You think American reality TV can be mean? The Brits just had a series that whittled ten contestants down to three who were told they were becoming Britain's first space tourists.

The winning would-be astronauts were whisked to "Russia" for training before blasting off into space. In reality, they never left England. Ipswich stood in for the cosmonaut training camp. Their "space ship" actually sat in a Suffolk warehouse.

One of the red-faced almost-nauts said, "We're not astronauts. We're just asses."

The sole female member of the crew said she was "heartbroken." She'd already practiced her re-entry speech. "I was going to say it had been my childhood dream." Dream canceled.

This makes Joe Schmo look like Romper Room.

And you know what the worst part is? If it had been on in the U.S., I'd probably have been watching it and making fun of them.