Carstairs Considers....: TV Show Review: Boy Meets World

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

TV Show Review: Boy Meets World - Season 3

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Lots of laughs and great episodes

Cons: None worth mentioning

The Bottom Line:

Cory, Topanga

Finally begin dating

In this fun season

“Let’s Go Watch TV in the Other Room.” “TV’s Not Funny. Cory’s Life’s Funny.”

Since I started Boy Meets World late in its run, I’ve been waiting for these early seasons to officially start Cory and Topanga dating. That’s one of the major storylines of the delightful season 3, and there are plenty of laughs to be had over the course of the season.

In the very first episode of the season, it’s the first day back at school and Cory Matthews (Ben Savage) has decided it’s time to ask out Topanga Lawrence (Danielle Fishel). However, he can’t quite work up the nerve, so his best friend Shawn Hunter (Rider Strong) steps in in a most unusual way. Over the course of the season, they deal with the rocky road of being a couple, including what happens when one of them says “I love you,” dealing with another girl coming on to Cory, loyalties to friends versus each other, and trying to create a great first New Year’s together.

Of course, that’s not the only thing happening this season. Cory’s older brother Eric (Will Friedle) is graduating from high school and trying to get into a college with some help from Mr. Feeny (William Daniels). In pursuit of that, Eric lands an internship at a local TV station. Shawn is living with their English teacher, Jonathan Turner (Anthony Tyler Quinn), while his dad searching the country for his mom, and the two of them need to navigate their new relationship at home and school. It only gets more complicated when Shawn gets a pet pig (for one episode). We also add a third main teacher to the school when Mr. Turner’s friend Eli (Alex Desert) gets a job teaching media. And Cory and Eric find themselves throwing a last minute anniversary party for their parents Alan and Amy (William Russ and Betsy Randle), instead of the rave they had planned to throw. Being the DisNerd that I am, I can’t leave out a fun if improbably trip to Disney World that happens late in the season as well.

The season is filled with laughs. I found the situations more realistic and funnier than some of the episodes last season, and I enjoyed just about every episode. Even when they do get more serious with Shawn’s family situation or an episode focusing on Mr. Feeny late in the season, it earns those moments and still surrounds them with laughs.

I do feel like the episodes, which are presented here in their original air date order, are out of order a couple of times. It’s not that big a deal since the storylines are minor as they carry over from one episode to another, but it does annoy a little.

This is also the season that Cory’s younger sister Morgan gets a new actress. After not being seen for most of the season, she pops up about two thirds of the way through played by Lindsay Ridgeway. Her first scene is classic and hilarious. That’s part of the overall effort to age the characters since Cory starts out in eighth grade, but seems to be fifteen by the end of the season. Or am I not supposed to pay attention to things like that? Frankly, it’s another minor issue since the laughs are still strong, and that’s the most important thing.

I can’t help but keep comparing these episodes to the ones airing when I started watching late in season 5. In fact, I started watching about the time that Cory and Topanga broke up that season, and Shawn was so upset by it. They break up in this season as well, and instead of doing everything possible to get them back together, Shawn is trying to help Cory move on. Funny how things changed in two seasons, isn’t it?

All the actors do great in their parts this season, and their deliveries and reactions lead to some great laughs. This also rings true for Cory’s parents. They don’t have as many storylines of their own this season, but their scenes are always great. Special guest stars this season include The Monkees, and in a fifty’s Happy Days tribute show, Tom Bosley and Anson Williams as themselves with Pat Morita popping up in the episode as well.

All 22 episodes of season 3 are present on this three disc set in full frame and stereo sound, aka their original broadcast specifications. For a sitcom, you don’t need more than that really. There does seem to be some volume issues with occasional drops. It’s annoying, but not super bad. The only extra is a trivia game based on the season you’ve just watched.

So you don’t need to get this season for the extras, but season 3 is filled with laughs. I’m enjoying this trip back through Boy Meets World.

Season 3 Episodes:

1. My Best Friend’s Girl

2. The Double Life

3. What I Meant to Say

4. He Said, She Said

5. Hometown Hero

6. This Little Piggy

7. Truth and Consequences

8. Rave On!

9. The Last Temmptation of Cory

10. Train of Fools