When “jumping the shark” isn’t…
September 8, 2010 · 1 comment
You probably know the phrase “jump the shark”…it means the single moment where there is a turning point where something previously successful begins to decline.
You probably also know the phrase came from that moment in the hit TV series, “Happy Days” in the episode where the Cunninghams and Fonzi go to Hollywood, and — in a challenge with a surfer dude — Fonzie proves he is cooler by taking a motorcycle and jumping a shark tank.
From an article in the LA Times:
“In 1987, Jon Hein and his roommates at the University of Michigan were drinking beer and had Nick at Nite playing in the background. They started talking about classic TV shows when someone asked, “What was the precise moment you knew it was downhill for your favorite show?” One said it was when Vicki came on board “The Love Boat.” Another thought it was when the Great Gazoo appeared on “The Flintstones.” Sean Connolly offered, “That’s easy: It was when Fonzie jumped the shark.” As Hein later recounted, there was silence in the room: “No explanation necessary, the phrase said it all.”
Have you worried sometimes if your business or career has “jumped the shark”? Thought maybe your best days are behind you?
If so, you need to know this:
In the LA Times article — written by Fred Fox, Jr., who actually penned the infamous episode — an amazing fact is revealed. The “shark” episode was one of three-parts to launch the new 1977-78 TV season…where “Happy Days” was the most popular program on television.
Fonzi jumping the shark was the 91st episode for a show in its fifth season. As Fox writes, “If this was really the beginning of a downward spiral, why did the show stay on the air for six more seasons and shoot an additional 164 episodes? Why did we rank among the Top 25 in five of those six seasons?”
In other words, the show did not “jump the shark” when the Fonz jumped the shark.
And, the writer of the show went on to even greater Hollywood success.
Keep going…even when others may think you’re done. There’s more in your tank than you may realize.
When “jumping the shark” isn’t…
September 8, 2010 · 1 comment
You probably know the phrase “jump the shark”…it means the single moment where there is a turning point where something previously successful begins to decline.
You probably also know the phrase came from that moment in the hit TV series, “Happy Days” in the episode where the Cunninghams and Fonzi go to Hollywood, and — in a challenge with a surfer dude — Fonzie proves he is cooler by taking a motorcycle and jumping a shark tank.
From an article in the LA Times:
“In 1987, Jon Hein and his roommates at the University of Michigan were drinking beer and had Nick at Nite playing in the background. They started talking about classic TV shows when someone asked, “What was the precise moment you knew it was downhill for your favorite show?” One said it was when Vicki came on board “The Love Boat.” Another thought it was when the Great Gazoo appeared on “The Flintstones.” Sean Connolly offered, “That’s easy: It was when Fonzie jumped the shark.” As Hein later recounted, there was silence in the room: “No explanation necessary, the phrase said it all.”
Have you worried sometimes if your business or career has “jumped the shark”? Thought maybe your best days are behind you?
If so, you need to know this:
In the LA Times article — written by Fred Fox, Jr., who actually penned the infamous episode — an amazing fact is revealed. The “shark” episode was one of three-parts to launch the new 1977-78 TV season…where “Happy Days” was the most popular program on television.
Fonzi jumping the shark was the 91st episode for a show in its fifth season. As Fox writes, “If this was really the beginning of a downward spiral, why did the show stay on the air for six more seasons and shoot an additional 164 episodes? Why did we rank among the Top 25 in five of those six seasons?”
And, the writer of the show went on to even greater Hollywood success.
Keep going…even when others may think you’re done. There’s more in your tank than you may realize.