Titanic is a four-part television miniseries period drama written by Julian Fellowes based on the sinking of the RMS Titanic.
It was released in at least 86 countries in March and April 2012 for the disaster's one hundredth anniversary, April 15th, 2012; one of three such productions, the other being Titanic: Blood and Steel and Saving the Titanic.
Episodes[]
The series is a four-part television costume drama created by producer Nigel Stafford-Clark and written by Julian Fellowes to mark the one hundredth anniversary of the maritime disaster on April 15th, 1912. It sets out to paint a portrait of a whole society, telling the stories of a wide range of characters, both real and imagined, from every social level. Their narratives are developed and gradually interwoven over the first three episodes, each of which ends in a cliffhanger as the ship begins to founder. The fourth and final episode draws all of the different stories together and reveals to the audience who survives.
Trivia[]
- 2,500 extras (mainly from Hungary) were hired to take part in the miniseries.
- Nicola Methven, a reporter for the Mirror served as a extra during the lifeboat sequence in First Class.
- Filming began on May 10th, 2011 and lasted for 10 weeks of production.
- The production is the first one to show the involvement of David Blair as one of original officers on the Titanic.
- It was the first Titanic production not to feature the Grand Staircase, the engineers, Jack Phillips, or Harold Bride in the story.
- Isidor Straus and Ida Straus were also left out of this production; as they were in Titanic (1943), a Nazi propaganda production. However, two background characters (Hungarian extras) during the scene in the first episode where Dorothy Gibson and Lightoller have their dance look almost like Isidor and Ida Straus.
- Celia Imrie (who played Grace Rushton) is related to Lady Duff-Gordon.
Historical inaccuracies[]
Missing important characters[]
- John George Phillips
- Harold Sydney Bride
- Frederick Fleet
- Reginald Lee
- Gladys Cherry
- John Borland Thayer
- Rosalie Bidois (Maid of Mrs. Astor)
- Caroline Endres (Nurse to Mrs. Astor)
- Victor Robbins (Mr. Astor's Valet)
- Mildred Mary Brown (Allison Family Cook)
- George Swane (Mr. Allison's chauffeur)
Factual errors[]
- There was no dancing in First Class (like in the 1996 mini-series).
- Just like in the 1996 mini-series, Murdoch mentions to Annie Desmond that First Class (883 passengers) is booked solid while there are empty places in Second and Third class. In reality, there were only 324 passengers in First Class on the maiden voyage.
- Lifeboat 1 was not the first lifeboat to leave the Titanic, it was Lifeboat 7.
- The Duff-Gordons portrayal is completely wrong, they come off as snobby and demanding Fifth Officer Lowe to lower the lifeboat and bribe the crew not to return to rescue people in the water. In real life, the Duff-Gordons asked if they could enter the boat and Sir Cosmo was only offering the crew money for payments for lost clothing and supplies.
- All the crew in the boat are seamen. The crew in the actual lifeboat had Lookout Symons, Seaman Horswill, and Leading Fireman Hendrickson, Fireman Collins, Fireman Pusey, Trimmer Sheath, and Fireman George Taylor.
- The number of people in the boat is wrong, there are eleven in the boat. There were twelve in the real lifeboat.
- It was Murdoch who launched Boat #1 during the real sinking.
- Many of the surviving historical characters are placed in completely different lifeboats than is real life.
- Lifeboat 3 has Sarah Rebecca Daniels in the boat, she left the Titanic in Lifeboat 8.
- Lifeboat 4 has Margaret Brown, Countess of Rothes, and Roberta Elizabeth Mary Maioni; Molly threatening to throw Seaman Holmes overboard (based off the incident in Lifeboat 6 with Quartermaster Hichens), the Countess takes the tiller in Lifeboat 8, and Eleanor's boat returned to rescue people from the water.
- Ironically, Eleanor is correctly placed in Lifeboat 4.
- Hichens is played by an extra and his villainous actions are replaced by Holmes.
- Lifeboat 5 has Madeleine Talmadge Force Astor, Marian Longstreth Thayer, Léontine Pauline Aubart, and her maid in the boat; Marian and Madeleine left in Lifeboat 4 and Léontine and Emma left in Lifeboat 9.
- Lifeboat 6 has Dorothy Winifred Gibson and her mother in that boat, they left in the first boat to leave.
- Lifeboat 8 has Alice Cooper and Trevor Allison in the boat, they left in Lifeboat 11.
- Lifeboat 13 has John Edward Hart in that boat, Hart actually left in Lifeboat 15.
- Collapsible C has Fifth Officer Lowe commanding the boat, the actual lifeboat he commanded was Lifeboat 14.
- In episodes 2 and 3 have Second and Third-Class passengers in the First Class Dining Saloon during the service (with First Class passengers). That would never had been allowed, since all the classes were segregated.
- The Maid's and Valet's Saloon didn't have portholes, since it was located inside the Titanic.
- There is no evidence that the À la Carte Restaurant staff (or other Italians) were locked in a room. According to Paul Maugé, the restaurant staff were kept back by stewards because they were dressed up as passengers.
- There is a mad rush for Second-Class passengers to get to their valuables in the Second Class Purser's Office, but Lawrence Beesley reported that the area was deserted and he only heard someone closing the safe and running up towards first class while he was ascending the Second Class Staircase.
- John Jacob Astor IV did not rescue the dogs from the kennels nor was he crushed by the forward funnel.
- Astor's dog Kitty is seen being saved and given to Grace Rushton after Astor rescues her Pekingese Sookee. In reality, Kitty died in the sinking with Astor.
