Post by mtw12055 on Aug 31, 2013 23:31:13 GMT -5
Anyone have a favorite TV show/film series/book series/whatever series that you think "jumped the shark" (i.e. careened downhill) at some point? Here's some that come to mind.
All in the Family - After Mike and Gloria left the show. The dynamic between Archie and Mike was completely gone. Archie and Edith adopted a kid, and Archie bought a bar. The show was officially retooled and retitled "Archie Bunker's Place". Edith appeared less frequently, and was eventually written out (having died of a stroke). Archie became more of a softie, and the new characters added to the show were so-so.
The Andy Griffith Show - After Don Knotts left, and the show moved to color. The show was originally supposed to end after five seasons, but unexpectedly came back for three more. By then, Knotts had signed a feature film contract with Universal Pictures, and many of the original writers were gone. Andy's character seemed to be more tired and somewhat frustrated with everyone, a contrast to the lovable, well-meaning father figure he was in the black-and-white years. Many of the popular supporting characters made fewer appearances (i.e. Floyd the barber, due to Howard McNear's visible illness) or were not seen at all. Newer characters were so-so (Howard Sprague - played by Jack Dodson -, Deputy Warren Ferguson - played by Jack Burns -), and stories became less interesting.
Buster Keaton - Poor Buster's film career went downhill considerably when sound came in. By then, he had signed over to MGM, and (for lack of a better term) became their 'slave'. He lost all creative control of the films, and was forced into doing dialogue humor that didn't fit his style. MGM teamed Keaton with Jimmy Durante for three films, for what they told Keaton was to be the start of a new comedy team. Keaton knew better: MGM was using him to groom Durante for stardom. Keaton was eventually fired from the studio, and went on to do low budget shorts for Educational Pictures and Columbia Pictures.
The Bowery Boys - Personally, I feel the series started to go downhill a tad when Edward Bernds and Elwood Ullman joined the series as writers/directors (having just left Columbia). The series became a little too slapstick-y for my liking. Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall had clearly become the focal point of the series (with Bernard Gorcey getting a strong sidekick role). Many of the other popular 'gang' members had left the series, largely due to personal problems off screen (Bobby Jordan and Gabe Dell didn't like taking a backseat to Gorcey and Hall; Billy Benedict didn't like having to be around infighting happening on the set; I guess Sunshine Sammy was smart in declining the offer to join the series). The only remaining 'gang' members were David Gorcey (Leo's brother) and Bennie Bartlett, both of whom had largely been added for atmosphere. Their roles were reduced further during this period, as Bernds and Ullman couldn't find room for them in the scripts (save for a few films). In 1955, Bernard Gorcey died in a car accident, leaving Leo Gorcey's off-screen drinking problem to worsen. He did one more Bowery Boys film ("Crashing Las Vegas") before walking out on the series. Producer Ben Schwalb brought actor Stanley Clements in to take Gorcey's place as the leader of the gang, and stand-up comedian Eddie LeRoy to add more comedy to the group. This era (the last seven films in the series) is a mixed bag, but overall, surprisingly decent.
Diff'rent Strokes - Started to go downhill a tad around the fifth or sixth season, when noticeably less creative stories were featured. Went downhill further when Mr. Drummond married Maggie (Dixie Carter, and later Mary Ann Mobley), and she and her son Sam (Danny Cooksey) moved in with the family. An obvious attempt to save the sagging ratings. Maggie and Sam were okay, but not incredibly memorable. The show's focus shifted to Arnold playing older brother to Sam. Poor Todd Bridges (Willis) was hardly around anymore (despite still being prominently featured in the opening credits), and save for a few guest spots, Dana Plato's Kimberly character was written out (due to Plato's pregnancy). Went downhill even further when NBC cancelled the show, and ABC picked it up for a final season. By then, the show's charm was totally gone (though I'll admit, I kind of liked the new cover of the theme song).
Happy Days - Despite the fact that people consider the fifth season episode "Hollywood (Part 3)" to be the series' jump the shark moment (where Fonzie literally jumps a shark), I thought the series still had plenty of good episodes at that point. I do feel that the quality started to lower a tad during the seventh season, and lowered even further during the eighth season (when Ron Howard and Donny Most left the cast). Far too much attention was given to Joanie and Chachi (neither of whom were particularly interesting characters, in my opinion), and Fonzie's character continued to mature (he became a schoolteacher, and settled down with a steady girlfriend).
