The worst "jump the shark" moments in TV

[triple_toe]

I actually think the last season of The Golden Girls had some of the best episodes. The murder mystery weekend, the hurricane with Stan's monkey as a Dorothy substitute, when Dorothy dates a fake Beatle, and the whole Leslie Nielson plot line were all fab to name a few.

Easily the best jump the shark moment is this one :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jm6B31HKBw

[lulu]

Easily the best jump the shark moment is this one :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jm6B31HKBw

So hillarious! I loved Arrested Development.

[aliceanne]

I'm not sure the show "Roseanne" jumped the shark in any one episode (at least not by Michiruwater's strict definition), but Roseanne herself did when she married Tom Arnold. She changed from a snarky observer of life to someone who wanted to rescue people from their low self-esteem (which was the reason for all bad choices in life). Hence Darlene became dark and depressed, Dan lost his job, Jackie went from being spontaneous to neurotic, Becky hooked up with a loser etc.

In the beginning they were all competent working-class and proud.

I guess this is a long way of saying Roseanne lost her sense of humor when she married Tom.

[algonquin]

Frasier - When Daphne and Niles got married. Although the last season of Frasier was pretty good.

[Moto Guzzi]

There's something about it in Melissa Gilbert's autobiography; haven't read it properly but from what I gather Michael Landon actually tried to save the show by bringing in the new kids because with the Ingalls children grown they had lost the "cute" factor.

He could have fired the Greenbush twins who played Carrie, hired a replacement who could actually act, made Grace a few years older, and then featured Carrie and Grace in the storylines instead of bringing in all the new kids.

I stopped watching Rosanne the last year or so it was on because Rosanne was mean and bitchy instead of funny.

[Karina1974]

Slightly off topic, but are there YouTube clips from Little House when Christopher Bowman was on it? I used to watch that show religiously, but can't remember when he was on or the character he played.

IIRC, he was in the episode where Mary and Adam get married, as one of their blind school students. I don't remember that his character had any speaking lines, but he is listed in the credits at the end of the episode.

A ??? JTS moment happened on Felicity when Keri Russell cut her hair. The ratings plummeted. It wasn't a writing issue, but the show never recovered after that. Used to love that show.

I'm just finishing up watching my tapes of that show (taped the re-runs off of WE). Season 3 always makes me because there is almost no focus on her going to class or anything. That show had some continuity issues too - Ben was supposed to be taking a fifth year for pre-med (because he doesn't decide until the beginning of senior year that he wants to be a doctor!), so why do they show him graduating?? Also, he gets Lauren pregnant around Thanksgiving (the episode after the Thanksgiving one), yet she gives birth at the same time as graduation, which would make her baby about 3 months premature. And the whole time-travel thing at the end was crazy as well...

That said, I really ID'ed with that show when it first ran, because I was in college, and spending time in NYC, both for fieldwork for classes and for social reasons (yeah, a guy ).

[Karina1974]

He could have fired the Greenbush twins who played Carrie, hired a replacement who could actually act, made Grace a few years older, and then featured Carrie and Grace in the storylines instead of bringing in all the new kids.

There you go. If you read the books, after Mary goes blind, the sisterly relationship is centered a lot more on Laura and Carrie, with Mary sort of in the background with Grace.

The only storyline that really centered on Carrie on the show (other than "Little Girl Lost" with the valient rescue when she fell down a mine shaft) was "The Godsister" with her imaginary friend Alyssa.

One thing I always think is interesting is how the two Melissas (Anderson and Gilbert) never really hit it off, whereas Gilbert and Alison Arngrim (Nellie) were besties by the end of their first day on the set. I want to read Arngrim's memoir Confessions of a Prairie Bitch.

[vesperholly]

Some of the comments here are more about character development. On Friends, the whole show didn't jump the shark, but Monica did. She started as an intelligent character with some OCD tendencies, but after a few seasons became a neurotic parody. Almost happened to Joey when they focused on his dumbness instead of his popularity with women, but they got that character back and better than before in the storyline when he fell for Rachel later on in the series.

That's what was most striking about Sex and the City to me - the complete caricatures the women turned into by season 5. The first 3 seasons were much more nuanced.

ALIAS! This was such an awesome show for the first two seasons. Even the start of Season 3 was interesting when Sydney "lost" 3 years of her memory. But then it slid out of control with it's relentless (and seemingly pointless) obsession with the Rambaldi device. I stayed with it until the end, but couldn't care less about the mythology at that point.

