Shark Week this year was in July (2024), and I got all the reviews done and posted then, on the same day as the shows, like I usually do. Yay!
But then I got wrapped up in the 2024 Olympics in Paris (on the TV; I didn’t go there, sadly) and EGG Con and life, and… Well, I didn’t release them in July, and here it is at the end of August already. And I’m thinking now that it will be fun to release the reviews in September — probably on or near my 65th (!) birthday. So… Here you go!
Enjoy!
(Reviews are out of 5 stars/sharks — the more the better!)
Shark Week 2024
The reviews are in the order the programs were shown, as usual.
SUNDAY
BELLY OF THE BEAST: BIGGER AND BLOODIER — 
(of 5)
In New Zealand, shark scientist Dr. Austin Gallagher and his team of women researchers are trying to lure Queen Boss Great White Sharks to study their mating habits, which may involve one large female with up to 5 male sharks, and also their social habits. In theory, this mating group forms a “clan” that hangs around together. To aid their research, the team has created a fake dead whale decoy, “Earl” that can erupt blood on demand. It can also disgorge a “chum torpedo, which it uses to attract more sharks. Earl’s belly is a transparent tank to hold human scientists.
The team dives both day and night, attracting an 18’ female they consider a Queen Boss. The big shark attacks the fins and flukes of Earl, I assume hoping to disable the decoy, if he’s “not quite dead yet.” (I wonder what this tastes like, and if the foam is shark friendly.) Having found their targets, the team obtains tissue samples from the Queen Boss and the males in her company, to see if there’s a genetic connection. They do this, but the show then tells us they will continue the study, without revealing their results this time. That’s a little disappointing, but this show has — as you’d expect — some very nice white shark images. Decent start to the week.
JAWS VS. LEVIATHAN — (of 5)
Dr. Tristan Guttridge. Kina Scollay, and paleontologist Dr. Sora Kim speculate how an extinct, toothed whale, the Leviathan (Livyatan Melvillei), would have stacked up against a Great White Shark. As part of their research, they study attack footage of orcas vs. sharks. Naturally, there will be CGI involved in this show (which we know from the past is a mixed bag at best). Off the coast of New Zealand, they take a leviathan-sized flat decoy to find out where sharks will attack. If you watched the last show (Belly of the Beast: Bigger and Bloodier), you know that’s flukes (and then fins). Next, they test whether the shark could penetrate leviathan-like skin with an analog they’ve created.
They score each test, and this one goes to the leviathan, which could cut a shark in half with one bite. At this point, this is feeling like other shark vs. you-name-it shows from before. The visuals are good, but the premise is silly. They then test shark agility. (Obviously, this will go to the smaller animal — and it does. And I wrote that even before they scored it officially.) Then they chum the waters to see if whites will attack in packs if there is “vulnerable prey,” which we’ve seen whites do before in numerous shows. They appear to take turns, which we’ve also seen before. Though leviathans may have been even more social, and like whales, they may have learned behaviors from their elders. If you’re keeping score, it’s all tied up.
Now we go to the CGI for the battle simulation. The CGI is okay, not great, with whites attacking a leviathan calf. A mother comes to help, but, outnumbered, the leviathan loses her calf before rallying to take out the whites. It’s all pretty silly, though the victorious breach CGI shot is fun and better than the rest. It’s all stuff we know, with pretty shark images and marginal CGI. Maybe okay for the kids.
MAKOZILLA — (of 5)
A large mako is attacking sea lions just miles off of Los Angeles’ beaches. Researchers wonder if this mako is related to a 14’, 1500# mako called “The Beast,” who was accidentally caught by fishermen in 2013 and donated to science. Jeff Harris examined the carcass, and determined it had given birth to as many as 30 pups. Craig O’Connell has come here from the east coast to study these makos. After photographing sea lions with gruesome bite marks, the duo team with scientist Kendyl Berna and tagger Keith Poe to track down these new big sharks and see if they’re related to The Beast.
After locating a mako feeding ground, they decide to try to attract some big ones, and bait them, to measure their bites –3 inches between teeth marks — and find if they’re the ones who are biting seals. They find a suspect that’s probably 15’ long, a true Makozilla, but are there more — and are they related to The Beast? For that, they need to find these monsters again, and sample their DNA. They need to locate a shark 12’ long or longer for the data they need. They do. Their conclusion is that these large makos seem to be related, but also their size correlates with the abundant prey in their habitat — and there are likely more of them. Harris concludes this balance of predator & prey is good for the ecosystem. Good show. Decent science if ia little sensational.
