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Jumping the shark

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Jumping the shark is a metaphor used by US television critics and fans since the 1990s. The phrase, popularized by Jon Hein on his website, jumptheshark.com, is used to describe the moment when a pop culture icon, originally a TV show or similar episodic medium, is in retrospect judged to have passed its "peak" and shows a noticeable decline in quality, or when it has undergone too many changes that take away the original charm and interest.

The infamous moment where Fonzie jumps over a shark while on water skis.

In TV, "jump the shark" moments follow a noticeable change in the show, such as a main cast member leaving or a change in setting, which are subsequently quoted as the marker point signifying when the show's decline started. Frequently "jump the shark" is used to describe a series that has undergone drastic changes as a result of a ratings decline that has already occurred, especially when the changes do little to halt or reverse this decline.

The term is also used to describe other areas of pop culture, such as music and celebrities, for whom a drastic change was the beginning of the end. These changes are often attributed to desperate attempts to keep attention, often by making over-the-top statements, or more overt appeals to sex or violence (see Circling the Drain). It is sometimes used as an accusation that a particular statement or action is over-the-top, and that the public will turn against a particular celebrity or commentator as a result.

Origin

The phrase refers to a scene in a three-part episode of the American TV series Happy Days first broadcast on September 20, 1977. In the "Hollywood" episode, Fonzie (wearing swim trunks and his trademark leather jacket) jumps over a shark while water skiing.

Many have noted the shark episode as the moment when they realized the show was no longer worth watching, when it became impossible to maintain a certain suspension of disbelief as this scene was considered unrealistic and of poor quality. Even before "jumping the shark" was employed as a pop culture term, the episode in question was many times cited as an example of what happens to otherwise high-quality shows when they stay on the air too long and lose their interest. Producer Garry Marshall later admitted that he knew the show had lost something as the crew prepared to shoot the scene, but he defiantly pointed out in the reunion special that aired in February 3, 2005, that Happy Days went on to produce approximately 100 more episodes after the shark jump episode. During the same special, in response to an audience member question, Marshall introduced the notorious clip, and noted how the show had inspired the term.

The first use of the phrase as a direct metaphor is reported to have been on December 24, 1997, when the jumptheshark.com website was launched by Jon Hein. According to the site, the phrase was first coined by Hein's college roommate, Sean J. Connolly, in 1985. In print, the term first appeared in the Jerusalem Post newspaper article "It's All Downhill" written by Jeff Abramowitz on May 29, 1998.

More recently, the phrase has been used outside the realm of popular culture, representing anything that has reached its peak and has turned mediocre. For example, if you think a stock or a sports team has reached its peak, you can say that it has "jumped the shark."

Jumping the Shark in Episodic Media

Archetypal jump-the-shark moments

A "jumping the shark" moment is usually specific to what makes a series popular, or to a show's original premise. Common scenes or situations listed below only qualify as shark jumping moments when they cross a line that in retrospect can be cited as a sign of the show's decline; series have recovered from just about everything listed below, but the following usually upset the chemistry of the show in some significant way.

Just because a moment appears on this list, it does not follow that the series it appears in has necessarily jumped the shark—each series is different, and a lot depends on the execution. Also relevant are differences in viewer tastes—what may constitute a shark jumping moment to one viewer will not necessarily be seen the same way by another. Sometimes an episode considered jumping the shark followed by a string of adequate or very good episodes may be overlooked as a simple writing slump.

Soap operas will often use several of these ploys repeatedly, yet (perhaps by their very nature) manage to maintain their loyal viewers.

Typical moments may include (but are not limited to) the following:

