
The Max Headroom TV Hack - blondeoracle
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-freakiest-tv-hack-of-the-1980s-max-headroom/
======
bpoag
Hi there.

I'm the guy who did the AMA.

I don't think the guy who interviewed me from Atlas Obscura disclosed that he
was from Atlas Obscura.. I thought he was some kid doing a high school paper
or something. :) Meh. Oh well.

Anyway, he didn't get some of his terminology correct. I've directed him to
how he can clean it up, however.

..."Churnalism" is spot-on.

~~~
suprjami
Surely the statute of limitations on this has passed now and we can know who
these legends really were? Perhaps encourage them to seek legal advice about
revealing themselves.

~~~
TheCapn
I was going to reply indicating that criminal law has no Statute of
Limitations but that seems to be a Canadian thing. In the US it has to be
considered a "Heinous crime". I'm certain under modern light of what hacking
has become they'd likely consider this relatively innocent event heinous by
modern standards.

------
mrspeaker
That's great - and interesting that someone would react with "I got so upset
that I wanted to bust the TV set" about it!

As this is an article about hacks, then I'll also point out that Max Headroom
played the role of a "computer-generated television journalist", but there was
nothing computer-generated about him at all... it was all prosthetics and
makeup: even the "computer graphics" in the background were hand-drawn!

~~~
jsingleton
It was the same for the original TV series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the
Galaxy. They got enquiries about what computer system they used to make the
graphics for the guide. They were all hand drawn.

Special effects were done manually until quite recently. Independence Day was
probably the last big budget film to use models. Now it's all computer
generated.

~~~
aaronbrethorst

        Independence Day was probably the last
        big budget film to use models. Now it's
        all computer generated.
    

[http://sploid.gizmodo.com/mad-max-fury-road-without-the-
spec...](http://sploid.gizmodo.com/mad-max-fury-road-without-the-special-
effects-is-still-1709358729)

------
at-fates-hands
There were quit a few articles on the 25th Anniversary back in 2012, but this
article by Motherboard went into a lot more technical detail about how this
was probably pulled off:

[http://motherboard.vice.com/read/headroom-
hacker](http://motherboard.vice.com/read/headroom-hacker)

It also details other TV intrusions as well.

~~~
acqq
The Vice article appears to be the better source than the current link.

~~~
ablation
Indeed, the current link seems to just be Atlas Obscura engaging in some
churnalism and regurgitating existing articles on the subject. Apropos of not
much, the account that posted the current link a) is new, and b) has posted
nothing but Atlas Obscura links thus far.

I also find it a bit strange that Atlas Obscura is even posting this, being
that its modus operandi is stated as being "the definitive guide to the
world's wondrous and curious places." Signal intrusion or the 80s aren't much
of a "place" no matter how curious they are.

~~~
acqq
I guess the pool of the "curious places" seems not big enough for their
appetite.

------
diego
_" But 28 short years ago, the term [hacker] hardly existed–that is, until the
Max Headroom Incident."_

That's blatantly incorrect. For example, the movie War Games (pretty
mainstream, with Matthew Broderick) is from 1983.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WarGames](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WarGames)

~~~
bpoag
This.

You are correct. Like I said -- There's some issues with accuracy in this
guy's article, unfortunately.

By 1987, people were well aware of what hackers were. Not so much the details,
but, the basic concept at least, was well known.

I'd say the term entered the public vocabulary by about 1982, with War Games.

Truth be told, hacking even garnered some of its own vocabulary from War
Games. That's precisely where the "war"\- prefix of different discplines comes
from, first wardialing, then wardriving. I'm sure there will be more. I'd love
to see warfaxing catch on..that's an untapped goldmine of fun. :) I'm trying
to think of what such programs were called (programs that searched a given
block of lines within a given prefix for any modems set to auto-answer) before
War Games. "Hunters", I think.

Cheeseball plot aside, as a movie, War Games is, in retrospect a surprisingly
accurate portrayl of hacking at the time. The discovery process was slow,
laborious, time-consuming, and produced craploads of paper. It was also done
by the marginally social, quietly, in relative isolation from others, not as a
group, or as the public team sport it is now.

The gear Broderick's character was using, even -- By 1982, a box like a toggle
driven IMSAI 8080 with an 8" floppy drive and a monochrome monitor would have
essentially been throw-away, garbage-quality gear.

