Jumping the shark

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Jumping The Shark is the moment when an established show changes in a significant manner in an attempt to stay fresh. Ironically, that moment makes the viewers realise that the show has finally run out of ideas. It has reached its peak, it will never be the same again, and from now on it's all downhill.

Too many shark-jumping moments in a row can spell Seasonal Rot.

This expression originates from the episode of Happy Days in which Fonzie literally jumped over a shark on water-skis.

Gary Marshall tirelessly reminds us that Happy Days went on for a number of years after the original shark jump, misunderstanding a phrase that judges suckyness, not success. Henry Winkler has elsewhere commented that he's happy with the popularity of the phrase, as its usage in a magazine is often accompanied by a photo of him during a time in his life when he had great legs.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull introduced "Nuking The Fridge" as a synonymous phrase. Whether or not it will see sort of wide usage is up in the air. At least one reviewer of the Twilight movie has suggested 'The vampires are playing baseball' as another synonym and potential replacement.

When the people start claiming something is a shark jumping moment right after it happens, see Ruined FOREVER.

In DYOS

Many consider Stylesrj's appearance in DYOS 5 to have been the moment where DYOS jumped a very big shark, and others consider the changes of the Consul Era to be a shark jump as well. Whether these changes were for the better or for the worse depends entirely on your point of view.