Which TV series never "jumped the shark" in your opinion?

[Guest myonlyvice]

In case you are unfamiliar with this expression what it means to jump the shark is to lose the magic that a show once had through any number of means such as poor writing/subject matter, poor production values, poor acting, poor music, etc. I wish I could say this about Vice but I can't. I don't think there was an exact moment where Vice fundamentally lost all of its magic from that point onward but few would disagree that its best days were behind it by the time the final season came around. I guess what I really want to know is if anybody can name a series whose last season is every bit as good as its first season and everything in between. This show had no let downs. Personally, I can't think of a single one. It just seems to be the way of things.

[COOPER&BURNETT]

ression what it means to jump the shark is to lose the magic that a show once had through any number of means such as poor writing/subject matter" data-date=" poor production values, poor acting, poor music, etc. I wish I could say this about Vice but I can">

all of its magic from that point onward but few would disagree that its best days were behind it by the time the final season came around. I guess what I really want to know is if anybody can name a series whose last season is every bit as good as its first season and everything in between. This show had no let downs. Personally, I can't think of a single one. It just seems to be the way of things.

I can't think of any. There are flaws in every series. Cheers, Seinfeld,...all of them. Even if you love a series, there will always be a moment where someone will say it jumped the shark, even if you don't see it yourself.

[Beach_Vice]

Magnum PI. It had a few boring episodes, or slightly outlandish ones, but nothing too crazy for that show.If you want to remember a cool scene from mid way through the last season, check out the tune "The Brazilian" by Genesis. Can any of you remember the scene I'm talking about?

[Viceman Cometh]

The Rockford Files.

[Stinger390X]

I enjoy Burn Notice and have not seen one I have not liked yet?!?!?!?!Same goes for Breaking Bad as I am on the edge of my seat for every episode. It keeps you attention for sure!Mad Men has also been consistenly good so far.I also enjoyed Nash Bridges and can't think of a bad episode?NYPD Blue had many changes over the years but it ended on a good note and kept my attention as well.I can think of many series that have indeed "Jumped the Shark" mostly because of poor writing or running out of good ideas to keep the show fresh.

[Lar]

Gonna agree with both Beach_Vice & Viceman Cometh. Magnum was a superb show from start to finish. You know a series is good when they practically kill & bring the main character back to life, and the quality doesn't suffer in the slightest. There were a few weaker episodes, but nothing that had a detrimental effect on the overall series.The Rockford Files is the only show, IMO, to have never had a bad episode. At least I've never seen one. Heck, there were episodes that sounded deadly dull on paper, but were completely captivating in action.I really, really want to say that some of my favorites never jumped, such as M*A*S*H and Hill Street Blues, but unfortunately, long-running and successful series' rarely have stellar runs from start to finish.

[Kraigm]

I would have to agree that Burn Notice still has a perfect track record with me so far. It has already been slated for two more seasons at least. We shall see... For all BN fans out there, the new movie featuring Sam Ax premiers Sunday April 17th at 9 pm EST on USA.

[Scot from S.C.]

I also agree that Magnum, P.I. and so far Burn Notice are two shows that did not/ have not jumped the shark. I haven't seen all of the episodes of The Rockford Files, but I agree it was a good show.

[Christian]

Two and a half men!Can't remember a bad episode...Only the main actor jumped the shark!

[CrockettandTubbs]

I agree with Stinger390X, I have yet to see a bad episode of Nash Bridges (now on the fourth season...trying to catch clips of it online and thus since it ain't on DVD!)However...I cannot actually think of any others...here in the UK, Spooks has always been pretty good and on form, and I don't think that has jumped the shark yet...but I think that sometimes, it's impossible to make a TV show that doesn't jump the shark because people always want to make more money, and they have to run out of ideas sometimes!

