Despite being one of the cheapest films suspense-meister Alfred Hitchcock ever made, Psycho went on to become his greatest success, both commercially and horrifically. Famous for many of its set pieces, the most famous of these being Janet Leigh's shower scene that was said to have put many people off having showers at all, Psycho is for many the embodiment of the perfect horror feature.

Twenty-three years later, star Anthony Perkins went on to appear in the sequel Psycho II (with another - cunningly named Psycho III - following 3 years after that), but even with a fairly decent story these later outings, without the hand of the master, were pale imitations of the original.

An idea floated by the media regulator Ofcom - to help maintain "public service" programming by sharing out the licence fee between BBC and commercial broadcasters - was criticised by both BBC and ITV bosses this week. ITV executive chairman Michael Grade, speaking at a convention organised by the Royal Television Society, said he didn't want any of the licence fee.

TVScoop has covered many stories centred around how the BBC is struggling with its finances after a smaller-than-expected licence fee settlement, so it will come as no surprise that BBC director general Mark Thompson was also against the idea, saying it would weaken the corporation, which is has no other source of revenue. Channel 4 has yet to comment, but would also be in line to benefit from any change to the distribution of the licence fee, which will be considered by the government in 2012. Click through for your chance to decide what should be done with the licence fee.

Media secretary James Purnell MP has told broadcasters to move on from the controversies that have dogged the TV industry this year. Purnell, who was speaking at the Royal Television Society Cambridge Convention, said that TV produced in this country was something to be proud of, and that it was the content that would "win out".

Purnell urged broadcasters to draw the "right lessons" from recent controversies, commenting that they need to "respect their audience", who expect a certain standard from UK broadcasting. "You [broadcasters] need to put your house in order, and if you don’t there will be a clamour for Ofcom and the BBC Trust to take further action... I do think people feel let down. But you only get to feel let down if you hold something in high regard in the first place," he said.

ITV has unveiled the details of its business review, which includes a three to five year self-funded, content led plan to restore growth. Eh? The broadcaster wants to double its content revenues to £1.2 billion by 2012, and is aiming for online revenues of £150 million by 2010. This is to be partly achieved by growing ITV.com to become a 'top ten' UK commercial entertainment site.

ITV executive chairman Michael Grade said: "By 2012, I want ITV to be widely acknowledged as the UK’s favourite source of free, original entertainment across all popular platforms and devices, not just on television. Reshaped, revitalised and redeployed, ITV’s unrivalled assets will ensure that it is once again a top and bottom line growth business. To achieve this we are implementing a content-led growth plan, built on ITV’s creation and ownership of the UK’s most valuable programmes. Our plan enables us to sustain investment in original programmes and content through self-funding."

Content led meaning what exactly? Are ITV promising to show decent programmes then? Surely that's what they're supposed to be doing anyway?

The European Commission and footballing body UEFA have teamed up to launch an anti-obesity TV campaign - featuring a group of armchair-ridden couch potatoes struggling to play football - that will run during this year's Champions League coverage. The 30-second ad, "Go on, get out of your armchair", is scheduled to run 2,023 times during the half-time breaks in each match over the course of the September to May competition. The commercial is expected to reach between 80 million and 100 million viewers during each match week of the Champions League.

This weekend, I've taken in too much booze and my liver is angry with me. I've had late nights and been restless due to a slight increase in temperature. The council tax people are on my back because I'm a bit forgetful and the bank want to take my money. Still, at least I haven't got it as bad as the 'stars' of When Stunts Go Bad (ITV4, Sunday, 7pm).

Basically, ITV4 is the new Five. Showing us programmes that revolve around people running away from the weather and people being attacked by animals. Instead of being true documentaries, they're more like You've Been Framed... only with more blood. The video footage of (some of the most dangerous) stunts (ever attempted!) isn't enough to entice you in. So with that, the title gives you the promise of these feats going horrendously wrong. Featuring a whole host of mashed up daredevils, this show is designed to a) Tell us all that, in no situation should you ever deem it sensible to hurtle off ramps at great speed if you like your innards and b) Whittle away the time until something decent comes on.

