Ummm…
Someone jumped us up the shark!
Sorry, that was the best I could do. Good bait though.
Sorry to interrupt, but what the heck do these expressions mean? I did get the drift of the OP’s use: ‘jump the shark’ seems to mean something like ‘has lost it’s touch’. Still this is the first time I’ve seen it. Same applies to ‘All Your Base’.
Could anyone please elaborate for us clueless Europeans? (realistic picture following 
)
(I did get the ‘Wanna-be’, though) 
That picture should of course be
(parsing of picture codes seems to start at the back)
Ross’s character does seem to have disintegrated a bit. In the beginning, he was geeky but funny. Now, (especially after the British chick) he seems very desperate. His relationships with women are so painful to watch. I wonder if that was an attempt by the writers to show Ross’s insecurity after three divorces. Who would be a little off after that?
“Jumping the Shark” is the non-official term used to indicate that a television show has past its prime. It has run out of original ideas and from that one point onwards, it is all down hill.
The term comes from the Happy Days episode when the Fonz literally jumped a shark. It is widely believed that episode was the last good one, leading to the decline and eventual cancellation of Happy Days.
And as for the term over-extending its stay, I disagree. It’s a great way to say that a show has past its prime due to one particular moment, or moments. I like it, I’ll keep it
As for “All Your Base”…some silly computer thing I never really got into. Someone else could probably answer that better.
Thanks, Harli, for the explanation. Never really understood all the Happy Days stuff in Tarantino movies, either (though as of late they’ve started doing reruns of it over here).
I agree that Ross’s character has disintegrated and Chandler isn’t funny anymore either. Monica is just shrill. But, Joey has become the funniest thing on TV. I watch just for him. I also like how Rachel has developed.
Caricci, you like how Rachel as developed? Would this be the Rachel that left maternity leave early to go back to work? The Rachel that, in spite of having a baby and an odd living arrangement with the father, jumped into a relationship with a co-worker?
I know it is just a TV show, but Rachel has quickly become the Scrappy Doo of friends. She does idiotic things that few normal people would consider doing, she clearly has little regard for others, and her actions make me want to choke her with a dog collar.
Ditto. I really like the expression. The combination of an action verb with a word that evokes a provocative image in most minds (“shark”) makes it a memorable way to express an idea. I think it should be kept as part of the lexicon, and expanded to refer to when anything is past its prime. The expression just has too much punch to die.
by the way, am I the only one here who has ever heard of www.jumptheshark.com?
We still watch it, because every now and then the dialog is good. I admired the exchange between Monica and Chandler:
[talking about having sex while Rachel’s baby is in the next room]
Monica: You just have to be really, really fast.
Chandler: Like that’s ever been a problem!
[Both laugh good-naturedly]
Chandler: And you just have to be really, really quiet.
Monica: Like that’s ever been a problem!
I thought the ending of the Winona Ryder episode was brilliant too (last year, I think).
She only went back a week early. Also, she didn’t “jump into a relationship” with the guy from work, she just kissed him. I don’t see either one of those things as immoral.
I agree that Friends isn’t as good as it used to be. But there’s the occasional great episode. But I have to admit, now I just watch it for Dermot Mulroney.
I agree with the first part of the above statement, however, the reference to “Happy Days” jumping the shark means that the episode where Fonzi jumps the shark was the first departure from the established script line and lead to a drastic change in the quality of the program. I don’t think that episode was the last good one, but rather it was the turning point which lead to the decline of the series. Some series know when to call it quits, while others will try to change into a very poor shadow of what they once were.
Does anybody else think that Monica could now be Skeletor’s long-lost daughter? She looks terrible!!
I love this show. I’ve seen every episode 10 times over and tune it or tape the latest. The show is not as fresh as it used to be and the characters can at times seem to be caricatures of their former selves. The baby storyline was done as well as they could have I think. There are plotlines revolving around her care and maintainence but she isn’t a full character enough to disrupt the flow (unlike that Dr. Leo on Will and Grace grumble). I think it’s important not to have too many storylines focusing on her so I don’t mind the Rachel-co-worker kiss. I am getting tired of Ross being the lovelorn loser though-his character deserves more than pitching and mooning about his high school crush.
Chandler and Monica constantly surprise me. I’m really enjoying their early yrs of marriage. I hope they put off the baby stuff til the show ends.
Phoebe-what can I say. She is wonderful. The bringing back the old beau from Minsk was kinda lame but I’m glad she and Mike are developing-she deserves more plot. Paul Rudd is a nice sidedish to the main course.
Joey has always seemed slightly boring to me. His Rachel thing was meaty but lacking passion I felt. I’ve always secretly hoped he’d end the show dropping acting and choosing a surprise career so who knows. I pray to God every night he doesn’t get his own spinoff and destroy whatever fond memories we have of him.
Overall, still one of the best sitcoms on tv. It’s showing it’s wear but aging gracefully.
Bah. Still looks good to me.
She’s become smarter, more independant and less whiney.
Well, I thought the 2/13 episode was hilarious. Ross finding out Phoebe mugged hm when they were teens, Joey finding out he is a better actor with a full bladder, Jeff Goldblum giving bizarre acting advice, Chandler working as an intern, trying to come up with a campaign for sneaker rollerblades. Joey’s reaction to them was typical, well, Joey.
As I said before, a gem.
[enter geek who sporadically watches Friends]
“All Your Base” refers to a video game Zero Wing that was released in America. Only, when they translated it from Japanese to English, it was laughably bad for native English speakers.
Some people thought it was hilarious so they posted it online along with a video segment that included photoshopped pictures with techno music. It quickly became popular and flooded the internet including SDMB. That was almost two years ago. Things have died down but it was fun while it lasted.
To learn the history go here: Story of AYB
To see the video go here: Video of AYB
[exit geek that sporadically watches Friends]
This is perhaps the most naive comment I’ve read in this forum in weeks. Please…