S01.E06: Girl Meets Popular

[WildFlower87]

Riley is surprised when she gets invited to a party that doesn’t include Maya. However, once she arrives, she soon learns it’s a party filled with unpopular classmates.

 

 

[solotrek]

I remember this episode of BMW by the synopsis.  Would Farkle be considered popular or unpopular?

[Fostersmom]

hmm… that's a good question. Minkus was unpopular, for sure, but Farkle had a following of older girls when they were in the subway, so who knows. 

[WildFlower87]

Here's a sneak peak clip "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghM7Q-M7dR0"

Edited August 4, 2014 by NickDisnCart

[Skyfall]

Topanga's second time out of the apartment!

[Skyfall]

And we get a callback!!!! #BestEpisodeSoFar

[grandemocha]

Will Cory ever make it through an actual lesson? Hah, I guess it shows that I'm too old to be watching this show because all I was thinking during the class scene was "If my kid was in this guy's class and never actually learned a damn thing because he was always off topic or his daughter and friends were constantly interrupting, I'd be in the principal's office immediately raising HELL!"

[DeepPoet117]

No Lucas! Flashback to BMW! Willie Garson! Hippie Topanga! I loved it! The only thing that made no sense was Cory, the history teacher, holding a spelling bee between two schools in his classroom. I was very relieved that the creepy Hipster guy roaming the halls was actually two nerdy kids. 

[Fostersmom]

Truth, Damocles, and spelling bees, all perfectly normal lesson plans for history teachers. I could actually buy some of the lessons in a cultural anthropology class or something along those lines, but not 7th grade history. 

 

I was hoping the whole Topanga buys a bakery thing that I read wasn't going to be true, but it is. But hey, look, she actually parented her daughter for a change, so there's that. 

 

Something needs to be done with the writing of Riley next season. Girlfriend is coming off as about bright as her brother who is "this many." I'm all for age appropriate kids, I hate nothing more than 12 year olds who look and act like they are 18, but Riley acts like she's 8 years old and Maya is her baby-sitter who is in charge of making sure Riley doesn't start eating crayons. 

[grandemocha]

 

Something needs to be done with the writing of Riley next season. Girlfriend is coming off as about bright as her brother who is "this many." I'm all for age appropriate kids, I hate nothing more than 12 year olds who look and act like they are 18, but Riley acts like she's 8 years old and Maya is her baby-sitter who is in charge of making sure Riley doesn't start eating crayons.

LMAO. Exactly! Cory and Topanga must have sheltered the hell out of Riley because she does act like she should be in elementary school.

[meatball77]

They should have said that Corey was their homeroom teacher.  That would explain different types of lessons and even the lack of discipline as homeroom is more free than a class with a  regular curriculum. 

 

Best episode so far, I want those pin on bangs.  The message was better and Topanga as an adult in that dress with the crimped hair, squeal!!  I do need Riley to calm down and stop shouting all the time.

[AntiBeeSpray]

Sounds like it was good tonight! Missed it :(. But luckily Disney is reairing it tomorrow morning, so I'm hoping to catch it then.

[DucksFlyTogether]

Riley really sounded like she needed to blow her nose the whole episode.  I had to laugh as soon as I saw some random kid in Lucas' seat and absolutely no mention of him at all.  They used to do that with Topanga in the first season of Boy Meets World.  Is it too much of an eye sore to just have an empty desk and say so and so is absent?  I hope Cloris Leachman is not around much in the future. 

[Kromm]

Wow, poor Topanga FINALLY is let out of the apartment, but she's STILL chained to Kid #2.  And we get the dreaded Bakery subplot (which was so bad, I hadn't even remembered what kind of business it was and had concluded the whole thing was just a horrible rumor).  And isn't it funny that they again dodged showing her office, even if they showed her boss?

 

Oh, and once again we have Corey doing EVERYTHING in that school.  Because you know... it's not like the Spelling Club might use ANY other person as their adviser.

Edited August 9, 2014 by Kromm

[bettername2come]

"We've always done well together, but it's time to do good." Okay, that line made me lose it a little. The callbacks to the original series were great, from the flashback to Topanga's first appearance (you could see Shawn!) to "A seventh grade party? I didn't get invited to many of those," and "It's a geek party!" So I guess the Ukrainian bakery is going to be their Chubby's? Topanga makes more sense in an investment situation for the place than as the sole owner, she's still a lawyer, it gets her out of the apartment and gives the family a second location to hang out at. I'm fine with it until proven otherwise.

