When a tv collection turns into a full-fledged hit, creatively and/or commercially, quite a lot of strain is instantly positioned on its showrunner, writers, and producers to maintain their viewers engaged. The trick for these creatives is to present viewers extra of what they love whereas additionally conserving the present from rising stale — however how you can go about this has modified drastically through the years, notably for sitcoms.
When individuals tuned into collection like “The Dick Van Dyke Present,” “The Odd Couple,” and “The Bob Newhart Present,” they weren’t eagerly anticipating the subsequent chapter in an ongoing narrative as they did/do with trendy sitcoms like “Arrested Improvement,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and “Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage.” Whereas these older reveals did function characters making an attempt to attain sure aims over the course of a number of seasons, viewers usually saved coming again simply to see excellent comedic ensembles generate large laughs. And so long as the scores had been adequate to please the community, all they wanted was to not throw gunk within the well-oiled gears.
And but there have been myriad cases all through the historical past of tv of profitable sitcoms needlessly overreaching with Very Particular Episodes. Typically, producers really feel the necessity to generate critical dialogue concerning an essential subject (racism, dependancy, elevator etiquette); different occasions, they merely really feel like letting ‘er rip with a two-part occasion that’ll have everybody yapping. When it really works, you find yourself with “Good-Bye, Radar” on “M*A*S*H.” Whenever you roll snake eyes, you get the three-part catastrophe that’s the “Hollywood” saga on “Pleased Days” and fell a Nielsen scores Goliath.
When the “Hollywood” three-parter kicked off “Pleased Days” season 5, the Garry Marshall-created sitcom was the primary present on tv. For no matter motive, the nostalgia-drenched collection determined it might be enjoyable to yank the present’s forged out of Fifties Milwaukee and set them unfastened on the showbiz capital. It was a can’t-miss TV spectacular that constructed to a climax so completely ridiculous (and antithetical to the present’s important relatability) that, a long time later, it spawned a euphemism for the purpose in a collection’ run the place all the things goes downhill.
Sure, that is the place “leaping the shark” got here from — and it actually refers to a second the place the present’s hottest character, Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli (Henry Winkler), throws on water skis and jumps a Tiger Shark within the Pacific Ocean. If this sounds ridiculous, it was. Why did the collection’ creatives do that, and did it actually kill “Pleased Days?”
