# What long running tv shows did NOT jump the shark? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 24, 2012, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260 "2012-07-24T17:04:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/1 "2012-07-24T17:04:23Z")
Still being bitter over what I felt was “Lost”'s horrible end, I’m crossing my fingers that “The Closer” and “Breaking Bad” can avoid shark jumping. Help me here- which long running tv shows, or whatever genre, did not screw their history and/or viewers before the end? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/2 "2012-07-24T17:09:53Z")
If I’m remembering correctly, \*Magnum P.I. \*was one of the few shows voted “never jumped” on the old JumpedTheShark site. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/3 "2012-07-24T17:10:38Z")
I felt that Stargate SG-1 showed a fairly consistent development throughout its ten-year run, spawning several movies & spinoff series along the way, without any particular feeling of betrayal or insensitivity I normally associate with shark-jumping efforts (except for the publishing company’s end-of-credits animation showing a shark on a bicycle which jumps onto an anvil, but I don’t think that counts). I haven’t watched all of Atlantis or any of Universe, so I don’t know how well they stack up in the long run, but if you’re looking for a full-run TV series on DVD that remains consistently entertaining through to the end, I nominate SG-1. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/4 "2012-07-24T17:13:00Z")
_Seinfeld_ and _Cheers_ didn’t, really, although the final episode of the former was pretty bad. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/5 "2012-07-24T17:18:11Z")
Cheers was the first that popped into my mind as well. It had some lulls during the series but never a terminal decline. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/6 "2012-07-24T17:21:20Z")
**60 Minutes**? OK, not the right kind of show. How about **The Dick Van Dyke Show**? I never felt that had “jumped the shark”. I don’t know what the JTS site ever said about it. Did **Lassie** ever Jump the Shark? I never watched it, but it ran _forever_. Same with **Bonanza**. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/7 "2012-07-24T17:28:05Z")
I don’t think Friends did, although they came close in the last season when they toyed with pairing up Joey and Rachel. You know the writers are running out of ideas when they start thinking “Okay, now who hasn’t slept with whom yet?” ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/8 "2012-07-24T17:30:35Z")
The Dick Van Dyke Show The Mary Tyler Moore Show ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/9 "2012-07-24T17:36:04Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > I don’t think Friends did, although they came close in the last season when they toyed with pairing up Joey and Rachel. You know the writers are running out of ideas when they start thinking “Okay, now who hasn’t slept with whom yet?” - Friends\* jumped so many times they pulled a groin muscle! ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/10 "2012-07-24T17:44:47Z")
Cheers was the first that popped into my mind as well. It had some lulls during the series but never a terminal decline. I was a little young to appreciate MASH but I think it lasted until the end as well. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/11 "2012-07-24T17:47:08Z")
_Fraiser_ ended it’s run without going too far off of the rails, although the actual “final episode” (actually 2 separate 1/2 hour “To Be Continued” episodes) was pretty lame. _The King Of Queens_ (a show I never watched a single second of until it started running in syndication, a few years after it wrapped up on CBS) stayed about the same in quality (mostly mediocre with some really funny episodes occasionally sprinkled in) from what I can tell, although I probably haven’t seen each & every single episode. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/12 "2012-07-24T17:48:12Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Cheers was the first that popped into my mind as well. It had some lulls during the series but never a terminal decline. I was a little young to appreciate MASH but I think it lasted until the end as well. I liked MASH, even to the end, but Alan Alda was both the skier jumping the shark \*and \*the guy driving the speed boat. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/13 "2012-07-24T17:48:48Z")
Star Trek: TNG progressively unjumped the shark, I believe. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/14 "2012-07-24T17:49:04Z")
Deadwood and The Wire would also have my vote. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/15 "2012-07-24T17:55:51Z")
I think most fans would say that, while there may have been some ups and downs, neither _Buffy_ nor _Angel_ had a significant downturn in quality. Also, though ‘long-running’ is perhaps to weak a description, few people are arguing a drop off in _Doctor Who_, either as a whole or just considering the modern series. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/16 "2012-07-24T18:02:09Z")
You think most Buffy fans would say that seasons six and seven weren’t terrible? I like them personally, but I know I am in the minority. Season five of Angel was its best season, though. I’ll give you that. ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/17 "2012-07-24T18:07:43Z")
Dexter? ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/18 "2012-07-24T18:14:57Z")
_Frasier_?! Once Niles and Daphne got together, that show was over. I quit watching almost immediately, but I’ve seen some of the later episodes in reruns, and they are painful to watch. I remember that the original Jump the Shark website also cited _The Odd Couple_ as a show that avoided the shark. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/19 "2012-07-24T18:15:20Z")
Happy Days never jumped the shark. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/20 "2012-07-24T18:19:51Z")
Mr Roger’s Neighborhood? 🙂 Sesame Street? Though that period where Oscar the Grouch was dealing meth was pushing it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260.md?page=2)