SYDNEY HARBOR SHARK INVASION (of 5)
Paul de Gelder, shark expert and attack survivor, wants to know why there seems to be an increase in sharks (and attacks) in Sydney Harbor. He teams with shark conservationist Madison Stewart to dive in the harbor, near the site where de Gelder was attacked during a military training swim. Cage diving in the murky water, they quickly discover 4 bull sharks, and an enormous number of bait fish, perfect prey. No wonder sharks like the harbor. To discover the sharks’ range, they deploy baited underwater cameras, BRUVs. They also deploy a listening device that will pick up tagged sharks outside the harbor. Deploying it, de Gelder sees sand tiger sharks and many, many baitfish… and then a large tiger shark, a top predator. De Gelder speculates that the pristine environment outside the harbor is a great hunting ground.
Maddy dives alone at the site of the most recent attack to see if she can figure out if prey changes may be related to El Nino weather conditions. She sees a Great White, but with no prey here the white moves toward the harbor entrance. When one of their BRUVs goes missing, Paul and Madi have to dive into dangerous water to use a sonar gun to hopefully find it. They find a frenzied bait school… and bull sharks. “We’ve so much bait coming into the harbor, it’s no wonder the sharks are following them,” she says. They never find the camera, but their other instruments show that because of the cleaner harbor, more bait fish have returned to Sydney, and — as Madi speculated — the sharks are following. Good scientists. Good sharks and ecology. Best show of the night.
SUNDAY 2024 SUMMARY (of 5)
Shark Week has often relied on sensationalist titles to help draw audiences. Thankfully, not all the sensational-sounding shows are non-scientific crap. Despite that, this week’s titles had me a bit worried, though Wednesday night looks promising. Tonight’s shows were a mixed bag. One very good, two good, and one that said nothing new and had bad animation. Not a bad start. (Though not as good as last year’s “dream week.”) John Cena (pronounced “see-nah”) was just fine. See you tomorrow.
MONDAY
Second night of 2024’s Shark Week with John Cena.
BIG SHARK ENERGY — (of 5)
Off the coast of Stewart Island New Zealand (get used to this; South Africa’s lost its shark appeal), Great White Sharks come to mate every year. Dr. Riley Elliott and marine biologist Kori Burkhardt have developed 4 benchmarks to figure out who is the dominant male shark, and thus who will be most likely to mate with the largest female at the end of the season: Speed, Peacocking, Predation, and Fearlessness a.k.a. Big Shark Energy. (Seems silly to me, but… We’ll see if it’s science or just showmanship.) They will measure these things with a series of tests. Naturally, this involves teasing, baiting, and observing the 5 male sharks they’re testing.
Brutus wins the Speed contest. I’ll spare you the runners up. Peacocking turns out to be their term for gonad (clasper) measurements as percentage of body size, which they say measures hormone levels. Yes, they’re taking d**k pics of sharks. Scrapy ends up the winner with 23” claspers on a relatively small body (16% of size). (Every shark has 2 gonads.) Next, they tow a seal decoy (and when it’s destroyed, tuna) to test Predation. Scrappy and Brutus tie here, both hitting the bait the same number of times, remaining tied in the “contest.” Fearlessness involves seeing which shark will come closest to the cage and grab a tuna on a stick, held out of a shark cage. What could possibly go wrong? An even bigger female taking the bait and pushing her head into Riley’s cage is what. He loses a backup air supply, but lives to continue.
Then, something interesting happens, and Brutus abandons the tests to court the female (as well as winning the test and the “competition”, too). “Not interested in The Bachelor Sharks?” my wife asked early on. The answer: No. Not really. Yes, you get the requisite beautiful pictures of Great White Sharks, but… Where’s the science? Honestly, until they got lucky and caught some courtship (but not mating) at the end, there wasn’t much. Disappointing, as I usually enjoy Riley’s specials more than this.
SHARK FRENZY: MATING GAMES — (of 5)
Dr. Craig O’Connell, Alonzo Curry, Rosie Moore, and team want to discover if shark feeding frenzies can be a prelude to mating. They’re interested in tiger sharks and oceanic white tips. O’Connell theorizes that females may release pheromones after frenzies to lure potential mates. He captures a pheromone sample from a tiger shark, then the team induces a feeding frenzy, and he gets another sample. Now they put a fin cam on a shark, to see if indication of mating follows.
As they wait for results, they refocus on oceanic white tips, known for being dangerous to shipwrecked sailors. They plan on running the same type of tests, though 2000’ of blue water makes the situation dicier. They succeed in their pheromone capture. Free-diving in the blue, Rosie even gets the fin cam on, but it’s bumped off earlier than expected. Both camera results seem to indicate recent mating activity, and the oceanic white tip tests did show elevated pheromones after the feeding frenzy. (Though the tiger shark test did not.) All in all, a promising start to scientifically researching this theory. Plus, some nice shark footage, of course. A nice change after the goofy preceding “dating game” show, Big Shark Energy.