High-quality systems are superfluous these days, but, for the longest time,
most hacking, including back then, was done predominantly on discarded, semi-
obsolete, well-worn gear, just as depicted in the film.

~~~
kazinator
"Are you a _hacker_ , Kaz? Tsk tsk!" \-- Grade 9 Computer teacher, 1985.

That was because I had used the word in the _positive_ sense: hobbyist,
tinkerer.

The hacker-versus-cracker quibble was already festering.

------
rpcope1
You know if this thing were an everyday occurrence (not that I even watch TV)
it would probably be annoying, but the nature of the Max Headroom broadcast
intrusion was more comical than anything, and it's almost a shame that no one
has done anything like it since. So long as the broadcast intrusion isn't
violent, overly crude, or exceedingly long/disruptive I think it would really
be interesting to witness something like this again (it's kind of amusing to
think you might even make a sport of it, in very limited doses). Most of the
time I understand why the FCC cracks down so hard on misuse of RF, but it's
hard not to have a soft spot for this sort of gag.

~~~
drzaiusapelord
>and it's almost a shame that no one has done anything like it since.

Well, technically this happens all the time with website hacks and what not.
The problem is that the "culture" of hacking is a lot like taggers. Its an
attempt to promote your group or brand. Its childish bragging.

While the Headroom hack was childish as well, it was also completely absurdist
and didn't promote anything. I think its rare to see something like this where
the hackers aren't pushing some agenda or self-promoting. From an aesthetic
perspective it was pretty impressive. It really sells the idea of being creepy
and mysterious.

As a nerdy Chicago tween at that time, this stuff was legendary. These guys
became heroes on all the local BBS's and in the local geekdom. Man, I miss
those days.

~~~
soylentcola
I think another big part of the "appeal" or notability comes from the fact
that there were so few gatekeepers for information on par with TV and radio
stations.

Nowadays you could probably get some attention, both positive and negative,
from defacing the website of a huge company. Maybe if you got "Facebook" to
show up as "Fuckbook" for thousands of users for 10-15 minutes or something.
Otherwise, there are so many websites and we are so accustomed to having
access to a sort of mass communication that the rarity and impact is
diminished.

I remember being a kid in the 80's and a teen in the 90's and even then, I was
blown away when I learned what public access TV was. The idea that you could
actually get _on TV!!_ as a normal person and run a show seemed insane. TV was
that thing that talked _at_ you. There were 13 channels for us frugal or less
well-off families and there were maybe 50 or 60 for our luckier friends. Other
than that, it was something out of reach.

We played with camcorders and tape decks, playing at being radio DJs or TV
personalities but the idea of something like a Shoutcast station in the late
90's or a Youtube channel in the 2000's would have fried my tiny brain as a
hyperactive, creative little kid.

So not only was someone subverting the technical systems of a big company but
they were doing it to _TV_. At least to me, that was one of those larger than
life things that took place elsewhere and the rest of us just watched. Co-
opting a TV broadcast was like getting the policeman's mythical "master key"
or sneaking into the White House.

------
billybofh
I think my favourite (rather savage) line from the series was in the Xmas
special which went along the lines of "Whether you're busy hanging decorations
in London, or busy being decorated for a hanging in the Philippines - it's
Christmas!".

------
RaSoJo
I love how enamored the HN audience is with Max Headroom. This is the 9th
submission in the past 5 years:
[https://hn.algolia.com/?query=max%20headroom&sort=byDate&pre...](https://hn.algolia.com/?query=max%20headroom&sort=byDate&prefix&page=0&dateRange=all&type=story)

The submission rate is almost exponential. Also goes to show how easy it is to
churn out interesting articles by digging into the HN archives and picking up
forgotten stories.

~~~
scott_s
I think "enamored" is a strange word to use here. I would classify nine
submissions in five years to HN as barely a passing interest.

~~~
nathancahill
Agreed. This is what "enamored" looks like:
[https://hn.algolia.com/?query=elon%20musk&sort=byDate&prefix...](https://hn.algolia.com/?query=elon%20musk&sort=byDate&prefix=false&page=0&dateRange=all&type=story)

~~~
DanWaterworth
Or:
[https://hn.algolia.com/?query=framework&sort=byDate&prefix=f...](https://hn.algolia.com/?query=framework&sort=byDate&prefix=false&page=0&dateRange=all&type=story)

------
chiph
> The audiences subjected to the Max Headroom intrusion were deeply perturbed
> by what they saw.

Once was amusing and intriguing. If it happened all the time, I'd get annoyed.
Especially if they continued to interrupt Dr. Who.

~~~
mindcrime
Exactly. Most TV you can interrupt to your hearts content for all I care...
but DO. NOT. FUCK. WITH. DOCTOR. WHO!!!

------
pjmorris
I remember watching him, but my favorite memory was when my project lead
#defined a table size as 'MAX_HEADROOM'.

------
jhallenworld
Around the same time this happened:

[http://www.macdougallelect.com/bio.html](http://www.macdougallelect.com/bio.html)

I remember because I think he want to WPI.

Edit: more here:
[http://www.skepticfiles.org/cowtext/100/captmidn.htm](http://www.skepticfiles.org/cowtext/100/captmidn.htm)

------
chuinard
Someone on reddit who claims to have known who was behind it -
[https://www.reddit.com/comments/eeb6e/i_believe_i_know_who_w...](https://www.reddit.com/comments/eeb6e/i_believe_i_know_who_was_behind_the_max_headroom/)

