The Greatest Sci Fi/Fantasy TV Shows: Considering the case for the sci fi and fantasy television shows that should be counted among the greatest of all time.
What Is It?
This series takes place in a dystopian, near-future setting where mega-corporations control the world and keep the public distracted with television shows that live or die by up-to-the-minute ratings results (wait, isn’t that our current reality?). While trying to uncover corporate corruption, investigative reporter Edison Carter—who works for a megacorp himself, Network 23—is involved in an accident that leads to the creation of his AI alter ego, Max Headroom. Together, the two team up and fight to expose the sinister undertakings of their corporate-dominated world.
Aired: ABC, 1987-88, Two Seasons Totaling 14 Episodes
Starring: Matt Frewer, Amanda Pays, W. Morgan Sheppard, Chris Young, Charles Rocket
Created By: George Stone, Rocky Morton, Annabel Jankel
Argument to Count It as One of the Greatest Sci Fi TV Shows:
When Max Headroom arrived on the U.S. schedule in 1987, Prime Time was dominated by cop shows, soap operas, and sitcoms, and this first cyberpunk series on television injected just the right amount of shock to the system to wake audiences from the mind-numbing TV coma they suffered from. The series was cynical, sarcastic, subversive, over-the-top, and a ton of fun.
The character was originally designed to host a talk show that also aired videos, and his creators decided to come up with an origin story. That started with the British-made TV movie Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future, and ABC developed an interest in the property, greenlighting it as an ongoing series. That show would go on to savage Prime Time television, offering commentary on the medium in general and extending its satire to take on mega-corporations, politicians, the super-rich, televangelists, and more.
But at the center of the series is the wonderful performance of Matt Frewer, as he voices the manic Max Headroom while also playing the straight man as the crusading Edison Carter, looking to bring justice through his investigative journalism (if only today’s journalists had such convictions). He carried the show but still had an excellent supporting cast, highlighted by Amanda Pays, Chris Young, and W. Morgan Sheppard, as well as many guest stars that came and went.
Max Headroom was definitely a jolt to television audiences when it arrived on the schedule, but sadly it disappeared almost as quickly as it came. Still, it left an indelible impression and accomplished a lot during its short run. It was a flame burning brightly but briefly, and it certainly counts as one of the all-time greats of sci-fi and fantasy television. (You can read more about the show at Cult-SciFi.com.)
Argument Against:
Max Headroom was definitely a notable television series, but it was also very much a product of its time. It premiered as the ’80s were waning, and it employed the super-slick, quick-cut style that became so popular with MTV and the video age. It was also a rather meta series, winking at the audience while also mocking them, and it did deliver a few poignant moments. But more often than not, it was just as glitzy and mindless as the music videos that inspired it, and ultimately it devolved into an ersatz ’80s riff on Batman, though without the colorful rogue’s gallery. It could be fun at times, particularly during its six-episode first season, but a little bit of this one goes a long way, and diminishing returns set in pretty quickly. Max Headroom is notable as the first true cyberpunk series on television, but it does not deserve to be ranked among the best of the genre—just as New Coke (which Max Headroom shilled for) does not stand up to Classic Coke.
Johnny Jay’s Take:
I remember watching the 20 Minutes into the Future film (I rented it on VHS—link provided for those unfamiliar with the term), and I recall being blown away. It was cheesy and over-the-top, but it was also a ton of fun and spot-on with its satire of network television. When that was reworked into an ongoing series, I was psyched and tuned in as soon as it premiered. The show proper followed the spirit of the movie and continued to deliver some good satire on a thinly veiled dystopian version of the world that existed at that time. Sure, Max Headroom had its misses, and sometimes its over-the-top, in-your-face style got more annoying than entertaining. But when at its best (which is more often than not), the series is both fun and entertaining—and it even dares to jog your brain matter from time to time. As a plus, there’s Matt Frewer’s performance, which solidified him right then and there as one of my favorite actors (and sadly, he has been under-utilized and under-appreciated throughout his career). Max Headroom definitely stands out as an accomplishment for sci-fi TV (and television in general), and if you were to argue that it counts as a Top 10 genre entry, you would not get much pushback from me.
Where Can You Watch It?
The entire series has been released on DVD, but it has not received the Blu-ray treatment yet. It is not currently available for streaming, but you can purchase it VOD from providers like Amazon.com.
Do you consider the original Max Headroom to be one of the greatest sci fi/fantasy shows or is it too much of a product of its time that has not aged well? Chime in with your thoughts below or at our discussion thread at r/SciFiTV.
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