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Which Show has Jumped the Shark? (1 Viewer)

Brian Kidd

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B5 may have jumped the shark to some extent before the beginning of the fifth season, but that was through no fault of JMS. The cast and crew honestly didn't see the show lasting beyond season four. WB was going to pull the plug and they all knew it. JMS tried his best to tie up all of the threads that were supposed to last through season five and did a pretty damned good job of it. Then, out of the blue, TNT picks up the show for its fifth season. Oops. JMS did the best he could to keep the show going, but since the main story arc had been pretty much resolved by the end of S4, the show just kind of treaded water up until the last few episodes. It was still one of the best-written and acted SF shows ever.
 

Greg Johnson

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Not to offend those that can't stand the expression "jumped the shark". Does it originate from the Happy Days episode where Fonzie jumps the shark while water skiing? Sorry, but I had to ask.

Greg
 

Michael Hughes

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Greg, that's exactly where it comes from. I agree the expression has seen its day, but it does seem to capture the essence of a shows decline.
 

D. Scott MacDonald

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I always thought that the term "jump the shark" had more to do with a programming change to capture back the audience, then merely about a show in decline. Many shows decline and go off the air without "jumping the shark". An example of "jumping the shark" would be when they added Poochie to Itch and Scratchy.

Hence, phrases such as "the term jumping the shark has jumped the shark" make absolutely no sense.

Shows like the Simpsons are pretty hard to "jump the shark" because they are always doing completely wacky things. If they did jump the shark, I would say it was in their "Simpons, behind the laughter" episode where they totally changed the format into something that the Simpsons has never been before. They have also become a lot more crude over the past few seasons (they were always irreverent, but used to rely more on cleverness than crudity), but I'm not sure there was a single "jump the shark" moment in this regard.
 

MarkHastings

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I always thought that the term "jump the shark" had more to do with a programming change to capture back the audience, then merely about a show in decline.
But that's why they need to recapture the audience (because the show is in decline).

Whenever the show starts to get "Stale" and they do something stupid like add a new character or start making episodes that are just plain "Wacky".
 

Mikel_Cooperman

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I have to agree with the Sci Fi channel jumping the shark when they cancelled Farscape.
As for Buffy, I'd say when Dawn appeared overall, although there were still some good episodes in Season 5.
The problem I had is how implausible it got that the villan would just dissapear even though they were more and more powerful each season. If they really wanted to kill the Scoobies, they wouldnt rest for a while as to space out the plot for an entire season. This is especially apparent this season. Stretch!

Season 6 and the horrible storytelling did it for me. This year has been a bit of an improvement but you can tell Joss doesnt have much to do with the show anymore.
Who's to blame? Joss because though he's still a great writer he left other people to take care of his vision and it didnt work.
Ive always said, if you create a show, stick with it until the end.

My other choice, is Enterprise which jumped the shark after the first episode.

On we cant forget Charmed which is just unwatchable. The writing gotten progessivley worse after Doherty left with their theme shows each week.
Sure, it was never a great show but it was fun to watc occasionally.

I also think Malcom in the Middle jumped the shark after the first season. It just got to wacky and dumb.
 

D. Scott MacDonald

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I also think Malcom in the Middle jumped the shark after the first season. It just got to wacky and dumb.
While I disagree that the show is in decline, can you point to a single moment where the show changed drastically? If not, then it did not "jump the shark". In Malcoms case, I thought it was always pretty slapstick so I don't see any big change. One can add that their adding another child, however, will be jumping the shark.
 

MarkHastings

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Well, the term can mean different things to different people, but according to JumpTheShark.com
It's a moment. A defining moment when you know that your favorite television program has reached its peak. That instant that you know from now on...it's all downhill. Some call it the climax. We call it jumping the shark
 

Brad Porter

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Regarding Malcolm in the Middle...

While I disagree that the show is in decline, can you point to a single moment where the show changed drastically?
I still like the show, but sending Francis to Alaska was a plot development that didn't pay off particularly well (for me at least). This season they relocated him to a dude ranch. There are some better plot lines at this location (I liked the piano player bit), but it still is distracting because it's always so removed from the rest of the show. When he was away at military school, there was still the plot device of phone calls home to plead for help. Now it's all just wackiness and distraction.

And I want Cythia Sanders "The Krelboyne Girl" to come back! Malcolm needs a worthy female counterpart.

Brad
 

JimC_A

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I think as far as history is concerned, Robert Kneivel did the shark thing first. Am I wrong? Am I the only person in this thread that saw him do a jump live?
 

Dan Rudolph

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Brad, sending Francis to Alaska taught him his life hadn't been as bad as he thought and got us Piama.
 

Brad Porter

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sending Francis to Alaska taught him his life hadn't been as bad as he thought and got us Piama.
It seems to me that his life was just as bad as he thought it was, but his time in Alaska was even worse. They've done very little with Piama as well. She's had, at best, three or four episodes where she's been involved in any way other than as a prop.

The show is ostensibly supposed to center around Malcolm, with the stories radiating outward from his observations and experiences. He is supposed to be the audience's window into the family. I don't recall the show even having him look into the camera and directly address the audience recently, which was their principle way of getting the viewer to side with Malcolm.

I'm not saying that the show has "jumped the shark". I still enjoy watching it, but the Francis storylines always make me feel like someone changed the channel to a different show.

Brad
 

D. Scott MacDonald

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I think as far as history is concerned, Robert Kneivel did the shark thing first. Am I wrong? Am I the only person in this thread that saw him do a jump live?
No, that was his dad Evil Keivel. As I recall, he made the jump cleanly but veered off the narrow landing ramp and hit a wall.

I agree that the whole Alaska thing was kind of lame, and Francis is definetly a very differnt character now (responsible) than when he was in military school. I still like the show, hwoever, and as Francis is a minor character I'm not sure that I'd define any of these changes as "jumping the shark" (but I can see how some would).
 

TonyD

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woody replacing coach went well. as woody was a terrific character.

i think rebecca is just awful. but still enjoyed the show despite that.
three's co. replaced the al when the ropers left.
could you say that laverne and shirly "replaced the al'' when the moved to hollywood?
 

Wayne Bundrick

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I don't consider the '80s era of Tom & Jerry to be the same cartoon as the classic stuff. There was a gap in the '60s-'70s when MGM didn't produce any T&J cartoons at all. So the '80s version has to be classified as a remake that is separate from the original.

The original Tom & Jerry jumped the shark when Fred Quimby retired and Gene Deitch replaced him, 1961-1962. These were the episodes such as the mad scientist switching Tom & Jerry's bodies, or "Dicky Moe" the whale. Remember those? The style is completely different. They were crudely animated to cut costs, and they had no music (or at least no memorable music), only a lot of echoey sound effects. Then Quincy Jones came in and the style changed again, but this time it was for the better.

I didn't watch much Laverne & Shirley so I didn't even realize that they moved from Milwaukee to Hollywood. Not knowing the show very well, but hearing that it happened, I'd guess that event was a prime shark jumping candidate.
 

Alex-C

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I think the Star Trek movie franchise replaced the Al when Spock cried in The Motion Picture.

(I dare you to go up to a random person and say that to them...taken out of context....what does it all mean Basil ?)
 

Chuck C

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Friends definitely jumped the shark...where has the baby been?? And dare I say it: Frasier needs a pick me up as well or it's swimmin with the fishies time.
 

MarkHastings

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Chuck, I agree with Frasier...IMO, Once Daphnie broke off the wedding to be with Niles, I bowed out from watching it.
 

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