Boy Meets World - General Discussion

[bettername2come]

Discuss Boy Meets World here.

[Princess Sparkle]

Can this also be a Rider Strong thread? Because I'm kind of obsessed with his podcast Literary Disco and have tons of feelings about him.

I owe you a thank you and a "thanks for making sure I do nothing else this weekend" - I had no idea that Rider Strong had a podcast, and I spent most of my weekend listening to it.  I'm getting a total kick out of hearing "Shawn Hunter" discuss literature.  The Flowers in the Attic episode was hysterical.

[Princess Sparkle]

I know the "I love you all.  Class dismissed" is basically the iconic Feeny line, my favorite of his (that I still repeat to myself often) has always been "Friendship is a real gift.  It's given with no expectations and no gratitude is needed, not between real friends."  I've always loved that sentiment, and when I think of my closest friends, that line always pops into my head.  William Daniels just gave so much to the role, and is as integral to the show to me as Cory was.  

I do remember seeing an interview with Michael Jacobs a little while back, and he said that for a few years, the kids always assumed William Daniels was British, just because of his proper speech and the tone of his voice, which I found hilarious.

[yeswedo]

Can this also be a Rider Strong thread? 

 

I think it's up to us at this time if we want to start separate threads for characters and actors.

Yes, you all can decide if  you want to separate discussions about characters vs. actors or have a combined thread

[maraleia]

A place to discuss particular episodes, arcs and moments from the show's run. Please remember this isn't a complete catch-all topic -- check out the forum for character topics and other places for show-related talk.

[Stinger97]

I've been watching the reruns on ABC Family in the run up to the premiere of Girl Meets World, and today I caught the two-parter ("A Long Walk to Pittsburgh") with Topanga's family moving to Pittsburgh. I never realized, but Topanga and Shawn shared a kiss in the episode (which Eric reveals to Cory), and there's a little bit of angst about it but for the most part, it's totally glossed over. In fact, Cory confronts Shawn about it but never brings it up to Topanga. Shawn claims that it was totally innocent, and the only reason it happened was because he was comforting Topanga, but I kind of had to scoff. Who comforts his best friend's girlfriend by kissing her? And what boyfriend just accepts that and doesn't even ask his girlfriend about it? 

[kia112]

Wow.  I definitely don't remember that.  All I remember is "UNDERPANTS!"  I gotta go back and watch that.

[bettername2come]

It looks like he kisses her on the cheek to me, which makes sense because Shawn's done that at other times later in the series. Of course, from the angle Eric and the audience is shown it's kind of ambiguous, but I believe Shawn's claim that it's innocent. 

[Jynnan tonnix]

I used to watch this show with my kids (who were a couple of years younger than Cory, et al)  back during its original run, but don't recall this incident specifically. It did make me think, though, of the episode fairly late in the series, where Cory has a bit of a connection with another girl while suffering from an injured ankle (?) in a ski lodge. It was a while ago and I don't remember the particulars. I believe they had stayed up all night talking, and there was an attraction, but don't recall that it was particularly acted upon. But Topanga reacted as though she was mortally wounded and would never be able to forgive or trust him again. Of course, I never really liked Topanga anyway and would have been all for Cory getting to date a couple of other girls along the line at least to get an idea of what and who else might be out there. I liked ski lodge girl much better for all the little bit we got to see of her.

[javajunkie86]

Of course, I never really liked Topanga anyway and would have been all for Cory getting to date a couple of other girls along the line at least to get an idea of what and who else might be out there. I liked ski lodge girl much better for all the little bit we got to see of her.

 

 

Thank you! I thought I was the only one who enjoyed seeing Cory and Lauren together. I thought they had a better connection anyway.  I do not know why the writers were afraid to explore that relationship further after their date at the park.  It was refreshing to see Cory attracted to another girl. I was a bit disappointed the show didn't explore Cory dating other girls or being in another relationship with someone who wasn't Topanga.  As much as I enjoyed the show, I was hoping to see both of them date other people for awhile. 

