Rewind: 'Boy Meets World'
This week's "Rewind" will shift to a tv series review in "Boy Meets World". Starting in 1993, Cory Matthews (Ben Savage) and the Matthews family are featured in a family sit-com that aired on ABC's TGIF (ahhhh nostalgia). We follow Cory's everyday problems with family matters, school issues, relationships and the day-to-day events of pre-teen living.
As a child of the late 80s, I fell in love with this show, as it was relatable to my own personal life. Characters like Shawn (Rider Strong, Cory's troubled best friend), the quirky Topanga (Danielle Fishel), teacher Mr. Feeny (William Daniels), mother Amy Matthews (Betsy Randle), father Alan Matthews (William Russ), brother Eric Matthews (Will Friedle) made up the main cast in the early years of the show and would remain so during the show's run.
We got to follow Cory as he transitioned from elementary school to adulthood, and somehow Mr. Feeny somehow always showed up as Cory's teacher, no matter what grade level he was in (even college). The real appeal of this show was not only in its comedy and entertainment, but in giving "life lessons" (yes, kids, tv in the 90s could actually teach you morals). We saw Shawn face some heart-breaking family issues like his mother abandoning his family and his father (Blake Clarke) passing away from a heart attack. We were engrossed in Cory and Topanga's on-and-off relationship and sat on the edge of our seats everytime they broke up and got back together.
The strength of this show was in its character interaction. The cast gelled extremely well and kept us coming back for more each week and each season. Cory and Shawn were an inseperable pair that always got into zany hijinks. As the show progressed, topics like drugs, alcohol and sex came into play and furthered the "morality" of the show. We even got great cameos from the likes of WWF/WWE wrestler 'Vader', Jennifer Love Hewitt, and members of 'The Monkees'.
The show never took itself too seriously and often played on logic issues, staying meta. As our characters grew and new scenarios emerged, we saw the introduction of Shawn's brother, Jack (Matthew Lawrence), Shawn's on-and-off girlfriend, Angela (Trina McGee), and Rachel (Maitland Ward). Living dynamics often changed with our characters sharing an apartment.
The later years of the show did start to get a bit silly, especially with Eric becoming a mostly clownish character and some ridiculous storylines, but I still loved it anyway. Cory and Topanga eventually marry and our characters join the Peace Corps. A recent "reboot" of 'Girl Meets World' continues the story of our characters Cory and Topanga as they now have children of their own. I personally haven't really watched the show, as it's just not for me. But I know that a lot of characters from BMW have made cameos.
This show will forever remain my favorite show of all-time. Let me know your thoughts on the show. Who were YOUR favorite characters? What were YOUR favorite storylines?
