Max Headroom 1987 Pirate TV Incident

[TheRealDutchOwner]

*Dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun*

I STOLE CBS!

*Duns some more*

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH MY FILES!

[unclefestus]

"I still see the X"

What's this mean?

[totalrandomcrap]

@unclefestus "I still see the X." is a reference to an episode of "Clutch Cargo" which he was singing the theme song to, called "Big X" about a comet which was on a collision course with the moon. The episode is on YouTube if interested.

[valcaron]

best Dr. Who episode ever

[rtbvhsrip]

This is actually the next thing i'll transmit on my pirate station ;)

[sirkaos]

wow, i remember when this happened,heh.

[PsychadelicBananas]

It's like V for Vendetta.

[Buddy1306]

@PsychadelicBananas Maybe if V was both high and retarded.

[Ecko50100]

This shit cray.

[deliciousmorton]

Occupy the airwaves.

[bloodswetandgears]

I remember this it was awesome!

[AcidIntellects]

fake....VHS 

[P4rrotBoy94]

@AcidIntellects Not fake, actually happened

[AcidIntellects]

@P4rrotBoy94 wow

[Camera2Studios]

this really creaped me out when i was a kid.

[baronvonsatanus]

Weird, creepy, beautiful.

His return is long overdue.

[dissaid]

Still the best hack ever...

[TheVegas007]

Troll before internet age

[Walsh2571]

HE SAID F*CK OFF JESUS! ZOMG!

[ninjamitsuki]

I can't decide whether this is funny or scary.

[BeastOfMetal1989]

Come and get me, bitch! Bitch slap me, bitch! OWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWOOOOOOOOO­OOOOOOWOOOOOOOOOOOOWOOOOOOOOOO­OOOOOOOOOO!

[BeastOfMetal1989]

0:10

[WantOxide]

DUKE NUKEM HACKED TELEVISION

[BeastOfMetal1989]

@WantOxide IDIOT! THAT IS MAX HEADROOM AND YOU WILL RESPECT HIM NOW AND FOREVER!

[jasrogg]

This is very scary.

[alphakid42]

The original Rick Roll!

[dronespace]

Absolutely terrifying :o|

[totalrandomcrap]

I always envision all the people seeing this on TV and not having a clue what the hell was happening!

[poopskinTheLiar]

I wonder who Not Max Headroom is and whether or not he's still out there, somewhere?

[ArtemusCain666]

I don't know. I can't figure out The Master's plan this go-around.

[thadea]

If the guy hacked the tv station...he better have thought about this on the spot. If he took longer than 1hr to think this up, its absolutely horrible. If its almost on a dime, then its decent

[ByzaniteTV]

i reckon this guy was trying to tell everyone something, but seems to wizzed up to think straight.

[Scifimaster92]

@ByzaniteTV My thought exactly. Just from the sound of his voice, it almost sounds like the hacker was high on some sort of drug (possibly marijuana) at the time he decided to transmit his message.

[ByzaniteTV]

im tired of seeing people say this guy is trolling. that may be what you think it is due to trolling being a lost art, but seriously.. theres theories that suggest this may have been a personal attack on WGN as his signal got overridden on that channel and then he found the closest channel to intrude next. stuff he says may not make sense, but its all linked to something. "He's Freakin' Liberal" "I've just created a masterpiece" "They're coming to get me".

[MrTrey93]

Excellent troll sir, bravo

[Lapish54]

He moron

[McCMacBook]

"Although the vocoding type interference is still there it should be a lot easier to understand what is being said in this version."

This doesn't help the fact that what s/he's saying/doing makes absolutely zero sense.

[KRAZE87GMODDER]

At the end "...he died instantly"

Yeah.. I think I know what it was that killed him....

[themisfitsmessiah]

I betcha a dollar to donuts this guy is a YouTuber today.

[bne9988]

fake

[SpyWhoLovedHimself]

@bne9988

NOT fake, google it

[Trayusstudent1]

ironic that he sounds a bit like a demented new series Cyberman XD

[Scifimaster92]

@Trayusstudent1 Best comment ever!

[StickmanStudiosUK]

Epic win, I fell over from laughing too hard near the end. I don't get why people find this creepy, it's the funniest darn thing I've seen in ages XD

[zoo1619]

@StickmanStudiosUK The fact that it just suddenly appears, the distorted audio, and the disturbing background. If you were there when this happened you'd probably turn the TV off, or be too paralyzed with fear to.

