Growing Up In The 90's: A Boy Meets World Retrospective
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- Опубликовано: 4 июн 2024
- The adventures of the Cory Matthews introduced a young generation to the world outside their doors in a sort of idealized reality. This video looks back at how this show came to be, changed throughout the years, and its enduring legacy twenty years later.
Check out @T1J 's video on Shawn and Angela
• Boy Meets World: Shawn...
Intro/TGIF History: 0:00
Season 1: 7:48
Seasons 2 and 3: 22:59
Seasons 4 and 5: 43:49
Seasons 6 and 7: 1:09:00
Girl Meets World, and the future: 1:41:40
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Update: In a recent appearance on the Pod Meets World podcast, Trina McGee clarified that she did not write the article mentioned at 1:34:45. It was something put together by her publicist and husband, and it didn't reflect her real opinions at the time. Check out the podcast episode dated September 12, 2022, for more details.
That's wild
1:31:20 jesus christ you didn't have to personally attack me like that man lol. Good content.
Wow that’s so crazy! I’m kinda afraid to look or listen to the podcast. Shawn and Angela meant a lot to me growing up and I wanted to believe a love like theirs could be real and exist.
@@lexa_power They haven't gotten to the season where Angela is introduced yet but Trina's interview is one of the best episodes imo. It cleared up alot of rumors and stories circulating about things that happened on and off set. Shes spoke highly on Shawn and Anglela's relationship as well as her and Rider Strong's friendship. As someone also who loved Shawn and Angela but was bitter about the way it conculded, the podcast was a great listen.
One correction. Many people had debated on what TGIF actually stood for. It could have meant Thank goodness its Friday, or Thank God its Friday. But since this is the 90's we're talking about, it's more likely that it was the second one, more then the first.
Obviously the best Boy Meets World episode was the one where Shawn gets a really possessive girlfriend, and the Cory Shawn duo just acted like forbidden lovers the whole time they were apart
Paris? No, that's the first place she'd look!
Yes! Obviously! The horror episode isn't even a top 5 for me. I couldn't believe how much this video glossed over Shawn & Corey's relationship and how rare it still is to see boys being so openly emotionally vulnerable with each other. Especially in the 90s. That's the most important thing in the world! 😂
Yeeeees! I laughed during the whole episodes without a break.
She found his stash of empty Cinnabon boxes lol
I like the one where Topanga thinks she’s fat and Eric roasts her the whole time haha
i remember as a kid being devastated when cory and topanga broke up the first time, but watching it back, like you said they weren't even dating that long when it happened lol I think its just from watching the show so much over the years, you kind of retroactively apply your overall investment to the characters when you watch the old episodes again
yeah.
I'm just imagining that T1J and I were just crying over Cory and Topanga at the same time just at different coordinates on the planet, and really that's true leftist unity.
African American!!
@T1J I see a comment by you & confidently "like" it prior to reading it ‐ This instinct has never steered me wrong mate ‐ you rock!!
In retrospective, yes. But we also need to keep in mind, that we've been watching reruns over and over again before that happened. The investment was bigger back then than now when we watch them in succession.
The "I'll get as sick as you can get without actually dying" line has stuck with me for so long that I have drunkenly explained the scene to people at parties across the country.
lmaooooo one of the funniest Shawn lines ever!! I've literally described this scene too lol
Which is funny because it makes no sense. They're talking about getting killed by the killer in the story. He should have said "I'll get as maimed as you can get without actually dying"
@@2thRiteFREESPEEisAVirtueSignal except that doesn't roll off the tongue well...so if it helps u, the killer could give him chicken salad that sat out waaaaaaay too long, thus making him sick 🤢
@@heydeanie lol but they were thinking the killer's the janitor. Not the lunchroom lady🤣
I just came down to comment that that line was fantastic 🤣 glad you saved me the effort
This show has aged incredibly well, imo. The episode about sex still stands out to me. I can't imagine any other kids show handling the topic of sex so blatantly and yet so maturely at the same time.
that was the beauty of BMW
I grew up loving this show. I'm now a single father with full custody of my 16 year old son. Since he was maybe 9-10 years old I occasionally sat him down to watch episodes of BMW with me. The sex episode and the episode when Corey realized how much his dad does for them and said "Superman is my dad!" I've used those episodes several times over the years to drive home certain teachable moments for him. I feel incredibly lucky to have been a 90s kid and grew up with shows like this to help mold my thinking.
The beauty of boy meets world is that it started out as a kids show, but turned into more of a coming of age show that handled real life teen/adult issues, unlike a lot of kids shows
lots of shows in the 90's did it pretty well, sadly we live in world know where "kids" show are just stupid comedys with no real substance anymore.
"I love you all, class dismissed" made me start crying hysterically and idk why, good job for the way you portrayed it, thanks. I was having a really shit month and couldn't cry at all about it.
EVERY. TIME.
I cried so hard as a kid watching this episode.
honestly i think it might have had more of an impact if i felt like mr feeny was one of the best teachers out there its just i felt like well to be honest he was kind of too much of a stanard teacher(who had some moments but honestly he seemed grumpy most of the time even though he was capable of quite frankly being a really wise man who could reach kids i feel like he chose not to be that way or did not want to be that way or could not be that way)
I’ll never forget that line. It has stayed with me for years.
That line gets me every time I've heard it when I watch that scene. Such a perfect ending to the series.
I think in the alcohol episode, you should have mentioned how there was a subversion with how Cory was drinking first and got Shawn into drinking. Cory's dad was quick to want to blame Shawn since he assumed it must have been Shawn's fault Cory was drinking. I think it gave a good message that sometimes kids don't mess up because of bad influences, sometimes they mess up because they mess up. Some parents are quick to see their kids as angels and blame others for their kid messing up. It also shows the negative assumptions Shawn faces, even from those who know him like the Matthews.
and in retrospect, this this time of age, i'm sure ppl would be quick to point the fingers and his Parents, for Corey taking the moment to drink a beer. since, kids "dont have minds of their own" or.. something stupid
I absolutely loved that scene of Alan initially blaming Shawn and then realizing he was in the wrong when Cory steps in to defend Shawn. You really feel how disappointed he was in himself for treating Shawn that way.
