Category Archives: Opinions in the media

Discovery’s ‘Shark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine’ draws criticism for being just awful

Much like last year’s mockumentary “Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives”, Discovery Channel’s first episode of this year’s Shark Week has come under fire for it’s fictional account of “Submarine,” a giant man-eating great white shark with roots in a South African urban legend. “Shark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine” plays out like a documentary, though it’s actually just an account of fictional events, plagued with less-than-convincing acting and special effects, in the eyes of many viewers.

Twitter was lit up with disgruntled viewers on Sunday night when the episode premiered, and numerous online media outlets have since voiced their distaste in Discovery’s decision to peddle out another faux “documentary.”

In Discovery’s defense, the show did contain the following vague disclaimer.

Events have been dramatized, but many believe Submarine exists to this day.

While most viewers realized from the get-go that this is a piece of fiction, others bought into it as a real-life account of a ‘monster shark’ with an appetite for humans. “Submarine” was noted to have an “insatiable taste for human blood,” and had adapted methods to attack humans more efficiently.

Is this really the kind of message Discovery Channel should be sending its viewers about sharks?


You can check some other opinions about Shark of Darkness by following the links below.

Atlantic White Shark Conservancy’s “We Need to Talk about Shark Week.”

Vox’s “Shark Week is once again making things up”

Gawker’s “Shark Week Returns With Its Lies”

Shark Week’s Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives draws online criticism

Discovery Channel’s 2013 edition of Shark Week has gotten off on the wrong fin in the eyes of some viewers. Last night’s “Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives” has drummed up a lot of negative buzz in the online world. Discovery’s Facebook page is loaded with comparisons to last year’s faux documentary “Mermaids: The Body Found,” which also caught a lot of heat online. Others are referring to the show as “The Blair Shark Project” in reference to the 1999 “Blair Witch Project.” Reddit shark fans also expressed disappointment and threatened to boycott Shark Week.

It seems some viewers are disappointed with Discovery’s latest offering would prefer to see ‘real-life’ documentaries as opposed to fictionalized storytelling being pawned off in documentary fashion. Complaints about the disclaimer at the beginning of the show being “unreadable” have some referring to the show as a farce. Rich Juzwiak at Gawker refers to the disclaimer as ‘too-fast-to-read.’

Did you watch “Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives?” If so, sound off in the comments about what you thought of the show and Discovery’s decision to include a “mockumentary” in the Shark Week line-up.