There comes a day in the life of almost every television series when the audience has lost interest, the ratings are hemorrhaging, and the network executives are panting their espresso-breaths down the necks of every writer and producer they can corner. It’s do-or-die time. You either pack up the sets and the overpaid actors and head home or you make a last-second Hail Mary pass into the television end zone. When a show reaches that level of desperation, it often results in a shameless and fatal attempt at a ratings spike. Such an attempt is known in the television world as “jumping the shark.”
The term made its first appearance on JumpTheShark.com, an Internet resting place of sorts for television shows that have passed on not so gracefully. “Jumping the shark” became television short hand for “Whoa — that was too far,” thanks to the television classic “Happy Days.”
In a code blue effort to resuscitate this gasping sitcom, Fonzie attempted his craziest stunt ever. Yes folks, he actually jumped a shark — on water skies. Although the series continued for six more seasons, it was never the same. With the wisdom of hindsight on our side, it has become clear to TV junkies everywhere that Fonzie’s trip over the shark-infested waters was the point of no return for this classic sitcom.
A shark jumping can occur in any number of ways. The arrival of a new character is often a signal of shark jumping, such as the introduction of Cousin Oliver on “The Brady Bunch.” A romantic hook-up is a popular shark jumping activity, as in the case of Maddie and David on “Moonlighting.” And usually when a cast starts spontaneously breaking into musical production numbers, it’s a good sign there’s some shark jumping activity going on as well, as seen fairly recently in the HBO prison drama “Oz.”
Jumping the shark indicates the beginning of the end for a series. It means the show has turned a dark corner and will never find its way back to the light of big ratings and good reviews.
Sometimes the end follows quickly behind. You jump, you miss, you die. It’s sad, but it’s quick. Such was the case with “Ally McBeal.” When Ally’s daughter, Maddie, showed up at her mother’s door, the TV Grim Reaper was right behind her. Five months after the maternal plot twist, the show was television history.
Other times, a show may live on for years after its jump. In NBC’s hit comedy “Mad About You,” the birth of little Mabel at the end of the fifth season sent Ma and Pa Buchman into a downward spiral. The series survived two more years, but the birth left the show’s glory days behind in a spray of fishy water.
A series can “jump the shark” for a variety of reasons. It can be caused by a show desperately trying to bob and weave its way out of cancellation, as in the case of “Ally McBeal.” Or it can be a symptom of the show forgetting what it’s supposed to be about.
For example, “ER” has recently decided that they’ve run out of story lines in the United States and should move halfway around the world. If the show’s cast has picked up and moved to a different country, it’s a pretty good indicator of shark-jumping activity.
Sometimes a show is forced to “jump the shark” by the demands of its audience. For example, take the moment when two estranged lovers are finally united in romantic bliss. The audience has waited in anticipation season after season for the big moment. They’ve begged, they’ve pleaded, they’ve grown impatient. Finally, the writers give in. The couple kisses passionately as soft music plays in the background. It’s a getting-weepy kind of moment, and for a week or two everything is sunshine and roses in TV land.
But soon the audience gets bored. They’ve gotten what they wanted and they lose interest. They no longer tune in to see if so-and-so is going to hook up with what’s-his-name. They’ve had their happy ending and they’re satisfied. The romantic kiss of two lovers has become the kiss of death for its series.
Some shows never reach that point. Some shows call it quits at the height of their glory. “M*A*S*H*,” “St. Elsewhere,” “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and “Cheers” are just a few of the shows that bowed out gracefully and effectively steered clear of sharky waters. But more often than not a television series will reach the point when its better judgment is sacrificed for momentary ratings glory. And before they can stop and say, “What the heck am I doing leaping over this giant fish?” they have landed on the dark side of television history.
