Boy Meets World starring Ben Savage, Rider Strong, Danielle Fishel, Will Friedle, William Daniels, Betsy Randle, and William Russ
Synopsis: Cory Matthews, his best friend Shawn, and his girlfriend Topanga have been through just about everything together and now they are about to enter high school. The three teens receive mentoring from Mr. Feeny, who is also Cory’s next-door neighbor as they navigate both the academic and social trials of secondary education.
I remember this show as part of a block of Friday night television shows called ‘TGIF‘ that included another favorite, Sabrina the Teenage Witch (insert some comment here about how TV isn’t the same). I also remember not watching it after a while because my mother didn’t like the direction the show was going and in all honesty, after a while the show became rather repetitive. This doesn’t stop me from watching reruns on ABC Family when I happen to catch them because it reminds me of the more enjoyable portions of my adolescent years (which, let’s face it, are pretty terrible all around) and because the comedy still strikes a chord years later. The situations that Cory, Shawn, and Topanga find themselves in are really no different that the experiences of teens today. Plus, my friends and I really loved Feeny and we wished we could have an adult in our lives that related to us on our level both during and after school hours, not to mention the ridiculous antics of Cory’s older brother Eric. And even though Cory and his friends went through so many ups and downs, we were still rooting for them to succeed and find a way out of a situation, which thanks to Feeny, often involved learning a lesson. It’s realistic, it’s honest, it doesn’t often sugarcoat issues, and the characters were likable. The plots you could either take or leave, but there’s still a resounding message of sticking together and offering support.