Jump the Shark

Okay, it's late, and a deadline is approaching . . . what's a writer to do?

Well, he falls back on an old favorite site of his that has not been covered: Jump the Shark!

Today's FamilyFirst site is indeed Jump the Shark, and if you haven't heard of the concept, I'm surprised. Jumping the shark has made its way into mainstream lingo on TV, radio, and office watercooler discussions.

Here's what's going on: In the late 1970's, the Nielsen ratings for ABC's Happy Days were starting to founder. In an act of desperation, the writers decided to put Fonzie in peril by having him jump over man eating sharks on waterskis. Well, the show was canceled soon thereafter, but a new concept was born!

So, the theory is that in all but the greatest of TV shows, a moment of desperation occurs in which the proverbial shark has been jumped. The site asks you, the viewers, to elaborate on exactly when that moment was reached.

Shark-jumpings are categorized this way: Same Character, Different Actor; Birth | Death; Ted McGinley; Puberty; Singing; Live!; I Do; They Did It; The Movie; Moving; Special Guest Star; A Very Special...; New Kid In Town; Hair Care; Exit...Stage Left; Graduation; and Color.

Then again, there is one last category: The Few, the Proud: Never Jumped!

You may be amazed at how many shows were indeed deemed by the masses (i.e. YOU!) to have cleared the piscine carnivore. Such critical darlings as Hill Street Blues, Cheers, All in the Family, and the Mary Tyler Moore Show jumped, in a significant number of folks' opinion.

But on the other hand, some hidden classics have been revealed: Magnum P.I., St. Elsewhere, and WKRP in Cincinnati (which, thanks to our “dear friends” the RIAA, you can no longer see with the original music) are among those previously mentioned few and proud.

So enjoy today's FamilyFirst site. And don't jump over any sharks yourself!

http://www.jumptheshark.com

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