10 top shows that jumped the shark (and when they did it)
By Sundi Rose
The ubiquitous yellow umbrella of How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother really painted themselves into a corner with this premise. Maybe they didn’t expect it go on for so long. Nine seasons is a respectable length of time for any show, much less one with such a high concept. Sometimes the show felt like it was completely preoccupied with the idea of Ted meeting the mother, but other times it completely ignored it. It was a much better show when it was ignoring it all together.
The moment the Mother became a tangible element in the story, with the introduction of the yellow umbrella, the show veered off course. It was this giant elephant in the room, and it constantly felt like the writers were doing acrobatics to acknowledge and write around it. They teased the reveal for so long, that fans became desensitized to the drama of it all. When we finally did get to meet the mother, it felt anti-climactic and forced.
Writers attempted to write around this by giving that “Aunt Robin” twist in the finale, but it was too little, too late. The minute they gave life (and object) to the idea of the mother, fans began to tune out and lose interest. In fact, it could have existed as a show solely about a group of friends without this high concept all along. This is another example of a show’s worst moments defining it into perpetuity.
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From The Walking Dead to Happy Days, I’ve pinpointed the 10 moments that ruined these shows. What are your best (worst?) examples of a show jumping the shark?