MovieChat Forums > Who's the Boss? (1984) Discussion > When the show 'Jumped the shark'

When the show 'Jumped the shark'

posted 12 years ago by OliverGbyrne
24 replies | jump to latest

"Whos the boss" is one of my favourite sitcom ever because it's just a huge part of my childhood. Never missed an episode and I grew up from a toddler into a young teen while it was on TV.
I have every episode recorded from when it was shown on Nick at nite and I decided to revisit the show from start to finish as an adult.
And watching it , I realised that the show did end at the right time.
I love season one to six but the last two season were just very poor in terms of writing.
For me there are a couple of things that made the show "Jump the shark"

1- BILLY!!! - I HATE season seven in general , nothing felt right but the worst crime of that season is the introduction of a little boy named Billy. The writers probably felt that with the two kids grown up it was time to bring new blood but it was a really bad idea. The kid did not gel with the rest of the cast.It felt like we were being manipulated by the producers and writer into loving that new character. You could tell they were planning of having Billy being a regular on the show, the kid even had is own room in the Bower's residence but thank goodness the public has spoken and after a ratings drop everybody got their common sense back and realised that it did not work. Season 8 was Billy free so we could concentrate again on the original cast.

2- Jonathan- From sweet nerdy kid to selfish and mean teenager.

Up till season six Jonathan was good kid but with season seven , they turned him into a real diva lol Every time he was on screen in the last two season was to either put Samantha down or make a nasty remark about something.
EX: in Season 8 a Baseball star gives him a signed ball , Angela say to Jonathan . You'll be able to put this one with the one Tony has signed for you- Jonathan answer : No way I will never throw that one down the closed.
It just bugged me because for the first six season I really liked the relationship between him and Tony and starting with season 7 , it went up all of the window. It felt like Jonathan could not care less about Tony or anyone for that matter. He became almost unlikeable and he was not the same kid from the previous season , I blame this on the terrible writing of the last two season.

3- The ending felt flat.

Well...not much to say on that one that was not said before. I loved the all it finished like it started vibe at the end of the three part finale but the rest of the last three episode were just boring to be frank. The last episode should have been about the all Bowers/Micceli family , all of the characters should have had one last moment to shine but we did not get this. The last episode like the rest of the last two season was just poorly executed.

4- There was just a feeling of "we dont care anymore"

The last two seasons episodes felt rush , there was none of the sweet moments you will often gets between the characters that we were used to in the previous seasons. The last two seasons were missing a heart and some episodes felt cartoonish.

Yep of course that is my personal opinion but I was really surprised when watching all the episodes together by just how much superior seasons 1 to 6 where compared to season 7 and 8. The last two season almost felt like a different show and it made me a bit sad and it also made me understand the ratings drop and the reason for the show cancellation.

[–] TMC-4 12 years ago

BUMP:
http://www.bonethefish.com/viewtopics.php?409

[–] TMC-4 11 years ago

https://web.archive.org/web/20070110201047/http://www.jumptheshark.com /w/whostheboss.htm

[–] punkgirly 9 years ago

I sure as heck hope that the entire list on that link was composed by numerous users....because that' a LOT of thinking about the show. I hope it wasn't the work of one person!

I think that the show jumped the shark when Sam went to college, Jonathan's voice changed, and Billy joined the show to bring in some youth (I think that this was all within a year or two?)

[–] TMC-4 (20179) 3 years ago

If you randomly stumble upon a rerun of Who's the Boss?, here are some tell-tale signs that you're watching an episode from the post-"jump the shark" period:

*Sam has short hair and is in college.

*Mona's red hair has a darker shade to it.

*Billy and/or Hank, Sam's eventual husband is featured.

*Jonathan is an awkward teenager.

*The episodes start with a cold opening scene instead of going straight to the opening credits.

*A saxophone is played during the "Brand New Life" theme.

*Tony has a buzzcut instead of his normal, floppy, over-the-ears hairstyle.

*The episodes are directed by Tony Singletary.

[–] millsey72 (10363) 3 years ago

I guess I'm in the minority but I thought each season was better than the previous one

[–] Venilaa 12 years ago

I'd say it was around season 5. That was around the time when Tony became such a ridiculous character

[–] Frankie16 12 years ago

When Tony went to college was when it started to jump for me. Also, Sam marrying that guy and Jonathan's teen years were terrible.

[–] JC_Aliss 11 years ago

Sam marrying her whirlwind boyfriend while a college sophomore (of freshman age, I might add--don't forget she graduated high school a year early) was so ridiculous I still think that was one of the biggest speed bumps this show ever had.

[–] TMC-4 (20179) 2 years ago

Why did Sam want to marry Hank so badly in the first place? To put things into perspective, Sam had only known and dated Hank for six months. And Hank's character was only introduced about four episodes prior to them getting married. In comparison, Tony and Angela had known each other for seven and a half years before even contemplating marriage.

