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Boy Meets World is an American television sitcom that chronicles the events and everyday life lessons of Cory Matthews, who grows up from a pre-pubescent boy to a married man. The show aired for seven seasons from 1993 to 2000 on ABC, where it was one of the headliners of ABC's TGIF lineup.

The series is currently syndicated weekday afternoons on ABC Family Channel and late nights/early mornings on the Disney Channel.

Characters

Main

Cornelius "Cory" Matthews (Ben Savage)

Cory is the main character of the series; his best friend is Shawn Hunter, his mother and father are Amy and Alan Matthews, and by the end of the series he has three siblings, Eric, Morgan, and Joshua. Mr. George Feeny is Cory's teacher, mentor, and neighbor. Cory struggled in 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 Cornelius.

Cory's personality changes somewhat as he gets older. For the first few years he's a slacker and is just barely a better student than Shawn. One major difference between the two is that Cory seems to get more worked up or neurotic about random things whereas Shawn is more laid back. If Cory does not want to do something school-related he will make a big production about the fact that he does not want to do it and how unnecessary he finds it, whereas Shawn will just not do it, preferring to fall asleep or make paper airplanes. As time goes on, Cory's slacker tendencies diminish as his neuroses increase, and by the end of the series his pessimism and paranoia, mixed along with a fairly strong work ethic and sense of right and wrong, become who he is.

Eric Randall Matthews (Will Friedle)

The brother of Cory, Morgan, and Joshua Matthews, Eric began the show as a suave, popular young man who constantly went on dates. He was originally portrayed as the stereotypical older brother. Eric's character changed mid-series from preppy older brother to "crazy moronic brother." During the fourth season, 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 with Cory, Topanga, and Shawn.

Eric is actually highly intelligent, and Feeny mentions that Eric can get passing grades in his sleep (in fact, he once did). He compares this to Cory who, though lacking Eric's natural intelligence, makes up for it by being hard-working when he wants to be, and thus succeeds. Eric, on the other hand, is too lazy and immature to be anything but a ridiculous goof-off, to the annoyance of both his family and Feeny.

During the later years, storylines involving Eric became stranger and wackier, often times bending the rules of reality itself, such as an episode where Eric continually tries to sneak up on Topanga by using many disguises and crazy situations. The change from a girl-crazy cool-conscious teenager (the first half of the series) to a scatter-brained psychopath (the second half of the series) was a drastic change.

Shawn Patrick Hunter (Rider Strong)

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. Shawn has a personality almost opposite Cory's. Shawn takes more risks and has more of a bad boy image. Their personality differences do cause problems between the two a few times, but these problems can never destroy the 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 season two and thereafter, 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 Shawn's legal guardian. 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, died shortly after his birth.

Shawn is a ladies' man, something Cory sometimes is envious of. Conversely, however, Shawn is jealous of Cory's close, long-term relationship with Topanga. Later in the series, Shawn falls in love with a girl name Angela. They have a tempestuous relationship, but genuinely care for each other. Things get rocky when his best friend Cory breaks up with Topanga. In the end of the series, Shawn moves to New York with Cory, Topanga, and Eric.

Topanga Lawrence (Danielle Fishel)

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, first as a guest character and later recurring, she was a hippie vegetarian and somewhat of an outcast, sitting at the table with the other "weird kids." However, once the characters entered high school (and Danielle Fishel became a main character), she became more of a "regular teenage girl," and her beliefs about the environment and other topics were less emphasized. Much was now made of the fact that Topanga was attractive, popular, and academically successful. She also cut her trademark long hair in an episode in season 4. She grows distant from her parents, whom she once was very close to; by the fourth season, her parents force her to move to Pittsburgh, and she runs away from them, back to Philadelphia.

Also starting in high school, her on-again/off-again relationship with Cory became one of the major elements of the show. Their relationship seems to mirror traditional high school sweethearts, dealing with normal boyfriend/girlfriend problems. However, this only continues up to "A Long Walk to Pittsburgh," when the show starts to depict them as star-crossed lovers. The series tries to justify this by saying 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), after which the show attempts to put them in stereotypical marriage problem situations. At the end of the series, she and Cory move to New York with Eric and Shawn.

