Jumping the shark

In a late episode of the television show Happy Days, Fonzi jumped a shark tank with his motorcycle on waterskis. This became the standard metaphor for the defining moment at which a series began it's decline into crap.

For some interesting comments on classic (and not-so-classic) television, see Jump The Shark. I especially enjoyed reading and reminiscing about Barney Miller, which is one of my all-time favorites.

I saw this in an article in Entertainment Weekly which has a policy of being accessable online only to subscribers and newstand buyers, so screw 'em - no link for them.