Max: Essays

This is where you'll find original material about Max, written for this site, the Max Headroom Project and other publications. It's the real future of Max.

Articles by other authors will be found on this page.

• 18, 19... 20: The Creation of Max Headroom

The convoluted story of how Max Headroom came into being.

• UK Telefilm vs. US Extended Telefilm vs. US Pilot: What's Different, and Why?

A comparison of the changes — some minor, some interesting — between the Channel 4 and Cinemax versions of the origin telefilm, and the pilot episode of the ABC series.

• You Didn't See That: Max Headroom's Subliminal Credits

From the opening credits of the first-season ABC episodes to the various names and lists flashed during the shows, Max Headroom was loaded with hidden messages and subliminal credits. Here's a complete list... so far.

• Bits, Bytes, Blanks and Boxes: The Details of Max's World

Every episode of the ABC series contained strange, wonderful and bizarre concepts - some virtual or cultural, many physical and electronic. Here's an ongoing listing and discusssion of them.

• The Lost Episodes: Remnants of the ABC Series

The ABC series was canceled abruptly, leaving several planned episodes in unfinished limbo. Here's what's known about them.

• And Now a Weird from Our Sponsors...

Max's commercial break intros, from the mild to the nuclear.

• Max's Handicap: the Whole Golf Thing

From his first minutes as a show host, Max was off on an extended ramble about golf. Explorations of the running joke.

• Max Attack: The Chicago TV Piracy Incident

In 1987, sophisticated tech pirates broke into two Chicago TV station broadcasts with their own video feed, featuring a performance by a bizarre, Max-masked figure.

• 21 Minutes Into the Future: Does Max Headroom Have a Future?

There has been talk of continuation, reboot and restart since the ABC show abruptly vanished from the airwaves. None have come close to becoming reality. Will Max ever return?