Jump the Shark

A couple days ago I asked the Boss if he watched House this week. He said that after it ended his wife asked him if he thought House had 'jumped the shark.' My response was "Huh?" The Boss was very surprised that I had never heard the phrase before. As am I now that I see how prevalent it is in entertainment and television culture. Jumping the shark is a term used when a show has hit its peak and begins to go down hill. The term originates from Happy Days when The Fonz jumps over a shark while water skiiing. Check out this website where viewers vote on what moment 'jumped the shark' in many tv shows, if it ever did at all. JumptheShark.com

I looked over the shows that I am currently watching and have found four cases of jumping the shark that stick out to me.

Desperate Housewives- After the first season this show has gone downhill and stayed there. The mysterious storyline of season one was a bit of a let down at the end and it continued to be unsatisfying as they brought in new uninteresting characters.

24- After the fourth season, which was the absolute best season of 24, it jumped the shark. The President became involved in the terrorism and it just was not nearly as good.

Heroes- At the beginning of season 2, with the introduction of the South American siblings and Micah's distant family, Heroes took a step back. But I wonder if there is a term such as 'Going under the Shark' because Season 3 is back in action and so far has been much better than season 2.

House- As Mrs. Boss presumed, I feel House is potentially jumping the shark this season. The House/Wilson/Private Investigator storyline has been much less than stellar so far this season. We'll see if it continues throughout the year.

ABC Big Guns

Private Practice will be in its second season this fall. It comes from the creator of Grey's Anatomy and has an ex-character from Grey's in Addison Montgomery-Shephard. Although she was my favorite female character on Grey's, she has definitely lost her likability by becoming the main character. Private practice doesn't compare to Grey's in drama aspect (a little doctors office isn't really a place for huge catastrophes like a full scale hospital is). Tim Daly (not the ex Scarborough/Northern Stars basketball player, but the guy from Wings) is the main bright point of the show. He's fantastic as the hippie doctor that likes Addison.


Dirty, Sexy, Money also survived its first season through the writer's strike. It's about a very wealthy and dysfunctional family living in NYC and the trouble they get their family attorney into. It definitely has an all-star cast: Jack Bauer's dad, the guy from Sports Night, one of the Baldwin brothers, Anna from O.C. and Matt from 90210. I feel like the plot from season one was all over the place and if season two is more concentrated in something I think this show could be great. Luci Liu joins the gang in season two after her Cashmere Mafia got axed.


Grey's Anatomy always seems to get lovers and haters. Here's my thing with Grey's...I don't understand how I enjoy it so much when I absolutely hate so many of the characters. I can not stand any of the following and want to strangle all of them when they do anything: George, Izzie, Yang, Meredith, Callie, Hahn and Lexie. That being said, the McDreamy/McSteamy interaction more than makes up for the wanting to kill myself from listening to Izzie's rants. Seriously (i had to do it) though, McDreamy, McSteamy, Chief and Karev (sometimes) are a combination I would go to bat with as the best guy characters on tv. Add to the mix Kevin McKidd from Rome and Journeyman and season 5 should be one of the best.


Desperate Housewives is now in season 5 as well and they are skipping ahead five years this fall. I never really know how I feel about things like that. It's a pretty bold move on their part and hopefully it pays off. I've really been down on DH since season 1. It has lost its mysterious side that it had at the beginning and is dealing too much with stupid little problems. They definitely need to bring some better guy characters on this show, because the chicks aren't cutting it.


Brothers and Sisters doesn't really have anything that makes it stand out, but except for maybe Grey's this is my favorite show out of these five. It's again about a really rich family, but this time in California. The father of the fam dies in the first episode and leaves everyone else picking up little pieces of his life along the way. Many secrets about his past come out, ep by ep. Rob Lowe as Ally McBeal's politician of a husband is great and Emily VanCamp as the father's fake love child is ridiculously cute and should get many more jobs in the future. Balthazar Getty's antics this summer with Sienna Miller might help bring more viewers to Bros and Sis but I will be sad to see Stephen Weber leave the show.