JUMPING THE SHARK

gp101 · May 19, 2006

Are any of you familiar with this term? It refers to TV, specifically to the HAPPY DAYS show from the 70s. When ratings started sagging, they took the cast from Milwaukee to L.A. to "spice up" the season. And they had The Fonz jump some caged sharks on water ski's. Hence, whenever a TV show resorts to gimmicks to boost their ratings, they're said to be "Jumping the Shark."

I bring this up because I wonder if there is a similar term when this happens in serialized novels. More specifically, what author's novels have suffered this plight? A lot of authors write about the same character (and often quite successfully or they wouldn't be writing him/her anymore) for 5, 6, 10 novels. Have you noticed any of these serialized characters "jumping the shark" somewere in their series? Did that particular series come to an abrupt halt because of it, or did the character regain his usual sensibilities in the following novel?

And most importantly, how do you know when to end a character's run? I'm sure it must be hard for the author to say goodbye, but every character (other than maybe James Bond) has to have a proper send-off before either the author runs out of good material for that particular world, or resorts to gimmicks, or alternately, before the audience becomes tired of the same old thing. I guess that's the dilemma: come up with new exciting angles so as not to bore the fans of a particular character, but don't go overboard and make them scoff?

Personally, I think it's time for Dirk Pitt to come to an end, though he hasn't jumped the shark yet. Then again, I was never a huge fan to begin with.

alleycat · May 19, 2006

I would agree with you about Dirk Pitt, even though I haven’t read one of those books in years. A friend and I used to have fun poking fun at ol’ Dirk. And Ken Follett’s sex scenes.

On TV these day, whenever the series is getting tired, they either kills off one of the recurring characters, or. . . (the good old standby) they have a wedding.

It’s not exactly “jumping the shark” but when Sir Arthur Conan Doyle got tired of writing Sherlock Holmes stories, he killed him off. There was such an outcry from fans that Doyle had to resurrect him from the dead.

ac

jules · May 19, 2006

Never realised where the term came from, but I've heard it. It's the only term I've ever heard used for the problem. I think there's one clear and easy way around the problem: character growth. As long as your characters are still growing and developing, then you won't feel the need to jump the shark. There'll be new stories for them that arise from the ways in which they've grown, and which if you work at it can make them grow further. It's when characters stop growing that we get bored of them and start having to put them into ever-more-dramatic situations to hold the reader's/viewer's interest. Fonz never really grew from the first time we saw him. Neither did Pitt in any of the books I read that he was in (perhaps he did in some of the earlier ones, I never went back to find what came before Raise the Titanic).

Avalon · May 19, 2006

On TV these day, whenever the series is getting tired, they either kills off one of the recurring characters, or. . . (the good old standby) they have a wedding

And here I thought it was having a baby.

That phrase is so intimately associated with television that I'm having a hard time to applying it to novels. Oddly, it strikes me that it's the effort to have the characters grow that results in the shark-jumping -- the having a baby, or the wedding, or the killing off of a character to shake up another character's life.

The only series that come to mind are Laurel K. Hamilton's books (which I had to stop reading) and George R.R. Martin's latest series (which I also had to stop reading). Not that I object to sex or angst in what I read, but in both of those cases, the sex or the angst became cartoonish (to me, at least). Hey, guess which one was sex and which one was angst!

Just kidding and thinking a little, as I avoid writing. It's a personal shark-jumping moment for me, here...

alleycat · May 19, 2006

Avalon said:
And here I thought it was having a baby.

Good point.

Sometimes they should “jump the shark” right from the beginning. I saw a Far Sides cartoon once about the old Bewitched television show (for those who remember it). The cartoon was about the writers for the show working on the next script. One of the writers pops up and says, “I’ve got a great idea! Let’s have Endora put a spell on Darren. No one can figure out what's wrong until the very end!” If you remember the show, that was the basic plot for EVERY episode.

ac

Skullduggery · May 19, 2006

The only series that come to mind are Laurel K. Hamilton's books (which I had to stop reading) and George R.R. Martin's latest series (which I also had to stop reading). Not that I object to sex or angst in what I read, but in both of those cases, the sex or the angst became cartoonish (to me, at least). Hey, guess which one was sex and which one was angst!

