Saving the Titanic

The remarkable untold story of the men who tried to save the ship

She was the Pride of the British Empire and a leading example of state-of-the art engineering in a time of groundbreaking scientific and technological innovations on a global scale. Yet the RMS Titanic sank less than three hours after striking an iceberg on April 14, 1912. Everyone knows about the many deaths in the icy waters, the fates of the rich and famous on the ship’s maiden voyage and the dramas that played out in the Titanic’s last hours. What is less known is how a team of shipbuilders and engineers attempted to save the stricken vessel. One hundred years after the sinking of the vessel considered unsinkable, Saving the Titanic is the untold story of self-sacrifice and dignity of the ship’s engineers, stokers and firemen in the face of impending death. With an ensemble cast in the roles of the valiant men below deck, Saving the Titanic airs Sunday, April 1, 2012, at 9 p.m. on Eight, Arizona PBS.

Seeking to answer the question of what happened in the engine and boiler rooms after the collision, Saving the Titanic tells the story of the disaster from below deck, with the action taking place between the time the crew embarked from Southampton until the eventual sinking of the ship. Based upon eyewitness accounts, this is the remarkable story of nine central characters from the engineering crew as they work among the huge, coal-fired furnaces heating the boilers and massive dynamos whirring to satisfy the ship’s demand for electricity. These nine men — among them 18-year-old electrical engineer Albert Ervine (Andrew Simpson) from Belfast and Chief Engineer Joseph Bell (David Wilmot) — fought courageously to hold back the power of the sea and keep the power systems running, even when they learned that all was lost. Most of these men died but their brave actions saved many lives. Saving the Titanic features computer-generated imagery and high-end special effects.