Today, we look at when (or if) you folks believe that the original One Day at a Time “jumped the shark.”
This is “Just Can’t Jump It,” a feature where we examine shows and whether they “jumped the shark.” Jumped the shark (coined by Jon Hein) means that the show had a specific point in time where, in retrospect, you realize that show was going downhill from there (even if, in some rare occasions, the show later course-corrected). 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 original One Day at a Time was a sitcom that ran for nine seasons between 1975 and 1984. It was about a divorced single mother, Ann Romano (Bonnie Franklin) raising her two teenage daughters, Julie (Mackenzie Phillips) and Barbara (Valerie Bertinelli) in Indianapolis, while dealing with the kind of creepy building super, Schneider (Pat Harrington), who ends up eventually becoming a trusted family friend.
So first…DID IT JUMP THE SHARK? Definitely.
WHEN DID IT JUMP THE SHARK Like a lot of these question, this is a tricky one, as there is a point where the show is TRULY screwed, but I think it probably jumped a bit before that. I think the show jumped after the Season 8 finale, where Ann is now married to a new husband (whose son is married to Barbara). The show was essentially canceled at the end of Season 8, but then was brought back unexpectedly, but Alex (Glenn Scarpelli), basically Ann’s adopted son (not technically, but essentially) was gone (After the show was initially canceled, Scarpelli took another gig), so Ann no longer had anyone to mother on the show, so she was essentially pointless in the series, as her daughters were now living together in a rented house with their respective husbands. Schneider now REALLY had no purpose, as well (he was sort of a surrogate father for Alex). It was just a totally different show, so I think the show jumped then. But then Mackenzie Phillips was fired, as well, soon into Season 8, and then the show was REALLY done.
Let me know what you think in the comments or on social media!
Feel free to e-mail me at brian@poprefs.com for suggestions for shows to do in future installments!
Brian, I think you pinpointed it exactly. The show quit becoming about a struggling single mother at that point. I will say that any other prepubescent teen male at the time, I had a huge crush on Valerie Bertinelli and didn’t care about the show’s quality as long as she was on screen.
think the show jumped the shark when not only did they add alex as an adopted sibling due to his bio father either dieing in a car crash on the show or being abusivie but also when they had to write mackenzie philips out of the show due to her real life issues with substance abuse.
I should do something about her appeal. It’s plainly there, no doubt about (as I had the same reaction), but, like, what IS it about her that makes her so appealing? It’s not like she’s some supermodel or whatever. And yet, she was SO darn appealing.
I would say it jumped the first time Mackenzie Phillips left. It was all down hill from there.
Brian, I would say Valerie Bertinelli’s appeal was in the character she played. Barbara Cooper was cute girl who was always nice to the geeky kid and even enjoyed hanging out with them in occasion. I hated when they added Mark Royer as her love interest as it was cliche, the attractive woman marrying the guy with the high earning potential.