Zero Hour is a documentary-style television series. It aired on History Television in Canada, on the BBC in the United Kingdom, and on the History Channel in the United States. Zero Hour has also aired on Channel Seven in Australia (third series aired on Network Ten from 1 May 2010 and now plays on 7mate); on Discovery Channel in Africa, Asia, New Zealand, Brazil, and the Netherlands. The program focuses on retelling the details of tragic man-made disasters which each unfolded in less than an hour.
Certain episodes have been partially censored for particular broadcasts. One example is the Columbine High School massacre episode, which had some scenes cut (for intense violence, profanity, and racist slurs) when broadcast on Discovery Channel.
From 1 September 2014 to 1 March 2016, all episodes were available for streaming on Netflix. They can still be viewed on Amazon Video.
In 2008, a DVD box set containing 10 episodes was released by Discovery Channel and Go Entertain. The DVDs were also released separately. The episodes included were: "Disaster at Chernobyl", "Massacre at Columbine High" (cut version), "Terror in Tokyo & The Bali Bombing", "The Capture of Saddam Hussein", "The King of Cocaine", "The Sinking of the Estonia", "The Columbia Space Shuttle Disaster", "A Royal Massacre", and "SAS Mission Impossible". "The Last Hour of Flight 11" was released on a separate DVD. All other episodes have not been released on DVD.
On 26 April 1986, a power plant in Chernobyl exploded with devastating consequences. It is estimated that there were a total of 4,000 deaths worldwide and led hundreds of thousands to flee the cities of Pripyat and Chernobyl.[1] This episode was filmed on location in Chernobyl at the surviving areas of the power plant.
On the morning of 11 September 2001, five Islamist extremists led by Mohamed Atta hijack the Los Angeles-bound American AirlinesFlight 11 and deliberately fly it into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City, as part of the September 11 attacks, taking thousands of lives and striking American soil in tragedy all in the name of religion.
On 20 April 1999, two teenage senior students from Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado embarked on a massacre, killing 12 students and one teacher, as well as injuring 24 other students (21 by direct gunfire), before committing suicide in the library all just to teach a lesson to their classmates and teachers about bullying.
Two versions of the episode exist. The censored version (with a few scenes cut) is aired on television as well as the "explicit cut", which is also available to be streamed on Amazon Video.
On 20 March 1995, the Tokyo Metro was attacked with the highly dangerous chemical weapon sarin, which was planted by 5 members of a terrorist group called Aum Shinrikyo. A total of 13 people were killed and around 1,050 others were non-fatally affected all just to complete a task that was given by their Master.
On 28 September 1994, the ship MS Estonia, already listing from poor cargo management, loses its bow visor while sailing through a storm on the Baltic Sea en route to Stockholm, rapidly flooding and sinking rapidly into the depths of the ocean. 852 people were killed and some were seriously injured but survived.[4]
On 13 December 2003, Saddam Hussein, the 5th president of Iraq, was captured by U.S. special forces. In December 2006, he was executed by hanging and buried in a tomb that would soon be destroyed .[5]
On 10 September 2000, the West Side Boys held members of the Royal Irish Regiment hostage. In the following rescue attempt, an estimated 56 people were killed, 12 wounded, and 18 WSBs captured.[6]
On 1 February 2003, the U.S. Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas and Louisiana during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, resulting in the death of all seven crew members and the loss of the oldest Space Shuttle, along with the retirement of the shuttle program[7]
On 1 June 2001, Crown Prince Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah killed 9 people and injured 5 others at a house in the grounds of the Narayanhity Royal Palace, before shooting himself and dying three days later on 4 June 2001, all to get revenge on his family for disapproving the marriage of him and his girlfriend.[8]
On 22 April 1997, hundreds of high-level diplomats, government and military officials and business executives were freed from the grasp of 14 members of the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) during a raid on the Japanese embassy in Lima by Peruvian Armed Forces commandos, during which one hostage, two commandos, and all the MRTA militants died.[9]
On 28 February 1997, two heavily armed bank robbers, Larry Eugene Phillips, Jr. and Emil Decebal Mătăsăreanu, engaged over 300 LAPD officers in a shootout in North Hollywood, Los Angeles with AK-47 type rifles and automatic weapons. Both robbers were killed, eleven police officers and seven civilians were injured, and numerous vehicles and other property were damaged or destroyed by the nearly 2,000 rounds of ammunition fired by the robbers and the police. Millions of dollars were stolen from the bank.
On 26 December 1994, members of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) hijacked Air France Flight 8969 in Algiers, in an attempt to destroy the Eiffel Tower. When the aircraft reached Marseille, the GIGN, an intervention group of the French Gendarmerie, stormed the plane and killed all four hijackers. 3 passengers had been killed by the hijackers in Algiers, and 25 others were wounded during the rescue.
^"Disaster at Chernobyl". Zero Hour. Season 1. Canada. 2004. Cineflix Productions. Archived from the original on 9 May 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
^"The Bali Bombing". Zero Hour. Season 2. Canada. 12 October 2005. Cineflix Productions. Archived from the original on 9 May 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
^"One of America's Own". Zero Hour. Season 2. Canada. 23 January 2006. Cineflix Productions. Archived from the original on 9 May 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
^"Capturing Saddam". Zero Hour. Season 2. Canada. 14 February 2006. Cineflix Productions. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
^"SAS Mission Impossible". Zero Hour. Season 3. Canada. 2006. Cineflix Productions. Archived from the original on 13 May 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
^"Falling Star". Zero Hour. Season 3. Canada. 2006. Cineflix Productions. Archived from the original on 13 May 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
^"A Royal Massacre". Zero Hour. Season 3. Canada. 2006. Cineflix Productions. Archived from the original on 13 May 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
^"Hostage Rescue in Lima". Zero Hour. Season 3. Canada. 2006. Cineflix Productions. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
