Best-bets for Aug. 31: 9/11 films bring deep humanity

1) “Generaton 9/11,” 9-11 p.m Tuesday, PBS. There were 105 babies born in the U.S. after their fathers died because of the Sept. 11 attack. This compelling documentary introduces six of them (along with one man who was 3 when his dad died). At 19, they are a varied group, from the intense – a criminal-justice student planning to be a lawyer, an ROTC student planning to be a soldier – to an athlete and to a musician (Megan Fehling, shown here) who rereads “Catcher in the Rye.” They push ahead with promising lives. Read more…

1) “Generaton 9/11,” 9-11 p.m Tuesday, PBS. There were 105 babies born in the U.S. after their fathers died because of the Sept. 11 attack. This compelling documentary introduces six of them (along with one man who was 3 when his dad died). At 19, they are a varied group, from the intense – a criminal-justice student planning to be a lawyer, an ROTC student planning to be a soldier – to an athlete and to a musician (Megan Fehling, shown here) who rereads “Catcher in the Rye.” They push ahead with promising lives.

2) “9/11: One Day in America” conclusion, 9-10:46 p.m., rerunning at 12:46 a.m. Amid the waves of tragedy, this three-night gem has had moving stories of survival, heroism and sheer luck. Now this third part includes one of the best: A former EMT, his life shattered by addiction, admits that he only went to the World Trade Center site because his estranged sister assumed he would. Then he linked with two Marines for a miracle rescue. It’s a great film that reruns Sept.10 (as does PBS’ film) and Sept. 11.

3) “America’s Got Talent,” 8-10 p.m, NBC. The semi-finals begin, with 21 people going for spots in the Sept. 14 finale. Two are already semi-famous: Josh Blue, 42, won “Last Comic Standing” in 2006; Michael Winslow, 62, was the funny-voices guy in “Police Academy” movies. He’s the oldest semi-finalist; the youngest, singers Victoria Brinker and Peter Rosalita, are 9 and 10. In all, there are six singers, three vocal groups and more, including unicyclists, acrobats and even a quick-change artist.

4) “Miracle Workers: Oregon Trail,”10:30 p.m.. TBS. Prudence and the Rev. Ezekial have given in to temptation … often. With their spouses not suspicious of their frequent trysts, life is good … until the wagon train is hit by tragedies. It’s a funny episode, leaving things in shambles for next week.

5) ALSO: “Supergirl” (9 p.m., CW) finds that an ophaned, alien boy is actig out, amid fears about his brother, who is in prison. That leads Kara (Supergirl) to investigate prison abuse. And today brings the first three episodes of Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building” (see separate story), a 10-part mystery with Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomex and a gentle mix of humor and drama. There are flaws — the no-dialog seventh episode sputters — but it’s basically an excellent ride

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