Being nice to a tiger shark...(Photo: Felix Leander / 2008)
Reactions to this year's Shark Week on Discovery Channel cover the spectrum - from love it to hate it. Here is a posting written by Felix Leander of OceanicDreams who is a dedicated free-diver with sharks. It is representative of the position that many conservationists take regarding Shark Week.
"I recorded all the Discovery Shark week episodes this week, and unfortunately I found myself fast forwarding through most of them. How absurd was Myth Busters and Surviving Sharks. It is really unfortunate - watching the show almost had a reverse effect on me; I began to doubt if I should dive with Tigers again...that is just crazy talk! Of course I will, actually this coming November.
On the flip side, a friend of mine also watched the show and has become very interested in sharks; he actually came diving with me in the hopes of seeing one - each to their own I guess.
Around the same time that Shark Week aired, Richard Theiss sent me a copy of his film Island of the Great White Shark - and how refreshing it was to watch. It reminded me of what Shark Week used to be - informative, scientific, and not in the least bit sensational. While Richard directed, wrote, produced, and edited the film - he did not narrate it or appear in front of the camera...unlike a recent docuMEntary... :-)
So Discovery Channel - go back to the roots, take a look at Richard's film and some of your old tapes, and make a comeback in 2009."
As I said in an earlier 7/25 posting, I always have high hopes for this annual homage to shark programming. But as long as Discovery's advertisers are content with the record number of viewers (29+ million this year), the formula will most likely remain the same.
And thank you, Felix, for your kind comments regarding my film!
Very cool post from old Wolf, as always concise.
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