# origin of "jumped the shark"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 6, 2007, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-jumped-the-shark/425454 "2007-11-06T19:45:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![masterofnone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@masterofnone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/masterofnone)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-jumped-the-shark/425454/1 "2007-11-06T19:45:11Z")
Ok, so I’ve been lurking for a while and have figured out most of the SDMB’s catchphrases, but I don’t get this one. Where did this come from? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-jumped-the-shark/425454/2 "2007-11-06T19:47:47Z")
It’s not an SDMB catch phrase at all. It’s been around for quite a while and predates the Dope. It originally meant the time when a good, long running TV series became bad and unwatchable. The source is from the show _Happy Days_. The character Fonzie does a daredevil feat where he jumps over a shark tank on water skis. That was the beginning of the end for people who were fans of the show. ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-jumped-the-shark/425454/3 "2007-11-06T19:48:43Z")
[google](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=jumped+the+shark) [wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumped_the_shark) It’s not exclusive to the SDMB. And if ya ask me, it’s over used and annoying. ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-jumped-the-shark/425454/4 "2007-11-06T19:49:50Z")
From [Happy Days](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumping_the_shark), in an episode where the Fonz jumped over a shark while waterskiing. It alludes to the moment where the fans can tell that something has been kept around well past its shelf life. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-jumped-the-shark/425454/5 "2007-11-06T19:50:06Z")
[QUOTE=brewha] [google](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=jumped+the+shark) [wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumped_the_shark) It’s not exclusive to the SDMB. And if ya ask me, it’s over used and annoying. [/QUOTE] The phrase itself has, ironically, ‘jumped the shark’. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-jumped-the-shark/425454/6 "2007-11-06T19:53:00Z")
[QUOTE=brewha] And if ya ask me, it’s over used and annoying. [/QUOTE] Not half as annoying as complaining about over-used catchphrases. ---
**Author:** ![masterofnone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@masterofnone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/masterofnone)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-jumped-the-shark/425454/7 "2007-11-06T19:53:26Z")
Thanks! I never heard it outside of the SDMB, so I just assumed it was from here. ---
**Author:** ![Otara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Otara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otara)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-jumped-the-shark/425454/8 "2007-11-06T20:01:18Z")
I dont think its so much overused as used prematurely, because its become a status thing to be the first person to call it for a particular phenomenon, to show how hip and happening you are as a person that you know when something is out of fashion. Otara ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-jumped-the-shark/425454/9 "2007-11-06T20:06:39Z")
Maybe part of the reason that particular scene in that particular episode became what Waugh would call a “needlehook of experience”, was that the Fonz performed this stunt in his trademark leather jacket, paired with the short swimtrunks of the era. The idea of somebody waterskiing in a leather jacket was just – weird, you know? If you go to the JumpTheShark website they list hundreds of TV shows and everybody can weigh in on where they think that show jumped the shark. For _Happy Days_ one person wrote, “What is the name of this website”? Forthright and amusing. ---
**Author:** ![scm1001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@scm1001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scm1001)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-jumped-the-shark/425454/10 "2007-11-06T22:45:49Z")
Its not even a very accurate catchphrase. Happy days jumped the shark long before the jumping episode ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-jumped-the-shark/425454/11 "2007-11-06T23:15:31Z")
[QUOTE=Derleth] Not half as annoying as complaining about over-used catchphrases. [/QUOTE] It’s complaints about complaints about over-used catchphrases that bug me the most. ---
**Author:** ![SiouxChief](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@SiouxChief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SiouxChief)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-jumped-the-shark/425454/12 "2007-11-07T01:35:03Z")
A thread about jumping the shark would not be complete with the honorable mention to Ted McGinley, the [Patron Saint of shark jumping](http://www.jumptheshark.com/forum/Ted-Mcginley/22). ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-jumped-the-shark/425454/13 "2007-11-07T19:59:51Z")
[QUOTE=scm1001] Its not even a very accurate catchphrase. Happy days jumped the shark long before the jumping episode. [/QUOTE] Considering that the shark was jumped at the beginning of the fourth of the series’ ten seasons, it couldn’t have been _that much_ before. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-jumped-the-shark/425454/14 "2007-11-07T20:08:41Z")
This thread ‘jumped the shark’ around post #4. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-jumped-the-shark/425454/15 "2007-11-07T20:28:39Z")
[QUOTE=brewha] It’s not exclusive to the SDMB. And if ya ask me, it’s over used and annoying. [/QUOTE] We recently did a thread called: [When will “Jump the Shark” Jump the shark?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=442165) ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-jumped-the-shark/425454/16 "2007-11-07T21:48:16Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] It’s complaints about complaints about over-used catchphrases that bug me the most. [/QUOTE] :mad: ---
**Author:** ![priapus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@priapus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/priapus)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-jumped-the-shark/425454/17 "2007-11-07T22:09:21Z")
And no one has mentioned the episode of Arrested Development that had Henry Winkler jump over a shark on his way to Burger King? ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-jumped-the-shark/425454/18 "2007-11-07T22:44:11Z")
To the best of my knowledge, [this site](http://www.jumptheshark.com) is the origin of the phrase. And I can’t believe this is post #18 and nobody has mentioned it yet. ---
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2007, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-jumped-the-shark/425454/19 "2007-11-08T00:25:49Z")
[QUOTE=MsWhatsit] To the best of my knowledge, [this site](http://www.jumptheshark.com) is the origin of the phrase. And I can’t believe this is post #18 and nobody has mentioned it yet. [/QUOTE] Even more specifically, [John Hein](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Hein) is the originator of the phrase. Well actually, his college roommate actually coined the phrase. John Hein started the web site, which he later sold to TV Guide for a bunch of money. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2007, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-jumped-the-shark/425454/20 "2007-11-08T01:15:00Z")
[QUOTE=MsWhatsit] To the best of my knowledge, [this site](http://www.jumptheshark.com) is the origin of the phrase. And I can’t believe this is post #18 and nobody has mentioned it yet. [/QUOTE] Didja read post #9? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-jumped-the-shark/425454.md?page=2)