This is “Just Can’t Jump It,” a feature where we examine shows and whether they “jumped the shark.” Jumped the shark means that the show had a specific point in time where, in retrospect, you realize that show was going downhill from there. Not every show DOES jump the shark. Some shows just remain good all the way through. And some shows are terrible all the way through. What we’re looking for are moments where a show that you otherwise enjoyed hit a point where it took a noticeable nose dive after that time and if so, what moment was that? Note that sometimes, shows recover from jumping the shark, but that initial moment still counts as “jumping the shark.”
The great Jon Hein had a website devoted to this topic, but he sold it off in 2006 and after being maintained for a couple of years it was then merged into TV Guide in 2009, so I figured we needed to have a current archive to see what we all think about whether shows jumped the shark and, if so, when did it happen?
As people vote on each show, I’ll post the shows here, along with a link to the original post (and the discussion) as well as the current answer (if people add more answers in the future, I’ll adjust each one accordingly. I’m also including responses from Twitter and Facebook).
The list will be in alphabetical order, with the show’s name and then the answer (Either “Never Jumped,” “Jumped From Day 1” or a specific point in time) as well as the runner-up answer.
A Different World – When Dwayne and Whitley moved in together after their wedding (Runner-Up: When Dwayne and Whitley got together)
All in the Family – When Mike and Gloria left the series (Runner-up: When Mike and Gloria moved out)
The Brady Bunch – The arrival of Cousin Oliver (Runner-Up: Early in Season 5)
Brothers & Sisters – When Emily Van Camp’s character turned out to NOT be one of the siblings (Runner-up: When Rob Lowe’s character was killed off)
Castle – Never jumped (Runner-up: End of Season 5)
Chuck – Never jumped (Runner Up: Season 3, when Chuck became more of a serious spy)
Community – When Donald Glover left the show (Runner-Up: After Harmon was replaced after Season 3)
Dallas – When Bobby Ewing turned out to be alive (Runner-Up: Never Jumped)
Damages – Second season, when the show repeated the time jumps of Season 1 (Runner-Up: When Tate Donovan was killed off in Season 3)
Dexter – When Debra fell in love with Dexter (Runner-Up: When Rita was killed)
Downton Abbey – Never Jumped (Runner-Up: When Matthew died)
ER – When Romano was killed by a helicopter (Runner-Up: When Carter went to Africa)
The Facts of Life – When Mrs. Garrett left the show (Runner-Up: When Edna started Edna’s Edibles)
Family Ties – When Andy aged into a toddler (Runner-Up: Never Jumped)
Game of Thrones – When Daenerys and her Dragons flew beyond the wall to save Jon and the others despite how it should have been impossible for her to be alerted to the danger they were in in time) (Runner-Up: The ‘magic’ bolt that killed Daenerys’ second dragon)
Get Smart – When Max and 99 had twins (Runner-Up: When Mx and 99 got married)
Girls – Never Jumped (Runner-Up: The final season)
Glee – When the original cast graduated and did not leave the show (Runner-Up: From Day 1)
The Golden Girls – Never Jumped (Runner-Up: The final season)
Gotham – Jumped on Day 1 (Runner-Up: When the show kept trying to introduce Jokers)
Happy Days – Season 6 (Runner-Up: When the show went to a live audience)
Hill Street Blues – Never Jumped (Runner-Up: When Joe Coffey was killed off)
Homeland – Brody’s overall Season 3 plot (Runner-Up: When Brody didn’t die at the end of Season 1)
Homicide: Life on the Street – Never Jumped (Runner-Up: When Falsone joined the cast)
How I Met Your Mother – The series finale (Runner-Up: When Barney and Robin got engaged)
Insecure – Never Jumped (no real Runner-Up).
Justified – Never Jumped (Runner-Up: Michael Rappaport’s villain, Daryl Crowe Jr.)
L.A. Law – When David E. Kelley left the show (Runner-Up: When Susan Dey left the show)
Little House on the Prairie – Albert becomes a drug addict (Runner-Up: The mime that raped Sylvia)
Lost – The final season (Runner-Up: When they got off the island, but had to go back)
Lucifer – Never Jumped (Runner-Up: Maze’s mom showing up in Season 5)
Mad About You – Final season of original series (Runner-Up: When Mabel was born)
Maude – Never Jumped (Runner-Up: the last few episodes)
Miami Vice – When Trudy was abducted by aliens (Runner-Up: When Sonny got married to Sheena Easton’s pop star character)
The Middle – Never Jumped (no real Runner-Up).
Mission: Impossible – When Leonard Nimoy left the show (Runner-Up: When they started fighting against the mob)
Modern Family – Never Jumped (Runner-Up: Lots of one-offs, so we’ll go with When Joe started talking)
Moonlighting – When Maddie married another guy (Runner-Up: When Maddie and David had sex)
Mom – Never Jumped (Runner-Up: When Anna Faris left the show)
Murder, She Wrote – Never Jumped (Runner-Up: When they started having guest detectives)
New Girl – Never Jumped (Runner-Up: Jess’ jury duty)
NYPD Blue – Never Jumped (Runner-Up: When Bobby died)
Once Upon a Time – Tying into Frozen (Runner-Up: When most of the cast was fired)
Parenthood – Never Jumped (Runner-up: N/A)
Parks and Recreation – Never Jumped (Runner-Up: Time jump in the final season)
Quantum Leap (original series) – Never Jumped (Runner-Up: The Lee Harvey Oswald leap)
Regular Show – Never Jumped (Runner-Up: The final season going to space)
Saved by the Bell – The introduction of Tori (Runner-Up: Jumped on Day 1)
Shameless – When Fiona left (Runner-up: When Frank was cured)
Silicon Valley – Final Season (Runner-up: Never Jumped)
Superstore – Never Jumped (Runner-Up: When America Ferrara left the show)
Three’s Company – When Jack opened his own restaurant (Runner-Up: When Suzanne Somers left the show)
Transparent – The trip to Israel in Season 3 (Runner-Up: The musical finale)
True Blood – When Sookie was revealed to be a faerie (Runner-Up: Season 3 as a whole)
Twin Peaks – Never Jumped (Runner-Up: When they solved Laura’s murder)
Who’s the Boss? – When Tony and Angela professed their love for each other in the Season 3 finale, but decided to not date (Runner-Up: When Tony started dating a college classmate)
Wonder Years – Never jumped (Runner-Up: When Kevin and Paul stopped being friends)
The X-Files – The aftermath of the X-Files movie (Runner-Up: When David Duchovny left the series)
