Boy Meets World
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The series is currently syndicated weekday afternoons on ABC Family Channel and late nights/early mornings on the Disney Channel. Certain episodes have been omitted or edited for Disney Channel broadcasts due to "adult" content, such as alcohol use, language, and some sexual innuendo.
- 1 Synopsis
- 2 Episodes
- 3 Characters
- 3.1 Cory Matthews (
- 3.2 Shawn Patrick Hunter (
- 3.3 Topanga Lawrence-Matthews (
- 3.4 Eric Randall Matthews (
- 3.5 Alan Matthews (
- 3.6 Amy Jones-Matthews (
- 3.7 Morgan Matthews (
- 3.8 George Feeny (
- 3.9 Jonathan Turner (
- 3.10 Eli Williams (
- 3.11 Angela Shinaynay Moore (
- 3.12 Jack Hunter (
- 3.13 Rachel Kimberly McGuire (
- 3.14 Joshua Gabriel Matthews (Daniel Jacobs)
- 3.15 Chet Hunter (
- 4 Stage Settings
- 4.1 The House - Full Run
- 4.2 Mr. Feeny's Classroom - Full Run
- 4.3 John Adams Main Floor - Seasons 2/3/4
- 4.4 John Adams Senior Floor - Season 5
- 4.5 The First Apartment - Seasons 2/3/4
- 4.6 The Second Apartment - Seasons 5/6/7
- 4.7 The Trailer - Seasons 2/3/4/5/6
- 4.8 Chubbie's Diner - Seasons 2/3/4/5
- 4.9 The Dorm - Seasons 6/7
- 4.10 The Student Union - Seasons 6/7
- 4.11 The Married Couples' Dorm - Season 7
- 5 Continuity errors
- 6 Syndication
- 7 Disney Channel \"Banned\" Episodes
- 8 DVD Releases
- 9 Theme Music and Introductions
- 10 Ties to The Wonder Years
- 11 Recurring cast list
- 12 See also
- 13 External links
Synopsis
Cory Matthews is the main character of the series, the other characters serve to help Cory with his difficulties in achievement in school, his moral conflicts with Shawn Hunter, and his trouble understanding his girlfriend.[link] Cory's best friend, Shawn Hunter is dissimilar to Cory; he is a social rebel, he has an unsupportive family, he also has success with women. Cory's mother and father (Amy and Alan Matthews) are hard working people who try to make a decent living to raise their three children (by the end of the series, there will be a fourth child, Joshua Matthews, born). Their other two children are Eric Matthews, the handsome, sometimes idiotic older brother who tries to distance himself from Cory at all possible times; and Morgan Matthews, the younger sister who uses her looks and innocence to get what she wants, and has an amazing talent to sing. Cory, with his stubbornness and laziness, struggles with his friend to get through school. To help them, there is Mr. George Feeny, Cory's mentor and neighbor. He tries as hard as possible to get them through school and he eventually does. Finally, there is Topanga Lawrence, his first love, and in the later seasons, his fiancé/wife. Topanga and Cory's relationship is the main focus of the later part of the series and at the end of the series, Topanga, Cory, Shawn, and Eric leave Philadelphia for New York City.The series is often compared to The Wonder Years, another "coming-of-age" series, which starred Ben Savage's older brother Fred Savage (who makes a cameo in the show's sixth season). While The Wonder Years was a drama however, Boy Meets World was an adapted sitcom, complete with a laugh track. Boy Meets World contained an uneasy mix of dramedy and smart humor (especially in the story arc of Shawn Hunter), deadpan humor (serious characters basically giving out comic lines) and a non-stop straight-out farce, with the latter beginning to increasingly dominate the show as time went on. The Wonder Years is considered by some as more realistic and as a result easier to follow.
The show also has several striking similarities to Happy Days and in fact was somewhat modeled after the classic series. From the setup of the high school to the letterman jackets to even a fifties sock hop in one episode, "Boy Meets World" had many aspects from that throwback era. There's even an episode where Cory travels back to the '50s. Tom Bosley, Anson Williams, and Pat Morita make cameos in this episode, and Shawn is called "Shawnzie". In addition, an episode of Happy Days from its first season is entitled "Breaking Up is Hard to Do", while an episode of "Boy Meets World" from its third season is entitled "Breaking Up is Really, Really Hard to Do".
Playfulness
Fourth wall jokes abound, never-ending deadpan humor, multiple episodes openly parody then-current movies, including Scream, Rounders, and The Truman Show; wrestler Big Van Vader and Baywatch's Yasmine Bleeth appear as recurring characters playing themselves; and characters repeatedly mention the show's format, plot formulas, and continuity errors.In the final episode, Cory is talking to his little brother and telling him that he is one day going out into the real world and he would make mistakes but he would learn from them and eventually become a good person, he then stops, and says "Boy meets world, I get it now". The quote is related to the title of the show.
The show is particularly notable for openly acknowledging its Chuck Cunningham syndrome, going to the lengths of bringing back the character of Stuart Minkus from the first season as a cameo for the high school graduation episode, who explains his absence by having been in "that part of the school over there (pointing off-camera)." Stuart then calls out, "Oh, hey, Mr. Turner!" The character of Mr. Turner was a teacher who played an important role in several seasons of the show and then disappeared. Similarly, Cory's sister Morgan unexpectedly returns after an entire season's absence with a wisecracking comment, "That was the longest time-out I've ever had." The character of Morgan was also reprised by a different actress. Another example is the pig Little Cory. While still in high school, Shawn obtains a piglet and names him Little Cory. The pink colored pig disappears after one episode, only to reappear for a single cameo during the show's college years as a full-grown pig, now dark black.
Similarly, it was one of the only shows in ABC's TGIF programming block to openly acknowledge its placement there and have characters poke fun at it; when the show was rescheduled from 8:30 to 9:30 because of its increasingly adult subject matter, a boy who Cory is babysitting complains that his "favorite show" has been rescheduled past his bedtime for no good reason, exclaiming, "They're trying to kill it!" Cory enthusiastically agrees. Similarly, when ABC began advertising its airing of The Beatles Anthology by replacing its shows' theme songs with Beatles songs, a move ignored in the scripts of most of its shows, the writers of Boy Meets World twisted the concept around by instead using a Monkees song and having that week's episode feature the Monkees as guest stars.
The increasing sense of the show's realism unraveling and the plot becoming increasingly farcical—especially with the character of Eric Matthews, who had changed from a relatively serious character into a hyperactive, wisecracking, idiot savant failure who served as a source of screwball comic relief—caused many viewers to conclude that the show had jumped the shark. However, the "post-jump" episodes of the series—the ones taking place at Pennbrook and driven by Eric's madcap exploits—are among the most prized by adult fans of the show, who look on it as a source of nostalgia and self-aware camp humor.
It is one of the few television shows to take place primarily in the Philadelphia area, and makes multiple local references. These include Cory's love for the Phillies and his brother Eric's attempts to get into Swarthmore College—finally ending with Cory and most of the cast attending Pennbrook, an institution that appears to be a pastiche of Swarthmore, Penn, and other Philly-area colleges.
Episodes
There are 7 seasons, each with more than 20 episodes.
Characters
Cory Matthews ( Cory is the main character of the series; Cory's best friend is Shawn Hunter, his mother and father are Amy and Alan Matthews, he has three siblings, Eric Matthews, Morgan Matthews, and Joshua Matthews (born very late in series). Mr. George Feeny is Cory's mentor and neighbor. Cory struggled in graduating high school, where he often had trouble with bullies. Cory married Topanga Lawrence, his first love, late in the series. Sometimes Cory and Topanga do not get along when Cory is not doing the right thing or not doing things the right way (humorously), complete with deadpan humor and puns. Topanga, Cory and many of his friends left Philadelphia for an internship that Topanga got for a law firm in New York City. In the last episode, it is revealed that Cory is actually short for his full name: "Cornelius". In the episode when it shows Cory and his friends going to Mr. Feeny's retirement in 2006 Cory is shown wearing glasses and a tie.
Shawn Patrick Hunter (
Shawn has always been the best friend of Cory Matthews. The two met when Cory fell into an animal pen at a zoo and Shawn came to his rescue. As they grew older, Shawn developed a personality opposite of Cory. Shawn took more risks and had more of a bad boy image. Their personality differences did cause problems between the two a few times, but those problems could never destroy the unbreakable friendship between Cory and Shawn. Later seasons depict the relationship between Cory and Shawn as being so intimate that Topanga is jealous of it. Several innuendos are made as to the subconscious homoerotic nature of their friendship.
In the first season of Boy Meets World, not much is known about Shawn Hunter except that he is Cory's best friend. In seasons two and above, the show began to focus on Shawn's life as well. In the beginning, Shawn lives with both his parents, Chet and Verna Hunter. One day, Verna runs off with the trailer and Shawn is left under the care of the Matthews family when Chet chases after his wife. When the Matthews find that Chet will not be returning for a while, Jonathan Turner, a teacher at John Adams High School, offers to be a legal guardian of Shawn. About a year later, Chet comes back and eventually Verna rejoins her family temporarily before taking off again. In a later season, Shawn's half-brother, Jack arrives in town for college. Shawn moves in with him and Eric Matthews, Cory's older brother, which leaves Chet free to take off again. However, on a trip back to town, Chet dies of a heart attack. Towards the final episodes of the series, Shawn discovers that Verna wasn't his biological mother when she sends him a letter after Chet's death. Apparently, Chet was left to take care of Shawn after his biological mother, who was actually a stripper, abandoned them shortly after his birth. Later in the series Shawn falls in love with a girl name Angela. Angela plays hard to get but later she caves in. Until her best friend Topanga breaks up with Cory. Then things get rocky. In the episode when Shawn and his friends go to Mr. Feeny's retirement in 2006, Shawn has become a writer and has a goatee (which he has for the rest of the series run as well). Mr. Feeny has all of Shawn's books.
Topanga Lawrence-Matthews (
Cory and Topanga
Topanga is Cory's main love interest. Her character underwent dramatic changes during the course of the series. When she was initially introduced in the first season, she was an ultra-left-wing hippie, and displayed a "robot-like" demeanor. Once the characters entered high school, she became more emotional and demonstrative, and her beliefs became less radical. Much was made of the fact that Topanga was attractive, popular, and academically successful, though an episode in the final season centered around Topanga's expanding figure.
Also starting in high school, her on-again/off-again relationship with Cory became one of the major elements of the show. In later seasons, it was explained that Cory and Topanga first met as toddlers and became best friends, only to be driven apart as they grew older and Eric pressured Cory to think of girls as "icky." However, this seems to contradict first season episodes which show that Cory knows almost nothing about Topanga.
Although Topanga was admitted to Yale University, she decided to attend Pennbrook College with Cory and their friends and proposed to Cory at their high school graduation. They married before their sophomore year (during the final season). At the end of the series, she and Cory move to New York with Eric and Shawn.
Eric Randall Matthews (
Eric Matthews
The brother of Cory, Morgan, and Joshua Matthews, Eric began the show as a suave, popular young man who constantly dated. He was originally portrayed as the stereotypical older brother to model other famous older brothers such as Mike Seaver from Growing Pains. It's hard to tell when exactly Eric's character changed from preppy older brother to "crazy moronic brother," but it was perhaps during the fourth season when Eric takes a year off from school when he doesn't get into a college of his choice.
Eric also often plays off his hero and mentor, Mr. Feeny. Though Eric and Feeny are not originally seen as having a close relationship, the two develop a bond, that at least in Eric's mind, is one of love. This culminates at the end of the fifth season when Eric sings a rousing rendition of "To Sir, With Love" at Cory's High School Graduation. Eric also coins the "Feeny call" and even makes a talking doll for Feeny that does the call so Feeny will not miss him when he moves to New York.
Alan Matthews (
Alan is the husband of Amy Matthews and the father of Eric, Cory, Morgan, and Joshua Matthews. Alan, as the father of the Matthews children, has provided guidance to his children, but has also at times lacked the supportiveness that he should show. At times during the later years of the show, Alan failed to have faith in Eric when it came to jobs and overall successfulness in life.
He began his career as a supermarket manager, eventually winning a prized "Grocie" award. Eventually, he became disillusioned with his standard 9-5 job that he had worked for so many years, and quit without warning his family. A brief period of family distress followed, with Amy (his wife) proclaiming that she would in turn "make a large decision that affects the entire family without consulting with him first." Accordingly, she purchased a wilderness store that was up for sale, which Alan took over and renamed "Matthews & Sons".
Amy Jones-Matthews (
Amy is the wife of Alan Matthews and the mother of Eric, Cory, Morgan, and Joshua Matthews. During the earlier years of the show, Amy was a real estate agent and eventually became an art gallery worker toward the end of the show.Morgan Matthews (
Morgan is the daughter of Alan and Amy Matthews, the younger sister of Eric and Cory and the older sister of Joshua Matthews. She inexplicably disappeared partway through the show's second season and reappeared a season later played by a different actress (see Chuck Cunningham syndrome).
