Code-cracking

In a way, it's a sad reflection of the times that a programme like Discovery Channel's Da Vinci Code: Cracked even needs to be made. But then there are just too many people who have taken Dan Brown's phenomenally successful conspiracy thriller The Da Vinci Code far too seriously.

People who are too lazy to read about Jesus, the Holy Grail and Mary Magdalene in a format other than that of the quick-fix thriller sit about discussing Brown's book as if every claim made in it were, well, the Gospel truth.

And we've all heard the stories about increased attendance at Paris' Louvre museum, where visitors demand to be shown "the spot where the curator's body was found".

In truth, Brown's book is remarkable mainly for presenting an old conspiracy theory in an undeniably entertaining new way. And to the book's credit, it does suggest at one point that the important thing isn't whether Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene were married and had children; the important thing is that we must never stop questioning accepted history.

Few would argue with that. But Brown's specific theories and his readings of various works of art to prove his point are, at the very least, contentious.

Having said which, it's possible to wonder whether Da Vinci Code: Cracked "" to be telecast at 9 pm on May 21 with a repeat at the same time on May 28 "" is too strident in its dismissal of Brown's book.

The programme examines the alternative view presented in the book, bringing in expert opinions and historical evidence: an art historian, Sister Wendy Beckett, smugly explains why Brown was wrong in claiming that the figure seated next to Christ in Leonardo Da Vinci's "The Last Supper" was a woman, Mary Magdalene; a cryptography expert dismisses the authenticity of Holy Grail parchments. At the end of it all we're told that everything "revealed" in Brown's book was an elaborate hoax.

The problem is that presenting a definitive conclusion, one way or the other, does no justice to what is a complex topic, shrouded in layers of mystery.

Even those who scoff at The Da Vinci Code would be inclined to agree, for instance, that the Catholic Church (like every other organised religion down the ages) has a history of persecution, of twisting facts to suit its own goals.

Can a half-hour programme with inputs by four experts (at least one of whom has a link with the Church to begin with) really cover all the bases in an unbiased manner?

There's much to be said for the Discovery Channel documentary "" any attempt to even address the subject is creditworthy and you should certainly recommend it to any friends who were blown off their feet by the book. But do keep an open mind while watching it.