Jumping the shark
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Jumping the shark is a slang term used by television critics since the 1990s. The phrase, popularized at the web site www.jumptheshark.com, is used to describe the moment when a long-running television show or similar episodic media is generally judged to have passed its "peak" and shows a noticeable decline in quality. A show in decline is said to have "jumped the shark" when it deploys certain maneuvers (see below) in an attempt to revive flagging audience share. These are usually gimmicks seen as odd and unneccesary, relative to the program's usual run.
The alternative - "quit while you're ahead" - was famously taken by the cast of Seinfeld; it is said that shows like this "never jumped". Another example is the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes ending at the height of its popularity.
The phrase specifically refers to a three-part episode of the American television series Happy Days during which the character Fonzie, wearing swim trunks (but, oddly enough, also his trademark leather jacket), jumps over a tank containing a shark while on water skis. This episode followed too closely after a very successful episode in which Fonzie jumped his motorcycle over several cars in a parking lot, and was the first time Fonzie was ever shown to have known anything about water skiing.
Many have noted the shark episode as the moment when they realized the show was no longer worth watching, and even before "jumping the shark" was employed as a popular culture term, the episode in question was many times cited as an example of what happens to otherwise high quality programs when they stay on the air too long.
The first uses of the phrase as a direct metaphor is reported to have been made popular starting from December 24, 1997 when the site was posted by Jon Hein. In print, it was in the Jerusalem Post newspaper article written by Jeff Abramowitz on May 29, 1998, entitled, "It's All Downhill". According to the jumptheshark.com Web site, the phrase was first coined by Hein's college roommate, Sean J. Connolly, in 1985.
Apparently, there is no term for the reverse situation of a moment that marks a television series starting to improve noticeably, although the phrase "reverse shark jumping" has been suggested. In addition, proponents of certain shows will sometimes assert that the show has "jumped back", in other words, that an apparent decline was merely a temporary slump.
List of common jump-the-shark moments
Note that series have recovered from all of the following, but that each upsets the chemistry of the show in some way, possibly irreparably.
- Same main character played by different actor.
- Same actor (usually a guest performer) plays a different character.
- Death of a main character.
- Any other kind of writing out of a main character. (Retirement, moving, etc.)
- The "remember when" show where the characters reminisce about the past with a collection of short clips from previous shows.
- Main character or cast member gives birth.
- Episode shown "live" if usually pre-taped.
- Show broadcast in color if previously shown in black-and-white.
- Child actors enter puberty.
- Non-musical cast members featured singing.
- Introduction of new characters to revive interest, particularly young, cute children.
- Main characters have sex, after a series-long run of sexual tension between them.
- Main characters marry after a tempestuous relationship.
- Main characters divorce after a tempestuous marriage.
- The "very special episode", in which a situation comedy or drama addresses a serious social issue in an awkward way. (Drug addiction, child abuse, racism, etc.)
- Change in the principal setting of the show, either permanently, or as the theme of an episode, e.g. going on a cruise, off to the country, and so forth.
- Special celebrity guest star.
- Use of a plot device which is regarded as a cliché, for example, a story involving the evil twin of a main character.
- Actor Ted McGinley appears on the show as a main character or recurring guest performer. The reasoning behind this category is that he has appeared on many shows that have failed, or the once-successful shows he started working on had since failed. The website claims he is the patron saint of shark jumping; he has been on very successful series, such as Hope and Faith and Married... with Children.
American Soap operas will often use several of these ploys repeatedly, yet, perhaps by their very nature, manage to maintain their loyal viewership.
Examples of shows said to have jumped the shark
- Bewitched, when Dick Sargent replaced Dick York as the actor playing main character Darrin Stevens.
- The Brady Bunch, with the introduction of new character Cousin Oliver.
- The Flintstones, with the introduction of new character The Great Gazoo.
- Moonlighting, when main characters David and Maddie have sex.
- Mad About You, when main character Jamie Buchman gave birth to her daughter Mabel.
- Married... with Children, when Seven comes to live with the Bundys.
- Roseanne, with actor Sarah Chalke replacing Lecy Goranson for the role of Becky Conner.
- The Simpsons, when Maude Flanders died (this is debatable, as there are many points where The Simpsons may or may not have jumped the shark)
- Life with Bonnie, when Bonnie's youngest daughter was dropped out
- Family Ties, when Andy was born
- Family Matters, when Judy Winslow went up to her room and never came back down
- Lois and Clark, when they marry
- Alvin and the Chipmunks, when the Chipettes are introduced.
- Scooby-Doo, when Scrappy-Doo is introduced.
- Battlestar Galactica, when the heroes find the Earth.
- The Cosby Show, with the introduction of the "new kid", Olivia, in season 6.
- Star Trek, the original series, with the infamous third-season episode "Spock's Brain."
- X-files, when Scully actually sees a real flying saucer without being under the influence of mushrooms or pills.
- Who Wants to be a Millionaire? (U.S version), when Meredith Viera replaces Regis Philbin as the host
- Dynasty The Moldavian Massacre
