THE WASHINGTON POST • FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 2010
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NewDVDs In ‘Max Headroom,’ the future is now by Jen Chaney Most people consider Max Headroom an arti-
fact of the 1980s, the sort of personality that — like Teddy Ruxpin or Clara Peller of “Where’s the beef?” fame — most of us think about only while overdosing on pop-culture nostalgia. But Head- room, a multi-platform brand and a CGI avatar be- fore most of us knew such terms existed, just might have the capacity to stutter his way back into relevancy. At least that’s the impression one gets from
watching “Max Headroom: The Complete Series,” the short-lived ABC sci-fi drama out this week on DVD ($49.97). Dated as far as visual quality and fashion choices go but amazingly forward-think- ing in terms of its plotlines, “Headroom” was a show set “20 minutes into the future” and focused on muckraking investigative reporter Edison Car- ter (Matthew Frewer), a journalist determined to expose hypocrisy in a world where corporations run everything and ratings rule the news world. Headroom — who existed before the series thanks to his appearances on a British music video show, the Art of Noise hit “Paranoimia” and in a series of famous Coke commercials — figures into the plot almost as a sidebar. In the pilot, Carter is knocked unconscious, during which time his memories are used to create a computerized alter ego dubbed Max Headroom, an electronic smart mouth who pops up on TV screens to make sarcastic com- mentary. (“How can you tell when our network president is lying?” Max quips at the end of one episode. “His lips move.”) Max may have given the show its hook, but its
heart lies in that semi-dystopian, not-so-distant future, where reality-style game shows act as nar- cotics, terrorist organizations sell footage of their activities to audience-hungry networks and re- porters are guided through tricky situations by computer controllers. It’s pretty prescient materi- al, especially considering that it aired in 1987 op- posite “Dallas” and “Miami Vice” and was largely ignored by viewers. Executive story editor Steve Roberts describes its concept as “we will all even-
Max wasn’t digital at all; Frewer wore prosthetics and had special lighting.
PHOTO AND IMAGE FROM SHOUT! FACTORY/WARNER BROS.
Matthew Frewer plays Edison Carter, a journalist used to create Max Headroom.
tually be digital as individuals.” You can’t get much more “right now” than that. The substantial extras on the DVD — including an hour-long making-of documentary and several featurettes but no deleted scenes or commentary tracks — do a comprehensive job explaining the toil involved in producing the show. But even more engagingly, they provide an informative his- tory of how Headroom, the personality, evolved. The original British creators of the character all weigh in during “Live on Network 23: The Story of Max Headroom,” sharing fascinating anecdotes, including that Max was never digital at all; his computerized persona was created by packing
ALSO OF NOTE DATE NIGHT PG-13, 2010, $29.98; Blu-ray, $39.99
The basics: Steve Carell and Tina Fey play a boring married New Jersey couple mistaken for blackmail- ers and chased through Manhattan by crooked cops. The lowdown: The plot is run of the mill, but Fey and Carell are great fun to watch. They have an easy chemistry here; you can easily imagine them as a married couple. James Franco and Mila Kunis as the real blackmailers and Mark Wahlberg as a black-ops consultant are also a hoot. The extras: A hefty batch of special features, in- cluding an extremely detailed look at the produc- tion process, with director Shawn Levy as your guide. It gets a bit technical but makes you realize why movies cost so much to make. And the gag reel will make you wonder how the movie ever got made, as the cast seems to dissolve into laughter at every turn.
DEATH AT A FUNERAL R, 2010, $28.95; Blu-ray, $34.95
SUZANNE TENNER/TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX VIA BLOOMBERG
Mark Wahlberg is a perpetually shirtless security expert aiding a beleaguered couple (Steve Carell and Tina Fey) in “Date Night.”
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ON WASHINGTONPOST.COM/DVDS More DVD reviews and information.
The basics: In this comedy, a family gathers for a funeral and realizes, even while mourning a loss, that things can still take a turn for the worse. The lowdown: With a cast that includes Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, Danny Glover and Tracy Morgan, it’s hard not to laugh at the sometimes sick humor. Though the sequence of events is hard to believe, this remake of the 2007 British film of the same name (and nearly the same story line) is perfect for a group screening when not everyone can give it their full attention. The extras: If you’re hoping for a few extra laughs, the actors lend themselves well to a blooper reel, and the deleted scenes elicit some chuckles. It’s also interesting to see Rock’s influence and role as the film’s producer in a behind-the-scenes feature, but the remaining extras are not as entertaining.
— Kristen Boghosian, Amy Hitt
prosthetics onto Frewer, lighting the actor in a way that made Max appear electronic and editing the live-action footage to make him seem to be speaking via a terribly slow acoustic modem con- nection. George Stone, one of those co-creators, also notes that the name Max Headroom derived from the most obvious of places: the warning signs in Britain’s parking garages. “Max Head- room was over the entranceway of every car park in the U.K.,” he says proudly. “Instant branding, in- stant recognition.” Interviews with crew and cast from the ABC se- ries — including Amanda Pays, Jeffrey Tambor, Morgan Sheppard and executive producer Peter Wagg, but not Frewer — also take us behind the scenes, including to the day when production shut down mid-scene because ABC had pulled the plug. (“I’ll never forget it,” Tambor says, “because I went, ‘Wow. That is show biz.’ ”) Fans will relish ev- ery minute, but those who don’t remember “Head- room” may not find the show to be quite their cup of cyberpunk tea. But at the least, they will be im- pressed by the currency of its technospeak. Watching “Max Headroom” in the year 2010 is a reminder that what once was “20 minutes into the future” is, more than 20 years later, what’s hap- pening right this second.
jen.chaney@
wpost.com
“Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief”
1
“The Book of Eli” (above, with Gary Oldman)
2 “Brooklyn’s Finest” “Shutter Island”
“She’s Out of My League”
3 4 5
SOURCE: Redbox, for the week ended Aug. 8.
TOP
What Washington is watching
5
DUE TUESDAY
A kid-friendly Furry Vengeance and the tear jerker The Last Song.
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