I love that scene because Shawn is the best friend you could ever have, and he took the tongue lashing to protect Cory.
Very well said.
@@Nutbag517 Especially how Shawn blows it off as not being a big deal but Alan emphasizing that it is and he really fucked up judging him like that
"Lose one friend, lose all friends, lose yourself." Ive lived my 29 years on this earth with that one quote burned into my memory due to how powerful the statement is
Mr Matthews?
Mr. Squirrels.
Eric?
Plays With.
Also, I have to say..the line "If I had to dream up the perfect girl.. she wouldn't come close to you." Is an all time great line and is one that I definitely used multiple times throughout my life lol.
“I could never really be mad at you”
It works so well because, to me anyway, it makes it seem like the best thing about the person you’re saying it to is that they AREN’T perfect.
@@averyeml exactly!!
Ngl. That was one hell of a smooth line lol
@@averyeml isn’t it insinuating they are more than perfect?
Corey and Topanga "seesawing between reality and fantasy" is a perfect description of how they wrote that relationship.
People are just too obsessed with relationships lol
A friend used to (crassly, obviously) call her "To-Banga" . . . How many adolescent boys had her as their first crush?
@@billepperson2662 Mine was Melissa Joan Hart followed by Topanga in the later years (early season her not so much)
@@billepperson2662Mine was Lucy Lawless from Xena, but Topanga was also there so it's hard to remember.
"She's having my Baby back ribs" episode where everyone thinks Topanga is pregnant was one of my favorites, and the struggle with body issues was so relatable.
I remember that episode as a kid and being shocked learning later on that people irl at the time were critiquing her actress' "weight gain". Like to think people were actually making fat jokes about someone who was half my size and positively gorgeous (everyone I knew had a crush on Topanga lol) just goes to show insane beauty standards are. I'm glad the show addressed issues like this, particularly during a time where crash diets and scammy weight loss products were booming.
@@pusheenqueen519 I love topangas body and beautiful straight hair 😭😭
As a curly haired girl, I would literally cut off her hair and glue it to mine
completely agree! the show’s take on this was incredibly nuanced as well, because they didn’t just stop at the issue of being “overweight”. Angela and Rachel respond to Topanga’s insecurities with shock, as they themselves struggle with their body image and often wish to have Topanga’s curves. it shows that everyone feels an immense pressure to look a certain way. we often forget that even people who fit the so-called “beauty standard” are subject to insecurities. i’m honestly shocked that a show made in the heroin chic era was able to handle such a sensitive topic with nuance and understanding.
Boy Meets World is the ONLY show I know that grew with its audience. The show is just as relevant today as it was when it aired.
Growing up, one of the episodes that really got to me was "Everybody Loves Stuart", where a young new professor played by Fred Savage hits on Topanga. This was the first time I'd ever seen sexual harassment on a "family show" where it was never played for laughs, but also how it was turned around on Topanga.
It wasn’t a 90’s show, SUPERNATURAL grew with the fandom. 😊
Degrassi grew with its audience first. Starting in the 80’s and all the way to the present
Dude. Jose.
Coming from the guy on the last live stream who kept bugging you about Boy Meets World, and as someone who has commented on so many videos asking for *this* particular retrospective....thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
Haha, I remember, and you're very welcome. I like to give people what they want, and I had quite a few requests for Boy Meets World, so I'm happy to deliver.
@@JoseBird It was fantastic. You nailed it. I love this show.. I still remember watching when Topanga proposed, and I was 12..lol.. Nostalga is a powerful thing.
Now the next mission is The OC. 😅😅
@@thisguy8106 nope, these retrospectives are for us olds, gotta be an 80’s 90’s show! 😜
@@sinnsage lol!! Gotta branch out eventually 😆
I was a 90s kid, but more importantly, I was an early 2000s teenager. Lol it's sad that era gets overlooked..
@@thisguy8106 we used to be a micro generation: genY (aka xillenial), 1978-1985 I believe. I don't understand why this was dropped; we are very different from the people that scarcely, if at all, do not remember a time from before internet /social media.
A Nanny retrospective would be pretty cool
yeah that was a fun show.
Mistah Shefiieeeeeld!!! 😂
Another 90s favorite of mine. Fran is iconic!
Matt Baum and Mina Le both did pretty great video essays on The Nanny!
Yes please! Family matters and full house too.
As a kid whose dad bounced, mom was an alcoholic, and grew up in and out of HUD and section 8 housing in shit neighborhoods, it actually was really cool to see a character like Shawn kinda representing us wrong-way kids.
Having Shawn as a representative of genuinely impoverished kids was hugely important to me when I was growing up. Very few other examples from that era.
I’m really sorry to hear that you had such a difficult upbringing, I hope you’re doing better for yourself now
Thank you and T1J for highlighting Shawn and Angela! As a Black woman who just. . .didn't hang out with a lot of other Black people, and who was with a white guy in high school, Shawn and Angela being the show's beta couple is a HUGE deal. Props to Michael Jacobs for being a bit ahead of his time -- even if it isn't realistic yet, it's important to portray it as though it is.
I didn't even watch the show regularly, but I've never forgotten those characters or that pairing. Representation _does_ take the form of telling stories about that demographic (like Love Simon or Hidden Figures) but it also takes the form of people just existing, and that's what S+A was.
