Shark Week Not Even Trying Anymore
In 1975 ‘Jaws’ was released capturing imaginations, sparking interests & flaming fears about sharks worldwide. In July of 1988 the Discovery Channel dove into that intrigue with Shark Week… four small episodes devoted to ‘conservation & correcting misconceptions’.
1988 Shark Week lineup:
-Caged in Fear
-Sharks – Predators or Prey
-The Shark Takes a Siesta
-Sharks of a Different Color
Little did they know they’d created a monster of Great White proportions & the series would go on to become the longest-running cable TV programming event to date. As its popularity grew, the educational value of the shows began to decline & its original mission seems all but lost. In years past they really started losing me (Sharkzilla, Stephen Baldwin’s Black-Tip Bloodbath…) but now the whole thing feels like a bad, ratings-hungry joke. Shark Week has sold out.
2018 Shark Week lineup:
Celebrity Oriented lineup:
-Guy Fieri’s Feeding Frenzy
-Shark Tank Meets Shark Week
-Cuba’s Secret Shark Lair
-Tila Tequila’s Shot At Sharks
-Bear vs Shark-Arctic Assassins: Beneath Vanilla Ice
-Chum Bucket’s Full with Randy Quaid
-Ronda Rousey Uncaged-Shaq Does Shark Week
-Hulk Hogan’s Hammerheads, Brother!
Rest of the lineup:
-Monster Tag
-Great White Abyss
-Law of Jaws
-Air Jaws: The Hunted
-Air Jaws: Back From The Dead
-Air Jaws: Serious Air Jaws
-Santa Jaws: Holiday Trips Gone Bloody
-Ocean Ambush: Navy SEALs vs Great White
-Black, Like A Jaws Eyes
-No Joke: Kathy Griffin Deep Dives
-Sharkcam Strikes Back
-Sharkwrecked
-Vape Sharks
-Problematic Sharks Of Florida
-Great Woke: Sharks & Gender
-Sharkpocalypse Now
-Tiger Shark Invasion
-Cash Cab “Shark Week Edition”
-Megalodon: Fact vs Fiction
-Megalo-Dons: Mafia & The Shark Trade
-Bloodline: Spawn Of Jaws
-Great White Shark Babies
-Great White Shark Baby-Daddies-Alien Sharks
-Return of the Mega Shark
-Sharks Gone Wild
-Sharks On A Plane: Hypothetical Nightmares
-Naked & Afraid of Sharks
I feel like this is another case of The Manatees Choose An Idea Ball & whatever premise they come out with gets accepted. There’s only one source I trust for all-things-shark now.