Max Headroom | Who the HELL was he?! | A Docu-Mini

Created by the same directors as Super Mario Bros. the movie (yikes), Max Headroom was a pop culture phenomenon. He had TV shows, movies, Coke commercials, and even was the subject of a controversial broadcast signal hack/piracy.
In this video, we dive into the creation, story, and eventual demise of Max Headroom.
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[@enigmagenesis7341]

If he comes back it must surely be, ironically, as genuine AI - but that AI must absolutely be trained to include all of his glitches, too, as that was a huge part of the comedic value.

[@JP_TaVeryMuch]

No need to train in glitches friend!

[@richardjeffreys2437]

He could NEVER come back.. The movie kind of Killed it.. And besides... This Generation would have No idea who he was..

[@Tacocasaking]

Max was ahead of his time if you listen closely to his monologues. He knew what was up.

[@amber-ww8nv]

​@@richardjeffreys2437well, he was featured in Adam Sandler's movie Pixels so that's a start. I'm a Gen Xer and I remember Max well from my childhood. Gen Z and Gen Alpha don't know who Max Headroom is but that doesn't mean that they can't be introduced to him and get to know him.

[@LarryRobinsonintothefog]

They had AI of ABBA and it did some of the voices properly, but not the ABBA sound and mixing.

[@robertwalhout8982]

I know Matt (Max) Frewer personally. He's a nice guy. In fact, I even found him some royalties. His show brings back some much-appreciated happy memories of escapism during difficult times. Thanks.

[@Novastar.SaberCombat]

I think the amount of work he must've put into the show was MONUMENTAL. I wouldn't be surprised if he was bloody exhausted for a decade "post-Max", ya know?

[@Preview43]

Great!! Next time you see him, remind him how much we loved that series. Wish it was re-booted.

[@owenfire829]

I remember when this started, I was blown away. Like you said this was waaay before it’s time. Still love Max and watch him on KZbin from time to time.

[@amber-ww8nv]

Same! The 1980's was definitely a unique decade! I was born in 1980 so I grew up watching MTV and all of the great sitcoms from that time. Whenever I talk about the 80s with my kids, Max Headroom is one of the many things that I remember from back then that I tell them about.

[@eijentwun5509]

My most FAVORITE thing about Max Headroom was that the Background and Chroma Keying was originally done on an Amiga Computer which I and many Undergound people used in NYC...it was like the Neo Geo of its time. Obtaining games was Like Napster with the MP3's when they came out.. People swapped floppies and discovered sooo many unknown games that we would otherwise never have know about. This was right on the shoes of the Commodore 64 underground success as well....meanwhile outsiders were using 8 bit NES and Sega Master System (very few people). Max Headroom inspired me to do CHroma Keying on the Amiga and party being a VJ at a night club (not the hosting kind like MTV but the DJ kind with video...using the Very Amiga Computer!). Ahhhhh the good ole days..this went on until 2008 for me.

[@blowfishes]

Having Max Headroom, The Young Ones, Kenny Everett plus Spitting Image on UK TV during the 80s was TV mana from Heaven for me.

[@HuplesCat]

yup and Not the Nine O'Clock News

[@22pcirish]

Same.

[@monteceitomoocher]

Best era ever, the eighties were fantastic in every way, I'd go back in a heartbeat.

[@22pcirish]

@@monteceitomoocher Not for me, for very personal reasons.

[@databattlesz]

If heaven is this man’s favorite television block, send me right to hell…

[@georgiosgiannoukas3319]

It's crazy how he seems even more relevant now than he did in the 80s. AI, CGI technology, deep fakes, social media, ARG's... 80s nostalgia and the whole vaporwave aesthetic is also huge nowadays. I could easily see him getting a revival. A lot of interesting things you could do with him.

[@mtlicq]

Combine Max Headroom with Russel Brand ! 😋

[@jackderrida]

He''s incredibly relevant because every other science fiction writer assumed that artificial intelligence would fall on the opposite side of the spectrum, like Data from Star Trek, and remain there forever. At least, I can't name a single example of anyone that came closer. ChatGPT understood sarcasm, jokes, innuendo, and all the things deemed impossible for a machine by all popular depictions, and it even learned all those things better than the average human even before learning how to add two triple digit numbers.