@kelseyrobinson1917 while certainly being able to relate to some of that struggle to find other black young people to hang out with, ideally we're never finding contentment in the absence of prominent relationships with others among our own milieu or comfort in such a state. It becomes especially important particularly times such as these.
I was facing homelessness after being abandoned by a drug addict parent. My english teacher, who was also my science teacher for a couple years following was willing to let me move in with her.
That's amazing. I assume this was at least a few decades ago? I feel like the Shawn/Turner situation is one that simply wouldn't work out these days. Too many teacher/student boundaries and laws preventing good people from trying to help kids in need. Of course these laws are made for good reason but it takes kids at risk even further away from those who may be willing to help them.
@@fangirl7914 It was 20 years ago.
What an awesome teacher! I am glad she was there fro you.
How did it go living with her?
at what age and what happened to the parent
Being born in the early 90's I was too young to have seen BMW during its original run but you better believe I watched every episode via reruns on the Disney Channel in the early 2000's. I must say this definitely took me back and flooded me with in intense level of nostalgia that I haven't felt in quite some time.
My stupid self said “What’s a BMW vehicle have to do with this,” until I remembered “Oh! Boy Meets World!”
😂
I've never seen BMW used for Boy Meets World
Me too excatly
Born in the early 90s as well, but I actually first watched it during its original TGIF run when the characters were still in high school and going to college. I was obsessed with this show as a kid. When BMW reran on Disney Channel in the early 2000s (and at some point on FreeForm when the channel was called ABCFamily), that's how I watched the rest of this series in its entirety! I still get a little nostalgic for this show.
Im 41 now, A few years ago I was doing something very wrong. I was drunk and ended up at a very seedy house putting my body at great risk. Drugs/sex. The tv was on but muted. When I noticed home improvement was on it made me snap out of it and I thought, wtf am I doing? Wilson was giving Tim advice over the fence. I was hit with memories of a younger, innocent and happier me watching this show. I thought to myself, how far have I fallen morally. I left soon after that and never went back.
Due to how I specifically grew with it, this is one of the nostalgic shows i'm most strongly attached to. It's really weird but to this day I still watch it weekly, it's like comforting background noise 🤔 Same for Home Improvement, Saved by the Bell and Goosebumps lol
Same..this show just clicked with me and I will watch it most nights when I'm going to sleep
@@herps4life33 it was probably the hardest thing for my wife to understand about me lol
@@itcamefromabox I'm the same way with Boy Meets World, Full House, King of Queens, and Family Matters, :)
Awesome that you added king of queens ... I love those shows
Same here 🙂
“Life’s tough, get a helmet” my friends always made fun of me growing up because I was a massive Boy Meets World fan but I never got why - it was a rare show that changed and matured along side it’s audience. When I was 13 Corey also 13 year old problems, and they never tried to keep the show right there. By the time I was 18, the characters were also 18 and experiencing problems you would at that time in life.
My siblings and I used to always quote that to each other and smack their heads
So much good BMW content!!
Is it bad that my brain sprinted through every BMW acronym I knew (all wrong), and then had to look for a second to figure out the extremely obvious answer... Lmao long work days tho
Princess Weekes!! ♥️ All the smartest RUclipsrs are here!!
@@VCV95 yeah my brain immediately thought of Bayeriche Motoren Werken before boy meets world when I saw that acronym
I've always thought that Eddie wasn't Shawn's actual brother, but rather he called himself that, as the community of his trailer park all felt like one big family, as evidenced in the Thanksgiving episode.
He could have also been like a kid of someone the dad was shacking up with for a year while the mom was away at a younger age, Shawn mentions she would leave all the time.
It could've been the mom's kid that she didn't want. The series displayed how she had no problem abandoning her family. The only difference between Shawn and his "brother" were their biological father, where one was willing to chase her when she would runaway, the other one actually saw her for who she really was. . . A deadbeat.
Honestly the fact girl meets world confirmed the whole “plays with squirrels” Eric future thing which was a hilarious callback
When Topanga is staying in Philadelphia, at the end of the Fourth Season, the reaction from that studio audience is the most genuine outpouring of joy, I have heard from a sitcom audience.
❤️❤️ excited for this one! I adored this show.
I hope my video does it justice!
So cool when you learn your favorite RUclipsrs follow each other.
You're both great creators :)
If you're anything like me, Jessie. Growing up with this show, you wanted to be with Topanga but also *be* Topanga
same.
Not to sound like a dork but it's the coolest thing to see your name in the "credits" as a patron. Helping fund other's work is a great feeling, as a person who lacks the energy and talent, with minimal effort. I highly recommend it.
Dork.
I just rewatched the entire series over the past week. I hadn't watched an episode since 2004. It's such an emotional rollercoaster. I don't ever remember getting teared up watching it as a kid, but it broke me multiple times as an adult. I guess it took life experience to really understand some of the episodes.
I just finished watching it for the first time with my fiance. It was one of his favorite shows growing up. I teared up multiple times. I was born in 99 so I never got to experience growing up with wholesome content like this the way my fiance did being born in 85. I can't even think of a show I ever saw where the mother and father are together happily married raising a family. That was so refreshing if that makes any sense.
Honestly it's too bad Girl Meets World wasn't produced by a less restrictive channel. I feel like a lot of interesting themes could be addressed like in Boy Meets World but more varied and from a different perspective (what with the lead actor being a young girl growing up this time around) Obviously the Disney Channel is definitely more tween centered so they didn't really have the chance to talk about certain subjects the OG show could address.
and when they did, they did it terribly tbh
Boy meets world felt tween focused to me as a kid, but now Disney channel (and kids TV channels in general) just opt to dumb everything down and focus on slapstick comedy instead of anything of substance. I really feel bad kids don't have stuff like this to guide them. I know they have the internet to guide them but often the internet is a lot worse lol.
