Yes, f-folks, it’s been thirty years since Max Headroom was loosed on an unsuspecting world 20 minutes into the future. The television movie that established his creation ran on the UK’s Channel Four on April 4, 1985 (that’s four/four on Four, if you weren’t paying attention). Two seasons of an utterly bizarre talk/video show followed, which reappeared on the US Cinemax channel in dribs and drabs, culminated by a short run of new talk/interview shows there - at about the same time as the ABC series most people are familar with.
I have the original movie. On VHS! I see the series is available on DVD now. I didn’t like it as much as the movie, but maybe I’ll have to give it another go.
Every time I see a commercial that is nothing but brief cuts, I scream BLIPVERT! It seems the future is now. But, without exploding viewers.
Do you remember the Art of Noise song Paranoimia, featuring Max? Don’t know what caused them to make that song, but I like it.
I was a Max headroom junkie 30 years ago. I remember seeing the original movie on VHS at my cousin’s house. I enjoyed the American series as well, though not nearly as much as the British original. I wish I could find the Max headroom Christmas special somewhere where ha talks about “bestriding the world like a huge colostomy.” (No idea how or why I remember that so clearly…)
I was 13 and I loved the ABC show but I hadn’t had access to the BBC stuff so all I knew him from previously was the Coke commercials. That show definitely had a different feeling than the Coke commercials and I really liked its dark edge and steammpunkish dabblings. I don’t think many people around me watched it either which made it even more “punk rock” for me.
Somebody should look into making the shows available streaming. Netflix hello? Are you listening?
The rights are horribly messed up. That they finally appeared on Shout Factory release is close to a miracle. It’s very unlikely that they’ll ever be clear enough for streaming release.
Most of the BBC stuff is available here and there (YouTube, some other streaming sites, and the bootleg world), but a number of the shows are considered “lost.” Even the ABC series DVDs were made from broadcast masters, as the original film masters are gone. (Or, more likely, buried in some enormous warehouse of Lorimar/WB leftovers.)
I didn’t watch it when it first ran but my dad was a big fan. He always talked about it so when it came out on DVD (after dad died) I bought it.
I don’t think it aged very well. I watched about half the DVD set, never finished it. I’ll have to get back to it one of these days.
Amanda Pays was very attractive!
Yeah, shame about the streaming thing. When I got my Amazon FireTV Stick I checked to see if it was available on Prime. Nope. Had a trial NetFlix sub. Nope.
I still miss Blank Reg.
How can you tell when a network executive is lying?
Whenever I think of Max Headroom, the first thing I think of is the bizarre Max Headroom airwaves pirating incident that happened here in Chicago on WTTW (our main PBS station) in 1987.