[Viceman Cometh]

I should say that I agree about Magnum. It stayed pretty solid throughout its 8-yr run.This thread of course makes one wonder about that elusive question of when Vice jumped. Most agree it did, but when is in dispute. Some say Testatrossa. Some say Sheena Easton. Others say Evil Crockett.I didn't mind Sheena, although the idea of a married Crockett seems ridiculous to me. I enjoyed the Burnett/Evil Crockett trilogy, even though it seemed more like a soap than Vice. Almost like it existed in another time and space.For me, the jumping point is harder to nail down. It's when I realized Rico had become just another background character. The show was at its best when the two leads were playing off one another.

[Spyder]

I should say that I agree about Magnum. It stayed pretty solid throughout its 8-yr run.This thread of course makes one wonder about that elusive question of when Vice jumped. Most agree it did' date=' but when is in dispute. Some say Testatrossa. Some say Sheena Easton. Others say Evil Crockett.I didn't mind Sheena, although the idea of a married Crockett seems ridiculous to me. I enjoyed the Burnett/Evil Crockett trilogy, even though it seemed more like a soap than Vice. Almost like it existed in another time and space.For me, the jumping point is harder to nail down. It's when I realized Rico had become just another background character. The show was at its best when the two leads were playing off one another.[/quote'] Where would you say, Viceman, Season 3 or 4? Rico hardly had any lines in the fourth season. They made up for it in Season 5 with episodes like The Cell Within, but then Crockett was absent half the time.

[CrockettandTubbs]

I have to agree here....in the middle of Season Three, I really started to panic. After Zito was gone and Rico was just in the background, there were times when I really thought I was watching a different show

[Viceman Cometh]

Where would you say' date=' Viceman, Season 3 or 4? Rico hardly had any lines in the fourth season. They made up for it in Season 5 with episodes like The Cell Within, but then Crockett was absent half the time.[/quote'] I wasn't a fan of the new haircut, color palette and Dick Wolf-ization of S3, but I still enjoyed the season overall and thought it had some killer eps. El Viejo, Stone's War, The Savage, By Hooker by Crook, Lend me an Ear (off the top of my head).S4 has always been my de facto delineation of when things started going downhill. Strictly personally, I consider S1-2 "classic Vice," S3 "transitional but still solid," and S4-5 "crapshoot or crap," depending on the individual episode.

[Lar]

IMO MV jumped with Missing Hours. There were 'iffy' eps here and there prior, S3 had it's weaker moments, S4 had more, but for me, Missing Hours is the jumping point. It was just such an absolute, blatant slap-in-the-face to loyal fans.

[nash3333]

Jumping The SharkGood thread...Miami Vice - I think clearly jumped with "Missing Hours"...but the ski boat was warming up for alot of Season 3Hill Street Blues - I think it jumped when Fay Farillio became such a regular fixture...no PD Captain's Ex would be that intertwined with his precint, never mind dating half his command staffSopranos - Jumped with the story line of Tony being in a coma after Junior shot himMASH - Some may disagree, but I think they derailed when they spent a one hour episode about Hawkeye going nuts over killing the chicken/baby on the busNash Bridges - I would say they jumped when they had Tommy Chong, and Phillip Michael on there...but the episode actually worked.Burn Notice - I started to think they maybe jumping at the beginning of this last season...some of Michal's UC Characters were a bit over the top, but they got it back together by the end of the season.The Unit - I really liked this show, but when the Army pulled all the wives to work undercover in a front company to sniff out a spy....way over a very big sharkFamily Guy - Jumps the shark every night....but I love it!

[MrsEvanFreed]

The ShieldFireflyBBC's Being Human(but it might in S4, after the way it ended)Blood TiesThe Fugitive(2000 tv redux)Dark SkiesMilleniumJustifiedKindred: The EmbracedEZ StreetsKaren SiscoThe JobProfitMy So Called LifeFreaks and GeeksDark SkiesAmerican GothicBrimstoneSleeper CellInvasionSpace: Above and BeyondWitchbladeMind you several of these series had a brief run.

