07.10.07
Captain Midnight Commands: Catch the Wave
Ah yes, I remember it well!
“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.
Earlier in the evening on the same day, during the Nine O’Clock News on Channel 9 (yes, a completely different channel [in fact, WGN, owned by The Tribune]) the Max Headroom Pirate also broke in — although it was for a much shorter time and there was no audio.
Needless to say, Dan Roan (the sports reporter) was a bit flustered.
And no, he [the pirate broadcaster(s)] was never caught.”
Further details can be read from the archived Dec. 20, 1987 issue of the e-zine, Tolmes News Service. (Man, I kinda miss e-zines. Don’t you?) There’s also a Wikipedia entry about the Max Headroom pirating incident, according to which there “has not been a broadcast intrusion incident of this kind in America since.” Darn. There’s also a write-up at the aptly-named Damn Interesting site.
Ginormous thanks to my ol’ fellow Chicago expat buddy Hell’s Donut House for bringing this to my attention.
Here’s a partial attempted transcript of the lo-fi, electronically-distorted audio from the person who posted this to YouTube:
“He’s a freaky 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…”
Also courtesy of YouTube, here is the CBS network news story about the incident, broadcast the following day (contrary to the added title on the clip, which is incorrect).
