What happened to Shark Week?

[smellzlikefish]

This might belong in the whine and cheese section.

I remember looking ahead in anticipation of Shark Week when it was in its infancy. Tonight is the first night of a new season and its excitement and educational merit seems, well, missing. Have these aspects diminished over time or were they never there to begin with? Maybe I've since seen and studied sharks in their natural habitat and no longer entertain the stigmas and myths that get repeated and exploited over and again every year on Discovery. And don't get me wrong here, either. I love the Discovery Channel for Mythbusters and Dirty Jobs and the random assortment of other interesting shows that seek to educate and entertain simultaneously. And then every year they ruin it all for a week of interviews with shark attack victims. As a shark enthusiast, I probably take my specialty too seriously to enjoy the smut that gets sent to the masses but Air Jaws is a show that needs to die along with any program about what to do when getting attacked. Maybe we can replace them with a week of reruns of Blue Water White Death. I would much prefer watching Peter Gimbel, the Taylors, and Stan Waterman in masses of dusky and oceanic whitetips than another year of white sharks jumping from the water in super slow motion.

Am I just jaded because my experience has ruined a once awesome week or has Shark Week de-evolved into another Jaws aimed at drawing on and perpetuating fears for the sake of another penny? Or maybe it always exploited nightmares and I was too young and naive to notice.

 

[DiverDean59]

I agree with you. Anyone that has dove with sharks knows that they are not the monsters that are portrayed in some of the media. I guess they feel that they will get better overall ratings if they portray them in that light. I just try to weed out the fluff and look at some of the educational value.

 

[kimbalabala]

I'm a newer diver and I'd never watched shark week before. My husband and I have been enjoying Shark Week and it's given us a little more respect for what's in the water. It's funny, on another scuba site everyone is irritated with Discovery for exploiting sharks as monsters, etc. I haven't gotten that feeling while watching Shark Week. It seems that the people doing the shows are really dedicated to their work but also want casual swimmers and divers to know that oh, btw, sharks have teeth and can kill you. The fact that after chumming the water and otherwise really provoking the sharks these guys are STILL not getting bitten makes me feel like if we use a little common sense we can probably avoid getting into trouble. I think I'll try to avoid murky water at dawn - and if there are seals AND sharks swimming in the water with me I think I'll get out. If I get mistaken for their dinner, at dinnertime, and I'm dressed like DINNER, whose fault is that?

Btw, we have been in the water with nurse sharks and it didn't frighten me at all - but I still plan to respect their space.

 

[wilderydude83]

If you know about sharks and their typical behavior then watching Shark Week will only annoy you. Seems to me like they repeat most of the shows every year and it usually involves demonizing them and instilling fear into the people who know very little about them. I believe they do this to make a profit. As we all know, fear mongering=$. However, they usually always have at least one or two good shows that are worthwhile.

 

[merxlin]

I was no fan of Shark Week last year, or previous years. I agree all the "Jaws" and "Air Jaws" type excitement generated in the promos was setting a bad example of what these animals are. Now this year the programming has taken on a different feel and seems to be more educational, less melodramatic. No "blue water, white death" types of programs. But the promos still show Great Whites breaching with a mouth full of sea lion. Also, still no shows (so far) showing the devastation of shark-fining. This is where I think they drop the ball. They have the ability to educate a ton of people about the horrific numbers of sharks slaughtered, but don't do so. I know it won't sell advertising or get the ratings that the action sequences do, plus you'd piss off an entire country with like 2 billion people, but it really should be done in my opinion.

If they had any huevos they'd show Sharkwater & The Cove.

 

[Cave Diver]

I was thinking the same thing. I was watching some of the previous episode re-runs with some non-divers and I got a bunch of the "OMG, aren't you scared to dive with those things around??" questions.

Seems like it's more about sensationalism than education.

 

[drbill]

I, for one, am glad that the series has taken a different direction than all the sensational hype. It's good to hear that it has become more educational and fact-based this year and I applaud that. Of course it may not make for "gripping" television... but then what would I know about that? I produce two dive-related cable TV shows and don't even have TV in my house!

Scott Cassell is here on Catalina this week to plan for his "Expedition Catalina" adventure this fall. I will be meeting with him and some of the people associated with this to discuss ways of possible mutual involvement.

 

[mike_s]

Seems like it's more about sensationalism than education.

I agree 100%.

the "shark survival" show that came on a few nights ago was a complete joke.

 

[bygolly]

I was just a tad PO'ed when the first show I saw in "Shark Week" was about shark attacks. But I was heartened by the Aussie woman who had her buttocks bitten who said that she felt no animosity toward the shark. I think in years past that comment wouldn't have made it off the editing room floor so I think they (producers et al) are making some progress in the education of the general public about these very cool creatures. But it's going too slowly for my liking....I agree with Merxlin....time to show "Sharkwater" and others like it.

 

[Cave Diver]

I agree 100%.

the "shark survival" show that came on a few nights ago was a complete joke.

Yeah, the TV Guide showed one last night to be the top 5 survival stories. I didn't even bother turning it on.