Airing 9/11

TELEVISION: Broadcasters are to observe the anniversary of history's most famous televised event with a special run of TV shows.

When American filmmaker Henry Singer recently released his documentary, 9/11 Falling Man (premiered in London in March and to air in Australia this month), he said, "I think the culture at large has begun the healing process... People are starting to look at September 11 like history, as opposed to something that happened yesterday."

Perhaps that's why TV channels are getting ready to air a gamut of special programmes, films and documentaries to commemorate the fifth anniversary of 9/11. While Discovery started airing programmes from September 1, 2006, under its special "Terror Strikes" series (9 pm everyday), on the actual anniversary the channel will show.

The Flight that Fought Back, a documentary by Phil Craig on United Airlines' Flight 93 that features actual voice recordings of the passengers. Also lined up are documentaries like America's Own (to air today), Massacre in Madrid (to air tomorrow), Terror in Tokyo (on September 9) and Last Hour of Flight 11 (on September 10), a film that talks to victims' relatives and anti-terrorism experts for a detailed story of American Airlines' flight 11 that smashed into the north tower of New York's World Trade Centre.

At 10 pm on September 11, 2006, National Geographic will premier a 10-part series that looks at some of the deadliest terrorist attacks in the world. From real footage and interviews of survivors to a potential suicide bomber's own account, the channel hopes to provide indepth coverage of the global scourge.

Also to run: a special four-part mini-series called Inside 9/11. This will include Osama Rising (on September 12), Countdown to Terror (September 13), Zero Hour (September 14) and End Game (September 15). The series will also have a feature programme on the Kandahar episode, IC 814 Hijack, produced by Miditech.

The running theme on BBC World in September also addresses the issue of terrorism, war and conflict in the world, post 9/11. Our pick: Peace Jam, a docu-drama that takes an intimate look at the lives of five American teenagers growing up in a culture of violence, and follows their transformation over a period of six years.

There's also Fallout: The Health Impact of 9/11, a documentary that looks at the debilitating medical conditions that have affected over 15,000 people after the WTC attack generated a cloud of dust that spread far beyond Ground Zero, carrying asbestos, lead and other toxins.

The Path to 9/11, a two-night dramatisation of the events leading up to the morning of September 11, 2001, will be aired on Zee Studio. The TV premiere of the film will be aired on Sunday, September 10, at 9 pm.

This five-hour mini-series, directed by David L Cunningham, takes viewers behind closed doors at the CIA, FBI and White House, and includes several key players in the 9/11 saga, including John O'Neill, the career FBI agent who spent years chasing Bin Laden, former-ABC newsman John Miller who interviewed Bin Laden, Emad Salem and other informants who aided the US, and even Ahmed Shah Massoud, commander of the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan, a crucial American ally who was assassinated just before 9/11 "" by an attack squad disguised as a TV interview crew.