Set inaccuracies[]
- Collapsible B is shown upside down on the starboard side, it was stationed on the port side.
- Thus the events of Collapsible A is never shown.
- In the first episode, the First Class promenade where the Earl of Manton meets with Lightoller is on B-deck. The RMS Olympic had two First Class promenades on A and B deck. The Titanic only had A-deck promenade, since the B-deck promenade wasn't as popular on A-deck promenade on the Olympic. As a result, more cabins were added onto B-deck and the À la Carte Restaurant and it's kitchen was expanded.
Character errors[]
- Much of Lightoller's depiction in the mini-series is wrong; he is shown wearing a second officers uniform following Chief Officer Wilde's transfer to the Titanic. In real life, he and Murdoch didn't have time to change uniforms once Wilde arrived. Lightoller is shown in different parts of the Titanic and interacts with Dorothy Gibson. Lightoller would have only have been assigned to oversee the travel of the Titanic and all officers were forbidden to fraternize with passengers. Lightoller is also the one who helps the Earl of Manton find his way to Second Class; in real life (if the Earl of Manton was a historical person) Lightoller wouldn't the one to ask for getting into Second Class since it took him fourteen days to figure out the labyrinth of corridors, it would most likely have been Thomas Andrews.
- Lightoller is seen handing out hymns for the passengers in the First Class Dining Saloon, in real life stewards would be the ones handing out hymns.
- He never ventured to warn passengers (like the Earl of Manton or Stewardess Desmond) of the evacuation, Lightoller would have been working with the seamen to uncover the lifeboats. Lightoller was also convenient that the Titanic would not sink.
- While it is correct that Lightoller lowered the boats at half full, Lightoller never suggested passengers to swim out to the boats. He did order seamen to open the hatchway doors to allow passengers to board the boats, but the seamen drowned below deck.
- Lightoller is seen lowering boats off both port and starboard sides. In real life, Lightoller only worked on the port lifeboats.
- Chief Officer Wilde's portrayal as an antagonistic person is also completely wrong. From what information we have on Wilde, he was good friends with Murdoch and felt bad about replacing him as Chief Officer of the Titanic.
- The second episode states that the White Star Line wanted Wilde on board as Chief Officer since he had experience working on the Olympic. However in real life, it was Captain Smith who requested the Wilde be brought over to the Titanic. And the position would help him achieve the rank of Captain.
- During the officers meeting, Wilde states to a skeptical Lightoller that he is confident about working on the Titanic as the Chief Officer. In real life, Wilde did not want to sail on the Titanic. In a letter to his sister that was delivered from Queenstown, he writes "I still don't like this ship... I have a queer feeling about it."
- Bruce Ismay is depicted as a racist towards the Italian crewmen. In reality, Ismay was the one who hired Luigi Gatti and his staff to publicize the success of the Ritz restaurant aboard the SS Amerika in 1905. This was to promote competition to bring over the rich passengers to enjoying lavish French haute cuisine.
Characters[]
Fictional[]
Main[]
- Hugh, Earl of Manton
- Lady Manton
- Georgiana Grex
- Mabel Watson
- Kenneth Barnes
- John Batley
- Muriel Batley
- Mario Sandrini
- Paolo Sandrini
- Annie Desmond
- Jim Maloney
- Mary Maloney
- Theresa Maloney
- Sean Maloney
- Peter Lubov
Recurring[]
- Grace Rushton
- Joseph Rushton
- Steward Taylor
- Stoker Lyons
- David Evans
- Steward Turnbull
- Billy Blake
- Chief Steward (fictionalized version of Andrew Latimer)
- Seaman Hawkins (fictionalized version of Charles Osker Hendrickson)
- Seaman Royce
- Seaman Scott
"One shot"[]
- Crewman Strickland
- Seaman Davis
- Seaman Holmes (fictionalized version of Robert Hichens, mainly)
- Seaman Penton
- American Valet 1
- American Valet 2
Minor[]
- Unnamed Steward 1
- Unnamed Steward 2
- Unnamed Steward 3
- Unnamed Steward 4
- Unnamed Steward 5
- Unnamed Stewardess
- Unnamed Seaman 1
- Unnamed Seaman 2
- Unnamed Seaman 3
- Named Seaman 1
Historical[]
Main[]
- Charles Herbert Lightoller
- John Edward Hart
- Captain Edward John Smith
- Thomas Andrews
- Joseph Bruce Ismay
- Dorothy Winifred Gibson
- Harry Elkins Widener
Recurring[]
- Henry Tingle Wilde
- William McMaster Murdoch
- Joseph Groves Boxhall
- Harold Godfrey Lowe
- James Paul Moody
- Nöel Leslie, Countess of Rothes
- Margaret Brown
- John Jacob Astor IV
- Madeleine Talmadge Force Astor
- Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon
- Lady Duff-Gordon
- Laura Francatelli
- Benjamin Guggenheim
- Victor Gaitan Andrea Giglio
- Léontine Pauline Aubart
- Emma Sägesser
- Allison family
- Alice Catherine Cooper
- Roberta Maioni
- Pauline Caroline Gibson
- Jack Borland Thayer
- Marian Longstreth Thayer
- George Dunton Widener
- Eleanor Widener
Minor[]
- Herbert John Pitman (played by an extra)
- Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill
- Lord William James Pirrie
- David Blair
- Wallace Henry Hartley
- Milton Long
- Robert Hichens (played by an extra)
Videos[]
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Trailer[]
Clip[]
Gallery[]
Screenshots[]
Part 1[]
Part 2[]
Part 3[]
Part 4[]
Behind the scenes[]
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