Titanic documentary fail on PBS

Wes R

Legendary Member
It's a bad sign when the first fact they get wrong is the date it sank. They said it sank on the 12th of April not the 14/15th. My friend who is insane about the titanic is venting about how bad it is. Yet the one on before this was great.
Not the first time PBS got facts wrong. ken Burns' WW2 show mentioned a riot in my dad's home town outside Youngstown, OH. Yet nobody in town remembered it, turns out it was a tiny strike at a local factory. How that turned into a riot makes you wonder how factual his other stuff was.
 
Yeah, when they get the date of such a well-documented event wrong, it makes you question the rest of the information they present. It's one thing if the documentary is incorrect because it was made before more accurate information was discovered, but to get the date wrong is just sloppy.
 
Reminds me of National Geographic and how they assume you'll buy what they say because of their reputation.

Rewrite history and reprogram minds.

White will become black and all will fade to shades of gray; mush.
 
I was not aware of a PBS docu but the one just aired on NatGeo (The Final Word with James Cameron) was very interesting. I actually want them to make a documentery that shows how they made those insanely huge models of the Titanic and the shipwrecked Titanic that were in the background.
 
Just saw it as well. Wasn't it a guy they were interviewing that said 12th? Were they quoting him, or was he quoting them?
 
Many would be surprised at how many things the media gets wrong when you understand the issue or event.

In my opinion this has been a large factor of why we are in an economic slump.
 
I watched the latest James Cameron doc and the new Bob Ballard doc on Nat Geo this week, they were pretty good, full of great information.
 
Reminds me of National Geographic and how they assume you'll buy what they say because of their reputation.

Rewrite history and reprogram minds.

White will become black and all will fade to shades of gray; mush.

You know, I've always suspected National Geographic had a secret agenda. They want to control us before Animal Planet does it first!
 
There was a really good one hosted by Len from Dancing With the Stars, turns out he was a welder for the London shipyards of the company that built titanic. There is one about Belfast and how it was tied to titanic being build and had interviews with family members of the survivors and dock workers. I didn't see it yet, we DVR'd it.
 
The media are going nuts for Titanic now.
There's another one where they are building pieces of Titanic. The Hull one was interesting. Workers had no power. Get paid by the rivet. Be late and get shut out for that day. Do minor infractions and get fined.
On payday a huge chunk of your check is missing. Complain and get fired.
 
There was a really good one hosted by Len from Dancing With the Stars, turns out he was a welder for the London shipyards of the company that built titanic. There is one about Belfast and how it was tied to titanic being build and had interviews with family members of the survivors and dock workers. I didn't see it yet, we DVR'd it.

Yeah, that was my favourite from the recent batch - was on the BBC over a few nights. Great show with some good human interest tales. I thought Len was a good host, kind of reminded me of a cross between Bruce Forsythe and David Frost. I liked his little intros - "When I was a lad I was a welder; all day long I'd be under the foreman, but dreaming of dancing the fandango" kind of thing. OK, not quite that, but almost..lol.

Well worth watching and rather entertaining.
 
Went to see the 3D yesterday and watched some of the documentaries that my friend had DVR'd. One was the one with the Dancing with the Stars and I forgot the name of the other one, but they were essentially the same thing except for the two different hosts. Both about the building in Belfast and a lot about the Guarantee Group and interviews with descendants.

What saddened and even horrified me is their talk of the threat of the wreckage site being plundered now that technologies have advanced to the point where anyone with a few extra dollars can hire up a crew and ship with subs and get down there.

Shylaah
 
Oddly enough the titanic is privately owned by the first guy to bring up a relic (Bob Ballard didn't think to do it) and the rights to her are up for auction along with a massive amount of relics. Problem is it is so far out there that you can't watch it all the time. They should bring up that 70' of bottom they found intact in 2 sections as it's in good shape. The UN (yay) is protecting the site which doesn't mean much.
 
Oddly enough the titanic is privately owned by the first guy to bring up a relic (Bob Ballard didn't think to do it) and the rights to her are up for auction along with a massive amount of relics. Problem is it is so far out there that you can't watch it all the time. They should bring up that 70' of bottom they found intact in 2 sections as it's in good shape. The UN (yay) is protecting the site which doesn't mean much.

Slight correction: Bob Ballard didn't WANT to do it (and didn't want anybody else to either) - which is why he left the plaque asking people not to disturb the site. While I respect his decision, I think he probably should have bent a wee bit and brought up SOMEthing just so he could claim rights and keep people away.
 
Reminds me of National Geographic and how they assume you'll buy what they say because of their reputation.

Rewrite history and reprogram minds.

White will become black and all will fade to shades of gray; mush.

NG isn't that bad... especially compared to the History Channel. One of the most USA biased channel i have ever watched...
 
The media are going nuts for Titanic now.
There's another one where they are building pieces of Titanic. The Hull one was interesting. Workers had no power. Get paid by the rivet. Be late and get shut out for that day. Do minor infractions and get fined.
On payday a huge chunk of your check is missing. Complain and get fired.
I saw that one some time last year, and found each of the segments interesting. It certainly seemed to give each of the participants a greater appreciation for the work that went into building and operating Titanic.
 
When we went to CV in Orlando we went to the Titanic exhibit. It was awesome. I enjoyed it more than the convention. If you're going to CVI please make some time to go. It's very well done. The guide does it in character. Several areas of the ship are recreated. The end is done very respectfully and was quite moving.
John
 
This thread is more than 11 years old.

Your message may be considered spam for the following reasons:

  1. This thread hasn't been active in some time. A new post in this thread might not contribute constructively to this discussion after so long.
If you wish to reply despite these issues, check the box below before replying.
Be aware that malicious compliance may result in more severe penalties.
Back
Top