Jumping the shark in other media

[yendi]

For those of you who don't know, "Jumping the Shark" is a phrase applied to tv shows that start out as worthwhile, but eventually head downhill. The phrase itself refers to the defining moment, when the show is clearly hurtling downward and can't be stopped. It refers to the episode of Happy Days when Fonzie jumped (while water skiing) over sharks (while wearing his leather jacket, even). Frankly, the show had started to suck long before that, but this was the defining moment for many people.

The thing is, more things than TV shows jump the shark. So I want to know what phrases you'd apply to items from other genres. I thought about doing this as a poll, but there are too many possibilities, so I'm leaving it open, with a few suggestions. Remember, it doesn't have to be a great series that gets lousy -- Happy Days was fun, but after the first season, was pretty much forgettable, even before it started sucking. Also remember that the Shark Jump usually happens after the series has already sucked for a while. It's just proof that it's never going to get any better (although there are exceptions).

Books:

"Fucked the Micah" (Laurell K Hamilton's now Übersucktastic Anita Blake novels)

"Motherfucking Dolphins?" (Anne McCafferey's Pern books)

"Published the Silmarillion" (Tolkein's Middle Earth books)

"Resurrected Tesla" (Spider Robinson's no-longer-readable hyper-self-indulgent Callahan series)

"Crewly Lyed" (Piers Anthony's Xanth books, which were actually decent fluff for the first few novels)

Movies:

"Jar-Jared" and "Hired Timothy Dalton"are the only ones that come immediately to mind (ignoring horror franchises, which all tend to head in the same direction). Although I suppose you could argue for "Went 3-D".

Music:

"Went Solo" (applies to so many artists, it's not even funny)

Fired Roth/Fired Hagar (depending on where you stand on Van Halen)

"Released New Year's Day"(Stevie Wonder)

"Gave us Boys for Pele" (Tori Amos, who got better, but never as good as she was before that travesty)

"Got haircuts" (Metallica)

"Changed his name to a symbol." (Prince)


Other suggestions?

EDIT: As I was writing this, Voltbang suggested that the phrase "Jump the Shark" had gotten old as well. Is there a better option for TV shows? "Gave Spike a Soul?" "Seven of Nined?" "Gave Alex an over cute Fucking Baby Brother?"

Comments

[terminalwriter.livejournal.com]

Seven of Nined

Nope. With the last two Trek series, the correct phrase is, "The first episode aired."

[yendi]

True. Although I look at Seven of Nine as the moment when the franchise itself lost all hope (not counting any books written by Peter David or Tony Isabella).

[stormy-brow.livejournal.com]

De-Tasha Yarred, as well. IMHO.

[justanotherg33k.livejournal.com]

And for those who started as soloists, joined an
"all-star ensemble" or "super-group".

[yendi]

"Traveled as Wilburys!"

[shawnj.livejournal.com]

"Gave us Boys for Pele" (Tori Amos, who got better, but never as good as she was before that travesty)

I'm going to have to disagree with you there. From The Choirgirl Hotel came after that, and it was far better than anything that she had done previously. Now, if you change that to "Gave us To Venus and Back", I might agree with you there.

[yendi]

I enjoyed Choirgirl, but it'll never get in my rotation the way her first two albums did.

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

Second that.

[childofchaos.livejournal.com]

*tries to think of when X-Files started sucking*

Was it when they lost Duchovony or Anderson's characters...

I think I'm going to argue for when Scully got abducted

[terminalwriter.livejournal.com]

I would have enjoyed watching it after Duchovony left if they had hired a different potential candidate for his replacement. Bruce Cambell was one of the actors in consideration.

"Hello, Mr. Smoking-Man, I'd like to introduce you to my Boom-Stick!"

[stormy-brow.livejournal.com]

I think this one nicely epitomises it, plus, it makes me giggle:

"Cousing Olivered"

[stormy-brow.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it would be nice if I could freaking spell:

"Cousin Olivered"

[blueingenue.livejournal.com]

"Wormed Leto II"

[olliesmama.livejournal.com]

MUSIC: Finally broke up with the drummer ~Culture Club

MOVIES: Climbed back into the ring after the first movie - Rocky

TV: Thought the world wanted to continue to see those two schmooze all over the screen -Joanie Loves Chachi

[yendi]

Wait, Boy George was screwing his drummer? I had no idea.

[fings.livejournal.com]

I might list Piers Anthony a book or two earlier.

The first three Xanth books were fun. Then they started going downhill, fairly quickly.

The same phenomenon happens with both books and film, when success drives someone to create an unnecessary sequels.

Glen Cook's Black Company comes to mind; the first three worked as a complete trilogy. There was no need to write more. Same with Roger Zelazny's Amber books; I recommend the original five, then stopping there.

Or just look at almost any short-sighted grab for dollars from Hollywood: Speed 2, Caddyshack 2, any of the Jaws sequels, etc.

It is a rare series that keeps or improves in quality over the original.

[dslartoo.livejournal.com]

It is a rare series that keeps or improves in quality over the original.

Terry Pratchett's "Discworld" series and the immortal Travis McGee series by John D. MacDonald.

cheers,
Phil

[mfree.livejournal.com]

"Played a guitar intro"... in reference to the latest star trek spinoff.

[justanotherg33k.livejournal.com]

Amen to that. I was turned off from the beginning by the lack of Moog/ Theremin in the theme music. Certain conventions are meant to be followed.

