User reviews

Doesn't hold up well at all. At times slow, other times heavy handed attempts at satire. The wannabe MTV graphics look very dated.

But when the humor hits its target, it's rewarding.

"Remember when we yelled No Future? Here we are." "A bad credit report? That's worse than murder!"

If you're not watching it for nostalgia, be prepared for long slow stretches.

Everyone seems to remember Max Headroom, the character and Coke pitchman, but a lot of people forget about the series Max was in. The other thing a lot of people forget is that Max in the TV screen was _not_ cgi; Max was pre-cgi, and Matt Frewer did incredibly good acting as Max. Besides that, Matt also was the lead in the series and did a lot of work as Edison Carter as well as Max.

The series didn't last nearly long enough for me; the original title, "Twenty Minutes Into the Future" is very accurate-- technologically, stylistically, and in terms of content and post-production, "Max Headroom" was ahead of its time. It was a mid-season replacement and never found its audience; the database lists the tv-movie, the series (14 or 15 eps), and the original talk show which started the whole thing. I'm still amazed at the wisdom (or lack thereof) of television execs who can cancel a series halfway through a season. Then again, "Max Headroom" was about television, making some eerily accurate predictions (CNN, tabloid talk shows), and television execs are nothing if not chickens.

Still, it would be too, too cool to see Max pop up to comment about the millennium...

Here's a piece of trivia. Max Headroom was filmed at 30 frames a second instead of the standard 24 frames a second. One of the reasons was so the series could more easily incorporate video with film, but a welcomed side-effect was that it gave the show a Hi-Def, futuristic look on 1980s television. It really did look different from any other show on TV.

What's interesting is that some current shows on video shoot at 24 or 25 frames a second to look more like film. It would be interesting to see what some filmed shows would look like in HDTV if they were shot at at 30 frames a second. You would get true HD.

Before "Revolution" ... Before "Dark Angel" ... Before "Falling Skies" and "The Walking Dead" ... There was Max.

"Max Headroom" was the first cyberpunk, post-apocalyptic TV show EVER (way back in 1987).

Max was decades ahead of its time. The show predicted such things as identity theft, the Internet, the webcam, and the fusion of media and government. (One episode even mourned the closure of movie theaters. Today, thanks to Netflix and video-on-demand, that has now come to pass.)

In a word, Max was prophetic. The hip, trendy post-apocalyptic shows that you're seeing today owe a great debt to Max Headroom.

(IMO) - "Max Headroom" is definitely one of those 1980s TV shows that had both its fair share of good moments, as well as its not-so-good moments, too.

I mean - This program (which clearly contained unmistakable elements of both punk and new wave) was quite obviously a product of its time. There's no doubt about that.

Set in a decidedly seedy world of a not-too-distant future (where cynicism and corruption prevail) - "Max Headroom" is certainly well worth a view for its fascination with technology of the latter 20th century where the possibility of translating people into computer data is taken very-very seriously.

Max Headroom was, for me, the best exciting TV series when it was first and the only time shown in New Zealand, back in 1988. It still holds up well when I view my recorded tapes off the TV every other year. The stories never let up and it would have been interesting to see what else the writers could come up with. As with other earlier shows, I like to see actors go on and handle other projects. The characters Theora and Edison seem to play some of their own personal being, as with a lot of the other players on the show. But I find now, that is what it takes to make an exiting show. Look at the X-Files. It might have taken what it took to bring back shows like 'Star Trek', it would take the same feeling and genre to show the next generation what my generation felt.

Yours, X-Files Fan.

Max Headroom started as a Coke commercial and was so hot it became a show. It wasn't the best show as you can see by its lack of longevity, but it was cool.

This was, and still is, my favorite show to ever grace the flickering screen of my television. The visionary depiction of a TV-driven culture on overdrive piqued the imagination and served as a prophetic parody/warning to the industry that ironically gave it life in the US.

It was a near (20 minutes into the) future where TV wasn't only entertainment but required by law -- just having an off switch was a major crime -- and ratings were EVERYTHING. Hackers, brain-recorded AI, pirate TV broadcasters, TV religion, mercs selling tomorrow's top story, body banks and bodyleggers, blip-verts, cred-sticks, the mix of grit and the glimmer of neon... this WAS cyberpunk at it's purest (with the noted exception being the lack of cyberware). There has never been (and probably never will be) a show that did as much justice to the genre.