[thrashdeathmetal456]

@zoo1619 fuck i wouldnt wacth tv for a year. that was the most disturbing piece of tv histroy

[Benzinhead]

i would shit my pants seeing this

[OzzyMandez]

...That was kinda creepy.

[LimelightPicturesLtd]

Maybe this was Fred Fuchs

[clivusx2]

The fly swatter is the best...AHAHAHAHA Give it to me bitch!!!!

[bexcpfc]

The guy behind this is supposedly the same who made the Youtube phenomena Shaye Saint John. He is no longer with us RIP.

[JoeRedfield1046]

@bexcpfc Just plain conversation, here. I saw some of this Shaye Saint John videos. Did not get any of it. Is all blabbering and nonsense my point of view. Which made me see the resemblance between characters because the original Max Headroom video, to me, was also moronic with no actual sense or important message. Even though, this one video is kind of scary just because of that.

[bexcpfc]

@JoeRedfield1046 Calling it 'moronic' is perhaps a little naive and

This person was intelligent and conveyed a message of brutal free liberty over corporatism. This all was a deliberate prank to unsettle people. For the Shaye Videos... the actor wanted to be eccentric and weird for effect.

[JoeRedfield1046]

@bexcpfc I might had not understand it's purpose at that time. But I can see your point. Thanks for explaining.

[romefox]

Anon's of the 80's!

[absencekinesis]

Totally classic!

It's just too bad that they couldn't have come up with a smarter prank. Just the fact that they were able to do this really speaks to their dedication and piracy skills.

[shufx]

Nice Job! Seems like a nice guy?

[omarsattack]

This man hacked PSN

[RegginGib001]

@omarsattack Agreed

[bime33]

@omarsattack no, his son did

[tecnobeatz43]

Am I the only one who thinks this is disturbing?

[grungedog3]

@tecnobeatz43 it's more than disturbing, it's CREEPY AS FUCK ;A;

[MrJacMac1986]

Think this guy might be Hospitalbedpan 1

[MM1E]

I stole CBS!

[VikutaaChyaaruzu]

@MM1E

Obviously, the subtitles are wrong. The intruder says "I Still See the 'X'" in reference to the syndicated animated series "Clutch Cargo" (he hums the show's theme song before the remark).

[VikutaaChyaaruzu]

@MM1E

Oh, wait. This one doesn't have subs. But I've seen other versions posted with inaccurate subs.

[MrWhiteskull]

I remember reading about this in a Hunter S. Thompson book - Generation Swine as I recall

[punkoid2]

it was a kid!!! look at teh propartions o f his head, and teh rest o him its a sick kid

[fzappa007]

How did I get here???

[TheRightNut]

He interrupted an episode of Doctor Who which is a crime against humanity.

[BeastOfMetal1989]

@TheRightNut oshutupu

[TheTaoJoannes]

This guy is right up there with DB Cooper. The Real {tm} Great American Heroes.

[Einvestigator96]

Why did he talk like that?

[fuckingkiddinme]

Absolutely bizarre

[Rexco33]

Good thing I wasn't watching PBS or WTTV when I was the tender age of 3

[WereWolfDan1991]

SICKO!!!

[store275]

I don't know but that dude had a nice ass !!

[GMSamuelRhine]

that is fucking amazing. i had a design once for a microwave to hijack a stations tranmitter

[redsawdom]

Someone was really fucking high

[Spork888]

motherofgod.jpg

THIS MY SHOULD JOIN ANONYMOUS!!!

[xxx804xxx]

I stole some DX

[JgHaverty]

so how many of you clowns went to the website? :D

[loxinder]

sounds like conan obrien

[echodelta9]

Dr WHO was my sunday nite fave but our cable co had to cut off microwave feed when 11 went off air because the microwave feed carried ch2 after the hours of 11,this set up often screwed up and Dr WHO always got hit , being late sunday nite. so when this event happened I thought here we go again. only by the time the moon came out did I realize what was happening. I was also watching HBO but went to bed half hour before capt midnight hit.

[seagbb]

heh 23 dislikes. spooky

[daleksfearthewhovian]

@seagbb how

[daleksfearthewhovian]

@seagbb how?