I could not agree more about Laurell K. Hamilton - she was the first author that popped into my head as I was reading this thread. The Anita Blake series took such a drastic nose dive and in the worst possible way after she threw the plot out the window in favour of really badly written non-stop sex scenes. I read an extract of her latest "novellite", Micah, a few days ago and was so very glad I didn't pay any money for it.

Christine Lorang · May 19, 2006

I've heard it applied to novels on a blog or too. And I can think of some examples that fit.

The scary part is that when a novelist jumps the shark, all of his/her work suffers, not just the overworked series.

Shadow_Ferret · May 19, 2006

gp101 said:
Are any of you familiar with this term? It refers to TV, specifically to the HAPPY DAYS show from the 70s. When ratings started sagging, they took the cast from Milwaukee to L.A. to "spice up" the season. And they had The Fonz jump some caged sharks on water ski's. Hence, whenever a TV show resorts to gimmicks to boost their ratings, they're said to be "Jumping the Shark."

Personally, I think it's time for Dirk Pitt to come to an end, though he hasn't jumped the shark yet. Then again, I was never a huge fan to begin with.

2 Points:

Happy Days cast was never ever "in" Milwaukee.

Not sure how you can judge something as "jumping the shark" if you never cared for it in the first place.

I still enjoy Dirk Pitt. It's good, old-fashioned pulp hero style adventure fiction.

I also still enjoy LKH.

pconsidine · May 19, 2006

Skullduggery said:
...She threw the plot out the window in favour of really badly written non-stop sex scenes.

Shadow_Ferret said:
I also still enjoy LKH.

Anyone else somewhat less than shocked by that?

rwam · May 19, 2006

I've heard it in the context of describing women whose looks, all of a sudden, have taken a turn for the worse.

Example Usage:
"Dude. You seen Natalie Portman in Episode III? She jumped the shark."

MadScientistMatt · May 19, 2006

Actually, Ian Flemming did attempt to give James Bond a "proper send-off" in From Russia With Love. But, just like with Holmes, he was so popular with fans that he got pressured into bringing Bond back. The dialog at the beginning of the movie version of Dr. No is actually a reference to the scene where Bond apparently died in the preceeding book, and explaining that he had passed out and been rescued.

Shadow_Ferret · May 19, 2006

pconsidine said:
Anyone else somewhat less than shocked by that?

What are you saying? :Huh:

RoccoMom · May 19, 2006

I've heard the term quite often, never knew its origin. I've heard it applied to tv series, like Remington Steele and Scarecrow & Mrs. King. I do recall many fans said when Lee and Amanda got married, the series "jumped the shark."

pconsidine · May 19, 2006

Shadow_Ferret said:
What are you saying?

Nothing. Nothing at all. :e2zipped:

Wesley Smith · May 19, 2006

Just a clarification:From the actual site, JumpTheShark.com:

"It's a moment. A defining moment when you know that your favorite television program has reached its peak. That instant that you know from now on... it's all downhill."

So, it's not just a stunt to boost ratings. It's the moment you realize a show is past its prime and will never get any better.

BuffStuff · May 19, 2006

Happy Days was set in Milwaukee. I never liked the show much, but it was certainly set in Milwaukee.

Google "Happy Days Milwaukee", there'll be about 5 bajillion sites backing up the fact. The Fonz was cool. Can't figure out why everyone was so afraid of him, he's tiny! ...Though, in one episode, he did bust 2 doors off their hinges with what appeared to be casual slaps, so, perhaps I'm missing something.

Shadow_Ferret · May 19, 2006

I didn't say it wasn't SET in Milwaukee. I said the cast was never IN Milwaukee. Meaning it was all filmed on a backlot in Hollyweird. The original post made it sound like the cast was in Milwaukee and they took them to L.A. for the shark jumping show.

By the way, there is and never has been an "Arnold's," nor for you Laverne and Shirley fans a "Shotz" brewery, in Milwaukee.

writeorwrong · May 19, 2006

Funny how this TAN'ned off into Happy Days. Since I never thought that show was good enough to even jump the shark, it's ironic that it spawned the phrase. Toward the end of its run it was all over the place, what with all the camera mugging, applause milking, gimmick sayings and decade hopping from the late 50's to the '70s. I guess they figured they wouldn't only jump the shark, they'd pop a 5-mile wheelie over it.

rwam · May 19, 2006

So when did Happy Days "Jump the Shark"? Was it the Pinky Tuscadaro thing?

