How Max Headroom Predicted My Job, 20 Years Before It Existed
The entire 80s cyberpunk Max Headroom TV series is available today on DVD, and one of the pleasures of rewatching the series is discovering how many things it got right about the future. The Premise For those who don't know the premise of the 1987-88 series, where every episode begins with the tagline "twenty minutes into the future," here's a quick recap. Investigative reporter Edison Carter works for Network 23 in an undefined cyberpunk future, where all media is ad-supported and ratings rule all. Reporters carry "rifle cameras," gun-shaped video cameras, which are wirelessly linked back to a "controller" in the newsroom. Edison's controller is Theora, who accesses information online - everything from apartment layouts to secret security footage - to help him with investigations. They're aided in their investigations by a sarcastic AI named Max Headroom, built by geek character Bryce and based on Edison's memories. Sometimes producer Murray (Jeffrey Tambor) helps...