With all the drivel available on video today, I can't help but wonder when (if ever) someone will finally come to their senses and release this gem...

Set "20 minutes into the future" - Max Headroom is a short-run, 1987, TV series that posed the possibility (as far-fetched as it sounded) of actually translating people into computer data.

Yes. Today - 30 years later - That potentiality does convert into old news. But, back then - It really sparked the interest of many-a-viewer who religiously tuned into this program like total fiends.

With its episodes rarely ever being shot in natural light - Max Headroom's vision of the future was, indeed, a decidedly cold and callous one where cynicism and corruption prevailed on every street corner.

Injecting elements of both punk and new wave into its 1-hour episodes - This surprisingly short-lived series certainly had its fair share of good points, as well as its not-so-good points, too.

I rarely gush about TV shows, especially when they haven't been on in over a decade, but I gush about MH. This show was beyond cool, it was beyond hip, and it was far too intelligent to have been on the air in the late 80s. I was lucky enough to be able to catch MH in sindication on cable a few years ago and to validate my high opinions of the show. It was still brilliant. A few episode summaries might help to clarify:

Blank Reg (a blank is a person who has been removed from the corporate system, they have few rights, but the 'powers that be' can't easily find them) is put on trial for hacking (a major crime). The court is a gameshow with gameshow host for a judge and an opinion poll for a jury. I am glad to see how far off this is from reality - sarcasm :(

Another episode involved a sport called rake-boarding, where skateboarders would attempt to disembowel each other while performing nifty stunts. Thank god mass media has not opted for gladiatorial shows...

My question was never why this show got cancelled, but who the hell got the idea to put it on the air in the first place. I mean, this was a show whose primary entertainment value was in skewering the very medium which presented it. I can't believe that the mucky-mucks even allowed this to be seen, nevertheless broadcast.

Each show was intelligent, witty and eerily prescient. I suppose the final irony was that the show itself was cancelled, but the problems that it warned us about have come true. If you get the chance to see the extant shows, see them. They are among the only truly visionary and artistic and entertaining things to have been on stupid-box since its inception.

The power of the media and communication can be a funny thing as we rely on it to supply us with information and answers to what is going on all around us. But also, what makes it interesting is how much not just the information itself but the presentation of it and how much it can affect our lives and the lives around us.

This show is another of my favorite sci-fi TV shows, it's also a show that is under the radar. Well not totally as this show did have popularity and was a moderate hit but as time went on it's became forgotten. Which is weird to say considering the character "Max Headroom" whom you can say has became even more popular than the TV show itself. The show is also a childhood gem as I remember the figure Max mainly from the Coke a Cola commercials; he was even parodied in an episode of "Family Matters".

This show no doubt was ahead of it's time, there really isn't a show like it nor ever since. I really like the fact that this is one based on news, which is cool as that's my field of expertise, let alone there really aren't many TV shows based on news reporting and TV stations. Let alone the fact this all takes place in the future which makes it even cooler. The show also predates the DC Vertigo comic series "Transmetropolitan" which is slightly like this show.

Though there are some things that might date the show like the fact that some people still use floppy and hard disks, VHS's are still around, let alone the fact there is no internet and streaming/download digital network in this future. But you have to understand this show was made in the 80's so like with some sci-fi films and TV shows of yesteryear there are always going to be a few inaccuracies, let alone certain things unforeseen, but it's what it gets right is what counts. However if you think about it more (or at least roll with), it sort of makes sense as the future is supposedly came from the aftermath of some war which could possibly mean certain resources and technology has been lost so we had to resort to some of the old tech.

I really like this world of tomorrow, really like the design of the city which is slightly like "Blade Runner". This world is both fascinating but at the same time a little dangerous. It is a world that is both technologically and media driven. Corporations and media organizations rule this future and are at constant competition against one another to make big fast profits and keep their rule. There are a lot of fancy toys and shiny futuristic things, however this city isn't perfect as there is poverty, violence, and most places still war torn.

