Today, we look at when (or if) you folks believe that Community “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 the charmingly offbeat sitcom, Community, which got to six seasons through hook and crook, and now we’re just waiting for the movie!
So first…DID IT JUMP THE SHARK? Not dramatically so, but yes, I think so.
WHEN DID IT JUMP THE SHARK The show sadly had to deal with too many cast departures. I don’t think it ever quite got over losing Donald Glover’s Troy.
Let me know what you think in the comments or on social media1
Feel free to e-mail me at brian@popculturereferences.com for suggestions for shows for us to do in future installments!
100% agreed
Would argue it didn’t jump the shark. It got weaker once Chase and Glover left the series and “the Greendale Seven” were no more, but I still think the series managed to stay high quality and enjoyable. And being weird and over the top is part of the premise of that series and what made it work.
I’d argue it jumped the shark when Dan Harmon was fired after season 3. Season 4 was obviously “off” in many ways, and Harmon’s return in S5 didn’t quite right the ship. By then the cast departures had started, so the obstacles kept piling up. It was still a good show and occasionally even a great show, but it was never quite the same show it was in those first three years.