Format

  • Premise
    • When the key premise of the series is altered.
      • The shift of Happy Days from standard family-show plots to wacky stunts.
      • When a key premise of the show is altered, but the producers of the series write the situation so the characters are obliged to interact with one another like before (e.g., Allie marrying Bob on Kate & Allie, only to have him leave on business most of the time; as a result, Kate moved in to keep Allie company).
    • A supporting character (or group of characters) plays a disproportionately large role in the series, e.g.:
    • A show's genre is altered, as when a sitcom starts using sci fi-like plot devices such as time travel, cloning, virtual reality and alien invasion (e.g., the transformation machine used in Family Matters to change Steve Urkel into Stefan Urquelle), or when the alien Great Gazoo was introduced into The Flintstones.
    • Changing the format of the series' episodes. For example, Star Trek: Enterprise began featuring two-three episode story arcs during its final season.
  • Setting
    • Change in the principal setting of the show, either permanently or as the theme of a series of episodes (e.g., on The Drew Carey Show when Drew changes jobs and is inexplicably accompanied by his hated assistant Mimi and boss Mr. Wick).
    • Loss of a key prop or ___location (usually due to fire, but not always explained).
    • When the show is in an academic setting, the main characters graduate and the setting changes from high school to a university (e.g., in the series Boy Meets World, Cory and his friends all go on to the same college, while at the same time trying to maintain the same relationships with family and friends).
  • Individual episodes
    • A specific episode that irreparably strains the credibility or premise of the series or one of its main characters.
    • The "clip show" or retrospective, where the characters reminisce about the past with a collection of short clips from previous episodes.
    • Main character or cast member gives birth, e.g., Murphy Brown.
    • Non-musical cast members featured singing, dancing, etc.
    • Main characters have sex, after an extended period of sexual tension between them, e.g., Moonlighting.
    • Main characters marry after a tempestuous courtship, e.g., Who's the Boss?
    • Main characters divorce after a tempestuous marriage.
      • Related: the sudden divorce. That is, after the couple's marriage had shown absolutely no previous signs of being in trouble and the couple decides to untie the knot after a series of "minor" conflicts, e.g., on Married... with Children Steven Rhoades leaves his wife Marcy to become a park ranger. This should not be confused with the marriage that suddenly dissolves after the discovery of an affair or revelation of other marriage-destroying secret.
    • The "very special episode," in which a sitcom or drama addresses a serious social issue in an awkward way (such as drug addiction, child abuse or racism). The sitcom Blossom used this device from the beginning, but grew troublesome due to a disconnect between the actual episodes and how the network promoted them.
    • The crossover episode with other series e.g., ER and Third Watch, The Golden Girls and Empty Nest.
    • Use of a plot device which is regarded as a cliché, such as a story involving the evil twin of a main character; e.g., on Knight Rider, KITT's meeting his bad-minded brother KARR.
    • A cliffhanger season finale with a disappointing resolution (e.g., the "shower scene" on Dallas, when Patrick Duffy returned to the series after sitting out the entire 1985-1986 season).
    • Poor use of retcon, such as the "shower scene" involving Duffy's return to Dallas.
    • Sitcom characters start becoming involved on a daily basis with cloak and dagger situations (e.g., a character being accidentally recruited in a counterintelligence service, spying agency, or organized crime task force, or is simply found to be a dead ringer for an influential politician or monarch, usually from a non-existent country, often a European country, created for the episode).

Actors

  • Guest stars
    • A special guest star makes an appearance, which often involves someone playing himself or herself or a guest character, usually in one episode. Sometimes, this can include someone (such as a politician or radio commentator) who doesn't normally do TV or even act (e.g. Boy George appearing in episode #4.16 of The A-Team).
    • Series begin to have guest stars on an extremely frequent basis, often more than one per episode (e.g. The Simpsons); conversely, they feature guests that are wildly inappropiate for the target demographic, such as having the Violent Femmes appear on Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
  • Ted McGinley
Ted McGinley has been dubbed the "patron saint" of shark jumping by Jon Hein because of the number of series which jumped the shark after he joined the cast. This is perhaps the most controversial of the shark jumping categories since several of McGinley's shows continued for many more seasons after he joined the cast, most notably Married... with Children (although the addition of Seven may also be considered the jumping the shark moment) and Happy Days (which had already had the shark jumping episode by the time he joined). Though McGinley himself is not regarded as responsible for the show jumping the shark, he is notable because he frequently served as a replacement actor (itself a jump the shark category) on several successful shows, joining late in their runs and continuing with the series as it went into decline.