George Feeny (
George Feeny
Throughout the series, George tries his best to guide young Cory, Shawn, and their friends as they encounter problems in their lives on their road to adulthood. An extremely kind and serene man, he first appears on the show as their school teacher, also as their neighbor; principal, and eventually toward the later years, their college professor (teaching such diverse courses as archeology, English literature, and quantum physics). The mercurial nature of Feeny's job became an in-joke in the series, with characters such as Cory mentioning more than once that Feeny seems to be the only teacher he's ever had. Feeny is also known for his deadpan humor. Later on in the show, George Feeny becomes the mentor of Eric Matthews, and "Feenay", as Eric refers to. George Feeny is a Boston native and likes to garden.
Mr. Feeny was once married to a woman named Lillian, who died before the series began. He later marries Dean Lila Bolander (played by William Daniels' real-life wife Bonnie Bartlett).
Jonathan Turner (
Mr. Turner was the teacher of Cory, Shawn, and Topanga starting in the second season. His new age approach to teaching often clashed with Mr. Feeny's more traditional methods, and the students found that they could more easily identify with the hip, Harley-riding Mr. Turner. In the third season, Shawn found residence with Mr. Turner when his dad went on a cross-country search for Shawn's mother Verna. Mr. Turner remained on the show until midway through the fourth season, he was put in a hospital after a motorcycle accident. As an homage to the beloved character, the show made a reference to him in the graduation episode when Stuart Minkus returns for a cameo and calls out to an off-screen Mr. Turner. Mr. Turner was also responsible for introducing the character of Eli Williams. He also has a departed son.Eli Williams (
Eli Williams was another teacher to Cory, Shawn, and Topanga. He joined the show in season three when his best friend and former college roommate Jonathan Turner got him a job at the school, teaching media arts. Like Turner, Williams is hip, cool, and can relate easily to the young students. However, being a former journalist at a television station in Philadelphia, he sometimes finds teaching and reaching out to students to be difficult chore, something that Turner helps him out with. Stories in the third season were written to focus on the friendship between Turner and Williams and the single bachelor life of dating, partying and socializing that they experience outside of their teaching, showing the life of young adults post-college. Williams had a starring role for some of the third season before he disappeared with no explanation. He never was seen of or heard of after the third season.Angela Shinaynay Moore (
Angela Moore was the sweetheart of Shawn Hunter in Seasons 5 - 7. Her first appearance, uncredited, was in Season 5, and she became a regular cast member in Season 6. Angela is a smart, beautiful African-American, and is passionate about causes and people. She is very classy and enjoys things for their artistic value. This balances well with Shawn's creative spirit. Although she broke up with Shawn during one or two episodes, and once for a longer period in the shows Pennbrook stage, they resolved their issues of angst and became true and devoted lovers, until Angela left for Europe with her father in the series' penultimate episode. In real life, Trina was pregnant during the filming of her role as Angela. Interestingly, there was never a mention of Angela's race over the course of her relationship with Shawn, except for the mentioning of a paper she did about "maintaining black identity when you have three very white friends", and commenting several times how she "has to get some black friends". In one of the episodes where she and Shawn break up, she is seen dating a black man, perhaps an allusion to the fact that she is always sensitive to the fact that she is the only African-American in her group of friends.Jack Hunter (
The half-brother of Shawn, Jack is the opposite of Shawn. He has money, works out, and has experienced relatively little difficulty in his life. Jack, along with Eric, pined for Rachel after she moved in with the two, eventually winning this battle. Although he claims to have six percent body fat, he was once referred to as "Jumbo Jack," much to the delight of Eric.Rachel Kimberly McGuire (
Rachel dated Jack for a relatively short period of time. Prior to moving in with Jack and Eric, she lived down the hall with her Texas boyfriend. She also roomed with Topanga and Angela for awhile. Rachel eventually joins the Peace Corps, taking Jack with her.
Joshua Gabriel Matthews (Daniel Jacobs)
Joshua is the fourth child of Alan and Amy Matthews, and the younger brother of Eric, Cory, and Morgan. He was born during the TV series' sixth season, but looked three or four by the series finale. His mother gave him the middle name Gabriel because it means "he whom God protects".Chet Hunter (
Shawn's father Chet was an on-again, off-again father figure, frequently leaving town for months or even years at a time. He was a jack-of-all-trades, holding a wide variety of (usually low-paying) jobs over the course of the series. Shawn originally idolized his father and thought he was responsible for his father's frequent departures. In time, though, he grew angry and resentful at the way his father treated him, almost as if he didn't matter. However, despite his apparent unconcern for his son's well-being, it is hinted strongly that Chet wanted the best for Shawn, and stayed away because he didn't think he was good enough for him.
During his first major departure, Chet left Shawn in the care of Alan and Amy Matthews, but this ended quickly and Shawn went to live with Jonathan Turner instead. He moved back in with his father when Chet returned to town, but at Chet's insistence, moved in with his half-brother Jack and Eric Matthews. When Shawn went to Pennbrook, Chet went to Jack's stepfather to ask for money to pay for Shawn's tuition. Chet returned to Philadelphia briefly, prompting a conflict with Shawn, who had finally lost patience with his father's inability to stay around. Chet had a heart attack soon after, and he and Shawn were barely able to begin reconciling when Chet died.
Chet appeared as a ghost in three episodes, "Road Trip" in Season 6, as well as "Family Trees" and "Brave New World (Part 2 - Series Finale)" in Season 7. His spirit acts as a counselor for Shawn in the hard times portrayed in these episodes.
Two episodes which involve Chet ("We'll Have A Good Time Then..." and "I'm Gonna Be Like You, Dad") are named for lines from the Harry Chapin song Cat's in the Cradle, which is fitting given the nature of the father-son relationship.
Stage Settings
Boy Meets World was filmed almost exclusively on-stage. There were occasionally scenes filmed in outdoor settings, but these were few and far between.
The House - Full Run
The House was primarily a four-room setup consisting of the Matthews' living room, kitchen, Cory and Eric's bedroom, and the backyard that they shared with George Feeny. There were also occasional scenes in Cory and Eric's bathroom and their parents' bedroom. The house was the main setting for the show, as most of the episodes spent at least some time here.Mr. Feeny's Classroom - Full Run
While the classroom and school changed between seasons 1 and 2 and seasons 5 and 6, a classroom was always present in the show. Jonathan Turner also had a classroom from season 2 to 4, but this changed when his character disappeared from the show and the setting of John Adams High was changed significantly.
Mr. Feeny also had an office from seasons 2 to 5, with one scene in season 4 using it as Dean Bolander's office. Dean Bolander also taught a class in what would become Mr. Feeny's Pennbrook classroom.
John Adams Main Floor - Seasons 2/3/4
This was another multiple-room setting, containing Mr. Turner's classroom and the main hall. The door on the right that led offstage has been used as the entrance to Mr. Feeny's office, the boys' bathroom, the janitor's closet, or the counselor's office.John Adams Senior Floor - Season 5
This set began the trend of many expensive, short use sets. This was the set adapted from the Main Floor set, and appeared to be almost the same as that set except for the reversal of many items. Mr. Feeny's classroom was connected to the stage right side of the main hall.The First Apartment - Seasons 2/3/4
Jonathan Turner's apartment was introduced in season 2, but became a main setting for the show in season 3 after Shawn moved in with Jonathan. This set would later be adapted to become the college apartment.The Second Apartment - Seasons 5/6/7
In the beginning of Season 5, Eric left home to attend Pennbrook University and rented an apartment with Jack Hunter, who had recently moved to town also to attend Pennbrook. At Chet Hunter's insistence, Shawn moved in with them, but the Apartment would see a number of different occupants over the years.
- First lineup: Jack, Eric, and Shawn.
- Second lineup: Jack, Eric, and Rachel. At the beginning of Season 6, a few months before Shawn planned to move out of the apartment and into a dorm with Cory, Eric and Jack kicked him out to make room for Rachel. Shawn, upon seeing Rachel, took this in stride.
- Third lineup: Jack and Rachel. After Chet Hunter's death, Jack and Rachel began dating, and Eric moved out a few episodes later.
- Fourth lineup: Topanga, Angela, and Rachel. Eventually Eric decided to return to the apartment, but at the same time Rachel invited Angela and Topanga to move in. His chivalrous nature winning out over logic, Jack begrudgingly left. He and Eric returned to fight the girls for the apartment a few episodes later, but lost.
- Fifth lineup: Jack, Eric, and Shawn (again). After Cory and Topanga were married in Season 7, Topanga moved out, and Angela and Rachel were unable to make rent alone. They moved into a Pennbrook dorm together, and the three original occupants moved back to the apartment. They would remain until the end of the series.
The Trailer - Seasons 2/3/4/5/6
Shawn and Chet Hunter lived in the trailer until Shawn moved into the apartment in Season 5, and Chet's death in Season 6. This set was used sparingly.
Chubbie's Diner - Seasons 2/3/4/5
Chubbie's became a mainstay for the BMW cast, and was used often for scenes. It was another multi-room set, with a game room on stage right, and restaurant and bar on stage left, although the game room was used infrequently. Eventually the diner became a pirate-themed restaurant towards the end of season 5 and was never seen again.The Dorm - Seasons 6/7
The dorm room that Shawn and Cory lived in during Season 6 connected to the dorm hall. The room was used throughout the series, housing some occupants that did not live in the apartment. The dorm hall was seen very rarely, only in a few episodes in Season 6, and was also connected to the co-ed bathroom which was seen in only two scenes in Episode 4, Season 6.The Student Union - Seasons 6/7
This replaced the John Adams hallway as the main school setting. It was the largest main set in the show by far, with a café on stage right, couches and a coffee table stage center, a pool table behind it, miscellaneous items inback stage right, and a patio stage left. All of these areas were used at least once during the show's run.The Married Couples' Dorm - Season 7
This set was where Cory and Topanga lived after returning from their honeymoon. It is initially dirty and run-down, but Cory does a lot of work to renovate it (fresh paint, furniture, etc). The set has three sections: the dorm hallway, a living room/kitchen area, and a bedroom. It was a central focus of three episodes in season 7, and was used consistently throughout the remainder of the show.Continuity errors
The biggest continuity problems revolve around the characters' ages.
- In Season 1( 1993-1994), Cory and his classmates are in 6th grade at Jefferson Elementary School while Eric is four years older in 10th grade at John Adams High School.
- Season 2 (1994-1995) continues this four-year margin Cory and the others start high school in 7th grade, while Eric reaches 11th grade.
- Season 3 (1995-1996) is where the trouble starts, as Eric is clearly a senior. No grade is given for Cory, Shawn, and Topanga, but Cory and Topanga claim to be 14, and Shawn 15. It is also mentioned that Cory and Eric now have a three year age difference.
- In Season 4 (1996-1997), Cory, Shawn, and Topanga have skipped to 11th grade and gotten drivers licenses, meaning the Cory/Eric age difference is reduced to two years.
- In Seasons 4, 5, and 6, the age difference stays consistent, and Cory and Eric are two years apart in age and one year apart in school (Eric takes an off year in Season 4)
- Late in Season 7 (1999-2000), the ages start to stray from real-time again. Eric and Cory have had three and two years of college, respectively. However, Eric, Jack, and (presumably) Rachel only spend three years in college, graduating at the end of the series.
- Cory, Shawn, and Topanga only spend four years in what should be a six year high school.
- It is also important to note, that in the Halloween episode with the "Scream" movie theme, Jack states he is older than Eric. However, in Episode 5-02 (an earlier episode), Eric states that he is "ten months older" than Jack. The latter should be taken as more authentic information because the majority of the Halloween episode is presented as a nightmare; but the fact that the dimwitted Eric stated he was older negates from the amount of authenticity of that statement as well.
Shawn's and Topanga's families change constantly.
- In Episode 1-04, "Cory's Alternative Friends", Shawn says he has a sister named Stacy, but she is never seen or mentioned again.
- The third season episode "The Pink Flamingo Kid" depicts Shawn's half-brother Eddie, who lives in the same trailer park as Shawn. He is subsequently never seen nor mentioned again. Later in the fifth season, Matthew Lawrence is introduced as Shawn's half-brother, Jack.
- In the Season 1 episode "She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not", Nebula ("Nebbie") Stop-The-War Lawrence is introduced as Topanga's sister, but is never seen or mentioned again.
- In the first season, Topanga's mother's name is said to be Chloe on multiple occasions. When Topanga's mother makes an appearance later in the show's run, her name has been changed to Rhiannon.
- Topanaga's parents are played by two different sets of actors. Her mother initially is played by Annette O'Toole, and later on she is played by Marcia Cross. In at least one episode, Topanga's father is played by Peter Tork from The Monkees, but was later played by another actor.
There are inconsistencies with other characters as well.
- The actor who plays Angela's father in Seasons 6 and 7 was cast in Season 5 as a philosophy teacher at Pennbrook when Shawn attends college classes while still in high school.
- Amy Matthews' profession changes from real estate agent to art gallery worker without any explanation.
