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The Doctor: "Jumping the Shark"
Mr Seta
Posts: 380 Forum Member
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Some shows "Jump the Shark" and go into terminal decline, some do the jump, go into decline and somehow keep on going (aka The Simpsons).
Jump the Shark -what is it? refer here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumping_the_shark
Where with Doctor Who of course, due to its unique magic & ability to adapt, is something different. I'd argue it has jumped the Shark several times, managed to recover & in one instance do the usual -go into terminal decline & be axed, only to be rejuvenated 16 years later and now is probably is in as healthy position as it ever was.
So if it has "Jumped the Shark" on more than one occasion, just where & how many times, & how was it "put right"?
I'd argue there are at least 2 occasions in the original series -the middle of the 4th (T Baker's reign) & the start of C Baker's reign.
Tom Baker's first 3 seasons were so good & so consistent, I think most would have to agree after this, then yes there was a "jump the shark moment" & that was after first story of the 4th season (Fang Rock). After this it didn't go into terminal decline, it was never as good or as consistent again, bar the odd story. It did go back up a peg or 2 again though after JNT (with assistance from Barry Letts) took over.
For me, the next "Jump the Shark" moment was "The Twin Dilemma". After this, the original series did go into terminal decline and was cancelled 5 series later.
Quite possibly the Doctor jumped the shark twice around this time ultimately leading to the cancellation, getting decidedly worse with the arrival of the 6th Doctor & then the 7th Doctor. I'm not necessarily saying in either case the actor cast as the Doctor was the main factor here, just pointing out it seemed to me two stand out points of decline (two really dreadful stories introducing new Doctors) & due to a combination of factors/ changes introduced.
What about any other times? Verity Lambert leaving? Maybe the last season of Troughton before Pertwee & the rejuvenation of what was Season 7?
What about new Who? I'm struggling here on this one. Possibly it never has. Some might say after RTD or the 10th Doctor. I'm not sure. What are your views/ opinions? I'd like to hear.
Jump the Shark -what is it? refer here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumping_the_shark
Where with Doctor Who of course, due to its unique magic & ability to adapt, is something different. I'd argue it has jumped the Shark several times, managed to recover & in one instance do the usual -go into terminal decline & be axed, only to be rejuvenated 16 years later and now is probably is in as healthy position as it ever was.
So if it has "Jumped the Shark" on more than one occasion, just where & how many times, & how was it "put right"?
I'd argue there are at least 2 occasions in the original series -the middle of the 4th (T Baker's reign) & the start of C Baker's reign.
Tom Baker's first 3 seasons were so good & so consistent, I think most would have to agree after this, then yes there was a "jump the shark moment" & that was after first story of the 4th season (Fang Rock). After this it didn't go into terminal decline, it was never as good or as consistent again, bar the odd story. It did go back up a peg or 2 again though after JNT (with assistance from Barry Letts) took over.
For me, the next "Jump the Shark" moment was "The Twin Dilemma". After this, the original series did go into terminal decline and was cancelled 5 series later.
Quite possibly the Doctor jumped the shark twice around this time ultimately leading to the cancellation, getting decidedly worse with the arrival of the 6th Doctor & then the 7th Doctor. I'm not necessarily saying in either case the actor cast as the Doctor was the main factor here, just pointing out it seemed to me two stand out points of decline (two really dreadful stories introducing new Doctors) & due to a combination of factors/ changes introduced.
What about any other times? Verity Lambert leaving? Maybe the last season of Troughton before Pertwee & the rejuvenation of what was Season 7?
What about new Who? I'm struggling here on this one. Possibly it never has. Some might say after RTD or the 10th Doctor. I'm not sure. What are your views/ opinions? I'd like to hear.
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Forgive me but you haven't said what the 'Jump The Shark' moments were exactly?
As poor as The Twin Dilemma is I personally cant see anything that would constitute jumping the shark.
For me the show has such a wide premise, from deadly serious to the most ridiculous spectacle but I would be hard pushed to think of an actual 'Jump The Shark' moment in the shows entire history.
Could you elaborate further:)
Mind you, they were cartwheeling all over the shark for the rest of that story too IMO!
Clara wasn't much use saving him from that one.
Judging by the responses so far, I'd have to agree. The 'jumping the shark' moment isn't a moment that is bad in itself, but that brings into stark relief a decline already underway. It's the watershed point where you notice how bad things have become.
The Wikipedia page you link to rightly states that Jumping the shark is an idiom created by Jon Hein that was used to describe the moment in the evolution of a television show when it begins a decline in quality, signaled by a particular scene, episode, or aspect of a show in which the writers use some type of "gimmick" in an attempt to keep viewers' interest.
Neither of your examples fit this definition. "Jumping the shark" isn't synonymous with a simple decline in quality. Lots of programmes decline in quality. Some of these declines can be said to have started with a particular moment in the programme which just stretched the viewers' credulity too far. For example, I'd say the moment in Dallas where Bobby Ewing - a character we'd seen killed on screen - reappeared in the shower and the season since his death was revealed to have been all Pam's dream was when that programme "jumped the shark". I can't think of a similar example in Doctor Who (even the massive error of judgement that was Love and Monsters). The Twin Dilemma just being a bit crap does not make it a "jump the shark" moment.
Why you use this thread to have a go at the brilliant Love & Monsters is beyond me. Ignoring that, I would say that a similar "jump the shark" moment in Who was Amy "remembering" the Doctor into existence.
In a series such as Doctor Who, which is by definition far fetched and unlikely, I can't really see how anything can merely be dismissed by this phrase.
But within the "far fetched and unlikely" there have always been rules. For example, (ignoring City of Death!) if we suddenly saw the Doctor fly to the rescue of Clara that would be a "jts" moment.
When you're watching a familiar show that you thought you knew, and you suddenly think, "WTF is this?!" then you know that at least the spirit of the "shark moment" has been invoked.
Surprised that "I'm half human..." isn't a moment like that for some...
If we're going to start on the "fridge nuking" examples, I think we'd lose the will to live very quickly with Doctor Who, and indeed most science fiction!
I remember when I watched the first episode I was thinking: "OMG, what happened here? Why is this happening? They paid a director to tell him to do that? People sat in an office at the BBC, read through this script and said 'That's cracking, lets film it'?"
I think that the reason we don't see Clara during this is that she's desperately trying to persuade JN-T and Gary Downie to seek employment elsewhere - either that or shoot Pip and Jane Baker.
That's really not what jumping the shark is!
"Jump the shark" is basically the "no turning back" moment - the moment the light fades from the eyes of a show that had maybe already been dying for a while, and something has been lost forever. It's the difference between teetering on a precipice and plunging off the edge. The burping bin is completely the opposite of that - the revived show hadn't even begun!