Characters

  • Main characters
    • When a major character is written out of the show (usually when a cast member departs, is fired or dies) and is replaced by an essentially similar character or role (example, when Kate was replaced by Kellie on The Drew Carey Show, or Vance and Coy replace Bo and Luke on The Dukes of Hazzard).
      • Explained departures usually include the character's death or when he or she takes a job or enrolls in college, etc. in a distant city and will never return, such as the case with Steve on Blue's Clues. The best example of this is what happened to the Wiseguy late night TV series, when the main actor departed, and they attempted to move to late prime time with a new Wiseguy. The series' reputation for complicated plots and meticulous writing could not save it from the departure of the original actor.
      • Unexplained departures, à la Chuck Cunningham in Happy Days or Judy in Family Matters.
    • Introduction of new characters to revive interest, often during a show's waning years. This was particularly notable in the last season of Forever Knight and other 80s-style shows with episodic stagnant plotlines. This plot device has been lampooned in several episodes of The Simpsons (most notably, the episode "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show"). Examples include:
      • Young, cute children clearly intended to replace child stars who have reached (or are nearing) adulthood (e.g., Raven-Symoné added as the Huxtable's step-grandaughter in The Cosby Show); this is sometimes called Cousin Oliver Syndrome (after The Brady Bunch, in which Robbie Rist was added to replace the aged Bobby and Cindy).
      • Superfluous, clichéd characters who do little more than bog down the storyline, often to replace departed stars (e.g. when The Cosby Show introduces Clair's cousin Pam).
    • Change in a character's personality, usually from negative attributes to positive ones. For example, Nellie Oleson on Little House on the Prairie suddenly becomes nice during the final episode of the 1979-1980 season, after years of tormenting rival Laura Ingalls. Or Loretta Swit, after years of playing the unyielding, starchy officer in M*A*S*H and foil for Hawkeye's merciless jokes at her expense, morphs into a sympathetic character and one of the "guys."
    • A character who had never shown any previous signs of being gay comes out of the closet. e.g. Ellen.
  • Guest characters
    • The "identical long-lost cousin"-syndrome (usually enacted by one of the main cast members in a dual role).

Production

  • A key writer or producer leaves the show, such as Constance Burge being replaced as Charmed's executive producer by Brad Kern or Aaron Sorkin's departure from The West Wing or writer Robert Hewitt Wolfe's departure from Andromeda.
  • A show broadcast in color if previously shown in black-and-white (in the case of shows broadcast during the 1960s, when many series underwent this change), e.g., The Beverly Hillbillies and The Andy Griffith Show.
  • Change in where the show is produced, usually a move back to Southern California by a show produced somewhere else, e.g., the X-Files relocating from Vancouver to L.A. late in the series. This is often seen as a sign that the actors and producers are beginning to tire of a current show and want to be available for other projects.
  • Change in length of episode, usually when a 30-minute show attempts hour-long episodes, or vice-versa (as happened with the show Ally McBeal).
  • When a show's star begins writing or directing a majority of the episodes, and becomes involved in virtually every aspect of the show. Frequently, the episodes' morals will reflect the beliefs, opinions, etc. of that star (hence, the show becomes "The gospel according to ..."). For example, Alyssa Milano and Holly Marie Combs becoming producers of Charmed. The most famous occurrence of this was when Alan Alda took control of M*A*S*H.
  • When a high-profile guest writer-director (e.g. Woody Allen or Hal Prince) is brought onto the show's crew to write or direct one or more episodes. These are usually people from the theater or film industry with a long-standing record of writing or directing critically or commercially acclaimed films and stage productions. The transition, though, from their medium to the small screen, can cause a lack of quality that may hinder the series for years to come.
  • When a series is unexpectedly renewed at the last minute after production is concluded, forcing an awkward continuation of the premise that was concluded. This was the case of Babylon 5 which had its story arcs accelerated to conclude early in the fourth season, only to find the series had been renewed for a fifth season as was originally intended, but without the intended story material. Most recently, this has taken place in the eighth season of Charmed.

Other

  • A theatrical movie based on the series runs between seasons (such as with the X-Files and The Powerpuff Girls).
  • Change in day or time of air, which affects the commercial pressures on a show (e.g., The King of Queens).
  • The producers start to dilute the show's brand with too many spinoffs (as with the case of Love, American Style which, directly or indirectly, spawned a large number of spin-offs including Happy Days and its spin-offs); or other networks do the same with cheap imitations of the show.
  • Likewise, the show gets into merchandising or its stars start doing ads. However, this was a common practice during the early days of TV, when characters of a show pitched a certain product either as part of the gag or during a commercial.
  • A substantial reduction in the show's budget in a way that is noticeable on screen.
  • Excessive or obvious use of product placement. Example: American Dreams, which in its final season leaned heavily on product placement through corporate sponsorship of entire episodes, aired commercial-free. The show also had current musicians performing their contemporary hits on a show set in the 1960s (albeit performed in a '60s style), further complicating an already anachronistic timeline.
  • Too many sequels or spin-offs (e.g., The Land Before Time).

