In defense of "Jumping The Shark"

[bassrique]

If you like the idiom and agree with it's origins, there's something wrong with your thinking -- says the writer of the episode.

I remember watching that show the night it aired, as Happy Days was on my "must see" list as a young boy. I suspect some of the TV I watched then was a function of habit over merit, as Happy Days started to stink long before the shark stunt in leather.




http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...,6800871.story

Originally Posted by Nice try

Which brings us to the question: Was the "Hollywood 3" episode of "Happy Days" deserving of its fate?

No, it wasn't. All successful shows eventually start to decline, but this was not "Happy Days'" time. Consider: It was the 91st episode and the fifth season. If this was really the beginning of a downward spiral, why did the show stay on the air for six more seasons and shoot an additional 164 episodes? Why did we rank among the Top 25 in five of those six seasons?

That's why, when I first heard the phrase and found out what it meant, I was incredulous. Then my incredulity turned into amazement. I started thinking about the thousands of television shows that had been on the air since the medium began. And out of all of those, the "Happy Days" episode in which Fonzie jumps over a shark is the one to be singled out? This made no sense.

Here's a link from the full article posted:

http://www.tvguide.com/jumptheshark

It looks like that site that comments on the moment when popular TV shows plainly exhibited a decline.

[Disraeli Gears]

I think the existance of the phrase has as much to do with the fact that it's such a great phrase as anything else. From the article:

One said it was when Vicki came on board "The Love Boat." Another thought it was when the Great Gazoo appeared on "The Flintstones."

"Vicki came on board" and "The Great Gazoo appeared" just aren't memorable phrases while "Jumping the shark" is. Whether Happy Days actually declined starting with that episode or not is up for interpretation; it just makes for a great phrase.

[bongomania]

Agreed. Also, just because Happy Days ran for several more seasons and stayed popular all that time, doesn't mean it was any good during those seasons. The public has notoriously poor taste, and advertisers (who pay for all broadcast TV shows) have the worst taste of all. Plus advertisers were nowhere near as sophisticated then as they are now, in terms of market research and programming. It's not like the public "managed" or "paid for" the creation of new Happy Days episodes--they just passively consume whatever's on, and if they don't mind it too much, it'll run way, way past its expiration date.

I was watching Happy Days back in the day, and I remember first-hand the crazes for Jaws and waterskiing, and I think the phrase is perfectly apt for the episode, the series, and the way the phrase is generally used.

[Febs]

Originally Posted by bongomania

Agreed. Also, just because Happy Days ran for several more seasons and stayed popular all that time, doesn't mean it was any good during those seasons. The public has notoriously poor taste, and advertisers (who pay for all broadcast TV shows) have the worst taste of all. Plus advertisers were nowhere near as sophisticated then as they are now, in terms of market research and programming. It's not like the public "managed" or "paid for" the creation of new Happy Days episodes--they just passively consume whatever's on, and if they don't mind it too much, it'll run way, way past its expiration date.

I was watching Happy Days back in the day, and I remember first-hand the crazes for Jaws and waterskiing, and I think the phrase is perfectly apt for the episode, the series, and the way the phrase is generally used.

+1

[EricF]

Originally Posted by bongomania

Agreed. Also, just because Happy Days ran for several more seasons and stayed popular all that time, doesn't mean it was any good during those seasons. The public has notoriously poor taste, and advertisers (who pay for all broadcast TV shows) have the worst taste of all. Plus advertisers were nowhere near as sophisticated then as they are now, in terms of market research and programming. It's not like the public "managed" or "paid for" the creation of new Happy Days episodes--they just passively consume whatever's on, and if they don't mind it too much, it'll run way, way past its expiration date.

I was watching Happy Days back in the day, and I remember first-hand the crazes for Jaws and waterskiing, and I think the phrase is perfectly apt for the episode, the series, and the way the phrase is generally used.

This ^

All of it.

[elgecko]

If my memory serves me right, the final seasons saw Fonzie as a teacher and adopting an orphan boy.

