HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Max Headroom is a fictional
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...
(AI) character portrayed by actor
Matt Frewer Matthew George Frewer (born January 4, 1958) is an American-Canadian actor, singer and comedian. He portrayed the 1980s icon Max Headroom in the 1985 TV movie and 1987 television series of the same names. He became prominent when playing role ...
. Advertised as "the first computer-generated TV presenter", Max was known for his biting commentary on a variety of topical issues, arrogant wit, stuttering, and pitch-shifting voice. The character was created by George Stone, Annabel Jankel, and
Rocky Morton Rocky Morton (born 1955) is an English director. He is the co-creator of the TV series '' Max Headroom'' and co-director of the 1993 Hollywood Pictures film '' Super Mario Bros''. Various music videos by Tom Tom Club, Talking Heads, Gravity Kill ...
. Max was advertised as "computer-generated" and some believed this, but he was actually actor Frewer wearing
prosthetic In medicine, a prosthesis (plural: prostheses; from grc, πρόσθεσις, prósthesis, addition, application, attachment), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through trau ...
makeup, contact lenses, and a plastic molded suit, and sitting in front of a blue screen. Harsh lighting and other editing and recording effects heighten the illusion of a CGI character. According to his creators, Max's personality was meant to be a satirical exaggeration of the worst tendencies of television hosts in the 1980s who wanted to appeal to youth culture yet weren't a part of it. Frewer proposed that Max reflected an innocence, largely influenced not by mentors and life experience but by information absorbed from television. Max Headroom debuted in April 1985 on
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
in the British-made
cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyber ...
TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
''Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future'', his origin story. In the movie, Edison Carter (portrayed by Frewer) is a journalist fleeing enemies into a parking garage, crashing his motorcycle through the entrance barrier reading "Max. Headroom 2.3 metres". At the time, UK clearance height signs used the phrase "Max. Headroom" as opposed to "Max. Height". While Carter is unconscious, an AI program based on his mind is created. The AI develops a personality identified as "Max Headroom", and becomes a TV host who exists only on broadcast signals and computer systems. Like Carter, Max openly challenges the corporations that run his world, but using commentary and sarcastic wit rather than journalism. ''Max Headroom: 20 Minutes Into the Future''. Channel 4 TV-movie (April 4, 1985). Two days after the TV-movie was broadcast, Max hosted Channel 4's ''The Max Headroom Show'', a TV program where he introduces music videos, comments on various topics, and eventually interviews guests before a live studio audience. During its second and third year, it also aired in the US on
Cinemax Cinemax is an American pay television, cable, and satellite television network owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Developed as a companion "maxi-pay" service complementing the offerings shown on parent ...
. Max Headroom became a global spokesperson for New Coke, appearing on many TV commercials with the catchphrase "Catch the wave!". After the cancellation of ''The Max Headroom Show'', Matt Frewer portrayed Max and Carter in the 1987 American TV drama series ''Max Headroom'' on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
. The series returns to Carter and Max challenging the status quo of a cyberpunk world, now portraying them as allies and providing a slightly altered version of Max's origin. The series was canceled during its second year. Max's appearance and style of speech has influenced and been referenced by different media, such as
Ron Headrest Ron Headrest is a fictional character in the comic strip ''Doonesbury''. During the 1980s, Garry Trudeau thought it would be fun to do a political parody of the television program '' Max Headroom'' (of which he was a fan). He combined the concept ...
, a fictional character in the comic strip ''
Doonesbury ''Doonesbury'' is a comic strip by American cartoonist Garry Trudeau that chronicles the adventures and lives of an array of characters of various ages, professions, and backgrounds, from the President of the United States to the title character, ...
'' a political parody of
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
(who also appeared in ''
Back to the Future Part II ''Back to the Future Part II'' is a 1989 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay by Bob Gale and a story by both. It is the sequel to the 1985 film ''Back to the Future'' and the second installment in the ' ...
'') and
Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...
's 2013 "
Rap God "Rap God" is a song by American rapper Eminem. The song premiered via YouTube on October 14, 2013, and was released in the United States on October 15, 2013, as the third single from Eminem's eighth studio album, '' The Marshall Mathers LP 2'' ...
" video wherein the rapper resembles Max. He was emulated by an unknown person in a Max mask while hijacking a local broadcast signal in 1987, later referred to as the " Max Headroom incident". To advertise and promote Channel 4 and its subsidiary channels shifting from broadcast to digital signal, an aged Max Headroom (again portrayed by Frewer) appeared in new commercials in 2007 and 2008. Max cameos in the 2015 film ''
Pixels In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the sm ...
''.


