Jump the Shark: When Good Things Go Bad - Hardcover

Hein, Jon

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0525946764 ISBN 13: 9780525946762

Publisher: Dutton Adult, 2002

Synopsis

The creator of the now-famous website that identifies the precise moment when sitcoms head south applies his powers of observation to politics, sports, and popular music. 75,000 first printing.

About this title

About the Author:

Jon Hein is the creator of jumptheshark.com, an award-winning website that gets over four million page views a month. He has contributed to articles in Esquire and TV Guide, and has been featured in USA Today, NPR, The Howard Stern Show and Good Morning America.

From Publishers Weekly:

It's a truism that the entertainment industry can never leave well enough alone. With few exceptions, TV shows, movie series and entertainers all go on producing product well after their prime. The popular Web site jumptheshark.com which takes its name from the ignominious Happy Days episode in which Fonzie jumps over a shark on water skis elaborates on this truism, chronicling the moments when TV series began their slides into embarrassment. Hein, the site's creator, expands the site here, taking aim at not only TV shows, but also musicians, celebrities, athletes and politicians. It's a risky move on Hein's part because, as he himself notes, one of the first signs of a show's doom is the spin-off. The book's television chapter offers some deliciously catty pop criticism. Hein judges Family Ties, Beverly Hills 90210 and ER for fin spottings (Alex Keaton is born, Brenda goes abroad and Dr. Ross leaves, respectively). The writing is at times strangely ambivalent, as Hein's theory of entertainment entropy ensnares just about every show imaginable, even ones he obviously likes (with the exception of The Simpsons, which miraculously escapes his eye). Like a producer with a smash hit sitcom, though, Hein can't leave well enough alone and wades into deeper waters. The celebrities chapter is especially unfocused, swiping at everyone from Cher to Francis Ford Coppola. Still, it's a light and easily digested read. Fins are definitely spotted, but the book never quite jumps the shark itself.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Dutton Adult
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0525946764
• ISBN 13: 9780525946762
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 384