(Sept. 17, 2002)
No man is more qualified to be interviewed on PK.com than Jon Hein, the founder of JumpTheShark.com and author of the appropriately named book "Jump the Shark," in which he details the moments "when things go bad — terribly, irrevocably bad" for everything from television shows to music, celebrities to politicians, and even sports franchises.
I was lucky enough to get my hands on an advance copy of Jon's book and he was nice enough to answer 12 stupid questions from yours truly about the Jump the Shark phenomenon. And, wouldn't you know it, he answered every one perfectly. No wonder he's a regular guest on Howard Stern's radio show.
Enjoy...
Site: JumptheShark.com
Description: Chronicles the precise moments when any television show goes
bad
Webmaster Name: Jon Hein
Webmaster E-mail: jon@jumptheshark.com
Birth Date of Site: Dec. 25, 1997
Traffic Data: A little over one million uniques generating 6-8 million page views
1. Of all the Jump the Shark instigators, who seems to draw the most ire for ruining a good thing? My vote would be for that piss-ant Sam from "Diff'rent Strokes." Everyone knows there's room for only one twerp on each sitcom.
Cousin Oliver from The Brady Bunch could be Sam's roommate, but the one that that gets the most abuse (rightfully so) is Scrappy Doo from Scooby Doo. I know people who still won't watch Saturday morning cartoons due to the after effects of puppy power.
2. I know Ted McGinley takes a lot of flak for ruining "Happy Days," "The Love Boat" and "Married With Children," but has anyone mastered the role of the 26-year-old college student as well as he did on the big screen in "Revenge of the Nerds?"
He was great as QB Stan Gable in Nerds, but the power of our patron saint doesn't only apply to his television exploits. Most recently, Ted had a brief part in the cinematic epic, Pearl Harbor. Do I need to go on?
3. I was saddened to find that my most hated show show ever, "One Day at a Time," was not included in your book. Shall we just chalk up the fateful moment to when CBS agreed to produce a comedy about women's liberation? Let me repeat: comedy AND women's liberation.
You can never have too much Schneider, but I always found the comedy to be in the multi-talented Bonnie Franklin, the disappearing/reappearing Mackenzie Phillips, the hot future Mrs. Eddie Van Halen, and of course, Glenn Scarpelli, who was often confused with a young Adrian Zmed.
4. On a popular Howard Stern site, you share placement on a list of popular guests with Andrea ("The world's dumbest stripper"), Elephant Boy and King of All Blacks. Are you now ready to die and go to heaven?
I'm truly humbled to be mentioned in the same breath with any member of the Wack Pack. It doesn't get much better than that.
5. One of the great things about your book is that it covers downfalls in industries other than television programming — including politics, sports, celebrities and music. Will these categories be added to your web site so I can tell the world that it was all over for Aerosmith once they let MTV get up their ass like a rectal thermometer?
Absolutely. The world needs to be reminded of Dan Quayle's spelling, the Red Sox selling Babe Ruth to the Yankees, Kevin Costner appearing in Waterworld, and the feature film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
6. So, what's it like behind the scenes at jumptheshark.com? Are you a one-man 'Net empire, or do you have a staff? Can people still express their hatred for Sam the Butcher or is everything archived at this point?
I update the site every night, so the content is always fresh. Melissa Walker handles the trivia page, Stump the Shark, but the rest of the site is all me. If the networks keep cranking out shows like Emeril, I'll continue to provide this public service.
7. Honestly, man, have you ever seen a more depressing singles scene than the Regal Beagle? The friggin' bar was four feet long with two old bottles of scotch behind it. And would you want to have a conversation with that dimwit bartender, Mike?
The scarier part had to be who the resident stud was... none other than Larry Dallas. This was the equivalent of Dr. Adam Bricker being the gigolo on the Pacific Princess. When Richard Kline appeared in the opening credits, you knew Three's Company had jumped the shark.