Development


Concept

With the rising popularity of music videos with youth culture, and stations such as MTV, Channel 4 hosted a music video programme.
Rocky Morton Rocky Morton (born 1955) is an English director. He is the co-creator of the TV series '' Max Headroom'' and co-director of the 1993 Hollywood Pictures film '' Super Mario Bros''. Various music videos by Tom Tom Club, Talking Heads, Gravity Kill ...
was tasked to develop a graphic to play before and after the videos, clarifying to audiences these were features of a special show and not just random music videos between TV advertisements. Taking inspiration from MTV video jockeys (VJs) and US TV hosts, Morton decided a graphic or "bumper video" would not appeal to youth nearly as much as a host with a loud personality. He thought British youth would be suspicious of a youthful personality attempting to appeal to them and might instead appreciate the cynical irony of a host who appeared to be a conservative man in a simple suit and tie attempting to appeal to youth but lacking a true understanding of their culture. He saw the host as "the most boring thing that I could think of to do... a talking head: a middle-class white male in a suit, talking to them in a really boring way about music videos". Morton thought the host should be computer-generated or animated. When this proved impractical, an actor was cast with the illusion of a computer generated host. Channel 4 executives enjoyed Morton's pitch and introduced Max as a character in an hour-long TV-movie before presenting him as a programme host. Producer Peter Wagg hired writers David Hansen and Paul Owen to construct Max's "whole persona", which Morton described as the "very sterile, arrogant, Western personification of the middle-class, male TV host". The background story provided for the Max Headroom character in '' Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future'' was rooted in a
dystopia A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...
n near-future dominated by television and large corporations, devised by George Stone and eventual script writer Steve Roberts. The character's name came from the last thing Carter saw during a motorcycle accident that put him into a coma: a traffic warning sign marked "MAX. HEADROOM: 2.3 M" (an overhead clearance of 2.3 metres) suspended across a
car park A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface ...
entrance. The name originated well before other character aspects from George Stone, who remarked "
he phrase He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
'max headroom' was over the entranceway of every car park in the UK. Instant branding, instant recognition." It was decided "Max Headroom" was a comically ironic name for a host who implied he knew and understood everything, as the name indicated his head was actually empty of true knowledge and wisdom. Canadian-American actor
Matt Frewer Matthew George Frewer (born January 4, 1958) is an American-Canadian actor, singer and comedian. He portrayed the 1980s icon Max Headroom in the 1985 TV movie and 1987 television series of the same names. He became prominent when playing role ...
tested for the role after a friend of his had already auditioned and then suggested him instead. Producer and character co-creator Annabel Jankel thought Frewer would be a good choice to masquerade as a person whose appearance was designed by a computer, seeing from his casting Polaroid photo that he had "unbelievably well-defined features". Frewer was given "a few lines" of dialogue and then encouraged to improvise. His comedic improvisation of more than ten minutes impressed the production crew. He was inspired by character
Ted Baxter Ted Baxter is a fictional character on the sitcom ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (1970–1977). Portrayed by Ted Knight, the Baxter character is a broad parody of a vain, shallow, buffoonish TV personality. Knight's comedic model was actor William ...
of ''
The Mary Tyler Moore Show ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977. Moor ...
'', recalling in 1987, "I particularly wanted to get that phony bonhomie of Baxter ... Max always assumes a decade long friendship on the first meeting. At first sight, he'll ask about that blackhead on your nose." While Hansen and Owen continued writing Max's lines in the TV movie and music video programme episodes, Frewer always improvised more dialogue during filming and was encouraged to do so. Hansen and Owen later wrote the 1985 book ''Max Headroom's Guide to Life'' from Max's personal perspective. In discussing Max's fictional origin story, it was first proposed that he could be an AI created to stand in for a human TV host who was late for his own show. The backstory would be revealed through different five-minute segments during the first season of ''The Max Headroom Show''. When Channel 4 decided Max's origin would be featured in an hour long TV movie instead, an expanded story was developed and the origin was altered to now involve a crusading journalist named Edison Carter. On 4 April 1985, the TV movie ''Max Headroom: 20 Minutes Into the Future'' introduced Max to television audiences. On 6 April 1985, Channel 4 aired the first episode of ''The Max Headroom Show''.


