Charlie Brooker made his name releasing sharply barbed commentaries on TV programmes in his Guardian newspaper column, but his seamless transfer onto the BBC and Channel 4 (most notably with Newswipe and You Have Been Watching) has made for essential viewing in the last few years.

Looking slightly unsettled on the recent 10 O’Clock Live, Brooker is on more familiar territory here with this scripted series which investigates the effects of television on our daily lives.

The first themed episode deals with the concept of Fear and how television frequently scares the willies out of us. There’s a welcome re-airing of many Public Information films and Infomercials of yesteryear, featuring some of the best fashion mistakes of the last few decades. We’re also shown some cracking footage from classic post-apocalyptic shows such as Threads and The Day After, both of which had a huge impact on people when first shown in the 1980s. The argument of how the medium subverts and directs public opinion is not a new one, but is succinctly captured in just half an hour.

Instead of following the usual lazy format of disposable ‘comedy’ clip shows which litter our many digital channels, How TV Ruined Your Life actually give us some history, background and context for the archive material that Brooker digs out and the result is something pleasantly satirical and almost educational as a result. Sure, it’s still humourous and irreverent, but in this case you feel that there is actually some value attached.

Cultural historian and filmmaker Adam Curtis (The Power Of Nightmares, The Trap) is an occasional contributor to Newswipe, and you see his influence more and more in the work that Charlie Brooker brings out. In an increasingly insipid and unchallenging TV landscape, programmes like this go from being just ‘interesting’ to being ‘a vital social document’. Set the series record for this one.

Airs at 10pm on Tuesday 25th January 2011 on BBC Two.