Fonzie Jumps the Shark

[mmmmmvodka]

I don't understand what's so bad about this scene. Is it because people thought the shark would jump out and try and bite him? Or was it because it was soooo cheesy because what he did wasn't that great. Which one was it?

[CutterDeBlanc]

Epic television programming

[smartcooky99]

Look at the blonde chick who taps Donny Most on the arm at 0:56. Was she in the original Battlestar Galctica; a nurse or something? Maybe Starbucks girlfriend?

[IAmCooperHarris]

@smartcooky99 She was Cassiopeia on the original BSG.

[evilmonkey43]

Yeah, I stopped watching the show after this scene. Was that Ted McGinley?

[TheFantasticCorndog]

And thus ended a great television show. Why the fuck does Fonz still have his leather jacket on?

[kohaku2089]

The Very First JUMPING THE SHARK

[TheFrozenMister]

Hes cool, like the fonz. (Sorry, had to do that joke)

[brywrite27]

This show lasted 5 years after this episode

[SpellofDevestation]

WHY DONT YOU JUST JUMP THE SHARK YOU SSHHHAARRRRRRKHH

[bigbrogiant4]

....and the term "jump the shark" was born

[KillYourTeeVee]

the fonz is ron paul and the shark is the federal reserve.. vote for ron paul and we'll all be jumping around in our underwear, the happiest we've ever been

RON PAUL 2012

[laxerific]

1:20 saved you all a bunch of time!

[TheSchendz]

In Soviet Russia, a show jumps the Fonzie!

[burns1210]

What kept the shark within the yellow floats? Or are we not supposed to think about that?

[04joejoejoey]

@burns1210 Why was a shark randomly trapped at a beach used for swimming and stuff, that's the question we need to be asking

[TheBrewchief]

@burns1210 They yellow floats, or buoys, hold the netting up, and the netting in turn is likely anchored in place to the bottom with weights.

[KillYourTeeVee]

@burns1210

and something else odd.. all the guys are bare chested except the fonz who skiing in a leather jacket.. it goes nice with his boxer briefs

[Spuntikable]

Nice booty shorts fonz 

[vordman]

I don't know about this shark jumping business, what I could never understand about HD was why a guy on the cusp of middle-age would want to hang around with kids

[TheMakunde1]

The show would have lasted longer if Fonzie had actually been eaten by the shark, no?

[BlackDewn]

In soviet russia Keiko jumped over a little boy

[Kirbychu1]

Totally digging the swim trunks and leather jacket look.

[MasterSwordOblivion]

Only the fonz could jump a shark in short shorts and a leather jacket

[mitchellele]

"Who likes short-shorts?"

"I like short-shorts"

[jumpjack3]

I don't understand: after this episode, they were shot other SIX seasons! So how in the world can this episode mark the beginning of the end of the series?!? We need Mythbusters here! ;-)

[binghamtap]

tiger shark



[MetroFormulaMedia]

Community brought me here.

[ProFishingGuys]

how did they actually do this? like was fonzie actually skiing?

[hedonism13]

Am I the only person who thinks that the quality of the show... kinda dropped after this?

[23chrisfm]

@hedonism13 r u serious? it´s common saying right now that some show jumped the shark when it has reached its climax and went down hill from that point. it all comes from this very scene and u ask such a naive question like that?

[hedonism13]

@23chrisfm

The word you're looking for is "S-A-R-C-A-S-M".

[Enclave996]

@23chrisfm It's not that the show hit it's climax. It's that the show does something that marks when it goes from good to basically facepalm worthy. This was the moment looking back where Happy Days became simply a ridiculous show rather than a good show. Bare in mind, a ridiculous show can often still be entertaining as Happy Days continued to be. It just wasn't good.

[23chrisfm]

@Enclave996 u made me smarter. cheers

[Yobachi2007]

Nice Joanie boobs at 0:10.

But her body jumped the shark, did you see her on Celebrity Fat Club a few years ago?

[hawaiidispenser]

It took 57 seconds for the boat to travel from 0:19 to 1:16. lol

[paireon]

Well, now I can say I saw the original.

[Soccer2750]

anyone else notice that shark was a whale shark?

[ruyodrgn]

@Soccer2750 that aint no whale shark dude thats a white tipe reefer

[TheRobberdotcom]

This was the moment when Happy Days jumped the shark.

[AssHat014]

@TheRobberdotcom you realize this is where the term comes from?

[TheRobberdotcom]

@AssHat014 thatsthejoke.jpg

[mpjgbx]

this is historic!

