Austin360 blogs > TV Blog > Archives > 2007 > February > 27 > Entry
Bob Woodruff’s long road back
Bob Woodruff doesn’t look quite as GQ as he used to in tonight’s documentary “To Iraq and Back” (9 p.m. on ABC), but he’s alert, fairly articulate and focused on shedding new light on the rocky road ahead for soldiers who have suffered brain injuries in the Iraq War.
What could have been simply a compelling personal story quickly evolves into a larger look at the true tragedy of the war’s “non-fatalities” — and the U.S. government’s ineffective response. Injured veterans, their families and medical personnel are interviewed.
Woodruff had only been anchoring ABC’s “World News” for a few months in January 2006 when the vehicle he and cameraman Doug Vogt were riding in was struck by a roadside bomb in Iraq. (Vogt also survived and is still recovering.) The devastating head injury Woodruff suffered left him in a coma for several weeks, and he has spent an entire year working to regain his mental and physical abilities.
The ABC documentary covers in excruciating detail the extent of Woodruff’s injuries and his long road to recovery. He still has trouble remembering certain words and names and continues with weekly therapy sessions in New York.
His wife Lee talks for the first time about her husband’s near-death injuries and the impact the past year has had on their family.
But Woodruff’s desire to put himself into a larger context has been respected, and the personal story serves as a springboard to that. The result is an extraordinarily powerful hour that is informative and gut-wrenching.
Never-ending Oscars
The never-ending Academy Awards on Sunday night logged nearly 40 million viewers on ABC. While that sounds impressive, it was the third lowest number in 15 years.
The nearly four-hour telecast lapped into Monday morning on the East Coast, so Nielsen has no numbers for that post-prime, next-day tally.
The top-rated Oscar show in recent history was 1998, when 55 million people saw “Titanic” win the best picture award. This year’s show drew slightly more viewers than last year’s program, which was hosted by Jon Stewart. At least Ellen DeGeneres can take comfort in the knowledge that she did better than the faux news guy.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment | Categories: News coverage
Comments
By Anita
March 1, 2007 7:00 PM | Link to this
I would love to be able to have some words with Bob Woodruff...he is truly a miracle, and his family is certainly a special bunch.
I would like to talk with Bob, or at least share some words with him, as I would like to try to do my part in regard to helping Veteran's get the services that they deserve. My son is a US Marine, serving in Fallujah, and I hope and pray that he will not be a statistic, and in this regard, I would like to try to help do whatever I can do .... could you help me find a way to email him?
Thank you.