NEW-- Check out the new message boards, talk about survivorman!

One of my favorite times of the year has arrived! Shark Week on the discovery channel! For those of you that don’t know what shark week is… shark week is a week long special on the discovery channel that only shows episodes about sharks. And this year Les Stroud will have his own episode called “Surviving Skarks”.

The special will be about how to play it safe when encountering a shark in water. Les will be testing popular theories about shark encounters and will be traveling to to the Bahamas and South Africa… he’ll be seeing whether the behavior of Caribbean reef sharks and great whites changes depending upon the time of day. In South Africa Les will be analyzing the great white shark’s bite with marine biologist Jeremiah Sullivan. He’s also going to test whether kicking and splashing attracts sharks, and whether or not it’s safer to stay in a group or tread water alone if stranded in the ocean. Once again, it airs on Monday, July 28th, at 9pm.

Shark Week officially starts on Sunday, July 27th at 9pm with a brand new Mythbusters.

You can also see shots of Les with the sharks here.

I am looking for the ultimate fan of survival TV shows – Survivorman, Man vs Wild, Ray Mears: Extreme Survival, Survivor, Mantracker, Lost – basically anything survivor-themed. I work on a TV show called TV Made Me Do It. We’re trying to find someone who feels like they’ll be able to survive two days in the bush with no food, no water, no shelter, and no tools – with lessons learned from watching TV and a crash course in survival that we’ll put you through with the expert who taught Les Stroud his wilderness training. If you are interested please email Karyn MacEwen, Associate Producer: Karyn@propertelevision.com

I got an email today from a TV producer that is looking for people who are inspired by telivition. So inspired that they live the life of the reality TV people that they watch. So, if you go out and tape yourself, just like Survivorman. Then you might be able to get on TV yourself. Below is what they emailed me:

We invented TV, and now TV is reinventing us.

TV Made Me Do It is a new documentary series that explores how TV inspires the people who watch it.

As Bart Simpson once said, “It’s hard not to believe TV, it’s spent so much time raising us.” Like it or not (and we kinda do), no invention has come close to influencing us the way TV has. Television has inspired us to become would-be doctors, poker experts, pop divas, private eyes, forensic pathologists, and over-eager shoppers. It influences what our homes look like and what cars we drive. It can scare us into hiding or inspire us to take on our worst fears.

So what has TV made you do?

Has your love of home reno shows inspired you to gut your house? Do TV weather forecasts have you too afraid to leave the house? Has TV made you quit your job, leave your husband, change your identity, or discover your true sexual orientation?

All 13 half-hour episodes of TV Made Me Do It has a unique theme. These include: TV Made Me a Extreme Stunt Punk, TV Made Me a CSI, TV Made Me Come Out of the Closet, TV Made Me a Superhero, TV Made Me a Weather Junkie, TV Made Me a Survivalist, and TV Made Me a Bounty Hunter.

TV Made Me Do It profiles people just like you – but a little bit different. We’ll explore why they’ve done what they’ve done and give viewers a front row seat as they – chase tornadoes in South Dakota; hunt for bad guys on the mean streets of Sacramento California; are wheeled into an operating room for some TV inspired plastic surgery; win or lose at the Roller Derby championships in Austin Texas; or come out of the closet to their closest friend .

Using a fun blend of classic TV clips, first-person testimonials and expert commentary, TV Made Me Do It examines how TV has altered our world for good, bad, bold and beautiful.

TV Made Me Do It is produced by Proper Television for the CanWest MediaWorks’ TVTropolis network.

Format: 13 x ½ hour episodes – NTSC D-Beta

Target Audience: Youth and adult – ages 18 and up

Style: Pop Doc

Broadcast Partners: CanWest MediaWorks Inc.