I really loved this show. It was one of the first shows I recall dealing with mature topics, such as parental abandonment, death, child abuse, teen drinking, anarchy and cults. Mr Feeny was the best teacher, and I never questioned why he followed a fraction of his students from junior high, to high school, and to college.
My heart drop when T1J and your upload pop up the same time 😩
It's a team-up that will shatter the heavens.
Honestly, having Jose and T1J upload videos about the same show at the same time, then have Jose pop up at the end of T1J's video to advertise this video is genius marketing.
My parents give me the same argument about "bonding over poverty". But what most parents don't realize is that poverty now is completely different. Then, it's ramen every day to save for Christmas, now it's literally starving to pay for rent.
Then, it was a momentary setback assuming you had access to proper ways of moving up.
Now, it matters less if you have access to resources, there's little guarantee you'll make it out.
Sadly, my second sentence has always been true for too many people.
Also, Cory's parents were a'holes for not telling them upfront--realistically, it was possible that Topenga and Corey would break up because they were wildly unprepared for maintaining a household, going to school, and having jobs. That might have driven a wedge between them and split them up--it happens all the time in newlywed young couples.
No, poverty was bad even back in the old days. It was not having a toilet, hand cleaning and drying clothes, no insulation when it was bone cold, or even enough food among several kids. My Mom lived like that.
@@richardarriaga6271 amen when it comes to poverty these youtube Millennials are so funny like poverty didn't exist 50 years ago.
Corey's parents lesson still holds true just because they are middle class now didn't mean they came from wealth. the show implies they stuck together to build that wealth. That doesn't mean they should automatically pass it to their kids. their kids have to become responsible adults on their own and then maybe the parents will help.
The real lesson was honestly not portrayed very well. they were not ready for marriage at 19, most kids aren't and yet like most kids, they ignored the advice fom people older than them, that have already lived through it, and got married anyways. So now it's up to them to figure it out, parents are there to guide their children, hopefully in the right direction, it doesn't mean they clean up every single Bone headed mistake they make, because then a lesson is never learned. For an example my daughter had to have a car right away and so she spent her money on one that was not a good investment and now it needs lots of work, 2 months later. She came to her mom and I to help give her money to fix it and we said no because we told her not to buy that car, but she had to have it. For the record we were Loaning her a car to use so she was in no rush other than the fact that she wanted to feel grown and have one of her own. Well now she does and it's her job to maintain and fix it
Hearing that you were not a huge fan at the end threw me for a loop lol. Work like this usually comes from someone who is a megafan, but you did very well. I am impressed
Tell me you weren't alive in the 90s without telling me you weren't alive in the 90s.
Eric/Feeney we’re always my favorite dynamic of that show and Eric & Jack. That bromance was nice! Shawn/Corys bromance hit different. Especially when they were sneaking around their girlfriends back and acted like a couple who missed each other 😂
Yes! The whole "cory and shawn being in love" story line was great
@@amandahector9074 One of the best lines to describe their friendship is when Alan is talking to Amy and goes, "When he(Corey) kisses Topanga...he likes it right?".
This is the one show whose season finale makes he BAWL like a baby EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. That last line from Feeny... straight punch to the gut 😭
i. did not realize eric was also Ron Stoppable until the "feeny!" compilation. he went full ron there. i cant unhear it
Their acting chops are like, stunningly good. It's really unusual
Especially Shawn's.
My parents actually had that same attitude about people who marry young. They thought (and I assume still think) that it's all well and good if you want to marry young, but that means that you're an adult now and you have to fend for yourself financially. I said, "Wait, so if a college age person doesn't get married, it's fine for their parents to help them pay for school and housing and stuff, but if that same person gets married, their parents shouldn't pay for any of that anymore, even though they otherwise would have?" They insisted that yes, that was how it's supposed to work when people get married. It was bizarre to me then, and even now as an adult in my 30s, I still can't make any sense of it. It's one thing to have to work to provide for yourself. It's a whole other thing to have to struggle for no reason. Like in that episode his dad won't show him how to fix the faucet because he wants Cory to figure it out for himself, but where exactly is the value in that? Just teach him how to fix the faucet!
@J HoopThat literally makes no sense. If you were going to pay for your kid to go to school while single but you're now refusing because they are married....how does that make sense? How does contributing to your kid's education have that particular string attached--stay single or else? There is no logic in that at all. Plenty of people get married without being financially stable. One has nothing to do with the other. A young couple needing a little bit of help isn't unusual, and it shouldn't be penalized like that.
@J Hoop Why is it ridiculous to expect your parents to help pay for your education, especially if they were going to do it if you were unmarried? To be clear, my parents paid nothing for my education. I paid for all 12 years that I spent in undergrad and grad school with scholarships, my own money, and loans taken out in my own name. So no, my parents' opinion didn't suck *for me.* I didn't need their money. Their opinion still sucks. I don't see anything remotely ridiculous about parents contributing to their child's educational costs, and I think it's absolutely wild and illogical for a parent to be perfectly happy and willing to pay for their kid's college tuition but only if that kid stays single. That makes zero sense.
"Marriage is a life long contract and shouldn't be eneterd into until you know you are secure enough to be independent." That is your opinion. It's not everybody's opinion. It's not even the norm in some cultures. I'm married. My husband and I were both financially independent when we got married. I don't think that makes us better than people who need a little assistance early in their marriage (or at any time in their marriage). And if we were facing poverty and homelessness, I know our parents would offer to let us stay with them while we saved some money. They wouldn't say, "Well you're married, so that means you don't get any of my help anymore." And if I had a kid and they needed somewhere to live, I wouldn't turn them away based solely on the fact that they were married. That's absurd, especially when you consider that multigenerational households are completely normal in many places. The idea that being married means you are now undeserving of any familial assistance is mind-boggling and frankly pretty cruel.
