Do you remember what you were doing on September 11, 2001? I was in my ninth grade American history class, probably learning about Archduke Ferdinand, because at no other time in your life do you ever learn about Archduke Ferdinand (he caused World War I!), when someone yelled from the hallway to turn the TV in our room on. And ever since that moment, nearly a decade ago, there has been an endless stream of TV shows and specials about the tragedy that happened that blue September morning. That media coverage will culminate in the coming weeks before the ten-year anniversary with more than 40 TV specials across various networks.
Many of the three-dozen-plus specials sound extremely worthwhile and well-meaning, like Linda Ellerbee’s “Nick News Report on 9/11,” aimed at kids too young to remember the events of September 11 (this Thursday at 9 p.m. on Nickelodeon). But — and this will come as a big shock, I’m sure — many networks are set to broadcast programs that do nothing but exploit the tragedy to bring in viewers. Here are six of the worst.
“When Pop Culture Saved America,” September 5, 8 p.m. (Bio Channel)
In ascending order, these are my five favorite things in life: 5) my friends and family; 4) the New York Mets; 3) my fiancée; 2) the Carolina Panthers [Editor's note: ouch]; and 1) pop culture. I don’t know what my life would be like without “The Simpsons” or the Replacements, and in many ways, pop culture has made me the person who I am today. But at no point did Denis Leary or Regis Philbin ever save me or America in the weeks, months, years following (or before) September 11. And yet: “When Pop Culture Saved America” aims to show how the “non-news media,” including Dan Rather (isn’t he news media?), Regis, and Leary (whose “Rescue Me” finishes its seven-season run on 9/11, too), “pitched in to bring the nation together.” UGH. It’s like the back-scratching and ball-fondling of the Oscars times a million. Also: I think Adam Sandler performing as Operaman at the Concert for New York City did more harm than good.
“American Greed: 9/11 Fraud,” September 7, 9 p.m. (CNBC)
This special — which will “reveal the illegal lengths people will go to steal money following a national tragedy” — sounds interesting enough (even if the three criminals they’re profiling have already been widely covered)…but there’s no reason for it to exist. What can be learned from “American Greed”? People are awful? Knew that. People will try to make a fast buck (or 68,000)? No surprise there, either. People will take advantage of a tragedy? Knew that, too — just look at CNBC’s programming the night of September 7.
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The only thing that should be on the first special is Jon Stewart on the first Daily Show after 9/11. The rest of the hour should be celebrities shooting themselves in the head because Fuck Them.
TV’s in your high school class rooms, eh? Christ I’m old.
You like the Panthers and “pop culture” more than you like your fiancée? Wow. What a lucky lady.
Sorry Kerry, but women shouldn’t try to compete with NFL teams.
@kerry She’s cool with it, because she likes me for me, not because I hang with Leonardo or that guy who played in Fargo. (Also, as Matt pointed out, the joke’s on me for liking the Panthers. And that coming from a SEAHAWKS FAN.)
Jesus, Josh. The Panthers? I mean, I live in NC and I just… wow, man.
The PANTHERS?
As I lifelong Manhattanite, I am going to spend 9/11 thinking about my friend’s family members that died that day, have a drink in their honor, and then go on with my life.
It sounds bad, but enough is enough. The tragedy was terrible and affected many of us personally. I, for one, have dwelled on it enough. Every TV special is pointless and in poor taster.
…nothing to say…
“The only thing that should be on the first special is Jon Stewart on the first Daily Show after 9/11. ”
SEE Pop culture did rescue us! BIO CHANNEL VINDICATED!
Worst engagement ever.
“I work in a 50-floor building in Midtown Manhattan”
Well la-di-da Mr. Corporation.
/goes back to gazing out foggy window from office space shared with an automotive repair service.
But we need these specials! The ten years of war news coverage gets lost in the shuffle between Jersey Shore and Extreme Couponing.
You were in 9th grade? I’m older than you BY THAT MUCH? Fuck. I mean FUCK!
AND WHEN THE HELL DID IT BECOME 10 years since 9/11? WHERE THE FUCK DID MY 20s GO?
“The only thing that should be on the first special is Jon Stewart on the first Daily Show after 9/11.”
*See also, Letterman’s first monologue, The Onion’s 9/11 issue.
@JoshK, and upstate NY boy rooting for the Panthers? Fuck the heck? NY has 2 NFL teams to root for, 3 if you count the Bills.