[marcusmalone]

I used to jump sharks like the Fonz, then I took an arrow in the knee.

[Apossibleaccount]

In Soviet Russia, Shark jump you!

[sharpmarley]

the anticipation is killing me!

[chawk610]

I wanna see the scenario where the shark tries to jump Chuck Norris. I don't think so dumbass shark!

[purpledog39]

When a show jumps the shark, it may not always be the end, but it's usually the beginning of the end. Happy Days did have spinoffs: Laverne and Shirley, Mork and Mindy and Joanie Loves Chachi. Happy Days itself was a spinoff of Love American Style.

[dewilder11]

Jumping the shark dosen't mean people wont still watch a show this was the first episode in season 5 and that year happy days was the second highest rated show and went on for 5 seasons after this and there were quite a few spin offs. For crying out loud look at shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy both terrible for the past few years.

[1is1]

dumbest moment in tv history... besides anything on mtv in the past 15 years...

[Whopoopedthebed1]

Troy Barnes: There was an episode of happy days where a guy literally jumped over a shark....And it was the best one!

[bababooeymagooey]

@Whopoopedthebed1 I specifically came here because I just finished re-watching the episode with that quote!

[guacamolechief39]

What if the shark jumped the fonz?

[vmelkon]

what's with the sissy music?

[Benchiladas]

at 1:36 i stopped watching, because it was no longer worth it.

[sfrance783]

nice

[ralphus44]

Cue stunt man...now 1:19

[jwl2233]

why Is he water skiing with a leather jacket on

[Encom7]

Ron Howard was thinking..."Okay, I better start my directing career now."

[mcamac1]

Are those CUT-OFFS?!!!

[Losrandir]

Those girls are sweet and hot

[mediina1]

dont know whats cornier him jumping the shark or him wearing the leather jacket while jumping the shark...

[spuzzmacher]

Take that, terrorists!!!

[PungiFungi]

This was the time during the Jaws craze. Every show had a stupid shark show and this was one of them. I was never into Happy Days as I thought the show was inane and not funny at all, but I got suckered in with this shark episode. To this day I can't figure how anyone sat through this episode because the payoff didn't compensate for the torture.

[zsiejko156]

Wadsworth constant x2

[HatedOn511]

This is outrageously stupid.

[yam83]

Gotta admit that was a hell of a jump.

[THESYRIANDUDE]

that 70's show brought me here :p



[p31nful]

jumping the shark man

[TheMartinezClan]

Fez did it better

[meeksoregon]

Why is he wearing a leather jacket?

[wilhelm2ss]

@meeksoregon

Honestly, I think the show's producer thought a guy walking on the beach in a leather jacket would be cool. Instead it was just stupid. You could just feel the credibility of the show melt away. Oh, the TV show Happy Days went on for years after this idiocy. But Fonz was never cool again and the show didn't have that "zing" it once had.

So, "Jump the Shark" means a point in a show where it loses its credibility/entertainment value and it's never quite the same.

[Hot80s]

looked gay in shorts, oh wait a minute winkler is a fairy.

[LMTR14]

fake

[lions4life2]

Heh, white people.

[Aeolis7]

Things Fonzie jumped.

1) 14 Garbage Cans

2) 1 Shark

3)  Pinky Tuscadero

[gonzo2399]

what is the fuckin point?

[mradamcooley]

nuke the fridge

[jnthnbush]

@mradamcooley huh?

[sovrov]

Get on with it Fonz!

[SuperTruth77]

US politics jumped the shark years ago...

[Spacewolf78]

THAT was it? This is over the top? My god that was disappointing.

[Garlannd]

Whats interesting here is that at 1:24 he starts to jump the shark. The same timeframe that the pandaren is revealed in the world of warcraft expansion trailer. Coincidence? I think not.

[Yogonful]

I guess the man

*takes of glasses*

jumped the shark

YYYYYYYEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[jnthnbush]

@Yogonful oh so close, but you said of, not off

[Yogonful]

@jnthnbush So, I don't give a crap

[jnthnbush]

@Yogonful I was just kidding

[Kurotaisa]

Is he really....

Wearing a Leather jacket on the beach? Now that's just silly! It'll get wet! And ruined!

[gangstaaaron7]

Can someone plz explain the whole jumping the shark thing?

[Strawhat78]

@gangstaaaron7 After this episode the show got really stupid. "Jumping the shark" became a term used to describe something on its way downhill. Saved by the bell was a very popular show, when they all went to college, it lasted about 4 episodes. That was when it jumed the shark. When our country re-elected bush, we jumped the shark, get it?

