Oh, I think I did, once or twice in [post=6271360]this thread[/post]. Not only was it a fucking brilliant program (even the somewhat watered down ABC version), but it was absolutely prophetic, making the call on reality television, idiotic gameshows, and conglamorate media corruption decades ahead of its time. Matt Frewer was great as Network 23’s star reporter Edison Carter, and just as great as his (deliberately annoying) electronic ego, the eponymous Max Headroom. And what could one say about Amanda Pays that would compare to her lovely, demure visage.
And Blanks Reg and Dominique–the forerunners to Comedy Central, of course. The Zik-Zak Corporation–motto: “We’ve got everything you need, and you need everything we’ve got!” The bulletnosed Studebaker network cars. “An off-switch. He’ll get ten years for that.” Missile Mike. Whacketts. And the whole irony of Max being a shill for Coca-Cola while firmly skewering commercialism and the corporate state.
14 episodes and cut from the vine by a bunch of no-talent dimwits for whom the show’s satire struck far to close to home, and indeed, right through the place that their little hearts would be if they had such a thing. Ah, Max, we barely knew ye.
Yes Max Headroom was a show that was very different and many notches above the usual network programming. That’s probably why it was cancelled.
It was a show ahead of its time, especially because it took place “20 minutes into the future”.
We loved it around here. I knew it hadn’t lasted long, but I didn’t realize it was only 14 episodes. What really upsets me is that my son would love it, but he was too young at the time to remember it now.
Every so often I see an ad that I think is only about a half-step away from being a blipvert. Scary, I tell ya.
You can’t get much more '80’s than Max Headroom. I really liked that show and every so often I am reminded of it by something I see in the real world: a very fast, blip-vert style ad or some inane program that looks like a MH satire piece.
I expect Matt Frewer doesn’t much miss it. I was thinking about Max Headroom last night as an example of the fake “computer-generated” character (SIM0NE being the other).
That said, Max Headroom & Doctor Doctor were both amazing shows, & MH is largely responsible (along with McGoohan’s The Prisoner & J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan) for warping my adolescent mind.
Oh yeah. I was trying (without success) to explain it to my 14 year old son just the other day. I know he’d love it. If they released it on dvd I’d buy that for a dollar.
I found the series online and created my own DVDs.
I can’t give pointers without causing the board problems, but I can offer this as a suggestion for those who can’t wait for something that will probably never happen.
I taped the series when it first came on. I retaped it when Bravo carried it (including a previously unaired episode). I transferred those to DVD. Same thing for Doctor, Doctor.
I think Max will eventually make it to DVD, but I doubt DD will.
Amen. In addition to Max Headroom on my list, you can add Profit, which lasted a shocking four episodes before the network figured out that I was the only person watching, and Arrested Development, which is doomed to die any day now.