The rest of the cast stayed pretty much the same, save for Anson William (Potsie). Poor Potise's role in the series had already been downsized in the previous years. Having originally been featured prominently as Richie's worldly best friend, he gradually became Ralph Malph's dopey sidekick once the Fonzie-Richie relationship was further developed. Without Richie or Ralph, Potsie was left with nothing to do on the show, save for a 'dumb joke' walk-on cameo. The number of episodes he did per season eventually reduced to six episodes for each of the last two seasons. The toughest season to get through was probably the second-to-last one; Joanie and Chachi were spun off into their own (short-lived) sitcom, and even less interesting characters were written in to take their place. Fonzie settled down with a steady girlfriend, leading to rather boring episodes about adjusting to his new life. The last season actually wasn't that bad. Richie and Ralph came back for a reunion episode, which probably should have been the series finale. Instead, we got a so-so finale, where Fonzie adopts an orphan, Joanie and Chachi get married, and Richie makes a guest appearance (Ralph, Potise, and Arnold are nowhere to be found; apparently the actors were never even asked to be in the finale).
Laurel and Hardy - Started to go downhill a tad when Roach started making bigger budget feature films (around the time of "Babes in Toyland"). Went further downhill when Laurel and Hardy left Roach and started doing B-movies at 20th Century Fox and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Initially, the duo were left performing uncharacteristic material that they had no creative control over. But things gradually got better (at least at Fox). L&H were given a more understanding director (silent comedy veteran Malcolm St. Claire) who gave the two a little bit more freedom. The last four Fox films are actually rather decent. The MGM films suffer from what 'Our Gang''s MGM films suffered from - the studio's lack of understanding towards comedy. Their first MGM film ("Air Raid Wardens") has some good gags, but none ever reach their full potential. Their second one ("Nothing But Trouble") is both dark and dull, certainly not an atmosphere suitable for Laurel and Hardy. And of course, there's MGM's oooh sooo slooow pacing. Their last movie, "Atoll K", was made in France around 1950. If one can get beyond Laurel's and Hardy's much older (and obviously not healthy) selves, and the atrocious dubbing the English-language print, the film really isn't that bad (the forty or so minutes, anyhow).
Laverne and Shirley - The cast moving to Hollywood; went downhill further during the last season when Cindy Williams left.
Little Rascals/Our Gang - I felt this started to go downhill a hair when Bob McGowan left. McGowan gave the series a special touch, that future OG directors never quite brought back. It went downhill further at the tail end of the Roach era, where we got more contrived situations. It then went downhill even further when Edward Cahn started directing. The preachy, sugar coated storylines began to rear their ugly heads. Gags were harder to find. And more importantly, the kids' natural acting that gave the series its charm was now extremely forced. Things just got worse when America got involved in the War. MGM's large support for the War effort led to the majority of their films (not just the 'OG' ones) having extremely preachy messages about why audiences should help America win, yadda yadda yadda. The last year or so (after Spanky) is probably the toughest to get through.
Mork and Mindy - The last season, with the infant son (Jonathan Winters).
The Three Stooges - Went downhill a tad when Curly Howard became visibly ill. It's sad to watch Curly clearly suffering. Things definitely picked up when Shemp rejoined the act to replace Curly. But the series went downhill again around 1953. Hugh McCollum, Edward Bernds, and Elwood Ullman, all of whom were behind some of the Stooges best films, left or were laid off by Jules White. White taking full control led to several hit-and-miss shorts. Not to mention several of the shorts during this period were remakes of older shorts using stock footage from the earlier shorts. This was a cost-cutting concept Jules White apparently came up with. Joe Besser joining the act as a replacement for the deceased Shemp did give the series somewhat of a boost (it's more noticeable if you watch the shorts chronologically), but also led to a mixed bag of "not bad" and "terrible" sitcom-y shorts. Besser, while a fine comic, never really seemed to fit in with the act.
Curly-Joe DeRita joining as a replacement for the departed Joe Besser was an odd era. The Stooges popularity skyrocketed at an extremely ironic time (Moe and Larry had both considered retirement). But they decided to go on to make their (now mostly kiddie) audience happy. What resulted were a series of Saturday Matinee feature films, stage appearances, children's records, a low budget part live action/part animated TV series, and numerous unfinished projects. While DeRita didn't have the same amount of energy his predecessors did, he was good enough to keep things running for another decade or so. But the Stooges' comedic timing was clearly slowing down with their ages. Their last project was a failed comedic travelogue TV pilot titled "Kook's Tour", which depicted the retired Stooges taking a vacation in the mountains. Larry Fine suffered a stroke, leading Moe to bring in longtime supporting player Emil Sitka as a replacement (he was to play Larry's self-conscious brother "Harry"). A dark feature film called "Make Love, Not War" was planned in 1970, depicting the Stooges in a WWII prison camp. After reading a detailed summary of the script, I can safely say that it's a good thing this film wasn't made. In 1974, the Stooges were asked by independent film producer Sam Sherman to appear as the comic relief in his R-rated film "The Jet Set". They were forced to back out due to Moe's death. Sherman hired the two surviving Ritz Brothers (Harry and Jimmy) to replace them. After having the misfortune of seeing the film (retitled "Blazing Stewardesses"), I can say I'm glad this wasn't the Stooges' swan song.