~~~
ctdonath
He's on this here thread now.

~~~
bpoag
Hi. :)

------
dang
Previous discussions:
[https://hn.algolia.com/?query=max%20headroom&sort=byPopulari...](https://hn.algolia.com/?query=max%20headroom&sort=byPopularity&prefix&page=0&dateRange=all&type=story)

------
Jedd
Whereas my favourite memory of this icon is the Art of Noise's Paranomia
track, featuring Max Headroom:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmWZseVWxN4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmWZseVWxN4)

------
DrScump
Here's a bit I had forgotten about: an "appearance" on Letterman in advance of
the TV show in the U.S.:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoqMSr1H1ek](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoqMSr1H1ek)

------
joshstrange
I've read about this and watched all the clips multiple times. It's really
interesting and I'd love to see more stories like this.

~~~
joshz
In 2007 a Czech art group hacked a webcam and incorporated a nuclear explosion
at the location it monitored. It later got showed on a weather news segment.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDHkOd9hBJE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDHkOd9hBJE)

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ztohoven#The_Media_Reality](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ztohoven#The_Media_Reality)

------
digi_owl
I have found myself wondering lately if the amount of trolling and such have
been on the rise ever since anonymous got attention.

Kinda like people have picked up the activities, ignore the goals, and are
"cargo cult"-ing it into the ground.

~~~
soylentcola
I think that as the tools for intrusion and defacing have gotten more common
and easier to use, you get a lot more low grade trolling.

Like you have a million schoolkids writing dirty limericks on the bathroom
walls for every real-life "Turk 182".

------
rglover
I love a good public freakout. This is classic.

~~~
bpoag
Agreed. It's almost...accidentally perfect.

I mean, considering:

1) The video cuts out -precisely- at the point in Dr. Who where the guy says
"A massive electric shock -- he must have died instantly!" ...probably
accidental, but just perfect..lol

2) The block of shows on WTTW (Channel 11) on Sunday night were often very,
very avant-garde in content. To be able to take it to an entirely higher level
like that, against the backdrop of already weird stuff...thats just
priceless..

3) The fact that the public was split between those who found it hilarious,
and those who found it frightening... what more could you ask for?

As a hack, with all its warts and confusion, it's a triple axle quadruple
salcow kind of performance. :)

BTW, speaking of weird -- I've been asked on occasion, how weird. Check this
out:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBgEjyn8ArM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBgEjyn8ArM)

This is "The Shivering Man". There was a show that aired late nights on
Channel 11 at the time, called Image Union.. Image Union was sort of a
showcase for short subject amateur/experimental/avant-garde films and videos.
It was on the air about maybe half an hour or an hour after Doctor Who every
sunday night, and usually ended the scheduled broadcast day.

One of the films that aired on Image Union around that time (1987-1989 or so)
was "The Shivering Man". Here, you've got a ballet dancer in a red dress
jumping around guy covered in talcum powder having a conniption fit/seizure,
followed up by a fat bald guy in a chair who, uh, suggestively..sprinkles..
when the chair is shaken..lol..

Tame by internet standards, but totally WTF-worthy by late 80's Chicago public
television standards. By running this sort of stuff, they were all but
inviting a visit from Max, if you ask me. Weird attracts weird.

------
linker3000
I'm sure that's a fine article, but so much crap kept popping over it as I
tried to read it on my phone I gave up.

Later, maybe - on my rooted tablet, with adblock etc..

------
piratebroadcast
This incident is the origin of my username.

------
nsxwolf
I didn't actually witness this broadcast, but I remember other kids talking
about it at school on Monday morning.

------
justwannasing
Which eventually became a Coke commercial with Matt Frewer who went on to play
a doctor in "Dr. Doctor, Dr. Doctor" an uproariously funny TV series on CBS.

~~~
URSpider94
You've got it backwards. This hack was referencing the previously-existing Max
Headroom TV show, commercial, etc.

~~~
justwannasing
Yes but that doesn't change anything about what I said.

------
brycemckinlay
Max Headroom was indeed once a revolutionary, subversive figure. But then he
sold out to the man and starting pimping Coke.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wgm5GUo8o7I](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wgm5GUo8o7I)

~~~
yellowapple
Perhaps Coke is secretly revolutionary and subversive, and Max Headroom was
giving us all a subtle hint?

------
_nickwhite
In case you've never seen it, and to save some the YouTube search, here's the
crazy Max Headroom hack video with subtitles:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWdgAMYjYSs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWdgAMYjYSs)

~~~
biot
This is the same video from the article itself.

