Get out of the water! Shark Week is about to strike

I am simultaneously infatuated with – and terrified of – sharks.
 

I have been for as long as I can remember.

I consider ‘Jaws’ one of the best movies ever made – and I also watch two of the sequels on a regular basis (even I can’t make excuses for ‘Jaws: The Revenge’). I love ‘Bait’ – and I even enjoyed ‘Sharknado’ a couple weeks ago.

I have a sterling silver shark necklace, shark teeth earrings and several T-shirts. I just ordered Great White shark slippers off of the Discovery Channel’s website when I was researching this week’s Shark Week offerings.

Yeah, I’m a geek.

I’m also terrified of sharks.

I refuse to go too far into the ocean. Heck, when I was in Hawaii when I was a teenager I

refused to go snorkeling because it was at a place called Shark Cove and I was convinced they named it that for a reason.

So, as you can guess, Shark Week really is right up my alley.

This is the 26^th year of the ratings bonanza event. As per usual, Discovery is unveiling a bevy of new shows.

Here’s what fans have to look forward to this year:

Shark After Dark: This is Discovery’s first ever late-night talk show featuring each days events. The show show begins at 11 p.m. on Aug. 4 and is hosted by comedian Josh Wolf (Chelsea Lately). The show will feature celebrity guests and a sneak peek at the next day’s events.

Air Jaws: Beyond the Breach: This debuts at 8 p.m. Aug. 4 and continues the quality ‘Air Jaws’ experience. In this installment, a documentary crew goes behind the scenes to see how ‘Air Jaws’ has changed what we know about sharks.

Megalodon: Monster Shark Lives: Premiering at 9 p.m. on Aug. 4, the show brings viewers on a

search for the Great White shark responsible for a rash of fatalities off the coast of South Africa. One controversial scientist believes that the shark responsible could be Megalodon, a 60-foot relative of the Great White that is one of the largest and most powerful predators in history.

Return of Jaws: Premiering at 9 p.m. Monday,  this program features the Shark Cam, a robot submarine that is used to track sharks in a new and exciting ways. This special includes footage of Shark Cam following Great White sharks living and hunting off the shores of Cape Cod, the setting for the first two ‘Jaws’ films.

Voodoo Shark: Premiering at 10 p.m. Monday, the program investigates Bull Shark populations that have moved beyond oceans and U.S. coasts to the bayous of Louisiana. Nicknamed ‘Voodoo Sharks’ by local shrimp fishermen, these Bull Sharks have the extraordinary ability to live in both salt and fresh water environments and they show up by the hundreds in the bayous of Louisiana.

I Escaped Jaws: Premiering at 9 p.m. Aug. 6, the show has real shark attack footage captured by eye-witnesses to examine harrowing first-hand accounts from everyday people who stared into the jaws of a shark and survived. These survivors used their wits and experience and all lived to share their chilling stories. Shannon Ainslie faced three Great White sharks throughout his lifetime, and Nicole Moore, a nurse, lost her arm in an attack while vacationing in Mexico and saved her own life by instructing those on the beach on how to treat her wounds. Australian Navy Diver Paul de Gelder relied on his experience as a diver to survive after a shark bit off both his arm and leg.

Spawn of Jaws: Premiering at 10 p.m. Aug. 6, this special follows a team of scientists on the brink

of a revolutionary breakthrough that for the first time will allow us to understand the mysterious life cycle of the Great White shark. Using state of the art tracking technology, they will search for the elusive Great White breeding grounds, in hopes to protect the area and re-populate their numbers.

Top 10 Sharkdown: Premiering Aug. 7 at 9 p.m., this special updates the international shark attack files for the 21st century and takes a close look at the sharks you don't want to meet this summer -- and the ones you're most likely to encounter. From the weird - the feisty cookie cutter, which bites cookie-shaped circles out of its prey; to the macabre, like the Sand Tiger, whose cannibalistic young devour each other in the womb, to the infamous – Great Whites, Tiger Sharks and Bull Sharks.

Great White Serial Killer: Premiering at 10 p.m. Aug. 7, natural history producer Jeff Kurr returns to Shark Week after 2011’s Emmy®-nominated ‘Ultimate Air Jaws’ and 2012’s ‘Air Jaws Apocalypse.’ Kurr sets out to examine two fatal shark attacks near Vandenberg Air Force base in California and uses evidence found at both sites to try to determine if one shark was responsible for both attacks.

Sharkpocalypse: Premiering at 9 p.m. Aug. 8, this show follows one of the most fatal years of shark encounters closely followed by the media and examines the alarming trend of sharks moving in closer to shorelines and debates whether there is a connection between declining shark populations and the increase in shark attacks.

Alien Sharks of the Deep: Premiering at 10 p.m. Aug. 8, this special follows American and Japanese

scientists as they descend into the deepest and darkest unexplored oceans on earth in search of some of the more incredible and bizarre sharks on the planet, from the Goblin shark to the elusive, giant Megamouth shark.

Great White Gauntlet: Premiering at 8 p.m. Aug. 9, the coast of South Australia is a place like no other. It is home to a Great White feeding ground that is one of the most dangerous places in the world. Known in local legend as the Great White Gauntlet, this deadly stretch of waters holds a prize bounty for divers: a rare sea snail called the abalone which is worth thousands on the international market. Abalone diving can be both lucrative and dangerous because it happens in one of the most deadly shark feeding grounds in the world where the Great White sharks prowl. This special takes a closer look at the real-life dangers these divers encounter every day.

What do you think? Are you excited for this year’s Shark Week offerings?