Working with conscience-free young tech genius Bryce (Paul Spurrier), Channel 23 have launched "blipverts", commercials that have stuffed the information of a 30 seconds ad into just three by somehow subliminally transmitting the message to the audience, to keep the viewer from changing channels. There is a problem though, blipverts cause especially inactive viewers to just explode, which causes the channel's board of directors to suspend the blipverts for the time being, much to the channel's boss Grossman (Nickolas Grace), who cares only about ratings.

Without knowing all this backstory, Channel 23's top reporter Eddison Carter (Matt Frewer) researches the story about exploding TV viewers when he's suddenly pulled - which is when he knows he's onto something, something he and his new controller (= hacker, remote guide and emergency backup) Theora (Amanda Pays) start to investigate ... only to find a trail leading back to Channel 23, and ultimately to Bryce. Breaking into Bryce's apartment, Carter finds all the evidence he needs in regards to blipverts - but has to make a hasty exit when Channel 23 thugs arrive, and during that escape has a motorbike accident that eventually gets him into the hands of Bryce, who makes a digital copy of Carter, with the intention of that copy, soon to be called Max Headroom (also Matt Frewer), to do Carter's news program in his stead and get rid of the actual Carter. But when Max Heardroom fails to work as planned, he orders both Carter and the computer containing Max to be destroyed. Instead though, the Channel 23 thugs sell Carter to the organ bank and the computer holding Max to pirate TV station owner Blank Reg (W. Morgan Sheppard). Carter escapes the organ bank, but fails to remember anything much of his findings at Bryce's apartment. But Max can remember everything, and he's on Blank Reg's channel, blurting out the truth to anyone who wants to hear it, coated in his trademark odd humour ...

Max Headroom the character was something of a 1980s phenomenon: Hailed as the first computer generated TV host (it was only much later revealed Max was actor Matt Frewer in heavy prosthetics all along), he hosted a British music video program, applying his own style of very odd humour to the show - which got successful enough to eventually cook up an origins story for the character - and thus this TV movie was born, a wild mix of science fiction with definite nods to Blade Runner and cyberpunk undercurrents, 1980s action, and pretty strong media and social satire - and even if some of the sci-fi elements seem a bit ridiculous 35 years later, as a whole this works rather nicely as despite its dark theme and looks, the storytelling is rather light-footed and not as much interested in bringing across a point than it is to entertain, and it's not shying away from cheap jokes if they serve the story, but what's more, most of the satire in this one still seems relevant today, to make this more than just another pleasant trip down memory lane.

In 1987, Max Headroom was made into a (sanitized) US TV-series, with some yet not all the same cast, and some (yet not all) the material of this movie finding its way into the first episode called Blipverts.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

Feeling lucky? Want to search any of my partnershops yourself for more, better results? (commissions earned)

The links below will take you just there!!!

Find Max Headroom - 20 Minutes into the Future at the amazons ...   amazon.com   amazon.co.uk   amazon.de Looking for imports? Find Max Headroom - 20 Minutes into the Future here ...   eThaiCD.com Your shop for all things Thai Something naughty? (Must be over 18 to go there!)   find Max Headroom - 20 Minutes into the Future at adultvideouniverse.com

Thanks for watching !!!