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9/11 drama falls to football

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published September 11, 2006

NEW YORK - Editing changes made by ABC to the first part of its miniseries The Path to 9/11 were cosmetic and didn't change the meaning of scenes that had angered several former Clinton administration officials, a spokesman for the former president said Monday.

As for Clinton, he didn't bother watching the movie that angered so many people who once worked for him.

"He made the choice that most Americans made," said Jay Carson, Clinton Foundation spokesman. "Of a fictionalized drama version of Sept. 11 or the Manning brothers playing football against one another, he chose the latter."

The movie was flattened in the ratings by the debut of NBC's Sunday night football games, which matched quarterback Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts against his younger brother, Eli, quarterback of the New York Giants. The game had an estimated 20.7-million viewers; The Path to 9/11 had 13-million, according to Nielsen Media Research.

The ABC movie did, however, beat CBS's third airing of its 9/11 documentary, which was seen by an estimated 10.6-million people, Nielsen said.

ABC resisted calls to cancel the $40-million miniseries, which was to air commercial-free over two nights. Part Two was scheduled for Monday, with an interruption for a scheduled address by President Bush to the nation. Several scenes were cut or changed from the first part of the movie, which ABC has stressed is a dramatization and not a documentary.

[Last modified September 11, 2006, 21:14:57]