The 'Jump the Shark' clip originates from the iconic 1970s sitcom Happy Days, specifically the 1977 episode 'Hollywood: Part 3'. In this scene, the show’s breakout star, Arthur 'The Fonz' Fonzarelli, played by actor Henry Winkler, performs a death-defying water-skiing stunt. While wearing his signature leather jacket over swim trunks, Fonzie successfully jumps over a shark in a fenced-off enclosure. Though meant to showcase his coolness, the scene was later pinpointed as the moment the show's realism and quality began a permanent decline. In internet culture, this clip serves as the ultimate metaphor for the 'point of no return' where a creative work, brand, or celebrity loses its way. It is used to represent moments of desperation, absurdity, or the exact second someone realizes a trend is dead. It evokes feelings of secondhand embarrassment, nostalgia, and cynical realization that something has peaked. Example captions include: 'When the writers finally run out of ideas,' 'The exact moment this franchise lost me,' and 'Me watching the third unnecessary sequel.'