 

I did love the shot of Topanga and Riley just walking by each other and then realizing what they'd seen. And I got a laugh out of Riley seeing the lightsaber hanging above her and going "Damocles!" Maya was also funny with her "I love you, but you a lotta work!" I appreciated her full-on freaking out at Riley not being at home or school to meet her.

[Kromm]

I was hoping the whole Topanga buys a bakery thing that I read wasn't going to be true, but it is. But hey, look, she actually parented her daughter for a change, so there's that. 

It was amazing that she actually talked directly one on one TO her daughter even.  Lots of previous scenes with talking to Corey and Riley as a pair.  Maya and Riley as a pair.  But never one on one. 

 

It must be that Hippypanga is the only version that feels any connection with a goofball like Riley.  Sharkpanga likes the little kid better because he's manipulative.

[Primetimer]

You're gonna be popular!

Read the story

[JellyFishQueen]

Is anyone else annoyed that Corey and his daughter keep having private family discussion WITH THE CLASS STARING AT THEM!? I'm sure it's been stated, but Corey would been fired by all the parent compliants he would gotten.

 

Also is this show cannon? I was watching the other ep (Can't remember the name) but with the running joke about the chicken. I was so disappointment that they didn't refference Nana Boo Boo like in heaven when he was eating the chicken.

[AntiBeeSpray]

Is anyone else annoyed that Corey and his daughter keep having private family discussion WITH THE CLASS STARING AT THEM!? I'm sure it's been stated, but Corey would been fired by all the parent compliants he would gotten.

 

Also is this show cannon? I was watching the other ep (Can't remember the name) but with the running joke about the chicken. I was so disappointment that they didn't refference Nana Boo Boo like in heaven when he was eating the chicken.

A little. Probably... but it is a Disney show.

 

I hope they lessen on it tbh though. They're treating Cory like he's a part of the group and he's a grown up. Not a kid.

 

As for the ep, I'm in the middle of watching it and it's pretty good. Riley is a little bit annoying though, Farkle rules in this one though :D. He had me laughing. Topanga is better this time around.

[ladyrott]

Flashbacks!  HippieTopanga!  LOVED this episode!  I can live with Topanga and Corey investing in the bakery.  They won't be running the place, but it gives them a vested interest (although I am not sure WHY the adults have to have a vested interest in a teenage hangout unless the show plans on putting them there a lot....and since it is a show ABOUT the kids FOR kids, I don't know why they would).  I have to admit, I actually got all mushy inside when Corey walked up behind Topanga and they looked in the mirror.  I love the two of them together and it was so sweet when Topanga told Riley that this was the part of her that Corey fell in love with a long time ago, because that is true.  I flashed to a later episode of BMW (cant remember what else was happening but....) where Topanga draws on her face to remind Corey, and herself, of who she really is.

 

Also, I completely cracked up at the scene where Maya and Farkle are fighting in Riley's bedroom and kept pushing/pulling/throwing each other to the floor.  I don't know why, but that just killed me.  Also funny, when Corey admits he is a middle school teacher and Mrs. Savitski is just like "oh boy".  I hope this is the start of a new trend where we see combination the of OriginalFlavorTopanga and SharkTopaga. 

[AntiBeeSpray]

This ep was great! It was nice to see none of that stilted dialogue. It felt natural. I hope we see this new Topanga for good too. It felt right, like they found their groove show wise again. I hope they can keep it up :).

[Dots And Stripes]

Wow, poor Topanga FINALLY is let out of the apartment, but she's STILL chained to Kid #2.  And we get the dreaded Bakery subplot (which was so bad, I hadn't even remembered what kind of business it was and had concluded the whole thing was just a horrible rumor).  And isn't it funny that they again dodged showing her office, even if they showed her boss?

.

Poor Topanga? She's a lawyer at a top NYC law firm and she's home all day and taking her kid to the bakery in the middle of what appears to be a week day. Then, she blows a big deal for one of her firm's clients and instead of getting fired, she gets an advance on her salary from her boss even though he had already made it clear he doesn't trust her. Sounds like Topanga has a pretty sweet set up. 

