Jumping the shark

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Jumping the shark is a slang term used by television critics since the 1990s. The phrase, popularized at the web site www.jumptheshark.com, is used to describe the moment when a long-running television show or similar episodic media is generally judged to have passed its "peak" and shows a noticeable decline in quality. A show in decline is said to have "jumped the shark" when it deploys certain maneuvers (see below) in an attempt to revive flagging audience share or, if that isn't a problem, generate fresh storylines from an exhausted formula. These are usually gimmicks seen as odd and unneccesary, relative to the program's usual run. While sometimes this has the desired effect of avoiding commercial decline (Dallas rebounded in the ratings once Patrick Duffy was able to return, and in fact continued for another six seasons), the general feeling is that a point of no return has been passed.

The alternative - "quit while you're ahead" - was famously taken by the cast of Seinfeld; it is said that shows like this "never jumped" (although some fans felt that the episode in which George Costanza's fiancée Susan died after licking some poisoned stamps, and the main characters' jokes about it seemed shockingly shallow, was the moment the series couldn't come back from). Barney Miller is also often cited as such a show.

Another example is the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes ending at the height of its popularity.

The phrase specifically refers to a three-part episode of the American television series Happy Days during which the character Fonzie, wearing swim trunks (but, oddly enough, also his trademark leather jacket), jumps over a tank containing a shark while on water skis. This episode, titled "Hollywood," followed too closely after a very successful 1975 episode in which Fonzie jumps his motorcycle over several barrels in a parking lot, and was the first time the character was ever shown to have known anything about water skiing. The addition of the shark was obviously influenced by the popularity of the 1975 blockbuster film Jaws, which had saturated American pop culture during the previous two years and was already a bit stale by that time. The first two parts of "Hollywood" aired on the ABC Network as a one-hour special on September 13, 1977. Part three, in which the Fonz actually jumps the legendary shark, aired on September 20.

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. Even before "jumping the shark" was employed as a popular culture term, the episode in question was many times cited as an example of what happens to otherwise high quality programs when they stay on the air too long. Producer Garry Marshall later admitted that he knew the show had lost something as the crew prepared to shoot the scene.

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

Apparently, there is no term for the reverse situation of a moment that marks a television series starting to improve noticeably, although the phrase "reverse shark jumping" has been suggested. In addition, proponents of certain shows will sometimes assert that the show has "jumped back"; in other words, that an apparent decline was merely a temporary slump.

American soap operas will often use several of these ploys repeatedly, yet, perhaps by their very nature, manage to maintain their loyal viewership.

List of common jump-the-shark moments

Note that series have recovered from all of the following, but that each upsets the chemistry of the show in some way, possibly irreparably.

