Jumping the Shark

[:]

It's that one moment when a once-great show begins to slump towards total suckdom. Name a TV show, and that one moment that sealed its doom.

[#1 :]

I know that many will disagree but I thought that Buffy started to suck by the 4th season, the first 3 were great though.

[#2 :]

Buffy post season five. Coming back from the dead once, OK. A second time, no!

[#3 :]

"King of the Hill"--Bobby, dressed as a football team mascot, submits to a brutal beating by the entire opposing team in order to win his father's "love." Dad watches proudly from the stands, relieved that his social standing is restored by this tradition.

...less of a "jump," more of a snapping point.

[#4 :]

 

Originally posted by Torquemada:
Buffy post season five. Coming back from the dead once, OK. A second time, no!

I actually agree with you on this, Buffy may live, but she's dead to me.

Now to name a show. The Power Rangers. They jumped the shark the first time they changed the cast. EVERY single season they changed scenary, cast, and plots. I abhore them.

[#5 :]

Spy TV: Day one. I HATE THAT SHOW!!!!
Also, go to www.jumptheshark.com  for a whole list of shows you can vote on or just view other folks responses.

[#6 :]

I'm so baffled by this. Why would anyone EVER consider Power Rangers a decent show? Even the first cast. It's awful. Even on a goofy kiddy show level, it's awful. What aspect of the show appeals/appealed to you? I don't mean to belittle you, I seriously want to know why you would like the show. My head is spinning.

[#7 :]

The only two ethnic people, the asian chick and the black dude (yellow and black rangers) from the first season quit because they were underpaid. Just an interesting fact.

The old and new America's Funniest New Videos. People just don't like watching this stuff anymore.

[#8 :]

Wasn't the red ranger American Indian?

[#9 :]

Didn't the phrase "jumping the shark" come from when Fonzie literally jumped over a shark in Happy Days?

[#10 :]

 

Originally posted by FishyJoe:
I'm so baffled by this. Why would anyone EVER consider Power Rangers a decent show? Even the first cast. It's awful. Even on a goofy kiddy show level, it's awful. What aspect of the show appeals/appealed to you? I don't mean to belittle you, I seriously want to know why you would like the show. My head is spinning.

If you were talking to me, I NEVER liked Power Rangers.

[#11 :]

 

Originally posted by Just Chris:
Didn't the phrase "jumping the shark" come from when Fonzie literally jumped over a shark in Happy Days?

Yep.

[#12 :]

And that show actually sucked WAAAAAY before Fonzie jumped that damn shark too.

[#13 :]

sliders went straight downhill after the professor died.

[#14 :]

I think it went downhill right when Fox canceled it.

[#15 :]

Sliders sucked way before the Professor died. The whole third season was just unwatchable. I guess the first two seasons were kinda cheesy too, but they had a certain charm and some cool episode premises. But after that it just got really jaw-droppingly bad.

I didn't like the show enough to follow the behind-the-scenes-ness, so I don't know if they fired all the good writers, or if FOX fucked with the show, or if everyone just decided to suddenly start sucking or what. But man, what a terrible show.

[#16 :]

I'd have to say DS9 jumped the shark once Jadzi died.  Man, what a bummer.

And Power Rangers jumped the shark when the idea for the show was first discussed.

[#17 :]

The simpsons. When did it jumps the shark? I can't pinpoint an exact episode, but I'm sure a few of you have decided. Discuss.

[#18 :]

Sometime in season 11.  Right around where Maude died.

[#19 :]

why must all the decent shows writers find the need to be "original" by killing off a character!?!

[#20 :]

Actually, the actress who played Maude didn't want to anymore. Whomever replaced her got a lot of bad fan feedback, so the, eh, "writers" for "The Simpsons" eventually decided to whack the character, and then FOX eventually decided to turn it into a media "event."

 

[#21 :]

 

Originally posted by rach_the_tall:
The simpsons. When did it jumps the shark? I can't pinpoint an exact episode, but I'm sure a few of you have decided. Discuss.

This is a very contraversial topic, The first point of Homers stupidity can be pin pointed to the episode "Bart Carny" at the carnival, it's the scene with Chief Wiggum.

As for jumping the shark I would say it's very hard to place The Simpsons in that category because although in general the show has declined there are still stand out episodes which match the the golden years. Another thing to remember is that even a comparativly bad episode of The Sipmsons is better than most TV.

[#22 :]

 

Originally posted by Otis P Jivefunk:The Sipmsons is better than most TV.

Is that a rip off of The Simpsons?

[#23 :]

Check out M*A*S*H on that site... MASH was a damn good show, and its one of the ones that has the most votes for: Never Jumped. I liked the one with Tuttle (We all made up Tuttle, together!) and the practical jokes.