Production

The character's classic look is a shiny dark suit often paired with
Ray-Ban Wayfarer Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses have been manufactured by Ray-Ban since 1952, which in turn has belonged to the Italian Luxottica Group since 1999. Wayfarers enjoyed early popularity in the 1950s and 1960s, returning to popularity again after a 1982 ...
sunglasses. Other than the publicity for the character, the real image of Max was not computer-generated. Computing technology in the mid-1980s was not sufficiently advanced yet for a full-motion, voice-synchronized human head to be practical for a television series. Max's image is actually that of actor
Matt Frewer Matthew George Frewer (born January 4, 1958) is an American-Canadian actor, singer and comedian. He portrayed the 1980s icon Max Headroom in the 1985 TV movie and 1987 television series of the same names. He became prominent when playing role ...
in latex and foam prosthetic makeup with a
fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth ...
suit created by Peter Litten and John Humphreys. Preparing the look for filming involved a four-and-a-half-hour session in makeup, which Frewer described as "gruelling" and "not fun", likening it to "being on the inside of a giant tennis ball". Only his head and shoulders are shown, usually superimposed over a moving geometric background. This background is a piece of CGI footage that had been generated for one of Morton and Jankel's ad agency's commercials, and later, in the United States version, generated by an
Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...
computer. His chaotic speech patterns are based upon his voice pitching up or down seemingly at random, or occasionally becoming stuck in a stuttering loop. These modulations also appear in live performances. The rights to the Max Headroom character were held by
All3Media All3Media Limited is a British worldwide independent television, film and digital production and distribution company based in London, England. The All3Media group comprises more than 40 production and distribution companies from across the U ...
.


TV history


TV movie

Max Headroom debuted in the British-made
cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyber ...
TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
''Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future'', which was broadcast on 4 April 1985. It consists of material originally planned to be broken into five-minute backstory segments for ''The Max Headroom Show'', later expanded to one hour. Set in a near future world, it focuses on
Edison Carter ''Max Headroom'' is an American satirical science fiction television series by Chrysalis Visual Programming and Lakeside Productions for Lorimar-Telepictures that aired in the United States on ABC from March 31, 1987, to May 5, 1988. The seri ...
(Frewer), a crusading and witty journalist who openly challenges the corporations that rule the world, including his own employer Station 23. Max Headroom is a secondary character, an AI created from Carter's basic brain patterns and memory fragments. As Carter exposes corruption in Station 23, Max rises as a host on independent, public access television. In the movie, Max and Edison Carter never meet.


''The Max Headroom Show'' series

Premiering on 6 April 1985, it features music videos with Max Headroom as video jockey (VJ or " veejay"). Early episodes unusually feature no introductory title sequence or end credits, beginning and ending instead with a
cold open A cold open (also called a teaser sequence) is a narrative technique used in television and films. It is the practice of jumping directly into a story at the beginning of the show before the title sequence or opening credits are shown. In Ameri ...
of static as if Max Headroom is hijacking the broadcast signal to speak to the audience. Channel 4 advertised Max as the "first computer-generated TV presenter" and Matt Frewer was initially under contract to withhold his identity in the role. Many believed Max was a computer animated puppet, manipulated and voiced by an actor. For this reason, the series pilot won the
British Academy of Film and Television Arts British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
(BAFTA) award for graphics in 1986, though the show has no computer generated graphics beyond Max's simple background lines. The show was an immediate hit in the UK, doubling Channel 4's viewing figures for its time slot within one month. In its second year, the programme broadened the original concept to include a live studio audience and celebrity interviews. Frewer did not appear in-person before the audience or share the stage with guests. Instead, he filmed in another room as Max Headroom and appeared before the audience and guests on television screens via a live feed, maintaining the illusion of an AI living in broadcast signals and computer systems. The second and third years of the show were also broadcast on the US cable channel
Cinemax Cinemax is an American pay television, cable, and satellite television network owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Developed as a companion "maxi-pay" service complementing the offerings shown on parent ...
. A Christmas special was written by
George R.R. Martin George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels '' A So ...
, later famous for his book series ''
A Song of Ice and Fire ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' is a series of epic fantasy novels by the American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin. He began the first volume of the series, ''A Game of Thrones'', in 1991, and it was published in 1996. Martin, who init ...
'', the basis for ''
Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...
''. Channel 4 ended ''The Max Headroom Show'' after its third year. Cinemax then produced six more episodes for US audiences in 1987, rebranded as ''The Original Talking Max Headroom Show''.