8. What show has had the most attempts at Jumping the Shark? For example, "The Love Boat" was so blatantly trying to ruin itself (knee-high socks, token black female guests hooking up with the token black bartender, ugly cruise director, special guest B-list celebs, Ted McGinley, Charo) that you could almost run out of server space picking it apart.
Ally McBeal. I think they hit every category we have...They Did It, Death, Singing, A Very Special episode...David E. Kelley has no fear of the fin.
8. Do you fear that doing this interview might make Jump the Shark, um, jump the shark?
If Barbara Walters refers to it, then I'll know it jumped.
10. Have you ever seen a grown man naked?
I also like movies about gladiators.
11. I'd always thought the Winnie chick on "The Wonder Years" would grow into being a babe. But it didn't happen. Can you believe Punky Brewster is so much hotter than her today?
I often wonder what happened to Wanda from Doogie Howser, M.D.
12. What's the most blatant jump the shark move? I mean, has the Same Character/Different Actor thing ever worked? And why couldn't they try it for Bonnie Franklin?
Having a baby. There is no tastier shark bait. Can you think of one show that got better after adding a baby to the cast? Mad About You, Murphy Brown, Family Ties, V...the list is endless. As for Same Character/Different Actor, at least Roseanne acknowledged it on air when she brought back the original Becky. The Jeffersons shouldn't have been switching Lionel's on us, but the classic example has to be when they switch Dicks on Bewitched.
Wow, is Jon a fountain of pop knowledge or what? I've learned so much by doing this interview ... people thought Adrian Zmed would stoop so low as to be on One Day at a Time? C'mon people. The man CARRIED Grease 2 to the cool-riding classic that it is. And I should have known Ted McGinley had something to do with Pearl Harbor. God, can you read this line and not laugh out loud?: "Not anxious to die, sir. Just anxious to matter." Who got overpaid to write that stuff?
Well, the book is even better, trust me. Jon knows every TV show inside and out, and is astute enough to ponder how the Skipper managed to keep his gut on Gilligan's Island. I guess he ate the coconuts from the fatty side of the island.
You can meet Jon Hein on Thursday, Sept. 19 at 7: p.m. at Barnes & Noble, 675 Sixth Ave. in New York City.
Buy the book "Jump the Shark"
Oct. 6, 2002 — TracyLines.com — Model/actress Tracy Lines
Sept. 17, 2002 — JumpTheShark.com — Jon Hein on his popular site and new book
Sept. 17, 2002 — idreamofkerri.com — Atlanta model Kerri
Sept. 2, 2002 — LisaMenuto.com — Model Lisa Menuto
July 21, 2002 — Kelli Graham.com — Model/actress Kelli Graham
July 14, 2002 — YourDreamModel.com — Detroit babe Chrissy
July 14, 2002 — WhosNYC.com — The craziest bar on Manhattan's Upper East Side
June 30, 2002 — RoundCardGirlz.com — Boxing and babes. We like the babes better
June 16, 2002 — SomeIdiot.com — A longtime leader in the e/n scene
June 9, 2002 — SportsByBrooks.com — Sports, beer and babes in Los Angeles
June 2, 2002 — MurphGuide.com — Connecting fun people through parties and events in NYC
May 26, 2002 — Honeygirlx.com — Blonde bombshell makes your fantasies come true on posters
May 19, 2002 — MirandaRox.com — Michigan model and Playboy hopeful Miranda
May 12, 2002 — CamGirlDirectory.com — A directory for camgirl sites, sortable by popluarity and location
May 5, 2002 — GoShannon.com — Model/actress/entrepreneur and overall hot babe
April 28, 2002 — NYCBP.com — Pictures and stories of New York city bartenders and patrons whooping it up
April 21, 2002 — GuyCritical.com — Where women ask men anything and have it answered anonymously
April 14, 2002 — Networkinggirl.com — A singles-event planner in New York City
Want to be interviewed? E-mail Paul.
