As you may know by now, there will be a new spinoff of the seminal 90′s classic Boy Meets World called Girl Meets World, which centers around Topanga and Cory’s daughter, Riley. Lucky for us, Danielle Fishel and Ben Savage have nothing better to do than reprise their roles, and I’m actually kind of looking forward to it. I was a big fan of the original series and followed it pretty closely, so there are some questions I have about the way the show left off that I hope they address:
1. What mental illness did Eric end up having? A likely scenario might be that in college, Eric’s dormant schizophrenia (or something) is finally uprooted due to an ecstasy bender, which has gone undiagnosed for years until he goes missing and Cory finds him a week later on a New York City park bench. This sounds harsh, but I remember an episode where Eric thinks he’s psychic and another where the gang finds him hanging out in the campus cafe pastry case. Only in children’s television does that make you quirky and not chemically imbalanced.
2. How is Mister Feeny coping with the reality of dying alone? From the time where we last left him until today, Mr. Feeny has obviously been forced into retirement, and I imagine he’s finally starting to realize that as much as Cory, Shawn, Topanga, and Eric felt like his children when they were young, it is no substitute for having kids of your own who feel morally obligated by blood to change your diaper and visit you on Christmas. Now that he’s not right across the fence anymore, visiting George at the nursing home is inevitably less of a priority for the gang, as life and responsibilities of adulthood get in the way.
3. Is Topanga still in denial about Cory being on the down-low? Nobody is supposed to platonically love their friend as much as Cory loves Shawn unless this is 1950′s Alabama and “best friend” or “roommate” is the closest relationship two men can have with each other.
4. Has Shawn become even more embittered over the realization that he will never have a successful relationship with a woman thanks to being abandoned by the only two women he has ever loved (his mother and Angela)? By college, Shawn went from ladies man to sensitive, orphan poet/total drag. Instead of bouncing from one sexual tryst to the next (this is what was happening, okay, Disney?), he finally accepted commitment and love from a female when Angela came along, until she leaves him exactly like his mother did. I’ve seen men become cold women haters over a lot less than that, so good luck to all the fictional women Shawn has left in his wake after his permanent regression.
5. How many years into their marriage did it take for Topanga to finally break down and let Shawn make love to her the way a woman should be made love to? I think we can all agree that Cory has no idea what he’s doing.
A beautiful story of co-dependence.
6. How much does Topanga resent Corey for holding her back from Yale and never supporting her in anything? FIRST, Cory tells Topanga not to go to Yale and she LISTENS, and instead goes to a school that 3 confirmed idiots- Cory, Shawn, and Eric- could get into. Then in the last episode, Topanga gets a job in New York City and almost doesn’t accept it because Cory would like to remain a man-child in the comforting bosom of Philadelphia while his parents and Mr. Feeny continue raising him. He only goes because Shawn reminds him that the night Cory lost his virginity he also gained a wife that he’s supposed to take into consideration when making decisions, and then Shawn goes, “ha ha just kidding, I’ll come with you,” and Cory’s like, “okay, I’ll go.” Basically, Cory is the worst husband ever who isn’t even that cute.
Hopefully, the writers actually want to “go there” and then this really becomes a story about Topanga and all of her wasted potential as she divorces Cory and becomes the proverbial “girl” in Girl Meets World. If you ask me, this would also make a great novel and yes, I would love to write it and don’t steal my idea.
But most importantly…
7. Will they do another slasher movie Halloween episode or is glamorizing mass murder amongst adolescents on a children’s television show irresponsible in a post Columbine America? I can see where it’s probably not the best idea, but to play Devil’s advocate, it was my favorite episode.