[wingster55]

Re: "A Long Walk to Pittsburgh" - I think that may be my least favorite episode (part two at least). I don't see how what Amy was saying was untrue, cruel or heartless like Cory was acting. Or how Topanga's parents were in the wrong for daring to have lives outside of their daughter's love life. And most of all the retcon of Topanga and Cory. I did see season 1 writers!

[bettername2come]

I felt we needed a place to discuss Feeny's words of wisdom, Eric's crazy statements, and Cory and Topanga's declarations of love. Here's some random ones to get us started:

 

Ghost Chet: I got two stupid boys! Y'all embarrass me in front of my dead friends!

 

Cory: I believe in love like I believe in God. You can't see it. You can't touch it, but you know it's there because you can feel its wrath.
Shawn: And goodness. You can feel love's goodness.
Cory: I wouldn't know.

 

Morgan: [singing Corinna's song about Eric] He's a loser freak, loser freak. He's a maladjusted loser freak. He's a woman-hating, maladjusted loser freak!...And he doesn't like girls 'cause he's afraid of them, afraid of them! I think he likes boys if you know what I'm saying.

 

Mr. Feeny: Do good.
Topanga: Don't you mean 'do well'?
Mr. Feeny: No.

[Scarlett45]

If I recall correctly Topanga was upset that Cory kissed another girl and lied to her about it after she asked him directly if anything happened between them besides talking. She was not upset that he felt an attraction to someone else. Cory did act like an ass then, he should've just come clean when asked; Rather than continuing to lie, and when Lauren showed up without his knowledge it just looked worse! Lol.

I would've had no problem with Cory and Topanga dating other people (which they did a bit in season 5 I think) but I was on Topanga's side in that instance with Cory being mopey that she dare not want to take him back.

Edited June 22, 2014 by Scarlett45

[Spartan Girl]

I would've had no problem with Cory and Topanga dating other people (which they did a bit in season 5 I think) but I was on Topanga's side in that instance with Cory being mopey that she dare not want to take him back.

 

Completely true.

 

But I was totally on Cory's side when Topanga called off the engagement just because her parents got divorced and she thought they'd end up like them.  That was such a stupid thing to do, and it would have served Topanga right if Cory just gave up on Topanga and started dating again.  After rejecting him a bunch of times, who the hell was she to get pissy when she saw him with another girl.  I was like, "Honey, you've got nobody to blame but yourself."

[ladyrott]

In light of the fact that Cory and Topanga ended up engaged by the time they graduated high school, I do wish the writers would have done a (very realistic IMO) season where the two of them decide that, in order to know for sure that they belonged together, they dated and had relationships with other people.  Topanga in particular always struck me as the type of girl who would want to do that, just to "be sure".  They could have maintained their friendship, brought in a couple of new characters to be the boyfriends/girlfriends and then reunited C/T at the beginning of the following season.  If they truly wanted to make me happy, they would have nixed all the jealousy crap completely and then their reuniting would have been twice as sweet.

[solotrek]

I do wish the writers would have done a (very realistic IMO) season where the two of them decide that, in order to know for sure that they belonged together, they dated and had relationships with other people.  Topanga in particular always struck me as the type of girl who would want to do that, just to "be sure".  They could have maintained their friendship, brought in a couple of new characters to be the boyfriends/girlfriends and then reunited C/T at the beginning of the following season.

 

Didn't they kind of cover that? Cory had that thing with the girl at the ski lodge and they broke up. And regardless of what Cory said, it took Topanga dating the art student guy to realize for sure that Cory was for her.  Granted, I see what you mean and agree with you, but I think they covered the general idea of what you mean.

[bettername2come]

Plus, they broke up in season three because they were both feeling like they were in a rut. When they got back together at the end of the season, after they had dated other people, they couldn't remember why they had broken up in the first place.

[ladyrott]

I would have liked to have gotten to know new boys/girls for them, though....a complete season arc where they each had a real relationship with someone else.  I know it's silly but I always wished for it.

