jump the shark

jump the shark
v.
In a television show, to include an over-the-top scene or plot twist that is indicative either of an irreversible decline in the show's quality or of a desperate bid to stem the show's declining ratings. Also: JTS.
— jump-the-shark adj.
— jumping the shark pp.
Example Citations:
On the day of its final episode, we ponder: Just when did "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" jump the shark?
A. When bad-boy lover vampire Angel left for his own series.
B. When sidekick Willow discovered she was a lesbian.
C. When Buffy got a kid sister.
D. When the show moved to UPN.
Maybe each of those was a nail in the coffin, along with the musical episode and Buffy having sex with former vampire nemesis Spike.
— Walt Belcher, "Fangs for the memories," Tampa Tribune, May 20, 2003
The phrase "jump the shark" has enjoyed such a vogue in recent months, I'm surprised it didn't turn up on the list of overused words and expressions put out by Lake Superior State University this month.
Yet, your friendly neighborhood TV critic feels compelled to point out that one of the reasons the term is used so much is it's just so useful. Coined by Jon Hein at the University of Michigan back in the '80s, it refers to the moment when something — particularly a TV series — peaks and begins to go downhill into self-parody and decay. It originally referred to the "Happy Days" episode in which Fonzie literally tried to jump a shark in a daredevil water-skiing stunt.
Me, I think "Happy Days" jumped the shark a lot earlier than that — like when Richie's older brother, Chuck, conveniently disappeared after the first season — but "lose the brother" would be even more difficult to explain than "jump the shark."
Anyway, it's obvious to see why the phrase is such a natural for critics. And the concept of if or when a certain series jumped the shark is such a natural source of debate, it has produced a cottage industry for Hein in the form of a trademarked Web site and now a companion book, "Jump the Shark: When Good Things Go Bad." (My favorite notation on the site is the Chicago viewer who suggested "Bozo's Circus" jumped the shark when Sandy the Tramp left to produce "The Banana Splits.")
So, it being a new year and all, now seems a good time to review the current prime-time programs and which have jumped the shark and when. The official jumptheshark.com: http://www.jumptheshark.com/ Web site helps out with handy categories, such as "I Do" (see weddings, as on "I Dream of Jeannie"), "Exit ... Stage Left" (departures, like Suzanne Somers leaving "Three's Company"), "Same Character, Different Actor" (Dick Sargent replacing Dick York on "Bewitched") and "A Very Special..." as in "A very special 'Blossom'."
— Ted Cox, "Jumping the shark," Chicago Daily Herald, January 23, 2003
Earliest Citation:
There is a flip side to this, of course, at least in television, namely a moment when you realize that the series is going downhill, the standard has been lost and convention has taken over. It's called to "jump the shark".
— Jeff Abramowitz, "It's all down hill," Jerusalem Post, May 29, 1998
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  • Jump the shark — (zu deutsch: Über den Hai springen) ist ein Begriff aus den US Medien, der den Zeitpunkt beschreibt, an dem eine Fernsehserie ihren Höhepunkt überschritten hat und das Publikum langsam das Interesse an ihr verliert. Der Begriff wurde durch die… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • jump the shark — Said of a salient point in a television show or other activity at which the popularity thereof begins to wane: The Flintstones jumped the shark when a man from outer space came to visit them. The expression derives from an episode of the… …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • Jump the Shark — Infobox Television episode | Title = Jump the Shark Caption = Series = The X Files/The Lone Gunmen (TV Series) Season = 9/1 (The Lone Gunmen) Episode = 15/14 (The Lone Gunmen) Airdate = April 21, 2002 (FOX) Production = 9x15 Guests = Michael… …   Wikipedia

  • jump the shark — the moment when a TV show begins to decline, is desperate for ratings or goes over the top; and, by extension, anything else such as relationships. Based on an episode of Happy Days when a character (Fonzie) literally tried to jump a shark on… …   Dictionary of ichthyology

  • jump\ the\ shark — The precise moment when you know a tv show, rock band, or actor has gone downhill. The Brady Bunch jumped the shark the day Cousin Oliver joined the cast …   Dictionary of american slang

  • jump\ the\ shark — The precise moment when you know a tv show, rock band, or actor has gone downhill. The Brady Bunch jumped the shark the day Cousin Oliver joined the cast …   Dictionary of american slang

  • jump the shark — verb To undergo a storyline development which is so exceptional that all content following is disappointing. <!: Happy Days jumped the shark when Fonzie jumped over a shark on waterskis. its not possible to use the origin of an idiom as an… …   Wiktionary

  • jump the shark — [ jəmp T͟Hə shärk] v. phr. informal pass the peak of creativity, excellence, or inspiration, as evidenced by a decline in quality or performance He s like The Simpson s. He s never jumped the shark Origin: with allusion to an episode in 1977 of… …   Useful english dictionary

  • jump the shark — include an excessive scene or a variation of the plot pointing out that the long running television show has been determined as declining …   English contemporary dictionary

  • jump the couch — v. To exhibit frenzied or aberrant behaviour that makes it appear as though one is completely out of control or even insane. jumping the couch pp. Example Citations: W. has jumped the couch. ... The former stateside National Guardsman who was… …   New words

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