The Titanic's Final Moments: Missing Pieces

Like Marilyn Monroe, James Dean and John Belushi, the best thing the Titanic ever did was die young. When the ship sunk in the middle of the Atlantic in April 1912, it was the worst shipping accident of all time and became a tragedy that still captures the imagination of the world 100 years later.

Titanic's Final Moments: Missing Pieces is a History Channel documentary focusing on an expedition by a team of scientists in 2005 to explore the wreck of the Titanic - primarily to figure out what exactly caused its sinking.

Everyone knows the ship hit an iceberg which breached a hole in its side. What these men want to know is whether or not the iceberg also tore a hole in the ship's bottom, causing it to sink more rapidly.

Using underwater footage, computer models, survivor accounts and newly discovered debris on the sea floor, the scientists slowly piece together pieces of the mystery. Sometimes their deliberations and created drama cause the show to plod along at an irritating pace, but largely it holds the imagination and attention of the viewer.

As narrated by actor Edward Herrmann, the show takes viewers on a recreation of the three hours it took for Titanic to sink, but thankfully without the treacly romance of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.

The only major negative of the program is the filmmakers decision to add a sense of danger and suspense by stressing a hurricane is apparently bearing down on their expedition. The much-discussed storm eventually comes to naught.

The bonus features on the disc are a mixed bag.

A Behind the Scenes feature is merely a five-minute teaser for the longer show which does provide a few succinct facts and images. The ship is shown resting 12,400 feet below the surface of the Atlantic, there are some shots of unopened champagne bottles resting on the sea floor, and footage of the propellers, still uncorroded by time and seawater.

Far better is History's Mysteries: Doomed Sisters of the Titanic, a 42-minute 1999 History Channel documentary hosted by "Scud Stud" Arthur Kent.

The show traces the histories of Titanic's two sister ships, Olympic and Britanic.

Britanic, originally slated to be called "Gigantic" before Titanic's sinking, was also going to be a trans-Atlantic liner but was called into service in World War I as a British hospital ship. The ship sank in the eastern Mediterranean in 1916, presumably after hitting a German mine. 1975 footage of Jacques Cousteau exploring the still intact shipwreck in 400 feet of water will mesmerize both divers and non-divers alike.

Olympic, built side by side with Titanic, was the first ship to be launched and was the world's largest passenger ship at the time. Despite a few close calls, including ramming a German U-Boat, Olympic was finally retired and sold for scrap in 1934.

This new DVD will surely be of interest to those fascinated by all things Titanic and provides an interesting history lesson to more casual viewers.