 

I was hoping Topanga would find a way out of the bakery mess using her legal skills, like figuring out that the loophole didn't really exist or finding a better location for the yogurt people. That would have been more of Topanga using her fancy law career to advance her ideals.

 

Overall the episode was the best yet. I hope we see more of Farkle's nerdy friends. A few of those kids have potential and Maya and Riley will need to interact with kids other than just Farkle and bland boy.

[grandemocha]

I think what I am personally finding so disappointing about the show is that I somehow got it into my head that GMW would be more like Good Luck Charlie in terms of (fairly) natural acting/reactions from the teen characters, and funny parents who manage to be integrated into the episodes seamlessly. The show so far isn't like GLC to me, it's more like "I didn't do it" or one of the other newer disney shows.

 

The nerd kids in this episode were exaggerated stereotypes, someone on set needs to direct Rowan to give calm or normal facial expressions when she delivers a regular line and not act like she has ADD and Cory and Topanga are forgetting to give her Ritalin at breakfast.

 

Something still needs to be done about Farkle IMO, I thought they'd fixed his character about an episode ago so that he wouldn't be so annoying, but he irritated me a tiny bit with the whole "Ohh, now we have a girl at the party who is pretty and smart. Let me ignore the other one who has been present the entire time"

[JellyFishQueen]

I think what I am personally finding so disappointing about the show is that I somehow got it into my head that GMW would be more like Good Luck Charlie in terms of (fairly) natural acting/reactions from the teen characters, and funny parents who manage to be integrated into the episodes seamlessly. The show so far isn't like GLC to me, it's more like "I didn't do it" or one of the other newer disney shows.

 

The nerd kids in this episode were exaggerated stereotypes, someone on set needs to direct Rowan to give calm or normal facial expressions when she delivers a regular line and not act like she has ADD and Cory and Topanga are forgetting to give her Ritalin at breakfast.

 

Something still needs to be done about Farkle IMO, I thought they'd fixed his character about an episode ago so that he wouldn't be so annoying, but he irritated me a tiny bit with the whole "Ohh, now we have a girl at the party who is pretty and smart. Let me ignore the other one who has been present the entire time"

 

 

That is my problem about the nerd kids and being sterotype. I wish they did 21 jump street style, having the nerds being the popular kids. Having Riley not being prepare for this, I feel like Michael Jacobs wants to do an honest and realism kind of show to reflect kids today and didn't really represent this. Also why would nerds sit in the back of the classroom?

 

 

Also a communist joke...REALLY A COMMUNIST JOKE!? In this day of age. Disney making this joke in the 21st century is border line racist! And you don't want that. I say banned this ep!

 

I'm Jk, but still can't believe there is a communist joke here.

Edited August 9, 2014 by JellyFishQueen

[Kromm]

No Lucas! Flashback to BMW! Willie Garson! Hippie Topanga! I loved it! The only thing that made no sense was Cory, the history teacher, holding a spelling bee between two schools in his classroom. I was very relieved that the creepy Hipster guy roaming the halls was actually two nerdy kids. 

Remember, Cory does every damn job in that school.  Remember the time a day before that he decided to chaperon the dance and then conveniently he was RUNNING it, not just chaperoning?   

 

My theory is that the school is actually a circle of Hell that Cory has been banished to (and the apartment is Topanga's), and that's why they are stuck to these fates.  

[Oscirus]

I've given up on realism so let's count the only on Girl Meets World things that happened in this episode. Shall we?

 

1. Once again Maya and Riley take over the class and not one student gets tired of this. This seems like a daily thing with those two.

2. Riley changes the way she dresses before she goes to school and neither of her parents noticed.

3. What I'd assume is a junior lawyer at a high-powered law firm blackmails the firm that she works at  and not only does she not get fired but she gets what she wants.

4. The Matthews apparently aren't worried about their financial future since they're spending their money on a business that's in the red ( Admittedly not unrealistic, just stupid).

5. History teacher at one school is apparently allowed to moderate a spelling bee between his school and another school.

6. Student's are apparently allowed to interrupt said spelling bee to teach life lessons to their best friends.

 

I get that this is a TV show and I have to suspend belief from time to time but COME ON MAN!

Edited August 10, 2014 by Oscirus

[Kromm]

4. The Matthews apparently aren't worried about their financial future since they're spending their money on a business that's in the black ( Admittedly not unrealistic, just stupid).