The interesting thing about this future is that it's actually slightly close to ours, because most of what goes on in this world is actually happening right now, as it's is prolific on our information age we're living in right now.

As we've became overly saturated with info and has become more accessible than ever. We're starting to become technologically dominated as there is almost not one person that takes their eyes off the screen of their phone, computer, and tablet. Media becoming more accessible as we can create and distribute our own videos. CGI and all the animated moves we've now created with that tech. Certain corporations becoming big and dominant as they supply us with most of what we need, you name it it's there. Watching this show now at times feel like your looking at a mirror and realize we are close or are even living in Max Headroom's world now.

Characters are good; I like some of the supporting characters like Blank played well by William Morgan Shepard whom I remember as Doctor Zito in "MacGyver" (classic version). He's a fun character that is rough, wild and fiercely independent, he runs an independent MTV like network, what I like about he's a guy that doesn't care what people thing and he's not in the networking game for fame and glory, he's doing it because he enjoys the career field and loves to just do his thing.

He's also person also from a time long gone as he's a middle aged rocker fan and that's part of his other reason for doing what he does to keep that part of history and the memories of it alive; which I feel is true with all of us that get older and are trying to live in the present while retaining remnants of the past.

Bryce he's another interesting character, he's a whiz kid that is pretty much the tech and science officer of the station. He's a person that beats to a different drummer as he's constantly inventive and a doer there is just never a moment where he does nothing, each episode starts out with him on a project or having fun of some sort; that I can emphasize with as I'm that way myself. He's dryly funny as he's a person that is guilty of anti-social behavior, though that's not totally his fault as he's sort of a product of his own time.

Bryce is heavily invested in technology and science which is both a strength and weakness despite highly knowledgeable and his rapid-fire trouble shooting, he's empathy circuit don't fire properly as he's a little detached from both people and reality. However, with some time with Carter, Max, and the rest he gains some education in social science and does what's right for them and himself.

Matt Fewer an actor I really like that I think is underrated, he is just excellent as both Carter and Max Headroom. The Carter character is pretty much the straight man in this entire crazy future, I really like that he's a guy that is in pursuit to report and find the truth; he doesn't care about the corporate TV station he serves and their ambitions as their not their own. He's a guy that just wants to do his job and help people by telling them the truth and protect them from all the lies that come faster than he can switch on a camera.

Really like the design of his split ego Max, he looks like Matt but at the same time doesn't as he has a sort of talk show host look with that hair slicked back and the smoothness of his face. Max actually isn't a CGI character but was what you would call pre CGI as they did a simple make up job on the actor and just used green screen background graphics to give the illusion that Max is a digital character which I'll admit was amazing and prolific on the characters that are now pure CGI.

The Max Headroom character is a lot of fun, this is my favorite role from Matt. This character is energetic, aggressive, quirky a real attention getter as he is constantly traveling the networks which works to his advantage as it give him access to unlimited info and broadcasts himself whenever he wants, which is what makes him a valuable ally with Carter's network.

But other than that the character is just a lot of fun as he's got some of the best lines, even like that little glitching which adds to the comedy showing he's not all perfect but also shows a bit of his quirky side as that glitching is just music to my ears.

The dynamic between both Carter and Max is interesting, it's sort of your buddy buddy dynamic which is cool as buddy cop films like "Lethal Weapon" and "48 Hours" were a big thing at the time. But in this show they do something different with it as it feels like it could in a way be sort of like something from a Cronenberg movie as his films dealt with duel identities. But it's also just simply fun seeing both play off of one another, working together but also clashing a little at the same time.

But of course what really powers this show is in it's wicked satire as it deals with lots of issues, like unregulated progress, media manipulation, consumerism, capitalism, technological colonization, social detachment, addiction, blurring the line between reality and non and other issues we have going on now.

In the world of Media and the future, anything goes, and anything is possible.

