Today's issue: Jumping The Shark.
Many people have heard this expression and know that it relates to the classic 'Happy Days' episode in which Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli (That's right, I know his full name! For some reason I also know that Potsie's real name was Warren Webber and that Richie once had an older brother named Chuck; too muck Nick At Nite I guess.) literally jumped over a shark while on water skis. Seriously, this really happened on network television.
I think the real question here in not why would a popular show do such a ridiculous stunt, but why would Fonzie risk ruining his leather jacket by wearing it water-skiing in the ocean? I'm no expert on leather maintenance, but wouldn't salt water do significant damage to leather? Fonzie, as a biker and leather aficionado should certainly know this. And boy those are some short shorts!
Now that I got that out of the way, let me get to my real point.
There are currently campaigns going on in certain circles to retire the phrase "jump the shark" and replace with the new and updated phrase "nuke the fridge." This new phrase is meant to reflect a certain scene in the new Indiana Jones film in which our hero escapes a nuclear bomb by hiding in a lead-lined refrigerator.
Okay, let me just say this. Nuking the fridge is nothing like jumping the shark. One was on the water while the other was in the desert. A shark is an animal, while a nuclear blast is a man-made weapon. Fonzie's leather jacket was black, while Indy's was brown. See completely different!
Anyway, the point that these phrases develop in order to describe when a TV or film series has gone too far is in itself rather silly. I mean, entertainment is supposed to be fun and escapist, so why do we always have to apply logic and common sense to the worlds they present?
Also, there's a reason that these phrases can catch on and not something like "Turning the world backwards" (From Superman), "Luke and Leia are related" (From Return of the Jedi), "Rocky Beats Clubber Lang" (from Rocky III), or "Mr. Darcy falls for Bridget" (From Bridget Jones's Diary) which are all just as unlikely and unbelievable scenarios as jumping a shark or nuking a fridge.
The reason is we just hold iconic cool guys like The Fonz and Indiana Jones to higher standards, which really isn't fair. They exist to entertain, and I for one was very entertained both when Fonzie cleared the shark and gave his friends the thumbs up, and when Indy emerged from the fridge to peer back at the explosion in Doomtown. It was great fun. Which is what it was supposed to be. So let's not freak out and create a new phrase the next time something silly happens in entertainment, because I guarantee it will happen again.
1 comment:
I, for one, like "Nuking the fridge" if only because I can use it and feel like a super-cool insider. And Fonzie's shorts? Delish!
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