In the movie, Edison Carter (portrayed by Frewer) is a journalist fleeing enemies into a parking garage, crashing his motorcycle through the entrance barrier reading 'Max.
Max Headroom debuted in April 1985 on Channel 4 in the British-made cyberpunk TV movie Max Headroom: 20 Minutes into the Future, his origin story. Frewer proposed that Max reflected an innocence, largely influenced not by mentors and life experience but by information absorbed from television. According to his creators, Max's personality was meant to be a satirical exaggeration of the worst tendencies of television hosts in the 1980s who wanted to appeal to youth culture yet were not a part of it. Harsh lighting and other editing and recording effects heighten the illusion of a CGI character. Max was advertised as 'computer-generated', and some believed this, but he was actually actor Frewer wearing prosthetic makeup, contact lenses, and a plastic moulded suit, and sitting in front of a blue screen. The character was created by George Stone, Annabel Jankel, and Rocky Morton.
Advertised as 'the first computer-generated TV presenter', Max was known for his biting commentary on a variety of topical issues, arrogant wit, stuttering, and pitch-shifting voice. Max Headroom is a fictional character played by actor Matt Frewer.
