TVSquad

Chris Hansen is one of the most feared men on the planet. In terms of scary, there's Kim Jong-il, Christopher Walken and then Mr. Hansen. If you see his face, it most likely means you are going to jail ... and it will be televised nationally.

If you don't know who Hansen is, you haven't been watching Dateline's To Catch a Predator -- the best thing to happen to Dateline since Stone Phillips. The special segment focuses on finding, luring, embarrassing and arresting suspected pedophiles. It is a spectacle that can only be described as eerily addictive.

Recently, Predator faced criticism and legal issues, when a suspect from the show committed suicide. Now, they face an even bigger challenge: ABC News.

Last month, I wrote about a special that ABC's Bob Woodruff, who was injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq in January of 2006, was putting together. The special was to discuss his recovery and interview eyewitnesses to the attack, and the military medical personnel who helped get him to safety. That special airs tomorrow night at 10 PM on his home network.

In advance of that special, Woodruff spoke to reporters about the bombing and his recovery. He described what he saw and felt right before the explosion, and what he said to cameraman Doug Vogt -- who was also severely injured -- right afterwards. He talked about being in a coma for 36 days, and having to put his memory back together as he recovered. "I couldn't remember my two young daughters - not their names but their existence," he told the reporters. He did say he may not ever be 100% recovered from his injuries, but "maybe if I get somewhere in the 90s, that would be pretty damned good."

Woodruff will be interviewed by Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America tomorrow morning, and Oprah Winfrey will also interview him on her show tomorrow.

Yet again, we are reminded of the awesome power Oprah has over all of us.

A man in the UK who was raped along with his sister in the '70s (his younger brother was also molested) did not confront his abuser until 1995, attacking the alleged pedophile by punching him and stomping on him. A trial is currently underway, during which the jury was told the victim decided to confront his attacker after seeing an episode of Oprah about victims confronting those who had hurt them in the past. The man who abused the three children was a teenager at the time. It wasn't until 2005 that one of the brothers went to the police about the abuse they had all suffered as children.

[via Digg]

The Emmy-award winning Nick News will take a look at the good and bad sides of public discourse with a special airing November 5 at 8:30 pm on Nickelodeon titled Nick News with Linda Ellerbee: Cheap Shots and Low Blows: How Debate Turns To Hate. The special, which will also feature Chris Matthews, Al Franken and Ann Coulter will include children from around the country talking about what they feel is appropriate in public debate and what isn't, what's fair game in political debates and what is nothing more than a personal attack. While grown ups can easily sift through a lot of the nonsense that makes up public debate, we tend to forget the effect it can have on children without some kind of frame of reference. Given the extremes of Franken and Coulter alone, this could be an interesting special.

In the past the kid-centric news program has covered issues such as intelligent design, Hurricane Katrina, and health issues.

Kimberly Dozier left a Maryland hospital this week, two months after nearly getting killed when a car bomb exploded nearby. Two of her colleagues, cameraman Paul Douglas and soundman James Brolan, were killed in the attack. Dozier suffered serious injuries to her head and legs. She was treated in Iraq, then moved to Landstuhl in Germany, Bethesda in Maryland, and finally to Vernon hospital in Maryland. When she left the hospital this week, she thanked the Army's 4th Infantry Division for treating her immediately after the attack and paying tribute to her fallen colleagues.

Amazingly, Dozier plans to return to work as soon as possible. She still has a few more surgeries on her legs.

Roy Horn, half of the famous magic duo Siegfried and Roy, was performing in Las Vegas in 2003 when a white Bengal tiger shot him in the head. Wait, sorry, actually the tiger bit him. The attack, thankfully, did not kill Horn, but it ended the long-running show and left him partially paralyzed. Three years later, you may have thought you'd heard the last of it, but now PETA has filed a federal lawsuit demanding records compiled by the USDA concerning alleged violations of the Animal Welfare Act. USDA claims releasing the records would violate the privacy of witnesses, but PETA claims USDA has no choice under the Freedom of Information Act. The USDA issued its final report last year, citing no official reason for why the animal attacked. You know, except for the fact it's a freakin'  tiger.

TV Week is reporting that HBO is currently working on a new series called Hotel Palestine, based on the oft-attacked hotel in Baghdad of the same name where foreign journalists often stay. The series, however, is not a drama, but a comedy, which you already know if you read the title of this post. According to the article, HBO isn't saying much about the half-hour comedy, which will focus on a group of reporters living in the hotel. It's too bad Don Knotts passed away, he would have made a great landlord. Actually, if this was anyone else but HBO I'd be a little more wary, but I'm guessing it will be done with some class. I guess we'll have to wait and see if I'm wrong about that or not. 

Doug Vogt, the ABC camerman who was injured by a roadside bomb in Iraq, is in an outpatient facility this morning. He was moved to Bethesda Medical Center to continue his recovery.

ABC World News Tonight anchor Bob Woodruff, who was injured in the same attack on Jan. 29, remains sedated. His injuries, to his upper torso, head, face, and brain, are much more serious than Vogt's. Doctors say that Woodruff is showing signs of improvement, but his road to recovery is going to be much longer and harder than Vogt's. In the meantime, ABC News chose to move Woodruff's co-anchor, Elizabeth Vargas, off the anchor desk and replace her, at least temporarily, with Charlie Gibson and Diane Sawyer.