Last night, I watched the Discovery Channel’s Last Mysteries
of the Titanic. It was 50% great and 50% a snoozer.Fortunately, the great part was the first hour. During that hour, I sat transfixed (really!) as James “movie director and explorer” Cameron piloted a 3-person Mir sub and its two ROVs through Titanic’s hulking, collapsing innards. Having made more than 20 dives to the 900-foot-long shipwreck, Cameron is clearly an expert on her structure, her wreckage, and her secrets. For 60 minutes, Cameron toured the ship, pointing out interesting tidbits, and finally emerged into the Turkish baths, something no other explorer has managed to accomplish. Amazingly – and I really mean “amazingly”; it’s not just blogging hyperbole – the tile on the walls in the baths are preserved so well that you can see the colors, patterns, and even the grout. It was unreal. If color doesn’t get you wound up, then I think the rusticles will probably impress you. Rusticles are underwater stalactites that form as bacteria literally suck the iron out of the metal skeleton of Titanic.
The second <yawn> hour was a reenacted history of the building of Titanic. From how she got her name, to how the shipyard owner rebuilt the yard to build a ship so large, to the working conditions of the day, the second hour covers it all. I listened to it as I made my lunch and washed the dishes. If you want to catch Last Mysteries… or Birth of a Legend (which is also quite good and covers Titanic's sinking), the Discovery Channel will show them again for you. And again. And…
Anyway, I give the first hour an “A-”: fascinating images;
excellent, articulate narration; never-before-seen footage. But Cameron comes
off a wee bit condescending in his explanations, and I got a wee bit tired of
hearing about some movie he’d made about a sinking ship. I give the second hour
a “C.” If you’re into re-created histories, though, you’ll love it. Did you
watch it? What did you think? Do you agree with the review at TV Squad? Or are you more on my side?
1. I watched the first hour last night. A strong start and good ending but the middle was mostly repeating the same thing over and over. I enjoyed the scenes from the film "Titanic" instead of seeing poorly produced re-enactments.
But there was little to reveal that's really new. It's difficult to get a sense of the ship's former majesty - it's too badly decomposed. The show was largely a tribute to James Cameron, "film director and explorer," and his 10 or so dives to the ship and sadly (for him) the last one (until the next one).
I kept wondering why there isn't a docu on the Andrea Doria or the Lustania surfacing. No pun intended.
Eric, "Divester commenter and explorer"
Posted at 11:41AM on Jul 29th 2005 by Eric