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"Jump the shark" refers to the moment when a show departs from its original premise and loses its appeal, even if the moment makes sense in-universe. Examples of shows jumping the shark include Fonzie's shark-jumping moment in Happy Days and Michael Scott leaving Dunder Mifflin in The Office. Shows like The O.C., Riverdale, and Prison Break also jumped the shark through outrageous or poorly-executed storylines, leading to a decline in quality.

While the term “jump the shark” has been overused in recent years, some shows truly earned the phrase in their worst moments. There are a lot of terms used by fandoms that can sometimes seem confusing or contradictory to casual viewers. For example, the term “Bottle episode” traditionally referred to cheaply produced outings that used a minimal number of cast members and pre-built sets to save on budgetary costs.

Just like TV’s many infamous bottle episodes, moments...

The much-loved sitcom Happy Days is known for "jumping the shark" after season 5, but if the show had stuck to its original name, it never would have made it that far. First airing in 1974, Happy Days began as a nostalgic sitcom about the lives of the Cunningham family and their friends. However, it soon became clear that Henry Winkler's Fonzie was the real star of the show, and he got an increasingly bigger role as Happy Days continued. Garry Marshall's 1950s-set sitcom also made household names of Robin Williams, who played Mork, and Ron Howard, who played Richie Cunningham and was originally intended as the show's star.

Interestingly, the strength of future movie director Ron Howard's performance in the original Happy Days pilot got him cast in American Grafitti. The commercial success of George Lucas' love letter to the 1950s is what - according to Garry Marshall -...

Don Jurwich, a longtime writer-director-producer at Hanna-Barbera and Marvel Productions, died July 13 of natural causes. He was 87.

Starting his career in animation as a layout and background artist, Jurwich worked his way up in storyboarding, eventually becoming a producer and director.

While working at Hanna-Barbera, Jurwich produced and directed “Scooby Doo,” “The Superfriends,” “Captain Caveman, “Richie Rich,” “Fonz and the Happy Days Gang,” along with one hour prime-time special, “Scooby Goes Hollywood.”

At Marvel, Jurwich directed “Spiderman and His Amazing Friends.” He also produced 85 half-hour episodes of “G.I. Joe,” along with the miniseries “G.I. Joe: The Movie,” which was later released as a feature film.

Over the course of his 40-year career, Jurwich contributed to animated series including “Road Runner,” “The Pink Panther,” “Rocky and Bullwinkle,” “The Flintstones,” “George The Jungle,” “Yogi Bear,” “Tom & Jerry” — along with their mini-me successor, the “Tom & Jerry Kids Show.” Jurwich also...