One Late Night in November 1987, Two Chicago Television Stations had Their Broadcast Signal Hijacked in a Legendary Act of Video Piracy. The First Incident was just a Brief Intrusion without Audio during the Sports Segment on WGN’s 9:00 pm Nightly News. The Second more Significant of the Hacks occurred 2 Hours Later on a Channel 11 WTTW (an PBS Affiliate) Broadcast of the British Science Fiction Cult Classic Doctor Who. The Episode was titled “Horror of Fang Rock” was interrupted by a Man wearing a Max Heardroom Mask, and this time there was Actual Audio.
The Manic Acting Individual who Initially a calls out “All the Greatest World Newspaper Nerds which was a Reference to WGN’s Call Letters, which stand for “World’s Greatest Newspaper. The Masked Individual then proceeded to Babble a good bit of incoherent Gibberish, Slammed the Chicago Tribune (and its Subsidiaries one of them being WGN), and Insulted WGN Sports Anchor Chuck Swirski. The Individual also Referenced Max Headroom’s Endorsement of Coca-Cola and The Early 1960’s Children’s TV Cartoon Series Clutch Cargo. At the End of the Hijacking the Masked Individual Drops His Pants, and is/was Spanked by an Unknown Woman Wielding a Fly Swatter. The Entire Incident Lasted 90 Seconds from Beginning to End before the Doctor Who Program was Returned to Normal.
For those who may Not Be Old Enough to Remember Max Headroom is/was a Fictional Artificial (AI) Intelligence Character, Known for His Wit and Incessant Stuttering, Distorted, Electronically Sampled Voice, and was dubbed “The First Computer Generated Television Personality. In Reality the Alleged Computer Generated Appearance was achieved utilizing Prosthetic Make-Up and Hand-Drawn Backgrounds. Max Headroom is most remembered for being the Spokes Person for the Soft Drink Company Coca-Cola. In Spite of the FCC launching a Massive Investigation The People Responsible for the Max Headroom Incident have Remained Free and at Large for over 30 Years.
Hypothesis and Suspected Suspects:
- One of the Alleged Possible Suspects was/is a Musician and Artist Eric Fournier. Fournier had a Youtube Series featuring a Main Character Named Shaye Saint John that had a very Similar Aesthetic to the Max Headroom Video. Unfortunately this was in the Early Days of Youtube so Sad to Say Youtube took the Channel down and Deleted all of Fournier’s Content. Now this really isn’t a whole hell of a lot to go on as it seems like Grabbing at Straws to Me. What DOES seem much more Probable is the Following Scenario also involving Fournier as the Prime Suspect. Apparently at the Time of the Incident Fournier was playing in a Punk Band called The Blood Farmers and was looking for ways to Promote the Band and Expand Exposure of the Band’s Music Videos.
The Story goes that right before Hijacking the Broadcast to Play His Bands Videos Fournier became Insanely Paranoid out of the Fear of Being Caught, and The Consequences that would come with it. So in a Blind Panic Fournier sticking to the Motto “The Show Must Go On” Decided to Improvise the Performance instead of using His Band’s Videos. Years Later a Fellow Band Member of Fournier’s from The Blood Farmers went on the Record stating The Band new Nothing about the Incident, Fournier never said anything about it, and that the Blood Farmers didn’t even have any Music Videos Recored at the Time. In the End if Fournier was behind or Involved in the Max Headroom Incident He took the Secret to the Grave as Fournier died in 2010.
- Another Hypothesis is the Most Obvious of Them All which is the Max Headroom Incident was perpetrated by a Broadcasting Professional thus making it an Inside Job. Perhaps it was a Disgruntled Employee or a Pissed Off Ex-Employee, or Someone with some sort of Grudge. The Basis for this Hypothesis is The Masked Individual Specifically talked shit about Channel 11- WTTW , WGN’s Call Letters, The Chicago Tribune, and Chuck Sworski would be a Key Factor in the Motivation of the People behind the Incident. No Evidence of this has ever been Found or Documented to Prove this Hypothesis in any way Whatsoever.
The Most Likely of all of the Hypothesis is one posed by a Reddit user Named B-Pole who claimed to know who was behind the Incident. B-Pole went on to tell the Story of Two Brothers He knew while living in Chicago who were Both Heavily into the Phreaking Scene, Radio, and Television Technology in the 1980’s and 1990’s. The Brothers who B-Pole referred to simply as J and K to protect the Brother’s True Identity lived together in an Apartment alone with K’s Girlfriend M. The Apparent was Filled to the Gills with Heavy Duty AV Equipment We’re talk Hoarder Level Here, and that No One knew what all the Equipment was Actually For.
B-Pole went on to write that He believes J who is Extremely Autistic was the Unknown Individual wearing the Infamous Max Headroom Mask who perpetrated the Broadcast Signal Hijacking along with K on Camera, and K’s Girlfriend Who did the Spanking with the Fly Swatter. B-Pole bases His Assumption on several of J’s Personal Characteristics such as His Sense of Humor which was damn Near Identical to that of the Max Headroom Character being Deviant and Sexual in Nature. Also B-Pole noted the Distinct Speech Pattern shared by Both J and the Masked Individual in that They both almost Frantically jumped from one Topic to the Other with No Continuity, and that Both J and the Max Headroom Individual reverted to saying “Ooooooohhh” when thinking of Something to Say. In addition B-Pole noted the Cartoon Show Clutch Cargo theme song that the Max Headroom Individual Hums/”Sings” was a Popular 1960’s TV Show during the Same time J was growing up so He’d have been Familiar with it.
The Most Condemning Piece of Evidence supporting B-Pole’s Claim was the Tale He told where He attended a Party at the Brothers Apartment. While at the Party B-Pole heard that J was going to do Something Big that Weekend, and B-Pole felt compelled to ask what this Big Thing was. All K would say is that B-Pole should watch Channel 11 Later that Night under the guise of an Off Handed Suggestion. Another Different Reddit User Posted saying They grew up in Chicago, was big in the Phreak Scene, and actually knew J and K since They all of Them moved in the Same Social Circles. Most Importantly the Second Reddit User collaborated a good deal of the Details B-Pole had talked about.
In a Strangely Odd Twist B-Pole posted again on the Subject of the Max Headroom Pirating Incident in 2015, but this Time He had completely Changed His Original Story. B-Pole now argued that in 1987 the Professional Equipment needed to pull off such a Pirating Stunt by an Amateur simply did Not Exist. Based on this B-Pole claims the Brother’s J and K were completely Innocent and couldn’t possible have been Responsible. The only Person B-Pole Concluded that whoever it was with the Knowledge and Equipment to pull of such a Pirating Incident Could only have been an Broadcasting Industry Professional.
In the End We more than Likely will Never Know Who Indeed was Behind the Max Headroom Pirating Incident, and Those Guilty will Never be Held Accountable. Below You will find the Original Video of the Max Headroom Incident as it was Seen by Viewers at the Time that it Occurred. Enjoy.
Thanks for Watching,
Brought to You By Les Sober
Brought to You By Les Sober.