[@Swallabat]

@@jackderrida Someone I know got the Discord AI to actually tell a lie!

[@user-ft9qt8lg2c]

​@@SwallabatExcellent. If true?

[@Ulvetann]

Max Headroom can never be retro. He seemed retro(...) when he was fresh. Seeing Max Headroom videos today, it will still make PONG seem old.

[@boostermcblast2197]

"Max Headroom: 20 Minutes Into the Future" is a work of genius. Sure, Max Headroom could work today, as the whole Cyberpunk idea works today, too.

[@thepassionfruitdiariessuzi6978]

Very talented Canadian actor. He hasn’t stopped working. He speaks so clear and enunciates his words so well

[@PGHEngineer]

Yes, it's funny, because with his receding hairline his real life persona was never going to be Mr Cool, but as Max Headroom he was coolness extreme.

[@jw8160]

Every time I see TikTok or KZbin shorts I always think of the blipverts from Max Headroom. 😂 Thanks for the docu-mini. I always thought Max was computer generated, they did such an excellent job with portraying him as such.

[@JP_TaVeryMuch]

That laugh, the big grin and the tossing back of the head. Brilliant!

[@the_dungeoneer]

Loved Max Headroom as a kid (watched on C4), found the movements and colours hypnotising.

[@aguy1883]

Jesus Christ. Did Jim Carrey religiously watch Max Headroom? His entire early movie career is an exact replica of it.

[@isaachollister2806]

After rediscovering Max Headroom, recently. And watching a bunch of his skits. That was my thought about Jim Carrey. I thought Wait Wait uh uh minute.

[@johnpoile1451]

Both Canadian.

[@CHDean]

Nothing like plagiarism with no consequence

[@ukman9797]

Always thought this

[@aeonsbeyond]

Jim Carrey and Matt what's his face probably had the same manager

[@FightCollective]

You forgot to mention the big hit he had with The Art of Noise 'Paranoimia'.

[@spiffster9]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/bJbTq6CIj9Bpi7c

[@CorentinHarbelot]

Yes indeed!!

[@ElfLady]

With the help of The Art of Noise

[@stereoroid]

“How do I get to sllllllleeeeepppp?”

[@peacexlove]

I loved Max Headroom as a kid. I still think the design is awesome looking. Also, Matt Frewer and I have the same birthday. I only mention this because I know that people care so much about that. 😅

[@user-vm6fh7nw6m]

Max would have a lot more fodder to comment upon today than he had forty years ago. Hey, the entertainment industry can't come up with anything original. Max is due for a revival!

[@stevendefehr4393]

You can’t even say Eskimo these days without being called bad words 😂

[@MrTheHillfolk]

Yeah but most of the revivals or redos ive seen in the past 25yrs just make me like the original more and they probably ruined it with the redo.

[@user-rn3gw4qg3k]

CHI-MIIGWETCH THANK YOU!! A BIG THANK YOU FROM THE DUMMINESS BEGINNING IN 1995 FOR ME IN MUSIC AND LATER FILMS FROM 1997 AND 1999 I WAS USED FOR. They need to give it a rest. Im not a charity case.

[@davegoldspink5354]

Man this one takes me back we had Max Headroom like MTV on telly here in Australia at one point. Thanks for sharing and reminding me of some great fading memories. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@TheDrillMaster001]

I was stationed in England and Max came about with a bang! The song, Paranoimia, by the group The Art Of Noise, features Max and Back to the Future 2 had a nod to him with digital waiters.

[@gaywizard2000]

I was a teen in the 80s and remember entirely too much about this! It seemed really futuristic and kinda still does! It also reminds me too much of Jim Carey!

[@TheMelbournelad]

Well he took a lot from him

[@amber-ww8nv]

Yeah, his voice sounds like Jim Carrey's. They're both Canadian too.

[@gaywizard2000]

I'm Canadian and don't sound like this!

[@samuelwoods164]

Wow Pepsi got a lot of screen time on the New Coke commercial.

[@williamwilkinson6665]

@samuelwooda164.....you said the P word😂😂😂

[@mylesdear]

I still love this character ! Thanks for the trip down memory lane !

