September 11th: The Television Tributes

This Sunday, as the national honors the 10th anniversary of 9/11, there will be a host of television documentaries and tributes that will make varied attempts to put in perspective and perhaps make some sense out of the tragic events of 2001. From the making of the 9/11 Memorial at Ground Zero to never-before-told stories of Native American iron workers who became invaluable to the rebuilding efforts, the impact of the day and the years after will be carefully and thoroughly explored.


In Memoriam: New York City 9/11/01 (HBO, 7:15 AM)
Hosted by former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, this documentary special used amateur video and photography to illustrate the impact of the terror attacks from street level, as well as inside the mayor's office as he and his staff dealt with the aftermath.

America Remembers (NBC, 8 AM ET)
NBC News will broadcast live for three-hours, covering the official memorial ceremonies at Ground Zero in New York, the Pentagon in Washington D.C., and the site of the United Flight 93 crash in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

The Concert for New York: Ten Years Later (VH1, 4 PM)
The music channel re-airs footage from the Concert For New York benefit show, which took place at Madison Square Garden on October 20, 2001. Organized by Paul McCartney, the concert featured The Who, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, David Bowie, Elton John, Jay-Z, Bon Jovi, The Goo-Goo Dolls, Melissa Etheridge, Billy Joel and many, many others.

9/11: In Our Own Words (MSNBC, 5 PM)
Tom Brokaw, Matt Lauer, and other NBC journalists share their personal experiences covering the events of 9/11 and the days that followed, telling stories direct from the news desks as they watched the attacks unfold live. 

Slammin' Iron (HDNET, 7 PM)

This unique documentary from 2005 follows a crew of First Nations ironworkers, including Akwesasne from Ontario, and Kahnewake and Mohawk from Quebec, who leave Canada every week to drive down seven hours to New York City to work on the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site.

The Making of the 9/11 Memorial (HISTORY CHANNEL, 8 PM)
A behind-the-scenes look at the planning and eventual construction of One World Trade Center and the surrounding grounds - including an introduction to the "Survivor Tree," a tree that somehow managed to survive the attacks, was uprooted and cared for at a Bronx Nursery, and has now been replanted on the site.

When Pop Culture Saved America (BIO, 8 PM)
Comedians, actors, musicians, and others - including Denis Leary, Regis Philbin, Ray Romano, and Kristen Chenoweth - talk about the struggle to "get back to normal" and how the entertainment community tried to bring people together in light of tragedy.

9/11: Ten Years Later (CBS, 8 PM)
Robert DeNiro hosts this special that employs previously unseen footage taken by a documentary crew that happened to be riding alongside the FDNY's Engine 7 on the day of the attacks.

Rebirth (SHOWTIME, 9 PM)
This personal documentary follows five ordinary people whose lives were changed after the events of 9/11 - recounting their recovery and eventual return to hope.

Heroes of the 88th Floor (TLC, 9 PM)
A first-hand account from those who survived the impact of Flight 11 into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. This TLC special is hosted by "Law and Order" star Chris Noth.

The Space Between (USA, 9 PM)
The USA Network is re-airing this 2010 film starring Academy Award-winner Melissa Leo ("The Fighter") as a flight attendant whose plane was grounded on 9/11 who ends up accompanying a 10 year-old Pakistani-American boy whose father worked at the World Trade Center on a cross-country trip.

From the Ground Up (OWN, 10:15 PM)
Oprah's OWN Network has a documentary about five widows of firefighters killed on 9/11, and how each them managed to turn unimaginable tragedy into personal stories of triumph.

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