4.19 Jump the Shark

Title	Jump the Shark
Episode #	Season 4, Episode 19
First aired	April 23, 2009
Directed by	Phil Sgriccia
Written by	Andrew Dabb and Daniel Loflin
On IMDB	http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1222605/
Outline	Sam and Dean meet a young man who reveals himself to be their brother.
Monster	Ghouls
Timeline
Location(s)
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Characters

• Sam Winchester
• Dean Winchester
• Adam Milligan

Trivia & References

The title of this episode is a reference to the colloquialism, "jumping the shark", refers to the point at whch a show resorts to dramatic plot changes, novelty casting or similar devices in a desperate attempt order to reinvigorate the show, while ironically signaling that the show has probably passed its use-by-date. The term comes from an episode of "Happy Days" in which The Fonz actually jumped over a tank of sharks on his motorcycle.

In a TV Guide interview Eric Kripke sad of the episode title:

"When we were breaking the story about the third Winchester brother, we knew the fans would scream that we had jumped the shark. Of course, adding a new sibling or relative to an established series is a classic and cherished shark jump, Cousin Oliver being the patron saint of the practice. . Anyway, it became clear that we should beat the fans to the punch and title the episode, 'Jump the Shark.' Though rejected titles included: 'When Leo Joined Growing Pains,' or 'The Raven Symone Episode.'

"For fans who are worried that we are truly jumping the shark... watch the episode, decide for yourself. Personally, I don't think we're gassing up the motorcycle quite yet, but you tell me. And stay tuned for next season, when the boys take trips to London and Hawaii (haunted Tiki dolls!) and Sam and Ruby get married. And Ted McGinley joins the cast as the thoughtful (but hot!) college professor."

See also

• Definition at TV tropes
• Jump The Shark on TVGuide - how your favourite show jumped the shark.

The boys meet Adam Milligan at a cafe called Cousin Oliver's. Cousin Oliver was a young kid added to the cast of The Brady Bunch]] in its last season. Adding a young kid to a cast is called doing a Cousin Oliver] and is often seen as a sign of the show jumping the shark.

In a tribute to Kim Manners, Sam and Dean were staying at a hotel called Kim Manor. A display card in the room advertises happy hour n the Sonny Buono lounge and features a pic of a mustachioed Kim. At the Salute to Supernatural L.A. 2009, Jensen and Jared mentioned that in honour of Kim the crew had undertaken a mustache growing competition.

Promotion

• Kripke talks about the epsiode title and the epsiode concept from TV guide
• Promo pics
• Casting and plot spoiler from TV Guide
• Promo Clip