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Impact: Stories of Survival

(Rated TV-PG, Reality TV, Starring Bill Dowell, Where to watch: Discovery Health Channel)

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 10, age appropriate for kids over 14; suggested age 12.

  • Is it any good?

    3.0

  • Common Sense says

    Brace yourself for true tales of beating the odds.

Why We Rated This iffy for Ages 12–14

The good stuff

  • Messages:

    Celebrates the strength of the human spirit and highlights the medical advances that help save victims' lives.
 

What to watch out for

  • Violence:

    Video footage and dramatic re-enactments show victims getting hit by cars, scalded by hot water, cut by saws, and thrown from vehicles. Surgical scenes are sometimes graphic, too -- in one, a burn victim's dead skin is sanded off to the point of bleeding.

  • Sex:

    Occasional non-sexual partial nudity, usually in hospital scenes.

  • Language:

    Not an issue.

  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.

  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Not an issue.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About Impact: Stories of Survival

Parents need to know that this reality-based series includes video footage and re-enactments of life-threatening accidents -- including car crashes, avalanches, and power-tool mishaps. The injuries and treatment methods are sometimes shown in detailed close-ups (as when a burn victim's dead, blackened skin is forcefully sanded down), and computer images illustrate the effects on the victim's body. Interviews with family members can be emotional, and the victims themselves sometimes allude to feelings of depression during their recovery time. On the flip side, the series highlights how medical advances and the strength of the human spirit combine to overcome extensive injuries.

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about the technological advances that affect patients' chance of recovery. How has science helped doctors better understand the human body? How does that improve their ability to diagnose and treat injuries and illness? What procedures allow doctors to pinpoint and treat a patient's problem? What role does a positive outlook play in a successful recovery from injury or illness? Is it easier or harder to watch graphic injury footage in this context than it is when you see it in primetime dramas? Why?
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