“Hollywood: Part 3” S5E3 of Happy Days - This is the moment that birthed the trope, as Fonzie literally dons skis and jumps over a shark.
“Not Quite New York” S6E1 of Laverne and Shirley, when they relocated the show to California
“The Principal and the Pauper” S9E2 of The Simpsons, when the real Seymour Skinner comes to Springfield and then leaves at the end (or rather, put on the back of a train) and the townsfolk decides to just ignore it because it’s easier that way.
“Welcome Aboard” S5E17 of The Brady Bunch introduces Cousin Oliver to the show. It was the lowest-rated show of the season, and led to the pejorative of a formerly hit series introducing a small child or baby in an effort to boost ratings, a “Cousin Oliver effect.”
“Crossroads: Part 2,” S3E20 of Battlestar Galactica. The hidden “Final Five” unique Cylons had been presented as a huge deal, and a key part of the Cylons’ great plan, but when the identities of those five – all of whom had been masquerading as humans on the fleet – were finally revealed, it turned out to be confusing, requiring significant retcons in order to justify it, and the Five turned out to not be large factors in the final plotline. As it turned out, the showrunners did not know all along who the Final Five were, and chose the five characters out of a flawed process of elimination at the eleventh hour.
Mork and Mindy- Season 4, Episode 5- when they added a baby named Mearth . Mearth was played by the adult Jonathan Winters.
Diff’rent Strokes - Season 7 - Phillip Drummond marries Maggie McKinney; Maggie and her son Sam move into the penthouse. Dana Plato was dropped and Todd Bridges was gone for numerous episodes so the family dynamic changed as Arnold became an older brother to Sam.
“Blast From the Past” - S9E31 of Dallas; Pam awakens to find Bobby Ewing in the shower, and the entire previous season was declared “just a dream of hers.”
“Hollywood: Part 3” S5E3 of Happy Days - This is the moment that birthed the trope, as Fonzie literally dons skis and jumps over a shark.
“Not Quite New York” S6E1 of Laverne and Shirley, when they relocated the show to California
“The Principal and the Pauper” S9E2 of The Simpsons, when the real Seymour Skinner comes to Springfield and then leaves at the end (or rather, put on the back of a train) and the townsfolk decides to just ignore it because it’s easier that way.
“Welcome Aboard” S5E17 of The Brady Bunch introduces Cousin Oliver to the show. It was the lowest-rated show of the season, and led to the pejorative of a formerly hit series introducing a small child or baby in an effort to boost ratings, a “Cousin Oliver effect.”
“Crossroads: Part 2,” S3E20 of Battlestar Galactica. The hidden “Final Five” unique Cylons had been presented as a huge deal, and a key part of the Cylons’ great plan, but when the identities of those five – all of whom had been masquerading as humans on the fleet – were finally revealed, it turned out to be confusing, requiring significant retcons in order to justify it, and the Five turned out to not be large factors in the final plotline. As it turned out, the showrunners did not know all along who the Final Five were, and chose the five characters out of a flawed process of elimination at the eleventh hour.
Mork and Mindy- Season 4, Episode 5- when they added a baby named Mearth . Mearth was played by the adult Jonathan Winters.
Diff’rent Strokes - Season 7 - Phillip Drummond marries Maggie McKinney; Maggie and her son Sam move into the penthouse. Dana Plato was dropped and Todd Bridges was gone for numerous episodes so the family dynamic changed as Arnold became an older brother to Sam.
“Blast From the Past” - S9E31 of Dallas; Pam awakens to find Bobby Ewing in the shower, and the entire previous season was declared “just a dream of hers.”
“Dr. Urkel and Mr. Cool” - S5E8 of Family Matters; Steve Urkel, who by this point had already basically taken over the show, invents a potion that transforms him into the suave and handsome “Stefan Urquelle.”
“Hollywood: Part 3” S5E3 of Happy Days - This is the moment that birthed the trope, as Fonzie literally dons skis and jumps over a shark.
“Not Quite New York” S6E1 of Laverne and Shirley, when they relocated the show to California
“The Principal and the Pauper” S9E2 of The Simpsons, when the real Seymour Skinner comes to Springfield and then leaves at the end (or rather, put on the back of a train) and the townsfolk decides to just ignore it because it’s easier that way.
“Welcome Aboard” S5E17 of The Brady Bunch introduces Cousin Oliver to the show. It was the lowest-rated show of the season, and led to the pejorative of a formerly hit series introducing a small child or baby in an effort to boost ratings, a “Cousin Oliver effect.”
