# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/101 "2012-07-28T01:36:48Z")
_The Outer Limits_. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/102 "2012-07-28T07:54:06Z")
It’s debatable as to whether Lost ultimately failed as a show, but I don’t think there’s any obvious actual shark moment (other than the literal one). I don’t think we can count anything that happens in the last season of a show as being able to qualify as a shark moment unless it directly led to cancellation. HIMYM isn’t over but it’s nearing the end and I think it has remained of pretty consistent quality, and if anything has just gotten more and more popular. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/103 "2012-07-28T08:00:50Z")
> [@Ephemera](#): > > 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. Six had a great arc, but some cringeworthy moments. Seven had a stupid arc but some great individual episodes. It took a rewatch to figure out and recontextualize my initial impressions. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/104 "2012-07-28T10:43:31Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > It’s debatable as to whether Lost ultimately failed as a show, but I don’t think there’s any obvious actual shark moment (other than the literal one). > . I’d say Jacob’s flashback episode was the moment when the shark was jumped. ---
**Author:** ![Corcaigh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Corcaigh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corcaigh)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/105 "2012-07-28T12:46:48Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > 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. Agreed. I know a lot of people hated the show after RDA left, but I thought it kept going quite well! SGA in generally considered to have jumped the shark at the end of season 3 and the two final seasons were utter crap. > [@Tibby or Not Tibby](#): > > Happy Days never jumped the shark. I dunno, I changed channel during the commercial break 😉 > [@drewtwo99](#): > > Did you just make that up, or is that a legitimate term for a TV show that starts weak and gets better 😃 If it’s not, we totally need to start using it as such. Not made up “grew a beard” is an actual term used frequently to describe a show that gets better. ---
**Author:** ![Namkcalb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c89c15/32.png) [@Namkcalb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Namkcalb)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/106 "2012-07-28T13:26:46Z")
South Park has aged and matured like a fine wine. ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/107 "2012-07-28T15:52:12Z")
> [@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?” I would say it did around season 5, when they took the two most neurotic and good characters (Chandler and Monica) and made them go out. It lost a lot there, the next few seasons were weaker, and it did recover a bit towards the end, but never as good as first few seasons… ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/108 "2012-07-28T15:53:50Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > 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. I always felt it kind of did when half the cast left, and the cast of Farscape joined and the Ori were brought it. But I believe that might have been to do with being suprised at not being cancelled… ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/109 "2012-07-28T16:00:37Z")
> [@BMalion](#): > > _Monty Python’s Flying Circus_. Definitely jumped the shark, Cleese left and Chapmans influence ran riot, series 4 is barely watchable. Pick an episode and watch one, it will ruin your memories of Python… ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/110 "2012-07-28T16:53:37Z")
> [@Smid](#): > > Definitely jumped the shark, Cleese left and Chapmans influence ran riot, series 4 is barely watchable. Pick an episode and watch one, it will ruin your memories of Python… Nope, it’s different but stiil good for me. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/111 "2012-07-28T17:46:25Z")
I recall an abundance of big titty jokes, and not much else. Almost all of their “classic” sketches come from seasons 1-3. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/112 "2012-07-28T18:37:11Z")
> [@Smid](#): > > that might have been to do with being suprised at not being cancelled… That was a repeated issue for SG-1. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/113 "2012-07-28T19:22:23Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > I would have quit watching (by the above point) if they had NOT resolved the Daphne/Niles thing satisfactorily, instead of continually toying with the relationship, _almost_ coming clean with it all on several occasions (worst one: when Daphne thought Niles was talking about someone else, and not her, when she eavesdropped on one of his phone conversations-or something, and he all-too-obligingly allowed her to continue thinking so). I guess that would have been an inverse-shark-jumping-by-reasons-of-stagnation-and-disrespecting-your-audience. This is IMO one of the most difficult pieces of long running show. The romantic tension is a main subject line of the show, but leaving it unresolved for too long frustrates some viewers. I think that the tension should never be resolved. Every time a show resolves it, it goes down hill. ---
**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 28, 2012, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/114 "2012-07-28T19:25:02Z")
> [@WarmNPrickly](#): > > This is IMO one of the most difficult pieces of long running show. The romantic tension is a main subject line of the show, but leaving it unresolved for too long frustrates some viewers. I think that the tension should never be resolved. Every time a show resolves it, it goes down hill. Are there any long running shows (at least 3-4 seasons) that never resolved a sexual tension relationship? ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/115 "2012-07-28T20:14:36Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Are there any long running shows (at least 3-4 seasons) that never resolved a sexual tension relationship? The Avengers (1960s) with various females sort of. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/116 "2012-07-28T20:32:45Z")
Did Marlin Perkins every have poor ole Jim wrestle a shark on any episode of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom ? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/117 "2012-07-29T03:57:43Z")
I agree with including Breaking Bad. The fourth season was just as strong as the first. I also agree with Star Trek DS9. The later seasons of DS9, once the Dominion War gets going, are better than some of the early seasons. I’m going to disagree with the people who want to include the Sopranos. I loved the early seasons, but I found the last two seasons almost unwatchable. ---
**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 29, 2012, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/118 "2012-07-29T04:14:17Z")
> [@SecretaryofEvil](#): > > I’m going to disagree with the people who want to include the Sopranos. I loved the early seasons, but I found the last two seasons almost unwatchable. But they still ended the series on a high note. d&r ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/119 "2012-07-29T12:45:36Z")
> [@Namkcalb](#): > > South Park has aged and matured like a fine wine. No, like fine _cheese_. _Fine_ cheese, that has been _cut_. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![oreally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ab992/32.png) [@oreally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oreally)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2012, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260/120 "2012-07-29T13:43:47Z")
er FYI “Jump the Shark” doesn’t mean “went downhill.” “Jump the Shark” means using some kind of “gimmick” to boost declining ratings, the phrase made famous by Happy Days where Fonzie literally jumped over a shark tank as they visited Hollywood. gag. Anyway, what came to mind for me, including many already mentioned - just trying to sum up IMO: MASH Mary Tyler Moore Simpsons Bonanza Gunsmoke Dick Van Dyke Andy Griffith (Really almost anything from about 1970 on down as I don’t think such a concept entered their minds back then.) Frasier is the one series I think that did this and it made it work. And the show kept its quality for the most part IMO, although I agree it took a slight dip after that and I never liked the idea of those 2 finally getting together. Not believable. And I agree Friends is the all-time winner on this one, though I had already started losing interest as it catered more and more to a teeny bopper crowd with all the “relationship drama” :double gag: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-long-running-tv-shows-did-not-jump-the-shark/629260.md?page=7)