The phrase “jump the shark” refers to when a TV show loses its appeal to the audience, and it originated from a Happy Days episode where Fonzie water skied on a shark. Tom Cruise’s infamous couch-jumping moment on Oprah Winfrey’s show has also become a cultural reference for someone who has completely freaked out. While some found it captivating, others saw it as professional suicide, and Sumner Redstone parted ways with Cruise’s company. Despite this, Cruise remains one of the highest-paid actors in the world.
The phrase jump the shark has been around ever since the Happy Days character Fonzie water skied on a shark in an episode of the show. This term is used when a television is past its expiration date and loses its appeal to the audience. The last line that jumps to appear, thanks to megastar actor Tom Cruise, is couch-jumping.
Jumping on the couch is from Cruise’s appearance on Oprah Winfrey’s chat show. When questioned by Winfrey about his relationship with actress Katie Holmes, Cruise jumped on Winfrey’s couch and, to many, seemed to miss the storyline entirely. Proclaiming his undying love for Holmes, Cruise repeatedly bounced up and down on Winfrey’s couch in front of the watching world.
Cruise danced on the sofa, dropped to one knee, and pounded the floor with his fist. Many viewers found the performance captivating, but many others watched with a kind of incredulous fascination. You could feel jaws dropping all over the world. Some said it was pure traffic accident television. Newspapers, magazines and many talk shows discussed the moment Cruise jumps on the sofa.
The phrase started spreading after the Oprah show. Jumping on the couch now has a place in the Urban Internet Dictionary, which defines it as the moment someone has completely freaked out. Couch hopping has been given a life perspective by the media and was recently featured in a column by New York Times writer Maureen Dowd.
Just as jumping the shark means the end of a TV show is near, a similar consequence was waiting for Cruise after his couch jump. Sumner Redstone, owner and CEO of Viacom and Paramount Pictures, has parted ways with Cruise, arguing that Cruise’s conduct of his personal life is professional suicide. Redstone cited the couch-hopping moment in particular as a reason to part ways with Cruise’s company.
Still, the moment Cruise jumps on the couch shouldn’t worry him much. He is still ranked as one of the highest paid actors in the world. Last year he managed to take home 31 million US dollars (USD), more than enough to buy Oprah a new sofa.
While many people find the moment when Cruise jumps on the sofa sweet, many others find such public displays of affection or craziness irritating. The streets of Hollywood are littered with stars who have made great public displays of undying love. Four months later, usually the length of a Hollywood marriage, many have moved on to someone else. Cruise is no doubt rich and talented enough to resist his couch-hopping moment, but any future arguments he has with Holmes over lifting the toilet seat can be easily resolved as he utters the words “what happened to bouncing the couch, Tom? “
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