@J Hoop Also, the parents in BMW DID stop paying for their housing. Cory had to get a terrible telemarketing job at one point, because they needed income to pay the rent on that terrible college housing.
Not sure whats so hard to understand. Getting married comes with life prerequisites beyond just loving someone else. Marriage is making a statment that you are ready to build a life with another person. A 2 person team. Thay you're self sufficient and secure enough to handle the challenges of that life brings. Having your parents subsidize your responsibilities is not an indicator you're prepared for everything that comes with sharing a life with someone. Marriage is the milestone of an independent adult. Not a child who is still dependent on their parents. You need to experience difficulties and see how you respond to those situations and rise to the occasion. Marriage is going to bring its own unique set of difficulties that will require that life experience to overcome.
@@jess_n_atx There is no universal law that "marriage is the milestone of an independent adult" and cannot be undertaken if your parents are still assisting you in any way. That's one opinion, and perhaps a cultural norm, but it isn't the only way things can or should be. And that still doesn't explain the double standard. Why, if a parent is perfectly willing to lend assistance to their adult *single* child should they refuse to do so for their adult *married* child? That makes no sense. What does someone's marital status have to do with whether or not you are willing to aid them in a given way. If you don't want to assist your adult children because you think they need to learn to be independent, that's all well and good, but then that rule should be applied universally, regardless of whether or not they're married. Rewarding single adults with assistance is just incentivizing people to stay single forever.
i was rewatching a few episodes recently and one that stuck out to me was the one where fred savage plays a professor named stewart and “comes on” to topanga. i really think it was an incredible episode and must have been pretty groundbreaking in the 90s (although i was born in 2000).
Ground breaking in many ways.. but most of all the fan service. Quite a few of the older fans of BMW came to it from Wonder Years, and quite a few of us who were the same age as Cory were just old enough to watch the last few seasons of Wonder Years. Fans had been dying to see Fred and Ben together.
I've never looked into it, but I feel like they HAD to write Fred as someone so nasty that he could never come back, otherwise the fans would've demanded he stay on as a recurring character... add to that the final product of the writers and you had one hell of an episode. As someone that loved both shows, I will never forget my jaw dropping as I watched Cory Matthews shove Kevin Arnold through a door.
It's awful, and portrayed very realistically -- the way that Fred Savage is so condescending and puts her into ambiguous situations he can gaslight her about. And Cory is immediately ready to throw hands. The support they show Topanga receiving from Cory, Feeny, and their family/friends was really important.
THis aged like curdled milk.
@@DrMurdercock oh thank god he's just a piece of shit... i thought he had sexually assaulted someone.
maybe ben will beat some sense into him.
Yes that episode and sadly Fred Savage was actually
Involved in sexual harassment issues - that’s had come out as of late
It really blows my mind how this show just depicted young romance without it being especially positioned to be the joke or the "will they or wont they" types of comedy- like they had those aspects in a way that didn't feel built for a joke or wacky sitcom thing- and the thing is, the show itself was very much built on the silly sitcom for young audiences premise, but instead the writers felt a lot about how being young then felt, not just how it looked- A show I'd compare Boy Meets World to is Pepper Ann- the latter was ofc animated and the writers had to accommodate to Disney- but it also dealt really frankly and honestly about a lot of subjects the intended audience was looking for
Not today I wish
"I love you all, class dismissed" that always makes me cry especially since he said it after everyone left. I will always love Mr. Feeny :) We had to wait until Girl Meets World to see that Mr. Turner was okay. That's my biggest grip with Boy Meets World, that was too dramatic to never see Mr. Turner - though Minkus did say "Mr. Turner wait up" when he returned. Recently I've watch Jim Henson's Dinosaurs (I watch it weekly) and thought Spike was very much a Harley Keiner....
"If we could program shows where parents and kids could watch together, we'd be better off from a ratings perspective." Wow, Bob, what a beautiful sentiment.
Wow that "bonding through poverty" episode is kind of rough to see as someone who went thru financial abuse.
My dad had the money, my mom did not and they were split. My dad decided he would offer me support, if I "followed his rules" including not being the gender I am, and not being disabled (he for real believed it could just magically be fixed if I stopped believing I was sick 🙄)
When I graduated and moved into a little hovel with my now fiance we didn't get help. Of course we bonded, but we could've done that anyway without having bedbugs everywhere, without breathing in mold, without being terrified of him getting sick. Pretty disturbing to me to see my reality treated like a fun little vacation experience for newlyweds to learn from
I hate that whole mess of a plot. It's so poorly handled I scream.
Totally agree. As a kid growing up in the lower class, I skipped out on watching Boy Meets World because I felt it was a "rich people" show that I just couldn't relate to, and it was my first taste of learning what it really meant that we were lower class. I'm glad I watched this video. It helped me to both feel vindicated for my feelings as a kid, and to better appreciate the series for what it was.
I don't think anything like Boy Meets World could come around these days. It would just feel too fake.
Your dad us grrrrrr. Thats so messed up, he didnt even help a bit, what a wanker.No not a wanker, a monster.
Right, talk about serious red flags about the father. He basically just told his kid, to hia face, he doesn't love him, doesn't REALLY care if he's struggling or needs help, and that he sees his son more as a toy to fuck with and manipulate into always feeling they are beholden to their parents. They won't help you if you actually need it. Only after you've suffered and the parents can feel superior over them. Like, goddammit that sorta stuff is normally the red flags for a genuinely abusive parents. That's how bad the writers did with that episode. They made the parents come across as abusers
I totally agree. Different circumstances but I hated that plot watching it in real time. My family was/is working class and if we could help we would. My dad grew up with lots of family constantly living together so of course newlyweds would stay with family. It’s just absurd to us to think otherwise. When I realized my former in laws had these “play at poverty” ideas it was very disturbing. And having actual financial limitations I got to bare the brunt of that fantasy for them and I’m still dealing with the debt. I’m sorry you went through abuse and have your own visceral reaction to this plot.
