The Education of Max Bickford

American TV series or program

Dawn Prestwich
Nicole Yorkin

Starring

Richard Dreyfuss
Marcia Gay Harden
Katee Sackhoff
Regina Taylor
Meredith Roberts
Eric Ian Goldberg
Helen Shaver

Composers

David Was
Don Was

Country of originUnited StatesOriginal languageEnglishNo. of seasons1No. of episodes22ProductionExecutive producers

Keith Addis
Joe Cacaci
Rod Holcomb
Dawn Prestwich
Nicole Yorkin

Production locations

New York City
Wagner College

Running time60 minutesProduction companies

Sugar Mama Productions
Joe Cacaci Productions
Regency Television
CBS Productions
20th Century Fox Television

Original releaseNetworkCBSReleaseSeptember 23, 2001 (2001-09-23) –
June 2, 2002 (2002-06-02)

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 pm 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.

Overview

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. The series follows Max, a recovering alcoholic trying to rebuild his life, as he tries to prove that his teachings still carry relevance to a generation far different from his own. Often Max finds himself challenged by the faculty over his unorthodox style and his often cantankerous personality. Also starring was child actor Eric Ian Goldberg, who portrayed the young Lester Bickford, Max's son. Max's colleagues included Marcia Gay Harden as Andrea Haskell, his former student (and lover) who had recently joined the faculty, and Helen Shaver as his best friend, Erica, previously known as Steve before her transition. Max's daughter, Nell, played by Katee Sackhoff, attended the college.

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

Cast

Main

Richard Dreyfuss – Max Bickford
Marcia Gay Harden – Andrea Haskell
Regina Taylor – Judith Bryant
Helen Shaver – Erica Bettis
Katee Sackhoff – Nell Bickford
Eric Ian Goldberg – Lester Bickford
Meredith Roberts – Brenda Vanderpool
Molly Regan – Lorraine Tator
Stephen Spinella – Rex Pinsker
David McCallum – Walter Thornhill

Recurring

Jayne Atkinson – Lyla Ortiz
Stefanie Bari – Anna
Natalie Venetia Belcon – Rose Quigley
Craig Bonacorsi – Adam
Brennan Brown – Ron Zinn
Lynn Collins
Angel Desai – Jardie
Ylfa Edelstein – Isabelle
Angela Goethals – Danielle Hodges
Donna Murphy – Esther Weber
Coté de Pablo – Gina
Ellen Parker – Noleen Bettis
Robin Raven
Kristen Schaal – Valerie Holmes
Chris Stack – Alec
Kellee Stewart – Yolanda

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by ^[5]	Written by ^[5]	Original air date	Prod. code ^[5]
1	"Pilot"	Rod Holcomb	Dawn Prestwich & Nicole Yorkin	September 23, 2001 (2001-09-23)	1AFB79
2	"Herding Cats"	Rod Holcomb	Dawn Prestwich & Nicole Yorkin	September 30, 2001 (2001-09-30)	1AFB01
3	"Who Is Breckenridge Long?"	David Long	Jan Oxenberg	October 14, 2001 (2001-10-14)	1AFB02
4	"Hearts and Minds"	Rod Holcomb	Rob Thomas	October 21, 2001 (2001-10-21)	1AFB03
5	"In the Details"	Rod Holcomb	Dawn Prestwich & Nicole Yorkin	October 28, 2001 (2001-10-28)	1AFB04
6	"Do It Yourself"	David Jones	Tom Garrigus	November 11, 2001 (2001-11-11)	1AFB05
7	"Revisionism"	David Platt	Sharon Lee Watson	November 18, 2001 (2001-11-18)	1AFB08
8	"A Very Great Man"	Martha Mitchell	Dianne Houston	December 2, 2001 (2001-12-02)	1AFB06
9	"It's Not the Wrapping, It's the Candy"	Elodie Keene	Anya Epstein	December 9, 2001 (2001-12-09)	1AFB07
10	"The Good, the Bad, and the Lawyers"	Rob Holcomb	Jan Oxenberg	January 6, 2002 (2002-01-06)	1AFB10
11	"Save the Country"	Don Scardino	David Yorkin	January 13, 2002 (2002-01-13)	1AFB09
12	"The Cost of Living"	David Jones	Tom Garrigus	January 20, 2002 (2002-01-20)	1AFB11
13	"I Never Schlunged My Father"	Michael Schultz	Joe Cacaci	January 27, 2002 (2002-01-27)	1AFB12
14	"Money Changes Everything"	Martha Mitchell	Richard Dresser	February 24, 2002 (2002-02-24)	1AFB13
15	"Genesis"	Don Scardino	David Black	March 3, 2002 (2002-03-03)	1AFB14
16	"An Open Book"	Matthew Penn	Story by : Grace McKeaney & Kate Milliken Teleplay by : Grace McKeaney	March 10, 2002 (2002-03-10)	1AFB15
17	"Past, Present, Future"	David Jones	Tom Garrigus	March 17, 2002 (2002-03-17)	1AFB16
18	"Murder of the First"	Rob Holcomb	David Yorkin	March 31, 2002 (2002-03-31)	1AFB17
19	"The Bad Girl"	David Platt	Linda Burstyn	April 14, 2002 (2002-04-14)	1AFB18
20	"The Egg and I"	Michael Fields	Story by : Kate Milliken Story & Teleplay by : Grace McKeaney	April 21, 2002 (2002-04-21)	1AFB19
21	"One More Time"	Don Scardino	Joe Cacaci	May 12, 2002 (2002-05-12)	1AFB21
22	"The Pursuit of Happiness"	David Platt	Story by : David Black & Lorin Dreyfuss Teleplay by : David Black & Lorin Dreyfuss & Richard Dresser & Tom Garrigus & Joe Cacaci	June 2, 2002 (2002-06-02)	1AFB20

