All of the shows on ABC’s popular family-themed block of Friday night programming that ran from 1989 to 2000 were spectacularly ‘90s in aesthetic. Watching for the teased hair, neon color-blocking and Walkmans (the pre-iPod, iPod) alone is worthwhile, but more poignant for screenwriters is how a two-hour block of television featuring four comedies with a shared central theme can still feel so very different.
We’ve covered TGIF favorites Sister, Sister and Family Matters in this space already. Sister, Sister for its unique blended family thanks to the twins-separated-at-birth trope, and Family Matters’s “family first” theme. While the kids in those shows go through all the trials of growing up one would expect from a family sitcom, Boy Meets World had its own spin on the family dynamic — it was told from the POV of 11-year-old middle child Cory Matthews (Ben Savage).
Though he’s part of a strong family unit, the shift occurs in how the storylines are focused less on how events affect the family as a whole (which they do) and more about how they influence Cory’s individual growth as the lens for:
Coming-of-age, network comedy style
During the pilot episode, Cory’s teacher and neighbor (an excellent plot device that sparks wonderful circumstances throughout the show) Mr. Feeny teaches his sixth-grade class Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. “It’s about the all-consuming power of love and the inevitability of its influence on each of our lives.” Feeny’s words mean little to Cory — “are you aware that I’m only eleven years old?” he asks, which inevitably leads to detention — but they allow the audience to realize that this show is likely going to feature a lot of love stories. The detention right off the bat itself is an interesting choice for a pilot: Our hero is the “good guy” and a child at that, but he’s not without flaws. He’s still learning, and therefore relatable for the show’s young audience.
Boy Meets World’s humor is light, even if the topics aren’t always; underage drinking and alcoholism, sexual harassment, and even child abuse and abandonment are touched upon. We follow Cory and his best friend, Shawn Hunter (Rider Strong), through the end of middle school (and the beginning of their interest in girls), into high school; and, in later seasons, college and beyond. All the while, Cory makes choices — and not always good ones — that result in a moral lesson.
Cory and Shawn’s friendship is tested several times throughout the show’s run, as relationships tend to be through growing pains at that age, and their group expands to include the one thing Cory just can’t understand in the pilot: girls they love.
Mr. Feeny tells Cory in the pilot that what he admires most about the youngster’s family is that their strength as a family unit is what makes them powerful — all because two people fell in love and decided to make one. “The unlimited potential of what may come from that love,” says Mr. Feeny. In the case of Boy Meets World, it was seasons of teenage trials, lessons in love, comedy, and a relationship that would spawn a sequel: Girl Meets World.
Cory and his childhood friend, outsider Topanga Lawrence (Danielle Fishel), are the show’s heart. Their on-again-off-again relationship eventually ends in marriage and all of the ups and downs they face in between are seven seasons worth of story engine. Yes, they’ve got a great supporting cast around them with fully fleshed-out storylines of their own, but Cory and Topanga are why most of the audience kept tuning back in.
In terms of that supporting cast, Shawn’s longest relationship is with Angela Moore (Trina McGee). For its time, Shawn and Angela’s interracial relationship was a rare — and encouraging — sight in shows for young audiences. They eventually broke up, but for reasons beyond the superficial: they weren’t done growing into the people they were meant to be. But they did help inform the person the other was going to become. A wonderful choice to balance out Cory and Topanga’s “true love” storyline, Shawn and Angela reminded us that first loves are important for what they mean to our growth, but that doesn’t mean they have to be our last loves.
The mentor figure
Handy that the boys’ sixth-grade teacher became their high school principal who then tried to retire... and ended up a student himself — and then of course a professor — at the fictional university the Matthews brothers and their friends attend. Mr. Feeny, played by the Broadway and Emmy® Award-winning actor William Daniels (The Graduate), is a sly nod to the past, utilizing his age and perhaps the actor’s notoriety to lend the story a little gravitas. Mr. Feeny is gruff and full of advice — but he’s also a constant fixture the kids can rely on, even when they can’t rely on their own parents.
In a way, Cory’s older brother Eric (Will Friedle) is also a mentor figure for Cory. While he fails miserably at school (and most relationships), he realizes his mistakes and tries again, inadvertently becoming a good role model and friend for his little brother. In the series finale he, along with Mr. Feeny, is the one to remind Cory’s group of friends how and why they’re important to each other. Because in the end, it’s the relationships we make and our choices that define us.
In retrospect
At the end of the pilot, Cory finally sits down to an imaginary tea party with his little sister, effectively shocking his mom by essentially offering to put her to bed. She asks him why the sudden interest, and he says, “Because I don’t understand anything about my entire life.” We know that feeling, having been 11 years old. The world suddenly turns upside down with a new mix of emotions (thanks, hormones!) and how we’ve defined ourselves and those around us begins to change. With that line we know we’re in for the ride, right along with Cory.
You can find all seven seasons of Boy Meets World — and its sequel — on Disney+. Girl Meets World featured Savage and Fishel reviving their roles as Cory and Topanga, with the three-season show following their daughter Riley and her friends navigating life and school as pre-teens in a 2014 world.