List of movies and television programs affected by the September 11, 2001 attacks - Definition and Overview

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 had a huge impact on the media, not just in terms of TV coverage. Television coverage of the terrorist attacks was the longest uninterrupted news event in the history of U.S. television. The three major U.S. networks were on the air 93 hours uninterrupted from the moment news first came that the first plane hit the World Trade Center. Millions of shocked television viewers watching live pictures of the World Trade Center saw the second plane hit and both buildings come down. In order to keep up with the constant flood of information, CNN, which was the first network to break the news of the attacks, began running continuous updates in the form of a text crawl along the bottom of the screen. This was so well received by viewers that it became a permanent feature on CNN and was adopted by most other news channels.

Television networks announced on September 11, 2001, that there would be no commercials or entertainment programs for an indefinite time several hours after the attacks, like after the assassination of President Kennedy because of feelings of a shocked nation. Also, the events were so deadly that it was not a time for fun and entertainment, especially when death, destruction, and people jumping out of windows to their death were seen on television. It was the deadliest time in the history of television.

The television coverage had shocking effects on children. When asked for her thoughts on the attacks, First Lady Laura Bush responded with a very strong warning to parents: don't let your children see the pictures over and over, especially your young children, but even elementary school-aged children shouldn't be watching it all the time. She felt it was too frightening for them and warned that parents turn off the television so that children do not see the replays over and over again.

Numerous movies were cancelled that were in production, and many movies were edited. The most common way of editing was to delete or obscure shots of the World Trade Center. The phrase that was heard over and over again during the television coverage of the attacks was "it seemed just like a movie."

Edited or Delayed Movies

• Trailers for the movie Spider-Man were edited so a scene (not in the movie) showing Spider Man capturing a helicopter between the towers was deleted. In the actual movie, a shot of the World Trade Center was deleted.
• In the movie Zoolander, the WTC was digitally deleted.
• The release of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Collateral Damage was postponed for 4 months. The movie featured a terrorist bombing in front of an L.A. building.
• The film Big Trouble was postponed as well, because it involved a nuclear bomb being smuggled on board an aircraft.
• A picture of the WTC on the poster for Sidewalks of New York was removed.
• Shots of the WTC in Serendipity were digitally removed.
• The 2002 film Men in Black II featured a climax that included the World Trade Center. The building was changed to the Chrysler Building.
• The 2002 version of The Time Machine was held back because of a scene where a meteor shower destroys New York.
• In Vanilla Sky, producers wanted director Cameron Crowe to remove shots of the WTC. He did not, and they remain in the movie.
• Shots of the WTC in Kissing Jessica Stein were removed before its release.
• The movie The Matrix was removed from sale for a short period of time, due to a scene involving a helicopter crashing into a skyscraper.
• The movie A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, despite prominently featuring a badly damaged Twin Towers (albeit half submerged in water), was not edited.
• The movie Gangs of New York (the Twin Towers was shown at the end), was not edited
• The ending to the 2002 animated movie Lilo and Stitch was edited from Stitch taking a 747 on a joyride, swerving around buildings, to Stitch taking a spaceship on a joyride swerving around mountains. The original ending will be shown on the Masterpiece/Special edition.

In all, about 45 films were edited or postponed because of September 11.

Cancelled Movies

• A Jackie Chan movie called Nose Bleed, about a window washer on the WTC who foils a terrorist plot, was cancelled.
• A television miniseries announced for the 2001-02 season that would have united the casts of Law and Order, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and the new Law and Order: Criminal Intent in investigating a terrorist attack on New York City, was cancelled immediately after the attacks.

TV Shows

• Perhaps the most eerie instance, the pilot episode of the US series The Lone Gunmen (a spinoff of The X-Files) depicted a plan by terrorists to fly a hijacked airplane into the World Trade Center. The episode aired in the United States on March 4, 2001 and it aired in Australia less than two weeks before the 9/11 attacks, on August 30.
• An episode of The Simpsons entitled The City of New York Vs. Homer Simpson, which was partially set at the World Trade Center, was permanently pulled from syndication by some carriers, though many are now showing it again.[1] (http://www.snpp.com/guides/lisa-5.html) Some individual carriers have removed World Trade Center scenes on their own, while the distributor of The Simpsons still releases the episode in full for syndication.
• The TV show 24 featured an exploding plane. The shot of the plane blowing up was removed, the premiere was postponed from October to November, and the plane plotline was never mentioned again.
• On The Agency, the pilot episode (about terrorism) was replaced with the fifth episode.
• The Nickelodeon cartoon Invader Zim had a scene of the destruction of New York City in the episode Door to Door, which was permanently edited out.
• Before 9/11, the syndicated version of the "Married With Children" episode "Get Outta Dodge - 8x17"[2] (http://www.bundyology.com/hpg/817.html) featured a scene of two Arabs with a ticking bomb at the front door of Al Bundy's house offering to buy his Dodge for $40 and asking for directions to the Sears Tower. The scene was cut from the syndicated re-airings of the episode after 9/11.
• The opening credits of the new series Law & Order: Criminal Intent, which debuted on Oct. 7, were reedited to remove an image of the World Trade Center.
• Several TV series, most notably The West Wing and Third Watch, produced special episodes addressing the attacks. Law and Order began its fall season premiere with a tribute to the victims.
• Several shows, such as the military-based JAG and New York-based Third Watch, were forced to make major changes to their ongoing storylines in order to incorporate the event's aftermath.
• Controversial comments regarding the attacks on the popular discussion program Politically Incorrect were directly responsible for its cancellation in 2002.
• The opening sequence of Sex and the City that aired after 9/11 was modified, replacing a momentary shot of the World Trade Center with one of the Empire State Building.
• The music video "Prayer" by Disturbed was never aired. It contained scenes of broken and collapsing buildings due to an earthquake, however it was considered to be too reminiscient of scenes of Ground Zero.
• From the fourth season onwards, the opening credits of The Sopranos were reedited to remove an image of the twin towers.
• An episode of WWF SmackDown! due to be taped on 9/11 in Houston, Texas was instead broadcast live on the 13th September. The show began with an introduction by Vince McMahon who dedicated the show to the memories of those who died and was followed by the full roster coming out for the national anthem. Throughout the show various wrestlers talked about the events two days before.

Theme Parks

• The Walt Disney World Attraction "The Timekeeper", a 360-degree film presentation that features a panoramic view of New York City, including the Twin Towers, closed on September 11, 2001 and has since only reopened during peak periods.