Alias did lose it somewhere in the middle of season 3, but actually got me back in season 4. Although they did take the WAY EASY way out by making Lauren a baddie. Season 5 was kind of ludicrous but everyone knew it was the last one, so I just tolerated it through to see the Sydney/Vaughn relationship tied up. The cliffhanger at the end of season 2, though ...

I remember reading somewhere how Michael Landon defended the show's storylines and the liberties they took by saying that, had they followed the books exactly, the show would not have lasted anywhere nearly as long as it did.

From this thread, it sounds like maybe it shouldn't have lasted as long as it did.

[Karina1974]

From this thread, it sounds like maybe it shouldn't have lasted as long as it did.

Yeah, I tend to agree with that. I prefer the earlier seasons by far, when the show centered on the Ingalls family.

Another JTS moment would be bringing in the Carter family for Season 9 (LH: A New Beginning), although when John Carter and Almanzo head out for the Grange convention (IIRC it was supposed to be in San Francisco) and end up staying in a Japanese hotel (amongst other mishaps on their trip)... the culture shock that ensued made for a funny episode.

[lulu]

I'm not sure the show "Roseanne" jumped the shark in any one episode (at least not by Michiruwater's strict definition), but Roseanne herself did when she married Tom Arnold. She changed from a snarky observer of life to someone who wanted to rescue people from their low self-esteem (which was the reason for all bad choices in life). Hence Darlene became dark and depressed, Dan lost his job, Jackie went from being spontaneous to neurotic, Becky hooked up with a loser etc.

In the beginning they were all competent working-class and proud.

I guess this is a long way of saying Roseanne lost her sense of humor when she married Tom.

I thought these were some of Roseanne's strongest plots. I appreciated how they actually integrated Darlene's depression into the plot for the entire season and not just a one-episode plot twist, where by the next episode Darlene is happy and her depression is completely forgotten about. Contrast this to other shows: Rose Nylund's one episode addiction to painkillers on The Golden Girls, or Jessie Spano's one episode addiction to sleeping pills AKA "I'm so excited, I'm so excited, I'm so....SCARED!" episode on Saved By The Bell.

Sara Gilbert, Laurie Metcalf and John Goodman were by far the strongest actors on the show (I liked Leon as well).

I thought the show started to go downhill after baby Gerry was born, but didn't actually JTS until the lottery season.

One thing I always think is interesting is how the two Melissas (Anderson and Gilbert) never really hit it off, whereas Gilbert and Alison Arngrim (Nellie) were besties by the end of their first day on the set. I want to read Arngrim's memoir Confessions of a Prairie Bitch.

Her book is quite good, I would definitely recommend it. She went through some absolutely horrific experiences, including being sexually abused by her own brother. She also has a lot of insights into the LHOTP cast. I can't remember much detail, except Melissa Sue Anderson comes across as a bitch, but that might partially be explained by the fact that MSA's mother was a stage mother from hell.

[judiz]

Oh and the Sopranos jumped the shark I think an episode or two after Adriana realizes she's being followed by the FBI. I distinctly remember that episode being awesome (she vomits all over the table when they tell her she has to become an informant), and then after that it started to go downhill.

I didn't mind the FBI episodes because I'm sure that happens in real life, the FBI trying to turn an insider against the mob. My JTS Soprano moment was definitely the last season when they bought in Tony's cousins and moved away from the original mob family.

[manhn]

He became cool their senior year in high school, after he somehow ended becoming part of that class even though he'd been introduced as younger. Andrea had her baby in college, when she was 40.

David took on a larger classload in order to graduate with the rest of the group. His storyline for the first half of the season was the stress of doing all the coursework, hosting the school radio station, and being in a relationship with Virgin Donna.

[susan6]

That '70's show jumped the shark either when Donna went blonde or when Eric went to teach in Africa.

[Jenny]

That '70's show jumped the shark either when Donna went blonde or when Eric went to teach in Africa.

It jumped it in the first few episodes when they continued on theme for sets, costumes and hair, but ignored it for dialogue and plot. It looked like a 70s show, but in all other ways was contemporary.

[PDilemma]

It jumped it in the first few episodes when they continued on theme for sets, costumes and hair, but ignored it for dialogue and plot. It looked like a 70s show, but in all other ways was contemporary.

I thought it jumped from the first moment they pretended Laura Prepon was the hottest girl in their universe.

Or possibly when a casting director decided she could act at all and gave her the role.

[Zemgirl]

But I forgave him as soon as I saw season five's Smile Time episode. Never have I laughed so hard than at the sight of muppet Angel and Spike going at it.

