Girl Meets World: Something Everyone Can Agree On

We 18-35-year-olds love our 90's nostalgia. So much in fact that there is now a market for anyone wishing to capitalize on that nostalgia. That capitalization starts now.

You have probably heard by now that Disney has signed on to do a pilot of a Boy Meets World spin-off (and all the land rejoiced). It's going to focus on Cory and Topanga's daughter and be titled...wait for it...Girl Meets World.

What has amazed me so far is the total lack of cynicism surrounding this news.

Usually people weigh the pros and cons when they catch wind of a revamped movie, spin-off or book-turned-movie. They consider how it could be great, but mostly how it could be terrible and destroy the integrity of everything that came before it.

I consider myself an optimist and a lover of all things warm and fuzzy, so I of course ignored the (very) tiny voice in my head that said this could be a train wreck and embraced it with open arms. But the fantastic, however illogical, thing is...so has everyone else. At least in my circle of entertainment news sources and Facebook.

EW's headline was literally: "'Boy Meets World' Disney spinoff: Great idea or the best idea?"

Preach.

No one is remotely concerned that "Girl Meets World" could actually be awful or, for that matter, even wants to entertain that idea. Because this is happening, you guys, and that's really all we could want out of life, you know? Especially with Ben Savage and Danielle Fischel on board. We're just excited at the mere possibility of this being a thing. Even Perez Hilton is pumped.

If it were any other genre or a less-beloved 90's sitcom, this would never work. There would always be someone to oppose it. But Boy Meets World is the pinnacle of all things wonderful about 90's television. It is wholly and unadulteratedly adored by anyone who grew up in the 90's.

And we are running towards it with all our might.

After all, today is election day. And I think it's important to remember that amid our devisiveness, there's something we can all agree on: a Boy Meets World is the greatest.

What character do you most hope reprises their role in the new series?

The Best Sitcom Halloween Episodes

I love holiday-themed sitcom episodes. Why not, you know? They're endearing. And while not every sitcom participates every year in every holiday, most will venture into festive territory at least once in the duration of their time on the small screen.

In honor of Halloween today, I thought I would recount my favorite Halloween episodes.

My top two are no-brainers. For the third and fourth, I crowd-sourced.

1) Friends, Season 8 - "The One With The Halloween Party"

This has actually long been my favorite episode of Friends, period. Which is saying a lot.

This episode is a perfect representation of each of their characters. Monica makes everyone dress up and come to a Halloween party at her house, in true Monica fashion, and each person dresses up as something that encapsulates their personalities:

Joey: Dresses up as Chandler. ["I'm Chandler! Bleharhhrrrr!"] Monica: Dresses up as catwoman in a black catsuit [and later tries to convince Joey she could beat up Phoebe by telling him to punch her in the stomach as hard as he can.] Phoebe: Dresses up as superwoman Rachel: Wears a cocktail dress because she is pregnant and wants to get use out of it before she can't wear it again. Ross: Spud-nik (or as everyone else calls it, Space Doodie) Chandler: The Velveteen Rabbit aka Pink Fluffy Bunny [Monica: "Well, it was either pink bunny or no bunny at all!" Chandler: "No bunny at all! Always no bunny at all!"]

I've memorized this entire episode, so I won't quote the whole thing to you, but the episode features Rachel trying to be good with kids in preparation for being pregnant but terrifying them instead, Ross and Chandler engaging in a pathetic arm wrestling match, and Phoebe hitting on her twin sister's sweaty boyfriend (Sean Penn) who is dressed as a solar system.

It's a fantastic representation of Friends as a whole, and I love it.

2) Community, Season 1 - "Introduction to Statistics"

I think this episode won a lot of people over on Community.

Britta wears a full body squirrel costume (note that this is not "sexy squirrel." Just squirrel.) and carries around a giant acorn the entire time, which is priceless in light of her personality, but the real shining star of this episode is Abed's spot-on Christian Bale Batman impression. His moment arrives when Pierce, in his usual attempts to be hip, trades pills with Starburns and gets high, then constructs a fort out of study room furniture and needs to be rescued from his own nightmare. Abed/Batman swoops in and saves the day, dragging Pierce out of the crumbling fort just before it collapses on top of him.

