JUMPING THE SHARK #1
What does "Jumping the Shark" mean?
Season 5, Episode 3 of the sitcom Happy Days aired on September 20, 1977.
This particular episode is famous for the scene where Fonzie accepts a challenge to his bravery by taking to his water skiis and jumping over a shark in a confined area. If he didn’t clear the confined area, it would have been a very bad day for the Fonz.
Several years later, in 1985, University of Michigan college roommates Jon Hein and Sean Connelly coined the phrase “jump the shark” for TV shows that went over the edge, so to speak, and lost credibility due to dumb story lines. So “jumping the shark” has come to reference the moment when something (or someone) misses the mark so much that it no longer merits one’s time or attention … and you simply lose trust.
In our home, we use “jumping the shark” in those instances when one of us scratches our head and says …
Really?
Did that actually just happen?
Please tell me that I did not hear that (or see that) incorrectly.
Seriously, there is no way that just happened. I can’t be so.
Sometimes the “really?” moment is in response to funny or quirky things, but other times it’s in response to things that aren’t remotely funny, but quite the opposite.
Nonetheless, happy or sad, funny or mad … this is the space on my Substack where I’ll highlight specific moments or events (both current and historic) I believe caused something to “jump the shark.”
Cheers to the things that make you go hmmmm … !
xo,
KK