"Max Headroom" (1987) TV series 1987-1988

Directors:

Janet Greek
Victor Lobl

Writers:

Howard Brookner (writer)
David G.B. Brown (writer)

Seasons:

1 | 2

Release Date:

31 March 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Sci-Fi

Plot:

In the near future, an intrepid investigative TV reporter does his job with the help of his colleagues and a computerized version of himself.

Plot Keywords:

Television | Totalitarianism | Television Flop | Cyberpunk | Artificial Intelligence

Awards:

Won 3 Primetime Emmys. Another 1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Matt Frewer	...	Edison Carter / ... (14 episodes, 1987-1988)
Amanda Pays	...	Theora Jones (14 episodes, 1987-1988)
Chris Young	...	Bryce Lynch (14 episodes, 1987-1988)
Jeffrey Tambor	...	Murray (14 episodes, 1987-1988)
George Coe	...	Ben Cheviot (14 episodes, 1987-1988)
Lee Wilkof	...	Edwards (14 episodes, 1987-1988)
William Morgan Sheppard	...	Blank Reg (7 episodes, 1987-1988)
Concetta Tomei	...	Blank Dominique (7 episodes, 1987-1988)
Virginia Kiser	...	Mrs. Formby (6 episodes, 1987)

Also Known As:

Max Headroom: 20 Minutes Into the Future (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

60 min (14 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L (season 1)

Company:

Chrysalis/Lakeside

Trivia:

Max Headroom is not the only character named for a sign. The Zik Zak Corporation chairman, Ped Xing, is named after the street sign abbreviation for "Pedestrian Crossing".

Quotes:

Bryce Lynch: There are no experimental failures. There's only more data!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Innocence (2004/I)

Soundtrack:

Jesus and the Airlock

Filmed at 30 frames a second

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.