Complete series cast summary: | |||
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 13 episodes, 1987-1988 | |
Hank Garrett | ... | Ashwell / ... 12 episodes, 1987-1988 | |
William Morgan Sheppard | ... | Blank Reg 7 episodes, 1987-1988 | |
Concetta Tomei | ... | Blank Dominique 7 episodes, 1987-1988 | |
Sharon Barr | ... | Lauren 7 episodes, 1987-1988 | |
20 minutes into the future, the world has become imbued network-television. It's illegal to turn off your TV, and televisions are given to the needy. In this world, Network 23 has a highly-rated news program with a roving reporter named Edison Carter. But Carter uncovers a plot to cover up lethal "blipverts" and is almost killed. In the process his mind is copied into a computer and the computer-generated personality "Max Headroom" is born. Together, Max and Edison, along with Edison's controller (Theora), their boss (Murray), their boss' boss (Ben Cheviot), and Network 23's boy-genius (Bryce) combat crime, placate sponsors, defeat rival networks, and turn in stories. 14 episodes. Written by Kathy Li
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...