Quite high on the list of phrases I don't get to say often enough is this one- "jumping the shark."
For those of you not up on your slightly obscure TV jargon, the term refers to the moment in a television franchise when you stop believing it. When something so totally ridiculous happens that you can't suspend disbelief any more. It’s the moment when a show once and for all looses credibility.
(Here’s a fun fact- the origin of the term is an episode of Happy Days when Fonzie literally jumped over a shark on a jet ski.)
I’ve always been a little sad that I couldn’t list a specific example of the phenomena. The moment in Doctor Who when The Master started shooting Sith lightening and jumping over rubbish tips came close, but then Moffat came along and made Doctor Who good again. There were no significant sharks jumped. Its hard to sound like an obnoxious TV-nerd without examples.
Be careful what you wish for.
Misfits is a great show. I remember watching series 1 and thinking “Wow. This is actually something NEW.” Along with Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes and Being Human, it marked what seemed like a new genre. A kind of super-real super-natural drama. Gritty and unbelievable all at once. And I was EXCITED by that. When Robert Sheehan (who played Nathan) announced he was leaving at the end of series 2 I was as sad as the next fan-girl. I had that feeling. That awful creeping feeling that they should stop. That the show should cut its looses and quit while it was ahead.
Thing is I’ve thought that a lot. The moments when a show surprises you and is GOOD when you are so convinced it will be bad, are the reason I watch TV. Misfits was that kind of show from the very beginning. So I had faith. And the beginning of series 3 showed promise. I liked Rudy. I liked that he almost, but not quite, replaced Nathan. I was intrigued to see what our (anti)heroes would do with their new powers.
Then it happened.
That Hitler episode. If you’ve seen series 3 of Misfits, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Now I like a good bit of time travel. And some people will quote me out of context as saying I like Hitler. But WHAT THE HELL. There was not a moment of this episode I believed. When it was over I wanted quite desperately to retcon the whole thing from my brain and pretend it never happened. Its like that quote from Sherlock- you believe the lie because it is wrapped in a layer of truth.
Misfits had just discarded the flimsy shiny outside wrapper and the boiled lolly underneath looked awfully like someone had sucked on it and dropped it on the ground a few times.
So in the next episode when they DISCONNECTED A GIRL FROM LIFE SUPPORT and transported her to the COMMUNITY CENTRE in the BACK OF A CAR. I couldn't just ignore that blatant disregard for logic. Don't even get me started on that episode with the zombies and the iguana.
I’m still watching Misfits. And I want to like it, I really do. But its lost me. Its hard to say if the scripts and the acting is the same as it ever was. It certainly doesn’t FEEL that way. But what’s really changed is me. I don’t care anymore. I don’t want to know how Simon becomes future Simon. I don’t care if Kelly lives happily ever after with The Powers Man. I don’t care if Curtis ever manages to get a decent power or some proper character development.
I. Just. Don’t. Care.
I’ll keeping watching though. Partly out of misguided optimism. Partly out of loyalty to a once amazing show. Mostly because I wouldn’t put it past Misfits to cut their loses and throw in an actual shark. And I wouldn’t want to miss that.
