Sci Fi Bytes: Nuggets, anecdotes, trivia, and more from the worlds of sci fi and fantasy television.
When a television show has “jumped the shark”, that means it has experienced a particular moment leading to a downward shift in quality and/or a tonal shift that changes the nature for the program in a bad way. The term originated from the fifth season episode of Happy Days when Fonzie actually jumped a shark on water skies. From that point forward, the show placed ever-more focus on the Henry Wrinkler character and many believed the quality of the episodes took a notable hit (though it still remained on the air for six more seasons). Following is a look at jump-the-shark moments from five classic sci fi TV shows:
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (ABC, 1964-68, 4 Seasons Totaling 110 Episodes)
Jump-the-Shark Moment: Switch to monster-of-the-week episodes in its 2nd season
This was never a great sci fi series, but during its first season it delivered mostly action-adventure stories with some Cold War-themed episodes. By it’s second season, though, ABC wanted the show to go for a lighter tone and demanded more monsters and villains. That led to an endless stream of antagonists such as werewolves, plant men, lobstermen, evil toys, and more as the show descended into high-camp.
Lost in Space (CBS, 1965-68, 3 Seasons Totaling 83 Episodes)
Jump-the-Shark Moment: Dr. Smith Steals the show
When this series started out, it was a fairly straight-forward sci fi action-adventure romp with a family-friendly angle, but it took a shift in tone as Dr. Smith became the focal point of most episodes. Originally intended as a villain, he turned into more of a ne’er-do-well character and his actions became ever more bombastic. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly where this began because it happened gradually during the first season. But by the episode “Ghost in Space”, Smith was conducting seances and talking to ghosts which clearly pointed to the camp direction the show would embrace for the rest of its run.
Star Trek (NBC, 1966-69, 3 Seasons Totaling 79 Episodes)
Jump-the-Shark Moment: Season 3 episode “Spock’s Brain”
The third season of Star Trek saw a notable drop in the quality of the writing, and the notorious episodes “Spock’s Brain” is considered by many to be a low point for the series (though I would argue “Turnabout Intruder” might be worse). Fortunately, the third season did produce some good episodes such as “The Enterprise Incident”, “The Tholian Web”, and “Plato’s Stepchildren”, but the “Spock’s Brain” episode (which opened the third season) clearly marked the point that Trek had taken a downward turn after its first two stellar seasons.
Battlestar: Galactica (ABC, 2 Seasons Totaling 34 Episodes)
Jump-the-Shark Moment: Galactica: 1980
One could argue that the fourteenth episode from the first season “Fire in Space” delivered the jump-the-shark moment with a cute robot dog (okay, daggit) saving the day. But it recovered and actually delivered some of its better moments in the second half of the first season. It was the rebooted second season that definitely killed this show. Most of the original cast was jettisoned and cute kids became the focus of the series (including the dreadful Dr. Zee). The show disappeared after ten episodes in the Galactica: 1980 format, though at least Starbuck made a final appearance in the very last episode.
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (NBC, 2 Seasons Totaling 37 Episodes)
Jump-the-Shark Moment: The show turns serious in its second season
Buck Rogers was not a great sci fi show even in its first season, but at least it did not take itself too seriously and could be quite fun when it was at its best. When the show returned for its second season, though, it experienced a notable tonal shift. It basically became Star Trek meets Battlestar: Galactica and dispensed with much of the fun and whimsy of its first season (plus Mel Blanc as Twikki) while still not producing great stories. Lesson learned: if you have bad scripts, don’t take yourself too seriously.
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