QUATERMASS EXPERIMENT 2005: TV ON TRIAL

Is today's television bland, derivative and moribund - or are we living in a golden age of broadcasting? In an interactive TV event, TV On Trial invites the great British public to vote and pronounce their verdict on whether today's television is better or worse than it used to be.

Across a week, beginning on Easter Sunday 27 March, BBC Four dedicates its schedule to broadcasting some of the outstanding TV programmes of the past six decades of British television. Each night is introduced by two prominent broadcasting figures - one a champion, the other a critic of that evening's featured decade. Viewers then register their votes and comments on what they believe to have been the best decade via email, text message and telephone. And, by pressing the Red button on the remote control, they can choose to watch all the archive programming uninterrupted by the comments from the pundits. A live debate show at the end of the week-long "trial" announces the result.

A highlight of the week is a contemporary adaptation of The Quatermass Experiment - to be broadcast as a live 2-hour drama on Saturday 2 April.

Presenter John Sergeant says: "We're looking at the widely-held assumption that British TV has deteriorated in quality since the early years of the medium. Some believe that the television of yesteryear was qualitatively better than the TV broadcast today - but does that view stand up to scrutiny?"

The week
Each night, the two commentators - just like the viewers at home - will sit on a sofa in front of a television. Here, they'll see - in full - a range of programmes selected from the mid-point of each decade, i.e. 1955, 1965, 1975, 1985, 1995 and 2005. Intermittently, they will comment on what they're watching - again, just as viewers are likely to be doing at home.

Year	Champion	Critic	Archive Programming (to be shown in full)
1955	columnist Roy Hattersley	tv critic Kathryn Flett	Double Your Money; Fabian of the Yard; Can you tell me?; Life With the Lyons
1965	Critic Chris Dunkley	Presenter Mark Lawson	The Group; Steptoe and Son; Coronation Street; The Wednesday Play: Fable
1975	Author Alan Coren	Columnist Sarfraz Manzoor	The Sweeney; Love Thy Neighbour; That's Life; World In Action: Why I Want to be Leader
1985	Columnist David Aaronovitch	Journalist James Delingpole	Eastenders; Spitting Image; Blott on the Landscape (eps 1)
1995	Editor of Broadcast Magazine, Conor Dignam	Musician and writer Paul Morley	J'Accuse: Vegetarians; Pride and Prejudice (eps 1); Men Behaving Badly; Modern Times: Lido
2005	Columnist Janet Street-Porter	Presenter John Humphrys	Footballers Wives; Little Britain; The Bachelor (UK version)

"The TV On Trial" website at bbc.co.uk/bbcfour will outline the week's schedule and encourage viewers to take part in the vote.
One section of the website will be devoted to an extensive timeline of British television history. This will feature key moments since 1950, and include clips of landmark programmes. A broadband video player will also let viewers watch clips from the BBC archive.
Viewers will also be able to contribute their own thoughts about television by emailing the website at tvontrial@bbc.co.uk - some of these comments will be read out during the live programme.

The TV On Trial finale on Sunday 3 April will be a live debate show, presented by John Sergeant. Joined by the 12 champions and critics and with a short film by "expert witness" Professor Steven Barnett, John will hear their deliberations and announce the results of the public vote. The evening concludes with a chance to see the defining TV shows from the winning decade.

Interactivity is at the core of the week - rather than simply listening to the pundits, we want viewers to tell us what they think and make their votes count.

Register Your Vote By Calling 0901 827 2227 (calls cost 10p - charges from mobile networks may vary)
* Text "TV FIFTIES, TV SIXTIES, TV SEVENTIES, TV EIGHTIES, TV NINETIES or TV NOW" to 63399 (texts will cost no more than 15p)
* Visiting the website at bbc.co.uk/bbcfour
* Plus, email your comments to "mailto:tvontrial@bbc.co.uk" tvontrial@bbc.co.uk
VOTING OPENS ON SUNDAY 27 MARCH