Is TV the biggest lie producing machine in history? Of course it is. That's what it's there for. TV never reflected reality by virtue of the fact that is was all a bit too real. We can all recall a great TV fib... spaghetti trees, fake haunted houses with a mock spooked Sarah Green... but now, things have changed. Once, TV was unabashed about the lies it told. We could trust that any lies were for our benefit and required a certain amount of suspension of disbelief. TV has taken away the trust and taken a sinister turn.

It seems that, at the moment, you can't move for TV scandals. Some are more worrying than others. Some sneaky editing has left The Queen looking like a pilchard, more editing suite fun left us under the impression that Gordon Ramsay is quite the fisherman.These to me are old fashioned lies. Editing something quite dull into something slightly less dull. However, apart from the creative edit, TV shows have been lying to us whilst dipping a hand into our pockets.

Do you remember me telling you about the BBC slagging ITV for copying all their shows? Well, ITV director of telly, Simon Shaps, has hit back at these accusations. Mr Shaps' (known as Mr Doesn't Really Have A Leg To Stand On) defended Tycoon (Dragon's Den/The Apprentice), Grease Is The Word (How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria and Any Dream Will Do) and Trinny and Susannah Undress (er... Trinny and Susannah) by prattling on about how hard it is to have an idea.

Shaps said: "We stand by the programmes we commission. They feel original pieces of television and I'm confident that they are." He then joked "We're definitely not doing our version of Castaway." (Celebrity Love Island). Shappers continued that it's almost impossible to find a completely original "holy grail" idea in television, adding: "There are no new shows under the sun."

Heeeeeeere's Johnny! How many Johns, and even not-Johns, have used that line since Stanley Kubrick's epic adaptation of Stephen King's everyday story of hotel management hit the big screen in 1980? I know I have. Very few books, even written by horror master King, have had the effect on me that The Shining did. I guess the fact that I read it while working the night shift helped me appreciate the atmosphere King's story conjured up. So when the movie came out my expectations weren't great. Was I ever wrong. The Overlook Hotel of Kubrick's film was exactly as I'd pictured it, and the changes he'd made to the story for the sake of the adaptation almost uniformly enhanced rather than detracted from the story (the only thing I didn't particularly appreciate was the change to the ending).

Jack Nicholson is on excellent form as caretaker/writer Jack Torrance, while Shelley Duvall falls apart gracefully as the ever more confused and frightened wife Wendy. Danny Lloyd, who at six years old sent shivers down my spine with his now-famous line "Redrum! Redrum!", gave up acting after one more movie and is now a professor of biology at a college in Kentucky.

The BBC director general, Mark Thompson, has launched a scathing (but seemingly justified) attack against arch rivals ITV, accusing shows like Tycoon and Grease is the Word of being copycats of successful corporation shows. Something I mentioned t'other week no less. BBC? Bleedin' copycats.

Mr Thompson, speaking at the launch of the BBC 2007 annual report today, attacked the "copycatting" policy of rivals, which he said was flattering but showed that the BBC was leading the way in programming. He singled out ITV1 business reality show Tycoon, which he said was "very like The Apprentice and there's possibly a bit of Dragons Den in there".

Mr Thompson also highlighted other ITV1 formats such as reality talent format Grease is the Word and Trinny and Susannah Undress, which "feels quite a lot like What Not To Wear", before adding "you see very rapid copycatting."

Let TVScoop pick out the best (and worst) from the weekend listings to save you from a weekend of dire TV.

Friday - Derren Brown: Trick or Treat, Channel 4, 10pm

Derren Brown is brilliant. Not only can he juggle your brain and play conkers with your mind, but he's also amazingly cruel. For too long, magic shows have had a whiff of variety about them. David Blaine tried to make it cool, but instead, ended up looking like a pretentious git. Derren Brown came along, duped us all with tales of sheep in jars and proceeded to stun us all with an array of wonderful and sinister tricks. Last week, he scared some bloke half to death before making him go mad and letting him loose around London with scary clown make-up and a blond wig. This week, he'll probably convince someone they're dead or something. Essential.

