(And no, none of this makes any sense. If you don't like whimsical, bizarre humor, this may not be your cup of tea.)

I like it. Some of the TODD strips hit me right in my own whimsical bone.

Oh man, these are the best! The poodle one made me cry.

Freaking hilarious! Thanks!

"Poodle in mouth!" - my favorite non sequitur.

*hits shane in his whimsical bone*

This hangs in my office. ≡ Click to see image ≡

They can't bring back Lyman. Jon killed him and stole his dog.

No, the webcomic Melonpool explained what happened to Lyman (and also Calvin's Uncle Max... and others).

I tried, but ... sometimes Sally Forth messes with my mind more.

The Pop Culture Humor of Medium Large is definitely my cup of tea (although "Teenage Girl President" is a running joke that has been run into the ground; since it started out "on the WB", I'm hoping it'll be retired along with the network).

But this recent story arc is definately Shark-Jumping territory. Of course, my biggest fear was that by using the gimmicks from some famous TV finales (and I'm very publicly on record that I don't like gimmick endings), Marciuliano was bringing the strip to an end. Thankfully, the Friday strip proves that it is not the case, and it should return to its normal nuttiness next week. If not, I'm sending Lyman over there.

Wendell, I have nothing but respect for your opinions, but Shark-Jumping?? I guess one man's shark-jump is another man's... uh... good thingie.

So what is a good metaphor for the creative high point of a series?

agro, now that I know that this isn't an end to the strip, I'm feeling better and better about this series of strips. As a parody of the deus ex machina school of writing, it's pretty good. I just think that Medium Large would be better off not trying to do storylines. It is so good at its usual random cultural potshot format, and there are enough other webcomics that do off-the-wall narrative stories well (from Goats to Achewood to Schlock Mercenary). When I go to Medium Large or Savage Chickens or Wondermark, I just want them to bring the funny!

So what is a good metaphor for the creative high point of a series?
Ooooh... good question.
If it's the opposite of Jumping the Shark, we could call it Sharking the Jump...
Or use a reference to a great series' high point... Like ER's "Love's Labor Lost" or Seinfeld's "Contest" or "Colonel Blake Dies" or "Shooting J.R." or "Chuckles' Funeral" (gee, a lotta death and near-death in great television...)