''Titanic'' is a 1996 American two-part television

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

which premiered on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

on November 17 and 19, 1996. It focuses on several characters aboard the RMS ''Titanic'' during her maiden voyage in 1912. The miniseries was directed by

Robert Lieberman Robert Lieberman (born July 16, 1947) is an American motion picture and television director. Personal life Lieberman was married from June 27, 1990 to June 7, 2001 to actress Marilu Henner; the divorced couple has two children, Nicholas Morga ...

. The original music score was composed by

Lennie Niehaus Leonard Niehaus (June 1, 1929 – May 28, 2020) was an American alto saxophonist, composer and arranger on the West Coast jazz scene. He played with the Stan Kenton Orchestra and served as one of Kenton's primary staff arrangers. He also played ...

Plot

''Titanic'' follows three main story threads. Isabella Paradine is traveling on the ''Titanic'' to join her husband after attending her aunt's funeral in the United Kingdom. On the ''Titanic'', she meets Wynn Park, her former lover. She falls in love with him again, and after a brief affair, she sends her husband a wireless saying they cannot be together anymore (despite their daughter). When the ship starts sinking, Isabella reluctantly leaves Wynn when he forces her to board a

lifeboat Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen ...

. As the boat is lowered, Isabella confesses a long kept secret that her daughter Claire is actually Wynn's. Later on board the RMS ''Carpathia'' she is grief-stricken when she finds Wynn's lifeless body on deck, having died of

hypothermia Hypothermia is defined as a body core temperature below in humans. Symptoms depend on the temperature. In mild hypothermia, there is shivering and mental confusion. In moderate hypothermia, shivering stops and confusion increases. In severe h ...

, but luckily, when the ''Carpathia'' reaches

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

she is reunited with her family who are blissfully unaware of Isabella's tryst because the telegram was never sent out due to the sinking. Also in first class is the

Allison family The Allison family were a Canadian family of 1st-class passengers on board the RMS ''Titanic'', which struck an iceberg and sank on April 15, 1912. The family consisted of Hudson Joshua Creighton Allison (December 9, 1881 – April 15, 1912 ...

, a family travelling on the Titanic, returning home to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

with their two small children and new nurse,

Alice Cleaver Alice Catherine Cleaver (1889-1984) was a survivor of the and nursemaid for the Allison family, wealthy insurance moguls from Canada during the early 20th century. She is best known for rescuing the youngest Allison child, Trevor, from the ''Titan ...

. They gradually become wary and suspicious of her hysterical and neurotic behavior. Later on, a fellow maid asks her if she'd seen her in Cairo the previous month, but soon realizes that she remembers her from the highly publicized trial where Alice was accused of throwing her baby off a train. When the ''Titanic'' starts sinking, Alice Cleaver panics and quickly boards a lifeboat with Trevor, the Allisons' infant son. The parents with their small daughter are unaware that the baby is safe and refuse to leave the ship without him, which in the end costs them their lives. In third class, a young vagrant named Jamie Perse steals a ticket to get on board. He manages to become friends with one of the crewmen, Simon Doonan, who is also a robber, but later is revealed to be a much more violent and callous criminal than Jamie. The young man falls in love with Aase (pronounced "Osa") Ludvigsen, a recent Christian convert and missionary. On the night of the sinking, Aase is brutally raped and beaten by Doonan, causing her to lose her faith and will to live, but Jamie manages to get her into Isabella's boat. Unbeknownst to them, Doonan also sneaks aboard that same boat, disguised as an old woman. After the ship sinks, Aase is knocked off the lifeboat by Doonan after she recognizes him, and he attempts to hold the passengers in the boat hostage at gunpoint, but Officer Lowe, who is in charge of the boat, hits Doonan in the head with an oar, snapping his neck and killing him. Jamie himself manages to survive when he accidentally falls into one of the last lifeboats before the ''Titanic'' sinks. He subsequently atones for his past life after he finds Aase in the makeshift hospital aboard the ''Carpathia''. In the end, upon arriving in New York City, the two plan to start a new life together.

Cast

Reception

The ''

New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...

'' commented on the fact that the acting was substandard and the ship's operators and owner are portrayed "about as sympathetically as those connected with the

Exxon Valdez ''Oriental Nicety'', formerly ''Exxon Valdez'', ''Exxon Mediterranean'', ''SeaRiver Mediterranean'', ''S/R Mediterranean'', ''Mediterranean'', and ''Dong Fang Ocean'', was an oil tanker that gained notoriety after running aground in Prince Wi ...

." The ''

Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The newspaper was foun ...

'' also referenced the "embarrassingly bad acting" and out of place scenes.
''

''.

Awards

''Titanic'' received an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama Miniseries or a Special. It was also nominated for Outstanding Costume Design for a Miniseries or a Special.

References

External links

* * {{Robert Lieberman 1996 television films 1996 films CBS network films American disaster films American romantic drama films 1990s American television miniseries American Zoetrope films Canadian drama films English-language Canadian films Sonar Entertainment miniseries Seafaring films based on actual events Television series set in the 1910s Films about RMS Titanic Television series about RMS Titanic Romantic period films Films set in 1912 1990s English-language films Fictional works set in the Atlantic Ocean Films directed by Robert Lieberman Films about rape 1990s American films 1990s Canadian films