Chicago Max Headroom piracy incident

[dan]

I found this through the Snopes message board. Two comments: one, I think it's cool that this guy was never found, and two, this creeps me out for some reason. I couldn't imagine seeing this live! Anyway, here's the story....

During a broadcast of the Dr. Who episode "Horror of Fang Rock" on WTTW Chicago Channel 11, on Sunday November 22nd, 1987, at around 11:15pm, a Video "Pirate" wearing a Max Headroom mask broke into the signal and transmitted one of the weirdest, unauthorized things ever to hit the Chicago airwaves. The man was never caught.

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Since it's such crappy quality, here's a (partial) transcript, too:

"He's a freaking nerd!"

"This guy's better than Chuck Swirsky." [another WGN sportscaster at the time]

"Oh Jesus!"

"Catch the wave..." [reference to a Coke commercial at the time of which Max Headroom was a spokesperson]

"Your love is fading..."

"I stole CBS."

"Oh, I just made a giant masterpiece printed all over the greatest world newspaper nerds." [??]

"My brother [mother?] is wearing the other one."

"It's dirty..."

"They're coming to get me..."

[Insein]

Thats cool as hell. Some one stole CBS.

[dan]

I know, right? How cool would that be? I'm shocked, though, that with the Internet and all, this guy never came out and revealed himself.

[KitchenKitten99]

Thats cool as hell. Some one stole CBS.

well, it is the Communist Broadcasting Station...

[Insein]

would have been cooler if he hijacked it during the evening news or something.

[dan]

Well, just a little clarification, WTTW was a PBS station. It sounds like he's saying CBS, but it was PBS. That said, there was an incident earlier in the evening, too....

The first occurrence of the signal hijack occurred during WGN-TV's 9:00 News. During Bears Highlights in the Sports report the signal was interrupted by a video of a person wearing a Max Headroom mask in front of a swaying sheet of corrugated metal. There was no audio. The hijack was stopped after only 20 seconds when WGN switched transmission from the Sears Tower to the John Hancock Center. The incident left sports reporter Dan Roan flustered.

I guess this was a failed first attempt or something.