[javajunkie86]

 

I would have liked to have gotten to know new boys/girls for them, though....a complete season arc where they each had a real relationship with someone else.  I know it's silly but I always wished for it

 

I couldn't agree more. I was disappointed that we never got to see them involved with other people. I think the show mess up on that.  The show revolved around Cory and Topanga's relationship too much.  I just wish he would have dated Lauren a bit more. It was clear he was into her. I got annoyed with Shawn's inability to let his friend explore the possiability of dating someone new.  I am not saying I hated C/T, but I would have been happy to see them both having other boyfriends/girlfriends.

Edited July 14, 2014 by javajunkie86

[Petunia13]

Cory: Do you have Mr Feeny this year?

Shawn: yep.

Cory: which courses?

Shawn: all of them!

Cory: Me too!!!

[bettername2come]

Topanga's "I married Feeny" realization reminded me of one.

Shawn: I'm not getting heavy, Angela. I just think that an emotional commitment is the proper foundation for - Oh my God, I'm both of them!

[kia112]

Eric: You know, at first, I blamed it on myself. I thought, "Maybe glands." And then I thought, "Maybe metabolism." But then I thought to myself, "I'm no racist!" So it all comes back to you guys!

[bettername2come]

Cory, listing the ways he has dream-killed Shawn: Well, I fed ya thumbtack soup. I poured hot lava down your pants. I pulled your heart out with salad tongs. I set fire to your tie. I shredded you over pasta with a cheese grater. I dressed you up like a rooster and entered you in a cockfight.

Shawn: How'd I do?

Cory: Well, you won, but the, uh, the crowd cried fix, and it got ugly. I'm sorry, Shawn.

Later:

Cory: It was raining. You had a new umbrella. You let me take a look at it. And then I shoved it down your throat! And then I opened it.

Shawn: You opened it?

Cory: Oh, Shawn! I Mary Poppined ya!

[AntiBeeSpray]

Woot! Just got to see "Notorious" again. The episode where Shaun changes the news paper headline from "The New Principal is Feeny" to "The New Principal is Weeny"... XD

 

Man the feels... Love it, love it, love it! More this time then back then. To be honest, the writing was way better and it had more of a teacher being a teacher kind of a feel to the episodes. I miss that :(.

 

And Feeny... he rules! :D

[kia112]

I was watching GMW for a bit, then decided to rewatch BMW (the entire series) to see if it was as bad as GMW in the beginning.  No, no it wasn't.

 

I really loved Eric's arc after high school.  I went through something similar and I think they captured the feelings of failure and disappointment and jealousy and all the things that go along with being "left behind" as well as they could for a 30 minute comedy.

 

Rachel...I still say she sucks.  I know their fight led to the Plays With Squirrels that everyone loves, but for real, I didn't see the big loss if they weren't friends anymore.  It didn't feel earned with Rachel.  With Angela, they made the point over and over again to talk about how she and Shawn just really liked each other.  Liked talking to each other, liked being in each others presence.  Yeah, they also liked to make out, but their relationship was a real character builder for Shawn.  And when she and Shawn broke up, they also made it a point that Angela be Cory's friend outside of her relationship with Shawn.  I bought a Cory/Topanga friendship, a Topanga/Shawn friendship, a Cory/Shawn friendship, a Shawn/Angela friendship, a Topanga/Angela friendship (kind of; I actually think that theirs was the least developed, even though they were supposed to be "best friends") and a Cory/Angela friendship.  Trina McGee-Davis is a terrible actress, but she seemed to be able to convey a sense of intimacy when she was in scenes opposite Rider and Ben.  Chemistry can help smooth out bad acting.  Rachel?  I didn't see her as friends with anyone.  Maybe Eric.  Which is probably why he was the most upset about the thought that she might walk away.

Edited December 7, 2014 by kia112

[bettername2come]

Rachel?  I didn't see her as friends with anyone.  Maybe Eric.  Which is probably why he was the most upset about the thought that she might walk away.

 

The scene I really like is when she comforts Jack after Chet's death. It turns into a full on makeout session, but it starts off as just her holding him and stroking his head, and I think both of them played it well. I got the sense they would grow closer again when they went into the Peace Corps at the end of the series.

 

Now that I'm thinking about the finale, it occurs to me that I really like that the series ended with all the young adult characters leaving home and going out into the world in different directions, but not alone. 