GREAT WHITE SERIAL KILLER: SEA OF BLOOD — (of 5)
A small fishing village in the Sea of Cortez has lost people to one or more Great White Sharks. “Under siege” is how the intro describes it, thus starts the latest episode in one of the most dubious, anti-shark series in Shark Week. I’ll keep an open mind, though, and see if this installment leans more on the scary or the science. 3 deaths, apparently each one year apart, near the village of Yavaros. Researcher Brandon McMillan and conservationist Paul de Gelder arrive less than 2 weeks after the most recent attack and are joined by shark biologist Gador Montaner. They lay a baited camera on the seafloor near the spot of the attack. They find a 15’ female great white prowling the area. They also view a video from years back, on the other side of the sea, of a similar shark stranded in the shallows. Big sharks are clearly here.
Local scientists theorize that the sharks are using the Sea of Cortez as a pupping ground. De Gelder worries that the locals are angry, and may take revenge on innocent animals. It’s possible the sharks are mistaking people in wetsuits for local seals, their prey, especially if the humans bolt for the surface. The locals hope some kind of cage might help. So the team goes to New Zealand to test a lightweight mollusk-diver cage against aggressive great whites. The test is scary, but works, and they go back to Mexico to adapt it there. They design a lightweight cage that can be built locally and will give divers some protection from sneak attacks. Some mark-down for scare factor, but this ended up being a good show.
MONDAY 2024 SUMMARY — (of 5)
The day started off rocky, but had a good show in the middle and a decent show (with a scary title) in the end. Overall, similar to Sunday. Best show: Shark Frenzy: Mating Games. Let’s see what tomorrow brings.
TUESDAY
Third night of the 2024 Shark Week.
DEADLIEST BITE — (of 5)
“The shark bite, one of nature’s deadliest weapons…” A team of researchers want to discover which species has the deadliest bite. Dr. Tristan Guttridge, Annie Guttridge, Skye Minnis, and Paul de Gelder set out to measure the bites of 4 top species: Tigers, Great Hammerheads, Bull Sharks, and Great Whites. They will measure power (bite force), slashing ability, and speed, and then run the data through a computer to determine the deadliest. They start out with a (and blood) cool demonstration of shark-tooth weapons against ballistic analog flesh.
The team fans out to the Caribbean, New Zealand, and other sites where the sharks they want to test hang out. They have a great high-speed camera and the usual bite-meters and ploys for shark teasing. I’m not sure what scientific use all this is, but their computer analyst is good with both numbers and metaphors. The final rankings are (spoilers): Tiger Shark, Great Hammerhead, Great White, and the winner the Bull Shark. Maybe marginal science value to this show, but fairly good information, and some great shark footage. Good start for night 3.
6000 LB. SHARK — (of 5)
Tales persist about 25 foot Great White Sharks weighing 5000, 6000, 7000 pounds — but no sharks that size have been seen in ages, after being heavily hunted by humans. Tom “The Blowfish” Hird wants to find out if these are just fish tales, or if New Zealand (again) whites may be heading toward those monster sizes. The “Heavy Metal Marine Biologist” teams with marine biologist Leigh De Necker to try and find such beasts. They set up 2 cages, 15’ apart, with special measuring poles to get accurate width & girth measurements, which are used to calculate weight — as the only other way to do it is to kill the sharks and haul them out of the water to a scale. (And we don’t want that!)
After measuring a bunch of sharks (and getting pooed on), they decide to use E-DNA to determine their diets (with a long “butt swab”). So, more poo to come, I guess. The swab idea works, but a cage malfunction strands Blowfish on the bottom, running out of air with sharks circling. They get the cage up just in time, and the test proves the big female ate a lot of squid. Then they decide to try to measure the sharks’ livers, which will grow when they eat, with ultrasound to see how close to their maximum size they may be. The liver of the 18-footer they measure is only about “half full.” Sharks use their liver to store energy for their long migrations.
Finally, they use a 3D-camera setup to get a complete image of the big female, Josey, to calculate a highly accurate weightL 3500#. Since her liver could expand,still, she could potentially add another 500#. Computer math says that if this shark grew to 22 feet, she could weigh 6000#. I prefer shows with more shark species, but this was a strong show with good science and highly entertaining.
