What does jump the shark mean and where does it come from?

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bobby92 | 3 years, 1 month ago

"Jump the shark" comes from an 1977 episode of Happy Days in which the Fonz was depicted jumping over a shark on a waterski. Many viewers felt this did not fit in with the 50s era setting of the show, and thus is credited as the point where the show lost its credibility, hence its current usage. The "jumptheshark" website was probably the first widespread usage of the term, set up in 1997 and named after the metaphor that a friend of the site's owner used referring to the Happy Days episode previously mentioned.

Recently, another term for the same notion has came into use - "nuking the fridge.". This is a reference to a particularly unbelievable scene in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls where the eponymous character survives a nuclear blast by hiding in a fridge.

source(s):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jump_the_shark

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djscram | 3 years, 1 month ago

I think the above answer gets the details right, but one of the connotations is that the producers are getting desperate to retain the audience. It's not just that the viewers felt something was wrong, but that it indicates the show is deliberately going to desperate lengths to retain an audience.

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