[gangstaaaron7]

@Strawhat78 Lol nice one haha ty

[DanToretto1]

@Strawhat78 Still so bitter and angry over Bush? Wow, try moving on with your life already.

[dustbunee2007]

@gangstaaaron7 "Jump the shark" is a showbiz term that means "It's all downhill from there". Another example, building on what Strawhat78 says is, "Full House" jumped the shark when Jesse and Becky became the parents of twin boys. There were already a set of twins on the show, the Olsen twins, so that would've made two sets of twins. In reality, I don't think "Full House" jumped until the final season, which was when the episodes started getting stupider.

[JoeyPencils]

Richie may have been semi-erect when the Fonz made it

[dShroppy]

"There was an episode where Fonzie LITERALLY jumped over a shark, AND IT WAS THE BEST ONE."

-Troy Barnes

[Robstailey]

short-short swim trunks and a leather jacket? any other man on earth would would ridiculous. not the fonz.

[usaturnuranus]

@TheBrewchief - Yeah, now that you mention it, they are a different group. I remember back about the time that this episode aired, the show had gotten so stupid that they didn't even bother trying to look or act like the time period they were supposed to be from. Just scraping the bottom of the barrel for ideas for plots also.

[TheBrewchief]

@usaturnuranus That's what I hear. It was before my time, but I was a "weird" kid and used to watch all these old tv shows on Nick at Night through the late 80s and early 90s (Get Smart, Green Acres, Ozzie and Harriet, My Three Sons, Mr. Ed, and a slew of others). My opinion of watching "old" stuff was summed up by that guy that hosts/introduces TCM films, basically that if you've never seen it, it's new to you! Interestingly enough, I saw a Henry Winkler interview where he said the show went on

[TheBrewchief]

@usaturnuranus (cont'd)...for another like 6 or 7 seasons after this, and had no idea that they had "jumped the shark"...(cue wah wah waaaah lame joke trumpet noise). He seems like a pretty good guy, and by all accounts is polite and takes in stride light-hearted ribbing about his role as the Fonz. By the way you can see the [short] interview I mentioned at this address, just copy and paste it to the end of youtube dot com. /watch?v=-QiOJKptsz0

[TheBrewchief]

@NewMundane thanks. classic response holmes.

[usaturnuranus]

1:46 - There's the crowd, standing behind that fence rail...

Then Fonz jumps the shark...

1:54 - Fence rail magically disappears, an apparent miracle.

[TheBrewchief]

@usaturnuranus It looks like it is a different group of people, the OTHER army of psyched admirers

[jimbo92107]

But, the shark is so big!

Are you sure you want to do it?

[orchidtender]

@mailboxfish I know, right? That approach was longer than the Flintstones' living room!

[Hitmonchan107]

Chuck Norris dislikes this because he's not manly enough like The Fonz.

[auburntigers1716]

I tried this and now im typing this comment with on hand.

[harlyops]

man that is one slow boat

[Holcomb14]

Epic....that's what I'd be saying if it was.

[RayAndFlare]

Just me that expected the shark to jump out of the water?

[givemeblowjob69]

LOL south park

[sydneymassive]

I love how this became a euphemism for a TV show that has run out of idea.

[oneirishpoet]

@sydneymassive yeah very appropriate indeed...btw it's funny how the Fonz has NEVER worn anything but jeans and leather jacket in every episode and yet here he has lovely TAN legs WTF? (ok so I'm old, that's how I know)

[MrThuglifegangsta69]

this is WACK  this show should of been canceled years ago

[lnclincoln]

@MrThuglifegangsta69 lol.. u think it is still on air?

[ok22245]

@MrThuglifegangsta69 it was cancelled years ago

[zkyggen]

@MrThuglifegangsta69 Relax mrThuglifegangsta

[jhatt25]

@MrThuglifegangsta69 i would insult you, but then i read your name and realized you insulted yourself already!!!!

[amerv2]

best part (other than ron howard's ah, okay hand gesture) is the girl who says "he's really gonna do it!' as if she didn't believe he would until that point"

[modshroom]

just terrible.

[iiiiiifggffggffgfgfg]

And so begins the sucky part of this series.

[2313connor]

The new Two and a Half Men intro 'comment' sent me Here.

[2313connor]

That was so incredibly drawn out. And Leather Jacket?

[Kaitlyn102798]

Fonzie jumped the shark when Ryan went to New York and grew a dousch-beard.

[HanselGraey]

The fact that he wears the leather jacket while water skiing and wearing cutoffs just converted me to worship the Church of Fonz.

[bambooo88]

Coolamundo!