[@skybison4481]

This deserves way more views

[@thingsyoudontseeeverydaywi3471]

This deserves more views, great quality.

[@B-and-O-Operator-Fairmont]

The church I was going to in the 1980s had an older fellow who looked like Max Headroom. Actually, I didn't think anything about it until one day when a friend's mom pointed to him and whispered to me, "Doesn't he look like Max Headroom?" After that, I always had to choke back laughter anytime I saw the guy.

[@gerardkowalski7683]

When i went to church we had a few fellow parishioners who looked like movie stars lol.

[@longtallshorty5791]

Matt Freh-reh???? It's Froo-wer.

[@jonathanfinan722]

I know. What an astonishingly inventive way of using the most basic building blocks of language.

[@tree3332]

I wish they would put out everything MaxHeadroom in one collection, Hmmm they could call it Maxxed out! I loved it from the start and still love it today! What a great concept and I have to agree I think the concept is even more relevant today. Could you imagine the interviews or commentary on news and world events today with his personality and style, Holy crap, it would be Brilliant!

[@mr.corazon4765]

How did the Art of Noise fit into the Max Headroom Equation? They had him in their music for a time in Paranomia... which I loved. I also thought the show was brilliant. For once, something interesting was on American TV. Snarky, cool, and artistic. It was nice to see it hit the mainstream and take over for awhile. A genus concept from the beginning to the end.

[@patrick-lt2nv]

Yes, I remember that single, and it was called "Paranoimia" on The Art of Noise's China label. It enjoyed a brief life on my radio show at KDUP in the fall of 1986. His song on the Christmas show, "Merry Christmas Santa Claus" was released as a single on the Chrysalis label and I added it to my Christmas show for a couple of years.

[@Chironseth1970]

Great song I loved it too

[@JonlyWonly]

Paranoimia: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bJbTq6CIj9Bpi7csi=TELrieRJcp05Z-cs

[@eily_b]

It's neither Paranomania nor Paranoimia, it was called Paranomia.

[@bevo65]

I remember every bit of that. Even watched the movie. It was a great little event that happened at just the right time. But it was never meant to last, and if someone tried it today, it'd fizzle in about five minutes. Great video!

[@Novaheart1998]

Yes I was there for the original run of everything Max. Including the Art of Noise video. I loved it. I thought he was a real CGI character tho 😂

[@Guccigirl99]

I am an 80s kid and a proud member of the MTV generation (I want my MTV!!) and I'm so glad I was born when I was ! Back when both Madonna and Cher were still alive... JUST KIDDING !! 😊😂

[@kimberleefoley8231]

I would love to see a revival of good'ol Max! He was awesome back in the 80's!

[@lisanidog8178]

It was another long ago talk show where Matt Frewer was a guest and that’s when I learned he was Canadian. Seemed like a nice guy. He was really good as Max. I still remember the first episode of the show when Max was created thanks to an accident of Edison who hit a barrier that said Max Headroom meaning maximum headroom. I wish it lasted longer.

[@Dsschuh]

I really liked Max headroom and watch his much as I could. He was snarky, rude, and hilarious

[@Chironseth1970]

He should be brought back. He would be much more relevant today than he was back then. He was way ahead of his time and at the time under appreciated. Huge fan of

[@d.t.nelson8805]

The most well known reference to Max Headroom is in the movie Back to the Future 2. In the scene in the future, set in the Cafe 80s, the "waiters" are all TVs with Max Headroom-like versions of Micheal Jackson, Ronald Reagan, and the Ayatollah Khomeini.

[@michaelszczys8316]

I remember when Max Headroom hit the screen, everybody was calling him computer generated but I was saying " no he's not " . Without being very computer literate I knew it was a real guy with ' computer generated highlights ' I think about 70% of the ' Max Headroom mysteriousness ' was the crazy background. Without all the goofy background images he was just another head .

[@tedstarnes2997]

I own the series and he is one of my favorite fictional characters his show was unique and as it turns out foreshadowing of the domination of the screen over the population

[@TheSSMusicChannel]

I loved this guy and the tv series. It was different and it was interesting.

[@mode1charlie170]

I was in my teens in the eighties but paid little attention to the whole max headroom thing. I remember him most from an episode of Star Trek TNG.

