Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives |
---|
Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives is a 2013 film that aired on the Discovery Channel about the potential survival of the prehistoric shark. Purported to be a documentary, the story revolves around numerous videos, "photographs", and firsthand encounters with a megalodon and an ensuing investigation that points to the involvement of the prehistoric species, despite the long-held belief of its extinction. The film is presented as factual, including accounts from professionals in various fields such as marine biology.
The show, similar to the Animal Planet's pseudo-documentary Mermaids: The Body Found , came under heavy criticism by both scientists and viewers due to the blatant attempt to present something fictional as a documentary. [1] Despite the disclaimers, viewers were offended that docufiction aired on Discovery Channel—the preeminent US network for producing educational and credible scientific programs.
Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives ranks as the most-watched Shark Week show to date, with 4.8 million viewers. Much of the attention garnered by the film was the result of the backlash, though host Brian Switek said that the film "gave science communicators like me an easy target". [2] The special received a sequel titled Megalodon: The New Evidence. During Shark Week 2018, Discovery aired Megalodon: Fact vs. Fiction, a new special with experts that reflects on the original. [3]
Soon after the film premiered however, the "documentary" was swiftly debunked as a fictional production with actors posing as scientists, accompanied by "evidence" which was completely manufactured. The marine biologist Colin Drake, was not a marine biologist and actually a hired actor named Darron Meyer. [4] It wasn't until the subsequent public outrage that the network added brief disclaimers at the beginning and end, indicating the program is fictional.
After the show was released, Discovery Channel gave a poll to its viewers asking whether or not they believed in the Megalodon, which about 70% of viewers stated they did believe it still exists. [5]
Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. As of June 2012, Discovery Channel was the third most widely distributed subscription channel in the United States, behind now-sibling channel TBS and The Weather Channel; it is available in 409 million households worldwide, through its U.S. flagship channel and its various owned or licensed television channels internationally.
A mockumentary is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events, but presented as a documentary. The term originated in the 1960s but was popularized in the mid-1990s when This Is Spinal Tap director Rob Reiner used it in interviews to describe that film.
Animal Planet is an American multinational pay television channel, and associated AnimalPlanet.com website content, owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established on June 1, 1996, the channel is primarily devoted to series and documentaries about wild animals and domestic pets.
Otodus megalodon, commonly known as megalodon, is an extinct species of giant mackerel shark that lived approximately 23 to 3.6 million years ago (Mya), from the Early Miocene to the Pliocene epochs. O. megalodon was formerly thought to be a member of the family Lamnidae and a close relative of the great white shark, but has been reclassified into the extinct family Otodontidae, which diverged from the great white shark during the Early Cretaceous.
Sea Monsters, marketed as Chased by Sea Monsters in the United States, is a 2003 three-part nature documentary television miniseries created by Impossible Pictures and produced by the BBC Studios Science Unit, the Discovery Channel and ProSieben. Following in the footsteps of The Giant Claw (2002) and Land of Giants (2003), special episodes of the nature documentary series Walking with Dinosaurs, Sea Monsters stars British wildlife presenter Nigel Marven as a "time-travelling zoologist" who travels to seven different periods of time in prehistory, diving in the "seven deadliest seas of all time" and encountering and interacting with the prehistoric creatures who inhabit them. The series is narrated by Karen Hayley in the BBC version and by Christopher Cook in the American version.
Walking with Monsters – Life Before Dinosaurs, marketed as Before the Dinosaurs – Walking with Monsters in North America, is a 2005 three-part nature documentary television miniseries created by Impossible Pictures and produced by the BBC Studios Science Unit, the Discovery Channel, ProSieben and France 3. Walking with Monsters explores life in the Paleozoic era, showcasing the early development of groups such as arthropods, fish, amphibians, reptiles and synapsids. Like its predecessors Walking with Dinosaurs (1999) and Walking with Beasts (2001), Walking with Monsters is narrated by Kenneth Branagh.
Dinosaur Planet is a four-part American nature documentary that aired on the Discovery Channel as a special-two night event on December 14 and 16, 2003. It is hosted by paleontologist Scott Sampson and narrated by actor Christian Slater. It was released on DVD as a two-disc pack on February 17, 2004, and was also released on VHS around the same time.
