|
|
jumps the shark
Web site pinpoints the moment that the fizz fizzles
By Jeff Bercovici
If you've ever followed a television series for more than a season or two, you have more than likely had the experience of seeing the show go from good to mediocre, or even to just plain awful.
It happens to practically every show sooner or later, but for decades this phenomenon of transformation had no name, and disappointed fans had no way to express their pain.
Then came Jon Hein.
He is the author of a catchphrase that has been gaining cultural currency for more than three years now: "jumping the shark."
Every day, thousands of web heads log onto Hein’s site, www.JumpTheShark.com, to debate when and how their favorite dramas, sitcoms and game shows "jumped."
To jump the shark refers to that critical point where a show ceases its creative ascent and begins to show its sag lines.
The phrase has its origins in a conversation Hein participated in while a student at the University of Michigan.
"I was hanging out with my housemates talking about when different TV shows went downhill," he says. "When 'Happy Days' came up, my buddy Sean said, 'That’s easy. It’s when Fonzie jumped the shark.'"
That's a reference to an episode late in the show's run in which the Henry Winkler character, acting on a dare, jumps on water skis over a penned-in shark.
"Everybody knew exactly what he meant," says Hein. "Then we proceeded to use the phrase to describe anything."
After graduating from college and becoming a partner in a computer training company, Hein created www.JumpTheShark.com, partly to teach himself HTML and partly as a means of entertaining his friends.
Within months of the site’s launch in December 1997, the Los Angeles Times used the phrase in a story about "South Park."
Hein says the phrase is often misapplied to shows that simply stink. Used correctly, the term is applied to shows whose best days are behind them.
Shows that have reached this stage tend to signal their declines in familiar ways. JumpTheShark.com lists them in categories including "Same Character, Different Actor," "Special Guest Star," "Graduation" and "The Movie."
"It’s a sign that the writers are looking to switch it up and do something a little different, which they should be commended for, but they typically fall back on these conventions of having a cute kid, a baby, moving, and so on," says Hein.
You don’t have to look far to find examples among this season’s plot lines. Hein singles out a few programs that have followed in Fonzie’s wake in recent weeks.
"I think ‘Buffy’ jumped with the musical. I think ‘Angel’ jumped with the baby. ‘Survivor’ is going through it right now."
Moreover, he says, shows like "Frasier" and "Friends" "have kind of validated that they have jumped."
They also demonstrate an important point: the ratings are no indication of whether a show has jumped.
"'Sex and the City' is a great example of that. It’s at its zenith of popularity, but that show jumped the shark."
On the site, users can vote on if, how and when more than 2,000 different series jumped, and they can submit comments to substantiate their votes. Hein personally reads every comment that goes up.
"I try as hard as I can not to put up ‘Buffy rules’ or ‘Xena sucks.’ Usually I like it when people know what they’re talking about and refer to something specific in the show."
Hein votes on all the shows that he can, but only anonymously, and never adds comments of his own.
"The site isn’t about my opinions, although it’s partially that. I’m doing a book that’s coming out next fall, and my two cents will be in there."
Besides the book deal and some advertising, Hein has also licensed the concept to Rolling Stone, which has created a music version for the games section of its web site.
He has also had meetings with executives from two networks who have tried to figure out whether they could use JumpTheShark.com as a tool for audience research.
"So the networks are interested, but I don’t know how that could work because I want to keep this as objective as possible."
November 26, 2001
© 2001 Media Life-Jeff Bercovici is a staff writer for Media Life.
Send to a
Friend| Printer-Friendly Version
Cover Page | Contact
Us
