "please keep the nonsense down" scolding from the thread police. Another group was more suspicious, saying modern TV reporters still sound so serious that you almost wonder if the panic is being nudged along on purpose. That clash — skeptics vs. "hang on, this feels weird" posters — gave the whole discussion deliciously chaotic vibes.
And then came the jokes. One commenter compared it to Three-Body Problem for conspiracy fans, which honestly may be the most accurate review possible. The mood was half debunking session, half internet ghost story, with people marveling that a decades-old TV prank could snowball into government attention. The hottest takeaway from the crowd: people are less shocked by the hoax than by how easily the web keeps rebooting it.
Key Points
- •The article says recent claims about suspicious deaths or disappearances of aerospace and nuclear scientists have spread into mainstream coverage, but do not withstand scrutiny.
- •It reports that the cited individuals worked in varied fields, included administrators and retirees, and did not represent a coherent secret scientific group.
- •Debunker Mick West is cited as saying expected mortality rates in a workforce of about 700,000 would predict many more deaths than the highlighted cases over 22 months.
- •The article traces the narrative to *Alternative 3*, a 1977 Anglia Television mockumentary that presented a fictional secret plan to build a Moon base and Mars colony for elites.
- •It states that *Alternative 3* was written by David Ambrose as a drama, supported by Anglia executive Sir John Woolf, and fronted by Tim Brinton to give it documentary credibility.