Jumping the Shark/Playing With

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Jump The Shark: The quality of a series drops after a significant event.

  • Straight: The show is no longer as interesting now that a major plot point has been resolved
  • Exaggerated: The greatest series in the world becomes absolute trash almost instantly after Alice and Bob get together
  • Justified: The show was built on a short-term premise and became a Franchise Zombie when it was extended.
  • Inverted: Growing the Beard.
  • Subverted: Despite what looks to be a series-breaking change of events, the series continues to produce quality episodes
  • Double Subverted: ...But compared to the episodes that came before the event, the overall quality of the series still dropped.
  • Parodied:

Alice: "This show has gotten worse since I had left."
Bob: "No, it's just-"
Announcer: "Next week, Bob jumps his motorcycle over a tank of sharks! Will he make it?"
Bob: "Alright, you may have a point."


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