Dramatic ''Max Headroom'' series (ABC)

American TV station
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
acquired the rights to create an ongoing series titled ''Max Headroom''. Rather than a music program, this is a prime time dramatic series based on the story and concepts of the original TV movie ''Max Headroom: 20 Minutes Into the Future''. By this time, it was known to the general public that Max was not a computer generated character or puppet but rather actor Matt Frewer in prosthetics, so press for the show openly spoke of him as a lead cast member in both roles of Max Headroom and Edison Carter. Amanda Pays reprised her role from the original film. The pilot is largely based on the original movie. The hacker who creates Max Headroom is innocent and manipulated rather than overtly villainous and callous. Max's origin is slightly different and he more strongly shares Carter's drive to expose corruption rather than only comment on it. In the pilot, Max and Carter meet, leading them to work as allies for the rest of the series. It regularly parodies and criticizes media corporations and topical news events. ''Max Headroom'' was broadcast for two short seasons from 1987 to 1988. Producer Peter Wagg attempted to sell a movie concept called ''Max Headroom for President'', but it was not picked up. Shout! Factory released ''Max Headroom: The Complete Series'' on DVD in the United States and Canada on August 10, 2010.


Television hijack

On November 22, 1987, an unidentified person wearing a Max Headroom mask and costume carried out broadcast signal hijacking of two television stations in
Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
. During each signal interruption, the hijacker speaks with distorted audio and stands before a swiveling corrugated panel to mimick Max Headroom's geometric background effect. He referenced Max Headroom's endorsement of
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...
, the TV series ''
Clutch Cargo ''Clutch Cargo'' is an American animated television series created by cartoonist Clark Haas and produced by Cambria Productions, and syndicated beginning on March 9, 1959. The series was notable for its limited animation yet imaginative stories ...
'', WGN anchor
Chuck Swirsky Chuck Swirsky (born January 30, 1954) is an American–Canadian radio sports announcer. He is the play-by-play voice of the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Swirsky's association with Chicago sports started in 1979 with ...
, and "all the greatest world newspaper nerds" (a reference to WGN's call letters, which stand for " World's Greatest Newspaper"). The first "Max Headroom incident" was 25 seconds during the sports segment of
WGN-TV WGN-TV (channel 9) is an Independent station (North America), independent television station in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, it is sister station, sister to the company's sole radio property, talk ra ...
's 9:00 p.m. news broadcast. Approximately two hours later, the second signal hijacking was about 90 seconds during
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
affiliate WTTW's broadcast of ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' ("The Horror of Fang Rock"). The second video ended with the hijacker apparently exposing buttocks and being spanked with a flyswatter. Normal programming then quickly resumed. These video pirates have never been identified.


Planned reboot

On July 29, 2022,
AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...
announced a series reboot, with Matt Frewer as Max.