Shark Week is an annual, weeklong, shark-themed TV programming block at the Discovery Channel. Shark Week originally premiered on July 17, 1988. Featured annually, in July or early August, it was originally devoted to conservation efforts and correcting misconceptions about sharks. Over time, it grew in popularity and became a hit on the Discovery Channel. Since 2010, it has been the longest-running cable television programming event in history. Broadcast in over 72 countries, Shark Week is promoted heavily via social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Episodes are also available for purchase on services like Google Play Movies & TV/YouTube, Amazon Video, and iTunes. Some episodes are free on the subscription-based Hulu and Discovery+.
Nigel Alan Marven is a British wildlife TV presenter, naturalist, conservationist, author, and television producer. He is best known as presenter of the BBC miniseries Chased by Dinosaurs, its sequel, Sea Monsters, as well as the ITV miniseries Prehistoric Park. He is also known for his unorthodox, spontaneous, and daring style of presenting wildlife documentaries as well as for including factual knowledge in the proceedings.
The Last Dragon, known as Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real in the United States, and also known as Dragon's World in other countries, is a 2004 British docufiction made by Darlow Smithson Productions for Channel Four and broadcast on both Channel Four and Animal Planet.
Nove is an Italian general entertainment cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA. Originally known as Deejay TV, the channel was renamed and its logo redesigned on 22 February 2016. It offers programming aimed to appeal to the general audience and made available through Italian television LCN 9.
Walking with... is a palaeontology media franchise produced and broadcast by the BBC Studios Science Unit. The franchise began with the series Walking with Dinosaurs (1999), created by Tim Haines. By far the most watched science programme in British television during the 20th century, Walking with Dinosaurs spawned companion material and four sequel series: Walking with Beasts (2001), Walking with Cavemen (2003), Sea Monsters (2003) and Walking with Monsters (2005). Each series uses a combination of computer-generated imagery and animatronics, incorporated with live action footage shot at various locations, to portray prehistoric animals in the style of a traditional nature documentary.
Ocean of Fear: Worst Shark Attack Ever is a 2007 made-for-television documentary film that launched the 20th anniversary of the Discovery Channel's Shark Week of 2007. It recounts the sinking of the USS Indianapolis. The show initially aired on July 29, 2007, on the eve of the anniversary of the ship’s sinking in 1945.
Fish Monsters is a British and American wildlife documentary television series produced for Animal Planet by Icon Films of Bristol, United Kingdom. It is hosted by angler and biologist Jeremy Wade, who travels around the globe in search of big and dangerous fish.
Animal Planet is an Indian pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery India for the Indian subcontinent, launched on 29 March 1999 as the Indian version of the American counterpart. It is available in three languages including Hindi, English and Tamil. The Telugu Streaming is much awaited by fans who were waiting so Animal planet should consider this .The channel can be viewed on digital cable and satellite television in India. The channel is also available on its OTT services Discovery Plus.
Mermaids: The Body Found is a mockumentary television program originally aired on American TV channels Animal Planet and Discovery Channel. It tells a story of a scientific team's investigative efforts to uncover the source behind mysterious underwater recordings of an unidentified marine body. The show presents the controversial aquatic ape hypothesis as evidence that mermaids exist, along with a digitally manufactured video. A sequel broadcast called Mermaids: The New Evidence aired May 26, 2013.
Brandon McMillan is an American television personality, animal trainer, author and television producer best known for his role as host and dog trainer of the television series Lucky Dog on CBS.
Michael Kaczorowski, a nine-time nominated and three-time Emmy Award-winning producer and executive producer, is currently the creative director and producer of Bangkok Swagger. As executive producer, he is responsible for some of Animal Planet and Discovery's biggest and most iconic hits including Carrier: Fortress at Sea, Raising the Mammoth, and Walking with Prehistoric Beasts.
Capsized: Blood in the Water is an American biographical natural horror-survival film, based on a true story from 1982. Roel Reiné directed the film, from a script written by Stephen David, with the story co-written by David, Tim K. Kelly and Jonathan Soule. The film plot centers around a small boat crew aboard a private yacht who are stranded in shark infested waters, following a storm that overturns their vessel. Debuting as the first scripted Discovery's Shark Week feature film, Capsized: Blood in the Water was released on July 31, 2019 as an exclusive to the network's week-long yearly event.