One of the most memorable episodes for me is the one where Shawn dressed up as Veronica.
Literally spent my entire life trying to find a green velvet dress like the one he wore, and I finally managed it at a goodwill last year.
That was a good one.
No shit I went to high school with a girl who favored "Veronica" needless to say though Shawn made a pretty passable chick lol
My husband periodically chooses to rewatch Boy Meets World. I never watched it as a kid and I thought it was a little hokey as an adult seeing him watch it. However, as the seasons progressed and I saw more of Sean and compared it with my husband's life as the only child of single mother I can see why he liked it. Not only could he relate to Sean, Boy Meets World manages to have multiple male role models that my husband just didn't have growing up.
I would love a full house video. People only ever talk about the behind the scenes stuff but the show was actually a really big part of my childhood. And I loved it nearly as much as boy meets world.
Yes
I had a university classmate who was getting married say almost the exact same thing as Cory's parents - that she "looked forward to bonding as poor newlyweds". So I think it's a pretty common conservative myth. I think the assumption is that's it's just a temporary thing until you get on your feet, because they have a safety net. Btw as far as I know she's happily married now with 3 kids, so I guess she got what she wanted, but I don't really think it's great advice for most people.
Poverty to conservatives is a learning lesson or a sign of someone being lazy.
@@CascadianRanger For upper-class conservatives? True. But what do conservatives in poverty think about their own poverty? Do they see themselves as in the middle of learning a lesson, as being lazy, or something else?
my ex's family has this attitude, while i came from a very low income household and could definitely see the difference. and they were more liberal than conservative.
@@arturoaguilar6002 how do people who see poverty as a sign of weakness react when they're pushed into poverty? Not well? Shame, hopeless, anger and addiction. Some people spend their lives imagining that they're just rich people who happen to be down now, and that it's just the fault of bad luck and minorities.
@@KatieBadenhorst If you ask some of my folks, they're most likely to blame "Pinko-Commie Millennials" (Their words, not mine), or blaming Jewish people (which is really awkward since I'm Jewish).
I get that it’s mostly about Cory but it’s a CRIME how much about Eric you left out. His story is beyond relatable to a majority of people and despite slowly becoming insane he also has the most heart and learns some of the most important lessons.
He’s constantly searching for somewhere he belongs. He isn’t crazy smart and doesn’t have any sweet skills but his giant heart and imagination are unmatched and that makes him one of the most valuable players here. There’s even an episode about exactly that with Jack and the bank and the monkey story line.
The friction between Cory and Eric as they get older is so important and such a huge part of life I think anyone with a sibling can relate to and the way the fight to be friends or strangers until the end is deep shit. I hate that they got rid of Jason so soon because they were fun together.
But also Jack and Eric are one of the greatest married couples ever on television.
Also adding Jack was a great choice and whole new characters can just derail things a lot the chemistry between the actors and the storylines they gave them made him such an asset to the later seasons. The idea of Cory and Shawn’s brothers being besties too sounds too easy and absurd but they all fit together so well and Jack and Eric very much have their own thing going on and it’s better than the other boys in a lot of ways because they didn’t have to be codependent their whole lives to achieve their bond. I live for it. They way Eric will always have some sort of power over Eric is just top of the line bro shit.
I really don't think we needed more Eric here than we got and his importance was expressed well. But, I'm glad you got all that out. It seems to be important to you.
Eric was the best part of the show and it’s not even close you are right. I like how he goes from ladies man to finding himself to blithering idiot.
@@popculturewatch8689 the creator of the video didn’t talk about Erica journey in season 4
@@pleaseshutup7053 that's great. And he did talk about it. You can move on now.
i forgot how bumpy the Cory Topaga relationship was/could be, and that realism makes me love it more
I just realized that Cory, Shawn, and Topanga went to John Adams High School.
William Daniels, who played Mr. Feeny also played John Adams in 1776.
That's probably why the school was named that.
I think boy meets works has moments where it shines in each era.
But it is kind of a miracle it got to last that long because the transitions were rough.
I think Cory and Sean had the “you are rich and I’m not” fight like four times.
I was a big fan but they used this Shawn came from the wrong side of the tracks trope a bit too often for my taste. Even when everything was going smooth with him at college and in a relationship with Angela
Them yelling at each other in the art gallery I was waiting for a security guard or staff to be like, "Yall this is not the place for that."🤣
27:57 I watched Boy Meets World more times than I care to admit growing up, and it's telling that after not seeing it for several years, I can watch this scene and think, "Daaaamn, that kid has some acting chops, that was intense," and then immediately bust out laughing at the little nervous giggle Cory lets slip after. I forgot how much I loved this show. Mostly, I'm impressed the acting holds up?
same along with family matters it's one of those old sitcoms that still holds up, and i can always go back to.
32:08
On the subject of the married dorms, I found that episode really relatable because I did grow up in poverty. I've moved into places that looked like their dorm before it was renovated and had to do the hard work to fix those places up. There is something really satisfying and adult about taking a space that is unpleasant and turning it into a home.
Keep doing these sitcom essays, I am addicted to them
I wish Morgan was on the show more. After season 2, when she was recast, we barely saw her, and in the sequel "Girl Meets World" I think there's only ONE episode where she appears. But they did keep up with the "Cory is a Middle Child" thing by the Matthews parents having another baby, a boy, when Cory was in college and having that boy grow up and have quite an important role in the second half of the sequel. (He was the main crush of Cory's daughter's best friend, Maya.)
