Nick Ahad: TV may outshine cinema as top writers herald a golden age

Erudite, funny, and far cheekier then you might imagine, Bennett was a joy (the interview will be appearing in next week's Yorkshire Post).

While brushing up on all things Bennett ahead of our chat, I came across an old interview in which the writer talked about the merits of television versus the cinema.

He enjoys the medium, he said, of television, far more than that of cinema, even though he has written for screens both big and small.

Cinema, he said, is a distancing experience for the audience, certainly for the writer, while television is a unifying force.

The interview came from a time when televisions had a limited, as opposed to limitless, number of channels and, at the time of talking about it, Bennett was absolutely right: of an evening we would all sit down and watch largely the same programmes at the same time, unless of course you were one of those flash so-and-sos who could work a video recorder.

For entirely unrelated reasons I also had cause yesterday to research another writer, one who has worked exclusively in television during his career. Tony Jordan is the writer with the remarkable life story – he went from genuine East End barrow boy to writing scripts for the BBC's EastEnders when he wrote a letter to the show's producers complaining about the hackneyed stereotypes which pervaded the soap.

I was looking up Tony Jordan because a colleague discovered that I had not yet discovered the delights of the BBC series Life on Mars. Having caught glimpses of it over Christmas, I began to get the impression I have been missing out and my colleague confirmed my suspicions.

Created by Jordan, it looks to be a brilliant series and I eagerly await the delivery of the first series box-set.

There is a myth I hear trotted out on a regular basis that, were Shakespeare around today, he would be writing for Coronation Street. It's not true, of course. The Bard's work exists most potently on the stage, where his genius creates the world in our imaginations rather than in a more prosaic medium like television. But it got me wondering. Are our contemporary brilliant writers all working for television?

The death of Big Brother, which may be mourned by many this summer, but is heartily celebrated in this parish, could herald a new chapter for television history.

With programmes like Life on Mars, the American series The Wire and the BBC's excellent recently-returned Survivors, could we be heading back to some golden age that Mr Bennett might particularly enjoy?

With the proliferation of television channels, is a sea change happening where the cream is rising to the top?

With the country's best writers peddling their wares for shows like Day Of the Triffids, Survivors, Doctor Who – even highly praised Yorkshire writer Mark Catley writes for Casualty – is television set to become once again a unifying force?

Not just because it would please Mr Bennett, I have optimistic hopes that it will become so.