Carolyn said -
I don't think B7 EVER "jumped the shark."
I do like the Jump the Shark concept. It's such a useful phrase, once you hear it you know it identifies a real thing, which never had a name before.
I agree that B7 never jumped, and I think that's because it didn't drag itself on past its natural lifespan. The start of S4 seemed like it, but then it pulled itself together with some real blinders. Servalan coming back from the dead almost did it. But no.
Some TV series manage to have moments you would be sorry to have missed, in the dry dead hinterland beyond the shark. For example Rimmer and Lister finally getting a snog in. But I don't think S4 is in that category. The last few eps are just so strong.
Thinking more about it. None of the S4 characters mutated beyond plausibility. They changed, but you could still join the dots back to where they were before. So you can still say 'this is the same show, in the same universe'.
Anyway, I think premature curtailment is more of a feature of British TV than implausible extension.
Alison
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