Today CliqueClack unveils its very own contribution to the TV watchers’ lexicon. It started as a back channel discussion that quickly (and suspiciously) started growing like the forehead of a late ’90s power hitter. Eventually it got so large that we couldn’t help but share it with you, our loyal readers.
Everyone here knows the term “Jumping the Shark.” If you don’t know it, I can only assume that you’re a Botswana Bushman come to America to return a Coca Cola bottle you believe was sent to your people by the gods. For your sake, I’ll define the term: it describes the moment a classic TV show enters its period of decline.
We got to talking about this and decided that if there is a “Jumping the Shark” moment for every classic TV show, there stands to reason that there must be an opposite moment. That is, a moment when a show goes from “good” to “all-time classic.”
See, very rarely does a show start out as a classic. Go back to the first season of The Simpsons. Sure it was great at the time, but none of those first season episodes compare to the brilliance that starts somewhere in the second season. There was a moment that the writers of the show figured out how to exploit the potential properly and get The Simpsons into the life-defining touchstone that it’s now known as.
Some classic shows start out as downright painful to watch. There are some episodes of the first season of Star Trek: The Next Generation that will actually blind you. Right around the time Riker grew his beard, the show figured out how not to suck.
Figuring out how not to suck is an important moment for any show. We thought that moment should have a name.
Now, before you start yelling that your favorite blog came up with a name for this very thing, we did our research. A quick Google search found several people who have tried (and failed) to create the “opposite of the Jump the Shark” moment. Previous attempts suffered from clunky names and/or imprecise definitions.
We thought we could do a little better. We stayed up all night doing blow and brain storming. By 5 AM Keith kept insisting that he was going to change his name to Chest Rockwell. But by 6 AM we had what we thought was the perfect name.
First, the requirements we came up with:
1. It needed to perfectly describe the moment a show became great.
2. It needed to unique. At one point we were going to describe this moment by saying that the show “Cliqued” — wordplay! — but rejected it as being too ordinary and forgettable.
3. It needed to be fun to say. What made jump the shark so popular was at least in part due to the little bit of linguistic glee we took in saying the phrase. We decided to stay within the “verb article noun” format. Or, “Blanked the Blank.”
With all that said, the name we decided on was…
Blow the hatch.
We took this from the first season of Lost. Lost was a very good show in its first season, with compelling characters and a batshit crazy setting that didn’t seem to make any sense. There was a fear among early Lost fans that if the writers didn’t start giving us some answers soon that there was a real possibility that the show would be a one season wonder.
The moment Locke blows the hatch, however, Lost’s mythology begins in earnest. It opens the door — quite literally — on a whole new perspective on the island. Blowing the hatch took the show into the direction that would define it throughout the course of its next five seasons.
We thought this was the perfect way to describe when a good TV show becomes great.
So, to our way of thinking a TV show follows this pattern:
1. The show begins. The writers are tentative and unsure quite what will define the show as it progresses. Quite often, the guesses they make will be wrong (e.g. that Bart will be the focus of The Simpsons).
2. The show Blows the Hatch.
3. We enter into the golden age of the show’s lifespan. It won’t be more popular or more talked about than these moments. When you’re telling your kids about how much better TV was back when you were growing up, these are the episodes you’ll talk about.
4. The show Jumps the Shark.
5. We enter into the show’s decline and eventual cancellation.
Over the next few weeks, you’re going to see a lot of articles about when our favorite show blew the hatch. Half the fun of this, though, is the debate. We want your input! Give us the moment when your favorite show blew the hatch in the comments below.
Clacked by Jay Black 
on May 01, 2009 @ 21:06 EST5EDT
Looking forward to this series. Also would _love_ to hear some of the rejected name choices, both funny and serious.
We tossed around a few ideas. Ones that come to mind:
Nailing Angel
Killing Jenny
Mastering the Domain
Hiding Vera
Ditching Scrappy
The first two are obvious (and, a good point on the second one. The death of Jenny Calendar (whom I assume you’re speaking) is what made me give up on BtVS the first time. However, in retrospect, it really was that series’ Blowing the Hatch moment for me.
The other three I feel stupid for missing the reference, though I will figure it out. I swear.
Ok, I’m done. What’s the Hiding Vera one?
“Hiding Vera” refers to Cheers in that they stuck to their guns and never revealed Norm’s wife, Vera, on the show (well, if you don’t count the one time her face was covered with a pie, I believe). They pulled the same thing with Marris in Frasier. If either show had revealed what those woman actually looked like, it would have clearly been a Jump the Shark moment. The fact that they didn’t was a sort of opposite Jump the Shark moment.
