Sunday, Oct. 30, 2005 | 8:06 a.m.
Twenty years in the past Peter Wagg created a character that lived "20 minutes in the future" -- Max Headroom.
It's a name that still brings smiles to cult fans two decades after the quirky computer-generated Max was born into a fictitious world, where it was illegal to turn off your televisions and TVs were given to the poor.
The central character (actually developed in 1984 as a gimmick host for a music video show in England) was roving reporter Edison Carter, who worked for Network 23, and his alter ego, Max Headroom.
Because computer technology was not sufficiently advanced in the mid-'80s, Max was in reality actor Matt Frewer in latex and foam-rubber prosthetic makeup.
The series faded away in the United States following a short-lived stint in 1987 on ABC (14 episodes) and then an ad campaign for Coca-Cola. Headroom was a staple in England from 1984-88.
Wagg, the genius behind Max, lives in Las Vegas, where he is an executive of the production company of Franco Dragone, creator of "Le Reve" at Wynn Las Vegas.
In a recent interview with the Sun, the native of England discussed his fascinating career and one of the most intriguing characters ever created for television.
You have a very interesting resume -- advertising and marketing, head of creative services for a record label, head of your own production company, creator of TV specials and music videos, executive with Cirque du Soliel and Franco Dragone. Where did it all begin?
I've often thought I've got no resume for 99 percent of the world, but I have the best resume for 1 percent of the world. I've never followed a single career path. I just went with invitations that I have been fortunate to be given.
The first 10 years of my career were spent in the advertising business in London. I worked with some tremendously creative people. One of my mentors was Alan Parker, an advertising copy writer who then became a director of commercials and then a director of feature films ("Mississippi Burning," "Midnight Express"). And Ridley Scott, who went on to direct films ("Blade Runner," "Thelma & Louise," "Hannibal," "Black Hawk Down").
Michael David Putman (producer of "Chariots of Fire") was another mentor. He produced the first films of Alan and Ridley.
Why didn't you go into feature films?
I felt my talent was more working with creative people and, hopefully, giving them the support where they could do their best work.
The '70s and '80s must have been exciting years for you.
It was a wonderful time in British advertising -- and then when I moved on to Chrysalis Records in '78, MTV was just exploding. I created music videos for some very talented artists (Blondie, Pat Benatar, Huey Lewis and Billy Idol, among others).
There was certainly a feeding frenzy by broadcasters to emulate the MTV strand of broadcasting. A few of us in London were at the center of it.
I started the programming division for the record label -- and one of the projects was Max Headroom.
How did Max come about?
Channel 4 had just started in and they took chances -- they went out to do different things with different kinds of talent, which gave me the opportunity to come up with ideas to showcase on music videos.
When you have a youthful naivete you believe you can do anything, and you find collaborators with the same juice.
That's what happened with Max. We wanted to try to create a series with worldwide appeal. We wanted to come up with an international figure, working with animators -- computer-generating animation was in its infancy in those days -- we would create our own host for the music video show.
That's how the idea evolved. Everybody fed off everybody else -- it just took off.
How did you come up with the name, Max Headroom?
No real reason, just filling your head to the max with images.
Max was only supposed to host a music video series. How did he become part of a storyline, and eventually have a series of his own?
Channel 4 was great at provoking you and channeling your creativity. We came up with a back story -- this crazy story of an investigative journalist who was so popular that when he was severely injured in an accident his TV network couldn't let him off the air, so they created Max Headroom.
As Europeans do, we set out to satirize the hand that feeds us -- to satirize TV, sponsors, big corporations.
The music video series became popular on HBO in the United States as well as Channel 4 in England. How did it evolve into something much more?
The music video series was such a success, but we realized we couldn't just keep doing half-hour video music shows with Max popping up between each one, so the last show of that first season, we decided to have Max interview somebody live.
We built a little set of Max's living room and Max appeared on a TV set on a counter. Sting was on tour promoting a new album at the time and he had not heard of Max Headroom, didn't have a clue.
So we brought Sting in and he sat down on a stool next to the TV and Max began to interview him -- his first question was "What's your golf handicap?" Max, who only had a head, no legs or arms, was passionate about golf. He was always going on about golf.
It was such a blast. The interview with Sting went so well that we did six more quick ones -- Duran Duran, Boy George, which was a classic.
That resulted in opening up sketch shows. We shot some in New York with Penn and Teller. We shot a Christmas special with Tina Turner.
Lorimar eventually bought the American rights to Max Headroom and worked a deal with ABC-TV.
The series was incredibly creative, but it only lasted 14 episodes. Why?
Honestly, it was such a blast for us, sitting there and watching it. But we knew it wouldn't last. We were on opposite "Dallas" and "Miami Vice." There was not any hope.
The sad part was that we had such an amazingly dedicated, passionate crew and cast. It was an absolute labor of love. There was so much pride in it. The irony for me about everything is that it was so long ago, and there has never been anything else to replace it.
It was so short-lived, yet everybody in the industry remembers it. You mention Max Headroom and everybody knows it.
Have you ever thought of reviving Max?
It's been bandied around a lot, but it was a spirit, a moment in time -- a group of people that was irreplaceable and totally committed.
It was great fun, and I wouldn't have missed it for the world.
Jerry Fink can be reached at 259-4058 or [email protected].
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