<P> Popularized by radio personality Jon Hein in the 1990s and early 2000s , the phrase derives from a scene in a fifth - season episode of the sitcom Happy Days in which the character Fonzie jumps over a shark while on water - skis . This was deemed a ratings ploy , for it was outside the original thrust of the sitcom . </P>
where does the phrase jumping the shark come from
a scene in a fifth - season episode of the sitcom Happy Days in which the character Fonzie jumps over a shark while on water - skis