[@DeusShaggy]

Max Headroom was cutting edge, if he's gone digital, the World shall never be the same.

[@baracktrump1410]

I was 18 when Max Headroom came out, in the last year Prince-Purple Rain, Springsteen-Born in the USA, Madonna-Like a Virgin, Duran Duran, We Are The World, I can go on and on about the mid 80s, with Max and all of the music it was a great time to be 18 and fresh out of high school.

[@jasonodonnell5177]

You missed discussing the Art of Noise song/video Paranoimia with Max...

[@waynejones5635]

Icon of the 80's.

[@vandalorianvandalorian4769]

I was an 80’s teen. Fondly remembered!

[@simonthomas5367]

Loved this show as a kid. Loved the film. Loved Max! Thank you Channel 4. You made the 80's truly memorable.

[@kronos5385]

I'm old and I definitely remember Max as a phenomenon (today he would be known as a meme). But i also remember how fast he went away. He was a big thing for really only about 6 months. Max Headroom was a character created by a couple who famously went on to direct that Mario Bros. movie that was so bad, they were never allowed to direct another movie. Not to take anything away from the talented Matt Frewer but his part in all this was just as a hired actor playing a role. He went on to have a very good career. Remember him in "The Stand"? He was also very good in the TV sitcom "Doctor, Doctor" which was a starring vehicle for him with a definite Robin Williams / Jim Carrey type crazy personality. He could easily drift between serious dramatic roles and zany comedic roles effortlessly.

[@charliepearce8767]

I still have heaps of video tapes from the 80s of MTV and Max Headroom. Yeah...I'm old. But I was in my 20s back then !

[@blossie33]

In the UK we still have the Max Headroom signs and I always remember this character when I see one 😂 great character!

[@tofuroshi]

My brothers and I loved Max Headroom. We would use our dual cassette recorder to record our voices with the stuttering glitch. Listening to him now, his vocal cadence reminds me of Jim Carey's Ace Ventura.

[@wolfpardoe9038]

I remember watching the TV movie when I was a kid. Also, max headroom used to randomly appear in all sorts of places.

[@jasonhubbard4533]

He was Matt Frewer, an actor...period. No conspiracy, no message from the future, just a show ahead way ahead of its time.

[@hilarioph]

Not only Max Headroom was very popular in your country but in the Philippines. Max Headroom was aired on IBC 13 every Tuesday night back in the ’80s. Some Filipinos say he wired or what

[@kata7628]

One of the most prescient parts was the character “Blank Reg”, who could uniquely move thru the Big Brother controlled society because he wasn’t in any databases. It was portrayed as virtually impossible to accomplish, because privacy was dead in the future.

[@rjs1138]

As a British teenager, i remember this being very out there and i recorded every show including the "pilot" back story. Unfortunately it wasn't as big a thing over here, probably because it was very ahead of it's time and tended to be on late. Loved it though, as a computer gamer, i was captivated.

[@ViralTuber]

I always thought he (Max Headroom actor) looked and sounded like Jim Carey. So one day I studied their Wiki pages, based solely on me thinking they seem so much alike, curious to see if there's anything real connecting them. I found out that in this wide, wide, world, ...they grew up in Canada less than 60 miles from each other on the map!

[@Shag471]

LOVED Max Headroom in the 80’s! He also did some voice spot for Art of Noise’s “Paranoimia” song and video. ❤

[@ThUnDaHuNtA_Australia]

whilst i had heard of max i never experienced him either, thanks for the overview and history, it was interesting to find out who, what and why.

[@tedmills]

Great except the chronology is off, the original movie came first, from Wikipedia: "On 4 April 1985, Channel 4 transmitted the TV movie Max Headroom: 20 Minutes Into the Future, starring Matt Frewer, Amanda Pays, Paul Spurrier, Nickolas Grace, and W. Morgan Sheppard. Two days later, Max began appearing regularly as the veejay of The Max Headroom Show."

[@sonicguyver7445]

My main memory of Max Headroom was actually bit he did on the educational show "Square One."

