Television viewers in the Chicago area were shocked and confused on 22 November 1987, when the Nine O'clock News was interrupted by a clip of a man wearing a Max Headroom mask. WGN-TV soon returned to regular programming, but PBS affiliate WTTW was hacked two hours later by the same Max Headroom caricature traipsing about in a apoplectic manner, getting spankings and talking about nerds. The worst part is that it stopped Dr. Who for about a minute and a half. It also scared the britches off of local reporters and viewers alike, as everyone was afraid of artificial intelligence at that time. For those of you who dont know who Max Headroom is, he is a fictional British computer-generated TV host from the TV film Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future, famous for his stuttering, stammering and Lego hair. Using all practical effects for makeup and backgrounds, Max Headroom was a veejay in his own music video program, back when those things were still relevant. He was also a rather odd spokesperson for New Coke, which tanked just like his TV series. Not the first broadcast interruption in the United States, Captain Midnights protest against HBO holds that title, the Max Headroom interruption prompted outrage among government officials concerned about signal jamming. Over the years, very few leads developed and concern over airwave hijacking dissipated. In the eyes of authorities, other than causing some small children nightmares, no harm was done by the broadcast. If the hacker is still out there, lets hope next time he interrupts Battletoads.
