I'm really not a fan of the term "jump the shark," which people like to whip out on the Internet every time a television show has a controversial storyline or less than successful plot twist.  In my opinion, it's impossible to know if a show has jumped until it's been terrible for at least a couple of seasons.  For example, it's safe to say that Heroes fell to its death sometime during the awful season 1 finale, but it's far too early to declare Grey's Anatomy ruined just because Izzie slept with a ghost last week.  The shark is jumped only when a series stumbles mightily and never recaptures its former glory.

The only reason I bring up this completely overused term is because I've seen people complaining that Smallville has jumped the shark in recent seasons.  Are these people crazy or do they actually have a point?

One problem with declaring a show jumped is that viewers can never agree on when the jump took place.  Over at JumptheShark.com, former Smallville fans have numerous opinions on when the show took a nosedive.  Some think it was when Lana dumped Clark for Lex, others think it was the addition of Lois Lane, some think Martha's exit killed the show, and others think Doomsday being reinterpreted as Davis Bloome was the last straw.  Reading the comments on the site is like swimming through pure, undiluted negativity.  I don't recommend it.

I'd be lying if I said that Smallville never had a storyline that bothered me.  I wasn't a fan of the never ending Clark and Lana drama, and I'd rather not remember the ridiculous Lex and Lana relationship.  However, every show has its ups and downs, and every show has some plot lines that work better than others.  These mistakes can be show killers if the writers never recover from them (see: Heroes), but usually they're just bumps along the road that the audience must endure while the series regains its footing.  The desire to jump on a show and declare it dead every time there's a poor plot line is extremely annoying.

I've endured a few bothersome story lines in my years as a Smallville fan, but the show hasn't jumped the shark.  Season 8 is easily one of the best years the series has ever had.  Smallville may have lost its creators and a few actors at the end of season 7, but I think the shake-ups helped to revitalize the show and bring new focus to Clark's journey.  This is just another case of people declaring a series dead when it still has plenty of life left in it.


- Don Williams, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image courtesy of the CW)