Shark Week

Using their signature sci-tech style of explosive experimentation, the MythBusters hit the deep blue from California to the Bahamas to investigate myths about sharks. They are honing in on some doozies this year: Do dogs attract sharks? Do the vibrations caused by a flapping injured fish attract sharks? Does chili powder repel sharks? And hosts Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman create the ultimate SHARK WEEK build – a 16-foot-long robo-shark!

Survivorman's Les Stroud hosts this look at how best to play it safe in the water, while testing popular theories of how to survive shark encounters. Les travels to the Bahamas and South Africa to test whether the behavior of Caribbean reef sharks and great whites changes depending upon the time of day. While in South Africa, Les and marine biologist Jeremiah Sullivan conduct an analysis of the great white's bite, and test whether kicking and splashing attracts sharks, and if it's safer to stay in a group or tread water alone if stranded in the ocean.

Do shark encounters happen more frequently in the morning or night? This special chronicles six recent shark attacks that took place at different times of day. Top shark experts weigh in on what time of day is better or worse for avoiding sharks.

With over 400 species of sharks, they don't all live in the warm waters of the tropics -- some inhabit the freezing cold waters of the Arctic. And who better to introduce viewers to one our planet's most unsung sharks than DIRTY JOBS' Mike Rowe, who travels north to the edge of the Arctic Circle in search of the mysterious Greenland shark. These large sharks are slow-moving behemoths, and learning more about them will help scientists understand the rapid ecological changes affecting that part of the world, and how the Greenland shark impacts the food chain there. Mike assists shark scientists with their research as they tag and release a large male Greenland shark. By the end of the trip, Mike gains a deep appreciation for the men and women who are studying this elusive shark in one of the most extreme climates known to humankind.

Sharks may have a bad reputation, but you actually have a very slim chance of being attacked by one. A thrill-seeking team with a purpose -- escapologist Jonathan Goodwin, former lawyer turned Survivor: Cook Islands winner and adrenaline junkie Yul Kwon, marine biologist Jeremiah Sullivan and scientist Dr. Marty Jopson -- travel to the Bahamas to test shark attraction theories on lemon, tiger and Caribbean reef sharks, focusing on the sensory perception of sharks including colors, vibrations, smells and other attractors. In the process, viewers learn strategies for staying safe when in the water.

Australia's northeastern coast is a hotbed for shark activity. Its tropical seas are home to more species of sharks than anywhere else in the world. But there's trouble in the sharks' stronghold Down Under – even here the sharks are disappearing. What's happening to them? A special team made up of pioneering Australian marine biologist Richard Fitzpatrick; noted shark documentary filmmaker and host Mike deGruy; lead scientist for the Nature Conservancy M. Sanjayan, Ph.D.; and adventurer Celine Cousteau band together to find out, while undertaking the largest shark tagging expedition in Australian history. Their mission: to discover the cause of the mysterious decline in shark populations here, and find out if we can help the situation. To do so, the team deploys underwater animal cams and remote cameras to explore and record shark behavior and to gather new insight into the still largely secretive life of the ocean's ultimate predator.