ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS: Who was the first person to coin the term 'jumping the shark'? Is there a question to which you want to know the answer? Or do you know the answer to a question here? Write to: Charles Legge, Answers To Correspondents, Daily Mail, 9 Derry Street, London W8 5HY; or email [email protected].
uk By Charles Legge Published: 01:30, 5 November 2024 | Updated: 01:42, 5 November 2024 e-mail View comments QUESTION: Who was the first person to coin the term 'jumping the shark', to signify that a TV show has exhausted its run? The phrase 'jumping the shark' was coined by radio host Jon Hein in 1985. He said it after watching an episode from series five of the TV show Happy Days that aired on September 20, 1977. In the episode, the team visit Los Angeles , where a water-skiing Fonzie ( Henry Winkler ) demonstrates his courage by literally jumping over a shark while wearing swimming trunks and his trademark leather jacket.
This stunt was so ridiculous that it marked a clear turning point in the show's quality, indicating that the writers were running out of good ideas and resorting to increasingly bizarre situations in order to keep viewers interested. In the episode, the team visit Los Angeles , where a water-skiing Fonzie (Henry Winkler ) demonstrates his courage by literally jumping over a shark while wearing swimming trunks and his trademark leather jacket This stunt was so ridiculous that it marked a clear turning point in the show's quality, indicat.