And Angela herself, got married to her college sweetheart (not Michael, Jonathan's father, but Brian Thomas) when she was still really young. It's kind of surprising that Angela didn't remind Sam about the risks of impulsively getting married at a decidedly immature time in your life.

We don't know anything about Hank or if he's truly good marriage material for Sam. At first, it appears that Tony likes Hank because he thinks that as a premed doctor, Sam is actually dating somebody who is "legit". But then the truth comes out that he only studied to be a doctor to appease his father and really wants to be a puppeteer.

All that we're told is that Sam loves Hank and that's it. It would probably make more sense if Sam wanted to get married as a means of escaping her overprotective dad, Tony's control. Or if Sam found out that she was pregnant with Hank's baby (although I doubt the show would actually go to than extreme) and held a shotgun wedding.

The point is that, why did Sam feel the need to elope instead of taking her time? It just made her come across as completely arrogant and reckless. It just felt like Sam did it to spite Tony because she believed that she didn't have to adhere to his rules and guidance anymore.

[–] utgard14 11 years ago

I've been catching the show in reruns lately from the first episode to the end of season four. I've definitely noticed over the course of S4 that I haven't been liking it as much as the first three seasons. I think there's several reasons for this.

1) The will they/won't they is getting old. By the end of season four both acknowledge their attraction and feelings for one another, yet they still do nothing about it. Kind of hard to be invested in that part of the show if they don't even seem to be.

2) The kids aren't cute anymore. Jonathan's sole purpose at this point seems to be to pop up with something stupid to say every so often. Sam is no longer a tomboy but an increasingly annoying teenager. She seems so shallow and self-centered it's hard to imagine it's the little girl from Brooklyn.

3) Mona's schtick doesn't work anymore. We get it. You're an old slut like the Golden Girls. The difference is they were funny.

4) Scott Bloom. Hated Jesse from his first appearance. This was the beginning of what I remember to be many terrible cast additions for the rest of the series.

[–] OliverGbyrne 11 years ago

Mona's schtick doesn't work anymore. We get it. You're an old slut like the Golden Girls. The difference is they were funny.

lol This made me laugh ...

[–] Bubzilla 11 years ago

It jumped when Tony and Angela became a couple. They became such a nauseating and loveydovey. Also when Tony became a yuppie of sorts and kind of lost his bluecollar charm

[–] mwmtampa 8 years ago

Billy.

Generally, the introduction of a strange kid spells ruination (think "Oliver").

[–] chriscr-2 8 years ago

4th season was the last good season. Everything after that sucks. Tony was just a tool. It's too bad only the 1st season is available on dvd. I was hoping Visual Entertainment from Canada would pick this series up and put out some more seasons. Right now, I'd settle for Mill Creek Entertainment and that's pretty bad.

[–] TMC-4 (20179) 3 years ago

To tell you the truth with the recent benefit of Who's the Boss? airing constantly on GAC Family, Sam's drastic changes in her hairstyle beginning in the middle of the sixth season is around the time that I really start to lose interest in the show. What I mean is that Sam with short-hair pretty much coincides with the big "shark jumping" moments of the show like Tony and Angela officially getting together, Tony and Mona's characters arguably undergoing severe cases of Flanderization, the introduction of Billy, and Sam's rushed marriage to Hank.

And maybe the petty and shallow part in me says that Alyssa Milano was "messing with perfection" because she was arguably the most beautiful that she had ever looked come the start of Season 6 and the season premiere episode in Jamaica. And I do suspect that a lot of teen viewers (especially boys) were turned off not only by Sam's abrupt maturity/evolution in the last few years of the show.

[–] millsey72 (10363) 3 years ago

To me, the show went downhill after the 4th episode in season 1

[–] Shibez (914) 3 years ago

Ok smartass

[–] PumpkinLumpkin (72) 2 years ago

I just finished watching the entire series on GAC Family. I completely agree that the last two seasons were terrible. I enjoyed the show up until season 6, but after that it went downhill. The worst part of Season 7 was the Billy character. Just awful. Typical cousin oliver syndrome. If a long running show resorts to adding a cute kid to the cast, it's time to pull the plug. He was a terrible addition to the show. He didn't fit in and felt out of place. He wasn't cute, had an one of the most annoying voices I heard from a kid, and he was such a bad actor. Too many episodes where he was the focus. Suddenly, Tony and Angela are clueless buffoons who don't know how to handle a kid when they've raised each of their own?

By the time Season 8 came around, I lost complete interest in the show. The show just got stupid and boring. You can tell the writers were running out of ideas. The episode where they parodied Stephen King's Misery? Terrible. Sam and Angela meet a man at the spa that looks exactly like Tony (dual role), but with a mustache? Lame.