George Feeny (William Daniels)

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. He first appears on the show as their school teacher, principal, and neighbor, and eventually toward the later years, their college professor (teaching such diverse courses as archaeology, English literature, and quantum physics). Cory mentions more than once that Feeny is the only teacher he has ever had since kindergarten. Later on in the show, George Feeny becomes the mentor of Eric Matthews. George Feeny is a Boston native and enjoys gardening.

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).

Alan Matthews (William Russ)

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. He has a quick temper, though when it shows up, usually through consultation with his wife, he often apologizes afterwards for words spoken in anger. 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. This was due to the fact that of all his children, Alan was, by his own admission, the closest with Eric due to his position as the oldest and, as Amy tells Alan, he has coddled Eric and babyed him his entire life, resulting in the lazy, immature (despite being naturally intelligent) Eric that exists today.

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 proclaiming that she would in turn "make a large decision that affects the entire family without consulting with him first." Accordingly, she purchased a sporting goods store that was up for sale, which Alan took over and renamed "Matthews & Sons".

Amy Jones-Matthews (Betsy Randle)

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.

Amy often played counterpoint to Alan in giving their children discipline and guidance. In dealing with Eric, she always discouraged "babying" him, whereas several episodes involving Cory see a much more gentle and motherly Amy. Generally speaking, while Morgan was the child that was "her's" (likely due to her position as the only girl) and Eric was the child that was "Alan's", the two of them almost evenly tended after Cory.

Morgan Matthews (Lily Nicksay/Lindsay Ridgeway)

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 in the episode "A Kiss is More than a Kiss" played by a different actress. She's precocious and well aware of her cuteness, although she develops a bit of a temperamental streak as she hits puberty at the series' close.

Angela Shinaynay Moore (Trina McGee)

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 African-American, and is passionate about causes and people. She enjoys things for their artistic value. Although she broke up with Shawn during one or two episodes, and once for a longer period in the show's Pennbrook stage, they resolved their issues and became very close. Angela left for Europe with her father in the series' penultimate episode. There was never a mention of Angela's race over the course of her relationship with Shawn, except for her mentioning a paper she did about "maintaining black identity when you have three very white friends," and commenting that she "has to get some black friends."

Jack Hunter (Matthew Lawrence)

The half-brother of Shawn, Jack is the opposite of Shawn. He has money 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 it's unclear if they end up together at the series' close. Although Jack was quickly cemented in the group by virtue of being made Shawn's brother and Eric's roommate, he wasn't really used for very much (in comparison to larger characters like Cory, Eric and Shawn) and never truly developed an indentity of his own. His own personality becoming fluid depending on what the writers' wanted (e.g. he could be smart if it fit the writers' story or he could be stupid if that worked better.)

Rachel Kimberly McGuire (Maitland Ward)

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.

Jonathan Turner (Anthony Tyler Quinn)

Mr. Turner was the teacher of Cory, Shawn, and Topanga starting in the second season. His more laidback 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), and found in him a friend and mentor. Mr. Turner remained on the show until midway through the fourth season, when he was put in the hospital after a motorcycle accident. As an homage to the 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 is also best friends with Eli Williams.

Eli Williams (Alex Désert)

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 considered "hip and 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 a 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.

In the DVD commentaries, Michael Jacobs and some of the actors discuss the network pressure during seasons 2 and 3 to bring more young adult characters to the cast. Eli Williams strongly reflects this trend.

Stuart Minkus (Lee Norris)

The resident genius and nerd in Cory's sixth grade class. He is in love with Topanga, and is often made fun of by Cory and Shawn. Everyone refers to him as "Minkus," excepting Topanga, who refers to him as Stuart, and Mr. Feeny, who, as he does with everyone else, addresses him by his formal title--"Mr. Minkus." Before Topanga's character changes, he is the one constantly obsessed with grades and such. He was on the show from 1993-1994, and made an appearance in the "Graduation" episode in 1998.

Recurring

Chet Hunter (Blake Clark)

Shawn's father Chet is an on-again, off-again father figure, frequently leaving town for months or even years at a time. He is a jack-of-all-trades, holding a wide variety of (usually low-paying) jobs over the course of the series. Shawn originally idolizes his father and thinks he himself is responsible for his father's frequent departures. In time, though, he grows angry and resentful at the way his father treats him.

