Members RuAsRuAnAu Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 The Downward Spiral: Jumping The Shark Daytime's What The F Moments When and how did past and current daytime shows "jump the shark"? Jump The Shark coined by Sean J. Connolly: 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. The aforementioned expression refers to the telltale sign of the demise of Happy Days, our favorite example, when Fonzie actually "jumped the shark." (Source: http://www.jumptheshark.com) Port Charles jumped the shark (and became another laughing stock) when the 13 week arc stories were introduced on Decemeber 4, 2000 and the city of Port Charles turned into a supernatural location. It was put out of its misery on October 3, 2003. Lynn Herring's Lucy Coe battling vampires? Many people feel GL jumped the shark when Ellen Parker's Maureen Bauer was killed off in a car accident in 1993, and Another World when Frankie Frame was brutally murdered by The Bay City Stalker in August 1996. Another turning point in GL's history was when Kim Zimmer's Reva Shayne Lewis was cloned in 1998. Others cite Marlena's Possession story on DOOL in 1994, and AMC's reversal of Susan Lucci's groundbreaking 1973 abortion in February 2006. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sactownfan Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sactownfan Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 Isn't daytime different than nighttime? In nighttime, "Dynasty" never recovered from the "Jump the Shark" Moldavia massacre... because no one important died. This happens regularly in daytime. A catastorphe / or serial killer comes about... and who dies..? Oh, right. A day-player. Who didnt' see that on any daytime show 30 years ago? And who hasn't seen it in the last five? I think it's much harder for daytime shows to jump the shark... because pretty much anything can be done, or forgotten. Yes, Erica Kane's abortion turning out to be a grown man is preposterous... but is it that much different than other things that have happened to Erica? Her father turning out to be a circus clown? Romancing a man who turned out to be her long lost brother (Mark Dalton)? I've watched Susan Lucci go through pretty much everything... and so far, no jumping the shark. To me, a much less obvious, though no less harmful example of jumping the shark is AMC's decision to write off 30 year vet Julia Barr's Brooke.... by doing nothing. That's not just jumping the shark - it's feeding the shark fake chum, baiting the shark with fake chum, shooting the shark with a gun (instead of catching it with a hook) - and then once it's dead, deciding it's not worthy, and throwing the dead carcass back. DISRESECTFUL - AND SHAMEFUL. The only example of true "jumping the shark" I've seen on daytime is on DAYS, when Jim Reilly decided to kill a dozen vets off, including beloved matriarch Alice... only to reveal later they were living on an island. (And receiving much less salary.) That's jump-the-shark to me because they created an audacious, wild, no-one-will-ever-believe-this story... only to prove we were right. We shouldn't believe it, because NONE of it was true. That's jump-the-shark daytime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EricMontreal22 Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 Good points--iw as gonna say my jump the shark moment was when Passanante really gained control of AMC over Nixon and we got LIBIDIZONE--so cartoony, so over the top, so borderline sci-fi, so un Pine Valley But I'm still watching and while far from great there have been a handful of great moments since then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shawn Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 IMO, the Possession storyline on Days hurt it to a point where it never really recovered. I'm not talking about ratings either, I'm talking from a creative standpoint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scuba Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 ITA, Shawn. The Possession was the beginning of the end for Days, creatively speaking. Not that there wasn't a lot of good stuff after that, but it set a tone for the show that it hasn't been able to shake, no matter who's writing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shawn Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 Exactly! And even though after that the show had some significant stories that should have gotten Emmy recognition from its peers (Sami's execution, Zack's Death to name two), it didn't, because this storyline put an end to respect from the industry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Toups Posted October 11, 2007 Administrator Share Posted October 11, 2007 I thought Aremid, Paris and the Secret Room were good - they happened after the Possession. For me, DAYS started going downhill during the jungle storyline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shawn Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 Oh lord. Jungle Madness. Peter running through the wilderness going nuts from a mosquito bite. God that was awful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Toups Posted October 11, 2007 Administrator Share Posted October 11, 2007 Well, DAYS need get Emmy nominations after the Possession. And the industry stopped "respecting" DAYS so much that they tried to copy it with their own "wacky" storylines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Y&RWorldTurner Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 Yeah, but seriously, Days never particularly had a good reputation with the Emmy's, outside of its 70's heyday. Sure, it was nominated in the 80's and 90's, but it never really won the major awards. It was always overshadowed by rivals like GH, Y&R, and AMC (which was an Emmy powerhouse up to a few years ago). While JER might have made Days a joke to the daytime establishment, Days probably would've never won Emmy's regardless, in the main categories of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shawn Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 You do have a good point there. While the nominees throughout the 90's (Christie, Jensen, Eileen) and the few in the 00's (James, Patrika) were deserving, the last time the show won was in 1988 when Billy Warlock walked away with the Outstanding Younger Actor trophy. Its sad too, because it really was deserving of more through the years with certain performances/stories. Other than the travesty that was JERk, being on a network that a) doesn't take daytime seriously to begin with and b ) only had two shows for a long while as opposed to more on other networks added up to three strikes total against the show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Noel Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 For Sunset Beach? That one is easy! Outrageous storyline? In one of the most outrageous storylines on the show, Virginia drugged Vanessa and, using a turkey baster and some stolen sperm, impregnated her with the child of Dr. Tyus Robinson, to make it appear Vanessa had been unfaithful to Michael, who was sterile. Supernatural stories? The show took a supernatural turn for a while with some cursed jewels, stolen from a religious icon, that turned those who'd touched them into shriveled mummies. The story culminated on Christmas Eve with the return of the jewels to the Madonna just in time to prevent the deaths of several key characters. I agree with Guiding Light. Very well said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members StevieM Posted October 11, 2007 Members Share Posted October 11, 2007 DAYS had a few jump the shark moments in late 91 before the show did re-invent itself and recover. But the damage lasted for years. Gene Polumbo really didn't get Days of Our Lives. It started when Shane picked Kayla over Kim and said: "all these years I've been with the wrong Brady sister!" Christmas 91 was also pretty bad. Jack came back to Salem (MA almost left the show over money. Jack was written out for 6 weeks). He told Jennifer point blank what Babie Howie had done to force him to to go on the run--she didn't believe him. A real turning point for J&J, and a nightmare for the show at the time, when J&J were the biggest thing on daytime. But the worst part was when TPTB decided that they needed a clean break from the Tale of Two Romans. So little Sami and Eric suddenly and cruelly rejected John on Chrstmas Eve and affirmed their loyalty and love to Real Roman. All of a sudden, the only father they ever knew didn't matter to them. I always thought that Sami's SORASing was the biggest reason for the show's recovery starting in 93. It put some clear distance between the current show and what had happenned with Roman, John and the kids. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Toups Posted October 11, 2007 Administrator Share Posted October 11, 2007 Ouch!! Wow that line is brutal!! Poor Shane/Kim fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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