Today, we look at when (or if) you folks believe that Parks and Recreation “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 long-running sitcom about the parks department in a small town in Indiana, Parks and Recreation, and whether it jumped the shark or not, and if so, when did it occur.
So first…DID IT JUMP THE SHARK? I don’t think it did.
WHEN DID IT JUMP THE SHARK The show definitely showed its age towards the end, but I don’t think it ever got bad, not even following the time jump for the final season (although, looking back, boy, that final season sure was more like a victory lap than a season, wasn’t it? A well-earned victory lap, I guess, but still).
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!
I don’t think it ever jumped the shark, it ended at just the right moment.
I think that the series really benefitted from knowing the last season would be the last season, but I will say that the first episodes of that last season (with the time jump) were problematic and made me worried that it had overstayed its welcome. The rift between Ron and Leslie was just pointless and unnecessary drama that made the characters seem like they had regressed.
The last season had a few storylines that didn’t really work for me, but we got such a nice wrap up at the end of the series (with actual character growth) that it’s hard to say it really jumped the shark. Maybe it jumped the shark but stuck the landing?
I would agree that there was no shark jumping.
I mean, it COULD have ended after the penultimate season. The season finale was written such that it could serve as a series final, although that was pretty much true for every other season (and even the mid-season finales; they were pretty much getting renewed a half-season at a time). The final season may not have been quite as good as some previous seasons, but it was still better than just about anything else on the air at the time.
Honestly, Parks & Recreation is a case where it started on the other side of the shark, then jumped backwards. The first season (and part of the second) was… not good. But once they got a better handle on how to treat the plots and characters, it became great.
I lkke what Rob MacGregor said: “Maybe it jumped the shark but stuck the landing?” And Brian Perler’s observation that it already started on the other side of the shark.
How fitting is the final season then as a reflection of the entire series? It starts off problematic and full of unnecessary conflict, but once the characters are in place and some quick retooling is done, it’s beautiful. It’s literally the relationship with its first seasons.
It jumped the shark not long after Henry Winkler started featuring! Final season had so much rubbish.
This show practically defines the term. They ran out of ideas and went at
Least one season too long. Having triplets, huge feuds, Johnny Karate shows. Come on.
The Simpsons by comparison may have got it right. The characters do. It get older or change.