Reception

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 Bickfordfinds Richard Dreyfuss commanding the small screen with ease."^[6]

References

^ Weinraub, Bernard (8 November 2001). "'Max Bickford' Struggles To Earn Television Tenure". New York Times.
^ "The Re-Education of Max Bickford". People Magazine.
^ "Bartcop Entertainment 3 May 2002". Bartcop Entertainment (originally reported by Yahoo News).
^ Thompson, Patrricia (April 2002). "Lessons in Hi-Def". American Cinematographer: 58.
^ ^a ^b ^c From the United States Copyright Office catalog: "Public Catalog - Copyright Catalog (1978 to present) - Basic Search [search: "Education of Max Bickford"]". United States Copyright Office. Retrieved 2017-11-10.
^ "The Education of Max Bickford - Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 2023-11-06.

External links

The Education of Max Bickford at IMDb
The Education of Max Bickford at epguides.com

Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Episodic Drama

1960s

William Spier for "The Unhired Assassin" (1960)
Barry Trivers for "The Fault in Our Stars" (1961)
Howard A. Rodman and Kenneth M. Rosen for "Today the Man Who Kills The Ants is Coming" (1962)
Lawrence B. Marcus for "Man Out of Time" (1963)
Arnold Perl for "Who Do You Kill?" (1964)
John D. F. Black for "With a Hammer in His Hand, Lord, Lord!" (1965)
David Ellis for "No Justice for the Judge" (1966)
Harlan Ellison for "The City on the Edge of Forever" (1967)
Robert Lewin for "To Kill a Madman" (1968)
Robert Lewin for "An Elephant in a Cigar Box" (1969)

1970s

David W. Rintels for "A Continual Roar of Musketry" (1970)
Herb Bermann & Thomas Y. Drake & Jerrold Freedman & Bo May for "Par for the Course" (1971)
Herman Miller for "King of the Mountain" (1972)
Harlan Ellison for "Phoenix Without Ashes" (1973)
Jim Byrnes for "Thirty a Month and Found" (1974)
Stephen Kandel & Arthur Ross for "Prior Consent" (1975)
Loring Mandel for "Crossing Fox River" (1976)
Mark Rodgers for "Pressure Point" (1977)
Seth Freeman for "Prisoner" (1978)
Leon Tokatyan for "Vet" (1979)

1980s

Stephen J. Cannell for "Tenspeed and Brown Shoe" (1980)
Steven Bochco & Michael Kozoll for "Hill Street Station" (1981)
Michael Wagner for "The World According to Freedom" (1982)
David Milch for "Trial By Fury" (1983)
Steven Bochco & Mark Frost & Karen Hall & Jeff Lewis & David Milch & Michael Wagner for "Grace Under Pressure" (1984)
Georgia Jeffries for "An Unusual Occurrence" / Anthony Yerkovich for "Brother's Keeper" (1985)
Debra Frank & Carl Sautter for "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice" / Tom Fontana & John Masius & Bruce Paltrow for "Remembrance of Things Past" (1986)
Georgia Jeffries for "Turn, Turn, Turn" / Debra Frank & Carl Sautter for "It's a Wonderful Job" (1987)
Susan Shilliday for "Therapy" / Marshall Herskovitz & Edward Zwick for "Pilot" (thirtysomething) (1988)
Karl Schaefer for "Rolling" (1989)

1990s

John Sacret Young for "Souvenirs" (1990)
Racelle Rosett Schaefer for "Photo Opportunity" (1991)
Henry Bromell for "Amazing Grace" (1992)
Tom Fontana & Frank Pugliese for "The Night of the Dead Living" (1993)
Tom Fontana & David Mills & David Simon for "Bop Gun" (1994)
Lance Gentile for "Love's Labor Lost" (1995)
Bill Clark & Theresa Rebeck for "Girl Talk" (1996)
René Balcer & Richard Sweren for "Entrapment" (1997)
Bill Cain for "Proofs for the Existence Of God" (1998)
Jason Cahill for "Meadowlands" (1999)

2000s

Rick Cleveland and Aaron Sorkin for "In Excelsis Deo" (2000)
Tim Van Patten and Terence Winter for "Pine Barrens" (2001)
Dawn Prestwich and Nicole Yorkin for "Pilot" (The Education of Max Bickford) (2002)
Evan Katz for "Day 2: 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m." (2003)
Debora Cahn for "The Supremes" (2004)
Lawrence Kaplow for "Autopsy" (2005)
Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer for "Pilot" (Big Love) (2006)
Terence Winter for "The Second Coming" (2007)
Vince Gilligan for "Pilot" (Breaking Bad) (2008)
David Foster, Russel Friend, Garrett Lerner, and David Shore for "Broken" (2009)