Megalodon Shark Week Fake? Discovery Channel Defends 'Dramatized' Documentary

Shark Week got off on the wrong foot this year when Discovery made a strange and controversial decision to kick off its weeklong sharkfest with a mockumentary in which the disclaimers flashed so quickly, it was unclear to some viewers as to what was happening. After the poorly-CGI'd program on the prehistoric megashark Megalodon aired -- the show itself intending to answer the question if Megalodon still swims on earth today -- viewers and even prominent science fictions stars took to Twitter and the Discovery Channel's Facebook page demanding an apology for what was interpreted as deceiving the audience, Inquisitr reported.

"Someone made a deliberate choice to present a work of fiction that is more suited for the SyFy channel as a truthful and factual documentary," Wil Wheaton, who played Wesley Crusher on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," wrote on his personal blog. "That is disgusting, and whoever made that decision should be ashamed."

Discovery has finally responded to the claims, defending its decision as fun way to get viewers thinking before the start of the beloved week of shark attacks, facts and new discoveries.

"With a whole week of Shark Week programming ahead of us, we wanted to explore the possibilities of Megalodon," Michael Sorenson, executive producer of Shark Week, told FOX411 in a statement. "It's one of the most debated shark discussions of all time, can Megalodon exist today? It's Ultimate Shark Week fantasy. The stories have been out there for years and with 95 percent of the ocean unexplored, who really knows?"

Discovery said the program, entitled "Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives" will re-air Aug. 11 at 10 a.m. on the Discovery Channel.