[kia112]

Yeah...but IMO, that could have happened with anyone because Jack was in such pain (so I'm told; I also think Matt Lawrence is a hideous actor).  Like, I didn't see this connection that it had to be Rachel.

[bettername2come]

I think it works for the best. She, Eric and Shawn are the ones Jack is connected to. He can't talk to Shawn because he thinks Shawn's got it worse than him, and I don't think he would have let himself break down with Eric, although even in his wacky years, Eric never lost his ability to be a sympathetic listener in a time of crisis.

 

Rachel has three scenes I really like: that one, the one where she starts a food fight, and the one where she purposefully distracts Shawn and Cory from their girlfriends to prove that them being there all the time is a bad idea. I get that her purpose as a character is to add some balance/eye candy to a male-dominated show. I haven't felt any need to have her on GMW, although I think it's sweet that she came by the set. The actors seem to have gotten along really well, even with the late arrivals.

[kia112]

What I'm saying is that I feel like it was Rachel because it made "sense" but not because it made sense. If some woman named Julia moved in instead of Rachel or Brittany or whoever moved in, then it would have happened with them. Does that make sense? It would have been whatever female roommate they created because that's where they wants to go with the story, but, IMO, it wasn't organic because I didn't buy that they were friends.

[Princess Sparkle]

My all-time favorite lines of dialogue are in "And then there was Shawn":

 

Angela: Well is any one of us safe?
Shawn : Yeah, virgins! Virgins never die!
Cory (to Topanga): All right! Thanks for saving me.
Eric: I'm dead!
Jack: I'm dead.
Shawn : I'll get as sick as you can get without actually dying.
Angela: Feeny, he's dead.
Eric and Shawn (sudden look of realization):  Go, Feeny! Go, Feeny! Go go, go Feeny!

Cory: Look, as happy as I am for Feeny, I am scared to death.

 

It's the final "as happy as I am for Feeny" that always kills me.  And you can just see Eric, Shawn and Jack trying so hard not to laugh throughout the entire thing.  

Edited December 17, 2014 by Princess Sparkle

[bettername2come]

Should I just transcribe the entire episode here?

 

Mr. Feeny: Nebraska, Mr. Hunter!

Shawn: The 75th state! Major export: tortillas!

 

Shawn: I'm sorry that I disrupted class and killed everyone...

 

Should I be bothered by the fact that literally every other post in this thread is me? No? Okay, good.

[kia112]

Some of my favorites are from "Eric Hollywood."  My friend and I say "Prepare to die, Jedi Master" and "THAT'S NOT ABOUT ME!" to this day.

[Princess Sparkle]

I love that episode!  Every single interaction on the set of Boy Getting Acquainted with the Universe is gold:

 

"You know, how can I learn so much every week and still be so stupid?"

 

"Deep down I'm shy too. I'm a wounded bird. Schneider and me are wounded birds!"

"HELP ME!"

 

"You call this a classroom? There are only nine desks. Are we supposed to believe there are only nine students in the whole class?"
"Actually, camera angles will make it appear to be more."
"That's diabolical."

 

"That's not poopy, you're poopy!"

 

I do still say "UNDAPANTS!" to my friends quite frequently, but honestly, how can you not?

[bettername2come]

My friend and I have this running gag about "That farmhouse....there." It came in especially useful when some drunk at a concert last year kept coming to our seats and we had to redirect him to "That section...there."

 

Every single interaction on the set of Boy Getting Acquainted with the Universe is gold:

 

"Hey, Banana Boy! Wanna be a star?"

[Princess Sparkle]

My friend and I have this running gag about "That farmhouse....there." It came in especially useful when some drunk at a concert last year kept coming to our seats and we had to redirect him to "That section...there."

 

 

Are you me?  I almost put the "That farmhouse...over there" in my last post, but I thought that was something only my friends and I thought were funny.  I should've known better.

 

And now is the time where I admit that my favorite "Plays with squirrels" quote is not "lose one friend, lose all friends, lose yourself", but is "I married a moose!  We don't need counseling."  I am always disappointed that Will Friedle didn't have a bigger career after the show was over, because he really did have excellent comedic timing.

