Max Headroom. What can be said about him? Ahead of his time.
Just as an aside: The Max Headroom this section of IMDb refers to is the 1987 short-lived ABC series, as opposed to the original Channel 4 British 2-hour TV-movie, which aired in 1985, and was subsequently released on home video as "Max Headroom: The Original Story."
Well, that was a long sentence.
Now then, Max Headroom. It was a show that followed the exploits of one Edison Carter, the intrepid reporter, as he tried to uncover the shadier sides of a corporate future (20 minutes into the future, to be exact) where success is measured in ratings. From advertisements inducing epileptic (and explosive) seizures, to in vitro babies being stolen for their high intelligence, Edison covered it all for 12 actually aired episodes (14 total), before being cancelled.
Of course, in doing this, Edison Carter naturally unearthed the corruption of the networks that were often partially responsible for such wrongdoing. And since Max Headroom (the show) was so spot-on in it's predictions of where television was taking society, it was seen as both a breath of fresh air for the viewers who got it, and a slap in the face for the 'real' networks, who realized "hey! They're making fun of us on this show." Perhaps the best example of this from the series is in one episode where Edison Carter, in one of his usual outbursts, asks producer Murray, "Since WHEN has news been ENTERTAINMENT??"
Murray calmly looks at him and, very reasonable, replies:
"...Since it was invented?"
This is all fine, but I'm forgetting one important part of the show: Max himself. Max Headroom is a computer generated character based on the memories and mental functions of Edison Carter. In the SPOILER first episode, Edison SPOILER gets knocked out in an bike accident whilst trying to uncover *something*. In order for Network 23 (who was, of course, behind it all) to keep Carter's reports coming in, but keep Carter himself out of commission, they have the head of Network R&D, Bryce Lynch (who is, of course, a teenager) create a computer-generated version of Edison Carter, and feed Edison's mind into this CG creation. Of course, the CG-carter doesn't work correctly, and upon activation, begins stuttering "M-m-max Headr-r-room," 'Max Headroom' being the last words Edison saw in the parking garage before getting knocked unconscious.
OK, well, I've said enough now. Max Headroom. An excellent show for all the reasons above. It'd be nice to see him make a reappearance, now that many of the show's prophesies are coming to light.
Just as an aside: The Max Headroom this section of IMDb refers to is the 1987 short-lived ABC series, as opposed to the original Channel 4 British 2-hour TV-movie, which aired in 1985, and was subsequently released on home video as "Max Headroom: The Original Story."
Well, that was a long sentence.
Now then, Max Headroom. It was a show that followed the exploits of one Edison Carter, the intrepid reporter, as he tried to uncover the shadier sides of a corporate future (20 minutes into the future, to be exact) where success is measured in ratings. From advertisements inducing epileptic (and explosive) seizures, to in vitro babies being stolen for their high intelligence, Edison covered it all for 12 actually aired episodes (14 total), before being cancelled.
Of course, in doing this, Edison Carter naturally unearthed the corruption of the networks that were often partially responsible for such wrongdoing. And since Max Headroom (the show) was so spot-on in it's predictions of where television was taking society, it was seen as both a breath of fresh air for the viewers who got it, and a slap in the face for the 'real' networks, who realized "hey! They're making fun of us on this show." Perhaps the best example of this from the series is in one episode where Edison Carter, in one of his usual outbursts, asks producer Murray, "Since WHEN has news been ENTERTAINMENT??"
Murray calmly looks at him and, very reasonable, replies:
"...Since it was invented?"
This is all fine, but I'm forgetting one important part of the show: Max himself. Max Headroom is a computer generated character based on the memories and mental functions of Edison Carter. In the SPOILER first episode, Edison SPOILER gets knocked out in an bike accident whilst trying to uncover *something*. In order for Network 23 (who was, of course, behind it all) to keep Carter's reports coming in, but keep Carter himself out of commission, they have the head of Network R&D, Bryce Lynch (who is, of course, a teenager) create a computer-generated version of Edison Carter, and feed Edison's mind into this CG creation. Of course, the CG-carter doesn't work correctly, and upon activation, begins stuttering "M-m-max Headr-r-room," 'Max Headroom' being the last words Edison saw in the parking garage before getting knocked unconscious.
OK, well, I've said enough now. Max Headroom. An excellent show for all the reasons above. It'd be nice to see him make a reappearance, now that many of the show's prophesies are coming to light.