My personal sign is when you start seeing awkward collaborations start cropping up. One time when I was thrifting, I picked up a graphic novel that had the Justice League, team with the Power Rangers of all things. I glimpsed into what the plot was about out of morbid curiosity and it was just a plain generic time and dimension thing.
Nothing ever connected between the teams at all. DC Comics, while fledgling at times with how they go about their series and movies, still have far more relevance than Power Rangers do. I think the Power Rangers are just grasping at straws to keep being relevant when people have largely moved on from them.
…. Is this a thing? Origin?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumping_the_shark
Basically any time a show goes on too long and tries to introduce a stupid, attention-getting gimmick to try to stay relevant.
In the old sitcom “Happy Days,” after far too many seasons, a new episode featured The Fonz, blue screen water skiing, a crappy looking shark prop, and the Fonz literally jumped over the shark.
Its from the show Happy Days (1977) where Fonzie jumps over a shark while water skiing. Its considered the point where the show took a dramatic turn down hill and the term is still used in that manner today.
It’s from Happy Days when the Fonz literally jumped over a shark while water-skiing. Seen as a sign that the show is out of ideas and using crazy stunts or out-of-character actvities to shock some life (money) out of a dying franchise.