The man behind Downton Abbey had quite a lot to live up to with his mini drama version of Titanic and tonight, as part one finished in a very dramatic fashion, I'd say he has another massive hit on his hands.
Not quite as successful as Downton mind, but a success nonetheless. It was like (as I pointed out on Twitter) a who's who of actors on tonight's debut and I liked the fact that it moved along at a nice pace rather than trying to string it out for four installments.
That said, I'm not quite sure I like the idea of going back in time next week to a different perspective of the voyage, but hey, it's a period drama and I'm a sucker for one of those.
The only family to really make an impression in this episode was Lord Manton, the very stuffy Lady Manton and their rebellious teenage daughter who has fallen for, very bloody quickly, a handsome American chap.
It totally ruined my prediction of her ditching him for the Italian Waiter who winked at her. I thought we were looking at another Leo and Kate type pairing, but annoyingly they made quite the adorable couple and I'm now rooting for them both to make it through.
Other than that, I'll admit I struggled to really tap into the other characters. There was a woman who was 'shamed' for stepping out with a man when she wasn't married, a crazy old bag who loved her dog and a 2nd class couple who were shown into 1st class for the afternoon but actually hated their 1st class companions.
I did pick up on some tension between two of the servants working for said Lord and Lady- perhaps a romance brewing there, or maybe complete hatred. Who knows, we have three more installments to go.
The fashion was divine and the eye to detail sublime- I really can't wait for next week. Bring it on!
