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Happy Days Writer Defends Jumped the Shark Episode

Happy Days Jumped the Shark

The phrase "jump the shark" has come to mean the point in time when a show has started moving towards its inevitable demise. Jon Hein started the jumptheshark.com website, which kicked off the phrase that has become part of popular culture. That website is now a section on tvguide.com. The phrase "jumped the shark" comes from the Happy Days episode where Fonzie jumped a shark (video) on water skis.

The L.A. Times has an interesting article here written by Fred Fox Jr., the writer of the shark jumping Happy Days episode. Fox argues that the episode with Fonzie jumping the shark was not the beginning of the end for Happy Days. The show stayed on the air for six more seasons after the Fonx jumped the shark.

All successful shows eventually start to decline, but this was not "Happy Days'" time. Consider: It was the 91st episode and the fifth season. If this was really the beginning of a downward spiral, why did the show stay on the air for six more seasons and shoot an additional 164 episodes? Why did we rank among the Top 25 in five of those six seasons?

Fox has a great point, but it is too late to remove the phrase from popular culture. Fox recognizes this. He writes, "Now that so much time has passed, it's clear that 'jump the shark' is no mere fad. It has become a part of the American lexicon."

Photo: Paramount

(via Time)

Posted on September 7, 2010
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John Cusack to Play Edgar Allan Poe in Movie

John Cusack The Raven

John Cusack announced in a tweet that he will be playing Edgar Allan Poe in an upcoming film caled The Raven. The film is named after Poe's narrative poem. IMDB's listing for the film says the movie is a fictionalized account of the last few days of Edgar Allan Poe's life. Edgar Allan Poe joins the hunt for a serial killer whose murders are inspired by his stories. Hannah Shakespeare and Ben Livingston are writing the screenplay according to Slashfilm.

Posted on September 2, 2010
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How To Make It As A Songwriter
Mary Dawson's new book, How to Get Somewhere in the Music Business from Nowhere with Nothing, gives you the inside scoop on how to make it in the music business as a songwriter. Mary teaches you all you need to know to make your songwriting dreams a reality. Click here to learn more.

Oxford English Dictionary Will Probably Never Be Printed Again

The Telegraph reports that the Oxford English Dictionary will never be printed again. Oxford University Press says the print dictionary market is rapidly fading away. The dictionary will probably only be printed online from now on.

"The print dictionary market is just disappearing, it is falling away by tens of per cent a year," Nigel Portwood, the chief executive of OUP, told the Sunday Times. Asked if he thought the third edition would be printed, he said: "I don't think so."

Almost one third of a million entries were contained in the second version of the OED, published in 1989 across 20 volumes. The next full edition is still estimated to be more than a decade away from completion; only 28 per cent has been finished to date.

The AP also has a story here about the end of the print edition of the dictionary. The third edition of the dictionary is only 25% finished. By the time OUP's lexicographers have completed the third edition, the market for the print version may be gone.

Posted on August 30, 2010
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Laura Lippman's New Thriller Sells More Ebooks Than Hardcovers

Id Know You Anywhere

The Wall Street Journal's Digits blog reports that Laura Lippman's new thriller, I'd Know You Anywhere, sold more ebooks than hardcovers during its first five days on sale. Frank Albanese, a senior vice president at HarperCollins, says enough people now have ereaders that a good review can give a book a "faster lift on the digital side."

"This is the first book of ours of any consequence that has sold more e-books than hardcovers in the first week," said Frank Albanese, a senior vice president at HarperCollins. "What we�re seeing now is that if a book gets a good review, it gets a faster lift on the digital side than it does on the physical side because people who have e-readers can buy and read it immediately."

Amazon.com announced in July that it was selling more ebooks than hardcovers. Authors and publishers are now also starting to see ebooks outsell hardcovers. The Digits post says some experts believe ebooks could be 20% to 25% of publishers' total revenue by the end of 2012. The Ebook version outselling the hardcover version of a new novel will probably be a common occurrence by then.

Posted on August 27, 2010
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Songwriter George David Weiss Dies at 89

Songwriter George David Weiss has died at age 89. Weiss created pop music and collaborated on several Broadway musicals. Some of Weiss' biggest hits included "What a Wonderful World," which was recorded by Louis Armstrong. He also wrote "Can't Help Falling in Love" for Elvis Presley and "The Lion Sleeps Tonight," which was recorded by the Tokens. Weiss was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984.

You can read obits for George David Weiss here, here and here.

Posted on August 25, 2010
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