It's happened to the best of us: there's that one television show we just can't miss. We skip a class because the season finale is on and just can't bear to wait the 24 hours until it's posted online for fear of seeing spoilers. We own each season on DVD. We believe if we had a man in our lives like the lead character, life and love would be flawless - I'm looking at you, Jim Halpert from "The Office." But then it happens. Something is introduced - a tumultuous storyline, a new love interest, a long-lost cousin - and it all starts to hit the fan. Our favorites jump the shark.
"Jumping the shark" is a phrase used to refer to the moment when someone or something takes a turn for the worst, referring to an infamous "Happy Days" moment when Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli soared over a shark on water skis. Television shows tend to fall victim to this downfall most often, because directors and producers want to keep the show fresh and are willing to play with and shift the format in order to keep everything new and innovative.
However, in trying to be creative and inventive, these people almost always destroy what once made up the appeal of the show itself. If one is looking for an on-air example of this, look no further than Thursday nights on ABC.
"Grey's Anatomy" has taken over the airwaves since its television inception in 2005. The first two seasons had a well-balanced mix of drama and comedy; of medicine and human emotion; and of hot doctors and loveable goofs. "Grey's" seemed to be gaining popularity exponentially, making its third season its highest rated. Then, for lack of a better explanation, "Grey's" creator Shonda Rhimes got bored.
Characters who should never have been more than best friends had sex. Stepmothers were accidentally killed. Extended love interests were gone within an episode with no viable explanation. Long-lost sisters came into the picture. Surgery was performed on a deer in the parking lot outside the hospital. One of the most prominent residents is somehow having hallucinatory sex with her dead fiancé.
In trying to "spice up" the show, Rhimes has effectively dug its grave. The fifth season is currently still on TV but has lost nearly 10 million viewers since the height of its popularity just a little over a year ago. By ignoring reality and reaching into surrealism, the creators are deteriorating what drew audiences to the show in the first place.
"Grey's Anatomy" is not the only show to fall victim to this trend. Programs like "Smallville," "That '70s Show," "E.R.," "The Cosby Show," "Roseanne" and "The O.C." have all suffered as a result of their higher-ups' attempts to liven things up.
U.S. viewers loved "Roseanne" because of its realistic portrayal of lower-middle-class suburbia. By having Roseanne win the lottery then find out her husband is cheating and then have him die from a heart attack was effectively hammering the nail in the coffin.
It seems shows worry that they are becoming too formulaic and feel the need to throw a monkey wrench in the whole thing. What they do not realize that perhaps it is the format of these programs that garners them a fan base to begin with. The addition of an effusive drug problem, or even the removal of a main character, tears the fabric of our favorite shows. Maybe if we find that a show is struggling to maintain its original appeal, it should end while it is still good instead of dragging on for three more seasons, ruining any residual love or respect that once remained for the program.
We as television viewers find comfort in our favorite shows. The characters become our family, and sitting down to watch these programs becomes a weekly routine with friends. Perhaps we should take a lesson from real life and recognize that sometimes, when something we once enjoyed is a shadow of its former self, we should set it out to pasture and allow it to end on a good note. There's no need for our favorites to join "Dynasty," "Happy Days" and "Dallas" without their dignity intact in television heaven.
You can reach this staff writer at cmoore@theeagleonline.com.
