Poll: Jumping the Shark

Jumping the shark?

  • Total voters
    476
The Halk said:
It's one of my favourite phrases, however it turns out that when Happy Days jumped the shark, they weren't actually "jumping the shark" as the programme hadn't entered decline, so it's based on a fallasy.
Click to expand...


Actually "jumping the Shark" indicates the point where you realise that a show is declining, not the point where it starts declining. The show has usually been going downhill for a while before fans realise, and certainly before they accept, the fall in standards. I never watched Happy Days, but general opinion is, I believe, that the moment in question was well past the peak of the series. It is VERY rare for any series to get better later than about series three, and few even manage to get that far on a steady rise.


M
 
According to wiki, the show continued for another 7 years after that scene.

It also says: "It's a moment. A defining moment when you know that your favorite television program has reached its peak. That instant that you know from now on...it's all downhill. Some call it the climax. We call it 'Jumping the Shark.' From that moment on, the program will simply never be the same."
 
Looks like someone has changed the meaning that used to be there then. The trouble with "peak" moments is that you seldom recognise them at the time. Hence the reason that the expression certainly used to have the meaning I gave. Looks like the concept was a bit difficult so it got simplified.


M
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom