http://www.jumptheshark.com/

IMO, the show never completely jumped the shark.  Obviously, the segment on this site was compiled by mostly casual viewers, but what are your opinions?  Was there a point where we should have just gotten fed up with the show and kissed the beauty of the Laura Palmer mystery goodbye? 

I think the show had plenty of life in it - great characters. atmospheric setting, interesting plot lines etc but it sacrificed the goodwill of much of its audience by becoming rather wacky towards the end. If a really compelling plotline had been established to take over from the "Who killed LP?" one by the time that was resolved then I think people would have stuck by it.

In a series aired on mainstream tv you cannot afford to alienate your majority audience. Keeping the die-hard fans is not enough.

That's what I think, too, Montana. 

I think it's interesting to see that number one is "never jumped" and number 2 is "when Laura's killer is revealed."  

How long do you think the general audiences would have kept watching without the murder being solves before they lost interest?  It seems the show was doomed to short-lived popularity.  

 I think the problem was that the channels (esp. in USA) marketed TP as a gripping murder mystery (which it was) but that drew in a large number of viewers who were principally interested in the LP mystery. Once that was solved (and it had to be, they couldn't have not answered it in S2) there was no reason for them to stay watching because they viewed the characters as suspects in a whodunnit.

The mainstream audience demanded a straight forward crime and a search for the culprit. If TP hadn't been pushed so hard by the networks for a huge audience then there wouldn't have been such a drop off in viewing figures and we might have got further series.

To be honest, some of S2 I could have done without and so I wasn't distraught when S3 wasn't done. If S2 had been more consistent and less whimsical then I would have felt worse about no S3 being commissioned.

Monty

Seems most people thought it never jumped the shark. It is interesting to read why and when those who reckon it did considered it did. But what is all this jumping of sharks? If I jumped a shark I would relate the story to others like a badge of honour. Apparently a much better result would be to land in the jaws of the creature. 

Beauty is momentary in the mind -
The fitful tracing of a portal;
But in the flesh it is immortal.
The body dies; the body's beauty lives.
So evenings die, in their green going,
A wave, interminably flowing.
So gardens die, their meek breath scenting
the cowl of winter, done repenting.
So maidens die, to the auroral
Celebration of a maiden's choral.
Susanna's music touched the bawdy strings
Of those white elders; but, escaping,
Left only Death's ironic scraping.
Now in its immortality, it plays
On the clear viol of her memory,
And makes a constant sacrement of praise.

('Peter Quince at the Clavier' by Wallace Stevens)

The term comes from the original low moment of tv history, from Happy Days

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpraJYnbVtE 

Ever since Tom Cruise's antics on Oprah, I have preferred the phrase "jumped the couch"

So's your face.
 

Haha. That makes more sense to me. Contemporary and relevant.
 

Beauty is momentary in the mind -
The fitful tracing of a portal;
But in the flesh it is immortal.
The body dies; the body's beauty lives.
So evenings die, in their green going,
A wave, interminably flowing.
So gardens die, their meek breath scenting
the cowl of winter, done repenting.
So maidens die, to the auroral
Celebration of a maiden's choral.
Susanna's music touched the bawdy strings
Of those white elders; but, escaping,
Left only Death's ironic scraping.
Now in its immortality, it plays
On the clear viol of her memory,
And makes a constant sacrement of praise.

('Peter Quince at the Clavier' by Wallace Stevens)

the couch... 

The link should work now.

-- Gerry

the black dog runs at night

"What credit card do you want to put that on?"
"Caash, prease."

I don't think it jumped the couch or the shark or whatever. I think it was great. There were lots of interesting storylines and ideas right up to the very end. In fact, it leaves me wanting more, wondering "What next?"

After episode 16, the main theme of the Black and White Lodges gradually emerges and there is this huge sense of mystery and this huge build-up until episode 29 and you are thinking "What are these Lodges actually going to be like?" Of course, the mystery is never fully explained, so it still keeps you wondering.

Twin Peaks was 30 episodes long, and they never exhausted all the ideas.

I think Happy Days was about 250 episodes long! It's not surprising that they ran out of ideas eventually, and had the Fonz jumping over couches and sofas and what-have-you in the name of entertainment. Still, it is better than some of the "reality TV" rubbish they are showing these days. That jumped the settee from Day One!!

I absolutely agree, but also think this is a vicious circle, because TP played a big role in changing the way TV was made, giving rise to the landscape of TV today.

100 eps would have been pretty sweet though, especially if David had directed at least half of them....

You and me both!

I think if Twin Peaks were to be made today, it would be on one of those channels you mentioned. Probably HBO or FX...

I'm currently watching Season 6 of Northern Exposure on DVD.  There was a moment of two when I thought it came close to jumping, but I swear to God.  They must have hired new writers, because every episode is so weak .  Ugh.  TP never came close to sucking like this.

That god damn trailer's more popular than Uncle's Day in a whorehouse!

Having watched the show when it was on, I would think that for mainstream America, Twin Peaks committed suicide when it didn't reveal Laura's killer the first episode of season two.  Not that I think that would have made it a better show, but that is when I remember normal folks turning off from it, as a series.  The problem may have been the way ABC marketed it, but the fact of the matter is that by not doing what that audience expected, people got tired and turned away, and then ABC messed with the schedule.  Then it was done.  RIP.

-cg

The sound wind makes through the pines. The sentience of animals. What we fear and what lies beyond the darkness.

evelyn marsh

that story line jumped the shark...james should have just went away...

I can't believe people really think the overdrawn femme fatale was worse than the snotty little orphan.