I'm not sure when I first heard this expression, but when I did it intriqued me.
So much so that I googled it.
I love google.
It seems that it's in my brain just waiting to answer ridiculous questions I hurl at it.
I must admit that sometimes I purposefully try to come up with questions to stump it.
It hasn't worked yet.
In short, here's what Mr. Google had to say about jumping and sharks...more specifically, jumping the shark...
There was an episode of "Happy Days" wherein "The Fonz" jumps over a shark while on water skis.
That episode was viewed by many as a turning point in the show.
A peak or climax, if you will, in the quality of the program.
The term was coined in 1985 and became a website in 1997.
Somewhere in between that time it became a commonly used idiom, particularly in regard to television shows.
So now, if you were to hear someone say, "Wow, that just jumped the shark" you won't think they've gone completely bonkers (at least not based on that term alone).
You will realize that they were, in effect, saying that something that was once good is now headed for a decline in quality and popularity.
Which brings me to the following questions (that I will eventually pose to Google):
Have there been any other television shows that have "jumped the shark" while jumping a shark (decked with skis or otherwise)?
Are we sure it was a shark and not a dolphin? Because that would change everything.
Doesn't the fact that something gains notariety by coining a term such as jumping the shark actually make it void of fulfilling that label itself due to the fact that it has actually become popular again?
and finally...
Can one's own body jump the shark? Because I think mine did about five years ago.
B
You can see the rest of this session here under "Carrie".
Up next: Baby Lilly
3 comments:
Once again you make me feel old and remind me of the generation gap between us:) You had to google that phrase, really? So sad that 1985 is that long ago and you weren't watching Happy Days;)
This girl is gorgeous by the way and the pictures are beyond FAB, I'm not sure what exactly that means but I'm loving them:)
You're only 7 years older than me...so not that old. I was watching Happy Days. Just not closely enough to realize what jumping the shark was all about...that's where Google stepped in. ;)
I was just saying I was surprised you weren't familiar with it because of all you do remember. And thanks you have just made a middle aged lady's day:) Ditto with the love of Google, but I don't think I'll tell them;)
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