After being born in '76 i basically was a latchkey kid and grew up on American television. I VIVIDLY remembered Max for years (even his Coke ads and short-lived 'Max For President' campaign). Unfortunately, even today i can't find the British versions of Max's stories nor can i find the talk-show format!
So, when Amanda Pays showed up on 'The Flash' (the 90's one AND the Arrowverse one) and Matt Frewer popped up on 'Doctor Doctor', i was each time quite happily reminded of my first exposure to 'post-apocalyptic storytelling'.
Grunge, angst, ennui, 'down with the man', 'shock the system' in the 90's? Max did it dirtier and earlier. Parallel with my now 30+ year love of anime, Max was one of those shows that... showed me visual storytelling could be even more compelling than novels.
I'm quite glad the DVD scans of Max's 14-episode US broadcast TV series have made it onto 'the grey web video streaming sites'. That was where i just (about an hour ago) finished enjoying the 'finale' about in-vitro babies grown in 'vats/bags' and custom 'built' to satisfy all the parents' desires for their child. The mommy doesn't even need to provide her own uterus or a surrogate one!
A very apt and forward-thinking episode hmm? With CRISPR vaccines and GMO fruits n veggies on the market right now and in-vitro fertilization/implantation of ovum and genetic predisposition testing available to many parents today 'flagging' potential genetic disorders if a couple wishes to procreate. Will we have 'true test-tube custom grown kids' someday?
Max also predicted massive multi-media conglomerates proliferating 'their views' everywhere. The blurring lines between education/entertainment and the dumbing down of the 'have nots' so that 'those who have' can keep it. Brain scans so intricate and detailed we can almost see and record what somebody is thinking. Real-time telecommunications with text and data and audio and visual information beaming across the world. AI able to censor media in real-time and make decisions for humans. Max Headroom was the '1G' of the Vocaloid age, a computer-generated intellectual property existing to entertain and interact with the masses using human-level AI.
What were the creators of Edison Carter thinking of when they named him? The man who brought electricity and lightbulbs to the world? Also, perhaps Edgar Rice Burroughs' character who traveled to Mars?
Take some time and look back at this forward-thinking show someday.
So, when Amanda Pays showed up on 'The Flash' (the 90's one AND the Arrowverse one) and Matt Frewer popped up on 'Doctor Doctor', i was each time quite happily reminded of my first exposure to 'post-apocalyptic storytelling'.
Grunge, angst, ennui, 'down with the man', 'shock the system' in the 90's? Max did it dirtier and earlier. Parallel with my now 30+ year love of anime, Max was one of those shows that... showed me visual storytelling could be even more compelling than novels.
I'm quite glad the DVD scans of Max's 14-episode US broadcast TV series have made it onto 'the grey web video streaming sites'. That was where i just (about an hour ago) finished enjoying the 'finale' about in-vitro babies grown in 'vats/bags' and custom 'built' to satisfy all the parents' desires for their child. The mommy doesn't even need to provide her own uterus or a surrogate one!
A very apt and forward-thinking episode hmm? With CRISPR vaccines and GMO fruits n veggies on the market right now and in-vitro fertilization/implantation of ovum and genetic predisposition testing available to many parents today 'flagging' potential genetic disorders if a couple wishes to procreate. Will we have 'true test-tube custom grown kids' someday?
Max also predicted massive multi-media conglomerates proliferating 'their views' everywhere. The blurring lines between education/entertainment and the dumbing down of the 'have nots' so that 'those who have' can keep it. Brain scans so intricate and detailed we can almost see and record what somebody is thinking. Real-time telecommunications with text and data and audio and visual information beaming across the world. AI able to censor media in real-time and make decisions for humans. Max Headroom was the '1G' of the Vocaloid age, a computer-generated intellectual property existing to entertain and interact with the masses using human-level AI.
What were the creators of Edison Carter thinking of when they named him? The man who brought electricity and lightbulbs to the world? Also, perhaps Edgar Rice Burroughs' character who traveled to Mars?
Take some time and look back at this forward-thinking show someday.