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Jump the Shark

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Chapter One

A new cute kid suddenly moves in. Someone is pregnant or getting married, maybe both. The cast spontaneously breaks out into song. Next week's show is billed as A Very Special episode.

You feel it in your gut. You know that your favorite TV show has jumped the shark. Even the great Garry Marshall admitted he knew it when he sent Fonzie out on those water skis ... Happy Days would never be the same.

There are a variety of ways that programs can jump, and I've narrowed some of them down into common themes or categories specific to television. Here's a brief sampling with a prime example included:

Same Character, Different Actor-Mike Evans and Damon Evans play Lionel on The Jeffersons

Death-Henry Blake's plane home goes down on M*A*S*H

Puberty-Kevin Arnold's voice cracks on The Wonder Years

Singing-Linda Lavin belts out a Broadway showstopper at Mel's Diner on Alice

Birth-Avery is born on Murphy Brown

Live-Tina takes down Colby at the Survivor finale

I Do-Jeannie and Master tie the knot on I Dream of Jeannie

They Did It-Niles and Daphne get together on Frasier

The Movie-Mulder and Scully Fight the Future on The X-Files

Moving-Meathead, Gloria, and Joey move out on All in the Family

Special Guest Star-Nancy Reagan just says no to the cast of Diff'rent Strokes

A Very Special ... -This week, on A Very Special Blossom ...

New Kid in Town-Seven moves in with the Bundys on Married ... with Children

Hair Care-Keri Russell cuts her hair short on Felicity

Graduation-The class turns the tassel on Beverly Hills 90210

Exit Stage Left-Dr. Joel Fleischman leaves Northern Exposure

Color-No more black and white on The Beverly Hillbillies

Vacation-A trip to Italy for Everybody Loves Raymond

Each new season, we can count on television writers to try and pull off one of these plot devices, and few, if any, succeed.

Some jumps are more brutal than others. I couldn't possibly cover the two thousand plus shows that are currently posted at www.jumptheshark.com, but I've detailed my favorites in this chapter.

All in the Family

1971-1979 Saturdays on CBS

"Boy the way Glenn Miller played/Songs that made the Hit Parade ..." All in the Family was the first sitcom that dealt with real-life issues in a brutally honest way and made us laugh (mostly awkwardly) at both the show and ourselves.

CBS aired a disclaimer prior to its premiere episode warning of the blunt humor Norman Lear was about to bestow upon us. Archie Bunker was an outspoken working-class bigot surrounded by people he despised. His "dingbat" wife, Edith, was the antithesis of Archie, but loved him just the same. They shared their house with their daughter, Gloria, who was married to the Polish unemployed liberal Michael, who Archie referred to as Meathead.

You think it got testy on Crossfire? All in the Family was a breeding ground for opinionated characters who couldn't help but irritate Archie. Who could forget George, Louise, or Lionel Jefferson (before they moved on up to the East Side), Edith's cousin Maude, or that special smooch from Special Guest Star Sammy Davis Jr.?

All in the Family started slowly and needed a season to find its audience. CBS didn't support the show until it realized it had a groundbreaking hit on its hands. It survived the departure and subsequent spin-offs of Maude and The Jeffersons. However, when the Italian neighbors the Lorenzos moved in, we spotted a fin. This happened to coincide with the first time we heard Jean Stapleton's real voice during an awards acceptance speech.

The next season Mike shaved his mustache, Gloria announced she was pregnant, and baby Joey was born. Following his birth and an unforgettable diaper change, Archie got laid off and the Bunkers took in Teresa as a boarder. The Stivics moved out, Archie bought the bar, Danielle Brisebois joined the cast as Archie's long-lost niece Stephanie, and the shark was jumped. This was also the season that Edith almost got raped.

As the focus shifted to the bar (later Archie Bunker's Place), we found ourselves longing for the Stivics to return from California and stir things up with Archie. Unfortunately, "those were the days."

The Andy Griffith Show

1960-1968 Mondays on CBS

The Andy Griffith Show was set in the perfect southern town of Mayberry and began with a leisurely stroll down to the fishin' hole, whistlin' that memorable theme. Sheriff Andy kept the peace with help from his cousin, faithful deputy Barney Fife, while Aunt Bee and his son, Opie, were at home.

The first five seasons in Mayberry were chock filled with aw shucks, golly gee episodes. Who can forget Howard's trip to the Caribbean, the bowling and baseball games, anything involving Aunt Bee and a pie, and getting to know Opie, Otis, and even Gomer Pyle? Mayberry dealt with hula hoops and miniskirts, hippies and NASA, and of course, the misadventures of Deputy Barney Fife.

At the end of season five, Don Knotts's contract was up and he had the opportunity to make film classics like The Ghost and Mr. Chicken. The five-time Emmy winner and counter to Andy's low-key personality decided it was time to leave Mayberry. When Barney Fife departed the laughs went with him, and The Andy Griffith Show was never the same.

Gomer's brother Goober acquired a more prominent role, Helen Crump became more of a nag, and Opie joined a rock 'n' roll band. Jack Burns's turn as Deputy Warren Ferguson left us clamoring for Barney when the show went to color in its sixth season. Ironically, Don Knotts would experience that very same feeling when he replaced the Ropers on Three's Company as Mr. Furley.

Barney returned to Mayberry later in a special guest appearance, but the damage was done. If you look closely at the fishin' hole, you'll see a fin slowly swimming away.

The Beverly Hillbillies

1962-1971 Wednesdays on CBS

"Come and listen to a story 'bout a man named Jed ..."

This classic fish-out-of-water story happened in the town of Beverly and we couldn't get enough of it. The Clampetts hailed from the Ozarks and struck it rich when an oil well sprouted in their front yard. Black gold. Texas tea. Jed, Granny, Jethro, and Elly May loaded up their truck, moved to Beverly, put a few million into Drysdale's Commerce Bank, and bought the mansion next door to Mr. Drysdale.

As Drysdale and his assistant Jane Hathaway tried to keep tabs on their most valued clients, wacky hijinks ensued.

The Beverly Hillbillies was unpretentious, silly, and unbelievably popular. Society didn't get the Clampetts, and the Clampetts certainly didn't get society, but it didn't matter. The shark warning signs went up in the third season when the Drysdales got the Clampetts involved with a movie studio. Jethro tried to be a playboy, Elly May dated a movie star, and Granny kept on yelling "Jed!" However, when we started seeing the Clampetts in color instead of black and white, we knew the shark had been jumped. The Clampetts just got stupider, as did the plots, and that innocent intrigue wasn't there anymore. Jed was now singing (seriously), Jethro had gone beyond Hollywood, and Granny was still yelling "Jed!" Even Pat Boone put in a special guest star appearance as himself. We can thank the Beverly Hillbillies for rural classics such as...