10 TV Episodes That Should Have Jumped the Shark (But Didn't)

Fittingly, the idiom 'jump the shark' began on a TV show, when The Fonz (Henry Winkler) jumped over a shark on water skis, signalling the point at which Happy Days had reached the end of its original creative tether and had descended into absurdity. Thereafter, the phrase entered the popular vernacular, and since then, we have been collectively declaring not just TV shows, but films, bands, and trends to have jumped the shark when they have gone overboard and are past their prime.

For TV in particular, any show that lasts beyond four or five seasons usually faces an artistic breaking point, when the writers have exhausted their capabilities and the networks are keeping them going for profit rather than art. After all, there are only so many times Gibbs can take down an international terrorist cell, a new manager can take charge of The Office, or Dexter can get away with murder.

But not all shows jump the shark, with many merely either fading into obscurity or becoming a formulaic, unwatchable slog. And sometimes, just sometimes, the shows that do have their jump-the-shark moments manage to use them to their advantage. The following ten episodes sucker punched the formula, re-energised the fanbase, and surprised everyone involved.

The show that popularised George Clooney, ER made general hospital emergency room life exciting and sexy, rendering a vivid cast of characters in three dimensions across 15 seasons. Bringing doctors’ personal lives into play with romance, heartbreak, conflict, and tragedy made the decisions in their professional lives, fighting to save patients and sometimes losing them, all the more compelling. But at season four, it almost pushed the envelope too far.

Season four premiere “Ambush” was positioned to give an already well-received show that extra boost by filming and broadcasting it live. Shot on handheld cameras in documentary style, from the perspective of a PBS film crew, it provides an unrefined, guerrilla look at what was usually an aesthetically polished show, forcing the cast to work in real time and think on their feet. And rather than just coast by with a rote episode, the writers had head of the ER David Morgenstern (William H. Macy) suffer a heart attack, introduced new surgeon Elizabeth Corday (Alex Kingston), and go in hard on Dr. Greene’s (Anthony Edwards) assault from the previous season.

And, somehow, it all came together. The live format was plenty excuse for an all-out disaster, but the use of roving, handheld cameras added to the uncertainty, making it feel like a whole different show. Critics weren’t convinced, but audiences loved it, and the episode became the most-watched season premiere for a drama series.