Tread Perilously is a podcast in which hosts Erik Amaya and author Justin Robinson watch the “worst” episodes of popular TV shows, attempting to determine if they would continue to watch the series based on the most off-key moments.

This Week: Max Headroom‘s “Academy”

This week’s Patreon request takes Tread Perilously 20 minutes into the future with an episode of Max Headroom called “Academy.”

When a group of zippers hijack the Network 23 signal one too many times, Bryce is charged with finding the miscreants so severe penalties can be brought against them. But already knowing the truth, he redirects the location trace to Blank Reg’s RV. He assumes the televised judicial system will soon drop the charges, as it is clear Reg lacks the ability to zip the network, but a more obscure law makes Reg look guiltier than sin. Will Max and Edison Carter convince Bryce to come clean, or will Reg end up reduced to discrete atoms?

Justin falls in love with the “twenty minutes into the future” tagline. Erik gets into the nitty-gritty of how Max came to be in reality and in the fiction of the series. Justin defends the cast of Super Mario Bros. He also picks fights with several public figures. Erik revels in the presence of W. Morgan Sheppard. The pair debate the “too much” elements of Twin Peaks‘ second season. Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Episode IX get re-litigated — well, a little bit, anyway. The “Max Headroom Incident” gets discussed, and the ghost of F. Lee Bailey haunts the Tread Perilously virtual studio.

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