Television is beamed into our homes through a proliferation of channels and devices. TV has become an integral part of our lives, all over the world, in just a few short decades. Why has TV taken a grip on us which has never weakened? It influences our politics, our cultural attitudes and social perceptions. Does it mainly distract or engage us?

Presenter Mike Williams finds out about TV’s humble origins with the grandson of TV inventor John Logie Baird, and runs through some of television’s most viewed moments. We feature one of the biggest reality TV stars in the Middle East, winner of Arab Idol 2013 singing contest, Mohammed Assaf, who shares his thoughts on the medium. TV, once tightly controlled, has escaped into the world and continues to change our societies in unimaginable ways.

(Photo: A wall of 750 television screens at an exhibition celebrating 50 years of television broadcasting, in Melbourne, Australia. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)