If you watch the Discovery Channel on cable TV, you know that this week is "Shark Week," a week in which dozens of shows are aired that feature the ultimate predator - lawyers.
No, seriously, Shark Week is a long-standing tradition with Discovery Channel - they've done this for something like 25 years. It started off in the 1990s with some documentaries about sharks, and then over the years it grew to include other shows - sharks at home, a group of six sharks in their early 20s living in New York City, sharks who compete in asinine challenges each week with the loser getting voted onto an island, etc.
But this week, Discovery Channel aired something different. "Megalodon: The Monster Shark That Lives" was billed as a "search for a massive killer great white shark responsible for a rash of fatalities off the coast of South Africa." This sounds appropriately exciting and very shark-like, until you consider some important facts:
1) The prehistoric shark "megalodon" has been extinct for millions of years, and as a result it's unlikely to be causing fatalities off the coast of South Africa or anyplace else.
2) The "documentary" was actually a film, similar to other shark films such as "Jaws" or "Sharknado" or "West Side Story."
3) No such place as "South Africa" actually exists.
Shark enthusiasts (yes! there really are some!) were outraged by this callous disregard for their gullibility. "You shouldn't air fake documentaries!" they fumed. "I watch this stuff to learn about sharks, not watch movies!"
And they have a point. Discovery says it's the "premier science education television station in the world." If you're going to show what amounts to a low-budget movie and let people assume it's a documentary, it's kinda hard to pretend you're not just in it for the money. It'd be like me saying I'm the sexiest man alive, and then when you argued with me, I said I was actually Brad Pitt. Or Hugh Jackman. Or whoever is sexy at the moment, because frankly I can't keep up with it.
"We wanted to explore the possibilities of Megalodon," said Executive Producer of Shark Week Michael Sorensen. (Incidentally, that's got to be one of the coolest job titles of all time. I wonder if he puts that on his tax returns, in the "Occupation" block.) "It's one of the most debated shark discussions of all time, 'can Megalodon exist today?' It's (the) ultimate Shark Week fantasy."
I don't know about you, but when I get together with my friends, we hardly ever talk about megalodon. Maybe we're not sharky enough. By the same token, my Shark Week fantasy involves my wife in swim fins and wearing a shark-tooth necklace. But maybe I'm weird in that respect.
Anyway, there's a ton of outrage directed at Discovery Channel right now, and I'm sure they're very concerned about it. On the other hand, the Megalodon movie brought in the highest ratings ever for a Shark Week show, with 4.8 million people and 18,000 sharks tuning in to watch, so I doubt it's going to matter to them TOO much.
Particularly given what they're showing Thursday night: "Sharks on a Plane."
Newsflash!
Check out the newly published e-book The Man Rules. Don't be the last on your block to own this soon-to-be international bestseller! Act now, quantities are limited! To preview the book (and possibly buy! Buying is good!), just click here.
(c) 2013 John Puckett
No comments:
Post a Comment