Always Anna

The issue of whether a TV show has “jumped the shark” is obviously purely subjective. But I got to thinking this morning about whether my favorite TV shows (of all time) ever jumped the shark (or if they will soon). Here’s my final analysis:

5. The O.C. - As you all know, The O.C. is one of my favorite shows currently on the air. It’s now partway through it’s third season, and I was recently discussing with some friends whether it has already jumped the shark. Some people say it jumped last season, some people say it jumped in the first episode (which shows a ridiculous misunderstanding of what jumping the shark means, if you ask me). Me? I say it hasn’t jumped yet. But if they decide to put Julie Cooper and Mr. Roberts together, which is where they seem to be heading, I’ll have to agree that the show jumped. And I’ll have to stop watching.

4. South Park - My other favorite current show, which I don’t get to see often because I am too cheap to pay for Comedy Central. But I do get to watch it occasionally, thanks to the generosity of friends who allow me to control the remote at their houses, which allows me to say that this show is awesome, and that it hasn’t jumped the shark yet. I don’t really think they ever will - because the show is based on making fun of current events, as long as there are things to be made fun of, South Park will still be fabulous.

3. The Cosby Show - I grew up loving this show. I still love the reruns, and watch it whenever I stumble across it. But the show did jump the shark, and while there are good arguments for a number of events (Denise returning, Olivia, Saundra’s horrifying presence), I have to say that for me, the event that ruined the show was the introduction of Elvin. He was unbearable to watch and impossible to like, and he killed the great family dynamic that the show was about. I refuse to watch episodes with him in it; I will change channels mid-episode if he walks onscreen. He is the anti-Cosby.

2. Friends - First off, stop insulting me for putting Friends near the top of my list. I loved - LOVED - this show. The characters were great, the story was believably unbelievable (if you know what I mean), and it was almost always hilarious. But, sadly, my Friends did jump the shark. Not when Ross & Rachel got together for the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd time; and not when Chandler & Monica got together - these were events that they foreshadowed from the very beginning. But when they decided to try out a romance between Joey & Rachel, I almost had a coronary. I didn’t stop watching the show - I was addicted by then, and I still had Chandler to make me laugh - but it was painful to watch. I still hate seeing reruns of those episodes, although I can deal because I know that things end up the way they should. But still… whose brilliant idea was that? Ugh.

1. I Love Lucy - As far as I’m concerned, I Love Lucy is the best comedy that was ever on TV. It was consistently hilarious, even in the bizarre Little Ricky and Connecticut years. Each of these events just opened up new doors to hilarity that the show hadn’t been able to have before. Remember the chicken episode? Brilliant! So, my opinion on jumping the shark? Never happened.

I think I need to go buy I Love Lucy on DVD.