Scanner Played By: Mike Varty

Scanner is heavily into Science Fiction and comics, although he takes his interest seriously and doesn't believe in watching trashy B-movies as his house-mate Jimmy does. Halfway through a degree in physics, Scanner has the real brains of the house, although you'd never guess it to talk to him. He's a dreamer, constantly speculating about life on other planets and the possibility of one day meeting aliens from outer space.

The origin of his unusual name is shrouded in mystery, he refuses to admit where it came from and the other students are not even sure if it's just a nickname or it's really what his parents called him. Some people say he got it from a David Cronenberg film, "Scanners", but he won't confirm or deny it.

Scanner, like his house-mate Helen, has an unusual condition that affects him in times of stress. Whenever he feels a situation is escaping from his control his brain shuts down and he falls asleep, usually experiencing vivid, semi-lucid dreams. One dream-character in particular, the Green Man, seems to recur a lot in Scanner's mind when he is asleep, often giving Scanner useful advice.  Another character in Scanner's dreams, who appears less often, is the Psychiatrist; the voice of reason when the dreams get out of hand.  Doctors have studied Scanner's strange sleeping disorder and it is generally agreed that it's merely an odd method of coping with stress.

In the course of the film, Scanner gets to realise his lifelong dream of encountering life from another planet - but it is far stranger, and much more dangerous, than he could ever have guessed.