With tripled rent, there's no way that business is in the black any more. 

[Maximum Taco]

I've given up on realism so let's count the only on Girl Meets World things that happened in this episode. Shall we?

 

1. Once again Maya and Riley take over the class and not one student gets tired of this. This seems like a daily thing with those two.

2. Riley changes the way she dresses before she goes to school and neither of her parents saw her leaving.

3. What I'd assume is a junior lawyer at a high-powered law firm blackmails the firm that she works at  and not only does she not get fired but she gets what she wants.

4. The Matthews apparently aren't worried about their financial future since they're spending their money on a business that's in the black ( Admittedly not unrealistic, just stupid).

5. History teacher at one school is apparently allowed to moderate a spelling bee between his school and another school.

6. Student's are apparently allowed to interrupt said spelling lessons to teach life lessons to their best friends.

 

I get that this is a TV show and I have to suspend belief from time to time but COME ON MAN!

 

7. The word (harajuku) which was submitted by a student for said life lesson, is a proper noun and therefore is not in the dictionary, and is also therefore not a permissable word for any legitimate spelling bee, but still results in the disqualification of a competitor.

Edited August 10, 2014 by Maximum Taco

[spanana]

This was by far my favorite episode so far.  Callbacks to Boy Meets World.  Topanga actually had something to do and seemed like the Topanga I remember, even if her actions with the bakery were dumb.  Actual bonding and parenting from Topanga towards Riley.  For once a plot with Riley that didn't revolve around her crush on Lucas.  The dialogue in general felt less stilted.   So a lot of positive.

 

But there are still definite issues. Putting realism aside, the Riley and Maya taking over every single class with their personal problems is old and annoying.  Cory hashing out their personal problems in class is annoying.  The school needs another teacher.

 

And not putting realism aside, the spelling bee scene made me want to hurt people.  Yes, a spelling bee between two schools would be facilitated by the history teacher in a regular classroom.  Then any random student is allowed to come in to the room and add their own words to the bee, as opposed to have to stick to an actual provided list.

Edited August 10, 2014 by spanana

[wagthedog]

Seems like the show is headed in the right direction.

[AntiBeeSpray]

Seems like the show is headed in the right direction.

Yea. And any other issues aside, it's doing better now then it was.

 

Keeping in mind that it is a Disney show, so it's bound to not be the most realistic.

[Oscirus]

With tripled rent, there's no way that business is in the black any more.

 

Oops, I meant in the red.  I'll fix that typo.

[AntiBeeSpray]

This was by far my favorite episode so far.  Callbacks to Boy Meets World.  Topanga actually had something to do and seemed like the Topanga I remember, even if her actions with the bakery were dumb.  Actual bonding and parenting from Topanga towards Riley.  For once a plot with Riley that didn't revolve around her crush on Lucas.  The dialogue in general felt less stilted.   So a lot of positive.

 

But there are still definite issues. Putting realism aside, the Riley and Maya taking over every single class with their personal problems is old and annoying.  Cory hashing out their personal problems in class is annoying.  The school needs another teacher.

 

And not putting realism aside, the spelling bee scene made me want to hurt people.  Yes, a spelling bee between two schools would be facilitated by the history teacher in a regular classroom.  Then any random student is allowed to come in to the room and add their own words to the bee, as opposed to have to stick to an actual provided list.

Yea the bakery scene was rather silly XD. But at least she was able to remember what she was like and was able to coincide it with who she is now. 

 

One thing I'm REALLY glad about, is that the lessons weren't ones that so 'hit people over the head'. That's a HUGE step in the right direction. They reminded me of ones in BMW. In a GOOD way. I hope they can keep it up.

 

The school definitely needs another teacher. To help with balance and to bring some realism to the situation. Having Cory handle everything is kind of silly.

 

Seconded. No one would let a student do that, no matter what spirit it was meant in.

[Fostersmom]

The only good part about the spelling bee was they were up against Th Einstein Academy. Wasn't that the name of the school that the original flavor kids beat in the quiz show before they became "tv stars" and Shawn was Lips and Toganga was Hair and Corey wore a brain hat? 

