Girl Meets World, does it hold up?

 

Cory and his family in Boy Meets World

In recent years, a pattern has emerged where old TV Shows are being revived left and right. Full House, Roseanne, Gilmore Girls, Will and Grace, That’s So Raven, and Arrested Development to name a few. Every time, the same question gets asked, “How does it hold up to the original?” Well, I’m going to tackle that question about one of my revived favorites. Boy Meets World, aired on ABC from 1993 to 2000. It centered around the life of young Cory Matthews as he grew up with his friends and family. In 2014, this world was brought back with Girl Meets World, which aired on Disney Channel. In this series, we see the next generation of Matthews. Cory and Topanga are now the parents of two children. There's Riley Matthews, this show's "Cory", who is our main character. They also have a younger son, Auggie, in a role similar to Cory's little sister, Morgan on Boy Meets World. The family somewhat mirrors the original Matthews family, minus the older sibling character. (Sorry, Eric!)

Cory and his family in Girl Meets World

Comparing the two shows is tricky. For fans like myself, Boy Meets World has the nostalgia factor. We remember watching it as kids and we’ve loved these characters for over 20 years. It’s hard to compete with that kind of history. We also have to take the networks into account. Boy Meets World originally aired on ABC’s TGIF lineup. This meant that although it was a goofy, family-friendly show, they were able to tackle more serious topics. Over the show’s seven seasons, we saw them deal with issues of alcoholism, sex, cults, and even the tragic death of Shawn’s father. It didn’t always pander to a young audience. In contrast, Girl Meets World aired on Disney Channel. Although, they had some serious moments, the subject matter was much more watered down and G-rated. So, how do we begin to fairly critique this revival?

George Feeny (Left) and Cory Matthews (Right)

In the interest of ending on a positive note, I’ll start off with my criticisms of Girl Meets World. Right off the bat, we have the role of Cory Matthews. In addition to being Riley’s father, Cory is also her teacher, making him this show’s “Feeny.” They tried so hard to pull off that comparison. Cory was the teacher with the heart of gold who tried to teach the students about life. It was a nice idea, but they forgot what made George Feeny a great character, authority and actual teaching. Feeny cared about the students, but he also wouldn’t shy away from giving out detention or a stern lecture about his disappointment. We also saw him teach actual subject-matter and be a real teacher. In contrast, Cory never had control of his classroom. The students would often take over the class with their personal issues, and Cory’s response was “Yeah, Ok”, and he would simply abandon any plans for actually teaching. This show could have used some real authority.

Topanga in Boy Meets World vs. Girl Meets World

Then we have Topanga. In Boy Meets World, Topanga was a force to be reckoned with. She wasn’t just there to be Cory’s love interest, she took control of her life and no one messed with her. Not only was she a straight-A student, but she was often the group’s moral compass, voice of reason, and authority figure. Topanga was the perfect contrast to the goofy, neurotic, non-threatening Cory Matthews, which made them one of TV’s greatest relationships. Fast forward to Girl Meets World and Topanga is basically a side-character, often limited to minor B-Stories about her son, Auggie. Sure, we got a few moments of "Fierce-Topanga", but not nearly enough. She’s a victim of what I call “The Disney Channel Parent Syndrome.” Most Disney Channel shows focus on the kids, because that’s who the audience relates to. The parents in these shows rarely get character development, they’re just there. This would be fine in a new show with a new mom, but not for our beloved Topanga.

Shawn bonds with Maya

The perfect middle ground for my review is the Boy Meets World cameos. Over the course of the show, several familiar faces popped up here and there. These appearances were hit and miss for me. Some of them felt very natural, like when Cory’s parents, Amy and Alan came to visit for Christmas. Some were even used to help progress the new characters, such as Cory’s brother, Eric being summoned to help mend a friendship or former-bully Harley Keiner helping out when Farkle is being picked on. Of course the best return was Shawn Hunter. They used him perfectly, because not only did they have a great Cory and Shaw reunion, but they made him a father figure to Riley’s best friend, Maya. Shawn related to Maya’s story, because it was so similar to his own, making them a great pair. On the other hand, some of the original character cameos felt forced and unnecessary. Angela suddenly shows up just to get Shawn’s advice about having kids. Jack show’s up just to have a quick moral lesson from Eric and crash a junior high dance. Minkus is revealed to be Farkle’s father, but nothing comes of that. I understand the nostalgia, but in my opinion, if there’s not a good reason to bring someone back, then don’t.

Maya Hard (Left) and Riley Matthews (Right)

Alright, I think it’s time for some positivity. I think this show was at its best when it wasn’t trying to bombard us with Boy Meets World nostalgia and focus on its own characters. There are times when we can forget for a moment that this show is a revival. I enjoyed the friendship dynamics in this show. Most notable is the relationship between Riley and Maya. It’s one of those classic friendships that works even though they’re so different. Riley is positive, perky, generous, and a bit naïve to the harsh realities of the world. Maya is independent, cynical, sarcastic, and has trust issues from her non-ideal family life. Looking at these characters on paper, you’d think that Maya would be the bully who would mock or pick on Riley, but instead, they would do anything for each other. Sure, it gets cheesy at times, but they do a very good job at selling it. I also think it’s worth mentioning that Sabrina Carpenter, who plays Maya is hands-down one of the best actors on this show.

L-R: Zay, Lucas, Farkle, Smackle, Riley, and Maya

In addition to Riley and Maya’s friendship, Girl Meets World also excels at the old Disney Channel standard, which is having a solid friend-group. Aside from the girls, this group consists of handsome moral compass Lucas, kind-hearted nerd Farkle, wise-cracking comic relief Zay, and socially awkward yet intelligent Smackle. This dynamic is great because it works with both the serious and goofy moments. On the one hand we have things like the group making a spontaneous road trip to Texas with Lucas. On the other hand, this group rallied around both Farkle and Riley at times when they were being bullied. It’s the sense of this tight-knit group that draws us in as the audience, because we feel like we’re a silent member of this little family.

Overall, I think Girl Meets World is best thought of as its own show. As much as I love Boy Meets World, the styles and maturity levels are too different, which is why a lot of people disliked the show. The small nods and throw-backs are fun in the moment, but are often distracting. They pull us out of this world of new characters that we’re following. As I mentioned earlier, the best integration of Boy Meets World was Shawn, because it added to the compelling story of Maya slowly learning to let her guard down and allow herself to hope. It’s those kind of storylines that kept me watching. If you go into it with an open mind, I think you’ll find that it’s better than a lot of current Disney Channel shows.