Research evaluated the effectiveness of varying television (TV) lesson formats. Adults ranging in age from 17 to 58 viewed lessons in accounting and psychology in four formats featuring: 1) a storyline running through a lesson; 2) a news magazine format dealing with different concepts in one lesson; 3) a non-authoritarian narrator; and 4) an authoritarian narrator. Results from achievement tests, interest ratings and student interviews revealed the following: 1) attitude outcomes were more influenced by TV format than were learning outcomes; 2) older adults showed a greater preference for authority figures; 3) the more interesting the course content was to the learner, the more he preferred a straight-forward presentation; 4) all learners preferred realism, positive themes, documentary approaches and identification of instructional goals; 5) subjects often learned more than they expected and were surprised at how enjoyable the process was; and 6) younger learners were more responsive than older students to subtle instructional formats, but there was some overlap. It was concluded that adults do learn from innovative TV formats, that such formats do have holding power, and that individual formats have varying appeal to different groups. (Author/LB)