When good shows go bad: ‘jump the shark’
In a 1977 episode of
”
Happy Days,
”
Fonzie is challenged to a water-skiing competition where he has
to jump a shark swimming in a cage. Wearing shorts and his leather
jacket Fonzie completes the death-defying stunt. This episode is
considered a turning point in the series where it started to go
down the tubes. Now the term
”
jump the shark
”
has become a catchphrase for when TV shows decline in
quality.
The phrase
”
jump the shark
”
originated in 1985 at The University Of Michigan when Jon Hein
and his roommates were discussing TV and when their favorite shows
had gone downhill. His roommate Sean J. Connolly said that the
episode of
”
Happy Days
”
when Fonzie jumped over the shark was the turning point.
When good shows go bad: ‘jump the shark’
In a 1977 episode of “Happy Days,” Fonzie is challenged to a water-skiing competition where he has to jump a shark swimming in a cage. Wearing shorts and his leather jacket Fonzie completes the death-defying stunt. This episode is considered a turning point in the series where it started to go down the tubes. Now the term “jump the shark” has become a catchphrase for when TV shows decline in quality.
The phrase “jump the shark” originated in 1985 at The University Of Michigan when Jon Hein and his roommates were discussing TV and when their favorite shows had gone downhill. His roommate Sean J. Connolly said that the episode of “Happy Days” when Fonzie jumped over the shark was the turning point.
In December 1997 Jon Hein launched a Web site called “jumptheshark.com” in which he discussed TV shows and when their decline began or when they “jumped the shark.” The term became a pop culture phenomenon and is now widely used for when a show has been on the air too long and isn’t up to the quality of when it first started.
The site became so popular that Hein was interviewed by Howard Stern on his radio show and a paperback version was published in 2003. He is now the go-to guy for anything TV, appearing on the TVLand channel and other shows when they need a TV expert.
The site lists 18 different categories you can use to determine when your show has jumped the shark. Some of the categories include: Same character, different actor; a very special episode; singing; and new kid in town or the cousin Oliver syndrome. Cousin Oliver is the cute little kid in glasses that was brought on in the last season of “The Brady Bunch” once the regular kids became too old.
The same character, different actor category was inspired by the classic show “Bewitched” when Dick York, who had played Elizabeth Montgomery’s husband from 1964 to 1969, was replaced by Dick Sargent, who played him from 1969 to 1972. It seemed like no one noticed the difference but the ratings did go down once Sargent took over.
Besides soap operas, I can only think of a handful of TV shows where a central character was replaced by a different actor. In 1993 Sarah Chalke replaced Alicia Goranson as Becky on “Roseanne.” In the series “Alias Smith and Jones” (1971-1973) Roger Davis replaced Peter Duel (who committed suicide) as Hannibel Hayes for the last season.
Most fans remember the show about two women police officers “Cagney and Lacey” (1982-1988) because of the chemistry between co-stars Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless, but Gless was actually the third actress to play Det. Sgt. Christine Cagney. Loretta Swit played her in the 1981 pilot and Meg Foster played her for the first six episodes of the series.
And on the last episode of her short-lived series “Bette,” Bette Milder’s husband, Roy, played by Kevin Dunn was replaced by “Airplane” actor Robert Hays to boost the sagging ratings, but the show was cancelled anyway.
Actor Ted McGinley from “Revenge Of The Nerds” (1984) has his own category and is regarded as the patron saint of jumptheshark.com. According to the Web site when you see McGinley listed in the credits or when he joins a show it has “jumped the shark”
In 1984 McGinley joined the cast of “Happy Days” as Roger Phillips for four seasons. From 1984-1986 he was on “The Love Boat” as the ship’s photographer Ace Evans. He was on “Dynasty” from 1986-1987 as Clay Fallmont. In 1989 he started his longest run when he replaced David Garrison on “Married with Children,” which lasted until 1997.
According to the Web site and voters there are several shows that never “jumped the shark” including “Lost,” “Scrubs,” “Cheers,” “The Shield,” “The Rockford Files” and “WKRP In Cincinnati”
I like this site. You can vote for when you think your favorite shows have jumped the shark and post your own comments. There is also a section called “Stump The Shark” where you can send in trivia questions about TV and have them answered.
In 2006 Jon Hein sold his Web site to Gemstar, which owns “TV Guide,” for more than $1 million. He now works for Sirius radio and Howard Stern, hosting the “Daily Wrap Up Show” on channels Howard 100 and 101. He still has input of the site that he created and writes a weekly post. This week he writes about the HBO show “The Wire.” calling it the best show on HBO.
This is a fun site for anyone who is interested in TV or if you just feel like killing time. It’s easy to navigate and enjoyable to read.
