jump the shark

Coinkydink Or Coinkydonk? Is Andrea Anders The New Ted McGinley?

Posted on by sgottahurt

Are these pics from Classmates.com?

Those of you unfamiliar with the TripleDoubleU are… a lost cause.  Those of you that know your way around Al Gore’s vast array of electrical tubes and lights know the guy up above on the right (here’s a hint – he’s the guy name in the post’s title).

His name is Robert Paulson Ted McGinley, and he is the man most synonymous with the concept of jumping the shark even though he wasn’t the guy that actually jumped the shark (they were in the same show, though).

Shows that Ted McGinley was added to when they supposedly jumped the shark:

  • Happy Days
  • Love Boat
  • Dynasty
  • Married… With Children
  • The John Larroquette Show
  • Sports Night
  • Hope & Faith was on for three seasons, but it was cancelled for Dancing with the Stars
  • Dancing with the Stars (he was the second person eliminated his season)

Now some argue (mainly McKinley himself), that the shows went onto more seasons in spite of him.  According to Jim lasted eight seasons.  Longevity does not equal quality.  (And sometimes, I think networks forget to cancel shows.)

Now whereas the majority of the above shows McKinley was a late addition to them, Andrea Anders started all of the following shows.  Well, as for Joey, that’s not entirely true.  She replaced Ashley Scott as the will they, won’t they potential love interest.

Ashley Scott has no hard feelings.

But if Anders’ track record is any indication, Matthew Perry’s new show, Mr. Sunshine, might not fare well.  So I guess she’s not really at all like Ted McGinley, the patron saint of shark jumping.  Maybe she’s more like the dolphin that kills the shark.

Her track record:

"How you doin'?" "Not so well."

See? Classmates.com!

Get it? Should have been called "Better Off Dan-celed."

Miss Chanandler Bong!

BONUS COINKYDINK OR COINKYDONK!

Andrea Anders is currently dating Matt LeBlanc who will be in the new Showtime show called Episodes… in which she’ll have a guest appearance.  So I wouldn’t get too used to that show either.

Just Sh–ty To The Sh–… The Infamous Tropical Vacation Episode

Posted on by sgottahurt

Warning! Might cause Vincent Price to kidnap you!

I had to pick this right back up because… I didn’t have anything else to get to.

I recently touched upon the subject of tropical films and how they tend not to be very good.  How can you expect quality work while working in a quality place?

The same tends to happen on TV, when the infamous tropical vacation episodes occur, or at least they used to.

And why wouldn’t TV producers want to set the episode(s) in exotic locales?  They deserve a vacation more than the characters!

I presented it in the similar movie list as Exceptions and Rules.  This time, it’s going to be Just Shitty or The Shit.  I will not include any shows set in exotic locales, although they’ll get a special mention at the end.  And I’m sticking primarily to sitcoms, because most dramas suck anyway.

JUST SHITTY

In order of release:

 THE SHIT

So why do some work, while most didn’t?  I believe it depends on the show’s take.  For most if not all of the Just Shitty’s, the travel seemed shoehorned into a story just so everybody could go to Hawaii.  It’s especially strange that the majority of episodes occur in the beginning of the third season.

Where Friends differs is that it was “just a beach.”  Plus, it kicked off or hinted at some major series events (Monica and Chandler, anyone?), plus Joey peed on Monica.  I believe that’s a first for network television.  Scrubs celebrated the show’s upcoming finale by going to the Bahamas, and it was quite aware of what a stereotype travel episodes were.  And as for Modern Family, it just happened to be another episode (in the first season).

So in closing, if it’s a gimmick, it’s going to suck.  If it just happens to be, it may not suck, but the odds are against you.  Go on vacation in the off-season.  You don’t need to film while you’re there.

And as for shows that take place (or were filmed) in Hawaii, it’s quite the opposite:

THE SHIT

  • Magnum, P.I.
  • Hawaii Five-O (original and remake)
  • Fantasy Island (original and remake)
  • Jake and the Fatman
  • Gilligan’s Island

JUST SHITTY

  • LOST

(I could not have done this without TV Tropes.  Thanks!)

JusWondering… Do The Kids Even Know What A Record Scratch Is Anymore?

Posted on by sgottahurt

There’s a commercial that plays here in Detroit which uses the record scratch sound to express a shock.   I can’t recall the product or manufacturer to present an example, but for those of you born in the *gulp* 90’s, the sound occurs at the 0:52 mark in this excellent mash-up:

iTod Meet Coaster Spinner With Weird Arm Thingee?

iTod Meet Coaster Spinner With Weird Arm Thingee?

And I’m being serious here.  Why would any modern advertisement resort to such an out-dated cliche?  I’m sure the writers thought they were being funny (as I often do and fail miserably), but a record scratch?  A RECORD SCRATCH?

Here’s some other things I’ve been JusWondering about:

1) In the song, Only Wanna Be With You, does Hootie cry about the Miami Dolphins, or about “the dolphins” in general (since he’s friends with “the Blowfish,” you see)?

2) Is l33t speak still called that?  Because it seems kinda like that term’s jumped the shark?

3) Has the term jumped the shark nuked the fridge?

4) Is it just me, or shouldn’t She’s a Beauty totally be a song by Chicago or at least Peter Cetera, instead of The Tubes?  It should have been in Mannequin, too.  (Was it in that?)

Kim Cattrall's finest performance

Kim Cattrall’s stiffest performance

5) Much ballyhoo has been made about Conan O’Brien being a neophyte in L.A., but didn’t he live there when he wrote for The Simpsons?  (Boom!  Research!  He lived there when he wrote for HBO’s Not Necessarily the News… No specifics on his home whilst he was on his Homer bender, but I’m still pretty sure he was at least in Hollywood.  Turn that ballyhoo into boo!)