When did One Day at a Time Jump the Shark?

[Dr. Thong]

Originally Posted by um

Very good. Well said. Well put. Very true.

Thanks.

As someone who watched a lot of sitcoms growing up, I got to see some shows that went past their creative expiration date and it can be hard to watch.

As much as we don't want to see our favorite shows end, it's better to remember them for their great runs rather than their steep decline.

[Babalu]

Any show with growing children has to change. I remember liking the show but the reason I stuck with it was Valerie. As far as I'm concerned I lost interest in the show when Valerie was married and cut her hair. As far as being a quality show, I think they did the best they could with the Mackenzie Philips situation, both script wise and personnel wise. They fired her to try to save her life and they made her a rebel on the show because it made sense. When they thought they needed Glen Scarpelli, they should have folded up the tent.

[RetroTVNitekatt]

Originally Posted by Babalu

Any show with growing children has to change. I remember liking the show but the reason I stuck with it was Valerie. As far as I'm concerned I lost interest in the show when Valerie was married and cut her hair. As far as being a quality show, I think they did the best they could with the Mackenzie Philips situation, both script wise and personnel wise. They fired her to try to save her life and they made her a rebel on the show because it made sense. When they thought they needed Glen Scarpelli, they should have folded up the tent.

I've said it before, Mac killed the show, it just took 4 seasons and two firings to do so, more or less.

Valerie in her first book clearly states there was talk of spinning off the girls into their own show when Mac came back, but the talk eventually died down - clearly the network was worried about what eventually happened - Mac relapsed. You can't tell me the sharing the house idea was not part of a possible spin-off concept.

Bud Wiser, good bless him was producer during the 4 tough years - Seasons 5-8 and kept the show in the top 10/20. (For the record, the show wasn't syndicated till season 8 was on the air as CBS obtained the daytime run rights for several years)

Val and Bonnie's reason for walking away have been talked about to death, but truth is, nothing was stopping CBS from giving both of them spin-offs with producers,writers and directors they wanted to work with. "Archie Bunker's Place" gave the characters of Archie, Barney and Stephanie 4 additional years in addition to some good new supporting characters.

[TMC]

According to the old jump the shark site, the biggest knock on ODAAT was that it was too deep and dramatic. With that being said however, one can argue that the writing quality in the first few seasons was much better than Alice or Three's Company. Eventually though, the show got bogged down with too many bland or annoying characters (i.e. Alex, Max, Mark, Sam, and Katherine). Also, Max and Julie for the most part, had zero chemistry and were in and out (due of course, to Mackenzie Phillips' real life "issues").

[TMC]

What about when Howard Hessman joined the fold? It on its own, seems awfully incestuous that his character would marry his son's mother-in-law. When Howard Hessman showed up, it was off the heels of WKRP, where he had created the memorable Dr. Johnny Fever. On ODAAT, he's asked to play virtually the most bland, milquetoast character ever.

[TMC]

https://popculturereferences.com/whe...ump-the-shark/

In a feature looking at if or when a TV series "jumped the shark," Brian asks you all to determine when (or if) the original One Day at a Time jumped the shark.



Today, we look at when (or if) you folks believe that the original One Day at a Time “jumped the shark.”

This is “Just Can’t Jump It,” a feature where we examine shows and whether they “jumped the shark.” Jumped the shark (coined by Jon Hein) means that the show had a specific point in time where, in retrospect, you realize that show was going downhill from there (even if, in some rare occasions, the show later course-corrected). Not every show DOES jump the shark. Some shows just remain good all the way through. And some shows are terrible all the way through. What we’re looking for are moments where a show that you otherwise enjoyed hit a point where it took a noticeable nose dive after that time and if so, what moment was that?

The original One Day at a Time was a sitcom that ran for nine seasons between 1975 and 1984. It was about a divorced single mother, Ann Romano (Bonnie Franklin) raising her two teenage daughters, Julie (Mackenzie Phillips) and Barbara (Valerie Bertinelli) in Indianapolis, while dealing with the kind of creepy building super, Schneider (Pat Harrington), who ends up eventually becoming a trusted family friend.

So first…DID IT JUMP THE SHARK? Definitely.

WHEN DID IT JUMP THE SHARK Like a lot of these question, this is a tricky one, as there is a point where the show is TRULY screwed, but I think it probably jumped a bit before that. I think the show jumped after the Season 8 finale, where Ann is now married to a new husband (whose son is married to Barbara). The show was essentially canceled at the end of Season 8, but then was brought back unexpectedly, but Alex (Glenn Scarpelli), basically Ann’s adopted son (not technically, but essentially) was gone (After the show was initially canceled, Scarpelli took another gig), so Ann no longer had anyone to mother on the show, so she was essentially pointless in the series, as her daughters were now living together in a rented house with their respective husbands. Schneider now REALLY had no purpose, as well (he was sort of a surrogate father for Alex). It was just a totally different show, so I think the show jumped then. But then Mackenzie Phillips was fired, as well, soon into Season 8, and then the show was REALLY done.

[Fallon97]

To me, the show never jumped. In fact, I like the later seasons better.

[Fallon97]

The show never jumped.

[Fallon97]

The show never jumped. I actually prefer the later years.