Jumped the Shark

It happens to the best of television shows. After a few strong seasons, a series takes a wrong turn that fans find unforgiveable. This is known as the moment the show "jumped the shark." Sometimes it's just one goofy episode, like on "Happy Days" when Fonzie competed in a water skiing competition during which he had to pull off the ridiculous stunt of jumping over a shark (hence the phrase). Other times, it can be an entire plot shift that completely ruins the show. Remember when the working-class Conner family won the lottery and "Roseanne" became unwatchable? Click through this slideshow to see which current shows we think have officially jumped the shark.Tuesday, October, 28, 2008, 12:28 AM

"Heroes" was an instant hit back in the Fall of 2006, captivating fanboys as well as the general public with its ‘”Save the Cheerleader, Save the World” catchphrase that had everyone buzzing. But then something went terribly wrong, and Season 2 pretty much tanked from the start. The storylines were fractured, the heroes we cared about weren’t together onscreen enough, and we got a whole bunch of new characters we didn’t care about. The introduction of the terrible twosome (twins Maya and Alejandro) and their endless journey to get to the United States was when “Heroes” jumped the shark -- and even with Alejandro gone, we still have Maya around to remind us of a great show gone bad.NBC - Tuesday, October, 28, 2008, 12:28 AM

Truth be told, “America’s Next Top Model” probably jumped the shark long ago -- but over-the-top craziness from Tyra was what made the show so much fun. Now that the fun has warped into lame stunts, we're ready to officially call it. Cycle 11 began with the Js in metallic jumpsuits inviting the wannabes into a warehouse they referred to as the “Top Model Institute of Technology,” where the girls got their poses scanned (photos taken) just before the cardboard “Glaminator” malfunctioned and expelled a “Tyrabot.” The show was so busy with its tricks, fans barely got to size up the competition. In a later episode, Tyra throws on a tiara and re-enacts a cock-eyed version of Snow White (with the Js in full costume) just to announce the upcoming makeovers. Shark, consider yourself jumped.The CW/Jim De Yonker - Tuesday, October, 28, 2008, 12:28 AM

"Prison Break" had us captivated from the series premiere. As the brilliant (and handsome) structural engineer Michael Scofield developed his intricate plans to bust his wrongly accused brother Lincoln from prison, Season 1 rolled along full of intrigue, and it even ended with a successful escape. Season 2 had the boys on the run, which was fine, but the show jumped the shark during the finale. Somehow Michael ended up in prison in Panama, Lincoln was the one on the outside, and this time Michael had to be broken out. Enough already! We’ve endured way too much; from the “deceased” Sara coming back to life to T-Bags ridiculous situations, this show needs to be locked up and the key thrown away.FOX/Florian Schneider - Tuesday, October, 28, 2008, 12:28 AM

Nobody knows better than “Project Runway” that one day you’re in and the next day you’re out. Honestly, there aren't many shows that we've loved more; with its casts of outrageously talented designers tasked to create runway-worthy masterpieces, we’ve been diehard fans season after season. But when they kicked off Season 5 with a repeat challenge from Season 1, the lack of creativity was immediately apparent (in both the contestants as well as the show’s producers). And once the show rolled out the Saturn cars (a sponsor of the show) and asked the contestants to design something using car parts, the shark was officially jumped. Bravo/Virginia Sherwood - Tuesday, October, 28, 2008, 12:28 AM

The contestants on Hell's Kitchen go through a grueling process that involves a foul-mouthed Gordon Ramsay criticizing, screaming, yelling, and swearing at them. But they put up with all of it in order to win a shot at running a real-life restaurant kitchen. Or at least that's what USED to happen. Shortly after Season 3, FOX began promoting the fact that Season 4's winner would be executive chef of Gordon's first restaurant in Los Angeles, proving that chef Ramsay had complete confidence in the talent set to graduate from the upcoming season. Except, by the time the season ended, the grand prize had become a "senior chef" role, meaning Gordon would NOT be putting the reality show winner in charge of his Hollywood kitchen. So we gotta ask: were viewers duped as part of a marketing ploy? Well, we have this to say to Gordon: You $^%%#! jumped the shark, you #*#$@!FOX/Patrick Ecclesine - Tuesday, October, 28, 2008, 12:28 AM