In other media

Max made celebrity cameos and sampled appearances in other TV series, books, the
Art of Noise Art of Noise (also The Art of Noise) were an English avant-garde synth-pop group formed in early 1983 by engineer/producer Gary Langan and programmer J. J. Jeczalik, along with keyboardist/arranger Anne Dudley, producer Trevor Horn, and music ...
song "
Paranoimia "Paranoimia" is a song by English synth-pop group Art of Noise released in April 1986, from their second studio album '' In Visible Silence'' (1986). The song's better-known version was a version released as a single, featuring television char ...
" and its video (which became a top-40 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100), and advertisement campaigns. He was the
spokesman A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman, is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...
for New Coke (after the return of
Coca-Cola Classic Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...
), delivering the slogan "Catch the wave!" (in his staccato, stuttering playback as "C-c-catch the wave!"). After the two TV shows and the Coke advertising campaign ended, Peter Wagg attempted to sell a movie concept called ''Max Headroom for President'' but did not find a company willing to produce it. In 1986,
Quicksilva Quicksilva was a British games software publisher active during the early 1980s. Quicksilva was founded by Nick Lambert in 1979. The name Quicksilva was inspired by a particular guitar solo in a track on the album Happy Trails by Quicksilver Mess ...
released a ''Max Headroom'' video game, developed by Binary Design, originally for the
Sinclair Sinclair may refer to: Places * Lake Sinclair, near Milledgeville, Georgia * Sinclair, Iowa * Sinclair, West Virginia * Sinclair, Wyoming * Sinclair Mills, British Columbia * Sinclair Township, Minnesota * Sinclair, Manitoba People * ...
ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as t ...
and ported to the
Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...
,
Amstrad Amstrad was a British electronics company, founded in 1968 by Alan Sugar at the age of 21. The name is a contraction of Alan Michael Sugar Trading. It was first listed on the London Stock Exchange in April 1980. During the late 1980s, Amstra ...
, and
Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...
. In 1987, Comico announced a thirty-two page ''Max Headroom 3-D'' comic, written by
Mike Baron Mike Baron (born July 1, 1949) is an American comic book writer. He is the creator of ''Badger'' and the co-creator of ''Nexus'' with Steve Rude. Biography Mike Baron entered the comics industry with an illustrated text piece in ''Weird Trips ...
and illustrated by
Arnold and Jacob Pander Jacob Pander (born January 26, 1965) and Arnold Pander (born June 16, 1967), known commercially as The Pander Brothers, are American comic book creators, artists, and filmmakers. They are best known for their work on the comics titles Grendel: Devi ...
but the issue was never published. Max returned to television TV in 2007. He appeared in an advertisement series for Channel 4 to raise awareness for the
digital switchover The digital television transition, also called the digital switchover (DSO), the analogue switch/sign-off (ASO), the digital migration, or the analogue shutdown, is the process in which older analogue television broadcasting technology is conv ...
. These advertisements were directed by original creator Rocky Morton. Matt Frewer portrayed Max, with make up that showed the AI had aged considerably and was in ill-health, implying he belonged to obsolete analogue television and had no place with new digital technology. Matt Frewer played Max Headroom for a brief cameo scene in the 2015 movie ''
Pixels In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the sm ...
'', a narrative that featured many digital characters from 1980s video games.


