Election TV Debates

Exciting news over the holidays that Britain is to have live TV debates before the next election. They have had debates in other countries for some time, especially the USA, but what effect they will have here is unknown. What do you think? Are they a boon to democracy or an unnecessary media hype?
See here for the Times article and Sky summary and here for an interesting analysis from Ben Macintyre.
On another election note, here is Gary Gibbon's blog from Sunday about the possibility of a hung parliament.

Are the Tories wobbling?

This article from the Guardian suggests that the Tories electoral campaign may have hit trouble. Criticisms of David Cameron's background and political inconsistency appear to have hit home with some voters, and a recent opinion poll cut the Conservative lead to six points. If voting behaviour remained like this on election day it could quite likely lead to a hung parliament. What's your opinion of the current state of play between the main parties?