RMS Titanic

From Tardis Wiki, the free Doctor Who reference
RMS Titanic
You may wish to consult Titanic (disambiguation) for other, similarly-named pages.

The RMS Titanic was a luxury ocean liner on Earth in the early 20th century, noted as being the largest steamship of its time, carrying 2,223 passengers. (TV: Let's Kill Hitler [+]Loading...["Let's Kill Hitler (TV story)"]) It was famously called "unsinkable", (TV: Robot [+]Loading...["Robot (TV story)"], The End of the World [+]Loading...["The End of the World (TV story)"]) yet sank on its maiden voyage on 15 April 1912 (TV: The Invasion of Time [+]Loading...["The Invasion of Time (TV story)"]) two hours and forty minutes later at 02:20am after colliding with an iceberg at around 11:40 pm. (AUDIO: The Wreck of the Titan [+]Loading...["The Wreck of the Titan (audio story)"]) The RMS Carpathia took part in the rescue operation. (COMIC: Revolutions of Terror (part one) [+]Loading...{"part":"one","1":"Revolutions of Terror (comic story)"})

The death toll of 1,495 made it one of the world's greatest maritime disasters in peacetime. (PROSE: The Time Traveller's Almanac [+]Loading...["The Time Traveller's Almanac (reference book)"]) A guide for time travellers warned not to book a ticket for the Titanic or the Max Capricorn space cruise liner of the same name. (PROSE: Time Traveller's Diary [+]Loading...["Time Traveller's Diary (novel)"])

Structure[[edit] | [edit source]]

The British-registered, four-funnelled ocean liner was at the time the largest passenger steamship ever constructed. (PROSE: The Time Traveller's Almanac [+]Loading...["The Time Traveller's Almanac (reference book)"]) It was constructed out of 46,000 tons of steel, wood, and glass. It was 9 storeys high, nearly 900 feet long, and 90 feet wide. It could host up to 3500 passengers and crew. (AUDIO: The Wreck of the Titan [+]Loading...["The Wreck of the Titan (audio story)"]) It had a length of 264.9 metres and 9 decks. Three propellers, along with two reciprocating steam engines and one Parsons turbine, provided propulsion. It had 29 boilers and was fuelled by 159 coal-burning furnaces. (PROSE: The Time Traveller's Almanac [+]Loading...["The Time Traveller's Almanac (reference book)"])

Crew and passengers[[edit] | [edit source]]

Its captain was Edward J Smith. Lieutenant William McMaster Murdoch was the First Officer of the Titanic on the day it sunk. Wallace Hartley served as bandmaster aboard the ship. (AUDIO: The Wreck of the Titan [+]Loading...["The Wreck of the Titan (audio story)"])

Passengers on the Titanic's maiden voyage included Mrs Astor. (COMIC: Revolutions of Terror (part one) [+]Loading...{"part":"one","1":"Revolutions of Terror (comic story)"})

History[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Titanic took three years to build at Belfast's Harland and Wolff shipyard. (PROSE: The Time Traveller's Almanac [+]Loading...["The Time Traveller's Almanac (reference book)"]) It was launched on 31 May, 1911, (PROSE: Time Traveller's Diary [+]Loading...["Time Traveller's Diary (novel)"]) though Amy Pond recalled that it launched from Belfast in 1912. (GAME: "Amy's Profile: The Titanic" [+]Part of Amy's History Hunt, Loading...{"namedpart":"Amy's Profile: The Titanic","1":"Amy's History Hunt (video game)"})

The Titanic left Southampton on 10 April 1912 and headed for America. Four days later, (PROSE: The Time Traveller's Almanac [+]Loading...["The Time Traveller's Almanac (reference book)"]) on 14 April, (TV: The Invasion of Time [+]Loading...["The Invasion of Time (TV story)"]) the ship struck an iceberg at 11:40pm and sank in the early hours of the next morning at 02:20am, two hours and forty minutes after the impact. The death toll of 1,495 made it one of the world's greatest maritime disasters in peacetime. (PROSE: The Time Traveller's Almanac [+]Loading...["The Time Traveller's Almanac (reference book)"])

The Seventh Doctor, Ace and Bernice Summerfield travelled to the Titanic, tracking Huitzilin. They were on the ship when it collided with the iceberg. The Doctor noted that the event of its sinking was part of the Web of Time. (PROSE: The Left-Handed Hummingbird [+]Loading...["The Left-Handed Hummingbird (novel)"])

El Ape, a temporary travelling companion of the Seventh Doctor, actually caused the ship to sink. (COMIC: Follow That TARDIS! [+]Loading...["Follow That TARDIS! (comic story)"])

The Decayed Master, trapped on Earth in the early 20th century, boarded the Titanic when it sank, to avoid the upcoming First World War by migrating to the United States of America. (AUDIO: Mastermind [+]Loading...["Mastermind (audio story)"])

The Seventh Doctor recognises the lifesaver on the ship. (COMIC: Follow That TARDIS! [+]Loading...["Follow That TARDIS! (comic story)"])

The Daniels family cancelled their trip on the Titanic the day before it was set to depart. (TV: Rose [+]Loading...["Rose (TV story)"])

