'I lasted until the CGI tiger': Dutiful 'Walking Dead' fans lament over the moment they lost faith in the franchise

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
May 16, 2024 7:00 PM EDT

If you're not familiar with the term 'jumping the shark', it's a phrase that was coined in 1985. Do you remember the show Happy Days? It was the most popular TV show of the time and by the mid-80s, it started to feel like there wasn't much left in the story to tell, but the writers were instructed to push the envelope further and further with each episode, leaving fans with an overall exasperated feeling about the show. When viewers finally had enough, the writers did the unthinkable–they randomly included an insanely impossible stunt where Fonzie jumps over a shark with a pair of waterskis. 

Viewers were outraged and stopped watching the show completely. Hence, the show made them 'jump the shark'. 

This phenomenon has happened countless times since then in the industry and therefore the term has become cemented in TV history. Unfortunately, there are a lot of great shows that were ruined with their own version of 'jumping the shark'. Like in Game of Thrones and the entire last season, or in Buffy the Vampire Slayer where Buffy gets resurrected, or even in Lost where they discover a weird foot statue. 

But the show with the greatest variety of 'jumped shark' moments would have to be The Walking Dead (and subsequent spin-offs). Scroll for all of the moments that made us sigh in exasperation at the zombie show that started it all and sealed its fate as one the most disappointing TV shows of all time. 

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  • 01
    Is "clubbing the Glenn" gonna become the modern version of jumping the shark?
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  • 02
    What show did you start watching but then stopped because you were disappointed?
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  • 03
    VU22 1 day ago walking dead 3.5k Reply Share junktownexpress 1 day ago the Glenn death fake out was the ultimate ". this "moment for me, along with months of terribly boring episodes
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  • 04
    fluffy_bunny_87 23 hr. ago Especially the fake out to then just kill him off a couple episodes later... It felt so forced.
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  • 05
    хвох GoTeamScotch 22 hr. ago After the 2nd (real) time I was like "oh, the writers are just with me, ok". Like guys, you made me cheer Glenn on as he matured and grew. Then you used it against me. I have zero interest in caring about your characters now. Shame. Was a good show early on.
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  • 06
    Dawnawaken92 20 hr. ago I felt the same way I did about him as I did Beth. I loved her. Her dead was unnecessary. 85 Reply Share iFlyskyguy 16 hr. ago COARL!!!
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  • 07
    EdibleAwakening. 15 hr. ago That's when I started losing interest. 6 Reply Share prideorvanity. 4 hr. ago To this day I have not emotionally recovered from Beth :(
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  • 08
    cupholdery 20 hr. ago Y'all made of farther than me. I lost interest midway through Season 2. △ 27 Reply Share JohnZackarias 20 hr. ago Good call! That's when I SHOULD have stopped
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  • 09
    SparxtheDragonGuy 15 hr. ago The first season was good. After that it was just a gory drama. Nothing the whole episode and then EVERYTHING ar the last 5 minutes just to get you to watch the next episode where more nothing happens.
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  • 10
    _Incorporated 21 hr. ago Yeah, I think it took a right around Season 6 for me, and then someone talked me into watching through further, and then it took several more around end of season 7 and early season 8. The show ended at season 5 in my head cannon.
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  • 11
    gringreazy 15 hr. ago That's interesting because I also completely lost interest when Glenn died, however, prior to that, I thought shows in general hanging on to characters seemed too unrealistic and I wanted more realism only to
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  • 12
    have that back fire on me. I think now what makes a good show is a reasonable amount of run time, once you start going more than maybe two seasons or slightly more, it's hard to make a compelling story.
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  • 13
    JustineDelarge. 14 hr. ago That was the last episode of Walking Dead I ever watched, or will watch, mostly for the exact reason you describe.
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  • 14
    beams_FAW 23 hr. ago Just in: AMC creates new walking dead series based on the third cousin first removed of side character involved in two episodes....
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  • 15
    ecafsub 1 day ago edited 16 hr. ago I wanted to like Fear the Walking Dead because it was filmed nearby. I've seen many a game at Dell Diamond (edit: they used it for the encampment). Just couldn't.
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  • 16
    Now Wait-4-Last_Year 23 hr. ago I thought Fear the Walking Dead was going to be showing us the government, police, army, scientists and so on dealing with the early days of the crisis and we'd end up with survivors from each group as a group going ahead.
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  • 17
    Instead, we got whatever it is that we got. I would rate at least two of the episodes in the first season including the last one an F grade and I was not back for Season 2.
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  • 18
    CruelHandLuke_ . 1 day ago It should have been a 4 season show. Decline of humanity. The struggle against the dead and living and then whatever the new world would.look like as experienced through the relationship between father and son. Instead it.went so far off the rails that I couldn't even explain it to someone whose never seen the show.
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  • 19
    Dirt_E_Harry 1 day ago Same, right after they killed off Glenn. 349 Reply Share blazze eternal. 23 hr. ago Everyone I know stopped watching then. I lasted until the cgi tiger...
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  • 20
    UhOhFeministOnReddit 1 day ago I lasted until they killed off Carl. And like, it wasn't that I especially liked his character on the show, because Riggs didn't have the acting chops, but he was still very necessary to Rick's character. Plus,
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  • 21
    I think it was around this time that FTWD was becoming much better than TWD, then that show got ran all the way off the rails. Nuclear spaghetti western was.... it was a choice.
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  • 22
    ViolentVBC 23 hr. ago Is "clubbing the Glenn" gonna become the modern version of jumping the shark?
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fear the walking dead relatable fandom TV tv show jump the shark zombie zombie apocalypse fans The Walking Dead jumping the shark
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