During his first major departure, Chet leaves Shawn in the care of Alan and Amy Matthews, but this ends quickly and Shawn goes to live with Jonathan Turner instead. He moves back in with his father when Chet returns to town, but at Chet's insistence, moves in with his half-brother Jack and Eric Matthews. When Shawn goes to Pennbrook, Chet goes to Jack's stepfather to ask for money to pay for Shawn's tuition. Chet returns to Philadelphia briefly, prompting a conflict with Shawn, who finally loses patience with his father's inability to stay around. Chet tells Shawn he always wanted the best for him, and stayed away because he didn't think he was good enough for him. Chet has a heart attack soon after, and he and Shawn are only able to begin reconciling when Chet dies.

Chet appears 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 about a broken father-son relationship.

Francis Albert "Frankie" Stechino (Ethan Suplee)

Frankie "The Enforcer" Stechino is one of Harley Keiner's "lackeys" at John Adams High. Surviving much longer than his counterparts, Harley and Joey, Frankie's character began his tenure on the show's second season as an "enforcer," torturing the other students, especially the seventh graders, including Cory Matthews and Shawn Hunter. Season three put him into a friendship with Cory and Shawn.

He enjoys writing poetry. His father is the professional wrestler Vader (whose real name is stated on the show as both Francis Albert "Frankie" Stechino, Sr., and Leslie). He has a younger brother named Herman, who develops a crush on Morgan Matthews. He lives in the same trailer park as Shawn.

His last appearance as a recurring character was in the fourth season, and he returned once more, along with Joey, for the graduation episode in season 5.

Joey "The Rat" Epstein (Blake Soper)

During the series' second and third seasons, Joey is Harley Keiner's other "lackey," also antagonizing both Shawn and Cory. Joey's exact purpose in the bully entourage is never really explained. Soper left the show in season three, but he made one last appearance on season five's graduation episode.

Harvey "Harley" Keiner (Danny McNulty)

First appearing as the bane of Cory's existence at the start of season two, Harley was an occasional player for about a year of the show's run. One of the gags surrounding his character was the oddball sophistication he added to the bullying trade, often referring to the harassment of underclassmen as if it were a career and to his gang as if it were a corporation. He had a younger sister named Theresa "T.K."

When McNulty left the cast toward the end of the second season, Harley made one appearance as a different actor, only to be subsequently written out under the pretense of going to "juvenile boot camp." The original actor made one last cameo in the third season.

Griffin "Griff" Hawkins (Adam Scott)

When Danny McNulty left the show at the end of season 2, the character of Griff stepped in briefly as his replacement. A far different sort of bully than Harley, Griff was a smooth-talking freeloader who used his wits and charm to weasel his way out of many an obligation and punishment. He was on the show from 1995-1996.

Jason Marsden (Jason Marsden)

Eric's best friend from the age of three. He is often more calm than Eric, and can either be his voice of reason or the one who gets him into trouble. He is quite fond of girls, as is Eric. He was on the show from 1993-1995; he left the show after graduating and going to college, leaving Eric at home to be a "townie," and was never referenced again.

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Janitor Bud (Bob Larkin)

The school janitor, who later becomes Mr. Feeny's secretary due to Cory's getting him fired from his janitorial duties. After the change is made, he never appears on the show again, though he is referred to in an episode in a later season. He was on the show from 1994-1997.

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Dean Lila Bolander (Bonnie Bartlett)

The dean of Pennbrook, who later marries Mr. Feeny (played by his real-life wife, Bonnie Bartlett). She was on the show from 1997-1999.

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Plot

Cory Matthews is the main character of the series; the other characters often serve to help him cope with his difficulties in achievement in school, his moral conflicts with Shawn Hunter, and his trouble understanding his girlfriend Topanga Lawrence. Cory's best friend, Shawn Hunter, is dissimilar to Cory; he is a social rebel, he has an unsupportive family, and he has success with women, something which Cory envies at times. Cory's mother and father (Amy and Alan Matthews) are hard-working people trying to make a decent living in order to raise their three children (by the end of the series, a fourth child, Joshua Matthews, is born). Their other two children are Eric Matthews, the funny, handsome, sometimes borderline-psychotic older brother who tries to distance himself from Cory at all possible times; and Morgan Matthews, the younger sister, who sometimes uses her position as means of getting what she wants. Cory, with his stubbornness and laziness, struggles with his friend to get through school. To help them, there is Mr. George Feeny, Cory's teacher 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 fiancée, then wife. Topanga and Cory's relationship is the main focus of the latter part of the series, and at the end of the series, Topanga, Cory, Shawn, and Eric leave suburban Philadelphia for New York City.

