Signal-Jamming Aliens

<p>Your TV signal wobbles. An alien voice (albeit one with a Southern English accent...) seizes control of your set. And, instead of newsreader Andrew Gardner reporting on the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army, you hear a voice claiming to be ‘Vrillon’, of Ashtar Galactic Command, with a message for humanity.</p><br><p>Such was the experience for viewers attempting to watch the ITV Evening News on Southern TV on 26th November, 1977 - an incident which became infamous in the ‘signal-jamming’ pantheon of the twentieth-century. Nobody has ever claimed responsibility.</p><br><p>In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly compare ‘Vrillon’ to its US counterpart, the ‘Max Headroom’ incident; unpick the idea that the broadcast was part of the Raelian movement; and explain how Twitter ruined signal-jamming pranks forever...  </p><br><p><strong>Further Reading:</strong></p><p>• ‘Alien Vrillon Interruption 1977’ (RECREATION by RukiTheDreamer, YouTube 2017): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhNriwaMTQE" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhNriwaMTQE</a></p><p>• ‘Vrillon: the alien voice hoax that became a legend’ (The Independent, 2017): <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/vrillon-hacking-alien-voice-seventies-extra-terrestrial-hoax-unexplained-mysteries-a8069926.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/vrillon-hacking-alien-voice-seventies-extra-terrestrial-hoax-unexplained-mysteries-a8069926.html</a></p><p>• ‘Five Of The Eeriest Interruptions In Broadcast History’ (Neatorama, 2015): <a href="https://www.neatorama.com/2015/11/30/Five-Of-The-Eeriest-Interruptions-In-Broadcast-History/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.neatorama.com/2015/11/30/Five-Of-The-Eeriest-Interruptions-In-Broadcast-History/</a></p><br><p><strong>For bonus material and to support the show, visit</strong><a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/Patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong> </strong></a><a href="http://patreon.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Patreon.com/Retrospectors</strong></a></p><p><strong>We'll be back on Monday! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:</strong><a href="https://create.acast.com/episodes/ca1f94a1-0921-446a-ae00-4d4bfd2ba3ef/podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong> </strong></a><a href="http://podfollow.com/Retrospectors" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>podfollow.com/Retrospectors</strong></a></p><br><p><em>The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.</em></p><p><em>Theme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.</em></p><p><em>Copyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.</em> </p><br><p><em>#70s #TV #Strange #UK</em></p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>

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