- In the pilot episode, Cory has three best friends. However, the two other best friends eventually were discontinued. By the middle of the first season, Shawn was Cory's one and only best friend.
Toward the end of the series, many references are made to Cory and Topanga's relationship as young children. For example, in one episode in a flashback to when Cory and Shawn meet for the first time, a young Cory refers to Topanga as "the wife." Cory often mentions that he has loved Topanga his entire life, yet in the season one episode "She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not," Topanga meets Eric for the first time and develops a crush on him. Had Cory and Topanga been friends since birth, it is unlikely that she would not have met Cory's brother by the time she reached the 6th grade. Many other early episodes show Cory as not being in love with Topanga at all. His only strong feelings towards her seem to be unease at how weird she is, although there is some hinting at the two having feelings for each other.
Characters' personalities are also pretty inconsistent. Cory, Shawn, and Topanga seem like totally different people in later episodes. This can be explained as the characters maturing, although the change in Eric's personality is harder to explain.
The differences between the first season and the rest of the series are so great, some fans even go as far as to acknowledge season one as non-canon.
Syndication
Boy Meets World was picked up by the Disney Channel in 2000 after the show's cancellation. The show still airs on The Disney Channel today, after 6 years, however, it is currently shown at 2:00 AM ET. Additionaly, in mid 2004, the show was added to the ABC Family Channel line-up at 5:00 PM and 5:30 PM ET. The show still currently airs on ABC Family at 2:00 PM and 2:30 PM ET. The show also airs on a few local stations across the US.
Disney Channel \"Banned\" Episodes
The Disney Channel has banned 3 episodes from ever being aired on their network. These episodes include "If You Can't Be With the One You Love" (After losing Topanga, Cory resorts to drinking to solve his problems), "PROMises, PROMises" (Cory and Topanga want to have sex after the prom), and "The Truth About Honesty" (An honest game causes trouble at Rachel and Jack's dinner party). These episodes were not aired by the Disney Channel because they thought they were not appropriate for their target audience (children) to be viewing. These episodes were not shown in syndication at all and weren't seen since the ABC original airings until 2004, when the ABC Family Channel aired all 3 episodes. In addition, The Disney Channel makes many edits for content when airing the show, especially in the later seasons, when sexual jokes became more frequent.
DVD Releases
Season Releases
Topanga is Cory's main love interest. Her character underwent dramatic changes during the course of the series. When she was initially introduced in the first season, she was an ultra-left-wing hippie, and displayed a "robot-like" demeanor. Once the characters entered high school, she became more emotional and demonstrative, and her beliefs became less radical. Much was made of the fact that Topanga was attractive, popular, and academically successful, though an episode in the final season centered around Topanga's expanding figure.
Also starting in high school, her on-again/off-again relationship with Cory became one of the major elements of the show. In later seasons, it was explained that Cory and Topanga first met as toddlers and became best friends, only to be driven apart as they grew older and Eric pressured Cory to think of girls as "icky." However, this seems to contradict first season episodes which show that Cory knows almost nothing about Topanga.
Although Topanga was admitted to Yale University, she decided to attend Pennbrook College with Cory and their friends and proposed to Cory at their high school graduation. They married before their sophomore year (during the final season). At the end of the series, she and Cory move to New York with Eric and Shawn.
Eric Randall Matthews (
Eric Matthews
The brother of Cory, Morgan, and Joshua Matthews, Eric began the show as a suave, popular young man who constantly dated. He was originally portrayed as the stereotypical older brother to model other famous older brothers such as Mike Seaver from Growing Pains. It's hard to tell when exactly Eric's character changed from preppy older brother to "crazy moronic brother," but it was perhaps during the fourth season when Eric takes a year off from school when he doesn't get into a college of his choice.
Eric also often plays off his hero and mentor, Mr. Feeny. Though Eric and Feeny are not originally seen as having a close relationship, the two develop a bond, that at least in Eric's mind, is one of love. This culminates at the end of the fifth season when Eric sings a rousing rendition of "To Sir, With Love" at Cory's High School Graduation. Eric also coins the "Feeny call" and even makes a talking doll for Feeny that does the call so Feeny will not miss him when he moves to New York.
Alan Matthews (
Alan is the husband of Amy Matthews and the father of Eric, Cory, Morgan, and Joshua Matthews. Alan, as the father of the Matthews children, has provided guidance to his children, but has also at times lacked the supportiveness that he should show. At times during the later years of the show, Alan failed to have faith in Eric when it came to jobs and overall successfulness in life.
He began his career as a supermarket manager, eventually winning a prized "Grocie" award. Eventually, he became disillusioned with his standard 9-5 job that he had worked for so many years, and quit without warning his family. A brief period of family distress followed, with Amy (his wife) proclaiming that she would in turn "make a large decision that affects the entire family without consulting with him first." Accordingly, she purchased a wilderness store that was up for sale, which Alan took over and renamed "Matthews & Sons".
Amy Jones-Matthews (
Amy is the wife of Alan Matthews and the mother of Eric, Cory, Morgan, and Joshua Matthews. During the earlier years of the show, Amy was a real estate agent and eventually became an art gallery worker toward the end of the show.Morgan Matthews (
Morgan is the daughter of Alan and Amy Matthews, the younger sister of Eric and Cory and the older sister of Joshua Matthews. She inexplicably disappeared partway through the show's second season and reappeared a season later played by a different actress (see Chuck Cunningham syndrome).
George Feeny (
George Feeny
Throughout the series, George tries his best to guide young Cory, Shawn, and their friends as they encounter problems in their lives on their road to adulthood. An extremely kind and serene man, he first appears on the show as their school teacher, also as their neighbor; principal, and eventually toward the later years, their college professor (teaching such diverse courses as archeology, English literature, and quantum physics). The mercurial nature of Feeny's job became an in-joke in the series, with characters such as Cory mentioning more than once that Feeny seems to be the only teacher he's ever had. Feeny is also known for his deadpan humor. Later on in the show, George Feeny becomes the mentor of Eric Matthews, and "Feenay", as Eric refers to. George Feeny is a Boston native and likes to garden.
Mr. Feeny was once married to a woman named Lillian, who died before the series began. He later marries Dean Lila Bolander (played by William Daniels' real-life wife Bonnie Bartlett).
Jonathan Turner (
Mr. Turner was the teacher of Cory, Shawn, and Topanga starting in the second season. His new age approach to teaching often clashed with Mr. Feeny's more traditional methods, and the students found that they could more easily identify with the hip, Harley-riding Mr. Turner. In the third season, Shawn found residence with Mr. Turner when his dad went on a cross-country search for Shawn's mother Verna. Mr. Turner remained on the show until midway through the fourth season, he was put in a hospital after a motorcycle accident. As an homage to the beloved character, the show made a reference to him in the graduation episode when Stuart Minkus returns for a cameo and calls out to an off-screen Mr. Turner. Mr. Turner was also responsible for introducing the character of Eli Williams. He also has a departed son.Eli Williams (
Eli Williams was another teacher to Cory, Shawn, and Topanga. He joined the show in season three when his best friend and former college roommate Jonathan Turner got him a job at the school, teaching media arts. Like Turner, Williams is hip, cool, and can relate easily to the young students. However, being a former journalist at a television station in Philadelphia, he sometimes finds teaching and reaching out to students to be difficult chore, something that Turner helps him out with. Stories in the third season were written to focus on the friendship between Turner and Williams and the single bachelor life of dating, partying and socializing that they experience outside of their teaching, showing the life of young adults post-college. Williams had a starring role for some of the third season before he disappeared with no explanation. He never was seen of or heard of after the third season.Angela Shinaynay Moore (
Angela Moore was the sweetheart of Shawn Hunter in Seasons 5 - 7. Her first appearance, uncredited, was in Season 5, and she became a regular cast member in Season 6. Angela is a smart, beautiful African-American, and is passionate about causes and people. She is very classy and enjoys things for their artistic value. This balances well with Shawn's creative spirit. Although she broke up with Shawn during one or two episodes, and once for a longer period in the shows Pennbrook stage, they resolved their issues of angst and became true and devoted lovers, until Angela left for Europe with her father in the series' penultimate episode. In real life, Trina was pregnant during the filming of her role as Angela. Interestingly, there was never a mention of Angela's race over the course of her relationship with Shawn, except for the mentioning of a paper she did about "maintaining black identity when you have three very white friends", and commenting several times how she "has to get some black friends". In one of the episodes where she and Shawn break up, she is seen dating a black man, perhaps an allusion to the fact that she is always sensitive to the fact that she is the only African-American in her group of friends.Jack Hunter (
The half-brother of Shawn, Jack is the opposite of Shawn. He has money, works out, and has experienced relatively little difficulty in his life. Jack, along with Eric, pined for Rachel after she moved in with the two, eventually winning this battle. Although he claims to have six percent body fat, he was once referred to as "Jumbo Jack," much to the delight of Eric.Rachel Kimberly McGuire (
Rachel dated Jack for a relatively short period of time. Prior to moving in with Jack and Eric, she lived down the hall with her Texas boyfriend. She also roomed with Topanga and Angela for awhile. Rachel eventually joins the Peace Corps, taking Jack with her.
Joshua Gabriel Matthews (Daniel Jacobs)
Joshua is the fourth child of Alan and Amy Matthews, and the younger brother of Eric, Cory, and Morgan. He was born during the TV series' sixth season, but looked three or four by the series finale. His mother gave him the middle name Gabriel because it means "he whom God protects".Chet Hunter (
Shawn's father Chet was an on-again, off-again father figure, frequently leaving town for months or even years at a time. He was a jack-of-all-trades, holding a wide variety of (usually low-paying) jobs over the course of the series. Shawn originally idolized his father and thought he was responsible for his father's frequent departures. In time, though, he grew angry and resentful at the way his father treated him, almost as if he didn't matter. However, despite his apparent unconcern for his son's well-being, it is hinted strongly that Chet wanted the best for Shawn, and stayed away because he didn't think he was good enough for him.
During his first major departure, Chet left Shawn in the care of Alan and Amy Matthews, but this ended quickly and Shawn went to live with Jonathan Turner instead. He moved back in with his father when Chet returned to town, but at Chet's insistence, moved in with his half-brother Jack and Eric Matthews. When Shawn went to Pennbrook, Chet went to Jack's stepfather to ask for money to pay for Shawn's tuition. Chet returned to Philadelphia briefly, prompting a conflict with Shawn, who had finally lost patience with his father's inability to stay around. Chet had a heart attack soon after, and he and Shawn were barely able to begin reconciling when Chet died.
Chet appeared as a ghost in three episodes, "Road Trip" in Season 6, as well as "Family Trees" and "Brave New World (Part 2 - Series Finale)" in Season 7. His spirit acts as a counselor for Shawn in the hard times portrayed in these episodes.
Two episodes which involve Chet ("We'll Have A Good Time Then..." and "I'm Gonna Be Like You, Dad") are named for lines from the Harry Chapin song Cat's in the Cradle, which is fitting given the nature of the father-son relationship.
Stage Settings
Boy Meets World was filmed almost exclusively on-stage. There were occasionally scenes filmed in outdoor settings, but these were few and far between.
The House - Full Run
The House was primarily a four-room setup consisting of the Matthews' living room, kitchen, Cory and Eric's bedroom, and the backyard that they shared with George Feeny. There were also occasional scenes in Cory and Eric's bathroom and their parents' bedroom. The house was the main setting for the show, as most of the episodes spent at least some time here.Mr. Feeny's Classroom - Full Run
While the classroom and school changed between seasons 1 and 2 and seasons 5 and 6, a classroom was always present in the show. Jonathan Turner also had a classroom from season 2 to 4, but this changed when his character disappeared from the show and the setting of John Adams High was changed significantly.
Mr. Feeny also had an office from seasons 2 to 5, with one scene in season 4 using it as Dean Bolander's office. Dean Bolander also taught a class in what would become Mr. Feeny's Pennbrook classroom.
John Adams Main Floor - Seasons 2/3/4
This was another multiple-room setting, containing Mr. Turner's classroom and the main hall. The door on the right that led offstage has been used as the entrance to Mr. Feeny's office, the boys' bathroom, the janitor's closet, or the counselor's office.John Adams Senior Floor - Season 5
This set began the trend of many expensive, short use sets. This was the set adapted from the Main Floor set, and appeared to be almost the same as that set except for the reversal of many items. Mr. Feeny's classroom was connected to the stage right side of the main hall.The First Apartment - Seasons 2/3/4
Jonathan Turner's apartment was introduced in season 2, but became a main setting for the show in season 3 after Shawn moved in with Jonathan. This set would later be adapted to become the college apartment.The Second Apartment - Seasons 5/6/7
In the beginning of Season 5, Eric left home to attend Pennbrook University and rented an apartment with Jack Hunter, who had recently moved to town also to attend Pennbrook. At Chet Hunter's insistence, Shawn moved in with them, but the Apartment would see a number of different occupants over the years.
- First lineup: Jack, Eric, and Shawn.
