If you read series, do you ever find a series “jumping the shark?” How do you feel about that?
And, do you keep reading anyway?
I have to say, I don’t encounter this particular phenomenon in books as much as I do in television (I stopped watching House and Heroes for this reason). Authors, especially authors sitting on a well-received book series, don’t have that same sort of desire to desperately grab an audience; their audience, they and their production teams reason, is loyal and built-in. I have to say, though, that I don’t often pursue the open-ended series that might be tempted to jump the shark; I prefer a series with an end in mind.
That being said, I think Breaking Dawn, the last installment in the much-reviled Twilight series, is the only piece of shark-jumping I’ve encountered so far. But it didn’t just jump the shark, it played jump rope with it, and I was delighted by how the series collapsed in on itself and revealed its true colors (complete wish fulfillment, with added werewolf pedophilia). I’m actually, when I can get some time, writing a paper on the series. Usually, however, if a book appears to have jumped the shark, I’ll finish that book and then drop the series.
That is interesting to hear about the Twilight series. I haven’t read it, probably won’t.
MY BTT
It’s good for a laugh, but as a book series, it doesn’t quite work. (The middle two are filler.)
I feel that with series, you can really connect with the characters – I love following them throughout different adventures…
Here’s my BTT.
A procedural really needs a good cast to make things work–otherwise, it’s the same thing over and over again. (And if the characters remain static, I can’t deal with it.)
Agreed 100% about Breaking Dawn. The very definition of jumping the shark! I still am a fan of the series. By fan I mean “I dig it” but not “I think about it in great depth and defend it till the end”…because I fully recognize that if I ever gave it some serious thought, I’d realize I actually hated it. 🙂
Twilight is a deconstructionist’s dream, with all its cracks and contradictions. It’s quite fun to poke some serious holes in. (And horrify people. A girl in class today told us to stop regaling the professor about the birthing scene before she threw up.)
Not only did Breaking Dawn jump the shark, but it circled back, built a higher ramp and jumped it again. LOL
That is one hundred percent accurate.
Thanks to Stephanie Meyer, I am now short a few brain cells. The writing was so awful but for some reason I kept reading; mostly because I found them funny. Just bad. So bad.
They are awful and hilarious at the same time.
Totally agree with you about Breaking Dawn. I can’t stop reading a series but like you I can drop shows if they “jump the shark”.
My BTT is up at http://pageflippinaddict.wordpress.com/2010/10/01/booking-through-thursday-series/
Yeah, it’s more a television phenomenon than anything else.
I’ve stopped reading anything by Laurell K. Hamilton because nothing ever seemed to happen apart from more and more weird sex… Boring.
Would like to read your paper on the Twilight series though.
My Sunday Salon this week is on how to properly write a series; formulas have nothing to do with that.
And thanks! It’ll be fun to write, but I need to check out the entire series from my college library (of course my women’s college has all of them).
You are so right about Laurell K. Hamilton. The Anita Blake series jumped the shark about 3 books ago if not more.