  • Same main character played by a different actor.
  • Same actor (usually a guest performer) plays a different character (especially when the previous character was written out by killing him or her off. Often the writers attempt to cover this by making the new character a long-lost cousin or other relative).
  • An ongoing plotline, character or group of characters comes to play a disproportionately large role in the stories.
  • Death of a main character and/or the actor who portrays him or her.
  • Any other kind of writing out of a main character (retirement, moving, etc.). This is sometimes referred to as "Chuck Cunningham syndrome".
  • Key character departs and is replaced by almost identical new character.
  • Loss of a key prop or location.
  • Key writer and/or producer leaves the show.
  • The "clip show" or "retrospective," where the characters reminisce about the past with a collection of short clips from previous shows. Generally does not apply when the retrospective is also the series finale (e.g., Taxi, or Home Improvement).
  • Main character or cast member gives birth.
  • Episode or episodes shown "live" if the series is usually filmed or videotaped.
  • A theatrical film based on the series runs during the summer, between seasons (in which the show's creators often go beyond the limitations imposed by television, and thus make it impossible for the show to seem as much fun when it returns).
  • Years after the successful run of a show that is not regarded as having jumped the shark, the producers make a TV movie or two out of it.
  • Show broadcast in color if previously shown in black-and-white.
  • Child actors enter puberty.
  • Non-musical cast members featured singing.
  • A change in the title sequence or theme music (which sometimes signals a creative shift in the show).
  • Introduction of new characters to revive interest, particularly young, cute children who are clearly intended to replace regulars who once were but have grown up.
  • Main characters have sex, after a series-long run of sexual tension between them.
  • Main characters marry after a tempestuous relationship.
  • Main characters divorce after a tempestuous marriage.
  • Change in a character's personality, usually from negative attributes to positive ones.
  • A change in a character's hairstyle.
  • When the show is in an academic setting, the main characters graduate.
  • The "very special episode," in which a situation comedy or drama addresses a serious social issue in an awkward way (such as drug addiction, child abuse or racism).
  • Change in the principal setting of the show, either permanently or as the theme of a series of episodes, e.g. going on a cruise, off to the country, and so forth (California is a particularly infamous death trap in this regard).
  • Change in where the show is produced, usually a move back to southern California by a show produced somewhere else (a sign that the actors and producers are beginning to get tired of doing the show and want to be available for other projects).
  • Change in day and/or time of air, which affects the commercial pressures on a show.
  • Change in network or channel on which the show is telecast, which can also have the same effect.
  • The network or studio reverses a decision to cancel the show, resulting in a somewhat awkward and forced final season.
  • The producers start to dilute the show's brand with too many spinoffs; or other networks do the same with cheap imitations of the show.
  • Likewise, the show gets into merchandising and/or its stars start doing ads.
  • Special celebrity guest star, particularly one who doesn't normally do television or even act.
  • Crossover episodes with other series.
  • A previously unseen character appears in person.
  • Use of a plot device which is regarded as a cliché, for example, a story involving the evil twin of a main character.
  • A cliffhanger season finale with a disappointing resolution.
  • Actor Ted McGinley appears on the show as a main character or recurring guest performer. The reasoning behind this category is that he has joined the regular cast of several durable and popular television series that have then gone into decline after he joined, and often he has been the replacement for a departed original cast member (itself a Jump the Shark category). The website claims he is the patron saint of shark jumping; ironically, McGinley's first starring role was on "Happy Days," which originated the "Jump The Shark" episode before he joined the cast. It should be noted that McGinley has been on very successful series, such as Hope and Faith and Married... with Children.
  • More recently, a character who had never shown any previous signs of being gay comes out of the closet.
  • Having a literal shark jump on camera.
  • Finally, occasionally a show has a season or episode so good that nothing afterwards can come close to it.

Examples of shows said to have jumped the shark

Jump The Shark References

Sometimes, a show refers to Jump the Shark directly or indirectly. Here are some examples:

  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer's sixth season could be viewed as an extended reference to various Shark Jumping moments (including a musical episode, a wedding episode, a major character leaving, and a character being killed off); it has also been suggested that the writers really were running out of ideas.
  • 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.
  • Sealab 2021 featured a shark jumping over a pool of Fonzies.
  • The Simpsons has referenced jumping the shark on several occasions:
    • 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 television 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 child, Roy, (who looks suspiciously like Poochie) sitting at the Simpsons' breakfast table and saying "Morning, Mr. S." He, too, disappears after the episode.
    • In one episode, a teenaged boy comes to live with the Simpson family through the episode, although he adds nothing new to the series and practically nothing to the episode. At the end of the episode, he suddenly leaves. This was inserted in the episode to make fun of shows that add new characters in an attempt to revive the show.
    • Several episodes have made fun of shows that reuse plot devices. Comic Book Guy once showed up in an episode where Marge was developing a gambling problem to remind the family that Marge had a gambling problem already in another episode. Another episode featured Smithers running out to tell the family that Maggie had shot Mr. Burns again.
    • In addition, the Simpson family has been shown jumping over a shark in the opening credits.
  • That '70s Show had an episode where Fez jumped over a shark.
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