Jumping the Shark

My friend Danielle and I were discussing this last night: can a novelist jump the shark? I think they can.

Take Anne Rice and the Vampire Chronicles, for example. I think she did this exact thing towards the end of the series two different ways. The first was by integrating the Mayfair witches with the vampires. The second was by giving Lestat a Christ complex.

What do you think? Can novelists pull a Fonzie? Who has?