Get. Ready.
For those of you with a pulse, the best part of your summer is about to surface.
“Shark Week” premieres on the Discovery Channel this Sunday, Aug. 12. There have been 25 years of watching, screaming, jumping and being completely mesmerized by these magnificent creatures.
The first "Shark Week" aired back in 1988. For the 25th anniversary, one can assume the shows will be bigger and better. There's even a section on Discovery.com with the top 25 highlights from the last two decades-and-a-half of "Shark Week."
For stay-at-home parents, students and teachers who have the summer off (so basically every one of my friends), you can enjoy a marathon of shark-related programming for an entire week (you are so lucky!) But, per usual, you’ll have to wait until prime time to see the premieres of this year’s newest shark shows.
Here’s a quick preview of just SOME of the new episodes airing during "Shark Week":
Sunday, Aug. 12 (8 p.m.): Airjaws Apocalypse
According to Discovery.com, this show will follow shark expert Chris Fallows and producer Jeff Kurr as they learn more about the Great White Sharks off the coast of Seal Island, South Africa. They’ll be studying a 14-foot-long shark named Colossus. Their risky adventure assures me I will never go to South Africa, and my couch is a much better place for "shark learnin.'"
Monday, Aug. 13 (8 p.m.): Sharkzilla
The name says it all. This episode follows experts who try to build a model of the largest shark in history, which was so big it could have bitten a Tyrannosaurus rex in half. I'm setting my DVR right now.
Tuesday, Aug. 14 (8 p.m.): How Jaws Changed the World
As a movie buff, I’m intrigued by this one. The show will look at how the film "Jaws" changed the film industry forever, as well as how people viewed the beach. Some people say it was one of the scariest films they've seen in a movie theater.
Wednesday, Aug. 15 (8 p.m.): Shark Fight
In a true show of forgiveness, shark attack victims around the world are banding together to do what some would call insane. They are heading up efforts to save the sharks who attacked them. And they're calling it a bigger and more difficult battle than their recovery period. I respect this. The victims understand that their attackers are just animals who 'do what animals gotta do.'
Thursday, Aug. 16 (8 p.m.): Great White Highway
This episode reminds me of a Lifetime movie. Experts are investigating why Great White Sharks spend part of their time in the San Francisco Bay area, only to disappear into the Pacific Ocean for the summer. If this were a made-for-TV drama, it would be evident that the sharks are living a double life with two families on opposite sides of the world. Why don’t experts go with this theory? I guess mating rituals and feeding patterns make more sense, but hey, a girl can dream.
To see a full list of the new "Shark Week" episodes, click here.
Beyond what's airing on television, make sure you check out Discovery’s Shark Week page. You can watch the top 10 shark attack videos (done!), as well as live Shark Cams courtesy of the Georgia Aquarium. Kiss your productive work day goodbye. Trust me, you'll be watching these sharks swim in a tank for hours on end.
Streaming by Ustream
For everyone excited about one of summer's best events, set your DVRs, alarm clocks, VCRs (if you’re old school) and enjoy the fabulous TV magic that is “Shark Week.”
Jordan Armstrong is a web content producer at KVUE. She holds a degree in Radio, Television and Film from the University of North Texas. Her addiction to television and movies started when she was five years old and wouldn’t stop watching Fraggle Rock. Jordan’s opinions are not a reflection of the views of KVUE.com, KVUE TV, or its parent company Belo Corp. We actually don’t know why we’re letting her have a column.
