# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/61 "2012-07-24T23:56:52Z")
Although I haven’t seen the show in years, I don’t think the \*Alice \*sitcom really jumped the shark. Of course, Flo (Polly Holiday) left for the disaster that was _Flo_. But, the show continued to revolve around Alice, Vera, and Mel as well as the new waitress Jolene. The best episodes were during the seasons Polly Holiday appeared, but I remember the later episodes as being watchable for a good laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/62 "2012-07-24T23:59:09Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > Since it ran for 5 seasons, does that mean you think it jumped it after the fourth? > > Though season 5 of _The Wire_ was easily the weakest, I don’t think it ever jumped. I’ll also second _Deadwood_ and _The Shield_. > > Though they’re still running, I’d be surprised if _Breaking Bad, Mad Men_ or _Curb Your Enthusiasm_ ended up jumping the shark. Nope just made a mistake 🙂 I shall blame faulty memory. Thanks for the correction. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/63 "2012-07-25T00:21:55Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Did **Lassie** ever Jump the Shark? I never watched it, but it ran _forever_. Same with **Bonanza**. Bonanza survived the departure of Adam (Pernell Roberts) and the introduction of Candy (David Canary). But it jumped the shark when Candy left and Ben Cartwright adopted teenager Jamie Hunter (played by Mitch Vogel) in 1971. ---
**Author:** ![Tarwater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de0a6/32.png) [@Tarwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarwater)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/64 "2012-07-25T00:28:14Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > It may strain the definition of “long running” but The Wire lasted four seasons without jumping. Yeah, but then it jumped the shark in its fifth season. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/65 "2012-07-25T00:30:54Z")
Arrested Development The Rockford Files I, Claudius ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/66 "2012-07-25T00:32:28Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > _Monty Python’s Flying Circus_. Maybe “jumped the shark” is too strong, but it wasn’t quite the same after Cleese left. Also, in the movies, _Meaning of Life_ shows quite a decline compared to _Holy Grail_ and _Life of Brian_. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/67 "2012-07-25T00:37:15Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Arrested Development > The Rockford Files > I, Claudius I’ll second The Rockford Files. It was consistently good until the end. ---
**Author:** ![Nature\_s\_Call](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nature_s_call/32/19006_2.png) [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/68 "2012-07-25T00:50:01Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Arrested Development > The Rockford Files > I, Claudius > [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I’ll second The Rockford Files. It was consistently good until the end. And instantly the theme song is lodged in my head! Thanks! (not sarcastic - great tune!) ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/69 "2012-07-25T00:54:25Z")
Perry Mason? Of course, given that much of it was based directly off mystery novels and it didn’t really have overarching plot development, I guess it doesn’t count. Although Raymond Burr did turn into a whale by the end. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/70 "2012-07-25T01:31:53Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I think _Barney Miller_ went eight seasons without jumping. > > In fact, I even think it grew a beard (or in this case a moustache) in the second season by eliminating the scenes of Barney’s home life. I agree with every word. And allow me to boldly add **Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.** mmm ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/71 "2012-07-25T01:35:12Z")
_The Andy Griffith Show_. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/72 "2012-07-25T15:43:16Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Although I haven’t seen the show in years, I don’t think the \*Alice \*sitcom really jumped the shark. It was never that great, but: In the first season, Alice was still struggling with the death of her trucker husband, and the plots were very real world and human. In a later season, Mel hired a robot waitress. It jumped the shark. > [@BMalion](#): > > _The Andy Griffith Show._ Blessed are you, for you have never seen a color episode of _TAGS_, nor apparently do you know they exist. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/73 "2012-07-25T16:33:23Z")
> [@bup](#): > > It was never that great, but: > > In the first season, Alice was still struggling with the death of her trucker husband, and the plots were very real world and human. > > In a later season, Mel hired a robot waitress. > > It jumped the shark. > > Blessed are you, for you have never seen a color episode of _TAGS_, nor apparently do you know they exist. If you’re referring to _Mayberry R.F.D._ that is a different show. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/74 "2012-07-25T16:34:31Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > If you’re referring to _Mayberry R.F.D._ that is a different show. Any of the shows with Jack Burns are dead to me. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/75 "2012-07-25T16:53:52Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > It may strain the definition of “long running” but The Wire lasted four seasons without jumping. > > I think most shows that make it that far start to show their age around season 5 or so. That is usually when the people behind it start moving on to other things and the people that take their place start making short cuts. The Wire went for more than 4 seasons. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/76 "2012-07-26T16:02:32Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > If you’re referring to _Mayberry R.F.D._ that is a different show. Nope, talking about the ones after Barney left. And apparently so did most of the gag writers. Entire episodes without a laugh. Ever seen the one where Aunt Bea and the church choir threaten to disband if they don’t get new robes? But Howard Sprague says the church needs a new foundation? ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/77 "2012-07-26T16:11:34Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Nope, talking about the ones after Barney left. And apparently so did most of the gag writers. Entire episodes without a laugh. Ever seen the one where Aunt Bea and the church choir threaten to disband if they don’t get new robes? But Howard Sprague says the church needs a new foundation? I luckily must have missed those. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/78 "2012-07-26T17:25:53Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > _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. It jumped the shark when Doug and Carrie decided to adopt a baby. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/79 "2012-07-26T18:24:48Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Arrested Development True, it never jumped the shark, but 3 seasons is not what I’d consider long running. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/80 "2012-07-26T18:53:37Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > What, you missed the episode with Slow Donnie? +1 That episode was HILARIOUS “Chicken Pot, Chicken Pot, Chicken Pot Pie!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260.md?page=5)