9/11: One Day in America
Channel: National Geographic Channel (DStv 181 / StarSat 220)
TX Time: 21h00
Genre: Documentary Series, History
In official collaboration with the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, this six-part series offers an in-depth and visceral account of September 11 using archive and first-person testimony from first responders and survivors.
9/11: One Day In America will air over four consecutive nights on National Geographic from tonight.
The series chronicles the events of that day – at times minute by minute – through first-person narratives of the first responders and survivors who were there.
The visceral series spans seven hours, with the first episode of the series reaching feature documentary length, broadcasting on 29 August. On 30 and 31 August, two episodes will air each night, with the remaining episode airing on 1 September.
To create this docuseries, the filmmaking team sifted through 951 hours of archival footage – some never seen before – to make an immersive and emotionally-charged seven-hour account of that fateful day 20 years ago.
It offers a comprehensive and intimate look at how the tragic events of that day impacted so many lives - capturing the heroic acts of selflessness and bravery of strangers saving one another at all costs and revealing the triumph of the human spirit when tested beyond belief.
Over the course of three years, filmmakers interviewed 54 people for a total of 235 hours to tell the comprehensive, chronological story of September 11 – all in the first person.
From the moment when the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) and New York Police Department (NYPD) were first called onto the scene of the World Trade Center that September morning, to the devastating moments of collision and the chaos that ensued, National Geographic follows the timeline of the day through remarkable archival footage and photographs captured by journalists and bystanders.
The archive includes never-before-seen moments, such as footage taken of the towers from apartments and streets nearby just after the planes hit, the triage area right in front of the towers at the very early stages following impact, and intimate rescue missions during that terrifying day.
Each episode of the series sheds light on the heroism prompted by the events of 9/11, as individuals who risked their lives to save those around them recount their experiences entirely in first person.
From first responders to employees in the World Trade Center and good Samaritans watching the events unfold, they share their experiences – some for the first time.
Testimony includes that of the first FDNY chief to arrive at the World Trade Center on the morning of Sept. 11, a firefighter who escapes the North Tower just before it collapsed, paramedics first to the scene who recall their devastating encounters of searching for life in the rubble, and bystanders who share their rescue stories after being trapped inside the towers under mountains of concrete.
There are also parallel stories - those of individuals inside the buildings who were on the brink of death, alongside the perspectives of their rescuers for whom saving a stranger's life was all that mattered.
The episodes will be repeated at 21h00 every Sunday in September on National Geographic.
Additionally, from 5 - 26 September, the channel will air various 9/11 themed specials including:
Inside 9/11: The War Continues
Bin Laden's Hard Drive
Seconds From Disaster 4 – 9/11
9/11: Control The Skies
9/11: The Plane that Hit the Pentagon
Air Crash Investigation 15 – 9/11: The Pentagon Attack
The American Bible Challenge
Channel: SABC2
TX Time: 17h00
Genre: Quiz Show, Game Show, Religion
Comedian and author Jeff Foxworthy hosts this studio-based game in which contestants compete based on their knowledge of the Bible.
Utilising current as well as historical references, questions will be drawn from the rich, dense narrative found in the world's best-selling book.
The contestants will share their back-stories and each team will be playing for a charitable organisation.
American Idol 19
Channel: Vuzu (DStv 116)
TX Time: 18h00
Genre: Reality Competition, Music
American Idol returns for a 19th season.
Helping determine who America will ultimately vote for to become the next singing sensation are music industry forces and superstar judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie.
Ryan Seacrest will return to the competition series as host and radio and TV personality Bobby Bones is set to return as in-house mentor.
After a nationwide search for talent, viewers will embark on a journey with the judges in Los Angeles, California; San Diego, California; and Ojai, California, where the show's judge auditions will surprise audiences and hopefuls alike with never-before-seen twists.
The Goldbergs
Channel: e.tv
TX Time: 19h30
Genre: Comedy
Sitcom created by Adam F. Goldberg, set in the late-1980s and based on Goldberg's real-life childhood in which - under the watchful eye of an 11-year-old boy's video camera - a family faces the challenges of life in the '80s, including two new teenage drivers and a grandfather who shouldn't be allowed behind the wheel.
Before there were parenting blogs, trophies for showing up and peanut allergies, there was a simpler time called the '80s.
For geeky 11-year old Adam (Sean Giambrone) these were his wonder years and he faced them armed with a video camera to capture all the crazy.
The Goldbergs are a loving family like any other, just with a lot more yelling.
Mom Beverly (Wendi McLendon-Covey) is a classic "smother" an overbearing, overprotective matriarch who rules this brood with 100% authority and zero sense of boundaries.
Dad Murray (Jeff Garlin) is gruff, hot-tempered and trying to parent without screaming.
Sister Erica (Hayley Orrantia) is 17, hot, terrifying and not one to mess with.
Barry (Troy Gentile) is 16, an overly emotional teen with severe middle child syndrome.
Adam is the youngest, a camera-wielding future director who's crushing on an older woman.
Rounding out the family is beloved grandfather Al "Pops" Solomon (George Segal), the wild man of the clan, a shameless Don Juan who's schooling Adam in the ways of love.
When Pops buys a new sports car and offers his Caddy to middle child Barry, it's enough to drive this already high-strung family to the brink of chaos.
From Underground to the Corridors of Power
Channel: SABC2
TX Time: 21h00
Genre: Documentary, History
A critical look into the formation of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in 1982.
The documentary centres on the miners' struggle for a living wage and better working conditions.
Under the leadership of the triad - the adept Cyril Ramaphosa as the GS, the "field marshal" James Motlatsi as the president and the astute political ideologue Elijah Barayi as the vice president - NUM became the fastest growing union in the world with a membership over 500,000 in the 1980s.
Enhanced by a soundtrack, the dramatic narrative marks the fateful strike that rocked the chamber of mines in 1987.
NUM's unapologetic alliance to the liberation movement and its organisational capacity saw many NUM leaders serve as government minster and the current president of South Africa today.
One of the pioneering efforts was a fight and support for women to work underground.
The dark cloud in the NUM's history in Marikana is critically addressed, with a meditative montage over the violent massacre followed by interviews with NUM leaders.
The future of NUM rests on being the true champion of mining, energy and construction workers as it prepares for the fourth Industrial Revolution.