In popular culture

Max Headroom has inspired many imitations and spoofs: * ''
Late Night with David Letterman ''Late Night with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on NBC, the first iteration of the ''Late Night'' franchise. It premiered on February 1, 1982, and was produced by Letterman's production company ...
'' (Max Headroom's US network television debut), parodied the concept with their own character Larry "Bud" Mellman, in a sketch called "Larry 'Bud' Headroom". *In the 1980s,
Garry Trudeau Garretson Beekman Trudeau (born July 21, 1948) is an American cartoonist, best known for creating the '' Doonesbury'' comic strip. Trudeau is also the creator and executive producer of the Amazon Studios political comedy series ''Alpha House'' ...
created the character
Ron Headrest Ron Headrest is a fictional character in the comic strip ''Doonesbury''. During the 1980s, Garry Trudeau thought it would be fun to do a political parody of the television program '' Max Headroom'' (of which he was a fan). He combined the concept ...
for his political comic strip ''
Doonesbury ''Doonesbury'' is a comic strip by American cartoonist Garry Trudeau that chronicles the adventures and lives of an array of characters of various ages, professions, and backgrounds, from the President of the United States to the title character, ...
''. The character parodied Max Headroom and then US President
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
. * ''
Back to the Future Part II ''Back to the Future Part II'' is a 1989 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay by Bob Gale and a story by both. It is the sequel to the 1985 film ''Back to the Future'' and the second installment in the ' ...
'' features a parody of Max and Reagan, and computer-generated versions of
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
and the
Ayatollah Khomeini Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...
as waiters, at the fictitious Cafe '80s. * In the
Ernest Cline Ernest Christy Cline (born March 29, 1972) is an American science fiction novelist, slam poet, and screenwriter. He wrote the novels '' Ready Player One'', '' Armada'', and '' Ready Player Two'' and co-wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation ...
novel ''
Ready Player One ''Ready Player One'' is a 2011 science fiction novel, and the debut novel of American author Ernest Cline. The story, set in a dystopia in 2045, follows protagonist Wade Watts on his search for an Easter egg in a worldwide virtual reality ga ...
'', protagonist Wade Watts has a Max Headroom AI in his OASIS account, a detail omitted from the
film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
. *
Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...
's 2013 "
Rap God "Rap God" is a song by American rapper Eminem. The song premiered via YouTube on October 14, 2013, and was released in the United States on October 15, 2013, as the third single from Eminem's eighth studio album, '' The Marshall Mathers LP 2'' ...
" video features himself portrayed as Max Headroom. * Max Headroom cameos in the film ''
Pixels In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the sm ...
'' (2015) as manipulated footage in a message just before the final showdown between the Arcaders and the leader of the aliens. Matt Frewer reprised his role, but unlike Max's other appearances, he was entirely computer-generated from a facial capture of the performance, which led to the visual effects team needing to manually reduce the accuracy to mimic the immobility of the facial prosthetics. *
Mel Brooks Mel Brooks (born Melvin James Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodies. He began h ...
's 1987
sci-fi Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universe ...
spoof movie '' Spaceballs'' features Pizza the Hutt's robotic subordinate Vinnie, a parody of Max Headroom. * In
Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...
's video for the 2017 single " Dig Down", lead vocalist
Matt Bellamy Matthew James Bellamy (born 9 June 1978) is an English singer, musician, producer, and songwriter. He is primarily known as the lead vocalist, guitarist, pianist, and primary songwriter for English rock band Muse. He is recognised for his eccen ...
appears through
cathode ray tube A cathode-ray tube (CRT) is a vacuum tube containing one or more electron guns, which emit electron beams that are manipulated to display images on a phosphorescent screen. The images may represent electrical waveforms ( oscilloscope), pictu ...
television sets as a parody of Max Headroom. *
Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (; born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and barrister who has served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Holborn and St Pancras s ...
is portrayed as Max Headroom in his spoof '' Private Eye'' column. * In the
Ernest Cline Ernest Christy Cline (born March 29, 1972) is an American science fiction novelist, slam poet, and screenwriter. He wrote the novels '' Ready Player One'', '' Armada'', and '' Ready Player Two'' and co-wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation ...
novel ''
Ready Player Two ''Ready Player Two'' is a 2020 science fiction novel by American author Ernest Cline. It is the sequel to his 2011 debut novel '' Ready Player One''. Plans for a ''Ready Player One'' sequel were first announced in 2015, though Cline did not begin ...
'', Wade Watts once again has a Max Headroom AI in both his ship, ''The Vonnegut'', and in his mansion outside of Columbus, Ohio. *
Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...
's song "Pressure" from his 1986 album ''
Landing on Water ''Landing on Water'' is the 15th studio album by Neil Young. The album was released on July 21, 1986, by Geffen Records. Several of the songs on the album were resurrected from Neil Young and Crazy Horse's failed 1984 sessions – a set of session ...
'' makes reference to Max Headroom. * Pop artist
Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American singer, actress and producer. Gomez began her acting career on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004). As a teenager, she rose to prominence for starring a ...
briefly appears as Max Headroom during her music video for "
Love You Like a Love Song "Love You Like a Love Song" is a song by American band Selena Gomez & the Scene recorded for their third studio album '' When the Sun Goes Down'' (2011). It was released as the second single from the album internationally. The song was released ...
", addressed by critic John Bergstrom as a "stuttering, Max Headroom non-chorus". * In the video game ''
Wasteland 3 ''Wasteland 3'' is a role-playing video game developed by inXile Entertainment and published by Deep Silver. It is a sequel to ''Wasteland 2'' (2014) and was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on August 28, 2020. It was po ...
'', a digitized parody of
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
and Max is on a computer screen. * Introduced
Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...
during her recorded performance at Camden Palace in London (later broadcast live) during her
Break Every Rule World Tour Break Every Rule World Tour is the sixth concert tour by singer Tina Turner. The tour supported her sixth solo album '' Break Every Rule'' (1986). It was sponsored by Pepsi-Cola and broke box office records in 13 different countries: England, Ge ...
.


References


External links


Interview with Matt Frewer
(copy archived October 18, 2016)
Max to promote Digital TV — The Times Online

The Max Headroom Chronicles - Comprehensive Max Headroom information site
* Bishop, Bryan (2015)
''Live and direct: The definitive oral history of 1980s digital icon Max Headroom''
The Verge ''The Verge'' is an American technology news website operated by Vox Media, publishing news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts. The website launched on November 1, 2011, and uses Vox Media' ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Max Headroom (Character) Drink advertising characters Male characters in advertising Fictional artificial intelligences Television characters introduced in 1985 Promotional campaigns by Coca-Cola Talk show characters