Production
"Jump the Shark" was written by Vince Gilligan, John Shiban, and Frank Spotnitz; it was directed by Cliff Bole. The episode proved difficult to make. After the cancellation of The Lone Gunmen television series, which aired in 2001, Fox reportedly "hated characters". Executive producer and co-writer Frank Spotnitz had to fight to get the episode made; the studio informed Spotnitz that The X-Files would not be allowed to bring the characters back in any capacity in the ninth season. Actor Bruce Harwood later explained that "I think if the studio objected to anything, it was wasting time on our characters long enough to kill us off." Co-writer Gilligan later recalled "The Lone Gunmen was still kind of an open wound for me." Thus, the episode was crafted as a way to wrap up the series. Due to the nature of the episode—which effectively works as a tie-in—various long-term characters from both The X-Files and The Lone Gunmen make cameo appearances.
The episode title is a humorous reference to the phrase "jumping the shark", which is used to describe shows that have reached their peak and started to decline in quality. Executive producer Chris Carter said that the title was tongue-in-cheek, and further stated that it was their "way of lowering the boom on anybody who thought that it did". He further stated that the series was "good" until the end, even after the departure of David Duchovny as Fox Mulder. According to IGN, the episode's title was a homage to the popular website Jump the Shark. In fact, during the commentary for "Jump the Shark", Vince Gilligan makes a direct reference to the website.
Various plotlines leaked before the episode's release, the most notable being the death of the Lone Gunmen. The choice to kill off the trio was controversial; Gilligan himself later admitted that "I still think we made the wrong choice on that one." Spotnitz later said, "I can't say I regret killing them off, as you know, no one really dies in The X-Files But I do feel tonally it was a mistake to end the episode on such a somber note. I wish we'd ended it on a laugh or smile." The actors who played The Lone Gunmen complimented the script. Harwood admitted that the episode would have either featured the trio's death or would have featured them "walk off into the sunset without hobo bags over our shoulders." Ultimately, he concluded that "I was glad we were killed off in the end". Dean Haglund said that he "liked the way we were sent off", and called the ending "cool".
Read more about this topic: Jump The Shark (The X-Files)
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