By Chris Cosci

More wild animals than Survivor. More interesting than Big Brother. More exotic locations than Temptation Island.

What could it be? Another tedious, half-baked, so-called reality show? No. It's the Discovery Channel.

While people are starting to see the benefits of reality television over the stale shows the network continually throw at us, it's unfortunate that most people are missing out on the real reality television. Forget the bickering contestants who overact in front of the camera in a desperate plea for attention and ratings while trying to win money. That is not reality.

You want reality? Listen to the guy who had his arm torn off by a bull shark. Pay attention to the guy who had his heel bitten off by an alligator. Watch the man who has been bitten by snakes over a hundred times. These are real people. And more importantly, these are interesting people.

Last night, I watched a clip where a man's hand slipped into a shark's mouth. The shark's teeth barely brushed this man, yet they were so sharp that they cut straight to the bone. The cuts required nineteen stitches. The whole scene was more intense than an entire hour of any other reality show.

What makes these shows entertaining - particularly the shows on animals and nature - are the people who host them. Most of these shows are hosted by well-educated biologists, scientists, or wildlife photographers who have such an intense appreciation for their work that they're willing to do anything to get closer to the animals and learn more about them.

Sometimes, you watch these people and think to yourself, "what on Earth are they thinking?" For example, on a recent show, scientists studying great white sharks came across a dead whale washing up along the shore. They came up with an idea. They towed the carcass to a spot where sharks were known to inhabit. This was a veritable feast for the sharks, who ravenously attacked the whale.

Interesting was hearing the scientists talk about how the underwater cameras show the behaviors of the sharks during this feeding. They talk about the shark's eating habits and their intelligence in setting up an eating order for the numerous sharks in the area.

Fascinating was watching the photographer who felt that he could really get the best and closest pictures of the feeding by getting on top of the whale carcass.

That's right. While four or five very hungry sharks were feeding on the whale, this photographer got off of the boat and climbed onto the slippery surface - just so he can get some good footage. While he was on the whale, he was making comments like, "it's slipperier than I thought." On top of being slippery, the whale was moving with the motions of the water while occasionally being jerked by the sharks hitting into it.

Think about what was probably going through that man's mind. For him, the slightest wrong move could have caused him to fall into the water where he most certainly would have attracted the attention of the feeding sharks. That's suspenseful.

In addition to being entertaining, these shows can be highly educational, which is much more than can be said of any network show - scripted or not. Honestly, when summer is over, I may turn away from my usual shows in favor of the Discovery Channel.

If you're interested, Discovery Channel is having their annual Shark Week with shark related shows all week. Next week, they're having their "Best of Discovery Channel" week which will include specials on anacondas, dinosaurs, storms, and the Titanic. Tune in - you just might learn something. For example, you might learn that there's something better on television that what you're watching now.