- Second lineup: Jack, Eric, and Rachel. At the beginning of Season 6, a few months before Shawn planned to move out of the apartment and into a dorm with Cory, Eric and Jack kicked him out to make room for Rachel. Shawn, upon seeing Rachel, took this in stride.
- Third lineup: Jack and Rachel. After Chet Hunter's death, Jack and Rachel began dating, and Eric moved out a few episodes later.
- Fourth lineup: Topanga, Angela, and Rachel. Eventually Eric decided to return to the apartment, but at the same time Rachel invited Angela and Topanga to move in. His chivalrous nature winning out over logic, Jack begrudgingly left. He and Eric returned to fight the girls for the apartment a few episodes later, but lost.
- Fifth lineup: Jack, Eric, and Shawn (again). After Cory and Topanga were married in Season 7, Topanga moved out, and Angela and Rachel were unable to make rent alone. They moved into a Pennbrook dorm together, and the three original occupants moved back to the apartment. They would remain until the end of the series.
The Trailer - Seasons 2/3/4/5/6
Shawn and Chet Hunter lived in the trailer until Shawn moved into the apartment in Season 5, and Chet's death in Season 6. This set was used sparingly.
Chubbie's Diner - Seasons 2/3/4/5
Chubbie's became a mainstay for the BMW cast, and was used often for scenes. It was another multi-room set, with a game room on stage right, and restaurant and bar on stage left, although the game room was used infrequently. Eventually the diner became a pirate-themed restaurant towards the end of season 5 and was never seen again.The Dorm - Seasons 6/7
The dorm room that Shawn and Cory lived in during Season 6 connected to the dorm hall. The room was used throughout the series, housing some occupants that did not live in the apartment. The dorm hall was seen very rarely, only in a few episodes in Season 6, and was also connected to the co-ed bathroom which was seen in only two scenes in Episode 4, Season 6.The Student Union - Seasons 6/7
This replaced the John Adams hallway as the main school setting. It was the largest main set in the show by far, with a café on stage right, couches and a coffee table stage center, a pool table behind it, miscellaneous items inback stage right, and a patio stage left. All of these areas were used at least once during the show's run.The Married Couples' Dorm - Season 7
This set was where Cory and Topanga lived after returning from their honeymoon. It is initially dirty and run-down, but Cory does a lot of work to renovate it (fresh paint, furniture, etc). The set has three sections: the dorm hallway, a living room/kitchen area, and a bedroom. It was a central focus of three episodes in season 7, and was used consistently throughout the remainder of the show.Continuity errors
The biggest continuity problems revolve around the characters' ages.
- In Season 1( 1993-1994), Cory and his classmates are in 6th grade at Jefferson Elementary School while Eric is four years older in 10th grade at John Adams High School.
- Season 2 (1994-1995) continues this four-year margin Cory and the others start high school in 7th grade, while Eric reaches 11th grade.
- Season 3 (1995-1996) is where the trouble starts, as Eric is clearly a senior. No grade is given for Cory, Shawn, and Topanga, but Cory and Topanga claim to be 14, and Shawn 15. It is also mentioned that Cory and Eric now have a three year age difference.
- In Season 4 (1996-1997), Cory, Shawn, and Topanga have skipped to 11th grade and gotten drivers licenses, meaning the Cory/Eric age difference is reduced to two years.
- In Seasons 4, 5, and 6, the age difference stays consistent, and Cory and Eric are two years apart in age and one year apart in school (Eric takes an off year in Season 4)
- Late in Season 7 (1999-2000), the ages start to stray from real-time again. Eric and Cory have had three and two years of college, respectively. However, Eric, Jack, and (presumably) Rachel only spend three years in college, graduating at the end of the series.
- Cory, Shawn, and Topanga only spend four years in what should be a six year high school.
- It is also important to note, that in the Halloween episode with the "Scream" movie theme, Jack states he is older than Eric. However, in Episode 5-02 (an earlier episode), Eric states that he is "ten months older" than Jack. The latter should be taken as more authentic information because the majority of the Halloween episode is presented as a nightmare; but the fact that the dimwitted Eric stated he was older negates from the amount of authenticity of that statement as well.
Shawn's and Topanga's families change constantly.
- In Episode 1-04, "Cory's Alternative Friends", Shawn says he has a sister named Stacy, but she is never seen or mentioned again.
- The third season episode "The Pink Flamingo Kid" depicts Shawn's half-brother Eddie, who lives in the same trailer park as Shawn. He is subsequently never seen nor mentioned again. Later in the fifth season, Matthew Lawrence is introduced as Shawn's half-brother, Jack.
- In the Season 1 episode "She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not", Nebula ("Nebbie") Stop-The-War Lawrence is introduced as Topanga's sister, but is never seen or mentioned again.
- In the first season, Topanga's mother's name is said to be Chloe on multiple occasions. When Topanga's mother makes an appearance later in the show's run, her name has been changed to Rhiannon.
- Topanaga's parents are played by two different sets of actors. Her mother initially is played by Annette O'Toole, and later on she is played by Marcia Cross. In at least one episode, Topanga's father is played by Peter Tork from The Monkees, but was later played by another actor.
There are inconsistencies with other characters as well.
- The actor who plays Angela's father in Seasons 6 and 7 was cast in Season 5 as a philosophy teacher at Pennbrook when Shawn attends college classes while still in high school.
- Amy Matthews' profession changes from real estate agent to art gallery worker without any explanation.
- In the pilot episode, Cory has three best friends. However, the two other best friends eventually were discontinued. By the middle of the first season, Shawn was Cory's one and only best friend.
Toward the end of the series, many references are made to Cory and Topanga's relationship as young children. For example, in one episode in a flashback to when Cory and Shawn meet for the first time, a young Cory refers to Topanga as "the wife." Cory often mentions that he has loved Topanga his entire life, yet in the season one episode "She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not," Topanga meets Eric for the first time and develops a crush on him. Had Cory and Topanga been friends since birth, it is unlikely that she would not have met Cory's brother by the time she reached the 6th grade. Many other early episodes show Cory as not being in love with Topanga at all. His only strong feelings towards her seem to be unease at how weird she is, although there is some hinting at the two having feelings for each other.
Characters' personalities are also pretty inconsistent. Cory, Shawn, and Topanga seem like totally different people in later episodes. This can be explained as the characters maturing, although the change in Eric's personality is harder to explain.
The differences between the first season and the rest of the series are so great, some fans even go as far as to acknowledge season one as non-canon.
Syndication
Boy Meets World was picked up by the Disney Channel in 2000 after the show's cancellation. The show still airs on The Disney Channel today, after 6 years, however, it is currently shown at 2:00 AM ET. Additionaly, in mid 2004, the show was added to the ABC Family Channel line-up at 5:00 PM and 5:30 PM ET. The show still currently airs on ABC Family at 2:00 PM and 2:30 PM ET. The show also airs on a few local stations across the US.
Disney Channel \"Banned\" Episodes
The Disney Channel has banned 3 episodes from ever being aired on their network. These episodes include "If You Can't Be With the One You Love" (After losing Topanga, Cory resorts to drinking to solve his problems), "PROMises, PROMises" (Cory and Topanga want to have sex after the prom), and "The Truth About Honesty" (An honest game causes trouble at Rachel and Jack's dinner party). These episodes were not aired by the Disney Channel because they thought they were not appropriate for their target audience (children) to be viewing. These episodes were not shown in syndication at all and weren't seen since the ABC original airings until 2004, when the ABC Family Channel aired all 3 episodes. In addition, The Disney Channel makes many edits for content when airing the show, especially in the later seasons, when sexual jokes became more frequent.
DVD Releases
Season Releases
He began his career as a supermarket manager, eventually winning a prized "Grocie" award. Eventually, he became disillusioned with his standard 9-5 job that he had worked for so many years, and quit without warning his family. A brief period of family distress followed, with Amy (his wife) proclaiming that she would in turn "make a large decision that affects the entire family without consulting with him first." Accordingly, she purchased a wilderness store that was up for sale, which Alan took over and renamed "Matthews & Sons".
Amy Jones-Matthews (
Amy is the wife of Alan Matthews and the mother of Eric, Cory, Morgan, and Joshua Matthews. During the earlier years of the show, Amy was a real estate agent and eventually became an art gallery worker toward the end of the show.Morgan Matthews (
Morgan is the daughter of Alan and Amy Matthews, the younger sister of Eric and Cory and the older sister of Joshua Matthews. She inexplicably disappeared partway through the show's second season and reappeared a season later played by a different actress (see Chuck Cunningham syndrome).
George Feeny (
George Feeny
Throughout the series, George tries his best to guide young Cory, Shawn, and their friends as they encounter problems in their lives on their road to adulthood. An extremely kind and serene man, he first appears on the show as their school teacher, also as their neighbor; principal, and eventually toward the later years, their college professor (teaching such diverse courses as archeology, English literature, and quantum physics). The mercurial nature of Feeny's job became an in-joke in the series, with characters such as Cory mentioning more than once that Feeny seems to be the only teacher he's ever had. Feeny is also known for his deadpan humor. Later on in the show, George Feeny becomes the mentor of Eric Matthews, and "Feenay", as Eric refers to. George Feeny is a Boston native and likes to garden.
Mr. Feeny was once married to a woman named Lillian, who died before the series began. He later marries Dean Lila Bolander (played by William Daniels' real-life wife Bonnie Bartlett).
Jonathan Turner (
Mr. Turner was the teacher of Cory, Shawn, and Topanga starting in the second season. His new age approach to teaching often clashed with Mr. Feeny's more traditional methods, and the students found that they could more easily identify with the hip, Harley-riding Mr. Turner. In the third season, Shawn found residence with Mr. Turner when his dad went on a cross-country search for Shawn's mother Verna. Mr. Turner remained on the show until midway through the fourth season, he was put in a hospital after a motorcycle accident. As an homage to the beloved character, the show made a reference to him in the graduation episode when Stuart Minkus returns for a cameo and calls out to an off-screen Mr. Turner. Mr. Turner was also responsible for introducing the character of Eli Williams. He also has a departed son.Eli Williams (
Eli Williams was another teacher to Cory, Shawn, and Topanga. He joined the show in season three when his best friend and former college roommate Jonathan Turner got him a job at the school, teaching media arts. Like Turner, Williams is hip, cool, and can relate easily to the young students. However, being a former journalist at a television station in Philadelphia, he sometimes finds teaching and reaching out to students to be difficult chore, something that Turner helps him out with. Stories in the third season were written to focus on the friendship between Turner and Williams and the single bachelor life of dating, partying and socializing that they experience outside of their teaching, showing the life of young adults post-college. Williams had a starring role for some of the third season before he disappeared with no explanation. He never was seen of or heard of after the third season.Angela Shinaynay Moore (
Angela Moore was the sweetheart of Shawn Hunter in Seasons 5 - 7. Her first appearance, uncredited, was in Season 5, and she became a regular cast member in Season 6. Angela is a smart, beautiful African-American, and is passionate about causes and people. She is very classy and enjoys things for their artistic value. This balances well with Shawn's creative spirit. Although she broke up with Shawn during one or two episodes, and once for a longer period in the shows Pennbrook stage, they resolved their issues of angst and became true and devoted lovers, until Angela left for Europe with her father in the series' penultimate episode. In real life, Trina was pregnant during the filming of her role as Angela. Interestingly, there was never a mention of Angela's race over the course of her relationship with Shawn, except for the mentioning of a paper she did about "maintaining black identity when you have three very white friends", and commenting several times how she "has to get some black friends". In one of the episodes where she and Shawn break up, she is seen dating a black man, perhaps an allusion to the fact that she is always sensitive to the fact that she is the only African-American in her group of friends.Jack Hunter (
The half-brother of Shawn, Jack is the opposite of Shawn. He has money, works out, and has experienced relatively little difficulty in his life. Jack, along with Eric, pined for Rachel after she moved in with the two, eventually winning this battle. Although he claims to have six percent body fat, he was once referred to as "Jumbo Jack," much to the delight of Eric.Rachel Kimberly McGuire (
Rachel dated Jack for a relatively short period of time. Prior to moving in with Jack and Eric, she lived down the hall with her Texas boyfriend. She also roomed with Topanga and Angela for awhile. Rachel eventually joins the Peace Corps, taking Jack with her.
Joshua Gabriel Matthews (Daniel Jacobs)
Joshua is the fourth child of Alan and Amy Matthews, and the younger brother of Eric, Cory, and Morgan. He was born during the TV series' sixth season, but looked three or four by the series finale. His mother gave him the middle name Gabriel because it means "he whom God protects".Chet Hunter (
Shawn's father Chet was an on-again, off-again father figure, frequently leaving town for months or even years at a time. He was a jack-of-all-trades, holding a wide variety of (usually low-paying) jobs over the course of the series. Shawn originally idolized his father and thought he was responsible for his father's frequent departures. In time, though, he grew angry and resentful at the way his father treated him, almost as if he didn't matter. However, despite his apparent unconcern for his son's well-being, it is hinted strongly that Chet wanted the best for Shawn, and stayed away because he didn't think he was good enough for him.
