Sun Times: Accuracy aside, ABC's '9/11' deserves to bomb

[Generic Other]

September 8, 2006

BY DOUG ELFMAN TELEVISION CRITIC

I once sat in a car forever waiting for my mom to come out of a grocery store. I thought that was the definition of "interminable." I had no idea "The Path to 9/11" was in my future.

This is what happens during 4 1/2 lonnnng hours of "Path." Terrorists talk about killing Americans for Allah. FBI and other security officials try to track them but fail. 9/11 happens.

You don't say.

This is the most anticlimactic, tension-free movie in the history of terrorist TV.

THE PATH TO 9/11'

Critic's rating: Zero stars
7 to 10 p.m. Sunday and 7 to 8:57 p.m. Monday on WLS-Channel 7.

It's hard to fathom a brouhaha brewed over such a bore. ABC has received tens of thousands of letters -- including one from Bill Clinton's office -- insisting "Path" is wildly inaccurate and should not air. But ABC still plans to air the two-part movie.

Controversy could boost viewership, except "Path" is the dullest, worst-shot TV movie since ABC's disastrous "Ten Commandments" remake. It substitutes shaky handheld cameras and dumb dialogue for craftsmanship. It could not be more amateurish or poorly constructed unless someone had forgotten to light the sets.

MORE:
http://www.suntimes.com/output/entertainment/cst-ftr-elf08.html

[Monkeyman]

1. Now the Chicago SunTimes is a huge replug paper

It has been for about 30 years now. The Tribune is worse.

[AX10]

2. Kean is trying to help his son win a Senate seat in NJ.

"Scene: The CIA and Northern Alliance come within killing distance of Osama bin Laden, but former National Security Adviser Sandy Berger is portrayed saying they don't have the presidential authority to kill. ABC reportedly has toned down this scene in recent days.

Reaction: None of that happened, according to the film's senior adviser, Thomas Kean, a Republican who chaired the 9/11 Commission. He admits the scene is a "composite," as are some agents in the film."