PeeDee · May 19, 2006

Fast forward many years, when "Arrested Development" had a special guest star, Henry Winkler, and in the episode they laid a shark (fake) out on a beach, and he hopped over it.

Priceless.

I will go fearlessly on the record as saying that The Wheel of Time series jumped the shark in book three when, 4,000 pages later, the plot was still thickening.

And if we were talking comic books, I could give you a they-jumped-the-shark list as long as my arm.

It's a really interesting question, though, and now I'm going to go stare at my shelf and blink for awhile until I find other series. Hm. I think this is probably a particular weakness for Epic Fantasy, more than any other genre, for all sorts of reasons.

Nim · May 19, 2006

I love Stephen King, but i think that the dark Tower series "jumped the shark" after Wizard and Glass. Wolves of the calla and the books afterwards were very different books. weird words ("commala", "ka-tet") were added, cross connections w/ other SK books were heavily displayed (kinda like TV crossovers), a random evil corporation (Sombra), time traveling, and at some point, SK decided to be a major character in his own book. it was hard finishing the series after Wolves

gp101 · May 20, 2006

The SOPRANOS has been playing a lot lately with a gay storyline between one of the fat mobsters and a gay fireman. Some fans I know aren't thrilled with it, and prefer to see more of the treachery, killing, and other mob mayhem. But if this storyline costs the show considerable viewership (which I doubt), maybe in the future when a show tries something completely against fan exepectations and drops in the ratings, they'll call it "kissing the fireman".

I still love the show, but want more of the mobness back. Even Tony is too soft.

"I love you too, Johhny-Cakes."--priceless

rwam · May 20, 2006

Okay, so now I'm trying to think of the longest running TV series that never jumped the shark. Here's some that come to mind:

Seinfeld
M*A*S*H
Cheers

Here's some that don't:
Brady Bunch - The trip to King's Island in Cincinnati episode?
Charlie's Angels

Current ones that, by their very nature, will be forced to within the next season:
Ghost Whisperer
Deal or No Deal
CSI
House

As for Happy Days, now I'm thinking it was when Mork From Ork visited the show. Wasn't that before Fonzie's shark cage thing?

PeeDee · May 20, 2006

House, the writing is very, very strong. I don't think we're in danger of seeing that jump the shark. The writer knows what he's doing, and he does it extremely well.

CSI, yeah, I could see it happening.

Ghost Whisperer could be its own thread. I went into it thinking "ah, Medium Lite" or "ah, Touched by an Angel with corpses" or "ah, Jennifer Love Hewitt, ugh"

ANd through most of the season, I thought that, till they started a much darker soul-stealing theme that's run through the latter half of the season. Now, it's still not riveting television, but it's at least interesting. I hope they make it into a sustaining arc for future seasons, not just a few-episode deal that then vanishes. I miss shows that tell overall stories, like Babylon 5. I would be willing to continue watching Jennifer Love Hewitt if only the writing were good.

Shows that won't even get up the momentum to jump the shark?

Criminal Minds (Special New Episode, now with a Writer!)
Bones (I like that David Boreanz gets to do something besides sulk, but....oi)
CSI: Miami
CSI: New York
(kill them both)

writeorwrong · May 21, 2006

rwam said:
Okay, so now I'm trying to think of the longest running TV series that never jumped the shark. Here's some that come to mind:

Seinfeld
M*A*S*H
Cheers

Some argue that Seinfeld did jump the shark when Larry David stopped writing, but others (like myself) agree that it never did...

JUMPING THE SHARK

gp101

alleycat

Still around

jules

Bored fanatic

Avalon

Linda J. Daly

alleycat

Still around

Skullduggery

Christine Lorang

Shadow_Ferret

Court Jester

pconsidine

Too Adorkable for Words

rwam

MadScientistMatt

Empirical Storm Trooper

Shadow_Ferret

Court Jester

RoccoMom

pconsidine

Too Adorkable for Words

Wesley Smith

BuffStuff

No more being nice to Pee D

Shadow_Ferret

Court Jester

writeorwrong

rwam

PeeDee

Where's my tea, please...?

Nim

gp101

rwam

PeeDee

Where's my tea, please...?

writeorwrong