# Which current TV shows have "jumped the shark"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 15, 2012, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-tv-shows-have-jumped-the-shark/641056 "2012-11-15T02:37:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-tv-shows-have-jumped-the-shark/641056/41 "2012-11-15T15:10:07Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Fringe. The interaction between the two universes was fascinating. Now it’s just another bland “fight the evil overlords” show. The Observers aren’t even interesting villains, especially compared to Walternate and Fauxlivia or Bolivia or whatever. > > Glee is another one. I agree with this. It’s turned into ‘find the horcruxes, sorry, betamax tapes’ and it’s lost all the charm of previous seasons. Every now and then they will insert a ‘Walter is funny’ moment and it just isn’t funny or touching, in the way that it was. The pacing is all weird and episodes feel like they grind to a halt in the middle. I’m wavering between continuing to watch, to see it through to completion, or stopping and pretending the last season was the final. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-tv-shows-have-jumped-the-shark/641056/42 "2012-11-15T15:25:43Z")
The Office jumped after Michael Scott left. And the Simpsons of course. HIMYM may be jumping soon. I couldn’t care less anymore who the mother is and can’t deal with the Ted/Robyn/Barney love story. The wife says that Americas Top Model has jumped this season. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-tv-shows-have-jumped-the-shark/641056/43 "2012-11-15T15:33:11Z")
> [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > _And the the term was coined as a post-mortem analysis of the show._ If you call a current show as shark-jumped, you are using the shark-jumped version of “jumped the shark”. I’m not sure what you’re calling a _post mortem analysis_. The term was definitely popularized years after the show was over, but I don’t think of it as an analysis of the show as much as describing a single phenomenon. In addition you feel that _jumping the shark_ has jumped the shark, but I don’t see that at all. In fact the original concept that it marked the start of the decline of quality in the show is pretty subjective. The term is now used as I mentioned before, to mark the point of disillusionment, and is applied to things besides TV shows. You can call that jumping the shark on the definition if you like, but it actually reinforces the definition people understand. ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-tv-shows-have-jumped-the-shark/641056/44 "2012-11-15T15:35:39Z")
> [@Paranoid\_Randroid](#): > > If that’s the case, then don’t you have to wait until people stop using the phrase “jumped the shark” before determining whether it has indeed jumped the shark? Well played… ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-tv-shows-have-jumped-the-shark/641056/45 "2012-11-15T15:36:00Z")
> [@Smid](#): > > Second season was markedly worse than the first. > > I’d say Glee jumped around the Madonna episode. > > In another related thing about the show, are the kids ever actually shown to take any lessons? In the third season, Puck tries to seduce his geography teacher so she won’t flunk him. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-tv-shows-have-jumped-the-shark/641056/46 "2012-11-15T15:41:02Z")
I think Hell’s Kitchen jumped when they fired all their producers and hired the producers from Jerry Springer a couple season’s back. (Not really, it just seemed that way - suddenly one season was all about the psycho-drama of the contestants and far less about the cooking.) ---
**Author:** ![mage-girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@mage-girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mage-girl)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-tv-shows-have-jumped-the-shark/641056/47 "2012-11-15T15:41:11Z")
Bones. A thousand times, Bones. I can forgive them for Zach. The actor was ill, and they needed to write him out. It might have been nice if they hadn’t written him out quite so–traumatically, but you have to admit it was kind of cool. Okay, you don’t have to admit it, that’s all right. 😛 (I left a D & D game and the next session the DM had my young paladin commit ritual suicide for something she perceived–incorrectly–as her fault. Rather than being pissed, which I could have been, I thought it was a nice send-off. Farewell, Prudence. We barely knew ye.) The baby, though. The baby. I CANNOT HANDLE THE BABY. I do not care for babies. I know I am a female, and I’m supposed to, but I don’t. The pooping and the barfing and the–it’s all yuck for me. (A kitten, now… Then I care. Something is wrong with my brain!) It is very rare that when you add a baby to a show, the quality actually goes up. ARGH. THE BABY. Yeah, that may be the shark-jumping incident for Bones as far as I’m concerned. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-tv-shows-have-jumped-the-shark/641056/48 "2012-11-15T15:46:25Z")