Morgan was hilarious after she was replaced. My favorite bits are when she's driving the car and mocks Corey as he just got his license to drive, "I'm Corey Matthews and I'm going to Atlantic City to watch an R-rated movie, heah-ha-ha." And the one where she mocks Topenga for "looking beautiful" in an oudated wedding outfit and Topenga snaps back at her, "Bite me!"
When Topanga runs away, you missed how it mirrors David and Darlene's relationship when David has no choice but to stay with the Connors. However it was handled differently. The episode where Dan punches a hole though the wall was monumental.
There was a lot of that in the mid 90's. A lot of parents who just gave up. It was a hard time, parents working constantly and dead beats galore. I've been that kid couch surfing at 16 and 17. Generation X was a generation that was displaced and abandoned, these shows covered that reality perfectly.
The story of Josh Matthews hits hard with me, because I have a friend whose Son died just weeks after giving Birth. It's awkward for me, I was born early and survived. Life doesn't make sense a lot of the time.
I distinctly remember thinking the older brother was getting dumber with every episode.
Yeah... kinda
@@PapaSmurf11182nd outstanding commentary
@@threatassessment606 I’m not really sure if you’re being facetious, mean-spirited, direct, or a combination of those
🤣🤣🤣
He just like me frfr
My family LOVED this show. I remember watching the Topanga lipstick scene, where Sean walks in and says "use a mirror, babe" and falling in love with both of them ♥
Being born in 1988 with an older brother who was closer in age to Corey Matthews I actually literally watched this show as it came out. I don't remember the first two seasons too much to be honest. Eric was always my favorite character. Thanks for the lovely walk down memory lane :)
This show will always have a special place in my heart, I was so hurt when Shawn and Angela broke up. Chick Like Me was one of my favorite episodes and the final scene of everyone waiting for Feeney in his classroom made me tear up.
" I love you all, class dismissed" ...
This show reminded me of how silly the studio audience can sound at times 😭
Yeah, I've started a rewatch and forgot all the annoying screaming during the kisses. Like even if it's a peck, they go nuts.
@@jayjaybee but isn’t that normal?
the way they scream during kissing scenes is funny to me
Gotta remember the show did use audio tracks. Whenever there were scenes that needed retry or rewrites, they'd use the audio tracks. Only certain moments of the episode(s) were filmed in front of an audience. Danielle, Rider, and Will talk about this often on Pod Meets world.
I can't believe I completely forgot about the mirror world episode, it was one of my favorites. If you're collecting requests here, I would love to see a retrospective of Columbo. He's a true working class detective who takes down wealthy white people who often cheated their way into power, he hates guns, can't stop gushing about his wife, happily drives a tiny crappy car, and completely spoils his dog. He's by far the greatest cop on television.
The first episode of Columbo, which was not originally part of a series, is a so thoroughly different to what followed that a retrospective on the series would have to include several comparisons to it. On the whole, the first episode is my favorite.
I honestly never would have guessed that you weren't a lifelong fan of the show yourself! You did an amazing job presenting a retrospective of a show beloved to many - myself included - without any pandering, and while pointing out some of the very real problems of the series.
Thank you, this was amazing :)
The scenes with Shawn always make me cry. I wasn't well off, but I was more of a Corey growing up because I had loving parents who were stable. So many of my friends were like Shawn, and I would try to do what I could to be a supportive friend. Sometimes that isn't enough and things just turn out wrong. Also, I enjoy the storyline where Topanga tells Corey to see Lauren. It's very much something a teenager would do, but it brings up the interesting point that a relationship is a series of choices. Topanga chose Corey first, and when he didn't do the same it was like a slap in the face to her and threw the whole relationship into question. I think this scenario brought up really important lessons for both of them.
If there's any artist that would say "Screw my paintings, make sure you pursue your true love with determination" it would be Van Gogh. Also my family has basically adopted "Believe in yourself, dream, try, do good" as our go-to life motto.
Seeing Linda Cardelini now makes me wish you'd do a Regular Show retrospective (She played CJ on that show), and for that matter, a Gravity Falls retrospective (she played Wendy). There's actually a surprising amount of stuff to unpack on those two shows.
Just finished the show and I know in a few years im gonna come back to one of my favorite shows i have ever seen .Yes its a kid show but but it covers big topics but that is one of the reasons why I love it ...
And last but not least one of my favorite quotes in the show "I love you all, class dismissed"
I watched that show from beginning to end, grew up with it and I had forgotten how much of the show I had taken with me until I watched this. It's weird to think about, but "Boy Meets World" is and will forever be a part of me.
Never seen this show, but I clicked on this as soon as I saw it because these retrospectives are always so good lol
HankHardcore You should definitely watch it. BMW became one of my favorite shows but I was 17 when I start watching it when I got Disney+ on October 2nd last year!!!
I fell deeply in love with this show, being my top favorite nostalgic show from watching up to the final season. Even for being a sitcom, it became a perfect sitcom in my opinion with the many personal issues we had went through in high school and with close people in our lives along with people that we can relate to and care about through the show.
My 15 yo and I have binged the entire Boy/Girl Meets World series several times. I’m 36 and when we can share a piece of my childhood it’s simply magical.
Watching the story arc around the baby's birth when I was a sophomore in high school was quite touching. Rewatching it now--just shy of 40 with a 17-month-old and a four-month-old at home--hits like a ton of bricks.
Y'all know that moment when sometimes you just want to cry, but like, happily because of so many shitty memories from childhood, there are those good moments and the friends you made a long the way, those were the moments that helped you along the way. A show like Boy Meets World, it'll never exist again. It's important we learn what lessons we can from our younger years, so that we have a better foundation that we made for ourselves as we become older, and hopefully wiser, if not as wise as our predecessors. Watching this video made me cry. But my tears were not sad. They were of remembering those few times in my life, when everything was horrible, that I could look forward in my life knowing, not everything was horrible. Some situations and moments in life are magical and stick with you forever. Those are the memories worth holding onto whilst not forgetting the lessons taught from the past.
