High Technology Aids ‘Indestructible People’

“Indestructible People,” a look at the current state of high technology being used to help people function even after serious injury or birth defect, has great graphics of its subject--the body, a.k.a. the human miracle machine.

Unfortunately, that is the best part of the documentary, its opening minutes a wondrous biology lesson that features startling and illuminating pictures of the birth process from ovulation through the developing fetus. For, despite writer-producer Irwin Rosten’s best intentions, this segment of ABC’s “World of Discovery” series, airing at 7 p.m. Sunday on Channels 7, 3, 10 and 42, never quite manages to grab the viewer, notwithstanding the poignant stories of some of the people it depicts.

Part of the problem is that the rest of “Indestructible People” is somewhat flat. The segments--ranging from an attempt to create an artificial nervous system for people paralyzed by spinal injuries to an Army robot that may embody techniques that could have broader use--don’t fully examine the technology as much as talk about it while showing some of the people benefitting from the developing programs.

Although there is much talk about the applications of the technology to the larger world, there is not enough serious analysis of the benefits of the work. For one thing, there is no time frame established--how many years will it be before these methods are widely used? And will they be applicable to many or just a few?

For some viewers, that’s splitting hairs: One look at the delight on a child’s face after a successful implant of an electronic cochlea that restores some of her hearing will be more than enough to make up for any problems in the show itself.