ralph@mit-atrp.UUCP (Ralph L. Vinciguerra) (10/19/87)
I was very disappointed this past weekend when I learned of the cancellation
of the "MAX Headroom, 20 minutes into the future" show.
This was the show that credits Commodore and the "Amiga Division"
for supplying(?) some equipment.
Apparently they use the Amigas in various ways for the show.
Now, I *loved* the show (and taped all the episodes), but the apparent
reason for its cancellation was that:
"The viewers had to concentrate too much to watch it,
unlike other shows where you can not pay attention
and still get the idea".
Yeah, I see, like the regular shows with stupid laugh tracks to cue my
"numbed" senses, and completely inane plots and issues. I guess I'm just
upset that they took away one of the few shows that was at a different level.
But then again, TV was never about originality or creativity, just profit.
I guess I'll just have to do it all myself on my Amiga, and watch the public
channels for other interesting transmissions. Maybe they'll carry MAX Headroom.
This is a sad commentary on the viewing public.
I really feel like I want to have a few strong words with some network
executives about this. Why can't TV attempt to broaden its viewers instead
of just feeding them "ratings based drivel".
This show offered a chance to see a possible future world
of computer graphics, animation and other "stylish" video technology,
Then if you have an Amiga you could "play" with the same kind of stuff
on your own computer at home. What other show offers such a setup ?
It would have been a good show for CBM to advertise during, by having a
commercial with the same style.
But, unfortunately, the viewing public doesn't want such stuff.
I don't really mind the presence of the "drivel".... except when it preempts
stuff that is really promising and interesting.
Not all the other shows are "drivel"...but a frightening number of them
fall into that category for me.
Maybe the problem is with the "ratings" companies (Nielson?). Perhaps
they are the cause for this lop-sided, only-show-what-the-most-people-
will-watch, who-needs-breadth-of-programming attitude.
It was apparently reaching only 7 Million homes, instead of the
requisite 10 Million. Come on guys ! Give it a little time ! It was only
on for 6 episodes ! Oops, I forgot, time=money.
Gosh, I'm steamed !
It's sort of ironic that this show parodies the TV companies and the
rating system, and that's precisely what decided to stop showing it.
I hope I haven't upset people by mentioning this here, but since the
creative folks that made the show use some Amiga's I figured others in this
group would feel like me......disappointed that something new and exciting
got dead-panned by the American networks (it apparently was a big hit
in England).
PS: Amy Expo was a blast. I hope they have bigger rooms for the talks
at the next ones ! And *PLEASE* use the Amiga's during the talks to give
demos. I never make overhead transparencies any more when I give talks.
I just sign up in a room with projection TV and haul my Amy in.
Lot's of pizzaz and far more convenient for making the images.
Ralphjmo@ems.MN.ORG (John M. O'Shaughnessy) (10/20/87)
Yep, the networks really blew it with Max Headroom. The original show, and the first few shows last season were suburb, but they fell off quickly after that. Seems they were trying to appeal to the masses while trying to maintain the subtle jabs that made the show as good as it was. In the process, they obtained neither. It's a shame. John -- John M. O'Shaughnessy jmo@ems.mn.org +1 612 375 8138 EMS/McGraw-Hill -guest ihnp4!meccts!ems!jmo
dillon@CORY.BERKELEY.EDU (Matt Dillon) (10/20/87)
>Yep, the networks really blew it with Max Headroom. The original show, and >the first few shows last season were suburb, but they fell off quickly They also put it in the wrong time slot! -Matt
ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo 'Bols Ewhac' Schwab) (10/21/87)
[ Wall Street was here. ]
Despite what the Nielson company may say, I think all the ratings
families have either been got at, or conspire to kill good shows.
Even now, the advertising industry is questioning the value of TV
ratings as currently collected. They complain about how, when a commercial
comes on, the viewer gets up and does something, or flips channels, thus
avoiding the commercial. The ad companies don't like this. They want us to
watch attentively while Mr. Whipple hawks Charmin, and could care less about
whether the show is any good.
I think Max Headroom was killed by a combination of internal and
external TV politics. It was too true to life (??!!). It portrayed TV
executive board rooms and TV advertisers in a very bad light. I suspect
this made a lot of high-powered people uncomfortable enough to apply
pressure to ABC to pull the show. The ratings argument is just a
smokescreen. 'Hill Street Blues' was a poorly-rated show when it was
introduced, but NBC stuck with it, and it became very popular. The same
could easily become true of Max Headroom if ABC were willing to give it the
chance. But I suspect ABC's too spineless, preferring instead to bring us
endless re-runs of 'Monday Night Football' (can you say, "Thus far?").
If you want any chance of reviving this show, write to ABC, or
better still, Lorimar Telepictures. Convince Lorimar that the show is still
popular, and can be profitable if syndicated (witness: Star Trek: The Next
Generation).
We'll put those Amigas to good use yet!
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Leo L. Schwab -- The Guy in The Cape ihnp4!ptsfa -\
\_ -_ Recumbent Bikes: dual ---> !{well,unicom}!ewhac
O----^o The Only Way To Fly. hplabs / (pronounced "AE-wack")
"Although there are technical differences between the quality of images
created on the Amiga and on our system, we feel that viewers could be misled
to believe otherwise, even with your disclaimers to the contrary."
-- Ralph J. Guggenheim, Pixarewhac@well.UUCP (Leo 'Bols Ewhac' Schwab) (10/22/87)
[ "Here. This'll shoot the lips off a cockroach." -- 999 ]
Interesting side note to the cancellation of Max Headroom. My boss,
who is a good friend of one of the marketing/PR guys at Commodore, is
getting a free A2000 out of this.
Says he, "I called him and asked what the story was. He said, 'It's
been cancelled, and I've got this A2000 I don't know what to do with.' 'Why
don't you give it to me?' I said. 'Okay,' and that was that."
Some guys have all the luck.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Leo L. Schwab -- The Guy in The Cape ihnp4!ptsfa -\
\_ -_ Recumbent Bikes: dual ---> !{well,unicom}!ewhac
O----^o The Only Way To Fly. hplabs / (pronounced "AE-wack")
"Although there are technical differences between the quality of images
created on the Amiga and on our system, we feel that viewers could be misled
to believe otherwise, even with your disclaimers to the contrary."
-- Ralph J. Guggenheim, Pixarpeter@sugar.UUCP (Peter da Silva) (10/24/87)
In article <8710201629.AA06381@cory.Berkeley.EDU>, dillon@CORY.BERKELEY.EDU (Matt Dillon) writes: > > >Yep, the networks really blew it with Max Headroom. The original show, and > >the first few shows last season were suburb, but they fell off quickly > > They also put it in the wrong time slot! This is probably the real reason. They did it to Star Trek, too, remember. Or did they really think an avant-garde (for TV) show could compete with both Dallas and Miami Vice? -- -- Peter da Silva `-_-' ...!hoptoad!academ!uhnix1!sugar!peter -- Disclaimer: These U aren't mere opinions... these are *values*.