[poorlymadeproduction]

I think i would have nighmares for months if i where watching tv and this randomly came on...

[thepretender10000]

that's really fucking awesome :D

[hilarioph]

I think when they saw the Max headroom

incident they called the police right?

[specterkev]

i love thigns like this.

[Lufttygger306]

"I just made a giant masterpiece for all the greatest world newspaper nerds!"

So fucking funny, i can't stop laughing!

[bubblesman01]

trololololol

[ramesses1998]

Monkey

[choobr549]

anyone catch the CLUTCH CARGO theme?

[Jellybeaner1991]

lol what is scary is that it was made here... in Chicago lol.

[38380finster]

These guys and Captain Midnight Rule! Chalk another one up for civil disobedience!

Take that corporate media! And I want in on the next one too.

[natedash11]

I think they were both guys so that was disturbing

[KRAZE87GMODDER]

The ending makes me want to wash my eyes with bleach. .____.

[MrJacMac1986]

At least he didnt sing "Merry Christmas Santa Clause" like Max Headroom did

[Csp499]

This is the internet before the internet.

[MVillani1985]

@Csp499 They had the internet before the 90s, it was just mostly a college thing.

[MVillani1985]

@Csp499 The internet was invented in 1968 this is from 1987. :P

[hidenorivideo]

on reddit:

/r/IAmA/comments/eeb6e/i_belie­ve_i_know_who_was_behind_the_m­ax_headroom/

[ALS2001]

Which Episode of Doctor Who was this?

[Muffysb]

@ALS2001 "The Horror of Fang Rock."

[merrickv2028]

this was a pilot, it was staged. this came out before the show

[SteelCity1981]

This thing is more freakier than the saw puppet.

[undershot1]

OH GOD HE DIED INSTANTLY!

[doctorwhoobawooba]

My god this is disturbing O_O, scarred for life now.

Also the fake Max sounds like a cyberman...

Also I reckon this guy is somewhere here on youtube.

[doctorwhoobawooba]

My god this is disturbing O_O, scarred for life now.

Also the fake Max sounds like a cyberman...

[SuperWeaves]

why would someone hate WGN?

[Nusoundsnow]

lol, word.....lool

[emmthreejonny]

"He's a freaking nerd, tehehehe besides I think I'm better than Chuck Swirsky...freaking liberal."

[Debunka]

Kill it with fire!

[ramesses1998]

i just shit my pants o god i never been so scared

[eduds6]

He ws high on the broadcast,what a shame!

[waffleriddle]

The most annoying Thing was he inturupted doctor who

[AngryStickPerson]

First troll ever. UMAD WGN!?

[MrJacMac1986]

Didnt Max Headroom played by Matt Frewer always interrupt a tv show on his series?

[RecordGuy3434]

wow. who would hack into a major television network to do that??

[ToiletBomberAlpha]

@RecordGuy3434 - Oh, don't be naive.

[LOLDISNEYLAND]

And this is the reasoning behind democracy.

[axxerr]

If Id see this on tv Id fuckin jump out of the window while slicing my throat in the air with the kitchen knife.

[CrazedWolfen]

You could never get away with this stuff these days!

[mitdylan]

Well, if you're wondering what just happened...so am I.

[TheGlowballer]

When he says "CATCH THE WAVE" It always think it sound like the skittle logo, "TASTE THE RAINBOW!"

Anyway, fucking trippy. Never want to see this guy, which is most likely the weirdest person ever to walk the planet earth, again.

[McGuinty1]

The icing on the cake is what The Doctor is saying just as the original signal cuts back in. Shit is epic.

[fligglegiggleman]

@McGuinty1 what is that?

[izlude2]

what would have been better is if they aired youtube poop

[ThePOKOkitty]

XDDD"BEND OVER BITCH!"

[MelanieLouM]

The person(s) involved in this were never caught. ^_^

[SuperWeaves]

God Bless this Man!

[bennmxer]

gettin high and taking over television

[Arayziel]

Kinda sounds like metallic diarrhea at some parts

[brenchtoast44]

This man invented trolling

[meezocool]

@brenchtoast44 No that was the Catholic Church 2000 years ago..

[SuperWeaves]

@brenchtoast44 Nov 22, 1987 on WTTW... Trolling was invented!

[mouse264]

Durf.

That's something. Creepy, huh. Imagine: He's probably still alive somewhere. He could be your dad. He could be MY dad. >:D

[blazejames47]

exactly wtf was that?

