Anybody that knows a little bit about television has probably heard of the phrase “jumping the shark.” Jumping the shark is a phrase used to describe a moment in a television show when a character or characters have a very out of the ordinary storyline. Normally when a show jumps the shark it is because the show is past its prime and they are trying to revive the show.
There are several ways that television shows have tried to jump the shark in the past couple of decades. These are some of the most common forms of jumping the shark.
Birth
Often television shows will start to get stale and the writers will think that bringing in some new characters will freshen up the show and revive the ratings. The most common way of doing this is to have one character give birth to a new character.
Examples: Nicky and Alex (Full House), Nicky (Fresh Prince), Chrissy (Growing Pains)
Death
Anytime your show is dying a slow death the writers will attempt something shocking to bring the fans back. Nothing is more shocking then killing somebody so that is a common form of jumping the shark.
Examples: Sara (Prison Break), Marissa (The O. C.), Tony (24)
Marriage
Whenever two characters get married it is almost always a way to try and spike ratings by having a big wedding episode.
Examples: Cory & Topanga (Boy Meets World), Lois and Clark (Lois and Clark), Maxwell Smart and 99 (Get Smart)
Movie
If you have to make a movie of your television then clearly your television show isn’t doing a good enough job.
Examples: Justin to Kelly (American Idol), The Simpsons Movie (The Simpsons), The G. I. Joe Movie (G. I. Joe), The Transformers Movie (Transformers)
New Kid
The New Kid form of jumping the shark often comes hand-in-hand with the puberty form of jumping the shark. After the cute child is no longer cute they have to bring in another kid but it wouldn’t make sense for the family to give birth because the new kid wouldn’t be old enough to replace the old kid. So they have to make up some story to bring in a new kid that is the right age.
Examples: Cousin Oliver (Brady Bunch), Olivia (Cosby Show), Luke (Growing Pains)
Puberty
Remember when your favorite television show had that cute kid that was a great supporting character. And now they are just kind of awkward and you wish they would just go away? They have jumped the shark.
Example: Rudy (Cosby Show), Ben (Growing Pains), Joanie (Happy Days)
Replacement
Sometimes a television show is clearly not what it used to be and one of the actors leaves. Well they have to replace them with somebody right? Replacing a character we already know with a new actress is never good.
Example: Becky (Roseanne)
Singing
Sometimes a television show will do an all musical episode or at least a musical number that is out of the ordinary. This tactic is clearly used to spike ratings because the show is past its prime.
Examples: Musical Episode (Buffy, the Vampire Slayer), Musical Episode (Scrubs)