[purpleflowers]

This episode was definitely an improvement, especially in regards to Topanga. I liked her involvement in this episode. For some reason I don't like what the show is doing with Corey. He needs to not be Riley's teacher, and that would help greatly. Dealing with Riley's life lessons in the middle of class is just plain annoying. Corey's dialogue is just weird, the show isn't giving Savage a lot to work with. Also, although this episode was slightly more subtle, they did not manage to get through it without saying "the world". I like Farkle though! He is very likeable. The nerd stereotypes were incredibly unoriginal.
I find Maya comes across older than everyone, and it is distracting.
I did love the flashback to young Corey and Topanga



I may be overly critical, but it still feels to me like each episode is just checking a life lesson learned off the list. In BMW, it wasnt as if each episode neatly fit a lesson in everytime. I agree with the previous poster who said they thought this show would be more like Good Luck Charlie.

Edited August 11, 2014 by purpleflowers

[Kromm]

The school needs another teacher.

Those New York City DoE budget cuts are HARSH, man.  One teacher per school is the limit! (also he has to do all the student counseling and other odd jobs as well--other than that one janitor we saw once, I guess).

[Kromm]

I find Maya comes across older than everyone, and it is distracting.

For me Maya is one of the few things that works really well, even if her backstory is very heavy-handed and clumsily addressed by the show.  Yes, that wisecracking sarcastic character is very Plug and Play Disney Channel, but they found someone who's really quite extraordinarily good at it.  I'd dislike it if the show reigns her back in terms of those qualities, because the action on screen pops about twice as well when she's in a scene doing her shtick.  They need to raise up Riley's behavior and demeanor a bit rather than change Maya.

[Maximum Taco]

Those New York City DoE budget cuts are HARSH, man.  One teacher per school is the limit! (also he has to do all the student counseling and other odd jobs as well--other than that one janitor we saw once, I guess).

 

Eh his workload isn't that much. 

 

As far as Cory's concerned there's only 4 real students in the school, the rest are a bunch of interchangable faceless nobodies who are content to sit by quietly while he tailormakes lessons for his daughter and her friends.

Edited August 10, 2014 by Maximum Taco

[benteen]

This episode was definitely an improvement, especially in regards to Topanga. I liked her involvement in this episode. For some reason I don't like what the show is doing with Corey. He needs to not be Riley's teacher, and that would help greatly. Dealing with Riley's life lessons in the middle of class is just plain annoying. Corey's dialogue is just weird, the show isn't giving Savage a lot to work with. Also, although this episode was slightly more subtle, they did not manage to get through it without saying "the world". I like Farkle though! He is very likeable. The nerd stereotypes were incredibly unoriginal.

I find Maya comes across older than everyone, and it is distracting.

I did love the flashback to young Corey and Topanga

I may be overly critical, but it still feels to me like each episode is just checking a life lesson learned off the list. In BMW, it wasnt as if each episode neatly fit a lesson in everytime. I agree with the previous poster who said they thought this shoe would be more like Good Luck Charlie

 

If they want Riley to expand her worldview, they need to have her dealing with another teacher that isn't her father.

 

Speaking of that spelling bee, not only is one school's teacher allowed to moderate it, but he's allowed to moderate a spelling bee where his daughter is one of the participants.  Conflict of interest, right Topanga the lawyer?

Not a surprise this show continues the stereotypical portrayal of nerds.  This show isn't exactly setting out to be original.

 

I totally agree that Riley seems to have the emotional maturity level of an eight-year-old.

 

Maya is hands down the best character on this show.  Her interactions with Corey are better than his interactions with Riley.  Lucas's strongest moments were with Maya.

[wagthedog]

Keeping in mind that it is a Disney show, so it's bound to not be the most realistic.

Agreed. And I'm not really looking for realism in the setup anyway. The spelling bee? Not realistic. The bakery? Not realistic. Corey teaching life lessons in a history class that doesn't teach history? Not realistic. But so what? It's all part of the setup for girl learning lessons as she meets the world.

As far as things like the usage of Topanga or the school needing other teachers or whatever, I think the show deserves a little time to layer all the stuff in. This is, what, the sixth episode? I assume a lot of us here watched the original so we have history with some of the characters and it makes a lot of the preliminaries seem slow and/or unnecessary, but the target audience is just being introduced to these characters. And even for people who already know the old show, in some respects Cory and Topanga are being re-invented. It takes time to peal those new layers.

