studioAT With big money spent comes big expectations, and bigger ratings needed. ITV's 'Titanic' sunk without a trace because it couldn't cope with the first of these, couldn't match the expectations, and didn't get the ratings.The reason may be is that we had it so rammed down our throats that it was going to be the best thing on TV ever It couldn't meet that level of pressure, especially when James Cameron's film of the same subject matter has become long associated as the accepted version.There are some nice performances, there are some nice moments. But ITV didn't go to all that effort for 'nice'. They wanted a hit.

Paul Magne Haakonsen If you compare this four hour TV mini-series to the twelve hour "Titanic: Blood and Steel" series, which also came out in 2012, then this shorter series is more enjoyable. And even with a much smaller budget, they accomplished a much more captivating and entertaining series. And one that is not actually a drag to sit through.The 2012 "Titanic" series focus on the ship and the stories of the passengers, which is what the audience wants to see. Unlike the twelve hours series of political drama and shipyard problems.The acting in this series was good and they had some good talents on the cast list.I will say that the practical effects and special effects team managed to pull off the effects quite amazingly. And the visuals do play a big part in a drama about the Titanic.The costume and props department also did their job quite well, fleshing out the atmosphere nicely.If you have an interest in the Titanic then you should take the time to sit down and watch this 2012 TV mini-series, because it is actually quite entertaining and good.

J Tegeur The best part of this series is that it shows the true villain of the disaster, Captain Smith. It was outrageously irresponsible for this supposed Master to steam 22 knots into a known area containing ice bergs with a ship that large and slow to turn. Additionally he apparently knew that the sailors in the crows nest did not have the binoculars that they needed for adequate lookout. It was total dereliction of duty by Captain Smith. He should have slowed the ship to a crawl or stopped dead in the water until daylight.I would have to agree with other reviewers that the contrived stories were unnecessary when we now have real accounts of survivors of the disaster whose stories are far more interesting than the apparently fake Earl of Manton whoever he may be. (There was a Baron of Manton, but he was given peerage in 1922 years after the Titanic went under.) Then there is the obligatory cameo of Molly Brown and of course we saw way too much of the adulterous Benjamin Guggenheim, whose mistress was rescued.All in all more accurate than we got from James Cameron.

lukereed89 I thought it was good. Not great, but good. The back and forth with all the characters/events was a bit much. It left me scratching my head towards the end of the first episode. Even when I got what they were doing I still felt it was too ambitious and confusing (see Intolerance 1916).Though I'm not an expert, the sets looked good as did the cgi. It blended well with the set elements. I thought the acting was good for the most part. Noah Reid, who played Harry Widener particularly impressed me. Let's be honest, any love arc between two young people in this show would have been invariably compared to Jack and Rose. I think Harry and Georgiana's story can stand on it's own though. Character development was pretty good despite the ill advised editing. I was glad that they finally found an actor who resembles Thomas Andrews. The man playing J. J. Astor looked the part too. However, I was embarrassed by how Jack Thayer was portrayed. They seemed to get the hammiest actor they could find. Jack Thayer, based on my reading seemed to be a sensitive, reflective lad. He's portrayed heres as an obnoxious mama's boy. Despite his small part, that probably irked me the most. The coldness of the water was not depicted realistically either. You didn't get that sense of paralyzing pain that was in the Cameron movie. You would think that they could have added cgi breath to reflect the cold at least.So all in all, not greatness but I enjoyed watching it. I think people definitely should have watched all the episodes before reviewing this.