Jump the Shark

Season 9, Episode 15, Aired
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Episode Summary

When Morris Fletcher approaches agents Doggett and Reyes with information related to "Super Soldiers", they turn to the Lone Gunmen. The Gunmen, however, are knee-deep in a bio-terrorist's plot to release a deadly toxin into the population but the Gunmen find that they may have to make the ultimate sacrifice for their cause.moreless
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Fan Episode Reviews (14)

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  • Farewell to the Real Heroes

    9.5
    "Superb"
    By KennyRogersLove, Oct 25, 2011 Report Abuse
    I have since discovered that Jump The Shark makes a heck of a lot more sense if you've seen "The Lone Gunmen (TLG)" spin-off series, which is quite good, by the way. I can see where people might not like this episode, having not seen the other series, oh, and for killing off the beloved Gunmen.

    That aside, Jump The Shark is still a very good episode. I like how Mark Snow incorporates the theme music from the "TLG" series throughout the episode. It has a very interesting plot, with a deadly virus being grafted into a terrorist's body.

    Obviously, the episode must cater to the X-Files fan who never saw "TLG", and doesn't know the characters of Yves and Jimmy who were an integral part of the series. Sadly, that means that Jimmy's role was hugely diminished. Morris Fletcher returns having starred in the series finale of the TLG series. Morris is always a slime bag character but still likable. But in this episode, he comes across as an even bigger jerk and less likable.

    I don't know if I buy college professors as terrorists willing to do suicide killings. It's a bit of a stretch.

    It's interesting that Yves sends the lone gunmen after the terrorist and tells them they must cut the virus out of his chest if they found him. Though, I'm pretty sure none of them had a knife on their person. Yes, their death scene was a bit contrived. How would they know that giant blast doors would come down and seal them off when the fire alarm was pulled? They could have pulled the alarm and escaped underneath while keeping the terrorist inside.

    Jump The Shark stands as the only X-Files episode to make me cry. It is so sad to see the lone gunmen meet their demise. Scully has some touching words at the end where she makes a cameo along with Skinner.

    Jump The Shark is not a perfect episode, but it makes me emotional each time I see it. Since they were made to look like bumbling idiots in 'Provenance/Providence', it was nice to seem them redeemed and fitting to see them go out as selfless heroes, and doing whatever it takes to save the world.

    I give 'Jump the Shark' an 9.5 out of 10.moreless

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    2 0

  • The Lone Gunmen saddle up for one last adventure.

    9.0
    "Superb"
    By MightyElroy, Aug 23, 2011 Report Abuse
    OK, if you haven't heard by now, let me give a brief SPOILER ALERT! There, that's out of the way. In this X-Files episode, the Lonegunmen series comes to an end. That's right, this is a finale episode for another series. I never watched much of the Lonegunmen series, but I enjoyed their characters throughout X-Files, and liked how they were portrayed. Here, in "Jump the Shark", we see Byers, Langley, and Frohike in their last adventure. They start out the episode as really down and out, one step away from bankruptcy, hocking all there gadgets and gizmos, and having put off printing of their beloved conspiracy paper for months. Things do not look rosy for our geeky trio. They find themselves reuniting with old friends from both shows to get to the bottom of a bio-terrorist plot, and in the end, they have a choice to make on how they will be remembered. They chose to sacrifice their lives (and yes, they do die) for the sake of thousands who never knew they were in danger in the first place. Their deaths were meaningful, without any pomp and circumstance. Their funeral service was small, and yet the impact that they had on the lives of others is shown as the few who knew their sacrifice reflected on their passing and their lives.

    In my opinion, the Lone Gunmen were true heroes, putting their necks on the line and receiving no thanks for it. This is how most heroes bow out, making a stand and getting little recognition for it. It was nice to see that their deaths were meaningful yet not flashy. They gave their lives for a good cause, and that was it. All I can say is that the only thing missing from this episode was Fox Mulder, the closest X-Filer to these three Nerds Supreme. It would have been nice for Mulder to have had something to say about his friends, either in this episode or in later episodes, and what they meant to him. Scully was able to do a good job of this on her part, but Mulder's relationship with them was deeper than anyone else's.moreless

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    2 0

  • Blood In The Water

    7.5
    "Good"
    By Anon67683, Mar 09, 2011 Report Abuse
    Uh oh, another Lone Gunmen-centric episode. You would think that with the "The Lone Gunmen" spin-off series being cancelled after only 13 episodes, the writers would have had a clue as to the viability (or lack thereof) of our three nerdly heroes as leading actors. Ah well, perspective can be a difficult thing to maintain....

    The writers apparently intend this episode to be the finale for "The Lone Gunmen," which they never had the opportunity to make due to the abrupt cancellation of that series. As such, there are an awful lot of new characters and subplots from the "Lone Gunmen" series that will be new to the X-Files fan who has never seen the spin-off (which is probably most of them.)

