Is The Discovery Channel’s Shark Week Documentary ‘Megalodon’ For Real?

You may have been sucked in by The Discovery Channel's 'Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives,' a documentary style film that served as the kickoff event to Shark Week 2013. While it was moderately entertaining, we were left wondering if the film was based on a true story. The answer is...

Nope. My suspicions were initially fueled by the all too sleek production value of the "documentary." Plus, the main character/shark hunter guy was way too comfortable on camera. Another moment that made me say, "Wait a minute" came in the show's final seconds when a series of disclaimers (one of which you can see above) flashed on and off the screen rather quickly.

"None of the institutions or agencies that appear in the film are affiliated with it in any way, nor have approved its contents. Though certain events and characters in this film have been dramatized, sightings of "Submarine" continue to this day. Megalodon was a real shark. Legends of giant sharks persist all over the world. There is still debate about what they might be."

Basically, they're telling you that this is all bulls--- in the most passive, roundabout way possible. Gawker has an interesting analysis of some of the events portrayed in the "documentary," and the complete lack of news coverage on any of those rather newsworthy events. Had a mega-dinosaur-shark been chomping through whales and fishing vessels earlier this year, we probably would've heard about it. Also, in the 'Shark After Dark Live' talk show that aired after 'Megalodon,' one of the stars of the movie was asked to describe the creature in one word. He said "not real," which is technically two words, but proves our point.

It may have been an entertaining way to waste an hour, but, ultimately, 'Megalodon' is bound to devastate those already burned by another recent fake shark doc named 'Sharknado.'