The whole thing is overdramatic and silly, in the way only Community can accomplish.

3) Modern Family, Season 2 - "Halloween"

I was reminded of this episode on Facebook, and I can't believe I didn't remember it sooner.

Mitchell has the impending-disaster storyline (which always make me anxious) of wearing a costume to work and realizing no one else does it, then attempting to conceal it all day.

Gloria gets made fun of by Manny and Jay for her accent, so she spends the entire end-scene at Claire's haunted house doing a hilarious version of an American accent and over-enunciating the phrase "Welcome to your nightmare! Ha ha ha ha!"

The episode culminates in Claire (who for some reason adores Halloween) assigning everyone a task at the haunted house, and of course no one is cooperating well due to the day's earlier traumatic events. Phil is worried that Claire is going to divorce him because his neighbor got a divorce, so he's emotional and misreads everything she does and says. Cam recounts his traumatic halloween experience which until then he'd been to falsely-proud to tell the story even though he desperately wanted to all day. Hayley is of course being a tool because she's a teenage girl. It's mayhem.

Until somehow it all comes together, of course, the storylines merge and they have a successful haunted house.

4. Boy Meets World, Season 5 - "And Then There Was Shawn"

This isn't technically a "Halloween" episode, but it's a parody of scary movies, so I say it counts.

In this episode, the gang is stuck in a school with a mysterious killer on the loose. Corey and Topanga are broken up, Angela screams a lot, and the best part--Jennifer Love Hewitt guest-stars as Jennifer Love Fefferman. It's filled with references that break the 4th wall and ultimately they learn something about friendship that is currently escaping me.The guys also have some image-shattering conversation about virgins being the ones to live, in which Eric and Jack say they're dead and Shawn says he'll get as sick as you can get without actually dying. Why can't they just let me go on thinking they never do anything unwholesome?

What are your favorite Halloween episodes?

The Living Room of Every Sitcom Ever

 

Some people say variety is the spice of life. They like to change it up, try new things, experiment.

Set designers for family-oriented sitcoms are clearly not those people.

Whether due to pure laziness or merely relentless resourcefulness, I do not know, but the sitcom has one classic living room setup which varies only slightly--if at all-- from show to show.

Family Matters, Growing Pains, Full House, Kenan and Kel, Boy Meets World...even newer Disney shows like Good Luck Charlie are keeping the sitcom layout alive.

To show you what I mean, allow me to take you on a mental tour of the sitcom living room. Visualize it with me.

Our journey begins at the left side of the set.

To your far left, you will first see the front door. Opening to the fake outside world and usually featuring a fancy window, this door has consistently let in unwanted characters, nosy neighbors and police officers returning rebellious children episode after episode. An optional addition to the front door is a platform which lets down into the living room itself (see: Full House). It's not a requirement, but it has been known to make an appearance more than once.

As we turn our gaze slightly to the right, you will soon notice a staircase. Most often the lower steps are set facing the audience, then the upper steps curve to the right as they ascend, sometimes creating a hallway overlooking the living room. The staircase is perhaps the feature which displays the most variation in design, but is always in the same spot relative to the door.

Moving right along, in the center of the room you will see a couch facing you. It may be bright blue, it may be plaid, it may be floral. It is, however, never leather (that is too high-class to be relatable). This couch is often where characters watch TV, have sentimental chats whilst gentle string music plays, sit awkwardly with boyfriends while the father asks questions, you name it. If it happens in the living room, chances are it will take place on or around this couch. (There's also usually a table behind the couch with vases and lamps and books and whatnot.)

Finally as we make our way to the far right of the living room you will notice a door to the kitchen. But not just any door, oh no. A swinging door. Always. Every time. I have yet to see a sitcom in this style with a real door and/or no door at all to the kitchen.

Much like the platform, a pass-through is also optional on the wall separating the kitchen and the living room. This allows characters in the living room to easily interact with characters in the kitchen, for example, when a clumsy character has been sent to prepare food and needs to assure the gathering in the living room that everything is fine, when, in fact, it is not fine. Or when someone needs to spy on a conversation they aren't supposed to hear which is taking place in the living room. I have seen this most often in Disney Channel or Nickelodeon sit-coms.