> [@goldmund](#): > > Is it possible to jump, and then subsequently “un-jump”, the shark? IMO, Dexter did that. It had gotten pretty stale, but I’m enjoying it a lot more this season. I disagree. I think the moment when Deb discovered Dexter was a serial killer will go down as the moment Dexter jumped the shark. After that, Dexter getting it on with a person he strongly suspects to be a killer is just gravy. Maybe I’m wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-tv-shows-have-jumped-the-shark/641056/49 "2012-11-15T15:50:08Z")
> [@StusBlues](#): > > I disagree. I think the moment when Deb discovered Dexter was a serial killer will go down as the moment Dexter jumped the shark. Eh, we’ve had one mediocre and one terrible season before that. Even if you don’t think the current season is a big improvement (though I agree with **goldmund** that it is), it seems silly to put the “shark jumping moment” a full two seasons after it started sucking. ---
**Author:** ![kenner116](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecb155/32.png) [@kenner116](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenner116)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-tv-shows-have-jumped-the-shark/641056/50 "2012-11-15T15:50:27Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > The Office jumped after Michael Scott left. The Office “drove into lake”. Michael: “Oh hey, the GPS is telling me to turn here.” Other guy: “No, that’s not right. That is a ramp that goes into a lake.” Michael drives car into lake. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-tv-shows-have-jumped-the-shark/641056/51 "2012-11-15T15:51:05Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Tuesday’s episode did precisely that. No baby. No relationship stuff. Just a great episode. Frankly, I was stunned that it was so good. They prolly hired those writers for just one episode. I have a Bones thread on this page somewhere. That’s good to know; thanks. I do have it on DVR. Will have to take a look. ---
**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:** [November 15, 2012, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-tv-shows-have-jumped-the-shark/641056/52 "2012-11-15T16:12:54Z")
> [@mage-girl](#): > > Bones. A thousand times, Bones. > > I can forgive them for Zach. The actor was ill, and they needed to write him out. It might have been nice if they hadn’t written him out quite so–traumatically, but you have to admit it was kind of cool. Okay, you don’t have to admit it, that’s all right. 😛 > > (I left a D & D game and the next session the DM had my young paladin commit ritual suicide for something she perceived–incorrectly–as her fault. Rather than being pissed, which I could have been, I thought it was a nice send-off. Farewell, Prudence. We barely knew ye.) > > The baby, though. The baby. I CANNOT HANDLE THE BABY. I do not care for babies. I know I am a female, and I’m supposed to, but I don’t. The pooping and the barfing and the–it’s all yuck for me. > > (A kitten, now… Then I care. Something is wrong with my brain!) > > It is very rare that when you add a baby to a show, the quality actually goes up. ARGH. THE BABY. > > Yeah, that may be the shark-jumping incident for Bones as far as I’m concerned. :rolleyes: I guess I’m in the minority when I say that I think the show improved when they got rid of Zach. God, I hated his character. Oh wait I’m posting on the SDMB I meant to say "Og, I hated his character! :rolleyes: I don’t mind the baby so much as it’s not too much of the show. I still find joy in watching Dr. Hodgins act like a kid with the technology. I liked last weeks ep where the interns had to work together. Less Angela is good too; especially since i used to think she was crazy hot; now, not so much. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-tv-shows-have-jumped-the-shark/641056/53 "2012-11-15T16:31:26Z")
I disagree on the baby being where _Bones_ jmped the shark. I think it was the episode where they had all gone thier seperate ways, but had to come back because Cam was too incompentent to holod anything together without “The Team”. She was the Chief Medical Examiner for NYC for Og’s sake! I think she can run a forensics lab out of an instituion, who if they could not have Bones, would still attract the #2 person in the field. ---
**Author:** ![Anamorphic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/anamorphic/32/3057_2.png) [@Anamorphic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anamorphic)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-tv-shows-have-jumped-the-shark/641056/54 "2012-11-15T16:40:13Z")
> [@kenner116](#): > > The Office “drove into lake”. > > Michael: “Oh hey, the GPS is telling me to turn here.” > Other guy: “No, that’s not right. That is a ramp that goes into a lake.” > > Michael drives car into lake. Agree with this 100%. This was the moment Michael went from being a likable buffoon whose main problem (and source of comedy) was a complete lack of social skills, to becoming a cartoonish, completely unrealistic moron. I found it difficult to watch the show after this. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-tv-shows-have-jumped-the-shark/641056/55 "2012-11-15T17:20:09Z")
