Your Definitive "Jump The Shark" Moments

[Trust No One]

Not exactly a JTS moment, just a rant:

I do not like "The Vengeance Formulation", despite the wacky sight-gags of Howard in a bubblebath with celebrities. I just **do not like*** the H/B relationship in any way, shape, or form. I'm well aware that the S3 version of this relationship was less objectionable than the current version, but I...just...don't...like..it. Am I open to seeing Howard do something besides being quippy and flirty? Sure. But this ain't it. Additional characters just hold absolutely zero appeal for me.

"Howard has issues with women, therefore his character-development should come via his relationship with a woman" is too pat, too obvious. All three (four?) guys have issues with women; Howard just talks about it more.

I wouldn't have minded some more Howard-Leslie interaction; that was kind of intriguing, even though it didn't turn out well for him. It's not high on my wish list, but I wouldn't have minded it.

MR is just so cartoony that she seems like she's been Photoshopped into the scene, to me. I just can't take her seriously on any level. As a catalyst for change, she's awfully hollow.

This is why I'm pretty hardcore about only considering S1 and S2 to be truly "vintage." There are prob. 4 or 5 episodes from S3 that I would care to re-watch. I think there's some questionable stuff in that season, even aside from the introduction of A and B..

I think Howard's pursuit of the opposite sex was the fun part. It's the art of the pursuit and once that is over many times the character and show suffers. The characters and show becomes the Ship with very new challenges to strive for. If you are going to add Ship, you need to add problems and the Ship has to end and end in a real way and not the way Ships end on this show. Hope this makes sense?

[ricardo shillyshally]

I think if there are 'social concerns' underlying BB, then it's 'what can young men grow into?',' what do they keep, what do they discard?, all former older role models are outdated, or imprisoned. That scene was about Howard giving up his fantasies(both hetero and homosexual), deciding to live the real world. Unfortunately B is a screaming cliche.

[Louise]

That scene was about Howard giving up his fantasies(both hetero and homosexual), deciding to live the real world.

Yes, definitely. I just think the message was a bit obvious and preachy.

Of course, it can be damaging to a person if they're so consumed by their inner fantasy-life that they reject opportunities to make connections with other people. Maladaptive daydreaming, I think it's called. Interesting concept. I'm just not sure that a sitcom needs to "go there."

The stuff with Takei and Sackhoff is cute, and certainly fits with the show's "surreal" atmosphere. I just find it a bit cutesy and cringey, a bit heavy-handed.

And as we've observed, there's nothing so remarkable about Bernadette that she'd inspire someone to change their life, unless H. is so pathetically desperate for attention that literally anyone will do. And that's kinda sad.

It's like the opposite of "fridging": instead of being killed-off just to get a reaction from male characters, female characters are brought to the forefront just to get a reaction from male characters.

ETA: here again we have the message that only through a romantic/sexual relationship can one learn, grow, become a bigger person, or develop more empathy for others. Marriage/monogamy/romance is the only way to achieve adulthood or "live in the real world." B. is this savior-figure who comes along to drag Howard out of his dreamworld. It doesn't get much more Deus Ex Machina than characters *literally* appearing out of thin air and giving advice.

After all, it's not like the guys could learn to be kinder, more patient, more understanding, or more open-minded through their interactions with *each other*, or Penny, or family members, or people at work, or whoever. Right? ::

This show is good at light, absurdist comedy. The minute they decide there's going to be a message or a deeper meaning, they fumble it, nine times out of ten. That's when things get anvilicious...

I've often mentioned my fondness for Cornhusker Vortex, because of Howard learning to be a better friend towards Raj. But, at the last minute, that progress gets undone and played-off as a joke. I might be really, really reaching here, because I know that the "stinger" or tag-scene is a standard sitcom convention, but the takeaway message seems to be that learning/growing in the context of a *friendship* isn't real and doesn't count.

[ricardo shillyshally]

Yes that does seem to be true in sitcom land, characters only grow when they are forced/manipulated into it, by other characters. It's interesting to see the plot, while trying to work out the machinations of the writers. So buying the 3D printer, seemed to be about showing that B controlled the finances. Was going to ISS just to force them into an early marriage? Because that as most astronauts say, is a life changing experience. Howard could have finally trumped Sheldon, astronaut trumps physicist. And the way they dealt with his return, no one was interested, or wanted him to talk about it. I think the opposite would have happened, they would want to know everything, especially Sheldon. Howard would have been centre of attention, unless it was just throwaway plot, with alterior motive!

[Louise]

My personal JTS moment is Stag Night. For the show as a whole, making A and B full-time members of the main cast was prob. the point of no return. If they'd been minor characters who only showed up once every three episodes or something, I have no idea how that would play out or what the results would be. I'd still dislike it and it would still be detrimental, but maybe the show's downfall would've been more like a slow fade than a crash and burn.

I think a personal JTS moment might be different from a point of no return, though. For casual fans who liked the early seasons, I would've guessed that the singing episode, the SIK, and the ILY would've been the final straw, for many of them. Final straw, meaning that they would stop watching altogether. There might be some inertia at play here; it wouldn't surprise me if people find it easier to keep watching than to stop. It's just a habit, a reflex.

Having *any* character get married so soon in the show's run (Halfway through! Or less than half) is something you can't recover from, because it changes the group dynamics and the format, irrevocably. That's true whether it's H. getting married or some other character.

For the show as a whole, the "points of no return" are probably centered on Sheldon.

Other moments that get dishonorable mention from me are:

The speech about "sign the prenup, you'll never do any better, all the women in the world got together and decided they don't want you."

Howard is irresponsible/lazy/doesn't make any money: the Cooper/Kripke Inversion, the Expedition Approximation.