During his first major departure, Chet left Shawn in the care of Alan and Amy Matthews, but this ended quickly and Shawn went to live with Jonathan Turner instead. He moved back in with his father when Chet returned to town, but at Chet's insistence, moved in with his half-brother Jack and Eric Matthews. When Shawn went to Pennbrook, Chet went to Jack's stepfather to ask for money to pay for Shawn's tuition. Chet returned to Philadelphia briefly, prompting a conflict with Shawn, who had finally lost patience with his father's inability to stay around. Chet had a heart attack soon after, and he and Shawn were barely able to begin reconciling when Chet died.
Chet appeared as a ghost in three episodes, "Road Trip" in Season 6, as well as "Family Trees" and "Brave New World (Part 2 - Series Finale)" in Season 7. His spirit acts as a counselor for Shawn in the hard times portrayed in these episodes.
Two episodes which involve Chet ("We'll Have A Good Time Then..." and "I'm Gonna Be Like You, Dad") are named for lines from the Harry Chapin song Cat's in the Cradle, which is fitting given the nature of the father-son relationship.
Stage Settings
Boy Meets World was filmed almost exclusively on-stage. There were occasionally scenes filmed in outdoor settings, but these were few and far between.
The House - Full Run
The House was primarily a four-room setup consisting of the Matthews' living room, kitchen, Cory and Eric's bedroom, and the backyard that they shared with George Feeny. There were also occasional scenes in Cory and Eric's bathroom and their parents' bedroom. The house was the main setting for the show, as most of the episodes spent at least some time here.Mr. Feeny's Classroom - Full Run
While the classroom and school changed between seasons 1 and 2 and seasons 5 and 6, a classroom was always present in the show. Jonathan Turner also had a classroom from season 2 to 4, but this changed when his character disappeared from the show and the setting of John Adams High was changed significantly.
Mr. Feeny also had an office from seasons 2 to 5, with one scene in season 4 using it as Dean Bolander's office. Dean Bolander also taught a class in what would become Mr. Feeny's Pennbrook classroom.
John Adams Main Floor - Seasons 2/3/4
This was another multiple-room setting, containing Mr. Turner's classroom and the main hall. The door on the right that led offstage has been used as the entrance to Mr. Feeny's office, the boys' bathroom, the janitor's closet, or the counselor's office.John Adams Senior Floor - Season 5
This set began the trend of many expensive, short use sets. This was the set adapted from the Main Floor set, and appeared to be almost the same as that set except for the reversal of many items. Mr. Feeny's classroom was connected to the stage right side of the main hall.The First Apartment - Seasons 2/3/4
Jonathan Turner's apartment was introduced in season 2, but became a main setting for the show in season 3 after Shawn moved in with Jonathan. This set would later be adapted to become the college apartment.The Second Apartment - Seasons 5/6/7
In the beginning of Season 5, Eric left home to attend Pennbrook University and rented an apartment with Jack Hunter, who had recently moved to town also to attend Pennbrook. At Chet Hunter's insistence, Shawn moved in with them, but the Apartment would see a number of different occupants over the years.
- First lineup: Jack, Eric, and Shawn.
- Second lineup: Jack, Eric, and Rachel. At the beginning of Season 6, a few months before Shawn planned to move out of the apartment and into a dorm with Cory, Eric and Jack kicked him out to make room for Rachel. Shawn, upon seeing Rachel, took this in stride.
- Third lineup: Jack and Rachel. After Chet Hunter's death, Jack and Rachel began dating, and Eric moved out a few episodes later.
- Fourth lineup: Topanga, Angela, and Rachel. Eventually Eric decided to return to the apartment, but at the same time Rachel invited Angela and Topanga to move in. His chivalrous nature winning out over logic, Jack begrudgingly left. He and Eric returned to fight the girls for the apartment a few episodes later, but lost.
- Fifth lineup: Jack, Eric, and Shawn (again). After Cory and Topanga were married in Season 7, Topanga moved out, and Angela and Rachel were unable to make rent alone. They moved into a Pennbrook dorm together, and the three original occupants moved back to the apartment. They would remain until the end of the series.
The Trailer - Seasons 2/3/4/5/6
Shawn and Chet Hunter lived in the trailer until Shawn moved into the apartment in Season 5, and Chet's death in Season 6. This set was used sparingly.
Chubbie's Diner - Seasons 2/3/4/5
Chubbie's became a mainstay for the BMW cast, and was used often for scenes. It was another multi-room set, with a game room on stage right, and restaurant and bar on stage left, although the game room was used infrequently. Eventually the diner became a pirate-themed restaurant towards the end of season 5 and was never seen again.The Dorm - Seasons 6/7
The dorm room that Shawn and Cory lived in during Season 6 connected to the dorm hall. The room was used throughout the series, housing some occupants that did not live in the apartment. The dorm hall was seen very rarely, only in a few episodes in Season 6, and was also connected to the co-ed bathroom which was seen in only two scenes in Episode 4, Season 6.The Student Union - Seasons 6/7
This replaced the John Adams hallway as the main school setting. It was the largest main set in the show by far, with a café on stage right, couches and a coffee table stage center, a pool table behind it, miscellaneous items inback stage right, and a patio stage left. All of these areas were used at least once during the show's run.The Married Couples' Dorm - Season 7
This set was where Cory and Topanga lived after returning from their honeymoon. It is initially dirty and run-down, but Cory does a lot of work to renovate it (fresh paint, furniture, etc). The set has three sections: the dorm hallway, a living room/kitchen area, and a bedroom. It was a central focus of three episodes in season 7, and was used consistently throughout the remainder of the show.Continuity errors
The biggest continuity problems revolve around the characters' ages.
- In Season 1( 1993-1994), Cory and his classmates are in 6th grade at Jefferson Elementary School while Eric is four years older in 10th grade at John Adams High School.
- Season 2 (1994-1995) continues this four-year margin Cory and the others start high school in 7th grade, while Eric reaches 11th grade.
- Season 3 (1995-1996) is where the trouble starts, as Eric is clearly a senior. No grade is given for Cory, Shawn, and Topanga, but Cory and Topanga claim to be 14, and Shawn 15. It is also mentioned that Cory and Eric now have a three year age difference.
- In Season 4 (1996-1997), Cory, Shawn, and Topanga have skipped to 11th grade and gotten drivers licenses, meaning the Cory/Eric age difference is reduced to two years.
- In Seasons 4, 5, and 6, the age difference stays consistent, and Cory and Eric are two years apart in age and one year apart in school (Eric takes an off year in Season 4)
- Late in Season 7 (1999-2000), the ages start to stray from real-time again. Eric and Cory have had three and two years of college, respectively. However, Eric, Jack, and (presumably) Rachel only spend three years in college, graduating at the end of the series.
- Cory, Shawn, and Topanga only spend four years in what should be a six year high school.
- It is also important to note, that in the Halloween episode with the "Scream" movie theme, Jack states he is older than Eric. However, in Episode 5-02 (an earlier episode), Eric states that he is "ten months older" than Jack. The latter should be taken as more authentic information because the majority of the Halloween episode is presented as a nightmare; but the fact that the dimwitted Eric stated he was older negates from the amount of authenticity of that statement as well.
Shawn's and Topanga's families change constantly.
- In Episode 1-04, "Cory's Alternative Friends", Shawn says he has a sister named Stacy, but she is never seen or mentioned again.
- The third season episode "The Pink Flamingo Kid" depicts Shawn's half-brother Eddie, who lives in the same trailer park as Shawn. He is subsequently never seen nor mentioned again. Later in the fifth season, Matthew Lawrence is introduced as Shawn's half-brother, Jack.
- In the Season 1 episode "She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not", Nebula ("Nebbie") Stop-The-War Lawrence is introduced as Topanga's sister, but is never seen or mentioned again.
- In the first season, Topanga's mother's name is said to be Chloe on multiple occasions. When Topanga's mother makes an appearance later in the show's run, her name has been changed to Rhiannon.
- Topanaga's parents are played by two different sets of actors. Her mother initially is played by Annette O'Toole, and later on she is played by Marcia Cross. In at least one episode, Topanga's father is played by Peter Tork from The Monkees, but was later played by another actor.
There are inconsistencies with other characters as well.
- The actor who plays Angela's father in Seasons 6 and 7 was cast in Season 5 as a philosophy teacher at Pennbrook when Shawn attends college classes while still in high school.
- Amy Matthews' profession changes from real estate agent to art gallery worker without any explanation.
- In the pilot episode, Cory has three best friends. However, the two other best friends eventually were discontinued. By the middle of the first season, Shawn was Cory's one and only best friend.
Toward the end of the series, many references are made to Cory and Topanga's relationship as young children. For example, in one episode in a flashback to when Cory and Shawn meet for the first time, a young Cory refers to Topanga as "the wife." Cory often mentions that he has loved Topanga his entire life, yet in the season one episode "She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not," Topanga meets Eric for the first time and develops a crush on him. Had Cory and Topanga been friends since birth, it is unlikely that she would not have met Cory's brother by the time she reached the 6th grade. Many other early episodes show Cory as not being in love with Topanga at all. His only strong feelings towards her seem to be unease at how weird she is, although there is some hinting at the two having feelings for each other.
Characters' personalities are also pretty inconsistent. Cory, Shawn, and Topanga seem like totally different people in later episodes. This can be explained as the characters maturing, although the change in Eric's personality is harder to explain.
The differences between the first season and the rest of the series are so great, some fans even go as far as to acknowledge season one as non-canon.
Syndication
Boy Meets World was picked up by the Disney Channel in 2000 after the show's cancellation. The show still airs on The Disney Channel today, after 6 years, however, it is currently shown at 2:00 AM ET. Additionaly, in mid 2004, the show was added to the ABC Family Channel line-up at 5:00 PM and 5:30 PM ET. The show still currently airs on ABC Family at 2:00 PM and 2:30 PM ET. The show also airs on a few local stations across the US.
Disney Channel \"Banned\" Episodes
The Disney Channel has banned 3 episodes from ever being aired on their network. These episodes include "If You Can't Be With the One You Love" (After losing Topanga, Cory resorts to drinking to solve his problems), "PROMises, PROMises" (Cory and Topanga want to have sex after the prom), and "The Truth About Honesty" (An honest game causes trouble at Rachel and Jack's dinner party). These episodes were not aired by the Disney Channel because they thought they were not appropriate for their target audience (children) to be viewing. These episodes were not shown in syndication at all and weren't seen since the ABC original airings until 2004, when the ABC Family Channel aired all 3 episodes. In addition, The Disney Channel makes many edits for content when airing the show, especially in the later seasons, when sexual jokes became more frequent.
DVD Releases
Season Releases
Throughout the series, George tries his best to guide young Cory, Shawn, and their friends as they encounter problems in their lives on their road to adulthood. An extremely kind and serene man, he first appears on the show as their school teacher, also as their neighbor; principal, and eventually toward the later years, their college professor (teaching such diverse courses as archeology, English literature, and quantum physics). The mercurial nature of Feeny's job became an in-joke in the series, with characters such as Cory mentioning more than once that Feeny seems to be the only teacher he's ever had. Feeny is also known for his deadpan humor. Later on in the show, George Feeny becomes the mentor of Eric Matthews, and "Feenay", as Eric refers to. George Feeny is a Boston native and likes to garden.
Mr. Feeny was once married to a woman named Lillian, who died before the series began. He later marries Dean Lila Bolander (played by William Daniels' real-life wife Bonnie Bartlett).
