The Education of Max Bickford: Difference between revisions

 

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* [[Cote de Pablo|Coté de Pablo]] – Gina

* [[Cote de Pablo|Coté de Pablo]] – Gina

* [[Ellen Parker (actress)|Ellen Parker]] – Noleen Bettis

* [[Ellen Parker (actress)|Ellen Parker]] – Noleen Bettis

* [[Robin Raven]]

* [[Robin Raven]]

* [[Kristen Schaal]] – Valerie Holmes

* [[Kristen Schaal]] – Valerie Holmes

* [[Chris Stack]] – Alec

* [[Chris Stack]] – Alec

2001 American TV series or program

The Education of Max Bickford is an American drama television series that aired Sundays at 8:00 pm (EST) on CBS from September 23, 2001, to June 2, 2002, during the 2001–02 television season. After a strong initial launch, the show’s audience “dropped sharply afterward” despite its prime time slot following 60 Minutes.^[1] Within a month, two of its three executive producers were removed and reports claimed the show was being “overhauled”, though CBS denied this, preferring the term “creative adjustments”.^[2]

In May 2002, Touched by an Angel was returned to its Sunday 8 p.m. slot, bumping the second-to-last episode of The Education of Max Bickford to Monday.^[3] In June 2002, the final episode aired and the show was not renewed.

The series starred Richard Dreyfuss as the title character, a college professor of American Studies at Chadwick College, an all-women’s school in Massachusetts. Episodes followed Max, a recovering alcoholic trying to rebuild his life, as he tries to prove his teachings were still relevant to a generation far different from his own. Often, Max was challenged by the faculty over his unorthodox style and his often cantankerous personality.

Also starring was child actor Eric Ian Goldberg as Max’s son Lester Bickford. Max’s daughter Nell, played by Katee Sackhoff, attended Chadwick. Max’s colleagues included Marcia Gay Harden as Andrea Haskell, his former student (and lover) who recently joined the faculty, and Helen Shaver as his best friend Erica, previously known as Steve before her transition.

“Max Bickford” was one of the first series to be produced in High-Definition. Cinematographer Michael Mayers was brought in to pioneer this move into Hi-Def.^[4]

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On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an aggregated score of 79% based on 11 positive and 3 negative critic reviews. The website’s consensus reads: “Bolstered by intelligent writing and a strong supporting cast, The Education of Max Bickford finds Richard Dreyfuss commanding the small screen with ease.”^[6]