Boy Meets World contained a mix of dramedy and smart humor, deadpan humor, and non-stop straight-out farce, with the latter beginning to increasingly dominate the show as time went on.

In addition to the show's occasional jokes about the gay subtext of Cory and Shawn's friendship (and, at times, Eric's and Jack's as well), it should perhaps be noted that the series also featured the male characters in drag several times (with various main characters appearing in drag in the episodes Fraternity Row, It’s a Wonderful Night, Chick Like Me and What a Drag.) The show's cross-dressing was generally depicted in a fun and sympathetic light, and the boys are quite preoccupied with their prettiness (or lack thereof) and getting their feminine personas just right. In What a Drag Eric enjoyed crossdressing so much that he considered living as a woman full-time.

Playfulness

The show was rarely serious. Fourth wall jokes abound, there is never-ending deadpan humor, and multiple episodes openly parody then-current movies, including Scream, Rounders, and The Truman Show. Wrestler Vader appears as a recurring character playing his own wrestling persona, and characters repeatedly mention the show's format, plot formulas, and continuity errors.

The series is particularly notable for its ability to make fun of itself. In the episode "Eric Hollywood," the cast parody themselves and the show on the set of Kid Gets Acquainted With Universe, and reveal that the actors are nothing like the characters they play onstage. The show even goes 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 is a teacher who plays an important role in several seasons of the show, and then is written off with no explanation. Similarly, Cory's sister Morgan unexpectedly returns after an entire season's absence, played by a different actress, with the wisecracking comment, "That was the longest time-out I've ever had." Another example is the pig, Little Cory: while still in high school, Shawn obtains a piglet and names him Little Cory. The pink 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.

Another example of self-reference occurs in the final episode, when Cory is talking to his little brother Joshua. He tells him that he is one day going out into the real world and he will make mistakes, but he will learn from them and eventually become a good person; he then stops and says, "Boy meets world. Now I get it."

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.

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

Production notes

Theme music and introductions

Boy Meets World had five theme songs over seven years. The final theme, written and performed Phil Rosenthal, remained for the fifth through seventh seasons, though the visuals changed from seasons five to six to include Trina McGee as Angela Moore (who moved from guest star to regular cast in season five) and Maitland Ward as Rachel McGuire (who was added as a regular cast member in season six).

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, a slightly modified version of the season four theme, accompanied by the season four opening credits was used for the first three seasons; for the rest of the show's run the original opening themes were kept intact.

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 adjoined that of 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 one and two and seasons five and six, a classroom was always present in the show. Jonathan Turner also has a classroom from season two to four, but this changes when his character is written off the show and the setting of John Adams High is changed significantly.

Mr. Feeny also had an office from seasons two to five, with one scene in season four using it as Dean Bolander's office. Dean Bolander also teaches 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, both boys' and girls' bathrooms, 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 moves 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 leaves home to attend Pennbrook University and rents an apartment with Jack Hunter, who recently moved to town also to attend Pennbrook. At Chet Hunter's insistence, Shawn moves 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 six, a few months before Shawn plans 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, takes this in stride.
• Third lineup: Jack and Rachel. After Chet Hunter's death, Jack and Rachel begin dating, and Eric moves out a few episodes later.
• Fourth lineup: Topanga, Angela, and Rachel. Eventually Eric decides to return to the apartment, but at the same time Rachel invites Angela and Topanga to move in. His chivalrous nature winning out over logic, Jack begrudgingly leaves. He and Eric return to fight the girls for the apartment a few episodes later, but lose.
• Fifth lineup: Jack, Eric, and Shawn (again). After Cory and Topanga get married in season seven, Topanga moves out, and Shawn moves in with Angela and Rachel. Rachel later moves out to assume the title as a Resident Aid for one of Pennbrook's dorms, leaving Angela and Shawn. After the episode "Pickett Fences," Cory calls Shawn and Angela's living arrangement "playing house" compared to his and Topanga's dorm. Towards the end of the episode, Shawn decides that Cory is right and they agree that Angela will move out and live with Rachel in the dorm, and the three original occupants move back to the apartment. They remain there until the end of the series.

• The Trailer - Seasons 2/3/4/5/6

Shawn and Chet Hunter live in the trailer until Shawn moves into the apartment in season five, and Chet's death in season six. This set was used sparingly.