The show has to figure out how to balance the new youngsters with the established faves and that probably takes some trial and error. Topanga was one of my favorite parts of BMW, but she doesn't really have a the easiest entry point into the main plots of GMW. How much time Amy Matthews spend on screen?

Also, in terms of Riley vs. Maya, Maya works better for me, but then again, Shawn worked better for me back in the day. Riley is pretty naive/sheltered, but that seems about right for a Corey/Topanga kid. If she were less naive, there'd be less world to meet. I'd rather she skew a little too young than a little too old. And if Lucas/Maya becomes a thing, I think that would be a reasonable update.

The first episode kinda made me cringe a little. This sixth episode, it feels like they're starting to figure out their formula.

[spanana]

For me Maya is one of the few things that works really well, even if her backstory is very heavy-handed and clumsily addressed by the show.  Yes, that wisecracking sarcastic character is very Plug and Play Disney Channel, but they found someone who's really quite extraordinarily good at it.  I'd dislike it if the show reigns her back in terms of those qualities, because the action on screen pops about twice as well when she's in a scene doing her shtick.  They need to raise up Riley's behavior and demeanor a bit rather than change Maya.

I really like the Maya character and Sabrina plays that whole thing well.  My biggest issue is I question at times why Riley and Maya would be friends, outside of the fact that Riley's family is essentially Maya's surrogate family.   Another poster hit the nail on the head for me when they mentioned that it comes off most of the time like Maya is managing Riley and her antics, which is fine to a degree.  But Maya comes off a bit older than her character is supposed to be, which again works based on her backstory.  At the same time Riley comes across younger than her character's age.   So we've got Maya acting like she's 15 and Riley acting like she's 10 and you wonder where they even find common ground.

Edited August 10, 2014 by spanana

[Oscirus]

Keeping in mind that it is a Disney show, so it's bound to not be the most realistic

 

There's a difference between not being realistic due to budgetary problems and not being realistic due to bad writing.  If you don't want to hire an extra to moderate a spelling bee then don't include it in the script.

 

The Topanga storyline could've went through a few more edits. That story was all over the place.

 

It feels like the writers on this show turn in their first drafts and call it a day.

 

On a positive note, Auggie actually works for me. He is not as annoying as most sitcom actors his age and he has pretty good chemistry with both his TV parents.

 

[Dots And Stripes]

Yea. And any other issues aside, it's doing better now then it was.

 

Keeping in mind that it is a Disney show, so it's bound to not be the most realistic.

I agree. This is also a continuation of a series where Amy bought a wilderness store without telling Alan. BMW wasn't the most realistic show in the world, but it balanced the absurd with more grounded elements. I think as this show finds its voice (and if it bans the word "world") people will start to forgive the less realistic elements more. For me, I'm happy to point out things that are completely unrealistic while still enjoying the show for what it is. I just don't think this show will ever be a realistic look at a functioning middle school or life in NYC.

[wagthedog]

If you don't want to hire an extra to moderate a spelling bee then don't include it in the script.

I don't think that's what it was. The spelling bee was just a setup for a life lesson for Riley, imparted by Corey/Maya.

A random moderator would not have made sense as the person delivering the lesson because it had to come from the people who know Riley. A stranger wouldn't have known she was off track with her Harajuka girl dress up.

[spanana]

I don't think that's what it was. The spelling bee was just a setup for a life lesson for Riley, imparted by Corey/Maya.

A random moderator would not have made sense as the person delivering the lesson because it had to come from the people who know Riley. A stranger wouldn't have known she was off track with her Harajuka girl dress up.

 

I think the bigger question is why Riley's life lesson has to be imparted via a school event.  There were plenty of other ways to write Riley learning a life lesson that did not include an interschool spelling bee held by the one teacher the school employs.  Cory wouldn't have a job in real life if he were continually dealing with his daughter's personal problems on class time.

