'Smithsonian Channel: Shark Collection'
(DVD / NR / 2014 / Smithsonian Channel)
Overview: Sharks are universally feared, but also widely misunderstood and suddenly endangered. Marine biologists, shark experts, and conservationists are doing everything they can to reverse the tide of public opinion before it's too late, even if it means diving into infested waters, where sharks hold every advantage.
DVD Verdict: This highly interesting three-part series reveals so much about sharks it will make your head spin - and perhaps even look at them a little differently.
The series explores Great White Code Red, Shark Girl and Death Beach all in detail, and bring forth the knowledge that these universally feared creatures are sometimes very misunderstood also.
From Australia's Great Barrier Reef to the remote shores of Africa's East Coast to the operating room of a shark autopsy, we peer under the skin and into the mind of the ocean s perfect predator. In Great White Code Red, two scientists dissect a shark to reveal the hunting secrets that drive this fearsome animal to attack. An episode not for the squeamish, it's exploratory insight is amazing to behold.
Shark Girl is my personal favorite and follows 20 year-old activist Madison Stewart's mission to save the creatures she loves by changing people's minds about them. Stewart, who truly believes that nothing feels safer or more natural than diving straight into shark-infested waters, having grown up by the Great Barrier Reef, puts her studies on hold, grabs a camera, and sets out to save these incredible, misunderstood creatures.
The last one is the ominous sounding Death Beach which investigates an abnormal string of shark attacks off a South African coast. The remote coastline was once considered a surfer's best-kept secret, but now its regarded as Earth's most dangerous beach. Here, sharks don't simply attack; they kill. Gruesome attacks have claimed six lives in five years. Something has triggered bizarrely aggressive behavior in these predators, and biologist Matt Dicken is on a quest to find out why. This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs.
www.SmithsonianChannel.com