MONSTER HAMMERHEADS: SPECIES X — (of 5)
Dr. Austin Gallagher, researcher Liv Dixon, diver Zandi Ndhlovu, and crew travel to the unspoiled ecosystems of Turks and Caicos to study massive Great Hammerheads that may be an undiscovered species that have bigger mouths and are more aggressive. They team with a geneticist, David Portnoy, and Dr. Christian Guttridge, a hammerhead expert in Florida. They hope to compare benetic samples and morphology (physical differences). They start by deploying BRUV underwater cameras. Their first encounter is at dusk, requiring a night dive for laser measurements and other tests. Plenty of great, spooky footage follows. Dr. Guttridge and crew are meanwhile fishing for hammerheads (in the dark) to obtain the needed genetic samples.
Between trying to find hammerheads, the team tags some tiger sharks, hoping they may have similar feeding areas, though they may be competing for feeding grounds, too. They follow a tiger to the edge of a deep drop off, and find a hammerhead there. Its fearlessness, large mouth, and cleft chin indicate it may be this Species X, a “Lucayan.” They get a sample. On the last day, they hook a hammerhead for more measurement, tagging, and samples. Three months later, Portnoy tells them it’s not a unique species, just another Great Hammerhead. But 2 of the hammerhead are related, half siblings, with a 400-mile connection among the fish from Florida to the islands. The show concludes this shows there must be more international cooperation to save these amazing fish. An entertaining show with good sharks and good science.
TUESDAY 2024 SUMMARY — (of 5)
Some nice shark footage and good science tonight. Yes, we started with another “best shark” contest — something the network may demand, but not my favorite kind of shark shows. Then we followed up with two shows — 6000 LB Shark and Monster Hammerheads: Species X — with slightly misleading titles but good science, great pictures, and good conservation messages, too. A pair of five-shark (star) shows make Tuesday the best night so far, and gives it a nice average rounded up to five.
WEDNESDAY
GREAT WHITE NORTH — (of 5)
Underwater cinematographer Andy Casagrande travels to Nova Scotia, the east coast of Canada, to investigate recent sightings of Great White Sharks, a species rarely seen in the area before 2015. Since then, sightings have exploded. Dr. Greg Skomal (one of my fave shark scientists) explains that great whites on the Eastern Seaboard had been over exploited, but have rebounded with regulatory protections. The sharks from the rest of the coast may be migrating north to Nova Scotia’s prey-rich feeding grounds. Andy wants to help photograph, identify, and tag the animals to discover how big the population is. He and the team go to Cross Island and dive with white shark dive newcomer (fisherman) Allie Flower, trolling a creation called Franken-bait. They quickly attract a 10-foot female and then two more sharks, one of which bites through their communication cable. That ends the dive, but they have photos to compare with Skomal’s known sharks database.
Luring sharks close enough to the boat for tagging proves more difficult, but on day 2 they photograph 7 and tag 1. They move to the edge of a deepwater trench, “The Gutter” where Allie’s dad, Captain Bill Flower, has seen many maimed seals. At the end of 3 dives, they’ve IDed 14 sharks — one with a tag (and a pilot fish — usually a warm-water companion to sharks). It’s 62507, one of Skomal’s tags, but none of these is a full-grown adult. On the last day, they float a Zodiac boat into the chum slick, to isolate from the larger boats to try to get photos of a really big shark. It pays off with a 17’ female. When she leaves, a 13’ adult male moves in, momentarily threatening to capsize the boat. Then the female reappears on the little boat’s other side. Even without the music, this would be scary, but the photos are amazing.
After reviewing the evidence, the experts find that many are the New England sharks, and two of them travel all the way to Florida before heading back north again. Not surprising, given the cast, this is a great show with important new discoveries. All its thrills feel earned, too. Probably the best show so far in Shark Week 2024.
EXPEDITION UNKNOWN: SHARKS VS. NAZIS IN PARADISE — (of 5)
Joshua Gates travels to the Florida Keys and teams up with shark expert Dr. Tristan Guttridge to look for ships sunken during WWII whose cargo of fuel oil may threaten the eco system… and sharks. They’re looking for the Norlindo, but are diving on one of the other WWII wrecks, to search for clues. Dr. Corey Malcolm notes that Nazi submarines were far more dangerous than sharks back then, taking out 600 boats and 5-6000 people after the start of the Gulf of Mexico campaign. Diving on the first wreck, they see enough sharks circling that they posit that sharks could lead them to the Norlindo. The plan is to tag sharks with shark cams and use them to find the missing wreck. They stake out a shrimp boat, which is basically a gravy train for sharks. Catching a bull shark to tag looks like a scene from JAWS (balloons instead of barrels), and Josh makes non-stop quips from the movie.