 

Should I just transcribe the entire episode here?

Mr. Feeny: Nebraska, Mr. Hunter!

Shawn: The 75th state! Major export: tortillas!

Shawn: I'm sorry that I disrupted class and killed everyone...

 

Hee!  And I should've added: Kenny.  We'll always remember he was this tall.

Edited December 17, 2014 by Princess Sparkle

[kia112]

I am always disappointed that Will Friedle didn't have a bigger career after the show was over, because he really did have excellent comedic timing.

 

I really think that he just didn't want to do it any longer, and he found his comfort zone in voice acting.

[bettername2come]

Not sure if this is the thread to put this is, but I saw the new Annie yesterday, and Eric's interpretation of "Tomorrow" kept popping into my head. Especially him singing the "Ba-da-da-da-da-dah!" as the girl sings "away!" Not the first time I've compared Eric to a real production. He's also a better Romeo than the guy in the recent movie adaptation. 

[Tom Hanson]

Topanga: "From this moment on, total honesty." Shawn: "It's a trap.". ~~ Shawn: "Milkman!". Angela: "There aren't any milkman anymore!" Shawn: "...Cow!"

[bettername2come]

Topanga: "From this moment on, total honesty." Shawn: "It's a trap.". 

"Trap, trap. Trappity, trap, trap."

[bettername2come]

http://hollywoodlife.com/2015/01/22/alexandra-barreto-rider-strong-baby-boy-meets-world/

 

Rider's a dad! Ironic that he's the first of the three to have kids.

Edited January 22, 2015 by bettername2come

[Princess Sparkle]

http://hollywoodlife.com/2015/01/22/alexandra-barreto-rider-strong-baby-boy-meets-world/

 

Rider's a dad! Ironic that he's the first of the three to have kids.

My only (half-kidding) disappointment is that the child isn't named Cory.

[Petunia13]

He's so cute.

[bettername2come]

Thought of another one from "And Then There Was Shawn"

 

Shawn: Feeny locked us in!

Cory: He can't do that! It's against the Geneva Detention Convention!

 

This pops into my head any time I hear Geneva Convention.

[bettername2come]

Chet: Boy, I could never lie to you, so I'll just tell you the truth. Your mama exploded.

Edited June 8, 2015 by bettername2come

[Petunia13]

Eric: It was one of those nights. You know the kind. Like day...but darker.

Topanga: Do you think this is funny?

Cory: No, I think it's the opposite of funny. I think it's... wood.

Eric: If stupidity were in the Olympics, you'd win a Nobel Prize.

[Petunia13]

I liked Rachel. I liked that she was unconventionally beautiful being a redhead, with short hair, and taller than all the guys. And sge was quirky. She wasn't some cookie cutter blond ditz you'd see on most teen shows. She meshed well with Topanga and Angela and I liked they addressed how she felt left out of the clique sometimes being the newbie.

It was ridiculous she and jack joined the peace corps on a whim last epi. She tells jack there's an extra space and he last minute decides to go without an interview or submitting an application or letters of recommendation? RME.

[Petunia13]

Shawn: How do you know you're having an idea?

***

Cory: Hey Roy! You gotta see this. Some guys making a total fool of himself asking out a girl who's TOTALLY not interested. (Pauses then points) oh wait! It's YOU!

Bully to girls at Chubbies: Hey wanna dance?

They nod.

He stares at girls and while leaning against the wall says deadpan: Ok. So dance.

[bettername2come]

Cory: You know what the best thing about being a virgin is?

Shawn: What?

Cory: No, I'm asking.

 

And because I find myself using it:

Topanga: Liah!

[kia112]

Angela: Why are you mad? We asked if you wanted to come.

Topanga: Yes, and I believe your words were "Puh."

Cory: Puh...sibly.

 

I also still say, "Puh...sibly" to this day.

[Glendenning]

Lets talk Morgan.

 

I'm firmly a Lily Nicksay person. One of the best blonde cutie pie children to grace the small screen.