ALTERNATIVE 3 T-SHIRT

A Cult TV Drama Available in Black Cotton

“Life on Earth is doomed.”
That chilling line closed one of the most infamous broadcasts in British television history — the 1977 mockumentary Alternative 3. What began as a serious science report about climate change, brain drain, and secret government programs ended in a revelation so shocking, so convincing, that millions believed it was real. Was it satire? Or something they weren’t supposed to see?

Hellwood’s Alternative 3 T-Shirt captures the sinister charm of that lost broadcast — part sci-fi, part subversion, and entirely unsettling. Styled like a title card ripped from the original Anglia TV “Science Report,” it revives the retro typography and hard-edged Cold War aesthetic that gave Alternative 3 its eerie authenticity. Beneath the stark lettering, the doomsday warning lingers: “Life on Earth Is Doomed.”

“We’re not evacuating the planet — we’re selecting who gets to leave.” — Alternative 3 transmission script

The program’s premise — that the world’s elite planned to abandon a dying Earth for secret colonies on Mars — was meant as an April Fool’s joke, but it hit too close to home. Between the political secrecy of the 1970s, whispers of UFO cover-ups, and the shadow of nuclear annihilation, Alternative 3 blurred the boundary between fiction and fear. Decades later, it still stands as one of the greatest hoaxes — or revelations — ever aired.

This tee is a tribute to that perfect piece of paranoia — a love letter to an era when television could terrify, conspiracies could inspire, and truth was whatever they told you it wasn’t. Wear it as a badge of the believers, a nod to the skeptics, or simply because the apocalypse never goes out of style.

💬 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)

Q1: What was Alternative 3?
A1: Alternative 3 was a 1977 British TV mockumentary originally aired as part of Anglia Television’s Science Report. It presented a fictional investigation suggesting world governments were secretly evacuating scientists to colonies on Mars as Earth became uninhabitable.

Q2: Why did people believe it was real?
A2: The broadcast used genuine news-reporting techniques, authentic graphics, and real actors posing as experts — fooling viewers into thinking it was a genuine exposé. The eerie realism made it one of television’s most convincing hoaxes.

Q3: Why is Alternative 3 considered a cult classic?
A3: Its blend of science fiction, political paranoia, and faux-documentary style anticipated the tone of The X-Files and Dark Side of the Moon. It remains a touchstone for conspiracy theorists and cult-media fans worldwide.