[Viceman Cometh]

The Shield! Of course. How could I forget that one. In fact, it seemed to get better each season.

[MrsEvanFreed]

better each season.

There are some seasons I like more than others, but it was consistent.Vic Mackey is one of the greatest TV Cops ever.

[Frey]

Nash BridgesAll in the Family (it didn't jump until they changed it to "Archies Place").SeinfeldEverybody Loves RaymondMagnumRavenMickey Spillaine's Mike Hammer (Stacey Keach)Spenser: For Hire (Some say this jumped in season two because they dumped Spenser's girlfriend from the show and ABC cancelled it after S2, but fans wrote in asking for ABC to bring back the show, and they did with Barbara Stock (Susan Silverman) reuniting with Spenser).

[Lar]

MASH - Some may disagree' date=' but I think they derailed when they spent a one hour episode about Hawkeye going nuts over killing the chicken/baby on the bus[/quote']That's actually part of the final episode. The finale is split into multiple parts for syndication. I see where you're coming from, though. I wouldn't say this was the jumping point, but the fourth season's "Hawkeye" is embarassing - basically a 30 minute Alan Alda monologue. No one else from the 4077th even gets so much as a cameo, and the only other characters are some Koreans that don't speak English. There were many great episodes following this (and the fourth season, IMO, was a very good one, even with the cast changes), but if I had to choose a worst ep, for me, then this would be it.

[DJAngel]

I still watch Mash on the WGN network

[Lar]

All in the Family (it didn't jump until they changed it to "Archies Place").Seinfeld

Couple of points' date=' and please, don't think I'm trying to argue or be disagreeable here, these are just my opinions.While those are two of the greatest shows of all-time, no question, IMO they didn't remain consistently strong. In the case of All In The Family, any episode where Mike & Gloria live with Archie & Edith is a classic. The eps where they move next door, the show was still good, but the sharks were circling. When Mike & Gloria left the series entirely, and they brought in the little kid to live with Archie & Edith (which took place prior to the Archie's Place re-structuring), it was unwatchable. The series lost all topicality, and Archie was transformed from a bigot to someone that was just cranky.As for Seinfeld, the minute Larry David left, some of the magic died. Seinfeld was never a bad show, but those last two seasons are noticeably different. Sometimes surreal or just plain silly. Elaine became, erm, 'looser', and Kramer was almost a caricature of his former self - he was [i']too eccentric, IMO. Plus, the stand-up segments were removed entirely. They had been in decline the few seasons prior, but the complete removal just seemed wrong to me. Even weaker Seinfeld is better than 98% of whatever else is on, and there are absolutely some real classics in those final years (The Bizarro Jerry, for example, is something that probably wouldn't have been done earlier, but personally I loved it), but compared to the glory days of seasons 3-6, the downgrade in quality is unacceptable for show of Seinfeld's stature.Again, please don't think I'm trying to argue or anything here. To each his own, after all (BTW, I absolutely agree with you about Everybody Loves Raymond. It seems no matter what, that show stayed rock-solid from start-to-finish - also maybe the last sitcom that wasn't brain-dead).

[Lar]

I still watch Mash on the WGN network

Same here, except our WGN doesn't play it. I don't think any of our stations is locally syndicating it, so the only one playing it is TV Land (who are showing the classic signs of burying it, not unlike their treatment of MV a few years back, though M*A*S*H was treated wayyyy nicer overall). I have the DVR set to grab every ep. I love the entire series, even the last few years when it became an Alan Alda preach-fest (which was the jumping point, IMO).

[Ferrariman]

Lots of good suggestions. Naturally some I agree with and some I don't. One show that didn't jump the shark and had one of the best final episodes I've ever seen was a little known show called "Life" A cop show that starred Damian Lewis & Sarah Shahi and was put on NBC's hitlist after 2 seasons so that alpha hotel Jay Leno could have his 10 PM timeslot! And yes Jay's show jumped the shark faster than any show listed in this thread and I couldn't be happier!