[@facubeitches1144]

"Imagine watching Doctor Who and *this* appears on your screen" Yeah, it would be kind of shocking that the pirates and show both seemed to have a similar budget

[@doneidson-ix2qn]

Max Headroom was my favorite show of the 80's. I caught every episode and the reruns. The other favorite character of mine was Blank Redge.

[@magicmandj]

Absolutely LOVED Max Headroom in the 80s.

[@ChipMoody]

Man - I *swore* the Max Headroom movie was out *before* he was an MTV host!!!

[@reddwing]

yea were he was a reporter who was killed by a evil Corp and Turned into an AI who called himself Max Headroom because of the sign "MAX HEADROOM 2.3M" wich killed him Film was called Max headroom i think

[@richardlitwin4046]

That Coke ad was astonishing. I had to rewind and watch it again four times.

[@DelTashlin]

I was a big fan when I was in middle/high school. It was the first really weird thing that I loved that no one else at my school had ever heard of, except maybe as the spokesman for New Coke. I don't think he could get a TV show anymore, but I think he would blow the eff up on KZbin or TikTok.

[@bills2north]

I played the game, Max Headroom , on Commodore 64 cassette. At the time I was impressed with the '20 minutes in the future ' alternate universe. Kinda like Mad Max, it was cynical humor. Every virus my pc got in the 90's reminded me of Max. - R.I.P.

[@bennylloyd-willner9667]

"...it was unique AND unlike anything seen on TV at the time..." Not only unlike anything, but ALSO unique...😊

[@Dingomush]

No one ever puts together that before he was “Max Headroom” he was “The Lawnmower Man”…….set free at the birth of the internet……. I don’t know why they didn’t capitalize on that aspect…..

[@Striyka]

I would much rather listen to Max than any other AI i have seen so far.

[@bluestrife28]

I loved his cameo in Back to the Future 2 next to Khomeini 😂

[@denvan3143]

Max headroom was brilliant, ahead of its time, and warned us about the present, where corporate media pursues ratings and establishment policy, not journalism.

[@chrisfraser4922]

loved Max remember him and also in the art of noise video - paranormia. As for today, sadly todays generation gets bored with everything 2 minutes after it's created

[@cars654]

Art Of Noise came out with a record with Max, Paranoimia feat, DJs in the glorious 80s would mix and out of the tune.

[@galoaguirre2255]

great piece 😁

[@TheMichaelBeck]

Takes me back to my HS days. The 80s were an amazing time to be kid.

[@GeeTmbrTmby]

I miss Max Headroom! He was so iconic when I was a child in the 80s. He was so popular that he was parodied during his prime.

[@poorwotan]

I got a "create a human AI model" ad while watching this. Yikes!!!

[@lisanidog8178]

I recorded that Letterman episode when he talked to Max. Nice seeing these old things. Shame I can’t connect my VCR to replay it. I think he asked Max if he had a plate in his head and he said he had a whole set of china. It’s been so many years since I’ve seen it.

[@lisanidog8178]

I loved Max Headroom! I think Max could work today. I wish the old show was put back on so I could relive the glory days of my youth back in the 80’s. But the only one who could truly be Max is Matt Frewer. In a way Max Headroom was a little prophetic. In Carter’s time, TV’s we’re always on. He always had to put a sheet over his TV so he could get some sleep as there were no off switches. News now runs constantly. Competing against each other for viewers and ratings. Edison Carter seemed to be the first investigative reporter. He carried around a camera, nowadays reporters are armed with their phones. Max was able to travel from TV to TV. Now with Cable you can travel from channel to channel with more of them. Back when I saw Max we only had three channels in my area. Now you’ve got too many. With AI around Max Headroom would fit in perfectly even though he had a real person playing him. Nowadays you could probably creat a real Max Headroom that isn’t a real person.

[@RCAvhstape]

I remember the US TV show and the commercials back then. Max was very much of the 80s decade, his style of speaking and sarcasm, the way his hairstyle and clothes were designed, with the jacket and skinny tie, as well as the sunglasses, were so very 80s. He was an icon no doubt. And that TV show, and the UK movie that spawned it, are basically cyberpunk classics before the word cyberpunk was in widespread use. Matt Frewer is an amazing actor who really deserves to be better known and roles in bigger films. It was always obvious that he voiced Max and that Max was based on his likeness, but it was years before I found out that Max was actually Matt in a costume, it really does look like computer graphics, albeit expensive graphics in the 80s, and of course at least some of the backgrounds are real computer graphics.