“nailing”? Wasn’t that a sword? I mean you do mean when Buffy killed Angel, right? *scratches head*
Anyway, I think “Lost” had a stellar Pilot, including Jack waking up in the bamboo right at the beginning – and when the engine exploded because the guy got sucked in – sorry but that was already so stellar I think Lost was da bomb from the start…
Blowing the Hatch was a great scene but I don’t think that was when “Lost” “became” great, I loved it from the start.
“Mastering the Domain” is a great choice. I think that one was when “Seinfeld” blew the field wide open. It’s much more fitting if you ask me but it doesn’t sound as cool.
When Tasha Yar died that was another great moment… oh! Oh! And when Ross stood at the top of the stairs and Rachel left to get to the prom (on the prom video). And the most underlining moment of her finding out he likes her is the “Crystal Duck” moment (you know that ridiculous gift Chandler tells her about Ross bought for her).
Can you name that moment on “The West Wing”? I think there is one, I can’t remember…
But I really do like the concept. First building montage on the “A-Team” would be one, right? ;-)
Ah, that Angel scene was tossed around too, but Keith was referring to boinking Angel, like when he and Buffy finally did the deed and Angel turned into Angelus. What Angelus did for Buffy was one huge hatch blow! ;-)
Yeah, uhm… I didn’t see that as a “blowing” moment but maybe it was ;-)
Blowing the hatch. They blew the hatch last night – oooh I like it. Good job fellas!
I don’t believe I have a perfect example, because it happened later in the series, but in season six (I believe) of Star Trek TNG, Chain of Command, Picard was captured and tortured. There was a moment when Picard outwitted his torturer and Picard was able to say, “You called me Picard!” I am very, very fond of this moment.
As far as picking my favorite ‘Blowing the Hatch’ moment… Lets see: I don’t know if BSG had one. If it did, it would have to be somewhere in the Home two parter. Not necessarily the end (Which, from a mythology standpoint would make the most sense), but maybe when Adama, the Chief, and Billy find Laura’s group on the planet. The reunion there was very powerful from a character development perspective.
As much love (and reverence) as I have for the West Wing, I will use a TOTAL cop out and say the pilot. When Martin Sheen walks in on the group in the Mural Room, and interrupts by saying, “I am the Lord your God, and you shall worship…” I was hooked.
Bones: One of two scenes/episodes. The S1 Season Finale where Angela puts up the image of a set of remains in Limbo, Bones goes nuts, and Booth who had taken the time on his own to learn more about Bones’ past, knew it was her mother. That, or the Gravedigger episode of S2.
I have to stop. I could have fun playing with this all night :)
Of course for me, BSG was amazing from the opening sequence.
West Wing blew the hatch for me in the episode “Take this Sabbath Day”, a death penalty episode, the scene at the end with Bartlett’s childhood priest was very remarkable.
I think Dollhouse is blowing the hatch in these last episodes, especially when one considers how weak it started.
My favorite West Wing line that would work is ‘What’s next?”. Man i miss that show, I have got to have a marathon again soon.
It is funny. I was talking to a friend of today about the turning point in a favorite series of ours, and I coined a term to describe it.
It is a little less precise than this term, as it is less about a specific turning point moment and more of a crystalization of a show philosophy.
We were talking about Star Trek: DS9 and agreed that it got great when Sisko went from being sensible Sisko with hair to A Man Called Sisko with a goatee and bald head.
Or as I later abbreviated to “hawking out.”
The TV Tropes Wiki actually documented “Growing The Beard” quite a while ago. The page history doesn’t go back that far, but I sure reading the page the first time I found TV Tropes, which was several years ago…
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GrowingTheBeard
Funny I thought season 2 of Lost was considered not as good as season 1
Reading through the list from the Tropes that Robin posted above, it really made me think about Lost.
I remember, very distinctly, the ending of the third episode, saying to myself, “Now this is a show that I can love.” It moved me, SO much, that it surprised me.
A brilliantly written, shot, and acted episode… The reveal of both John Locke’s disability, and the moment after the crash his realization that he was no longer burdened by it, was just incredible.
‘Losing the Wheelchair’ certainly doesn’t have the poetry that ‘Blowing the Hatch’ does, but I felt it was worthy of mention.
West Wing: a scene that ‘blew the hatch’ for me is after Mrs. Landingham dies in the car accident and the President is left alone in the National Cathedral. His invective in Latin, his challenge to God and his lighting a cigarette on the altar still give me chills – that the writer(s) had enough fortitude to examine such a personally profound moment made me look differently at a character and show I already loved. I’ve probably got the sequence a bit wrong ..