The second season of Max Headroom only lasted 8 episodes before the ABC network pulled the plug. The last episode never aired in the US during the original run. I guess a lot of people didn't like traveling 20 minutes into the future to a gritty corrupt world that seems far to real. Matt Frewer plays Edison Carter Channel 23's lead reporter. It's Edison's mind that is used to create Max. They use Matt's body to make Max. Too early for CGI to make a good computer animated character yet. Amanda Pays plays Theora Jones who is Edison's Controller at Channel 23. Jeffrey Tambor plays Murray their boss. Chris Young plays Bryce Lynch who is the Channel 23 resident Brainiac. Morgan Sheppard is Blank Reg of Big Time TV. It's Reg that has trouble in the first episode.
Academy aired September 18 1987 and was the 7th episode. Someone is disrupting Channel 23's signals and replacing them with their own garbage. Blank Reg is framed for it. Edison works to save him from the death penalty and finds out that Bryce did it. He was helping some pre-teen hackers at his old school. To divert attention from them he framed Blank Reg. His excuse was Reg should get off because he hasn't the equipment to do it. No matter the lack of evidence, the computer courts get a possible criminal profile for Reg and it's the death chamber for him. Edison and Max teach Bryce to care for others and grow up some. He passes along the lesson to the other kids. They help Reg at his trial by interrupting Channel 23's signal. Reg is free to return to Big Time TV. Reg is cool, an old punk who loves the classics from when I was young. Morgan Sheppard also played a Soul Hunter in an episode of Babylon 5.
Dieties aired a week later and it's a story about a church that offers life after death. They scan your brain and promise to put it in a new body when that technology comes available. The scan they use isn't enough to make a clone so Edison goes digging for the truth. I wouldn't sign up for that process, even if it worked, being cloned isn't going to prolong my life, and I'm not interested in paying for some copy, in a me suit, to have fun in the future. I guess I'm selfish that way. Besides there are enough people we don't need to copy the ones we already have. I've seen enough movies to know that goes hella-wrong.
Grossberg's Return was first broadcast on Oct 2 1987 and it's the 9th episode. Charles Rocket plays Ned Grossberg who was the boss at Channel 23 when the whole Max thing went down. He got tossed out of Channel 23 and now he's taking over Channel 66. His first job is to rig the upcoming election. Edison finds out and fixes it himself. Max usually helps with stuff when he can focus. I find I get tired of Max sometimes.
Dream Thieves came out a week later and it has a story about a company that records dreams for a pay channel. Unfortunately the dream catching process occasionally kills the person dreaming. Edison's old co-worker is killed and he goes undercover to find out what's going on. The tv competition is so fierce that producers will kill just to get a bit ahead. Hardly seems like the future is much different than today. Supposedly the show was set about 2004.
Whackets, Oct 16 1987, is about a couple of tv producers who have created a subliminal message that can run under any tv show and makes the used totally addicted to the tv and whatever piece of crap show they are watching. Bill Maher plays one of the sleazy tv guys. Their whole plan falls apart when Edison gets to working on the story.
Neurostim didn't air until April 28 1987. Big sleazy corporation Zik-Zak hands out neurostim bracelets that pump happy images into people's brains. The hook people on buying their products and if enough people get hooked Zik-Zak figures on canceling all their advertising. Channel 23 gets lof of revenue from Zik-Zak and they send Edison Carter to investigate. Zik-Zak gets a chance to zap Edison with a specially powerful bracelet and soon he's out blowing all his money. He nearly ruins his life and more seriously his credit rating but Max and the gang save him.
Lessons aired May 5 1987 and it was the last of the initial run. It's a shitty ol' future in Edison's world. There's no education for the Blanks and no laws to protect them. Edison observes the police raiding the Blank areas and arresting them for stealing educational pay tv. Somehow the Channel 23 censors are involved and that interests Edison. He gets to investigating and helps the Blanks get their learn on.
Baby Grobags didn't get aired until the show turned up in syndication. A woman has her baby stolen out of the baby makin' company and Edison follows the trail to Grossberg at Channel 66. He's got some scheme or another going on. It's evil and Edison and Max put a stop to it.
Most of the shows were pretty good but sometime Edison acts like a dick. He gets all bitchy when it doesn't go his way. He also has a melt down over Max butting into his show and competing with him for air time. That would be annoying, having a Max of yourself, on TV. A TV you can't turn off. By law. I like Jeffrey Tambor's character Murray quite a bit. Most everyone else does a great job. It must have been a weird show to make with all the odd characters and costumes and sets and props. Some of that is covered in the extras. Too bad they didn't make more episodes. I watched a few of them for a second time. There are lots of little bits that only turn up with repeated viewings. It's another series that belongs on the SF film and tv fan's dvd shelf.
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