[psxdude90]

that dude is a legend

[LTDANMAN44]

@GoblinXXX back in 1987 computers were just coming around to usefullness. these stations outputs were running on vaccuum tubes, something available to everyone. humans did all work adjusting power output, signal frequency, ect. it would have been next to impossible to find out who did this back then. they didn't have the ability or means to locate the source of transmission right away. he would have had to transmit for hours before they could set up singal triangulation project.

[5star555555555]

clutch cargo

[TheBackseatJesus]

David Lynch totally did this

[ROBLOXER106]

YOUR LOVE IS FAAAAAAADING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MrJacMac1986]

@ROBLOXER106 Is that from a 60's Rock song?

[SharinganOfDoom]

The fact that he DIDN'T try to make any meaningful statement is exactly what makes what he did so awesome/hilarious. It's the sheer vagueness of what he did that makes it so freakin creepy and awesome.

[SirSmokeal0t]

You know what the most creepy part is? That no one here asks or talks about the girl.

I need to know who she is, QUICKLY! HER LOVE IS FADING

[GoblinXXX]

@DictatorRoB Christ, almost ANYTHING- A political message, a racist diatribe, a religious or philosophical rant, a terrorist demand, a marriage proposal to his goddamn girlfriend... Anything other than "woohoo, look at me, I'm a douchebag!" Taggers show more imagination with graffiti than this dumbass did.

[ohwhatacereal]

@GoblinXXX then why dont u take over the radio waves/television waves

then why dont u leave a legacy for urself while remaining anonymous at the same time

then why dont u do my laundry

[GoblinXXX]

@ohwhatacereal Wow. His "legacy" is a minute and a half YouTube video. Exactly the same legacy as anyone who's posted a video of their kitten.

I guess this really does prove that you can be a philosopher and not know how to program a VCR, and a technical genius and still be a fucking idiot.

[ohwhatacereal]

@GoblinXXX ok that last paragraph made exactly no sense

and his legacy is more than u will ever reach

bitch

[wrecktem]

@GoblinXXX

It was far more interesting than Dr. Who, so in my book it deserves at least some measure of respect for getting a crap show off the air.

[dudelikesWoW]

@wrecktem Dr. Who=the shit. Freak'n liberal.

[GoblinXXX]

@DictatorRoB At last someone gets my point. This was like breaking into Fort Knox so you could take a piss on a pile of gold bricks and run away. A whole hell of a lot of trouble for nothing.

[prometheusmegalith]

hahahaha when and where did this happen and did they catch who did it?

[CapitalistOverlord]

@prometheusmegalith 1987 and no. The perpetrators are still at large today.

[LTDANMAN44]

@prometheusmegalith chicago, 1987, and no they never found out who did it

[CainTheMain]

Stuff like this make life worth living. We take you random person.

[TheVimtoPirate]

am I the only on that's incredibly scared :|

[banksyknight]

Don't know if anyone agrees with me, but I'm pretty sure the background is a sheet of riveted metal being twirled back and forth. Look at the right of the screen and you can see behind it.

Trippy effect though.

[McGuinty1]

@banksyknight Yeah, it's a sheet of corrugated galvanized steel for sure. Hilarious.

[forsakenfoe]

@banksyknight - idk about it being twirled bc the top section was tristing and bending as if they used a spec effect for a background

[Kingofeurope]

Did he shoot the guy or something?

[Viscoscist]

LSD trip much?

[DJTripleThreat78]

In the Max Headroom World this is called "Zipping" a TV Network.

[HBKanedge818]

This needs to happen more offen. Funny stuff.

[ifuseekamy]

Whoever done this was pretty bright. If he would have bragged, he definitely would have been caught.

[LelouchOfBritannia]

I can't believe they still haven't found me.

[mjgc8755]

Thank God he gave back CBS.

[ifuseekamy]

@mjgc8755 He says "I still see the X" not "I stole CBS"

[Rep0007]

*SALUTES* These people were geniuses. God how I wish they would do this right in the prime of FOX NEWS propaganda broadcasts! Use pencils to sodomize some action figures of Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, etc. etc. OH YEAH! WE NEED VIDEO PIRATES TO JAM BIG BROTHER!!

[MrJoeCortina]

Is this a Max Headroom imposter?