Sharky’s Friends is a children’s game show with bite. Each day up to three players aged between 11 and 13 go head-to-“hammer”-head with Sharky, a quick witted, sharp tongued and occasionally cheeky shark. The game is mediated by Sharky’s best friend, Miranda Deakin, who knows how to handle Sharky – just.
Each player must compete with Sharky as they attempt to answer Miranda’s quirky questions in a hang-man style format to score points in the form of “Fish Cakes”. They may also be lucky enough to reach the “Smelly Telly” round, where both the player and Sharky have to smell something whilst blindfolded, and then guess what it is. Let’s just say, the smell is not always a bouquet of flowers.
The first to three fish cakes wins. Every player wins a prize, and if Sharky wins, his already overdeveloped ego goes into a feeding frenzy. Although, at times, Sharky even manages to astound Miranda with his sensitivity on how he handles everyday issues, such as being bullied by Bull-y sharks, aquatic environmental issues and waiting for the Tooth Fairy Penguin.
With jokes that stink as much as the “Fish Cakes”, Sharky’s Friends is aimed at 8-14 year old viewers, and screened on Channel Nine on weekdays and Saturdays. So ‘tuna’ in as each new player we meet becomes another of Sharky’s Friends.
