SAVING THE TITANIC, The Remarkable Untold Story of the Men Who Tried to Save the Ship, Premieres Sunday, April 1, 2012 at 10:00 p.m. (check local listings) on PBS

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Mar 19, 2012, 10:53 ET

NEW YORK, March 19, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being released today by WNET:

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 premieres on Sunday, April 1 at 10:00 p.m. ET with encore presentations on Friday, April 6 at 10:30 p.m. ET, Tuesday, April 10 at 9:00 p.m. ET, and Saturday, April 14 at 9:00 p.m. ET (check local listings) on PBS.

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Additional PBS programs scheduled in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the Titanic disaster include THE TITANIC WITH LEN GOODMAN (April 10) and NOVA "Why Ships Sink" (April 18).

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.

Vividly bringing to life the valiant struggle and last desperate hours of those who tried to save her, SAVING THE TITANIC features computer-generated imagery and high-end special effects. The program features an ensemble cast playing the key roles, including David Wilmot, Ciaran McMenamin, Owen McDonnell, Jonathan Byrne, Andrew Simpson, Hugh O'Conor, Douglas Rankine, Paul Kennedy, Stephen Hogan, Conor MacNeill, and Chris Newman.

SAVING THE TITANIC is a co-production of Tile Films Ltd. in Ireland and Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion in Germany produced in association with RTE, Broadcasting Authority of Ireland - Sound and Vision Broadcasting Funding Scheme, Bord Scannan na hEireann/the Irish Film Board, Windmill Lane Pictures Ltd., Section 481 - Ireland's Film Investment Scheme, AETN / History UK, ZDF, and ZDF Enterprises. Producer is Stephen Rooke. Co-Producer is Reinhardt Beetz. Creative Producer is Keith Farrell. Writers are Colin Herber-Percy & Lyall Watson. Director is Maurice Sweeney. Supervising Producer is Stephanie Carter. Production Assistant is Rachel Hartman. WNET Executive-in-Charge is Stephen Segaller.

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