[@samuelwoods164]

I remember seeing Max Headroom on UK tv when I was a kid, must've been a repeat or something in the earlyish 90s because I thought he was Kryten from Red Dwarf.... that's unless there was actually something similar on TV with Krytens head hosting something, I was really young.

[@brendandoyle7508]

2 things i notice about this video 1.I feel like Back to The Future 2 used this same art for the Cafe scenes with televisions talking to Marty asking for his order. 2. You mentioned the Mario Movie (90s), so now i know where Bowser got that hairdo, from Max Headroom.

[@defiraphi]

I remember Matt Frewer in the Psi Factor show . Sadly in Belgium and many European countries we haven't gotten the chance to see Max Headroom . I'm pretty sure such programm would still work when done right , only thing i'm scared about is that if a new max headroom would air today it would be in "CGI" with top notch effects that would ruin the simplicity from the 80's pretending to be a cgi-charachter that was actually a real person . I also miss MTV so much the great clips that got made , Beavis & Butthead .

[@robertsteinbach7325]

Strangely, the only thing that was CGI for Max Headroom, in the United States version, was the background. George Stone made Max come alive so well.

[@martinespinomusic]

It’s funny, you mentioned that little incident of the pirate TV thing because I was watching TV when it happened and I recorded on VHS it was the dark it happened. It was the other worldly and very strange and disturbing. There was no audio on there I remember or nobody saying anything, but I think he’s totally applicable even more today

[@hereforthechips7710]

I remember being 5-6 and sneaking into the hallway when I was supposed to be asleep to watch MAX. Totally remember how cool he was.

[@jameslacey5474]

I absolutely loved Max Headroom and watched the series and enjoyed it with its Cyberpunk aesthetic, although I wish they would have employed a little more of Max's wry, irreverent humor in the show, I understand why they didn't. I didn't have cable, so I couldn't see his interview show, but I would try and see him when he was on a talk show (like Letterman) or any other media, like the music video 'Paranoimia' from The Art of Noise that features Max talking on it. I was a special effects make-up artist at the time, so I knew it was prosthetics that he wore, but it still didn't take away the magic for me. His design was phenomenal in concept and execution and Matt Frewer was exceptional in the part and brought wit and charm to the character. Unfortunately, the character and the show were ahead of its time and it didn't last too long, I wish they would bring him back again. We need him more now than ever.

[@wilburfleming8477]

Max Hedroom's brother Vanilla Ice, same career arc: famous then disappears...😂

[@magdatorruellas9122]

I liked watching Max Headroom…it was so weirdly kool! I also remember the bizarre Dr.Who interruption…

[@wolfpardoe9038]

Marvels agents of shield has a lovely max headroom reference.

[@martincolvill5453]

In the US Max Headroom was one of my favorite shows. Amanda Pays caused serious drooling.

[@3weight]

The US series was unique and awesome. It occurs to me that subconsciously I’ve sort of been hoping for it to be renewed ever since it was cancelled. I’d but THAT for a dollar!

[@williamduhamel7726]

What’s funny is he was Coke commercials but, in Back to the Future 2, the diner scene when Marty is confronted by a Ronald Regan version of Max Headroom purchases a Pepsi.

[@tarp-grommet]

Max is bound for a comeback. Once AI starts screwing things up we will need Max to make fun of the inevitable fallout.

[@terrylandess6072]

Max Headroom was one of the many wonderful experiences spawned by the MTV effect.

[@koroba01]

Max Headroom was awesome, loved the concept.

[@ramirezannette0]

This today, is still way ahead of its time

[@JafarCalley]

Matt Frewer was in Star Trek TNG as a time traveller in a stolen time ship lol. He was so good in that :)

[@tonymax6632]

Gotta love Max Headroom.

[@Postmortumaz]

There was song by Art of Noise that had Max Headroom. Paranoimia.

[@briankleinschmidt3664]

I remember when he blew up, then he went away. It was a cute novelty for most people. I didn't know it was an actor.