Stream It Or Skip It: ‘9/11: One Day In America’ On Nat Geo, A Docuseries About America’s Deadliest Terror Attack, As Told By Its Survivors

Directed by Daniel Bogado and produced by Dan Lindsay, T.J. Martin and David Glover in conjunction with the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, 9/11: One Day In America is a six-part docuseries that goes over the day of America’s deadliest terror attack from the perspective of its survivors. It goes through the harrowing day in sequence, from the hours before the planes hit the World Trade Center, through the collapse of both towers, to the first day rescue efforts. There is some footage that has been seen before, but more that has rarely — if ever — been seen. All of it is tough to watch, but that’s just how effective it is. Read on for more.

9/11: ONE DAY IN AMERICA: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: As we hear first responders yelling to each other in the darkness of the World Trade Center wreckage, we can see flashlights and shadows of people through the haze of dust.

The Gist: Part one starts in the early morning of September 11, 2001, a few hours before American Airlines flight 11 hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center. People are commuting into Lower Manhattan on the warm, cloudless late summer day, including Ron Clifford, who was excited to have a big meeting in the hotel between the Twin Towers. Then we see NYFD battalion chief Joseph Pfeifer, followed by filmmaker Jules Naudet as he gets called out to a gas leak a few blocks away from the WTC.

Combined with the various footage, we also hear audio of air traffic control trying to figure out where AA 11 is, then United Airlines Flight 175, which crashed into the South Tower 17 minutes after the first crash.

When AA 11 hits the North Tower at 8:46 AM — Naudet’s footage is the only clear footage that exists of the first plane’s impact — we then switch between the footage Naudet shot of Pfeifer and his squad responding to the scene and setting up command in the North Tower, but then we also see cell phone footage of what was going on outside and inside. We also hear from other survivors, like chef Kevin Leary, working in the hotel between the towers, and Lynn Simpson, who was on the 89th floor of the North Tower and was rescued by firefighters who went up to rescue more people.

We also see footage of Clifford helping a severely burned woman get to an ambulance, all the while not knowing that his sister and niece were in UAL 175. Some of the most harrowing footage, though, is of the people at or near the impact areas, hanging from the windows rather than burn to death, and the crashes of bodies hitting the ground as firefighters gather in the lobby of the North Tower to go up and rescue as many people as possible.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? A lot of Naudet’s footage was in the 2002 film 9/11, but 9/11: One Day In America is looking to break down the tragedy into its various catastrophic events, from the planes hitting to each tower’s collapse and the rescue of survivors from the rubble.

Our Take: 9/11: One Day In America is one of many, many specials, movies and docuseries that will roll out in and around the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Because this docuseries is made in conjunction with the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, though, it feels like it’s the most comprehensive look at what that day felt like.

They have gathered all of this footage and audio over the past two decades, and Bogado manages to stitch together the hundreds of hours of footage into a recounting of the day that will bring back all of the visceral emotions that anyone who remembers that day had, and make it feel like it just happened a month ago.

At least that’s what I felt when I watched it. The heart palpitations of anxiety that I and millions of other suffered that day and for weeks afterwards came right back, and seeing the footage of the planes hitting the towers hurt just as much as they did 20 years ago.

But when paired with survivor and first responder accounts, it does show that, among all the tragedy and death, there were heroes of all types, from the firefighters who went up the stairs to what many thought was likely doom, to the ordinary workers like Clifford who tried to help those that needed it. In fact, what has always been remarkable about that day was how little people panicked, whether they were in the towers themselves or in the area around them. People helped each other, and no one seemed to be looking out for only themselves.

Still, seeing the footage of the firefighters rattled by the constant crashing of bodies through glass and metal damn near gave me a panic attack. Believe it or not, though, that’s not a bad thing. One of the things that a show like 9/11: One Day In America should help with is to show those people who were either not born yet or were too young to remember much about that day how truly horrific the day was.

The close to 3,000 people that died between the flights that were downed, the Pentagon and the WTC all suffered horrific fates, as have the first responders who have gotten sick and died in the years since due to the toxins they inhaled during the rescue efforts after the towers fell. For all of their sakes, we’re glad documentaries like this are out there, as tough as they are to watch.

Parting Shot: Pfeifer talks about how FDNY chaplain Father Mychal Judge, who will end up getting killed as the North Tower fell, is mouthing a prayer in the lobby of that tower; we see footage of the priest doing just that. “It’s almost like something bad’s about to happen,” says Pfeifer. This is right before the North Tower collapsed.

Sleeper Star: Everyone the filmmakers talked to is a star, as recalling that day must be extremely painful for all of them Pfeifer lost his younger brother that day, and just the vision of body parts everywhere would be enough to make anyone catatonic.

Most Pilot-y Line: None.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Like all of the 9/11-related documentaries we’re going to be seeing over the next few weeks, 9/11: One Day In America is tough to watch. But it very effectively brings back the feelings from that harrowing day, even as it highlights the moments of kindness that filtered through all the darkness and death. It’s a great illustration of what that day was like and should be shown to students for decades to come.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.

Stream 9/11: One Day In America On NationalGeographic.com