The Story of The Creepiest UNSOLVED TV Hack in History
The Initial Incident
Our story begins on a pretty normal evening back in 1987. The people of Chicago were just hanging out, watching their favorite sports reporter, Dan Roan, on WGN TV channel 9. All was well, until suddenly the signal was disrupted and screens all across the city cut to black. Can you imagine the chaos that ensued? Engineers at WGN TV were scratching their heads, thinking their transmitters were failing. But oh no, it was much worse than that! Just a few seconds later, something truly wild happened.
What happened next is straight out of a sci-fi movie! It turns out that WGN TV’s broadcast signal had been hijacked in what is now famously known as the Max Headroom incident. Yes, you heard that right! Max Headroom, the quirky and futuristic computer-generated character, had somehow taken over the airwaves and was causing all sorts of mayhem. Can you imagine the shock and confusion of the viewers? It’s like something out of The Twilight Zone!
Well, the folks at WGN TV may have been quick on their feet, but unfortunately, the ‘Max Headroom incident’ wasn’t over yet! Just two hours later, another TV station fell victim to the same hijacking, and this time, there was no stopping it. It was like the ultimate prank, but with much higher stakes! What happened next is the stuff of legend and one of the most bizarre unsolved crimes in television history. So, my dear reader, let’s buckle up and find out why this incident has become such a wild and enduring mystery!
Let’s get into the nitty-gritty of what happened that fateful night! At precisely 9:14 pm, something strange happened on WGN TV. The sports reporter Dan Roan disappeared, and everything went black! But just 15 seconds later, things got even weirder. Suddenly, a hacker wearing a rubber mask and sunglasses appeared on the screen, and guess who he looked like? None other than the iconic artificial intelligence television character, Max Headroom! This new version of Max didn’t say a word, but that didn’t make him any less terrifying. Can you imagine the shock and horror of the viewers watching at home? It’s like something out of a sci-fi horror movie!
You can imagine the relief when the folks at WGN TV were finally able to bring Dan Roan back on the air after that harrowing ordeal. It took about 30 seconds, but their technicians were able to switch up the frequency and get things back on track. Dan did a great job of keeping his composure, but you could tell he was shaken up! He even quipped, “Well, if you’re wondering what’s happened, so am I! Actually, the computer that we have running our news from time to time took off and went wild.” I mean, I don’t blame him for being a little spooked, do you?
The Second Incident
The engineers over at WGN TV were convinced that the ‘Max Headroom incident’ was an inside job and started tearing apart the studio in search of the perpetrator. I mean, who wouldn’t want to catch the person responsible for such a wild prank? But here’s the kicker – they didn’t find anyone! Turns out the pirate broadcast was pre-recorded, and the signal was hacked by a third party. Somehow, this mysterious third party was able to intercept the WGN uplink and push their own signal through the TV station’s antenna on top of the John Hancock building. Talk about some seriously high-tech hacking skills! But, wait, there’s more! The TV pirates weren’t done yet. Two hours later, during a Doctor Who episode on PBS Channel 11, ‘Max’ made a comeback, and this time, he had lots to say!
During their second performance, there were no engineers on duty at all. Yep, they had all gone home for the day, leaving the transmission to play all the way through without any interruption! And when it was finally over, the signal was returned to Channel 11, like nothing had ever happened. But, of course, that wasn’t the case! Barely an hour later, the FCC and the FBI launched an investigation that would turn the entire television industry upside down. The hunt for ‘Max Headroom’ was officially on! Can you imagine the chaos and confusion that must have ensued? It’s like a wild goose chase, but with a rogue TV character as the culprit! This is one investigation that no one could have seen coming!
Who is the Real Max Headroom?
Ah, Max Headroom – a name that was on everyone’s lips in 1987! For most TV viewers back then, the face of Max Headroom was instantly recognizable. He was hailed as the world’s first-ever computer-generated TV host! How cool is that? Max Headroom first made his debut in the cyberpunk TV movie “Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future,” which was broadcast in 1985. And believe it or not, he even had his own show on the air at the time the hacks occurred! His show ran on Channel 4 in the UK and on ABC in the US from 1987 to 1988. But sadly, all good things must come to an end. The show was eventually cancelled when it was beaten in the ratings by the oh-so-popular “Miami Vice.” Ouch! That’s gotta hurt.
Max Headroom was not just any ordinary TV host – he was a bona fide cult sensation! After his show got cancelled, he went on to host a late-night talk show on Cinemax, and he even starred in a few TV specials. That’s right, folks – he was on his way to becoming a full-blown 80s icon!
Now, the story of Max Headroom takes place in a dystopian future. In this world, television networks have taken over the world, and even the government itself is controlled by these all-powerful network executives. These guys are so obsessed with keeping people glued to their screens that they even pass laws to prevent viewers from turning off their TVs! Can you believe that? And to make things even creepier, TV technology has advanced to the point where viewers’ physical movements and even their thoughts can be monitored through their television sets. Whoa, talk about an invasion of privacy!
Edison Carter is the only one brave enough to stand up to the all-powerful networks in the world of Max Headroom. He’s an investigative journalist who’s who speaks up about the fraud of big business and is not afraid to expose their unethical practices, and as you can imagine, this makes him pretty unpopular with the network bigwigs. But the thing is, Carter gets big ratings – people just can’t get enough of his hard-hitting reporting! So even though they don’t like him, the networks have to keep him around.
One day, though, everything changes. Carter gets into a gnarly motorcycle accident, and as he’s lying there injured, the last thing he sees before he blacks out is a sign that reads “Max Headroom 2.3 meters”.
Desperate to maintain ratings, in spite of the loss of their star reporter, the network hires a hacker to upload Carter’s consciousness to an AI and thats when Max Headroom is born.
