It actually comes from an episode of Happy Days where The Fonz ACTUALLY (in tv land) jumps a shark on his skis. It's used now to refer to television shows that have taken drastic measures to bring ratings back up...like adding new, cute children to the show or something crazy...like jumping a shark.

The phrase relates to the TV show Happy Days. It had been wildly popular and ran for several years. Then times changed and the show slowly lost popularity. The tried several things to bring it back like moving the shows local to a new city adding new charactors ect. Finally a desperate plot twist resulted in The Fonz having to perform a stunt on water skies where he literally had to jump a shark in a cage. The show never recovered and shortly thereafter was canceled. Since then the phrase is used to describe the moment that a show or person becomes so desperate to save itself that they show no shame and will stoop to anything.

Meaning To reach the point in a TV series that denotes it is irretrievably past its best by introducing some ridiculous or otherwise unbelievable plot device or characterisation in order to boost ratings. Origin The phrase derives from a scene in the three-part 'Hollywood' episode of the American TV series Happy Days, broadcast in September 1977. The scene has 'The Fonz' (Henry Winkler), water skiing - unaccountably still wearing his trademark leather jacket - and jumping over a shark. The episode, which came at a time when the long-running series was already considered past its best, was seen as the a virtual admission by the programme's makers that the series had run its course and that they were deficient of ideas. The phrase has been adopted in the USA - although it is rarely heard elsewhere - an has become a stock item in TV critic's reviews whenever a show loses its way. Long-running US TV shows can be exceedingly lucrative and it is perhaps understandable that executives who profit from them don't want to kill off their milch cow. Examples of shows that have gone on too long are legion; in fact, examples of successful and long-running shows that haven't are few and far between. One such is The Simpsons cartoon series, which, by common consent and despite occasional lapses, has generally maintained a level of consistency throughout many series. Such a popular and long-running series is particularly susceptible to accusations of running out of ideas and 'jumping the shark'. The show's writers appear to be well aware of this and have made numerous knowing references to it, including parody scene of Homer Simpson water-skiing over a shark. http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/jump-the-shark.html Q. What is jumping the shark? A. It's a moment. A defining moment when you know that your favorite television program has reached its peak. That instant that you know from now on...it's all downhill. Some call it the climax. We call it "Jumping the Shark." From that moment on, the program will simply never be the same. The term "jump the shark" was coined by my college roommate for 4 years, Sean J. Connolly, in Ann Arbor, Michigan back in 1985. This web site, book, film, and all other material surrounding shark jumping, are hereby dedicated to "the Colonel." The aforementioned expression refers to the telltale sign of the demise of Happy Days, our favorite example, when Fonzie actually "jumped the shark." The rest is history. Jumping the shark applies not only to TV, but also music, film, even everyday life. "Did you see her boyfriend? She definitely jumped the shark." You get the idea. http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/6/messages/294.html

go to jumptheshark.com to find out.

You're the idiot posting them all

Wiktionary: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jump_the_shark Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jump_the_shark

not fair i was just going to ask that lol. annoying is what they are.

Golly, what is with the ALL CAPs? Somebody already asked what it means http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/745154 and http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/745133.

I don't know but it really freaking annoying... lol... i was about to ask that same question lol...

The show is trying desperate means to retain the audience and has entered into the phase of departing from it's original story line/purpose in order to present a 'fresh' theme.

Jumping the shark is a colloquialism used by U.S. TV critics and fans to denote the point in a TV series at which the characters or plot veer into a ridiculous, out-of-the-ordinary storyline. Shows that have "jumped the shark" are typically deemed to have passed their peak, since they have undergone too many changes to retain their original appeal, and after this point critical fans often sense a noticeable decline in their quality.

For a show to jump the shark means that it is past it's prime and it has to do certain things, sometimes ridiculously stupid, to try and maintain interest in the show. It comes from that Happy Days episode where Fonzy jumps over the shark. Remember that? Yeah, that sucked. A lot of times, a show will also jump the shark by making a movie from the show.

It refers to a point where a TV show passed its peak and started to decline. It comes from the TV show "Happy Days" where in one episode Fonzie performed a motorcycle stunt: jumping a shark tank. The show was never the same after Fonzie jumped the shark tank, so the phrase developed to describe shows that declined following an over-the-top event, then later to describe any show generally in decline.

(http://www.jumptheshark.com/index.jspa) Jumping the shark is a colloquialism used by U.S. TV critics and fans to denote the point in a TV series at which the characters or plot veer into a ridiculous, out-of-the-ordinary storyline. Shows that have "jumped the shark" are typically deemed to have passed their peak, since they have undergone too many changes to retain their original appeal, and after this point critical fans often sense a noticeable decline in the show's quality. The term is an allusion to a scene in a 1977 episode of the TV series Happy Days when the popular character Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli literally jumps over a shark while water skiing. The scene was considered so preposterous that many believed it to be an attempt at reviving the declining ratings of the flagging show. Ironically, not only was Happy Days reflecting the superstardom of real-life shark-jumper Evel Knievel in the episode, but the series was wildly successful in 1977. Happy Days was the second most popular show on television in that year, second only to its spin-off, Laverne & Shirley.

It referrers to an episode from the TV show Happy Days in an attempt to regain their previous high ratings, they had Fonzie jump a shark while on water skis, now it means when a show does something drastic or desperate to gain more viewers.

From an episode of Happy Days--when Fonzie was water skiing. He jumps over a shark. The phrase now means going off course. I remember watching a soap opera and all of a sudden one of the characters was abducted by aliens. That's an example of jumping the shark.

I thought that came alone when the Fonz jumped the shark on Happy Days.