The Art of Jumping the Shark

On a late episode of the classic TV series “Happy Days” (boy do I miss those reruns…) the Fonz attempts to jump over a shark whilst on water skis.  And with that odd and out-of-character scene, a television idiom was born.

Jumping the shark is when a good television (or film) series veers off course into incredibly bizarre and uncharacteristic territory. Usually this happens when a show has gone on for too long and the writers/producers have run out of new, inventive storylines. However this isn’t always the case. There have been shows that have had long lives and never jumped the shark [see: The West Wing, Seinfeld, Friends, and Gilmore Girls]. And, there have been good shows that have jumped the shark very early on in their lives [see: Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip]. Nothing makes me sadder as when a show I truly love loses all of the qualities that made me love it in the first place. I rarely abandon shows midway through their life. I like to see programs through til their end. But right now I am grappling with doing just that, yet again.

I didn’t start watching Grey’s Anatomy until midway through the second season when a special episode aired after the Super Bowl in 2006. I knew the basic premise because my mom had watched it from the beginning, but I stayed away initially because I wasn’t a huge fan of doctor shows. But after the Super Bowl episodes (which were the bomb episodes with Kyle Chandler and Christina Ricci for all of you GA fans), I was hooked. I spent the following months sequestered in my friend’s dorm room watching all of the episodes we had missed. It quickly became my favorite show and Sunday nights at 10p became a sacred time for me and my college girlfriends. However, something tragic happened halfway through season three. When Dr. George O’Malley’s father dies, he irrationally decides to deal with his grief by marrying his girlfriend Callie. And thus began the downward spiral. It was amazing to me how a show could go from the best television I had ever seen [see: season two finale] to something I could no longer take seriously [see Izzie resuscitating a deer]. Once Izzie and George started banging and Denny’s ghost was appearing I knew I was out. I couldn’t take it anymore. The once brilliant Shonda Rhimes was slowly killing her show and I wasn’t going to stick around to watch it flatline. At the end of season three when Dr. Burke left the show so did I. And I have no regrets. It saddens me that a show so young could get so bad, so fast.

Which brings me to my current dilemma. The first three seasons of Weeds were awesome. The show was dark, funny, suspenseful, intriguing and wonderfully acted. The season three finale put the show at a crossroads. The show was changing locations and losing some cast members and it was unclear as to which direction the show was going to take. Unfortunately, it took the absurd and unwanted path. Nancy Botwin went from a suburban pot dealer to the pregnant drug mule of a Mexican politician. Some of the best characters are gone and I am sorry to say I rarely laugh during an episode. However, I haven’t stopped watching yet. I guess its because I need to find out what happens next. Nancy and her family keep getting deeper and deeper into danger and I just have to find out how it all ends. Damn you Jenji Kohan. Your show became bad, but I still can’t stop watching. However, if you ever get rid of Uncle Andy, the silver lining on this dark cloud, I will stop.  So, what should I do? Stick around or bail? Feel free to leave a comment! And if you are not sure, get the first three seasons then watch the most recent episode. Chances are you’ll be able to relate.

July 30, 2009. Uncategorized.