Spoilers forward for Shark Week‘s “Stomach of the Beast” TV particular.
Shark Week has formally kicked off within the 2023 TV schedule, and the seven days of aquatic motion could not have gotten off to a extra thrilling begin than with “Stomach of the Beast: Feeding Frenzy.” The particular despatched Dr. Austin Gallagher down right into a whale decoy whereas his group used (and gathered) knowledge in regards to the conduct of nice white sharks off South Africa. The finale sequence was so harrowing that it felt proper out of a blockbuster film. Dr. Gallagher spoke with CinemaBlend in regards to the particular and the finale sequence!
After beforehand breaking down the specter of orca “serial killers” to the nice white inhabitants within the waters off South Africa, Dr. Austin Gallagher shared his firsthand expertise within the whale decoy in addition to the completed product. After I famous that the finale felt like a movie and requested if he was conscious of what was occurring on the time, he defined:
That is a cool query, Laura. So, the reply is sure, however you will have your personal little lane, your personal little observe. Since you’re precisely proper. That entire act performs out identical to a film. It is all actual. It is all actual motion. You have got me within the decoy. You have got two boats with movie crews, with chum, with scientists. You have got the underwater specialists, the protection divers, all these people have their very own perspective on what’s occurring. Then you will have the underwater filmmaker, you will have the drone within the sky, you will have all these items that come collectively, and it actually is that this film set form of expertise.
Regardless that the large nice white shark attacking the whale decoy and the entire surprising issues felt straight out of a film, they definitely weren’t scripted! The encounter with the shark luckily got here to a really joyful ending with the scientists in a position to tag the creature, and that is not how a shark film typically ends. Dr. Gallagher continued:
After which the shark turns into the actor on set, so there’s only a few situations the place the shark – the shark at all times needs to be the star of the present, by the best way – however the place it takes the reins as being like one of many actors that is driving the complete scene ahead from a inventive standpoint. And that is precisely what occurred with this huge shark that we named Ray.
Movies like Jaws (which resulted in a decimation of the shark inhabitants that Steven Spielberg has stated he regrets) and Jason Statham’s The Meg might heart on sharks, however the heroes are the people who survive. Whereas the nice white of “Stomach of the Beast: Feeding Frenzy” definitely posed an enormous menace if one thing had gone fallacious on a catastrophic scale, the encounter was a scientific success.
After all, the shark fairly actually took the reins at one level and started to tug the vessels by means of the water. Dr. Gallagher shared his ideas on what was occurring whereas he was within the stomach of the decoy whale:
I really did not know that was occurring as a result of I used to be inside Earl and I used to be on the floor, however I did not know that the shark was pulling it. It is simply insane. I imply, it was actually like a film.
Making an attempt Earl the whale decoy within the waters off South Africa was clearly a profitable experiment, even when the ultimate tagging of Ray the shark went in some “insane” instructions that the scientists could not have seen coming! All in all, I can see why “Stomach of the Beast: Feeding Frenzy” was chosen because the particular that may begin out Shark Week this yr.
That is additionally a particular yr for Shark Week, and never simply because Aquaman star Jason Momoa is host. Shark Week celebrates its thirty fifth yr on tv in 2023, and the film-quality finale of “Stomach of the Beast” proves simply how far the occasion has come since 1988! This particular additionally confirmed how orcas proceed to be an enormous menace to nice whites, which Shark Week first explored in-depth – no pun meant – in 2022, with some gory footage of killer whales and nice white sharks and challenges to the fan-favorite Air Jaws particular.
Shark Week 2023 has solely simply begun, and Evening 2 of the shark-filled extravaganza on July 24 will ship “Nice White Struggle Membership” at 8 p.m. ET, “Monster of the Bermuda Triangle” at 9 p.m., and “Alien Sharks: Unusual New Worlds” at 10 p.m. on Discovery. The specials will even be obtainable streaming with a Max subscription.
