The Titanic Boat
I think I’ll post this here.
About fifteen years ago, when Titanic was in full swing and everyone was trying to cash in on the concept – books, exhibitions, games, sequels – I came up with this idea for a tee vee series: The Titanic Boat.
It would be the same concept as The Love Boat (1977–86) where every week new stories revolve around guest stars. The only difference, all would take place on the original Titanic. And the guests would either be saved (via lifeboats) or die some sort of gruesome death.
revolving doors
Anthology series serve a great purpose on television. They provide out of work actors a part time job and (sometimes) a place to stretch their acting abilities.
By the end of the 1970s, Love Boat and Fantasy Island were the weekly haven of fun under the sun for the likes of Barbi Benton, Charo, Shelley Winters, Jim Backus, Bert Convy, Dennis Cole, Sonny Bono, Cathy Lee Crosby, Betty White, George Kennedy and The Landers Sisters. After the Boat’s heyday, Murder She Wrote (1984–96) made it possible to keep guests such as Eddie Albert in the limelight. Today, it’s the universe of Law and Order.
high concept
So for The Titanic Boat, each episode would take place on the very same cruise – leaving Northampton, spending a day at sea then slamming into the fatal iceberg.
Guests such as Elizabeth Berkley, Ben Affleck, Michael Richards, Shelley Stringfield, Michael Ian Black, Shannen Doherty, Eva Longoria, Matt LeBlanc and Joe Piscopo would fill out the hour; either falling in love, partying in sterrage, eventually fighting for the lifeboats or dying in many different, terrible ways.
Footage from the film (ship flybys and sinking) would provide transitions, just like on the original Love Boat. And Fred Grandy can again be the ship’s Gopher – why the hell not?
All new each week. Drama, pathos, the guy who played Urkel, the actress that was Jack Bauer’s girlfriend, dinner music, fireworks – The Titanic Boat, a ratings bonanza!