They camera-tag a bull shark, and then head to an old radio tower platform to find some sharks away from shipwreck feeding zones to tag one with an acoustic tag. The tower’s pylons attract ocean life, including many sharks. They avoid a tiger shark and tag a bull (and maybe more), and when the tags later resurface, they pick them up. They locate a target the sharks circled, and head for it. They find a big wreck, but it’s a barge, not Norlindo. As happens often in exploration shows, they’ve found something exciting, but not what they’ve hoped for. Maybe in future, sharks will help find the Norlindo. Gates’ shows always focus on adventure, and this one has actual shark science, too. I’m biased in Gates’ favor, but this was great fun to watch!
ALIEN SHARKS: GHOSTS OF JAPAN — (of 5)
Biologist Forest Galante goes to Japan to try to find the critically endangered Japanese Angel Shark. At the start of the show, we see images of more kinds of different sharks than we’ve seen in the rest of Shark Week 2024 to this point, combined. And he starts the show with a red stingray and a Japanese hornshark and then a bottlenose guitarshark. For deeper waters, he teams with underwater camera expert Christine de Silva, a BRUV (baited camera) designer and operator. Forest will dive up to 100’; Christine will send BRUVs from 500-900’; fishermen working with them will cover up to 2000’ deep. Forest doesn’t like longline fishing, but hopes if they catch an angel shark, they will prove they need to be protected. They catch other sharks, which normally would be harvested, and instead they will study and return them to the sea. The 2 giant velvet dogfish they catch are both giving birth. Extraordinary! (They have a tank for them.)
Forest does a night dive, and finds a giant Japanese spider crab larger than he is (they can be 15’ long). He also spots a deep sea eel, and a Japanese swellshark, which is like a pufferfish, that is about to lay eggs. Amazing life in the bay just off of Mt. Fuji, but no angel sharks. Back with the fishermen, they land a kitefin shark. They pull up Christine’s BRUVs, and find a sleeper shark, a six-gill, and a super-rare frilled shark. Still without angels, he returns to diving, and finds many banded houndsharks, one of which nips him, because he’s blundered into a breeding ball. He finally consults a 90+ year old man who hunted the angel shark until they were declared off limits in 2007. The old fisherman gives Forest a location but says the fish will be very hard to find.
Forest goes there and uses an underwater “jet pack” to cover more ground while freediving. He spots something and calls the boat to don scuba. Forest then grabs the creature and a co-diver slaps a net on it. An angel at last! They tag and release it. A great show in a great series, as usual, highlighting more kinds of sharks and sea life than most of Shark Week put together.
WEDNESDAY 2024 SUMMARY — (of 5)
The best night of Shark Week 2024 so far. All three shows were excellent and highly watchable, Great White North, Expedition Unknown: Sharks vs. Nazis in Paradise, and Alien Sharks, Ghost of Japan with the last one being the most sharkey of them all. A Josh Gates show seldom lets you down, and the Alien Shark series has a good claim as the best Shark Week series running. I hope the rest of the week is as good as tonight!
THURSDAY
MONSTERS OF OZ — (of 5)
Something is killing Great White Sharks in Australia, and perhaps whales and orcas as well. Filmmakers Dave & Janine Riggs enlist Dr.Tristan Guttridge and BRUV (baited camera) expert Rosie Moore to help find whatever super predator can leave big scars on mature great whites and decapitate monster makos. The bite radius is 5’, suggesting a 30’ long predator. That could be a massive white shark (22’ largest known) or huge orca, but they suspect something has gotten bigger in the depths of Bremer Canyon. Possibly, fleeing such a thing may have caused a recent mass stranding of pilot whales. (All this sounds like a Meg movie premise!) So, they go BRUV fishing on the edge of the deep that they call “Predator Pass” — and cage diving, of course.
They find some white sharks, one of which has a similar predator bite scar, but keep looking for a whale carcass sighted in the area. Using a car-like sea sled of his own design, Dave and a companion settle onto the bottom, where a great white comes to (briefly) chew on their vehicle. They decide it’s too risky to use this device further in the deep. Rosie and Tristan talk to a fisherman, Travis, who has lost a 14’ mako to the predator. Tristan suspects a very large white shark took the mako off the line, decapitating it with 2 bites. They send BRUVs into the deep, and attract a juvenile giant squid (!) on the way down. At 3000’, they find the skeletal pieces of a beaked whale. Hearing a strange underwater noise in the area, possibly biological, (captured by NOAA) they decide to blast that audio over the whale graveyard and see what shows up. Tristan and Rosie will wait at the edge of the abyss.