• Chubbie's Diner - Seasons 2/3/4/5

Chubbie's became a mainstay for the Boy Meets World 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 becomes a pirate-themed restaurant towards the end of season five and is never seen again.

• The Dorm - Seasons 6/7

The dorm room that Shawn and Cory live in during season six connects to the dorm hall. The room was used throughout the series, housing some occupants that do not live in the apartment. The dorm hall is seen very rarely, only in a few episodes in season six, and is also connected to the co-ed bathroom which is seen in only two scenes in episode #6.4.

• 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 in back 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 live 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 seven, and was used consistently throughout the remainder of the show.

Continuity Issues

Characters' families

• In episode #1.4, "Cory's Alternative Friends," Shawn says he has a sister named Stacy, but she is never seen or mentioned again. Also, in episode #1.13 "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.
• 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 or mentioned again. Later in the fifth season, Matthew Lawrence is introduced as Shawn's half-brother, Jack.
• Topanga's father is played by three different actors, and mother by two different actresses. In an early episode, Topanga's father is played by Peter Tork from The Monkees (her mother is not shown), then Michael McKean, and finally Mark Harelik. Her mother initially is played by Annette O'Toole, and later by Marcia Cross. Also, in the first season she refers to her mother as "Chloe," but for the rest of the series her name is Rhiannon.
• The actor who plays Angela's father in seasons six and seven was cast in season five 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.

Series timeline

• The series begins with a four-year gap between Cory and Eric (with Cory in sixth grade and Eric in tenth), but in the third season finale during Eric's graduation, Eric cites Cory's being "three years younger" as the reason the two cannot relate. Cory is 15 at the time (he starts the series as an 11-year-old).
• The first and second seasons cover sixth and seventh grades, respectively, for Cory, Shawn, and Topanga; their grade is never mentioned in season three. The fourth season begins with Cory stating he is in eleventh grade. Also, in this season:
  • The episode "Cult Fiction" deals with Shawn being a junior and his dilemma of "being out of here in two years," confirming the gang's status as juniors.
  • Cory and Topanga both turn 16 (one year older than the previous season).
  • Eric is 20 (two years older than the previous season).
• In episode #1.4, "Cory's Alternative Friends," Cory and Topanga share their first kiss. Cory is said to be 11 at the time the episode takes place; when Cory describes the event in episode #4.17, "A Long Walk to Pittsburgh" (part 2), he says he was 13.

Relationship between Cory and Topanga

In the third season, Cory and Topanga are introduced into a typical high school relationship, and many episodes are dedicated to them dealing with typical couple problems, including asking someone out, saying "I love you," and even breaking up and subsequently getting back together.

However, after episode #4.17, "A Long Walk to Pittsburgh" (part 2), Cory often mentions that he has loved Topanga his entire life. 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." This contradicts the first two seasons' portrayal of them as barely friends. In fact, in the first season, Cory appears to only regard Topanga as weird. The show attempts to amend this inconsistency by stating that Eric made fun of him for being friends with Topanga as children, and that is the reason he "threw dirt at her" during their pre-teen years.

Trivia

• John Adams High School is a reference to William Daniels' role in the musical 1776, as the future American president. Both Boy Meets World and 1776 are set in Philadelphia.

Ties to The Wonder Years

Not only was Boy Meets World often compared to The Wonder Years (partially because Fred and 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 six episode "Everybody Loves Stuart" and directed two season seven episodes.
• Dan Lauria (Jack Arnold) guest starred as a County Judge in the season four 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 episode #3.14 of The Wonder Years, as a seventh grader who acts as cupid.

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 six years; it is currently shown at 2:00 AM ET. Additionally, 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 three 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 honesty 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 were not seen since the ABC original airings until 2004, when the ABC Family Channel aired all three 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. These edits and banned episodes, however, only occur in the United States; in Canada there are no edits and all episodes are shown on the Family Channel.

DVD releases

Season releases

• 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 due to poor DVD sales of previous seasons.

External links

• 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
• Boy Meets Wiki - A Boy Meets World wiki.

• ABC Family shows
• ABC network shows
• 1990s TV shows in the United States
• 2000s TV shows in the United States
• American children's comedy series
• Disney Channel shows
• Television series by Buena Vista Television
• Philadelphia in film and television
• Family Channel shows
• Sitcoms