Today, we look at when (or if) you folks believe that Dexter “jumped the shark.”
This is “Just Can’t Jump It,” a feature where we examine shows that launched in 2006 or later 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?
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 it’d be fun to look at shows that launched after the sale and see what we all think about whether they jumped the shark and, if so, when did it happen? Here is the archive of the show’s we have done far and what the judgments were for those shows.
Today we look at Dexter, which was about a serial killer whose adopted father trained him since he was young to hide his urges and only kill “bad” people.
So first…DID IT JUMP THE SHARK? Oh, definitely.
WHEN DID IT JUMP THE SHARK Honestly, I think I will differ with what I imagine the consensus will be and I will vote for the death of Rita as the moment the show jumped. It, like, MEGA-jumped when Debra revealed that she was in love with her brother, but I think it had already jumped.
Feel free to e-mail me at brian@popculturereferences.com for suggestions for shows for us to do in future installments!
I honestly think it jumped in Season 2, when they veered away from Dexter being a sociopath held in check solely by the code, to being a sort of anti-hero that was slowly becoming a “good guy”. It got back on track in Season 4 almost entirely because Lithgow was so good, but it was definitely all downhill after that.
It hit an apex point with Trinity/Rita that was tough to continue after but it was still an entertaining show and better than others out there but had a dip
Deb falling in love with her brother was absolutely ridiculous. I hate watched it to the conclusion after that. I dont care that they arent blood they are siblings and that family chemistry bond really resonated
I agree that the show was heading downhill after season 2; when the main actor gets married and has kids you know the end is near. I thought they might save it by getting rid of the family at the end of season 4. Season 5 was watchable but it was getting increasingly difficult to suspend disbelief through seasons 5 and 6. But IMHO, it fully jumped the shark at the end of season 6. There was no point watching it after that.