The Ninth Doctor told Jabe that he had once been on a ship that "they said was unsinkable". He "ended up clinging to [the] iceberg", commentating that "it wasn't half cold." (TV: The End of the World [+]Loading...["The End of the World (TV story)"]) Whilst travelling with the Eleventh Doctor, Amy Pond became aware that he had been on the Titanic, though he did not say what he got up to. (GAME: "Amy's Profile: The Titanic" [+]Part of Amy's History Hunt, Loading...{"namedpart":"Amy's Profile: The Titanic","1":"Amy's History Hunt (video game)"})

Both John Hart and Jack Harkness appeared on the Titanic to claim a diamond that was lost during the disaster. John beat Jack to it, having put "the squeeze" on the heiress who owned the jewel. Taking a "trip down memory lane", the pair had sex in John's room, finishing with just seconds to go before the ship hit the iceberg. In that time, Jack used a fake tachyon meter reading to trick John, using the opportunity to lock John in his closet as he made off with both the diamond and John's vortex manipulator. John, however, was able to escape the disaster through use of a back-up jump bracelet which returned him to London in 1887 on the day of Queen Victoria's golden jubilee. (AUDIO: The Death of Captain Jack [+]Loading...["The Death of Captain Jack (audio story)"])

The Eleventh Doctor was on the Titanic shortly before he visited Klimtenburg. The voyage soaked one of his napkins. (PROSE: Plague of the Cybermen [+]Loading...["Plague of the Cybermen (novel)"])

According to Coordinator Narvin, attempts were made to evacuate women and children first, as the Titanic sank. (AUDIO: Weapon of Choice [+]Loading...["Weapon of Choice (audio story)"])

According to one account, a total of 1,517 people drowned when the Titanic sank. Meanwhile, in Skaro-year 10,835, the Daleks had showered Earth's oceans with super-frost bombs which created giant ice-floes. (PROSE: Earth-Skaro Timescale [+]Loading...["Earth-Skaro Timescale (feature)"])

Legacy[[edit] | [edit source]]

Following the sinking, measures were taken place to see that such an accident would not occur again. To that end, the International Ice Patrol was formed and future ships would have round-the-clock radio surveillance and lifeboats for everyone. As the Seventh Doctor noted to Cristián Alvarez, to prevent the Titanic disaster would condemn future passengers. (PROSE: The Left-Handed Hummingbird [+]Loading...["The Left-Handed Hummingbird (novel)"])

The Daily Mirror reports on the sinking of the Titanic. (TV: The Invasion of Time [+]Loading...["The Invasion of Time (TV story)"])

The Fourth Doctor had an issue of the Daily Mirror describing the disaster, which he saw Borusa reading. On noticing this, the Doctor promised that he had nothing to do with the ship's destruction. (TV: The Invasion of Time [+]Loading...["The Invasion of Time (TV story)"])

Jenny Nettles reported on a claim that the Titanic had been found off of the coast of Argentina. Sarah Jane Smith used this as an example of Jenny's disregard for facts in her career as a journalist. (AUDIO: Kaleidoscope [+]Loading...["Kaleidoscope (audio story)"])

When asked by her teacher why the Titanic sank, Mels Zucker said it was because the Doctor didn't save it, and then called the teacher stupid for not knowing. This got her sent to the head teacher's office. (TV: Let's Kill Hitler [+]Loading...["Let's Kill Hitler (TV story)"])

Daryl Christofi compared the Titanic (a passenger ship) to the Elysium (a commercial steamer) in terms of complexities on his website. Daryl also indicated that the sunken Titanic was not in good condition. (PROSE: Enthusiastic Amateur Diver Shares His Discoveries With You! [+]Loading...["Enthusiastic Amateur Diver Shares His Discoveries With You! (short story)"])

The Fourth Doctor once compared the sinking Storm Mine 4 to the Titanic, though Dask didn't understand the allusion. (TV: The Robots of Death [+]Loading...["The Robots of Death (TV story)"], PROSE: Doctor Who and the Robots of Death [+]Loading...["Doctor Who and the Robots of Death (novelisation)"])

Abby McPhail listed the Titanic among places where the Doctor's TARDIS was present. (AUDIO: Regrets [+]Loading...["Regrets (audio story)"])

When Ruby Sunday said she wanted to see the Beatles, the Fifteenth Doctor said that "people always say the Titanic, or Mars, or Bethlehem." (TV: The Devil's Chord [+]Loading...["The Devil's Chord (TV story)"])

Recreation[[edit] | [edit source]]

Max Capricorn, the head of Max Capricorn Cruiseliners, constructed a starship replica of the Titanic for a voyage from Sto to Earth for the observation of "primitive cultures" on Christmas Eve in the 2000s.[nb 1] According to one of the Heavenly Host, the name of the replica was chosen as "the most famous vessel of the planet Earth". (TV: Voyage of the Damned [+]Loading...["Voyage of the Damned (TV story)"]) In his twelfth incarnation, the Doctor would find himself sent to the past of Sto, using the influence he had gained to fashion the starliner after its Terran counterpart. (COMIC: A Confusion of Angels [+]Loading...["A Confusion of Angels (comic story)"])

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]