Absolutely! And puppet Angel vamping was one of the funniest things I've ever seen on TV. Wasn't it canceled right after that episode? How could they do that, after You're Welcome, fake Nazi Spike ("don't ever go to a free virgin blood party") and puppet Angel?

David took on a larger classload in order to graduate with the rest of the group. His storyline for the first half of the season was the stress of doing all the coursework, hosting the school radio station, and being in a relationship with Virgin Donna.

I'm sure it didn't hurt that they all repeated their junior year

[Karina1974]

Her book is quite good, I would definitely recommend it. She went through some absolutely horrific experiences, including being sexually abused by her own brother. She also has a lot of insights into the LHOTP cast. I can't remember much detail, except Melissa Sue Anderson comes across as a bitch, but that might partially be explained by the fact that MSA's mother was a stage mother from hell.

Yeah, she seems to have come through as the most unscathed, despite everything she's been through. She did a number of "bonus" interviews for the LH DVD sets, and commentary on two episodes (the infamous "cinnamon chicken" episode, and the one where Nellie gives birth to twins). I hope she goes into more detail than Melissa Gilbert did about the show, because MG, in her own book, goes into far more detail about her drama with Rob Lowe and Beau Brinkman than into the TV show where she spent 10 years of her life.

I wonder what MSA's mother thought about the movies she made after leaving LH. I watched Happy Birthday to Me on YouTube not too long ago. And then there was Midnight Offering where she played a high school student who practiced Black Magick.

[danceronice]

Eureka - time travel was cute, but screwed up the cool Eureka vibe when they returned.

See, I think it wasn't the time travel, but having Grant leave and resolving the Jack/Allison triangle. The last season was just blah.

Warehouse 13 - time travel season now in session. Absurd and confusing.

Heh, the time travel is the least of the issue for me...I spent most of the season finale going "How on earth did these emotionally-crippled lunatics ever become federal agents? Why are these people acting like teenagers whose boyfriend dumped them instead of like secret agents? (Except Jinks, HG, and Mrs Frederics.) DO YOU REMEMBER YOU HAVE GLOVES AND BAGS?" And then the terrible mystery illness, which would work great, if only "The Tudors" had never existed...

Spoiler

It's the sweating sickness--it's just a virus, thought to be related to the Hanta virus, and even in Tudor times, while it had a significant fatality rate, it wasn't even close to total-pandemic levels and most patients who made it through the first 24 hours recovered without anything we'd consider modern medicine.

[dbell1]

That's what was most striking about Sex and the City to me - the complete caricatures the women turned into by season 5. The first 3 seasons were much more nuanced.

Alias did lose it somewhere in the middle of season 3, but actually got me back in season 4. Although they did take the WAY EASY way out by making Lauren a baddie. Season 5 was kind of ludicrous but everyone knew it was the last one, so I just tolerated it through to see the Sydney/Vaughn relationship tied up. The cliffhanger at the end of season 2, though ...

SATC lost me with "The Russian". It was very fragmented. No clue why Alesander would choose Carrie and move her to Paris with him. And I was ready to slap her by the end too. I did love Charlotte and Harry though. So cute together.

Alias lost it with Lauren. They wanted to bring her on as a 'good girl', but when the fans just wouldn't accept Vaughn's wife, she instantly became 'glop on the eyeliner badass super spy' overnight. I would have loved to have watched Syd, Vaughn and Lauren all struggling to do the right thing rather than what we wound up with. And making Nadia Sloane's daughter was a real stretch too. Don't even get me started on the werewolves/vampires whatever freakshow that was the 'climax' of season 4. But, it was good to see the big red ball in the sky.

[Jeanine]

Great thread!

I'm sure I'll have more, but two that spring to mind after reading this thread-

Blue Heelers - count me as another one who loved this show, and for me, it definitely jumped when they killed Maggie. Sob!

Er - the episode where Carol left, where we got the surprise cameo by George Clooney, set to Don Henley's "Taking You Home" ... I saw this on reruns a few years after it aired and I just sat there going, "Man, this show used to be so much better!"

One that I've seen mentioned but not this specific episode, Criminal Minds 100 - the final confrontation between Hotch and the Reaper, incorporating the death of Haley. A character who, for her entire time on the show would have me muttering, "I hope she dies roaring," but when she actually did, I was on my couch, clutching a cushion to my mouth, bawling and crying, "Haley, no!" That? Is some awesome writing right there and IMO, the show has never bettered it. (though "JJ" came close.)