June 7, 2001

6:12 AM

Jump the Shark! "It's a moment. A defining moment when you know that your favorite television program has reached its peak." When did your favorite show start to suck. Add your vote, see what others think
posted by Outlawyr (12 comments total)

ah.. heard about this on howard stern a couple weeks ago... it's an okay site. the story behind the name of the site is hilarious, and the never jumped section is worth checking out.
posted by lotsofno at 7:00 AM on June 7, 2001

I remember the moment perfectly. All my favorite shows started to suck when I turned seven and started to read grown-up books.
posted by jfuller at 7:03 AM on June 7, 2001

Hmmmm.... looks like somebody checked out the 'popular' list at the NY Times that was mentioned yesterday.

And I agree with lotsofno -- the concept is excellent, but the site is poorly organized so it's not as fun to read as it should be.
posted by Dirjy at 7:04 AM on June 7, 2001

NPR did a story on JumptheShark.com about a month ago: Link to Real Audio.
posted by owen at 8:00 AM on June 7, 2001

I've been surfing JTS for a while, and the one thing that really cracks me up is the McGinley factor. Harkening back to my formative years, I must admit that "Happy Days" ceased to be amusing when Richie left and McGinley showed up. Whenever I see McGinley, I get the heebie-jeebies for some reason.
posted by davidmsc at 9:05 AM on June 7, 2001

Also, this website's been mentioned in MeFi. A couple times, in fact. I contributed to JTS myself a few years ago. Although I read it now and can't find which comments are my own.

It's been around for awhile.
posted by ZachsMind at 9:06 AM on June 7, 2001

Having caught the late-night rerun of Sports Night on Comedy Central last night, I am now a wholehearted believer in the McGinley Factor. SN was a great show (despite the whole crackhead thing) but as soon as Ted popped in with his big goofy mug, it went straight to hell and was cancelled. I think that they're definitely on to something.

Other than that, one of the funniest pages on JTS (and most likely to invoke nostalgia in early X-ers who now have kids) is the "When Did Sesame Street Jump" page. It's a toss-up between the introduction of the evil that is Elmo and the bizarre decision to make Snufalupagus visible to everyone, not just Big Bird. I'm still undecided on the matter. (And Zach, I remember seeing your name during a protracted JTS session a couple of weeks back. I think it was something about T.J. Hooker. . . )
posted by Dreama at 9:11 AM on June 7, 2001

If only I'd known about the phrase 'Jumping the Shark' when the Snufalupagus decision came down, I would have recognized it as the sign of Shark-Jumping. But shows jump the shark at different times for different audiences. Anyone who came in later would probably go with Elmo as the shark-jumper.

And hey, raise your hand if you actually remember watching Fonzie jump the shark!
posted by owen at 10:36 AM on June 7, 2001

/me raises hand *sigh*

I don't think McGinley doomed Sports Night; those near-final eps with William H. Macy were some of the best. Indeed, Sorkin (who's also used him on The West Wing) may be single-handedly trying to rehabilitate the guy. ;-)

I like the fact that Friends, for instance, mostly hasn't been voted as jumping the shark. (There were several immediate, premature votes in favor of the Monica-Chandler wedding. Hey, wait until it actually gets bad...) There's something neat about a show that survives a full actors'-contract and thrives.

It really is sad, though, to see a site like this that could be really, really great and instead is only mediocre because of bad design.
posted by dhartung at 1:07 PM on June 7, 2001

oboy. Looks like Rolling Stone is trying to claim registered trademark ownership of the phrase "jumping the shark" in regards to music. I wonder if they have the legalities necessary to back up their claim, and if this is adversely going to affect one of my personal favorite websites of all time?

Mediocre? Bad design? Just cuz jumptheshark.com doesn't have CCS or dynamic html or flash out the butt? I think if they started trying to "prettify" their website, THEY'D be accused of jumping the shark. JTS is fine the way it is, and I for one am glad to see it's still out there.

(someone talked about me at a JTS chat thingy? What'd they say about me? And what did I say about TJ Hooker? Should I be afeared? =)
posted by ZachsMind at 1:32 AM on June 8, 2001

oboy

I don't think so. From Rotten Stump, I mean Rolling Stone:

©1997-2001 Jump The Shark, Inc. Jump the Shark® is a registered trademark of Jump The Shark, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

posted by rodii at 7:02 AM on June 8, 2001