All in the Family - After Mike and Gloria left the show. The dynamic between Archie and Mike was completely gone. Archie and Edith adopted a kid, and Archie bought a bar. The show was officially retooled and retitled "Archie Bunker's Place". Edith appeared less frequently, and was eventually written out (having died of a stroke). Archie became more of a softie, and the new characters added to the show were so-so.
The Andy Griffith Show - After Don Knotts left, and the show moved to color. The show was originally supposed to end after five seasons, but unexpectedly came back for three more. By then, Knotts had signed a feature film contract with Universal Pictures, and many of the original writers were gone. Andy's character seemed to be more tired and somewhat frustrated with everyone, a contrast to the lovable, well-meaning father figure he was in the black-and-white years. Many of the popular supporting characters made fewer appearances (i.e. Floyd the barber, due to Howard McNear's visible illness) or were not seen at all. Newer characters were so-so (Howard Sprague - played by Jack Dodson -, Deputy Warren Ferguson - played by Jack Burns -), and stories became less interesting.
Buster Keaton - Poor Buster's film career went downhill considerably when sound came in. By then, he had signed over to MGM, and (for lack of a better term) became their 'slave'. He lost all creative control of the films, and was forced into doing dialogue humor that didn't fit his style. MGM teamed Keaton with Jimmy Durante for three films, for what they told Keaton was to be the start of a new comedy team. Keaton knew better: MGM was using him to groom Durante for stardom. Keaton was eventually fired from the studio, and went on to do low budget shorts for Educational Pictures and Columbia Pictures.
The Bowery Boys - Personally, I feel the series started to go downhill a tad when Edward Bernds and Elwood Ullman joined the series as writers/directors (having just left Columbia). The series became a little too slapstick-y for my liking. Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall had clearly become the focal point of the series (with Bernard Gorcey getting a strong sidekick role). Many of the other popular 'gang' members had left the series, largely due to personal problems off screen (Bobby Jordan and Gabe Dell didn't like taking a backseat to Gorcey and Hall; Billy Benedict didn't like having to be around infighting happening on the set; I guess Sunshine Sammy was smart in declining the offer to join the series). The only remaining 'gang' members were David Gorcey (Leo's brother) and Bennie Bartlett, both of whom had largely been added for atmosphere. Their roles were reduced further during this period, as Bernds and Ullman couldn't find room for them in the scripts (save for a few films). In 1955, Bernard Gorcey died in a car accident, leaving Leo Gorcey's off-screen drinking problem to worsen. He did one more Bowery Boys film ("Crashing Las Vegas") before walking out on the series. Producer Ben Schwalb brought actor Stanley Clements in to take Gorcey's place as the leader of the gang, and stand-up comedian Eddie LeRoy to add more comedy to the group. This era (the last seven films in the series) is a mixed bag, but overall, surprisingly decent.
Diff'rent Strokes - Started to go downhill a tad around the fifth or sixth season, when noticeably less creative stories were featured. Went downhill further when Mr. Drummond married Maggie (Dixie Carter, and later Mary Ann Mobley), and she and her son Sam (Danny Cooksey) moved in with the family. An obvious attempt to save the sagging ratings. Maggie and Sam were okay, but not incredibly memorable. The show's focus shifted to Arnold playing older brother to Sam. Poor Todd Bridges (Willis) was hardly around anymore (despite still being prominently featured in the opening credits), and save for a few guest spots, Dana Plato's Kimberly character was written out (due to Plato's pregnancy). Went downhill even further when NBC cancelled the show, and ABC picked it up for a final season. By then, the show's charm was totally gone (though I'll admit, I kind of liked the new cover of the theme song).
Happy Days - Despite the fact that people consider the fifth season episode "Hollywood (Part 3)" to be the series' jump the shark moment (where Fonzie literally jumps a shark), I thought the series still had plenty of good episodes at that point. I do feel that the quality started to lower a tad during the seventh season, and lowered even further during the eighth season (when Ron Howard and Donny Most left the cast). Far too much attention was given to Joanie and Chachi (neither of whom were particularly interesting characters, in my opinion), and Fonzie's character continued to mature (he became a schoolteacher, and settled down with a steady girlfriend).
