Schlock-Wire: The Complete Specs For MAX HEADROOM: THE COMPLETE SERIES From Shout! Factory

This year, the end of the sum­mer will bring  sci-fi fans a dystopian sci-fi head­trip in DVD form: Shout! Factory will be releas­ing Max Headroom: The Complete Series on August 10th.   This five-disc set includes all the orig­i­nal episodes plus a num­ber of bonus fea­tures that will shed light on the show’s one-of-a-kind vision of the future.  It sounds like it will pro­vide a great way for both fans and new­bies to relive the show’s unique, cyberpunk-ish blend of sci-fi and satire.  Read on for all the retro-futuristic details…

The ubiq­ui­tous, out­ra­geous icon Max Headroom is baaack!

MAX HEADROOM: THE COMPLETE SERIES

Starring Matt Frewer, Amanda Pays, W. Morgan Sheppard and Jeffrey Tambor

fea­tur­ing eye-popping limited-edition 3-D lentic­u­lar packaging,

this long-awaited col­lectible 5-dvd box set is packed with all

14 orig­i­nal enthralling episodes and boun­ti­ful bonus content

OWN IT ON DVD!

IN STORES NATIONWIDE AUGUST 10 FROM SHOUT! FACTORY

In the futur­is­tic world of com­put­ers and fan­tasy, any­thing is pos­si­ble, includ­ing the rise of the opin­ion­ated, computer-simulated mul­ti­me­dia per­son­al­ity Max Headroom. A per­va­sive pop cul­ture icon, Max Headroom her­alded the com­ing of trans-media age like a mad prophet of the air­waves, bol­stered by his own inter­na­tional talk show, music video, count­less major brand endorse­ment, mer­chan­dis­ing and TV series. The land­mark 1980s TV satire Max Headroom explored the tele­vi­sion indus­try through the unique view of a sci-fi lens, fea­tur­ing quirky visu­als and adven­tur­ous, timely plot­lines. One of the first TV series aimed at the video/computer gen­er­a­tion, the crit­i­cally acclaimed Max Headroom, star­ring Matt Frewer, W. Morgan Sheppard, Jeffrey Tambor and Amanda Pays, found instant fan sup­port from the moment it debuted on ABC in 1987. Never mind Broadcast News or Network: it was Max Headroom tak­ing on the truth about TV, in what was then an unthink­able  4,000 chan­nel  uni­verse, where tele­vi­sion sets are never turned off and cam­eras watch you everywhere.

For a long­time, fans have been antic­i­pat­ing the home enter­tain­ment debut of the show crit­ics called the first cyber­punk series. On August 10, 2010, Shout! Factory, in asso­ci­a­tion with Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., will unleash Max Headroom: The Complete Series in a col­lectible 5-DVD box set fea­tur­ing all 14 episodes and a pay­load of exclu­sive bonus fea­tures that reveal the gen­e­sis, life and after­life of the series with all-new inter­views fea­tur­ing the cast and cre­ative team!  A must-have for col­lec­tors and loyal fans, this deluxe DVD box set is fur­ther sparkled with a visu­ally stun­ning 3-D lentic­u­lar exte­rior pack­ag­ing and is priced to own at $49.97 SRP.

EXTENSIVE DVD BONUS FEATURES INCLUDE:

• Live On Network 23: The Story Of Max Headroom – Co-creators/directors Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton, co-creator George Stone, exec­u­tive pro­ducer Peter Wagg, pro­ducer Brian Frankish and writ­ers Steve Roberts and Michael Cassutt share their sto­ries behind the British movie and American TV series that cre­ated an icon.

• Looking Back At The Future – An inti­mate round­table dis­cus­sion with Amanda Pays, Jeffrey Tambor, Concetta Tomei and Chris Young, mod­er­ated by Max Headroom super­fan and cre­ator of The Middleman Javier Grillo-Marxuach.

• The Big-Time Blanks – Morgan Sheppard and Concetta Tomei reflect on Max Headroom and the friend­ship that has endured over the 20+ years since the series’ cancellation.

• The Science Behind The Fiction – Co-creator George Stone reveals his own philoso­phies and technology’s role in the cre­ation of Max Headroom.

• Producing Dystopia – Producer Brian Frankish recounts the chaotic and reward­ing task of pro­duc­ing a series set 20 Minutes into the Future.

• The Writers Remember – Executive story edi­tor Steve Roberts and story edi­tor Michael Cassutt share their sto­ries of writ­ing for the world’s first computer-generated TV star.

And just who exactly is Max Headroom? The answer starts with Edison Carter (Matt Frewer), a no-nonsense star reporter for Network 23. He has a tal­ent for dig­ging up a deadly secret that could shake up his station’s domin­ion over its view­ers.  This is just the kind of break­ing news that net­work big wheels like to bury.

After Edison is pulled from a story, he’s imme­di­ately sus­pi­cious, espe­cially when he’s also chased away from a secret room. Escaping from the scene, he crashes his motor­cy­cle, and Network 23’s one-man tech department/teenage com­puter hacker Bryce Lynch (Chris Young) takes advan­tage of Edison ’s mis­for­tune.  Bryce cre­ates a computer-generated image of the uncon­scious reporter, and the cyber-result is a free­wheel­ing per­son­al­ity who calls him­self Max Headroom (“Max. Headroom. 2.7 m.” – the max­i­mum clear­ance vehi­cle height – were the last words Edison glimpsed before his crash into a road barrier.).

The brash Max is also por­trayed by Frewer, thanks to cutting-edge com­puter effects, and is an unpre­dictable, darkly humor­ous guy – who resides in a TV set, of course!  A com­puter glitch pro­vides his dis­tinc­tive, some­times s-s-s-stammering speech pat­tern.  He serves as Edison ’s unfil­tered, out­spo­ken alter ego, who makes no secret of his con­tempt for the TV busi­ness.  Even as Edison recov­ers and con­tin­ues his inves­tiga­tive jour­nal­is­tic quest, Max remains an unhinged pres­ence, always ready with a quip that hits home. ”You know how to tell when a net­work pres­i­dent is lying?” asks Max. ”His lips move.”

The series also starred Amanda Pays as Theora Jones, Edison’s computer-savvy part­ner;  W. Morgan Sheppard as “Blank Reg,” a buddy who broad­casts under­ground news from his bus; and Jeffrey Tambour as Murray, Edison’s har­ried, neu­rotic boss.  Pays, Sheppherd and Frewer reprised their roles from the British film that inspired the series: Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future.  The series first appeared on ABC as a mid-season replace­ment in 1987, and quickly became a hit, return­ing in the fall and air­ing until 1988.

With a fast-paced irrev­er­ence and witty writ­ing, the show delved into all aspects of the tele­vi­sion busi­ness, from polit­i­cal adver­tis­ing to tel­e­van­ge­lism, news cov­er­age and the rat­ings game – all laced with a cyn­i­cally comic edge. Max, the first computer-enhanced celebrity, was the undis­puted star of the inno­v­a­tive but short-lived series.

A sci-fi pro­gram like no other, Max Headroom gazed into the not-too-distant future, and found that, sur­prise, the future is now!

Max Headroom is a pro­duc­tion of Chrysalis/Lakeside in asso­ci­a­tion with Lorimar Telepictures.

Max Headroom: The Complete Series [Bundle] Early copies come pack­aged in a col­lectible 3-D lentic­u­lar O-card!Click here to see it in all its glory! Order from ShoutFactory.com and get a limited-edition 8″ x 10″ glossy cast shot! Offer valid while sup­plies last. Click to Enlarge