This past summer, a (nerdy) classic from the past was finally released on DVD – the complete ’87-’88 TV series of Max Headroom.

In complete disclosure – I only caught a few episodes of this the first time around but remembered how it was fairly cutting edge, so was curious to watch it again. In most ways, it still holds up, really. The challenge of course for highly technical, future-predicting shows like this (and say, movies like 2001 and Blade Runner) is that they will just get it wrong, or that they are too much a product of their time and that ends up biasing their predictions considerably, or that many things we take for granted in looking back simply didn’t exist at all – hence fairly impossible to predict them. Of course that last statement ignores 100+ years of science-fiction starting with Jules Vernes and HG Wells – but this is my blog, so blah! And neither of them was working for Max at the time, anyway :).

On the cool side – this show either takes for granted or predicts many things that are far more prevalent in today’s society, to wit:

– the even greater income/lifestyle division between haves and have-nots (the ‘fringe’ depicted in nearly every episode where the ‘rabble’ of society don’t do much beyond sit in their shantytowns and watch crappy TV, is reminiscent of Gibson’s cyberpunk Sprawl Trilogy of the same era);

– the ability to track nearly anything/everything via satellites and computer monitoring – Theora monitors and assists Edison from Network 23’s HQ while hacking any computer system they need to – the animated views and her constant directions/descriptions to Edison also predate The Matrix by about 20+ years too for that matter;

– government information control, censorship and the notion of ‘pay to play’ – certainly the first two have been with us since Orwell and earlier, but Max Headroom put a new spin on it in a more Huxley vein – the information consumed daily by most viewers is mostly ‘infotainment’ done to beat the other networks for ratings above all else;

– along the lines of the point just made, the dumbing down of broadcast content with malevolent purposes behind it (anyone ever watch Fox “News”?);

– identity theft and the ramifications of becoming a ‘nobody’ despite needing a real identity to survive in modern society. Here the entity responsible is a computer/AI, however, not simply computer ‘burglars’ as typically seen today, but the problem is remarkably the same;

– a TV courtroom where justice seems largely arbitrary and (again) done for ratings – not to discover truth;

– corporate sponsorship and ultimate control over broadcast content. This has been a problem since there was advertising, radio, TV, magazines, etc. so Max hardly predicted it – BUT – the extreme examples of it seen here in at least three different episodes demonstrate the extent to which corporations may seek to effectively take the law into their own hands when given the opportunity (or in the absence of rules/laws otherwise);

– TV-based elections where the outcomes are unpredictable and in some cases, suspect or simply a means to an end for the behind the scenes players (here TV networks of course, but remember that election of 2000? {sarcasm} Certainly there was no ‘purpose’ behind the Supreme Court’s ruling there, no sir! {end sarcasm})

It’s true that despite Edison’s constant use of on-the-spot reporting and communication over videocam – today’s cam would be a heck of a lot smaller, possibly very miniature and unnoticed by the casual observer. Theora’s computer also owes a bit to Terry Gilliam’s Brazil when you see her typing on it (think ancient manual typewriter connected to a modern computer terminal, just like they had all over the place in Brazil as a style cue). The animation used is more than a bit dated – but then again, Fry’s (also known as Mecca for nerds) still uses a DOS-based inventory and point-of-sales system, so if it works, why mess with success?

Now it’s also true that in some cases, the **idea** behind the episode is the revolutionary part – the execution is sometimes left wanting. While the main characters (Edison, Murray and Theora) are generally believable – most of the ‘executives’ at Network 23 are little more than talking heads with pretty inane dialogue. This was a recurring gripe of mine with Babylon 5 – while the concepts and ideas were pretty cool – seeing Bruce Boxleitner yell ‘get the hell out of our galaxy’ to the Shadow aliens was pretty cornball when you watched it. Oh Tron, what a wicked web we weave. 🙂

Charles Rocket (RIP) does a great star turn in the first episode as the head of Network 23 – then reappears as a rival network villain in three later episodes. And Morgan Sheppard is great as Blank Reg of Big Time TV – despite looking like the oldest punk in existence the way they have him made up (all but Johnny Rotten’s dad in appearance).

On some of the predictions they got wrong – Well, TV networks do not control the earth (despite Fox’s best efforts at same – which may abate somewhat when Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes kick the bucket); Most of Earth’s population does not live in a burned-out slum – yet; We don’t spend all our time watching TV (that’s what the Internet is for, after all :)); and we don’t have ‘body banks’ with people roaming the streets, kidnapping you for organs (or do we?).

But what about Max Headroom himself? He was effectively a computer copy of Edison Carter, the crusading reporter and central character of the series. There are episodes (certainly the first of course) where Max is directly involved in the plot – there are also several episodes where he is largely window dressing and only makes a few sporadic quips or jokes here and there between the main action of that particular story. I’m not sure if they intended that, or if it simply worked out that way in trying to come up with enough cutting edge stories without having Max kind of lampooning things midstream. It would have been neat to see them explore more of Max’s personality in depth – they hint at it from time to time but usually veer away back to the main story involving Edison and the other main characters in most episodes, unfortunately.

The entire series is only 14 episodes – on the DVD there is one that never aired in the US but did later in AU. So it’s not like sitting down to watch the entire run of even the original Star Trek (79 episodes) – they were really just getting started when the show ended. There is also a bonus DVD included in the set with writer/producer and cast interviews. Unfortunately the star of the show, Matt Frewer, is not among them – but you can see at least one interview with him on YouTube if you look.

All in all, this series is definitely worth checking out – more so if you are a nerdy or sci-fi enthusiast. Max, we hardly knew ye.

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