My choice for this week's movie is not the insipid 2006 remake but the glorious 1973 original starring Edward Woodward and Christopher Lee. The Wicker Man is not only in my top ten movies of all time, but probably more significantly was placed sixth best British film ever by Total Film magazine in 2004.

It combines a plausible plot, pseudo-celtic ritual, strange remote people living in a strange remote place, barely suppressed sexual yearnings, a fabulous musical score and some top notch performances from its stars and support alike.

If ITV Play was a family pet, then it's fair to say that it would be a rather annoying Yorkshire Terrier. Yapping away in the corner and biting your feet, you realise that ol' Yorkie is passed his best and in fact quite ill. The only sensible thing is to put poor old Yorkie out of its misery by a trip to the vets to send him to Dogri-La.

This needlessly wordy introduction is my way of saying that ITV are sticking the boot in on the dismal ITV Play channel. What will they replace it with?

If I had the power to hand out degrees in stating the blindingly obvious, then I'd be winging my way to ITV boss, Michael Grade, certificate in hand, this instant. Why? Well, Grade has just caught on to what anyone with functioning eyeballs and brain has been thinking for years. That ITV's programmes is generally awful.

The ITV executive chairman said that the broadcaster's programming lacked "innovation" and as a result, the company reported a fall in annual profits. He blamed a ratings-driven culture and the advertising regime imposed on ITV when it merged to become one company three years ago. A poor workman blames his tools son...

Chevy Chase has moments of complete and utter genius. His appearances as Clark W. Griswold. His Saturday Night Live stand-up. His rap record. His appearance in Fletch (Thursday, 10pm, ITV4 ).

Chase has been a bit quiet (or dire) of late, although he made a great appearance at The Secret Policeman's Ball a few months back. However, it's his earlier work we all remember him best for... and has he given a better performance than in this 1985 Michael Ritchie flick? Chevy stars in the first of two outings as the investigative reporter with a hilarious sideline in disguises and bumbling/witty repartee. Uprooted from Malibu beach (where he is disguised as a heroin addict beach bum) by a millionaire who orders his own murder, Chase romps through a brilliant off-kilter plot that fits his comic frame like a well tailored suit. If you haven't seen this, it's essential. If you have, makes sure you remind yourself of one of the finest comedy films of it's generation. [Mof Gimmers]

On Wednesday, I'll be off out watching a band, so obviously, I don't care much about what's on TV. In saying that, I'm not heartless and I won't leave you with a tip.  At 10pm on ITV4, the razor sharp 1965 flick, The Ipcress File is on. The film is based on Len Deighton's first spy novel which had everything except a name for its hero. This led producer Harry Saltzman to decide on Harry Palmer. For the role, he cast the virtually unknown Michael Caine and the rest is, well, history.

Ofcom, TV regulators and stuff, have published a report saying that nearly three out of four UK households now view digital television on their main set. Obviously, this doesn't include houses with no TV but that's blindingly obvious isn't it?

Around 600,000 kicked analogue TV out of the back door and pressed red to watch digital terrestrial television (DTT) for the first time, with almost eight million second sets now connected to receive a digital reception, an increase of four million in the same period last year. 9.3 million UK households now have DTT on at least one set in the home, up from 6.8 million in September last year.

'Scuse me? Could you lend me 20p? No it's not for a brew/heroin bag... it's to buy Men and Motors - Granada's teenage-boy wet dream-to-screen show. What am I talking about? Good question. Well, ITV could be planning to sell off the channel off following months of discussion about its future.

There has been talk of a merger with ITV4, but it has been reported that ITV want to get rid and sell to just about anyone who'll have it... with the deal to be finalised in early 2007. ITV is unhappy with the ratings for ITV4 and the move would mean it could focus attention on building the branded channel's audience.