[Fostersmom]

Exactly. I knew a couple of kids whose parents were our teachers, was in the same class with some of them. Yeah, every once in a  while one of the teachers would tease their kid about something in a fun way, not more or less than they would tease the rest of us, but never made class about their kid. The closest I ever saw to that was our AP history teacher coming to our physics class to see how her daughter's bridge faired (I had both classes with the daughter). She popped her head in and said she was just checking to see how her "husbands" bridge had done that year since it was a well known fact that a good percentage of us hadn't built these bridges ourselves. I personally took the supplies home, handed them to my stepfather who was all into building those giant remote controlled model planes, and told him to have at it. Her daughter hadn't gone in the bridge weight comp yet, so she hung around for a few minutes to see the bridge get it's turn, which was taken right after the bridge she walked in on. She saw it, said her husband had done a better job with their other daughter's bridge, we all laughed, and she left. Didn't make it all about her daughter, wasn't even the teacher of that class, but never made our history class all about her either.

 

There would have not only been pissed parents, but even more pissed teachers if she pulled the crap Corey pulls. It was one thing when Feeney was their teacher every year, even in college, but it was done in a funny way. Sure, sometimes Feeney would pay his favorite students a bit more attention, but it wasn't at the detriment of the rest of the class and he was often harder on them than others. Oh, and he actually taught lessons that were, you know, HISTORY classes, and if his students were able to use these lessons in their real lives, it was a nice bonus. With Corey it's like he's beating these lessons into Riley's head with a shovel and the rest of the class be damned. 

[wagthedog]

I think the bigger question is why Riley's life lesson has to be imparted via a school event.  There were plenty of other ways to write Riley learning a life lesson that did not include an interschool spelling bee held by the one teacher the school employs.  Cory wouldn't have a job in real life if he were continually dealing with his daughter's personal problems on class time.

Because it's only the sixth episode and the show is still establishing the characters it has before introducing new ones? To me, any 20ish minute episode can only handle so many new things. In this ep they were already dealing with Cloris Leachman and the Farkle nerd army. The spelling bee is a reasonable venue for the lesson because it's something Farkle's nerd group would be into. The nice thing about GMW already getting a Season 2 pickup is the writers now know they will have time to get more expansive, to open up the world and develop some different characters. I'm expecting to see other teachers as the season progresses. I suspect part of the reason there haven't been any other teachers so far is because the show was trying to give Corey more airtime so as to have some appeal for the BMW crowd that eagerly tuned in. Had the show been all Riley/Maya, as BMW was often mostly Corey/Shawn/Topanga, I think BMW watchers probably would have tuned out pretty quickly. Seems like a tough thing to do, trying to appeal to a new generation of tweens whose only experience with this world is GMW while also making the BMW camp happy.

 

As far as the real world goes, in the real world, Corey's class would be longer than the 2-3 minutes of tv time it gets. There's always a certain amount of assuming/imagining that goes on with any tv character because the "real world" of each character is presumed to go beyond whatever makes it into each episode. For example, Topanga apparently goes to work. Auggie must have preschool/kindergarten. Corey and Topanga probably have adult friends. Maybe some of these things will be explored in future episodes, but the fact we don't see all of them just means there's only so much you can put into a 20 minute episode. How much screen time did LIly get on BMW? How much did BMW ever delve into the grown up lives of Amy and Alan?

 

Anyway, I think the show is improving. Hopefully the upward trend continues.

[Oscirus]

A random moderator would not have made sense as the person delivering the lesson because it had to come from the people who know Riley. A stranger wouldn't have known she was off track with her Harajuka girl dress up.

 

They could've confronted her right before the spelling bee  or at any other time. That particular setting wasn't an important part of the message.

 

Because it's only the sixth episode and the show is still establishing the characters it has before introducing new ones? To me, any 20ish minute episode can only handle so many new things

 

That excuse doesn't fly when in the first episode of Boy Meets World with the same amount of time and the same lead writer established Feeney, Eric, Amy, Alan, Shawn, Morgan and Corey. 

[purpleflowers]

I understand the point about trying to balance the desires of BMW fans and new young viewers by making sure to include enough Corey. However, I think this can be done without inserting his presence in every compelling classroom moment. Corey can still be her teacher and perhaps share humorous class interactions with her and Riley can get her deep meaningful life lesson from some other teacher. Its not impossible. The premise of the show completely falls flat when a parent (Topanga in this case) asks Riley if she is popular with herself. It is just trying too hard. That said, I can see the truth in the thought that GMW may just need time to evolve and thats why I have been tuning in regularly.

Edited August 11, 2014 by purpleflowers

[JellyFishQueen]

Random thought, I been thicking about this plot point now for a couple of days. Did they get the meaning behind Damocles wrong?