There, they see a number of sharks and schools of baitfish, and when the sound switches on, everything scatters. They also record an unknown noise, but they don’t find their target. White sharks make no sounds, so the noise can’t be them, but nobody knows what it is. Some decent underwater photography here, but points off for no real conclusion and playing up the “scary” suspense. Tristan calls for more research to look into these mysteries. Dave suggests it’s something more unknown than a white shark. More sensationalist than scientific. If they’d found anything, I’d give more sharks/stars.
CAUGHT! WHEN SHARKS ATTACK — (of 5)
Last year was (allegedly) “the sharkiest on record.” A team of shark experts break down some of the “craziest” shark encounters recorded by amateurs, and tell us why they happen. Yes, only Thursday, and already it’s “stupid human tricks” time. There are too many videos to describe here, and they’re of varying qualities. Some are funny, some scary, and some show just how dangerous what the researchers do regularly on Shark Week is. And some are reality-show-shark-encounter gory and tough to watch. Something I didn’t know is that apparently sharks can push metal (hooks) out of their bodies, over time.
There is a brief science segment about catching a mako shark to tag it. And another tagging a juvenile great white off of California. That shark is then observed swimming near a number of beaches, and it’s theorized that by acclimating themselves to humans as juveniles, we’re less likely to become sharks’ prey. That’d be nice, if true. They end with some tips: Never turn your back on a shark. Don’t splash, don’t wear shiny things (fish are shiny), etc. But mostly, it’s just people filming their weird shark encounters. Not humor oriented and not bad, but science-light fare.
GREAT WHITE DANGER ZONE — (of 5)
PHD candidate Alison Towner and photographer Andy Casagrande along with Mark Addison are going to a new location that might be the last stronghold for the South African Great White Shark. They want to know why the sharks are in this new area where the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet. They mark a handful of spots to check out, and begin the usual chum and bait routines. Then they camera tag the ones they find, and Andy and Mark cage dive to the bottom to check out the scene and make some photo IDs. Alison thinks they spent a lot of time for not many sharks. Where are they really congregating? Her solutions, more BRUVs for an underwater “census” and more camera tags. The cameras prove there are a lot of sharks locally, but they’re still not sure why.
Mark and Andy do a night cage dive right after dusk, to see if they’ve located the center of shark activity. They use red light, which many fish are not evolved to see — but apparently, great whites are. They’re soon surrounded by sharks and have to bug out. A retrieved shark-cam shows the sharks POV as it breaches (though not its prey). Cool! Seemingly at the center of the action is Skip Skop Ridge. There, visibility is good, so Andy and Mark decide to dive without a cage (Crazy!) and discover lots of reef life, including yellowtail/kingfish, a prime shark prey. And there are plenty of sharks. So, they deploy more fin cams, and find the sharks often interact, and one even knocks the camera off another. This is a thriving ecosystem, and it seems they’ve found the new home of white sharks in South Africa. Good show. Points off for amping up some scares and playing up the mystery, when I felt like they knew where they were going all along.
THURSDAY 2024 SUMMARY — (of 5)
Starting out with a scary show with few results, and then going to a “stupid human tricks” show got Thursday 2024 off to a rough start, especially after a blockbuster Wednesday, the day before. The final show, Great White Danger Zone, pulls up the average but not above middling, and still a letdown after last night. Will Friday, ofter a good night, rebound or pander to the low-science thrills? Stay tuned.
FRIDAY
THE REAL SHARKANO — (of 5)
Conservationist (and shark attack survivor) Paul De Gelder and Dr. Alec Hughes (a local) leads a research team to the Solomon Islands to survey shark populations — eventually including even the area around an underwater volcano. Parts of these waters are largely unexplored, and no one knows what sharks are here. They dive near a Fish Aggregating Device (floating manmade reef) and find many silky sharks and some whitetips. There are fewer species than expected, though a lot of sharks are very agitated, possibly due to hunger from overfishing. After getting a blessing from a local shark priest, they investigate a reef. Overfishing has damaged the reef and killed many corals, but they lure in some silver-tip sharks.
They move to a more remote location in the islands, and find a much healthier reef system. But the sharks are scarce, and they’re not sure how the system is doing; not enough data. Now they head to the Kavachi Volcano, bubbling up from the ocean floor. The ongoing eruptions look amazing, but back the team off to a safer distance. The eruptions stir the sharks into a frenzy, making the survey increasingly dangerous. With more than 5 eruptions in the hour-long survey, and the current pulling them toward the volcano, they get out. But with the volcano and no humans, the ecosystem is pristine and thriving. Hopefully, their survey will lead the Solomon Islands to better protections for the nearby ocean and its denizens.
