"Jump the Shark" Thread

I was wondering about people's opinions on certain TV shows that "jumped the shark". Okay, maybe that's a bit of an exaggerated term. After all, every good series has it share of weak spots.

Anyway, the typical 'jump the shark' moments are during the last few seasons of a show. For instance, there's the last three seasons of "The Andy Griffith Show" (the color episodes). Why are these seasons weaker than the black and white ones? To be honest I can't safely say, as I haven't seen enough of the latter day episodes. However, from the few that I have seen, part of the problem seems to be different writing and directing. And there's the more obvious act, such as Andy's character becoming seemingly more impatient and grouchy, and the lack of so many of the previous seasons' 'funny' characters (namely Barney). The lack of Don Knotts (with the acception of a few guest appereances) came from the fact that Knotts was told TAGS would only last five seaons. After season five, Knotts went onto his movie career. Meanwhile, Andy was picked up for another season. Jack Burns briefly joined the cast as the new deputy, Warren Ferguson. Most people seem to agree that the problem with Warren was the fact that the writers made him too similar to Barney. Again, I can't agree on this, as I've seen so few episodes with him. However, I do think that the lack of a really good sidekick for Andy did make things a bit bland.

And then there's "Diff'rent Strokes". The last two seaons were filled with weak episodes. One big change during these two seasons was the lack of Kimberly (Dana Plato) and Willis (Todd Bridges). Dana Plato became pregnant after season six, and was dropped from the cast before the next season. However, she did make two guest appereances in season seven, and was a semi-regular in the last season. Todd Bridges was still a main cast member, but his role was largely shortened. This was due to the fact that episodes were now focusing on Arnold's relationship with younger brother Sam. Then there's Sam (and Maggie). This is by no means a rant on Danny Cooksey, Dixie Carter, or Mary Ann Mobely. Personally, I just found there characters to be rather annoying. I do remember that the writers gave two different approaches to Maggie during seasons seven and eight. In season seven, with Carter playing the role, Maggie was typically called on to yell, make cracks, and seem like an interesting addition to the group. The last season, with Mobely replacing Carter, depicted Maggie as a more calm character (and extremely bland).

Any other thoughts? Or can anybody think of TV shows that either 'jumped the shark', or had just plain bad episodes?

The last few seasons of a show doesn't mean it "jumped the shark", there's a number of shows that had better later seasons than earlier seasons (Seinfeld for example), when a show jumps the shark, that's the moment the show takes a turn for the worst, and in some cases, alienates the fans that loved it dearly.

As far as Andy Griffith goes, yes, the last three seasons did jump the shark, for a lot of reasons, including one you didn't mention: trying to make up for Barney's departure by introducing a new cast of secondary characters, like Howard the county agent, Emmet the repairman, and others.

In some of my opinions...

Bewitched jumped the shark when they switched Darrins; I know Dick Sargent tried, and it's ironic that he was actually the original choice for Darrin but couldn't do it because he was under contract with another studio, but he just couldn't quite measure up to Dick York's performance.

M*A*S*H jumped the shark by Season Eight, when the show completely overhauled its writing and production staff, and it shifted from being a sitcom with dramatic undertones, to basically being a very dark and very preachy anti-war show that had very little comedy to it at all.

Arthur jumped the shark years ago: they keep getting child actors that are too young and make the characters sound completely off (Arthur himself hasn't had a decent voice actor in nearly ten years), and it's clear the show has worn out its welcome, the writers have been out of ideas for years now.

Courage the Cowardly Dog jumped the shark when the network forced him to stop talking after the first season.

Happy Days, when Fonzie jumped a shark on water skis. I win.

Right, I didn't mean that all shows "jumped" during their last season(s). Rather, I meant that generally "jump the shark" moments occur during the last season(s) of certain shows.

The Powerpuff Girls when they switched over to *gasp* flash animation!

Dexter's Lab when they revamped the show altogether, and changed everything.

The Three Stooges (okay, not a TV show) around 1953 when a lot of the great minds behind the Stooges films left (Ed Bernds, Elwood Ulman, etc.). For most of the remaining Shemp period, the Stooges films were basically remakes of older shorts, almost always using stock footage from those shorts. And then there's the period with "the two Joes" (Joe Besser and Curly-Joe DeRita). The Besser shorts are a mixed bag. About half are remakes of older shorts, while the others are new shorts. The 'new' shorts were typically written to suit younger audiences. Some (like "Muscle Up a Little Closer" and "A Merry Mix-Up") aren't that bad. Others (like "Sweet and Hot" and "Horsing Around") are pretty bad. And then there's the fact that Besser doesn't seem to have much chemistry with Moe or Larry. Then again, he was only with the Stooges for a short period of time (less than two years).

