From the alt.tv.max-headroom Newsgroup
(Edited for fringe release by Joe Struss)
From: rguy@vvm.com (Ron Guy)I had a question... How exactly does the telelection work, what are you electing for, when a network whens what is the result, is that the only network aired, or what. In other words, what is the election for?
From: c-leaper@shooter.bluemarble.net (Jennifer Bohn)If I remember correctly (and please forgive me if this is foggy)....
The networks each "sponsor" a candidate who is running for some elected office (i.e. city official). Then the networks pull out all the plugs to get their viewership up as much as possible (just like any other time during the show). ;-)
At a predetermined time, say 9:00 a.m. Tuesday, whichever network has the highest ratings AT THAT MOMENT...the candidate affiliated with that network wins.
From: wrandom@aol.com (Wrandom)The telelection is a way to eliminate people having to go out and vote for public officials. Each network would sponsor a candidate, and during a specific time period, whichever channel you watched, your vote for the corresponding candidate would be automatically counted. Very couch-potato-ey, doncha think?
From: John.Giudice@RIconneCT.com (John.Giudice)Some things are vague in the tapestry of the Max series background, a quality that was part of its boldness. The way I read that telelection business in "The Blanks" is that the network that 'sponsors' a winning candidate receives special consideration when pertinent laws are in flux. (And in that version of the future, the rate of flux must be astounding.) Note how Edison leaves to shoot Peller's post-victory interview. His tone suggests that this capitulation is routine procedure. This would also explain why the campaign manager becomes so peeved when Edison does not play the fawning messenger, but challenges them as only he can.
Present day elections are planned not by geographical region, but by so-called "media markets". Television is the most prominent vehicle in the promotional budget. Candidates who run out of ad money will and have shut down their entire effort. The Peller episode postulates that in a world saturated and driven by TV, it makes sense for bigwigs and TV network czars to mutually benefit from the electoral process.