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Hello, geezers! 😀
Whether this topic has been thrashed around a bit in the past I don’t know. I’m a newbie, so I’m invoking the newbie’s right to blindly repeat old topics. Please direct all complaints to the ten-foot troll in the corner.
Most of you are probably familiar with the term, but—just in case–I’ll redefine the fateful TV condition known as “jumping the shark.” It’s that fatal moment when a good show commits a blunder and spirals down thereafter. The term is coined after Fonzie’s goofy water-skiing stunt on “Happy Days” wherein he literally jumped the shark. How stupid was that?! The show punctured the thin membrane of its credibility and gradually deflated. It’s a moment of cosmic TV letdown when a show you like goes bad on you.
With that for starters, let’s get to the entrée: Can you name a favorite show that’s gone sour on you and pinpoint the fateful misstep?
I can think of a couple, but I’ll stick with one for now or this post will be nine miles long(er). Here goes:
I liked “Next Generation” right out of the gate and watched faithfully in its ambitious, if somewhat stiff, early years. I even tolerated—granted, through clenched teeth–Wil Weaton bumbling around the bridge every now and then.
In general, I hate shows that shove kids into the forefront just to hook a younger audience or whatever, but I weathered Wil Weaton. Things started getting iffy when Wesley was solving all of the Enterprise’s problems. It made me wonder why they bothered staffing a ship with a highly trained crew when all they needed was one precocious kid, some paperclips and a ball of twine. For me, the show officially jumped the shark when he was revealed as the next stage in human evolution or whatever–that made me very sad for humanity. Add to that the character who poorly filled Dr. Crusher’s lovely seat for a time, and you have the recipe for me not much wanting to watch NG anymore. I know I’m as shallow as a kiddie pool, but I can’t mask how I feel.
I’d love to hear about your shark sightings. Which shows fumbled your faith?
Frostgeezer
I agree with you on Star Trek TNG. Actually, it was pretty early on that we learn that Weasely Crushed is a sort of super-human prodigy; in the Traveller (think that was the name of the ep.).
Okay, I’m talking about a sequel here, but…
Galactica 1980… Once they found Earth in Battlestar Galactica it was all-downhill. I put Galactica 1980 in the sci-fi shows that are so bad they’re good as a lark since it’s definitely more it’s so bad it’s bad. Oh, many people have said that Lexx truly descended into the sewer of sheer stupidity (or ssomething like that) with S4. I haven’t had the dubious pleasure of seeing that season yet.
Sliders slid way downhill once they started replacing/getting rid of their major characters — the show turned truly terrible.
The X-Files: Now I initially really liked this show. When exactly did it jump the shark I don’t know. When Mouldy left, perhaps. With the X-Files movie, maybe. I tend to think the moment was when they moved the filming location from Vancouver to LA, but then as a Vancouverite I’m a little biassed.
I know at ;least one Priosner fan (you know who you are) who was put off by the Prisoner when a misfit episode The Girl Who Was Death came out (an episode I really like).
Great topic.
I know I’m going to get yelled at by “Scapers” but Farscape is the easiest.
The beginning of Season 4, when they started a giant new plotline about how Humanity might be connected to some Ancient Alliance, when John found the symbol thingy.
This most likely got Farscape cancelled. Why open up another giant plotline when you still have not resolved Season 1 plotlines? And you’re on a 5 season arc??
I’d still love to know where they were heading with all these open plotlines (bionoids, scorpius-scaron-peacekeeper connection, ancients, earth, peacekeeper-human connection, human-ancient connection, Birds of Paradise, who is Stark really, etc..etc) and why they felt the need to open even more in the 4th season like the old woman (who I still think is an Ancient).
Don’t get me wrong, the show was great at time, but unresolved plotlines was their shark.
For Earth Final Conflict, it’s even simplier. One person Jayne Heitmeier. Season 5 was “Tomb Raider: Final Conflict” Although it was never “cancelled” the final series really really hurt. I never even watched all the eps.
Funny thing is I like Wil Wheatons char on TNG. Though I will totally concede that a good 99% did not. His mother annoyed me a lot more than he did. I liked the older doctor (The Incredible Hulk) better.
I think Babylon 5 jumped the shark with Season 5. It remains one of my favorite sci-fi series of all time, but it was never quite as good after Captain Lockley came on… EXCEPT of course for the last episode of all, BUT that episode was actually made BEFORE Season 5, back when they thought the show was ending at Season 4. So I dunno that it should count.
My personal feeling is that JMS was pretty sure the show was gonna get killed at the end of Season 4, so he went ahead and wrapped just about everything up. Then, when TNT picked things up for one more season, he had to come up with more story. Thus, to me anyway, the whole telepath thing felt tacked-on.
On a related note, my friends an I have come up with another term, “punched the shark.”
A series has “jumped the shark” when it makes a horrible mis-step that renders it never quite as good as it used to be. The term originates from an episode of “Happy Days” when Fonzy literally jumps a shark.
Alternatively, a series has “punched the shark” when it is bad to begin with, but then does something that makes it THAT MUCH WORSE. 🙂 Our term originates from the movie Tomb Raider 2, when Angelina Jolie’s Laura Croft literally punches a shark at the beginning of the movie.
Once she punched that shark, we knew we were in for a rough ride. 🙂
Cool topic! I agree with the Next Gen one. Wesley annoyed but even so I was more bored by all the Klingon mythology BS than by his episodes.