@Upstate Underdog So, what you’re all saying is the Panthers are the 9/11 of the NFL? Might I remind you that the Panthers went 1-15 in 2001…oh wait.
Sidenote, this is a fun, disheartening Wikipedia entry to read: [en.wikipedia.org]
No one should count the Bills, for anything.
The Bills are, technically, the only team that is really based in NY. And they were the winningest team of the ’90s
Looks like I won’t be watching much tv in the upcoming weeks. I look forward to South Park’s commentary on this.
so according to you George Harrison sucks? looks like it’s time for me to borrow the BTK Van
@Watanabex Never said he sucks; just said that I prefer Lennon and McCartney. Of the Harrison-written songs the Beatles recorded, I only really like about half of them (with “I Want to Tell You,” “If I Needed Someone,” and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” being the real highlights). He does, however, have the best solo album and Simpsons appearance. “WHERE DID YOU GET THAT BROWNIE?!?”
(Been awhile since my last Beatles argument.)
Archduke didn’t start WW1 you fuck.
Wow, everyone giving him shit for liking the Panthers, and not ONE person gives him any for liking the Mets. Following both teams must mean you have no ambitions for being the best at anything ever.
Very cool how you’re able to review these shows before you’ve even seen them. It’s like me knowing I don’t like you, even though I’ve never met you.
I guess I’m a little late to the party on this, but…
I really don’t like this whole “TV remembering Sept. 11 for us” thing. I know it’s been 10 years. I don’t need reminding. I don’t even like it when people call it “9/11.” It seems like just one more step in the direction of making it a national holiday that people won’t give a shit about in 50 years beyond “Woo-hoo! Day off! Beers and burgers!” It will probably replace Labor Day and no one will care. I wasn’t around for the Kennedy assassination or Pearl Harbor. This is a tragedy that we shouldn’t have had to experience. Let’s not relive this to the point of saturation, okay TV?
I was watching an E! special about SNL around 2003 or so, and when they got to doing the show in the aftermath of 9/11 I heard one of the most obnoxious things I’ve ever heard. One of the cast members said, “We were like, is it okay to be funny?” My immediate thought was, Why start now, you fucks?
Josh K.; at least the Panthers and pop culture will give you a reach-around.
The most disgusting part of 9/11 is that it was a setup and i have to see commercials of George Bush telling of his emotional reaction to the event. Some people are so evil in this world. I mean they found enhanced thermite at ground zero burning and melting steel months after the collapse…ish is crazy.
I was wondering when the conspiracy theory would show up….
I know if I had 3 buildings 2 were hit by Planes and 1 wasn’t, yet all 3 collapsed it would make sense to me. I mean the insurance claim I set up a few weeks prior to the attack specifying the collapse of all 3 wouldn’t have anything to do with the way a small fire took down a large building.
Quick, someone call the Hardly boys, Reindeer just got clue goo everywhere.
You forgot Evan Stone’s seminal Special, “The Day My Weiner Went Soft.”
You do realize that “The Love We Make” is a play on “And in the end the love you take is equal to THE LOVE YOU MAKE,” right? Also, while great, All Things Must Pass is not the best Beatles solo album, but you mocked “Within You Without You.” I’d accept your argument in favor of ATMP if only you hadn’t mocked “Within You Without You,” which makes me wonder if you actually appreciate Harrison’s music or simply Googled ‘best+solo+Beatles+album’ and regurgitated the most popular result. In all, how ’bout we stick to snide commentary about television and leave Beatles discussions to everyone else (you are right about George’s Simpsons appearance)?
To headline your “OPINION” as “SICKENINGLY EXPLOITATIVE” and have not actually viewed the documentaries you are opining about is itself SICKENINGLY EXPLOITATIVE!
As one of the editors of “When Pop Culture Saved America”, I can tell you that the sincerity of the interviewees, producers, and all of us who worked on this program is real and heartfelt! Our show was specifically NOT intended to dwell on the tragedy, but rather to show how we, as a nation, aided by the entertainment industry, survived and were able to move on with our lives.
People needed to laugh again, sing again and live again after one of the most tragic days in American History! The entertainment industry certainly helped in that respect. While many performers might not have been able to work as medics, construction workers, or in other areas of immediate need, they non the less cared enough to do what they could … bring a smile to the grieving people of America, remind us that it was ok to go on living, and oh yea…raise MILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO SUPPORT THE RELIEF!