Rating: 4 stars

Max Headroom was a show WAY ahead of its time. The blipverts episode is just one example of how prophetic this really was. Max as a character steals the show. There's something about him that glues you to the screen. The music score is cool too (soundtrack anyone). My biggest complaint is that the DVD didn't have the original feature or any of the New Coke commercials. That being said, I was all to happy to really care since the DVD looks great. A lot of people may shrug their shoulders at this odd gem, but for sci/fi fans, its a real treat. Some of the miniature work looks dated, but in my opinion it only adds to the shows charm .I feel bad that a show this great has been forgotten for so many years. It really should have a bigger audience than it does. Hopefully the DVD release will give it a new life for the younger generation to appreciate it.

Anyone who has Taped episodes, contact me. This was on FX?? When?

This was the most clever, prescient, witty, well produced, and subversive TV series ever created. I saw some of the shows, but then was expeditioning and missed many. MAX HEADROOM (the 85-86 TV series- I'm not familiar with the other permutations)was brilliant on 5 levels at once, like old Firesign Theatre skits, where one can watch again and again and see different levels each time. The money and production values were unprecedented (now each ER costs $14mil, God nows what Friends runs) in it's sly depiction of a media controlled hilarious nightmare world. Gonzo droll Matt Frewer did bang-up work as both a real TV reporter, controlled by the lush Amanda Pays via continuous links, and the sly double-entendreing computer generated Max. This was a searing critique of media run amok- everything was some brilliant trashing of some current or future trend (with Fear Factor losing me forever at the bull penis eating portion, they were prophetic). It saddens me that Frewer is trapped in lame para-psychological claptrap when he was so good in this unknown gem. Mike Hammerschlag

Which is, unfortunately, mostly what succeeds on TV these days. Shows such as Max Headroom are just too intelligent, and go over the head of Average Joe TV Viewer (or Average Joe TV Executive). With all the proliferation and specialization of TV channels these days, maybe some day we can have an "Intelligent TV Channel" where shows like these can flourish and those too dim to "get it" can just remove it from their channel rotation.

Max Headroom was brilliant. One of the most spot-on and funny pieces of satire ever produced. The fact that it was satirizing the very medium that produced it probably had something to do with its short life, as well. I mean, when you're satirizing stupidity, obviously stupidity is going to react, just by definition.

Any TV producers out there reading this -- there's an idea for you. Create an "Intelligent TV Channel", and give us shows like this, or Key West, Brimstone, Cupid, etc. You could even call it that, as a dig at the mindless drivel that pours off the screen most of the time.

I happened on the "Max Headroom: 20 minutes into the future" film on the cable channel Cinemax by accident in 1986 or so. The story, the setting, and the characters drew me in and I was blown away. Then I found out ABC would be doing a version with 3 of the main characters from the UK film - Matt Frewer, Amanda Pays, and William Morgan Sheppard as "Blank Reg".

While the ABC version was a good copy, like any copy, it just wasn't the same. The UK film, talk show, and ABC version spawned Max as a celebrity. He was everywhere including being a pitchman for Coke.

If you want the best "Max Headroom" experience, see the 1985 UK film. But if they ever broadcast the ABC series, see it.

What is ironic is that the motivation for the evil deeds of the corporate owners of Network 23 is what did in this series. It was put up against ratings giants "Dallas" and "Miami Vice" and canceled midway through their only season.

It "dawned" on me finally where I had seen the actor named "Frank" (Matt Frewer) from "Dawn of the Dead" (2004) and all these memories of my childhood came back (born in '79). I remember I watched it faithfully and although I was way too young to actually understand the satyric nature of the show, I was mesmerized by the early use of CG on the idiot-box. I can still see that guys head and the way the computer used to "chunk" when he talked. Funny how now, almost two decades later, we're still dealing with chunking in streaming audio and video feeds. Somebody knew which way the world was headed. Just a great show and I really enjoyed the trip down memory lane

Max Headroom was a film made especially for the UK's Channel 4 in 1984. The story is basically about an investigative journalist called Edison Carter (Matt Frewer) and his TV station Bosses. When Carter comes across a conspiracy inside his own TV station, he sets about to find the truth. In the meantime, bosses decide to remove him from the air, and replace him with a computer copy(Max). The problem is, he won't lie down and die.

It's a real 80's punk culture film. It's very dark, depressing, and for some reason a lot of it seems to take place at night or in the dark. Max lightens the mood with funny quips and puns.

Watch out for George Rossi, DC Lennox from The Bill, who plays Mahler.