The rest of the cast stayed pretty much the same, save for Anson William (Potsie). Poor Potise's role in the series had already been downsized in the previous years. Having originally been featured prominently as Richie's worldly best friend, he gradually became Ralph Malph's dopey sidekick once the Fonzie-Richie relationship was further developed. Without Richie or Ralph, Potsie was left with nothing to do on the show, save for a 'dumb joke' walk-on cameo. The number of episodes he did per season eventually reduced to six episodes for each of the last two seasons. The toughest season to get through was probably the second-to-last one; Joanie and Chachi were spun off into their own (short-lived) sitcom, and even less interesting characters were written in to take their place. Fonzie settled down with a steady girlfriend, leading to rather boring episodes about adjusting to his new life. The last season actually wasn't that bad. Richie and Ralph came back for a reunion episode, which probably should have been the series finale. Instead, we got a so-so finale, where Fonzie adopts an orphan, Joanie and Chachi get married, and Richie makes a guest appearance (Ralph, Potise, and Arnold are nowhere to be found; apparently the actors were never even asked to be in the finale).
Laurel and Hardy - Started to go downhill a tad when Roach started making bigger budget feature films (around the time of "Babes in Toyland"). Went further downhill when Laurel and Hardy left Roach and started doing B-movies at 20th Century Fox and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Initially, the duo were left performing uncharacteristic material that they had no creative control over. But things gradually got better (at least at Fox). L&H were given a more understanding director (silent comedy veteran Malcolm St. Claire) who gave the two a little bit more freedom. The last four Fox films are actually rather decent. The MGM films suffer from what 'Our Gang''s MGM films suffered from - the studio's lack of understanding towards comedy. Their first MGM film ("Air Raid Wardens") has some good gags, but none ever reach their full potential. Their second one ("Nothing But Trouble") is both dark and dull, certainly not an atmosphere suitable for Laurel and Hardy. And of course, there's MGM's oooh sooo slooow pacing. Their last movie, "Atoll K", was made in France around 1950. If one can get beyond Laurel's and Hardy's much older (and obviously not healthy) selves, and the atrocious dubbing the English-language print, the film really isn't that bad (the forty or so minutes, anyhow).
Laverne and Shirley - The cast moving to Hollywood; went downhill further during the last season when Cindy Williams left.
Little Rascals/Our Gang - I felt this started to go downhill a hair when Bob McGowan left. McGowan gave the series a special touch, that future OG directors never quite brought back. It went downhill further at the tail end of the Roach era, where we got more contrived situations. It then went downhill even further when Edward Cahn started directing. The preachy, sugar coated storylines began to rear their ugly heads. Gags were harder to find. And more importantly, the kids' natural acting that gave the series its charm was now extremely forced. Things just got worse when America got involved in the War. MGM's large support for the War effort led to the majority of their films (not just the 'OG' ones) having extremely preachy messages about why audiences should help America win, yadda yadda yadda. The last year or so (after Spanky) is probably the toughest to get through.
Mork and Mindy - The last season, with the infant son (Jonathan Winters).
The Three Stooges - Went downhill a tad when Curly Howard became visibly ill. It's sad to watch Curly clearly suffering. Things definitely picked up when Shemp rejoined the act to replace Curly. But the series went downhill again around 1953. Hugh McCollum, Edward Bernds, and Elwood Ullman, all of whom were behind some of the Stooges best films, left or were laid off by Jules White. White taking full control led to several hit-and-miss shorts. Not to mention several of the shorts during this period were remakes of older shorts using stock footage from the earlier shorts. This was a cost-cutting concept Jules White apparently came up with. Joe Besser joining the act as a replacement for the deceased Shemp did give the series somewhat of a boost (it's more noticeable if you watch the shorts chronologically), but also led to a mixed bag of "not bad" and "terrible" sitcom-y shorts. Besser, while a fine comic, never really seemed to fit in with the act.
Curly-Joe DeRita joining as a replacement for the departed Joe Besser was an odd era. The Stooges popularity skyrocketed at an extremely ironic time (Moe and Larry had both considered retirement). But they decided to go on to make their (now mostly kiddie) audience happy. What resulted were a series of Saturday Matinee feature films, stage appearances, children's records, a low budget part live action/part animated TV series, and numerous unfinished projects. While DeRita didn't have the same amount of energy his predecessors did, he was good enough to keep things running for another decade or so. But the Stooges' comedic timing was clearly slowing down with their ages. Their last project was a failed comedic travelogue TV pilot titled "Kook's Tour", which depicted the retired Stooges taking a vacation in the mountains. Larry Fine suffered a stroke, leading Moe to bring in longtime supporting player Emil Sitka as a replacement (he was to play Larry's self-conscious brother "Harry"). A dark feature film called "Make Love, Not War" was planned in 1970, depicting the Stooges in a WWII prison camp. After reading a detailed summary of the script, I can safely say that it's a good thing this film wasn't made. In 1974, the Stooges were asked by independent film producer Sam Sherman to appear as the comic relief in his R-rated film "The Jet Set". They were forced to back out due to Moe's death. Sherman hired the two surviving Ritz Brothers (Harry and Jimmy) to replace them. After having the misfortune of seeing the film (retitled "Blazing Stewardesses"), I can say I'm glad this wasn't the Stooges' swan song.
