ABC's 'Titanic' needs ratings lifeboat

ABC’s new Titanic miniseries concluded Sunday night and– what, you didn’t even know it was on?

It was! The four-hour telecast from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes launched Saturday night to a rating that about tied rivals airing crime drama repeats. Titanic had 4.1 million viewers and a 0.8 rating on Saturday, and slightly more (4.2 million, 0.9) for its final hour on Sunday. Reviews were pretty soft, with some criticizing the show for over-stuffing with too many characters and soft-peddling the tragedy (somewhere, James Cameron is smirking, “See? Not as easy as it looks, is it?”).

The Titanic sinking gave a weak lead-in for GCB (4.5 million, 1.5), which fell 21 percent to a low.

Overall, CBS won Sunday night with steady episodes of Amazing Race (9.2 million, 2.5) and The Good Wife (10 million, 1.8), followed by the premiere of new series NYC-22 (8.9 million, 1.5). The network’s latest crime drama, about rookie cops in the Big Apple, debuted 32 percent lower than CSI: Miami‘s average in the slot.

Fox was second with a mix of original and repeating animated shows, including new outings of The Simpsons (4.9 million, 2.2 and continuing to clarify creator Matt Groening’s comments the location of Springfield), Bob’s Burgers (3.9 million, 1.8) and Cleveland (4.3 million, 2.0).

NBC aired Harry’s Law (8.1 million, 0.9) and Celebrity Apprentice (6.6 million, 2.1).