"Jumped The Shark"

[captain_slinky]

Recently I have had to explain what "Jumped The Shark" means to people both younger and older than I. It seems that the term "Jumped The Shark" is not as universally known as I once thought it was. And with good reason I guess...

Back in the 1970's and early 1980's, there was a sit-com called "Happy Days". It started in 1974 as a nostalgic look back at a simpler time in American history, the 1950's. It was centered around a wholesome teenager named Richie Cunningham, his family and his friends.

By the end of its 10-year run in 1984, it had morphed in to a show about a mystical Guru in a leather jacket with magical powers, set in a strange alternate-universe Disco version of the 1960's.

How did this happen?

It is generally accepted that this drastic change of direction can be traced back to the 3-part "Hawaii" episode of Happy Days when Richie Cunningham's James Dean-esque friend, "Fonzie", jumped over a shark on water skis, wearing swimming trunks and his trademark leather jacket. It was all down hill from there.

Since it was so easy to trace when this drastic change occurred, people started looking for the moment when other shows "Jumped The Shark". And sure enough, EVERY SHOW has a "Jumped The Shark" moment where everything changed and the show started going down hill.

Ross and Rachael slept together. The Brady's vacation in Hawaii. Puberty hits Punky Brewster. The Ropers move away and Mr. Furley moves in. Barney Fife gets a job with the FBI. Ted McGinley joins the cast.

As a general rule, "Jumping The Shark" can be separated in to 6 categories:

• Child Star Hits Adolescence
• Main characters finally have sex/get married
• A Baby
• Exotic Location "Vacation" episode
• New Cast Member
• Death/Departure of a main character

There are of course exceptions to these rules, but this is The Big 6. Think of whatever show you used to love, think about when it started going down hill and you'll most likely be able to find one of those 6 categories.

This has been a public service announcement. Thank you for reading :)

Comments

[pie-is-good.livejournal.com]

Found this post via thesovereignty and while I already knew what shark jumping was...I'm curious when you think Ross and Rachel sleeping together was jumping the shark. Are you talking about in S8 when we learned they slept together again, or when they first did in S2?

[captain-slinky.livejournal.com]

I'd say that it was the first time they slept together... it was a slow jump that they recovered from several times over the course of the show, but I think that's where it can generally be tracked back to.

[pie-is-good.livejournal.com]

Interesting, I never have heard anyone pick that early in the show as the shark-jumping point!

[zachary-cole.livejournal.com]

I love deciding what exactly the Jump the Shark and Chuck Cunningham moments were for my favorite shows. To wit, The "West Wing":

Chuck Cunningham moment: Mandy Hampton, a major player within the White House who had a romantic past with one of the main characters, disappeared at the end of the first season (just before an assasination attempt, no less!) and was never seen or mentioned again.

Jump the Shark moment: Episode 5.16, when the First Lady and the Press Secretary hung out with Muppets.

(Note: Many will argue that the show's quality began to dip drastically at the beginning of the fifth season, the first without creator Aaron Sorkin. This is true, but the Muppet episode was so outrageously off that it stretched the reality of the show.)

[greenpear.livejournal.com]

It's just a damn shame that the guy who had the "Jump the Shark" web site sold out to TV Guide. The entirety of all the information was dumped and they went with such a pale shadow of the brillance of what once was.

[ellison.livejournal.com]

And it was Jon Hein, as all Howard Stern Show fans will attest, who coined the phrase. Yay Jon Hein!