Jump to content
OtakuBoards

Jumping the Shark.


TheShinje
 Share

Recommended Posts

Jumping the Shark is a term used to describe the moment when a television series has reached it's peak, and begun its slide into oblivion. It is a reference to oepisode of Happy Days when Fonzue jumps a shark on water skis, often considered to be the episode where Happy Days reached its peak, hence "jump the shark."

This thread is for discussions of such shark jump moments.. When did a show you watch reach the point of jumping the shark? When did you throw your remote into the air and say "this show just doesn't feel the same anymore!"

This is where I thinky my favourite shows went and jumped a shark...

===================================
[b] Lost:[/b] It jumped when Mikhail came back from the dead, Charlie drowned and Ben starts talking to Jacob, an invisible ghost with a thing for rocking chairs... Perhaps Mikhail's miraculous recovery is explained away enough but still... It can coem back if we see more of "smokey" and find mout a bit more about it and what it is...

[b]Dragon Ball Z:[/b] It should have stopped at Cell. He was designed to be the number one villain, having a design that incorporated all Goku's previous nemesis' into the one 'perfect' creation. Gohan's defeat of Cell should have ended the series... The ultimate villain defeated, and Goku passing the torch on to his son... but no. They decide that the show must go on and we get the ridiculous Great Saiyaman/Other World tournaments, Goku being dragged back from the dead... yet again (nobody ever stays dead, being dead is like going away camping in DBZ) and Majin Buu, the most ridiculous villain ever conceived. The moment Buu uttered "Buu make you go bye byes" was the moment I could no longer keep my DBZ obsession alive, it completely ruined the series for me.

I laughed when Buu destroyed the earth, because I knew they would all be back and this "dramatic" series twist would just be reversed by good ole "deus-ex-dragon." :rolleyes:

[b] Rugby World Cup 2007:*[/b] New Zealand , cup favourites get booted out in the quarter finals, by France, who have been mediocre in the year leading up to the cup, but somehow *magically* get the measure of us when it counts... Yeah, this is a case of sour grapes, not a real jump... :p

===============================
The sharks are jumping, report your sightings here!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Jeremiah'][b]Dragon Ball Z:[/b] It should have stopped at Cell. He was designed to be the number one villain, having a design that incorporated all Goku's previous nemesis' into the one 'perfect' creation. Gohan's defeat of Cell should have ended the series... The ultimate villain defeated, and Goku passing the torch on to his son... but no. [/QUOTE][size=1]Yeah, I'd suddenly lost my complete interest for DBZ after Cell, though the final battle could've been more epic if it would've been the final battle. :P

I'd try to think of a part where [b]The OC[/b] went downhill, but it had never really been uphill.[/size]
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Jeremiah'][b]Dragon Ball Z:[/b] It should have stopped at Cell. [/QUOTE]

[FONT="Arial"]OMG yes. :[ "Teen" Gohan was my favorite character in the whole show but when he turned 16 he became incredibly lame and stupid. Talk about a disappointment.

I haven't watched it interestedly in over a year, but Degrassi has probably jumped quite a few sharks. I actually liked the first few seasons (when I was between the ages of 13 and 14, by the way) but after [spoiler]Rick died[/spoiler] I discovered how dumb the show actually was. I don't understand how one group of friends can have [spoiler]two pregnancies, two deaths, eating disorders, mental health issues, drug problems, STDs, and who knows what else[/spoiler]. Just ONE group of friends. It's ridiculous.[/FONT]
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[COLOR="DarkOrange"]Dragon Ball Z should have ended at not ****ing existing. Dragonball was enough and it was good. DBZ is pure, unadulterated ****. The fact that people enjoy it wounds my soul.

On that note, almost every shonen fight series jumps the shark by the time it finishes 2 seasons.[/COLOR]
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='2007DigitalBoy'][COLOR="DarkOrange"]Dragon Ball Z should have ended at not ****ing existing. Dragonball was enough and it was good. DBZ is pure, unadulterated ****. The fact that people enjoy it wounds my soul.

[/COLOR][/QUOTE]
[COLOR="Olive"]THANK YOU FOR SAYING THAT! The truth is out.

Spongebob left me at a standstill. After his voice got higherm and he seemed even gayer than norm, hte goodness of the show flew the coop. But Spongebob can't be gay, his species doesn't reproduce with each other directly.[/COLOR]
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
I think that, at least in New Zealand, Cartoon Network has jumped the shark. All it ever seems to show are episode after episode of either My Gym Partner is a Monkey (asinine) or Camp Lazlo (also asinine).

The only show I enjoy on CN now is Ben 10, but that's probably because it isn't shown so often that I could see repeats after only a month!

Ben 10 itself jumped the shark when the episode "Kevin 11" went to air. How often do cartoons have to go down the "dark opposite of the hero" routine? It was just a plain boring and predictable episode.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Aceburner']American cartoons are being eaten alive by the sharks and have been since Animainacs was dened its 100th episode. Avatar is viewed widely as an exception, but there are 2 reasons I disagree:

1: It has far too many Eastern influences for me to consider it purely American.

2: Whatthefrick?! Aang has hair now?!?!??![/QUOTE]

[color=deeppink]Here's a better reason to disagree: it's boring.

Berserk totally jumped the shark in the last episode, which I guess is fine but it was maddening. Seriously, an entire seres residing within a flashback? Where's the resoultion, consarnit?

CSI: Miami jumped the shark with the death of Marisol or whatever her name was. I mean, I was having fun just turning my brain off until that point, but after that... I just couldn't get into it. It could have been a coincidence, though; all that "by the book" plot stuff was kinda irritating me anyway.[/color]
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Kitchen Sink']I think that, at least in New Zealand, Cartoon Network has jumped the shark. All it ever seems to show are episode after episode of either My Gym Partner is a Monkey (asinine) or Camp Lazlo (also asinine).[/QUOTE]

Cartoon Network runs on said Shark-Jumping cartoons, makes more every Friday, and has been going on like this since said Steven Spielberg cartoons. They're only ever good with Anime, and even then sometimes they hit-and-miss.

Seinfeld is another one. I never got to witness it firsthand, but I heard the finale was a sight to behold (in a bad way.)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Nerdsy'][color=deeppink]Here's a better reason to disagree: it's boring.
[/color][/QUOTE]

[font="trebuchet ms"] At least it's better than most anime. *shrug*

The series [i]Ugly Betty[/i] jumps the shark all the time, but it works wonderfully. I love it so. :)

But seriously, [i]American Idol[/i] outstayed its welcome after its third season. It amazes me that it shoots to the top of the viewers list every year, because [i]no one[/i] I know actually keeps up with it (seriously, which demographic is it?). The only likable singer this show has produced is Kelly Clarkson.

[i]Nip/Tuck[/i] could be jumping the shark by its move to LA... I think the show lost its steam power in its second season.[/font]
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Aceburner'][IMG]http://www.ramblestrip.com/sanjaya_scary.jpg[/IMG]

How can you not love that face? (:luv: says the tonedeaf teenyboppers.)[/QUOTE]

[font="trebuchet ms"] Even as a teenbopper I don't see the attractiveness, lol. He's possibly the least attractive guy I've ever seen.[/font]
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...