Editing Jumping the shark (section)

== History ==

=== Origin ===
Future radio personality [[Jon Hein]] and his [[University of Michigan]] roommate Sean Connolly coined the phrase in 1985 in response to [[Happy Days (season 5)|season 5]], episode 3, "Hollywood: Part 3" of the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC-TV]] sitcom ''Happy Days'', which was originally broadcast on September 20, 1977.<ref>{{cite news |title=He's a maniac | first=Alan | last=Glenn |newspaper= Michigan Today |date= February 19, 2016|url= https://michigantoday.umich.edu/2016/02/19/hes-a-maniac/ |access-date=May 3, 2022}}</ref> In the episode, the central characters visit Los Angeles, where a water-skiing Fonzie ([[Henry Winkler]]) answers a challenge to his bravery by wearing swim trunks and his trademark leather jacket, and jumping over a confined shark. The stunt was created as a way to showcase Winkler's real-life waterskiing skills.<ref name=nevernpr/><ref name=proud/>

In 1997, Hein created a website, JumpTheShark.com, to publish a list of approximately 200 television shows, and his arguments as to the moments each "jumped the shark". The site became popular, and grew with additional user-contributed examples.<ref name="Fox">{{cite news |title=First Person: In defense of 'Happy Days' 'Jump the Shark' episode | first=Fred Jr. | last=Fox |url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-jump-the-shark-20100903,0,6800871.story |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=September 3, 2010 |access-date=September 4, 2010 |archive-date=September 15, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100915113351/http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-jump-the-shark-20100903,0,6800871.story |url-status=live }}</ref> Hein sold his company, Jump The Shark, Inc., for "over $1 million" in 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marksfriggin.com/news06/6-19.htm#wed|title=MarksFriggin.com—Stern Show News—Archive|website=www.marksfriggin.com}}</ref>

=== Responses ===

==== Ron Howard ====
In 2006, during his contribution to ''[[The Interviews: An Oral History of Television]]'', [[Ron Howard]] ([[Richie Cunningham]]) talked about the ''Happy Days'' episode that inspired the phrase:
<blockquote>"I remember [[Donny Most]] and I sitting there, looking at the script. Donny was really upset. He said, 'Oh man look at what our show has kind of devolved into. It's not even very funny, and you know Fonz is jumping over a shark'{{nbsp}}... and I kept saying 'Hey Donny we're a hit show, relax. You know it's hard to have great episodes one after another. Fonzie jumping over a shark, it's gonna be funny and great{{nbsp}}...' I remember thinking that creatively this was not our greatest episode, but I thought it was a pretty good stunt, and I understood why they wanted to do it. And what I remember the most is, it was fun actually driving the speedboat which I did a bit of, noticing that Henry was really a pretty good water skier{{nbsp}}... But the thing that has to be remembered about the jumping the shark idea, is that the show went on to be such a massive success for years after that.  So,  it's kind of a fun expression, and I get a kick out of the fact that they identified that episode (because granted maybe it was pushing things a little too far), but I think a lot of good work was still done after that show, and audiences seemed to really respond to it."<ref name=Telac>{{cite news|last1=Rutkowski|first1=Gary|title=Television Academy Foundation-The Interviews: Ron Howard (Chapter 4: On Jump the Shark, 2:57)|url=https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/ron-howard?clip=54722#interview-clips|access-date=September 24, 2021|work=[[Archive of American Television]]|publisher=[[The Interviews: An Oral History of Television]]|date=October 18, 2006|archive-date=September 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924233913/https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/ron-howard?clip=54722#interview-clips|url-status=live}}</ref></blockquote>

==== Fred Fox Jr. ====
In a 2010 ''Los Angeles Times'' article, former ''Happy Days'' writer Fred Fox Jr., who wrote the episode that later spawned the phrase, said "Was the [shark jump] episode of ''Happy Days'' deserving of its fate? No, it wasn't. All successful shows eventually start to decline, but this was not ''Happy Days''{{'}} time." Fox also points not only to the success of that episode ("a huge hit" with over 30 million viewers), but also to the continued popularity of the series.<ref name="Fox"/> 

==== Henry Winkler ====
In a 2019 interview with [[NPR]], [[Henry Winkler]] ([[Fonzie]]) told [[Terry Gross]] that the origin of the stunt began with the fact that he had been a water-skiing instructor as a teenager at a summer camp.<ref name=nevernpr/> Thus, his father used to say to him "every day for years—tell [[Garry Marshall]] that you water ski. Dad, I don't think I'm going to do that. No, no. Tell him you water ski. It's very important. I finally tell Garry, my father wants you to know I water ski."<ref name=nevernpr/> Winkler did all of the water skiing for the scene himself, except for the actual jump.  The jump was performed by professional water skier Ricky McCormick. <ref name=nevernpr/> Gross then asked Winkler what it was "about that scene or that episode that came to signify when something's time is up—when it's over?" Winkler responded: "You know what? I don't know. To them, the Fonz water skiing was just like the last straw. The only thing is it wasn't to the audience because we were No. 1 for years after that. So it didn't much matter to anybody."<ref name=nevernpr>{{cite web| url=https://www.npr.org/transcripts/712178030| title='I Never Had A Plan B': Henry Winkler On His Career, From The Fonz To 'Barry'| access-date=September 16, 2021| last=Gross| first=Terry| date=April 11, 2019| work=[[NPR]]| archive-date=September 16, 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210916134140/https://www.npr.org/transcripts/712178030| url-status=live}}</ref> In addition, Winkler told [[TheWrap]] in 2018 that he is "not embarrassed" by the phrase. He stated that "newspapers would mention jumping the shark{{nbsp}}... and they would show a picture of me in my leather jacket and swim shorts water-skiing. And at that time I had great legs. So I thought, 'I don't care.' And we were No. 1 for the next four or five years."<ref name=proud>{{cite web| url=https://www.thewrap.com/henry-winkler-barry-fonzie-shark-jump-very-proud/| title='Barry' Star Henry Winkler on Why He's 'Very Proud' He Jumped That Shark – Twice (Video)| access-date=August 30, 2021| last=Pond| first=Steve| date=August 21, 2018| publisher=[[TheWrap]]| archive-date=September 30, 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210930141545/https://www.thewrap.com/henry-winkler-barry-fonzie-shark-jump-very-proud/| url-status=live}}</ref> As Winkler's character [[Barry Zuckerkorn]], in the sitcom ''[[Arrested Development]],'' hopped over a shark in [[Motherboy XXX|episode 13 of the second season]], Winkler also noted that there "was a book, there was a board game and it is an expression that is still used today{{nbsp}}... [and] I'm very proud that I am the only actor, maybe in the world, that has jumped the shark twice—once on ''Happy Days'', and once on ''Arrested Development''."<ref name=proud/>

=== Others ===
Some writers have argued that while ''Happy Days'' did eventually (figuratively) "jump the shark", it was not during that episode.<ref name=fifth>{{cite web| url=https://www.popmatters.com/happy-days-jumping-the-shark| title=Jumping the Shark and Surviving: A Reappraisal of the Fifth Season of 'Happy Days'| access-date=August 30, 2021| last=Budnik| first=Daniel| date=November 18, 2014| work=[[PopMatters]]| archive-date=August 31, 2021| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831061740/https://www.popmatters.com/happy-days-jumping-the-shark| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/jun/01/happy-days-mork-from-ork When did Happy Days jump the shark? The answer may surprise you ...], Rich Pelley, [[The Guardian]], 1 June 2020</ref>