What the heck did YOU DO???!!!
The title, “When Pop Culture Saved America” is just that….a title!
To issue such an insensitive and biased opinion without actually seeing the program is just wrong!
To picture Regis on the Millionaire Set instead of showing a picture of him down at ground zero, just days after the attack supporting the first responders, shows your lack of sensitivity for those first responders and disrespect for the real situation and you should be ashamed of yourself!
Suffice to say that Regis, Denis, and even Dan Rather didn’t “pitch in to bring the nation together” (as you put it), THEY SIMPLY CARED and did what they could at the time, and we are simply telling their stories.
Watch the show with an open mind and comment on it AFTER you see it.
Did you know the George’s song ‘Within You Without You’ influenced Lennon’s ‘Imagine’.
“With our love we could save the world, if they only knew.”
Well, i can understand why you would have a problem with that.
Did you know that seriously arguing the relative merits of something as subjective as musical likes in the comments section of a blog is dumb?
what about the jay-z concert that was shown on fuse…it was nothing but a plug for the album
@Barry The stars did a very, very good thing. I’m not condemning them, per say; I’m railing against a special that exists only to say, “LOOK AT THIS AMAZING REGIS PHILBIN DID! ISN’T HE AMAZING?”
@Josh: And amazing, once again, that you know what the special says without having seen it.
I am simply amazed at how someone who seems to have a gift of writing can do EXACTLY what someone with a gift of writing should NEVER do… judge a book by its’ cover. I have no idea how anyone can review, judge or give an opinion on something they have never seen, tasted or held. If everyone had @Josh’s psychic ability to know what things would be like before experiencing them…. the world would still be flat and the sun would revolve around the earth!
Josh,
You are guilty of “Premature Opinionation”!
If you are using your bully pulpit to make a point, you should be familiar with what you are pointing at!
Your lack of life experience and journalistic professionalism are quite evident and noticeable as you are foolishly attempting to defend your earlier remarks.
This special IS NOT ABOUT (as you put it) “LOOK AT THIS AMAZING REGIS PHILBIN DID! [sic] ISN’T HE AMAZING?”
It’s NOT ABOUT THE STARS DOING A “very, very good thing” (again as you put it).
It’s about people being people! Helping each other in a trying time any way they could.
Why would you or anyone “rally against” a television program that is simply telling a story which deserves to be told?
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM??? There are a lot more important things you could be rallying against!
This program does not ask the viewer to “LOOK AT THIS AMAZING” anything!
It does however OFFER THE VIEWER an opportunity to experience what these personalities were doing at that very special moment in time, how they personally dealt with it, and the potential positive affects their actions had or may have had on other people’s lives.
After viewing the special (hopefully you WILL watch it!), then I suppose you should write your comments on the program and you might regain some credibility, even if you write a bad review. It would still be a review based on YOUR OPINION after having actually seen the program. (Something MOST other reviewers do).
Minor nitpick, but obviously Josh wasn’t paying close attention in his history class. Archduke Franz Ferdinand didn’t cause WWI; his DEATH was the immediate spark that started the war. In fact, the war actually started 1 month after the Archduke’s assassination. The Austro-Hungarian government gave Serbia 1 month to a series of conditions to make amends for the assassination but the Serbs refused and so the war began (kind of like the way the US demanded the Taliban Afghanistan government turn over bin Laden and when the Taliban were unable to do so, the US attacked Afghanistan).
@Joseph Yup, I did know that (and was being tongue in cheek with the “he started WWI” comment); just didn’t feel like explaining all of that. But thank you.
appa in
pa kbr smua
I was in my 9th grade history class too when another teacher ran in and told our teacher what happened and to turn on the TV! I will never forget that day!
“The events of 9/11 aren’t something we need to be reminded about.” This is EXACTLY the reason we NEED to be reminded of it-because of libs like you that want this to just “go away” and we should “forget about it”, like the MSM want us to. They stopped showing footage of it, or of TV shows that had it in the opening credits, so we wouldnt think about the Towers. When you people can GROW UP, and face it, and fight the scum who did this to us, only THEN will we conquer them, and “it”!
Instead of judging without watching, why not actually see the show and THEN tell us what you think. [www.hulu.com]