Did Buffy ever "jumped the shark" ?

[Pandora's_Box]

What's a "jump the shark" ?

Spoiler:

It was to do with an "Happy Days" episode where Fonzy jump above a shark on water skis...The simple idea is funny enough but with the poor special effects it's hilarious...So since that, when characters do something which doesn't appears really credible, or something seems "too much" we call it a "jump the shark"...

Give your jump the shark and if you can some alternative or solution to avoid that "jts"...

So I'm gonna start with the two I can see right now:

Anya decapitates a Turok-Han_Chosen
Buffy has all the difficulties in the world to kill the first one, so sure her and the "new slayers" kill em easily but okay, we could say that the first Turok-Han was stronger or Buffy not really prepared...But Anya, she's a human, she's not even supposed to scratch him, like cutting into steel...
Alternative: Easy, we know the scoobies block some entries...Just had to say they're blocking entries to stop the Turok-Han from going outside the basement and then the "civilians" just had to fight the Bringers.

Giles haven't touched a single thing in weeks_The Killer In Me
After Robson call, everyone suspect Giles of being the first and try to remember seeing him touching anything and...They don't ??? Sure during the four episodes we don't see him touching anything but, come on!!! Four episodes, that's probably weeks cosidering the number of new potentials between those, and Giles haven't touched a single thing in weeks, what ? He doesn't eat, doesn't shave, doesn't wash, he never opened a door, a closet, never touched anyone, never took a book, a weapon....Come on!!
Alternative: None. Sure it brings the funny "hug group scene", but I can't imagine some character not touching anything during more than one hour, two hours top.

Okay this is your turn....

[Anon]

Spoiler:

It was to do with an "Happy Days" episode where Fonzy jump above a shark on water skis...The simple idea is funny enough but with the poor special effects it's hilarious...So since that, when characters do something which doesn't appears really credible, or something seems "too much" we call it a "jump the shark"...

I always thought the point about that scene, and the saying it gave rise to, was that it was generally agreed to be the moment from which the series went downhill. I can't name any moment like that for BtVS.

[omri]

Ummmm i think if we really think of it... we will find it. like... how come vampire can burn in the sun in an instent... but spike or angel takes time to get burn...
not credible...

[KingofCretins]

Yeah, this isn't really quite correct as to what 'jumping the shark' means. A show jumps the shark when it just loses its credibility, when its obviously just goofing around, the writers are lazy, the actors are lazy, etc. That's why on that site you have whole categories devoted to shows jumping the shark when two characters have sex, when someone gets pregnant, when there's a Very Special Episode, when there's a goofy guest star, etc.

The actual Fonzy jumping the shark incident wasn't about it straining plausibility, it was because it was this asinine, ostentatious stunt that did nothing for the show and was just a ploy to draw in viewers. The show made itself into a joke.

Different examples at which people think Buffy jumped the shark are when Dawn showed up, Spuffy, graduating high school. I don't really think Buffy ever jumped. It was still more or less honest and coherent all the way through the televised seasons. If I had to find a shark, it would be Spuffy.

[ThePoet's<3]

The Dawn Story.

What? We all just got out of the shower together and noticed that Buffy has a sister named Dawn?? Come on...

But see the problem with Sharks and Buffy is that BtVS is about "weird stuff" so it can easily be explained away as people dying a "mystical death" or spells to return folks from the dead, or Vampire's with Souls, ex-demons, or a Vampire Slayer falling in love with a Vampire...

[vampmogs]

Yeah I agree with others who have stated that this isn't what jumping the shark actually means. It is when the series went downhill, when it did something so laughable that the series looses all credibility, basically it is when a series has just gone on to long. IMO s7 was a let down but it was never jumping the shark so i think it never really did.

The Dawn Story.

What? We all just got out of the shower together and noticed that Buffy has a sister named Dawn?? Come on...

See I think if Dawn had showed up and was never a mystical key and had always existed.. only Buffy and Joyce had failed to ever mention her.. that'd be jumping the shark. However, I think the building of everyone's memories and the entire idea behind Dawn was really clever.

[Veverka]

See I think if Dawn had showed up and was never a mystical key and had always existed.. only Buffy and Joyce had failed to ever mention her.. that'd be jumping the shark. However, I think the building of everyone's memories and the entire idea behind Dawn was really clever.

I agree with Mogs here
And I also agree with the idea that Jumping the Shark means pinpointing the moment the series starts to go downhill. That's how it was always explained to me. The Anya/Turok Han thing etc. is just inconsistencies, ooc etc.

I don't honestly believe Buffy jumped the shark to any full extent. (Sometimes I think Angel did, but that's another thread!) I would say, however, there were moments where it maybe came close... like when Buffy's house filled with annoying potentials which took screen time from characters whose storylines had previously been driving the show. (Hence it going very suddenly imo from a character driven to a plot driven show.)

[vampmogs]

I agree with Veverka in saying if there was any a time the show could have jumped the shark it would have been s7. I know some people who felt it did jump the shark with the whole Turok Han army, they felt it was way overboard and just too silly. I tended to like it, it gave a good epic feel but must admit that it didn't feel like Btvs to me.

[Steppin' Razor]

Is it possible to jump the shark in both directions?

May sound strange, but it's how I personally feel about the series. I think that sometime during seasons 5 and 6 the shark was "jumped" a few times. I'm not sure I can put my finger on it, but I think there were several episodes where the show either lost it's way or found it again. Either way, I think by the middle of 7, Joss put his hand firmly on the tiller, and the show ended on a good note.

SR

[Big Bad]

Yeah, this isn't really quite correct as to what 'jumping the shark' means.

Ditto. Some people would claim that Buffy jumped the shark when it moved to UPN and she was brought back to life.

I personally don't think Buffy ever really jumped the shark, but it did make a few passes "around the shark", so to speak.

[Afterglow]

Ditto to the others who offered other definitions for "jump the shark."

I don't think the show ever jumped the shark. I think the show maintained a very high quality over the seven years and continously kept me on the edge of my seat and craving more, which is quite impressive and definitely no easy feat. The term "jump the shark" is quite a personal thing anyway, everyone will have their own tastes and ideas of when a show started to lose credibility (which thankfully BTVS never did, in my opinion).