Although the series premiere of Girl Meets World is over a month away, the Disney Channel released the show’s pilot online a few days ago at the Watch Disney Channel site, and if the pilot episode brought any strong emotion, it was the desire to again see where it all began.
The series that inspired GMW, Boy Meets World, has been a rerun favorite for many years. Even a child growing up in the 21st century might think they, too, grew up with Cory, Topanga, and their friends including Shawn, Cory’s brother Eric, and teacher Mr. Feeny. I myself was a few years older than Cory and Topanga, and the actors playing them, so the notion of Cory Matthews being the father to a pre-teen already makes me feel very old. Either way, the GMW pilot made me want to watch some old entries in the series a few nights ago – namely, the series premiere as well as the episode that introduced Danielle Fishel’s Topanga Lawrence, “Cory’s Alternative Friends.” I watched these episodes in 1993 when they first aired, though in the case of the latter, I had not seen it in two decades.
When Boy Meets World premiered, I do remember thinking the opening credits were cool, well designed, and [at the time] very modern. I hadn’t seen Ben Savage in much, and admit I probably just thought of him as “Fred Savage’s little brother” like anyone watching TV probably did. I loved that Cory’s teacher, Mr. Feeny, was voiced by William Daniels, whose voice I most associated with KITT. (That association would be joked about on the series). Watching the pilot now, it’s interesting to see how prototypical it is to the series later: I don’t even recall seeing class nerd Minkus in the pilot, though Cory and Shawn have another friend that they hang out with. Topanga is nowhere to be seen, and Cory’s brother Eric isn’t quite so dim; instead, he’s just constantly girl-crazy. Ben Savage in particular has a fun delivery and chemistry with the rest of the cast, which is surely a big reason why they got him in the first place. The pilot also features a subplot where Cory pays attention to little sister Morgan… that must go away eventually, considering that at a certain point Morgan just disappears for a half-season and no one seems to notice.
There are parallels between Boy Meets World and the Girl Meets World pilot that you’ll have to see. But, as far as 1990’s kid-com goes, the series doesn’t seem to talk down to its audience, despite clearly being aimed at a younger demo.
Boy Meets World was also a series that evolved over the years. The first season had a big focus on Cory and his family and had him as a sixth grader. As the series progressed, we saw Cory go to high school, and then college, and finally, he was married; clearly the cast of this show was going at double-speed, so it’s almost not surprising that they now have a pre-teen.
The second episode I watched, the series’ fourth, was called “Cory’s Alternative Friends,” and introduced Earthy “weird girl” Topanga. It is “eww” at first sight for the boy that is meeting the world. Knowing how the story ends makes the Cory-Topanga early interactions even funnier, and there are appearances by Marla Sokoloff (The Practice) and Chris Owen (The Shermanator) within, with the latter possibly not even having any lines. There’s a subplot involving Cory having weird hair, and Topanga and the band of misfits accepting him for what he is. The episode is also an example of BMW’s ever-changing continuity; at one point Shawn calls his older sister…. which, we know from later seasons, Shawn does not have a sister. Thankfully, the sequel series Girl Meets World seems to be embracing past continuity rather than running from it (just wait until you meet Farkle). And, while Topanga is super weird in this first appearance, Fishel is immediately likable, so it’s no surprise they toned her down and kept bringing her back to the point that eventually she became one of the show’s leads.
Either way, revisiting classic Boy Meets World was a fun way to spend the evening, whether you’re 13 or 33. Being older now, I probably understand the perspectives of Cory’s parents or Mr. Feeny more, but it doesn’t make the old stuff any less good. If anything, it re-awakened a nostalgia that made me want to see more.
Boy Meets World Season 1 can currently be found for under $10 on Amazon.com.