The Curly-Joe era is also a mixed bag. When Curly-Joe came on board, the Stooges finally got the chance to star in their own feature films. These were generally kiddie matinee films, with more family-oriented material. Much of the Stooges' violent horseplay was toned down. Personally I don't think the CJ films are that bad. "Have Rocket Will Travel" is a bit slow moving, but still has a good amount of classic Stooge material in it. Its weak points, IMO, are the romantic subplot (one of the most boring subplots I've ever seen), the entire sequence with the Stooges on Venus (a little too much sci-fi/kidde material), and the fact that Joe DeRita doesn't seem really comfortable as a Stooge at this point (after all, he'd just joined the act).

"Snow White and the Three Stooges" suffers from the obvious fact that the Stooges inclusion in the film was an after-thought. When watching this film, one shouldn't expect a typical Stooge film. The boys' material in this one really seems like it could have been given to any other comics. Still, with the acception of Carol Heiss (Snow White), the acting is very good. Sets are beautiful, music is nice, and hey, Mel Brooks' voice makes an appereance. Joe has gotten more comfortable with his Stooge role by now. Another bonus in this film is we get to see the Stooges pull of dramatic acting. All three actually do a fantastic job.

"The Three Stooges Meet Hercules" had a good plot, and was strongly helped by the inclusion of director Edward Bernds and writer/producer Norman Mauer. "The Three Stooges in Orbit" actually had about 20 minutes of footage that was either remade or taken directly from an unsold TV pilot, "The Three Stooges Scrapbook". The "Scrapbook" material is, IMO, pretty good. Watching just those scenes gives the feel of a classic Stooge short. The rest of the film is good in parts, but also has a lot of slow-moving points.

"The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze" also had a good story, and reused a lot of classic Stooge material (the "Marajah" routine, "Pop Goes the Weasel", etc.). While it's not my favorite of the CJ features, it's probably the best of the lot. "The Outlaws IS Coming" is filled with pop culture references of the 1960s that, while very funny, are somewhat outdated by now. Then there's the TV show "The New Three Stooges". A part live action, part animated show (a concept the Stooges tried selling to TV as early as the late 50s), it's clearly meant to be more of a kids' show. While it's nice to see the Stooges in color, the live action sequences are a bit slow moving (partly due to the Stooges aging), but not too bad. The cartoons are cute, but not exactly classic Stooge material.

I can't really pinpoint it... but with Sliders it was shortly after they killed off Prof. Arturo and again when they replaced Quin Mallory.

"For the record? There was an episode of 'Happy Days' where a guy LITERALLY JUMPED OVER A SHARK. And it was the best one!" - Troy, Community

First off, 'Troy and Abed on Muppet CEEEN-TRAL'
Second off, I think Andy's problem was that they kind of changed the character of Andy to NOT be the one who had the idea to either catch the crook, or to get out of a situation. They made him be the guy who had the idea and somehow it backfired(for example, the Bowling episode) or the baffoon. Usually, the comedy came in the middle where somebody like Barney had something happen, or they had something happen to them, and Andy always ended up finding a funny way out of it.
Third off, M*A*S*H's problem came after Radar left. Yeah, there were some good episodes, BUT there was no real comedy after Burns and Radar left. It became too preachy and too dramatic. Without the comedy to balance it out, you're just left with a commentary on how sucky war is and who really wants to watch THAT for a half hour.
Lastly, Dang you Bryan M, That's what I was gonna say lol.

Daniel

It didn't occur to me until now, recently watching reruns on Teenick, but All That really hit a snag in Season 5, with Kel Mitchell appearing only in a few episodes. Of course the show really sunk in Season 6 with the departure of Kel & Kenan Thompson, arguably the show's two breakout stars.

Muppet Babies, when in the last two seasons they started adding in more characters and had less in the way of fun team adventures. It's as if they suddenly forgot what made the show fun and charming. I enjoy most of the series, but it's very hard for me to force myself to watch any of the final two seasons.

Actually, only the 10th Anniversary special was done in Flash. You mean digital coloring, right? I liked the crisper, cleaner look of the show by the time the movie came out. The episodes since the movie were hit or miss. They turned the Mayor into a babbling idiot (I HATE Toast of the Town). But I did love the Standards and Practice episode (especially since the prudish couple is voiced by the SAME parents from Fairly Oddparents).

So, I'd say either the show jumped the shark with the advent of the movie OR that rock opera episode. And it totally would have been better if they got Jack Black like they wanted to.

I wonder what the big deal of Fonzie "jumping the shark" was. I thought that was a great sequence, I like the three-part "Hollywood" episodes which featured it, and in a way the later Richie episodes (seasons 5-7) are better than the earlier ones (though in another way the earlier ones are better). The show was on the air for six more seasons after this. In fact that was pointed out by Gary Marshall in the Happy Days 30th anniversary reunion special: "We did 100 more episodes after this, so if it made the show jump the shark, it didn't jump too badly".