SHARKS OF THE DEAD ZONE — (of 5)
Dr. Tiara Moore and Dr. Craig O’Connell team up to check out local shark populations, including a possible bull shark pupping ground, the Indian River Lagoon, now polluted with fish-killing algae. They hope to find a pregnant bull and track it to where it gives birth. On the way, they see others, including lemon sharks. In a comedic-scientific moment, they stuff a manatee costume with rotting meat and use it as a lure. This lures bull sharks, but the trick will be tagging a pregnant one. They use an ultrasound wand, find one, and tag her. She heads to the toxic Indian River to give birth.
Looking for their shark, they find another pregnant bull heading there, too. They check out the toxicity of the river. They find a lot of foam, green water, and dead fish, take samples and move to another site, where Dr. Moore uses something that looks like a Ghost Busters pack to take E(environmental)DNA samples. They also go fishing, using a drone to drop the bait far out. Despite the toxicity, they catch a large Nurse shark. Dr. Moore suggests the sharks may be able to survive brief encounters with toxic areas and are fast enough to swim out and survive. They do some boat fishing and catch a juvenile bull and run tests. Its clasper has an irregularity, and the tests reveal the fertilizer pollution is made worse by human sewage (including pharmaceuticals). Bad news, but the bull sharks persist, and it’s not too late for us to clean up our act. They end with a dive to show Dr. Moore (not a shark ecologist) the sharks in their natural environment. Great show.
SHARK ATTACK ISLAND — (of 5)
12 Shark attacks, 7 fatal in just 5 years on Noumea, New Caledonia (a South Pacific archipelago, 730 miles east of Australia). Paul de Gelder, Dr. Reilly Elliott , and Kori Burkhardt have come to help the people and save the sharks, too. 40 shark species are here, including bull, tiger, and great whites. Our team splits up to investigate. Paul goes reef diving amid the amazing wildlife in the protected seas. He finds reef sharks, but no tigers or bulls; many were killed by islanders, but when the beaches reopened, the attacks began again. “Culling doesn’t work,” Paul concludes Reilly and Kori go to New Zealand, where the white sharks prowl, until migrating to New Caledonia, to study the suspects. The waters here are cold, and the team wants to see how the sharks behave in warmer water, which they’re generating with heir boat. The great whites move more slowly in the warm water than in the cold water just beneath. Reilly surmises that the warmth means they need to expend less energy, and are more relaxed and perhaps less aggressive. Maybe because of that, they’re not the best culprits.
In Noumea, the water is murky, Paul observes, and sharks might mistake humans for prey, but that doesn’t explain why they’re coming ashore here now, more than ever. Tristan wants to observe how whites attack a decoy turtle in the warmer water. Unlike a swift seal attack, the shark slowly circles its prey and leisurely takes a bite. This difference in behavior indicates to Reilly and Kori that the whites’ behavior doesn’t match the attacks. Back in New Caledonia, Kori and Paul use tag tracking data to go to a nearby bay and discover a tuna processing factory — a perfect shark attractant from the refuse. Though dumping the fish waste is no longer permitted, it may be too late to un-ring the dinner bell for this part of the island. Their food source taken away, sharks may be venturing to the nearby beaches to find new prey. This combined with rainy season sedimentation are likely making visibility even worse, and mistakes easy to make.
Still in New Zealand, Reilly sets up a test to determine whether bronze whaler sharks (relatives of bulls and tigers) will attack a non-food item in murky water that they won’t attack in clear water. This hypothesis seems to prove true, with some dramatic baited and non-baited camera tests. It seems the team’s theory is true, food provisioning nearby (now taken away) and murky water from rainfall and cruise ships seem likely to have increased the attacks. The people and authorities of New Caledonia need to figure out better ways to coexist with sharks. A surprisingly good outcome for a show with a scary title.
FRIDAY 2024 SUMMARY — (of 5)
After a disappointing Thursday, Friday 2024 was a strong turn around. Like Wednesday, every show was a winner. Looks like Saturday will be the final test for whether 2024 can match the excellent 2023. Watch along and see!
SATURDAY
SHARKTOPIA — (of 5)
The waters off Raja Ampat Island, Indonesia, are home to more than 200 species of sharks and rays. Now researchers Kina Skollay, Dr. Mark Erdmann, and conservationist Nescha Ichida ,hope to rescue the wild leopard shark population using eggs from aquariums in Australia. If they can locate a population, they can release the pups once the eggs hatch. They find interesting sharks along the way, including reef sharks, tasseled wobbegongs, black tips, and rare walking sharks, one of which is the largest ever found over 30”. When the leopard pups hatch,they are stripped and only develop spots as they mature. Thus their alternate name: zebra shark. The striping allows the babies to resemble deadly sea kraits (snakes), who nobody wants to mess with. The team also sees amazing manta rays and many other astounding sea creatures and sights.