Girl meets world was such a gem, and rowan looked like she was actually their kid which was a nice touch.
I think the feminine earnesty of the show that you don’t really see much these days was one of its key driving factors too. It’s statements were rarely preachy in a way that a lot of modern shows are
I’m so happy I stumbled upon this. Boy Meets World is one of my all time favorite shows. I’m doing a rewatch of Girl Meets World currently but there is something about Boy Meets World that just holds everything I believe in as a person still. And yes, I cried several times watching this video.
11:32….”I had to wait an hour on line” means something COMPLETELY different these days.
Id love to see your opinion on 8 simple rules. It has a unique experience of having a main characters actor dying in the middle of its run time.
yeah.
loved that show...they did such a good job with a very bad heart breaking situation...I will always miss John Ritter...
8 simple rules was one of my favourite childhood shows !!
One of my favorite memories of my grandma was when my sister and I would visit her and watch this show, she loved it too.,
You’re the reason I watched both boy meets world and girl meets world. Just wanted to say thank you. One of the best video essays,retrospectives I’ve ever seen
This may be yer magnum opus, José. What a masterpiece. This show has such an impact on my life, and you did it not only great justice, but made me rethink a lot of pivotal moments in the show.
As always, thank you.
We lived in an old farmhouse growing up. We only received 4 television channels, all Canadian- and one was some sort of middle-eastern channel... lots of bollywood-style music videos. It was awesome, but not English speaking.
Anyway, I would always watch this show at my friend's house who had cable... So, I only caught bits and pieces of this show, but every episode was relatable, and aspirational. Topanga was amazing. So emotionally intelligent, independent, and confident in advocating for herself and others. She was absolutely gorgeous with a body type more like mine. They had a fairly healthy relationship once they got going, with realistic ups and downs for young people. Learning and developing healthy communication, at least trying. Really an excellent show. And Rider Strong was a huge crush. I mean.... his name... why did his parents do that? Lmao! I always loved that. It's hilarious and sets an expectation .
Cried no shame. This show's gotten me so many times. Ty for the retrospective!
I found boy meets world in the early 2010s right when I was in my last year of middle school and about to enter high school. In that way, it was really special to me. I loved seeing these kids go through the same things I did, even if the show was already pretty dated at that point. It's still one of my favorite shows and I've rewatched it several times since then.
Might just be me, but I feel like Millennials and older Zoomers could build a whole drinking game around the decisions the characters made or the dilemmas and arguments they had that were quaint, weird, or stupid in light of our collective context today.
With the way many Millennials are struggling financially today, the parents absolutely refusing to help them because "durbee durbee doo you're married now and being in poverty together builds character" just seems needlessly passive-aggressive and crappy, and I'm glad you called this out. (And Topanga and Cory getting married at their young age definitely elicits a reaction of mixed confusion and disgust from me today.)
This has been your best video to date. Watching this retrospective made me realize how much the show really means to me. I got even a little emotional at times while watching it
This show meant so much to me as a child. I remember sobbing hysterically when I watched the finale. Great video!
This show always felt special, poignant. Your TV retrospectives are so well crafted and heavily appreciated!!!
Been waiting for this one. TGIF was a staple part of my childhood, I would watch with my mom every week
Wow, and I thought your Cheers retro was a masterpiece, thank you for this.
When it comes to Eric I've always staunchly held that the only acceptable way to see his character is that he is actually a very intelligent, very well thought out individual who just loves to play the fool. The episodes where we see that seriousness come through isn't a happy accident, it's deliberate. It's one thing to hear how Will and the writers acted up when it came to Eric, but when I watch a show or read a book my opinion of the character is informed by the story, not by what may have happened outside the writing.
As for Girl Meets World, I definitely watched it for the nostalgia and really enjoyed it.. unfortunately, like many others, I feel like the mouse held the writers back from exploring serious topics like BMW did. They should've just revived TGIF and allowed Jacobs to write what he wanted.
Thank you! Though this how came out when I was in my 30's, I never even saw it until I was in my 40's in it's Disney Channel reruns. Even though the channel was on for my younger kids, I became increasingly drawn to it, until I made a habit of watching it every day until I have seen every episode multiple times. For some reason the show really resonated with me.
I was born well after Boy Meets World ended, but it’s probably the only tv show/series I find myself constantly going back to. The show has so much to offer, and I love how easily relatable and relaxant it still is today. If only they could have went into even more serious topics! Definitely a timeless comfort show for me
I remember when TGIF started and I loved Just the ten of us there were so many female characters and the male characters were in the minority a rarity in television to this day. I love watching these long retrospectives its bringing back my childhood along with analysis love it!
same here these reterospectives are so great.
I’ve watched most of your series retrospectives but this is the first one where I’ve actually seen the show, all the way through and multiple times at that. Very excited to know what is going on !
An amazing video. I loved this show as a kid and i'm not ashamed to admit that more than a few of the scenes you showed here made me tear up remembering them. Such a great show.
Never saw the show growing up and only got to kmow it from your video, yet I'm still tearing up over how wholesome the show seems to have been. I feel like I remembered a part of my childhood even though this wasn't it. Thank you!!
Eric is the Homer Simpson of Boy Meets World: increasingly dumb, in the most inventive ways.
I loved this show growing up. It was in reruns by the time that happened, but it still resonated about 4-5 years after it started. Yeah, it was polished and idyllic and safe because it was a TV show, but seeing kids my age struggle with school, relationships, and specifically all the stuff that Shawn goes through really touched me. It helped me approach people without as much judgment because I knew that your home situation doesn’t condemn you to a bad life.
I'm am very thankful I grew up in the time I did. Boy meets world will always be apart of me.
This series kept me on the “Good Guy” straight and narrow path