Five Years Later...

This weekend, the onslaught of 9/11 movies and specials will begin in earnest.

And I will be avoiding them all like the plague.

But if you insist on watching at least one of them, let me make a recommendation: Discovery Channel’s Emmy-nominated “The Flight That Fought Back.”

Here’s what I wrote about it on my old blog right after it aired for the first time last year…

As nine o’clock approached, I reconsidered changing the channel.I had planned on watching “Flight 93: The Flight That Fought Back,” but as the hour approached, I was having second thoughts…

I think it’s safe to say that September 11th hit me pretty hard. For about a week, I was in a complete depression. I watched the news coverage 24/7 and I didn’t really sleep at night.

But then, one night, I saw Jane Pauley interview a woman whose husband died on Flight 93. Her name was Lyz Glick and I was amazed at how calm she was. In fact, she was handling things way better than I was—which made me realize that I was being ridiculous. I called myself an idiot and finally turned off the TV…

It was really the story of Flight 93 that got us all through it. In the wake of such inhumanity, the good side of people took over. But I still wasn’t sure that I could handle 90 minutes without commercial interruption about that horrible day—even with Kiefer narrating it…

However, my love for Kiefer won out, and at 9 p.m., I turned to the Discovery Channel…

And I’m very glad that I did.

Not that “Flight” was easy to watch, mind you, because it wasn’t. We relived September 11th in all its glory—including video of the Pentagon I had never seen. It still makes my stomach churn to see those planes hit and the towers fall. So, my stomach churned pretty much through the entire 90 minutes…

But the documentary was so brilliantly done, you almost felt like you were watching a heart-pounding drama (the producers even used “24”-like split screens). Combining re-enactments with actual recordings and interviews with family members, “Flight” gave us the most accurate portrayal of events possible. The circumstances that brought some of the passengers on the plane were heartbreaking and the divine coincidences that led to their heroism were amazing.

And quite frankly, there was no one better to narrate this story than Kiefer Sutherland. How fitting to have a fictional hero in the war against terrorism tell the story of some of the real heroes. When he talked about the collapse of the towers, you could hear the anger and sadness and compassion in his voice…

In the wake of Katrina, the anniversary of 9/11 slid under the radar, which didn’t really upset me any—until I watched “Flight.” After seeing this brilliant telling of an amazing story, I kind of wished that it would’ve got a little more attention.

Tomorrow, I plan to order the DVD of “Flight”—not because I plan to watch it over and over, but because I want to do something to remember these amazing people. 100% of the purchase goes to the Flight 93 Memorial Fund. You can order your own at www.discoverychannel.com.

Though I spent most of the 90 minutes on the verge of tears, I did manage one smile. It was at the sight of Lyz Glick…

I smiled because I remembered what she did for me four years ago. But I also smiled because she looked more together than ever.

And again, more together than me…

For more information, you can visit www.honorflight93.org.

“The Flight That Fought Back” airs tonight (Friday, September 8th) at 9 p.m. on the Discovery Channel.