NOTE: The Cosby Show also follows this formula, except in the mirror image. It's the paradox of the sitcom universe, varying from the formula yet keeping it exactly the same.

This concludes our imaginary tour of 90s sitcom living rooms. I hope you enjoyed your experience. Please be sure to take your belongings with you on the way out.

What's your favorite family sitcom?

The Demise of Boy Meets World's Jack Hunter

Boy Meets World is one of the iconic TV shows of our generation. It's wholesome but still funny, simple yet refined, silly yet heartfelt. A sitcom for teens that didn't involve seeing the future or magic and portrayed parents as actual parents, rather than punchlines.

Despite its admittedly numerous inconsistencies (the whole M.I.A./New Morgan debacle, Topanga's parents 2.0, and didn't Shawn have an alleged sister at some point early on?...), this show remains one of my favorites of all time.

One of the largest splotches on the otherwise beautiful tapestry of Boy Meets World, however, is the character-that-never-was, Jack Hunter.

He started out with potential. Really, he did.

Introducing new central characters is always risky, but Jack was a viable addition in the scheme of the overall story. Shawn's family history was still somewhat of a question mark to us, and his dad's lifestyle made a long-lost-half-brother totally believable. The addition of Jack threw yet another wrench in Shawn's broken conveyor belt of a life and also provided the ever-elusive best friend character for Eric.

PHASE 1 The first season Jack is pretty much just Matthew Lawrence (of Mrs. Doubtfire and Brotherly Love semi-fame). Innocent, just happy to be there. Trying to navigate how to relate to Shawn as the rich boy brother he never had. Not super dynamic, but enjoyable.

PHASE 2 The following year, it is obvious Jack has done a few push-ups over the summer, and we also meet Rachel. Rachel's presence polarizes Eric and Jack even further, pushing the gauge to 100% on Eric's transformation from 10th grade cool kid to complete idiot, and painting Jack as somewhat of a sensitive yet manly alternative by contrast.

Here is where BMW should have quit while they were ahead with Jack. I think this is the season where (spoiler alert) Shawn and Jack's dad dies (who to this day I still refer to as "Chet Hunter" whenever I see him in anything else). He plays that pretty well. He makes us laugh, he makes us cry, he plays the straight man to Eric's nonsense. Overall, it works.

PHASE 3 And then...then he starts going downhill. His biceps get bigger, his Philly accent gets thicker, and his shirts get tighter. He still has some good moments though, like the one where he and Eric decide to dress up as LaLa and Chantel to avoid getting their fingers eaten off by Crazy Luther (not to be confused with the stereo guy with LOW LOW prices).

PHASE MAYDAY-MAYDAY-GOING-DOWN In the final season, Jack hits rock bottom in terms of being an acceptable human being. He has degraded into nothing than a ripped, perfectly-groomed sidekick to Eric who just follows him around in and out of scenes, shaking his head disapprovingly and saying things like "Don't do it man, I'm beggin' ya..." while Eric silences him and does it anyway. Then more head-shaking. Really…go watch any given episode from the last season. It's his only move.

Though the show wants to portray Jack as the sensible one in contrast to Eric's buffoonery, they somehow also transform Jack into a somewhat-dumb, entitled, model-type with a gambling problem, which I suppose they derive from his rich lifestyle (which hadn't seemed to affect him negatively until now). He gets cut off from his stepdad and loses everything and has a poorly acted meltdown in the middle of the student union.

Side note: To this day I don't know if he was saying "um-jack.com" or "i'm-jack.com" when referring to his new business venture in the last season, but it made about zero point zero sense.

I don't know, guys. I just don't know what happened to ol' Jack. Maybe his muscles grew so much they just started engulfing his brain. Maybe it was the fumes from the hair gel. (Remember when hair gel was a thing?) Maybe the producers couldn't afford to pay Matthew Lawrence enough to justify him having to learn more than 2 lines per episode.

I guess we'll never know. But what we do know is that Matthew Lawrence faded into obscurity, yet still more respectable than his older brother Joey who is currently featured on an ABC Family sitcom with Mellissa Joan Hart (worse than obscurity), and not as respectable as the youngest Lawrence brother, Andy, who is doing something normal with his life, probably.

What's your favorite Boy Meets World moment? (You know you have one.)