"Jump the Shark" references

Sitcom or dramatic series references

  • Arrested Development has a character played by the Fonz himself, Henry Winkler. In the episode "Motherboy XXX" he remarks "I missed breakfast, so I’m on my way to Burger King" and then hops over a shark. The joke being that Arrested Development sold out to Burger King, and jumped the shark. Another case has been made for that episode, such as the fact that it had two celebrity guest stars (Carl Weathers and Dave Attell) but that might not be as intentional.
  • It has been argued that Buffy the Vampire Slayer's sixth season can be viewed as an extended reference to various Shark Jumping moments (including a musical episode, and a wedding episode, and a major character leaving, and a character being killed off); it has also been (uncharitably) suggested that the writers really were running out of ideas, although this theory may not fully explain the sheer density of such moments in that season.
  • That '70s Show had an episode where Fez imagines jumping over a shark, thinking how cool it would be to be the Fonz, then commenting on how he never really watched the show after that episode.
  • The X-Files episode "Jump the Shark" in the last season (season 9) concluded the roles of The Lone Gunmen in the series.
  • Mad TV once had a skit in which the infamous "jump the shark" episode was partially redone in "Spanish", featuring dialogue such as Laverne saying "Aww, Shirl, Fonzie es jumpo el sharko!"

Cartoon references

  • Clerks. (the animated series) featured a clip show episode consisting almost entirely of its four main characters reminiscing previous incidents from the series. This was the second of the six produced episodes, and most of the incidents were in fact entirely new. At one point, the characters reminisce about their favorite Happy Days episodes - the Shark Jumping episode is among them.
  • Dora the Explorer began its 2003 season with an episode in which the title character literally jumped a shark. Changes to the show that ensued made fans wonder if the writers were trying to tell them something.
  • The Ed, Edd n Eddy episode "The Good Old Ed" is a spoof of the ubiquitous clip show. In the episode, the boys collect items for a time capsule, several of which prompt memories of schemes from previous episodes. However, the only "flashbacks" are to incidents not yet seen on the show, and when Ed tries to flashback (to about ten minutes before in the same episode), Eddy cuts Ed off by smacking him upside the head and protesting "I hate clip shows!"
  • In the episode of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends titled "Sweet Stench of Success", Bloo gets a job as "Deo", a spokesperson for deodorant, which leads to a job on a sitcom titled "What's The Big Deo?", and at the end of the pilot episode of this show within a show, there is an announcement saying "Tune in next week when Deo jumps a shark."
  • Sealab 2021 featured a shark jumping over a pool of Fonzies.
  • In What's New, Scooby-Doo?, Scooby water-skis over a shark, following which Velma says, "I never thought Scooby-Doo would jump the shark."
  • The Fairly OddParents had a music video on the DVD movie "Channel Chasers" called "If I Lived In TV" which featured Timmy Turner waterskiing with Fonzie, in which they eventually jump over a shark.
  • The South Park episode "Probably" begins with a "Previously on South Park" segment, where interspliced with actual clips are cartoonized scenes of Fonzie about to jump over a shark. In the South Park versions of events, Fonz doesn't make it. The South Park episode, 'City on the Edge of Forever' also spoofs the ubiquitous clip show by showing clips from earlier episodes but altering them such that each one ends happily with the children receiving ice cream, toward the end of the episode they even flashback to previous points in the episode, but again replace tragedy with ice cream in their recollections. After each flashback at least one character always says "now that's what I call a sticky situation." (this episode also has a clip of Fonzie jumping over a bus on his motorcycle, crashing into Kenny then handing out ice cream)
  • The production logo at the end of the credits for the TV show Stargate Atlantis features a shark riding a tricycle jumping over a typewriter and getting hit by a falling anvil.
  • An episode of Family Guy entitled "The Thin White Line" ends in a cliffhanger when Brian is shown leaving for the airport. The next episode, "Brian Does Hollywood", begins with a voiceover: "Previously, on Family Guy..." What follows is a series of clips that never occurred, parodying many cliffhanger clichés (Peter in a coma, Meg trying to defuse a bomb), and finally ending with the only clip relevant to the previous episode. Another episode of Family Guy parodied the "evil twin" cliché with a flashback which showed Lois on a rooftop pointing a gun at Peter and Peter's evil twin (who had never been mentioned before in the series). She finally shoots one, but it is suggested that she actually shot the real Peter. Keeping in line with every other Family Guy flashback sequence, the sequence ends without any real resolution, the episode continues as normal, and the events are never again referenced.
  • An episode of Teen Titans had Robin jump a shark while on skis. This same episode spoofed countless television shows and movies.

