Shout Factory | 1987 | 660 mins. | Not Rated
Created by George Stone, Annabel Jankel, and Rocky Morton and portrayed by Matt Frewer, Max Headroom was a product of British artificial intelligence, known for his wit and stuttering, distorted, electronically sampled voice. Anyone over thirty years old will likely recall the ubiquitous New Coke commercials in the 80’s featuring the faux-computer generated wise-cracking pitchman. Max Headroom, the television series, was based on the Channel 4 British TV movie Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future. When the movie aired in 1985, MTV was all the rage and the Max Headroom character fit right into that craze.
After Max’s successful debut in England, he made his first appearance across the pond in a series of ads for the unsuccessful ‘new’ coke. With positive reaction to Max in hand, ABC gave the green light for a Max Headroom drama, which hit the airwaves in 1987 as, simply, Max Headroom. Though it lasted only 13 episodes (though 14 were filmed and the unaired episode is included here) it’s fondly remembered today as a unique and creative show. Thanks to Shout Factory, the series is finally available on DVD.
Set “20 minutes in the future,” the series takes place in a bleak future where television is king. Homeless people live in overcrowded lots, yet each has a television set. Riots break out when popular shows are preempted or cancelled. Churches give the poorest of their citizens the opportunity to watch television rather than access to warm meals. Elections are conducted exclusively on television; voters watch the channel the candidate has associated himself with, and the channel with the highest ratings determines the winner.
One of the most popular personalities on television, Network 23 reporter Edison Carter (also Frewer), and news producers Murray (Jeffrey Tambor) and Theora (Amanda Pays) team up to expose the institutionalized corruption and media exploitation of world culture “20 minutes into the future.” While the sci-fi trappings of the show deferred such problems to some future date, of course the subtle and sometimes blatant political and social satire resonated in the Reagan era with a former actor in the White House and 1980s excess running rampant.
The head of Network 23, Ben Cheviot (well-cast George Coe), is portrayed as a one-dimensional, corporate lackey. Cheviot is little more than a slave to his main sponsor, Zik Zak, whose CEO regularly gives Cheviot programming orders. Despite the obvious pressures on him, Ben gives Edison a lot of free reign to live broadcast exposés on crooked politicians, media and religion. The fact that these reports scored such high ratings for Network 23, speaks to the complex message about television and media, and the complex message Max Headroom was trying to deliver. Though television could theoretically be used to run every aspect of our daily lives, Edison was using the medium to peel back the glossy veneer and show us what goes on in the corporate boardrooms.
The episodes themselves are pretty much what you’d expect from a dramatic series; Edison chasing down a story with Max providing periodic comic relief. The thing that separates this show from all the others is that it’s very subversive. The show uses the medium of television to rail against television. The bad guys are the advertisers and TV executives, actively trying to dumb-down the populace so they’ll be easier to manipulate.
I had a lot of fun revisiting this show. I only saw a few episodes during the initial run, but the message of the show has held up well even if the special effects feel a bit outdated.
The full frame image hasn’t been restored but it generally looks fine. There picture is somewhat soft and the details aren’t as strong as one might like. The colors are rather muted, and some of the flesh tones have a bit of a red sheen. There are a few spots and specks to be seen, but they don’t mar an above average presentation of an older, fringe series.
Surprisingly copious special features span six making-of documentaries reuniting the show’s creators, cast and crew who reflect on MAX HEADROOM’s enduring legacy of influence on fans and futurist visionaries:
Live on Network 23: The Story of Max Headroom – This hour-long featurette reveals the creative genesis of the series in Britain with its creators, producers and writers, and following Max’s transition on to American television
Looking Back at the Future – In this 35-minute roundtable interview, cast members Jeffrey Tambor, Concetta Tomei, Amanda Pays and Chris Young reunite after many years to share their stories about the experience of acting on Max Headroom.
The Big-Time Blanks – actors Concetta Tomei and Morgan Sheppard discuss their lifelong friendship which began with their teaming up as Blank Reg and Dominique, beaming their pirate broadcast from the Big Time TV bus.
The Science Behind the Fiction – Co-creator George Stone relates his own personal life and interest in science fiction novels and futurist concepts into the genesis of MAX HEADROOM.
The Writers Remember – series writers Steve Roberts and Michael Cassutt add to the history and significance of MAX HEADROOM’s legacy from their show-generating perspective. Writing for such an expensive, time-critical television series presented practical challenges, with the added difficulty of creating a meaningful future world with barely the technology needed to simulate it. Roberts and Cassutt also differentiate Max’s phenomenon from the original U.K. concept to the American series.
Producing Dystopia – MAX HEADROOM line producer Brian Frankish relates his own experiences creating a world 20 minutes into the future for a fast-moving television series production crew.
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