[envoy.livejournal.com]

Gave Pauly Shore his OWN DAMNED SHOW.

[yendi]

He had his own show? Wow. Glad I repressed that memory.

[stronae.livejournal.com]

Generally speaking, adding a new baby to a predefined sitcom will usually, though not always, indicate its shark-jumpiness.

[yendi]

True. Family Ties is just the one that bothered me the most. I also give props to Married: With Children for realizing that they were jumping the shark, and getting rid of the little brat with no fanfare (the just pretended it never happened, but would occasionally have a picture of the kid on the milk cartons on the show as "missing.")

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

Hey, now, I still like Callahan's.

"Killed off Torak"... Dave Eddings. The last two ubervolumes were nice, but he's done.

"Killed Jadzia" ... DS9 After that, DS9 went to hell....

"Got lost in the Worm Hole" - V'ger. The whole premise was FUBAR'ed and gratuitous

"Used the transporter goop." - Enterprise. See above.

"Killed Data" ... TNG really wasn't all that bad, the obligatory first season aside, but once you kill one of the seven, you're done.

"Fired the 2-d animation staff" - Disney. "Pirates of the Carribean" was a smashing success, but Disney has lost its innocence, and therefore much of its charm, in abandoning the genre...

"Released Windows 95" - Microsoft. Once we're beyond .ini files and into the registry, we're all screwed.

"Released Windows 2000" - Microsoft. This is the best thing they ever did... or ever will.

"Bluecurved" - Red Hat. Yechh. Once the marketroids invade your design process, you're fscked.

"New Coked" - Coca Cola. Gimme the OLD Real Thing, dammit.

"Sued IBM" - SCO.

---

Hey, I got one. How about an anti-jump-the-shark? The moment that catapulted a person or company to stardom?

"Unixed" - IBM - Releasing AIX in 1990 was the first sign IBM was going to survive the 20th Century

"Linuxed" - IBM - showed they really Got It

"OS X'ed" - Apple. Ditto.

"Produced the Prowler" - Chrysler was third-rate until it took this concept car to production....

"Hired Steve Perry" - Journey

"Hired Peter Cetera" - Chicago.

(Ironically, both bands eventually lost their lead singers, and haven't been heard from since...)

[stevenglassman.livejournal.com]

"Bluecurved" - Red Hat. Yechh. Once the marketroids invade your design process, you're fscked.

I blame Salesholes more than marketroids.

"Hired Peter Cetera" - Chicago.

Did you *hear* "Chicago Twenty-One"?

I did. Exactly once. I can't remember a damned thing about it. It was that dull.

[terminalwriter.livejournal.com]

How about this one for Sci-Fi writers?

"Attempted to combine their universes."

The most blatant example I can think of is Asimov with the Foundation and Robot universes.

[amokk]

"Dark Towered", Stephen King, when all books have to refer to a central work, and worse, some books seem published just because they have links to the central work.

[stevenglassman.livejournal.com]

Phrases:

Shizzle. Nizzle. Hizzy. Tizzy.

The suffixes izzle and izzy just need to go away.

[childofchaos.livejournal.com]

*agrees wholeheartedly*

And who the hell gave Snoop Dogg his own show? Bad enough someone gave him a porn movie.

[shellefly.livejournal.com]

"Wheel of Timed"

HEY NOW!!!

[softlywhispered.livejournal.com]

I take exception with the Laurell K. Hamilton stuff. Granted in the last 2 novels it's been all about the were leopards (purr) but Before that it would have been Fucked the Richard and Fucked the Vampire.


I'm still in love with her books, they're a great transendence from traditional Romance Novels. Now if only she could go back to the story like she did in Obsidion Butterfly I would be pleased.

But lay off.. Or else you shall be forcefed FAIRYPORN!

Re: HEY NOW!!!

[yendi]

OB was the last good book. But the last one was an utter piece of shit, on every level, including the fact that it was so poorly edited, it could have been written by a two-year-old. I stand by my review.

And have you seen what I do to Fairy Porn?

http://www.learnlink.emory.edu/~alipkin/mushroom.htm

[crowyhead.livejournal.com]

I've never understood the Boys For Pele antipathy -- it's my favorite of her albums, followed by Under the Pink.

[yendi]

For me, it was just self-indulgent and twee. *shrug* To each their own, I guess, but I know a number of people who basically stopped listening to her after that (something I don't understand, as every artist makes mistakes -- the alternative is simply producing the same pap over and over).

[rollick.livejournal.com]

All I have to say is, "Hee hee hee, 'Motherfucking Dolphins?'"

[slipjig.livejournal.com]

MTV has got to be the reigning king of shark-jumping: they have this nasty, nasty habit of creating something new, innovative, interesting and fresh, and watering it town to match the room-temperature IQ of everything else on the network. To wit:

12 Angry Viewers
Started as: Viewers with actual honest-to-goodness taste rating new music and cutting-edge clips, and blessedly favoring good musicianship and video craftsmanship
Became: Viewers naming, say, the Sexiest Women in Pop.

Amp
Started as: A seamlessly edited, hallucinatorily eye-popping experience, unlike anything else on TV.
Became: Just another f*%&ing clip show.

MTV2:
Started as: Everything MTV was 20 years ago, only 10 times better in selection and presentation.
Became: Everything MTV is now. No qualifiers.

Sigh...