Max Headroom Anyone?

[livius drusus]

So I was reading this thread about favorite cancelled TV shows and kept expecting someone to mention the incomparable Max Headroom. Is it possible that among all the many and varied cybergeeks on IIDB nobody remembers the groundbreaking MH? Was its genius overshadowed by Max's later MTV/Pepsi sellout? For those of you who have no idea what I'm blathering about, this lil page has a short rundown of how prophetic a show it really was.

I miss your earnestness, Edison Carter. I miss your fearless satirical wit, Max. Hell, I even miss your bratty precociousness, Bryce. Please come back to me in DVD format at least. Please.

[pzmyers]

It was so long ago (way back when I was in grad school)...but yes, when Max was on, I was glued to the TV.

[livius drusus]

I knew you were a man of good taste. I actually never saw the precious 14 episodes back in 87 when ABC first aired the series (mainly on account of the whole not living in the US thing), but a few years ago the SciFi channel reran them all and I was 100% hooked from the first minute.

[lisarea]

Originally Posted by livius drusus

So I was reading this thread about favorite cancelled TV shows and kept expecting someone to mention the incomparable Max Headroom. Is it possible that among all the many and varied cybergeeks on IIDB nobody remembers the groundbreaking MH? Was its genius overshadowed by Max's later MTV/Pepsi sellout? For those of you who have no idea what I'm blathering about, this lil page has a short rundown of how prophetic a show it really was.

I think Max Headroom was during one of my TVless periods, so I don't remember having actually watched it.

However, I would like to point out that, on that page:

Long before there was an Internet, a World Wide Web, e-mail, and cyberculture[...]

ain't so. There was an internet, email, and cyberculture. There was no web until 1992 or 3, but the rest was there, alright.

Plus, when did MIT first put their coffee pot online? I'm pretty sure it was pre-web, but I'm not sure how far pre-web.

[livius drusus]

Originally Posted by lisarea

ain't so. There was an internet, email, and cyberculture. There was no web until 1992 or 3, but the rest was there, alright.

Now I call that picky. Let the nice sloppy people overstate their case; it's for a good cause.

Plus, when did MIT first put their coffee pot online? I'm pretty sure it was pre-web, but I'm not sure how far pre-web.

Eh? I know nothing of MIT coffee pots, but it sounds like a whole other thread to me. This one is dedicated to the Max Headroom love.

Oo! Oo! Episode guide!

[Petra]

Wow. Thanks for the memories, liv. Max Headroom was a must watch back in the early 80's when I was a cool and hip young thing wearing colourful make-up and big hair.

Great show, I'd love to see it return (but not in an MTV stylee, thank you very much - MTV makes me wanna smoke crack).

[livius drusus]

You PAL system folks can get the tapes on Ebay, luna.

Originally Posted by lunachick

MTV makes me wanna smoke crack.

Really? Huh. I've always favored the downers when watching MTV.

[Goliath]

I remember Max Headroom, but to be honest, I was a kid at the time, and don't remember much of him other than the coke commercials...

[Petra]

Originally Posted by livius drusus

You PAL system folks can get the tapes on Ebay, luna.

Only if you have disposable income and a credit card, though. I have neither. Perhaps in my next life, Max Headroom will run on endless repeats like I Love Lucy did.

Really? Huh. I've always favored the downers when watching MTV.

Oh, man - remember Quay Lewd from The Tubes? Hugh Heifer? Dr. Strangekiss?

Yup, yup, yup, yup, yup - they were the days!

[freemonkey]

I remember Max Headroom, but I was in my 20's at the time, and not spending a bunch of time in front of the TV. So, I don't think I even saw an entire episode.

[The Lone Ranger]

Max Headroom was brilliant and way ahead of its time!

I always suspected that it was so short-lived because of its tendency to point out uncomfortable truths -- like that watching too much television could be bad for you, and the utter ruthlessness of big corporations.

Remember the episode in which characters expressed astonishment (and disgust) at discovering a television that was equipped with an "OFF" button?


Cheers,

Michael

[JoeP]

Originally Posted by lisarea

Plus, when did MIT first put their coffee pot online? I'm pretty sure it was pre-web, but I'm not sure how far pre-web.

MIT may have done it, but the internet coffee pot was at Cambridge University, England. It was set up in 1991 and put on the nascent world wide web in 1993 - brief history. There's a Hypertext Coffee Pot Control Protocol RFC. They finally decommissioned it in 2001 and sold it for £3,350.

On topic, I only remember Max Headroom as a video DJ in the UK. Never knew there was a series. Sounds like I would have been hooked, though.

[livius drusus]

Originally Posted by Goliath

I remember Max Headroom, but to be honest, I was a kid at the time, and don't remember much of him other than the coke commercials...

I only knew of him from MTV ("Paranoimia" video, anyone?) until those magical SciFi reruns.

[Dingfod]

Another fan of Max Headroom here. Blipverts, anyone?

I loved that moment when I realized how Max Headroom got his name. M-m-m-m-max Headroom.


Warren