Saying that ‘jumped the shark’ has jumped the shark has not jumped the shark, since saying it was never innovative or funny in the first place. Besides, considering people have been saying that ‘jumped the shark’ has jumped the shark about, oh, since the website first went up, that’s just… stupid.
Seriously, I have never seen why some people seem to have such a negative reaction to the phrase ‘jumped the shark’. I kinda like it. Perhaps it’s the word ‘shark’, which is always a nice word. Sharksharksharksharkshark.
If people want to complain about overused phrases, complain about “When come back bring pie”. I hold that Weebl & Bob have contributed their small part in ruining of the Internet.
Perhaps some people think other, presumably intelligent people, should be able to use the richness of the English language to communicate in other than hackneyed old phrases and snatches of dialogue from cartoons, particularly if they want to be taken seriously.
I used to work for a restaurant that had “sharking”. Servers always cringed at hearing the words “You’ve been sharked”. It meant this-If you can’t arrive to work on time then you have just lost your section to another server. Someone (usually a server in a shitty section) invariably would be circling the front door like a shark does his prey while you strolled in 5 minutes late. I never got sharked though, because I believe in being on time. It was good to be the sharker but not the sharkee.
I’m with you Kantalooppi. Sure it’s not a new and exciting phrase anymore, but it still expresses the concept succinctly and clearly (when used properly). It’s not like it’s a catchphrase that will die out over time.
“Snaking” was the lingo when I drove for Domino’s. “Are you snaking my run?” Snaking meant going out of turn, either to avoid a low-tipping delivery or to score a high-tipping one. (For tipping, also replace distance: some folks preferred short distance runs, some preferred long ones.)
Back to the OP, however, the thing that gets me the most about JTS is when it ceases to be an actual analysis of the progression of a show and just becomes a wank-fest to see who can declare it first. And criminy, not everything can JTS - something has to have started well to take a turn.
I like criticism as much as the next guy, but the latest fad - snarkiness for its own sake (see also: Televison Without Pity) is just goofy. If the show bugs you that much, turn it off. No one’s forcing you to watch Will and Grace, Friends, or Buffy. (Yeah, I know, I just pegged everyone’s Hypocracimeters.)
The phrase refers to the Happy Days episode where the Fonz performed a motorcycle stunt of that name; it is often marked as the point where a formerly good (ISPO) TV show started to go south.
I have a problem with it because every week, some wanna be Comic Book Guy, living in their parents’ basement, unbathed, with their right arm and shirt permanently stained orange from Cheetos, has to start a thread about how so and so show has Jumped the Shark, since they have no other outlet for their rage about how pathetic their life is. This happens every week with the Simpsons, as well as many other fine shows. It is annoying at best, and the opening of the Seventh Seal at worse.
I agree with the OP. “Jumped the shark” differs from “All Your Base” and the like in that it succinctly expresses an idea. People aren’t using the expression just to say “Gee, I’m so clever because I know an inside joke”.
blowero - my point was that there already had been a succinct way to say exactly the same thing. “jumped the shark” includes a visual/real life example.