Having failed to find leopard sharks in 3 locations, they move to a fourth, where there are bagans — fishing “lift boats.” Using drones to observe the fishing platforms from above, the team quickly finds and dives with a whale shark. And then another appears. Amazing! On a reef they see some silver tips, a spot-tail shark, oceanic black tips, and more. They don’t find any leopard sharks, but they do locate a suitable habitat, and bring back some prey items from the area to see if the babies will eat what’s there. The babies do, and thus the pups get a new home. Nescha is confident they will thrive. With an amazing variety of sharks and marine life, this show is one of the highlights of Shark Week 2024.
MOTHERSHARKER: HAMMER TIME — (of 5)
I thought this might be another clip comedy show, but — in a break from Saturday tradition — it’s actually a show about scalloped hammerhead sharks. Marine Biologist Beckah Campbell and Dr. James Sulikowski want to find and tag a pregnant female scalloped hammerhead, and track her to where she gives birth. They’re in Bimini, Bahamas, testing their new equipment, including a shark ultrasound. (Seen before in other shows.) They’ll test on easier-to-find great hammerheads before looking for their more elusive cousins. They find some hammers, but a tiger shark decides to get in on the feeding, too, making it harder to do the ultrasound, but eventually, they get it, proving their equipment and technique. They then go to an oil rig, which acts as an artificial reef, to see if they can find some scalloped hammers. Here, they hope to place a tag into a pregnant hammerhead’s womb, which will then be expelled during birth, locating the pupping ground.
Other sharks may be here, too, including makos, tigers, and bulls. They have enough time to search the rig from top to bottom before their air runs out. They find a silky shark, a sand tiger, but no hammers. They then search where one was sighted just 3 hours previous, but the water is murky, and bull sharks start to arrive in number. The steam returns to the surface as fast as they can without decompression sickness; they literally have to push the swarming sharks away. Still, no hammerheads. After 1000 miles of searching, they finally hook and land a 10.5’ scalloped hammerhead (aboard their boat), and luck is with them, as she’s pregnant. They place the tag in her womb and release her. Over 5 weeks she travels south and then makes toward shore in Charleston, South Carolina. They still have to find babies, to prove the tag was released during birth. And they find baby hammerheads in the less-habited shallows, and the baby sharks are the cutest things ever! Hopefully, this leads to better local shark conservation, as well as ending the week with a great show.
SATURDAY 2024 SUMMARY — (of 5)
Saturday is often the dumping place for the “funny human videos” and other lighter Shark Week fare. So, imagine my surprise when this 2024 Saturday turned in two excellent shows, Sharktopia and Monstersharker: Hammer Time. I guess you truly cannot judge a show by its title anymore! (They all get clickbait titles, regardless of the content.) Great way to end the 2024 season, though. Thanks, Shark Week and Discovery!
SHARK WEEK 2024 SUMMARY
John Cena had big shoes to follow after previous Shark Weeks had been hosted by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Jason “Aquaman” Momoa. And he did pretty good. I was skeptical, but I have no complaints. The schtick was similar, and he did it well. I also enjoyed that his host segments continued through Saturday, when often those bits end on Friday or even Thursday night. Yay for having a whole week hosted!
The shows varied in quality, as always, though maybe a little more than 2023, though I guess I’ll find out when I run the numbers below. Nights with the best programming were Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. The weakest was Thursday. Best shows of the week: Alien Sharks: Ghosts of Japan from Wednesday and Saturday’s Sharktopia — for their strong science and strong variety of sharks and wildlife.
All in all, I liked the 2024 schedule, though some events in our personal lives were distracting and maybe kept me from enjoying this particular week as much as I’ve enjoyed some in the past. But every Shark Week is worth watching. There were quite a few excellent shows, and none below 3 sharks/stars — which is good. But remember, last year had a phenomenal number of great shows, which is why 2023 Shark Week was a 5-shark (star) year.
And as I’ve discussed with my wife and a friend or two… It would be really nice if we could have a WHALE WEEK sometime in the future as well. Sharks aren’t the only fascinating sea creatures! Are you listening, Discovery?
So, here we go… I’ve done the final calculations and based on the average of the days across the week (and rounding to the nearest whole number — I don’t believe in half stars… or sharks). This is my official accept-no-rubber-seals summation…
2024 SHARK WEEK FINAL TOTAL — (of 5)
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