victoro@crash.UUCP (10/17/85)
From: crash!victoro@sdcsvax.arpa
New Program: _The Max Headroom Show_
Cinemax on Wendsday's @ 7:30 / 8:30 PM Central
Started October 16: Length :30
A Chrylsis Production
Executive Producer: Terry Ellis
Line Producer: Chris Griffin
Casting: The Hubbard Company
Music: Midge Ure & Chris Cross
Film Editor: Michael Bradsell
Production Designer: Maurice Cain
Director of Photography: Phil Meneux BBC
Screenplay: Steve Rodgers
Based on an Original Idea from: George Stone, Rocky Morton, and Annabel Jankel
Produced by: Peter Wagg
Directed By: Rock Morton, Annabel Jankel
Staring: Matt Frener and Nickolas Grace
MINI REVIEW: Despite a silly plot, I'm looking foreword to this! Really!
*** Show Premise *** Semi-Spoiler later ***
Max Headroom is the title of a new science fiction series on Cinemax.
It concerns itself with the investigation by Edison Carter, television's
higest rated news reporter, into a mysterious explosion in an section of
the outside. Carter's program is a very agressive style of investigation.
In a world very much like early-'Bladerunner', Edison uses helicopter drops
into news sites with live portable links and a desk bounded 'controller'
using bugs, computer cracking, and spy cameras to assist in the live
investigation program.
And this business is very comperg)
In re to posting damagin reviews: I kept the most damaging stuff out, but
left iners to a high of
236 million per hour.
*** What Spoiler? This is a recap of the first episode ***
Edison's controller is told from 'VERY HIGH UP' that the story must
be pulled. And in so doing he strands Edison 'outside' which nearly
gets him killed, but forces the director to find a new controller and
to convince Edison to drop the story. He replaces the controller with
Theora Jones, the best from Network I. With her skills, Carter learns
that the top execs are very upset that the failure of the BlipVerts
could cost the huge Zick Zack account. They also discover that one of
the chief officers of Channel 23 is leaving (and being covered on another
network) to sign a new contract with Zick Zack. Edison rushes over to
confront the spied apon exec, who speaks out off the record.
The BiltVert project was created by the head of Reasearch and
Devlopment for Network 23, Lynch Brice, to compress 30 seconds of
advertisments into 3 seconds. This reduction in wasted time gives Network
23 the viewing edge that results in their high ratings. The system has
one side effect. Amoung the most sloth like, slovenly, seditary
individuals a chain reaction may be set off by the BlitVertisments.
As explained by Brice, the human body is composed of a number of static
charges that are normally accumulated at the nerve endings and are worked
off through normal exertion. Except in the case of the most seditary.
In those cases, the BlitVerts set the brain into firing off all the
stored energy that results in a great deal of heat and the victim then
explodes. (Which was the case of the story he was following.)
Edison Carter learns that a video tape in the R&D labs shows the
BlitVert effect very clearly. (It should be noted that the board of
Network 23 is very upset about this effect and wants it silenced at any
cost, although Brace seems too egear to kill off Carter.) He uses his
controller's skills to lead him past security and through the corridors
and into the lab. There he finds the tape, but is discovered by Brice
who sends two henchmen to eliminate Carter in their usual low-life
'outsider' manner. Edison eludes the thugs as his controller and
Brice fight for control of the building computer system, which controls
the elevator system and defences. Edison is able to escape using one
of the thug's cycle but is thrown by Brice into a gate that is labled:
MAX HEADROOM 2.3 FEET
The episode ends with Edison Carter's life in total question. But
previews of next week's, show the possiblity of the Network replacing
Carter with one of Brice's computer simulations.
NOTE: The music and computer graphics are arresting. Verry Good.
Another Reason to Buy Video Tape...
Victor O'Rear-- {ihnp4, cbosgd, sdcsvax, noscvax}!crash!victoro
crash!victoro@nosc or crash!victoro@ucsddays@glasgow.glasgow.UUCP (Judge Dredd) (10/22/85)
> The episode ends with Edison Carter's life in total question. But > previews of next week's, show the possiblity of the Network replacing > Carter with one of Brice's computer simulations. All in all a pretty good resume, however I have some bad news. :-(. When "Max Headroom" came out over here, it appeared to be a pilot for a series. However, the series it is a pilot for is nothing to do with the news-crew. I'll try not to give too much away. A computer simulation of Carters Brain is made with the plan of using it for news reports. However, due to Carters accident, his brain is not functioning properly and suffers from a severe speech impediment. The computer gets thrown out and is found by a DJ for Channel-7, an extremly low-budget TV company which plays pop - videos all day. Max ( The computer ) becomes a DJ, and Channel-7 becomes very popular. The follow-on series is a program which intersperses pop-videos with a computer-animated head. It's rather well scripted, and worth watching, but a bit of a disappointment to anyone expecting an sf-series. What I reckon you will see is the original pilot-film split into TV-viewer-concious-timeable chunks. -- Stephen Day, Comp Sci Dept, University of Glasgow, Scotland seismo!mcvax!ukc!glasgow!days The Surgeon General has assertained that not having a Disclaimer here can be HAZARDOUS TO YOUR WEALTH