I’d agree with the Babylon 5 one too.X File is a difficult one to quantify. If made “test shark runs” so many times in it’s nine years and suddenly redeemed itself next episode. Dod Kalm (season 3) was a moment for me, mainly because I HATE WITH A VENGANCE any TV series that does that aging/youthening thing. The make up always looks crap. However it pulled back only to nearly jump again at Dreamland. Mulder doing that ridiculous mirror dance was cringingly embarassing. Yet again it wavered at Closure when the entire Samantha Mulder arc turned out to be complete b******s. Huh? Finally, unable to practice any further, it perfected the jump into a spectacular protracted treble somersault during the whole baby arc fiasco, culminating in the cheesy snog in Existence. Mulder’s departure “making sense in it’s own way” and Scully’s casual abandonment of her much longed for child in Season nine were just the final flourish to a spectaular stunt. Shame really because season nine was pretty good in places.
Voyager jumped when it turned into a babe fest. i.e. when Seven joined. But sexy alien chicks are always good for ratings.
Logan wrote:Galactica 1980… Once they found Earth in Battlestar Galactica it was all-downhill.
Logan, I’ve got to agree. In addition to the goofy, budget-minded setting of modern day Earth, they pulled a “Dukes of Hazzard” to boot–uhm, which is not to say that I actually watched… oh I admit it! We ALL used to watch that show, and we loved it. Anyway, the whole not-so-lookalike frontmen switcheroo thing, I mean. Just put in a new blond guy and one with dark hair, and it’s pretty much the same show, right?
It makes one nervous about the big “Sci-Fi Channel Original” Galactica that’s looming. I mean, is it *really* necessary? I hope they get around to doing a big-budget remake of “Far Out Space Nuts.”
Star Wars episode 1. The moment the little kid came on screen and started talking. I almost puked. Episode 1 and 2 were just crap in my mind. Oh, and mullets are never cool. Not even in Star Wars.
Andromeda jumped the shark when the whole Kessorecting (sp?) stuff started and Harper and Andromeda started having long technobable talks about something that made me wish I were in a pysics lecture (at least it might make some sense). I hate reality distortions.
sgtdraino wrote:A series has “jumped the shark” when it makes a horrible mis-step that renders it never quite as good as it used to be. The term originates from an episode of “Happy Days” when Fonzy literally jumps a shark.
Aleternatively, a series has “punched the shark” when it is bad to begin with, but then does something that makes it THAT MUCH WORSE. Our term originates from the movie Tomb Raider 2, when Angelina Jolie’s Laura Croft literally punches a shark at the beginning of the movie.
It’s not sci-fi, so I’m sorry that this post is jumping the sci-fi shark, but…
Then there’s that just when you didn’t think it could get any lower, crazier, or more stupid moment I call humping, pumping, or rumpy pumpying the shark. The MTV show Jackass “humped the shark” with a particularly idiotic stunt when a guy in a little speedo took a sponge bath in blood before jumping into shark infested water and then simulated sex with a shark.
Incidentally, mullets rock! 8)
Ya know what? The X-Files really hurt, circa THE MOVIE. Now, I understand that Chris Carter’s real challenge was to make a movie that could double as a summer action blockbuster…but he did such a piss-poor job of it. Then again, once the show moved production to LA, he went, “Wellp, we can afford really good-looking extras now, and we’re not going to use the same five people over and over again…so here ya go, other writers, I’ve got other (albeit bad) shows to pretend to produce!” And the movie reflects the part where he really wasn’t trying.
The movie makes no sense within the story arc, yet Carter still tried to make it part of the mythology in order to hold the hardcore Philes.
Newsflash, we’re SO not happy with the film! At least, my other Philean friends agree…good effort, but still too little, too late. I could have written a better movie–and I was fourteen when it came out.
^ ^ That’s my rant.
I don’t know when TNG went bad; I was like ten when it ended and I watched it dutifully. I was raised a Trekker.
Andromeda went bad when they took her tail and made her gold. ‘Nuff said. ^ ^ /hardcore TG fan
Hi there, I’m a new guy too but I’d like to add my two cents.
First off-Tremors, I was 99% sure this would suck and I wasn’t disappointed. When they said “el blanco” was a protected creature and the babe with her boobs hanging out in the wet t-shirt showed up I knew it was all over.
Also, did you ever notice that no matter how advanced the show is supposed to be , the people are always getting into fist fights.Welcome to the domain. 🙂 Tremors was on such shaky ground that it practically jumped the critter even before it started. I know the Manimal-lovers will flame me for this, but methinks Manimal was another one of that ilk.
Here are some bionic shark jumpers: The Bionic Woman jumped when Bionic Dog was introduced, and The Six Million Dollar Man with Bionic Boy. I did, however, love Bionic Bigfoot. Luckily they totally redeemed themselves when they came out with that wonderful special, Bionic Ever After? 😉
Hey, what a great thread, well resurrected.
Couldn’t stand Wesley crusher myself, ditto all that super sprog crap, I hate it when the young uns are out-doing the old uns.
Same for Scooby Doo, destroyed by Scrappy Do.
I got fed up with the Xfiles when they got into all that alien conspiracy yawn. I liked it when they had a bit of variety, trolls and such.
I love ‘will they, won’t they?’ relationships. I adored Superman and could have watched him and Lois forever. Then he told Lois and they got married. It just didn’t have the magic after that.
Red Dwarf digitally enhanced itself and became slick, when grimy and cheap was what had made it so good. It just didn’t grip me anymore when it looked plush.
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