name some shows (sitcoms and dramas) that "jumped the shark". For those that don't know what that means; it's when a show started going downhill. For instance "FRASIER" did when Niles and Daphne finally got together.

I would say Mork and Mindy following the marriage of the characters and birth of son Mearth. I will say however that I still find much of the material funny.

Laverne & Shirley after Shirley left, although ditto to what I said above.

I'm a hardcore type of fan and still watch the later seasons of these shows.

"LAVERNE & SHIRLEY" did twice; when they moved to California, then; like you said; when Cindy Williams left.
And I forgot about "MORK & MINDY" that also did it twice; like you said; when they got married; and again when they had Mirth.

Happy Days - Of course that's where the term came from- after the episode where Fonzie jumps the shark, but I think the show truly jumped the shark when Richie and Ralph left.

Diff'rent Strokes - When they brought on Sam

Family Matters- Starting in season five, when Judy disappears with no explanation, and Rachel leaves too. The show also starts focusing more on Steve Urkel's sci-fi inventions.

Chico and the Man - by continuing after the untimely death of Freddie Prinze and bringing in a young boy as his "replacement".

Happy Days - Of course that's where the term came from- after the episode where Fonzie jumps the shark, but I think the show truly jumped the shark when Richie and Ralph left.

Diff'rent Strokes - When they brought on Sam
"HAPPY DAYS" did in the 2nd season when it became "THE FONZIE SHOW" and they added that godawful live audience.

Good Times - when James Evans Sr. died, in real life when John Amos left the show.

The Dukes of Hazzard - when Bo and Luke, played by Tom Wopat and John Schneider quit the show after the end of the 4th season. When S5 came they were replaced by their cousins Coy and Vance, played by Byron Cherry and Christopher Mayer. By the time Bo and Luke returned, the ratings never recovered the same and the Dukes rode off after 7 seasons.

Hunter - when DeeDee got married. In contrast when Stepfanie Kramer left the series at the end of S6, it should've been the end right then and there.

Welcome Back, Kotter - when John Travolta left the series about a quarter to halfway into S4, combined with the presence of Beau (Stephen Shortridge) and the frequent absences of Gabe Kaplan throughout the duration of S4 doomed WBK.

Scooby Doo - the original incarnation JtS/BtF when Scrappy, bar none one of the most annoying cartoon characters ever created for TV reared his ugly mug on that screen.

Growing Pains - this show had a number of JtS moments: The 1st was Kirk Cameron's religious mongerings consistently began interfering w/ the show, though despite that, GP was still a Top 30 show. 2nd was the arrival of Chrissy. The ultimate one was the arrival of Luke (Leonardo DiCaprio).

"HAPPY DAYS" did in the 2nd season when it became "THE FONZIE SHOW" and they added that godawful live audience.

Even though I prefer the first season. Turning the show into the Fonzie show actually upped its ratings and saved it from being canceled.

A lot of Carsey-Werner shows def. fall into this category.

Cosby Show, The - It had three JtS moments. The 1st was the arrival of Olivia. 2nd, when that weenie Martin came into the picture. And last, the presence of cousin Pam.

Roseanne - With that dreaded 9th season when they won the lotto. S8 should've been a wrap but nope C-W went money crazy and made a 9th season.

That '70s Show - As with Roseanne, they should've known when to end it at the right time. With this one, S7 should've been the last. But NOOOOOOOOOOOO, they ruined their chance with a "never jumped/bone the fish" when once Eric (Topher Grace) left, they decided to continue on with that lame S8 (though there were a very few good eps. here though). I couldn't stand Randy at all! Samantha was just...there to be there.


CHiPs - when Larry Wilcox left.

Charlie's Angels - when Kate Jackson left after the 3rd or 4th season I think.

Smurfs, The - Had 2 JtS/BtF moments. The 1st came in the 5th season when they introduced The Smurflings.The penultimate JtS/BtF moment was in the 9th and final season when the show turned into a Time Traveled series.

Pokemon - when Misty left and Max and May came along.

I got a few new ones here:

Wiseguy - when Ken Wahl left the show, had his character killed off in S4 and replaced him with another character.

Most of these reasons were well documented on the late great www.jumptheshark.com website. Unfortunately after TV Guide had it for awhile, it killed off all the entries that hundreds of others including me spent lots of time & care creating and made it yet another stupid Hollywood blog!

Most of these reasons were well documented on the late great www.jumptheshark.com website. Unfortunately after TV Guide had it for awhile, it killed off all the entries that hundreds of others including me spent lots of time & care creating and made it yet another stupid Hollywood blog!

There's always www.bonethefish.com as a replacement site! :wave:

Dallas season 10


J.R. lost Ewing Oil and Bobby lost Pam when she crashed her car.

Season 11 had some good moments including the last great cliffhanger in which Sue Ellen shoots J.R.


Season 12 Dallas really jumped the shark with the whole J.R in prison and Cally storyline, not to mention the weak ending of the season with Sue Ellen and her movie of JR.

Dallas season 10


J.R. lost Ewing Oil and Bobby lost Pam when she crashed her car.

Season 11 had some good moments including the last great cliffhanger in which Sue Ellen shoots J.R.


Season 12 Dallas really jumped the shark with the whole J.R in prison and Cally storyline, not to mention the weak ending of the season with Sue Ellen and her movie of JR.

What about the whole "1985-86 season was just a dream (therefore, never really happened)" moment as the ultimate shark jumper!?

Dallas season 10


J.R. lost Ewing Oil and Bobby lost Pam when she crashed her car.

Season 11 had some good moments including the last great cliffhanger in which Sue Ellen shoots J.R.


Season 12 Dallas really jumped the shark with the whole J.R in prison and Cally storyline, not to mention the weak ending of the season with Sue Ellen and her movie of JR.
yea, it really DID "jump the shark" that season with, like you said that whole J.R./Cally storyline. I forgot about that.
I remember, that was the season I first started watching it, and I was really dissapointed. At the time a local station was rerunning the early episodes and I was really disapointed in how different those season 12 episodes were.

What about the whole "1985-86 season was just a dream (therefore, never really happened)" moment as the ultimate shark jumper!?
That probably could have been one. Dallas lost all credability after that. However the 1986-1987 season was better than the 1985-1986 season so it would get a pass by me.