Max Headroom wasn’t really a computer-generated character. He was actually played by an actor named Matt Frewer who wore some serious makeup and sat in front of a blue screen.
You know those newscasters that seem to be more concerned with their hair than the news they’re delivering? Well, Max Headroom was their satirical poster child. With his slicked-back hair and exaggerated features, Max was a larger-than-life parody of the newscasters who valued style over substance. And in the world of Max Headroom, that line between news and entertainment was practically non-existent. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
Max was conceived as a cyberpunk on mainstream tv. He was a voice to rail against the establishment, corporate conglomerates and the world.
What he described in 1987 turned out to be pretty close to what we’re living now.
Examining the Hacker’s Message
Let’s break down the video, the message the hacker was trying to convey and how the hacker managed to pull this off in the first place.
Max’s first words in the hijacked broadcast were “he’s a freaking nerd,” but it’s unclear what he meant by that since the beginning of the video was cut off. However, it’s known that Max’s unique voice was created by running the audio feed through an analog ring modulator making him sound eerily similar to a Dalek. Interestingly, it’s been speculated that Max chose to hijack a Doctor Who episode because fans of the show would be familiar with the Daleks, the iconic villains who are known for their catchphrase “EXTERMINATE!”
It’s possible that Max Headroom was a Doctor Who fan and intentionally used a ring modulator to create his voice, similar to how the Daleks’ voices were created. Back in 1987, analog effects pedals were commonly used to achieve this sound, and it’s likely that Max’s creators had access to one. Regardless of the inspiration for his voice, Max’s antics certainly left a lasting impression on viewers and the television industry.
Next, ‘Max’ states “I think I’m better than Chuck Swirsky. Freakin’ Liberal!”
‘Max’ is referring to the Chicago Bulls announcer who, at the time, was WGN Radio’s top sportscaster. The background behind him was a cheap piece of corrugated metal that one can get from any hardware store. It was mounted on some sort of spindle that was rotated by someone off camera.
In the next scene, Max can be seen holding what appears to be a vibrator, and he yells out the famous slogan for New Coke, “Catch the wave!” Max Headroom was the face of a major Coca-Cola advertising campaign, and he helped make this catchphrase an instant hit.
Thats right, so the guy who’s against huge corporations had a brand deal with a huge corporation, no hypocrisy here…
Max’s humming of the theme to the 1960s cartoon Clutch Cargo is followed by his statement “I still see the X.” This is a direct reference to the final episode of Clutch Cargo, in which the villain, named Spinner, hypnotizes the hero with an X-shaped object.
Next, Max exclaims “I just made a giant masterpiece for all the greatest world newspaper nerds!” which is another jab at the Chicago television industry. The call sign of the station WGN was an abbreviation for ‘World’s Greatest Newspaper’ a slogan taken from the Chicago Tribune and the tribune owned the tv station, So I imagine they too the hack personally.
How Did ‘Max’ Do it?
While many viewers found the prank amusing, the stations and the government were not pleased. Officials from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) vowed to hunt down the culprits and bring them to justice. Agents from the Chicago field office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also joined the investigation.
Law enforcement, the military, and communications experts were growing increasingly concerned that our signals were vulnerable. Imagine the chaos that could be caused if someone attempted something like this with military transmissions. At the time of the Max Headroom hack, broadcast signal intrusions were considered rare and were limited to small, low-power stations. Special knowledge and equipment costing hundreds of thousands of dollars or more were required. A city like Chicago did not believe that they were vulnerable to such attacks.
In order to hijack a television or radio station signal, you don’t even have to be in the studio. The way many stations work is that the signal is sent on low power from the studio to a big antenna. This is called the studio transmitter link, or STL. Then, the big antenna takes the STL, amplifies it, and broadcasts it.
“GOOD EVENING HBO FROM CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT $12.95 A MONTH ? NO WAY ! [SHOWTIME/MOVIE CHANNEL BEWARE!]”
On the night of April 27, 1986, during the broadcast of “The Falcon and the Snowman,” at approximately 32 minutes past midnight, the screen flickered into color bars with a message overlaid on top. Lasting for about four and a half minutes, the message was from Captain Midnight and was America’s first known broadcast signal intrusion. Although HBO executives did not publicly discuss the incident, it was later revealed to be a protest against the recently announced price hike. Within a few days, FCC investigators had identified and located the hacker.
Captain Midnight was actually a satellite technician named John McDougall who worked for a satellite uplink company in Ocala, Florida. At the end of his shift, McDougall flipped a dish in the direction of the HBO satellite and broadcasted his message, overpowering the network signal. He explained to investigators that he was frustrated with the network’s rising fees, which hurt his other business selling satellite TV equipment. After pleading guilty to charges of transmitting without a license, a violation of federal law, McDougall paid a $5,000 fine.
As of today, Mcdougall does not regret the incident and has stated that HBO was intentionally overcharging satellite customers to encourage them to switch to cable. It turns out that he was right, as that was indeed HBO’s strategy and it worked.
Conclusion
The Max Headroom incident continued for some time, but eventually the trail went cold. The FCC and FBI were not equipped to handle this type of investigation, and the agencies were not cooperating with each other.
Since 1987, there has been speculation about the identity of Max Headroom, and numerous theories have been proposed on various platforms, from local dial-up bulletin board systems to Reddit. However, every theory has been eventually debunked, and to this day, nobody has come forward to claim responsibility for the incident. While many believe that it was an inside job carried out by a disgruntled employee of WGN, the truth remains unknown. There was no clear message or motive behind the hack, and decades later, the perpetrator remains a mystery. It appears that the hack was carried out for the sheer thrill of it, and the notoriety that came with it. Why else 80’s hackers, do what they did? Sounds good enough for me.
