Jumping the shark is an idiom

Idiom

Idiom is an expression, word, or phrase that has a figurative meaning that is comprehended in regard to a common use of that expression that is separate from the literal meaning or definition of the words of which it is made...

 used to describe the moment in the evolution of a television show when it begins a decline in quality that is beyond recovery.

In its initial usage, it referred to the point in a television program's

Television program

A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...

 history when the program had outlived its freshness and viewers had begun to feel that the show's writers were out of new ideas, often after great effort was made to revive interest in the show by the writers, producers, or network.

The usage of "jump the shark" has subsequently broadened beyond television, indicating the moment in its evolution when a brand, design, or creative effort moves beyond the essential qualities that initially defined its success, beyond relevance or recovery.

In late 2011, 60 Minutes

60 Minutes

60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....

and Vanity Fair

Vanity Fair (magazine)

Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...

reported that 83% of poll respondents didn't know what the phrase meant, and 9% felt the phrase itself had 'jumped the shark.'

History

The phrase jump the shark comes from a scene in the fifth season premiere

Season premiere

In North America, a season premiere is the first episode of a new season of a given television show. It often airs in September or October, after several months of reruns.-Evaluating the changes:...

 episode of the American TV series Happy Days

Happy Days

Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....

titled "Hollywood: Part 3," written by Fred Fox, Jr., and aired on September 20, 1977. In the episode, the central characters visit Los Angeles, where a water-skiing Fonzie

Fonzie

Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli is a fictional character played by Henry Winkler in the American sitcom Happy Days . He was originally a secondary character, but eventually became the lead...

 (Henry Winkler

Henry Winkler

Henry Franklin Winkler, OBE is an American actor, director, producer, and author.Winkler is best known for his role as Fonzie on the 1970s American sitcom Happy Days...

), wearing swim trunks and his leather jacket, jumps over a confined shark, answering a challenge to demonstrate his bravery. The series continued for nearly five years after that, with a number of changes in cast and situations.

Jon Hein

Jon Hein

Jon Hein is an American radio personality and former webmaster. He created the now-defunct website jumptheshark.com and currently works for The Howard Stern Show. Hein is an alumnus of the University of Michigan where he appeared in the sketch comedy troupe Comedy Company with Jon Glaser...

, creator of the now-defunct website jumpTheShark.com, explained the concept as follows: "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. Some call it the climax. We call it 'Jumping the Shark.' From that moment on, the program will simply never be the same."

In a 2010 Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles Times

The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....

article, former Happy Days writer Fred Fox Jr., who wrote the episode that later spawned the phrase, said, "Was the [shark jump] episode of Happy Days deserving of its fate? No, it wasn't. All successful shows eventually start to decline, but this was not Happy Days time." Fox also points to not only the success of the episode itself ("a huge hit" with over 30 million viewers), but also to the continued popularity of the series.

Broader usage

As an example of the idiomatic usage of the phrase "jump the shark" in a broader context, Pulitzer Prize

Pulitzer Prize for Criticism

The Pulitzer Prize for Criticism has been presented since 1970 to a newspaper writer who has demonstrated 'distinguished criticism'. Recipients of the award are chosen by an independent board and officially administered by Columbia University...

-winning automotive journalist Dan Neil

Dan Neil

Dan Neil is an automotive columnist for The Wall Street Journal and a former contributor to the Los Angeles Times, AutoWeek and Car and Driver. He is a panelist on The Car Show with Adam Carolla on Speed Channel, which debuted July 13, 2011.In 1999, Neil received the International Motor Press...

 used the expression to describe the Mini Countryman

Mini Countryman

The Mini Countryman is a crossover SUV car, and is the first such car to be launched under the Mini marque by BMW. The car was announced in January 2010, and formally launched at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show as the first Mini crossover SUV, and the first 5-door model...

, a much larger and less nimble evolution of the previously small and aptly named cars marketed by Mini. The Countryman, in Neil's opinion, absurdly forsakes the ethos

Ethos

Ethos is a Greek word meaning "character" that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology. The Greeks also used this word to refer to the power of music to influence its hearer's emotions, behaviors, and even morals. Early Greek stories of...

, the essential quality, the inner logic that made the brand successful in the first place: excellent handling in a nimble size. In a March 2011 review titled "What Part of 'Mini' Did You Not Grasp, BMW?", Neil wrote "with the Countryman, tiny sharks have been jumped."

Similarly, in 2008 during the Obama

Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

 presidential campaign, at a meeting of Democratic governors in Chicago, each governor was identified with a name plate while Senator Obama had a large seal – that looked official but was not. The New York Times

The New York Times

The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

op-ed columnist Frank Rich

Frank Rich

Frank Rich is an American essayist and op-ed columnist who wrote for The New York Times from 1980, when he was appointed its chief theatre critic, until 2011...

 wrote "For me, Mr. Obama showed signs of jumping the shark two weeks back, when he appeared at a podium affixed with his own pompous faux-presidential seal".

In September 2011, after Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann

Michele Bachmann

Michele Marie Bachmann is a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing , a post she has held since 2007. The district includes several of the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities, such as Woodbury, and Blaine as well as Stillwater and St. Cloud.She is currently a...

 repeated an anecdote shared with her that the HPV vaccine

HPV vaccine

The human papilloma virus vaccine prevents infection with certain species of human papillomavirus associated with the development of cervical cancer, genital warts, and some less common cancers...

 causes "mental retardation", conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh

Rush Limbaugh

Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...

 said "Michele Bachmann, she might have blown it today. Well, not blown it – she might have jumped the shark today."

The idiom has been used to describe a wide range of situations, ranging from the state of advertising in the digital video recorder

Digital video recorder

A digital video recorder , sometimes referred to by the merchandising term personal video recorder , is a consumer electronics device or application software that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card or other local or networked mass storage device...

 era, views on rural education policy, and the anomalous pursuit of a company acquisition.

In The Simpsons

The Simpsons

The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...

 episode The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show

The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show

"The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" is the fourteenth episode of the eighth season of The Simpsons, which originally aired February 9, 1997. In the episode, The Itchy & Scratchy Show attempts to regain viewers by introducing a hip new character named Poochie, who will be voiced by Homer...

, the 'cartoon within the cartoon' Itchy and Scratchy is shown as having jumped the shark with the addition of the Poochie

Poochie

Poochie may refer to:* Poochy * Poochie * Poochie * Poochy * Poochie * Poochie...

character, with disastrous effects on the quality of the show. The point is made that the show's loyal viewership found the addition of this character patronising, a blatant attempt to rekindle their waning passion for the programme by forcing a new aspect into the show.