I have to state that in order to say “The show jumped the shark” you have to have been a regular fan (at least a mild one) and the show must have had a long life. (I hate idiotis who say “Episode one season one”.) And, it could happen (but I can’t think of where & when) a show made the jump but came back to life and popularity. True, Happy Days stayed on after The Jump, and there were still good epis. But It never again achieved it’s “must see TV” greatness. It sorta dwindled off. But yes, Bones (a baby?!?), Fringe. Burn Notice. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-tv-shows-have-jumped-the-shark/641056/56 "2012-11-15T17:37:42Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > This. 90% of the posts in this thread are just about shows getting lamer. “Jumping the shark” is more specific. The classic example, besides the Happy Days one which started the term, is the killer clown episode of Little House on the Prairie. _Rapist_ clown, IIRC. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-tv-shows-have-jumped-the-shark/641056/57 "2012-11-15T20:46:52Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > I worry that The Big Bang Theory did it when they sent Howard into space. It was unrealistic enough when he found a hot looking babe to actually marry him. No doubt, next season he wins the SuperLotto. I disagree about Howard. He was always a nice sweet guy. He just didn’t know how to interact with women as regular people. Once Penny told him he was never going to get another woman because all women had a meating and decided it so he straightens up his act and he and Bernie fall in love. Character growth. Also he was only able to get the hot blonde because she worked with and was friends with Penny. Having him get her from a friend of a friend is very common IRL and that’s what made it believable to me. As for Howard going to space I think it was really cool for Howard. He gets picked on by Sheldon all the time for only having a Masters Degree and thinks of him as the dumb one of the group. Yet out of these smart guys it’s the “dumb one” who gets the honor and awesomeness of being the guy to go into space. He finally gets to be the most awesome of the group and he deserved it. > [@Mahaloth](#): > > Supernatural has gotten very close over the years. > > Heck, they have an episode titled “Jump the Shark” that introduced a previously unseen brother. That was years ago, too. > > However, I think the show gets the motorcycle reved up, but never fully jumps the shark, something I give them credit for. They find a way to keep the tension and drama there and I still think it is high quality. > > Same for Fringe. If it hadn’t ended this year(uh, will end anyway), it would have jumped the shark, I think. I was worried that Supernatural jumped last season. After the awesomeness of Season 5 they went back to monster of the week and then onto the Laviathon and I just didn’t really care and I skipped a bunch of episodes. But this season is awesome again. We got a new prophet, Kevin, who is pretty bad-ass, along with his mom, and we got new “Words of the Lord” or whatever, the tablet. I’ve been really excited for new episodes this season. ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-tv-shows-have-jumped-the-shark/641056/58 "2012-11-15T21:16:52Z")
Heck it is not binding. A show can jump the shark, grow a beard\* and then jump the shark again. - show starts out bad and gets better at a noticable point, ST:TNG when Riker grew a beard. ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-tv-shows-have-jumped-the-shark/641056/59 "2012-11-15T21:26:36Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I have to state that in order to say “The show jumped the shark” you have to have been a regular fan (at least a mild one) and the show must have had a long life. (I hate idiotis who say “Episode one season one”.) Well there goes my right to nominate _Downton Abbey_, I found season 1 episode 3 (the death of the Turkish diplomat) had to swallow, but kept watching for the scenery and costumes. Season 2 descended into dreck though (‘burned mysterious possible claimant’, ‘miraculous recovery from paralysis’, ‘maudlin death scene’) and I gave up entirely. ---
**Author:** ![Disheavel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@Disheavel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disheavel)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2012, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-tv-shows-have-jumped-the-shark/641056/60 "2012-11-15T21:38:45Z")
> [@kenner116](#): > > The Office “drove into lake”. > > Michael: “Oh hey, the GPS is telling me to turn here.” > Other guy: “No, that’s not right. That is a ramp that goes into a lake.” > > Michael drives car into lake. A little clarity please: So are you saying that the Office jumped under the shark? or that the shark jumped the show? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-tv-shows-have-jumped-the-shark/641056.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-current-tv-shows-have-jumped-the-shark/641056.md?page=4)