Site of the Week -- Sept. 27, 1999
ake 1980s pop culture, mix in cyberpunk, nuke it for 20 minutes, and you'll
get M-m-max Headroom, vanguard of the New Coke generation and
short-lived television star.
The fan Web site Max Headroom chronicles Max in all his glory,
from his early days on Cinemax to his final hours on ABC. The site is full of
Maxims, from his trademark voice--which sounds like streaming audio on a bad
day--to dark, moody stills from Max's doomed television
series.
Max's stint as the spokesman for New Coke ("C-c-catch the wave!") is
documented in a brief but entertaining section. There are also write-ups for the
13 television episodes that aired on ABC as well as a few Max games, including
a version that diehard fans can run on a Commodore 64 emulator.
The site is missing a few Max tie-ins--notably Doonesbury creator Garry
Trudeau's Max-inspired Ronald Reagan strips and the Max-like animations from
Back to the Future II--but overall the site does an excellent job of
chronicling Max's history while showing how far ahead of his own time he
was.
-- Kenneth Newquist
Site of the Week -- Sept. 20, 1999
he Phantom Menace may be on its way out of theaters, but the Star
Wars shows still go on at the Mos Eisley Multiplex.
The site features links to more than 40 digital short films and skits by Star
Wars fans. Each link includes a brief about the production, and a few have links
to longer behind-the-scenes articles that explain how and why the films were
made.
The multiplex links to some of the most famous underground skits, such as
Troops and SimWars (the Star Wars/Titanic parody), but it has
plenty of not-so-famous shorts as well. Those who never got over Jar Jar
Binks can revel in Killing Jar Jar, a film that shows just how much
abuse one of those plastic Jar Jar heads can take. Those looking for
something more highbrow can take in a Jedi-ified version of Macbeth.
There's a higher-than-average dead link count on the site, but since most of
the download sites have multiple mirrors, this is only a minor
inconvenience.
-- Kenneth Newquist
Site of the Week -- Sept. 13, 1999
he Australian-based Dark Horizons Web site carries news, rumors, reviews and information about TV shows and films, with an emphasis on science fiction, fantasy and horror. The News and Rumors section supplies up-to-the-minute reportage on current and upcoming TV and film projects, including plot hints, casting updates, and filming locations. The This Week listings tell what films are currently opening in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
In addition to being a good source for current Tinsel Town dish, Dark Horizons also catalogs movies and TV shows gone by. The yearly Film Index pages, beginning with 1997, list every major Hollywood film and include stills, cast and crew information, plot summaries and even trailers. Worldwide release dates are given, as well as links to online reviews. (The site's creator, Garth Franklin, also reviews almost every Hollywood film--his articles are short, specific, and very readable.) For TV, there are comprehensive episode guides to selected shows, including Babylon 5, Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, The X-Files, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Xena: Warrior Princess, and even the yet-to-be aired Angel.
Considering that Dark Horizons is based Down Under, it's amazing how well connected this site is to the Hollywood scene.
-- J.B. Peck
