Quote:
Originally Posted by Rain Man
In reading it, I was shocked that it happened at the beginning of Season 5. I thought it was something at the very end of the series, but the article says that Happy Days continued for another seven years after jumping the shark.
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AHA! This is where I think the original meaning of the term has been lost, even on wiki. When this first came about Fonzie "jumping the shark" was being referred to as the absolute peak of the show, which was then followed by a steady decline. I know Evel Kneival followed that episode by jumping an actual tank of sharks.
So as I understood it many years ago, "Jumping the Shark" was initially used to describe when a show had peaked, and was at it's best, and everything following that was trending towards decline. (I would have submitted "Who Shot Mister Burns" as this moment for the Simpsons using this definition.)
DISCLAIMER: I can't find any online support for my recollection of these events.