[SlamIt889]

He can do it! He's, the Fez!

[TripleThreatUS]

This felt like it was an entire episode!!! And The Fonz is a ####ing NEVER-NUDE?!?!?!!?!?



[TheBrewchief]

What they SHOULD have done is had the Fonz break through the ramp and spill into the shark circle, where then huge boiling splashes would come out of the water indicating the struggle underneath as everyone is in a panic wondering what's happening under the water, then suddenly the water goes still....then "EEEYYYY" The Fonz emerges from the water wearing a custom-fit shark-leather jacket, as he says "he messed up my hair" and whips out his comb.

The whole shark-jumping thing was just absurd.

[admirilawesome1]

@TheBrewchief you should be a writer for this kinda crap

[TheBrewchief]

@admirilawesome1 Thanks! I do write, but until something I've written sells (guess I'd have to make a final draft of something), I won't call myself a writer, just a hobbyist. Every now and then it's fun to fool around with ideas that don't have to go anywhere much.

[geekoftheweek27]

Bob Loblaw Law Blog.

[blazinred13]

Goddamn that took forever to happen!

[footballss70]

In soviet russia the shark jumps you!

[zeikusername]

I see different kinds of shark. If the one at the ramp is real I see one oceanic white tip and one tiger shark ;)

[tesseraktik]

Man, now there's a show that really nuked the fridge.

[FangBangerable]

what a stupid fucking scene and show

[Ready4Freddy]

Cripes. How far did Richie have to pull Fonzie. They must have crossed the ocean by the time he finally jumped.

And Fonzie in his leather jakcet.

REminds me of the old Batman series when Batman was water skiing with his cape and cowel on. How campy was that!

[kuudez]

troy told me about this

[cdaywhea81]

fuck yea.

[Sampin19]

Thumbs up!

[baileytom78]

My computer brought me here. Not a TV show. VIVA LE INTERNET!!

[smm2510]

thumbs up if that 70s show brought you here

[ytgurlii]

at wat point according to you guys did two and a half men and Friends jump the shark? (if u think they did)

[major282828]

the worst moment in television history has more likes than dislikes

[stbreal]

this is where the term came from

[MrLaxdude89]

the worst moment in television history!

-That 70's show :)

[Djangolulu]

in a leather jacket, no less

[sisalo]

Here comes Two and a Half Men!

[darrenmuse]

The longest build up in history!

[nandroid]

Scott Vener brought me here

[TH3PRODUC3ROXXXO]

i took that shark and threw it to the grounnnnd !!!

[stonetemplepilot420]

LIKE A BOSS

[lostlegend667]

who the hell water skies in a leather jacket!!??

[TheJadedGentlemen]

@lostlegend667 the fonz clearly

[ptolover7]

I can completely see why this is commonly known as the worst moment in television history.

[justhammond3]

@ptolover7 at the end his jacket and shorts are dry so i guess they thing its stupid but still its a good episode

[derkaiser40]

check out jonie's cans !!!!

[rapeisbad222]

troy.

[foxdroad]

More american shit to the world

[mjsteinsvold]

Far too many gingers on this show.

[perkiomenville]

His water skis disappear at the end. Did the shark get them?

[SgtHydra]

I dunno know what all the controversy behind this scene is about.

As a Fox television executive, I find these kinds of moments to be the pinnacle of televised entertainment and insist on them occurring more often.

[whiteganser]

@SgtHydra I have a huge doubt a Fox TV Exec is commenting on YouTube. Let alone having the username "SgtHydra".

[SgtHydra]

@whiteganser It's a joke, dumbass.

[gangstaaaron7]

@SgtHydra huh?

[johanjez]

Worst moment of television EVER!

[derkaiser40]

That's how the phrase "jumped the shark" came about regarding tv programs

[Wlark33]

EYYYY

[mjgrothaus]

Why is Ron Weasley driving the boat?

[juneradar]

If fonz landed in the circle, he'd be safe in

*does 2 hours of math*

1.5 seconds

[RochesterHillsTV]

Why didn't the writers just say, "Hey guys, we've run out of ideas."?

[crazybad81]

this was the best episode

[ghbutler]

EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[GreatestMexicanEver]

Why did this happen

[LalakiProductions]

I thought the shark was gonna jump out of the water and then he was going to go over it!

[moviebuff1941]

Judging by the Fonz's cutoff's, he obviously suffers from the nevernude syndrome.

[Bedlamboogieman]

So nice of the shark to stay within the boundrys that only exsist on the surface of the water instead of you know, diving as sharks do.

[GTreid1107]

The shark just went under Fonz