Jonathan Turner (
Mr. Turner was the teacher of Cory, Shawn, and Topanga starting in the second season. His new age approach to teaching often clashed with Mr. Feeny's more traditional methods, and the students found that they could more easily identify with the hip, Harley-riding Mr. Turner. In the third season, Shawn found residence with Mr. Turner when his dad went on a cross-country search for Shawn's mother Verna. Mr. Turner remained on the show until midway through the fourth season, he was put in a hospital after a motorcycle accident. As an homage to the beloved character, the show made a reference to him in the graduation episode when Stuart Minkus returns for a cameo and calls out to an off-screen Mr. Turner. Mr. Turner was also responsible for introducing the character of Eli Williams. He also has a departed son.Eli Williams (
Eli Williams was another teacher to Cory, Shawn, and Topanga. He joined the show in season three when his best friend and former college roommate Jonathan Turner got him a job at the school, teaching media arts. Like Turner, Williams is hip, cool, and can relate easily to the young students. However, being a former journalist at a television station in Philadelphia, he sometimes finds teaching and reaching out to students to be difficult chore, something that Turner helps him out with. Stories in the third season were written to focus on the friendship between Turner and Williams and the single bachelor life of dating, partying and socializing that they experience outside of their teaching, showing the life of young adults post-college. Williams had a starring role for some of the third season before he disappeared with no explanation. He never was seen of or heard of after the third season.Angela Shinaynay Moore (
Angela Moore was the sweetheart of Shawn Hunter in Seasons 5 - 7. Her first appearance, uncredited, was in Season 5, and she became a regular cast member in Season 6. Angela is a smart, beautiful African-American, and is passionate about causes and people. She is very classy and enjoys things for their artistic value. This balances well with Shawn's creative spirit. Although she broke up with Shawn during one or two episodes, and once for a longer period in the shows Pennbrook stage, they resolved their issues of angst and became true and devoted lovers, until Angela left for Europe with her father in the series' penultimate episode. In real life, Trina was pregnant during the filming of her role as Angela. Interestingly, there was never a mention of Angela's race over the course of her relationship with Shawn, except for the mentioning of a paper she did about "maintaining black identity when you have three very white friends", and commenting several times how she "has to get some black friends". In one of the episodes where she and Shawn break up, she is seen dating a black man, perhaps an allusion to the fact that she is always sensitive to the fact that she is the only African-American in her group of friends.Jack Hunter (
The half-brother of Shawn, Jack is the opposite of Shawn. He has money, works out, and has experienced relatively little difficulty in his life. Jack, along with Eric, pined for Rachel after she moved in with the two, eventually winning this battle. Although he claims to have six percent body fat, he was once referred to as "Jumbo Jack," much to the delight of Eric.Rachel Kimberly McGuire (
Rachel dated Jack for a relatively short period of time. Prior to moving in with Jack and Eric, she lived down the hall with her Texas boyfriend. She also roomed with Topanga and Angela for awhile. Rachel eventually joins the Peace Corps, taking Jack with her.
Joshua Gabriel Matthews (Daniel Jacobs)
Joshua is the fourth child of Alan and Amy Matthews, and the younger brother of Eric, Cory, and Morgan. He was born during the TV series' sixth season, but looked three or four by the series finale. His mother gave him the middle name Gabriel because it means "he whom God protects".Chet Hunter (
Shawn's father Chet was an on-again, off-again father figure, frequently leaving town for months or even years at a time. He was a jack-of-all-trades, holding a wide variety of (usually low-paying) jobs over the course of the series. Shawn originally idolized his father and thought he was responsible for his father's frequent departures. In time, though, he grew angry and resentful at the way his father treated him, almost as if he didn't matter. However, despite his apparent unconcern for his son's well-being, it is hinted strongly that Chet wanted the best for Shawn, and stayed away because he didn't think he was good enough for him.
During his first major departure, Chet left Shawn in the care of Alan and Amy Matthews, but this ended quickly and Shawn went to live with Jonathan Turner instead. He moved back in with his father when Chet returned to town, but at Chet's insistence, moved in with his half-brother Jack and Eric Matthews. When Shawn went to Pennbrook, Chet went to Jack's stepfather to ask for money to pay for Shawn's tuition. Chet returned to Philadelphia briefly, prompting a conflict with Shawn, who had finally lost patience with his father's inability to stay around. Chet had a heart attack soon after, and he and Shawn were barely able to begin reconciling when Chet died.
Chet appeared as a ghost in three episodes, "Road Trip" in Season 6, as well as "Family Trees" and "Brave New World (Part 2 - Series Finale)" in Season 7. His spirit acts as a counselor for Shawn in the hard times portrayed in these episodes.
Two episodes which involve Chet ("We'll Have A Good Time Then..." and "I'm Gonna Be Like You, Dad") are named for lines from the Harry Chapin song Cat's in the Cradle, which is fitting given the nature of the father-son relationship.
Stage Settings
Boy Meets World was filmed almost exclusively on-stage. There were occasionally scenes filmed in outdoor settings, but these were few and far between.
The House - Full Run
The House was primarily a four-room setup consisting of the Matthews' living room, kitchen, Cory and Eric's bedroom, and the backyard that they shared with George Feeny. There were also occasional scenes in Cory and Eric's bathroom and their parents' bedroom. The house was the main setting for the show, as most of the episodes spent at least some time here.Mr. Feeny's Classroom - Full Run
While the classroom and school changed between seasons 1 and 2 and seasons 5 and 6, a classroom was always present in the show. Jonathan Turner also had a classroom from season 2 to 4, but this changed when his character disappeared from the show and the setting of John Adams High was changed significantly.
Mr. Feeny also had an office from seasons 2 to 5, with one scene in season 4 using it as Dean Bolander's office. Dean Bolander also taught a class in what would become Mr. Feeny's Pennbrook classroom.
John Adams Main Floor - Seasons 2/3/4
This was another multiple-room setting, containing Mr. Turner's classroom and the main hall. The door on the right that led offstage has been used as the entrance to Mr. Feeny's office, the boys' bathroom, the janitor's closet, or the counselor's office.John Adams Senior Floor - Season 5
This set began the trend of many expensive, short use sets. This was the set adapted from the Main Floor set, and appeared to be almost the same as that set except for the reversal of many items. Mr. Feeny's classroom was connected to the stage right side of the main hall.The First Apartment - Seasons 2/3/4
Jonathan Turner's apartment was introduced in season 2, but became a main setting for the show in season 3 after Shawn moved in with Jonathan. This set would later be adapted to become the college apartment.The Second Apartment - Seasons 5/6/7
In the beginning of Season 5, Eric left home to attend Pennbrook University and rented an apartment with Jack Hunter, who had recently moved to town also to attend Pennbrook. At Chet Hunter's insistence, Shawn moved in with them, but the Apartment would see a number of different occupants over the years.
- First lineup: Jack, Eric, and Shawn.
- Second lineup: Jack, Eric, and Rachel. At the beginning of Season 6, a few months before Shawn planned to move out of the apartment and into a dorm with Cory, Eric and Jack kicked him out to make room for Rachel. Shawn, upon seeing Rachel, took this in stride.
- Third lineup: Jack and Rachel. After Chet Hunter's death, Jack and Rachel began dating, and Eric moved out a few episodes later.
- Fourth lineup: Topanga, Angela, and Rachel. Eventually Eric decided to return to the apartment, but at the same time Rachel invited Angela and Topanga to move in. His chivalrous nature winning out over logic, Jack begrudgingly left. He and Eric returned to fight the girls for the apartment a few episodes later, but lost.
- Fifth lineup: Jack, Eric, and Shawn (again). After Cory and Topanga were married in Season 7, Topanga moved out, and Angela and Rachel were unable to make rent alone. They moved into a Pennbrook dorm together, and the three original occupants moved back to the apartment. They would remain until the end of the series.
The Trailer - Seasons 2/3/4/5/6
Shawn and Chet Hunter lived in the trailer until Shawn moved into the apartment in Season 5, and Chet's death in Season 6. This set was used sparingly.
Chubbie's Diner - Seasons 2/3/4/5
Chubbie's became a mainstay for the BMW cast, and was used often for scenes. It was another multi-room set, with a game room on stage right, and restaurant and bar on stage left, although the game room was used infrequently. Eventually the diner became a pirate-themed restaurant towards the end of season 5 and was never seen again.The Dorm - Seasons 6/7
The dorm room that Shawn and Cory lived in during Season 6 connected to the dorm hall. The room was used throughout the series, housing some occupants that did not live in the apartment. The dorm hall was seen very rarely, only in a few episodes in Season 6, and was also connected to the co-ed bathroom which was seen in only two scenes in Episode 4, Season 6.The Student Union - Seasons 6/7
This replaced the John Adams hallway as the main school setting. It was the largest main set in the show by far, with a café on stage right, couches and a coffee table stage center, a pool table behind it, miscellaneous items inback stage right, and a patio stage left. All of these areas were used at least once during the show's run.The Married Couples' Dorm - Season 7
This set was where Cory and Topanga lived after returning from their honeymoon. It is initially dirty and run-down, but Cory does a lot of work to renovate it (fresh paint, furniture, etc). The set has three sections: the dorm hallway, a living room/kitchen area, and a bedroom. It was a central focus of three episodes in season 7, and was used consistently throughout the remainder of the show.Continuity errors
The biggest continuity problems revolve around the characters' ages.
- In Season 1( 1993-1994), Cory and his classmates are in 6th grade at Jefferson Elementary School while Eric is four years older in 10th grade at John Adams High School.
- Season 2 (1994-1995) continues this four-year margin Cory and the others start high school in 7th grade, while Eric reaches 11th grade.
- Season 3 (1995-1996) is where the trouble starts, as Eric is clearly a senior. No grade is given for Cory, Shawn, and Topanga, but Cory and Topanga claim to be 14, and Shawn 15. It is also mentioned that Cory and Eric now have a three year age difference.
- In Season 4 (1996-1997), Cory, Shawn, and Topanga have skipped to 11th grade and gotten drivers licenses, meaning the Cory/Eric age difference is reduced to two years.
- In Seasons 4, 5, and 6, the age difference stays consistent, and Cory and Eric are two years apart in age and one year apart in school (Eric takes an off year in Season 4)
- Late in Season 7 (1999-2000), the ages start to stray from real-time again. Eric and Cory have had three and two years of college, respectively. However, Eric, Jack, and (presumably) Rachel only spend three years in college, graduating at the end of the series.
- Cory, Shawn, and Topanga only spend four years in what should be a six year high school.
- It is also important to note, that in the Halloween episode with the "Scream" movie theme, Jack states he is older than Eric. However, in Episode 5-02 (an earlier episode), Eric states that he is "ten months older" than Jack. The latter should be taken as more authentic information because the majority of the Halloween episode is presented as a nightmare; but the fact that the dimwitted Eric stated he was older negates from the amount of authenticity of that statement as well.
Shawn's and Topanga's families change constantly.
- In Episode 1-04, "Cory's Alternative Friends", Shawn says he has a sister named Stacy, but she is never seen or mentioned again.
- The third season episode "The Pink Flamingo Kid" depicts Shawn's half-brother Eddie, who lives in the same trailer park as Shawn. He is subsequently never seen nor mentioned again. Later in the fifth season, Matthew Lawrence is introduced as Shawn's half-brother, Jack.
- In the Season 1 episode "She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not", Nebula ("Nebbie") Stop-The-War Lawrence is introduced as Topanga's sister, but is never seen or mentioned again.
- In the first season, Topanga's mother's name is said to be Chloe on multiple occasions. When Topanga's mother makes an appearance later in the show's run, her name has been changed to Rhiannon.
- Topanaga's parents are played by two different sets of actors. Her mother initially is played by Annette O'Toole, and later on she is played by Marcia Cross. In at least one episode, Topanga's father is played by Peter Tork from The Monkees, but was later played by another actor.
There are inconsistencies with other characters as well.
- The actor who plays Angela's father in Seasons 6 and 7 was cast in Season 5 as a philosophy teacher at Pennbrook when Shawn attends college classes while still in high school.
- Amy Matthews' profession changes from real estate agent to art gallery worker without any explanation.
- In the pilot episode, Cory has three best friends. However, the two other best friends eventually were discontinued. By the middle of the first season, Shawn was Cory's one and only best friend.
Toward the end of the series, many references are made to Cory and Topanga's relationship as young children. For example, in one episode in a flashback to when Cory and Shawn meet for the first time, a young Cory refers to Topanga as "the wife." Cory often mentions that he has loved Topanga his entire life, yet in the season one episode "She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not," Topanga meets Eric for the first time and develops a crush on him. Had Cory and Topanga been friends since birth, it is unlikely that she would not have met Cory's brother by the time she reached the 6th grade. Many other early episodes show Cory as not being in love with Topanga at all. His only strong feelings towards her seem to be unease at how weird she is, although there is some hinting at the two having feelings for each other.
Characters' personalities are also pretty inconsistent. Cory, Shawn, and Topanga seem like totally different people in later episodes. This can be explained as the characters maturing, although the change in Eric's personality is harder to explain.
The differences between the first season and the rest of the series are so great, some fans even go as far as to acknowledge season one as non-canon.
Syndication
Boy Meets World was picked up by the Disney Channel in 2000 after the show's cancellation. The show still airs on The Disney Channel today, after 6 years, however, it is currently shown at 2:00 AM ET. Additionaly, in mid 2004, the show was added to the ABC Family Channel line-up at 5:00 PM and 5:30 PM ET. The show still currently airs on ABC Family at 2:00 PM and 2:30 PM ET. The show also airs on a few local stations across the US.
Disney Channel \"Banned\" Episodes
The Disney Channel has banned 3 episodes from ever being aired on their network. These episodes include "If You Can't Be With the One You Love" (After losing Topanga, Cory resorts to drinking to solve his problems), "PROMises, PROMises" (Cory and Topanga want to have sex after the prom), and "The Truth About Honesty" (An honest game causes trouble at Rachel and Jack's dinner party). These episodes were not aired by the Disney Channel because they thought they were not appropriate for their target audience (children) to be viewing. These episodes were not shown in syndication at all and weren't seen since the ABC original airings until 2004, when the ABC Family Channel aired all 3 episodes. In addition, The Disney Channel makes many edits for content when airing the show, especially in the later seasons, when sexual jokes became more frequent.