[bassteban]

In this thread, I learned that Bongo is in his 40s

[hover]

In this thread, I came to the realization that Henry Winkler really was not that much cooler then than now. I mean, geez...maybe initially, but not for long at all. It IS comforting he still gets work tho. He's kinda like Betty White but not as hot.

[C.Linton]

Of course the writer who wrote that episode would say that, he probably thinks it's the greatest thing since Citizen Kane. "Jumping the shark" is a perfectly apt phrase to describe when a show goes off track, as that's exactly what happened here. Not that I was a fan to begin with. I was never impressed with the show, it was bad to start, and got progressivley worse in the last couple of years after this episode.

[Jim Campbell]

Originally Posted by C.Linton

Of course the writer who wrote that episode would say that, he probably thinks it's the greatest thing since Citizen Kane. "Jumping the shark" is a perfectly apt phrase to describe when a show goes off track, as that's exactly what happened here. Not that I was a fan to begin with. I was never impressed with the show, it was bad to start, and got progressivley worse in the last couple of years after this episode.

ii recall sitting around a break room table and talking about the upcoming eclipse......one guy said...."hey marty,you gonna watch the eclipse".....and the answer was "nah the fonz is getting married tonight".....pt barnum was right...

[Oraflora]

Originally Posted by hover

He's kinda like Betty White but not as hot.

[JimmyM]

on a side note, jon hein, the originator of the jump the shark website, is the bj king of michigan university.

[bigfatbass]

The writer, in a vainglorious attempt to inject himself into the story, misses the entire point of what jumping the shark means. It has nothing to do with popularity, it has to do with creative implosion. The moment they put the fonz on water skis in village people shorts and a leather jacket, they jumped the shark, and that is a long time before the fonz says those immortal words: "I told Potsy I'd do this!"

The Fonz battling the Malacci brothers in the demo derby? Sure. Right in character. The Fonz waterskiing over a netted area containing sharks? Please. How can this guy even begin to defend that moment?

Sounds much more like the writer's career jumped the shark, and he wanted to make himself news. His "outrage" is 2 years too late, and a weak defense at best.

[bigfatbass]

The Flintstones jumped the shark the moment they changed Barney's voice and made him less of a smartarse.

The Flintstones also softened considerably as it grew in popularity. It was actually extremely edgy for the time period, and was aimed at a later-hour adult viewer. As it became a hit, they had to tone it down, and it became the fluffier version you see in syndication. This ad from the second season is more like the original sense of humor, but I haven't been able to find any clips. The misogyny is priceless.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahMUZ_4suvA

[bassteban]

^quite the astuteness re: Flintstones^

[buzzbass]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

on a side note, jon hein, the originator of the jump the shark website, is the bj king of michigan university.

LOL, another Stern Show fan I see

[elgecko]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

on a side note, jon hein, the originator of the jump the shark website, is the bj king of michigan university.

84! Baba Booey! Baba Booey!

[FilterFunk]

Originally Posted by bigfatbass

The Flintstones jumped the shark the moment they changed Barney's voice and made him less of a smartarse.

The Flintstones also softened considerably as it grew in popularity. It was actually extremely edgy for the time period, and was aimed at a later-hour adult viewer. As it became a hit, they had to tone it down, and it became the fluffier version you see in syndication. This ad from the second season is more like the original sense of humor, but I haven't been able to find any clips. The misogyny is priceless.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahMUZ_4suvA

Wasn't The Flintstones basically a prehistoric cartoon version of The Honeymooners?

[smperry]

Originally Posted by FilterFunk

Wasn't The Flintstones basically a prehistoric cartoon version of The Honeymooners?

Yes. Ugh, I remember when the Great Gazoo appeared.

[smperry]

My favorite thing in the world when I was a little kid was my full-size Happy Days pinball machine.

The creation of Mork on Happy Days was the same season IIRC. When did Fonzie battle the Devil? That was pretty painful too. They also introduced that Ted guy (Whatshisname, from Revenge of the Nerds, Too Close for Comfort, Married with Children, etc.) sometime around then.

I watched waaaaay too much tv as a kid. I must have been little around that season, but I remember sitting on a shag rug and watching Fonzie jump the shark.