Jumping the shark
The idiom "jumping the shark" or "jump the shark" is a term that is used to argue that a creative work or entity has reached a point in which it has exhausted its core intent and is introducing new ideas that are discordant with, or an extreme exaggeration of, its original purpose. The phrase was coined in 1985 by radio personality Jon Hein in response to a 1977 episode from the fifth season of the American sitcom Happy Days, in which the character of Fonzie (Henry Winkler) jumps over a live shark while on water-skis.
For the album by Alex Cameron, see Jumping the Shark (album).History[edit]
Origin[edit]
Future radio personality Jon Hein and his University of Michigan roommate Sean Connolly coined the phrase in 1985 in response to season 5, episode 3, "Hollywood: Part 3" of the ABC-TV sitcom Happy Days, which was originally broadcast on September 20, 1977.[1] In the episode, the central characters visit Los Angeles, where a water-skiing Fonzie (Henry Winkler) answers a challenge to his bravery by wearing swim trunks and his trademark leather jacket, and jumping over a confined shark. The stunt was created as a way to showcase Winkler's real-life waterskiing skills.[2][3]
In 1997, Hein created a website, JumpTheShark.com, to publish a list of approximately 200 television shows, and his arguments as to the moments each "jumped the shark". The site became popular, and grew with additional user-contributed examples.[4] Hein sold his company, Jump The Shark, Inc., for "over $1 million" in 2006.[5]
Related idioms[edit]
Nuking the fridge[edit]
In 2008, TIME identified a term modeled after "jump the shark": "nuke the fridge". Specifically applicable to film, the magazine defined the term: "to exhaust a Hollywood franchise with disappointing sequels."[15]
The phrase derives from a scene in the fourth Indiana Jones film, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, in which Indiana Jones survives an atomic bomb detonation by fitting himself into a lead-lined refrigerator to shield himself from the explosion. The blast completely annihilates its surroundings but sends the refrigerator flying a sufficient distance away for the protagonist to escape unharmed.[16] The scene was criticized as being scientifically implausible.[17]
Within two days of the film's premiere, the phrase "nuke the fridge" had gone viral, describing film scenes that similarly stretched credulity.[18] Director Steven Spielberg later said the scene was "my silly idea" and was glad to have been part of the pop-culture phrase,[19] while the film's executive producer George Lucas took similar credit believing that Jones would have had an even chance of surviving the explosion.[16]
Growing the beard[edit]
"Growing the beard" refers to the opposite of jumping the shark; i.e. when a show dramatically improves in quality. In the series Star Trek: The Next Generation the second season is considered to be better in terms of storytelling over the first season. This shift coincided with character William Riker, who was clean-shaven for the first season, growing a mustache and beard that he retained for the second season and most Star Trek media afterwards.[20][21]