DVD Releases
Season Releases
Angela Shinaynay Moore (
Angela Moore was the sweetheart of Shawn Hunter in Seasons 5 - 7. Her first appearance, uncredited, was in Season 5, and she became a regular cast member in Season 6. Angela is a smart, beautiful African-American, and is passionate about causes and people. She is very classy and enjoys things for their artistic value. This balances well with Shawn's creative spirit. Although she broke up with Shawn during one or two episodes, and once for a longer period in the shows Pennbrook stage, they resolved their issues of angst and became true and devoted lovers, until Angela left for Europe with her father in the series' penultimate episode. In real life, Trina was pregnant during the filming of her role as Angela. Interestingly, there was never a mention of Angela's race over the course of her relationship with Shawn, except for the mentioning of a paper she did about "maintaining black identity when you have three very white friends", and commenting several times how she "has to get some black friends". In one of the episodes where she and Shawn break up, she is seen dating a black man, perhaps an allusion to the fact that she is always sensitive to the fact that she is the only African-American in her group of friends.Jack Hunter (
The half-brother of Shawn, Jack is the opposite of Shawn. He has money, works out, and has experienced relatively little difficulty in his life. Jack, along with Eric, pined for Rachel after she moved in with the two, eventually winning this battle. Although he claims to have six percent body fat, he was once referred to as "Jumbo Jack," much to the delight of Eric.Rachel Kimberly McGuire (
Rachel dated Jack for a relatively short period of time. Prior to moving in with Jack and Eric, she lived down the hall with her Texas boyfriend. She also roomed with Topanga and Angela for awhile. Rachel eventually joins the Peace Corps, taking Jack with her.
Joshua Gabriel Matthews (Daniel Jacobs)
Joshua is the fourth child of Alan and Amy Matthews, and the younger brother of Eric, Cory, and Morgan. He was born during the TV series' sixth season, but looked three or four by the series finale. His mother gave him the middle name Gabriel because it means "he whom God protects".Chet Hunter (
Shawn's father Chet was an on-again, off-again father figure, frequently leaving town for months or even years at a time. He was a jack-of-all-trades, holding a wide variety of (usually low-paying) jobs over the course of the series. Shawn originally idolized his father and thought he was responsible for his father's frequent departures. In time, though, he grew angry and resentful at the way his father treated him, almost as if he didn't matter. However, despite his apparent unconcern for his son's well-being, it is hinted strongly that Chet wanted the best for Shawn, and stayed away because he didn't think he was good enough for him.
During his first major departure, Chet left Shawn in the care of Alan and Amy Matthews, but this ended quickly and Shawn went to live with Jonathan Turner instead. He moved back in with his father when Chet returned to town, but at Chet's insistence, moved in with his half-brother Jack and Eric Matthews. When Shawn went to Pennbrook, Chet went to Jack's stepfather to ask for money to pay for Shawn's tuition. Chet returned to Philadelphia briefly, prompting a conflict with Shawn, who had finally lost patience with his father's inability to stay around. Chet had a heart attack soon after, and he and Shawn were barely able to begin reconciling when Chet died.
Chet appeared as a ghost in three episodes, "Road Trip" in Season 6, as well as "Family Trees" and "Brave New World (Part 2 - Series Finale)" in Season 7. His spirit acts as a counselor for Shawn in the hard times portrayed in these episodes.
Two episodes which involve Chet ("We'll Have A Good Time Then..." and "I'm Gonna Be Like You, Dad") are named for lines from the Harry Chapin song Cat's in the Cradle, which is fitting given the nature of the father-son relationship.
Stage Settings
Boy Meets World was filmed almost exclusively on-stage. There were occasionally scenes filmed in outdoor settings, but these were few and far between.
The House - Full Run
The House was primarily a four-room setup consisting of the Matthews' living room, kitchen, Cory and Eric's bedroom, and the backyard that they shared with George Feeny. There were also occasional scenes in Cory and Eric's bathroom and their parents' bedroom. The house was the main setting for the show, as most of the episodes spent at least some time here.Mr. Feeny's Classroom - Full Run
While the classroom and school changed between seasons 1 and 2 and seasons 5 and 6, a classroom was always present in the show. Jonathan Turner also had a classroom from season 2 to 4, but this changed when his character disappeared from the show and the setting of John Adams High was changed significantly.
Mr. Feeny also had an office from seasons 2 to 5, with one scene in season 4 using it as Dean Bolander's office. Dean Bolander also taught a class in what would become Mr. Feeny's Pennbrook classroom.
John Adams Main Floor - Seasons 2/3/4
This was another multiple-room setting, containing Mr. Turner's classroom and the main hall. The door on the right that led offstage has been used as the entrance to Mr. Feeny's office, the boys' bathroom, the janitor's closet, or the counselor's office.John Adams Senior Floor - Season 5
This set began the trend of many expensive, short use sets. This was the set adapted from the Main Floor set, and appeared to be almost the same as that set except for the reversal of many items. Mr. Feeny's classroom was connected to the stage right side of the main hall.The First Apartment - Seasons 2/3/4
Jonathan Turner's apartment was introduced in season 2, but became a main setting for the show in season 3 after Shawn moved in with Jonathan. This set would later be adapted to become the college apartment.The Second Apartment - Seasons 5/6/7
In the beginning of Season 5, Eric left home to attend Pennbrook University and rented an apartment with Jack Hunter, who had recently moved to town also to attend Pennbrook. At Chet Hunter's insistence, Shawn moved in with them, but the Apartment would see a number of different occupants over the years.
- First lineup: Jack, Eric, and Shawn.
- Second lineup: Jack, Eric, and Rachel. At the beginning of Season 6, a few months before Shawn planned to move out of the apartment and into a dorm with Cory, Eric and Jack kicked him out to make room for Rachel. Shawn, upon seeing Rachel, took this in stride.
- Third lineup: Jack and Rachel. After Chet Hunter's death, Jack and Rachel began dating, and Eric moved out a few episodes later.
- Fourth lineup: Topanga, Angela, and Rachel. Eventually Eric decided to return to the apartment, but at the same time Rachel invited Angela and Topanga to move in. His chivalrous nature winning out over logic, Jack begrudgingly left. He and Eric returned to fight the girls for the apartment a few episodes later, but lost.
- Fifth lineup: Jack, Eric, and Shawn (again). After Cory and Topanga were married in Season 7, Topanga moved out, and Angela and Rachel were unable to make rent alone. They moved into a Pennbrook dorm together, and the three original occupants moved back to the apartment. They would remain until the end of the series.
The Trailer - Seasons 2/3/4/5/6
Shawn and Chet Hunter lived in the trailer until Shawn moved into the apartment in Season 5, and Chet's death in Season 6. This set was used sparingly.
Chubbie's Diner - Seasons 2/3/4/5
Chubbie's became a mainstay for the BMW cast, and was used often for scenes. It was another multi-room set, with a game room on stage right, and restaurant and bar on stage left, although the game room was used infrequently. Eventually the diner became a pirate-themed restaurant towards the end of season 5 and was never seen again.The Dorm - Seasons 6/7
The dorm room that Shawn and Cory lived in during Season 6 connected to the dorm hall. The room was used throughout the series, housing some occupants that did not live in the apartment. The dorm hall was seen very rarely, only in a few episodes in Season 6, and was also connected to the co-ed bathroom which was seen in only two scenes in Episode 4, Season 6.The Student Union - Seasons 6/7
This replaced the John Adams hallway as the main school setting. It was the largest main set in the show by far, with a café on stage right, couches and a coffee table stage center, a pool table behind it, miscellaneous items inback stage right, and a patio stage left. All of these areas were used at least once during the show's run.The Married Couples' Dorm - Season 7
This set was where Cory and Topanga lived after returning from their honeymoon. It is initially dirty and run-down, but Cory does a lot of work to renovate it (fresh paint, furniture, etc). The set has three sections: the dorm hallway, a living room/kitchen area, and a bedroom. It was a central focus of three episodes in season 7, and was used consistently throughout the remainder of the show.Continuity errors
The biggest continuity problems revolve around the characters' ages.
- In Season 1( 1993-1994), Cory and his classmates are in 6th grade at Jefferson Elementary School while Eric is four years older in 10th grade at John Adams High School.
- Season 2 (1994-1995) continues this four-year margin Cory and the others start high school in 7th grade, while Eric reaches 11th grade.
- Season 3 (1995-1996) is where the trouble starts, as Eric is clearly a senior. No grade is given for Cory, Shawn, and Topanga, but Cory and Topanga claim to be 14, and Shawn 15. It is also mentioned that Cory and Eric now have a three year age difference.
- In Season 4 (1996-1997), Cory, Shawn, and Topanga have skipped to 11th grade and gotten drivers licenses, meaning the Cory/Eric age difference is reduced to two years.
- In Seasons 4, 5, and 6, the age difference stays consistent, and Cory and Eric are two years apart in age and one year apart in school (Eric takes an off year in Season 4)
- Late in Season 7 (1999-2000), the ages start to stray from real-time again. Eric and Cory have had three and two years of college, respectively. However, Eric, Jack, and (presumably) Rachel only spend three years in college, graduating at the end of the series.
- Cory, Shawn, and Topanga only spend four years in what should be a six year high school.
- It is also important to note, that in the Halloween episode with the "Scream" movie theme, Jack states he is older than Eric. However, in Episode 5-02 (an earlier episode), Eric states that he is "ten months older" than Jack. The latter should be taken as more authentic information because the majority of the Halloween episode is presented as a nightmare; but the fact that the dimwitted Eric stated he was older negates from the amount of authenticity of that statement as well.
Shawn's and Topanga's families change constantly.
- In Episode 1-04, "Cory's Alternative Friends", Shawn says he has a sister named Stacy, but she is never seen or mentioned again.
- The third season episode "The Pink Flamingo Kid" depicts Shawn's half-brother Eddie, who lives in the same trailer park as Shawn. He is subsequently never seen nor mentioned again. Later in the fifth season, Matthew Lawrence is introduced as Shawn's half-brother, Jack.
- In the Season 1 episode "She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not", Nebula ("Nebbie") Stop-The-War Lawrence is introduced as Topanga's sister, but is never seen or mentioned again.
- In the first season, Topanga's mother's name is said to be Chloe on multiple occasions. When Topanga's mother makes an appearance later in the show's run, her name has been changed to Rhiannon.
- Topanaga's parents are played by two different sets of actors. Her mother initially is played by Annette O'Toole, and later on she is played by Marcia Cross. In at least one episode, Topanga's father is played by Peter Tork from The Monkees, but was later played by another actor.
There are inconsistencies with other characters as well.
- The actor who plays Angela's father in Seasons 6 and 7 was cast in Season 5 as a philosophy teacher at Pennbrook when Shawn attends college classes while still in high school.
- Amy Matthews' profession changes from real estate agent to art gallery worker without any explanation.
- In the pilot episode, Cory has three best friends. However, the two other best friends eventually were discontinued. By the middle of the first season, Shawn was Cory's one and only best friend.
Toward the end of the series, many references are made to Cory and Topanga's relationship as young children. For example, in one episode in a flashback to when Cory and Shawn meet for the first time, a young Cory refers to Topanga as "the wife." Cory often mentions that he has loved Topanga his entire life, yet in the season one episode "She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not," Topanga meets Eric for the first time and develops a crush on him. Had Cory and Topanga been friends since birth, it is unlikely that she would not have met Cory's brother by the time she reached the 6th grade. Many other early episodes show Cory as not being in love with Topanga at all. His only strong feelings towards her seem to be unease at how weird she is, although there is some hinting at the two having feelings for each other.
Characters' personalities are also pretty inconsistent. Cory, Shawn, and Topanga seem like totally different people in later episodes. This can be explained as the characters maturing, although the change in Eric's personality is harder to explain.
The differences between the first season and the rest of the series are so great, some fans even go as far as to acknowledge season one as non-canon.
Syndication
Boy Meets World was picked up by the Disney Channel in 2000 after the show's cancellation. The show still airs on The Disney Channel today, after 6 years, however, it is currently shown at 2:00 AM ET. Additionaly, in mid 2004, the show was added to the ABC Family Channel line-up at 5:00 PM and 5:30 PM ET. The show still currently airs on ABC Family at 2:00 PM and 2:30 PM ET. The show also airs on a few local stations across the US.
Disney Channel \"Banned\" Episodes
The Disney Channel has banned 3 episodes from ever being aired on their network. These episodes include "If You Can't Be With the One You Love" (After losing Topanga, Cory resorts to drinking to solve his problems), "PROMises, PROMises" (Cory and Topanga want to have sex after the prom), and "The Truth About Honesty" (An honest game causes trouble at Rachel and Jack's dinner party). These episodes were not aired by the Disney Channel because they thought they were not appropriate for their target audience (children) to be viewing. These episodes were not shown in syndication at all and weren't seen since the ABC original airings until 2004, when the ABC Family Channel aired all 3 episodes. In addition, The Disney Channel makes many edits for content when airing the show, especially in the later seasons, when sexual jokes became more frequent.
