Barbara Walters Comforts Grieving Family with 'Jaws 2' Quote

What would be the proper response to the tragic story of a father killed by a great white shark? For "Good Morning America" guest host Barbara Walters, apparently, it was to quote from the trailer of the 1978 film "Jaws 2." Reporter Miguel Marquez recounted the story of Dave Martin, the San Diego man killed by a shark off of the California coast last Friday. He explained, "Dave Martin's family is defiant. They say the shark attack hasn't ended their love of the sea."

When the segment cut back to Walters, she observed, "But perhaps that family should remember that line 'Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water.'" Maybe journalists should be told that they don't need to have a pithy quote to end every segment. Perhaps viewers should be glad that she didn't choose other famous "Jaws" quotes, such as "This was no boat accident!" or "You're going to need a bigger boat."

(Of course, this is the woman who famously asked Katherine Hepburn what kind of tree she would like to be.) GMA viewers can look forward to seeing Barbara Walters for two more days as a guest host on "Good Morning America." In an earlier segment on Monday, she pestered DNC Chairman Howard Dean to end the Democratic primary race.

A partial transcript of the segment, which aired at 7:45am, follows:

MIGUEL MARQUEZ: The family of the man killed by a great white shark speak of their loss.

JEFF MARTIN (Victim's son): He died doing what he liked, surrounded by his friends in a place he loved. As a Christian family, we believe that our father is in heaven.

...

MARQUEZ: Authorities are now convinced the shark was a 15 to 16-foot great white. Bite marks on Dave Martin's legs gave investigators all the information they needed to know.

RALPH COLLIER (Shark researcher): Just as humans have fingerprints, in a sense, the fingerprints of sharks are their teeth.

MARQUEZ: Dave Martin's family is defiant. They say the shark attack hasn't ended their love of the sea.

MARTIN (to reporters): I went surfing yesterday. Does that help? I'm taking my boys out tomorrow.

MARQUEZ: A hard reminder of nature's power with summer just around the corner. For "Good Morning America," Miguel Marquez, ABC News with the Coast Guard, north of San Diego.

BARBARA WALTERS: But perhaps that family should remember that line "Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water."