Titanic (1996 miniseries)

Titanic
Promotional poster
Written by	Ross LaManna Joyce Eliason
Directed by	Robert Lieberman
Starring	Peter Gallagher George C. Scott Catherine Zeta-Jones Eva Marie Saint Tim Curry Harley Jane Kozak Marilu Henner
Music by	Lennie Niehaus
Country of origin	Canada United States
Original language	English
Production
Producers	Harold Lee Tichenor Rocky Lang
Cinematography	David Hennings
Editor	Tod Feuerman
Running time	173 minutes
Budget	$13 million
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	November 17 (1996-11-17) – November 19, 1996 (1996-11-19)

Titanic is a 1996 American two-part television miniseries which premiered on CBS 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. The original music score was composed by Lennie Niehaus.

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. 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, but luckily, when the Carpathia reaches New York City 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, a family travelling on the Titanic, returning home to Montreal with their two small children and new nurse, Alice Cleaver. 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

Actor	Role
Peter Gallagher	Wynn Park
George C. Scott	Captain Edward J. Smith
Catherine Zeta-Jones	Isabella Paradine
Eva Marie Saint	Hazel Foley
Tim Curry	Simon Doonan
Roger Rees	J. Bruce Ismay
Harley Jane Kozak	Bess Allison
Marilu Henner	Margaret "Molly" Brown
Mike Doyle	Jamie Perse
Sonsee Ahray	Aase Ludvigsen
Felicity Waterman	Alice Cleaver
Malcolm Stewart	First Officer William Murdoch
Kevin McNulty	Second Officer Charles Lightoller
Kavan Smith	Fifth Officer Harold Lowe
Terence Kelly	Captain Arthur Rostron
Scott Hylands	John Jacob Astor IV
Janne Mortil	Madeleine Astor
Tamsin Kelsey	Clarinda Jack
Eric Keenleyside	"Black" Billy Jack
Katharine Isabelle	Ophelia Jack (as Katherine Isobel)
Kevin Conway	Hudson J. Allison
Barry Pepper	Assistant Marconi Operator Harold Bride
Gina Christodoulou	Dancer
Matthew Walker	Captain Stanley Lord
Byron Lucas	Lookout Frederick Fleet

Reception

The New York Daily News 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." The Seattle Post-Intelligencer also referenced the "embarrassingly bad acting" and out of place scenes.

Awards

Titanic received an Emmy Award 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.

Year	Category	Nominee(s)	Result
1997	Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Drama Miniseries or a Special	David Husby, David E. Fluhr, Adam Jenkins, Don Digirolamo for part 1	Won
	Outstanding Costume Design for a Miniseries or a Special	Joe I. Tompkins, Jori Woodman	Nominated

External links

• Titanic at IMDb
• Titanic at AllMovie