Rachel Kimberly McGuire ( Rachel dated Jack for a relatively short period of time. Prior to moving in with Jack and Eric, she lived down the hall with her Texas boyfriend. She also roomed with Topanga and Angela for awhile. Rachel eventually joins the Peace Corps, taking Jack with her.
Joshua Gabriel Matthews (Daniel Jacobs)
Joshua is the fourth child of Alan and Amy Matthews, and the younger brother of Eric, Cory, and Morgan. He was born during the TV series' sixth season, but looked three or four by the series finale. His mother gave him the middle name Gabriel because it means "he whom God protects".Chet Hunter (
Shawn's father Chet was an on-again, off-again father figure, frequently leaving town for months or even years at a time. He was a jack-of-all-trades, holding a wide variety of (usually low-paying) jobs over the course of the series. Shawn originally idolized his father and thought he was responsible for his father's frequent departures. In time, though, he grew angry and resentful at the way his father treated him, almost as if he didn't matter. However, despite his apparent unconcern for his son's well-being, it is hinted strongly that Chet wanted the best for Shawn, and stayed away because he didn't think he was good enough for him.
During his first major departure, Chet left Shawn in the care of Alan and Amy Matthews, but this ended quickly and Shawn went to live with Jonathan Turner instead. He moved back in with his father when Chet returned to town, but at Chet's insistence, moved in with his half-brother Jack and Eric Matthews. When Shawn went to Pennbrook, Chet went to Jack's stepfather to ask for money to pay for Shawn's tuition. Chet returned to Philadelphia briefly, prompting a conflict with Shawn, who had finally lost patience with his father's inability to stay around. Chet had a heart attack soon after, and he and Shawn were barely able to begin reconciling when Chet died.
Chet appeared as a ghost in three episodes, "Road Trip" in Season 6, as well as "Family Trees" and "Brave New World (Part 2 - Series Finale)" in Season 7. His spirit acts as a counselor for Shawn in the hard times portrayed in these episodes.
Two episodes which involve Chet ("We'll Have A Good Time Then..." and "I'm Gonna Be Like You, Dad") are named for lines from the Harry Chapin song Cat's in the Cradle, which is fitting given the nature of the father-son relationship.
Stage Settings
Boy Meets World was filmed almost exclusively on-stage. There were occasionally scenes filmed in outdoor settings, but these were few and far between.
The House - Full Run
The House was primarily a four-room setup consisting of the Matthews' living room, kitchen, Cory and Eric's bedroom, and the backyard that they shared with George Feeny. There were also occasional scenes in Cory and Eric's bathroom and their parents' bedroom. The house was the main setting for the show, as most of the episodes spent at least some time here.Mr. Feeny's Classroom - Full Run
While the classroom and school changed between seasons 1 and 2 and seasons 5 and 6, a classroom was always present in the show. Jonathan Turner also had a classroom from season 2 to 4, but this changed when his character disappeared from the show and the setting of John Adams High was changed significantly.
Mr. Feeny also had an office from seasons 2 to 5, with one scene in season 4 using it as Dean Bolander's office. Dean Bolander also taught a class in what would become Mr. Feeny's Pennbrook classroom.
John Adams Main Floor - Seasons 2/3/4
This was another multiple-room setting, containing Mr. Turner's classroom and the main hall. The door on the right that led offstage has been used as the entrance to Mr. Feeny's office, the boys' bathroom, the janitor's closet, or the counselor's office.John Adams Senior Floor - Season 5
This set began the trend of many expensive, short use sets. This was the set adapted from the Main Floor set, and appeared to be almost the same as that set except for the reversal of many items. Mr. Feeny's classroom was connected to the stage right side of the main hall.The First Apartment - Seasons 2/3/4
Jonathan Turner's apartment was introduced in season 2, but became a main setting for the show in season 3 after Shawn moved in with Jonathan. This set would later be adapted to become the college apartment.The Second Apartment - Seasons 5/6/7
In the beginning of Season 5, Eric left home to attend Pennbrook University and rented an apartment with Jack Hunter, who had recently moved to town also to attend Pennbrook. At Chet Hunter's insistence, Shawn moved in with them, but the Apartment would see a number of different occupants over the years.
- First lineup: Jack, Eric, and Shawn.
- Second lineup: Jack, Eric, and Rachel. At the beginning of Season 6, a few months before Shawn planned to move out of the apartment and into a dorm with Cory, Eric and Jack kicked him out to make room for Rachel. Shawn, upon seeing Rachel, took this in stride.
- Third lineup: Jack and Rachel. After Chet Hunter's death, Jack and Rachel began dating, and Eric moved out a few episodes later.
- Fourth lineup: Topanga, Angela, and Rachel. Eventually Eric decided to return to the apartment, but at the same time Rachel invited Angela and Topanga to move in. His chivalrous nature winning out over logic, Jack begrudgingly left. He and Eric returned to fight the girls for the apartment a few episodes later, but lost.
- Fifth lineup: Jack, Eric, and Shawn (again). After Cory and Topanga were married in Season 7, Topanga moved out, and Angela and Rachel were unable to make rent alone. They moved into a Pennbrook dorm together, and the three original occupants moved back to the apartment. They would remain until the end of the series.
The Trailer - Seasons 2/3/4/5/6
Shawn and Chet Hunter lived in the trailer until Shawn moved into the apartment in Season 5, and Chet's death in Season 6. This set was used sparingly.
Chubbie's Diner - Seasons 2/3/4/5
Chubbie's became a mainstay for the BMW cast, and was used often for scenes. It was another multi-room set, with a game room on stage right, and restaurant and bar on stage left, although the game room was used infrequently. Eventually the diner became a pirate-themed restaurant towards the end of season 5 and was never seen again.The Dorm - Seasons 6/7
The dorm room that Shawn and Cory lived in during Season 6 connected to the dorm hall. The room was used throughout the series, housing some occupants that did not live in the apartment. The dorm hall was seen very rarely, only in a few episodes in Season 6, and was also connected to the co-ed bathroom which was seen in only two scenes in Episode 4, Season 6.The Student Union - Seasons 6/7
This replaced the John Adams hallway as the main school setting. It was the largest main set in the show by far, with a café on stage right, couches and a coffee table stage center, a pool table behind it, miscellaneous items inback stage right, and a patio stage left. All of these areas were used at least once during the show's run.The Married Couples' Dorm - Season 7
This set was where Cory and Topanga lived after returning from their honeymoon. It is initially dirty and run-down, but Cory does a lot of work to renovate it (fresh paint, furniture, etc). The set has three sections: the dorm hallway, a living room/kitchen area, and a bedroom. It was a central focus of three episodes in season 7, and was used consistently throughout the remainder of the show.Continuity errors
The biggest continuity problems revolve around the characters' ages.- In Season 1( 1993-1994), Cory and his classmates are in 6th grade at Jefferson Elementary School while Eric is four years older in 10th grade at John Adams High School.
- Season 2 (1994-1995) continues this four-year margin Cory and the others start high school in 7th grade, while Eric reaches 11th grade.
- Season 3 (1995-1996) is where the trouble starts, as Eric is clearly a senior. No grade is given for Cory, Shawn, and Topanga, but Cory and Topanga claim to be 14, and Shawn 15. It is also mentioned that Cory and Eric now have a three year age difference.
- In Season 4 (1996-1997), Cory, Shawn, and Topanga have skipped to 11th grade and gotten drivers licenses, meaning the Cory/Eric age difference is reduced to two years.
- In Seasons 4, 5, and 6, the age difference stays consistent, and Cory and Eric are two years apart in age and one year apart in school (Eric takes an off year in Season 4)
- Late in Season 7 (1999-2000), the ages start to stray from real-time again. Eric and Cory have had three and two years of college, respectively. However, Eric, Jack, and (presumably) Rachel only spend three years in college, graduating at the end of the series.
- Cory, Shawn, and Topanga only spend four years in what should be a six year high school.
- It is also important to note, that in the Halloween episode with the "Scream" movie theme, Jack states he is older than Eric. However, in Episode 5-02 (an earlier episode), Eric states that he is "ten months older" than Jack. The latter should be taken as more authentic information because the majority of the Halloween episode is presented as a nightmare; but the fact that the dimwitted Eric stated he was older negates from the amount of authenticity of that statement as well.
- In Episode 1-04, "Cory's Alternative Friends", Shawn says he has a sister named Stacy, but she is never seen or mentioned again.
- The third season episode "The Pink Flamingo Kid" depicts Shawn's half-brother Eddie, who lives in the same trailer park as Shawn. He is subsequently never seen nor mentioned again. Later in the fifth season, Matthew Lawrence is introduced as Shawn's half-brother, Jack.
- In the Season 1 episode "She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not", Nebula ("Nebbie") Stop-The-War Lawrence is introduced as Topanga's sister, but is never seen or mentioned again.
- In the first season, Topanga's mother's name is said to be Chloe on multiple occasions. When Topanga's mother makes an appearance later in the show's run, her name has been changed to Rhiannon.
- Topanaga's parents are played by two different sets of actors. Her mother initially is played by Annette O'Toole, and later on she is played by Marcia Cross. In at least one episode, Topanga's father is played by Peter Tork from The Monkees, but was later played by another actor.
- The actor who plays Angela's father in Seasons 6 and 7 was cast in Season 5 as a philosophy teacher at Pennbrook when Shawn attends college classes while still in high school.
- Amy Matthews' profession changes from real estate agent to art gallery worker without any explanation.
- In the pilot episode, Cory has three best friends. However, the two other best friends eventually were discontinued. By the middle of the first season, Shawn was Cory's one and only best friend.
Characters' personalities are also pretty inconsistent. Cory, Shawn, and Topanga seem like totally different people in later episodes. This can be explained as the characters maturing, although the change in Eric's personality is harder to explain.
The differences between the first season and the rest of the series are so great, some fans even go as far as to acknowledge season one as non-canon.
Syndication
Boy Meets World was picked up by the Disney Channel in 2000 after the show's cancellation. The show still airs on The Disney Channel today, after 6 years, however, it is currently shown at 2:00 AM ET. Additionaly, in mid 2004, the show was added to the ABC Family Channel line-up at 5:00 PM and 5:30 PM ET. The show still currently airs on ABC Family at 2:00 PM and 2:30 PM ET. The show also airs on a few local stations across the US.DVD Releases
Season Releases| DVD Name | Release Date | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | August 24 2004 | Includes all 22 episodes from Season 1. |
| Season 2 | November 23 2004 | Includes all 23 episodes from Season 2. |
| Season 3 | August 23 2005 | Includes all 22 episodes from Season 3. |
- The first three seasons of Boy Meets World are currently available on DVD from Buena Vista Home Entertainment
- The fourth season was originally scheduled to be released on January 10, 2006 but was cancelled at the last minute due to poor DVD sales.[link]
Theme Music and Introductions
Boy Meets World had 5 Themes over 7 years. The final Theme remained for the 5th - 7th Seasons while the visuals changed from Seasons 5 to 6 to include Angela (moved from guest star to regular cast in Season 5) and Rachel (added as regular castmember in Season 6). Theme music for the 5th - 7th Season entitled "When This Boy Meets World" and was written by Phil Rosenthal.ABC Family was the first network since ABC to show all the accurate introductions for all seven seasons. For the syndicated and Disney Channel broadcasts the season 4 theme was used for the first three seasons; for the rest of the show's run the original opening themes were kept intact.
Ties to The Wonder Years
Not only was Boy Meets World often compared to The Wonder Years (partially because Fred & Ben Savage are brothers and serve as the main characters for their respective shows), several actors have appeared on both shows:- Fred Savage (Kevin Arnold) guest starred in the season 6 episode "Everybody Loves Stuart" and directed two season 7 episodes.
- Dan Lauria (Jack Arnold) guest starred as a County Judge in a season 4 episode "Wheels".
- Steven Gilborn (Mr. Collins) guest starred as a quiz show host in the season 4 episode "Quiz Show"
- Ben Savage guest starred in Season 3, Episode 14 of The Wonder Years, as a seventh grader who acts as cupid.
Recurring cast list
- Lee Norris as Stuart Minkus (1993-1994, 1998)
- Ethan Suplee as Francis Albert 'Frankie' Stechino (1994-1998)
- Blake Soper as Joey 'Joey the Rat' Epstein (1994-1996)
- Danny McNulty as Harvey 'Harley' Keiner (1994-1995)
- Adam Scott as Griffin Hawkins (1995-1997)
- Jason Marsden as Jason Marsden (1993-1995)
- Bob Larkin as Janitor Bud (1994-1997)
- Bonnie Bartlett as Dean Bolander (1998-2000)
See also
External links
- [TV Tome: Boy Meets World]
- [Disney Channel: Boy Meets World]
- [ABC Family: Boy Meets World]
- [Theme Song Lyrics]
- [Boy Meets World: Season 1 DVD Review]
- [Boy Meets World: Season 2 DVD Review]
- [Boy Meets World: Season 3 DVD Review]
- ['Which Boy Meets World character are you?' quiz]
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