"Jump the Shark" Thread

[D'Snowth]

Mainly because every series struggles to find the right tone or voice for itself in its first couple of seasons, and it's usually the third where the series finally plateaus and becomes more consistent in it's writing and production.

But I disagree somewhat, there are a number of shows that I think really took off for the better by their third seasons. Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, Hogan's Heroes, Sanford and Son, Cow and Chicken, Alvin and The Chipmunks, M*A*S*H, all really hit their strides beginning in their third seasons, though that's not to say that any of their first two seasons were bad, but in a lot of cases, they DID struggle, whether because of network interference (M*A*S*H), or budget problems (The Chipmunks), or simply didn't improve by then (really, Sanford and Son seems odd without the likes of Esther, Rollo, Grady, Bubba, et al).

 

[Muppet fan 123]

Oops, I deleted the post above Snowth's, that's what Snowth is replying to.
The original post:

I noticed that many show's third seasons seem to "Jump the Shark". For some reason, the third seasons are very different from the first two. (And not usually for the better), it seems to pick up again around season four.

 

[Drtooth]

And then there was A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, which changed Daphne's character from a trendy teenage girl who gets captured by the bad guys into a snobbish, spoiled younger version of herself, while Freddy was so over-confident, it's almost as though he was like a young blonde version of Reggie Mantle; young Scooby would often say "I don't get it" after laughing at a joke, and then Red Herring would show up in virtually every episode as one of the potential suspects, only to be found innocent once the mystery was solved....

I don't count that one, as it follows the same formula. In fact, Pup is probably my favorite version of the show, tied with Mystery Inc and the classic episodes. It managed to make fun of itself much better than the film did... though, you can tell the writers of the said movie took character personalities directly from Pup.

* Monty Python's Flying Circus: When John Cleese left the show, but then again, it also happened to be the final season.

That history of flight episode was quite terrible, and quality was all over the place with episodes getting slightly better then weird then slightly better again. Mainly because they called Douglas Adams in to punch up a couple skits here and there. They made the right choice doing fewer episodes.

* Two and a Half Men: The 9th season when they killed off Charlie Sheen's character and replaced him with Ashton whatshisface.

The show should have ended at least a season before Charlie went nuts. The show was devolving into an unfunny caricature of itself, and that was the perfect time for the show to go out on top. I REALLY wish both parties could have stomached each other till the end of the series and came up with a rushed but satisfying ending. But NOOOOO! Chuck Lorre had to be all passive aggressive and hire a lame actor to turn the show into something even less funny than it already was. Now it's the Ashton Kutcher sitcom project with Two and a Half Men characters in it, and it's an entirely different, almost saccharine sitcom. Other than lame crotch jokes at Alan's expense.

 

[Dominicboo1]

And then there was A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, which changed Daphne's character from a trendy teenage girl who gets captured by the bad guys into a snobbish, spoiled younger version of herself, while Freddy was so over-confident, it's almost as though he was like a young blonde version of Reggie Mantle; young Scooby would often say "I don't get it" after laughing at a joke, and then Red Herring would show up in virtually every episode as one of the potential suspects, only to be found innocent once the mystery was solved....

I don't know why, but I never really cared for Daphne and Fred much. They were just boring to me. I love Scooby, Shaggy, Velma, and Scrappy even, but not those two. I'm surprised they have remained on the series so long. I'm sorry fans, but I don't see what's so interesting about Daphne.

 

[Sgt Floyd]

I don't know why, but I never really cared for Daphne and Fred much. They were just boring to me. I love Scooby, Shaggy, Velma, and Scrappy even, but not those two. I'm surprised they have remained on the series so long. I'm sorry fans, but I don't see what's so interesting about Daphne.

Well, you can't just get rid of two of the main characters like that. Although there were a number of movies with just Shaggy, Scooby and Scrappy, so there's that. I actually prefer Fred in A Pup Named Scooby Doo. I don't really like how they've made him a clueless idiot in the new series. He was kind of straying that way in What's New Scooby Doo, though it wasn't to the point you want to smack him. I still say What's New Scooby Doo is the best of the Scooby series. as for Daphne, I think she is mostly there for sex appeal

 

[CensoredAlso]

I actually prefer Fred in A Pup Named Scooby Doo. I don't really like how they've made him a clueless idiot in the new series.

Wasn't he kind of clueless in Pup Named Scooby Doo also?

 

[Sgt Floyd]

Yeah but at least he had some personality. I dunno...the new show he just seems like a moron with little to no personality. Actually, none of the characters have personality in the new show. They are all so flat...and I can't blame the voice actors because they are the same as What's New Scooby Doo with the exception of Shaggy.

But thinking back, they didn't really have much personality in the original show either.

 

[CensoredAlso]

But thinking back, they didn't really have much personality in the original show either.

Yeah Fred and Daphne were always more the exposition characters just to move the plot along, lol.

 

[snichols1973]

Yeah but at least he had some personality. I dunno...the new show he just seems like a moron with little to no personality. Actually, none of the characters have personality in the new show. They are all so flat...and I can't blame the voice actors because they are the same as What's New Scooby Doo with the exception of Shaggy.

But thinking back, they didn't really have much personality in the original show either.

Frank Welker was the other voice actor from the original series who reprised his classic role of Fred in What's New, Scooby-Doo?, in addition to voicing Scooby-Doo since Don Messick, Scooby's original voice actor, had passed away in 1997....

 

[Dominicboo1]

Well, you can't just get rid of two of the main characters like that. Although there were a number of movies with just Shaggy, Scooby and Scrappy, so there's that. I actually prefer Fred in A Pup Named Scooby Doo. I don't really like how they've made him a clueless idiot in the new series. He was kind of straying that way in What's New Scooby Doo, though it wasn't to the point you want to smack him. I still say What's New Scooby Doo is the best of the Scooby series. as for Daphne, I think she is mostly there for sex appeal

I guess so,but I haven't seen much of A Pup Named Scooby Doo. Fred isn't always too bad,but Daphne never does much of anything.