Also, I loved on War is the H-Word, with the robo-Hawkeye... When will the killing end? That reminds me of the ep where he went nuts and drove to the peace talks...

[#24 :]

The Simpsons didn't really "jump" the shark, they just slowly stepped off. I'd say the first big quality dip came a little ways into season 7, then it continued to slowly decline until maybe season 11, when it completed its metamorphosis into total crap.

[#25 :]

Was there ever a show that jumped backwards, i.e. got better with age? I'd pick "Cheers", which got better and better until it hit Season 10 or so.

[#26 :]

I don't know if you guys watch The Simpsons at all now, since most of you obviously think it "Jumped the Shark", but this season has been quite a marked improvment from season 11.

Though, I don't think it ever "jumped" personally.  It had about 1 bad year out of 12, I hardly think that qualifies it as crap.

[#27 :]

 

Originally posted by B.Frankendorfer:
I don't know if you guys watch The Simpsons at all now, since most of you obviously think it "Jumped the Shark", but this season has been quite a marked improvment from season 11.

I do still watch The Simpsons and will continue to do so until it ends, if I didn't then I couldn't post "fair" opinions and I would miss the stand out episodes. Even Season 11 had it's moments and the worst episdoes still have some good parts.

[#28 :]

 

Originally posted by Nixorbo:
Sometime in season 11.  Right around where Maude died.

That's what I said, but most of those jerks disagreed with me.

[#29 :]

I think the show really jumped when Marge said "I guess your not going to have an adventure this week." It's no longer a surprise anymore. I personally liked the eps. where Bob would try to kill Bart. Too bad those are over now. I could watch those eps. again and again. Bart proved he had some intelligence. Also Homer has gotten dumber over the years and I doubt even has a job anymore since he hasn't gone in for what? Two seasons I think. Anyway, those are signs it was jumping in my opinion.

[#30 :]

I admit that the "I guess you aren't going to have an adventure this week" line was lame.  I hate that kind of annoying exposition (a Mike Scully trademark), but I have high hopes for this season.

Watch "Half-Decent Proposal" (the episode where Artie Ziff comes back) from this season and tell me that it's not right up there with stuff from season 6.  I think Al Jean is taking the show in a very good direction it's just going to take a little bit of time to bring it back.

[#31 :]

It has been going down hill for a while but I think The Bill jumped the shark in a major way this week when we discovered that a new character getting involved with one of the two original characters is in fact the son she put up for adoption when she was young, it would be bad enough just introducing a long lost son, giving him an Oedipus complex is just ridiculous 

[#32 :]

 

Originally posted by Kryten:
Was there ever a show that jumped backwards, i.e. got better with age? I'd pick "Cheers", which got better and better until it hit Season 10 or so.

There are two JTS moments in Cheers.  The first was when Rebecca replaced Diane.  No disrespect to Kirstie Alley, but Rebecca was an awful character, whose arrival coincided with the show's characters generally becoming more cartoony.

The other point was when Sam got the bar back (end of Season 8).  After that the show kind of ran out of plot.

[#33 :]

Evangelion: After Asuka kissed Shinji, EVERYTHING went to hell.

[#34 :]

 

Originally posted by Pitt Clemens:
Evangelion: After Asuka kissed Shinji, EVERYTHING went to hell.

Literally.

[#35 :]

The Simpsons jumped with the dreadful "Bart Carny", with seasons 10-12 afterwards being complete crap.  That said, it started spearing the shark to death in season 13, and though it'll never be at, say, 2-4 level again it seems to have gotten generally good again.

Other then that I don't watch much so I can't pinpoint jumping points for many others.  Futurama, if anything, struggled with a shark in the first two seasons but killed it at the start of season three.  Daily Show and South Park (along with The Simpsons those are the only shows currently running new episodes that I watch) haven't jumped as far as I can tell, and if anything are better then ever at the moment.  Family Guy is another fairly recent show that never quite jumped, although season three was a decline and it seemed to be heading in JTS direction.

[#36 :]

Saturday Night Live: Wayne's World 2.

[#37 :]

 

Originally posted by DotheBartman:
Family Guy is another fairly recent show that never quite jumped, although season three was a decline and it seemed to be heading in JTS direction.

Huh. I thought Family Guy was starting to get pretty watchable around the third season.

I think a good point to judge "JTS" from is this: whenever a show starts to make a lot of self-referential jokes, it's a sign of writers trying too hard. Hence, end it.

[#38 :]

Well Saturday Night Live has slowly been going down hill ever since Will Farrell left and the Simpsons has jumped the shark right around season 11.

(sigh)

[#39 :]

 

Originally posted by evan:
I think a good point to judge "JTS" from is this: whenever a show starts to make a lot of self-referential jokes, it's a sign of writers trying too hard. Hence, end it.

That must mean "Moonlighting" jumped the shark at about the fourth episode.

Which it did.