The Max Headroom Chronicles:About

This site represents the third evolution of a project that was begun in 2006. The development of this site began as a replacement for an earlier fan site by a prior owner and was developed in HTML and CSS.

When it became clear that the structured links of the proto-wiki site design were becoming too difficult to manage, the project was moved to a very powerful wiki platform. After substantial development, it proved that the chosen platform was a tremendous resource hog and was going to max out server space and boost user bandwidth usage. So the replacement site was pulled down and the slightly creaky HTML site put back up in its stead.

With the 30th anniversary of Max's debut on us, the project was started anew using this wiki platform. (I find it amusing to imagine Max saying "W-wiki. Wiki. Rhymes with... iki.")

S-stay tuned for further developments. Tun-tuned.

I had always wondered if this Ron Cobb cartoon from the early 1970s (a favorite of mine since I first saw it) was an influence on any of the Max Headroom creative team. Cobb worked on the art teams of many Hollywood sf and fantasy productions from 1981 to 2000 or so, so it's not an impossibility... and recently I got word from George Stone that a framed print hung over his desk well before and into the Max era.

This website, the Max Headroom Chronicles, is the public face of a larger effort known as the Max Headroom Project. The Project has been going on for well over a decade as my interests in Max as a cultural icon and influence have pursued the subject into a variety of nooks and crannies.

Much of what I've discovered and acquired in this pursuit will one day appear here on the site. That which doesn't... well, I believe there are some important things to be said about Max's impact on our world, as brief as his reign was. Those things remain to be said, by me or someone I hope to work with or influence.

The site - the Chronicles - are the primary focus. As for the rest... stay tu-tuned.

The MaxRchives

Readers browsing the site will find a number of references to "the MaxRchives" and it was just brought to my attention that the corresponding explanation hasn't yet found its way here.

The Max Headroom Archives - MaxRchives - are the holdings of physical, digital and intellectual property by the Max Headroom Project, and are available only by direct query and our ability to answer questions and provide excerpts within research and "fair use" guidelines. The material we can post here without annoying owners and rights holders is already posted, or will be, and we again thank those various parties for tolerating our use of this material and understanding our intent to remain "fair use" in practice while sometimes stretching that barrier to adequately document the material.

However, other rights owners are far more strict about even 30-35 year old publications and productions, and we thus have to hold that material back for individual use. If an item mentions it's in the MaxRchives, that notice serves two purposes. First, it means we really do have the item, have seen it, and the entry you're reading is based on first-hand evaluation and not a blog-of-a-blog-of-a-blog-of-a-fanzine "interpretation" of it. Second, it means you're free to make inquiries about the item, and we'll help as much as we can in answering questions, providing research material and guiding you to your own copy of that magazine, film, or other item.

Development & Testing Info

I mess with the page layouts, styles and display components a lot, and the MediaWiki platform sometimes behaves unpredictably when I do. While I am going for a weird, Max-influenced vibe, I do aim for a clean, clear, intuitive interface as the higher priority.

• Developed under Windows Firefox.
• Frequently view-checked under Windows Firefox, Android Chrome and Android AdBlock Browser.
• Regularly view-checked under Windows Chrome, Windows Edge and Windows Safari.
• Please let me know of any peculiarities or display quirks on any browser or platform. Thanks.