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JUMPED The SHARK or NOT!

bionicbob

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STARGATE -SG1 -- based on the 1994 movie by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich, the series ran 10 seasons, spawned two spin-off shows and two direct to dvd movies.

But did it jump it the shark?

In my opinion, NO. SG-1 never jumped the shark!

Yes, Richard Dean Anderson, while still a loyal supporter of the show, was definitely "phoning in" his performance in his last full seasons (7 and 8), but the writing and other cast members more than made up for it. Even the soft "relaunch" with the addition of Ben Bowder and new villains the ORI was extremely well developed. SG-1, for me, was a consistently well written and produced show, with a very clear direction and narrative.

In many ways, it was a rarity on television. It had three very strong producers, Brad Wright, Robert Cooper and Jonathan Glassner, who remained with the show for its entire run, and who were pretty much allowed full creative freedom by the MGM Studio.

10 years of entertaining adventures -- the show was epic in scope, had engaging characters, drama, action and humor. It is the model for a successful sci-fi series. In many ways, Star Trek could take a lesson or two from this franchise.

So IMO, SG-1 was Shark immune.;-)

Do you agree???:?
 

wabid

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I am going to slide offtopicish and play TV hipster. I disagree with the idea that Big Bang Theory is funny. It is entertaining enough to watch because I like Leonard and Penny, but the rest of it annoys me and I wouldnt go out of my way to watch it.

Conversely, good comedies in my mind are, Arrested Development, Seinfeld, Parks and Recreation, Modern Family, Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Raising Hope, South Park, Archer, My Name is Earl, Better Off Ted, Home Improvement, Cosby Show, Married with Children, Fresh Prince of Bell Air,

I am not sure you could argue many of those shows jumped the shark. For the most part they stayed consistent till the end.
 

reave

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I don't enjoy BBT either. It's never aroused so much as a chuckle from me.
 

Q2

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Dwight Fry said:
The Big Bang Theory jumped the shark big time when it decided it desperately wanted to be Friends. Seasons 1, 2, and 3 were great. Season 4 sucked balls, plain and simple. Season 5 was a bit better but far from the glories of the past.

I have to disagree. I still laugh my ass off at this show, and I generally hate sitcoms. (Modern Family being another current exception.)

Frantic Canadian said:
I completely disagree. The show is still consistently funny. The only problem I had with the show was when they brought in Priya. I really didn't care for her or the whole Leonard/Priya relationship, so I was really happy when they got rid of her. The last episode, season 5 season finale, was disappointing, but I'm sure they'll be ready to bring the funny when the show comes back in September.

+1.
 

TV's Frink

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Agree on Home Improvement, no shark jump there. Consistently unfunny from beginning to end.
 

Rogue-theX

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TV's Frink said:
Agree on Home Improvement, no shark jump there. Consistently unfunny from beginning to end.

scaled.php
 

theslime

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A third category could be: Shows that jumped the shark, but made a miraculous recovery. Twin Peaks would be the obvious candidate here, but I'm sure there are lots of shows that seem like they couldn't get any worse just before they suddenly get better.
 

mnkykungfu

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bionicbob said:
Gaith said:
Smallville: For me, the point of no complete return came in 3.2, when Lana KILLED a guy and it was never mentioned again. Clark accidentally killing is one thing; he has a different perspective on life, but it should have had an effect on Lana.

Smallville is a hard show to like sometimes. While for me it never really jumped the shark in the classic sense, it was always plagued with inconsistent quality of writing throughout its run. Season Four nearly killed me, I was ready to walk away and never watch again but then it had one of the best season finales ever -- the intro of the FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE!!

Yeah, I couldn't make it through season 4.  That show had so many episodes where they just kept remixing the characters relationships in new combinations.  Just no consistent throughline.  It became where every character on the show had the emotional development of a 7 year old.  "Now this week, Lexy is my new best friend!  I don't like Clarky...he's mean!"  lol  Sorry, just couldn't invest the time to suffer through to the "good again" episodes.
 

mnkykungfu

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Oh, and we can obviously add a few more shows at this point:

Battlestar Galactica
Game of Thrones
Legion
Living With Yourself
The Walking Dead

Discuss.  :)
 

wilhelm scream

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mnkykungfu said:
Oh, and we can obviously add a few more shows at this point:

Battlestar Galactica
Game of Thrones
Legion
Living With Yourself
The Walking Dead

Discuss.  :)

Battlestar Galactica: season 1-2 are amazing. 3 and first half of 4 are alright and second half of 4 is terrible, so it jumped the shark there.

Game of Thrones: Season 1-6 are amazing (apart from Dorne), 7 and first half of season 8 is alright. Last half of 8 is terrible, so it jumped the shark there.

Have not seen the rest so I can't comment.
 

mnkykungfu

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Revisiting this thread for a bump, I'm gonna add a show that I think NEVER jumped the shark: Farscape.

Despite all the typical shark-jumping trappings, the show managed to validate all its wacky ups and downs for a strong finale that seals it was one of the most satisfying sci-fi narratives of all TV.

It was put on hiatus multiple times after the second season. Lost main characters, brought in estranged relatives, had villains become friends (ish), changed networks, was cancelled and renewed. That this thing managed to hold it together, still have amazing episodes every season, and pick up plot threads and resolve them all the way through was miraculous. Anyone who hasn't watched or didn't finish should give it a shot.
 

Jrzag42

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First thing that came to mind with this thread was Death Note, I think it jumped the shark with the introduction of a certain two characters after the death of a prominent character. About halfway through the show if I remember correctly.

Rurouni Kenshin fell flat after the Kyoto arc, everything after is just garbage.

Hm, do I watch any shows other than anime? Yes, I do, but I can't think of any examples off the top of my head that would fit here.
 

Malthus

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I think a great example of a show which jumped the shark is CW's Arrow. It started with two knock out seasons but a weak third season and a dire fourth one killed my interest in that show.

Babylon 5 is a perfect example of a series that never jumped the shark. It consistently goes from strength to strength and while there is a noticable dip in quality at the start of the fifth and final season this is largely due to its cancellation and subsequent rescue. This caused the show to "conclude" itself in its fourth season only to have to restart in the fifth once it was picked up by a new studio. Thankfully after a shaky start the fifth season soars into its climax. It also has a great expanded universe with some brilliant TV movies, a fun but tragically short-lived spin-off series, a collection of shorts that provide lovely vignettes into the characters lives long after the series' conclusion and a series of novels which are, for the most part, not only considered canon but approved by the series creator and based off his ideas. It is an incredible story, expertly told.
 

wilhelm scream

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The X-Files had an amazing seasons 1-5, good 6-8, then terrible 9-11.
 

Q2

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Fringe was consistently good and never jumped the shark.
 
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