Ironically, some fans tend to think the show jumped the shark with the introduction of Chachi, and he was introduced in that three-part cliffhanger. Though he was absent from part 2, making the shark-jumping episode his second appearance (just barely not his debut episode, though I think Ralph vs. Potsy was his first appearance in production order).

I find the new animation studio from those seasons clumsy and ill suited for Muppet babies. I loved Toei's stilted, yet detailed animation (even though the first season looked a little dark).

Plus they ramped up the educational content, almost turning it into another show entirely (New Adventures of Kermo Polo and Transcontinental Whoo Whoo for 2 examples). And Bean Bunny was a lame character that even the writers didn't know what to do with. Too bad Janice was used only in one episode. She was actually the best new character... plus they desperately needed more female characters (even if they were played by men).

I didn't like Janice at all. Her voice really threw me. But I prefer her to Statler and Waldorf. IMO, they just aren't themselves if they're not heckling the Muppets, and heckling the babies would just be mean. Plus, exactly why are they parking their carcasses in the nursery anyway? Feh, let the babies have their own adventures based on their imaginations, not be weighed down by the presence of adults.

I think that Seinfeld may have jumped the shark after Larry David left at the end of the seventh season. The last two seasons are still really funny, but they're a bit of a step down from the prime-era seasons. I personally think that the seventh season was the best of the show, as they combined the serial plotting of the fourth season with the awkward humor of the fifth and sixth season, and the last two seasons could only pale in the wake of that.

On the subject of All That, I'd say it jumped the shark when it became "The NEW All That", when pretty much the entire cast was replaced... but then again, that's like all these old codgers and middle-agers who say, "Oh, Saturday Night Live was the never the same again after the original cast"... but I mean, without the likes of Kenan and Kel, Amanda Bynes, Lori Beth Denberg, Danny Tamberelli, Josh Server, and them, the show just wasn't worth watching.

As for Seinfeld, I feel the reverse, I feel the first three and a half seasons jumped the shark, if only because there was so much network scrutiny, too much network control, not enough creative freedom, etc. By the latter half of Season Four and onward is when the show kept getting better, and with a few exceptions (such as the episode that plays backwards), I think the last couple of seasons were the best... of course, that could be because that's when I remember first watching the show (I was only a kid when it first came on), so that could be why those episodes feel stronger to me than earlier ones. Yes, Larry David's departure was a blow, but there's a number of series that still go strong after the creator walks away: M*A*S*H went on for seven more seasons after creator Larry Gelbart left, even though the last four seasons were pretty bad.

Speaking of which, I agree with Daniel that the departure of Radar was bad for M*A*S*H, but I think with the direction Alan Alda took the writing and production staff in those last few seasons, that had Radar remained, it probably wouldn't have helped much. I do disagree a little on Frank Burns, I think Charles added new blood to the show, but he was also like Frank at times in that he was a character you could love to hate, not because he was a weasely twerp like Frank was, but because of what a heartless rich snob that he was, thinking he was better than everyone else in camp, yet every so often, Hawkeye and B.J. could pull the wool over his eyes without him realizing it (ala changing his uniforms to make him think he's losing weight, then gaining weight, etc).

I like the first couple seasons of the show. The third season has some classic episodes (the parking garage, the nose job, the parking spot, the one with keith hernandez), and while things were not as outrageous as in later years, they are still pretty funny. But I would agree with your point that the show really hit its stride late in season four into season five.

Yes, "The Parking Garage" is one of the few earlier episodes that I really enjoy... that, and "The Bubble Boy".

I liked Janice and Statler and Waldorf... I just feel they were used wrong. I like Statler and Waldorf as "Uncles" and all, but they clearly took the burden left by the network head's daughter's wishes to get rid of Bunsen and Beaker for educational content. I think Janice should have been added earlier (albeit with a different voice), and had a role similar to Bunsen and Beaker... just a kid who comes over every so often to visit. MB should have had more of a female presence in the show. That's why they invented Skeeter. But we had Piggy as the Pretty girl, Skeeter as the sporty tom boy... Janice as the music loving free spirit would have given another angle on the female demographic. Something that wasn't quite as overused in the 1980's.

But Bean is another story. The writers not only didn't know what to do with the character, they couldn't even match the character with his puppet counterpart. Bean turned into a nonconfident, constantly depressed Eeyore type character (didn't he even play Eeyore when they parodied Pooh?) who was always the butt of jokes, rather than the overly optimistic, cloyingly cute Muppet we know and love. I don't see where they got that comparison.

But the worst episode of the series was the one with the live action cat. We DIDN'T need an episode with a live action cat.