Jumped The Shark

See, in one episode of Happy Days, after they'd been on the air for a while and had basically run out of ideas but didn't want to admit it and thus lose their jobs, the Fonz wound up involved in a water-skiing competition. Long story short, disaster is narrowly averted when the Fonz, instead of the ramp, launches himself into the air via a conveniently-angled shark's back.

The Internet being what it is, "jumped the shark" has come to refer to the point in any series where things hit the lowest possible point, and you can stop watching with little to no fear of missing anything worthwhile. DigitalSentience

Don't listen to this guy. It refers to the "great hero" Peleps Coruman, who claimed that his legs were so nimble that they could carry him across the surface of the seas in which the king shark Jaws-Like-Storm dwelt in a single bound. He leapt and the king shark leapt; the king shark landed in the water and the "hero" landed in the king shark.

Thus, this phrase refers to desperate attempts to improve one's image which fail disastrously. -Ben-San

I can't tell if this guy's being serious or not. I'm pretty sure it was the Fonz, and I'm pretty sure the Fonz could never be killed by some measly little shark. - DigitalSentience

Man, you've both got it wrong! It's a reference to the First Age Lunar Clangs-As-He-Walks, who, in his boredom, was well-known for taking any bet or dare that anyone laid at his feet. One day a rival of his wife challenged him to a contest of athletics: jumping across a wide canal that Clangs-As-He-Walks's opponent had arranged to have swarming with siaka. He accepted, of course, and a week later they met at the canal. The Solar managed to spring across, nimble as a gazelle, but when Clangs-As-He-Walks leapt, he misjudged and was about to crash-land in the water halfway across the canal -- when his Lunar magnetism kicked in and one of the siaka rose to the surface to let him land upon it. They say that Clangs-As-He-Walks sprang to the far shore using siaka like stepping-stones, laughing all the while. Thus, to "jump the shark" is to do what the Solar did -- arrange an elaborate, unlikely stunt only to be upstaged and seem more foolish and clumsy than before you begun, whether through failure or through the magnificent success of your opponents. -- AntiVehicleRocket

Why? Why are you doing this to me? I'm so confused! - DigitalSentience

The impression that I got is that it's a reference to Cliff-Where-Nine-Jesters-Jumped, the Shark God, who rules over mediocre entertainment in the West. He reports to Fakharu, though he is not welcome in the Court. Whenevered Jumped The Shark visits a team of entertainers, they lose inspiration. He's like an antimuse. -TedPro, unless I am just teasing