References on The Simpsons

The Simpsons has referenced jumping the shark in its opening credits, as well as in the following scenes:

  • Itchy & Scratchy Land, which depicts the family's visit to an amusement park built around Itchy & Scratchy (a cartoon cat and mouse duo based on Tom and Jerry). In one scene, Bart and Lisa visit a gift shop, where they see stuffed toys of the characters "Angry Ant," "Disgruntled Goat" and "Ku Klux Klam." Bart explains these characters were hastily created to provide a supporting cast for The Itchy & Scratchy and Friends Hour, and subsequently forgotten by most viewers. A pre-JTS reference, The Itchy & Scratchy and Friends Hour spoofed several cartoon shows of the 1970s (including one built around Tom and Jerry), where extra characters are created (usually with little or no thought put in their character development or stories) and introduced for no apparent reason other than to provide "friends" for the main characters.
  • The show built an entire episode around the ill-fated attempt of The Itchy & Scratchy Show to reinvigorate the show by introducing a new character, Poochie, voiced by Homer but so unpopular with the show's fans (the Comic Book Guy introduced the catchphrase "Worst. Episode. Ever.") that he was killed off in his second appearance. The episode abounded with knowing references to how this affects TV shows. In one scene, Lisa complains that it's a sign of TV shows going stale when they suddenly add new characters, and immediately we see a new college-aged man, Roy, (who looks suspiciously like Poochie) sitting at the Simpsons' breakfast table and saying "Morning, Mr. S." He does nothing during the episode and disappears at the end of the episode claiming that he's moving into an apartment with "two sexy ladies."
  • The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase (4F20), which features three pretend spin-off shows starring minor characters, is also mainly a parody of jumping the shark. The show ends with a preview of the new season, which includes magic powers, multiple weddings, lost cousins (all of whom bear a striking resemblence to Bart) and a tiny green space alien named Ozmodiar that only Homer can see. Ozmodiar is a parody of The Great Gazoo, a character introduced in the last season of The Flintstones. They even show a Simpsons Comedy Hour where Lisa is replaced by an older woman. Ironically, this episode itself has been labelled a "shark jumping" episode by critics of the series due to its poor quality. The Ozmodiar reference is of special signifigance, since Matt Groening once said that fans would know the series was out of ideas when he introduced a Great Gazoo-like character.
  • The parody documentary Behind the Laughter (BABF19) also spoofs sneak peeks of future episodes, including one with Homer's bold declaration, "The Simpsons are going to Delaware!" This is a joke on the fact that after the family's many contrived vacation destinations, future possibilities have been nearly exhausted (in the next season, the Simpsons actually do go to Delaware, with Homer, Marge, Bart and Lisa reciting their lines verbatim). This episode itself is closed with Homer reassuring a crew member about the low quality of these various episode ideas with a smug "This is our last season."
  • The clip show Gump Roast (DABF12) ends with many jumping the shark allusions, including a shot of Homer water skiing over a shark. It includes a song (an indirect parody of Billy Joel's We Didn't Start the Fire) where (apparently) Matt Groening and his staff answer to fans worried over comments he made that he was running out of ideas, saying "Have no fears, we got stories for years." They then give examples of supposedly upcoming episodes including Marge becoming a robot, Bart owning a bear and Moe getting a cell phone.
  • Certain episodes have also been centered around an act of jumping the shark listed above, such as Maude Flander's sudden death during a sports event, Barney Gumble's change from an alchoholic to a character we rarely see, a robotic Marge, or when Marge's sister Patty Bouvier suddenly reveals that she is a lesbian in the episode There's Something About Marrying (though there have been previous clues, such as her easily-recognized voice on the "closeted" float during Springfield's Gay Pride Parade).

Term used in other contexts

and King of Queens jumped the shark the first minute
I can't believe Richard Simmons ain't in it.
  • The phrase "jumping the couch" has recently been coined to describe a celebrity who starts behaving in apparently bizarre ways.
  • Some terms, such as "Crashed into the fried chicken stand" (also based on a Happy Days moment) and "Growing the Beard" (Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation) have been coined as an opposite to jumping the shark, when a TV series shows a noticeable increase in quality.
  • In the skateboarding game Tony Hawk's American Wasteland, the player is required to jump over a shark.

See also

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