Retro Review: Boy Meets World

Boy Meets World starring Ben Savage, Rider Strong, Danielle Fishel, Will Friedle, William Daniels, Betsy Randle, and William Russ

ABC, 1993-2000

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.

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Retro Review: Flash Forward

Flash Forward starring Jewel Staite, Ben Foster, Asia Vieria, Theodore Borders, Jiliana Stewart, Stuart Stone, Rachel Blanchard, and Ricky Mabe

Disney Channel, 1996-1997

Synopsis: Becca and Tucker have been best friends and neighbors since they were born and they have shared a lot together over the years. Now they are in eighth grade and Becca and Tucker along with their friends Christine and Miles are going to have to stick together as they try to survive school, their classmates, and their families to make this the best year ever.

I have to admit, I am reviewing this because I was feeling nostalgic – they just don’t make shows like they used to, but that’s a different blog all together. I had always kind of wondered what happened to the show, and after hunting around the internet, was blessed to find that someone had posted the series on YouTube (though it’s old and the quality is kind of poor) and frustrated to find that ABC came out with a series of the same name in 2009, which wasn’t what I was looking for…. I remember being totally addicted to this show back when it aired, but since we didn’t have cable, settled for watching it at friends houses. What I loved about Flash Forward is what I still love about it fifteen years later (wow, I’m dating myself…): it’s so real. Everything that is happening with Becca and Tucker was totally what junior high was like; you are trying to fit in, you’re always trying to catch the eye of that special someone, you can’t help but roll your eyes at some of the teachers cause they think they’re so young and hip, and you’re also trying to figure out who you are before you make the jump to high school. Outside of school, you are trying to move away from your parents and become more independent, but it feels like they are trying to get closer to you in all the wrong ways and it just makes you mad that you can’t do what you want. Then there’s siblings: Becca’s older sister on the show could clearly care less about Becca and doesn’t want her hanging around, but Becca’s desperate desire to seem more grown up has her agreeing to some strange demands from her sister; Tucker’s younger brother just wants to be part of the group, but Tucker tries all he can to push him out of the way…especially when it comes to getting closer to his crush, Kerry. Junior high was sort of about winging it, trying to establish yourself before high school when you would inevitably be back on the bottom again. The show can be kind of cheesy and silly at some points, but since it was the nineties, I’m willing to overlook it. And if you do find yourself feeling nostalgic, watch it and perhaps you can relive a little bit of your childhood that you enjoy. It’s healthy for you. 🙂 [as a side note, yes, that is the girl from Stargate: Atlantis and Firefy/Serenity and that is the kid that played Angel in the third X-men movie.]