“Crossroads: Part 2,” S3E20 of Battlestar Galactica. The hidden “Final Five” unique Cylons had been presented as a huge deal, and a key part of the Cylons’ great plan, but when the identities of those five – all of whom had been masquerading as humans on the fleet – were finally revealed, it turned out to be confusing, requiring significant retcons in order to justify it, and the Five turned out to not be large factors in the final plotline. As it turned out, the showrunners did not know all along who the Final Five were, and chose the five characters out of a flawed process of elimination at the eleventh hour.
Mork and Mindy- Season 4, Episode 5- when they added a baby named Mearth . Mearth was played by the adult Jonathan Winters.
Diff’rent Strokes - Season 7 - Phillip Drummond marries Maggie McKinney; Maggie and her son Sam move into the penthouse. Dana Plato was dropped and Todd Bridges was gone for numerous episodes so the family dynamic changed as Arnold became an older brother to Sam.
“Blast From the Past” - S9E31 of Dallas; Pam awakens to find Bobby Ewing in the shower, and the entire previous season was declared “just a dream of hers.”
“Dr. Urkel and Mr. Cool” - S5E8 of Family Matters; Steve Urkel, who by this point had already basically taken over the show, invents a potion that transforms him into the suave and handsome “Stefan Urquelle.”
“Goodbye Michael” - S7E22 of the Office. Steve Carell gets a nice sendoff for his character but the show had difficulty replacing him.
Next: Moments when shows grew a beard
Season 2, Star Trek: The Next Generation - The crew becomes more confident in their roles and quality episodes like “Skin of Evil” and “Measure of a Man” are aired.
The Trope Namer. Season 2, Star Trek: The Next Generation - The crew becomes more confident in their roles and quality episodes like “A Matter of Honor” and “Measure of a Man” are aired.
Season 2, Star Trek: The Next Generation - The crew becomes more confident in their roles and quality episodes like “Skin of Evil” and “Measure of a Man” are aired.
Season 4, The Simpsons - Although many great episodes aired prior, S4 gave us “Marge vs. the Monorail” and “Last Exit to Springfield”, and is generally considered to be the series’ best season.
Season 2, Star Trek: The Next Generation - The crew becomes more confident in their roles and quality episodes like “Skin of Evil” and “Measure of a Man” are aired.
Season 4, The Simpsons - Although many great episodes aired prior, S4 gave us “Marge vs. the Monorail” and “Last Exit to Springfield”, and is generally considered to be the series’ best season.
Season 2, Babylon 5 - Season 1 was promising in spots, but uneven, and the acting of Michael O’Hare as the station’s commander was glaringly poor (though the public did not know, at that time, that O’Hare was battling severe mental illness). Bruce Boxleitner took over as the commander in Season 2, but what also helped was the overall story arc, and the arcs of the individual characters, being more fully revealed.
Season 2, Star Trek: The Next Generation - The crew becomes more confident in their roles and quality episodes like “Skin of Evil” and “Measure of a Man” are aired.
Season 4, The Simpsons - Although many great episodes aired prior, S4 gave us “Marge vs. the Monorail” and “Last Exit to Springfield”, and is generally considered to be the series’ best season.
Season 2, Babylon 5 - Season 1 was promising in spots, but uneven, and the acting of Michael O’Hare as the station’s commander was glaringly poor (though the public did not know, at that time, that O’Hare was battling severe mental illness). Bruce Boxleitner took over as the commander in Season 2, but what also helped was the overall story arc, and the arcs of the individual characters, being more fully revealed.
Season 1, episode 11, Melrose Place - introduced Dr. Kimberly Shaw as a colleague to Dr. Michael Mancini, who ended up cheating on his wife Jane with her. This marked the transition of the show from a slice-of-life feature about attractive and pleasant young adults – with low ratings – to a juicy and popular nighttime soap.
Season 2, Star Trek: The Next Generation - The crew becomes more confident in their roles and quality episodes like “Skin of Evil” and “Measure of a Man” are aired.
Season 4, The Simpsons - Although many great episodes aired prior, S4 gave us “Marge vs. the Monorail” and “Last Exit to Springfield”, and is generally considered to be the series’ best season.
Season 2, Babylon 5 - Season 1 was promising in spots, but uneven, and the acting of Michael O’Hare as the station’s commander was glaringly poor (though the public did not know, at that time, that O’Hare was battling severe mental illness). Bruce Boxleitner took over as the commander in Season 2, but what also helped was the overall story arc, and the arcs of the individual characters, being more fully revealed.
Season 1, episode 11, Melrose Place - introduced Dr. Kimberly Shaw as a colleague to Dr. Michael Mancini, who ended up cheating on his wife Jane with her. This marked the transition of the show from a slice-of-life feature about attractive and pleasant young adults – with low ratings – to a juicy and popular nighttime soap.
January 1999, The Daily Show - Craig Kilborn stepped down as host. Jon Stewart replaced him, bringing a sharper political focus to the segments.