    I've never seen any of the "Lone Gunmen" series and therefore much of this episode comes across as muddled and confusing to me. Who is this Yves woman? Who is the Gunmen's new sidekick, Jimmy? Why is Morris Fletcher back? What the heck is up with the imbedded virus and how does it tie in with the Super Soldiers storyline? (I'm guessing it doesn't, really.) There is simply too much in this episode to absorb without some knowledge of the "Lone Gunmen" series.

    The episode just doesn't work as an X-Files and it's a bit unfair to dump it into the tail end of the series just to placate the wounded feelings of the writers who had their series yanked before it completed even a single season. I love the Gunmen characters, but they are supporting players and not suited to carry entire episodes. A little goes a long way. It's unfortunate that the writers choose to kill them off and I sense some bitterness mixed with petulance behind this rather "final" decision. What happens if the fabled second feature film manages to get made? Are we then to endure the ghosts of the Gunmen, as we must in the series' final episode?moreless

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  • Didn't quite jump my shark

    7.4
    "Good"
    By dravisar, Jul 14, 2010 Report Abuse
    I've just recently delved into season 9, and came upon this episode while hearing from reviews and forum posts that it ended our favorite little 3 man team of whistle blowers.

    I must say, it didn't do them justice, I was expecting a little more. My favorite part of the episode was the 2 minute intro recapping some of the exploits of the lone gunmen, moderated by Morris Fletcher, a character we all love to hate, but can't help loving just a little bit anyways. A very talented actor, or maybe just a natural sleaze bag, he can cross that line into sensitive caring individual in a heartbeat. The lone gunmen did fine, but Eve didn't do a thing for me, and the subplot inside of a subplot inside of a subplot (Maybe a super soldier, turned Lone gunmen, turned billionaires daughter, turned Virus stopping terrorist hunter) also didn't do much but make me think filler episode, and this episode didn't really make me think much.

    I also couldn't help but notice, we never actually see the lone gunmen die...moreless

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    0 4

  • Well, not really.

    8.0
    "Great"
    By BrianSolo, May 26, 2010 Report Abuse
    I don't feel that this episode did the Lone Gunmen justice. I'm not one of these "fans" that say that the X-Files completely reeked without Fox Mulder (in fact, in my case, absence makes the heart grow fonder), but this episode, in particular, would have been better served with him involved.

    I never got the chance to watch the Lone Gunmen series, so I felt I was somewhat thrown into the middle of something I didn't have a good grasp on. I never really cared about the plot, just the ultimatum that it led to.

    In the end, we lose three (3) of our most beloved characters. They go down as heroes; as men that never gave up, never gave in, and never sold out. I just feel that the script was missing something, and it would have been found in Fox Mulder. Like Joey Ramone, the Lone Gunmen, Byers, Langly, and Frohike will live on forever in X-Files lore.

    THE TRUTH IS OUT THEREmoreless

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    1 1
 

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • Michael McKean played Lenny on Laverne and Shirley, a spin-off of Happy Days. Michael first appeared as Leonard 'Lenny' Kosnowski on Happy Days, the show that "Jump the Shark" was coined for (referring to the show where Fonzie jumped a shark tank). Today "jumped the shark" is slang used for any TV show that has tried too many gimmicks to promote ratings, or more generally to refer to anything that has gone on too long and lost its way. Edit
    • During the funeral scene, it is obvious that the caskets are simply sitting on the ground and that there are no holes dug under them. Edit
    • Since when are firedoors air-tight enough to contain a virulent virological plague? Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • The theme of "The Lone Gunmen" is played in the first scene after the credits showing a shark swimming in the ocean. Edit
    • This is the last episode written by John Shiban. He wrote 24 of the 202 X Files episodes. Edit
    • Writer Thomas Schnauz (who gave us 'Lord of the Flies' and 'Scary Monsters') portrayed the 'Speaker' in this episode. Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Scully: (About The Lone Gunmen) They meant so much to me... I don't think they ever knew that. Edit
    • Langly: You want to know why Joey Ramone's my hero? 'Cause people like you never managed to grind him down. They never stole his spirit. He never gave in, never gave up, and never sold out. Right till his last breath. And he's not dead. Guys like that, they live forever Edit
    • Morris Fletcher: I was a 'Man In Black'. Doggett: I saw the movie. Morris Fletcher: Yeah, well there were a lot of technical inaccuracies in that. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Movie Reference: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn In their final scene, the Lone Gunmen place their hands on the glass where their intern Jimmy has his hand. This is in referrence to Spock's famous death scene in the movie. Edit
    • Maurice Fletcher Voiceover: Once upon a time there were three, how shall I put this, geeks... The whole of the opening to this episode is an obvious reference to the original Charlie's Angels TV series, which always began with 'Once upon a time there were three little girls who went to the Police Academy' etc. Much of the whole text of the opening is lifted from the CA voiceover, with additional jokes. It works really well. Even the opening image is of the Lone Gunmen in separate rectangular shots, much like all the Charlie's Angels episodes. Edit

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