INSIDE SCIENTOLOGY, a two-hour special for A&E Network, is the most thorough look to date at America's most controversial religion. The film focuses special attention on the church's contentious relationship with the media and the organization's unusual policy of relentlessly attacking its critics.

Journalists interviewed in the film recount their stories of trying to investigate the church, and experiencing the allegedly defunct "Fair Game" policy, which church administrators say gives members carte blanche to investigate and harass all those who examine the organization.

The film also looks at the 50-year evolution of the church and its eccentric founder, the late science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. While Scientology's celebrity devotees John Travolta and Isaac Hayes rapturously extol the virtues of Hubbard's teachings, critics accuse him of founding an organization that mistreats its parishioners, evades taxes and takes advantage of the lost and lonely.

The Church's normally reclusive leader, David Miscavige--who prior to this film had not sat for an interview in 7 years--also makes an appearance, claiming that Scientology's more draconian policies have been done away with and the church is now focused on the dissemination of the organization's message, not muzzling its critics. The result is an explosive and informative dialogue between Scientology and its critics, a revealing look at an organization that remains an enduring subject of fascination and controversy.