Tracie in Florida who calls herself “Rosezilla” read my post on voter registration and commented, “Okay, I’ll bite, what does ‘jumping the shark’ mean?”
Well, Rosezilla (and anyone else who may be wondering the same thing), basically it means I watch far too much television.
Rather than explaining it in my own words, however, I suggest that you check out this article from Wikipedia, which will tell you far more than you will probably ever want to know about “jumping the shark.” But you must read every word of it just to make sure you are fully informed, and by “fully informed” I mean you must also click on the “nuking the fridge” and “jumping the couch” links in the article, because only then will you be able to gather enough information to decide for yourself whether actor Tom Cruise is gay (Warning, Spoiler Ahead: he isn’t).
By “Tom Cruise” I mean Thomas Cruise Mapother IV:
And just as Pat Boone is no Yul Brynner, Tom Cruise is no Henry Winkler.
Geesh, I've got homework??? Oh, fine... well, at least we are agreed that Tom Cruise is no Fonz! I'll get back to you when I have completed/attempted/glanced at my assignment.
ReplyDeleteOk, I get it. But I am not going to summarize it, because if I had to read all that stuff, so does everybody else. (It does seem to me though, that if television producers know all the signs that a show has passed its prime, they should more quickly let shows go out with style instead of humiliation).
ReplyDeleteYour blog hsas me even more confused than ususal and since I am usually confused that is very confused.
ReplyDeleteI got lost somewhere between Jumping the shark and Tom is no Fonz.
You do like to knock Pat Boone - what did he ever do to you? His voice was good looking, never mind the rest of him...
ReplyDeleteAs always, thanks to each of you for commenting.
ReplyDeleteRosezilla (Tracie) - You get an A on your homework.
Dr. John - You must not have clicked on "jumping the couch," which leads us to Tom, but the comparison between Tom and the Fonz is my own invention.
jinksy - Somewhere in the transatlantic crossing, the message became garbled. I wasn't knocking Pat. Perhaps my humor (that's humour to you) is a tad too subtle. Actually, in each of my comparisons (Pat to Yul, Tom to Henry/Fonz), my personal opinion is that in the looks department the first man looks better than the second second. Sort of a reverse spin on Senator Lloyd Benson's telling Senator Dan Quayle back in 1988, "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy." In that example, the second choice is clearly superior to the first. In mine, it was intended to be the other way around. Sorry if my little joke wasn't obvious. I don't have a thing against Pat Boone.
I will not "nuke the fridge."
ReplyDeleteI will not "jump the couch."
I will not, cannot cross a bridge
That leads to Cruise ---
Although he is no slouch.
I already told you, Yul Brynner's my hero, but even Fonzy comes in ahead of Tom Cruise in my book.
Most interesting....I'd not heard of "jumping the shark" before.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me think of a show like "ER", which has had a long run on TV. Its setting is a place where a multitude of absurdities can conceivably happen in the first place, making it virtually impossible for that story line to "jump the shark".
Thanks, Pat and Jeannelle, for your comments.
ReplyDeletePat - At first I thought you were channelling Dr. Seuss.
Jeannelle - You talk about a medical show that has had a long run on TV, set in a place where a multitude of absurdities can conceivably happen in the first place, I'll take St. Elsewhere over the rest.