The Letter

The Romance Resonance, AKA singing.

First Pitch Insuffiency: H. is incompetent, Raj is a jerk.

Sort of a second-tier annoyance is Raj having a crush on B, because I don't like love triangles in general and I don't like anything coming between H and R.

Obviously I hate what happens in Killer Robot, but I can kind of mentally delete that from Season 2 and just regard it as an aberration, a weird mistake on the part of the writers. If anyone tries to debate me on it, I go all "This is Sparta!!!!" on their ass, though.

I dislike the space storyline but I find it pretty easy to ignore; it's just some weird detour. Most of the time, it doesn't actively bother me, because I just forget about it.

So, yeah, maybe it's hard to differentiate between a JTS moment and a subjective pet peeve, but the ones that make me *angry* and upset, as opposed to just annoyed, are Stag Night, and all this "H. is financially dependent on B. and is babyish in the extreme, not just amusingly child-like." The latter maybe even more than the former, because the former is drippy but the latter is insulting.

Pretty signficant that *two* of these worst-of moments are from S8, and we're not even halfway through the season. S8 is just a whole other level of bad.

[Trust No One]

My personal JTS moment is Stag Night. For the show as a whole, making A and B full-time members of the main cast was prob. the point of no return. If they'd been minor characters who only showed up once every three episodes or something, I have no idea how that would play out or what the results would be. I'd still dislike it and it would still be detrimental, but maybe the show's downfall would've been more like a slow fade than a crash and burn.

I think a personal JTS moment might be different from a point of no return, though. For casual fans who liked the early seasons, I would've guessed that the singing episode, the SIK, and the ILY would've been the final straw, for many of them. Final straw, meaning that they would stop watching altogether. There might be some inertia at play here; it wouldn't surprise me if people find it easier to keep watching than to stop. It's just a habit, a reflex.

Having *any* character get married so soon in the show's run (Halfway through! Or less than half) is something you can't recover from, because it changes the group dynamics and the format, irrevocably. That's true whether it's H. getting married or some other character.

For the show as a whole, the "points of no return" are probably centered on Sheldon.

Other moments that get dishonorable mention from me are:

The speech about "sign the prenup, you'll never do any better, all the women in the world got together and decided they don't want you."

Howard is irresponsible/lazy/doesn't make any money: the Cooper/Kripke Inversion, the Expedition Approximation.

The Letter

The Romance Resonance, AKA singing.

First Pitch Insuffiency: H. is incompetent, Raj is a jerk.

Sort of a second-tier annoyance is Raj having a crush on B, because I don't like love triangles in general and I don't like anything coming between H and R.

Obviously I hate what happens in Killer Robot, but I can kind of mentally delete that from Season 2 and just regard it as an aberration, a weird mistake on the part of the writers. If anyone tries to debate me on it, I go all "This is Sparta!!!!" on their ass, though.

I dislike the space storyline but I find it pretty easy to ignore; it's just some weird detour. Most of the time, it doesn't actively bother me, because I just forget about it.

So, yeah, maybe it's hard to differentiate between a JTS moment and a subjective pet peeve, but the ones that make me *angry* and upset, as opposed to just annoyed, are Stag Night, and all this "H. is financially dependent on B. and is babyish in the extreme, not just amusingly child-like." The latter maybe even more than the former, because the former is drippy but the latter is insulting.

Pretty signficant that *two* of these worst-of moments are from S8, and we're not even halfway through the season. S8 is just a whole other level of bad.

To me, the biggest jump the shark moment was Penny deciding she needed Leonard after finding out he was going to the Arctic for three months. That was the beginning of the downfall that I did not even realize at the time. Amy and Bernie joining full time was just finishing things off. Lenny getting together started the downfall.

[queenoftheDales]

To me, the biggest jump the shark moment was Penny deciding she needed Leonard after finding out he was going to the Arctic for three months. That was the beginning of the downfall that I did not even realize at the time. Amy and Bernie joining full time was just finishing things off. Lenny getting together started the downfall.

Ya know, that is a good one. I was watching this episode the other day and like the episode is ok for the most part and then there was that awkward hug between Leonard and Penny. I guess now it was supposed to be weird, seeing as Leonard is still awkward and insecure, but during the premiere of the episode when Penny was pining for him after she closed the door, I sat there thinking, "Really? Leonard? Really?"



I was hoping then that Leonard and Penny wouldn't turn into this long, drawn out whatever the hell it is, and boy was I wrong.

[Tuesday Pajamas]

It had no energy at all. The show had not done the groundwork it thought it had, most of us were totally enthralled with Sheldon and Leonard was just the 'straight man' who was there to make the jokes work. So when Penny announced these feelings for him it seemed inconceivable. In later seasons Penny flipped back and forward emotionally which made it look like she was settling.

[Trust No One]

Ya know, that is a good one. I was watching this episode the other day and like the episode is ok for the most part and then there was that awkward hug between Leonard and Penny. I guess now it was supposed to be weird, seeing as Leonard is still awkward and insecure, but during the premiere of the episode when Penny was pining for him after she closed the door, I sat there thinking, "Really? Leonard? Really?"



I was hoping then that Leonard and Penny wouldn't turn into this long, drawn out whatever the hell it is, and boy was I wrong.

I also saw the episode again the other day queen. Penny closing the door was just painfully bad and a WTF moment. It really came out of nowhere. Penny showed no signs of wanting a relationship with Leonard. Their 1st date crashed and burned. Did Penny think Leonard would meet someone at the Arctic? It really was the beginning of the end in many ways.

[devilbk]

I always thought it funny that Lenny started when Kahnny ended.