Jumping the shark

Sponsorship the way you would do it

Jumping the shark is a slang term used by television critics in the 1990s. The phrase, popularized at the web site www.jumptheshark.com, is used to describe the moment when a long-running television show 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."

The phrase specifically refers to a three-part episode of the American series Happy Days during which the character Fonzie jumps over a shark while on water skiss. Many have noted the episode as the moment when they realized the show was no longer worth watching, and 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.

The first uses of the phrase as a direct metaphor is reported to have been made popular starting from December 24, 1997 when the site was posted by Jon Hein. In print, it was in the Jerusalem Post newspaper 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.

Table of contents

1 List of common jump the shark moments
2 List of moments when famous shows are popularly considered to have "jumped"
3 External links

List of common jump the shark moments

Same main character played by different actor.
Same actor (usually a guest performer) plays a different character.
Death of a main character.
Cast member leaves the show, causing the character to be "written out".
Main character or cast member gives birth.
Episode shown "live" if usually pre-taped.
Child actors enter puberty.
Non-musical cast members featured singing.
Introduction of new characters to revive interest, particularly young, cute children.
Main characters have sex, after a series-long run of sexual tension between them.
Main characters marry after a tempestuous relationship.
The "very special episode", in which a situation comedy show addresses a serious social issue. (Drug addiction, child abuse, racism, etc.)
Change in the principal location of the setting of the show.
Main character revealed to be gay.
Special celebrity guest star.
Use of a plot device which is regarded as a cliche, e.g. a story involving an evil twin of a main character.
Actor Ted McGinley appears on the show as a main character or recurring guest performer.

List of moments when famous shows are popularly considered to have "jumped"

Bewitched, when Dick Sargent replaced Dick York as the actor playing main character Darren Stevens.
The Brady Bunch, with the introduction of new character Oliver.
Moonlighting, when main characters David and Maddie have sex.
Mad About You, when main character Jamie Buchman gave birth to her daughter Mabel.
Married... with Children, when Seven comes to live with the Bundys.