jwalkernet

Jumping the shark

I love that phrase: "jump the shark." It's so useful, so original. An all-purpose catchphrase.

For those of you who don't know, "jump the shark" is a term referring to the exact moment when something -- generally a television show, but the term has extended to the world of music as well -- reaches the point where you realize that it's never going to be the same, that's it all downhill from here.

The phrase has its origins in an episode of Happy Days, in which the Fonz donned a pair of water skis and jumped a shark in the Pacific Ocean (still wearing his trademark leather jacket). At this moment, every Happy Days fan knew, deep down, that it was over. The show continued to plod along for a time afterwards, but it wasn't the same.

There's a website devoted to jumping the shark (I'll let you exercise your own little grey cells and try to figure out the address -- I'm sure you can do it youself without my help), and even a book titled Jump the Shark. The book is a fun, entertaining read, even if I disagree with some of its "jump the shark" moments.

For example, author John Hein asserts that the point of no return for The X-Files was the release of the film, Fight the Future, between the fifth and sixth seasons. For me, the show jumped a year later, during the first two episodes of season seven, "The Sixth Extinction" and "The Sixth Extinction II: Amor Fati." In these episodes, Mulder contracted a brain disease that was revealed to be alien in origin, gave him telepathic and telekinetic powers, and alterted his DNA to make him part alien. Also, Scully finally crossed to the dark side and admitted in the existence of extra-terrestrial life, the evil Cigarette-Smoking Man revealed that he was Mulder's father (which had long been suspected by everyone -- Mulder included -- for a long time), and Mulder spent the majority of the second episode in a coma, dreaming of a life where he lived in suburbia and banged Mimi Rogers all day. And as if the blatant homage to The Last Temptation of Christ (did I mention that?) wasn't obvious enough, we even got Mulder in a full-blown crucifixtion pose, complete with brain surgery scars as a crown of thorns.

None of it made much coherent sense, and the events directly lead to Mulder's abduction, Scully's pregnancy, and the horrendous mess that was the eighth and ninth seasons.

But that's just my opinion.

Now...what was I talking about? I got sidetracked by The X-Files thing....

...uh....

Ah, screw it.


"Hail to the thief! Hail to the thief!"
But I'm not!