Danny Pintuaro is painful to watch. Any scene with him is complete cringe. Dude can't act if his life depended on it. He always sounds like he's reading off cue cards. He sticks out like a sore thumb because the rest of the cast is great. And then writing Jonathan as horny girl chaser? Puh lease..... When Pintuaro hit puberty anybody with a brain could clearly see he was gay. But by this point he was reduced to walk in the kitchen, say a line, and leave the room.

Why were the writers hellbent on having Samantha grow up so fast? She skips her senior year of high school to start college? They marry her off at 18 years old to a guy were barely know or care about? Sam getting married came out of nowhere and felt like a last minute idea. By the time Samantha started college and cut her hair her character got boring.

Another show that ran one season too long imo.

The only positive is Angela's hair and wardrobe was a huge improvement. Judith Light looked her best during the last two seasons of the show.

[–] millsey72 (10363) 2 years ago

The last 2 seasons were the best. Little Billy was so cute and his character was so likable in season 7. Jonathan was so funny as the girl chaser. Loved the spots he was in and wish he was in more scenes. Sam's marriage was handled great and it got proper build up. Seeing Tony and Angela go nuts over each other in the last season was wonderful and long time in the making. I just don't understand your post.

[–] TMC-4 (20179) 2 years ago

Is Tony Singletary most to blame for the decline in quality in the last two seasons? Seasons 7-8, the last two seasons, seem to by consensus, be the worst seasons of Who's the Boss? This coincided with Tony Singletary replacing Asaad Kelada as the primary director.

Once Singletary came on board, it really felt like the show became more rushed, cartoonish, and farcical but without much of the heart as seen in the previous seasons. There was seemingly, a greater emphasis on wacky, slapstick to put it in another way. Of course, it's hard to lay blame on Singletary for other questionable storyline choices and plot developments like having Billy join the cast or marrying Samantha off to some random guy in the final few episodes.

For the record, here is a list of the writers who contributed to the final two seasons:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086827/fullcredits?ref_=tt_rv

*Dawn Aldredge and Mona Marshall
http://reviewingeverytvshowiown.blogspot.com/2017/05/whos-boss-choose-me.html

*Richard Albrecht and Casey Keller
http://reviewingeverytvshowiown.blogspot.com/2017/05/whos-boss-hey-dude.html

*Gene Braunstein
http://reviewingeverytvshowiown.blogspot.com/2017/05/whos-boss-parental-guidance-suggested.html

*Phil Doran
http://reviewingeverytvshowiown.blogspot.com/2017/05/whos-boss-party-politics.html

*Mark Fink
http://reviewingeverytvshowiown.blogspot.com/2017/07/whos-boss-savor-veal-part-1.html

*Clay Graham

*Neil Lebowitz

*David Lesser

*Daniel Palladino

*Bob Rosenfarb

*Michael Teverbaugh and Linda Va Salle
http://reviewingeverytvshowiown.blogspot.com/2017/05/whos-boss-one-flew-over-empty-nest.html

*Barry Vigon and Deborah Leschin
http://reviewingeverytvshowiown.blogspot.com/2017/05/whos-boss-whos-minding-kid.html

*Michele J. Wolff
http://reviewingeverytvshowiown.blogspot.com/2017/05/whos-boss-tony-and-angela-get-divorced.html

[–] punkrockgirl (1270) 2 years ago

I watched this show for the first time recently and the episode I watched was from season 6 I believe. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed it. Maybe it's because I didn't know what to expect. All I knew about it was the famous tension between the two main characters. I sit with my wheelchair bound grandma in the mornings and it came on TV, so I just gave it a try. Then later I saw the pilot since it's free on YouTube. It's a very funny show and I thought the script is very well written.

[–] onemanarmy82 (1764) 2 years ago

2 things made me think it jumped the shark:

1. Tony (especially) but, Sam as well becoming WASPs

2. Going with everyone else on Billy!

[–] TMC-4 (20179) 2 years ago

If anything, Sam marrying Hank was a bigger "jump the shark" moment over Billy because at least, you could in theory, easily write Billy out and act like he never existed. You couldn't exactly do that with Hank since he was now Sam's husband. I'm guessing that because he came along right towards the very end of the series (instead of being there virtually the entire season like Billy was the year before), he isn't scrutinized as much. It's also much easier to pick on Billy because he fit in the tried and true "Cousin Oliver" trope.

[–] TMC-4 (20179) 2 years ago

When Did Who’s the Boss? Jump the Shark?

https://popculturereferences.com/when-did-whos-the-boss-jump-the-shark/

The show definitely was feeling its age by its fifth season, as you really can’t sustain “Will they or won’t they?” for more than four seasons with it hurting the show, but I think that even if you think Season 5 was too long for the quasi-romance, I think it wasn’t a huge drop-off from Season 4, more of a gradual decline, so I will go with instead the Season 6 premiere, “In Search of Tony,” when the whole family goes to Jamaica for vacation, and Tony and Angela make out….