Is the picture any clearer now?

Entertainment Writer Steve Pratt attempts to guide you through the maze of what to see and what to switch off.

"Television, it's evolving," states actor and writer Steven Berkoff in one of the current self-promotional ads running on the BBC. To which the bemused viewer, picking their way through in the mass of new channels showing the same old programmes, might very well enquire: "Evolving into what?".

The picture is little clearer now than it was 12 months ago. Technical advances and the take-up of digital TV means what we actually see on screen is crisper and sharper. But the future shape of our multi-channel, multi-choice TV service still remains blurry round the edges.

As you negotiate around the TV universe with only a remote control and a copy of the TV guide, here are the faces and places to switch on to in the coming 12 months - and those to turn off.

TURN ONS

DAWN AIREY

Dawn Airey was the executive who was going to save ITV. The Channel 5 boss was hotly tipped to take over as its director of programmes after David Liddiment's departure. Instead, she caught everyone hopping by becoming managing director of Sky networks where her brief is to expand the company's original programming output. Her track record in launching Channel 5 and establishing it as a worthy rival, snapping at the heels of Channel 4, are evidence that she can perform the TV equivalent of a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat.

FIVE

Five years after the Spice Girls launched Channel 5, the fifth terrestrial channel came of age. Out went the old logo, in came the minimalist five as the station grabbed a 6.4 per cent and rising audience share. Five became the new Four (see Turn Offs). The concentration on the three Fs - football, films and the other one - was dropped in favour of programmes about architecture and history.

CELEBRITY REALITY SHOWS

Celebrities, not A but B, C and D list ones, are giving the reality TV format a much-needed boost. Put the word celebrity in the title and people will watch. I'm A Celebrity - Get Me Out Of Here, Celebrity Big Brother, Celebrity Mastermind, Celebrity Fit Club, Celebrity Stars In Their Eyes, Celebrity Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? How long before Celebrity Celebrity Squares reaches the screen? Real stars wouldn't agree to be dumped in the jungle with Darren Day and Rhona Cameron for company. But those whose careers could do with a boost jump at the chance to be showered with maggots or to share a house with Anne Diamond. While talent reality show Fame Academy struggled for viewers, 11 million switched on to see Tony Blackburn crowned king of the jungle. That success can only mean one thing, more reality shows in which celebrities make fools of themselves. A second I'm A Celebrity - Get Me Out Of Here is due in March. Another idea is to have celebrities compete to create the most popular bar.

HISTORY MEN

David Starkey and Simon Schama led the way, proving that history lessons don't have to be dry and dusty. No one could have predicted that illustrated lectures about our ancestors would pull in millions of viewers. C4's has such success with its history programmes there's even talk of a separate History Channel to exploit their back catalogue.

BBC3

The BBC is set to relaunch BBC Choice as BBC3 on February 9, slightly later than planned as the first application was rejected as not being distinctive enough by culture minister Tessa Jowell. So it was back to the drawing board for a channel aimed directly at a more youthful audience, aged somewhere between 20 and 30ish.

OFCOM

And if you don't like what you see and hear on TV and radio, there will be someone new to complain to by the end of 2003 - the new regulatory body Ofcom. This replaces various bodies, including the Independent Television Commission and the Broadcasting Standards Council. What's unclear is how much power it will have over the BBC, which wants to retain independence in regulatory matters.

TURN OFFS

DIGITAL TV

One turn-off that won't happen just yet is pulling the plug on the analogue signal. The Government hopes switch-off will take place between 2006 and 2010, but it won't happen until 95 per cent of the country has access to digital transmissions. The failure of ITV Digital, which went into administration in March costing Granada and Carlton £800m, was a big setback. The launch of Freeview, giving access to dozen or more free channels via a £99 set-top box, has pepped up the market. But public resistance to change is still a hindrance.

HANDCUFF DEALS

Some of TV's most popular performers have lost their sparkle. Bosses and the stars themselves seem eager to unlock the expensive handcuff deals tying them to one channel. They simply aren't worth the money. The Kemps - Martin and Ross, both ex-EastEnders lads - have yet to hit the jackpot over on ITV, although Robson Green recovered credibility with the thriller series Wire In The Blood. Amanda Burton, Sarah Lancashire and Michelle Collins skip from series to series with increasing implausibility. Even the king of TV, David Jason, had his Micawber series cancelled after one series.

CROSSROADS

Shaky soap Crossroads is making more comebacks than Frank Sinatra. The revamped Midlands hotel soap did OK in its early evening slot, but not as well as ITV, desperate for a replacement for Aussie soap Home And Away (stolen by five), had hoped. The CLOSED sign was put up, a new producer appointed and Crossroads returns yet again to ITV1 in early January. Executive producer Yvon Grace wants it to be "escapist, sexy and fun - the television equivalent of an airport blockbuster". To achieve this, the likes of Kate O'Mara, Lionel Blair, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Jane Asher will be booking into the hotel. Perhaps they should rename it Celebrity Crossroads and watch ratings zoom.

CHANNEL 4

The future of several other shows is looking as shaky as the old Crossroads sets. This Morning has never really recovered from the departure of long-time presenters Richard and Judy, and matters weren't helped when replacement host John Leslie experienced a few well-publicised problems. There are rumours that the daytime magazine show may not make it into 2004. Meanwhile, over on C4, Richard and Judy are suffering poor ratings following their expensive transfer from ITV. One C4 programme that didn't even make it into the New Year was breakfast show RI:SE, which should have concentrated less on finding a name with silly punctuation and more on the programme content. Yanked from the schedules before Christmas, the series returns in the New Year with a new look, new presenters and, hopefully, new viewers. C4 itself, after a shaky year that seemed, at times, to take it more downmarket than five, seems to be recovering in terms of both programmes and finance. A return to profitability is predicted after an increase in advertising over the past 12 months.

NORMAL SERVICE WILL BE RESUMED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

...at ITV. Last year was a bad one for the commercial channel which was beaten in the ratings by BBC1, lost of a fortune on ITV Digital, and saw a slump in advertising revenue. No wonder director of programmes David Liddiment decided to call it a day. Replacement Nigel Pickard starts next month, just days after leaving his current post as controller of CBBC at the Beeb. His main work in the past has been in the area of children's programmes, so his approach to solving the ITV crisis is difficult to predict. The channel can, perhaps, console itself with the thought that 2003 can't possibly be any worse than 2002.