Synopsis

Two couples both find romance on board the maiden voyage of the world's largest cruise liner, however as their personal drama's spiral out of control, the ship hits an iceberg and romance turns into a struggle for survival..

Based on the real life tragedy of April 1912 where The Titanic, the largest cruise liner ever built made its maiden voyage, only to be sunk after colliding with an iceberg. This three hour television event features an all star cast including George C. Scott, Peter Gallagher, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Eva Marie Saint, Tim Curry and Roger Rees amongst many others. Being made just before the blockbuster cinema release of James Cameron's Titanic (1997), this miniseries has the honour of being the first biopic of the great ship to show the ship breaking in two as she sank.

This telling of the iconic tale of disaster focuses around several characters as they must deal with their own issues leading up until the crash. The main story focuses around the romance between Isabella Paradine (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and her former lover Wynn Park (Peter Gallagher), whose former romance is rekindled despite Isabella now being married.

The story also features heavily the character of Jamie Perse (Mike Doyle), a poor young thief from Southampton who while trying to escape the local police meets Simon Doonan (Tim Curry) and Mr Dickie (Don MacKay) in a local pub. When left alone with Mr Dickie, he learns the very drunk man has a third class ticket on the Titanic and seeing an opportunity when the drunk passes out, he steals his ticket and makes his way on board.

When on board, Jamie goes about infiltrating first class and begins to steal from the other passengers when he is caught by none other than Simon Doonan, who he is surprised to discover is a crew member. Instead of reporting him, he learns Doonan is himself a thief and the two begin to plan a massive heist for when the ship makes port in New York.

Along the way Jamie meets Aase Ludvigsen (Sonsee Ahray), a recent Christian convert and missionary with whom he falls in love. As the days fly by, Doonan reveals himself to be an even more evil man and the two reunited lovers Isabella and Wynn become even more connected with Isabella making the decision to leave her husband for him.

On April 14, as the personal events of several of the passengers come to a head, the ship is struck by a giant iceberg and begins taking on water. As the boat goes down the passengers and crew must face the reality of an insufficient amount of lifeboats, as well as the struggle to fill the few that exist. A dramatic tale told over three hours, The Titanic is one disaster series not to be missed.