Throwback Thursday: When Captain Midnight Took Over HBO [Video]

Do you all remember this?  I actually do.  I was staying the night with my friend Wesley and we were watching The Falcon and the Snowman on HBO.  And, then, it happened.

It was April 27th, 1986 and an electrical engineer named John MacDougall jammed HBO's broadcast signal.  It was really eerie and, for the next four minutes, no one really knew what in the heck was going on.

John MacDougall was indeed Captain Midnight and he transmitted a signal onto HBO's Galaxy 1 satellite to protest the company's rates for satellite dish owners.

Clearly, the folks at HBO were a touch upset that their signal had been pirated and the FBI was called in to investigate. Captain Midnight plea bargained, paid a $5000 fine and served a year of probation.

And, back in 1986, he made our night!  Trust me when I tell you . . . Captain Midnight definitely livened up that late night showing of The Falcon and the Snowman.  Now that I think about it.  What on Earth were we doing watching that movie anyway.  Were we that bored?